This week, we are looking at a section of a letter
that the half brother of Jesus wrote to early followers of Jesus, called the
book of James. Wednesday we discovered that the faith that works is revealed by speech that is
controlled. We talked about the reality that the
faith that works is revealed by speech that is controlled because our speech
reveals our spiritual maturity.
The speech that is controlled reveals a spiritual
maturity that is necessary for a person who wants to teach the message and
teachings that make up the letters in the Bible, because those who teach the
message and teachings of Jesus place themselves in greater danger of judgment
if unable to control their speech. And those who do not stumble in what they
say reveal a spiritual maturity that not only keeps them from tripping up in
what they say. Those who do not stumble in what they say reveal a spiritual
maturity that keeps their entire life in check.
We also talked about the reality that the faith that
works is revealed by speech that is controlled because our speech reveals the
trajectory of our lives. You see, while our tongues are small, they exert a
great influence in the trajectory of our lives. And while our tongues are
small, they exert the great power to corrupt everything around us.
Today, we will see James reveal a third reason why the
faith that works is revealed by speech that is controlled in James 3:7-8:
For every species of beasts and birds, of
reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human
race. But no one can tame the tongue; it
is a restless evil and full
of deadly poison.
Here we see
James make a stark contrast in order to reveal the third reason why the faith
that works is revealed by speech that is controlled. James reminds the readers
of this letter that humanity throughout history has been able to tame every
species on the planet. The word tamed here conveys the sense of subduing.
Humanity throughout history has been able to control and dominate the rest of
the creation.
However, in
verse eight, James reveals the reality that while humanity has been able to
tame the rest of the creation; humanity has been unable to tame the tongue and
the speech that comes from the tongue. Humanity throughout history, in spite of
all its efforts, has been unable to control the tongue.
James then
reveals the reality that the reason that humanity has been unable to control
the tongue is due to the fact that the tongue “is a restless evil and
full of deadly poison." Now this phrase literally means that the
tongue is death dealing, full of deadly poison. Our tongues have the potential
to be a death dealer.
And because
of that reality, the faith that works is revealed by speech that is controlled
because our speech is difficult to control. James point here is that
controlling our speech is difficult because our tongues are difficult to tame.
And controlling our speech is difficult due to deadly power of our tongue. As
the writer of Proverbs stated “Death and life are in the power of the tongue
and those who love it will eats its fruit”.
The writer
of Proverbs point is that our words are powerful. This morning, our words can
bring life. And our words can bring death. And those who live the power of
words will eat what is produced by those words. If you love the power of words
to bring death, those words of death will boomerang back to you and bring death
to you. If you love the power of words to bring life, those words of life will
boomerang back to you and bring life to you.
So this
morning, here is a question to consider: What is the fruit, or what is being
produced, by your speech? Are you a death dealer when it comes to your speech?
Are you a death dealer with the poison of gossip? Are you a death dealer with
the poison of slander? Or are you living out your faith in a way that keeps
control on your speech?
But not only
is the faith that works is revealed by speech that is controlled because our
speech reveals our spiritual maturity. Not only is the faith that works is
revealed by speech that is controlled because our speech reveals the trajectory
of our lives. Not only is the faith that works is revealed by speech that is
controlled because our speech is difficult to control. James reveals for us a
fourth reason why the faith that works is revealed by speech that is controlled
in James 3:9-12:
With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been
made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not
to be this way. Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? Can a fig tree, my brethren,
produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh.
Here we see
James point out to the readers of his letter a timeless flaw that has haunted
followers of Jesus throughout history. Now if James was pointing out this flaw
in the language we use in our culture today, this flaw would sound something
like this: “With our speech we praise Jesus and God, and with our speech we
curse those around us who bear the thumbprint of God. From the same opening our mouths produce
speech that blesses others and that curses at others. My fellow followers of
Jesus, this should not be the case for us as followers of Jesus”.
James then
asks three rhetorical questions to hammer home his point. The reason why these
questions are rhetorical is due to the fact that the answer to this questions is
so obvious that it does not even require an answer. These questions, if asked
in the language we use in our culture today, would have sounded like this:
“Does the water cooler at your work produce sweet and bitter water at the same
time from the same opening? Can an orange tree produce apples? Can a grape vine
produce oranges? Can the Pacific Ocean contain fresh water”?
Again there
was no need for the readers to respond to these rhetorical questions because
the answer to these questions was so obvious that they did not need to be
responded to. These questions did not even need to be responded to because
everyone then, just as everyone now knows that we know what type of tree we see
by the fruit that it produces.
We know what
type of body of water we are in by the type of water it produces. And we know
that what is produced remains singularly constant. The fruit or water produced
is singularly related to what is going inside that body of water or tree. And
it is here that we see James reveal for us the reality that the faith that
works is revealed by speech that is controlled because our speech reveals what
is really going on inside of us.
James here is
revealing for us the reality that our speech can reveal the true state of
hypocrisy that is evident within our lives. And our speech can reveal the true
state of our heart. The timeless reality is that when we say something that
causes us to say “I didn’t mean to say that”, often the reason why we didn’t
mean to say that is because what we said exposed what is really going on inside
us.
As James
half brother Jesus pointed out in Matthew 12:34 “for the mouth speaks of that
which fills the heart". And it is our speech that can reveal areas of our
heart that need to be dealt with and it is our speech that can reveal hypocrisy
that has crept into our lives.
So here is a
question to consider: what does your speech reveal about the level of hypocrisy
that is present in your life? What does your speech reveal about what is truly
going on in your heart? What does your speech reveal about what is attacking
your heart?
Because the
timeless reality is that the faith that works is revealed by speech that is
controlled. The faith that works is revealed by speech that is controlled
because our speech reveals our spiritual maturity. The faith that works is
revealed by speech that is controlled because our speech reveals the trajectory
of our lives. The faith that works is revealed by speech that is controlled
because our speech is difficult to control. And the faith that works is
revealed by speech that is controlled because our speech reveals what is really
going on inside of us.
So what does
your speech tell you about how well your faith is working? Because the faith
that works is revealed by speech that is controlled.
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