Sins of the Tongue (3)

Sins of the Tongue

Much can be said of a person's character by the way they use their tongue. Sanaca once said, "Speech is the index of the mind."

Jesus said that "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." () According to , "Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof."

In , the Bible says that the tongue is "a fire, a world of iniquity", and calls the tongue a "deadly poison."

As a fool would carelessly play and prank with a loaded gun, so many Christians today do likewise with their deadly tongue.

If only we could fully realize the untold damage that we are doing to the body of Christ! If only we could see the full effect of the words we use!

Perhaps a closer look into the Bible can help.

God made man, and God made man's tongue, so surely God should be qualified to comment on the subject.

Surely God should have some good counsel concerning the use and misuse of the human tongue. Let us consider some sins of the tongue as we find them revealed in God's word.

The Lying Tongue

says, "A man that beareth false witness against his neighbour is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow." So a lying tongue is a misuse of a deadly weapon.

It can be used to harm others near at hand (a maul), a few feet away (a sword), or a great distance away (an arrow).

Satan is the father of lies (), and God said that he hates a lying tongue ().

All liars will have their part in the lake of fire, according to .

The Flattering Tongue

Flattery is also a sin of the tongue.

The Bible speaks of flattery as a characteristic of the wicked, not the righteous: "For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue." ()

Imagine the improvements which could be made in our nation if voters elected leaders on the basis of the RECORD rather than on the basis of the flattering speeches!

Flattery is just a form of lying, and it has no place in the life of a Christian.

The Proud Tongue

The Bible also speaks of the proud tongue. says, "The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things: Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?"

The most annoying Christians in the world are those with proud tongues because a proud tongue usually comes with two closed ears!

Proud- tongued Christians are generally so full of themselves that they learn very little from anyone else.

A proud-tongued Christian will talk much of his knowledge and service, but very little about the Lord.

In a church, a proud-tongued Christian will make all sorts of suggestions about how the church should function, yet his suggestions, if received, will place burdens on everyone but himself.

A proud- tongued Christian is hard to teach or reason with because he thinks he knows everything.

Friend, God hates a proud tongue.

Allow the Holy Spirit to use your tongue in the way of humility and kindness because pride will only quench God's Spirit and damage your testimony.

The Overused Tongue

Some people sin by simply overusing their tongue. says that "a fool's voice is known by multitude of words."

People think they appear smart by much talking, but the Bible states just the opposite. says, "Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few."

God doesn't like a blabber mouth.

You say, "Well, that's just the way I am!"

Then REPENT! Confess your sin and repent.

Stop justifying your wickedness and ask God to help you repent.

The Swift Tongue

Some people are guilty of speaking too swiftly when they really need to wait before saying anything.

God's word says the following in : "He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him."

How many times have you had to "eat" your words because you spoke too swiftly?

warns us to be swift to HEAR and SLOW to speak.

Why do you suppose God gave us two ears but only one mouth?

The Backbiting Tongue

and make mention of a backbiting tongue.

A backbiter is someone who uses their tongue against you when you aren't present, yet they will not face you with their charges when you are present.

This is a cowardly backbiter who would rather stir up problems than solve problems.

A backbiter would much rather talk ABOUT the preacher than talk TO the preacher.

A backbiter would much rather talk ABOUT some weak Christian in the church than offer some words of encouragement TO them.

A backbiter is of no use to anyone, and no one has ever been strengthened or edified through backbiting.

Beware of the backbiters, especially the ones who sow discord among brethren ()!

The Talebearing Tongue

says, "The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly."

says, "Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people. . ." Every Christian has the duty to deny his own desires and seek to edify other Christians (; ).

Talebearing runs wholly contrary to Christian edification. Talebearing (carrying and telling tales) spreads all sorts of hurtful information around, and Satan uses such information to hinder and tear down God's work.

A victim of talebearing, according to Proverbs, is a "wounded" person.

God forbid that a Christian should wound another Christian, but it does happen all the time! Some Christians live as though they think God has "called" them to bear tales on other Christians.

Many "Christian" newsletters are dedicated to informing the body of Christ on the latest news about someone's ministry or personal life.

There are many nice words and phrases used to justify such conduct, but the Bible word is TALEBEARING.

The Cursing Tongue

Some people, Christians included, have a nasty habit of using their tongue for cursing.

says, "Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness."

This passage deals strictly with unsaved people and their ungodly ways, yet there are a great many professing Christians who curse regularly.

Friend, why would you want to identify yourself with someone whom God describes as being DEAD, DECEITFUL, and POISON?

"As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him.

As he clothed himself with cursing like as with his garment, so let it come into his bowels like water, and like oil into his bones."()

Many people curse because their life is miserable. They are unhappy so they make it known with their degenerate speech.

This text says that God keeps them unhappy BECAUSE of their speech! God curses those who curse! Christian, don't expect God's blessings when your mouth is filled with cursing.

The Piercing Tongue

Another sinful tongue is the piercing tongue. speaks of this tongue by saying, "There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health."

Some people have a sharp piercing tongue which Satan uses to offend and insult others.

The Bible commands Christians to have their speech dominated by GRACE (), yet most churches have a few people who use their tongue like a sword to pierce their brethren in Christ.

It was Teddy Roosevelt who said, "Speak softly and carry a big stick," but the truth is that if you speak softly you won't need a big stick!

commands us to use sound speech which cannot be condemned.

Friend, do you use graceful speech which cannot be evil spoken of, or do you possess a piercing tongue?

Every Christian's prayer should be, "Lord, make my words gracious and tender, for tomorrow I may have to eat them."

The Silent Tongue

A silent tongue is also a sinful tongue because we have been commanded to speak up and witness for the Lord Jesus Christ.

In , Jesus said, "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."

We, as Christians, have an obligation to tell others about the saving grace of Jesus.

To be silent about Christ is to sin against Christ. Jesus said, "Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." ()

Christian friend, if you do not want to be ashamed of yourself when the Lord returns, then don't be ashamed of Jesus today.

Pray for opportunities to speak up for your Saviour. Don't be found guilty of having a silent tongue.

"For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body." ()

Sins of the Tongue

William Bacon Stevens

"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, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts.

Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.

The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by Hell.

All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue.

It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

Speech is at once the glory — and the shame of man.

His glory . . . as it distinguishes him above all earthly creatures; as it puts him in communication with his fellow men; as it enables him to pray to and praise his Creator; as it allies him to angelic beings.

His shame — in that he uses this noble faculty . . . to dishonor himself, to dishonor his neighbor, and to dishonor his God.

In no work of the human mind, do we find so terse and truthful a description of the character and power of the human tongue, as in the Epistle of James.

In these few verses, is found the most graphic outlines of what this tongue is, has been, can be, and ought to be.

And by a series of most striking statements and illustrations, he sets forth the tongue in its qualities of good or bad;

warning us against the bad — and urging us to cultivate the good.Before we proceed to discuss the quality of the tongue, let us first take up the apostle's words, and show

the POWER of the tongue.

In doing this he uses three illustrations.

First, he compares it "to bits" in horses' mouths.

The horse is more powerful than several men; yet by putting a small bit into his mouth, a little child can guide him, and turn about his whole huge body. As the bit is small, in comparison with the size of the horse, and yet controls the horse — so the tongue is small in comparison with the whole body, and yet it is the controlling member of that body.

Secondly, James compares the tongue to "the rudder" of a ship. The largest vessels, in the fiercest gales, and on the most boisterous seas — are steered by a small rudder; a little and almost insignificant piece of wood, in comparison with the gigantic ship which it controls. Yet, as small as it is, by it, the helmsman steers the rolling and toppling vessel, and guides it through storm and billows to the haven where he would be. Just so the tongue, little, and like the rudder kept almost always out of sight — yet controls the whole body. The tongue is to the life of man — what the rudder is to the ship. It steers all his movements and guides him into the port of peace — or into the pit of woe.

Thirdly, James compares the power of the tongue to a fire. "Behold how great a matter a little fire kindles," and "the tongue is a fire." A spark lighting on the dry wood of a forest, may cause one branch of a tree to take fire; it may spread to the trunk; it may catch the next tree, and thus progress, until the whole forest shall be burned by one little spark! So a spark-like word dropped from a tongue burning with anger or with envy — may fall into a family, a church, a community, a town, a whole country — and set them in a blaze of consuming, burning rage!With regard to this tongue under the figure of a fire, James goes on to say, that "it sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by Hell." These are strong words. What do they mean?The word "course" is, in the original, wheel or circle of nature, and may mean the generations of men following each other with the rapidity of the revolutions of a wheel; or the course of a man's life; or the circle of human affairs.

Each of these ideas, might have been in the mind of the apostle, because, the tongue . . . sets on fire a whole generation of men; ignites the whole course of a man's life; and makes the circle of social life to blaze under its fiery appliances.

But James goes on to say of this tongue, which is itself a fire, that "it is set on fire by Hell." The idea is that the tongue derives all its power to do harm, from the evil influences which have their origin in Hell.

That which conveyed to the Hebrew mind the most vivid impression of eternal suffering, was the ever-burning fire of Gehenna. This fire — originally kindled in the valley of the son of Hinnom to burn up the refuse of the city of Jerusalem, and kept supplied with its filthy fuel night and day — conveyed to the mind of the Israelite, an idea of intense pollution, mingled with intense suffering. And as every fire kindled from the fire on the altar was regarded as holy — so every fire kindled from that in Gehenna, or Hell, was deemed unclean and defiling. Hence the tongue as a fire ignited from Hell — partakes of the nature of Hell, and becomes a hellish tongue!But the idea conveys even more than this. The Prince of darkness who reigns in Hell over fallen angels and fallen men, is designated in the Bible, not only as a liar from the beginning — but as "the father of lies," and he is said by Paul to "work with all lying wonders and deceivableness of unrighteousness," and John calls him "the great dragon, that old serpent, the devil, and Satan who deceives the whole world." It is he then, who has his abode in Hell — who instigates every lie, and every filthy word, and all sinful speech of men. And hence the tongue of fire, which sets on fire the course of nature, is justly said to be set on fire from Hell, because it is instigated to do its evil by the Prince of Hell. That is the birthplace of each sin of the tongue, as well as each sin of the heart!

James illustrates still further the power of the tongue, by comparing it with ferocious beasts and other animals; and pronouncing it more ferocious and untamable than anything on earth!

You can sooner make the condor of the Andes perch upon your wrist; you can sooner make leviathan sport with you, in the cresting surf; you can sooner make the boa-constrictor coil harmlessly around your neck; you can sooner make the lion so gentle that a little child can lead him — than tame the tongue; for "the tongue," he says, "no man can tame."

What a strong declaration this is concerning the power of the tongue! Well may he say, "it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison!"If we look into other portions of the Bible, we shall find further metaphors to indicate the power of the tongue.

Job calls it "a scourge or a whip" whose every blow inflicts severe wounds on the character and leaves its purple welts on the lacerated peace and reputation.

Daniel styles the tongue "a sharp sword" — a murderous weapon, which hews down those upon whom it falls, and drips with the gore of slaughtered innocence or virtue.

Jeremiah says of the tongue, it "is an arrow, shot out." A pointed arrow shot by wicked archers, against those whom they wish to pierce through with anguish, and yet themselves keep at a distance from the one whose good name they aim to destroy.

Paul, speaking of the lips through which the tongue speaks, says "the poison of asps is under their lips!"

And James says it is full of deadly poison — as the great venom bag from which the viper or the serpent ejects his poison lies under the tongue, and when that is excited he thrusts his forked fangs into its victim! So under the tongue of such men as slanderers, lies a poison bag which secretes its deadly venom, and spits it forth into the wound which its viper-tongue makes, and there it rankles and swells and does its deadly work!

These are some of the illustrations which the Bible uses in speaking of the evil tongue, and they show in striking light, the power of the tongue.

Nor are these metaphors at all too strong to express the might and influence of this little member, concerning which the Bible says, "life and death are in the power of the tongue!"

Does not all history confirm this statement.

Has not the strife of tongues, been the fruitful cause of nearly all the wars which have saturated the ground with blood? Has not an evil tongue, been that which has broken up the peace of families and churches and communities and nations?

Does not lying, falsehood, deceit, hypocrisy, slander, and backbiting — issue forth from the tongue?

Are not profanity and cursing, and filthy talking — the soul-destroying products of an uncircumcised tongue?

Surely it is not too strong language to say with James, that "the tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by Hell!"

Such being the general outlines of the character of an evil tongue; let us now descend to some

particular SINS of the tongue;

because only as we expose and drag to light those sins — can their vileness and influence be made apparent.

To enumerate all our tongue-sins would be impossible; for they ramify into every department of public and private life, and cover the entire face of the world. There are several, however, which the Bible brings prominently before us, and to these we must confine ourselves at this time.

1. The first tongue-sin which I will name is that of chattering.

"A chattering fool comes to ruin!" . By this I mean thoughtless, trifling, heedless talking. Paul speaks of such chatterers, and calls them "busybodies," who out of idleness roam about retailing from house to house, the talk which they have heard. The chatterer is never so happy as when talking. He must speak, it matters little what he says; and hence he rattles away, telling anything, and everything, that comes into his mind. Their conversation is, as one says, "merely an exercise of the tongue — no other human faculty has any share in it." There is a process in chemistry, by which you can capture the invisible gas, and weigh it, and separate it into its constituent elements. And were there a moral chemistry by which we could capture the gaseous chatter of these busybodies, and resolve it into its elements — its constituent parts would be folly, slander, falsehood, flattery, and boastfulness! What a source of domestic and social misery, is found in the tongue of the talebearer. He indeed "scatters firebrands, arrows, and death," and says, "I was only joking!" . It has been well said by an English writer, that "the author of an evil insinuation or slander does not usually carry it about himself; but he ties it to a few idle vagabonds; just as Samson tied firebrands to the tails of the three hundred foxes and turned them free into the standing corn of the Philistines." These chatterers with their fire-kindling tongues, do indeed set in a flame a whole town, a whole community. It is impossible to estimate the evils of this unrestrained fluency — this loose chattering of an unbridled tongue. It is the fruitful source of strifes, anger, heart-burnings, dissensions in families, defamation, malice. Such a tongue is indeed set on fire by Hell!

2. The second tongue-sin is slander. Under this head I enumerate:

backbiting, or speaking evil of one behind his back; defaming one's good name by absolute or implied blame; detraction, envious jealousies, secret whisperings, innuendoes, and all other ways by which the tongue wounds and injures the name and reputation of another. Twice, does the apostle, speaking of false accusers, term them Diaboloi; and the meaning of the word Diaboloi is slanderous, libelous, injurious; and this is the term constantly applied to the devil, because he is, as John styles him, "the accuser of our brethren." The devil then, is, as Christ says, "the father of lies," and every one who gives his tongue to slander, and maligns his neighbors, or utters words of falsehood or detraction — comes into the class of those false accusers, those Diaboloi of which Jesus truly said, "You are of your father the devil!" There are various ways in which slander is uttered, each of which finds its illustration, and each its condemnation, in Scripture. Let me specify a few. The grossest kind of slander is bearing false witness — that is, saying a person did things which he did not do; as was the case with those suborned to testify against Naboth whose vineyard Ahab coveted; as was the case with the false witness, who laid to David's charge, things which he knew nothing of. This false witness is sometimes spoken openly, sometimes in secret — but always with malicious intent. And in every instance the tongue which utters it, not only sets on fire the course of nature — but is set on fire by Hell. Another way of slandering is by the use of scandalous and opprobrious epithets — as when Korah accused Moses of being unjust and selfishly ambitious; as when the Pharisees called our Lord a gluttonous man. Every epithet which you apply to a man is designed to brand the character of that person, and render it odious in the sight of others. This is mostly done behind one's back; where for a long time, perhaps, he cannot hear of it; and where, it may be, he can never defend or clear himself of the slander. Such a tongue is indeed like a viper's tongue — lurking in secret, and suddenly shooting out its fatal venom!"No might nor greatness in mortality, Can censure 'scape. Back-wounding calumny, The whitest virtue strikes. What king so strong, Can tie the gall up in the slanderous tongue?"Another way of slandering is to impute false motives to good actions. When we say . . . of a liberal man — that he is vainglorious; of an active man in church affairs — that he is a Diotrephes; of a prudent man — that he is miserly; of a devout man — that he is hypocritical; ascribing to the actions of persons — not good motives and designs, but evil ones, wherever it is possible to imagine such.Another way of slandering is, to distort and pervert views, words, and actions . . . giving them a false construction; suppressing what might appear good; magnifying what might seem to be evil. This is taking a man's words and deeds, and, like Romish inquisitors, stretching them upon the rack until they become disjointed, and the once symmetrical form is all distorted and warped, by reason of the unjust treatment to which slander subjects it.Another way of slandering is by . . . insinuations, sly suggestions, expressions of doubt, intimations as to something concealed, a qualifying of the praise of others, by some question implying distrust, or lack of confidence. In this way, without any downright assertions — but by skewed remarks and masked calumnies — is the character of your neighbor made to suffer; distrust of him is spread abroad, and he is pierced through by the arrow of malevolence, which the tongue of the slanderer, like a bow bent and charged with lies, has shot against him!A good character is one of the richest estates man can own. "A good name," says the wise man, "is better than precious ointment. Yes, a good name is rather to be chosen than great riches!" Yet the slanderer steals away this good name, and seeks to ruin this goodly possession. Yet how often he goes unwhipped by justice."Who steals my purse, steals trash; 'tis something, nothing; 'Twas mine, now 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands. But he who filches from me my good name, Robs me of that, which not enriches him, And makes me poor indeed!"

3. The third tongue-sin which James mentions, is, the murmuring, complaining, tongue.

There are those who are always discontent, repining, and complaining. Even if blessings come, they murmur because they are no greater, and are ready to find fault, not only with all the dealings of their fellow-men — but with all the providences of God Himself! Nothing receives their unqualified commendation. There is always some abating, or qualifying, expression. They never give full credit for goodness; but always overestimate badness. Peevishness is the habitual tone of their talk. They look at everything through this jaundiced medium — and they make the air around them pestilent with the poisonous exhalations of their complaining tongue. No character escapes their malevolence — the more polish and luster a character has — the more they delight to tarnish it, by the breath of slander. Such persons are miserable, unless they are engaged in detraction. They glory in their shame.

4. Falsehood is another grievous tongue-sin; and in this I would include all kinds of lying:

the positive lie — and the negative lie; the direct lie — and the lie by implication; the malignant lie — and the sportive lie.Every designed departure from truth, is falsehood; and every falsehood is . . . a sin against one's own soul, a sin against your fellow-men, and a sin against God — which He will punish with fearful severity. Were you able to sift the conversation which you hear in the common interactions of life — you would be surprised to find how much of falsehood it contains. Not the glaring, naked lie, bold, impudent, heaven-defying — but in the form of prevarication, distortion of facts, suppression of truth, or some one of the many minor forms which the tongue employs in uttering lies before God.

5. The tongue commits a great sin, when it is used in filthy talking and indecent speech.

It is greatly to be lamented that even in polite, and what would pass for modest society — there is too much of tampering with this sin. Gross indelicacy would of course be avoided; but covert expressions, double entendres, innuendoes, passing allusions, indirect assertions — are too much indulged in; and with a relish which shows, alas! that the heart is not averse from that kind of talking, which it rather countenances than condemns. The unclean tongue evidences an unclean heart — for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The unclean heart, like the volcano — is ever ejecting from its sulphurous mouth its unclean belchings, and pours its indecencies over the fairest aspects of society.

6. Another tongue-sin is boasting. "The tongue is a little member — but boasts great things." Boasting results from an over-estimate of ourselves — and an underestimate of others. It is selfishness manifesting itself in words. It is the inflated mind, venting itself in windy words. It betrays weakness, littleness, ignorance, vanity, self-conceit, arrogance, and pride! Yet it is a sin which we daily meet with; for men ever delight to talk about themselves, their sayings and doings, puffing themselves up above measure. And in order to elevate themselves — they make stilts of the reputation of others, and decry the doings of their neighbors — that their own may appear more grand and towering!

7. Another sin of the tongue, is flattery — or the giving of undue and undeserved praise.

The desire to say something . . . which will please the person we are speaking to, or which will secure his favor, or elevate us in his regard; or the desire, perhaps, to have him reciprocate the compliment, and flatter us — are the usual motives for this sin of the tongue. Yet flattery is a species of untruth; for it magnifies real merit beyond just grounds — or feigns a merit where none exists. Flattery is used in all ranks and classes. In the family, in society, in business, in professional life, in politics, in the church. And yet how true is it, as Solomon says, "He who flatters his neighbor — spreads a net for his feet!"

8. Lastly, there is the tongue-sin of profanity — the taking of God's name in vain.

I need not here speak of that open blasphemy which so offends the ear even of those who do not profess and call themselves Christians; but shall restrict myself to those who, while they would not swear, as vulgar people do — yet in various ways and by indirect methods, do take God's name in vain. How many are the epithets, and phrases, circulating from mouth to mouth, even among good people, which, when reduced to the last analysis, is, in God's sight — a taking of His name in vain! How many ejaculations bordering on profanity, how many exclamations having the aspect of thinly-disguised blasphemies — are current in society. These tend to weaken conscience — are almost self-conscious violations of the third commandment, and always detract from integrity of character, by showing inward thoughts and emotions, which would utter themselves in profanity if they dared, and are only kept back and masked by social considerations, rather than reverence for God's hallowed name. The Christian cannot be too careful to purge his speech of all such things, and never to let his tongue use such questionable asseverations. Such being some of the sins of this mighty, this unbridled, this untamable tongue —

what are the THREATENINGS of God against all such sinfulness of speech?

With regard to the first tongue-sin, Chattering, the Bible says, "A chattering fool comes to ruin!"

It was commanded in the law of Moses, "You shall not go up and down as a talebearer among your people"; and the Scripture says, "The words of a tale-bearer, are as wounds"; and Solomon declares, "When words are many — sin is not absent; but he who holds his tongue is wise.

"Against the second tongue-sin, Slander, God utters fierce denunciation.

"Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret — him will I cut off." He who utters slander is a fool; because while he is attempting to kill the character of his neighbor — he is slaying his own!

Against the third sin, Complaining and Murmuring, there are strong threatenings; and God's deserving punishment of the murmurings of the children of Israel, are frequently mentioned in the Bible.

Against the fourth sin, Falsehood, God says, "No one who practices deceit will dwell in My house; no one who speaks falsely will stand in My presence."

"Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord!" ". . . all liars — their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulphur!"

Against the fifth sin, Filthy talking, God says, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths." "Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place." He declares that nothing that defiles shall enter the gate of the Celestial City, that only "he who has pure hands and a clean heart, shall ascend into the hill of the Lord." Every impure word is a direct violation of the seventh commandment; and every unchaste thought is an insult to a holy God, who has declared that only "the pure in heart shall see God."

Against the sixth sin, Boasting, the Psalmist says, "The Lord shall cut off every boastful tongue."

Paul classifies them with backbiters, haters of God, inventors of evil things, all of whom "are reprobate," and James says — "all such boasting is evil."

Against the seventh sin, Flattery, God says, "A flattering mouth works ruin." "The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips!"

Against the eighth sin, Profanity, which is a direct violation of the third commandment, God says that He will not hold him guiltless, who takes His name in vain; and that blasphemers shall have their part in the lake which burns forever.

Such are some of the more marked tongue-sins among men; and from even this brief enumeration, you will perceive that the description which James gives of this little member is not at all exaggerated. Not an epithet is applied to it, which it does not deserve; not an illustration is used, which is not of the utmost force. With what care, then, should we bridle the tongue; for God says, "If any man among you seems to be religious, and bridles not his tongue — that man's religion is vain."With what steadiness should we hold this tongue which, like the little rudder of a ship, turns about our whole course of life! With what watchfulness should we mark the spark-dropping words of this tongue, which is itself a fire and kindles great conflagrations! With what caution should we use an instrument of speech which has under it "the poison of asps!" With what assiduity should we seek to tame that most untamable of things — that it does not tear by its fierceness, and destroy society by its brutelike goadings! Yet we cannot do this in our own strength of wisdom. Our prayer must be that of the Psalmist, "Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth. Guard the door of my lips!" We must seek for divine grace to aid us in subduing and controlling the tongue. We must seek to have hearts created anew in Christ Jesus; for if our hearts are right with God — our speech will be also. If our hearts are clean — our lips will be clean. If our hearts are pure — our tongue will be pure. The cleansing process then must begin in the heart. The cleansing power must be the Holy Spirit — for He alone can sanctify it and make it pure.

Doctrine of Sins of the Tongue; We all go through testings of all kinds and all varieties, and whenever we do it brings with it the temptation to try to solve the problem, to try to deal with the adversity, in ways that depend on our own wisdom, our own flesh. Yet the Bible says that true victory comes only from the Lord. As we go through these situations of either prosperity or adversity, if we are not using the Word of God then we are going to transfer that into stress in our souls. Adversity and prosperity are inevitable. We will encounter one or the other, or both at the same time; it is inevitable. Stress is optional. Stress is what you do to yourself; adversity is what circumstances do to you. The issue is always and ultimately your volition and how you respond to these circumstances. One of the most obviously ways many times in which we reveal how we are handling those circumstances is what we do with our mouth. That is why James shifts in chapter three from talking about the priority of hearing the Word and applying it to talking about the sins of the tongue. NASB “For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race.” It does mean every single “species”, it is talking about ever category. This is not a statement that is true about every single animal but it is true about ever category of species. [8] “But no one can tame the tongue; {it is} a restless evil {and} full of deadly poison.” Three times we see the word “tame” and this is not a good translation. The Greek is DAMAZO [damazw], and it means to control, to subdue, to restrain; it doesn’t mean to tame. Just about every kind of animal at one time or another has been subdued, not domesticated. “But no one” is a gnomic present tense of the verb. It is a present active indicative and a gnomic present. This means that it is a present tense used to state a universal truth. James did this back in verse 2 when he said that we all sin in many ways and he is using a gnomic present again in v. 8 saying no one can tame the tongue. From the moment we are saved until the moment we die we are going to have a problem with this in our life. We are freed at the moment of salvation positionally from the power of the sin nature, but we will always struggle with the sin nature, we will never reach sinless perfection and at some point we will always struggle with sins of the tongue. Even if that is not our area of weakness we will never have complete control of the tongue. Nevertheless, the goal of the Christian life is to advance spiritually and to have as much control of the sin nature as possible. Remember that Romans chapter 6 says that we are to put to death the deeds of the sin nature. “…{it is} a restless evil {and} full of deadly poison.” As we read through these passages we see the tremendous imagery that James is using in order to grab our attention so that we start paying attention to what we say. It is so easy for us to slip into various categories of gossip, slander, and to use our tongue to run people down. When we get mad at somebody we immediately say something cutting or insulting. We do that with people we love as well as people we don’t care too much about. Then in the next verses James is going to show how the tongue operates in terms of revealing what is happening in the soul. If we are not looking at life from divine viewpoint, and you can’t as an unbeliever, then your only alternative is human viewpoint. That is why the process of sanctification is portrayed as renovating your thinking. That is a very strong word in , that we are to completely renovate and reshape our thinking. We have to go in and we have to do a major overhaul of everything, including the foundation. What is hard is that that foundation has to do with a lot of unstated assumptions and presuppositions about life, things that people very rarely pull out into the open and think about and talk about. Yet that is the process of the spiritual life. We live in an era today when people’s general thinking is shaped by emotionalism, pragmatism and mysticism. This characterises the average man on the street. That doesn’t mean that he understands these words or that he can even pronounce these words. He may never have heard of men like Kierkegaard, Friedrich Schliermacher or Karl Barth, yet he exemplifies their philosophical and theological positions by every choice that he makes. In emotionalism we determine what is right by what makes us feel good. That becomes the ultimate criterion. In pragmatism we determine what is right by what works, and in mysticism the ultimate authority in life is our own internal sense of what is right or wrong, which is intuition. That is the average person. Now that person gets saved. But rather than challenging all of his unstated presuppositions about emotionalism, pragmatism and mysticism, he just goes to a church where all of this is going to be there. He goes there and he hears this wonderful glowing sermon and they sing music that has a great beat to it, and there is what everyone is buying into today called the “Christian choruses.” Everybody feels good and they think, “I must have worshipped God.” Not only that, but everybody seems to like this so the church is growing. They have fifty people, they keep doing tuis and a year later they have 200 people. So it is growing, “So God must be blessing us”! Of course, they’re not teaching the doctrine of the Trinity, the hypostatic union, substitutionary atonement. In fact, they’re teaching Lordship salvation and nobody is getting saved. It has nothing to do with doctrine; it has everything to do with their human viewpoint systems of thought. Then you ask them, “Well how do you know this is really right?” “Well I just know it is.” Well have you taken the time to study the Scriptures?” This is what we are saying. The average person has his thinking under girded by a lot of philosophical concepts. That doesn’t mean that he knows what they are called, that he knows how they are related to one another. It doesn’t even mean that he is consistent. The thing about mysticism is that it says that the worst thing in the world is rigorous logic, so the best thing in the world is to be inconsistent. So hey, isn’t it great? We are just going to have a wonderful time and just feel good about it! So this guy gets saved and he doesn’t have to renovate his thinking because he can go to a hundred different churches and can feel quite comfortable without ever changing the basic assumptions of life. But if we want to get anywhere in the spiritual life and really learn to think correctly about reality we have to renovate our thinking. We have to learn some things, and part of that is learning what some terms mean, and we have to learn what their characteristics are so that we can then take some tome to go home and take our own thinking and put it under the microscope of Bible doctrine. Then we begin to look and see how these various modes of thinking have infiltrated our life from day one. How we think is more important than anything else we do in life because the Scripture says that everything starts from our thinking. That is why the apostle Paul uses words over and over again like thinking and mind and mentality to describe the essence of the Christian life. What James is saying is that as a believer we are going to produce one of two things, and our tongue is going to show which of these is dominating the mentality of our soul. NASB “With it [the tongue] we bless {our} Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God.” Right here we understand that one of the basic issue underlying the prohibition to slander, to gossip, etc., is the fact that everybody, whether they are believer or unbeliever, is made in the image and likeness of God. With the fall, sin, the image was tarnished. It wasn’t destroyed, removed, it was tarnished. Because every human being, even though fallen, is in the image of God we are to treat them with honor and respect. That is the fundamental principle underlying respect for human life in all legislation in that arena. [10] “from the same mouth come {both} blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.” Mandate of prohibition; imperative of prohibition: it ought not to be this way. Then there are two illustration, one from a fountain and one from a fig tree. NASB “Does a fountain send out from the same opening {both} fresh and bitter {water?} [12] Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor {can} salt water produce fresh.” In other words, he is saying that if you are regenerate and you are storing doctrine in your soul, then as a mature believer operating on divine viewpoint you are not going to be producing sins of the tongue. The sins of the tongue are a contradiction to what has happened in he life of the believer. He is not saying go and sin no more. In other words, go and be perfect and don’t commit sin, sins of the tongue. But what he is saying is that this is an internal inconsistency in the life of the believer, and so the goal is mastery of the tongue and that only comes as a result of the spiritual dynamics of learning and applying doctrine under the filling of the Holy Spirit. The doctrine of the sins of the tongueProverbs 8:13 NASB “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate.” NASB “On the lips of the discerning, wisdom is found, But a rod [discipline] is for the back of him who lacks understanding. [14] Wise men store up knowledge, But with the mouth of the foolish, ruin is at hand.” 1) Sins of the tongue is one of three categories of sins which emanate from the sin nature. The other two are overt sins such as murder, adultery, thievery, and mental attitude sins such as bitterness, jealousy, envy, hatred, anger, fear, worry, anxiety, guilt, self-pity. Verbal sins [of the tongue] include gossip, maligning, slander, lying, false witness, whining and complaining. NASB “Keep your tongue from evil And your lips from speaking deceit.” Cf. . NASB “Do all things without grumbling or disputing.”2) The sins of the tongue are sponsored and motivated by mental attitude sins, especially pride, jealousy, bitterness, vindictiveness, revenge motivation, and hatred. NASB “There is nothing reliable in what they say; Their inward part is destruction {itself.} Their throat is an open grave; They flatter with their tongue.” 3) Out of the list of the seven worst sins, the seven sins that God abominates, three are sins of the tongue.  NASB “There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: [17] Haughty eyes [arrogance], a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, [18] A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil, [19] A false witness {who} utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers.” 4) The sins of the tongue produce triple-compound divine discipline. NASB “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. [2] For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.” 5) Judging incurs such harsh discipline because the self-righteous believer is putting himself in the place of God—that is arrogance—and judges the actions, motives and thoughts of others without knowing all the facts. The don’t know all the facts, they have a false system of standards, usually they are very self-righteous, and therefore they justify engaging in character assassination and destroying reputations because, “after all, this person has done this horrible sin.” NASB “Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. [2] And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things.” NASB “Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand… [10] But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.” 6) Continuation of the sins of the tongue or the habitual function of the sins of the tongue is a sign of extended carnality and rejection of doctrine in the life of a believer. NASB “May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, The tongue that speaks great things.”7) God protects and blesses the believer who is victimized by the sins of the tongue. NASB “From six troubles He will deliver you, Even in seven evil will not touch you. [20] In famine He will redeem you from death, And in war from the power of the sword.[21] You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, And you will not be afraid of violence when it comes.” 8) Control of the tongue is a sign of the possession of maturity in terms of the soul fortress and spiritual maturity. NASB “The one who guards his mouth preserves his life; The one who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.” NASB “He who guards his mouth and his tongue, Guards his soul from troubles.” 9) The tongue of the carnal believer can produce enough slander, gossip, maligning and judging to destroy an entire congregation. NASB “Remind {them} of these things, and solemnly charge {them} in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless {and leads} to the ruin of the hearers. [15] Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. [16] But avoid worldly {and} empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness, [17] and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus.” 10) Troublemakers are always characterized by sins of the tongue. Believers are specifically commanded to avoid such troublemakers and to separate from them. NASB “Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them. [18] For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.” 11) The believer can actually lengthen his life and find great inner happiness by avoiding the sins of the tongue. NASB “Who is the man who desires life And loves {length of} days that he may see good? [13] Keep your tongue from evil And your lips from speaking deceit.” 12) Deceit and lying can be by commission or omission. NASB “Put away from you a deceitful mouth And put devious speech far from you.” 13) Slander and gossip, which is running down others and telling unfavourable stories about them which harm their reputation, are to have no part in the believer’s life. It is not the veracity of the stories that is the issue, it is telling stories that you are not involved with. NASB “He who conceals hatred {has} lying lips, And he who spreads slander is a fool…. 11:9 “With {his} mouth the godless man destroys his neighbor, But through knowledge the righteous will be delivered.” 14) Whining and complaining reveal a complete lack of gratitude, failure to appreciate the blessings of God in our lives, and failure to appreciate the vast extent of our salvation and spiritual life blessings. It is what the children of Israel did when they were delivered from slavery in Egypt. 15) Believers are warned against talkativeness, especially during times of adversity or testing. NASB “The one who guards his mouth preserves his life; The one who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.” NASB “the beginning of his talking is folly and the end of it is wicked madness. [14] Yet the fool multiplies words. No man knows what will happen, and who can tell him what will come after him?” NASB “When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, But he who restrains his lips is wise.” 16) Taking the Lord’s name in vain is often at the top of the list of the sins of the tongue. Yet, that is based on a poorly understood and mistranslated passage in the Old Testament. In the Ten Commandments it says, “Do not take the Lord’s name in vain.” But everybody immediately thinks that means prefacing some comment with “God,” “Jesus Christ,” and something like that. What the Ten Commandments is saying is something completely different. That is not what God put in the Ten Commandments. The Hebrew there for taking the Lord’s name in vain is the word shua. What this means is to treat something lightly, insignificantly, to use God’s name in an illegitimate, deceitful or false manner. Basically the application in Israel was that this was to prohibit attaching the Lord’s name, Yahweh, to a prophecy, so that you are not going to say, “Thus saith the Lord.” That is taking the Lord’s name in vain. It was to attach the Lord’s name to a course of action. There are so many self-righteous Christians who say, “This is God’s will for my life.” That is taking the Lord’s name in vain. It is attaching God’s name to some enterprise and you don’t know with one hundred per cent certainty that that is what God wants you to do or not. Taking the Lord’s name in vain is attaching His name to any course of action, any ideology, any religious system, that is not authorized by God. ; .

THE RIGHT AND WRONG USE OF THE TONGUE

THE LETTER OF JAMES by Francis Dixon Scripture Portion:

It was the late Canon Guy King who used to say that the subject expounded in was in everybody’’s mouth! What a vital subject this is, and how much we need to take note of the teaching of God’’s Word about the right and the wrong use of the tongue! The fact is that our tongues may be used helpfully, for the glory of God and for the blessing of others; or they may be misused, bringing sorrow and tears to others, and in the process hindering the testimony of the Lord. The fact that throughout his letter James has much to say about this matter suggests that those he had in mind were guilty of committing what Matthew Henry calls ‘’tongue sins’’. So James shows us very pointedly that the tongue of a Christian is the indicator of that Christian’s spiritual health. Our speech reveals what kind of a Christian we are. In order to emphasise this fact James uses three pairs of illustrations to show the power of the tongue.

1 The tongue has power to direct. In verses 3 and 4 we have the illustration of the bit and the rudder. Our words can direct others into the right or the wrong path –- look up . Beware of the idle word, the questionable story, the half-truth, the deliberate lie. All these could change the course of a life and lead it to destruction. On the other hand, the right word may direct someone out of sin and into salvation. How we need the Lord to control our tongue!2 The tongue has power to destroy. The illustration in verses 5-8 emphasises the fact that the tongue is a small member of the body, but it can cause great destruction. What the tongue says comes from the heart –- look up . A tiny spark can set a whole forest on fire, and the tongue is like a small flame –- look up . An evil tongue can also spread poison. On the other hand, a spiritual tongue is medicine –- look up ; it will heal and not hurt.3 The tongue has power to delight. In verses 9-12 we have the illustration of the fountain, or spring; it is impossible for a spring to produce both fresh and salt water at the same time. In the same way, the tongue cannot speak blessing and cursing (). A tree cannot bear two kinds of fruit (; ).

1. THE WRONG USE OF THE TONGUE

(1) Blaming God when tempted to do wrong (). God never tempts us to sin; temptation arises when a man is lured away by his own lust.(2) Speaking hypocritically (). It is easy to do this, and what a terrible statement about this very thing is found in !(3) Expressing discrimination between rich and poor fellow-believers (). Discrimination between people’’s colour, background, race and status in life can be thoroughly un-Christian.(4) Speaking unsympathetically to those in need (). With so much poverty in our world, we need to search our hearts.(5) Boasting and flattering, thus causing a destructive fire (). Just one word can cause a family upset or division in a church; see .(6) Grumbling against each other (; ). Moffatt renders : ““Each of us will have to answer for himself to God, so stop criticising one another!””(7) Swearing or blaspheming (). Many non-Christians are careless with their words, even taking the Lord’’s name in vain. How careful we must be as believers –- .

2. THE RIGHT USE OF THE TONGUE

Now look at the following references in James to see how the Christian’’s tongue should be used:-

(1) To praise God (), which in one translation reads, ““We use our tongue to praise our Heavenly Father””. We should be doing this every day –- read through , and 150!(2) To pray to God: (1) For wisdom ().(2) For help for those in trouble ().(3) For healing ().(4) For large requests ().(5) For backsliders to be restored (). (3) To sing to the Lord (). Turn to and make the same resolution.(4) To witness for the Lord. This is not actually mentioned by James, but we must include it –- look up ; .

We have seen that our tongues can be used in many bad ways and in a number of good ways. How can it be controlled? Only by the Holy Spirit. Have you ever asked the Holy Spirit to take control of your tongue? In we are exhorted to offer the parts of our body to God ““as instruments of righteousness”” –- our hands, eyes, feet……and our tongue. Have you ever given your tongue to the Lord for Him to control it? Do so now, and as you conclude this study here is:

(1) A resolution to make –- ; .(2) A warning to take note of –- .(3) A prayer to pray –- ; .