Sunday, July 12
James: Faith That Works | Week 6
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.
How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.
James 3:1-12 ESV
THE IMPORTANCE OF WORDS
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
Genesis 1:3 ESV
God speaks and the world, humanity is created.
James 3:1-12 ESV
THE IMPORTANCE OF WORDS
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
Genesis 1:3 ESV
God speaks and the world, humanity is created.
Not only does God create with His words, He also reveals Himself to His people through words:
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”Genesis 1:27-28 ESV
Before the fall, humanity needed a voice outside themselves to tell them, This is why you were made. This is your purpose:
And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Genesis 2:16-17 ESV
God speaks and creates. God speaks to His people, and also to Himself.
The one true and living God of the universe, who has existed in all eternity as one God, three persons-Father, Son and Holy Spirit-said:
Before the fall, humanity needed a voice outside themselves to tell them, This is why you were made. This is your purpose:
And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Genesis 2:16-17 ESV
God speaks and creates. God speaks to His people, and also to Himself.
The one true and living God of the universe, who has existed in all eternity as one God, three persons-Father, Son and Holy Spirit-said:
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” Genesis 1:26 ESV
God said "Let us make man" and He does so by the power of His Word.
In John 15:15, Jesus says to His disciples, “I'm going to teach you what I hear from the Father.” The Father speaks to the Son. And then in John 17 we see Jesus speaking to the Father in His high priestly prayer.
God speaks, but Satan also speaks:
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” Genesis 3:1 ESV
RECOGNIZE THE WORDS OF THE ENEMY
Satan speaks: he contradicts, he deceives, he distorts, he twists.
But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Genesis 3:4-5 ESV
God speaks - Satan Speaks - People Speak
In the beginning when God gave us a tongue, He gave us a tongue to worship Him, to praise Him, to speak to one another in love and truth and goodness.
God said "Let us make man" and He does so by the power of His Word.
In John 15:15, Jesus says to His disciples, “I'm going to teach you what I hear from the Father.” The Father speaks to the Son. And then in John 17 we see Jesus speaking to the Father in His high priestly prayer.
God speaks, but Satan also speaks:
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” Genesis 3:1 ESV
RECOGNIZE THE WORDS OF THE ENEMY
Satan speaks: he contradicts, he deceives, he distorts, he twists.
But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Genesis 3:4-5 ESV
God speaks - Satan Speaks - People Speak
In the beginning when God gave us a tongue, He gave us a tongue to worship Him, to praise Him, to speak to one another in love and truth and goodness.
And yet so often the tongue is used to abuse, and distort, and deceive, and hurt when it should be used to heal and to bring hope.
THE POWER OF WORDS
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. James 3:1 ESV
This is a warning to those that would stumble into teaching without the proper calling, or the proper gifts given by God.
Jesus said:
I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matthew 12:36-37 ESV
RECOGNIZE OUR IMPERFECTION
For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. James 3:2 ESV
Paul says this about all men under sin and their words:
“Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
Romans 3:13-14 ESV
James gives 3 examples of the power of such a small instrument like a tongue:
If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.
James 3:3-6 ESV
A tiny spark can start a fire.
RECOGNIZE OUR INABILITY TO TAME THE TONGUE
For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. James 3:7-8 ESV
RECOGNIZE THAT OUR WORDS ARE AN INDICATION OF OUR HEART
It’s pretty easy to fool people about who we really are. But the people that we can’t fool are the closest to us. It goes to the very core of who we are.
And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
Mark 7:14-23 ESV
What Jesus is saying is that foolish words come from a heart engulfed in folly.
“For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
Luke 6:43-45 ESV
That's creation: God speaks. Satan speaks. People speak. And it's an ugly picture.
Satan does not have the final word. Sin does not have the final word. Christ has the final word. God has the final word.
But that is not the end of the story because God is the Redeemer. And from the very beginning God knew that what happened in the garden would have ramifications for all of creation.
THE POWER OF WORDS
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. James 3:1 ESV
This is a warning to those that would stumble into teaching without the proper calling, or the proper gifts given by God.
Jesus said:
I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matthew 12:36-37 ESV
RECOGNIZE OUR IMPERFECTION
For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. James 3:2 ESV
Paul says this about all men under sin and their words:
“Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
Romans 3:13-14 ESV
James gives 3 examples of the power of such a small instrument like a tongue:
If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.
James 3:3-6 ESV
A tiny spark can start a fire.
RECOGNIZE OUR INABILITY TO TAME THE TONGUE
For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. James 3:7-8 ESV
RECOGNIZE THAT OUR WORDS ARE AN INDICATION OF OUR HEART
It’s pretty easy to fool people about who we really are. But the people that we can’t fool are the closest to us. It goes to the very core of who we are.
And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
Mark 7:14-23 ESV
What Jesus is saying is that foolish words come from a heart engulfed in folly.
“For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
Luke 6:43-45 ESV
That's creation: God speaks. Satan speaks. People speak. And it's an ugly picture.
Satan does not have the final word. Sin does not have the final word. Christ has the final word. God has the final word.
But that is not the end of the story because God is the Redeemer. And from the very beginning God knew that what happened in the garden would have ramifications for all of creation.
He spoke a word of promise from His lips, and He always keeps His promises! God fulfilled His gospel promise through Jesus. Jesus always spoke the truth in love, and when He died, He died as a substitute for rebels.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:1-5 ESV
Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
James 1:18 ESV
Jesus had the last word when He was on the cross, and He said, “It is finished.”
And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.
Revelation 21:5-7 ESV
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:1-5 ESV
Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
James 1:18 ESV
Jesus had the last word when He was on the cross, and He said, “It is finished.”
And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.
Revelation 21:5-7 ESV