The Wildfire in the Mouth | James 3:1-12 | Faith That Works
Key Themes:
The Teacher’s Burden: Why those who instruct are judged with greater strictness and the necessity of sound doctrine.
Small Roots, Big Impact: Lessons from the bit in a horse's mouth and the rudder of a great ship.
The Gospel Solution: Why "holding your tongue" isn't enough. We don't just need silent tongues; we need sanctified tongues filled with the Word of God.
📖 Click to Show the Transcript of this Sermon
Thank you for joining us for this week's sermon from First Reformed Church in Edgerton, Minnesota. Each week we dig into God's Word, trusting that the Holy Spirit will continue the good work of sanctification in us. Something quite satisfying about starting a fire the old-fashioned way. Now, I'm not talking about with some flint and a knife.
Well, I'm sure that's even more satisfying than what I'm going to talk about. But what I mean is, instead of using some lighter fluid or some kind of fire-starting aid, you instead gather the stuff that you need to start the fire. And then you build it. And it progressively grows from the small flame from your match or from a lighter.
And there's some satisfaction there. You start it, and the kindling gets going pretty easily. But as you progress to some larger pieces of wood, the variables around you can give you doubt that, oh, is it going to get going? Is this actually going to start?
Will things progress as I have set up this fire? to grow but eventually you move things around and you get things going and suddenly it gives off a significant amount of heat and you feel the warmth and you feel a natural sense of accomplishment and of satisfaction that you have built this fire and we sit there and we enjoy it but when we build a fire we know that there is a responsibility that comes along with building a fire. What we have built needs to be kept within the intended confined space, or you have a significant problem.
The small flame that begins at the tip of a match can easily become complete and total destruction. A small campfire meant to warm up a can of beans and some hot dogs can get out of control and wipe out an entire forest. So as we arrive at the third chapter of the epistle of James this morning, we find several proverbial, proverb-like statements that show us some biblical wisdom. But none is quite as convicting as what is said here about the tongue.
We know its power to build up, and we also know its power to destroy. And we have all wielded it as a weapon for both purposes. So the passage that we're looking at this morning starts out emphasizing that those who instruct others should be aware of their responsibility. And this is a strong statement here from James that warns us that we should think about the responsibility that we have in teaching others.
In fact, he says, that we will be judged with greater strictness. And we can understand why this is the case. When someone in a position of authority as a teacher comes before us, there is an inherent trust that accompanies that. Because of the weight of that, those who teach should be very deliberate in about what they say.
When we speak about God, we do not want to speak incorrectly. We do not want to lead somebody astray. And that is a very real responsibility. And it's why we want to make sure that what we teach is in alignment with the Word of God.
I'm currently serving on our Presbytery Ministerial Committee, and we are charged with the examination of new teaching elders and also those who want to transfer in from another denomination or from another presbytery in our denomination. The idea is that the core of what we are doing in that process is that we are making sure that they are going to speak correctly about God. We aren't looking for someone who can give us some little tiny detail from some theological book that has never even been translated out of Latin. That's not what we're looking for.
We want to make sure That those who come to teach and have this responsibility, have an understanding of the foundational elements of the faith, so that we know that they have taken care to be precise in what they are teaching. So that they know that there's a weight to what they are doing. Those who teach need to know that those who hear them will follow what they have to say. And so it must be in alignment with sound doctrine.
And often this process that I'm talking about comes across as a roadblock or a difficulty. But the idea behind it is ensuring that the Gospel is clearly presented. That when God is spoken of, what is said about Him is true. This is absolutely vital.
And James makes sure that we understand, he makes very clear this idea as we come to verse 2, because he says that we all stumble. The teacher and the student are all very far from being perfect. We don't keep the law of God perfectly, and we are prone to go after the desires of our fallen hearts. This is true of our actions, but it's also true of our words.
If we were able to be perfect in words, we would also be able to perfectly control our bodies as well. In other words, we are going to misspeak and we are going to err. And so we need to keep a great level of control on our tongues. Notice, what is being said here is not that there are actually perfect people out there somewhere.
Instead, the implication that James is making is that we should be on guard to speak correctly and to listen with discernment. Why? Because people are fallen. Because people err.
It's so easy for us to use our words to guide people and to get them to do things. And so those who are in positions of authority, need to take care and use their words to the benefit of the kingdom, not the benefit of themselves. And with the proliferation of video in our time, it doesn't take long for us to come across a video of someone who is teaching falsely about God. And there's a lot of reactions that I have when I see a video Like this?
Instantly, the first thought I have, where did they get that idea? That is just totally off base. Sometimes, I look at videos like this and the biggest thing that comes to me is how did they end up on this path? How did they end up here where they're speaking incorrectly about God?
Where they're distorting the Word and leading people astray? I doubt they sincerely started out thinking, I want to have a ministry where I lead people astray and pervert the Word of God. What happens? My guess is, they found that sound doctrine didn't get them the recognition that they desired.
And so they tweaked the message a little bit to tickle ears, so that they could have some influence or make some money. And over time, financial greed and a lust for power caused them to go further and further off the rails. But it was likely a small distortion in the beginning that started them down this path of destruction. It's always the small thing.
Very rarely does it start in the large. It starts with the small, and that's what James is painting a picture for us here with some illustrations as we move on to verses three and four, and he starts with the image of a bridle. You know, a horse is a big animal. You stand next to one, and you wouldn't think that it would be able to be controlled by something as small as that bit in its mouth, right?
This is a powerful beast, yet it's controlled by this. We put it in his mouth and it basically does our bidding. And then he gives a second illustration. One of a ship.
Winds blow from all over the place. The gusts whirl this way and that. The wind seems to be a force that is completely unstoppable and uncontrollable. Well, then you mix in a very large boat with very large sails, and then the fabric of the sails collects that wild wind from every direction, and it moves the ship.
With what we observe above the surface, the wind, the sails, the ship, you would think that that ship would be completely uncontrollable, right? but there's something very small under the surface that makes it go wherever we want it to go. A small rudder takes the ship wherever the captain wants it to go. And this is the point here in the text.
We could probably ascertain the big point James is making without verse 5 here that we're moving on to, but James wants us to be sure that we understand his point. The tongue is a tiny thing. Yet that tiny object can do so much. We like to think that the circumstances and events that we read about in history books are what guides the course of history.
But beneath all of those events, someone was uttering words. Someone was leading people in a direction. The fiery words of a revolutionary can get the people behind him to tear down the establishment. It starts with words.
In an unsettling crisis, the words of a leader can either bring peace and confidence, or they can cause chaos and unrest. The tongue of a preacher can be used to proclaim the Gospel and bring glory to Christ. or they can speak lies and lead people on the path to eternal destruction. As James says here, a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire.
And we know this. When we hear of a forest fire raging, we understand that someone didn't come in and cover the whole forest with gas and then throw a match on it and whoosh! It all went up at once. We know how forest fires start.
It starts with a lightning strike, a campfire that wasn't properly extinguished, or even an arsonist starting a small fire, but none of those things are all consuming like what the forest fire eventually becomes. They are small events that get out of control. And James couldn't be any more clear on his point here. The tongue is a fire.
And we let it get out of control. And there isn't one of us who hasn't started a fire with our tongue that got out of control. We've all done this. Whether we had some bad information, or we were speaking spitefully, what we said got out of control and created chaos.
You know how it goes. You say one small thing, and before you know it, it's raging. Maybe you didn't even speak it with bad intentions, but it was heard that way, and it spread out of control from there. It's something we've all experienced, and there's nothing that gives you a more terrible feeling in the pit of your gut than when the fire that your tongue has started gets out of control.
And James doesn't pull any punches with us here at all. He says that these infernos caused by that muscle in our mouths are set on fire by hell. In other words, the destruction that evil speech creates, it's deeply rooted in the deepest of evil. The devil loves these fires.
because they are rooted in malice, anger, untruth, and spite. The devil is the father of lies, and he relishes in the destruction that the human tongue creates. He relishes in those fires that come from our mouths that get out of control. And as we make our way through this passage, there really isn't any room for objection from us, is there?
Like, as I've said, we know this. We've all been there. In fact, you probably have a memory back to when you were a pretty young age that you remember where your tongue got you in trouble. But still, James doesn't relent in making this clear for us.
We know the truth of what we've been reading. We've done it, but James does not let up here. His next example, humans have domesticated all kinds of animals. We are able to tame them.
We're able to have them as pets. Some of the wildest and strongest beasts on earth, people have tamed. But yet, has anyone tamed the tongue? It's like an animal that you think you've settled down. You think it's under control. You might even get really comfortable with it because it hasn't been wild in a really long time. And so you get too comfortable with it. And you let it run free.
And then the animal devours you. Every once in a while, you'll hear stories in the news of these people who have large snakes as pets, and they think that they've tamed them so well, and that they have affection for them like a person, and they'll just let these large snakes loose in their house. And then one night while they're asleep, it constricts them, and they're dead. It's like the tongue.
When we think we have it under control, we can let it loose, and then it reaps destruction. As James says, our tongues are a restless evil, full of deadly poison. Just when you think it's tamed, it spits venom on unsuspecting prey, and another devouring fire overwhelms us. And having established these very observable truths, James shows us the mindset we ought to have with the uncontrollable beast that resides in our mouths.
He says we use our tongues to praise God, and then we speak ill of people that God made in His image? That's pretty obvious hypocrisy right there. We are capable of praising God with our mouths one minute, and then gossiping the next. We might declare the majesty of God in one sentence, and then say terrible things about a fellow image-bearer in the next sentence.
And this whole passage is really convicting. But these two verses, I think, hit the hardest. This morning, we have sung of the power, might, and beauty of God. We have confessed sin with our tongues.
We have read His Word and spoken it out loud. In a few minutes, we will confess what we believe. And then we might slander somebody before we leave the building. We know that what James is saying here is absolutely right.
And we can agree with him when he says, these things ought not to be so. There is no argument to be made here. Not only has James made his case, As I've said multiple times, we feel this. We know this deep down within us.
We know that a spring doesn't give us salt water. And fig trees bear figs, and grape vines, well, they produce grapes. If our tongues are producing venom, what does that say about our tongues? The goal then is to have a tongue that praises God and doesn't spread the wildflowers that devour.
As James has said, no one can control the tongue. And so, this isn't about how you show more resolve in biting your tongue when you feel like saying something bad. That isn't going to solve the problem. James says, no one has tamed the tongue.
The tongue isn't controlled by our efforts. Instead, the tongue needs to be controlled by the work of the Holy Spirit within us. We have all failed to keep God's law in regard to our tongues. We have taken God's name in vain, and we have violated the third commandment.
We've spoken angry words, and therefore, we've violated the sixth commandment of do not murder. We've spoken falsely about others, and broken the ninth commandment. But the good news of the Gospel is this, that God has forgiven us for this in Christ. Regardless of how raging the fires our tongues have sparked, the grace of God comes with water that takes away our guilt and can put out the fires.
Christ suffered and died for all our sin, and that includes the sins of the tongue. Slander, gossip, bitter outbursts, prideful boasting, deceptive flattery, unkept promises, and even the silence of not using our tongue to speak up when we should. Jesus bore the wrath of God for those sins, but He also rose and ascended so that we can have victory over them and live in newness of life And so we have a call to put those sins away. Remember, James said that no human can control the tongue.
And so the challenge that I want to offer to you today is not to hold your tongue. Instead, you need to unleash your tongue. Not in fits of rage or unhealthy gossip. Unleash the Word from your lips. Instead of the fire of destruction, speak the water of life. We don't need to shut up. We need to be filled up with the Word of God and let the Word of God flow out of us. We need to hear that Word and let it flow out into the world.
Instead of thinking we need silent tongues, what we need are sanctified tongues. Instead of trying to restrain from gossip, Let us outdo one another in showing honor, as Paul says in Romans 12. Instead of biting our tongue in anger, let us speak the truth in love as we are told to do in Ephesians 4. Instead of refraining from uttering lies, may we be always mindful that God is truth. And we should speak the truth because we are called to be holy as He is holy. The image of fire that James uses in this passage is a powerful one. Remember that respect that we need to have for fire. A fire in your fireplace is a good thing.
A fire in your living room is a very bad thing. It is absolutely essential that something with as much power as fire is respected and restrained. So may we be mindful of the power of our tongues, and may we speak the truth of God's Word, and bring the warmth of His light to the world, that our lives might glorify Jesus in all that we do and say. Amen.
Let us pray. Great and merciful God, we thank You for the gift of Your Word, convicting us about the way we use our tongues. We pray, O God, that we would be filled with Your Word. That what comes out of us might be life and light and the majesty of Your Gospel instead of the things that create fires that destroy.
Fill us up with Your Word. And help us to recall it that we might speak life. That Christ might be glorified in all that we say and all that we do. It's in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ that we pray.
Amen. Thank you for joining us for this week's sermon. For more information about First Reform Church, head to our Facebook page or website, edgertonfrc.org.
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