Wisdom About Your Tongue

James 3:1-12
April 25, 2021
Abraham Hong

Sermon Script

As we wait during these last days for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ, we go through many trials and tests for our sanctification. And a very important trial or test centers on our tongues - our words, the talk that comes out of our mouths, the things that we say to God and to other people, the way or the manner in which we speak.

Jesus knows your words. He knows everything that you say in your life. He knows how sinful your tongue is. But Jesus cares a lot about your tongue and your words. He cares a lot about you. He knows you.

And Jesus loves you. He speaks his words to you today. And he gives you his wisdom about your tongue… so that your words would change. So that you would would change.

So dear Highland, as we consider today’s passage, let us be eager and humble and thoughtful. For this sermon, I plan to focus on four points from the text and share words of encouragement and application in light of the good news of Jesus Christ.

The first point in today’s passage is this: we all stumble in many ways with our words and we all will be judged by the one true and living God. This is true and this is very important to understand.

We all stumble in many ways with our words. We say things that are sinful. Words come out of our mouths that dishonor God and hurt other people. We participate in gossip and slander. Our tongues practice coarse joking or bad sarcasm. We do not balance speaking truth with love. We use harsh or abusive or manipulative words. We speak proudly or criticize and complain about other brothers and sisters in Christ.

And we lack words of forgiveness and reconciliation. Our lips are not used to being kind and understanding and thoughtful. Our mouths are not fountains of holiness and righteousness and love. Our tongues are not used for the unity of the church and the glory of God.

Isn’t this true? There are so many words that we all regret saying. We are not perfect. We are not able to bridle our whole bodies. It is very important to admit all of this. All of this sinfulness of the tongue. This is what we say. This is who we are. We all stumble in many ways with our words. Dear Highland, let us humble ourselves and confess that this is painfully true. This is wisdom. We all stumble in many ways with our words.

And we all are judged by the one true and living God. James writes that not many of us should become teachers, because those teach will be judged with greater strictness. It’s very easy to focus on the fact that teachers - that is, pastors and elders and seminary professors and missionaries - will be judged by God with great strictness. Teachers must be careful with their words because God knows their words. Because their words must be correct and subordinate to God’s Word.

But what is often unrealized is that just because teachers will be judged with greater strictness does not mean that the rest of us will not be judged at all. The key words here are “greater strictness.” God gives greater strictness to teachers. But God still gives strictness to the rest of us who united with Christ Jesus.

Did you know that God judges you strictly with regard to your tongue? This is true. And it is good and biblical to say it like this.

Disney+ recently came out with a trailer for the Marvel movie Loki. Given that it’s a trailer, there’s a lot of mystery to it. But there’s one quick scene that is very interesting. Loki is in a room with a man and a desk with a printer on it. The man pushes a huge stack of papers toward Loki and says, “Please sign to verify this is everything you’ve ever said.” Loki responds by saying, “This is absurd.” Then another piece of paper comes out the printer, the man puts it on the top of the stack of papers, and the paper has the words “This is absurd” on it. And the man says, “Sign this too.”

Now, Loki is fiction. But James and the Bible is fact. Brother, sister, do you think your words are forgotten or unrecorded? They may be by man. But not by God. God knows everything you say. Every word. Every tone and every inflection. God knows you. And God cares about your words, your mouth, your tongue. We all are judged by the one true and living God. Dear Highland, let us humble ourselves and know that God knows all of our words. This is wisdom.

The second point in today’s passage is this: the tongue may be small, but it is really big. This is true and this is very important to understand.

The tongue may be small, but it is really big - really important and really impactful. Bits in the mouths of horses may look insignificant. Rudders on the ends of ships may seems like no big deal. But with bits and with rudders, horses and ships are steered in one direction or another. Words have tremendous effect or impact on our lives. One may not care much or think twice about the butt of a cigarette or the smoldering remains of a campfire or the pyrotechnics of a gender reveal party. But out of these small fires can come a great forest fire that kills trees and wildlife and burns down people’s homes and fills the sky with dark and poisonous smoke.

Words matter. Even one moment, one sentence, one slip of the tongue, can lead to devastating ruin in your life or in the lives of others. Just as we are not to play with fire, we are not to play with words. We are not to be careless with them. Because while the tongue may be small, it is really big.

Words from the chair of the Federal Reserve can cause the entire stock market to fall in a matter of minutes. Words from a bully or from a careless parent can scar a child for a very long time. Words can destroy a marriage. Words can cause a church to disunify and split. Words can bring about terrible things.

But words can also bring about wonderful things. Words can move an entire country forward. Words can bring healing or encouragement and set a child on a good path of life. Words can build and strengthen a marriage. Words can provide peacemaking and reconciliation and love in a church.

It is really important and interesting to remember that our God is a God of words. He created the heavens and the earth by speaking his words. God’s words are powerful. And God loved you and saved you and resurrected you and recreated you… with his words. He gave you his written word that is the Bible so that you would know his salvation. And you have been united with the living Word, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son. And now you are being sanctified and changed and cleansed and assured and grown and fed and loved… by God’s words. God created reality and identity with words. God’s words are big. Your words are also big. Your words can impact reality and identity. Dear Highland, let us humble ourselves and know that our tongues may be small, but they are actually really big - really important and really impactful. This is wisdom.

The third point in today’s passage is this: the tongue comes with very bad news. This is true and this is very important to understand.

Out of the tongue can come things that are connected to our enemy. This is a serious wake up call for us. James bluntly tells us that the tongue is a world of unrighteousness that is set on fire by hell. Demonic activity is usually coupled with things like twisting heads and other scary stuff in horror movies. But you need to know that demonic activity can be related with the words of our tongues. The devil is your adversary. He prowls around like a roaring lion. And he can have his opportunity when we speak wrongly.

In Matthew 16, Jesus told his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things and be killed and on the third day be raised. Upon hearing this, Peter took Jesus aside and said to him, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” Jesus said these eye-opening words to Peter: “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Our words can either be connected to heaven or connected to hell. Most believers don’t believe that their tongues are hellish. But whenever we say things that are sinful, our tongues are hellish.

Whenever words come out of our mouths that dishonor God and hurt other people, or whenever we participate in gossip and slander, our tongues are fire. Whenever our tongues practice coarse joking or bad sarcasm, or whenever we do not balance speaking truth with love, our tongues are a world of unrighteousness. Whenever we use harsh or abusive or manipulative words, or whenever we speak proudly or criticize and complain about other brothers and sisters in Christ, we go down the path of having our whole bodies stained and the entire course of our lives set on fire by hell. When this happens, the tongue is a restless evil, full of deadly poison - poison from a serpent snake. Dear Highland, wake up. Wake up to the spiritual reality of your words. This is wisdom.

There is more bad news. This is the worst part of all. No human being can tame the tongue. 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. On our own, we do not have the power to control the words that come out of our mouths. Left to ourselves, we cannot change our tongues. The bit is there with the horse. The rudder is there with the ship. But on our own, the horse will always be led off the cliff. Left to ourselves, the ship will always crash and sink. The entire forest will inevitably burn to the ground. No human being can tame the tongue.

But this is good to know. Because when we know that we cannot tame the tongue with our own power or our own work, then God is rightly glorified. The bad news is the fact no human being can tame the tongue. But the good news is that it says “human being.” Someone who is more than just a human being can tame the tongue. And that someone is God and God alone.

This is the good news of Jesus Christ. Jesus saved you and he made you into a new creation. He took away all of your sins. He took away all of your sinful words. And he made them his sins and his words and he died because of it all. He paid the price of death. He substituted himself and sacrificed himself for you with his body and with his blood. It is as if every single word that you ever said in your life and ever will say in your life was printed out and made into a huge stack of paper. And it is as if Jesus signed to verify that it all belonged to him and said, “I will die for this.”

Jesus also gave you his righteousness and his words and you are now covered by it all. He lived a perfect life for you. He did not stumble once in what he said. As your representative, as your lawgiver who became your lawkeeper for your sake, he was a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. And it is as if every single word that he ever said in his life on earth was printed out and made into a huge stack of paper. And it is as if Jesus signed to verify that it all belonged to you and said, “You will live because of this.”

This is such good news. This is the salvation of Jesus Christ. Jesus forgave you and justified you once and for all. But Jesus also sanctifies you and loves you each and every week. You are a new creation. And your words are changing. Your tongue is now being tamed. Tamed by the Holy Spirit. Christ Jesus is in you. And he will come out of you… in your words. Your words will slowly but surely align more and more with the Bible. Your tongue, by God’s grace, will be pushed farther and farther away from hell and closer and closer toward heaven. God is sanctifying your tongue. God is sanctifying you.

In Isaiah 6, the prophet Isaiah saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Isaiah said, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” But then a seraphim flew to Isaiah, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched Isaiah’s mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

We were a people of unclean lips. But now, because of the person and work of Jesus Christ, now we are a people of clean lips. Now we can speak words of forgiveness and reconciliation. Now our lips can be used to be kind and understanding and thoughtful. Now our mouths can be fountains of holiness and righteousness and love. Now our tongues can be used for the unity of the church and the glory of God.

This is what we say. This is who we are. Because Jesus created our new creation tongues and tames our new creation tongues. Dear Highland, let us praise the Lord. This is his wisdom.

The fourth and final point in today’s passage is this: we are to speak in accordance with the good news of Jesus Christ. This is true and this is very important to understand.

It does not make any sense for a spring to produce both fresh water and salt water. And it does not make any sense for a fig tree to produce olives or a grapevine to produce figs. In the same way, it does not make any sense to use our tongues to bless our Lord and Father, and then also use our tongues to curse people who are made in the likeness of God. How can both blessing and cursing come from the same mouth when we are saved by Jesus Christ? Forked tongues belong to serpents. Your tongue belongs to Jesus and no one else. Let us therefore repent of our tongues and our words and let us speak in a manner worthy of the gospel of Jesus. Let us speak in accordance with the good news of our Savior and Lord.

This is a call to change and grow in wisdom about your tongue. There are many words and things in your life that you are going to have to stop saying to God and to other people. And there are many words and things in your life that you are going to have to start saying to God and to other people. Take this seriously. Your words are a part of who you are. Your tongue reveals your spiritual well-being. So think about your words. Are your words true in light of the Bible? Are your words pleasing and honoring to Jesus? Think more carefully about your words. And think more carefully about God’s words. This is your test. This is your trial. We are living in the last days. Jesus will return soon. He knows your words. And he loves you. Receive his wisdom today about your tongue… so that your words would change. So that you would would change… for his glory.

Soli Deo Gloria