Do
You Think You’re Religious? James 1:26
1. Rev. William Spooner was a minister in Oxford,
England at the turn of the century.
2. Rev. Spooner had a unique claim to fame – He
was a master at butchering the English language!
a. truly!
b. you see, he had the unusual
habit of switching the initial consonants of words so that the new construction
was hilarious!
3. Spooner was an intelligent man, but his mind
was too quick for his tongue and he would often say things that sounded
absent-minded.
4. For instance, he once reprimanded a student at
Oxford for lighting a fire in the quad by saying "You were caught fighting
a liar in the quadrangle."
a. meaning to berate a student
for missing a history lecture, he said, "You hissed my mystery
lecture."
c. this same
student had already wasted two terms, so Spooner added in disgust, "You
have tasted two worms."
5. Once during a toast to Queen Victoria he
uttered: "Three cheers for our queer old dean!"
6. During WWI he reassured his students,
"When our boys come home from France, we will have the hags flung
out." (Flags hung out)
7. In a public speech in which he praised
Britian's farmers, he meant to say they were “noble sons of toil, but it came
out as "noble tons of soil."
8. Spooner’s goofs in giving devotions at the
Oxford chapel were legendary.
a. instead of saying, “Our Lord
is a loving Shepherd, it was "Our Lord is a shoving leopard."
b. can you
just imagine those poor students that were supposed to remain serious in the
face of this kind of thing!
c. he once
quoted I Corinthians 13:12 as, "For now we see through a dark,
glassly..."
d. officiating
at a wedding, he prompted a hesitant bridegroom, "Son, it is now
kisstomary to cuss the bride."
e. and to a
stranger seated in the wrong place: "I believe you're occupewing my
pie. May I sew you to another
sheet?"
9. But Spooner’s most well known gaffs were these
. . .
a. in speaking
to a large crowd, meaning to say, "Which of us has not felt in his heart a
half-formed wish,” ended up with a “half-warmed fish?"
b. at a naval
review Spooner marveled at "this vast display of cattle ships and
bruisers."
c. to a school
official's secretary he asked: "Is the bean dizzy?"
d. and
visiting a friend's country cottage which he thought was a cozy little nook, he
said: "You have a nosey little crook here."
10. Rev. Spooner wasn’t the
only person to make verbal gaffs, but he was certainly the most notable, and so
his name came to be associated with these kinds of mix ups.
11. Today, the dictionary calls a “spoonerism”
any unintentional mixing of sounds that results in a different meaning for the
words.
12. What’s interesting about Spooner, is that
he was unaware of the gaffs!
a. he knew what he wanted to say
and thought he had said it.
b. others had
to tell him his mistakes and switches.
c. and when
they did, he was inclined to think they were pulling his leg.
1. We’re taking a look at our speech today.
2. Unlike Spooner, we need to be aware
that our speech is a reflection and expression of the sincerity of our faith in
God.
26 If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does
not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is
useless.
1. I’ve said this before, but it is especially
true with this verse –
2. Do I really need to say anything more?
3. This verse is it’s own sermon and I probably
don’t need to add one thing to it!
4. We could very easily just bow our heads, say
the final prayer and go home!
5. This verse simply slays me and I cry out –
Change me Lord!
1. Let’s make sure we understand what James is
saying here.
2. The word translated “religious” refers to the
outward practice and ceremony of religious worship.
a. it was that
part of religious service that was concerned with rituals and traditions
b. the forms
that a person used when they approached their god
c. we could
think of this in terms of piety or devotion
3. The man or
woman James is referring to here is the one who thinks they’re pious
because they observe the forms of religious devotion.
a. in a modern setting, we could say they go to church somewhat
regularly
b. they know the routine of when to stand and sit.
c. they even put something in the offering
d. they know most of the songs and may even raise their hands now and
again when they like the song or feel especially moved.
4. This is the person, who if asked by their
peers at work would even dare to say, “I consider myself a religious person”
and mean it sincerely all because they go to church and know the
routine.
5. But James gives a test here to determine if
they’re genuinely religious or if they are in fact just fooling themselves.
6. He says – “You think you’re religious? Check it out – do you bridle your
tongue? If you don’t, you’re only
kidding yourself about your piety.
Religious practice that doesn’t affect your speech is good for nothing.”
1. James has a lot to say about speech in this
letter - 5 times he refers to the tongue!
2. Jesus often spoke of our words and how they
reflect what’s in our hearts.
3. The Apostle Paul repeatedly returned to this
and said genuine faith reveals itself in a change in the way we communicate.
4. In Matthew 12:34-37 Jesus said
. . .
34 . . . out of the abundance of the heart the mouth
speaks.
35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart
brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth
evil things.
36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may
speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.
37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your
words you will be condemned.”
5. When I want to check the oil
in my car, I pop the hood and pull out the dip-stick.
a. the level of oil on the stick
tells me the level of oil in the engine.
b. I can’t
actually see the oil inside the oil pan – but the gauge of the dip-stick is an
accurate indication.
c. Jesus is
saying that we can’t see what’s in a person’s heart – but their speech is the
dipstick that reveals what’s there.
d. if a person
is walking in the Spirit, their speech will be sweet and proclaim life.
e. if a person
is walking in the flesh, their speech will be carnal and selfish and
spread trouble and strife.
6. When I read what James wrote
and Jesus said, I immediately ask, “But what about those who seem pious one
minute and then turn right around and their speech runs to trouble?”
7. Okay – let me be honest – I’m referring to
myself!
a. how is it
that I can be so sincere in worship and prayer
b. how is it
that I can stand up here and proclaim God’s Word with such sincerity and the
sense of God’s presence and power,
c. and then an
hour later say something so wrong and critical? What’s going on?
8. Or how about this –
a. how is it that I can look at
the members of my family; my wife and children and feel such an overwhelming
sense of love and loyalty to them,
b. and try to
express it by telling them I love them, and even in the act of saying it, the
words seem to fall so utterly short of what I really feel –
c. and then
the very next day, I’m critical and harsh and saying things that make them feel
like scum?
9. When I read James – it slays
me!
If
anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but
deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless.
a. I feel like a fake, a fraud!
b. with Paul I
cry out, “O wretched man that I am.”
c. who will
deliver me from this wicked unbridled tongue?
1. That word “bridle” means to place a bit in the
mouth.
a. it speaks
of control
b. when you
ride a horse, you put a bit in its mouth so that by pulling on the reins, you
can control the speed and direction of your mount
2. In v. 26 James speaks of the
person whose tongue is like an unbridled horse.
a. he exerts
no restraint on his speech.
b. she just
let her mouth give expression to whatever words come to mind.
3. And therein lies the danger – for the mind,
even of the most holy person, is tempted to turn to avenues of thought that are
not of God.
4. It’s at that moment – when we’re tempted to
entertain evil, that we are faced with a choice
a. we can
either follow through and pursue the thought
b. or we can
resist and turn to the Lord.
5. Growing in Christ means developing the habit
of subjecting every thought to the scrutiny of the Holy Spirit.
6. Before I speak, I ask, is this profitable.
7. What will be the effect of saying this? Where will these words lead me and those who
hear them?
1. In ch. 3, James goes on to elaborate on the
tongue . . .
2 For we all stumble in many things.
a. James is
not unrealistic in his expectations - he knows that Christians sin!
b. he is not
demanding some kind of sinless perfection of them
c. but there
must be progress toward holiness – and no where is that progress
more evident than in the nature and character of our speech . . .
If
anyone does not stumble in word, [in
what he says] he
is a perfect [spiritually mature] man, able also to bridle the
whole body.
d. in other words, if a person
has their speech under control, they probably have a pretty good handle on the
other areas of their life as well
e. disciplined
speech is evidence of a well-ordered life.
f. then he
gives an example . . .
3 Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may
obey us, and we turn their whole body.
4 Look also at ships: although they are so large and
are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the
pilot desires.
5 Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts
great things. See how great a forest a
little fire kindles!
g. the bit in a horses mouth is
tiny – but look at the power it can control!
h. a massive
ship like an oil tanker is steered by a relatively tiny piece of metal.
i. and it
only takes a minute spark to start a huge forest fire!
j. one
cigarette butt flung out the window of a passing car – and a week later, a
hundred thousands square miles are a smoking ruin
k. in the same
way, the tongue is a tiny part of the body – but its power is disproportionate
to its size
l. for the
tongue can form words that start wars, ruins lives, destroy reputations,
dishearten, crush, even kill.
m. all of us here this morning know people whose lives have been dramatically changed because of some malicious gossip or harsh word
n. some of us
here this morning have been on the receiving end of such speech, while others
have dished it out
2. Look at v. 6 . . .
6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of
iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole
body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.
7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and
creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind.
a. and now James gets to the
heart of the matter . . .
8 But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly
evil, full of deadly poison.
9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we
curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.
10 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing.
My brethren, these things ought not to be so.
11 Does a spring send forth fresh water and
bitter from the same opening?
12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a
grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.
b. James’s argument seems a bit
confusing because in vs. 9 & 10 he says that we do both bless
and curse out of the same mouth –
c. then in vs.
11 & 12 he says this is impossible and uses a couple illustrations
from nature to prove it.
1) a fig tree produces figs – not olives.
2) a grapevine gives grapes, not figs!
3) a spring is either bitter or sweet but it can’t
be both.
3. His point is that it’s against nature
for those who have been born again to speak as if they weren’t.
4. James is agreeing with us that there’s a
tension between what is & what ought to be in the Christian life.
5. And the resolution to this tension does not
lie in ourselves and our own power to change.
6. A bridled tongue does not come by
making personal resolutions and vows to do better.
7. Look at v. 8 – “But no man can tame the
tongue.”
a. in v. 7, James said man is
able to tame just about every creature in nature
b. but he cannot tame himself!
c. if you go to the circus you
will see all kinds of exotic and ferocious animals mankind has tamed; lions,
tigers, leopards, elephants
d. at Sea World event the
creatures of the deep have been tamed and trained; dolphins, killer whales, sea
lions, even sharks
e. but man can’t tame himself –
and the most obvious proof of this is in the realm of speech.
8. So,
if no man can tame the tongue – what’s the solution?
9. We
must turn our tongue over to God – we must surrender it to Him – and in doing
so, we immediately find the control over our speech we’re looking for.
1. Now, how do we do that? How do I “turn my tongue over to God”?
2. That sounds so pious – so religious!
3. I realize the truth of it but HOW?
4. Remember what James said?
a. a spring is
either sweet or salty
b. decide what
kind of a spring you are and then BE IT.
c. a fig tree
produces figs; a vine, grapes
d. we must stop and consider - am
I lost or saved?
e. if I’m
saved – then I need to BE what I am!
f. I need to
be that as I open my mouth and give voice to what’s inside me.
5. Being a Christian means choosing always
to yield to God, including in the selection of the words I speak.
6. James’s challenge is as simple as calling us
to be what we are.
1. In Romans 10:10, Paul says
this . . .
With
the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is
made unto salvation.
2. It’s the stated confession of our mouths that
gives expression to the faith in our hearts and sees that faith blossom into
the full flower of salvation.
3. We need to understand that EVERY time we open
our mouths, we’re airing out the contents of our hearts!
4. Your words, my words, are a confession of who
and what we are!
5. Think about that before you speak – Every word
is a confession of who and what you are!
6. If you’re a Christian, then you’re surrendered
to God.
7. Every word you speak ought to be a reaffirmation
of that surrender.
8. The piety God desires is not religious
ceremony – Rather, every word is a sacrifice rendered to God.