One of the most difficult disciplines of the Christian walk is bridling our tongues.

The way we speak about others is a leading indicator of our own spiritual condition. Ultimately, what comes out of our mouths reveals the character of our hearts.

God’s Word warns us of the tongue’s dangers. James writes, “The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell” (Jas 3:6).

But God’s Word also assures us of the good our tongues can do as we use them “to give grace to those who hear,” and as our speech is used to “spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (Eph 4:29, Heb 10:24).

Your tongue is a mighty force. Will you use it for good or for evil?

One of my heroes is Charles Simeon, Anglican minister of Holy Trinity Church in Cambridge, England from 1782-1836. (For a powerful, thoughtful biographical sketch of Simeon’s life, read and/or listen to this article by John Piper. Wow!).

Throughout his adult life Simeon contended with two great temptations to ungodly speech. On the one hand, he had a hot temper; in the heat of the moment was tempted to say things that could damage the reputation of Christ and his church. On the other hand, he continually faced unkind criticism and opposition because of his deep commitment to Jesus Christ and the evangelical faith. What a volatile situation: a inclination  to anger put together with a hostile environment!

Well aware of this temptation to “evil speaking,” in a July 1817 letter Simeon wrote words immediately relevant to us today—

“The longer I live, the more I feel the importance of adhering to the rules which I have laid down for myself in relation to such matters.

“1st, to hear as little as possible what is to the prejudice of others.

“2nd, to believe nothing of the kind till I am absolutely forced to it.

“3rd, never to drink into the spirit of one who circulates an ill report.

“4th, always to moderate, as far as I can, the unkindness which is expressed towards others.

“5th, always to believe, that if the other side were heard a very different account would be given of the matter.

“I consider love as wealth; and as I would resist a man who should come to rob my house so would I a man who would weaken my regard for any human being.”

Let us renew our own like commitment to making our speech an instrument of God’s grace.

Let us join in praying, “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips” (Psalm 141:3).

Charles Spurgeon (the great 19th century British preacher) spoke pointedly to that question:

I know there are some who say, “Well, I have given myself to the Lord, but I do not intend to give myself to any church.”

Now, why not?

“Because I can be a Christian without it.”

Are you quite clear about that? You can be as good a Christian by disobedience to your Lord’s commands as by being obedient? There is a brick. What is it made for? To help build a house. It is of no use for that brick to tell you that it is just as good a brick while it is kicking about on the ground as it would be in the house. It is a good-for-nothing brick. So, you rolling-stone Christians, I do not believe you are answering your purpose. You are living contrary to the life which Christ would have you live, and you are much to blame for the injury you do.

Wayne Grudem writes:

If Christ had only earned forgiveness of sins for us, then we would not merit heaven. Our guilt would have been removed, but we would simply be in the position of Adam and Eve before they had done anything good or bad and before they had passed a time of probation successfully. To be established in righteousness forever and to have their fellowship with God made sure forever, Adam and Eve had to obey God perfectly over a period of time. Then God would have looked on their faithful obedience with pleasure and delight, and they would have lived with him in fellowship forever.

For this reason, Christ had to live a life of perfect obedience to God in order to earn righteousness for us. He had to obey the law for his whole life on our behalf so that the positive merits of his perfect obedience would be counted for us. Sometimes this is called Christ’s “active obedience,” while his suffering and dying for our sins is called his “passive obedience.” Paul says his goal is that he may be found in Christ, “not having a righteousness of [his] own based on law, but that which is through faith in Christ the righteousness from God that depends on faith” (Phil. 3:9). It is not just moral neutrality that Paul knows he needs from Christ (that is, a clean slate with sins forgiven), but a positive moral righteousness. And he knows that that cannot come from himself, but must come through faith in Christ. Similarly, Paul says that Christ has been made “our righteousness” (1 Cor. 1:30). And he quite explicitly says, “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man’s obedience many will be made righteous” (Rom. 5:19).

Some theologians have not taught that Christ needed to achieve a lifelong record of perfect obedience for us. They have simply emphasized that Christ had to die and thereby pay the penalty for our sins. But such a position does not adequately explain why Christ did more than just die for us; he also became our “righteousness” before God. Jesus said to John the Baptist, before he was baptized by him, “It is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness” (Matt. 3:15).

It might be argued that Christ had to live a life of perfect righteousness for his own sake, not for ours, before he could be a sinless sacrifice for us. But Jesus had no need to live a life of perfect obedience for his own sake—he had shared love and fellowship with the Father for all eternity and was in his own character eternally worthy of the Father’s good pleasure and delight. He rather had to “fulfill all righteousness” for our sake; that is, for the sake of the people whom he was representing as their head. Unless he had done this for us, we would have no record of obedience by which we would merit God’s favor and merit eternal life with him. Moreover, if Jesus had needed only sinlessness and not also a life of perfect obedience, he could have died for us when he was a young child rather than when he was thirty-three years old.

By way of application, we ought to ask ourselves whose lifelong record of obedience we would rather rely on for our standing before God, Christ’s or our own? As we think about the life of Christ, we ought to ask ourselves, was it good enough to deserve God’s approval? And are we willing to rely on his record of obedience for our eternal destiny?

~ Systematic Theology
(Inter-Varsity Press, Leicester, England
and Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan,
A Division of HarperCollins Publishers, pp.570–571)

Fred Zaspel writes:

The epistle to the Hebrews was written in large part to exhort professing Christians to continue on with the Lord. Some were being tempted to turn back, and the Biblical writer warns them urgently of the awful consequences of leaving Christ. If we leave Christ we will have no Saviour and no salvation, for there is no other Saviour, and there is no other sacrifice for sin. “How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?” “Let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.” “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess.” “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” We must be very careful to guard our hearts and our lives so as to go on with the Lord, lest we prove our profession false and we perish.

It is in this context that we are exhorted, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing” (Heb. 10:25). In view here, obviously, are the stated formal gatherings of the church. And the point is that attendance at these meetings is not only our duty but also it is our support, the means by which we are strengthened to continue with the Lord. The public gathering of the people of God is one of God’s appointed means of keeping us. We call it a “means of grace.” Simply put, we meet together because we need it.

“Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing.” B. B. Warfield comments here that in reading this you can almost hear the Biblical writer snarl as he writes that last phrase — “as some are in the habit of doing.” Who are these people who are so very strong and so supremely holy that they do not need this divinely appointed means of grace? Are they really so strong, so secure, so advanced that they do not need the common worship and ministry of the Word which God has appointed for them? What arrogance! What folly! They are courting the very worst of all dangers, and they seem oblivious to it.

We “go to church” because God commands it and because God says we need it. And when we think other things are more important — that “we do not have the time” — it is only because our spiritual state is already at such a low point.

Contrariwise, to be active and faithful in the public meetings of the church is an indication of a heart and mind that understands the need and appreciates the provision. If our hearts are warm to the Lord, our feet will be quick to take us to the place of ministry and worship. If we have any understanding of our weakness and our tendency to fall away, we will run eagerly to the place God has appointed for our strengthening.

As in everything else, even here our Lord himself sets the example. Following his baptism and the mount of temptation, he came back home to Nazareth and on the Sabbath day went to the synagogue of meeting “as his custom was.” It was our Lord’s practice to take his place with the people of God in the stated place of worship to which he belonged. This one who above all others was pleasing to God in all things, this one who is supremely the perfect man, without sin, felt that even he could not neglect regular public worship. For all its imperfections, and for all its dullness, and for all there was about it that was beneath him, he saw it as a divine provision for him. Even our Lord needed it, and he was faithful to it.

We “go to church” because it is good for us, because we need it, and because God commands it. Our attendance at our gathered meetings has much to offer us. Whether we know it or not, we cannot do without them. And our attitude toward them speaks volumes about us.