Sermon Tone Analysis

“Every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue.

It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.

From the same mouth come blessing and cursing.

My brothers, these things ought not to be so.

Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water?

Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs?

Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.”[1]

Since the fall of our first parents, each member of the race is afflicted with a form of spiritual schizophrenia.

In stating the obvious, I do not mean to disparage the tragic medical condition that plagues some of our friends and family members; but I do want to point out the obvious.

Though we Christians profess to be children of the True and Living God, too often we are more thoroughly identified as belonging to this dying world rather than exhibiting characteristics reflecting our position as people of promise.

James is not the only biblical writer who compels us to confront this spiritual malady.

It appears as a constant theme in Paul’s writings, and it is central to the message of many of the Old Testament prophets.

Even the Psalmists occasionally address this tendency of attempting to live simultaneously in two worlds.

Jesus did not hesitate to expose this disturbing tendency when He ministered in Judea.

We should, therefore, take heed to the warnings and instruction provided through the Word of God so that we can be pleasing in the sight of God.

 

*The Problem of the Tongue* — “Every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue.”

Though we may seek to deny our malady, God deliberately removes whatever comfort we think to derive from hiding our condition.

God did not create us to be fallible creatures, but because of the rebellion of our first parents, we are nevertheless fallen.

We cannot keep ourselves from sin, and ultimately the tongue exposes our fallen condition, forcing us to confess that we are sinful.

Man may be said potentially to experience one of four states.

Before the Fall, Adam was */able not to sin/*.

Since the Fall, fallen people have been */unable not to sin/*.

When people are regenerated, they are */able to sin/* and they are also */able to do good works pleasing to God/*.

Ultimately, when transformed into our glorified state, redeemed people will be */unable to sin/*.

Though we live in anticipation of what shall yet come to pass, we must still contend with the present.

Though we sin, we who are Christians cannot enjoy sinning—the Spirit of God convicts us.

In our hearts, we long to please God with our words and with our deeds.

God’s Spirit, dwelling within the believer, urges the child of God to discover what pleases the Father and to do those things.

Therefore, throughout the Word of God we are warned against sin and informed of what is pleasing to the Master.

James’ instructions confront the condition that afflicts each of us, exposing the sinful nature we inherited from our first parents.

The evidence for our sinful condition, apparent to all who permit themselves to reflect on the current state, is revealed through our speech.

James’ bald statement is that “no human being can tame the tongue.”

The reason for such a strong statement is revealed whenever we recall a statement Jesus made on one occasion.

“What comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.

For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.

These are what defile a person” [*Matthew** 15:18-20a*].

His teaching iterates a truth stated earlier in His ministry.

Then, Jesus said, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” [*Matthew** 12:34b*].

Another time the Master said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” [*Matthew 6:21*].

He continued by making what superficially may appear to be an enigmatic statement.

Jesus said, “The eye is the lamp of the body.

So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.

If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness” [*Matthew 6:22, 23*]!

While the context makes it clear that the Master is speaking of the dangers arising when one is consumed by materialism, there is a broader application which fits with the caution James is giving.

When we are blinded by prejudice, jealousy or conceit, the heart is darkened.

Consequently, the darkened heart provides the impetus to injure others with the tongue.

Prejudice erupts in calumny and malicious words.

Jealousy within motivates us to gossip and to defame people we would not otherwise attack.

Conceit drives us to tear down rather than to build up.

Focused on ourselves, we become destructive.

No wonder the tongue cannot be tamed!

Its root is in the heart, and “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick” [*Jeremiah 17:9*].

There is an old saying that cautions, “Scratch a saint, and you find a sinner underneath.”

It is a reminder that we are capable of grave injury when we imagine we have been wronged.

Until the heart is tamed, the tongue can never be tamed.

However, because the heart is “incurably bad,”[2] the tongue will continue to reveal the wickedness that lies within.

For this reason, the child of God is compelled to place a watch over the tongue, to examine the heart constantly, and quickly to seek forgiveness from those whom we offend.

Especially, if we will please God, we must remember the promise of the Master that, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” [*1 John 1:9*].

*The Peril of the Tongue* — The tongue “is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.”

Before Cain murdered Abel, God warned him, “If you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door.

Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it” [*Genesis 4:7*].

As was true for Cain and is also true for us, sin is ever present, and we are susceptible to its allure.

The Word of God cautions, “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins” [*Ecclesiastes 7:20*].

Therefore, we are warned, “Let not your mouth lead you into sin” [*Ecclesiastes 5:6*].

James’ description of the tongue is reminiscent of a caged beast pacing back and forth before the bars.

The beast is restless, and prepared to attack anyone that is so incautious as to stumble into the enclosure.

On July 14, 2008, three Siberian Brown Bears at Mykolaec City Zoo in Ukraine killed a man after he fell into their enclosure.

The 22-year-old man was drunk and trying to take close-up shots of the Siberian Brown bears when he lost his footing.

The three bears charged the man immediately, tearing him “limb from limb” as he tried to escape.

The man was dead before keepers could separate the animals from their victim.

The tongue has a response somewhat akin to that exhibited by these brown bears.

It is restless, opportunistic in injuring people that should not be hurt.

We are quick to strike out at anyone we imagine has hurt us.

It does not matter whether the person intended to attack us, what matters is that we use our tongue as a weapon to injure and destroy.

Moreover, we use our tongue as an offensive weapon much more frequently than as a defensive weapon, for we are intent on disabling every perceived threat.

The tragedy is that the perceived threats are people—most of whom do not deserve our vicious assaults.

Soon after acquiring the capacity for speech, we discover how to injure with the tongue.

How old was your child the first time he or she said, “I hate you?”  Throughout the teenage years, how often did your child say, “You’re not fair?”

Who taught your son or daughter to use that statement in order to put you on a guilt trip?

Have you ever noticed how quickly children learn to set parents against one another?

No one needs to teach us how to deliver a telling blow with the tongue; it is all together too natural and far too easy.

I marvel at the language skills women possess.

Early in life they master the language skills necessary to destroy another woman with a smile.

Perhaps you have seen an ad for green tea on television that portrays such vicious skills.

The ad depicts a man and woman seated in a doctor’s waiting room?

The woman, seated next to the man, clearly finds him attractive.

The receptionist, observing the woman’s interest in the handsome fellow, and herself attracted to the young man, cattily asks the first woman, “So, how is your rash?”  Sliced and diced with only four words, the first woman flees the office, horrified at her exposure before the man in whom she was interested!

The ad is humorous precisely because we recognise the common nature of what has been portrayed.

This does not mean that men are incapable of delivering telling blows with the tongue.

However, with men, the tongue is usually more of a cudgel than a rapier.

It is one thing when we acknowledge that “With his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbour” [*Proverbs 11:9*], but it is quite another thing when we are forced to confess that as Christians we sin with our mouths.

Each of us has wounded someone dear to us; and I dare say that we will wound again.

It is a symptom of our fallen condition.

This does not, however, excuse us from making things right when we have sinned with our tongue.

I wish I could say that I had never hurt a family member or friend with my words; alas, I cannot make such a claim.

I wish I could say that any injury delivered to others was inadvertent and never on purpose; however, such a claim does not fit the facts of my life.

I wish I could tell you that I never snapped at my children when they were growing up.

I wish I could say that I never erred in what I said to them.

But should I attempt to say otherwise, I would be a liar.