Essential Prerequisite for Bridling the Tongue

The point: Take the use of your tongue with ultimate seriousness: on the last day, a transcript of your words alone will be sufficient to condemn you. This is not a minor matter of etiquette but an issue of eternal consequence.

God gave us two feet, two hands, two eyes, and two ears -- but only one tongue. A preacher from a past generation quaintly observed that God 'shut up the use of that tongue with two rows of teeth,' suggesting by design that the tongue requires extra restraint.

Our Creator, in His creative design and wisdom, has made us with two feet, with two hands, with two eyes, and with two ears, but with only one tongue. and as a preacher from a past generation has quaintly observed having given us only one tongue he has shut up the use of that tongue with two rows of teeth and it's a quaint way of stating that reality however this marvelous creation by which we frame the words

3:17 - 4:04 Read in full sermon

The point: Take the use of your tongue with ultimate seriousness: on the last day, a transcript of your words alone will be sufficient to condemn you. This is not a minor matter of etiquette but an issue of eternal consequence.

Martin states that in the day of judgment, God will need nothing more to send some people to hell than a transcript of their words -- all He will need for evidence that a man is wicked and belongs in hell is their words.

In the day of judgment, God will need nothing more to send some people to hell than a transcript of their words. That's all. To make evident to the entire moral universe that His judgment that this is a wicked, sinful man and belongs in hell, all He'll need for evidence is their words. By your words, you shall be condemned.

5:24 - 5:49 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not attempt to overcome sins of the tongue through mere willpower, external rules, or self-help techniques. Identify and pursue the one essential prerequisite -- a renewed heart -- without which every other directive …

A healthy eye is a prerequisite for seeing; functioning lungs are a prerequisite for breathing; knowledge of the alphabet is a prerequisite for reading. In each case, no amount of external provision substitutes for the missing prerequisite.

Now what is a prerequisite? Well a prerequisite is something that is required before something else can be done. Requisite, require, pre, beforehand. A prerequisite is something you must do or possess before you can do or possess something else.

7:54 - 8:13 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not attempt to overcome sins of the tongue through mere willpower, external rules, or self-help techniques. Identify and pursue the one essential prerequisite -- a renewed heart -- without which every other directive …

Martin invokes the Latin term sine qua non -- 'the thing without which the other cannot be or you cannot do' -- to define what is meant by 'essential' prerequisite, making the concept precise for his congregation.

the essential prerequisite. And something that is essential is absolutely necessary. It is indispensable. You Latin students, it is the sine qua non, the thing without which the other cannot be or you cannot do.

9:03 - 9:22 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not attempt to overcome sins of the tongue through mere willpower, external rules, or self-help techniques. Identify and pursue the one essential prerequisite -- a renewed heart -- without which every other directive …

Oxygen is essential to breathing -- used as the simplest possible illustration of the meaning of 'essential' before applying the logic to regeneration and the tongue.

Oxygen is essential to breathing.

9:22 - 9:24 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not attempt to overcome sins of the tongue through mere willpower, external rules, or self-help techniques. Identify and pursue the one essential prerequisite -- a renewed heart -- without which every other directive …

Cut out a man's heart and he will not live; stop the heart from beating and he will not live. Just as a functioning heart is essential to physical life, regeneration is essential to governing the tongue.

A functioning heart is essential to life. Cut out a man's heart, he's not going to live. Stop the heart from beating, he's not going to live unless you have him on a heart and lung machine. I'm fully aware of these exceptions, but we're talking now in the ordinary course of things.

9:27 - 9:44 Read in full sermon

The point: Every person must ask and answer from an open Bible: what is the essential prerequisite for overcoming the sins of my tongue? If I do not overcome them, I will be damned. This is not optional theological curiosity but a …

Martin traces Christ's two analogies in dealing with the sin of words: (1) the tree and its fruit -- the tree is known by its fruit; and (2) the secret treasure and its open manifestation -- the good man out of his good treasure brings forth good things. Both teach that the source determines the output.

Now in dealing with this sin of words In the context the sin of blasphemy But our Lord is dealing with broader principles He uses two analogies And do you see the two analogies he uses? He uses first of all the analogy of a tree and its fruit Verse 33 Either make the tree good and its fruit good Or make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt for the tree is known by its fruit. Our Lord injects into this context of dealing with words the analogy of a tree and its fruit. But then he uses a second analogy, that of a secret treasure and its open manifestation.

14:35 - 15:22 Read in full sermon

Driving home: A good tree is essential to good fruit. That is, a good tree is essential to healthy, healing, God-honoring words.

By nature we are born with an evil treasure, and from it come evil words -- lying, abusive speech, unclean speech, meddlesome speech, gossiping, slander, and hurtful speech. These are not isolated failures but the fruit of the heart's native evil.

And being bad trees, evil trees, what comes out of the mouth is evil, For the tree is known by its fruit. For from within, out of the heart, proceed. Mark chapter 7. That what we are in our external lives, except in those instances where we are being calculating hypocrites, is but the profusion, the overflow, the manifestation of the state of our hearts.

20:04 - 20:33 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin exegetes Matthew 12:33-35, exposing the two analogies (tree/fruit; hidden treasure/its outflow), identifies their common denominator -- the necessity of a good source…

Martin shows that God's promise in Ezekiel 36:26-27 to give a new heart and put His Spirit within is simply the covenantal articulation of the same truth Christ expressed in the tree-and-fruit analogy: God will take the bad tree that brings forth evil fruit of lying, abusive speech, and gossip, and make it a good tree.

I will do something that touches the very springs of your being. You see, the imagery of the good tree and the bad tree is just another way of expressing the same reality. God is saying, I will take the bad tree that brings forth bad fruit. I will take the evil tree that brings forth the evil fruit of evil words, lying, abusive speech, unclean speech, meddlesome speech, gossiping, slander, hurtful speech that is all part of the fruit of that heart.

24:01 - 24:39 Read in full sermon

The point: If you have not experienced the inward radical transformation of heart that Christ and the prophets describe, give yourself no rest until you have. Go to Jesus as mediator of the new covenant and cry out for the new hear…

When Jesus commanded 'make the tree good' to the Pharisees, He was commanding something only God can do. Martin reasons: when God lays upon us the duty of doing what only He can do, it is to drive us to apply ourselves to the God who alone can do it.

No more power than these Pharisees had to make the tree good. Yet Jesus told them to do it, didn't he? Make the tree good. make the treasure good what do you think the Lord would have said if they said but wait a minute Jesus we read from the prophet Ezekiel that only God can take out the heart of stone only God can give a heart of flesh only God can put his spirit within us what do you think the Lord would have said to them you see when God lays upon us the duty of doing what only he can do It is to the end that we make the business of applying ourselves to the God who alone can do it.

28:39 - 29:26 Read in full sermon

The point: Approach tongue-control not as cold, naked obedience but through the gospel dynamic of union with Christ. Present your tongue to God as a raised-from-the-dead tongue over which sin has no rightful lordship -- do this spe…

Martin expounds Romans 6:11-14 to show that the command 'let not sin reign in your mortal body' is issued to those already alive from the dead in union with Christ. The tongue is to be presented to God not in cold, naked obedience but as a raised-from-the-dead tongue over which sin has no rightful lordship.

The apostle has opened up the great truth that in union with Christ we died with him, we were buried with him, we've been raised to newness of life. And now he says in the light of that, verse 12 of Romans 6, Do not let therefore sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey the lust thereof. neither present your members unto sin as instruments of unrighteousness but present yourselves unto God now notice as alive from the dead whatever I'm asking you now to do and this is the first imperative in the whole of the book of Romans verse 11 rain let not sin rain in your mortal body

32:49 - 33:39 Read in full sermon

The point: Approach tongue-control not as cold, naked obedience but through the gospel dynamic of union with Christ. Present your tongue to God as a raised-from-the-dead tongue over which sin has no rightful lordship -- do this spe…

Martin dramatizes the Christian's self-presentation to God: 'Lord, I'm your resurrected man... here's my whole body... I give you my eyes... my ears... my tongue is a raised-from-the-dead tongue. I present it to you to be an instrument of righteousness.'

I am not to deal with it detached from the dynamics of grace, of gospel-born power. But in the power of union with Christ, my living head, in whom and with him I died to sin. I have been raised from the dead as a new man raised from the dead. I say, Lord, I'm yours.

34:29 - 34:51 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin presents the second reason: without regeneration, no one has gospel-born motives to govern the tongue. He catalogs five motives implanted by the Spirit -- love to Christ (2…

Martin tried out an image on his wife: our motives are the motors of our souls. Motives set in motion the things we do -- they are the internal motors of our lives and actions. He uses this imagery to argue that regeneration dismantles old sinful motors and installs a whole new set of gospel motives.

I tried this out on my wife when I was trying to think through some imagery I like to think of our motives as the motors of our soul our motives set in motion the things we do they are the motives they are the motors of our lives I mean the motives are the motors of our lives and of our actions not of our souls the internal motors we do what we do because we desire what we desire and motive is critical motive can mean the difference between an action being virtuous

40:39 - 41:24 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin presents the second reason: without regeneration, no one has gospel-born motives to govern the tongue. He catalogs five motives implanted by the Spirit -- love to Christ (2…

The Pharisees prayed, gave alms, and fasted -- noble actions in themselves. What made them wrong was motive: they did them to be seen of men. A noble action is made rotten and stinking in God's nostrils by the wrong motive.

or vicious being pleasing to God or displeasing to God remember what Jesus said to the Pharisees all their out external religious activities were all right in themselves They prayed, they gave alms, they fasted. But what made them wrong? It was motive. He said, they do these things, why?

41:24 - 41:46 Read in full sermon

The point: When tempted to use words as a weapon in conflict, bring the love of Christ to bear in that moment: 'Lord Jesus, you died for me that I might live to you. Give me grace to please you in what I don't say.' Let love to Chr…

We need God to come into the motive factory, which is the motor of the soul, dismantle the machinery, and set up a whole different set of motors. Regeneration is the replacement of the soul's drive-train.

We need to have God come into the motive factory, which is the motor of the soul, and dismantle the machinery and set up a whole different set of motors. and our motives are the motors, motives of the soul. Well, what are some of them? Well, when God takes out the heart of stone and gives a heart of flesh and puts his spirit within us, with that mighty renewing work comes a whole new set of motives.

42:40 - 43:13 Read in full sermon

The point: When tempted to use words as a weapon in conflict, bring the love of Christ to bear in that moment: 'Lord Jesus, you died for me that I might live to you. Give me grace to please you in what I don't say.' Let love to Chr…

The implanted gospel motives need to be nurtured and cultivated; through carelessness and backsliding, some can be dimmed and dulled -- the motors of the soul barely moving, a bearing burned out and needing repair. But the Spirit implants a whole new set of internal motors.

Now, they need to be nurtured and cultivated and sometimes through carelessness and backsliding of heart, Some of them can be dimmed and dulled and the motors of the soul that ought to be driving us are just barely moving. And sometimes it seems like a bearing in them is burned out and it needs repair. I'm fully conscious of all the vicissitudes, but the Spirit of God implants a whole new set of internal motors, our motives. And what are some of them?

43:13 - 43:43 Read in full sermon

The point: When tempted to use words as a weapon in conflict, bring the love of Christ to bear in that moment: 'Lord Jesus, you died for me that I might live to you. Give me grace to please you in what I don't say.' Let love to Chr…

When someone does wrong and the initial tendency is to take words and make a club or a sword to pierce them, the gospel-born motive of love to Christ intervenes: 'Lord Jesus, you died for me that I might live to you. I know that saying this word will not please you... Lord Jesus, give me grace to please you in what I don't say.'

That's the motive of the soul. Now think of that relationship to the tongue. here someone's done wrong to me and my initial tendency is to want to take words and make a club and beat them take a sword and pierce them but I say Lord Jesus I'm not living to please myself and to give vent to the passions and the pressures of my remaining sin and some of those old motors that used to drive all that I was Lord Jesus, you died for me, that I might live to you. And I know that saying this word will not please you, and making this club and this sword will not please you.

45:14 - 45:59 Read in full sermon

The point: Cultivate the motive of maintaining a good conscience before God and man. Ask yourself regularly whether you can look into God's face with no conscious controversy and into the faces of your brethren with no charge of hy…

When we do something to a brother or sister in the body, we do it to Christ. When you abuse your liberty and wound a weak brother, you sin against Christ (1 Cor. 8). Love to the members of the body -- knowing that we touch Christ the head when we wound his members -- is a powerful motive for governing speech.

When we do something to a brother or sister, we do it to Christ. 1 Corinthians 8, he says, when you abuse your liberty and wound a weak brother in so sinning, he says, you sin against Christ. When you touch the members of his body, you touch Christ the head. And surely this motive of wanting to do good to the fellow members of the body is a powerful motive.

46:27 - 46:52 Read in full sermon

The point: Cultivate the motive of maintaining a good conscience before God and man. Ask yourself regularly whether you can look into God's face with no conscious controversy and into the faces of your brethren with no charge of hy…

The gospel motive of a good conscience: 'I want to look up into the face of my God at any moment and know I have no conscious controversy. I want to look out into the faces of my brethren and know that there is no just cause to charge me with hypocrisy or inconsistency.' Many words will be kept back when governed by this motive.

I want to look up into the face of my God at any moment and know I have no conscious controversy. I want to look out into the faces of my brethren and know that there is no just cause to charge me with hypocrisy or inconsistency. That's a motive that burns within the soul. Oh, how many words will be kept back when we are governed by that motive of the maintenance of a good conscience.

47:12 - 47:36 Read in full sermon

The point: Cultivate the motive of maintaining a good conscience before God and man. Ask yourself regularly whether you can look into God's face with no conscious controversy and into the faces of your brethren with no charge of hy…

Everything the believer knows of Christ savingly, the Holy Spirit has shown him; every consolation the Spirit mediates; every new light from the Word the Spirit gives. 'Do I want to grieve so gracious a guest?' -- a powerful motive for restraining sinful speech.

Everything I know of the consolations of the presence of Christ, the Holy Spirit mediates it to me. Everything I receive of new light from the Word, the Holy Spirit gives it to me. Do I want to grieve so gracious a guest? What a powerful motive is this motive of not wanting to grieve the Spirit?

49:11 - 49:30 Read in full sermon

The point: If your tongue is dominated by a pattern of sin -- angry words to spouse and children, lying, railing -- take that pattern as serious diagnostic evidence that you may not yet have experienced the transforming work of the…

For some hearers, the greatest evidence of being a stranger to the transforming work of the Spirit is the tongue itself -- not outward immorality but the dominance of sin in the member of speech: words spoken to spouse and children that reveal an unchanged heart.

So for some of you, hear me carefully now, and here I'm reading what I've written because I want to cut very carefully. For some of you, the greatest evidence that you are a stranger to the transforming work of the Holy Spirit is your tongue.

50:33 - 50:53 Read in full sermon

The point: If your tongue is dominated by a pattern of sin -- angry words to spouse and children, lying, railing -- take that pattern as serious diagnostic evidence that you may not yet have experienced the transforming work of the…

Martin recalls that Paul placed 'railers' right in the middle of his list of those who will not inherit the kingdom, alongside adulterers, fornicators, and idolaters. The tongue-sin is placed by God on the same level as the grosser sins that exclude from the kingdom.

You've deceived yourself. Because you're not guilty of some of these grosser sins that the Bible says are inconsistent with professing to be in a state of grace, I remind you that in such a list where Paul says, don't be deceived, you Corinthians, no adulterers, no fornicators, no unclean people, no idolaters. Remember what he put right in the middle of those? No railers.

51:53 - 52:18 Read in full sermon

The point: If your tongue is dominated by a pattern of sin -- angry words to spouse and children, lying, railing -- take that pattern as serious diagnostic evidence that you may not yet have experienced the transforming work of the…

Martin addresses children who have learned the unholy art of picking, pricking, and probing with words -- needling to get a negative response from siblings and classmates, becoming masters of using the tongue to provoke others to sin. This too is the evidence of an unchanged heart.

And some of you need to face that issue. Not only adults, but some of you kids that have learned the unholy art of picking, of pricking and probing with your words, needling to get a negative response from your siblings, from your classmates. You've become masters of using your tongue to provoke others to sin.

52:44 - 53:11 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin presses the doctrine into solemn self-examination: for some hearers, the pattern of tongue-sin is the very evidence that the transforming work of the Spirit has never…

Martin acknowledges from his own experience: 'Rarely does a week pass that I don't have to confess, at least to my wife, some sin or other with my tongue.' He cites James 3:2 and guards the application from perfectionism, distinguishing dominant pattern from individual failure.

Rarely does a week pass that I don't have to confess, at least to my wife, some sin or other with my tongue. I'm not talking. Don't anyone sit here and say, oh, you're telling me about sinless. You know me better than that.

54:42 - 54:54 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not accept the lie that because you lack gospel-born power and motive, it is hypocritical to try to control your tongue. Attempt to control it with whatever power you have -- this effort will expose your bondage and d…

For the unregenerate who is tempted to abandon tongue-control: 'Just lay the reins on the neck of your tongue and say, go wherever you want. Kick the sides of the horse of your tongue and let it rail on and rant on... And God will intensify the flames of hell for you.'

You want hell to be hotter? Then just lay the reins on the neck of your tongue and say, go wherever you want. Kick the sides of the horse of your tongue and let it rail on and rant on and cocked and wound and curse and lie. And God will intensify the flames of hell for you.

58:06 - 58:25 Read in full sermon

The point: Parents must govern their children's external speech through consistent instruction and discipline even before regeneration. You cannot change the tree or the treasure, but you can and must condition conscience and gover…

Martin quotes or paraphrases Toplady's sentiment -- 'What though I cannot break my chains, I cannot throw off my load' -- to illustrate that an unregenerate person who attempts to control the tongue will discover how bound they are, which is God's means to drive them to Christ.

And you want something that will make you feel keenly you need Jesus? You try to control your tongue for one day and you're not a Christian. and you're going to come to the words of Top Lady, what though I cannot break my chains, I cannot throw off my load, God you command me to speak truth, but my tongue lies as natural as breathing, and the Bible talks about people who breathe out lies, some of you can lie as easy as breathing, and you say I'm going to tell the truth, and you're going to see how bound you are to your lies, and that's going to be God's means to remind you, you need Jesus, You...

58:37 - 59:22 Read in full sermon

The point: Parents must govern their children's external speech through consistent instruction and discipline even before regeneration. You cannot change the tree or the treasure, but you can and must condition conscience and gover…

Parents cannot change the tree and the treasure, but they can and must condition their children's consciences and govern external behavior. They may curse in their hearts in the bedroom, but you do not let them curse to your face in the living room; they may speak meanly under their breath, but you do not tolerate it where you can hear it.

You can't change the tree and the treasure, but you can and must condition their consciences and govern their external behavior. They may curse in their heart in their bedroom but you don't let them curse to your face in the living room.

60:07 - 60:24 Read in full sermon

The point: If you are a believer, acknowledge daily that you sin with your tongue and go to Jesus daily for those sins. But bless God that gospel-born power and motives are governing your tongue more than they once did, and pray fo…

Martin closes with a self-examination question: can you testify that 'lying was as easy to me as breathing, when I could cut and wound with sarcastic words and was a master of bloody repartee... God's taken that away from me'? The transformed tongue is the fruit of gospel-born power and motives.

What are you going to do with it? Can you sit here and say, by the grace of God, I know from Jesus that great blessing of new covenant salvation. I remember a time when lying was as easy to me as breathing when I could cut and wound with sarcastic words and I was a master of bloody repartee and I could enter the joust with anyone and cut and slash God's taken that away from me I know sin no longer has lordship over me because of what's happened to my tongue can you say that? And even if sins of the tongue were not a dominant sin, can you say sitting here today, the things I do say and do not s...

61:20 - 62:19 Read in full sermon