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"According to the Bible, what are 'idle words'
mentioned in Matthew 12:36?" This verse reads thusly: "But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment" (Matthew 12:36). Harrell Davidson |
Question: "According to the Bible, what are 'idle words' mentioned in Matthew 12:36?" This verse reads thusly: "But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment" (Matthew 12:36)." Answer: This verse has caused much misunderstanding over time. As we have tried to emphasize before, "context," "context," "context." We have known of people who were afraid to open their mouths and say anything because of what they thought this text meant. Let us first state that this verse does not mean that we cannot have light and lively conversation with witty exchanges with Christians or others. When we are happy we may indeed have many cheerful things to say and we think that the Bible endorses such in Proverbs 17:22 where Solomon said, "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones." This proves that a merry heart — good attitude is conducive to good physical and spiritual health. We need to have the quality of life to be jovial at proper times. Here is the context under consideration: "Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment" (Matthew 12:22-36). Jesus had just cast out a demon and the Pharisees said that He had done so by the power of Beelzebub, the prince of devils. Jesus knew their thoughts and condemned their divided condition and showed that if He cast out demons by the power of Beelzebub, He Himself is divided. Lord, how can we tell or know the truth in these matters? He indicates that we judge by the fruits that are brought forth by individuals just as we do trees. Having accused Jesus of casting out demons by Beelzebub they were blaspheming — speaking evil of or against. He is showing that by their words they would be justified or condemned. Focus your attention particularly on verses 34-37. They were evil! How then could they speak good things? A bad tree does not bring forth good fruit just as a good tree does not bring forth bad fruit. How are we to judge? In verse 36 Jesus indicates that "words" idly spoken will be given an account of in judgment, and so doing these kinds of words would condemn them. The Pharisees had used inconsiderate words that condemned their hearts and was a betrayal of their hearts. A hypocrite can talk like an angel, but the Lord knows the difference and such will be judged by their words. There are many other things taught in this context that we intentionally did not comment on. We gave the broader context in order to answer the question correctly. Thanks for the question. |