James 3:1

My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man and able to bridle his whole body.

Behold, we put bits in horses' mouths, that they may obey us, and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, which, though they are so great and driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with so very small helm, whithersoever the governor lists. Even so, the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindles. And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. So is the tongue among our members, that it defiles the whole body and sets on fire the course of nature, and is set on fire of hell.

Let's pray. Father, as we look into this passage of Scripture today, speaking something so very practically to us, I pray that you would apply it to our lives. Lord, that we might yield to you this member, the tongue. Lord, that you would be the governor over it. And Lord, that we would be glorifying to you, not just in the way that we think, but in the way that we speak and act as well. For we ask it in Jesus' name, and all God's people agreed, saying, Amen. You can be seated.

Amen. The story is told that on a snowy January day, at the turn of the last century, a crowded passenger train steamed on its way from Chicago to St. Louis. At one of the many stops along the way, one of the travelers observed a young mother boarding the train with two small children in tow.

"Please, sir, I need to get off at the city of Beaumont," he heard her say to the conductor. The passenger, taking note of the overworked conductor, approached the young woman and said, "The conductor is very busy, no doubt. In all of his work, he's going to forget that you want to get off at Beaumont. I've been on this train hundreds of times. I'll make sure that you get off at the right place."

Several hours later, the train decelerated, and the man made his way to the young mother and said, "This is the spot. Here's where you want to get off." Thanking him, she gathered up her children and went out into the blizzard conditions. A half an hour passed before the conductor called out, "Where is the woman who wanted to get off at Beaumont? It's coming up in five minutes." Horrified at what he heard, the man said, "What do you mean? Beaumont was the last stop we made." The conductor replied, "No, sir. The last stop we made was to pick up water at a tank in the middle of nowhere." Both men instantly realized that the woman and her children had been sent off the train to their deaths.

James here says, "My brethren, let not many of you become teachers or masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation." I was commenting on this passage of Scripture to Josh in between the services. He came into my office and asked, "What did you think?" I said, "Well, I've got to be honest. I have a hard time with James chapter 3." Not because I don't agree with the text or because I don't fully comprehend what's being said here, but because there are some difficult and heavy things in this chapter.

I remember it was a number of years ago when I first started teaching the youth ministry here at the church. I was teaching junior high, and the fifth book that I decided to go through was the Book of James. I had read the Book of James before, but when you begin to teach God's Word, all of a sudden, verses take on a different meaning to you. They speak a little bit more loudly, I guess you could say.

When I got to this verse, it says, "My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that you shall receive the greater judgment." I thought, "Oh, goodness gracious." You begin to wonder. This has been one of the things that I've pondered about this passage many times as I've meditated upon it. When it says you shall receive the greater condemnation or the greater judgment, from whom is this greater condemnation or greater judgment coming? Is it a judgment that's coming from God? I think you can make a great case for that. Is it a condemnation that's coming from other believers? I think you can make a great case for that as well. Or is it what we might call a self-judgment, a self-condemnation?

When you begin to look at this passage and think about it, you really do realize that it could speak on many different levels. If you seek to give instruction, if you seek to be one who places themselves in the position where they're going to direct others, especially in the Word of God, there is an inherent possibility that you will lead somebody astray, maybe out of a misinterpretation or a misunderstanding of a passage.

It's not beyond the realm of possibility that a pastor can misinterpret or misunderstand something as he teaches through the Word of God. I don't doubt that this has been done many times in sincerity, and I think that God understands the sincerity of an individual teacher's heart. The desire is that we would preach God's Word in a way that is, number one, powerful; number two, not boring; and number three, influences us to follow after the Lord.

James says, "My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater judgment." Some might think that no one should become a teacher, reasoning that if there is going to be a stricter judgment, they wouldn't want to take on that role. However, that is not the case. James is seeking to help us recognize the reverence for the position or office of teaching God's Word.

This becomes very clear when we return to the book of Acts in a couple of weeks. We left the book of Acts at Acts chapter 15 to look through the book of James because chronologically it fits prior to Acts chapter 15 in the story of the book of Acts.

As we consider the idea of people speaking and teaching God's Word, and perhaps teaching from a wrong understanding, we see in Acts chapter 15, verse 1, that certain men came down from Judea. They taught the brethren and said, "Except you be circumcised after the manner of Moses, you cannot be saved."

Paul and Barnabas, along with the other brothers at the church in Antioch, were serving God primarily among a group of Gentiles who had become believers. At some point, after Paul and Barnabas' first missionary journey, a group of teachers from Judea, perhaps even from Jerusalem, came in. The very fact that they came from Judea carried a certain level of authority, and the people gave heed and listened to what they had to say.

These teachers acknowledged that it was great that the Gentiles believed in Jesus, that He is the Christ, and that they were followers of Him, even being called Christians, for they were first called Christians at Antioch. However, they added, "Except you are circumcised after the manner of Moses, you cannot be saved," thus complicating the simplicity of the gospel.

When, therefore, Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, along with certain others, should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. Being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phineas and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles, which caused great joy to all the brethren.

When they arrived in Jerusalem, they were received by the church, the apostles, and the elders, and they declared all the things that God had done. However, certain members of the sect of the Pharisees, who believed, rose up, saying that it was needful to circumcise these Gentile converts and to command them to keep the law of Moses.

As I mentioned, in a couple of weeks, we will discuss this further. Here, James says in James 3:1, "Brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that you shall receive the greater condemnation." As we will see when we go through Acts 15, the doctrine that they were seeking to spread among the Gentile converts was false. It was not, as God intended, the gracious gospel to be declared.

It is believed that some of these Pharisees who became believers went into the churches of Galatia, where Paul and Barnabas had planted their first churches among many Gentiles. They seduced some in the church in Galatia to depart from the simplicity that is in Christ and pursue works salvation. This is why Paul had to write his letter to the Galatians, which will be the next letter we examine as we continue through the book of Acts.

Let not many of you become teachers, knowing that you shall receive a stricter judgment. Jesus said in Matthew 18:6 that whoever shall offend one of the least of these who believe in me, it would be better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

I don't often like to imagine the worst possible way to die; that's somewhat sadistic. However, this would indeed be a terrible way to die—having a heavy weight, a millstone, hung around your neck and being cast into the depths of the sea. Jesus said it would be better for you to have that done than to cause one of these little ones to be offended or to stumble.

The word "offend" in Matthew 18:6 means to lay a stumbling block or a snare before someone, causing them to stumble or fall away. Clearly, Jesus in that passage and James in this passage emphasize the seriousness of leading others astray.

Desires that we recognize that it is a very reverent thing to teach God's word. Now, I don't say that so that you'll call me reverend. In fact, I don't want you to call me reverend because I only really view God as the one who occupies that position. I get mail that says "Reverend" to Benedictus on it, and I always kind of laugh. The kids in the junior high group, when I was the junior high pastor, jokingly called me reverend, but that's not what I'm looking for.

What we should recognize is that the position of teaching God's word, whether it's me, Josh, Eric, Richard, or whoever, is a reverent thing. It would be much better for the teacher or preacher to recognize it as such. The person teaching God's word ought to understand that this is a great responsibility that God has given us as they wield His word. It's not like we're teaching mathematics or gym here; this isn't PE class. We're talking about the words of eternal life, the gospel of our salvation, and the revelation of God.

Jesus would also say in Matthew 12, verse 36, "I say unto you that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give an account thereof in the day of judgment." The word "idle" there means free from labor. The person teaching God's word ought not to shun the labor that is necessary, and many times it's intensive labor to study God's word. Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 2, verse 15, that rightly dividing the word of truth takes work.

But notice that he doesn't say, "Study to show yourself approved unto men," but "approved unto God." At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter if you like my message or not; it has to do with whether or not God approves of what is being spoken. Those of us who teach God's word are set to please Him and not the people.

Now, the temptation that Paul told Timothy to guard against was that in the last days, there would be people who go to a church only to have their ears tickled. They heap up for themselves teachers who will tickle their ears and speak to them the things that they want to hear. There are many preachers, I believe, in our nation and in the world today who fit this description.

Who they speak primarily to please is man. They're not there to be approved before God; they're there to be approved before men. It's not my desire to be approved before men. I want to be approved before God. He said, "Study to show yourself approved as workmen that need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." I am going to give an account before God one day. James tells us that there is a stricter judgment upon those that teach because every single one of us is going to give an account before God of every thought, deed, action, and every idle word that we have spoken. We will give an account before God, but the teacher, we're told, will have a stricter judgment laid at his feet. The person who handles God's word should have a reverence for what they're doing.

I have found that many who become believers and followers of Christ, after a period of time of being discipled and learning God's word, also desire to teach God's word. That's not a bad thing. In fact, Paul told Timothy that it's a good thing to desire the position of an elder, and a pastor is an elder. It's not a bad thing to desire that. I have had people many times come to me and say, "I really want to teach God's word." I had lunch with a gentleman this last week who said, "I want to teach." I think that's an awesome thing and a great thing.

However, someone who has not had the opportunity to be a good learner will not be a good teacher. Oftentimes, we encourage people to step out and help with the cleaning crew, the children's ministry, or assist with setting up for the men's ministry and things like that. I have found that this can be a very good way of weeding people out. They might say, "I don't want to do that; I want to teach God's word." But if you're not able to serve the Lord in something that you consider trivial or menial, then you will not be a good servant of God in teaching His word.

Being tested and tried in the little things, being found faithful in those small things, will lead God to add to it and open up doors of opportunity. When I began serving here at Calvary Chapel in high school, my service to this church was in the form of folding bulletins or helping with the website at that time. Pastor Richard asked me to wire the phones and the network here for this new building when it was built. I had no idea how to wire phones and the internet, but thank God, ten years later or whatever, they're still working for the most part. It may have seemed like a trivial thing.

It would look like something. You might ask, "What's the point of this?" I remember when we were laying the footings for this building. The task that many of us were doing was during an El Niño year. Do you remember that in the late 90s? What was it, 1997 or so? We might have another one this next year. We were down in the footings with sponges, trying to get all the water out so that we could pour the footings for this building. Thank God we did; it's still standing.

There are things that, by being faithful in those little tasks, God begins to open doors and opportunities. There’s nothing to teach, but the recognition that the call of God to teach His Word is a reverent thing. Not that the individual teaching is reverent, but God's Word is reverent.

There is another sense in which condemnation or judgment in this verse is very practically applied. I mentioned first the judgment of God as it relates to this stricter judgment, but then secondly, this judgment of others. As a teacher of God's Word, I come under a stricter judgment before you. Week in and week out, a pastor, a teacher, a minister, or a preacher says a lot of things and speaks many words.

With three services here on Sunday morning, the opportunity to teach at the Bible College, a Wednesday night service, maybe a home fellowship here or there, and a school of discipleship, there are many opportunities to teach God's Word. As I speak forth God's Word, you sit in the seat of judgment to test and see if my life really lives up to what I say.

Like what we saw last week in James 1, where James says that we are to be doers of the Word and not hearers only. The question that arises, as you take on the position of a judge, is whether Pastor Miles is a doer of the very things he tells us to do. In James 1:22, it states, "But be ye doers of the Word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." Notice that the hearer of the Word who is not a doer of God's Word deceives himself. Oftentimes, he deceives no one else; everyone else sees that, and they think, "Man, that guy's a hypocrite."

This is similar to the Pharisees in Jesus' day, whom He condemned in Matthew chapter 23, saying, "Woe to them" time and time again. Judgment is coming upon you. Why? Because they were like whitewashed tombs. They looked really good on the outside, and their speech was very polished, but internally, they were full of dead men's bones. Greg mentioned, as he was leading the devotion for communion this morning, the passage in Mark chapter 7, verse 6.

Where Jesus answered the Pharisees who were upset at His disciples because they did not wash their hands in the traditional way, He said, "Very well has Isaiah the prophet prophesied of you hypocrites. As it is written, 'This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.'" Quoting from Isaiah chapter 29, verse 13, these Pharisees honored God with their lips, but their hearts were far from Him.

The people are often able to judge that because they can see that one's life is not living up to their speech. There is the judgment of God we see in this passage upon the teacher or the teaching of God's Word, but then there is the judgment of the people as they look and say, "Hey, your life, is it really measuring up?" Thirdly, there is the judgment of myself. I will tell you right now, you may not believe it, but I am my worst critic. Ask my wife.

I love this quote from Charles Spurgeon: "So precious is Jesus to believers that they cannot speak well enough of Him. Could you at your very best exalt the Lord Jesus so gloriously as to satisfy yourself?" Now, mind you, this is the Prince of Preachers who says this. I make free confession that I never preached a sermon about my Lord which came anywhere near my ideal of His merits. I am always dissatisfied when I have done my very best. I have often wished that I could rush back to the pulpit and try to preach Him better, but I am kept back from such an attempt by a fear that probably I might fail even more conspicuously.

He is so glorious as to be glory itself. Who can describe the Son? He is so sweet in our apprehension that we cannot convey that apprehension to another by such feeble expressions as words. Our thoughts of the Lord Jesus Christ are far, far below His worth, but even those thoughts we cannot communicate to another, for they break the backs of words. Language staggers under the weight of the holy emotion that comes upon us in connection with the Lord Jesus.

We can never say enough of God's unspeakable gift. On any other subject, there is danger of exaggeration, but it is impossible here. If thou findest honey, it is well to eat cautiously of it, for it may pile upon thee. But when thou findest Christ, take all in that thou canst and pray for an enlarged capacity, for He will never cloy.

When you begin to talk of what you have tasted and handled concerning Jesus, speak with an open mouth and give your tongue unbounded liberty. You need no bridle for your lips. Rather, let the live coal from off the altar burn every bond and set you free to speak at large of Him who is still far beyond you, as the heavens are above the earth.

I love what Charles Spurgeon says: "I never preached a sermon that met my ideal for His merit." There have been many times when I walk away from teaching God's Word and think, "Lord, I don't know if I said anything. It didn't make any sense to me. I hope it made sense to the people sitting here." Praise God you still actually come, because half the time I'm wondering, "Did that make any sense?" I am thankful that God is able to speak through earthen vessels. We have this treasure in earthen vessels, but we need to recognize that the earthen vessel is not reverend; it's the treasure that's in the earthen vessel.

If you're going to speak anything, speak the Word of God. I remember a number of years ago when Donovan started to preach in one of the parks here. He was preaching in Washington Park and came to my office, saying, "I just don't know if I'm doing this right. I feel like a failure." I told him, "Donovan, it would do you well just to stand up there and read the book." He was going through the Gospel of John. I said, "Just stand there and read John chapter 1, then say, 'Let's pray. In Jesus' name, Amen,' and you're done." You would do better just to give the Word of God than to try and give your thoughts on it if you don't know what to say.

There are times when I read through a passage of Scripture here on a Sunday morning and don't give any commentary on it, because I would much rather just allow the Word of God to speak for itself. I need not give commentary on that. There is the condemnation or the judgment of God upon those that teach; we shall receive a stricter judgment. There is the judgment of those who hear the preacher, as they examine the life of the preacher to ensure that he lives up to the very things he says. Then there is the self-judgment that the teacher goes through as he teaches God's Word. He recognizes that his life does not measure up to what he is preaching, which causes me to be more thankful for the grace of God than ever before.

With each new week when I teach through God's Word, I go away thanking God for His grace because I am nothing. If you don't believe that, just ask my wife; she'll tell you. Now, many among the Jews coveted the name or the office of rabbi or master.

They coveted it as an opportunity, as a position of authority. There are some, even today, who desire the position of a pastor or a teacher within the body of Christ as a place of authority. Such a position does imply authority, but it ought to be an authority based on qualification and not an authority based upon power. We are not to lord over people the authority that God has given. Remember, Jesus said to His disciples, "All authority is given to me," and then He dispatched His disciples, saying, "Go into all the world and make disciples."

If we have any authority as the preachers of God's word, it is the authority that is found only in His word. It is not the authority of the human person, but the authority of God. James goes on to say in verse 2 of chapter 3, "For in many things we offend all." I like that James lumps himself in as one who offends others. In many things, we offend all. We stumble, we make mistakes, we sin, and we fall.

How many of you have stumbled this week? You don't have to raise your hand, but I will raise both mine. We all stumble. We all fail. The apostle here says, "In many things we offend all." There are those times when we offend people, we stumble them, or even we stumble ourselves. But he emphasizes that in many ways, we offend all.

"If any man offends not in word, the same is a perfect man and able to bridle his whole body." This concept of perfection, or this principle, we already discussed a little bit in chapter 1, verse 4, where James said, "But let patience have its perfect work in you, that you may be complete, perfect, entire, wanting nothing." This perfection is not sinless perfection; it is a perfection in the way of maturity.

Where did that maturity come from? In chapter 1, it came from the testing of a person's faith. "Count it all joy when you fall into diverse temptations, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience, and patience will have its perfect work, that you may be mature." It is God's desire that we press on towards maturity in Christ. Notice what the author of the book of Hebrews told that group of Hebrew Christians.

In Hebrews chapter 5, just a few books to the left of James, verse 12 states, "For when for the time you ought to be teachers." The author of the book of Hebrews says that by now, you should be teachers, but you have need that one teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God. You have become such as have need of milk and not strong meat.

For everyone that uses milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. Strong meat, however, belongs to those who are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. The author of Hebrews tells us that God's aim is for maturity in you and me; we should press on towards maturity.

Look at verse 1 of chapter 6: "Therefore, leaving the principles and doctrines of Christ, let us go on to perfection." By now, you should be teachers, but you have to go back to the elementary principles. You must return to the pure milk of the word, which is not a bad thing. However, a baby drinking formula at 10 months old is great, but a baby drinking formula at 20 years old is a problem. Sadly, there are believers sitting in churches all across the nation who are unskillful in the word of truth because they have not exercised themselves towards godliness, as we discussed last week.

If any man offends, we offend in all things. Many of us offend in all things. If any man does not offend in word, the same is a complete or mature man; he is able to bridle his own body. In James chapter 1, verse 26, James said, "If any man among you seems to be religious and does not bridle his tongue, he deceives his own heart. This man's religion is vain."

The idea of bridling your tongue is a principle we have already seen in James chapter 1, and now he applies that principle of bridling to the whole body. He says that if you are able to bridle your tongue, then you will be able to bridle your body.

In verse 8, we see that the tongue is an unruly member; it's hard to tame. This is the basic principle that James is going to apply throughout this passage. Taming this little member is challenging, and if you, by the power of God and the strength of God in maturity, are able to bridle the tongue, I won't say that controlling the desires of the rest of your flesh will be easy, but it will be less difficult than taming the tongue. For some reason, the tongue just seems to fly off sometimes, and you don't even know what in the world you just said.

The tongue is a difficult thing to tame. I asked the question last week: has anybody ever gotten themselves into trouble with their tongue? Everybody raised their hand, especially if you're married. With the tongue, we can offend without even trying. Sometimes, we can offend without even realizing it. You say something to somebody, and a month later, they come to you and say, "You know, back on September 1st, you said something to me, and I'm very angry." I didn't even know that I had said anything that offended them. We can do it without trying; we can do it without realizing it.

The taming of the tongue is clearly an issue of maturity in Christ, and it's something that God calls us to do. This is why James dedicates so many verses in this passage, or in this book, to it. We have a tendency to fly off the handle. Jesus told us in Matthew 15:18 that the words that proceed out of our mouths come from the heart, and those are the things that defile a man.

The interesting thing is this: yes, the heart of man is desperately wicked, as Jeremiah tells us in Jeremiah 17:9. However, as disciples of Christ, we have received from God a new heart. Nicodemus spoke with Jesus in John 3, where He told him that he must be born again. This was not a new teaching, even though Nicodemus didn't recognize it from his Old Testament passages. In Ezekiel 36, God had told His people that they were going to have this born-again experience by the Spirit of God and receive a new heart.

So, when I become a believer, a follower of Christ, He gives me a new heart. He gave you a new heart—a heart that desires to obey God. But we still have this flesh.

Although it's a very small member, the tongue can be powerful. We can, because remember, words come from the heart. By the ability of Christ, we can speak those things that build up and bless. When we fail and say things that tear down or are a terrible witness of Jesus, it's because we did not yield our members to the righteousness of Christ. We made a decision, whether we realize it or not, to not allow Him to have government over our tongue.

We received a new heart from Him, which means we have the indwelling power from God by His Holy Spirit. From this new heart, we can speak those things that build up and bless. Yet, this unruly member is powerful. By the power of God, we are able to submit this unruly member to Him.

James goes on in James chapter 3, verse 3: "Behold, we put bits in horses' mouths that they may obey us, and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, which though they be so great and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm whithersoever the governor lists." Even so, the tongue is a little member and it boasts great things. Behold how great a matter a little fire kindles! The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. So is the tongue among our members that it defiles the whole body and sets on fire the course of nature, and it is set on fire of hell.

James illustrates that, while we can turn ships about with a very small bit to govern a powerful horse, we can also control a large ship with a very small rudder. It's amazing how some of these ships have been built in our day. These huge tankers seem to defy logic; you look at them and think, "How in the world does that thing float?" I mean, I sink, but that floats! It's incredible. Yet, we are also able, by the power of God, to turn our tongues to do what is right.

God's Spirit helps us to bridle our tongues. Even though it is a small member, it boasts great things, as James says. The tongue is significant in our flesh, and yet God, by His Spirit and because of a changed heart, can govern it. Large animals are turned about by small bits, and large ships are commanded by small rudders. Huge fires are ignited by this small tongue, this small spark.

We see an illustration of this right now as the Station Fire continues to burn in Los Angeles. It has consumed over 155,000 acres, and this week it was reported that it was started by a small spark. This little tongue can kindle such a big blaze, can't it?

God created all that you and I see by a word. Jesus cast out demons, healed the sick, and raised the dead by a word. The salvation of God has been granted to you and me by the Word. Yet, Satan deceived Eve by a word. The tongue is a fire and can be used for both good and evil; it all depends upon the containment of that fire.

In your fireplace, it's great, but outside of your fireplace, in your living room, it becomes a problem. The same is true with our tongues. When contained by the Spirit of God and tamed by the Spirit of God, it can work great things. The salvation of God has chosen to use the foolishness of preaching, the delivery of the Word through the spoken tongue. God has chosen to use that to transform lives, and yet it can destroy lives as well.

The book of Proverbs has much to say about the tongue. As you read through the 31 chapters of Proverbs, you see that the tongue and words are closely connected to wisdom, and the book of Proverbs is the book of wisdom.

Look at Proverbs chapter 10. If you turn there, see what Solomon says as he gives wisdom and instruction related to the tongue. Proverbs chapter 10, verse 19 states, "In the multitude of words, there is no lack of..."

Sin, boy, is that the truth! The multitude of words there wants not sin, but he that refrains his lips is wise. The tongue of the just, verse 20, is as choice silver; the heart of the wicked is of little worth. The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for want of wisdom.

Two chapters later, in Proverbs chapter 12, verse 25, Solomon says, "Heaviness in the heart of man makes it stoop, but a good word makes it glad." Some of you have been heavy of heart, and it's brought you low to a place of despair. Yet, he says, a good word makes the heart glad.

A few chapters after that, in Proverbs chapter 15, verse 1, we find something that we all completely understand: "A soft answer turns away wrath, but a grievous word stirs up anger." The tongue of the wise keeps knowledge aright, but the mouth of fools pours out foolishness.

In the next chapter, Proverbs 16, verse 24, Solomon says, "Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and health to the bones." Two chapters after that, in Proverbs 18, verse 21, he states, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof." In Proverbs chapter 21, verse 23, he says, "Whoso keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps his soul from trouble."

Maybe one of my favorites is Proverbs chapter 17, verse 28, where it says, "Even a fool is considered wise when he holds his peace." Even a fool is counted wise when he keeps his mouth shut. Years ago, I heard Pastor Chuck say, "Better to keep your mouth shut and let everybody think you're a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt."

The taming of the tongue is extremely important. James goes on to say in James chapter 3, verse 7, "For every kind of beast and birds and of serpents and of things in the sea, it's tamed and has been tamed of mankind. But the tongue can no man tame, for it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison." It's difficult to admit, but it's important to realize.

We have no power in and of ourselves to tame our tongues because, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. We can mask over things, and there are some people who have a silver tongue, so to speak. They might be able to use words in such a crafty way, but if you spend enough time with them, you'll find that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth will speak.

It's amazing how many public officials have gotten themselves into trouble with their tongues. They sound so great in front of everybody, and then, when they think the microphone is turned off, oh, the trouble and the fires they ignite. It is hard to admit, but we have no power in and of ourselves to tame it. We must realize that the tongue is merely the tap of the well of the heart.

If you have a converted and transformed heart by God and you yield your tongue as an instrument of righteousness unto Him, then you will speak those things which I have the ability to restrain and tame. This is the ability that fallen man does not have.

In verse 9 of James chapter 3, it says, "Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the likeness or similitude of God." Out of the same mouth proceeds blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.

It should not be the case that with the same mouth we can bless God on Sunday and curse men on Sunday afternoon. Not even going to Monday, just maybe even pulling out of the parking lot. The same tongue that blesses God ought not to curse men. This implies that we have the ability to tame the tongue. If it says this ought not to be so, then it implies that God has given us the ability by His Spirit, by the new birth.

It is important for the heart to be able to speak those things that bless and build up. God speaks the same way. If you have a wicked heart, it will be exposed in your words. However, if God has given you a new heart and you yield this wicked tongue to Him, it will also be exposed in your words. Your words will be a witness unto Him.

In verse 13, James asks the question, "Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you?" He continues, "Let him show out of his good conduct his works with meekness of wisdom." If you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, do not glory and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above; it is earthly, sensual, and devilish. For where envy and strife exist, there is confusion and every evil work.

The Greek word translated as "wise" is "sophos." This title was often applied by the Jews to a scribe or a rabbi, referring to him as a wise one. You may consider yourself to be wise and filled with knowledge. Many people spend a lot of time studying, perhaps even the Scriptures, and they may come across as wise and knowledgeable. However, notice what James says: if you are wise and filled with knowledge, let it show in your good conduct—the way you live.

Do not just be excellent in word but also in deed. We live in a nation filled with people who have good words, and we often bow down to those who can speak very well. But does the conduct of their lives support the words they speak? Does their life show something different from what we hear on the news when we turn it on at night? This is a very important thing to consider because, by their fruits, you will know them. We can be deceived by someone's good words, but let him show out of his good conduct his works with meekness of wisdom. Some can speak well, but...

As verse 14 says, their heart is filled with bitter envy and strife. Don't glory in that. What does it matter if he can speak well if his heart is filled with envy and strife? Don't lie against the truth and just pull a mask over your own face and say, "Well, he speaks really well." It doesn't matter; he's got a wicked heart.

I remember one of our politicians, back when I was graduating from high school in the late 90s, the then President of the United States, saying that his public life and his private life did not matter, that they were not consistent with one another. He said, "Don't lie against the truth." The truth happens in the private life. He says this wisdom does not descend from above; it's earthly, sensual, and devilish. That's man's wisdom—the kind of thinking that suggests it doesn't matter if he's a good leader; it doesn't really matter what he does behind closed doors.

It grieved me greatly when, in the last political round here, one of the candidates for the Republican nomination said the very same thing: "My private life and my public life don't matter; they don't meld well together. I'm a good leader." The truth comes out in private, and this is the kind of wisdom that comes from down here. It's earthly wisdom.

He tells us about this earthly wisdom: it's earthly, sensual, and devilish. It's focused on the temporal, right here and now. Its only focus is this life that is in view. It's sensual; literally, it means belonging to breath or belonging to the earth. It's only concerned with earthly, sensual pleasures—the things of right now. This kind of wisdom is demonic. He tells us it comes from the enemy; it's not of God.

It's like Eve in Genesis chapter 3, verse 6, where, when the woman saw that the tree was good for food (the lust of the flesh), that it was pleasant to the eyes (the lust of the eyes), and that it was able to make one wise (the pride of life), she took the fruit thereof and gave it to her husband also. If there's strife in your hearts, envying in your hearts, do not lie against the truth and just put on a good silver-tongued declaration.

Then he tells us of the wisdom that is from above. There's always a contrast between the wisdom of this world and the wisdom of God. Verse 17 states that the wisdom that is from above is first pure, and then...

Peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. You see, the wisdom that is from God, number one, is pure. If worldly wisdom is earthly, then the wisdom that is from above is oppositely pure. It is free from carnality, free from the wickedness and desires of this world. It is clean.

Not only is it pure, but it is also peaceable. An individual filled with the wisdom of God seeks to live at peace with others and promotes peace among men because our God is a God of peace. He desires peace, first to establish peace between God and man. Paul would tell the church at Rome, "As much as it is possible with you, live at peace with all men."

The wisdom from God is gentle and patient. That patience is seen in the very next characteristic: it is easily entreated, or in another translation, it says it is willing to yield. One filled with the wisdom of God is not stubborn or obstinate. What does it look like to be willing to yield? This is an example we can all understand: as you are getting on the freeway and there are two lanes merging onto the on-ramp, you and the person in the car next to you both slam on the gas, determined to beat each other. Is that willing to yield?

It is full of mercy. One who is filled with the wisdom of God is full of mercy, as God is. He is ready to pass by a transgression, ready to grant forgiveness. Exodus chapter 34, verse 6 reveals that our God is merciful; He forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin. He has mercy for thousands.

The wisdom that is from above is full of good fruits. What kind of good fruits? Certainly, the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5 comes into play. In verses 22 and 23, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. Against such, there is no law.

These good fruits are a witness unto Him. Jesus tells us in Matthew chapter 5, verse 16, "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven." James also says that the wisdom that is from above is full of good fruits.

Above is not partial. We already talked about partiality in James, where gold is all over them. You say to him who is sitting in this prominent position, and then someone else comes in who is poor and beggarly, and you say, "I'll sit at my footstool; I can keep an eye on you." Are you not partial in this? He says, "In your judgment, you are not to be partial." Praise God, He is not.

This word here, translated from God, gives His counsel in a situation. There is no uncertainty to it. The word is spoken, and people go, "Wow!" Even though that may have convicted me, that’s pretty clear. There is no ambiguity. In our world, there is no such thing as clear black and clear white; everything is kind of in the middle of this gray. You know that truth can be different on Tuesday than on Thursday. There’s no clear line anymore; everything is so ambiguous.

Lastly, he says the wisdom from God is without hypocrisy. One filled with heavenly wisdom is not an actor; they are sincere. They have integrity. They are what they are everywhere they go. They are not one person at church, a different person at work, and another person at home, always trying to figure out what lie they told to this group of people or how to act among that group.

Now, this doesn't mean that we don't contextualize the gospel. What does that mean? Well, Paul said that to the Greeks, he became as a Greek; to the Jews, he became as a Jew. He wanted to be like all people wherever he was. So when he went into Athens, he recognized that he had to contextualize the gospel in a way that they could understand. But his character didn't change. He was bringing the gospel in a way that they would be able to understand it culturally.

That’s not hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is covering over who you really are with a mask. The word "hypocrite" speaks of the actors that were in the Greek tragedies of the day, and they would carry in front of them a large mask.

So that everybody in the arena could see and change their appearance, change their likeness. There are people who are like chameleons; wherever they go, they are totally different. I don't want to bag on politicians, but a lot of times in our day, nationwide television news shows us one thing in the South and then something completely different in the North. Once upon a time, that might have worked, where they could put on a totally different face in one community and no one had a clue. It doesn't work anymore, and I think maybe they just don't get it sometimes.

But one who is filled with heavenly wisdom is not an actor. They recognize, "Listen, I'm just a wretch, whether I'm at church, at work, or wherever I am. That's who I am. I'm nothing without God." It's an area of honesty before God and man, and God desires truth in the inward parts. The Pharisees were hypocrites, and Jesus called them that several times in Matthew chapter 23. May we never be those who could be accused of being modern-day Pharisees.

He says the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by them that make peace. Oh, how we desire to have the fruit of righteousness in abundance in our lives! Amen. When the Lord looks at our lives, may He say, "Well done, thy good and faithful servant." If any man among you seems to be religious and does not bridle his tongue, he deceives his own heart. You see, the person who is in this position of hypocrisy is self-deceived; they are not deceiving or tricking anybody else.

May we be those who walk, talk, and live in truth because God has given us the strength by His Spirit and a new heart to be able to bridle our tongues and to speak those things that bless and build up. Let's stand and pray.

Father, I thank You for this passage of Scripture. Although it is a challenge and exhortation, I pray that we would be able, by Your Spirit, to apply it. Lord, when we are tempted to let our tongues loose, God, would You remind us and challenge us by that gentle...

Nudge of Your Spirit to bring every thought captive to Your obedience. We confess whatever sin we've done and recognize that You hold forgiveness for us, but You also desire to sanctify and cleanse us. Thank You, Lord, for Your cleansing word.

Lord, help us not to soon forget it as we go from here. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen.