Taming The Tongue
Sermon Audio
Sermon Notes
Intro:
Today we’re continuing our series on a book of the bible Jesus’ little brother wrote called James, and today James is gonna talk about the power of our tongues. He’s gonna talk about the power of our tongues, the power of our mouths, our words, our speech, and growing up most of us weren’t taught that words were powerful. Instead we were taught they weren’t powerful, we were taught they couldn’t hurt us, we were taught “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” and that saying couldn’t be further from the truth, because words hurt, sometimes they hurt worse than sticks and stones. I don’t care how thick of a skin you have, you and I both know that saying isn’t true and that words hurt. I mean some of you’ve had people growing up who’ve said hurtful words to you about your looks, body, talents, personality, and those things have stuck. They hurt you so badly that it’s caused you to develop a low self-esteem where you never feel good enough, or you’ve developed a hyper self-esteem giving the appearance of confidence, but it’s really just a front to deflect the hurtful things said to you, and to prove your worth to others. Look words hurt. Words can hurt us and our words can hurt the people around us. Today James is gonna talk about the power of words, the power of our tongues, so let’s turn to James 3:1-12 and get into it. The title of today’s message is “Taming The Tongue.” Your tongue is small, but it’s influence is great. It can either cause great destruction, or great encouragement. That’s what we’re gonna talk about today.
Context:
Here’s your context. The past couple weeks James has talked a lot about being not just hearers of the word but doers of the word, especially when it comes to living out the Royal Law Jesus taught us which is to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves. At the end of ch. 2 he tells us this is how you can tell if somebody has true faith or lip service faith in Jesus. It’s by their works, their actions, their lifestyles becoming a growing reflection of their love for Jesus and love for others, because true faith is seen by your lifestyle, not your lip service. True faith is seen by your lifestyle, your works, your actions, not your lip service. So last week he focused a lot on our works, this week he’s gonna focus a lot on our tongues, our words. Let’s check it out.
The Word:
James 3:1-12 states, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” James is talking in particular about teachers in the church, preachers in the church, and years ago this made me want to run from being a preacher. God was like, “Hey I’ve got a job for you to do. You’re gonna teach and preach.” I was like, “Okay I’m open to exploring this a bit.” But when I read the fine print that said I’ll be judged with greater strictness I said, “I’m out! Thanks for the offer, but I’m out! I’ll stick with the 1st time guests tent. Nobody judges the person giving away free stuff, so I’ll stick with the 1st time guests tent.” I’m telling you I was terrified of preaching because I knew I was gonna be dealing with people’s souls and be judged with greater strictness because of it, as I should be. I mean a preachers words can have great influence on people’s lives and the direction they take in life. With such a great responsibility there needs to be greater accountability and judgement, and in the beginning this terrified me. Now as I’ve grown in my trust and reliance on God’s grace my fears have lessened, but the weight of this responsibility hasn’t. In fact we take this responsibility so serious at City Awakening that we have a team of people who review every sermon before it’s preached so we can check our interpretation of scripture and communicate as effectively as possible. We take it seriously because we’re dealing with people’s souls and we’ll be judged with greater strictness as a result. Your job as the church is to hold pastors accountable to the correct preaching of God’s word, pray for us as we do it, and find ways to encourage us so we can persevere in carrying the weight of this heavy responsibility we’ve been given.
Again vs. 1, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2 For we all stumble in many ways...” This is such an encouragement to me. Vs. 1 burdens me, but vs. 2 lightens that burden, because I know I stumble in many ways. I stumble as a teacher, husband, father, person, and Christian. I’m growing, but I still stumble, and what’s so encouraging is James puts himself on the list. He says WE all stumble, meaning himself included. He puts himself on the list of those who stumble, so let that encourage you today, especially those of you who’ve recently stumbled. Let it encourage your weary soul that keeps demanding perfection, keeps demanding you be this perfect Christian, perfect husband, perfect wife, perfect parent who never flips out on their kids, or this perfect Christian who never wrestles with being single, barren, doubt, or the pursuit of holiness. Let it encourage you that James, Jesus’ very own little brother, one of the greatest leaders in church history puts himself on the list of stumblers. Some of you need to hear that today, you need a steroid shot of grace because your soul’s weary from your pursuit of perfection, your pursuit of holiness, and you’re beating yourself up over your stumbling to the point where it feels like you’ve attended a funeral. But the funeral’s already happened! It happened when Jesus died on for your stumbling! So mourn your stumbling, but don’t soak in your stumbling when Jesus has already paid for your stumbling. Don’t soak in your stumbling when Jesus has given you so much hope and joy in the power of his resurrection, in the fact that he’s still alive and willing to love you, help you, continually walk with you in your stumbling pursuit of holiness. You can always find a steroid shot of grace for your stumbling weary soul in the one who never stumbled, you can always find it in Jesus. I know at times it feels like you’re alone in your stumbling, but you’re not. James says we all stumble, himself included. He puts himself on the list.
Again vs. 2, “For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.” James says if “anyone” doesn’t stumble in what he says, meaning he’s talking about everyone now. He’s not just talking about the words of teachers, he’s talking about the words of everyone, and what he’s saying is our tongues are very hard to control. In fact our tongues are so hard to control that if we could control our tongues, we could control our entire bodies, we could control every aspect of our lives and we’d be considered a “perfect man,” a perfect person. But if you can’t control your tongue, if you can’t control something as small as your tongue, then it reveals something about yourself, it reveals something about your heart. See James is giving us a challenge here, he’s giving us a test. It’s a tongue test to see if we can be perfect with our tongues. In fact you should try it this week. Take the tongue test and see if you can be perfect with your tongue using only encouraging words the entire week. I’m talking no cursing, grumbling, complaining, gossiping, talking bad about anyone, or lashing out in retaliation to someone who wrongs you, and that includes texting. Some of you throw daggers in your texts and instead of hitting the send button, you need to hit the delete button. But try to for a week, take the tongue test and see if you pass.
Okay now let’s be real, some of you aren’t gonna make it past the parking lot...Some of you aren’t gonna make it past picking up your kids from children’s church, telling them to get in the car, and after the 10th time you’ll snap, “Get in the car you little demon!...” I’m telling you some of you aren’t gonna make it past the parking lot, and you know what, I might be one of them. But the truth is all of us will eventually make the list, all of us will eventually fail the tongue test and stumble with our tongues. Even if you were to come back next week saying you aced the tongue test I’ll just out you for boasting. I’m telling you, you can’t win this one. You can’t win the tongue test, and that’s exactly James’ point. His point’s that nobody can control the tongue, and the fact that you can’t control your tongue reveals something about yourself, it reveals something about your heart. It reveals how sinfully corrupt you really are, how sinfully corrupt your heart really is, and how much you’re really in need of Jesus. Because if you can’t control something as small as your tongue, you won’t be able to control the bigger sin issues in your heart. The tongue test reveals your inability to control your tongue, your inability to control the sin issues in your heart, and your need for Jesus. James is saying we all stumble, we all fail the tongue test, we all need Jesus to change our sinfully corrupt hearts.
Again vs. 2, “For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. 3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 4 Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.” James is simply illustrating that our tongues are small, but their influence is great. Their influence on us and those around us is great. He says the tongue in your mouth is like a bit in a horse’s mouth. A bit’s small, but it’s influence on the horse is great. It can control the entire direction of the horse. The same is true with a ship. A rudder’s small, but it’s influence on the ship is great. It can control the entire direction of the ship. James is saying our tongues are small, but their influence is great. He gives us another illustration in vs. 5.
Vs. 5, “So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!” Okay so first he tells us our tongues are small but their influence is great, and now he tells us our tongues are small but can cause great destruction. He says a “small fire” can set an entire forest ablaze causing great destruction. We’ve seen it happen in Florida during drought seasons where it only takes a small fire to destroy hundreds of acres of forestry. We’ve seen it happen historically where a great orator like Hitler uses their small tongue to influence a lot of people and cause great destruction. We’ve seen it happen personally in our own relationships where it only takes a few words to deeply wound or destroy a relationship. Some of you’ve been in marriages, friendships, relationships where you started as friends, but ended as enemies because a few words were said, sparks flew, and the relationship was set on fire. “Yeah but it was only a little comment.” No it was a spark, and if that spark isn’t put out quickly through repentance and forgiveness, it’ll set your relationship on fire. But some of you are sparks people, you’re counter punchers like me. Somebody says something hurtful and the sparks start flying, the counter punches start flying. Instead of taking a step back you take a step forward and you need to learn to take a step back. When you’re hurt or angry you need to learn to take a step back saying, “I love you, I want to work it out, but I need a minute. I need to take a step back and take a step toward Jesus, so he can work on my heart before I start a blazing fire to your heart.” James 1:19 says, “Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger,” and if we take a step back and listen to James’ words before unleashing hell with our words, it’ll be extremely helpful to any relationship we’re in when sparks and punches start flying. James says our tongues are small, but can cause great destruction. They can unleash hell.
Again vs. 5, “So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue.” Sound familiar to the tongue test? He’s saying you can’t do it, you can’t pass the tongue test because nobody can tame the tongue. You can tame all kinds of animals, you can tame your pet Chihuahua named Diesel, you can tame Flipper the Dolphin, some of you have no idea who Flipper is, you can google it. But the point is we can tame all kinds of animals, except the animal in our mouths, except our tongues. Nobody can tame the tongue, at least not without God’s help. We have to look very carefully at the text, because James isn’t saying the tongue can’t be tamed or that we shouldn’t strive to grow in taming our tongues, instead he’s saying we should pursue holiness, we should pursue taming our tongues, but we need God’s help to do it. He says no “human being” can tame the tongue...He says no “human being” can tame the tongue, meaning what human beings can’t do God can do, so we need the help of God, we need the help of Jesus. We need Jesus to change our hearts so we can grow in taming our tongues not just for a single day or even a tongue testing week, but over a lifetime of pursuing holiness with Jesus.
Again vs. 8, “But no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing.” Okay now he’s teaching our tongues can cause great encouragement. He’s teaching us our tongues are small, their influence is great, but they can cause either great destruction, or great encouragement. He’s pointing out the hypocrisy of our tongues and how one minute we’re praising Jesus, and the next we’re cursing others, which of those are you doing? Is your tongue blessing, or cursing?..Is it encouraging, or destroying?..James says the answer is both. Our tongues do both, and this shouldn’t be the case with the Christian. Listen to what he says next.
Again vs. 10, “From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.” These illustrations are simply pointing out the difference between a true Christian and a lip service Christian. James is saying you’re either one or the other, you’re either friends with Jesus and growing in taming your tongue, or you’re a lip service Christian who isn’t friends with Jesus and isn’t growing in taming your tongue. You can’t have it both ways, you can’t have a well pumping out both water and Boba Teas. It’s either a water well or a Boba well, but it can’t be both, and James is saying if you dig to the bottom of the well, you’ll get to the source of why you can’t tame your tongue, and it’s because of your sinful heart. Jesus himself says in Matthew 15:18, “What comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.” The issue with our words comes from a sin issue in our hearts, and James says we’ll never be able to tame the tongue without Jesus helping to change our hearts. He’s not saying we need to be perfect in the use of our tongues, but he is saying if we’re truly Christians, if we’re truly friends with Jesus, then we should be striving to grow in taming our tongues, we should be showing signs of that growth, we should be growing in becoming more encouraging with our words. We can’t do it without the help of Jesus, and the tongue test proves this.
The Big Idea:
Let’s get to the big idea. Here’s the big idea. Your tongue is small, but it’s influence is great. It can either cause great destruction, or great encouragement...Your tongue is small, but it’s influence is great. It can either cause great destruction, or great encouragement...So how’s your tongue?..How’s your tongue?..Is it causing destruction, or encouragement?..Is it blessing, or cursing?..Are you growing in taming your tongue so your words are becoming more of an encouragement to your spouse, kids, friends, and people in our city?..How’s your tongue?..
James says we’re all stumbling in this and we all need Jesus’ help in taming not just our tongues, but also the sinful desires of our hearts. We all need Jesus to put a bit in our mouth, take a seat in the saddle, take a seat in the captain’s chair to steer the ship of our lives. We all need Jesus because we all stumble in “many ways,” but Jesus never stumbled in “any way.” He’s a much greater Savior and Lord than you can ever be for your life. He’s perfect in every way, perfect in everything he’s ever said and did, and he’s never had a moment where he’s like, “Oh I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. I was having a bad day and being a cranky pants.” Jesus never had a moment like that where he needed to apologize for his tongue and the history books prove this. There’s not a single book in history that can point out a single time when Jesus sinned because he was perfect in every way. The tongue test proves we’re sinful in “many ways,” the history books prove Jesus was sinless in “every way,” and here’s the good news. It’s that Jesus being the one who never stumbled died for the sins of those who stumble...Jesus being the one who never stumbled died for the sins of those who stumble, and the history books tell us as he was dying on the cross his enemies were yelling hurtful words at him, but instead of unleashing hell with his words he unleased heaven. His last words were, “Forgive them for they know not what they do,” and “It is finished,” meaning the works of salvation are complete through him. Instead of unleashing hell with his words he unleashed heaven with both his words and his life. He unleashed heaven to the very people who stumbled, which includes you and me. So let’s stand and worship him because of that. Let’s stand and worship him in response to that. Let’s stand and use our tongues to praise him, before we enter our city and strive to use our tongues in ways that are encouraging to others. Let’s stand and do what our tongues are meant to do, which is to praise Jesus, and to be an encouragement to others. Let’s praise Jesus with our tongues.