Watch Your Mouth

(Christ's 8^th Command)
By R. Michel Lankford

“Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.' But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is Yahweh Almighty God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.” Matthew 5:33-37 (NKJV)

 
Every single command of Yahweh Almighty God and His Son Jesus Christ (Yeshua) is critically important, but learning genuine mouth control must surely be at the top of Yahweh Almighty God's list of disciplines for His people. Bringing our mouth under subjection to Yahweh Almighty God and Jesus Christ (Yeshua) is not optional. Mouth control is absolutely imperative for the child of Yahweh Almighty God, for the would-be citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven, and successful disciple of Jesus Christ (Yeshua).
The Bible says so much about the human mouth that it would very likely take days, perhaps weeks to study every passage with its implications in any great detail. For the requirements of time and space, we will not do in in-depth study here, but if you take this study to heart, you will have the rudimentary tools you need to begin submitting your mouth to Yahweh Almighty God. The reason that the Bible speaks so much about the human mouth is that there are so many enormous repercussions based on whether or not we learn to submit our mouth to Yahweh Almighty God.
Mouth control or the lack of it will make the difference between whether or not we have any Fellowship with Yahweh Almighty God at all (Psalm 15:1-3).
Mouth control or the lack of it will make a difference between whether we have genuine religion or a meaningless one (James 1:26; Proverbs 15:4).
Mouth control will make the difference between whether we stand or we stumble (Psalm 15:3,5b; James 3:2).
Mouth control will make the difference between our life and death (Proverbs 18:21; 1 Peter 3:10).
Mouth control will make a difference between whether or not we stand after the judgment of Yahweh Almighty God. Yahweh Almighty God will judge our every word; (Matthew 12:36). It will literally make the difference between whether we go to heaven or hell (Matthew 12:37).
This is why I repeat, mouth control is not really optional, it is imperative. It is paramount.
The Key Yahweh Almighty Godly Principles behind This Command
As we have just seen, Yahweh Almighty God puts a lot of emphasis on mouth control, and the consequences for either learning or not learning mouth control are incredibly huge. So why does Yahweh Almighty God put such a huge emphasis on the human mouth? There are several principles behind Christ’s command. It goes back to Yahweh Almighty God's original plan for creation.
Keeping our word makes us a good reflection of our Heavenly Father
Jesus Christ (Yeshua) essentially said that the pathway which leads to eternal life is a very narrow and difficult pathway, and few would find and walk that path (Matthew 7:13-14). In the context of this subject, there is a very fine line between becoming imitators of Yahweh Almighty God's character and nature in such a way that truly honors our Creator, and on the other side of the line becoming boastful in our manner of speaking. The first reason Yahweh Almighty God tells us not to make vows is so that we never make promises we cannot keep. This way we do not disfigure the reflection of Yahweh Almighty God's character which Yahweh Almighty God intended us to reflect. Simply put, keeping our word makes us a very good reflection of Yahweh Almighty God who created us. One can hear a faint echo throughout the early words of Genesis. "And Yahweh Almighty God said...;" "And Yahweh Almighty God said....;" "And Yahweh Almighty God said." Yahweh Almighty God created everything seen and unseen (Colossians 1:16; Revelation 4:11). In Genesis chapter 1 we notice that Yahweh Almighty God created everything by the words of His Mouth. Yahweh Almighty God's account of creation makes a profound statement:
"Then Yahweh Almighty God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." So Yahweh Almighty God created man in His own image; in the image of Yahweh Almighty God He created him; male and female He created them. Then Yahweh Almighty God blessed them, and Yahweh Almighty God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth." Genesis 1:26-28 (NKJV)
Yahweh Almighty God created us in His very likeness and image. Now do not be deceived. This does not make us 'miniature Yahweh Almighty Gods' as some have foolishly tried to claim. What it does mean is that the Almighty originally made us in His image and in His likeness, so that we could have fellowship with Him, and so we would become carriers and living reflections of His Love and character throughout the rest of His creation. Yahweh Almighty God adopts those who submit to Him with faith in His Son, as His children (Romans 8:15). As such, He transforms our character and nature through the words and promises that He has spoken (2 Peter 1:3-4). Since Yahweh Almighty God's nature and words are so powerful, He would never speak rashly, arrogantly, hastily, or foolishly, and neither should we. As Yahweh Almighty God's adopted children through His Christ, we are instructed to become excellent followers of our Heavenly Father, and Christ’s example (Ephesians 5:1-2). So, we need mouth control so that we can become blessed reflections of Yahweh Almighty God and Jesus Christ (Yeshua), and not defile ourselves (Matthew 15:17-20).

Broken words break relationships

The second reason that Yahweh Almighty God wants us to guard our mouth and make our promises sparingly is that broken promises violate relationships. Think about it. There is no broken marriage unless somebody violates their word and vows somewhere along the line. Broken promises violate the trust, and broken trusts break relationships. Very few things wound a person's heart more than unloving words and broken promises. If you preserve your words, you preserve relationships.
If we are truly Yahweh Almighty Godly in character, vowing should be unnecessary.
There was a time not so long ago that honesty; integrity, and character were highly valued in this country. Our grandparents and great grandparents can remember times when you could go into a bank and borrow money you needed with nothing more than your word and a handshake. That's because people were so well trained in character that they would rather die than violate their word. There was a time in this country where communities were so safe that many citizens never locked their doors, because people had been so well brought up that stealing was extremely rare. The third principle behind this command is that for any of Yahweh Almighty God's covenant people, taking vows should be largely unnecessary. As devout people, we should be so good at fulfilling what we say we will do, at keeping our promises, or fulfilling our obligations, that our word could be considered our bond, and more secure than gold or a certified check. Part of the reason that Jesus said, let your yes be yes and your no be no, and anything more than this was of the evil one, was that if we needed something more convincing than our word such as a vow, then something must be wrong with our character that our simple word is not reliable enough.
Yahweh Almighty God is Yahweh Almighty God and we are not. We cannot guarantee tomorrow.
The fourth principle is that while we are intended to reflect Yahweh Almighty God's character and nature and keep our word, we are not supposed to attempt to replace Yahweh Almighty God and show contempt for Yahweh Almighty God with our words. This is another part of the reason why Jesus said that anything more than a simple yes or no is of the evil one. Lucifer's sin was pride. Ultimately only Yahweh Almighty God knows the future, so we cannot make promises with absolute certainty of fulfilling our word, because we do not even know that we will be here tomorrow. There are so many circumstances beyond our control that it becomes the boastful pride of life to promise that we will do something in the future, when we do not know for certain what will occur, or what we will really be able to do. (1 John 2:16; James 4:13-17).

Obeying this command successfully

Now that we have the Scriptural principles firmly reviewed, we can now proceed to looking at practical ways to obey Christ's command in our focal passage. How do we obey this passage in real practical ways? Here are some scripturally based suggestions where you can start.
• Start paying more attention to what comes out of your mouth. You cannot really fix anything (or cooperate with Yahweh Almighty God to fix anything) if you are not aware of what you're doing. So start intentionally paying more attention to what comes out of your mouth.
• The lack of mouth control is really a heart problem. Therefore, when you pray about the things that you notice are coming out of your mouth that should not, remember to ask Yahweh Almighty God to transform and fill your heart with His Love and Righteousness. What comes out of our mouth, is usually a pretty good reflection of the true condition of our heart, because out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Matthew 12:34). Ask Yahweh Almighty God to help you see what is in your heart that makes you speak in ways you should not.
• Begin specifically asking Yahweh Almighty God to help you submit to Him, and to help you cooperate with Him so that working together, you can develop genuine mouth control as David did Psalm 19:14; Psalm 141:3).
• Work on speaking less. In principle, the more we speak the more likely we are to sin. So we should work on developing the habit of talking a bit less (Proverbs 10:19; James 1:19-21).
• When you make plans, do it prayerfully. Invite Yahweh Almighty God in on all your plans. Commit them to Him (Psalm 37:4-6)
• When you make or discuss plans, use new phrases. When you are making or discussing plans, consider adding a new phrase to your vocabulary. I prefer things like: "With Yahweh Almighty God helping me, I hope to (or I want to, or I plan to etc.), ______________, Lord willing (James 4:13-17).
• Learn to avoid sarcasm. Say what you mean, and mean what you say.
• Fill your mouth with praises and prayerful conversation. If your mouth is full of praises and prayers, you are much less likely to sin with your mouth (2 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:29–32, ESV)

 

 

Closing Prayer

"Yahweh Almighty God, mercifully wash every word I have ever spoken in the precious sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ (Yeshua) Your Son. Graciously set a watch and faithful guard over my mouth so that I will not sin against you. Instead, mercifully grant that the thoughts and meditations of my heart together with the words of my mouth will all become truly pleasing and delightful in Your sight. Help me to cooperate with you and do my part, as You are accomplishing this great work of Your grace within me. Amen."
Brother R. Michel Lankford