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Idle words. What are they? They are not insignificant. They are sin.

I tell you that every idle word that men speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. Matthew 12:36 WEB

Think about some examples of idle words.

  • They express apathy. “I don’t care.”
  • They express cowardice. “I can’t speak up for fear of losing my place.”
  • They express derision of others. “I can’t stand him/her.”
  • They express with disloyalty, intimate knowledge of a trusted friend.
  • They express our Savior’s name just like the Pharisees did – as filth.

For the Pharisees, from which the context of our key verse comes, their idle words were a full expression of their evil thoughts toward Jesus.

In this conversation they had just accused Him of being a demon. Beelzebub, to be exact. They meant it with all of the derision they could muster.

To Hebrews, Beelzebub was another name for Satan. It was also an expression meaning lord of flies, or filth.

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But we don’t see our idle words as being all that serious. After all, we are not calling Jesus a demon, are we?

Don’t believers understand? Everything that falls short of God’s glory is sin. Everything.

Thoughts, words, motives and deeds.

You can lie without opening your mouth. James 4:17 CSB

You can murder without killing. Matthew 5:21-22 The Message

Consider – Ephesians 4:29 CSB

Every believer will stand before our perfect God and Savior at the Bema.

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Jesus’ holiness will burn away all sin. We will face, with sorrow, every idle word. Every missed opportunity. Every misuse of His name.

I believe that we will feel a brief moment of sorrow for the sins that caused Jesus to pay the price for our salvation.

If you are a believer this matters to you.

Otherwise, if you have rejected Christ, this is unimportant to you.

Those who are lost, will face final judgment, where you will give an account for rejecting free grace.

And there you will learn the deepest sorrow. Eternal separation from the greatest of all Loves that freely died to save you.

But you rejected Jesus.

World English Bible (WEB)

by Public Domain. The name “World English Bible” is trademarked.

Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)

Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson

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