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The tongue
The tongue
What does our passage say about God?
God will judge all mankind.
God will holds teachers to a higher standard.
God will hold us accountable for how we control our tongue.
The wicked tongue defiles not merely itself with its fire but “the whole body,” for there is no sin that is committed by any member of the body and no sin that requires the whole body for movement, attitude, etc., in which the tongue does not assume the control; and it does this by the way in which it speaks of the sin, helps to plan it, joins with what it says in carrying out the sin, defends, upholds, and continues the sin after it is done, etc. By means of a final modifier James explains how this one little member can thus control the whole body with defilement.
R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of the Epistle to the Hebrews and of the Epistle of James (Columbus, OH: Lutheran Book Concern, 1938), 606.
So what does our passage say about us? About men and women?
It says our tongues play a major role in our sinning. We are left with a simple question, why? Why is the tongue such a huge factor in our sin? I think Jesus gives us the answer in Matthew chapter 12 that we read earlier. Let’s look at verses 32-36
And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit.
You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.
I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,
So why does our tongue play such a major role in our sinning? It reveals our heart doesn’t it? There is a link, a connection between our hearts and and our mouths. I think as adults we get pretty good at hiding and controlling our tongues in certain social contexts don’t we? But I don’t think James is encourageing us to falsly control our tongues. What do I mean by that???
In our flesh, we can try and countrol our tongue when we are around other Christians, but when we get around co-workers or neighbors or friends who don’t profess faith our speach changes. We may use fould langue or tell an off coloured joke. Or maybe we say hurtful things in anger or We talk harshly or we gosip. I think this comes out mostly in our family interactions becuase we feel most comfortable with them.
Just yesterday, Amber and I were dealing with a very stressful situation and my true heart came out. I was not building her up or encouraging her with my speach. I wasn’t using foul language but I alsom was not encouraging her and speaking life into her. Afterwards I sat and really evaluated our text. I am considering stepping down from teaching I was so convicted that I am not controlling my tongue. Why am I struggling to control my, tongue? Because there is still evil in my heart that I am not surending over to God. Look at verse 8
but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
What else does our passage say about us?
We do not have the ability to tame our tongue. Who can? Only God. We need the Holy Spirit to cleanse us and take control don’t we? I know I still have territories in my heart that I have not allowed the Holy Spirit to control. My tongue is just revealing this truth. So we need more of the Holy Spirt’s control over our lives.