Fruits: Taming the Tongue

Mark Knetsch

Fruits • Sermon • Submitted 7 years ago

James 3:1–12

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Fruits: Taming the Tongue

From Works to Words

Tasker: “Words are also Works”

Words need to be integrated with faith

Slow to speak

Don’t speak platitudes to the poor

Don’t desire power

Actions flow from the heart, so do our words.

Actions flow from the heart

Had to write out ch. 3 for school.

Mikron melos (member) but boasts big megala

vs. 6: “In short, captures and intensifies the thrust of 3:3–5, that the tongue is capable of great harm.” NIVAC

In short, captures and intensifies the thrust of 3:3–5, that the tongue is capable of great harm.”

Tongue is filled with deadly poison

: “What goes into a man’s mouth does not make him ‘unclean,’ but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him ‘unclean.’ ” Jesus understood actions to be revelatory of character, as the saying “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit” (7:18) attests. He also believed our speech to be revelatory of character, which is the essential point being made here. Our speech comes from the heart.

Actions flow from the heart

So do our words

Jesus and James are the only ones to use the word ‘gehenna’

Do not exasperate your children. Tongue usurps power.

This is stark, uncompromising language, which introduces us again to Satan’s power. When our speech demonstrates the capacity to devastate others and even ourselves, our tongues have been bent by the forces of evil. When those in positions of leadership within the church abuse that trust, they are under the influence of the forces of evil. James does not want us to be ignorant of this, for ignorance renders us even more vulnerable to the corrosive ravages of hell. Both the tongue and positions of leadership exercise power, and both easily are compromised. It is critical, therefore, that we understand the biblical view of power.

Do not exasperate your children. Tongue userps power.

Example:

The NIV Application Commentary: James Contemporary Significance

His father, Lord Randolph Churchill, detested Winston; his mother merely paid him no attention. That Winston was a disappointment as a student (he scored 53 percent in English composition on his entrance exam to Sandhurst, the British military academy) seemed to confirm their parental opinion and, in their minds, justified parental neglect. Upon graduation from Sandhurst young Winston imagined that his father would be proud. Instead Randolf was furious that he had not scored high enough to make it into the 60th rifles, a “crack regiment.” Randolf wrote a letter to his son containing these venomous words:

Do not think I am going to take the trouble of writing to you long letters after every failure you commit and undergo.… I no longer attach the slightest weight to anything you may say about your own acquirements & exploits.… If you cannot prevent yourself from leading the idle useless unprofitable life you have had during your schooldays & later months, you will become a mere social wastrel one of the hundreds of the public school failures, and you will degenerate into a shabby unhappy & futile existence. If that is so you have to bear all the blame for such misfortunes yourself.

Randolf ended the letter brutally: “Your mother sends her love.”

Words: Major in Communications

Linguistics: Favorite Class:

Power Language:

Poultry, Venesine, steak

Chicken, deer, cow

The difference in language showed a difference in social status. We continue to do this today but in more subtle ways...

Not a warning against teachers but those who aspire to be teachers.

What’s your heart?

Thirst for Power

Power of the Tongue

Warning to those who want to be teachers leads to a warning about the tongue.

James knows his stuff. Grabbing Greek culture, Jewish culture, language, and literature.

Jordan Peterson: I will not use language mandated by the institution.

Trudeau: From mankind to people kind

Olympics: The Dutch are such good skaters because they commute on their skates.

Political Correctness and the use of language.

Words are integrated with Works

What does the Bible say about our use of Words?

Paul: Didn’t want anyone to know anything other than Christ and Him crucified.

Fruit of the Spirit

Our guide is Scripture, not culture. Saying what ‘is’ vs. saying what we think.

Words

Tongue is hard to control

Gossip

Slander

Consider:

Mini Steers the Mega

Rudder: Titanic

Spark

Not only is it small, but it has the power to bring huge disaster

Proverbs:

So difficult to translate, some commentators guess as to what it’s actually saying. An anceitn translation (the Syriac Peshitta), adds “The tongue, also, is a fire; the sinful word is wood.”

Better to work through the text!

Staining (spilling?) the whole body.

“Entire course of life”= “Wheel of existence.”

“Not only does the tongue corrupt the whole person; it also “sets on fire,” wreaks havoc, throughout one’s life.” Pillar

From where? From hell!

Not only does the tongue corrupt the whole person; it also “sets on fire,” wreaks havoc, throughout one’s life.

Geheena:

“Pagan child sacrifices were carried out there (cf. ), and trash was often burned in it.” Pillar

Proverbs:

Pagan child sacrifices were carried out there (cf. ), and trash was often burned in it.

Thoughless chatters , ;

Arrogant boasting:

How to Fix?

The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Letter of James A. Control of the Tongue Manifests the Transformed Heart (3:1–12)

thoughtless “chattering” (10:8; cf. 12:18; 29:20); lying (12:19); arrogant boasting (18:12); gossiping (10:18). Think what enormous, sometimes irreversible, harm can be caused to people by unsubstantiated, often false, rumors. Such a rumor can be harder to stop than any forest fire (v. 5).

Problem #2:

Tongue is difficult to control

Anti-god

How to Fix?

God fixes it! “

We can tame animals but we can’t tame the tongue

Proverbs:

Thoughless chatters , ;

Arrogant boasting:

Outline:

Observing our Use of Language:

The Point: Bad things don’t produce good things.

Pendulum: Curse blessing

1st Reason: Mini Steers Mega

“The tongue holds a key place in holy living” 2-5a

Bit: Dad on horse

Rudder: Titanic

Spark

2nd Reason: Not like, But is a Fire

“The tongue has enormous power of actual harm (5b-6)

Pro-Satan: “Fires of hell reaching that part of our sinful, fallen nature where they will most easily find their touch-paper.” See Peter’s advice… Best advice can be Satanic!

Tongues (Mind of it’s own?)

Mikron melos (member) but boasts big megala

So difficult to translate, some commentators guess as to what it’s actually saying. An anceitn translation (the Syriac Peshitta), adds “The tongue, also, is a fire; the sinful word is wood.”

Better to work through the text!

Staining (spilling?) the whole body.

“Entire course of life”= “Wheel of existence.”

“Not only does the tongue corrupt the whole person; it also “sets on fire,” wreaks havoc, throughout one’s life.” Pillar

From where? From hell!

Geheena: “Pagan child sacrifices were carried out there (cf. ), and trash was often burned in it.” Pillar

Geheena:

vs. 6: “This is stark, uncompromising language, which introduces us again to Satan’s power. When our speech demonstrates the capacity to devastate others and even ourselves, our tongues have been bent by the forces of evil. When those in positions of leadership within the church abuse that trust, they are under the influence of the forces of evil. James does not want us to be ignorant of this, for ignorance renders us even more vulnerable to the corrosive ravages of hell. Both the tongue and positions of leadership exercise power, and both easily are compromised. It is critical, therefore, that we understand the biblical view of power.” NIVAC

“Pagan child sacrifices were carried out there (cf. ), and trash was often burned in it.” Pillar

3rd Reason:

“The tongue is humanly uncontrollable.” (7-8a)

Be slow to speak- put a bridle on it!

Gossip

Slander

We can tame animals but we can’t tame the tongue

4th: Reason: 8b-10

The Message of James Inconsistency, that Deadly Sin (3:8b–10)

The fourth element in James’ searching analysis of the tongue is that it involves us so easily in the deadly sin of inconsistency, one

The fourth element in James’ searching analysis of the tongue is that it involves us so easily in the deadly sin of inconsistency.

5th Reason To tame Tongue: Pollution prevails: vs. 11

6th Reason: An index of the Heart

5th Reason To tame Tongue: Pollution prevails

Gospel:

The Message of James The Untameable Tongue? (3:7–8a)

In verse 7 the words by humankind are literally ‘by human nature’ or, possibly better, ‘by a nature that is merely human’; and in verse 8, no human being is ‘no-one is able to tame—(that is to say) of men’. James does not simply say that the tongue is untameable, but that it cannot be subdued by any power resident in mere human nature or possessed by a mere human being. Beyond this he does not go, but he may feel that the hint is plain enough. On the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:2–4) a different fire from that which ascends from Gehenna descended from heaven to kindle new powers and give new speech to the human tongue. If we must say that the outworking of sin first appeared in the abuse of speech (Gn. 3:12; see p. 119, above), we must also say that the first act in the new creation was the renewal of the power of speech, a tongue intelligibly declaring the wonderful works of God (Acts 2:11). Maybe this is what James wants us to learn from verses 7–8a. Would not this be a marvellous display of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ in our lives, if our tongues were as his: ‘No man ever spoke like this man!’ (Jn. 7:46)?

Therefore!

The nature of the plant determines the fruit.

: ‘Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.’

“What goes into a man’s mouth does not make him ‘unclean,’ but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him ‘unclean.’ ” Jesus understood actions to be revelatory of character, as the saying “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit” (7:18) attests. He also believed our speech to be revelatory of character, which is the essential point being made here. Our speech comes from the heart.” NIVAC