But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. – Matthew 12:36 KJV
Pan rhēma argon, reads the original Greek, which the New Revised Standard Version translates “every careless word.” Or we might say, “every empty, lifeless, pointless utterance.” Up till now (Matt 12:33-35), Jesus has been talking about how good hearts express good things and evil hearts, evil things. Now He’s saying that good or evil, we’re answerable for everything we let out of our mouth.
And when is that “day of judgment” He’s talking about? – Know what? It doesn’t matter. The point is, it’s coming, and we all know it. Some say we have a detailed “life review” immediately after death; some say it’s at the end of time, and some say that time ends as soon as we leave this world. But what’s undeniable is that millions in this country have returned from near-death experiences in which they’ve had and remembered a life review, and a common feature of such life reviews is the direct experiencing of the suffering one’s own selfish and heedless words and actions have caused others.1
Stop and think about that for a moment: it’s why all messengers of God, in all religious traditions, warn men and women to repent of their sins, just as you or I would warn a heedless person not to dive into boiling water. The question of whether there’s a hell or a purgatory, and whether it’s temporary or eternal, fades into insignificance in the face of even a split-second’s bath in boiling water. And so let’s look at our words and actions. If we’ve ever taken pleasure in the thought of another creature’s pain, or if we’ve foreseen, but not cared about, the pain our actual or even fantasized behaviors might cause someone else (whether they involve the taking of revenge, the suppression of truth, the seduction of a tempting sex-object, the humiliation of a competitor, or the taking of employment in an evil industry), we’ve been preparing that boiling bath for ourselves. The principle is called karma – the word comes to us from India, but the idea recurs throughout the Bible (most clearly in Galatians 6:7: “Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow”).
Now the gospel of Jesus Christ makes clear that God has the power to forgive sins – the word used in the New Testament is aphesis, literally the “putting away” of sins so that God “remembers their sin no more” – but first the sinner must abandon sin. (The author of Hebrews quotes Jeremiah’s words, here, in 8:12 and 10:17.) A great deal of damage has been done by theologians who have taught Christians that it’s impossible for a sinner to abandon sin while still living in a body of flesh; that satanic teaching would make a liar of Jesus, who told individuals to “go, and sin no more!” (John 5:14, 8:11)
No! It is possible to go, and sin no more! Don’t be fooled by preachers who’d tell you that the sinlessness of your Savior is “imputed” to you while you continue to live the sinful life that you “can’t help living!” In order to sin no more, we must sin no more – it’s as plain as that! What can happen is that we ask for Christ’s help to live a sinless life and that Christ, who already indwells us, gives that help. But to receive that help, we must renounce self-will. And to renounce self-will, we must keep renouncing it, saying “No” to every temptation as it comes our way, praying (without ceasing!) for the discernment to recognize the temptation as a temptation, and for the strength to resist it. As Jesus said to God (Luke 22:42), “not my will, but yours be done,” so must we say that, always and forever. Christ will warn us before we stray: this I know by experience.
1 John 1:7-10 instructs us to “confess our sins,” but also to trust that the blood of Christ “cleanses us from all sin.” This does not refer merely to the blood shed at Jesus’ crucifixion, but the blood now being pumped through our arteries. For whose blood is it now? That’s right – we’ve been “bought with a price” (1 Cor 6:20) and we are now His entirely. If we must suffer any consequences of how we’ve lived and spoken in this life at our upcoming life review, He will give us the strength to bear that suffering. He may be counted on. If you’re not sure, ask Him.
1. See the work of Dr. Raymond Moody; Dr. Kenneth Ring; Donnelly, Laura (2017-01-29). “Your life really does flash before your eyes before you die, study suggests”. The Telegraph.; Fox, Anneliese. “NDE Impact on Grief & Loss”.
John Jeremiah Edminster (M. Div., Earlham School of Religion, 2019) worships regularly with Conservative Friends and hosts the Tuesday evening House of Light Friends’ Worship Group in his home in Richmond, Indiana. He carries a concern to promote surrender of self to Christ.
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