James: Authentic Faith - Week 7: Words Matter | James 3:1-12

This is Pastor Jonathan, and thanks for downloading the FBC El Dorado Sermon Podcast.

In this week's message, Dr.

Sam Roberts of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention leads us in a study of the first half of James chapter three.

I hope this message challenges you and encourages you to consider the power of your words.

First Baptist El Dorado, it's so good to be back with you today.

I always am overjoyed when someone invites me to come and fill their pulpit.

And folks, I'm ecstatic when they invite me to come back.

Okay?

Even though it's been over two years.

Okay.

You can, uh, Jonathan, if you're listening or watching, it's been over two years, brother.

But hey, it's good to be back.

On behalf of Dr.

Sundy Tucker, our executive director, and all of your cooperative program missionaries, thank you.

Thank you so much.

I bring greetings from each of them.

We are so grateful for Pastor Jonathan and the staff here at First El Dorado, and each of you guys, and especially your generosity as you give to missions through the cooperative program and Dixie Jackson.

This morning, I want to remind you of a simple yet very extremely important truth which the Apostle James calls to our attention.

Here it is.

Words matter.

Words matter.

I think that's a truth we need to be reminded of quite frequently, don't you?

Words matter.

My words matter, your words matter, our words matter.

Words matter.

Now for the past few weeks, Pastor Jonathan has been walking through the letter of James describing authentic faith.

And today, James reminds us, beginning in chapter three, of the role that words play in the development and the practice of authentic faith.

Words matter.

Now, most often we associate our faith with those things that we do, right?

I mean, I I had the awesome privilege of serving as one of your uh co-op your program missionaries.

My exact title is Community Mission Strategist.

And that means I get to help pastors and churches develop strategies for reaching their community with the gospel.

Now, if somebody says, What does that look like?

I begin to talk about things like block parties and medical dental clinics and uh disaster relief and hunger ministry and prayer walking and uh all of those different kinds of ways that we serve our community, love our community with the things that we do.

For 35 years, before I came to the Arkansas Baptist State Convention, I served as a local church pastor.

And during that time, I encouraged the people that God gave me to shepherd to live out their faith, to put feet to their faith, to get involved in ministry, not just to give to missions, but to do missions.

Most often we associate our faith, authentic faith, with what we do.

And James also encourages that in his word, in his letter.

You guys have already heard Pastor Jonathan preach on that.

He says we are to be doers of the word and not hearers only.

He defines undefiled or authentic religion as caring for the orphans and the widows in their distress.

And in that classic passage that caused so much confusion and division early on, especially during the Reformation time, James writes: if a brother or sister is without clothes and lack of daily food, and one of you says to them, Go in peace, stay warm, be well fed, but you don't give them what the body needs, what good is it?

In the same way, faith, if it doesn't have works, is dead by itself.

That's the passage that caused the great reformer Martin Luther to call James a straw of an epistle, and he ripped James out of his Bible as a result of that.

I've heard it said that the letter of James is not about faith or works, as if you have to choose between the two of those.

Or even about faith and works, as they are two different things.

But it's about a faith that works.

And James stresses this importance of a faith that works.

He is reminding the church, reminding us of those words of Jesus, his half-brother, and our Savior.

For I was hungry, you gave me something to eat.

I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink.

I was a stranger, you took me in.

I was naked, you clothed me, I was sick, and you cared for me.

I was in prison, you visited me.

Lord, when did we do these things to you?

Whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you have done for me.

Jesus said, All the law and the prophets, everything in the Old Testament can be summarized this way: Love God, love people.

Simple as that.

Love involves action.

Authentic faith is an active faith.

Now, we know as followers of Jesus that we don't do acts of ministry as a means of gaining favor with God and somehow attaining eternal life in that process.

Active faith, authentic faith is active faith because his grace has saved us.

We are new people, and his spirit is always transforming us, our thinking that we're not thinking just of ourselves like we once may have done, but we're thinking of others and we're putting their needs before our needs.

His desire is becoming our desire.

And so we live as his people, that he receives glory, that his grace, his love is made known, and we make him known through those acts of service.

Authentic faith is an act of faith.

But throughout this letter, and especially in chapter three, we're going to get to that text in just a moment, James is reminding us that authentic faith cannot be reduced to just a list of things that we do, regardless of how good and righteous those things are.

Authentic faith combines right actions and right words.

I want you to follow along in your copy of God's word as we read James chapter 3, the first 12 verses there.

James 3 · chapter mention

And then I'm going to kind of set the context for this part of the letter.

We'll pull out some insights of what James is talking about, and then make some application and just ask the question: what is the Spirit saying to the church this morning?

Not many should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we will receive a stricter judgment.

For we all stumble in many ways.

If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is mature, able to control the whole body.

Now, if we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we direct their whole bodies.

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.

So too, though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts great things.

Consider how a small fire set ablaze a large forest, and the tongue is a fire.

The tongue, a world of unrighteousness, is placed among our members.

It stains the whole body, sets the course of life on fire, is itself set on fire by hell.

Every kind of animal, bird, reptile, and fish is tamed, and has been tamed by humankind, but no one can tame the tongue.

It's a restless evil full of deadly poison.

With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in God's image.

Blessing and cursing come out of the same mouth.

My brothers and sisters, these things should not be this way.

Does the spring pour out sweet and bitter water from the same opening?

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

Neither can a salt water spring yield fresh water.

Words matter.

How many conversations do you think the average person has per day?

Just think of a number, turn to your neighbor and say that number, okay?

How many conversations do you think you have per day?

Go ahead, give a number, tell somebody.

Average person has 27 conversations per day.

27 conversations.

Now, how many words do you think the average person speaks in those 27 conversations per day?

Well, we'll get to that.

That's it.

You want to come up and preach my sermon?

No.

I'm gonna come on this side, okay?

How many words do you think the average person speaks per day?

16,000.

16,000.

And I know some men are probably saying, but you've never been around my wife.

But men and ladies, it may come as a shock to you that on an average, men and women speak about the same number of words per day.

A little over 16.

Now, women still have the edge by a couple of hundred words, but not as many as men think they do.

Twenty-seven conversations, 16,000 words.

Think about the conversations you've had this past week.

The words you used this past week may have brought a smile to someone's face.

They may have offered encouragement and hope.

They may have expressed and deepened the love you have for someone.

They may have begun a new relationship with somebody.

They may have strengthened an existing relationship.

They may have pointed someone to Jesus.

Or the words you used this past week in your conversations may have led to loss and discouragement and hurt and pain and division and separation and broken relationships.

Words you used this past week may have driven someone further from the life-transforming truth of the gospel.

Would you agree that words matter?

And also keep in mind, we we not only communicate with our mouth, but we also communicate with these appendages, don't we?

2020, last year, 97% of Americans sent at least one text per day.

Now, 23 billion texts per day sent by the American population last year.

You divide that number by the population of the United States, and that is 70 texts per day per person.

We do a lot of communicating, don't we?

Spoken word, written word, posted word.

Think about the text that you've sent this past week.

Would you agree that words matter?

Now let me set the context real quick for this particular passage.

James is speaking to the entire church.

My brothers and sisters, he says throughout this letter, his words pertain to each of us, to the whole church, to each of us who claim faith through Jesus Christ.

Now, when we get to verse 1 of chapter 3, it appears like he's pulling out one particular section of the church.

The teachers, those who stand in front of the whole congregation like a pastor, and teach and have influence on the whole congregation.

And he's using them as an illustration of the point that he's making about the importance of the words that we use as followers of Jesus.

Now, he's not restricting what he says to only teachers, though, or only preachers, or only church leaders, or only those who stand in front of a large gathering of people.

He is addressing a problem that's in the church during this time, where individuals aspire to hold a position within the church only for their own glory, or even for promoting a false gospel.

But please don't look at this passage, even though he pulls out teachers and says, Oh, because I'm not a preacher, because I'm not a teacher, because I'm not a ministry leader in the church, this doesn't have anything to do with me.

Because this applies to each of us, regardless of the position we hold in church, or even if we don't hold a position within the church.

He uses teachers just as an illustration, because the people will understand how important their words are.

Your pastor's words are very important.

Why?

Because he's influencing the whole congregation when he speaks.

This would be like me saying, not many of you should want to become like Pastor Jonathan.

His words influence everyone, and he'll be held to a higher accountability for the words he uses in a greater way because his influence on the church is greater.

Verse 1 doesn't mean that only teachers will be held accountable for the words they use.

No, Jesus makes it very clear that each of us will be held accountable for the words we use.

Matthew chapter 12, he says, I tell you that on that day of judgment, people will have to give account for every careless word they speak.

Matthew 12 · chapter mention

And then in verse 2, he brings us back into the conversation by saying, For we all stumble in many ways.

Thanks, James, for reminding us of that, right?

I mean, James is including himself.

We all stumble.

We're all sinners.

None of us are perfect.

And we've got to read this with that in mind.

Now, I share that struggle, folks.

I share that struggle.

Many of us have not been born with a silver spoon in our mouths, but some of us have been born with a silver foot in our mouth, right?

I mean, we have this natural ability to say the wrong thing at the wrong time.

Our mouths get us in a whole lot of trouble, don't they?

It's like Peter.

You know that disciple with the foot-shaped mouth?

He's always sticking his foot in his mouth.

And at one moment, he is confessing Jesus is Messiah, and Jesus is pleased with him because it's evident that Peter's been listening to the Holy Spirit.

But the very next conversation in Matthew 16, Peter pridefully exclaims that he has the ability to keep the crucifixion from happening.

And Jesus looks at him and says, Get behind me, Satan.

Too often in my life, folks, I've spoken in arrogance or anger and reflected more the Apostle Peter than I did my Savior Jesus.

Words matter.

Why?

Let me give you a couple of reasons.

Number one is this words matter because words have tremendous power.

Words have tremendous power.

Here's one example of the power.

Our words can set the direction for our life and the direction for the lives of others.

That's what James' referring to when he uses the bit and the horse or the rudder and the ship.

Martha and I lived in Louisville, Kentucky for 14 years before coming back home to the Promised Land.

And we always loved, now we never went to Kentucky Derby, but we loved that week in the festivities, and we always loved watching the race.

I'm constantly amazed how a sub-five-foot, 95-pound jockey can sit on the back of a thousand-pound thoroughbred and guide that horse by a tiny piece of metal placed strategically over the horse's tongue.

I'm equally amazed at how a thousand-foot, two hundred thousand-gross ton cruise ship carrying a small town of 6,000 plus people, can be directed by a pilot with a relatively small rudder.

You see, both the bit and the rudder, James is using as an illustration.

It has to do with steering, and so James is saying, he's talking about the direction our lives take.

The words I use, the words you use, have a tremendous influence and control over the course, the direction of our lives.

Folks, I've heard it said, we shape our words, and then our words shape us.

A lot of truth in that statement.

You see, if I spread gossip, people won't trust me.

If I speak sarcastically and insult people, people won't follow me.

Jesus, James agrees with those statements, but then he takes it a step further.

Our words not only influence how other people respond to us, but our words control the rest of what happens in our lives.

If I'm careless with my words, I'm going to be careless with other parts of my life.

If I'm hateful with my words, then chances are I'm going to be hateful in other aspects of my life as well.

But if my words reflect the transforming power of Jesus, then my life and my actions will also reflect Jesus.

Words can set the direction of our life.

They also can set the direction of someone else's life.

They influence and shape the direction of lives of other people.

And that's why James warns teachers to not underestimate the powerful potential of the position that you hold.

Because a lot of damage can be done in the church through careless, mean-spirited, false words.

But remember, James is talking to each of us, not just to leadership.

Even though we might not be in a position of influence on the entire church or a large portion of the church, each of us influenced people through the words that we use.

And each of us, regardless of if we hold a position of teaching within the church or not, we can each point to occasions, I believe, where we've yielded to the sinful nature.

And we've used our words, and words have resulted in pain and separation and division and broken relationships.

Words have tremendous power.

Here's another example of the power of words.

Words can create or destroy.

Look at verses 5 and 6, okay?

Fire can provide warmth and save lives, but fire can also destroy, can't it?

James says our words that we use can destroy like a fire out of control.

A careless camper can start a fire and destroy a national forest overnight.

A careless word can destroy a life overnight.

But James says this: he says the tongue sets the course of the whole life.

Words may not just affect one person, but it's a chain reaction.

Not just one tree, but the whole forest.

Multiple lives can be destroyed.

Words matter.

So we've got to be careful what we say.

Because we each know that 10 seconds you can say something hurtful, but ten years later, those wounds are still there, right?

I follow John McCallum, one of my favorite pastors of First Hot Springs.

And John retweeted a tweet this past week from a guy named Gunnar Gunderson, and these are his words.

Restraining our words is wise because we can often go back and say more, but we can never go back and say less.

Words that destroy never honoring to God, my friends.

And they do not reflect authentic faith.

James says such words are set on fire by hell itself.

You see, when our speech demonstrates that we have the capacity to hurt or destroy others, or even ourselves, then we've not yielded to the presence of God within us, but we've been swayed by The evil forces.

Words can destroy, but words can also create, can't they?

Positive words, friendly words, encouraging words, hope-filled words that create unity and friendship and hope and joy and purpose and life and point people to Jesus.

One of my favorite Proverbs is Proverbs chapter 18, 21.

Proverbs 18 · chapter mention

And it says this death and life are in the power of the tongue.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue.

Words matter because they have tremendous power.

Here's another reason words matter.

Because words reveal my heart.

Verses 9 and 10.

And here's what James is doing in those two verses.

He's pointing out an inconsistent that is many times present in our lives as followers of Jesus.

The highest use of this tongue, of these words, is to offer praise to our living God.

Amen.

But then we can get into our cars right after church is over, and we can destroy one another.

Or talk about the music or the sermon in a negative way, or that it was too long, or this or that, or whatever.

And what we need to realize, as James tells us, is when we do that, we are talking to people who are created in the image of God.

To hurt others with our words is to minimize the greatness of our God.

Let that sink in, my friends.

James says such inconsistencies are unthinkable to any follower of Jesus.

These things should not be this way, he says.

And then he gives some examples from nature in verses 11 and 12 of situations that can never happen.

Does a spring pour out sweet and bitter water from the same opening?

Can a fig produce olives?

My brothers and sisters, a grapevine produce figs, neither can a saltwater spring yield fresh water.

Whatever is in the well comes out with the water.

Whatever is in the tree comes out in the fruit.

Now listen to the words of Jesus in Matthew 15.

It's not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it's what comes out of the mouth that defiles a person.

Or Matthew 12, for the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.

Here's what Jesus is saying in James as well.

Words don't originate in our mouth.

Words originate in our heart.

So if you got a problem with words, it's more serious than you think.

You don't have a word problem, you got a heart problem.

So time for some reflection, church.

What do your words reveal about your heart?

James insists that authentic faith is accompanied by a purity of speech, and if there is a habit of impurity in our words, then that is not evidence of Christ living within us, and we are in the danger of hell.

That's what he's saying.

Now, Brother Sam, are you saying that James would question my salvation if I've ever been guilty of hurting someone with my words?

No, that's not what he's saying.

Don't hear that.

James recognizes, like I've already said, that Christians fail in this way.

He adds himself in that number.

We all stumbled, we stumble with our words.

Amen.

Do I have anybody that will agree with me?

Don't leave me hanging, okay?

Okay, a couple of people, a couple of folks.

Thank you, thank you so much.

I feel better.

But to accept it and to tolerate it as it's beyond our control, or it's just part of life.

Everybody does this.

Instead of being broken and repentant when our words produce fruit that's not reflective of the presence of Jesus, not honoring of our Heavenly Father, is something that must not and cannot happen, and is never evident of authentic faith.

These things should not be this way.

So, my friends, what is the Spirit saying to you?

Maybe for some of us, the Spirit is saying you need to ask God for a new heart.

That may be the prayer you need to pray right now.

God, I need a new heart.

My words reveal that Jesus is not living and reigning in my life.

Now, folks, we all know that we can try to watch what we say.

We can turn over a new leaf and make a resolve that we're going to be nicer with our words.

But simply painting the outside of the well doesn't make a difference if there's poison in the water.

This was Jesus' words to the Pharisees.

You clean the outside of the cup in the dish, but inside they're full of greed and self-righteousness, self-indulgence.

Blind Pharisee.

First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside of it may also become clean.

Now, how's that possible?

How's a new heart possible?

It's only through Jesus.

It's Romans chapter 10.

Romans 10 · chapter mention

The message is near you.

It's in your mouth, it's in your heart.

This is the message that we proclaim.

If you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord.

And believe in your heart that God is raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.

That may be a prayer.

The Spirit's leading someone to say this morning, God, I need a new heart.

But for most of us in this room, here's what the Spirit's saying.

I can tell you that we need a renewed heart.

James says we all stumble.

We stumble with works.

We say things that do not reflect Jesus.

And if we are children of God, then here's what the Holy Spirit does in our life.

The Holy Spirit brings that to our attention and brings conviction and doesn't allow us to sweep it under the rug or to accept it or tolerate it.

And like David, we come to God confessing, against you and you alone have I sinned.

And we cry out to Him in unison, God, create a clean heart in me and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Now, confession, always painful, but it's also freeing.

Through confession, God renews our heart.

Maybe that's the direction the Spirit is leading you to take this morning.

But for all of us, here's a prayer.

Ask God for daily help so your words reflect his presence.

Oh, this world that we live in needs an alternative to those voices of hatred and division, divisiveness that we've grown so accustomed to in our national news and our social media.

Folks, I have been grieved over the words I've heard and I've read on social media from those who claim to be followers of Jesus.

Words that don't reflect Jesus, but only echo the hatred and the division present in our world.

The sad thing is, each one of us is susceptible to give in to that temptation.

That's why we need his help in controlling our speech.

What we say, what we text, what we post.

So all of that reflects his presence in our life.

And then perhaps here's one last thing that you can pray.

And pray this for me as well.

Ask God for boldness and kindness and grace to use your words to point people to Jesus.

Paul asked the Ephesians to pray this way.

Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me when I open my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel.

Pray that I might be bold enough to speak about it as I should.

And to the believers of Colossae, he said, Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer each person.

See, James is writing to the church here in chapter 3, and he's concerned about the health of the church.

Now, the health of the church, not an individual issue.

It's not even really a church issue.

The health of the church is always a gospel issue.

Because the church is not what's ultimately at stake.

No, the gospel's at stake.

The authenticity, reliability, trustworthiness of the gospel is at stake with the words that we use, brothers and sisters.

This is not just about your image or my image or the image of the church in the community.

No, this is about the image of Jesus that you and I as the church are reflecting to this community and this world.

And my friends, that's why words matter.

Say that with me, will you?

Words matter.

Let's pray together.

Father, thank you for the truth of your word.

And even though your word cuts deep, thank you for it because we need it.

We need it in a desperate way, Lord.

So that our words, spoken, written, text, social media, reflect Jesus who lives in us.

All glory be to you in Jesus' name.

Amen.