"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. Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 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. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."—Matthew 12:33-37
Matthew 7 says this…
You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.—Matthew 7:16-20
James Chapter 3 tells us that no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil filled with deadly poison.
Now it is true that no man can tame the tongue but the Spirit of God can. But if our hearts refuse to respond by faith to God’s word, they cannot be transformed by His grace. If we keep rejecting Jesus, our hearts will become harder and harder the longer we resist God’s truth.(Ezek. 36:26-27; Heb. 8:7-13).
I love what Matthew Henry wrote about these verses…
Men’s language discovers what country they are of, likewise what manner of spirit they are of. The heart is the fountain, words are the streams. A troubled fountain, and a corrupt spring, must send forth muddy and unpleasant streams. Nothing but the salt of grace, cast into the spring, will heal the waters, season the speech, and purify the corrupt communication. An evil man has an evil treasure in his heart, and out of it brings forth evil
Beloved…today is the day of salvation. Each of us have a choice to make. A heart without the Spirit of grace will cannot bear good fruit. We are responsible for our words and our actions. They will either acquit or condemn us in the day of judgment. In Christ we are forgiven. Our sinful words and actions are washed in the blood of Jesus, God’s Son. But those who refuse Jesus…who say they do not want Him in their lives and in their hearts…will eventually answer for that choice.
Wiersbe writes…
Is there an “unpardonable sin” today? Yes, the final rejection of Jesus Christ. Jesus made it clear that all sins can be forgiven (Matt. 12:31). Adultery, murder, blasphemy, and other sins can all be forgiven; they are not unpardonable. But God cannot forgive the rejection of His Son. It is the Spirit who bears witness to Christ (John 15:26) and who convicts the lost sinner (John 16:7-11).
"Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.—Matthew 12:31-32
