“Eph. 4:29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”

Foulkes, in his excellent commentary on the Book of Ephesians, writes the following, which I quote at some length:

“29. Now the apostle turns back to consider the Christians’ speech and conversation. Not only are they to shun all that is deceitful, but all ‘bad language’ (NEB). The adjective used in the Greek (sapros) basically means ‘rotten’, and then has a derived sense of ‘worthless’. It is talk that is ‘rotten’ and that ‘spreads rottenness’ (Barry) like bad fruit, worthless and leading others to think on the worthless. To replace this there is to be what can be described plainly and simply as such as is good (cf. Phil. 4:8). RSV for edifying, as fits the occasion, could be literally rendered ‘for edifying of the need’. The particular Greek word chreia in Acts 6:3 speaks of a ‘matter in hand’, and so here we might translate ‘for the edifying of the matter in hand’; ‘words suitable for the occasion’, Phillips aptly turns it. The thought is that of Proverbs 15:23, ‘a word in season, how good it is!’ [Vol 10: Eph, p. 142] (cf. Ecclus. 20:6–7, 19). As with the consideration of work and wages, the Christian standard is lifted above personal expediency, even above the question of moral right or wrong. The test of a person’s use of money is, ‘What am I giving to those in need?’ The test of conversation is not just ‘Am I keeping my words true and pure?’ but ‘Are my words being used to impart grace to those who hear?’ The grace of the Lord’s own words, the love and blessing which they conveyed, is spoken of in Luke 4:22. The utterance of the Christian is to be characterized by the same grace (cf. Col. 3:16; 4:6).”^[1]

My own experience with a person whom I know very well (myself) is that Christians need to examine themselves at this point, repent, and do a whole lot better. My words sometimes are designed to wound, whether or not I admit that fact.

And, of course, I have sometimes been on the other side of the equation. I was at a church dinner when someone said, “Anyone who voted for x is either sick or on welfare.” Now, being the mild-mannered and meek person that I am, I piped up and said, “Well, I voted for x, and I am neither sick nor on welfare.”

Comments such as I received make it hard for me to attend church functions. Imagine the effect of such words on unbelievers. I am very much afraid that the main stumbling block that prevents sinners from becoming followers of Christ is Christians and how we speak. Christians are as bad these days as non-Christians when it comes to name-calling and destructive speech. Do we really think that this is justified because (obviously) our side is right?

So, what would happen if we took seriously Ephesians 4:29? What would happen if we sought to build people up with our words? What would happen if our words were consistently gracious? I think it might be time to at least experiment with obeying God’s Word.

^[1]Francis Foulkes, Ephesians: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 10 of Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. IVP/Accordance electronic ed. (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1989), 141-142.