Taking Off Corrupt Speech to Put On Good Speech (1)

Ephesians 4:29 declares, Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. Here is the fourth of five sins that can easily creep back into the Christian’s life. Again we consider the negative first: let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth.

Speech is one of the most distinctive features of a person. I often recall the four years my wife and I traveled the country in ministry in the early 1980s (we thankfully came to Meeker in 1986). It was fascinating to hear the different dialects and accents in various places. During one week of meetings, I met a professor of linguistics who shared with me some of the reasons for this phenomenon, one of which was actually climate. Because of the heat in the southern states, speech tends to slow down and be drawn out, while in the colder climate in the north, speech tends to be quicker and clipped. I still recall the unique speech in Sheboygan, Wisconsin; I chuckled the entire week I spent there as I heard one of the most unique dialects in American culture. I also love the Tennessee accent, and of course, you can spot a Texan after about three words. To this day I still listen to speech patterns and often guess where someone is from originally.

Indeed, language and speech is one of our most unique characteristics. We might also interject that this unique quality of humanity over animals is still a puzzle that the evolutionist can’t explain.

What we see in our text, then, reminds us of what James declares, that while men have tamed wild beasts, no one can tame the tongue; it can be tamed only by the Holy Spirit.

Communication translates logos, which means to speak intelligently, to articulate a message, to give a discourse. Logos is derived from lego, which originally (prior to the 5^th Century B.C.) denoted the “activity of collecting, carefully selecting, cataloguing in succession, and arranging together in an orderly sequence.” This developed into the meaning “to lay before, i.e., to relate, recount” and finally “to say, speak, i.e., to utter definite words, connected, and significant speech equal to discourse.” How important words are! They must be carefully selected, orderly, and connected. Words matter!

So Paul is concern here with the words Christians use, the speech that characterizes their lives. Specifically, he’s concerned that it not be corrupt (sapros), “rotten, putrid.” Originally this vivid word was used to describe rotten or spoiled food. Our Lord used it Matthew 13:48 to refer “bad” (rotten) fish that must be thrown away.

What must never characterize the Christian, then, is rotten, spoiled, decayed speech. Several modern translations miss the mark with “unwholesome,” which is not as strong as corrupt. And how corrupt, indeed, is the speech of man today! The vulgarity, profanity, suggestive, and down right filthy jokes and stories are all common to our society.

Some years ago I stopped at a one of the convenience stores right here in Meeker. When I came out of the store I heard two teenage girls, both about sixteen years old, swearing at one another. I heard four letter words coming from those girls that at one time would seldom be heard outside a marine barracks. Today such language is commonplace.

Further, have you ever considered how this corruption even appears in just the decibel volume of people’s speech? Whether it’s at a ballgame, a conference, a party, or even some restaurants, it’s an out of control cacophony. But the Christian’s speech is never to be out of control, never a clamor, never chaotic. We’ll continue next time.