SPEAKER_00: Well, if you do not own a Bible, feel free to use that Black Pew Bible in front of you, and you are more than welcome to take that home with you if you don't own the Bible, so that you have a copy of God's Word.
SPEAKER_00: The big numbers are the chapters, and the smaller numbers are the verses, if you would like to follow along, and if you're not familiar with the Bible this morning.
SPEAKER_00: Well, this is one of those Sundays, friends, where we can't hide from some of the more convicting passages in the New Testament that speaks to us all.
SPEAKER_00: Some of you might be familiar with this story, but in 1631, there were two royal printers in London who were tasked with the responsibility of printing the King James Version of the Bible.
SPEAKER_00: They made a tragic omission in the publication of the King James Bible by leaving out one single word in the Seventh Commandment, producing what ended up becoming a widespread panic and controversy.
SPEAKER_00: Some term the Bible the wicked Bible, or some referred to it as the adulterer's Bible.
SPEAKER_00: What was the mistake?
SPEAKER_00: Well, instead of the seventh commandment reading, Thou shalt not commit adultery, it said, Thou shalt commit adultery.
SPEAKER_00: It created such a panic that the king recalled every single copy to be destroyed and never printed thus far.
SPEAKER_00: But he also put a heavy fine on the printers as well.
SPEAKER_00: As a matter of fact, to this day, if you wanted to actually go see a physical copy of these uh prints, it'd be very hard to find.
SPEAKER_00: You have to go to a very prestigious museum where there are a few copies remaining.
SPEAKER_00: But that is a good example or a reminder, rather, of how powerful and consequential our words can be.
SPEAKER_00: Just one single word being said or removed can cause dramatic damage.
SPEAKER_00: James has been showing us so far what genuine faith really looks like.
SPEAKER_00: He encouraged us so far that real faith is expressed visibly in our actions, or rather, real faith does the word, so to speak, instead of just hearing the word.
SPEAKER_00: Real faith treats people without partiality.
SPEAKER_00: And now he says, real faith shows up in how you and I speak.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus already told us in Matthew that the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.
SPEAKER_00: And James wants you and I to see that your tongue is spiritual evidence of what's going on in your heart.
SPEAKER_00: So let's all be prepared to be convicted this morning.
SPEAKER_00: You ready?
SPEAKER_00: Everybody's okay?
SPEAKER_00: Here we go.
SPEAKER_00: The one thing I want us to walk away focusing on this morning is this your speech tells the truth about your heart, so let Jesus govern your words.
SPEAKER_00: Your speech tells the truth about your heart, so let Jesus govern your words.
SPEAKER_00: Now, in our text this morning, as we begin chapter three, James turns the spotlight from being doers of the word and not showing partiality.
SPEAKER_00: Now he gives almost a third test of genuine Christian faith by focusing the spotlight on our tongues and the heart behind it.
SPEAKER_00: Let's start with verses one through two, and I want us to focus on this.
SPEAKER_00: You must feel the weight of teaching because teachers shape souls.
SPEAKER_00: Let's look at verses one and two.
SPEAKER_00: Not many should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we will receive a stricter judgment.
SPEAKER_00: For we all stumble in many ways.
SPEAKER_00: If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is mature, able also to control the whole body.
SPEAKER_00: James starts with a very sober warning because teaching God's word is holy, sacred work.
SPEAKER_00: When you teach, you shape a lot of things in other people.
SPEAKER_00: You shape their view of God, you shape their view of God's world, how they understand sin and suffering, how they understand their walk with Jesus, and that's why God holds teachers to a higher standard.
SPEAKER_00: Because your words can either feed God's people or mislead God's people.
SPEAKER_00: This is why James gives this stark warning not many should become teachers, my brothers, because teachers received a strict a stricter judgment.
SPEAKER_00: Here's a great example of this in the Old Testament.
SPEAKER_00: You can turn here if you like, but in Jeremiah chapter 23, God rebukes false prophets who misrepresented him.
SPEAKER_00: In Jeremiah 23, beginning in verse 16, he says this This is what the Lord of armies says.
SPEAKER_00: Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you.
SPEAKER_00: They are deluding you.
SPEAKER_00: They speak visions from their own minds, not from the Lord's mouth.
SPEAKER_00: Jump down to verse 21.
SPEAKER_00: I did not send out these prophets, yet they ran.
SPEAKER_00: I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied.
SPEAKER_00: If they had really stood in my counsel, they would have enabled my people to hear my words and would have turned them from their evil ways and their evil deeds.
SPEAKER_00: Notice the warning there.
SPEAKER_00: In 1 Timothy chapter 4, verse 16, Paul encouraging young Timothy, a pastor in the ministry, he tells him, pay close attention to your life and your teaching.
SPEAKER_00: Persevere in these things, for in doing this, you will save both yourself and your hearers.
SPEAKER_00: Paul carefully teaches Timothy that your teaching and how you lead your life actually has the capacity to be used by the Lord to lead people to salvation.
SPEAKER_00: Teaching is not a performance act, it's it's stewardship.
SPEAKER_00: Now I'm focusing on pastoral ministry right now.
SPEAKER_00: Those who have been called into a local church to serve as a pastor, James has given this warning.
SPEAKER_00: So, with that being said, what kind of men should be the ones teaching in the life of a local church?
SPEAKER_00: Whether it's a formal uh office of pastor or a deacon or ministry leader?
SPEAKER_00: Well, here's a few.
SPEAKER_00: One, men who tremble and submit to the authority of the word, not men who stand over the Bible in judgment.
SPEAKER_00: Or men who study God's word for worship and not applause or for prestige in the church, or to be viewed as someone who knows a whole lot of Bible, but men who study for worship.
SPEAKER_00: Third, men who care for people.
SPEAKER_00: Not to want to stand up here and just teach you everything they studied, but who want to help you see the glory of Jesus in his word and to help you live it out to the glory of God.
SPEAKER_00: And men whose lives bleed, sound theology, prayer, character, and love.
SPEAKER_00: Not men who have poor character, but are very charismatic and gifted orators, and therefore we should let them preach and teach.
SPEAKER_00: I love my man Paul in 1 Timothy 1 5 when he says, Now the goal of our instruction, meaning his fellow ministry leaders that serve with him, now the goal of our instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith.
SPEAKER_00: Every teacher in God's church should be able to say that.
SPEAKER_00: The aim of my teaching ministry, the reason I do this, the reason I study God's word to teach it to others is motivated by love.
SPEAKER_00: That comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith.
SPEAKER_00: Wanting to help others know and love Jesus more in light of their comprehension of God's word.
SPEAKER_00: This is unfortunately something that has fallen on hard times.
SPEAKER_00: This isn't a recent issue.
SPEAKER_00: This has been an issue all throughout church history.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, even our Bibles address false prophets, false teachers, and so on and so forth, people leading uh others astray.
SPEAKER_00: But we need to guard the word of God in the life of a local church.
SPEAKER_00: We should be very slow and careful about who we let stand in a place of authority to teach God's word to others.
SPEAKER_00: This is why, even in no church is perfect, we can't perfectly uh prevent everything.
SPEAKER_00: But that's why even here at Redeemer, we would be very, very slow to ever prop somebody up as a formal uh leader, as an elder, a deacon, a Bible teacher.
SPEAKER_00: That's why we do things like the Redeemer Institute, where we say if you want to be a leader in the church, you have to start at least there, because that's six months of studying a theology of the church.
SPEAKER_00: What do we uh think about church ministry, preaching, teaching, everything you can think of to make sure when we look at the Bible and we say church and God's word, are we saying the same thing?
SPEAKER_00: Before we put you up in a place of leadership, because once we do that as elders, what we're telling the whole congregation is go to that person to learn God's word.
SPEAKER_00: We are saying that they are safe.
SPEAKER_00: And we should do that, but we want to be careful.
SPEAKER_00: We want to train up and develop, just like Paul speaking to Timothy here, saying, pay close attention to your life and your teaching, persevere in these things, for in doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers.
SPEAKER_00: I am so grateful to the Lord for the privilege of getting to serve as a pastor in a local church.
SPEAKER_00: It just blows my mind that I have the privilege of spending hours every single week to study God's word, to stand up here and tell you all that I found in about 45 minutes or so, which is very hard.
SPEAKER_00: But that is a privilege to do that, to be able to say, in all humility, I don't have all the answers, but here's what I found.
SPEAKER_00: And I believe this will help you love Jesus too.
SPEAKER_00: Not so that you guys will follow me and say, I like going to that church because of that pastor, but no, I want to go to that church because that church helps me understand the Bible, which helps me love Jesus better because I desire to grow and to look more like him.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm not just talking about pastors, I'm talking about any man who has the privilege of serving their local church by teaching God's word.
SPEAKER_00: But let me talk to the sisters in the room as well.
SPEAKER_00: The Church of Jesus Christ desperately needs sound women who are sound in theology.
SPEAKER_00: We need sisters who can teach other women God's word, not women who just primarily read very fluffy devotionals or only read books on being a wife and a mother, but women who can stand up, open their Bibles, and explain to another sister in Christ, let me help you understand the doctrine of justification.
SPEAKER_00: Let me help you trace the theme of the overall theme of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.
SPEAKER_00: Let me help you, sister, understand what is the heart of the book of Ephesians.
SPEAKER_00: I the same goes for the men too.
SPEAKER_00: But women, I say this all the time, I won't get on my soapbox this morning.
SPEAKER_00: But be careful.
SPEAKER_00: There are so many books published towards you guys that are just pretty much in two streams be a wife, be a mom, or singleness.
SPEAKER_00: But there is so much more to study.
SPEAKER_00: Those things are good, but we don't have a shortage of books on those topics, is all I'm saying.
SPEAKER_00: But ask yourself this question.
SPEAKER_00: If the Apostle Paul wrote Redeemer Church a letter, or let's say he wrote the book of Hebrews to us, and we were reading chapter 5, verses 11 through 14.
SPEAKER_00: And as I read this, ask yourself, is Paul talking about me?
SPEAKER_00: What I'm getting at here is so, yes, when it comes to formal church leaders, as James says, we must be careful.
SPEAKER_00: Not many should rush to become pastors and teachers of God's word, because it comes with a stricter judgment.
SPEAKER_00: But then there is this theme in the Bible, especially the New Testament, where all of us are a part of the royal priesthood.
SPEAKER_00: Every last one of us who's a disciple of Christ has a role and a responsibility to teach others.
SPEAKER_00: That is the Great Commission to help others know God's Word and to follow Him.
SPEAKER_00: But listen to this.
SPEAKER_00: If Hebrews 5 was written to us, would this apply to you?
SPEAKER_00: When the author says in verse 11, We have a great deal to say about this, and it is difficult to explain, since you have become too lazy to understand.
SPEAKER_00: Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the basic principles of God's revelation again.
SPEAKER_00: You need milk, not solid food.
SPEAKER_00: Not everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced with the message about righteousness because he is an infant.
SPEAKER_00: But solid food is for the mature, for those whose senses have been trained to distinguish between good and evil.
SPEAKER_00: Friends, may that never apply to us as Christ followers.
SPEAKER_00: I can't describe what is always the cause of this, but one thing that has always concerned me as a Christian, and I don't say this in some kind of self-righteous judgmental posture, but when you meet Christians who have been walking with Jesus for years and yet they're content with, I just I don't know the Bible.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know sound doctrine.
SPEAKER_00: If you ask me to disciple another young man or another young woman, I can't do that because I don't know sanctification.
SPEAKER_00: I can't articulate these things.
SPEAKER_00: And again, there's a category for those who are new to the faith and they're studying their word for the first time and they're learning and building their theology.
SPEAKER_00: But I'm talking about saints who have walked with Jesus for decades and yet are still unfamiliar with their Bibles.
SPEAKER_00: That just blows my mind.
SPEAKER_00: That means you're saying that Jesus put on human flesh and entered into history, lived for 33 years so that his perfect life could be attributed to you through your salvation.
SPEAKER_00: He hung on a cross half naked for six hours and shed his blood to purchase your soul so you could live for him for eternity.
SPEAKER_00: You can't dedicate this life on this side of heaven to know his word, which he blessed his church with, to know him and to live for his glory.
SPEAKER_00: That goes for men and women.
SPEAKER_00: Friends, let us never be those who profess belief in Jesus and yet sit on our hands and are content with not growing and maturing in the faith.
SPEAKER_00: The Bible, I say this charitably, the Bible has no category for that.
SPEAKER_00: No category for someone who is content with, I'll just cross the line to enter the faith, I'm in, and then I'm just gonna sit down.
SPEAKER_00: We are to persevere and to press on and to help others do the same.
SPEAKER_00: But again, James is given this warning about teaching and how it comes with stricter judgment.
SPEAKER_00: And he says in verse 2, for we all stumble in many ways.
SPEAKER_00: If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is mature, able also to control the whole body.
SPEAKER_00: There are no perfect teachers who never stumble in what they say.
SPEAKER_00: I can go back to when I first started teaching and preaching, and there are things I have said that I'm like, oh my Lord, I actually said that.
SPEAKER_00: I remember having a conversation with a buddy who was like, Can remember years ago you used to say this thing about marriage?
SPEAKER_00: Where's that at in the Bible?
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, that's nowhere in the Bible.
SPEAKER_00: You sure I said that?
SPEAKER_00: No one is perfect.
SPEAKER_00: But I feel that James's warnings here are even more important in our current day and age.
SPEAKER_00: Because we live in a day where anyone with charisma, a camera, an internet connection, a social media platform can prop themselves up as a Bible teacher.
SPEAKER_00: Even when they might lack a church, they're connected to no church, they have no accountability, they don't have sound doctrine, they're not actually shepherding anyone.
SPEAKER_00: James would tell those types of people, hey, slow down.
SPEAKER_00: Because teaching is not a hobby you do in the life of a church, it's not content creation, it is being an ambassador on behalf of Christ and echoing his words to his people to help them follow Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: We got to be careful about this.
SPEAKER_00: And it's it's soul work.
SPEAKER_00: But why the why the stricter judgment according to James?
SPEAKER_00: Well, because God takes teaching his word deadly serious.
SPEAKER_00: God takes teaching his word deadly serious.
SPEAKER_00: Because when you teach, you influence someone's spiritual direction.
SPEAKER_00: You influence their view of God, their understanding of suffering and how God operates in the midst of that.
SPEAKER_00: You help them understand the gospel and its implications.
SPEAKER_00: Therefore, if you mishandle God's words, you're mishandling God's people's souls.
SPEAKER_00: You can mislead people, and God never takes that lightly.
SPEAKER_00: Think about it in the Old Testament, if a false prophet misrepresented the Lord, what was the consequence?
SPEAKER_00: Put them to death.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because God is just some mean judge?
SPEAKER_00: No, because that's how serious He takes the holiness of His word.
SPEAKER_00: You say exactly what I told you to say, to who I told you to say it to, nothing more, nothing less.
SPEAKER_00: Faithful teaching leads people towards salvation, but careless teaching leads people away from it.
SPEAKER_00: Now, I am so grateful for how many uh faithful teachers we have and how we have access to so many faithful teachers just because of the advent of various media platforms.
SPEAKER_00: So I'm not trying to decry any of that.
SPEAKER_00: But in the same vein, I would say I wish we had less teachers today.
SPEAKER_00: Because there are so many voices out there.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, as a pastor, I have so many conversations with people in this church and just in my uh sphere of influence in general of I'm following this person and they said this, and I'm like, that's whack, stop listening to them.
SPEAKER_00: I'm following this person and they said I should read this.
SPEAKER_00: That's whack, don't read that.
SPEAKER_00: It goes over and over again, but this is why we all have to be good Bereans.
SPEAKER_00: So even though we should be careful from platforming teachers too quickly, friends, you are still responsible for your faith.
SPEAKER_00: You are still that's why we are a congregational church, which means the congregation has the authority, I believe, according to the Bible, uh, in the category of church membership.
SPEAKER_00: So receiving people into the family and exercising church discipline for appointing your uh elders and deacons, but also for preserving what you believe as a church.
SPEAKER_00: Now, I'm not talking about like should you homeschool or not and you know, third-tier issues like that, but when we say we are a Christian Orthodox church, Redeemer Church has the authority to say this is what we believe.
SPEAKER_00: So if Pastor Cam came up there and up here and said, Hey guys, Jesus gave me a vision that I am the second coming of the Messiah, you have the authority to say that is not what we believe, because we know our Bibles and it does not teach that.
SPEAKER_00: So, Cam, change your theology or find a new church.
SPEAKER_00: So keep in mind, you are responsible for your faith to diligently study the scriptures so that you can spot a counterfeit when you hear it.
SPEAKER_00: But moving on to verses three through eight, my second point I want us to see is this you must see that your tongue has frightening power for direction and destruction.
SPEAKER_00: Verses three through eight.
SPEAKER_00: Paul James continues.
SPEAKER_00: And consider ships, though very large and driven by fierce winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.
SPEAKER_00: So too, though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts great things.
SPEAKER_00: Consider how a small fire sets ablaze a large forest, and the tongue is a fire.
SPEAKER_00: The tongue, a world of unrighteousness, is placed among our members.
SPEAKER_00: It stains the whole body, sets the course of life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
SPEAKER_00: Let's stop there.
SPEAKER_00: Now James widens the lens.
SPEAKER_00: So he starts out focusing on teachers in the church, and now he's addressing everybody.
SPEAKER_00: He's saying, here's how your tongue shapes the direction of your life.
SPEAKER_00: And I love a good word picture.
SPEAKER_00: I love how he uses the picture of a ship or a horse.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if you've ever been around a horse.
SPEAKER_00: I grew up in the iter city of Southern California.
SPEAKER_00: The first time I got around a horse is when I met my wife, whose family owned horses, and they are very large, powerful creatures.
SPEAKER_00: Actually, the one time I rode a horse was to propose to row.
SPEAKER_00: We went on horseback riding, and as soon as we got off, I'm like, I'm I'm never doing that again.
SPEAKER_00: I could have controlled, I understand what James is saying.
SPEAKER_00: I was trying, that horse is doing what he wanted.
SPEAKER_00: But those are powerful creatures, very powerful, and yet just such a small bit in the horse's mouth can control it and direct it wherever you please.
SPEAKER_00: Same as a ship.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, where we lived in Southern California, we would sometimes go to Long Beach and you would see the Queen Mary, a very large vessel, but there's this very small rudder underneath the rear of the ship that steers that entire vessel.
SPEAKER_00: James is using this great uh picture to help us see the power of our tongues.
SPEAKER_00: A single sentence can shift the course of a relationship.
SPEAKER_00: A single word spoken can change the atmosphere in the room.
SPEAKER_00: A single sentence can destroy the unity in Life of a local church.
SPEAKER_00: Think of a steering wheel as you're driving 70 miles per hour on the highway.
SPEAKER_00: Just one abrupt left turn could change the course of your life forever.
SPEAKER_00: Your tongue, according to James, drives the direction of your relationships.
SPEAKER_00: But your tongue can also destroy and burn down everything you love.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, just look at the language.
SPEAKER_00: I appreciate James is just black and white.
SPEAKER_00: He he gets right at it.
SPEAKER_00: James calls our tongues a fire.
SPEAKER_00: Now, I grew up in Southern California, and what you're used to when you grow up in SoCal is every single year almost, the mountainsides are on fire.
SPEAKER_00: And what's interesting is it always tends to start with some small little fire.
SPEAKER_00: Someone threw a cigarette out their car window along the highway, and now almost a whole city is gone.
SPEAKER_00: It's amazing.
SPEAKER_00: Think about that.
SPEAKER_00: Water doesn't work that way.
SPEAKER_00: Like if you spill a cup of water on the ground, it's not going to turn to a flood and wipe out a town, right?
SPEAKER_00: It has to be a deluge of rain or a lake boiling over or something.
SPEAKER_00: But fire can start with just one small spark and wipe out entire cities.
SPEAKER_00: James says that is the power and the influence of your speech.
SPEAKER_00: It can cause great destruction or it can cause great good and comfort.
SPEAKER_00: A reckless conversation can break trust, or sarcastic comment can lodge in someone's heart for years.
SPEAKER_00: A heated moment can crush someone who is already struggling.
SPEAKER_00: Think of Proverbs 12, 18, which says, There is one who speaks rashly like a piercing sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
SPEAKER_00: We all know that to be true.
SPEAKER_00: It's one of those Proverbs we don't got to do a whole lot of studying.
SPEAKER_00: We just read and say, Yep, I've been on the receiving end and I've been on the delivering end.
SPEAKER_00: There is one who speaks rashly like a piercing sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
SPEAKER_00: Friends, your words can stab as easily as they comfort.
SPEAKER_00: And that is the dilemma of our speech.
SPEAKER_00: We can say something to bring great comfort and joy to someone, and in the same sentence, speak words that will absolutely tear someone down.
SPEAKER_00: Many of you probably grew up and maybe had at least one bully in your life who maybe made fun of you and said mean and crude things to you.
SPEAKER_00: And maybe your teachers and your parents taught you to bravely stand up to that bully and look them in the eyes and say, sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.
SPEAKER_00: Friends, that is a bold lie.
SPEAKER_00: There is no truth whatsoever.
SPEAKER_00: Some words hurt more than actions.
SPEAKER_00: Some of you, even now, can recall exact phrases spoken towards you that have caused you great harm.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe even when you were a child, words stick, words can shape, words can scar, words can linger.
SPEAKER_00: Even as I'm speaking, many of you can probably recall something that has been said to you that pierced like a sword.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you can even still recall the tone of voice that it came in.
SPEAKER_00: And even if it happened many years ago, you still feel the residual effect, don't you?
SPEAKER_00: Words have power.
SPEAKER_00: I can understand why James would use such strong language to say that our tongues are set on fire by hell.
SPEAKER_00: Oh my goodness.
SPEAKER_00: Is there hope for any of us if that is true?
SPEAKER_00: Of what's residing in our hearts this very morning, even as we sing great worship songs like we just sang, and we can walk out these church doors and on the drive home say something that dishonors the Lord and someone made in God's image.
SPEAKER_00: That's how desperately we are in need of God's grace.
SPEAKER_00: And keep in mind, friends, James is writing to a group of Christians who are a part of a church worshiping the Lord together.
SPEAKER_00: So he is addressing a church body on how to use their tongues and how they lead their lives and live amongst each other, which means this has application not just for us individually, but even how we speak among each other as a faith family.
SPEAKER_00: So, for instance, you know, a common phrase in recent culture is you know, church hurt, where someone is hurt by someone in their church, whether it's a church leader or a church member.
SPEAKER_00: And typically it stems back to what someone might have said to somebody.
SPEAKER_00: Yes, this happens even inside of churches.
SPEAKER_00: We should not be shocked.
SPEAKER_00: But let me say this Christians sin against each other, Christians sin against each other with their words.
SPEAKER_00: It's inevitable.
SPEAKER_00: If you are a Christian, you are also simultaneously a saint, sinner, and a sufferer.
SPEAKER_00: You will inevitably sin with your speech, even against those you love, because you're not perfect.
SPEAKER_00: Only one perfect was one person was perfect in his name was Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: So it is inevitable.
SPEAKER_00: But here's here's the charitable reminder.
SPEAKER_00: As believers, as disciples of Christ, we should never adopt a victim mentality or identity and run around, you know, like woe was me.
SPEAKER_00: I was hurt by someone in the church.
SPEAKER_00: Someone sinned against me, excuse me, someone wounded me.
SPEAKER_00: Okay, that it's gonna happen.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm not talking about like grievous sins, okay, like a pastor doing something incredibly um, you know, immoral or something like that.
SPEAKER_00: I'm talking about living amongst other broken, fallen sinners who are trying to faithfully follow Jesus, who might say something that offends you, hurts you, they might gossip, they might slander.
SPEAKER_00: I've been a victim of all of these things.
SPEAKER_00: However, we are Christ followers.
SPEAKER_00: So we can acknowledge the hurts, but we can respond biblically, not with bitterness, not with withdrawal, not with self-pity, but we can strive with God's help to reflect Christ even when other sinners fail you, which they will do.
SPEAKER_00: I tell people often, conflict is an inevitable, therefore expect it.
SPEAKER_00: It is sinful, therefore reconcile it.
SPEAKER_00: So you, and it's also an opportunity, therefore you should seize it.
SPEAKER_00: If you understand that other people are inevitably going to sin against you, then guess what?
SPEAKER_00: When they sin against you, it's not a surprise.
SPEAKER_00: You're not gonna sit there like, I can't believe you did what the Bible said, you probably will do, because you're a sinner like me.
SPEAKER_00: So again, I'm not trying to minimize anyone that has church hurt.
SPEAKER_00: If that's anyone's testimony in this room, you're a part of a church that maybe a leader did do something sinful towards you or someone gossiped and slandered about you.
SPEAKER_00: I would say, you know what, I apologize that that's a part of your story.
SPEAKER_00: Unfortunately, there are whack pastors, there are whack church members who don't really want to live out the gospel of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: But that is no reason to write off the church as a whole.
SPEAKER_00: Yes, church hurt is real, but often I believe people confuse church hurt with I was hurt by a sinner in the church.
SPEAKER_00: Those are two different things.
SPEAKER_00: Romans 12, 1 becomes your assignment when that happens, friends.
SPEAKER_00: Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
SPEAKER_00: That is a commandment.
SPEAKER_00: Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.
SPEAKER_00: So keep that in mind.
SPEAKER_00: Even in a church like Redeemer, if you love this church, just know someone at some point is gonna say something that offends and hurts you, or they're not gonna say something you think they should say, and that offends you.
SPEAKER_00: The question is, as a Christ follower, what are you gonna do about it?
SPEAKER_00: Are you gonna withdraw and just say, well, I'll just sit on the opposite side of the sanctuary on Sundays now just to avoid them?
SPEAKER_00: Or I'll make sure I never am in their small group.
SPEAKER_00: No.
SPEAKER_00: You be a good disciple of Jesus and you go to them and you pursue reconciliation to the glory of God.
SPEAKER_00: But James is giving these strong warnings for a reason.
SPEAKER_00: And here's one I think we we gotta be careful with, guys: personality.
SPEAKER_00: We have to stop hiding behind, well, that's just my personality.
SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm a straight shooter.
SPEAKER_00: I tell the truth, I tell it as it is.
SPEAKER_00: You don't want me to lie, do you?
SPEAKER_00: So I just speak my mind.
SPEAKER_00: And if it hurts people and offends them, I mean that's their problem.
SPEAKER_00: No, that's your problem.
SPEAKER_00: That is a sin issue.
SPEAKER_00: That is the opposite of being others-centered, which the Bible teaches.
SPEAKER_00: That is the opposite of being humble, that is the opposite of being gracious and loving or Christ-like.
SPEAKER_00: We can't hide behind, well, that's my personality, that's my culture, that's my upbringing, and my family.
SPEAKER_00: We did this, we say this.
SPEAKER_00: Listen, if it's out of step with the gospel, it's sinful.
SPEAKER_00: Black and white.
SPEAKER_00: We can't hide behind our temperaments, our personalities, and excuse sin by saying, Well, this is just how I am wired.
SPEAKER_00: No, the fruit of the spirit applies to your life.
SPEAKER_00: Personalities not in the Bible, but the fruits of the spirit are.
SPEAKER_00: Your words reveal the state of your heart, not just your mood or your personality.
SPEAKER_00: Your temperament never excuses hurting other people whom Jesus purchased on the cross.
SPEAKER_00: Point blank, period.
SPEAKER_00: Ephesians 4 29, Paul warned, No, not just maybe a little bit, no foul language should come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear.
SPEAKER_00: And when Paul is saying foul language, he's not just talking about four-letter words, friends.
SPEAKER_00: That's how we modern Christians are thinking.
SPEAKER_00: No, he's saying anything that is demeaning and out of step with the character of a Christ follower is foul language.
SPEAKER_00: Here's a good test.
SPEAKER_00: If Jesus was over your home for dinner and you were hosting him, if you wouldn't say it in conversation with him, it probably falls in the category of foul language.
SPEAKER_00: No foul language should come from your mouth.
SPEAKER_00: Listen, I am preaching to myself this morning, okay?
SPEAKER_00: I know it's getting a little quiet this morning.
SPEAKER_00: I know in my own life, as a husband and a father, where I have caused the most harm to those I love dearly, has been with my words.
SPEAKER_00: Whether it's what I say, the tone in which I have said it, or what I should have said, but failed to say, or even saying the right thing but in the wrong manner.
SPEAKER_00: We all stumble in our speech.
SPEAKER_00: Friends, your words, your speech is a megaphone for your heart, revealing what you crave, what you fear, what you worship, what you resent, what you doubt, and what you believe.
SPEAKER_00: That's why we gotta be very biblical with our language.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, James is really, he's he's getting he's stepping on our toes this morning.
SPEAKER_00: We can't say things like, well, what I said, that doesn't represent who I really am.
SPEAKER_00: That was a mistake.
SPEAKER_00: No, that actually does exactly represent what's going on in your heart, because Jesus said, From the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.
SPEAKER_00: This is why we all need to be praying, memorizing Psalm 141, verse 3 should be our prayer.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, set a guard over my mouth.
SPEAKER_00: Set a guard over my mouth.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Why do we need to pray like that?
SPEAKER_00: Because of what James is telling us.
SPEAKER_00: And the tongue is a fire, it is a world of unrighteousness, and it is placed among our members, and it stains the whole body.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 6 sets the course of life on fire and is itself set on fire by hell.
SPEAKER_00: We all need to be praying, Lord, give me the spiritual ministry of keeping my behind quiet.
SPEAKER_00: Y'all know those moments when the spirit is like, don't, don't.
SPEAKER_00: You're like, but they need to hear this, Lord.
SPEAKER_00: They need to hear it.
SPEAKER_00: No, they don't.
SPEAKER_00: Just be quiet.
SPEAKER_00: And then you let it out.
SPEAKER_00: And then you're emailing your pastor saying you need prayer.
SPEAKER_00: But moving on to verses nine through twelve, my third point.
SPEAKER_00: You must let Jesus reshape your heart so your words bless rather than curse.
SPEAKER_00: You must let Jesus shape your heart so your words bless rather than curse.
SPEAKER_00: Let's look down at verse nine.
SPEAKER_00: With the tongue, this is the most convicting, friends.
SPEAKER_00: With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in God's likeness.
SPEAKER_00: Blessing and cursing come out the same mouth.
SPEAKER_00: My brothers and sisters, these things should not be this way.
SPEAKER_00: Does a spring pour out sweet and bitter water from the same opening?
SPEAKER_00: Can a fig tree produce olives?
SPEAKER_00: My brothers and sisters, or a grapevine produce figs?
unknown: Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_00: Neither can a salt water spring yield fresh water.
SPEAKER_00: So again, James is continuing, giving us these tests of true, genuine faith.
SPEAKER_00: And he's focusing on genuine disciples of Jesus, speak like genuine disciples of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: And James is exposing our inconsistency.
SPEAKER_00: We can praise God with our tongues and then wound people who are made in his image.
SPEAKER_00: That's like a spring producing both fresh and salt water.
SPEAKER_00: They don't mix.
SPEAKER_00: That makes no sense, James says.
SPEAKER_00: And friends, this applies even to our lives in various forms, not just in what we audibly say, what you think in your heart and mind.
SPEAKER_00: God knows every thought, every word you speak silently to yourself is never silent because God sees and hears.
SPEAKER_00: Everything you post on social media, this is the one I think that trips up a lot of Christians.
SPEAKER_00: Where there's like this compartmentalization of, well, my faith doesn't always apply to like how I carry myself online.
SPEAKER_00: So I can bash this political figure I hate.
SPEAKER_00: I was going to Walmart the other day and I saw a woman park on the street and get out of her car and violently rip out a political sign for a candidate out of the thing and kick it down the street.
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, sis, it is not that serious.
SPEAKER_00: But we got to be careful.
SPEAKER_00: God knows our thoughts, He knows every word we do speak, and He knows how we carry ourselves in every sphere of influence we find ourselves in.
SPEAKER_00: So we need to be careful how we speak and what we type online, how we represent Christ.
SPEAKER_00: So many pastors, I believe, have disqualified themselves from the ministry simply by what they say on Twitter.
SPEAKER_00: Where it's like, so the fruits of the spirit just don't count if it's on Twitter or Facebook?
SPEAKER_00: Is that how it works?
SPEAKER_00: I'm confused.
SPEAKER_00: No, it touches every fabric of our lives.
SPEAKER_00: And the good news is Jesus doesn't start by cleaning up your vocabulary when you're saved.
SPEAKER_00: So when we come to faith in Christ, it isn't like Jesus gives you a to-do list and says, okay, don't do this, don't do that.
SPEAKER_00: He more gives you the motivation through the gospel and him transforming your soul and making you a new creation, which then sets you on a trajectory of, out of gratitude for what Jesus has done for me, I want to start looking like him by not doing A, B, and C.
SPEAKER_00: He starts by renewing your heart because he knows that's where it all begins.
SPEAKER_00: He forgives your careless words.
SPEAKER_00: And when the spring of your heart is purified, well, then the water that comes forth naturally also changes.
SPEAKER_00: And this is look, we all struggle with this.
SPEAKER_00: I remember when I first became a Christian, I still try to hang with all my friends in the hood.
SPEAKER_00: And for good, I wanted to evangelize them, but I found myself getting caught up in when I was around them, I started slipping.
SPEAKER_00: I would cuss again, I would talk about things that I knew I shouldn't be talking about.
SPEAKER_00: And one day I just had to tell them, like, guys, this isn't me.
SPEAKER_00: This isn't what a Christian should look like.
SPEAKER_00: I apologize for giving you a poor example.
SPEAKER_00: I was letting them influence my words more than letting Jesus influence my words, and I knew it, and it convicted me to my core that I was professing faith but trying to look like the world for the sake of reaching those in the world, and that's not what Jesus did.
SPEAKER_00: But Jesus heals our hearts, gives us a new character to speak words that reflect his glory.
SPEAKER_00: Here are a few honest questions to help you see where you think uh your heart work needs to begin, because we all need to be working on our hearts and growing in this category.
SPEAKER_00: Let me just give you six questions to ponder.
SPEAKER_00: Number one, what desire in your heart is so strong that it pushes harsh words out of your mouth?
SPEAKER_00: What desire is so strong in me that it pushes harsh words out of my mouth?
SPEAKER_00: What are you wanting that you're not getting, that you're willing to sin with your words in order to control others to get, to put it another way?
SPEAKER_00: Or second, what fear hides behind my sarcasm or my avoidance?
SPEAKER_00: What insecurity fuels my defensiveness or sharp replies?
SPEAKER_00: What idol am I protecting when I talk about someone instead of to them?
SPEAKER_00: And let me just, as black and white and charitable as I could be.
SPEAKER_00: That one, what idol am I protecting when I talk about someone instead of to them?
SPEAKER_00: Friends, that's cowardice.
SPEAKER_00: When we speak about somebody else but are unwilling to lovingly just go directly to that person, what does that say about our hearts?
SPEAKER_00: Number five, what unbelief makes complaining easier than praying and trusting God?
SPEAKER_00: What bitterness explains my cold distance from another brother or sister?
SPEAKER_00: Or to summarize all of these, friends, what does your speech reflect about the gospel of Jesus Christ?
SPEAKER_00: Does your speech, if others listen to how you speak to all those in your sphere of influence, what they say, and no one's perfect?
SPEAKER_00: I'm talking about those striving to be faithful.
SPEAKER_00: Does your speech reflect the transforming power of the gospel?
SPEAKER_00: Or do you look just like the world?
SPEAKER_00: Do you say Christian things on Sunday morning, but at work or at home, you're speaking unwholesome words, you're cussing and swearing, or tearing other people down, gossiping and slandering.
SPEAKER_00: Well, then James would say, Well, then that's who you that's revealing what you're where your heart truly is, not how you perform for two hours on Sunday morning.
SPEAKER_00: We want to be consistent with God's help.
SPEAKER_00: This isn't meant to be, you know, guilt, it's an invitation.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus wants to heal the heart beneath our speech.
SPEAKER_00: Because picture this.
SPEAKER_00: Imagine if Redeemer Church was a place where words build up more than they tear down, where repentance and forgiveness are the normative pattern of our speech among each other, where gossip happens but dies quickly, and where grace fills the atmosphere of our conversation.
SPEAKER_00: That's what happens when Jesus governs not only your heart but your words.
SPEAKER_00: And let me just add a quick disclaimer, too.
SPEAKER_00: Ignoring, I'm focusing on verbally, like what we communicate with, but I would add, ignoring sound words is also an issue.
SPEAKER_00: What I mean by that is remember, friends, ignoring biblical counsel is also a form of sin.
SPEAKER_00: When a pastor or a friend or someone discipling you brings scripture and calls you to turn from your sin, to repent, and they're not just speaking their own words, they're trying to help you understand God's words and say, brother or sister, you are in sin, and out of love, I want to help you turn away and turn towards Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: And if you disregard those words, those are God's words coming to you through his people, through a faithful messenger.
SPEAKER_00: So to shrug off that instruction is not to just disagree with a person, it's to disregard the very words of the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: It's resisting the Lord Himself.
SPEAKER_00: So what I described there, if you if we could imagine in a perfect world, everyone in Redeemer Church striving with the Spirit's help to speak words of grace where that's normal, where repentance and forgiveness are normative and we don't tear down, but we intentionally build others up and we forgive and we extend mercy and kindness and hospitality.
SPEAKER_00: Friends, if that, if what I'm describing, if you hear that and you think that sounds real hard.
SPEAKER_00: Like I don't know, if someone wronged me, I think I would just go find another church.
SPEAKER_00: I just want you to know you're not going to be happy here at Redeemer.
SPEAKER_00: You're not.
SPEAKER_00: Because what we're trying to create is a culture in which we actually live out the Christianity, we sing about and say we love and value.
SPEAKER_00: We want to be Christians who, if I sin against you, you love the Lord and me enough to say, I feel an obligation to go to that brother or sister and to help them see their sins so I can win them back to Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: And I would pray to God that they would be used by the Lord to do the same to me.
SPEAKER_00: But what often happens in the life of churches is what James is warning against here, when it happens, someone says, Oh, that person hurt my feelings.
SPEAKER_00: So I'm just gonna go to another church.
SPEAKER_00: Oh, now someone at this church hurt my feelings, so now I'm gonna go to another church.
SPEAKER_00: Well, what are you gonna do when you hit every church in Greensboro?
SPEAKER_00: You just gonna just gonna listen to a sermon in your house by yourself?
SPEAKER_00: Friends, we live in a fallen, broken world.
SPEAKER_00: Conflict, sinful speech is inevitable.
SPEAKER_00: But the question is, what does God's word instruct us on how we can respond in a God-honoring way?
SPEAKER_00: I love how Richard Sibs once said, When the heart is full of Christ, the mouth will speak of Christ.
SPEAKER_00: When the heart is full of Christ, the mouth will speak of Christ.
SPEAKER_00: That's the kind of churches Jesus wants to form.
SPEAKER_00: Those who have the words of Christ dwelling in them richly, so that when they open their mouths, that what that's what comes out.
SPEAKER_00: Now, friends, we are all gonna fail.
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna yell at our kids, we're gonna disrespect our spouses, we might snap at a coworker, you might finally say what you've been thinking to your neighbor who keeps.
SPEAKER_00: Getting on your nerves.
SPEAKER_00: But the question is, what do you do even in the moments when you fail in your tongue?
SPEAKER_00: You use your tongue to confess what your tongue just did, and you extend forgiveness and reconciliation.
SPEAKER_00: That's the Christian life.
SPEAKER_00: It's not perfection, it's faithfulness.
SPEAKER_00: Sanctification is not a destination, or rather, a final destination, it is a trajectory.
SPEAKER_00: To give some good recommendations here, if you guys want to dive deeper into this topic, I just want to highlight two books for you guys that I think are worth your time.
SPEAKER_00: The first is The War of Words, Getting to the Heart of Your Communication Struggles by Paul Tripp.
SPEAKER_00: If you want to just read a great resource just on this entire topic of how to use your words to the glory of God, I would commend that one.
SPEAKER_00: And for the parents in the room, Parenting with Words of Grace, Building Relationships with Your Children, One Conversation at a Time by William Smith, Parenting with Words of Grace would highly commend both of those to you guys.
SPEAKER_00: But just to give some closing thoughts here, friends, your your tongue is small, but it is filled with spiritual power.
SPEAKER_00: The question is, friends, are you going to strive to be a faithful stewards of faithful stewards of your words for the building up of others?
SPEAKER_00: Because according to James, you can bless or you could wound, you can build people up or tear people down.
SPEAKER_00: Think about that, friends.
SPEAKER_00: Every last one of us in this room who's a Christ follower has a ministry.
SPEAKER_00: The Lord wants to use you as an instrument to speak words of life that help other people grow in their faith in him.
SPEAKER_00: That's something we all get to do.
SPEAKER_00: I don't care how long you've been a Christian, if you've never even read the entire Bible, it does not matter.
SPEAKER_00: God wants to use you to speak words of life to others to build them up in their faith.
SPEAKER_00: And he wants to use others to do the same thing to you.
SPEAKER_00: So we cannot control our hearts on our own.
SPEAKER_00: We need the Spirit's help.
SPEAKER_00: So all of us need this exhortation.
SPEAKER_00: Bring Jesus your words.
SPEAKER_00: Bring Jesus your heart.
SPEAKER_00: Bring him your past wounds if you've been hurt by others.
SPEAKER_00: Bring him your habits, your regret, your defensiveness, your defensiveness, your sarcasm, and let him work on your heart.
SPEAKER_00: And if you need a guide, sure, look around you to other faithful saints trying to follow Jesus faithfully and to faithfully use their words in a way that build up.
SPEAKER_00: But also read your Bibles and just pay attention to how your Savior spoke to people.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I just love watching Jesus interact with people.
SPEAKER_00: Look at how he spoke to the woman at the well.
SPEAKER_00: Pay attention to every word he said and what he did not say.
SPEAKER_00: Look at how he interacts with those who lead others astray with their false teaching.
SPEAKER_00: Emulate your Savior's heart.
SPEAKER_00: A good test I try to follow, though imperfectly is often imperfectly, is what I brought up earlier.
SPEAKER_00: If I was holding a conversation with Jesus, just imagine that, just the way we all talk.
SPEAKER_00: But if Jesus showed up to our door to have dinner with us that night, we would all switch up, won't we?
SPEAKER_00: Just like if you have someone at your home and maybe you're the type like an hour before they get there, you're like frantically cleaning your whole house because you want them to think this is this is me.
SPEAKER_00: It's always this perfectly clean, right?
SPEAKER_00: If Jesus showed up, we would switch up, won't we?
SPEAKER_00: We would code switch spiritually.
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna say all the right things, we're gonna use all the appropriate language, and Jesus would say, I'm always watching.
SPEAKER_00: I am always with you.
SPEAKER_00: The second you said that one thing to your husband or your kid that broke their heart, I was there.
SPEAKER_00: And I also hung on the cross for that sin.
SPEAKER_00: Friends, we need renewed hearts, and God graciously, in his providence, gives us a reminder that whenever we use our words sinfully, it's a reminder I'm still a work in progress.
SPEAKER_00: But praise be to God that He ain't done with me yet.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Let's pray.