Reference

James 3:1-12

Words of Faith – Taming the Tongue

James 3:1-12

But no man can tame the tongue.  It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.  With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.  Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing.  My brethren, these things ought not to be so.  [James 3:8-10]

Many would say that James is an exhortation to walk the walk.  “But do you want to know, O foolish man that faith without works is dead?”  We just studied that verse last week.  James nails the point home; that there needs to be a profit for our faith.  That profit is to God and others; it is not a self-profit.  Remember his example?  “If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,’ but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit him?” [2:16]  The answer to this rhetorical question is nothing; it profits him nothing.  And so it is when we only have words without action.

This morning, however, we will see that James also taught on the importance of words, specifically the value of using godly words.  There are indeed words of faith, and they begin with taming the tongue.  The use of right words starts with not using wrong words.  In short, we must learn to hold our tongue.  This paves the way for prayer and intercession, and allows the Lord to work even before a word is uttered.

But notice that the tongue is something that man cannot himself tame [ref. 3:8].  He tries but fails.  Can you relate?  Why is this so?  Well, the reason is that a tongue problem is a heart problem.  Jesus said “the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man unclean.” [Matt 15:18]  Jeremiah prophesied “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.” [Jer 17:9]  As you piece the logic of these scriptures together you come to the conclusion that fixing the tongue equates to fixing the heart; and that can only be done by the Spirit.  It begins with a heart transplant [i.e., becoming born-again of the Spirit]; and then continues by being renewed in the Spirit every day of our earthly life.  It is those Spirit-filled torrents of living water that overflow to our hearts and then to our speech.  As we grow in the Lord our words become tools that build people up in the faith, not tear them down.

Words and deeds must work together in this life of faith.  It is a vital combination for the Christian, especially when ministering to others.  And while one’s walk is important, so are his words.  May the Lord help us to be swift to hear and slow to speak [ref. 1:19].