VERSE:
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but
only what is helpful for building others up according to their
needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
-- Ephesians 4:29An untamed tongue Biblically speaking, how does one do this ?
Hi, Wendy. I think the woman's response tells us that Jesus did not speak this to her in a condemning way: she says to her fellow villagers ';come and meet the man who told me every thing I ever did! Could He be the Messiah?'; Had He been harsh, she probably wouldn't have been receptive to His message. So in this case, He spoke the truth in love, as Scripture commands us (Ephesians 4:15).
An ';untamed tongue'; is on the other side of the coin: the speaker is not motivated by love, but by a spirit of condemnation. Such a person doesn't care what damage a harsh comment may do to another person. As James 3:5b-6a states, ';See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity.'; And so, we should try to guard our tongues against harsh, unloving speech.
EDIT: I read your additional comments and disagree with the commentator whose notes you're reading. Here's a breakdown of the discussion:
Jesus: “Give Me a drink.” (opens conversation with a question)
Woman: “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” (She is shocked that Jesus is speaking to her, since Jews don't associate with the Samaritans)
Jesus: If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” (This is a brilliant reference to Isaiah 55, where God explains there will one day be free ';water'; offered to those who ';thirst'; for righteousness; read the entire Chapter for the context. Jesus alludes to this thirst at Matthew 5:6)
Woman: (she's probably thinking of the above verse, but is unsure that's what Jesus is referring to; the Samaritans regularly read the Isaiah scroll, among others) “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.”
Jesus: (discerning that she is now ready to hear the Gospel promised by Isaiah 55): ';Go, call your husband, and come here.”
Woman: “I have no husband.”
Jesus: (seeing the need for her to acknowledge her sin, instead of pushing it aside; this is a requirement for repentance, without which we cannot receive the ';living waters'; of Isaiah 55) “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.” (notice that He compliments her truthfulness, even though she wasn't entirely straightforward!)
Woman: “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. ...';
She is now sufficiently contrite and trusts Jesus enough to receive the Gospel. Notice that she is one of a very few people who actually heard Jesus say ';I am the Messiah,'; so she obviously received the Gospel with gladness. Had Jesus spoken with spitefulness, I'm sure she wouldn't have listened to Him.An untamed tongue Biblically speaking, how does one do this ?
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I'm not sure I understand what you're trying to ask.
When Jesus met the woman at the well, He knew everything about her.....because He was God in the flesh and He is sovereign.
He wasn't being rude......He was being truthful and cutting to the heart to make her repent. He knows all and He sees all.
When Christ points out your sins......trust me.....you listen.
That's the beauty of posessing the Holy Spirit as a believer.....He guides us into all truth and convicts us when we are wrong.
-Primo
Jesus has the ability to read hearts....something we can never have.............so yes, we may say things out of line sometimes........it may be better to think before we speak.
Maybe some quotes from Martin Luther will help.
God, on the other hand, “a master armed with a stick”. “God did mischievously blind me”; “God often acts like a madman”; “God paralyses the old and blinds the young and thus remains master”; I look upon God no better than a scoundrel”; “God is stupid”
“Christ committed adultery first of all with the woman at the well about whom Saint John tells us. Was not everybody about Him saying: `Whatever has he been doing with her?” Secondly, with Mary Magdalene, and thirdly with the woman taken in adultery whom He dismissed so lightly. Thus even Christ, who was so righteous, must have been guilty of fornication before He died”
What we do and how we act does not matter in the least. All that matters is our belief.
It does not matter what people do; it only matters what they believe.” “God does not need our actions. All He wants is that we pray to Him and thank Him. “It does not matter how Christ behaved—what He taught is all that matters”
“What does it matter whether we commit a fresh sin?” “Faith cancels all sin” . “No other sin exists in the world save unbelief,” “Sometimes it is necessary to commit some sin out of hatred and contempt for the Devil.” “What matters if we commit a sin?”
“You must say my sins are not mine; they are not in me at all; they are the sins of another' they are Christ's and are none of my business”
So many thumbs down for the founder of the protestants tsk tsk tsk.
I'm not sure I get what you're saying either, but like primoa was saying, Jesus was not rude to her, just being honest about her life. It's not like he went up to her and said, ';You slutty piece of trash. How many men are you planning to have, you whore?'; THAT is unwholesome talk, and it would have done nothing to better her life or her spiritual being. It is possible to hold someone accountable for their actions lovingly, without being harsh and judgmental. And yes, that is very difficult for many people to do; that is why Christians are so many times looked down upon by non-Christians, because they are more interested in judging than in exhorting.
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