Mike,

I forget what verse it is, but doesn’t Christ say man shall give an account of every idle word? What does this mean? is it literal? I know we give an account every day.

J____

Hi J____,
You ask what is meant by ‘giving an account of every idle word?’

The important thing to notice here is that the scriptures never once say that we are accountable for our words or our actions. The Truth is that we are not accountable or responsible for anything simply because “it isn’t I that do it”

Rom 7:17  Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but [ how] to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20  Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

Paul knew this was true because of so many Old Testament stories which come right out and tell us that the Lord sends evil spirits to cause men to sin and rebel against Him and His laws. This spirit is called “the law of sin and death.” Here is how that spirit worked in Joseph’s brothers.

Gen 45:4  And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
Gen 45:5  Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
Gen 45:6  For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.
Gen 45:7  And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
Gen 45:8  So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

How did God have Joseph’s brothers to sell him into Egypt? We don’t need to guess.

1Sa 16:14  But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.
1Sa 16:15  And Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.

So we too, like Joseph’s brothers, will be required and will give an accounting of what God has done in these vessels of clay, also known as “bodies of sinful flesh and blood.”
Note what the Lord says to the unjust steward:

Luk 16:2  And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.

All the Lord really expected of His steward was an admission of his guilt, and He expected His servant to repent of his sins.
That is exactly what we are told about another of the Lord’s servants, right after telling us that we should forgive our brother daily seventy times seven, if he asks us to do so.

Mat 18:23  Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
Mat 18:24  And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.
Mat 18:25  But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
Mat 18:26  The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
Mat 18:27  Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.

All God wants us for us to acknowledge that He has given us an evil experience to humble us. That is all. All He expects is for us to acknowledge that “all that is in the world,” including the things that incur His wrath, are in us, and we are each “chief of sinners.”

1Ti 1:15  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

When we do as some of our beloved brothers in Christ do, and we say “The apostle Paul was the chief of sinners,” we are denying that we are to “live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” We are denying that “all that is in the world” is in us. We are also denying that “all things… things present and things to come” are ours.

1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
1Co 3:21  Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
1Co 3:22  Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;

Those are all inclusive words. Deny them at your own risk. They confirm this statement of God’s fiery words:

Ecc 9:2  All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.
Ecc 9:3  This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that [ they go] to the dead.

I hope this helps you to see that we will indeed all give an accounting of every idle word that proceeds out of our mouths.

Mat 12:36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
Mat 12:37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

In doing so we will acknowledge that each of us should consider ourselves to be “chief of sinners,” and that “it was not I but sin that dwells in my members.” It is all accomplished by Him “who is working all things after the counsel of His own will.”
If “our words” maintain that we are not lost sheep, then in the lake of fire we will have to come to see that we are lost sheep. If we say we have never forsaken our Father and we hate those who acknowledge that they have done so, then in the lake of fire we will have to come to acknowledge that we have forsaken our Father. If we say we have never committed adultery and want to stone those who have, then in the lake of fire we will have to acknowledge that we have committed spiritual adultery. If we say we were never blind and were never sick and in need of a physician, then we will have to acknowledge and give an accounting of our blindness and sickness and need for a physician, in the lake of fire. If we say we have never blasphemed God and we will never know His wrath of our ungodliness and our unrighteousness, then in the lake of fire we will have to acknowledge that we have known God’s wrath on our ungodliness and unrighteousness.
On the other hand, if we acknowledge that “we all… are children of wrath, even as others,” then we have “judged ourselves, and we will not be judged.”
Like everything else in scripture, like virtually every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, “if we judge ourselves [ now], we will not be judged [ later]:

1Co 11:31  For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
1Co 11:32  But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

It is the same for God’s wrath on our “idle words.”  If we acknowledge and give and accounting that we are the children of God’s wrath [ now] then we are not appointed to wrath [ later].”

Mat 12:36  But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
Mat 12:37  For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

The very worst of “our words’ which will later condemn us, are our own “idle words.” Denying that we each individually are chief of sinners, deserving of God’s wrath on our ungodliness and unrighteousnesses, are our own false doctrines which contradict “the sum of God’s Words” (Psa 119:160). “By thy [ own] words thou shalt be justified, and by thy [ own] words thou shalt be condemned.

Your brother in Christ,
Mike