The Tongue Must Be Tamed

MARCH 4,2020 STUDY NOTES JAMES 3:1-4 BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES THE TONGUE MUST BE TAMED INTRODUCTION James has had the subject of the tongue in mind throughout this letter, Jas 1:19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: In this verse the hearing and speaking is referring to God’s Word There is no better use of the tongue than to speak the Word of God James said that the tongue can be like a wild horse without a bridle, Jas 1:26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. God’s Word must be the bridle that controls our tongue The Holy Spirit must be the one to place the bridle of God’s Word upon our tongue James said that all we say and do will be judged according to “the law of liberty,” Jas 2:12 So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. The “Law of Liberty” is the Word of God, the commandments given to us by God The question of chapter 2 was, “Does it matter what we do and how we do it? The question of chapter 3 is, “Does it matter what we say and how we say it? The theme of chapter three is the tongue, chapter 3 is the NT classic on the tongue The tongue is God’s gift of communication to man, sharing Christ with others It can also be Satan’s tool of destruction, used to destroy our testimony for Christ James tells us how much harm the tongue can do and how much evil it can cause The tongue can be a wicked tool of destruction when Satan is in control Many churches have gone through division and a church split because of the tongue James is going to show us that the tongue can be filled with wisdom that will bless others James wants us to put the tongue to the test, how is it being used, how are we using it? He encourages us to use the tongue to tell others the truth of life and how to live God’s way Peter agrees with James, 1Pe 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: We must “be ready,” be prepared, ready for every opportunity to speak for Christ Jas 3:1 My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. James has identified the “brethren” eight times in the first two chapters He identifies with the “brethren” three times in chapter three He will identify them eight more times in the letter for a total of 19 references Spiritual relationship was very important to James He wanted us to know who we are “in Christ” and to live like we are “in Christ” We are one family, we are to meet-together, worship together, and pray together be not many masters, The word translated “masters” means “teacher,” it refers to those who have a special function in the church When the Bible speaks of teaching, it speaks of teaching the Bible for the purpose of learning the Word of God We are to learn the Word of God in order to live according to the will of God God has gifted some to teach and given them to the church to teach, Eph 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; God gives gifted teachers to the church to teach and explain God’s Word Teaching is listed as one of the spiritual gifts, Rom 12:6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; Rom 12:7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; The spiritual gift of teaching does not refer to the general teaching of various subjects The gift of teaching does not mean that the gifted teacher has a superior knowledge over others The gifted teacher has a God given ability to explain scripture in an understandable way They have-the ability to seek out the truths of God’s Word and apply it to daily life Their gift is the God given ability to understand God’s Word and express it to others Gifted teachers are not exempt from the study of God’s Word Those with the gift of teaching will have a strong love for the Bible and a strong desire to study the Word of God James is not discouraging people from becoming teachers, James himself was a teacher James wants those who have the gift of teaching to be aware of their calling If God has not called you, and gifted you as a teacher don’t let the preacher talk you into teaching All are not gifted to teach others in the church, 1Co 12:29 Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? (The answer is “NO”) James wants teachers to be sure that they are called and committed to their calling He wants teachers to be aware of their responsibility and accountability All Christians have a responsibility to learn the Word of God and witness to others We are to instruct, inform, encourage, and explain to others the Christian life, Mat 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Mat 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. All Christians have a ministry of teaching others the truth of the spiritual life, Heb 5:12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. It is important that we learn the basics of scripture, “the first principles of the oracles of God” All Christians need to be taught, including those who are gifted to teach, teaching is always necessary Learning God’s Word is necessary for every Christian throughout their life All Christians have the responsibility of learning the Word of God All Christians have the responsibility of sharing the Word of God with others Christians are instructed to mature spiritually and then instruct others spiritually James wants to make us aware of our responsibility both to learn and to teach There is also the thought of accountability, we are accountable for every opportunity that God gives us That thought is brought out in what he now says--knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. “Teachers” will receive a stricter judgment because of their position and responsibility The degree of responsibility determines the degree of accountability, Heb 13:17 Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you. That verse speaks to those who teach, but it also speaks to those who are taught The teacher is accountable for what has been taught, they are to teach in-order for others to learn The student is accountable for the truth that has been taught, they must listen to the truth Listen to the teacher in-order that you might learn and live what has been taught If you don’t, it “is unprofitable for you, Satan does not want you to believe that Satan will tell you that what the preacher is saying is not that important to you Satan wants you to believe that the preacher is preaching to someone else and not to you Not paying attention to the teaching of God’s Word is not only a spiritual loss but a danger The word “unprofitable” also refers to being spiritually harmful or dangerous You will be held accountable for what you have heard and been taught It is within your own interest, to be interested, you must give attention to paying attention Paul said to Timothy, 2Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Teachers must be sure they are putting forth every effort to teach “the word of truth” When they are, those listening must be sure they are paying attention We are accountable for our witness before the world, we will stand accountable before God The Judgment Seat of Christ is for the purpose of blessing and reward and not for condemnation We will all stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ, 2Co 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. (We must all appear) meaning every Christian, there will be no exceptions This is not a judgment of sins, but the deeds done in your body, which is your service for the Lord “Good or bad,” meaning worthwhile, valuable for life, or useless, and without purpose All Christians are servants of God and we will give an account of our service, Rom 14:12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. And we will give account on that day for every careless word spoken, Mat 12:34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. (No good words can come out of an evil heart) Mat 12:35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. A heart filled with “good treasure” is a heart filled with “the Word of Truth” “Evil” words are sinful, hurtful, harmful, and worthless, Mat 12:36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. Mat 12:37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. We are responsible for what we say and do, we are accountable for what we say and do What Jesus said is true, and since it is true, we must give attention to what James is telling us Jas 3:2 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. This verse indicates that James is not just speaking to those gifted to teach What he says applies to all believers, we all have failed to say or do what is right This verse alone proves that the theory of sinless perfection is a false teaching James is speaking to the “brethren” when he says that “in many things we offend all” (meaning “to stumble”) To “stumble” refers to a spiritual failure, when you fail to do what you know is right We “all” fail too often when it comes to our Christian duties, especially our Christian words The word translated “perfect” means “the one who has reached the goal” At many times and in many ways, we can miss the goal that God has set for us “In many things” covers a wide area, in many ways we can stumble and make mistakes In many ways we can cause others to stumble, an easy way to stumble is to trip over your tongue God was giving us a lesson when he put the tongue behind the teeth He made it easy for us to “bite the tongue,” Psa 34:13 Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. But the world we live in makes it difficult to control the tongue, we must be on guard, Psa 39:1 I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me Our security guard must be God and God’s Word, Psa 141:3 Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips When the heart is not right, the tongue is not right, Pro 17:20 He that hath a froward heart findeth no good: and he that hath a perverse tongue falleth into mischief. James now makes an amazing statement, the one who controls the tongue “is a perfect man” If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, The tongue can easily slow the spiritual progress of our daily walk with God James is not teaching “silence,” he is not saying, “keep your mouth shut” He is teaching “spirituality,” he is saying, “Control your tongue” “The same” is the one just described he can be described as “a perfect man” James does not mean that a person is sinless, that state is not attained in this life The “perfect man” is spiritually mature, of high moral values, of the highest standard of life In chapter one, James spoke of being spiritually strong in the times of trials and trouble In chapter two, James spoke of a spiritually strong faith that faithfully served God Now he speaks of one who is spiritually strong enough to control the tongue One who is spiritually powerful enough to control his tongue can control all other areas of life James is saying, that one who can speak spiritually can also walk spiritually, he says--and able also to bridle the whole body. What a promise, “and able,” meaning power and ability to do something Like having the power to control the tongue, James explains how powerful that is If you can do that then you can control “the whole body,” a powerful accomplishment “The whole body” represents your personality and the deeds of your daily life When you are “able” to restrain the body from sin and “able” to accomplish Godly deeds Notice what Paul goes on to say after he presents the truth that “all are under sin,” Rom 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: (No exception) Rom 3:11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. (No exception) Rom 3:12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. (No exception) The evidence is now presented, Rom 3:13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have use deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Rom 3:14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Rom 3:15 Their feet are swift to shed blood: Paul named five different parts of the body that are involved in sin Four out of the five relate to speech, (I marked them in red) which is the subject of James James is now going to illustrate the power of the tongue Jas 3:3 Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. The “bit” is a small thing but when it is in the right place it is powerful The bit in the horses’ mouth is powerful enough to control a large animal that they may obey us; That is the purpose of the bit, to control the whole body of the horse The bit will control the horses’ mouth and then allow you to control his body The obedience is necessary for the horse to serve the desires of the rider Without the bit, the horse would not obey the rider For the horse to be useful to man he must be brought under control The horse will do his work when under the control of the bit in his mouth Without the bit that work would not be done For man’s body to be useful, the tongue must be brought under control Even though we bridle the tongue we must still learn to say “whoa” and we turn about their whole body. The pressure applied by the bit can change the direction of the horse The bit is used to control the movements and directions of the horse Those direction changes are the evidence that the bit is controlling the whole body By controlling the mouth, the whole creature is controlled The tongue is a small member but powerful enough to direct a life Lives will change directions because of the power of the tongue Jas 3:4 Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. Again, we find “Behold,” again the point, Christian you must “pay close attention” The words of James are most important, pay special attention to what is about to be said also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, “Also” connects this illustration with the first one Another example of the tremendous power of a little thing like the horses’ bit When James wrote this letter, a ship was probably the largest vehicle made by man Paul tells us of a ship that was shipwrecked, Act 27:37 And we were in all in the ship two hundred threescore and sixteen souls. Act 27:38 And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, and cast out the wheat into the sea. (The ship carried 276 passengers in addition to its cargo, the wheat) One of the reasons ships were difficult to control was their great size James gives us another reason the ship was hard to control, because of the force of the wind Strong winds that man cannot change, change the course and movement of the ship yet are they turned about with a very small helm, But in-spite of the winds, and in-spite of the size of the ship, the direction of the ship is controlled With the rudder great ships can be guided through the storms of violent winds Compared to the size of the ship, the rudder was “very small” James uses the rudder to illustrate to us the power of the human tongue The tongue can steer a relationship in one direction or another God can use the tongue to guide us safely during the storms of life Or man’s use of the tongue can cause violent storms, storms of destruction The uncontrolled tongue can guide a life to shipwreck The controlled tongue can guide a life to safe harbor whithersoever the governor listeth. It is important that the ships course be guided by the pilot The pilot determines the direction of the ship and uses the rudder to guide it A ship off course is in trouble, the ship left to the winds is in danger The life left to self, without God in control, is in danger The life of man must also be guided, or it is in danger, Psa 43:3 O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles. When we study the Word of God, we must pray for the Holy Spirit to turn the light on We will then walk and talk in the path and the power of God “Light” is a symbol of the sound teaching of God’s Word, Isa 2:5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD. God has chosen teachers to speak His Word for the purpose of guiding lives We all need guidance, we all need to read, study, learn, and live the Word of God, Psa 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. CONCLUSION In the first two verses of chapter 3 James shows us how important the tongue really is One of God’s greatest gifts to us is the ability to communicate with others through the tongue James tells us to use the tongue that God has given us for the purpose of which it was given James says, use your tongue to tell others about the life that is yours “in Christ” How are we using our tongue on a-daily basis? What are we communicating to others through our tongue? To put the tongue to the test is to test the self-control of your life I never fully understood why the doctor says, “let me see your tongue” Evidently somehow the tongue can reveal a physical problem I know why James says, “let me see your tongue,” it can reveal a spiritual problem Your spiritual maturity can be evaluated by testing your tongue Your tongue is a tattletale it tells the truth of who you really are If you think it doesn’t matter what you do read James 2 If you think it doesn’t matter what you say read James 3 David said that our tongue is to praise God, Psa 35:27 Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant. Psa 35:28 And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long. The tongue that praises God will be the powerful tongue that James has described Paul said that we have a responsibility, Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. God’s Word must “dwell in you,” which means to be at home, a home to live in There will be living proof when God’s Word has found a home in your life The proof will be that through what you say and do others will be taught and guided, Col 3:17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. That which is evil can come from the tongue quicker than from the hands It is easy to say the wrong thing, in the wrong way, at the wrong time Peter gives us some good advice, 1Pe 3:10 For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: The emphasis is not a long life, but a quality of life, fruitful life, worthwhile, meaningful A life that is not empty or meaningless, Peter has a formula for such a good life “Let him refrain his tongue from evil,” what Peter says is important but difficult to follow To refrain the tongue is not something that is going to be easy to do James and Peter agree, we must continually watch what we say and put a stop to evil words Evil words are words that intend to cause harm or injury and can easily do so James is going to give us another example of how destructive the tongue can be, Jas 3:5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! We have watched the news and witnessed the damage caused by a little spark James gives us a news report, “the tongue is a fire,” set on fire of hell,” what a news alert, Jas 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.