TAMING THE TONGUE
James 3:3-11
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. As Christians, we have a lot to praise the Lord for! When you first find Jesus, it’s hard to keep your mouth closed about how good God is and about how wonderful it feels to have your sins washed away.
2. Charles Wesley reflected this feeling when he wrote the hymn, “Oh for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer’s praise.” Sounds good, right?
3. But the fact is, our ONE TONGUE is more than enough to get us into trouble. As we read in James 3, the danger of having just one tongue makes us shudder to think how much trouble we’d get into if we had a thousand of them!
4. Let’s read together from James 3:3-11;
B. TEXT
3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4 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. 5 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. 6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. 7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise [blessing] and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?
C. THESIS
1. Tonight we’re looking at the universal danger of our tongues, why we need to control our words, and how we can turn them into blessings for others.
2. The title of this message is “Taming the Tongue.”
I. JAMES’ DESCRIPTION OF OUR SPIRITUAL PROBLEM
A. WE ALL HAVE THIS PROBLEM
1. James included himself as being one who stumbles (3:1-2).
2. David said, “I will [take heed to] my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth while in the presence of the wicked” Ps. 39:1.
3. Moses didn’t get to enter the Promised Land because “he spoke unadvisedly with his lips” Ps. 106:32-33, KJV.
B. LOOSE LIPS EXPOSE INNER VOID
1. HUMOR. Directions that come with one really nice fountain pen say, “When this pen runs too freely, it’s a sign that it’s nearly empty.” How true that is of the Christian; if we find ourselves babbling we’re probably empty, spiritually.
2. Prov. 17:28 says, “Even a fool, when he holds his peace, is thought wise.” Someone has said, “Many a man has been thought a fool, but when they opened their mouth they removed all doubt!”
C. POWER & DANGER OF THE TONGUE
1. James said the tongue is small, but powerful. He uses two examples to demonstrate this: the RUDDER of a large ship in strong winds, and a great HORSE, turned by a small bit and bridle.
2. James says in 3:7-8 something like, “We’ve put men on the moon, on the ocean floor, harnessed natural forces – yet we haven’t conquered the tongue!”
3. BUT GOD CAN! (James 3:9-12). If God can control the spirit of a person, He can control the tongue! 1 Thess. 5:23.
II. WORDS CAN CAUSE DAMAGE
A. WEAPONS IN OUR MOUTH
1. Prov. 18:21, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” Rom. 6:13, “Don’t offer the parts of your bodies as INSTRUMENTS of unrighteousness, but as INSTRUMENTS of righteousness.” “Instruments” in Greek is “opla” and means “WEAPONS.”
2. WAYS WE HURT OUR NEIGHBORS?
a. Slander – false charges or misrepresentations which defame or damage another’s reputation.
b. Gossip – a person who habitually reveals personal or sensational facts.
c. Rumors – reports being spread without known authority of its truth.
3. CLEVER WAYS TO DISGUISE SLANDER/GOSSIP
a. Preceded by a disclaimer, “I don’t mean to be spreading rumors but...”
b. As False Sympathy, “It’s too bad how Joe beats his wife...”
c. As a Prayer Request, “Now I’m just telling you this so you can pray about it...”
d. As an Innocent Question, “Is it true that George and Alice are getting a divorce?”
B. XANTHUS’ CONTRAST
1. Xanthus, the philosopher, told his servant that the next day he was going to have some friends over for dinner and that he should get the best thing he could find in the market.
2. That night he & his friends sat down to tongue – four or five courses of tongue, each cooked differently. Xanthus said to his servant, “Didn’t I tell you to get the best thing in the market?” The servant said, “I did get the best thing in the market. Isn’t the tongue the organ of sociability, the organ of eloquence, of kindness, and of worship?”
3. The next night Xanthus was to have another feast and told his servant to get the worst thing in the market. That night Xanthus & his friends sat down to tongue – four or five courses of tongue, each cooked differently.
4. Xanthus said to his servant, “Didn’t I tell you to get the worst thing in the market?” The servant said, “I did. For isn’t the tongue the organ of blasphemies, the organ of defamation and the organ of lying?” [Spiros Zodhaites]. It can be both good & bad!
C. WHY WE MUST CONTROL OUR WORDS...
1. Words are irretrievable.
2. We will be judged by our words.
3. Our words will affect our character.
4. Our capacity to be used by God is directly connected to our control of our tongues.
III. OUR WORDS CAN BRING BLESSING
A. VERSES SHOWING BLESSING POWER
1. Prov. 10:21, “The lips of the righteous nourish many.”
2. Prov. 12:18, “The tongue of the wise brings healing.”
3. Prov. 12:25, “An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.”
4. Prov. 16:24, “Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”
5. Col. 4:6, “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”
6. Many verses talk about “edifying” others. This means to think about the other person, how you can be an encouragement to them and build up their faith.
B. GOOD USES OF THE TONGUE
1. As an instrument to bless others.
2. Use to....Worship/ praise God.
......................Witness, tell the good news.
......................Confess Christ.
3. Use to affirm what God has said about you.
4. “Speak of thy Word” – Ps. 119:172
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: PREACHER COMPLAINING
1. A preacher was in his home and was complaining out loud. His wife heard him and said, "What are you complaining about?" All he could think to say was, “Did I say that out loud?”
2. He had been complaining about all the crazy people, particularly on television. Since his wife asked him about it, he let go a very eloquent rant against the craziness today.
3. “You, in particular,” his wife said, “ought to be quite thankful about all the crazy people in the world.” Amazed, he finally asked her what in the world she was talking about.
4. She looked at him, paused as if she was collecting her thoughts, and said, "You should be thankful there ARE so many crazy people in the world. The more crazy people there are, the more you’re going to fit in. If for some reason, we could eliminate all the crazy people in the world, you’d be a very lonely person!" [James Snyder]
5. Thank God for Pastor’s wives’ rants; it keeps the pastors in the straight & narrow!
B. THE CALL “How We Can Control Speech”
1. Talk less. “Think twice, talk once.”
2. Identify & stop destructive speech.
3. Concentrate on edifying and blessing those you’re with.
4. Pray for God’s grace and inner change to accomplish your goal.
