My dear readers,

Measuring Your Heart by Your Lips!

Proverbs 16:23: “The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips.”

We know from the Bible that the only wise ones are truly born-again believers. The reason is that they have the mind of Christ as children of God. This is part of the salvific experience in all believers. This mind allows us to understand the Bible. We know spiritual things that are eternal. We see this world for what it really is … a cesspool of decaying rubbish awaiting destruction by fire from heaven. 2 Peter 3:7: “But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” However, tragically there are more professing believers than truly born-again believers in these last days of deception and delusion. Proverbs 16:23 is another aid to help us check our own salvation with fear and trembling.

With a transformed heart that is constrained by the love of God, we can obey the Word of God as well. The Bible is not a book of theories on what is right and wrong. It is a Book that all believers must live by daily. It is the Book of Life! It is a Book that guides their entire being, from how they think to how they are motivated to how they speak and live. It is wisdom from above. It is given by God to all His children. It is not for mature believers only even though we agree that mature believers are wiser than babes in Christ. God wants all His children to be wise so that they will not be deceived by the devil and are able to live a holy life. This wisdom increases from the day of salvation through a faithful and diligent study of God’s Holy Word. This must be done rightly, i.e. by way of the correct interpretation and understanding of Holy Scriptures.

Just because believers are made wise in Christ when they are saved, does not mean that their minds are automatically filled with the knowledge of God’s Word. The ability to understand is not the same as actually understanding. The beginning of wisdom starts when they accept Christ as Lord and Saviour. They know experientially that God loves them. They know that Jesus died for them and rose from the dead for their justification. This beginning is the new spiritual life like that of a newborn baby’s life in the world. All that the baby has at that moment is life but not much knowledge of the world. He needs time to grow and learn.

This is so true of babes-in-Christ who are given a wise heart. They need to develop this wisdom through making wise decisions in life that are according to Holy Scriptures. An example of a wise heart through the study of the Word is 2 Timothy 2:15-16: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.” They know how to stay away from evil and wicked people who will affect them negatively which will ruin their holy witness for Christ. They must shun idle talk and empty words, knowing that it will lead them down the slippery slope of sin, resulting in a ruined witness.

How do we know we have become wise, i.e. possess a wise heart?

The literal translation of Proverbs 16:23 is: “The heart of the wise shall cause his lips to be wise and upon his lips shall be added learning.” The Bible says that Christians will know if they are wise by the words that flow forth from their lips. For example, a 30-year-old professing believer desires to be baptized but his parents object. He is stumped. He desires to obey his parents and at the same time he desires to obey Christ. He comes to you for counselling. What would be the biblical advice? If you say to him that he ought to obey his parents so that his parents will not be stumbled, then you have given an unwise advice.

The biblical advice is to obey Christ. Matthew 10:33-38: “But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.”

To obey Christ resulting in disobeying parents is exactly why Jesus Christ came to bring salvation to the family. Parents need to know that Jesus Christ is God. When grown-up children seek to obey parents rather than Christ, sadly they are not worthy to be Christ’s disciples. The person who gives the wrong advice does not understand the doctrine of stumbling. Obeying the truth of Scripture that results in offending someone does not come under the doctrine of stumbling. Jesus Christ “stumbled” many Pharisees and scribes by telling them the truth that He is God! They were so offended that they crucified Him!

On another occasion the Lord says in Luke 14:25-27: “And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.” The words here are even more pointed! The “hate” here is to be understood from the perspective that they were not “God.” To love them more than Christ who is God is to make them into “God” resulting in sin. The only way to ensure that this never happens is to love God alone, not them and God, with all our heart, soul, strength and mind! In this manner we will learn to love everyone rightly and give the right biblical advice.

Wisdom in the heart will guide one to obey the Word of God. The words we speak, and write must help others to know Christ better. To sinners, our words should help them to believe in Christ. To believers, our words must help them become more like Christ. To do that we need to keep on studying God's holy Word in order to add learning to our lips. We know that we will forget God's truth if we stop studying. We are a forgetful people. Furthermore, the influences of the world desire to take over our heart if we stop filling it with God's truth. The world attempts to displace our love for Christ with the love of mammon.

We need to ensure that our lips continue to flow forth wisdom. By our lips we know we are saved and have a wise heart. Matthew 12:34-37 concurs, “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. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.”

To know God is to love God. To love God is to keep on knowing Him. To keep on knowing Him is to keep on being wise. Amen.