Dear Young Calvinists,
Recently, the Lord has providentially caused me to think about some different aspects of Christian communication. My goal is to condense and summarize these thoughts and where they originated from for you. In the January edition of The Standard Bearer, Rev. Noorman wrote a great article on communication titled, “No Corrupt Communication.” Next, a friend of mine posted a brief comment along with a short clip from the Live Free with Josh Howerton podcast about how Christians should think about incidents that blow up in the media, like the recent situation in Minnesota, where Renee Good lost her life. Last, Rev. Kleyn preached a sermon on Malachi 3:16 titled “Believers Speaking Often One to Another.”
Communication is very important in the life of the believer. God created man in his own image and declared in Gen. 2:18, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.” Man was created to communicate and enjoy fellowship, much like God enjoys perfect fellowship within the Trinity. God initially communicated directly with man in creation. God commanded Adam to care for the garden in Gen 2. We learn in Gen 3:8 that Adam and Eve “heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden”, and in verse 9 the Lord called unto Adam and spoke to him. After the fall, God continued to communicate with His people in many ways, including dreams and visions, the word of prophets, signs and symbols, and the sending of angels. After Christ went to heaven, He continues to communicate with His people by the Holy Spirit which He sent to indwell us in our heart. God also provides numerous passages in the Bible that specifically address how we are to communicate (speech, actions, and thoughts).
In Malachi 3:16 Rev. Kleyn taught that God is sending a message of encouragement to the remnant of faithful believers in Israel by commending them for speaking often to one another, “Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.” The Lord pays attention to our communication and takes note of what we say. He commends the remnant for speaking often one to another. Implied as well is that they are speaking about the things of the Lord and communicating in a godly manner. He also writes in His book of remembrance these things when we communicate faithfully and think upon His name. Wow. How important is it then to ensure that our communication is not corrupt (Eph 4:29), is always seasoned with salt (Col 4:6), is soft and turns away anger (Prov. 15:1), is not idle (Matt 12:36), is not profane or vain (2 Tim 2:16), and is wise and not foolish (Prov 15:2).
In the next post, I will connect these thoughts with my friend’s post from Josh Howerton and Rev. Noorman’s article.
-JWH
