Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. On the day of judgment People will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified. And by your words, you will be Condemned. Evil words. come from evil hearts.
You know this is true. Our words reveal our hearts. This is the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. We live in a culture where harsh, extreme, unkind rhetoric is common. But this shouldn't characterize followers of Jesus Christ.
Today on the verdict, we're uncovering key attributes that will help us know whether we're living in the light or contributing to the darkness.
Now let's join Pastor John Monroe as he begins a new message in Matthew titled Confrontation and Confirmation. Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us. The glory of heaven has come to earth. The long-promised Messiah has now come. The word became flesh and dwelt among us.
Yet the powers of darkness and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places do all they can to thwart the purposes of the Son of God. In our continuing study of Matthew, We deal with the confrontation of Jesus With the darkness. He's perfect God. And perfect man, yet the hostility of the religious leaders is reaching fever pitch. as they accuse Jesus of being the Prince of Demons.
Do you love the darkness or the light? This message will help you to answer that question.
Well, in our study of Matthew, we increasingly see Jesus in conflict with the religious establishment. uh with the Pharisees and the scribes. Recently in our study we have seen that the Pharisees criticize the disciples of Jesus for eating grain uh on the fields on the Sabbath day. They also have criticized Jesus when he healed the man with a withered hand in the synagogue, as he also did that. On the Sabbath.
And we also saw not only are they critical, That's bad enough. but they're actually conspiring to kill him. And so we read in Matthew 12, verse 14: the Pharisees went out, that is, out of the synagogue, after seeing the miracle of Jesus. and conspired against him how to destroy him. Amazing statement.
To those who have eyes to see, to those who have ears to hear, the evidence in front of them is incontrovertible. These men are the scribes and the Pharisees have studied the Bible the Old Testament. They know the Old Testament. scriptures, but they miss Seeing the one of whom all of Scripture speaks, namely our Lord Jesus Christ. All of the Old Testament is pointing To this man, the God-man, the Messiah, the Christ.
the Son of the Living God. And we saw last week that their hostility against Jesus reaches a fever's pitch. as they say that Jesus is the prince of demons. Think of that. They look at Jesus.
and say, we know how you can cast out demons, because you yourself are the prince. Of demons. And their hatred of Jesus is going to climax in his being nailed to an old rugged cross at Calvary, Golgotha, the place. of the skull. Paul writes in Ephesians 6, verse 12, of the cosmic powers.
Over this present darkness The spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. The cosmic powers over this present darkness. The spiritual forces. of evil. And those who do evil love The darkness rather than light.
In Ephesians 5. Paul encourages those who are following Jesus to walk. as children of light. and take no part in the unfruitful works. of darkness.
There is light. And there is darkness. Followers of Jesus are not to walk in the darkness, are not to partake, as it were, of the fruits of darkness, but are to walk in the light.
So at the beginning of this message, I challenge every single one of you. Are you walking in darkness? Or are you walking? You say, well, I'm a follower of Jesus. Again, the question is: think back over this last week or two.
This last month.
So, any part of your life, any facet of your life, perhaps which you hide. But it is the darkness. And you know it's the darkness. You know it's wrong. Do not walk in the darkness.
But follow Jesus. Who is the light? of the world. And the passage that we're going to look at today It's an unusual passage. But it will help us, I believe, to live in the light and to turn from the darkness each day.
You are to keep your eyes on Jesus, and as you follow Jesus, you have this assurance that he never ever leads you into the darkness.
So keep following Jesus. When I, as a teenager, I used to sometimes argue with my father as to what I could or couldn't do. My father one time said to me, Well, As long as As you're following Jesus, go ahead. That made me pause. Is Jesus going to lead you into such and such a place?
Can you follow Jesus and do such and such a thing? That's it. He is the light of the world. He says, He who follows me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the life.
Now we're going to See the characteristics of those who are hostile to Jesus, of those who are in the darkness, and then finally, the characteristics of those who are members of the family of God. And what a difference. Let's first read in our Bibles verses 33 through 37. where we will learn that evil words come from evil hearts. Evil words come from evil hearts.
Here's the word of God to us today: Matthew chapter 12, verse 33. Jesus is speaking and says, Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad. For the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you speak good when you're evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good And the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you. On the day of judgment, People will give account for every careless word they speak. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be. Condemned.
Evil words. come from evil hearts. You know, this is true. Our words reveal our hearts. And Jesus gives a simple illustration here in verse 33.
Here is a tree.
Some person says this is a good tree. You can put a label on it, good tree, but if its fruit is bad, if its fruit is evil, it's a bad tree. If the tree could speak, it would say, I'm a good tree, but when you taste its fruit, it's bad. Do you get the point? You can say you're good.
Pharisees? You can say you're good. You can say you are a follower of Jesus. But if the fruit is bad You are Bad. Verse 33: For the tree is known by its fruit.
You know that. Earlier, Jesus told us in the Sermon on the Mount to beware of false prophets and teachers. He says, Thus you shall recognize them by their fruits. Here are the Pharisees. They seem very pious.
They seem very religious. They seem very good with their long flowing robes, their long prayers. their recitation of scripture on the face of it They are good people. We are the Pharisees, we are the scribes, we are good, we are religious. But says Jesus, your words are demonstrating that you are in fact evil.
Verse 34, did you notice it? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. Their accusation that Jesus is in league with the devil. Their conspiracy to destroy him are proofs, evidences of their evil heart.
So he calls them. A brood of Vipers, you're snakes. You're dangerous. You're evil. Oh, you say you're good.
Some people say you're good. You stand up in the synagogue, but your words demonstrate that, in fact, you are. Evil. Here is someone you meet for the first time. Comes to your workplace.
And in the course of your work, you spend quite a bit of time with them. You have no idea about this person. Until they speak. until they act. And they can call themselves Anything they like.
They can say they're good, they can say they're religious, they can say they're a Christian. They can say anything they want. But Their heart is revealed. You know this. by what they say.
by how they act. Yeah. Their conduct. For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks so I have to ask you What about your heart? How's your heart?
You may profess to be a follower of Jesus. You may make all kinds of statements about yourself. You may get other people to say about you, this person is such and such, but Jesus is saying, if your words are corrupt, If they're blasphemous, if they're evil, you in fact are evil. Our words and our conduct reveal our hearts. Very convicting, isn't it?
Now look at verses 36 and 37, where Jesus drives at home, that God holds us accountable for our words, for by your words you will be justified. Verse 37, and by your words you will be condemned. The hostile attacks by the Pharisees against Jesus revealed their hearts. Words are important, aren't they? What about your Your speech.
Are you un honest? Don't make promises you can't keep. July? Children, Elijah, parents. Business people, July to your employers.
July to your customers. Delight to your wife, to your husband. Don't. Lie. Don't.
Curse. Men, do you hear me? Don't. Curse. Can you imagine little children brought up in a home?
where the father loses his temper quite frequently. and curses and shouts abuse at his wife. And here are two or three year old children and they hear their father cursing. The mother.
Some of you may have been brought up in that kind of home. what damage is done. Don't curse, don't blaspheme. Don't use crude. Language.
James says in James 1, verse 26: If anyone thinks he's religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, This person's religion is worthless. Don't say That you're a good person. But when you speak, Your words are Evil. The power of words. With her words We can encourage someone, can't we?
Words of kindness, words of healing. Words of encouragement, words of constructive criticism. These are all very helpful. All of us have been blessed, haven't we, by someone just saying a word? of encouragement.
A kind word. A note of thanks. Words. impact us profoundly. What about your words?
Are they kind? Encouraging? Critic? The same tongue that can bless God can also curse. That tongue of yours can be crude, destructive.
unkind and even blasphemous.
Some of you are familiar. with the Rubayat of Omar Khayyam, the old Persian poet, I think in the Was it the 10th or 11th century? He writes, the moving finger writes, and having writ moves on. Nor all thy piety nor wit shall lure it back to cancel half a line, nor all thy tears wash out a word of it. My mother used to quote that to us.
The Rubaiat of Omarkan, a wise Persian poet. Notice this: the moving finger, it keeps riding. And you might want to take that back. That letter you wrote, that email you wrote, that Twitter you wrote. That note on social media, that comment.
That word you said, but it's there, it's out, and all of your tears can't wash it out. I understand God can forgive it. But the impact of your words, that's what the Persian point is saying, that's what the word of God is saying. that the impact of her words are incalculable. And Jesus is saying, you will be held account.
For by your words you'll be justified, by your words you'll be condemned. No, we're not saved, please understand. We're not saved on the basis of our speech. We're not saved on our conduct by being an encouraging, nice person. That's not the point.
The point is this. that our words, our actions demonstrate our heart, demonstrate our faith. the reality of our faith in Jesus Christ. Fact, evil words come from evil hearts. You can know the tree by its fruit, not by the label on it, but by the reality of what the person says and how they act.
We live in a culture, we're over the The last few years is becoming very harsh, isn't it? Extreme Unkind rhetoric.
Social media makes it much worse, doesn't it? What people say on social media, what is said. And the crudities. And uh Words that would never ever be said on television even 20 years ago are now said openly and they're adopted by whole culture. that people use words and expressions.
which are crude, which are nasty. and which are very, very un Kind. Do you have that kind of talk? It's not even them in the community of believers, doesn't it?
Some of the nastiest Most abusive. Can I say evil? Letters, emails which I've received, or my fellow leaders in the church have received here and other churches, have come from professing believers of Jesus Christ. And you wonder, how can this individual who says they're a believer in Jesus Christ write? Such.
Nasty. Unkind, harsh. and often untrue. statements. Don't do that.
Stop it. You're getting involved in a fight with someone on social media, stop it. Listen to Paul. Paul says, for the Christian, our words are to give grace to those who hear. Are my words gracious?
Are my words kind? Think of this. That you have the ability to give grace to someone, to display grace. A soft answer turns away wrath. And you say, well, I'm the kind of person who just tells it as it is.
I shoot from the hip.
Well, stop shooting from the hip. Stop it. We are to be slow to speak. Don't pride yourself. That you're the kind of individual who just tells it as it is.
No, don't tell it as it is. Be thoughtful. Be kind. Jesus was the most righteous, the most holy, the strongest man. He wasn't some kind of wimp, but they marveled at the gracious words that proceeded from his lips.
Have you ever been in a situation, perhaps in a meeting, which perhaps was getting a little out of hand and Someone speaks words of grace. Yes, with truth. What a difference. Has there ever been a situation in your home where there was an argument going on? Between two people, husband-wife, parent-child.
Brother, sister. and someone speaks words of Grace. Grace. Proverbs 12, 18 says, There is one whose rash words. are like sword thrusts.
It's like stabbing someone with a sword. Time and time and time again. And they can even Be proud of the fact that they can use the sword. There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Our homes need healing.
You got you got um Problems at home?
Something in the family, some relationships a bit off. What's gonna bring healing? One ways to do it. with kind gracious words yes truthful words of course Always, always speak truth. But bring healing.
with words. The opposite, evil words come from evil hearts.
Now, as we look on at verses thirty-eight through forty-five. We see that an evil generation This generation with their evil words refuses To repent. In spite of the evidence, some people do not repent. Verse 38. This is fascinating, at least I think so.
Some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you. But he answered them: An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign. But no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah Was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it.
For they repented at the preaching of Jonah. And behold, something greater than Jonah is here. The Queen of the South. will rise up with the judgment with this generation and condemn it. For she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon.
And behold, Something greater than Solomon is here. You picture the Lord surrounded by his critics. Imagine the disciples hearing this. Imagine Matthew hearing it and now recording it in sacred. Scripture.
The scribes and the Pharisees Verse thirty It Ah we want to see a sign from you teacher.
Sounds very nice, doesn't it? We want a spectacular sign. You think what more do they want? They've seen the miracles of Jesus. They were there in the synagogue.
They saw for themselves the man's hand being healed. They saw Jesus casting out the demons, they had heard his teaching, but they still want a spectacular sign, a sign from heaven. They're going to say in chapter 16, verse 1.
Something spectacular. Ah, but Jesus isn't that kind of person. He's not the entertainer. He's not out to be a celebrity. He's not a circus performer.
His miracles are not to draw attention to himself and say, look what I can do. No. He's not a ma magician. His miracles are done in the power of the Spirit to help those in need, not to impress the sceptic. And Jesus, as he answers, describes them how this must have shocked them.
As an evil and adulterous generation seek for a sign. No The very Your very request demonstrates your heart is hard and is unbelieving. They've got a sign and the only sign is the sign of the prophet. Jonah. You're one of these people always looking for a sign.
Some writing in the sky, something spectacular. You'll believe if God does such and such.
So that's that kind of person you are. I mean, you've had all of the evidence, you've looked at the evidence, but it's not enough for you. You want something more, and you become quite argumentative sometimes with your Christian friends and say, well, I want God to do something. If God did this. I would then believe, no you wouldn't.
You wouldn't. Jesus says in another context, even if someone rose from the dead, they still would not believe. This is the verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. There's still more to hear when John returns in just a moment, so stay with us. From matters of truth and identity, to the subjects of love and grace, our world seems more confused than ever.
but to find truth and certainty about who we are and find peace, we must turn our attention away from the world and look to the Word of God. To help you do that, John wrote a booklet titled Eternal Security, Finding Certainty in a Chaotic World. Through this special resource, John shares his personal testimony, along with a careful examination of Scripture, to offer us clarity on matters of eternity. Get your copy today by visiting our website at the verdict. org.
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Now, here's Pastor John Monroe.
Well, what's your verdict? Are you in the darkness or in the light? What about your words? We've learned that the tree is known by its fruit. By your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.
It's one thing to say we're in the light. It's another thing to repent of the darkness and follow Jesus, who is the light of the world.
Next time, we'll continue to see not only the characteristics of the darkness, but the wonder of being in the family of God. Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
