Plastic Theology & the Uncrucified Tongue

“When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.” -Pro. 10.19

“Is there no limit to windy words?” -Job 16.3a

The most epochal war, more crucial and potentially catastrophic than all the battles of history combined, is raging even now in the heavens. The principalities and powers of darkness are ever and always contending against the revelation of God, and in no place do they work their wickedness more successfully than in the area of human speech.

When I speak of our “plastic theology,” I mean specifically that the most common understanding of God held forth, both in the church and in the world, is devoid of the power, vibrant love, and holy reality that makes up the revelation of God in the Scriptures. I am convinced that the uncrucified speech of believers has much to do with this discrepancy, and the symptoms that prompt this diagnosis are many.

Perhaps we are excessively inundated with information in this technological age, and have lost all touch with the value of words and speech. Perhaps our commercialized culture, and the onslaught of advertisement in all its various forms has cheapened our expectations and blurred our mental and intuitive capacities. Perhaps our “have it your way” idea of life, and our impassioned pursuit of amusement has produced an inwardly lazy bunch of autonomous clods.

Whatever the primary causes are, the evidence is clear that we are a people neck-deep in verbiage and info, but we have lost the art of hearing and grown devoid of an awe for the gift of speech.

The proverbial writer tells us that “when words are many, sin is not absent,” and I am convinced that a looseness of speech is one of the main ailments in the character make-up of the Church.

The tongue is such a small thing, as James tells us, but its power, influence and impact are immeasurable. There are so many negative avenues that the tongue may travel; namely, flattery, slander, gossip, profanity, lies, complaint, threats, manipulative speech, exaggeration, and the list goes on.

There is only one positive road that the tongue may walk, which is to say, speaking out of the well-spring of God’s own life.

If our speech is removed from the life-flow of the Spirit of Jesus, no matter what we say or do, we will set forth a plastic gospel, and the end result will be a declension of the work of God in the earth. There is too much uncrucified speech in the world, and hence, we have a famine of hearing resurrection words that impart the life of God.

As an old mentor of mine used to say, “Our words should be few, but weighty.” The apostle Peter tells us that when we speak we should do it with the grace that God provides, “as speaking the utterances of God Himself.” Paul tells us that our speech should be seasoned with the grace of God, so that it might meet the need of the moment. Jesus said that what flows from our mouths is a revelation of our innermost being, and that we will give an account for “every idle word.” Are we aware of these things in the day-to-day activities of life, or have we shirked the responsibility of crucifying the flesh in the area of speech?

In other words, out of all God’s creatures, we are the only ones made in His image, gifted with the ability to speak. Uncrucified speech is evidence of uncrucified flesh in our lives, and that avoidance of the cross is robbing the world of a greater revelation of God as He is. We are proclaiming loudly and wildly a plastic theology, rather than that distinct, holy, and life-giving word of truth which reveals the reality of Jesus Christ. We’ve got to be made true before we can declare truth, otherwise we are only a “noisy gong and a clanging cymbal.”

Oh, dear saints! Let us flee from gossip, flattery, slander, untruth, and all manner of cheap speech as we would flee from the plague. Let us break from the tide of this world once and for all, and allow the Lord to bring the knife to our unbridled tongues. Oh, that the Church would be made up of those who have been subdued under His mighty hand, and whose tongues and hearts have come into alignment with His own nature. Then will our theology and ministry lose its “plasticness” and set forth a holy and distinct note in the land. Then shall men’s ears perk up in the hearing of a heavenly sound. Then shall words be something more than ink on paper or instruments of our correctness.

“Holy, holy, holy” shall be the view of God in the earth, and His glory will cover the land as the waters cover the sea. And His ultimate exaltation is the most desirable reality, life from the dead, the hope of glory.