Daily Manna 3 September
KEY VERSE: “For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” – (Matthew 12:37)
TEXT: Matthew 12:22-37
22 Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. 23 And all the multitudes were amazed and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”
24 Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”
25 But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. 28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. 30 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.
31 “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.
33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. 34 Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. 36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Read yesterday’s Daily Manna here
Those who spoke blasphemously against the teachings of Jesus Christ as He walked the length and breadth of Israel at the time of His ministry here on earth hardly realised they were sowing winds that would give birth to whirlwinds in eternity. They spoke rashly, proudly and ignorantly. They were utterances sowed in fertile soil with the power to take a flight away from their day. That is the power of the spoken word.
Recklessly, the critics of our Lord, largely the Pharisees, Sadducees and scribes, contradicted all He did or said. They watched Him wherever He turned, seeking to trap and hand Him over for prosecution and execution. If He healed the tormented on the Sabbath, the beneficial component of the deed was not noticed but the timing. If He taught the pure principles of God’s kingdom, He was asked if He had a rabbi’s permit to preach.
Finally, after failing to turn the people against Jesus through a long campaign of calumny, they resorted to saying, “This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devil”. It was the height of sacrilegious comment on the work of the Son of God. Their idle talk did not go without divine rebuke, backed by the teaching that all unfruitful statements “that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment”.
Statements that will make us escape the wrath of the Lord hereafter are the biblically approved ones. It should be from a cleansed heart not stained by sin and worldliness; but a heart which Christ rules. It should be from a heart that has no room for rivals of Christ. Also, it should be from a heart that disallows heresy and other satanic influences. No fruitless talk can emerge from such a heart.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Guard your mouth.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalm 80-84
Thank you for studying today’s Daily Manna – Evil of Idle Talk – by Pastor Enoch A.
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Daily Manna 4 September 2021
