Author: Charlie Garrett

Sunday, 24 August 2025

For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matthew 12:37

Note: You can listen to today’s commentary courtesy of our friends at the “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen).

You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible” on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).

“For from your words, you will be justified, and from your words, you will be condemned” (CG).

In the previous verse, Jesus noted that for every inactive utterance spoken by man, it will render a word about it in judgement day. Now to fully establish the thought as a set precept concerning man’s state, He says, “For from your words, you will be justified, and from your words, you will be condemned.”

This is a general truth regardless of dispensations. Good trees bear good fruit while bad trees bear bad fruit. Likewise, a person’s words reveal his nature. What a person says will lead to justification or condemnation.

This, however, has to be taken in its overall sense. People say things that are not good despite being followers of the Lord. And people who don’t follow the Lord are fully capable of speaking good things.

If people were to receive eternal condemnation for saying the wrong thing at times, it’s pretty certain there wouldn’t be any saved people. Peter promised to stick to Jesus no matter what. And yet, even after being told what would happen, he still failed to live by his words.

It can’t be that a “bad” person who was capable of saying really good things is going to be justified for all the other bad things he has done. Jesus, therefore, is speaking of the nature of the tree, not every fruit. Good trees with the right fruit can still have bad fruit on them.

The overall substance of the tree is what keeps it from getting cut down. During the time of the law, the people were expected to live by the law. When they failed, as David did, they were to acknowledge their failings and do the things necessary according to the law to be restored.

This is where faith comes in. A person who lived under the law and kept it meticulously may not have an ounce of faith in the provision of God. He is interested in justifying himself through his works.

In this dispensation, the instructions concerning Jesus’ words are even clearer to comprehend because the muddy waters of law observance, which are still fully dependent on faith to be justified, have been removed. Paul tells us about words of justification that are perfectly in line with Jesus’ proclamation –

“For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, ‘The man who does those things shall live by them.’ ⁶ But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, ‘Do not say in your heart, “Who will ascend into heaven?” (that is, to bring Christ down from above) ⁷ or, “Who will descend into the abyss?” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).’ ⁸ But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’ (that is, the word of faith which we preach): ⁹ 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. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. ¹¹ For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.’ ¹² For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. ¹³ For ‘whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’” Romans 10:5-13

Life application: Words are a reflection of the heart. They may be temporary words that do not reflect the overall character of a person, but rather words spoken out of stress, anxiety, or other pressures. When the moment has passed, the person may say, “I’m so sorry, Lord. I was overwhelmed and just lost it.”

Such a statement indicates faith that wrong words were spoken, and the person’s heart was grieved. But more, they indicate faith that the Lord is there and knows our words and actions. If the faith is properly directed, meaning toward God in Christ, there is already forgiveness granted for what was said.

The words of justification were spoken at some point. From there, he was sealed with the Spirit, and the blood of Christ is sufficient to cover all his sins – past, present, and future. Another person may have just as much faith that there is a God watching over him, but he has called on the wrong god. He has not been justified through his words because he has not called on Jesus for his atonement.

The difference comes down to Jesus. Only He can remove sin. Therefore, it is not the conscience that saves. Rather, it is properly directed faith. This is why getting Jesus right is so important. Let us remember to tell others about God’s wonderful provision in the giving of His Son for our sins.

“My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. ¹⁹ And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. ²⁰ For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. ²¹ Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God.” 1 John 3:18-21

Lord God, our hearts get overwhelmed by the things we say and do, knowing that we have not conducted ourselves appropriately in Your presence. David understood this and found comfort in You. Help us to do the same. May You be our place of rest in this world of difficulty, trial, and failure. Jesus has prevailed! May that be our comfort and rest always. Amen.

Saturday, 23 August 2025

But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. Matthew 12:36

Note: You can listen to today’s commentary courtesy of our friends at the “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen)

You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible” on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).

“And I say to you that every inactive utterance that if they will speak, men, they will render a word about it in judgment day” (CG).

In the previous verse, Jesus referred to the things people bring out of what is stored in their hearts, good or bad. Now, He explains a truth concerning that to which His audience was expected to consider and heed, saying, “And I say to you that every inactive utterance that if they will speak, men.”

A new word is introduced, argos, inactive. When one is inactive, he idles around doing nothing. As such, he will be unemployed, useless, lazy, etc. The word closely corresponds to the Hebrew word mibta, found only in Numbers 30:6 & 30:8, where a woman makes a rash vow. That word signifies hasty or thoughtless. That is derived from bata, to babble.

Jesus is saying that people speak carelessly, not thinking through the ramifications of their words. However, God hears everything man says, even if it is an idle utterance. But more, not only does He hear them, but He is also accounting our idle utterances to who we are in relation to the totality of our personhood.

The thought is general in nature and certainly applies to all humanity at all times, but in this case, Jesus is making a point about the utterances of the Pharisees who spoke carelessly about Jesus without thinking through the logical explanation that He then provided.

He could not be casting out Beelzebul by the prince of demons. His explanation thoroughly refuted the notion. Even if they didn’t fully grasp the ramifications of their idle accusation, the Lord heard and was there to render a judgment based on their words, as He next says, “they will render a word about it in judgment day.”

The meaning is that they must give an account for what they spoke, meaning even their idle utterances. Understanding this, Jesus will give an overall summary of this thought in the next verse.

Life application: For now, even before getting to Jesus’ summary of the overarching thought presented in this discourse between the Pharisees and Him, we should heed the truth stated by Jesus in this verse.

It is true that those in Christ are in a different economy than those under the law. Despite this, God doesn’t change. His ears didn’t suddenly turn off when the dispensation of grace came. In other words, everything we say is still known by God and will be set before us by Him when we are brought before Him.

Therefore, we should consider our words carefully. In North Korea, children are executed or sent to grueling penal colonies (which may be worse than death) for speaking like South Korean children, repeating lines from their movies, and so forth.

Such treatment of citizens has occurred throughout human history. An idle word or thoughtless action has led many to the gallows or firing squad. If this is how we may be treated for carelessly speaking before human leaders, how much more severe will it be for those who carelessly and casually malign the Creator?

And yet, it happens innumerable times a day all over the world. People, without thinking through the logic of who God is and what He has done, flippantly ignore the evidence and arrogantly make false proclamations and accusations about Him and His nature. People challenge His word, claiming error or contradiction without considering what it may actually be saying.

In doing these things, we diminish His glory in the eyes of others and place ourselves above Him or what He has done. If humanity understood the consequences of its unholy attitudes, we would be more careful and circumspect in what we say and do. But we fail to consider these things, bringing judgment on ourselves.

For Christians, our condemnation has been decided at the cross of Christ, but what lies ahead still requires judgment for our words and actions now. Let us consider this and pay heed.

Lord God, how often do we say things without thinking through the full scope of what we have uttered? We offend others, we demean those in authority, and we bring dishonor to Your name, even if it was not intentional. Help us to think more clearly and to be careful as we speak, knowing that our words have meaning and may result in unhappy consequences. Amen.

Friday, 22 August 2025

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. Matthew 12:35

Note: You can listen to today’s commentary courtesy of our friends at the “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen)

You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible” on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).

“The good man, from the good treasure of the heart, he ejects good, and the evil man, from the evil treasure, he ejects evil” (CG).

In the previous verse, Jesus called the Pharisees vipers’ offspring, telling them that from the surplus of the heart, the mouth speaks. He next explains the result of that, saying, “The good man, from the good treasure of the heart, he ejects good.”

The word ekballo, to cast out or eject, is used. It is more forceful than “bring out,” such as in the NKJV. The meaning then is that the goodness of a good man wells up inside him until the point where goodness simply exudes from him, being ejected under its own pressure.

The words here show us that Jesus’ words in Matthew 9:17 are a comparative statement intended to make a point. In responding to being called “Good Teacher,” Jesus said –

“Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

Jesus was making a comparison of goodness in relation to God. Likewise, Jesus is here making a comparison between people. One is good in relation to others. Because he is, good things will be ejected from him.

This is certainly a comparative statement, because even a good person can get frustrated or fed up, and something not so good will come out of his mouth. However, his character in general is one that demonstrates an inherent goodness in relation to others. Likewise, Jesus says, “and the evil man, from the evil treasure, he ejects evil.”

This is a person who is comparatively evil. The things that come out of such people, welling up and being ejected into their regular conversation, will be evil. But even such “evil” people can say something nice. Jesus is referring to their general character.

To get the sense of such a person, all one needs to do is turn on the TV and watch people arguing from a political standpoint. Those on the left will spew forth invectives, call out for illegal activities to be condoned, rage against goodness while embracing those who do truly wicked things, etc.

To them, morality is defined by theft and murder, not hard work and self-sufficiency. Those who pray to God are an offense who must be silenced. Because of their character, evil proceeds from them like a well under pressure. In opening their mouths to speak, the evil gushes forth.

Life application: In Luke 6:45, the same words are spoken by Jesus in His sermon to the people, but there are differences –

Matthew – “The good man, from the good treasure of the heart, he ejects [ekballo] good, and the evil man, from the evil treasure, he ejects [ekballo] evil.”

Luke – “The good man, from the good treasure of his heart, he hauls [propheró] good, and the evil, from the evil hauls [propheró] the evil. For from the heart’s surplus, it speaks – his mouth.”

In Matthew, different words concerning the motion of what is in the heart are used. One says to eject while the other uses a word meaning to bear forward. A good single word to get the intent would be to haul. Also, in Matthew, the thought about the heart’s abundance came in the preceding verse, whereas Luke places it afterwards.

Other slight variations in the Greek exist as well. So the question may be asked, “Which is the original and which one has an error?” Or the statement may be made, “See, there is a contradiction in the two accounts.”

When you are faced with such a question or statement, how will you respond? A suitable explanation is that both can be correct. This could be for various reasons. The first is that it is assumed that Jesus was originally speaking in Aramaic. Different people will write what they heard in Greek in different ways.

Likewise, the change in order of what is said may be a part of that translation process. Therefore, such changes would be expected. But what if the person says, “But even the context of what is said is different! One is to the Pharisees and one during a sermon!”

Is this a contradiction? Not at all! How many times have you repeated a point that is true in your life? Jesus was preaching and proclaiming. He probably stated the same truth innumerable times that are not recorded, along with those that are.

He may have changed the structure of His words, chosen different words, and spoken these things in a multitude of contexts. If the narratives were identical, those who want to tear apart the Bible would (and do!) say that the accounts were simply copies and the events belong to one source. Thus, there are not three different testimonies to Jesus’ work.

If they have any differences, the accusation that there are contradictions immediately arises. Don’t let such things bother you. Be prepared to show these people the folly of their thinking. From there, drop the argument. Some people wouldn’t be content if God spoke the word of Scripture personally.

Wait… He did!

“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16, 17

Lord God, we trust that You have given us a word that carries Your intent for us to know and understand what You desire for us. Help us to be diligent in reading it and contemplating it all the days of our lives. To Your glory, we pray. Amen.

Thursday, 21 August 2025

Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  Matthew 12:34

Note: You can listen to today’s commentary courtesy of our friends at the “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen)

You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible” on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).

“Vipers’ offspring! You can, how, speak good – being evil? For from the heart’s surplus, the mouth, it speaks” (CG).

In the previous verse, Jesus spoke of making the tree either good or bad. As it is made, so its fruit will be. Thus, a tree will be known by its fruit. Now, changing the metaphor, He directly addresses the Pharisees, saying, “Vipers’ offspring!”

It is also what John the Baptist said to this same group as the people from the surrounding areas came out to be baptized –

“But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, ‘Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?’” Matthew 3:7

This is probably a reference to the temptation and fall of man in Genesis 3. Serpents continue to be noted in Scripture after that. One instance is especially highlighted in the account of the time during the wilderness wanderings in Numbers 21. There, the people were bitten by serpents, and many died. In this, the people acknowledged their sins, and a remedy was given by the Lord to heal the people.

As such, the main thought of both John and Jesus is probably that of these men being the spawn of Satan, who caused the people to sin, separating them from God. They were the evil offspring of their evil parent, acting in crafty and malevolent ways. Of them, He next says, “You can, how, speak good – being evil?”

The analogy of the tree in the previous verse becomes clear here. They were like evil trees that could only speak evil. This is because they were vipers’ offspring. He is uniting the various metaphors into a picture of this group of men standing there, accusing Him. To further explain this, He continues with the words, “For from the heart’s surplus, the heart, the mouth, it speaks.”

Here is a new word, perisseuma. It is derived from peri, around. Therefore, it signifies “all around” or “excess” as in “more than anticipated.” These men had wickedness in their hearts that abounded so greatly it welled up out of them in the words they spoke.

They could not say anything good about Jesus because they themselves were corrupt and incapable of determining what was good. Thus, they ascribed evil to His actions, projecting their deficiencies upon Him instead of conducting self-reflection to determine if they were not the ones in error.

Life application: In Matthew 3, John uses the same metaphors, vipers, fruit, and trees, when referring to the same group of people. The full thought recorded there says –

“But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, ‘Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸ Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, ⁹ and do not think to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father.” For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. ¹⁰ And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ¹¹ I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹² His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.’” Matthew 3:7-12

Such metaphors are found elsewhere in Scripture. They provide insight into what God wants us to consider while reading His word. Remember, as you read, that God is the One who created these things. That is recorded right on the first page of the Bible.

As this is so, and as He is using them in metaphor later in Scripture, He is asking us to consider the inherent nature of these things. Sometimes, such metaphors are explained as to their meaning or intended use.

At times, we have to infer what is being said. But in paying heed to what is being conveyed, we will have a fuller and richer sense of what God is telling us. Take time to consider the use of the various literary devices found in Scripture, and there are a lot of them. The content of Scripture will come alive in new ways when you do.

Take time to read Jeremiah 24. It is only 10 verses long. There, the Lord uses figs as a metaphor for the people of Israel. As you read, remember that the fig is used to indicate a spiritual connection to God or its lack thereof. That is consistently the case throughout Scripture. So think about that meaning as you read the chapter.

In remembering this meaning, the passage will make new sense to you that it may not have previously made. And more, because you are committed to reading your Bible every day, you will come across the fig at other times. When you do, remember its significance and think about why it has been mentioned at a particular time. What a treat it will be for your mind as you say, “Now I understand what God is telling me.”

Lord God, what a great, consistent, and beautiful tool of instruction Your word is for us. Wow! Thank You for how You have laid it out to show us a pattern of all of redemptive history, taking us from Eden and returning us to paradise in heaven. We can see how it all fits as we march toward that state of glory! Amen.

Wednesday, 20 August 2025

“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. Matthew 12:33

Note: You can listen to today’s commentary courtesy of our friends at the “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen)

You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible” on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).

“Either you make the tree good and the fruit of it good, or you make the tree rotten and the fruit of it rotten. For from the fruit, the tree – it is known” (CG).

In the previous verse, Jesus spoke of speaking against the Holy Spirit and that such an offense will not be forgiven in the current age or the coming age. Next, He begins another thought with, “Either you make the tree good and the fruit of it good.”

The words are stated as an example of a truth that exists. If what Jesus proposes in metaphor were the case in humans, what He says would be the result. There are various types of trees. Some are good and some are bad. He is not speaking of each individual fruit, but of the type.

For example, one can make grafts and produce something good. The nature of the type of fruit is what is referred to. Understanding this, His words are explanatory of what has transpired in their discourse. The Pharisees stated that Jesus cast out demons by Beelzebul.

If this were true, then He would be aligned with the devil. However, He refuted this charge by stating that if that were true, Satan would have divided and his kingdom had fallen. So He could not be a bad tree. His fruits (casting out demons) were examples of good fruit. Because of this, their charges against Him were blasphemous. With that understood, He next says, “or you make the tree rotten and the fruit of it rotten.”

If Jesus were a bad tree, the fruits He issued forth would be bad. However, the first premise concerning good fruit has already shown that this cannot be the case. He has cast out demons, something they openly acknowledged with the words, “This, not He ejects the demons if not in Beelzebul, prince of the demons.”

Despite stating it in the negative, their words substantiate that He, in fact, cast out demons: “He ejects the demons.” As they have asserted this with their own words, and as ejecting demons is a good fruit, guess what? The tree must be a good tree, “For from the fruit, the tree – it is known.”

Jesus has taken control of their own words to demonstrate an exacting and undeniable truth. They didn’t say, “He pretends to eject,” as if His works were the works of a charlatan. It was obvious from the things He did that His works were real.

Throughout the gospels, the people who are highlighted as having demons cast out, those with afflictions or sicknesses, were known by others as being so afflicted, etc. Some were noted as being born that way, some were seen by the crowds before the healing, some were evidenced in advance to be so afflicted by those challenging Him (such as Matthew 12:9-14), etc.

What He did was not in question. What they challenged was the Source of His ability to do it. With His logical explanations, they must either concede what He says or be subject to blasphemy not of Him, but of the Holy Spirit.

Life application: When a person claims to heal by the power of Jesus and is later seen to be a false healer, it must be questioned how their actions line up with the logic of Jesus’ words. They are obviously bad trees because their fruits are bad.

However, if they are claiming they are fruits from a good source, their claims make a mockery of God and bring shame on the Spirit. Ascribing the work of the Spirit to Satan is shown to be an accusation worth condemnation. How about ascribing false fruits (false miracles) to the power of the Spirit?

How much will God tolerate from man before He says, “This line has been crossed?” God knows, we do not. However, for those who make false claims, it seems appropriate to say, “Man, I would not want to be the one standing next to him on judgment day.”

One of the best things we can do as followers of Jesus is to be honest in our actions and claims concerning God. We should never ascribe to God something that didn’t happen. False tongues, false healings, false dreams and visions, etc., should never be ascribed to the power of the Holy Spirit.

If we had a dream that seemed real to us, it does not mean it was from God. It is best not to make a claim in such a case than to incorrectly claim. If you had an experience you think might have been from God, either keep it to yourself or tell others without trying to make a claim that may not be what you think it was.

How often do you hear people say something like, “The Lord showed me to do XX,” or “the Lord gave me insight into XX.” However, the thing later doesn’t pan out or proves to be incorrect. The person claimed it was of the Lord when it wasn’t. It is best to avoid any such rash claims.

Lord God, may our actions and words be so honest and reliable that people won’t mind standing next to us on the day we stand before You for judgment. Amen.