Text: James 3:1 thru 10 - NIV
Prayer:
For a moment, look at verse 2. There is reference here of a “perfect man”. When I see the word perfect used in the Bible, I always want to know what it might mean for me to be a “perfect man”. Could I ever meet anyone who the Lord would consider to be “perfect”?
At one time, being “perfect” was something people would want to become. That doesn’t seem to be the case anymore.
Nowadays, few people want to be “perfect”.
It is very acceptable for folks to be satisfied with who they are.
We often here the phrase, “Awe, just be yourself…”
In our day and time, it doesn’t matter too much what you appear to be, or what you stand for, as long as you are yourself. There must be a lot of people who are pleased with themselves. And, I suppose that is okay (to a certain extent).
I am not totally dissatisfied with myself. I will be the first to admit there is a lot of room for improvement in how I live my life.
I have a lot to learn, but one thing I know that I want for my life is to be the “perfect man” Christ has called me to be.
The Bible encourages and instructs me to be “perfect”.
There are numerous references stating this in the Bible.
Col 1:28-29
28 Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.
29 To this end I also labor, striving
Col 4:12
always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.
James 1:4
4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
So you see the Bible does instruct us to become “perfect”.
Question: What can determine whether we ever become the “perfect man”, or, the “perfect woman”?
1. The Obedience to God – His Statutes & Commands
2. The Faith in God – Our reliance on Him exclusively.
What will prevent our becoming the “perfect man”?
1. The Neglect of God – Careless attitude towards God
There are many other things we could look at, but I propose to you today there is one other important factor to consider.
And that is, our conversations. What we speak to others.
Our conversations can be determined by what we say, but more often by what we do.
A Biblical illustration of this could be seen in the life of Peter.
We do not have a biography of Peter, but we can get a glimpse of him from the writings of the New Testament.
It is there we can read what Jesus thought about Peter.
We can see that Jesus loved Peter very much.
Jesus prophesied and promised the success of Peter (in Matthew 16) when Jesus said this:
“…on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.”
That is a strong statement to make about someone.
What a great compliment coming from the Greatest Man to have ever lived! I don’t think Jesus would have exaggerated about Peter like this. But I can’t help but wonder what the other disciples (that knew Peter) must have thought when they heard Jesus say this.
Regardless, Jesus had a great deal of confidence in Peter.
But Jesus also had a few disappointments and heartaches (with Peter) along the way:
1. Peter rebuked Jesus – (Matthew 16) Jesus had foretold of His death in Jerusalem and subsequent resurrection.
Peter’s response to Jesus was,
"Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!"
2. Peter scolded Jesus (Luke 8) when the woman touched the hem of Jesus’ garment. At that moment Jesus sensed virtue going out of Him, so Jesus asked,
"Who touched me?"
And when they all denied it, Peter said,
"Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you. And You say, ‘Who touched Me?’"
3. Peter again rebuked the Savior when He wanted to wash Peter’s feet. Peter said,
"You shall never wash my feet!" Jesus
Peter was a very foolish man to talk this way to the man Who was strong enough to:
· calm the raging seas,
· overpower a violent demoniac,
· raise Lazarus from the grave.
I must tell you this:
Jesus was not (is not) the man I would have ever argued with.
(More importantly)
WHY WAS SIMON PETER LIKE THIS?
Verse 6, (of our text) answers this for us:
The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil…It corrupts the whole person…and is itself set on fire by hell.
That is why Peter was the way he was. And, my friend, that is why you and I are the way we are. Verse 6 identifies for us why we are not yet the “perfect man” God has designed us to be.
My friend, we have a problem!
And the problem is in our tongue.
We all have suffered from the same problem.
The only difference with any of us is the way we talk.
And I am not talking about our individual accents. You may be from Kentucky, or Indiana, or Illinois, while I am from the South.
Some of us may be loud and boisterous, while others of us are soft spoken. But the fact remains we all have a tongue that is set on fire by the fires of hell.
I will admit that some of us are a little better at not saying what we think sometimes. And for that some of us may think we are innocent of any wrongdoing.
Many times the only difference between the soft-spoken and the loud mouths is the tone of our voice.
The difference between the way you communicate and the way the person sitting down the pew from you communicates is often found in the words you don’t say.
But the fact remains you and I have this problem we all must deal with.
There was no doubt, Simon Peter needed to tame his tongue. If I were Peter, I would have had many regrets how I had spoken to Jesus.
I would have known that:
· I had been offensive with the things I said, and even the jokes, and the snide remarks.
· The gestures I thought were funny had no place while being in the presence of Jesus.
I would have wanted to
· change my ways.
· tame my tongue and not say foolish things anymore.
· never be course or snippy with anyone ever again.
· Do what ever it would take to tame my tongue.
I believe that Peter loved Jesus dearly and felt ashamed when ever he failed Jesus. How many times would Peter have walked away and said to himself,
“Me and my big mouth!”
Peter may have been chosen by Christ to build the New Testament Church, but how would he ever get control over his tongue?
I wonder this morning how many of us have experienced this failure in our lives before? I know I have.
Verse 8 gives us the explanation. “…no man can tame the tongue…”
Church, we have a problem here. Some of you may be asking yourself, “Pastor, are you talking about me? I’ve done nothing wrong…”
No, I am not talking about you. But I am talking about your tongue. I am not talking about what you have said, or haven’t said. But I am talking about what the Bible is telling you about your tongue.
Man can tame and control many things, but (according to vs. 8) there are times when we cannot tame/control what we say.
I am not pointing my finger at anybody, rather I am only pointing to the Truth found in the Word of God.
Well, what can we do? This is a serious problem for each and every person in this room. What can we do?
Let’s look to the Word of God for our answer.
Consider this. Peter struggled with keeping his tongue under control while in the presence of Jesus Christ for over 3 years. And he failed at least 3 times that we can read about.
But after 3 years of struggle, something happened to Peter’s life. It happened on the Day of Pentecost. Peter saw what appeared to be “cloven tongues of fire” descending on him.
The power and anointing of the Holy Spirit was going to make the difference for Simon Peter. And when it came time for someone to say something, the Holy Spirit (at the direction of Jesus Christ) chose Simon Peter to speak to peoples.
After 3 years of apologizing for his mouth, Peter would take 3 minutes and bring salvation to 3,000 new converts.
What a contrast the Holy Spirit can make in our lives.
The Bible is accurate when it said that “no man can tame his tongue”. But the Holy Spirit can!
