Monthly Archives: November 2017

Controlling the Tongue (James 3:1-12)

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With this sermon series, our friend Chris Wiles has resourced all the churches involved by making study notes available – involving both the text of Scripture and illustrative materials as well. So today’s devotional draws directly from his writing.

It’s easy to say that “sticks and stones may break our bones, but words can never hurt us,” but our experience tells another story altogether. In fact, we can easily see that much of our social division stems from the way we speak to—and about—one another. According to political scientist Thomas U. Berger, “we live in an age of apology and recrimination,” and this is verifiably true even if we only look at our social media accounts (!). Words have power. Positive words offer encouragement, but negative words can impact and shape our futures—as well as the world around us.

James tells us three things about the power of speech:

  1. Words have power (3:1-5)

James 3:1 – Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2 We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.

James 3:3 – When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5 Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.

So important is speech, according to James, that not everyone should aspire to being “teachers”—and yes, the word here refers to Christian leaders and pastors (verse 1). James cautions that people in such positions “will be judged with greater strictness,” a teaching common in ancient literature and affirmed by Jesus Himself (Mark 12:38-40). In verse 2 James continues this same thought. The phrase “we all stumble in many ways” echoed similar sentiments in Greco-Roman literature, which also encouraged teachers to remain silent to avoid the possibility of wrongdoing.

James then offers three distinct illustrations that emphasize how something so small as the tongue could have powerful, large-scale effects:

  • A bit in a horse’s mouth (verse 3)
  • A rudder on a large ship (verse 4)
  • A small fire that sets ablaze a forest (verse 5)

James will expand on this final metaphor in the next section. His larger point here is that words have tremendous power, and the impact of our words cannot be underestimated.

  1. Words can hurt (3:6-8)

James 3:6 – The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

Secondly, James observes that speech can have a destructive effect. Jewish readers would have been greatly familiar with the image connecting tongues to fire (verse 6), for similar imagery is found in Jewish literature both inside and outside the Bible.

The destructive nature of human words is made worse by the fact that—unlike everything else in creation—no one can hope to control the tongue (verses 7-8). James is emphasizing that human speech is wild and destructive, and controlling it is preferable to the effects of seeing it “burn” out of control.

  1. Words reveal a lack of integrity (3:9-12)

James 3:9 – With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

Finally, James reveals man’s divided character. We cannot use words to “bless” God and then “curse” men (verse 9). Why not? James emphasizes that because human beings are made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26), to curse men is to disrespect the character of God. In verse 10, James states his central point: that God’s people should not have the kind of divided character that would produce blessing and cursing from the same mouth.

James then offers three word pictures to emphasize the point—all posed as questions to which James expects an emphatic “no:”

  • “Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water?” (verse 11)
  • “Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives…?” (verse 12a)
  • “[Can] a grapevine produce figs?” (verse 12b)

James answers his own initial question in verse 12c—No, such things are impossible. James’ point is clear: just as it is unnatural for a fresh spring to produce two kinds of water, or for plants to produce different kinds of fruit, so it is unnatural for Christ’s followers to produce both blessing and curses.

So let us be introspectively thoughtful about our lives and our communication. There are enough fires out there already, we don’t need to be adding to them.

Sola Gratia, By Grace Alone (Ephesians 2)

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You’re not going to believe this story, but it is true. When I was a rather young child, surely pre-school age, I was with my parents at a viewing in a funeral parlor for some person who had passed away. I have no idea who the man was, though I’m quite sure it was not a relative.

My impression was that we were there at the very end of the visiting hours, most people having departed. I had no idea why this man was sleeping in a box. Being a rather verbal child (I know that surprises all of you) I probably asked a question of that sort, to which my father told me to go over and pick up the man’s hand to see if he would wake up.

That is the first and last dead person I’ve ever touched. The memory of the hardness, stiffness and lifelessness still is quite vivid. I don’t think I was traumatized terribly, but it is a clear memory. I recall to this day exactly where that funeral home was located – a house in New Jersey that is no longer used for that purpose.

Oh, yes … the man didn’t wake up. Halloween terror stories aside – replete with visuals of the ground shaking and a hand coming up through the dirt from the grave – dead people don’t come back to life. They don’t respond to any magnanimous offers of any sort.

The Scriptures say that without Christ, spiritually speaking, we are dead in our trespasses and sins. As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. (Ephesians 2:1-2)  We had no way to respond other than to have God’s grace given to us to even make us able to believe. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. (Ephesians 2:4-5)

So what is grace?  It is something even bigger than we may tend to think. It is not just forgiving a person who has wronged you when they ask for it. Rather, it is choosing to forgive a person at a time when they were not sorry, and when they were in fact worthy of all the anger and judgment you could throw at them.

The definition of grace that I learned years ago that has always stuck with me is this: Grace is favor extended when wrath is deserved. And that is what Christ has done in dying for us. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

So the Reformers were saying that salvation is by grace alone. But didn’t the Roman church then and now believe in grace? They talk a lot about grace. Yes, they do believe in grace, just not in grace ALONE. There are sacraments and other obligations that are a part of meriting grace; that is the difference. In this regard, liberal Protestantism today is not categorically different. In fact, they can be farther from the truth by not actually believing in the deity of Christ or the virgin birth, etc.

The Reformed doctrine of salvation by grace alone, as articulated by Calvinists today, can also trouble certain evangelicals. To them it has a sound of “easy believism” … that one can just say a prayer of faith, gain the grace, and then go off and live however they want to, now having an insurance policy against hell. But that is not what Reformed teaching supports. There is the belief that genuine salvation will manifest itself in a changed life and desire to live for God, this being the evidence of true faith.

And Paul promotes this very idea also in Ephesians 2:8-10 … For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

The works follow salvation; they don’t earn salvation; they don’t maintain salvation … they prove salvation in the life of the believer as statements of gratitude for the grace received. “Oh to grace, how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be!”

Sola Fida, Faith Alone

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Having looked yesterday at the great passage by James about the role of faith and works, today we take off from that to jump to the third of five “solas” of the Reformation – Faith Alone.

The “five solas” – commonly referred to as the five cries of the Reformation – summarize the teachings of this era of church and world history. It was exactly 500 years ago yesterday that Martin Luther allegedly nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. Did this really happen that way? Maybe. It was a place to post notes for discussions and debates, etc.  Certainly this writing was published and spread widely, thus setting ablaze a theological discussion that continues to our time.

Understand that these five statements were not precisely written by Luther, Zwingli, Calvin or any of the other great lights of the Reformation. Rather, these five summaries have been penned centuries later to summarize the handful of major teachings that changed everything. The Reformers would surely agree with these statements, written in Latin terminology…

  • Sola Fida – by faith alone
  • Sola Scripture – by Scripture alone
  • Solus Christus – through Christ alone
  • Sola Gratia – by grace alone
  • Soli Deo Gloria – glory to God alone

Faith – defined in Scripture as “confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1)

It is that “not being able to see something” part of faith that makes it difficult.

It is one thing to step out onto a bridge over a deep gorge when one is able to see that it is well-built and has been around for quite some time, but it is another thing altogether to jump out of an airplane with a parachute (so far as you know) that is behind you – having been packed properly by some person you in faith presume knew what he was doing.

The natural proclivity of mankind is to believe that one must work to earn something, to make it happen versus trusting that someone else has done something for us. And over the years, teachings have come along that erode the faith alone component with a listing of duties and rules to keep. In Luther’s time, it particularly centered around the church using the sale of indulgences to fund construction and other operations. This devalued the true gospel of faith alone.

Here is a great quote from the eminent theologian J.I. Packer …

So, where Rome had taught a piecemeal salvation, to be gained by stages through working a sacramental treadmill, the Reformers now proclaimed a unitary salvation, to be received in its entirety here and now by self-abandoning faith in God’s promise, and in the God and the Christ of that promise, as set forth in the pages of the Bible. Thus the rediscovery of the gospel brought a rediscovery of evangelism, the task of summoning non-believers to faith. Rome had said, God’s grace is great, for through Christ’s cross and his Church salvation is possible for all who will work and suffer for it; so come to church, and toil! But the Reformers said, God’s grace is greater, for through Christ’s cross and his Spirit salvation, full and free, with its unlimited guarantee of eternal joy, is given once and forever to all who believe; so come to Christ, and trust and take!  (The full article can be found HERE.)

We can surely be thankful for the blessing of faith alone, being able to trust in a work already completed by a perfect human substitute. This sets us free from worry and guilt that we may not be doing enough, setting us free also to do much out of gratitude for the blessing we have received, even if we cannot see the full reward of it at this time.