Dealing with sins
of speech requires dealing with the problem at the heart level. Behind our critical speech is a
critical heart. Behind our
complaining is an unthankful heart.
So we cannot just seek to create new habits in our speech; our hearts
need to change. In our last post
we looked briefly at the first two steps of dealing with heart issues. First, we need to pray for God’s help. Second, we need to grow in our worship
of Christ. (If you missed the last
post, you can find it here.)
Third, we need to
apply the biblical model for change taught in Ephesians 4:22-24, which requires
putting off the old self, being renewed in the spirit of our
minds, and putting on the new
self. This means that we need to
recognize how the old self is being manifested,
what we are thinking and wanting in moments of temptation, when those moments of temptation tend
to strike, and what are the godly
alternatives that need to replace those things.
A good way to
gather this information is to keep a journal for a week or two. Every time we give in to the temptation
to use ungodly speech, we should write down the circumstances surrounding the
temptation, what we were thinking, what we were wanting, what we did in
response to the temptation, and when it all happened. After keeping this journal diligently for a while, we can go
back and analyze the information.
We may find patterns behind the sinful speech. Perhaps temptation always comes when we are with certain
people or in a certain situation.
Perhaps temptation tends to come first thing in the morning or at the
end of the day. It could be that
though there are different manifestations of sinful speech coming out, there is
a common thought or desire behind them.
Once the
information has been analyzed, we can go to the Word and find out what the Bible
teaches about that sin and the opposite godly virtue. Bible Gateway is a
great online resource for doing topical searches. It’s a good idea to write
down the truths that we find along with the corresponding Bible references.
It will be helpful to commit some of these passages to memory.
Now we’ve got all
that information written down. What do we do with it? The specific
manifestations we’ve written down tell us the specific actions we need to put
off. If that specific action is complaining, the godly action that we can
seek to put in its place is the expression of thankfulness. So when we
are tempted to complain, we stop and pray a prayer of thanksgiving instead or
we express thankfulness to those around us.
The thoughts we’ve recorded in our journal
tell us what thoughts need to be replaced, or “put off”. Maybe the common
thing we are thinking when we are tempted to complain is, “this really
stinks. Why does nothing ever work
out for me!” We need to construct
a biblical thought to replace it, like: “God is using all things, including
this inconvenience, to conform me to the image of Christ.” That new
thought needs to be written down and memorized.
The
desires we’ve recorded tell us what
we’re worshiping that needs to be replaced with worship of Christ. If we
want convenience or smooth circumstances so much that we will sin to get it or
sin if we don’t get it, it’s an idol. We need to recognize it as such and
determine that in moments of temptation we will focus on worshiping and
pleasing Christ alone. This
particular part of the plan relies heavily on our having preached the gospel to
ourselves as a habit of life.
The times of temptation we’ve recorded tell us the specific
times when we need to prepare ourselves for temptation, so that we can take a
few minutes beforehand to go over all this information…the sin that we are avoiding
and the godly behavior we want to exhibit in its place…the thoughts we are
going to resist and the godly thoughts we will strive to think instead…the idol
behind the temptation and the excellencies of pleasing Christ that we will
focus on instead. We need to review the relevant Scriptures that we have
gathered, pray for God’s assistance in the moment of temptation, acknowledging
before God we can’t do this in our own power. Only His grace and strength
will enable us to obey as we trust in Him. We need to commit to the Lord
that we will strive to be faithful.
We should go through that material every time we are
about to go into a situation where we know temptation will be waiting for us.
And one crucial part of preparation is having started the day rehearsing the
gospel, pondering all the glorious truths of what God has done in Christ on our
behalf for His glory. Remember that looking intently at the gospel is
what fuels the fire of our devotion to the Lord, giving us the very desire to
obey.
Seems like a lot of work,
doesn’t it? The apostles were not
reluctant to teach that sanctification requires great effort. That’s why Peter writes in 2 Peter 1:5 make
every effort to supplement your faith with virtue. That’s why Paul commanded Timothy in
1Tim 4:7, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness. In v10
of that chapter, he says to toil and strive. That’s why Paul
writes in Philippians 2:12 to work out your own salvation as God works in
you.
We do this trusting in the Lord’s strength, not our
own, and focusing on the gospel, but we do have to do something. Isn’t
that the spirit of James 1:19-27? Be doers of the law,
not hearers who deceive themselves. Look at the perfect law of liberty
and persevere. May the Lord grant us victory as we go to war with ungodly
speech.
Posted by Greg Birdwell
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