Week 7 - Wednesday

The Conversation of Man

"Their throat is an open grave, with their tongues they keep deceiving," (Romans 3:13a)

The seventh charge Paul makes against man is that their throat is an open grave. Here Paul is quoting from Psalm 5:9. An inevitable result of man's evil heart, is that man's speech is also evil. Jesus spoke about the close relationship between the heart and mouth when He said "the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart" (Matt. 12:34). Paul is referring to this same principle when he calls the throat an open grave. A grave obviously, is where something dead is placed. After a body is placed in a grave, it is covered up with dirt. If a grave were left open, eventually the foul odor of rotting flesh would come out of it. This same principle is true of the unsaved person. Paul has already stated that the natural man is dead to the things of God. Apart from a saving relationship with Christ, all people are spiritually dead. When a spiritually dead person opens their throat and speaks, foulness comes out, just as it does from an open grave. Not everything they say will be foul but if you listen to an unsaved person long enough, eventually the true condition of their heart will come out. It may be that they use the name of God and Jesus Christ as swear words. Sometimes they will brag about the sinful things they have done, such as how much alcohol they drank, their sexual encounters or cheating on their taxes. Often their spiritual deadness will be shown by the fact that they never say anything, that shows they have any reverence at all for God.

The next charge Paul makes against man (also a reference to Psalm 5:9), is that with their tongues they keep deceiving. The heart of man is naturally deceitful (Jer. 17:9). This means that all people by nature are liars. The only difference between them is how much they lie. One reason people lie is to escape punishment. This begins early in life. A good example of this can be seen in a young child, with cookie crumbs on his face, saying that he hasn't been in the cookie jar. Another reason people lie is to gain an advantage for themselves. "Keep deceiving" is from the Greek word dolioo, meaning to lure. It was often used to refer to the baiting of a hook. A piece of food is placed on a hook to deceive fish into thinking they are getting a meal, when the true purpose is to capture them. Paul is saying that people use their tongues as baited hooks, to deceive others, and that they do it continually. Deceiving others is a natural way of life for most people. A common way people deceive others is by only telling part of the truth. This is done by telling only the parts of a story that benefit yourself and leaving out the parts that do not. Another way people deceive others is by flattering them. This is saying nice things to someone that you don't really mean. People usually flatter others because they hope to get something from them by it. It could be a raise, or a promotion, or a gift, or to make a sale. People also deceive themselves by thinking they are better than they really are. This might be the most dangerous deception of all because it may keep them from being saved. The people who come to Christ, are the ones who think they need a Savior. Those who think they are good enough the way they are, don't feel any need to be saved. A person must first realize that they are a sinner, and that they deserves God's wrath, before they will feel the need to come to Christ to be saved.

Readings for today: Matt. 15:18; Matt. 12:34; Jer. 9:3-5; Psalm 36:1-3; Isa. 59:1-3