Rhetorical Reckoning – Pt.2

even though they had not earned
it, they didn’t have the training, they didn’t have the character
to support the office that they were trying to fulfill. Jesus
addressed it in Matthew Chapter 12 as we saw, and the problem
seems to only have gotten worse by the time James writes. There
were those that were pressing themselves in and they were authorities,
without any justification. There were those throwing their
weight around and trying to act like so many teachers and James
addresses it head on. As I forecasted last week this
is not just a passage to those who are ordained. It’s not just
a passage for pastors or elders however you would style them
or call them. It is not just a passage that
is expected to apply to the ministry. It really applies to all of us
because all of us do in some way teach. Still, James is addressing the
solemn undertaking of opening our mouth to speak for God, whether
it’s in counseling, or whether it’s in teaching Sunday school,
whether it’s admonishing some brother, or whether it’s taking
the pulpit to open his word and preach to the saints. Regardless
of how it looks, it is to be taken on with great caution. James addresses that. And then
as he unfolds this passage in front of it, once he introduces
his concern, he’s going to give us what I call principled illustrations. These series of illustrations
that unfold in front of us and impart to us further concerns,
things that we ought to employ in the use of our tongues in
the use of our mouth. If you would go back to James
chapter 3 will begin in verse 1 we’re going down through verse
12. Let not many of you become teachers
my brethren knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in
what he says, he is a perfect man able to bridle the whole
body as well. Now, if we put the bits into
the horse’s mouth so that they may obey us, we direct their
entire body as well. Behold the ships also, though
they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed
by a very small rudder, wherever the inclination of the pilot
desires. So also the tongue is a small
part of the body, yet it boasts of great things. Behold, how
great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire. And the
tongue is a fire. the very world of iniquity. The
tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire
body and sets on fire the course of our life and is set on fire
by hell. For every species of beasts and
birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea is tamed and has been
tamed by the human race. But no one can tame the tongue.
It is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we
bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men who have
been made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come
both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought
not to be this way. Does a fountain send out from
the same opening both fresh and bitter water? Can a fig tree,
my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Neither
can salt water produce fresh.” James deals with this press to
teach head on. And he’s dealt with the tongue
already several times in James epistle. But now he deals with
the use of the tongue, the employment of the tongue in the course of
ministry. That’s what he’s concerned about
now. And he warns us about the use
of the tongue. He warns us about the nature
of the tongue, and he cautions those who would potentially speak,
especially those who would potentially teach. We looked at this section
last week, verses 1 and 2. He’s talking not just about those
who are appointed, officially appointed to teach. There are
cautions throughout scripture, but it’s a legitimate office.
The office of teacher is a legitimate office, but it must not, cannot
be abused. The Jews put special weight and
special favor on those who taught, and that’s what created the vacuum,
that’s what created the draw to fill these places so plentifully. And though they weren’t called,
they weren’t ready, they weren’t prepared, they had not the character,
they were flooding the office. And so James takes it on, let
not there be many teachers, He doesn’t say that there shouldn’t
be any. He just says he wants to stem
the tide of those who were pressing in and taking what was not theirs
to take. James deals with it head on. Let not many of you become teachers,
my brethren, knowing that as such, as teachers, as those who
stand and seek to proclaim Christ from the pulpit, especially those,
as those who would seek to confront another brother or sister in
their sin, especially those as well, as those who would propose
to teach young minds God’s Word. Especially those as well. But
it really includes all of God’s people. All of those should examine
themselves before they open their mouths. And James gives the reason
very clearly. And he says that it’s almost
axiomatic. Everybody should have known this.
Knowing that. knowing that as such, knowing
that as teachers, we shall incur a stricter judgment. This was
exactly what Paul was indicting in Romans chapter two, when the
Jews who so plentifully thought that they thought that they could
preach to the nations were at the core hypocrites. And James
addresses that as well. Well, That glides quite naturally
into verse 2. If you would turn to verse 2
just briefly, look back at verse 2 where he gives the reason for
this admonition. We’ve all got to examine our
hearts to see whether or not we are really prepared. And he
says, he gives the reason in verse 2, for we all stumble in
many ways. It’s a moral lapse that he’s
talking about. It’s a sinful fall. It’s a failure
to adhere to God’s commands in a particular area. And he’s talking
about all of us. We all stumble in many ways. We all offend not only God, but
other fellow believers. And he says that we do so in
many ways. We’re quite creative when it
comes to sinning, aren’t we? And just when you think you’ve
got some area that it’s been a problem for so long, suddenly
a new area pops up, doesn’t it? And now we need to become experts
all over again at a new area of sinful tendency in our lives,
which we thought we had conquered. We sin in many ways. In Ecclesiastes
7, It says in verse 20, Indeed, there is not a righteous man
on earth who continually does good, who never sins. All of
us will battle with this. Teachers are no exception to
this rule. They, too, stumble in many ways. First Kings 8 46. There is no
man who does not sin. The Lord Jesus Christ accepted.
Proverbs 20 verse 9, what can I say? I have cleansed my heart.
I am pure from my sin. The writer of Proverbs there
mocks the very idea that he is sinless. In Romans chapter 3,
you know Paul says it very directly, all have sinned and fall short
of the glory of God. The Apostle John with equal clarity
says that if we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves. The truth is not in us. All means
all, including proposed teachers. Those who teach battle also the
world and the flesh and the devil and their own sinful tendencies. Isaiah battled it. Woe is me. Jesus said it very clearly. It’s
not what enters the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds
out of the mouth that defiles the man. And we have all battled
that natural defilement, haven’t we? And so that’s what makes
teaching such a dangerous occupation. To open our mouth, to correct
a brother, to open our mouth to teach a room full of little
children, to open our mouth to proclaim God’s word either by
mere reading or by preaching is a solemn undertaking. Many
vocations have inherent dangers. Heavy equipment operators, using
chemicals, working with high voltage, Even computer users. I remember when we started Olive
Tree, we had to have terrorism insurance. Because if we sent
out an email that had a virus attached to it, we would have
to have coverage. There are many occupational hazards due to the
tools of the trade. But the tool of the trade for
ministry is the tongue. our mouth. And I would suggest
to you that it’s the most dangerous tool of all, isn’t it? And that makes this the most
dangerous occupation of all. And that is so, we know, because
of the influence that we have as teachers, either of our own
home or of our spouse or of our dear brother with whom we walk
or of an entire group of people whether it’s Sunday school or
an entire church. We have a great responsibility
because we have a great potential to lead and we have a great potential
to lead astray with inaccuracy. We have a great potential to
call down the judgment of hypocrite. if we teach one thing and do
another. Not to mention the fact that
there is always the temptation to pride. If we confront another
brother in sin, it ought to be from a place where we have, by
God’s grace, enjoyed some degree of victory, but that too can
puff us up. One pastor said, there are most
spiritual dangers connected with the rash assumption on the position
of a religious teacher. Danger is both for the persons
themselves who take the position and for those whom they undertake
to instruct. Everybody’s in danger. There’s
obviously very great peril that the teacher may be puffed up
to almost an arrogant and foolish self-confidence. That his pupils
may be miserably ill-taught or simply, through their teacher’s
ignorance, seriously misled. Be careful who you listen to.
Be careful when you open your mouth. in the course of teaching and
the greater the audience, the greater the risk. One of the
great risks in our own day is what teachers are often tempted
not to say. They’re tempted not to open their
mouth. They’re tempted to withhold.
They’re tempted not to rock the boat from some worldly motive They
decide that they know better than God at that moment what
should or should not be said. And this is exactly what the
Apostle Paul was dealing with in Acts chapter 20. When he said,
I am innocent of the blood of all men, for I did not shrink
from declaring to you the whole purpose, the whole counsel of
God. Paul took that idea from Ezekiel
chapter 3 in Ezekiel chapter 3 it said son of man I have appointed
you as a watchman to the house of Israel whenever you hear a
word from my mouth warn them when I say to the wicked you
shall surely die and you do not warn him or speak out and warn
the wicked from his wicked way that he may live That wicked
man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require
at your hand. And yet in our day, there is
an almost universal tendency to withhold even the core elements
of the gospel. That we’re sinners, that we are
in desperate need of a savior, and that unless we look to Christ
and to Christ alone, we cannot be saved. Well, James goes on, we all stumble
in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in
what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole
body as well. Now, if you’re thinking for a
moment that I’m standing up here because I have achieved some
degree of perfection, you are greatly inaccurate. We all stumble. We all have sinned. If we say we have no sin, we
deceive ourselves. There isn’t anybody who hasn’t
stumbled in many ways. And so, what James is talking
about here cannot be an absolute perfection. Elders, pastors, sin with their
mouths all the time. They sin in their heart, they
sin in their mind, They sin in their deeds and in their lack
of deeds. Confession is as needful to the
elders as it is to the rest of the saints. And so what does James mean,
perfect? Only Christ, only our Lord Jesus
Christ is perfect in the truest sense of that word. No guile
was found in Christ, no sin. But perfect here speaks of a
maturity. It speaks of a level of maturity,
a ripeness, if you will, of character that is unassailable. It doesn’t
mean that we never stumble, stub our toe. It doesn’t mean that
we never offend, but we own it, we deal with it. There is a ripeness,
a richness of character. Unindictable is the way I described
it when we taught through 1 Timothy 3. He is able to bridle. He is able to keep under control
that God-given tongue so that it really and truly is used for
God and for His glory. That’s the goal that we all have.
That’s essentially what an elder is when he stands in front of
other people. He does, like Paul says, do as
I do. Watch and do likewise. Follow
me. That is a huge call, isn’t it? And it’s a huge call to teach
Sunday school as well. To have those young, impressionable
minds looking to you and they’re watching. It’s a tough thing to share the
gospel too, isn’t it? Because they are watching. It’s
a tough thing to teach your children at home, isn’t it? Because they
are watching. It’s a tough thing to go and
admonish a brother because he has seen your foibles and your
falls as well, hasn’t he? But if you can, by God’s grace,
and the instruction of God’s Word as well as the observation
of godly examples and ultimately the Holy Spirit’s power in your
life. If you can control the tongue,
you can conquer any sin. You can control the whole body.
You can control your entire life. If you can control the tongue, That doesn’t mean that only perfect
men should be in ministry. If that were the case, there
would be none. Run from anyone who says yes that he claims to
have achieved some kind of perfection. It’s maturity. It’s maturity
of character. But I want you to see the angle
that James takes at the end of this verse. Look at verse 2.
We all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in
what he says, he’s a perfect man able to bridle the whole
body as well. If you can control the tongue,
you won. Because everything else will
follow. If it wasn’t for the bridle,
if it wasn’t for the bridling of the tongue, the body, the
rest of the man’s life would run in all directions into all
kinds of sin. Here’s how one faithful shepherd
put it, energetic effort directed toward the regulation of the
tongue has a most healthful influence upon the whole nature. If you were to go to battle against
one sin this week, and well we should, make it be the tongue. Make it be the way you use your
mouth. Make it the sins of the tongue,
because if we can conquer that one, everything else follows.
James will tell us. He goes on to say, by the regulation
of the tongue, such a little member by self-restraint with
regard to words so quickly spoken, the whole body, its organs and
propensities may be kept under sway. It is by restraining the
mouth, the tongue that man obtains and keeps control over the entire
animal nature. Everything he does is directly
tied back. to his sinful mouth. And that’s what makes this illustration
so powerful. James is going to take it and
build on it. It underscores the need for controlling the tongue. And he’s going to paint this
picture so graphically for us in these next few illustrations.
I told you that there were six. Six illustrations, each one imparting
to us a principle. Something that we can apply.
Something that you can take with you this week and just prayerfully,
at the end of the day, bow before your Heavenly Father and run
this past Him. And ask Him, how did I do? Invoke the Holy Spirit to examine
your life. Compare your life to Christ in
this regard. six principled illustrations. And no, we won’t get to all six
today. The first principled illustration
is the bit and the bridle. It’s exactly the illustration
that James kind of alludes to in verse two, but now he’s going
to drive home the point. Look at verse three. Now, if
we put bits into the horse’s mouth so that they may obey us,
we direct their entire body as well. Principle number one. Just as a mighty horse can be
guided by a bit and a bridle, our speech should be under our
complete control. James is building. He’s building
on the illustration that he alluded to in verse 2, but he drives
home the point here. There at the end of verse 2,
he says that a perfect man, a mature man, is able to bridle the whole
body in bridling the tongue. Another reference here, you know
the picture that He gives here the word bridal. It speaks of
this strong, powerful, wayward creature with great measure of
his own mind, willing to do whatever he wants. When I started pondering
this passage, I thought a great deal about the old westerns,
and they always seem to zero in on that one scene where they’re
in a round corral, and there’s a guy in the middle and a wild
horse, right? And he’s trying to break this
horse. And first he’s got to put a rope
around the horse, and then he’s got to get the horse to calm
down enough where he can even approach the horse. That’s the scene. an independent,
wild horse, an unpredictable animal, an untrusting, uncooperative
animal. And except for man guided by
reason, or may I suggest little girls guided by reason, they
obtain complete control over the animal so that he or she
may make it follow His will or her will. They take control of
this animal that is massive in size. Look at verse 3. Now if we put bits into the horse’s
mouth so that they may obey us, we direct their entire body as
well. Now let me clarify. Because when it says We put bits
into the horse’s mouth. It doesn’t mean me. It’s speaking
in generalities here. Because I’ve done this thing.
I’ve walked, I’ve, well, I’ve approached it. You have this
silver thing that looks like the letter H. this big silver
piece of metal that, by the way, the horse sees. And it says that
you put this bit into the horse’s mouth. Sounds easy, right? And the horse, who’s standing
there, grinning at you with a face full of really big, very unbrushed
teeth, I call them, they look like the
Grinch’s teeth. And then, and then there’s the
goo. This plentiful green drool. And so when I say the we is very
general here, I say that because it doesn’t mean me, because if
it’s up to me, well, I guess we ain’t riding today, boys.
Both the horse and this ship that James is going to go on
to describe are controlled by this tiny little mechanism. If you can only get it in their
mouth. This small part ends up controlling the entire thing. He puts a bit in the horse’s
mouth and he controls his whole body. The plural here, when he refers
to horses, plural, he says that this was a common practice. This
was a regular feature. That if you want to ride the
horse, you’ve got to put a bit into his mouth. That’s why I drive a truck. Verse
3, if we put bits into the horse’s mouth so that they may obey us.
In other words, there’s a purpose to this thing. Now it starts
to become clear. There’s a purpose to this piece
of equipment, not just for the horse to chew on. This is part
of the guidance system of this great beast. Now if we put bits
into the horse’s mouth so that they may obey us, we direct their
entire body as well. That word there, to direct, means
to drive, to steer, to lead in a particular direction. As one
described it, the aim of bridling a horse is to secure the obedience
of the whole horse, not just his mouth. The application of
the control represented by the bridle has to be applied at the
proper place. You couldn’t put the bridle on
the horse’s back and expect him to go where you wanted. This horse image, this image
that James uses is very graphic. Because I’ve seen for years the
little girls from this congregation go up and walk into a pen and
grab one of these things and reach into the gooey mouth and
put it in there and get on the back of a horse and it works.
They don’t even have to tug on the reins. They don’t have to
smack the horse. The horse just does what they
want it to do. This is a powerful illustration. But don’t forget he’s not talking
about horses. He’s talking about our tongues. And he says that just as a mighty
horse can be controlled by a bit and a bridle, Our speech should
be under complete control. He’s talking about the tongue.
He’s talking about the use of our mouths. And he talks not
only about the possibility, the potential of controlling the
tongue, but also the necessity of doing so. That by controlling the mouth,
we control the whole body as well. If we hope to be useful
to others, and well we should, less talk, not more. Less talk, not more, is the wise
course, or at least a very guarded and well-chosen speech. We cited
this verse not many weeks back, one of my favorites, Proverbs
10, 19. The first verse that I ever preached with many words. Transgression is unavoidable. The more you talk, the more you’re
going to sin. But he who restrains his lips
is wise. Less talk, not more. Just as a mighty horse is controlled
by a bitten bridle, our speech should be under complete control.
Do you know what I realized? You can’t just, a horse doesn’t
function like a carrier pigeon, you know? The Pony Express, remember
that great original mail delivery system? He had a rider. Your mouth needs a bit. You need
to control the tongue, James says. But he offers a second
illustration with a completely different principle. Not only should our speech be
under complete control, just like a horse guided by a bitten
bridle, but there’s a second illustration very similar, but
with a lesson all its own. Look at verse four. Behold, the
ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong
winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever
the inclination of the pilot desires. Now, he comes out of
the country and goes to the coast and he looks down and he sees
an equally great illustration of the tendency for sin in the
human mouth. And he says, just as a huge ship
is guided by a small rudder, our tiny tongues should maintain
a purposed course for our lives. Look at verse four when he says,
behold also, he’s connecting this illustration with the first
illustration as further evidence of the tremendous power of little
things. Remember the bit? the gooey green
bit. Now he wants to talk about a
tiny little piece of wood attached to the back end of a boat called
a rudder. And it probably called to mind
to those who read it so many boats that they had seen in dry
dock, whereas they pulled the boat up You could see all the
parts of the boat. You could see the hull and at
the very back end you could see the rudder attached to the very
end of the boat. That little oar like thing that
was designed only to steer the boat. What James looks to point out is that not only does a boat
need a rudder, we need to guide our tongues. We need to correct
our speech. We need to corral our speech.
We need to guide the course of our conversation. Look at verse
4, Behold the ships, though they are so great. He’s not talking
about a little boat. a little paddle boat, a little
dinghy. He’s talking about a great big
ship. And even in James’s day, there
were great, great crafts. And even though they had to contend
with the wind and the waves and all the pressure against the
boat to go against the direction that the boat was proposing to
go, somehow, some way, directed by this tiny little rudder, wherever
the inclination of the pilot desires. It’s a fascinating word. It means the impulse, if you
will, of the captain, wherever he wanted to go. It’s not where
the wind desired to take them. That’s sailing, and that’s another
day. This is a boat in the course
of this wind and waves. This is a boat that has a place
to go and cannot just capriciously be driven where the wind wishes
it to go. This boat has an intention. This
boat has a destiny. And this tiny little rudder attached
to the ship’s wheel guided by where the captain desires it
to go, delivers the craft to its destination. The bottom line,
the captain steers the ship, not the wind, not the rain, not
the waves, not the passengers. And the bottom line question
is, who is at the helm of your speech? Is it you? Or is the ship of your life meandering
aimlessly, recklessly around the ocean called life? The first principle was simple.
Just as a mighty horse is guided by a bitten bridle, our speech
should be under our complete control. This principle is like it. Just
as a huge ship is steered by a very small rudder, our tongues
should maintain a purposed course for our lives. One person said, a man’s tongue
or speech is regarded as a force distinct from himself, just as
the body. If he can bring his tongue under
control, he can bring his body under control. just as one who
controls the horse’s mouth or the ship’s helm guides the whole
horse or the whole ship. We ought to take seriously the
guidance of our tongues. And you know what I thought of
as I backed away? The Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria, they
didn’t just push off from shore and cross their fingers. They
all had captains, they had a destination, and they all headed out across
the ocean. James has other illustrations,
each with a principle of their own to consider in the weeks
to come. Let’s humble ourselves as we
prepare for the Lord’s table, to take inventory in how we have
used our tongues. Let’s pray. Our merciful King, we humble
ourselves at your glorious presence. And we thank you so much for
those of us who have placed our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
We do see you at work. We thank you for saving us. We thank you for Christ. who
paid our penalty while we were yet at odds with you, with our
backs towards you, sinful. And yet you drew us to yourself
and began this great work in us. Lord, we acknowledge that
that work continues. And sometimes we almost pity
you having to listen to us go on and on about all of our things
again and again, and each time we seem to discover new ways
to sin. You’re so merciful. Lord God,
we think most of all, especially today, of the sins of our tongue,
the things about which we boast, the things about which we lie,
the unkind things that we say, the flat-out lies that we tell, the things that we talk about,
even if not utterly sinful, just empty and vain and useless, purposeless,
drivel. Lord, there is a destination.
There is a place that we ought to be aiming as the captains
of these ships. Or have we abdicated? Or are
we just along for a boat ride that will surely end up in disaster? Lord, we pray that you would
use this passage to grant us the grace to examine our tongues,
our mouths, our speech, Lord, we pray, show us those
areas where we have spoken things that are untrue. Show us those
areas where we have slandered another and gossiped, spreading
even true things mercilessly. Lord, there isn’t a single one
of us that deserves to come to this table. but it’s a table for those who
have placed their faith in Christ. And Lord, if nothing else, we
know that you have much to do yet in our lives, in this process
of sanctification, and we rejoice in that. If we cannot yet see
the finished product or anything close to it, we are comforted
by the truth that you are at work in our lives. Lord, we ask
your blessing on that. We pray that you would bring
to mind those sins that we need to own and not only confess to
you, but perhaps even confess to others to seek forgiveness. Lord, what a great tool to get
us to correct our speech. I have to go to a brother and
ask forgiveness for something that we’ve said, some foolish
comment. Lord, we thank you for one another.
We thank you for the privilege to walk with other imperfect
people. We ask your blessing on the Lord’s
table as we celebrate it now. We pray all of these things in
Jesus name. Amen.