Taming the Tongue - James 3:1-18

Title: Taming the Tongue
Date: January 23, 2007
Text: James 3:1-18

Introduction

- Churchgoer to pastor, "Your sermon reminded me of the love of God. I thought it would endure forever. "
- Charles H. Spurgeon was emphasizing to his class the importance of making the facial expression harmonize with the speech. "When you speak of Heaven," he said, "let your face light up, let it be irradiated with a heavenly gleam, let your eyes shine with reflected glory. But when you speak of Hell--well, then your ordinary face will do."
- Samuel Johnson once said "Your manuscript is both original and good. But the parts that are original are not good, and the parts that are good are not original."
- Bessie Braddock, M.P.: "Winston, you're drunk." Churchill: "Bessie, you're ugly, and tomorrow morning I'll be sober."
- our words get out of control
- we may start a conversation with good intentions, but it can often go directions we don't want it to go.
- people get hurt
- great power in the tongue
- the words we speak can encourage and edify the people around us
- or they can hurt and cause irreparable damage

1. Speak from a pure heart (verse 7-12)

- Psalm 24:3-5 "Who shall ascend . . . he that hath clean hands, and a pure heart . . ."
- God looks for people who live with clean hands and a pure heart - these will be welcomed into his presence
- this means our outward actions, including the things we say, mirror our pure heart
- a pure heart is one that seeks God wholeheartedly, and where sin is dealt with by asking for forgiveness and applying the blood of Jesus
- Hebrews 10:22 "let us draw near with a true heart . . . hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water"
- when our hearts are pure, the words we speak will reflect that
- Matthew 12:33-37 "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks . . . for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned"
- so if we want to have our speech cleansed, we have to start with dealing with our inside thinking

2. Speak words consistent with our actions (verse 13-16)

- Verse 13 - conversation = Gr anastrophe = "manner of life, conduct, behaviour, deportment "
- let your speech and the way you live, be consistent with each other
- we have been taught: "do as I say, not as I do" but the truth is that "actions speak louder than words"
- "it is easier to preach 10 sermons than it is to live one "
- our lives need to become totally consistent with who we say we are
- Pharisees were hypocrites, looked good on the outside but inside were a rotten mess
- when our actions do not match what we are thinking or saying, we will end up in a mess
- Verse 14-16
- this is deceitful and living a lie, with bad results for our thinking
- it may seem as though just allowing ourselves to say what we like gives some satisfaction
- but it leads to confusion and every evil work
- God's purpose for us is that we live a pure, clean, healthy life
- 1 Timothy 1:5 "Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith"

3. Speak in love (verse 17-18)

- Verse 17-18
- when we live a pure life, forgiven, cleansed from our sins by Jesus' blood shed on our behalf, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell with us
- the Holy Spirit exhibits all the attributes of God: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control
- these fruits of the Spirit will be evident in our lives too
- we won't be cutting each other down verbally, destroying each other's reputation, gossiping, or falsely accusing
- instead because we are pure and clean on the inside, we will be building others up, we will be supporting them and speaking with a positive intention
- instead of envying and strife and confusion, there will be peace and unity

Conclusion

- our words are powerful
- our words can cause incredible hurt and pain, the damage can last a lifetime
- often our words will come back to bite us
- someone said "Make your words sweet; you may have to eat them."
- on the other hand, our words can also be a tremendous power for good
- speaking positively out of a pure heart will give peace and stability, both in our life and that of the others who hear our words
- people will be blessed by our encouragement and support
- this will have good results for all involved
- for ourselves:
- Proverbs 16:24 "Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones"
- and for our environment
- James 3:18 "the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace"
- in other words, we will be peacemakers, living in a peaceful environment