Profound Significance

Introduction: Reading James 3 and the 'Universe of Discourse'

0:03 The following sermon was delivered on Sunday morning, November 17, 2002, at Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey. Now I invite you to turn with me to the epistle of James and chapter 3. We will be considering a couple of verses in this paragraph in the opening up of the scriptures this morning, but in order to give us a fresh sense of what Professor Murray so delightfully called the universe of discourse.

0:46 That's a big phrase for the context, but universe of discourse has a ring of something about it that I like. I'm not quite sure what it is, but I read in your hearing James chapter 3, verses 1 through 12. Be not many of you teachers. My brethren, knowing that we shall receive heavier judgment, for in many things we all stumble.

1:18 If any man stumbles not in word, the same is a perfect man able to bridle the whole body also. Now if we put the horse's bridles into their mouths that they may obey us, we turn about their whole body. Also, behold, the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by rough winds, are yet turned about by a very small rudder, wherever the impulse of the steersman wills. So the tongue also is a little member, and boasts great things.

2:01 Behold, how great a forest fire is kindled by... By a small match.

2:09 That's a paraphrase. And the tongue is a fire. The world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the wheel of nature, and is set on fire by hell. For every kind of beasts and birds, of creeping things and things in the sea is tamed, and has been tamed by man, but the tongue can no man tame.

2:42 It is a restless evil. It is full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we the Lord and Father, and therewith curse we men who are made after the likeness of God. Out of the same mouth come forth blessing and cursing.

3:03 My brethren, these things ought not... Not so to be.

3:10 Does the fountain send forth from the same opening sweet water and bitter? Can a fig tree, my brethren, yield olives or a vine figs? Neither can salt water yield sweet.

Series Introduction: 'Now Concerning the Use of Our Tongue'

3:35 Now the scriptures are very clear in asserting that the care of the flock of God is... is the joint responsibility of the entire eldership.

3:48 Such passages as Acts 20 and verse 28 and following, 1 Peter 5, 1 and 2, are among the primary ones which make very clear this simple reality that the care of the flock is the joint responsibility of the entire eldership. And in taking this joint responsibility seriously, those of us who minister the word of God to you in our stated public meetings do not make unilateral decisions with respect to the subject matter of our public preaching and teaching,

4:33 especially when it comes to embarking upon a lengthy series. We are given a measure of latitude to make unilateral decisions for our individual messages at a communion meditation or a fill-in between series. But otherwise, we jointly pray over and jointly discuss what biblical books, subjects, messages ought to be taken up in the light of the general state of the congregation, the current and long-term issues related to this particular assembly. And as we...

5:12 As we have done these things in recent days, it has been tentatively decided that when Pastor Jay completes his brief series on biblical meditation, that he will embark upon a series of expositions of the little book of Jude. So you're going to get a dose of the oft-neglected book of Jude. And further, it's most likely that within the next several months, I will begin a series of expositions of the book of Romans. However, in the interim between the completion of my series on marriage, motherhood, and homemaking, and the blessing and dangers of the second generation,

5:57 and the beginning of our studies in the book of Romans, I shall be bringing a topical series under the broad heading Now Concerning. And it will be Now Concerning followed by the issue that, pastorally, we believe, ought to be addressed in relatively brief series of sermons. Now let me explain where that terminology now concerning comes from. If you're familiar at all with Paul's letter to the Corinthians, you will know that in the first chapter, he indicates that the house of Chloe did some holy snitching on the Corinthians.

6:37 He says in verse 11 of chapter 1, it has been signified to me concerning you, my brethren, by them that are of the household of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. And so he plunges right into the matter of division within that church and makes this very unashamed statement, I'm doing this because the house of Chloe snitched on you. They were among you, and when they were among you, they picked up this fact, and now they've told me, and I'm going to address it. And if anybody said, well, that wasn't fair, they shouldn't have squealed on me, they had to live with the inspired word of the apostle coming to them, dealing with the problem of divisions in their midst.

7:19 Furthermore, it's most likely that the household of Chloe or some of their companions also picked up on other critical pastoral problems that Paul addresses throughout the first six chapters of 1 Corinthians. But then you will notice in chapter 7 in verse 1, he says, now concerning the things whereof you wrote, so they not only came back with a report of pastoral concerns that they observed needed to be addressed, but apparently they came back with a shopping list of things that the people wrote about and said, Paul, please give us some direction about these issues. So chapter 7 begins with now concerning the things whereof you wrote.

8:04 Chapter 8, verse 1, now concerning the things sacrificed to idols. Chapter 12, now concerning spiritualism. Now concerning spiritual gifts. And so he takes up one by one these issues that were apparently before him in a shopping list that came from the church at Corinth.

8:23 Paul, please address these issues. And as far as I can see and most responsible commentators that I've consulted over the years, there is very little, if any, logical connection between now concerning, now concerning, now concerning. The underlying logical connection is they were issues that needed to be addressed in a pastoral way to the current situation there at Corinth. That's the underlying logical connection.

8:55 But the things themselves have no real logical connection. And this series that I'll be bringing over the next couple of months before plunging into an exposition of the book of Romans is going to be a now concerning, serious. There will be no discernible logical connection between the various issues that I'm going to address. However, there is a foundational basis to them and that is ongoing mutual discussion among the elders with respect to matters that we believe ought to be addressed and that most likely will not be addressed for some time either in the expositions of the book of Jude,

9:41 in the exposition of the book of Romans, in the completion of Dr. Carlson's book on the priority of in Paul's prayers and we're not quite settled yet where Pastor Carlson will be taking us next. We're wrestling with that as elders. It's under constant discussion where we will go in the next book that he will take up and lead us in our adult class.

10:06 So this series is going to be a now concerning series. And as I said, I've reflected on it in a very real sense. The series I've just completed could be the first in the now concerning. Now concerning the second generation and the one before that.

10:24 Now concerning marriage, motherhood, and homemaking. And the one before that. Now concerning the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. But without post-dating the three previous series, we start this morning now concerning.

10:42 And in the next several Lord's Days I want to address in a series of some four to six messages now concerning the use of our tongue.

10:59 Now I recognize with our hearing impaired and deaf people that this semblance or I'm sorry, this title, the use of our tongue might on the surface have little application to them. But it does. For the tongue is but the organ by which we express the thoughts of our hearts and of our minds. And for our brethren who are hearing impaired, we could say now concerning the use of our hands as a medium of conveying our thoughts in the heart and in the mind.

Pastoral Notes: Inclusivity, History, and Fresh Preparation

11:37 But I'm going to use the terminology the use of our tongue and not continually repeat the other. But I want you, brethren, to know you are very much in my mind and in my heart for everything that the Bible says about the use of the tongue applies to the use of your hands as you are communicating one with another. It hardly seems possible that it was 30 years ago this past month that I preached six sermons entitled The Bridled Tongue. 30 years ago in October, of 1972.

12:18 And in recent years, I've had a number of the congregation as well as within the eldership saying, Pastor, don't you think it's time to repeat that series? Well, I'm not repeating that series. There will be things that will be extracted from it, but I've gone back to the drawing board. What I have in front of me today are four closely handwritten sheets of fresh ink on paper.

12:42 This is not old rehash stuff. It's got some blood in it, present blood. And yet, in some ways, one cannot address the subject without covering some of the ground that was covered before because there are pivotal passages that address the issue such as the James 3 passage which no responsible treatment of the subject can afford to pass over. Now then, we come this morning to our first study in this matter, of the use of the tongue.

13:19 And what I want to do in our study this morning is simply to set before you the profound significance of this issue of the use of our tongues. The profound significance of this issue of the use of our tongues or in more contemporary language, the use of my tongue. What's the big deal? All right?

13:46 Whatever you prefer. So if you feel a little more contemporary, you take the subtitle. The use of my tongue, what's the big deal? I want to show you what the big deal is.

Thesis and Structure: Five Lines of Biblical Evidence

13:55 Or if you feel a little more formal, the profound significance of this issue of the use of our tongues. And as time permits, I want to do this by setting before you five categories of biblical truth, each one of which underscores the profound significance of this issue of how we use our tongues. This little member that sits between the upper and our lower jaws and is rooted in the back of our throats. This member situated between our left and right cheeks that in conjunction with the larynx and the teeth

14:39 and the other organs of speech frames words which come clothe and express thought and desire and reaction to people and interaction. We want to address this morning the profound significance of the use of our tongues. Alright, first line of biblical evidence is this. The pattern of the use of our tongues constitutes an incisive revelation of the true state of our hearts.

First Line: Speech Reveals the True State of the Heart

15:20 The pattern of the use of our tongues constitutes an incisive revelation of the true state of our hearts.

15:35 Now why have I said the pattern of the use of our tongues? For the simple reason that I am not talking about what any one of us may do in a moment of weakness in the use of our tongues that is not an incisive revelation of the true state of our hearts. In my own devotions this morning I was reading of Peter when he took oaths and maledictions upon himself in the presence of witnesses saying, I swear by Jehovah the living and the true God I do not know this man. The use of his tongue in those moments was not an incisive revelation of the true state of Peter's heart.

16:21 The use of his tongue in that moment of weakness was entirely contrary to the true state of his heart. So a few days later the Lord Jesus looks him in the eye and says, Peter do you love me? He says, Lord you know that I love you. You know that those maledictions and oaths and curses those lies that I did not know you Lord Jesus you know those words were not a revelation of the true state of my heart.

16:54 The true state of my heart Lord and you know it is that I love you. So I've used the word carefully. The pattern the overall drift the overall connection of how we use our tongues in the general unfolding of that use it is the pattern of the truth. Of the use of our tongues that constitutes an incisive revelation of the true state of our hearts.

17:27 And the key text that makes this clear is found in Matthew chapter 12. Matthew chapter 12. How important is this subject? It's as important as you knowing the true state of your heart.

17:43 That's how important it is. Here in Matthew 12 verse 22 it says, We have the record of our Lord Jesus casting out a demon. This demon had caused a man to be unable to speak. And when the Lord cast out that demon verse 23 the multitude were amazed and said can this be the son of David?

18:07 They see in this miracle a credential of Messiah. And so they are weighing the issue. Could this really be Messiah? But when the Pharisees heard it they were amazed.

18:18 They said now notice the focus is on what they did with their tongues. They said this man does not cast out demons but by Beelzebub the prince of demons. And knowing their thoughts they said and what they said was a revelation of their thoughts. And our Lord knows the thoughts as well as hears the word.

18:45 And he addresses these Pharisees and in the course of addressing these Pharisees he says and now we come to 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 fruits. You offspring of snakes how can you being evil speak good things for out of the tree for out of the tree for out of the tree for out of the tree for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks the good man out of his good treasure and in a parallel passage

19:30 in Luke 6 it's the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings forth evil things. See what our Lord is saying out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks this word out of the abundance could be rendered out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks your mouth is the catch basin of the overflow of your heart when the heart is filled up with something and it spills over what comes out of the mouth is the catch basin

20:14 of the fullness of the heart and Jesus said of these things Pharisees you are saying what you are saying with your mouth because you are what you are in your hearts and he says the evil man the one whose heart is an evil heart out of that evil heart speaks evil things the good man who is good in his heart out of that goodness the overflow of the good heart is good speech Jesus makes it abundantly clear in this passage that the state of your heart

20:58 is known by the words of your mouth out of the abundance of the heart the mouth important is this issue it's this important the pattern of the use of your tongue constitutes an incisive revelation of the true truth state of your heart and then there is a second passage that underscores this very clearly it's in the book of Romans the apostle as many of you know in chapter 1 verse 18 all the way through to chapter 3 and verse 20

21:43 is demonstrating that all mankind is in a condition of depravity and guilt and wrath deservingness Jew and Gentile alike those who have had the revelation of God in scripture those who never have and when he comes in chapter 3 and verse 9 through verse 20 he's going to summarize all that he's been saying about universal sinfulness he's going to wrap it all up and then bring it home to the conscience with a plethora of quotes from the Old Testament notice what he does in verse 9 what? then are we

22:28 that is we Jews better than they Gentiles no in no wise for we before laid to the charge both of Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin as it is written now he's going to buttress it with text after text and what he does in verses 10 through 12 is to give these general sweeping statements that apply to Jew and to Gentile as it is written there is none righteous no not a one there is none that understands there is none that seeks after God they have all turned aside they are together

Illustration of Romans 3: The Cancer Clinic and Casual Blasphemy

23:11 become unprofitable there is none that does good no not so much as one have you got the message? there is no one who is inherently righteous that's the generic condemnation now he's going to move to specific manifestations of that condition and notice what heads the list of the specific concrete manifestations look at the next two verses their throat is an open sepulcher with their tongues they have used deceit the poison of snakes is under their lips whose mouth

23:55 is full of curse and bitterness then he moves to their feet he moves to their ways he moves on to the general state of their hearts no fear of God but at the head of the list of the specific concrete manifestations of universal sinfulness he zeroes in he takes the zoom lens on everything from here to here and he says that their throat is like a like an open sepulcher think of the imagery there's a sepulcher in it are the bodies of the dead some have been in there

24:40 for a few months some a few years but as long as the sepulcher is sealed over whitewashed regularly as Jesus alludes in Matthew 23 everything looks fine but on a given day you roll away the stone from the mouth of the sepulcher and you stick your head in and without any flight flashlights just your olfactory nerds activated by what the stench of rotting flesh he says this is what their throat is when they open their mouths it's like rolling away the stone from a sepulcher and out belches the stench that is rotten

Closing Application of the First Point

25:24 and foul and noxious that's the picture their throat is an open stench and it's a sepulcher with their tongues instead of speaking truth speaking reality they use their tongues to deceive they have purposes and designs and ambitions that can only be accomplished in the context of dishonesty with their tongues they use deceit the poison of snakes is under their lips poison of slander of lies of viciousness of cutting out with sarcasm their tongues deceit

Second Line: Speech Tests the Reality of Christian Profession

26:07 the poison of asps under their lips their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness you want to know the state of the heart of men right here right here how do we know there is none righteous no not one none that understands none that seeks after God they've turned aside those are conditions of the heart just listen to their mouths all sense just listen to their mouths my heart is ripped open every time I go to the Collins cancer clinic

26:52 with my wife the nurses there have compassion and love and concern you have to believe in common grace you have to believe in it that God's put into their hearts genuine kindness and concern but you know what is so grievous you want to know who they really are every exclamation is punctuated with oh God oh God oh God oh God oh God oh God oh God until sometimes after four hours of it I'm ready to scream and say dear women don't you know what you're doing

27:36 you're revealing the state of your heart God is so trivially trivial to you you speak his name with no fear no fear no thought no dread even pagans don't speak the name of their gods that lightly they have more fear of their gods than to oh God oh God oh God oh God dozens of times without thought you want to know the true state of your heart these passages tell us the pattern of the use of our tongues constitutes an incisive revelation not an exclusive

28:20 revelation you know you know me well enough I choose my words deliberately and purposely but it nonetheless according to these passages constitutes an incisive revelation of the true state of our hearts and it will not do if we have patterns of bitterness and anger and sarcasm that cuts and wounds to say oh well but I really don't know I don't mean them I have a good heart if they're the pattern of your speech they are a revelation of the true state of your heart for out of the abundance of the heart

29:04 the mouth speaks second line of biblical evidence and I must press on the pattern of the use of our tongues constitutes an accurate test of the reality of our Christian profession the pattern of the use of our tongues constitutes an accurate test of the reality of our Christian profession and here our key text is James 1 and verse 26 it was this text that I expounded and made the framework of that series 30 years ago entitled the bridled tongue

29:47 James 1 and verse 26 if any man thinks himself to be religious while he bridles not his tongue but deceives his heart this man's religion is vain now again just a word about the context James in this chapter has been passionate about being doers of the word and not hearers only I should say in the immediate context verse 19 this you know my beloved brethren let every man be swift to hear slow to speak and be verse 21 putting away filthiness

30:32 overflowing of wickedness receive with meekness the implanted word verse 22 but be doers of the word not hearers only deluding your own selves if anyone is a hearer not a doer here's his passion with James passionate prophetic practicality he's saying come on man don't be a mere hearer but be a doer of the word lest you deceive yourself and at the end of this chapter he gives two specific applications of what it means to be a doer of the word one negative one positive he points to the tongue and then he points to the way we relate to the fatherless and to the widow so in that context James says

31:15 if any man thinks himself to be religious and I want you to notice as we look at this passage briefly who is envisioned in this text it is the one who judges himself to be a true worshipper of God this word religious is a rare word in the New Testament but in its secular usage it means someone who is a devoted serious formal worshipper of his God so James says if any man thinks himself judges himself to be religious that is makes a judgment about himself that he is a true worshipper of God he sits in this place

32:00 Sunday morning Sunday night he is in that other building Wednesday night he has family worship he makes a judgment about himself that he is a true worshipper he is not a fake he is a real thing if any man thinks himself to be religious that is who is envisioned but what is the dominant pattern of his life look at the text while he judges himself to be religious while he bridles not his tongue it's a present tense of the verb all the while the pattern is

32:42 he has an unbridled tongue in other words his tongue goes wherever his evil nature wants to take it he's not constantly reigning it in with the reins of love or of truth or of kindness or of gentleness he just lets his tongue I tell it like it is I'm an honest man I'm a blunt man he prides himself he seems to be religious and judges himself to be religious but all the while the pattern of his life is not an occasional Peter-like

33:25 unbridled use of the tongue the husband the wife in the occasional unbridled experience the expression of anger of hurt wounding cutting with the tongue but this is the pattern of his life he bridles not his tongue while he bridles not his tongue that's his pattern so who is envisioned? the man who judges himself to be a true worshipper what is the dominant pattern of his life? an unbridled tongue what is his true condition? two things are said about him but deceives his heart he is selfish he is self-perceived he's done a con job

Third Line: Speech Is an Index of Progress in Godliness

34:10 on his own now that's frightening you see the hypocrite he knows he's two different people he knows what he is in secret and he knows what he wants to project himself in public he's two different people and he knows it he's Mr. Sweetsie the young man sitting in his congregation who's a hypocrite he knows what he is behind the closed doors of his bedroom where he curses under his breath to his mother and his father where he indulges his mind in vile filthy thoughts but then he projects himself as the sweet submissive

34:54 lovely young Christian son he knows he's two people maybe you're sitting here today you know you're two people you're a hypocrite but the man that's deceived his own heart he believes in the depths of his being he's something that is not the most frightening condition in all of the world this side of hell this man judges himself to be religious but he's got the pattern of an unbridled tongue what is the reality of his condition he deceives himself and you know what God says his religion is it's a nothing

35:36 this man's religion is vain this is the very word again a rare word in the New Testament that Paul uses to refer to idols in Acts 14-15 he says that you should turn from these vanities unto the living God his religion has no more substance than the man that bows down to his well-shaped little idol made of jade or wood Paul says in Corinthians an idol is nothing this man's religion is nothing because he bridles not his tongue

36:20 if he had a true religion a true and vital saving union with Christ that union would place a bridle upon his tongue as the pattern of his life and without it his religion is vain there were many then in James' day as there are now who are persuaded that true and saving religion consists only right judgments of the mind with respect to the truth good feelings of the emotions in the presence of the truth proper actions with respect to the outward forms and rituals

37:03 demanded by the truth but no bridled tongue ask his wife ask her husband ask the children ask the people at work ask those who know him where he really is and they know him to be a man a woman with an unbridled tongue God says your religion is a bunch of nothing now is that important to know whether your religion is got substance or is a pile of nothing important is the subject my dear brothers and sisters

37:48 it's crucially important but then we want to move on to a third line of biblical evidence trying to persuade you of the importance of this subject use of my tongue what's the big deal this is the big deal the use of your tongue is an incisive revelation of the true state of your heart secondly the use of your tongue is an indication of whether or not your professed religion is real thirdly the pattern of the use of our tongues constitutes an accurate index of our general progress in overall godliness

38:32 the pattern of the use of our tongues constitutes an accurate index of our general progress in overall godliness now we come to James 3 verses 1 and 2 be not many of you teachers my brethren knowing we shall receive heavier judgment James says if there are those among you got an itch to teach whether publicly privately but to have some formal framework of teaching he said think twice because you traffic more in words when you teach and when you traffic more in words

Fourth Line: Speech Is Part of Evangelical Law-Keeping

39:15 you traffic in a weightier judgment that's what he's saying be not many of you teachers my brethren knowing you shall receive heavier judgment for in many things we all stumble after giving the warning then he gives this observation in many things we all stumble and that stumble means sin James 2 in verse 10 a rare word again but he uses it here in James 2 10 whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet stumble in one point is become guilty of all the stumbling equals guilt it's sin James is acknowledging someone who was an inspired penman of holy scripture he says

40:00 in many things we all stumble there's not a one of us there's not a one of us in the light of first John who can say I have no sin John says if a man say he has no sin he's a liar and the truth is not in him James says in many things we all stumble and the true believer says oh God it's true it's true it's true it's true that's me in many things we all stumble now he goes on to say notice if any stumbles not in word the same is a perfect or mature man able to bridle

40:41 the whole body also you see what he's saying we all sin in many things however when it comes to the mastery of the tongue the man the woman the boy the girl that's making significant substantive progress in the mastery of the tongue it will be seen that controlling that unruly man that unruly member has a spillover in generic progress in practical godliness if any man stumble not in word the same is a mature man able to bridle the whole body also

41:24 and it's as though James anticipates someone saying well wait a minute James you're saying that mastery of the tongue is a crucial thing and has this general influence upon the whole pattern of one's progress in godliness doesn't that give a disproportionate place of influence to the tongue he says well it may appear that way but that's exactly what happens in nature look at horses and their bridles look at ships and their rudders here's that fifteen eighteen hundred pound of bone and sinew and muscle a racehorse not an ounce of fat on him and that big beast is controlled

42:08 by one piece of metal right here that's what James says look at it we put bridles into their mouths that they may obey us and we turn about their whole body we get the mouth we get the whole body see that ship thousand foot long ocean liner and they have a twenty foot rudder and out on the seas with the pounding of twenty feet waves that rudder controls that whole thousand foot I don't know how many tons of displacement massive huge ocean liner little rudder said I'm the boss

Fifth Line: Words Will Be the Basis of Final Judgment

42:52 you go where I'm telling you you do what I tell you disproportionate relationship between the mouth of the horse and the whole horse the rudder of the ship and the whole ship the tongue and the whole body and you see the mastery of the members of our body is a crucial element in sanctification according to the New Testament Romans 6.13 neither present your members instruments of unrighteousness unto sin but present yourselves unto God

43:36 and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God and when this member is so presented and under the governance of the word and of the spirit is bridled it is significant in the generic progress of the Christian life as I was meditating upon this it struck me with freshness when Paul said be not drunk with wine Ephesians 5.18 but be being filled with the Spirit what's the next word the first participle

44:20 indicating the outflow of a Spirit filled life be being filled with the Spirit not feeling but speaking speaking be filled with the Spirit speaking to be filled with the Spirit is to have a tongue under the governance and control of the Spirit and of the word James tells us this is a big deal for the pattern of the use of our tongues constitutes a significant I'm sorry constitutes an accurate index

Gospel Call and Closing Exhortation

45:02 of our general progress in overall godliness listen to one of the older writers who addresses this if I can find the quote apparently I don't have it with me but he underscores this but he underscored that very simple principle in a very profound way but I want to hurry on now what's the big deal well let me give you a fourth line of biblical evidence the pattern of the use of our tongue constitutes a significant part of our evangelical law keeping

45:44 the pattern of the use of our tongue constitutes a significant part of our evangelical law keeping now what in the world do I mean by the term our evangelical law keeping well give me four minutes and I'll explain what I mean a Christian is one who has embraced from the heart the fact that by nature and by practice in Adam and in himself he is a hell deserving law breaking depraved sinner he reads Romans 3 9 to 21

46:29 and he said that's me that's me that's not somebody out there that's me and I have my mouth shut and I stand under the condemnation of God a Christian is someone who has been brought to the place where he knows that by nature and practice in Adam and in himself he is a hell deserving law breaker furthermore a Christian is one who has come to understand and embrace from the heart that Christ in his law keeping and in his bearing the curse of a broken law is the only ground of his hope for acceptance with God

47:12 a Christian is one who has been driven off every other ground and can say on Christ the solid rock I stand on and all other ground is sinking sand but further the Christian is one who having been regenerated by the Spirit and given a new heart and the law written upon his heart out of gratitude to God and love to Christ and in the power of the Spirit he now seeks to keep the very law which breaking condemned him and he owned his condemnation which Christ keeping and dying under its curse has provided salvation

47:55 this one who now no longer seeks acceptance with God by his law keeping but rests solely upon Christ in his law keeping and in his bearing the curse of the law because he has been given a new heart and the law of God has been written upon his heart and he now has been brought to love him who first loved the Christ who first loved him out of love to God and love to Christ and under the impulse of a regenerate heart and the law upon the heart in the power of the Spirit he now seeks to keep that very law which condemned him to hell not to gain groundy points

48:38 but to demonstrate his love and show his gratitude now when we turn to that law epitomized in the Ten Commandments what's it say about this member of the tongue and this was a refreshing exercise for me to just go down through the commandments afresh and reflect upon how many of them touch this member called the tongue the third commandment you shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain in a light and frivolous way we shall not use the name of God in any setting in a light and frivolous way that has to do with the tongue

49:21 remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy read Isaiah 58 call this day a delight in it not speaking your own words nor thinking your own thoughts not speaking your own words bridling the tongue so that it lines up with the unique privileges and blessings of one day and seven set aside from all the night to keep it holy from all the night to keep it holy what about the five commandments to keep the tongue from being a vadim to keep the tongue from being an opportunity to keep the tongue because when the tongue commands us to be faithful

50:05 to keep the tongue from being a burden from being a burden from being a burden we are to hate to hate these things to hate what about the fifth commandment to honor thy father and thy mother God says whoso curses father or mother let him die what about the sixth commandment shall do no murder Matthew 5 21 Jesus said when from the heart you say with a bitter spirit you fool Jesus said you've committed murder in your heart when your words reflect a disdainful demeaning angry disposition to any other human being you've broken the sixth commandment

50:50 what about the seventh commandment thou shall not commit adultery Ephesians 5 4 and 5 speaks of filthy communications out of our mouths when our speech about sexual matters reflects anything less than the dignity and the nobility and the purity of the sexual relation within the sanctity of marriage we break the seventh commandment and what about the eighth commandment you shall not steal when reputations are stolen by slander and by gossip and by lies about another and what about the ninth commandment thou shall not bear false witness you do that with your mouth and what about the tenth commandment you shall not covet

51:33 for often the coveting heart is the heart when coveting what another has will strike out in anger at that object and lie about that person to bring them down in the eyes of others you go down through the ten commandments and I tell you the use of the tongue has a very prominent place in any evangelical law keeping you say you're a Christian you say God has regenerated you you say God has placed within you a passion and a desire to keep his law not out of any silly notion you'll gain brownie points in the court of heaven but because you love the God who's reconciled you to himself in Jesus Christ then my friend you will have a

52:17 passionate concern for what you do with this tongue the use of the tongue I say the use of the tongue I say the use of the tongue I say the use of the tongue I say has a very prominent place in evangelical law keeping and then fifthly and finally the patterns of the use of our tongues will constitute a major part of our judgment in the last day the patterns of the use of our tongue will constitute a major part of our judgment at the last day and here I ask you to turn back to the Matthew 12 and here I ask you to turn back to the Matthew 12 passage not save this for last

53:00 because I believe in a very real sense it is the most sobering the most profound of all of these reasons as to why we ought to take seriously this matter of the use of our tongues the Lord has been speaking about making the tree good and its fruit good the good tree bringing forth good things the evil tree bad things the good tree bringing forth good things now he comes back specifically to language verse 26 words and I say unto you that every idle word that men shall speak they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment

53:42 for by thy words you shall be justified and by your words you will be condemned the pattern of the use of our tongues will constitute a major part of our judgment at the last day in the day of judgment there will be a public condemnation of the wicked and the public vindication of the righteous based upon their works now listen carefully the righteous are not taken to heaven on account of their works they are taken to heaven on account of the work of Jesus

54:26 but that they are truly the people of God and not just sham Christians will be established by their works being brought forward in the day of judgment remember Matthew 25 then shall he say to the righteous I was sick and you visited me I was in prison and you came to me I was hungry and you fed me Lord when did we do this and the Lord says inasmuch as you did it unto the least of these my little ones you did it to me then shall I be and shall the righteous go into his presence are they going to heaven because they visited the sick no that would negate the whole significance of the death of Christ

55:10 but because they have embraced Christ and the virtue of his death they are regenerate and they love Christ and they are attached to Christ and the way they show that one of the major ways is how they treat Christ's people and so judgment in the last day will be not according to profession but according to works 2 Corinthians 5 10 we shall all be made manifest before the judgment seat of Christ that each may receive the deeds done in the body whether good or bad and here is one of the major categories by which God will demonstrate to the whole assembled moral universe the validity of his sentence this is a righteous man this is a wicked man

55:53 he'll do it on the basis of our words the basis of our words by your words you will be justified you will be declared one of the truly righteous ones by your words you'll be condemned your words manifest your true character now let me ask you sitting here this morning if you were summoned to judgment today is the pattern of your words such that almighty God could say to the assembled universe of moral intelligent beings you want proof that this is one of mine let me show you how he talks

56:36 his mouth speaks words of kindness his mouth speaks words of truth even when it's not to his own advantage his mouth speaks truth in the workplace when it jeopardizes his promotion his mouth speaks purity in a setting where he gets mocked for being overly fastidious his mouth speaks words of confession when he has sinned his mouth speaks truth his mouth speaks words of extending forgiveness when forgiveness is sought his words justify my declaration he's one of mine he's a real thing

57:21 you're giving God stuff to justify you by your words you've given God enough stuff to justify you by your words what's God got? I know that's a crass way to put it but hopefully it'll stick what's God got? what of your words? what of your words has God got?

57:43 to declare this man, this woman, this boy, this girl is a real thing what's he got to identify you as a wicked man, a wicked boy, a wicked girl? what's he got? your words of dishonesty to your teachers to your mom to your dad to your wife words of bitterness words of uncleanness words bespeaking and arrogant selfishness self-willed spirit words clothed with pride

58:22 and clothed with self-defensiveness God got enough words to say this one's not the real thing here's the proof the words the words the words the words the words the words the words the words I can write this by your words you'll be justified by your words you'll be oh yes but pastor I have a good heart don't tell me about your heart I want to know about your words oh yes but no no yes by your words

58:57 and remember this is the judge talking he knows how he's going to do his business when he does his business your words justify or condemn you don't anyone go out of here and say oh pastor Martin's going to spend four or five weeks on this little snotty issue of the words my friends there's no little snotty issue this is a matter of your condemnation or vindication in the day of judgment and you better take it seriously you can go out of here and say oh I'll go to an evangelical church where they don't preach this law stuff

59:42 that's alright go to hell being stroked by easy going religion my friend but my hands are clean of your blood by your words by your words by your words so we come around full circle to where we started an hour ago what's the big deal what's the big deal about the use of your tongue we've considered what the big deal is we've considered what the big deal is the pattern of the use of your tongue constitutes an incisive revelation of the true state of your heart the pattern of the use of your tongue constitutes an accurate test

60:26 of the reality of your professed religion it constitutes an accurate index of your general progress in practical godliness it constitutes a significant part of evangelical law keeping it constitutes a major part of our judgment in the last day my friend if you came in here this morning a stranger to Christ and his salvation you've heard enough to make you know I don't want to stand before God without a savior I don't want to go in the presence of the God who knows every word I've ever uttered

61:10 who in his infinite mind that has perfect memory and perfect recall can bring forward every lie I've told every dishonesty every shading of the truth every unclean remark every bitter, sarcastic self-defensive word I don't want to meet a God like that without a mediator oh my friend such a mediator offers himself to you this morning you need Jesus to save you from all the sins of your tongue if you have no other sins that's enough to drive you out of yourself and out of empty religion to flee from your sin to flee from your sin to flee to Christ and I beg you go to Christ go to Christ

61:55 to be pardoned from all your sins and dear child of God considering these things surely you've been brought afresh to know I can't live the Christian life without the power of Christ operative in me this tongue is an unruly that's right James said it's that yeah James James knew us he does in many things we all offend if I can only get hold of my tongue it's a sin it's like the horse if I could just get a bridle in its mouth and get hold of the reins it's like a ship if I could just get at the helm that moves the rudder my friend there's one who has power who has power

62:38 to harness that tongue of yours has power to make it an instrument of life and of healing life and death are in the power of the tongue Solomon said and what a wonderful thing is a spirit controlled tongue it's a controlled tongue as we shall see when we come to the particulars that is swift to hear and slow to speak it's kept back from a thousand things that would otherwise be fuel for repentance it knows how to speak that word seasoned with grace the word of encouragement the word of inquiry the word of sympathy

63:21 it's a tongue that brings healing that brings encouragement where necessary brings the timely reproof and rebuke and admonition what a wonderful thing is a spirit controlled tongue and dear people that's what I want I want from the top down in this place to have the benefit of tongues that are controlled by the Holy Spirit who can measure the blessing that will come is that what you want? I trust it is let's pray to God that in the coming days the Lord will so work in us

64:04 that that will be our experience let's pray Father we thank you for your word it searches us it nails us as it were to the wall and doesn't let us wiggle out and we pray that it would find us at the point of our need today we pray Lord that you would cause your word to be applied particularly and specifically to every conscience in terms of what you know our need is seal your word to our hearts and use it for our good

64:47 for Jesus sake Amen