A Zinger From Paul (Part 3)

A Zinger from Paul (Part 3)

"To speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people." Titus 3:2

Some of you are familiar with the Puritan preacher, Jonathan Edwards. Edwards had a list of 70 resolutions that he wrote that he read daily. Twenty of the resolutions had to do with the use of the tongue and his speech.

Dr. Sinclair B. Ferguson contributed to a chapter in THE POWER OF THE WORD and THE WONDER OF GOD (Crossway) and assigned Scripture to each one. I want to encourage you to ponder these resolutions, and look up the appropriate Scripture. I believe it will help to give us a godly perspective as to way Paul wrote: "speak evil of no one."

1. Resolved: To ask God for wisdom to speak and to do so with a single mind. -- James 1:5-8
2. Resolved: To boast only in my exultation in Christ or my humiliation in the world. -- James 1:9-10)
3. Resolved: To set a watch over my mouth. -- James 1:3
4. Resolved: To be constantly quick to hear, slow to speak. -- James 1:19
5. Resolved: To learn the gospel way of speaking to the poor and the rich. -- James 2:1-4
6. Resolved: To speak in the consciousness of the final judgment. -- James 2:12
7. Resolved: To never stand on anyone's face with words that demean, despise, or cause despair. -- James 2:15-16
8. Resolved: To never claim a reality I do not experience. -- James 3:14
9. Resolved: To resist quarrelsome words as marks of a bad heart. -- James 4:1
10. Resolved: To never speak evil of another. -- James 4:11
11. Resolved: To never boast in what I will accomplish. -- James 4:13
12. Resolved: To always speak as one who is subject to the providence's of God. -- James 4:15
13. Resolved: To never grumble, knowing that the Judge is at the door. -- James 5:9
14. Resolved: To never allow anything but total integrity in my speech. -- James 5:12
15. Resolved: To speak to God in prayer whenever I suffer. -- James 5:13
16. Resolved: To sing loud praises to God whenever I am cheerful. -- James 5:13
17. Resolved: To ask for the prayers of others when I am sick. -- James 5:14
18. Resolved: To confess whenever I have failed. -- James 5:16
19. Resolved: To pray for one another when I am together with others in need. -- James 5:16
20. Resolved: To speak words of restoration when I see another wander. -- James 5:19-20

Twenty out of 70 resolutions that this man disciplined himself to renounce on a daily basis. No wonder he had such an impact for the Kingdom. Would that I could apply 5 of these ... and work my way through the twenty for the rest of my life. What a difference it would make in how I speak. May God help us as brothers in Christ today to "speak evil of no one." -- Bill Welte is President and CEO of America's KESWICK

God's WORD for YOU: Proverbs 16; Isaiah 47-49; 1 Thessalonians 4

Great Quote: Surely what a man does when he is taken off his guard is the best evidence for what sort of man he is. If there are rats in a cellar, you are most likely to see them if you go in very suddenly. But the suddenness does not create the rats; it only prevents them from hiding. In the same way, the suddenness of the provocation does not make me ill-tempered; it only shows me what an ill-tempered man I am. C. S. Lewis

Check out this week's Stewardship Insight from George: http://keswickgeorge.blogspot.com/