Be Careful What You Say
Sins of the Tongue (Words)
Our Lord warned us to be careful what we say
By your words you will be JUSTIFIED 
By your words you will be CONDEMNED 
We will give an account
of every idle word.
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If we use bad words,
we are in danger of hell.
By which words are we JUSTIFIED  ?
Remember, last week’s lesson!
Comforting words
Encouraging words
Words that bring joy
Words that are pure
Words that unite
Words that inspire
Helpful words
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By which words am I in danger of
being CONDEMNED , God forbid!
Hurtful words
Discouraging words
Words that bring sadness
Inappropriate words
Words that isolate
Words that mislead (lies)
Idle (useless) words
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Sins of the Tongue
Adapted from information on this Christian site:
www.biblebelievers.com/jmelton/SinsofTongue.html
• You can tell a lot about a person by their words …
• Jesus tells us, “For out of the abundance of the heart the
mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34)
• In Proverbs 18:21, we read, “Death and life are in the power
of the tongue” (words can kill and can give life)
• Just like it would be foolish for someone to play with a real
gun carelessly, it is foolish to shoot off my mouth carelessly!
Both are bad – both hurt, destroy, and kill!
Guns are bad (they kill)
Bad words can also kill!
Sins of the Tongue
(we need to stop)
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Lying Tongue
Flattering Tongue (insincere praise)
Proud Tongue
Over-used Tongue (talking too much)
Swift Tongue (hasty)
Repent & Confess
Quickly!
Back-biting Tongue (gossip)
Tale-bearing Tongue (rumours)
Cursing Tongue (swearing)
Piercing Tongue (hurtful words)
Silent Tongue (many times it’s ok to be quiet, but don’t
be quiet when you’re supposed to witness to Christ)
The Lying Tongue
• “A man that bears false witness against his
neighbour is like a club, a sword, and a sharp
arrow.” (Proverbs 25:18)
• A lying tongue is a misuse of a deadly weapon.
• It can harm others near (a club), a few feet away
(a sword), or a great distance away (an arrow).
• Satan is the father of lies (John 8:44)
• God hates a lying tongue (Proverbs 6:17)
• All liars will have their part in the lake of fire,
according to Revelation 21:8
The Flattering Tongue
• Flattery means “excessive or insincere praise”
• Flattery is also a sin of the tongue.
• The Bible speaks of flattery as a characteristic of
the wicked, not the righteous:
“For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their
inward part is destruction; their throat is an open
tomb; they flatter with their tongue.” (Psalm 5:9)
• Flattery is just a form of lying, and it has no place
in the life of a Christian.
The Proud Tongue
“May the LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that
speaks proud things: who have said, ‘with our tongue will we prevail;
our lips are our own: who is lord over us?’ ” (Psalm 12:3-4)
• A proud tongue usually comes with 2 closed ears!
– This person can be annoying to talk to because he doesn’t listen.
• A proud-tongued Christian is hard to teach or reason with because
he thinks he knows everything.
– Proud-tongued people are full of themselves that they learn very little from others.
– A proud tongue will talk much of knowledge and service, but very little about the Lord.
– In service, a proud-tongue can make all sorts of suggestions about how things should
work, but these ideas place burdens on everyone else but himself.
• God hates a proud tongue. Instead, allow the Holy Spirit to use
your tongue in the way of humility and kindness.
The Over-used Tongue
• Some people sin by simply talking too much, but careful:
“… a fool's voice is known by his many words.” (Ecclesiastes 5:3)
• Some of us think we appear smart by talking a lot, but the Bible
teaches the opposite.
“Do not be rash with your mouth, and let not your heart utter anything
hastily before God: for God is in heaven, and you on earth: therefore
let your words be few.”
(Ecclesiastes 5:2)
• God doesn't like us to talk too much …
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Don’t say, "Well, that's just the way I am!”
But REPENT! Confess your sin and repent.
Stop justifying your sin, and
Ask God to help you repent.
The Swift Tongue
• Sometimes we speak too swiftly, when we really need to wait
before saying anything.
“He who answers a matter before he hears it,
it is folly and shame to him.” (Proverbs 18:13)
• How many times have you had to "eat" your words because you
spoke too swiftly?
James 1:19 warns us to be
SWIFT to HEAR and SLOW to SPEAK
• God gave us 2 ears but only 1 mouth (to listen more)
The Back-biting Tongue (gossip)
• Proverbs 25:23 and Romans 1:30 mention a backbiting tongue.
• A backbiter is someone who uses their tongue against you when
you aren't there, yet they will not face you with their charges when
you are present.
– This is cowardly.
– This stirs up problems but doesn’t solve problems!
• A backbiter would rather talk ABOUT someone,
rather than talk TO the person.
• A backbiter would much rather talk ABOUT a weak person,
rather than offer some words of encouragement TO help them.
• A backbiter is of no use to others, and no one has ever been
strengthened or edified through backbiting.
• Beware of backbiters, especially ones who cause trouble, who sow
discord among brethren (Proverbs 6:19).
The Tale-bearing Tongue (rumours)
“You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people …”
(Leviticus 19:16)
• Tale-bearing (telling stories about others) spreads all sorts
of hurtful information around.
– Satan uses this to hinder and tear down God's work.
• God forbid that a Christian should wound another Christian,
but it does happen all the time 
– Some Christians live as though they think God "called" them to
spread stories about others.
– Many "Christians" spend a lot of effort being busy-bodies into
other people’s personal lives, this is not good.
• A victim of tale-bearing, according to Proverbs, is a
wounded person. Do not hurt others with your words!
The Cursing Tongue (swearing)
“Their throat is an open tomb; with their tongues they have practiced
deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips; whose mouth is full of
cursing and bitterness.” (Romans 3:13-14)
• Some people have a bad habit of swearing, saying bad words.
“As he loved cursing, so let it come to him: as he did not delight in
blessing, so let it be far from him. As he clothed himself with cursing as
with his garment, so let it enter his body like water, and like oil into his
bones.” (Psalm 109:17-18)
• Some people curse because their life is miserable (unhappy). They’re
unhappy, so they make it known by swearing using foul language.
– The above says that God keeps them unhappy because of their speech.
– God curses those who curse!
– If you want God's blessings, then do NOT fill your mouth with cursing.
The Piercing Tongue (hurtful)
“There is one who speaks like the piercings of a
sword, but the tongue of the wise promotes
health.” (Proverbs 12:18)
• Sometimes we have a sharp piercing tongue
which Satan uses to offend and insult others.
• The Bible commands Christians to have their
speech dominated by GRACE (Colossians 4:6).
• Saint Paul also commands us to use sound speech
which cannot be condemned (Titus 2:8).
• Do we use graceful speech which cannot be evil
spoken of, or do we possess a piercing tongue?
The Silent Tongue
• A silent tongue is also a sinful tongue because we have been
commanded to speak up and witness for the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus said, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has
come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, and
in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and to the of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
• As Christians, we have a responsibility to tell others about the
saving grace of Our Lord Jesus.
• To be silent about Christ is a sin against Christ.
Jesus said, “For whoever is ashamed of Me in this adulterous and
sinful generation, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed, when He
comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:38)
• If you do not want to be ashamed of yourself when the Lord
returns, then don't be ashamed of Jesus today.
• Pray for opportunities and wisdom to speak up for your Saviour.
Don't be found guilty of having a silent tongue.
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Lying Tongue
Flattering Tongue (insincere praise)
Proud Tongue
Over-used Tongue (talking too much)
Swift Tongue (hasty)
Back-biting Tongue (gossiping)
Tale-bearing Tongue (rumours)
Cursing Tongue (swearing)
Piercing Tongue (hurtful words)
Silent Tongue (many times it’s ok to be quiet, but
don’t be quiet when you’re supposed to witness to Christ)
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STOP:
• Hurting Others
• Hurting Yourself
• Hurting Jesus!
And quickly:
• Repent & Confess
MEMORY VERSE
“Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips
from speaking deceit” (Psalm 34:13)
No Bad Words
Only GOOD Words …
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Pray to God
Praise God
Read God’s Words
Witness to God
Sing to the Lord
Memorize Psalms
Pray for others & yourself
Bless, Comfort, Encourage, Help