Good evening, everyone. If you do not know me, I am William Collins. I am the Youth and Children's Director here at Grace, and Dr. Jacobs and Christian asked me to fill in tonight and teach this lesson from Proverbs, so that's what I'm gonna do. But if we could, let's go to the Lord in prayer. Dear Lord, we just ask that you would be with us in this moment as we open your word. Lord, speak to our hearts. Give us ears to hear and minds to receive what you have for us. Lord, shape us to be more like you. Change us to walk in your ways and to live out your truth. And we give you glory, in Jesus' name we pray, amen. Well, sticks and stones may break your bones, but words will never hurt you. I must have said this phrase a thousand times as a kid, and you've probably said the same phrase yourself. And while it sounds good, it may be a great response to a bully, it's just not true. I have broken plenty of bones in my life. I've broken plenty of bones in the time that many of you have known me. And the thing about them is they all heal. And sure, there may be long-lasting pain or mobility issues, but for the most part, when the bone heals, it's good as new. But words, however, last with us a lot longer and can be much more debilitating. In James 3, 8 through 10, he writes, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it, we bless our Lord and Father, and with it, we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. You see, there is great power in the tongue. There is power of life and death. There is power to give and take, power to edify and to destroy. And tonight we'll be looking at Proverbs, continuing that series. And Proverbs has a lot to say about our speech and the influence that our tongue has over our lives and the lives of others. Proverbs has a lot to show us how our tongues both honor God and bring dishonor upon ourselves before God. So our main text tonight will be Proverbs 12, 16 to 22. If you would join there with me and we'll look at some other Proverbs as well. And tonight I want us to consider our patterns of speech and whether or not they are wise or foolish, edifying or destructive, righteous or wicked, honest or false, and maybe whether they're even necessary at all. If we are honest, one of the greatest lacks of self-control in our lives probably has something to do with our tongue and our patterns of speech. It's probably the easiest thing for us to lose self-control over in our lives, and yet it's one of the most powerful forces for good and for evil that is known to man. So read with me, if you will, Proverbs 12. The vexation of a fool is known at once. but the prudent ignores an insult. Whoever speaks the truth gives honest evidence, but a false witness utters deceit. There is one whose rash words are like sword thrust, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue is for but a moment. Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, but those who plan peace have joy. No ill befalls the righteous, but the wicked are filled with trouble. Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight. Now I know that Christian introduced you to parallel structures and chiastic structures in Proverbs, and this Proverb in 12 has parallel structures and a chiasm as well. And there's AB, the section A, section B, section A, section B, parallelism that we see here in verses 16 and 18. And they show us the danger of rash words. And in each incident, the focus is on improper rash speech. In the B section of these parallel structures, they speak of honesty and deceit. The second parallel structure, within that second structure, there's also a chiasm. Part B talks about honesty and lying in verse 19. Part C expounds upon the righteous and the evil and their approach to honesty and deceit, concluding with another B structure, speaking once again of honesty and lying. And there are a few different categories of speech that we will address in this section. The first section of parallelism in verse 16 deals with insults and rash speech. Look there if you will. It says the vexation of a fool is known at once. And vexation is not a word we, how many of you guys have used the word vexation today? It's not a word we commonly use in our vernacular. This is the Hebrew word qas, which gives the impression of provocation, instigation, or insult. And there are a few things that we learn from this line. First and foremost, it is foolish to instigate, provoke, or insult. Second, it should be immediately recognized when a fool is using insults to provoke or incite. We've all seen this play out in our lives. We probably, when I talk about this, you can think of somebody immediately that comes to your mind that likes to provoke or incite others to respond. Maybe it's yourself you're thinking of. The author of Proverbs shows this foolish speech, and when someone is seeking to provoke or incite others, it just reveals how foolish they are. This is the point the author's trying to make. A fool reveals himself to be a fool when he instigates and incites. But additionally, a person also is foolish when they respond to insults and provocation. So it is foolish to provoke someone, and it is even more foolish to react to the provocation of others. And when you react to the provocation of others, you make them seem justified in their provocation. A fool seeks to provoke, and when you respond rashly, they now seem justified, as they are the ones who are receiving the insult. It is foolish to provoke, but it is even more foolish to respond to provocation. A wise person, it says, will ignore the insult. A wise person does not return insult with insult. As Peter writes in 1 Peter 3, 9, do not repay evil for evil, or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless. For this you were called that you may obtain a blessing. And it's very important for our witness as believers. Very few people will remember what was said to provoke us, but the focus will be on our response as believers. An unbelieving world watches how believers respond in just about every situation. And when a believer responds to provocation with rash words, The surrounding world is critical of the Christian, scoffs at the Christian, and is quick to point out the hypocrisy and evildoing of the Christian, regardless of what precipitated the reaction. If you watch football or other sports, you know that there's pushing and shoving back and forth, and inevitably some player has enough and throws the last punch, and the referee sees that one. and he gets the penalty, and it's always the last one or the last shove who gets caught, it doesn't matter what was done to precipitate it. That goes unnoticed. But the official and the fans notice, and the same is true with our speech, little attention is given to what is instigated a reaction compared to the reaction itself, especially when the reacting one is a believer. A lost squirrel is waiting to say, aha, look at that Christian acting un-Christ-like. What a hypocrite. So it is foolish to instigate and incite, but it's also foolish to react to instigation. The second part of this principle is shown in verse 18. There is one whose rash words are like sword thrust, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Words are not neutral. They contain value, especially words said in haste or rashly. The imagery here is of a sword making stabbing motions, thrusting motions with rash words. I took a semester of German during my PhD studies because I needed a research language. I didn't use any German in my research, but I had to take the language. And one thing I love about the German language is it's very picturesque. They will take a bunch of words, combine them into one big word, sometimes a sentence long, to give you this idea of a concept or phrase in one word. And this German word is Schwertmahl, or sword mouth. There's a word in German, there's always a word in German for it, whatever you're thinking. Sword mouth, and it's used to refer to a person who speaks loosely without restraint in slandering fashion. That is to say, he has a tongue like a sword that seeks to cut and stab without regarding. The stabbing wounds are painful themselves, but it can take time to heal and often lead to painful scars. I had knee surgery in 2010, and there was some nerve damage to the inside of my knee, my left knee. And to this day, 14 years later, I can still touch that scar on my knee and feel a numbing pain run down my leg. And rash words can be cathartic, but they do damage. And that damage lasts much longer than the brevity of the words. And in the words of the great philosopher Bret Michaels, Like the knife that cuts you, the wound heals, but the scar remains. Words do, in fact, hurt, but they can hurt for a long time. In comparison, we see the word of the wise, which is a response of gentleness that comforts others. One commentator I read said, but on the other hand, the tongue of the wise, which in itself pure gentleness and comfort to others, sits far from wounding, rather by means of comforting, supporting, directing, exhortation, exercises a soothing and calming influence. Simply put, it takes zero effort to be a jerk. That's the official theological term, by the way. It comes from the Greek word jerkus. It actually takes wisdom and self-control to speak words of life and encouragement. My dad used to tell me in regards to profanity, it takes zero brain power to use profanity. It requires thought and effort to respond in a wise manner. Be more creative with your words. And that's what the author is pointing out here. Any fool, any fool in the world, any fool walking down the street can use rash words. It takes zero effort to speak recklessly. Try it out next time you're in an argument with someone. Just realize how the foolish, reckless words just roll off the tongue, right? And the healing speech, the righteous speech, takes effort, intentionality, and self-control. Only a wise man can speak words that bring healing. Only a wise man, or woman, can bring comfort to others. Just think about the power, in the face of insults and confrontation, to speak wise words that actually diffuse a situation, bring healing to a situation, and bring healing to others. One of the things I learned in military training, if you are a law enforcement background, something you may have learned this as well, is verbal judo. Never heard of verbal judo. Verbal judo is used in response to someone who is angered, hostile, speaking rashly, or seeking to provoke someone. And verbal judo is a martial art of both the mind and the mouth, using calming speech, unthreatening tone and posture to redirect someone, and to promote voluntary compliance. It's used in a calming, unthreatening, wise, controlled speech. You can get someone who's otherwise foolish and uncooperative to dialogue with you, and you can shut down provocation. Anyone can come out swinging, right? Anyone can take the gloves off, come out swinging. Only a wise person can use words that bring healing and tranquility. The second thing we see is honest and false speech. The principle of honest speech goes back to Exodus 20, 16, that you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. The focus here shifts from the nature of one's speech to the content of one's speech. It's not necessarily on the heart behind the speech, but the truth contained within the speech. Verse 17. Whoever speaks truth gives honest evidence, but a false witness utters deceit. So first we must ask, what does it mean to bear a false witness? And simply put, false witness is lying. Proverbs 14, five, a faithful witness does not lie, but a false witness breeds out lies. The contrast here is between a faithful witness and a false witness. One does not lie. And the other, it says, breathes out lies. One commentator noted, words are an outcrop of character. Typically, when you see in scripture, especially in Proverbs, words like breath, they indicate the heart. They indicate the soul and core of someone's character. You breathe out what's inside of you. That means those who have integrity and those who are honest will give honest reports, and those who give false reports ultimately are wicked in their character. Additionally, false witness does not come without its own punishment. Those who speak falsely will eventually reap the rewards of their false deeds. Proverbs 19 five speaks to this, it says, a false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will not escape. Echoed again in verse nine, false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will perish. And if a proverb says the same thing back to back, it's probably wise for us to listen to what it says. It may seem in our world, that people who bear false witness, who habitually lie, get away with their lies. And eventually, these lies will catch up to them, catch up to us. We all give an account of our lives, our actions, and our words, and we will be held accountable for the false words spoken, and the consequences of false speech. of false witness will be doled out either in this life or the next. But the author of Proverbs calls false witness what it truly is. There is no such thing as a white lie or innocent lie or stretching the truth or giving partial truth. Anything but the whole truth is false witness. And the author of Proverbs says that false witness is deceit. And the Hebrew word for deceit is mirmah. And it means deceit, fraud, or treachery. False witness is a malicious attempt to deceive. It's fraud. It is a counterfeit replacement of the truth that we intend to pass off. There is nothing innocent or innocuous about false witness at its very core. It is the attempt to deceive someone out of the truth. It is withholding truth in order to prevent a fraudulent truth, present a fraudulent truth. To the contrast that's shown between honesty and honest evidence and the deceitful nature of false witnesses. Again in verse 19 here in chapter 12, we're presented with a parallel structure about false speech. With the reality there are consequences for false speech. And false speech, in this sense, is speech that intends to harm and deceive, and therefore the consequences are harmful and severe. Consider Deuteronomy 19, 18 through 21, where Moses writes concerning the consequences of false witness, he states, the judges shall inquire diligently, and if the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely, you shall do to him as he is meant to do by his brother. So you shall purge the evil from your midst, and the rest shall hear and fear, and shall never again commit any such evil among you. Your eye shall not pity, it shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. Imagine, if you will, a world where we take false witness as seriously as God intended it to be. Imagine a world where false witness was not dismissed or overlooked, but was seen as a horrendous, vicious, malicious attempt to harm another in the privilege of truth. And maybe then we will begin to understand the level of severity with which God views false witness. That leads us to verse 22. To look at the severity with which God views false speech. It says, lying lips are an abomination to the Lord. Abomination is a very strong word. There are only a few things that really reach the level of being called an abomination by God. And the word here is toibah, used 116 times in scripture, and the word's etymology is unknown, it's uncertain. It's a very unique word. There are four Hebrew words that translate to abomination in our English Bibles. But this word, to-eh-bah, seems to be the most severe and reserved for the most severe cases. So let's look at some other things that God considers to-eh-bah. Idolatry. Worshipping other gods. Homosexuality. Incest. Wearing clothes of the opposite sex. Sacrificing sons and daughters. Witchcraft. And get this, false witness. God views lying and false witness with the same disgust that he views worshipping idols, homosexuality, sexual perversions, child sacrifice, and witchcraft. These are not just practices that God objects to, but something that produces revulsion and nauseates him. And what if our spirits were as bruised by lying and deceit as they were for our hatred of the other things we find repulsive? Do we view false witness as severe and repulsive as God does? Imagine the insanity, if you will, that we may use for false witness while he misspoke. or he means well, or he just stretched the truth a little bit. I didn't completely lie, I just didn't tell the whole truth. Now apply that to the other things that God calls abominations and see if we have the same reaction. It's just a little homosexuality. It's just an innocent child sacrifice. It's just minor idolatry and false worship of other gods. Do we have the same disgust towards false witness? And I don't know about you, this was convicting for me as I was reading this this week and Christian and I talked about it because I never realized, I was reading that, that's the word that God uses to describe how he views false speech. When we are dishonest, it is abomination to God. When we affirm those who are dishonest, we are affirming what is an abomination to God. What does Romans 1.32 state? They knew God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die. They not only do them, but give approval to those who practice them. It's not just lying and bearing false witness, but it's giving our approval, whether tacitly or explicitly, to those who habitually practice false witness. And that hit me pretty hard in the stomach, if I'm being honest, as I was preparing. If I'm gonna be a man of God, if we're gonna be people of God, do we have to love the things that God loves? Do we have to hate the things that God hates? There's no place for this in our lives. I don't believe that it is reductionistic to boil all manners of speech down to either righteous or unrighteous speech. Speech is either honoring to God or dishonoring to God. It's either wise or foolish. I had a football coach in high school, his name was Coach Bell, and he was full of some of the greatest sayings and quips like any football coach should be. And he always said, if you said something dumb, he would say, if you never opened your mouth, nobody would know how smart you were. He was a wise man, and we should have put this one to practice more. If we never opened our mouths, nobody would ever know how wise or foolish we actually were. Verse 28 and 21, though not explicitly talking about speech, are included here in the middle of this chiastic structure, so therefore we should apply it to speech. Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, but those who plan peace have joy. No ills befall the righteous, but the wicked are filled with trouble. There is a difference in righteous and wicked speech. Proverbs 10, 20 to 21. The tongue of the righteous is choice silver, but the heart of the wicked is of little worth. The lips of the righteous feed many, but the fools die for lack of sense. And I repeat this. There is life-giving power in the tongue. There is destructive power in our words. Wise words and the words of wise men are like fine silver. They are invaluable. There is great value in giving and receiving wisdom, but there is little value in foolish, wicked talk. But notice this, there is a comparison made here between the tongue and the heart. The tongue of the righteous and the heart of the wicked. There is a direct correlation between what's in our heart and what comes out of our mouth. Evil people speak evil and speak deceit. Righteous, wise people speak righteous and wise words. So back to the words of Coach Bell, if we never opened our mouth, no one would ever know how smart we are. And sometimes the best, most wise, self-controlled, righteous thing we can do is to remain silent. Proverbs 10, 19. When many words, when words are many, transgression is not lacking. But whosoever restrains his lips is prudent. Sometimes the wisest thing we can say is nothing. The more we speak, the more any of us speak, the greater chance of something coming out of our mouths that we probably shouldn't say. The less you speak, the less I speak, the more guarded we are about our words. We all probably know somebody who doesn't talk very much, and we say, you know, when they do talk, you should listen. You know somebody like that? And I wish that could be said about me and most of us probably, that we were more careful with our words. Let's think about the comparison of these two people, right? Someone says, man, that guy talks a lot. Usually that implies this person has a lot to say, but doesn't have much to say. Versus, that guy doesn't talk much, but when he does he should listen. I've never met a person in my life, and you can correct me if you have, who preserves their words carefully, who walk around with their foot in their mouth. Usually the people who get themselves in the most trouble with their words are those who use their words the most. Consider Elihu and Job 32. I read this this week, and it brought joy to my heart, because I saw so much of myself as I was reading this. Joy in a convicting way, I'm like, I'm not the only one, right? They are dismayed, and they answer no more. By the way, Job had some really bad friends, so whatever friends you got in life, just consider Job, right? They are dismayed, they answer no more, they have not a word to say. And shall I wait because they do not speak, because they stand here and answer no more? I will answer my share, I also will declare my opinion, for I am full of words, the spirit within me constrains me. Just as a side note, if the phrase I am full of words or he is full of words is used, it's never used in a good way, right? Behold, this is a great one. Behold, my belly is like wine that has no vent, like new wine skins ready to burst. I must speak that I may find relief. I must open my lips and answer. It's comical to read because you're just imagining like somebody, we've been there, like I need to speak now. Elihu's concern is not with providing righteous, wise words, He's concerned with relieving himself of needing to say something. He just can't hold it in. He's got to say something, and as long as it comes out, he doesn't care about what else happens. He's not concerned about Job. He's concerned about his need to speak. And we know from the rest of the book of Job that Elihu did not have a lot of great advice to give, even though he really liked the sound of his voice. So back to Proverbs 12. A wise man conceals knowledge, but the heart of fools proclaim folly. A wise person doesn't have to tell you how wise he is. And when a person tells you how wise they are, they're probably not wise. A fool considers himself wise and thinks that all the world needs to hear his wisdom, and in doing so, only reveals himself to be a fool. Usually when someone feels the need to tell you how good they are at something, they're probably not that good at it. And then when they finally get the chance to show you how good they are at it, they don't really live up to it. I see this everywhere from working out in the gym to the little league baseball field. Kid walks up to bat, he's got brand new gloves on, cooler shin guard, socks, brand new cleats, shiny helmet, $500 bat, steps up there and strikes out looking at three pitches. And you got some kid that walks up and he rubs his hands in the dirt, wearing no batting gloves, spits on them, and cracks a double in the gap. The kid has the shiny flash, wants to look like he has a lot to offer, but in reality, it's the one that goes about it unassuming that you really got to worry about. I also spend a lot of time in the gym. And inevitably, when you are one of the bigger, stronger guys in the gym, people feel the need to come up and tell you how they work out, how much they can lift, what they eat, what their training is like, what their supplements are like. They just feel the need to tell you this in the middle of your workout. And then you look across the gym, and you see some 60-year-old man in cutoff t-shirt, cotton shorts, high white socks, sitting by himself, repping out 300 pounds in the bench press, saying nothing to no one. And you probably know exactly what I'm, you guys have something like this in your mind, that you are picturing, you know what I'm talking about. A wise man doesn't have to tell you how strong he is. A good hitter doesn't have to wear fancy stuff to look like a good hitter. A strong man doesn't have to tell you how strong he is, he proved it with his actions. A fool wants to convince you that the world is, wants to convince the world they are wiser than they actually are. And when they do that, when we do that, it only reveals how foolish you are. Now there is probably a lot more that could be said about speech in Proverbs, but I want to close with four main points to conclude from Proverbs. One, wise people don't respond to insults and don't use rash words. Two, wise people always speak the truth and abhor lies. Three, wise people seek wisdom and righteousness in their speech. And four, wise people know when to speak. And I close with this contrast by John Goldingame, Righteous, upright, wise, prudent, truthful, peacemaking, kind words, issued in justice, deliverance, praise, profit, healing, joy, discretion, and encouragement are God's delight. Wicked, twisted, foolish, lying, malevolent, thoughtless, unrestrained, or plotting words, issued in deceit and in hurt to other people, in discredit and trouble to oneself, are God's abhors. And so I ask myself, and I ask us, what kind of people do we want to be? Those in whom God delights? Those whom delight in God? or those that God abhors, and the difference is reflected in our speech. Because the good and bad things that come out of our mouths, come out of our tongues, show what is really inside. And if we want our speech to be righteous and wise, then we must seek the righteousness and wisdom of God. Let's pray. Father, we just thank you for the blessing that it is to be here tonight and gather together with your people. I ask that you would make us not just hearers of the word, but doers of the word, to see the impact of our words. Lord, we ask that you would help us to exercise wisdom and self-control and discernment in our speech that our speech would be life-giving instead of life-taking. I pray for healing for those who have been wounded by words. I pray for a heart of repentance for those who have wounded others with their words. I pray for conviction and repentance of our hearts. It would help us to confess when the words that we use are not righteous or honoring to you. Help us to seek your righteousness first and foremost in our words. And Lord, change our hearts to be like you. And we give you glory, in Jesus' name we pray, amen.