Keep Your Lips From Evil!

1 Peter 3:10  “For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:”

Guile means deceptiveness, deceit, fraud, duplicity, or dishonesty. It is the evil use of speech that is purposely meant to mislead or “trick.” The prime example of what guile is shown when the devil deceived Eve, all the way back in Genesis chapter 3. If you remember, all of the trees in the Garden of Eden were allowed to be eaten, with the exception of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That tree they were forbidden to eat of, but what did the devil say to Eve?

Genesis 3:1-5  “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”

Do you see how the devil through his deceiving speech beguiled Eve? The devil made it seem like it was okay to eat of that tree, claiming that they would be “as gods”. Through that deceitful, beguiling act the devil caused sin to happen. The devil tried to appear like he was telling Eve something as though he was helping her, but it was all done to cause sin.

Once again, guile is the purposeful misleading and deceptiveness used to mislead others. Someone may say that it is 5 o’clock, when it may actually be 6–if it is an honest mistake and not done in a way to try to deceive someone, that is not guile. It simply is a mistake. There has to be a dishonest motive behind it.

What happened in Acts 5 was an act of guile. In paraphrase, a man and his wife (Ananias and Sapphira) had sold a piece of land and had given the money to the church. But they had made it seem like that they had given the entire price’s worth of money, when they in fact hadn’t. Even when asked, instead of telling the truth, they tried to hide the fact that they had kept back some of the money. That is guile.

Acts 5:1-11  “But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,

And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?

Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.

And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him. 

And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.

And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.

Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.

Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.

And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.”

When we speak it should be truthful, with no evil intent to be deceiving. Speaking the truth shows love and that is something that we all can do more of.

Psalms 34:13  “Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.”

1 Peter 2:1-2  “Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,

As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:”

Proverbs 13:3  “He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.”

Put away lying and deceit. Speak the truth! The Lord is the truth, and His word is truth. Keep your lips from evil!

In Christ,

Andrew