This exposition of James 3:1-18 by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, April 7, 2019.
Intro:
On a windswept hill in an old English cemetery churchyard stands a drab, gray-slate tombstone. It leans slightly to one side, the elements have almost erased the inscription but if you look real close you can read the epitaph:
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Beneath this stone, a lump of clay,
Lies Annabelle Young,
Who, on the twenty-fourth of May,
Finally began to hold her tongue.
Now I don’t know Annabelle but she must have been like the town gossip who during the revival meeting became convicted about her gossiping. After two nights of wrestling with the issue she went forward during the invitation time. She took her pastor’s hand and said, “Pastor I’ve come to put my tongue on the altar.” To which the pastor replied, “Our altar isn’t big enough!”
The tongue – it is that two once slab of mucous membrane enclosing a complex array of muscle and nerves that enables you to chew, taste and swallow. It is the major organ of communication. It enables us to articulate distinct sounds so that we can understand each other. It is very useful. It is a wonderful gift. And yet it is at the same time it is so often the source of heartache, pain and discouragement.
James tells us that it is the biggest little troublemaker that you and I have to deal with. Tonight we are going to consider the power of the tongue as we explore the third chapter of James’ epistle.
Text: James 3:1-18
If I were to give a one-word summary of James’ teaching it would be “maturity.”
James is calling us to “grow up” in our faith.
In chapter one he shows us how a mature believer deals with testing times.
- Count it all joy!
- Throw a party when ambushed by life’s struggles, because it produces endurance, which brings maturity.
In chapter two he deals with how the mature believer practices the truth.
- Don’t be a “face-receiver” - showing favoritism.
- Be a “doer” of the Word, not a hearer only.
In chapter three he shows us that the mature believer controls his tongue.
Thesis: Growing up in your faith demands that you gain mastery over your tongue.
The mature, Christ-like believer shows some restraint in how he uses his tongue.
Christian maturity and growth is a very practical matter.
But how do we tame the tongue?
How do we get control of it?
- The mature believer recognizes the potential power of the tongue. (3:1-4)
- The mature believer realizes the nature of the tongue. (3:5-12)
Conclusion:
I’m not a perfect man. I haven’t bridled my tongue it is a restless evil full of poison. I must cry out with Isaiah, “Woe is me! I am a man of unclean lips and I live in the midst of a people with unclean lips.”
I’m guilty.
Of that, there is no question.
My hands in the cookie jar up to my elbows.
Let me go back to something I referred to earlier - God spoke (Genesis 1:3) and created everything by the power of His word. Satan spoke (Genesis 3:1) and ruined everything. But God spoke again - Genesis 3:15 - I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.
There is hope for you and that tongue of yours and it is found in the Gospel!
There is hope in the transforming power of the indwelling Spirit.
Maybe your stone doesn’t have to read like Annabelle’s.
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