It should be the goal of every Christian to make sure that they avoid the tragedy of having a saved soul, but living a wasted life. This is the subject of our passage for today. James speaks to us about getting "real religion," that is, how to make sure we live out our faith in such a way that our life truly counts for something of eternal value. He tells us that one of the primary problems that must be overcome if we are going to live our lives as Christians as we should is the problem of a tongue out of control. James tells us that if our tongue is out of control, then our faith is of no benefit to us, to others, or to the cause of Christ.
The key verse in this passage is verse 27: "If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight reign on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless."
So as we look to this passage, we find that James first identifies . . .
1. The Problem - vs. 19-20
James tells us that the primary reason why many Christians are living wasted lives and are unproductive for the Lord is that they speak when they should listen.
Lack of listening, leads to jumping to conclusions; which often leads to taking offense, which leads to anger, and expressing anger in inappropriate ways through the misuse of our tongue. Such behavior, James tells us, "does not bring about the righteous life that God desires" (v. 20).
The Bible makes it clear that our relationship with God will impact our relationship with others.
"Whoever says he is in the Light and [yet] hates his brother [Christian, born-again child of God his Father] is in darkness even until now. Whoever loves his brother [believer] abides (lives) in the Light, and in It or in him there is no occasion for stumbling or cause for error or sin. But he who hates (detests, despises) his brother [in Christ] is in darkness and walking (living) in the dark; he is straying and does not perceive or know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes." - 1 John 2:9-11 (Amplified)
The Bible tells us that when we do not relate to each other as we ought, we cause others to stumble. This causes our faith to be worthless.
Now, James knew that our relationships with one another would be helped a great deal if we learn how to control our tongue.
That which hurts relationships the most are words we say to or about one another; and that which helps relationships the most are words we say to or about one another. Therefore, if we learn to control our tongues, we will do better when it comes to loving each other and living with each other in such a way as to draw others to Christ.
Jesus told us that the way we relate to one another as Christians is one of the differences the world needs to see.
"So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples." – John l3:34-35 (NLT)
So we must learn to listen so that we might speak wisely and appropriately, so that we might help others rather than hurt them.
General George Marshall is credited with giving the following advice for being an effective listener:
1. Listen to the other person’s story.
2. Listen to the other person’s full story.
3. Listen to the other person’s full story first.
This is the advice James is giving us here. If we will learn to listen to others, James tells us, we will avoid becoming angry and using our tongue in inappropriate ways. As a result, our faith will be lived out in such as to benefit others and bless God.
The story is told of Franklin Roosevelt, who often endured long receiving lines at the White House. He complained that no one really paid any attention to what was said. One day, during a reception, he decided to try an experiment. To each person who came down the line and shook his hand, he murmured, "I murdered my grandmother this morning." The guests responded with phrases like, "Marvelous! Keep up the good work. We are proud of you. God bless you, sir." It was not till the end of the line, while greeting the ambassador from Bolivia, that his words were actually heard. The ambassador replied, "I’m sure she had it coming."
Because our world is not geared toward taking the time to listen to one another, Christians who do take to time to listen can be mightily used of God to make a tremendous difference in our world.
Teenage prostitutes, during interviews in a San Francisco study, were asked: "Is there anything you needed most and couldn’t get?" Their response, invariably preceded by sadness and tears was unanimous: "What I needed most was someone to listen to me. Someone who cared enough to listen to me."
It has been said, that since God gave us two ears and one tongue, we should listen twice as much as we talk. Indeed, what a difference could be made in our world if we could control the use of our tongue!
Thankfully, James does more than identify the problem, he goes on to offer...
2. The Solution - vs. 21-25
James says that if we are going to listen to others as we should, we must give priority to listening to the Word of God. The Word of God is our solution to controlling the tongue! James tells us that allowing the Word to be "planted" in us will save us from a tongue that is out of control.
Why? Because, as the Scriptures tell us, what comes out of the mouth is what is first in the heart. If what is in the heart can be changed, then what comes out of the mouth will be changed, as well. How do we change the heart? That is what James speaks to us about here. He tells us that the Word must be "planted" in us.
The problem with most of us is that we listen to God’s Word about as well as we listen to one another. That’s why James goes into detail about what it means to truly listen to God’s Word.
In the parable of the sower, Jesus speaks about four types of soils that the seed (the Word of God) might fall upon. Sometimes called the "parable of the soils," the main point to this parable to teach us the importance of truly listening to God’s Word. (Read Luke 8:4-15 - NIV)
Notice that each of the persons illustrated by the four soils "hears" the Word. But only one truly "listens" to God’s Word. Consequently, it only this person who has God’s Word "planted" in his heart.
As Jesus expressed it, they "hear the Word, retain it, and by persevering produce a good crop" (v. 15). This is the same thing James is emphasiz¬ing in verses 22-25 of our text. The key to controlling our tongues is changing our hearts, and the key to changing our hearts is not just hear¬ing God’s Word, but listening and doing God’s Word. When we allow God’s Word to be planted in our hearts, then the right kind of fruit will be produced in our lives.
"A tree is identified by its fruit. Make a tree good, and its fruit will be good. Make a tree bad, and its fruit will be bad. You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. A good person produces good words from a good heart, and an evil person produces evil words from an evil heart." - Matthew 12:33-35 (NLT)
When God’s Word is planted in us, then the fruit produced will be words that bless others and honor God!
As we not only hear God’s Word, but apply it to our daily lives, we will then find out why James refers to God’s Word as "the perfect law that gives freedom," because we will be freed from the problem of misusing our tongue!
Peter T. Forsythe said, "The first duty of every soul is to find not its freedom but its Master". Indeed, if we are to know freedom, we must acknowledge Christ as our master through obedience to His Word.
Dr. A. T. Schofield used to point out that there were three sorts of dogs in his city of London: the wild, master less dog that roamed the streets at will, stole his meals from garbage pails, and often came to an inglorious end in the lethal chamber of the humane society; the chained dog, which could not be trusted for more than a few feet; and the dog that knew and loved his master and re¬sponded obediently to his voice. The first of these had liberty but no law; the second had law but no liberty; whereas the last enjoyed the perfect law of liberty.
All men seem to be like one of these three dogs. There are the masses who are utterly lawless when it comes to the authority of God. They have no relationship with God at all. Then there are those who are like the dog on the leash - they have law, but no liberty. They have a relationship with God, but not one where they willingly acknowledge His mastery over them. They hear, but do not obey. But the Christian who knows the truth of New Testament deliverance is like the third dog. He needs no chain but is guided by his Master’s eye and his Master’s voice, because he hears and obeys.
This is the kind of deliverance we can know over the misuse of the tongue. If we will focus on truly listening to God’s Word - hearing and obeying - God’s Word will be planted in our hearts and produce fruit that is consistent with the "righteous life that God desires." Note ...
3. The Result - vs. 26-27
Life lived in the way James tells us here will be characterized by two things:
A. It will make a difference in the world.
James cites the example of two of the most prevalent injustices in his day - the neglect of widows and the neglect of orphans. He isn’t saying that if we just focus on widows and orphans we will be guaranteed to live a life with which God is pleased. What he is saying by citing these examples of needs in his day is that God wants His people to make a difference in their world, and when we allow God’s Word to transform our hearts, we will listen more than we talk, and consequently, really know what differences need to be made.
As Robert Shuller puts it, we will "find a need and fill it; find a hurt and heal it."
B. It will be different from the world.
What James is describing here is the same principle that Paul speaks of:
"So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. " -Romans 12:1-2 (The Message)
