“If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.” (James 1:26 ESV)

Let your words be acceptable

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:14 ESV)

Our words reveal what truly rules our hearts. Before speech ever reaches the mouth, it is shaped in the mind and heart. God desires both to be pleasing to Him.

A gentle tongue gives life

“A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.” (Prov. 15:4 ESV)

Words can heal or harm. A gentle, restrained tongue brings encouragement, peace, and life—while careless or harsh speech wounds deeply.

Small tongue. Massive impact

“So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things… How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!” (James 3:5 ESV)

Like a bit in a horse’s mouth or a rudder on a ship, the tongue—though small—directs the course of an entire life. Uncontrolled words can destroy far more than we ever intend.

Choose words wisely

“A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.” (Prov. 25:11 ESV)

Right words, spoken at the right time, in the right spirit, carry lasting value and beauty.

Therefore

If our faith is genuine, it will be evident in how we speak. Ask God daily to guard your mouth, soften your tone, and align your words with His heart—because a bridled tongue reflects a surrendered life.

“Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin. (Prov. 13:3 ESV)

God declares you to be righteous—with many wonderful added benefits!

The President of the united states can give a full pardon to a long-time prisoner. He will be set free and his criminal record will be expunged as though it never existed. His slate will be completely clean. He becomes a free man with a new beginning.

This is a picture of what happens when a person becomes “born again,” as stated in the Bible in John 3:3 and 1 Peter 1:23.

A New Creation

The Bible says it very clearly this way:

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Cor. 5:17)

Declared Righteous

At the moment a person becomes “born again,” God completely forgives their past! He no longer remembers their sins as though they never happened. He then declares them to be a righteous person!

“Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Rom. 5:1)

“Much more then, since we have now been declared righteous by His blood, we will be saved through Him from wrath. For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by His life! And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” (Rom. 5:9-11)

Benefits for the Righteous

There are wonderful benefits for the righteous in the form of God’s promises! Look at what the Bible says about the righteous person:

“The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, ‘The Lord is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.’” (Psalm 92:12-15)

They will

·      Flourish like a palm tree

·      Grow like a cedar of Lebanon

·      Be planted in the house of the Lord

·      Flourish in he courts of our God

·      Bear fruit in old age

·      Stay fresh

·      Stay green

·      Proclaim great truths about the Lord:

·      "The Lord is upright”

·      “He is my rock”

·      “There is no wickedness in Him”

Claim the above promises for yourself!

They are for those who are saved. For those who have believed and confessed Jesus as their savior.

“That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Rom. 10:9-10)

“Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!” (2 Cor. 9:15 ESV)

Enter his gates with thanksgiving

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!” (Psalm 100:4 ESV)

Give thanks in all circumstances

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (2 Thess. 5:18 ESV)

 Give thanks always for everything

“Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Eph. 5:20 ESV) 

Praise Him for He is good!

“Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Who can utter the mighty deeds of the Lord, or declare all his praise?” (Psalms 106:1-2 ESV)

Therefore

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:4-7 ESV)

“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor. 15:57 ESV)

We are more than conquerors through Jesus

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (Rom. 8:37 ESV)

The Lord goes with us to give victory

“For the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.’” (Deut. 20:4 ESV)

We can do all things through Jesus who gives us strength

“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Phil. 4:13 ESV)

We do valiantly with God

“With God we shall do valiantly; it is he who will tread down our foes.

God provides a way of escape

“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” (1 Cor. 10:13 ESV)

Therefore

“Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” (Eph. 6:13 ESV)

“Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.” (Luke 10:19 ESV) 

Subject to Jesus’ Name

“The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” (Luke 10:17 ESV) 

Greater is He who is in you

“Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4 ESV)

Resist the devil and submit yourself to God

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7 ESV)

Therefore

“And give no opportunity to the devil.” (Eph. 4:27 ESV)

 “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” (Rom. 16:20 ESV)

“For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.” (Rom. 5:17 ESV)

He cleanses us from all unrighteousness

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9 ESV)

A righteousness through faith in Christ

“And be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.” (Phil. 3:9 ESV)

We become the righteousness of God

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” ( 2 Cor. 5:21 ESV)

Therefore

“But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled.” (1 Peter 3:14 ESV)

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” (Rom. 15:13 ESV)

God gives you a future and a hope

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jer. 29:11 ESV)

Through the encouragement of the Scriptures

“For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” (Rom. 15:4 ESV)

We rejoice in hope

“Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Rom. 12:2-5 ESV)

Therefore…

“Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” (Rom 12:12 ESV)

“For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” (Rom. 8 24-25 ESV)

“I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” (John 10:9 ESV)

Salvation is a free gift

“For the wages of sin is death, but “ free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 6:23 ESV) 

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” (Eph. 2:8 ESV)

Through belief in Jesus

 “They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” (Acts 6:31 NIV)

“He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time.” (2 Tim. 1:9 NIV) 

With your heart and mouth

“For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” (Rom. 10:10 NIV)

For all who call on the Name of Jesus

“And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Acts 2:21 NIV)

“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12 NIV)

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 ESV) 

Jesus is the greatest gift ever given! 

·      Jesus is how God showed His love to us

“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.” (1 John 4:9 NIV) 

·      Jesus is how God gives us salvation

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Rom. 10:9 NIV) 

·      Jesus is how God gives us eternal life

“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30 NIV)

·      Jesus is how God gave us access to Him

“For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Tim. 2:5 NIV)

·      Jesus is how God gives us the victory

“But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor. 15:57 NIV)

·      Jesus is how God meets all our needs

“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:19 ESV)

·      Jesus is how God gives us grace

“The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.” (Rev. 22:21 NIV)

Regift the good news (Gospel) of Jesus!

Jesus is the gift that truly keeps on giving! You can freely share God’s gift of Jesus with others.  

“He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” (Mark 16:15 NIV)

“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” (1 Peter 3:15 NIV)