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We’re studying a series together called Be Bold as it relates to the book of James and James. Being the brother of Jesus is a wonderful example for us and boldness. We know that the way that James life ended was that he was the pastor of the Jerusalem church, helped lead the Jerusalem Church, and people didn’t like that. So they took him to the top of the temple, and they threw him off. And then they stoned him and beat him to death afterwards. And so James was one who lived boldly in his Christian life. I we’re not following this to to follow the same example as James, but to learn the example of how how to live the Christian life in this world today. The book of James is often referred to as the the Book of Proverbs for the New Testament. James professing much wisdom within this book and what he’s really doing is he’s beginning to to decipher for us the difference between what it means to have a professing faith and a possessing faith. James desires for us to see how to live our life in light of Christ, for all that we are. Meaning, we don’t want a worthless religion, but what we desire to have is a real faith that impacts and transforms the world that we live in. How do we do that? Chapter one. When it opens up, James desires to share with us something that all of us will go through together, which is the the thought of trials and tribulations as believers.
Chapter one is all about the trials and tribulations, and He and he ends up talking about temptations, the need within us to discover as believers what it means to endure through those trials, the temptations and the tribulations that we face. Just because you have faith in Christ doesn’t mean life goes easy. In fact, we will often say that, um, Jesus following Jesus is simple, but it’s not easy. In fact, just placing your faith in Christ will sometimes make life more difficult. Example being Jesus himself. Jesus came to this earth offering nothing but grace and mercy, and the result was crucifixion rejection from his own people. James teaches us about endurance and trials and tribulations and temptations, and then he dies in the chapter two, and he talks about practicing the truth in chapter one ends with loving the widows and orphans. Chapter two starts with treating everyone equal or the same. Both rich and poor have the same identity and worth in God’s eyes, and so we treat people being made in God’s image as if all of us are made equal. We are loving one another and surrendering and giving for the sake of one another’s well-being. In James concludes chapter two with one of the famous thoughts that we often think about when we read through the book of James together, and that is this faith without works is dead.
A real faith is a lived faith. And today James now dives into chapter three and he begins to discuss a very specific area in the life of the believer. He addresses the idea of the tongue. The tongue is gross. The tongue is is little, but it is powerful. And in fact, James shares that with us in chapter three and verse five and eight, he describes the tongue this way. He says likewise the tongue is small, a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. But no human being in verse eight can tame the tongue. The tongue is powerful. I was going to ask some. Never mind. I’m not going to say what I was going to say to someone on a tongue wrestle, but that was not going to come out. The tongue is powerful. Okay, arm wrestle with your wife. Maybe later, but that’s okay. Sorry. The tongue is powerful. I didn’t just practice this verse, but it says this in Proverbs 1019. He that refrains his lips is wise. What not to do this morning. James, when he starts. This book addresses the life of the believer, the identity of who we are living out in Christ. And now, as he journeys into chapter three, he starts addressing the area of sharing words in Christ, talking and speaking on behalf of Christ, recognizing the power of the tongue.
Proverbs 1821 says this. It says this death and life are in the power of the tongue. And ultimately as a believer. What James is addressing now for us in chapter three is, is that we can identify the maturity of a believer in Christ by the way he chooses to use his tongue to honor Christ. Your tongue displays your maturity. I don’t recommend this, but I heard this as a quote once. If if you want to know what lies in a person’s heart, just argue with them. Just a little bit of pressure in life, and it begins to reveal to us what truly lies in the seed of our heart as people. Matthew chapter 12. It says this for the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. Jesus, addressing the people signifies and says to us, if you want to know really what your heart is made of, listen to the words that you utilize in your life. When pressure and stress comes upon you, where do you go? And what do you say? When James starts chapter three, he begins with the idea of teachers, which I think is a significant for him to address because teachers are the ones who identify themselves as communicating for God, but they need to have the sobering reality of the way that God looks at such a position. I think James starts this off in chapter three, talking about teachers to to shock the audience, just to sober us in the moment as we think about utilizing our tongue.
And so he says this, not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble away in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check. I don’t know about you, but, uh, a good way to get me to pay attention to everything that you’re going to say is to tell me I’m going to be held accountable before God for that. Hey, when you share about the Lord in this life, or when you choose not to share about the Lord in this life, God’s giving you a tongue for that purpose, the way you do it, or the lack thereof. And God holds you accountable for that. Makes you stop for a minute. And just in that shock in your heart, just begin to think within your own life. God, where am I in my tongue? Being created in your image to honor you, giving this tool to be utilized for your goodness and glory. What do I choose to do with it? And I think for me as a teacher of God’s Word. Um, can I tell you, I recognize very quickly when I read passages like this that I am I am not perfect. You know, I love being a pastor here in Utah and specifically here at Alpine Bible Church.
I think this is the easiest place in the world to do ministry. I think the hearts of those of us who come to worship the Lord are always willing and desiring to do what God wants for our lives. And this is a place. That’s the only place that I’ve ever known where I can be called kid pastor and still be allowed to be the the pastor. So, you know, people ask me a lot of times how would I look? And I say, 16, but you can just take a shot and guess that’s not accurate. I lied to you. 16 is not my right age. I’m being bad with my tongue today, right? But but I know that I’m not perfect. And I come to a passage like this. And this passage concerns me. And, you know, before I even went into ministry, it was verses like this. Passages like this in Hebrews talked about the significance of being a teacher before God and the judgment that comes with this. That made me really pause in my life to question if this is something that I felt like God had called me to do, and I realized in doing that, I was I was never going to be perfect at it. I don’t think any of us ever are. I’m the type that if I know something doesn’t go perfect, I go back and analyze it all day how to make it bigger, better and more wonderful for everybody.
I don’t want to waste people’s time. I want us to all enjoy that, drive myself crazy, stay up all night thinking about things like that. But I know that I’m not going to be perfect and I’m going to fail. And so ultimately, this is where I rest said as an individual and all of that. But here’s what I want to make sure I do in all things. Is that is to encourage the body of Christ. Closer to Jesus. I’m going to mess up and I’m going to be held accountable. But Jesus doesn’t fail you. And when we stand up and we share God’s word, we consider it a success as a church. Here’s a church family. When we walk out of the building on Sunday morning, or any day that we gather to worship, and God’s Church is drawn closer to him and closer to one another because of what he’s done in our lives. May. It’s a reminder for me to always say to us in this passage that it’s hard to say, don’t look at what man does, because I think as people we naturally like to be led. We look to examples and we like to be led in different areas of our lives. But ultimately we need to always remind ourselves to do this. I’m going to fail and other people are going to fail, and we’re going to get near them and love them, and we’re going to encourage them.
We’re going to hold them accountable, but ultimately we’re going to recognize that we’re all flawless people, and that what God has called us to do is to look to him. Jesus is the one that directs and controls our lives. But James wants to remind us in this passage of Scripture that if you desire to teach for the Lord or to encourage people for the Lord God, God holds you accountable for that. And it’s a sobering reality to us to stop and say, okay, who is directing the speech that I’m utilizing? Am I doing it for my own glory or my own purposes misdirecting people? Or is it all about God’s glory in Christ? Because I’m going to fail. But Jesus will. And so James, as he describes the significance of teaching and accountability, comes with that. He then begins to talk about the tongue in in word pictures. And he uses six images to display the power of the tongue and describe it to us. And these six images define for us three ways that we utilize the tongue in this world. Or I should say, our tongues in this world. So it says in verse three, when we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal or take ships as an example.
Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, and they are still steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. So he says this the tongue is small, but it has great power for us. This morning. It’s important to understand that God has given you a gift that makes tremendous impact in this world. The tongue directs the tongue guide us. The tongue is both like a bit that steers an animal and a rudder that steers a ship. Can I tell you this morning? I think one of the examples or the choices that James uses, the reason he picks a bit and a rudder, is to remind us that the primary goal of the tongue is to steer in proper direction in this world. Meaning you can live your entire life following all religious rules. But but never really be a godly person. Or you can be a moral person, but never be a godly person. This is what I mean. Religion tends to tell you all the things that you’re to avoid, or we tend to think of it that way. These are all the things I avoid and I don’t do in this world. As long as I don’t do those things, then then I’ve I’ve done the right things. But when James talks about our tongue in this passage, he says the the purpose of the tongue isn’t about avoiding all the good things.
Like, if you get on a boat today and you are going somewhere, it’s not about where you’re not trying to go, you know what I mean? It’s not about what you’re avoiding the whole way, but it’s about the journey of where you’re going. And along that journey you do avoid dangerous things, but it’s always about the goal. When it comes to the tongue and the exercising of the tongue, it’s always about the goal. Jesus is the prize. It’s not about the religion of what you’re avoiding, but it’s about where you’re going in Christ. Exercising the tongue in that way. The tongue is both a rudder and a bit to direct our lives. To see how to direct people and encourage people in our lives. And before we can ever begin to do that for the lives of others utilizing our tongue, we first must begin that journey by understanding where God has called us to go. I think that’s why James starts his book in the first two chapters before he gets to the tongue. In chapter three, he says to us as individuals, this is the life that God has called you to lead as a as a ship that’s being steered or as a bit that’s being directed. God has this plan for you. And understanding that plan. Utilize your tongue to guide and direct other people towards the common goal that we have resting in Christ.
We’re not good at steering ships if all we do is avoid the dangerous stuff. But we come become wonderful captains in Christ. When the goal of where we desire to be is always on our mind. The second thing that Paul uses as an illustration for us, he gives two more here. He says likewise the tongue or excuse me, James, I should say likewise. The tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest it is set on fire, but a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind. But no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. Now the first example. What to do. The second example. Don’t do this right. Fire and poison in this illustration are bad. You know, when I think about passages of Scripture like this, when we talk about people utilizing their tongue in ways that it’s venomous, in ways that are full of, uh, of fire, uh, I think most people who exercise a tongue in that way don’t recognize just how dangerous their tongue has become.
Meaning? Many people that have tension in relationships and use their tongue to bash others recognize that in their lives they just they just feel like they’re just misunderstood. Meaning if I could just use my tongue more and more. It’s not that I’m wrong, it’s just that I’m misunderstood. And so they begin to to beat up on others as if they were a fire and a poison. Maybe sometimes we do recognize that we are using our tongue for bad things and like the way we do this in our culture. I don’t like the way we do this. I’m being sarcastic. Um, the way that we do this in our culture, we just say, you know, that that wasn’t me. Now, I apologize for that. That wasn’t me. All the good things I’ve done, that was me. But the bad things, that wasn’t me. But what can I tell you? What Jesus said in Matthew chapter 12 and verse 34, it says, out of the heart flows the words of your tongue, meaning the good things you say. Yeah, you said those, but so did you say the bad things? The good was just as much you as the bad. I mean, when the Bible calls us as human beings and it talks about the description of our creation, it says as you’re created in God’s image, but it also says this, and you’re a sinful creature because you’ve you’ve sinned against God and you’ve separated yourself from God.
And the only hope that we have in redemption from that is salvation in Christ. And it’s important to recognize that the good that I say, yeah, it’s me, but so is the bad, and it’s revealing the condition of my heart. It’s not that I’m misunderstood, it’s that my tongue is out of control. And I utilize it as a as a gift to bash other people, then to to use it to steer for God’s glory and goodness in the right direction. You think of all the ways that we use the tongue in negative concepts? We we can lie, we can gossip, we can plan, we can use hateful words. We can use attacking words. We can be boastful. We can excuse ourselves and defend ourselves. We can criticize and we can be cynical. You think in our culture today, we live in a society that expresses freedom of speech and we just create social platforms just galore. How many places in our lives do we have the opportunity just to make the mistake of becoming a fire and a poison? I can tell you that all the things that I could think of as far as using the tongue for ungodly reasons, maybe the one that hits me the most is this the thought that hurt people? Hurt people? Hurt people tend to hurt people. We say things like a poison or fire in our lives when we’ve been wronged.
As if it gives us an excuse. I cringe when I hear comments like this happen, but when people say, um, uh, you know, I can be good to you, but the minute that you wrong me, well, you better just look out right? And then I look at examples like Christ. And Jesus hanging on the cross, being spit on, being crucified. And then he looks at the crowd and he says this, father, forgive them. Because they know not what they do. Not only can we be cynical or gossip or complain, but even in our hurt we have the opportunity to hurt people. And God has given us a tongue that’s intention and purpose were designed to communicate his truth and to communicate life. And I come to a verse like this, recognizing in verse one it says to us that people who speak for God are held accountable. People who teach for God are held accountable. And I look at the danger of a tongue and a passage that says, we can be a poison or a fire. And I just say, God, how? How in my life can I avoid this God? How can I be what you’ve called me to be and utilize my tongue for what you’ve gifted it for? James then gives us another illustration in verse nine. He says this with the tongue we praise our Lord and father, and with it we curse human beings who have been made in God’s likeness.
Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing my my brothers and sisters. This should not be. Can both freshwater and saltwater flow from the same spring, my brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. The two illustrations that James gives. In the latter half of this passage, he describes the tongue both as a tree that provides life, and water that give life. Meaning. When we think about utilizing our tongue, the words that you choose to use could be one that offers life in this world. Your words have the ability to connect to the soul. Proverbs writes it this way the words of a man’s mouth are as deep waters and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook. In Proverbs 18, for the mouth of a righteous man is a wellspring of life. Proverbs 1011 the wise. The law of the wise is a foundation of life to depart from the snares of death. Your words have the ability to give life. God gave a supernatural ability to empower words to strengthen the soul. You think when Jesus communicates in the beginning, as he creates, he breathes and man becomes a living being out of the breath of his mouth, there is life. Got it supernaturally gives to men. His word inspired. It literally says It’s God’s God breathed.
And from the Bible we find life in those words. In the midst of difficult circumstances. How glorious it is to have a believer to step in the life of someone else and just offer words of hope and life in Christ. God utilizes your words to connect to the soul, to strengthen and empower other people for Christ. God chooses to use your tongue in that way. Rather than get focused on the insignificant things and recognizing that hurt people can hurt people, we see the goal that God has called us to to steer and direct and utilize the tongue as a gift of life. And so let me ask this question then how can you utilize your tongue well? How do we begin to utilize our tongue? Well, if we’re fighting the battle of of utilizing our tongue for God’s glory, where can we begin that journey? And so he says, if you look in verse nine, he he pits these two ideas together. He says, with the tongue we praise our Lord and father, and with it we curse human beings who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing my brothers and sisters, this this should not be. Saying to us, the heart of your speech is determined by what you choose to honor in in this world. And what James is beginning to recognize in this passage is that there are times in your life where you use it for worship, and then times in your life where you abandon that worship and you use it for things that God never desired.
And so the beginning idea of how to exercise the tongue in a way that gives praise to God is through worship. You can’t do both at the same time, praising God and cursing another. But it’s when we focus ourselves on the worship of Christ that we abandon, utilizing our tongue for the things that God has never called us to and the sinful things of this world. God desires for us to worship. God has created the tongue to express his beauty and worship. Were designed by him. To exercise our tongue in worship. James goes on then and begins to talk about wisdom. In the closing parts of this passage he says in in verse 14, describing the negative ways we could use the tongue, he says, but if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, and do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from heaven, but is earthly, unspiritual and demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder every evil practice. So the world’s wisdom is recognized, different than God’s wisdom. And the way that we see that we’re beginning to utilize our tongue and the way that doesn’t honor Christ as he shares with us in verse 15.
At the very end he says, when we’re seeking wisdom from the earth, it’s both unspiritual or demonic. This thought of unspiritual is also translated as as natural. It’s where we get the same word for psychology. It’s looked at in James nine or excuse me, Jude 19 as as sensual. And the main idea is this that of man’s fallen, fallen nature were opposed to the spiritual nature that God has given us. And so that we we seek wisdom in this world rather than from God. You know, one of the interesting things that I’ve looked at as a study, this last portion of Scripture, verses 13 to the end of the chapter, is that when when James starts talking about the way that we gain godly wisdom attached to the tongue, meaning, meaning we gain this wisdom, and then we utilize our tongue to exercise where the wisdom is coming from. When he describes this, this type of wisdom for us, notice that in all the things that James describes in this passage, it originates in a self focused mentality. Meaning it’s earthly, it’s central, it’s natural, it’s psychology. It’s. It’s demonic. It’s everything that the world would call wonderful apart from God. You think about the way that Satan has tempted the the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Meaning when we define wisdom apart from God, it comes this way through money, power, sexual appeal or fame.
If you do these things and you find wisdom in these things according to the world, you win. But from that type of wisdom, out of that wisdom will flow from the heart. Things that are expressed that contradict the worship that you were created to in God. Worldly wisdom. Is self focused wisdom. James then begins to describe godly wisdom for us. He says in verse 13, he who is wise and understanding among you. Let them show it by their good life. By deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure, then peace loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace, reap a harvest of righteousness. Notice that when James talks about godly wisdom in this passage that it’s not selfish, focused, but it’s selfless focused. Meaning the answer to the fixing of the heart and the correcting of the tongue is found outside of you. James knows that if what we desire to be in Christ is to walk this godly world, we have to recognize walk in this world in a godly way. We have to recognize that the answer is found outside of ourselves, because our hearts are corrupt, and the desires within our hearts are selfish and they’re demonic, according to James. And they’re earthly focused and not heavenly oriented and Christ centered.
James shares with us these different ideas of of the way that the wisdom expresses itself, and all of it is about letting self go. I could spend probably the rest of the morning just talking about the individual thoughts that come with this, but can I, can I can I tell you when we talk about being submissive under Christ in verse 17, that it’s not talking about weakness in Christ, but rather power under control in Christ. Meaning it only comes by confidence in who you are in Jesus, recognizing the image that he has placed upon you, and then that authority. Would you ever, only ever hope to find yourself submissive to Christ and circumstances to honor him with your tongue? As long as you make yourself king of this world, submissive submissiveness will never be an option, and therefore selflessness will never be a reality. And you’ll use your tongue for your own selfish gain and purposes, beating up on others but never desiring to steer the ship in honor of Christ. I love the way that James says that in verse 18 that we are peacemakers who sow in peace, reap a harvest of righteousness. In the past, we’ve talked about what it means to be a peacemaker, and it’s a difference. There’s a difference between understanding the word peacemaker and peace keeper. A peace keeper is this. He’s a pushover. Meaning when someone comes to me and there’s tension there.
Rather than address the tension or think about the relationship between that individual, I’ll just back down and let them have their way. I just want to keep the peace. I’m about peace keeping. What Jesus has called us to in this world isn’t about peacekeeping, but peacemaking. Meaning we care enough in the difficult circumstances to go in the life of other people and make peace. It’s not just about keeping it, but pursuing it. The whole gospel is about that. We’re alienated from God. We’re hostile to him in relationship. Judgment is coming. We need to be reconciled. And so we go into this world not trying to keep peace with it because it’s living contrary to God. But we make peace with it because Christ has called us to with the gospel. Peace making only happens in the authority of who Christ is. When you rest in that image, when you understand what God has called you to in this world, then are you only able to direct that ship as Jesus desires in your life? But if he’s not Lord of your life. That’ll never happen. Because godly wisdom. A selfless. When you’re interested in an argument of being poisoned and fire, you have lost the interest of what God desires for you to do with that tongue. God has called you to speak life. To use your words to communicate to the heart of others, and to see life through that.
Bible tells us this in Colossians two three Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. We started this way as a teacher. I’m going to mess up. And the answer is always Jesus. And it remains Jesus. The struggle with our tongue is to honor Jesus and to elevate Jesus and surrender it to Jesus, and recognize that it is little but powerful. And God has given us the ability of having the tongue to direct life and to reach souls for the sake of Christ, not to be misunderstood and use ourselves as poison and fire, but to see life happen for Jesus. The tongue is small, but it’s powerful. And don’t be hurt. People that hurt people, but rather be like Christ in the midst of that could stand in those moments and say, father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. And instead of being the fire. Pour yourselves into the wisdom of God so that you can be a powerful tongue that steers right and offers life not to be selfish, but to think selfless, that God may pour into you his wisdom. And if you fell at the tongue, take it to Jesus and worship. The tongue cannot both curse and praise, but what God’s desire to do in those moments is for us just simply to worship, that God may utilize our tongue as he desires.