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good evening everyone just a brief update I attended the the Surrey reformed baptist church this morning their inaugural their first worship service we thought it was a good idea to have an elder from the planting Church to attend that first service so it was a joy to be there with the Brethren there for their first service their meeting as you know in an elementary school Rosemary Heights Elementary School you know are a good you know facility in a wonderful neighborhood so it's it's a good facility that they're at there and it's a conducive to a worship service even though it's just a gymnasium that the people of God meet we're the people of God meet and there are about 40 people there and a number of people that they didn't anticipate being there they knew that those who are going to constitute the church there are some visitors from our church that were there to take in the first service and then there were some that they didn't anticipate being there so there are about 40 people which is encouraging to see some from the neighborhood from the Surya from the sri langley Cloverdale area there so it was encouraging I told Mike I was going to report back to our church that he totally changed the the order of worship and that there was dancing and and crazy stuff going on but there wasn't it was a wonderful service very very similar to ours in fact they they're planted by our church so the the liturgy if you will was the same it was good to be there singing hymns with them and and worshiping our God so a good good report from the first service there at Surry Reformed Baptist Church keep them in your prayers keep them you keep them in your prayers keep praying for them that they would grow that they would be nourished and strengthened there by our God and for God's glory well let's begin our worship here at free grace Baptist Church if your turn in your Bibles with me to Psalm 141 Psalm 141 that will be our call to worship the entirety of Psalm 141 beginning in verse 1 the Word of God a psalm of David Lord I cry out to you make haste to me give ear to my voice when I cry out to you let my prayer be set before you as incense the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice set a guard oh lord over my mouth keep watch over the door of my lips do not incline my heart to any evil thing to practice wicked works with men who work iniquity and do not let me eat of their delicacies let the righteous strike me it shall be a kindness and let him rebuke me it shall be as excellent oil let my head not refuse it for still my prayer is against the deeds of the wicked their judges are overthrown by the sides of the cliff and they hear my words for they are sweet our bones are scattered at the mouth of the grave as when one plows and breaks up the earth but my eyes are upon you O God the Lord in you I take refuge do not leave my soul destitute keep me from the snares they have laid for me and from the traps of the workers of iniquity let the wicked fall into their own nets while I escaped safely amen let's stand and sing together as a church we're going to sing 136 let's stand and sing that together 136 [Music] let's go to our God in prayer let us pray Heavenly Father we come to you now in this evening our rejoicing that we can gather together again as the saints of Christ in this place before the worship of Father Son and Holy Spirit the one true and living God we pray that you would help us now in this hour to worship you were right as we gather together each and every Lord's Day we long as the people of God to worship you in spirit and in truth and we do pray for that now for your help from on high we pray for that Ministry of the Holy Spirit to stir up our hearts to high thoughts of our Savior to wonderful thoughts of our triune God we do pray that you would just help us now in worship we pray Lord God that you would cause us in worship to rejoice in the gospel of Jesus Christ our Savior we know that we are not saved by our own works and by our own deeds of righteousness but we're saved the soul Ian alone by the grace of God through faith in Christ Jesus the Lord we thank you that you did send Christ forth in the fullness of the times to come into this lower world sinners to save and we rejoice that that is a faithful saying that's worthy of all acceptance that our Savior the Son of God that Jesus Christ came into this world the sinners to save and cause our hearts to rejoice in that truth we praise you our great God for so great a gospel we thank you that he lived a life of obedience to your law and died as a substitute for all who believe in his name that he took upon himself the sins of his people that he was a curse for us that he became a curse for us as it is written cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree we thank you that he bore that curse that he bore your wrath in the stead of all who believe in his name we rejoice that he rose again the third day in power and in great victory we thank you that he ascended to the right hand of the Majesty on high that he does ever live to intercede for his people we thank you Lord God that at your right hand is he rules and he reigns over his enemies that he does subdue the hearts of his elect we do pray that we would give him honor and praise we pray that you would give you our great God honor and praise this evening Father Son and Holy Spirit for truly you are worthy of that honor and worthy of that praise we do pray that you be with those who need prayer Lord God we think of a Robin Stewart right now we just pray that you would just watch over this young man we in light of this skiing injury we pray that you would heal him that you attend to to the wounds in his body we pray that you would give the doctors wisdom and handling him and dealing with him we I just pray God that you would comfort his heart in the midst of this suffering and we do pray Lord God that you would comfort the hearts of his parents his family we do just pray God for good things to come about from this Lord we do just pray that you'd be with him now and that you would heal we would ask God that you would be with those who need prayer as we often pray each and every Lord's Day and on Wednesdays and we pray for those who are sick who are injured who are diseased Lord we pray for those who struggle with ongoing illness just bless them and watch over them god strengthen them in the midst of their physical suffering and help them in the midst of that too nevertheless be rejoicing in our great God and be resigning to the fact that the God of heaven and earth does good for his own glory and for the good of his people we do pray once again that you be with those throughout the world who are persecuted we know that there are many who are persecuted for the cause of God and truth and we do just pray that you'd be near to them you comfort their hearts in the midst of opposition and that you would deal with those who persecute them we pray that you would save many who are presently your enemies that you'd bring them forth from darkness and madness of opposition and sin and depravity you bring them forth from that to the kingdom of the son of your love that you would cause them to know the light and life that is in Christ Jesus our Lord that you would simply Lord God by your grace save them and cause them to rejoice in Jesus Christ the Lord we do pray God that you'd be with those who rule over us and every nation under heaven God because the nations are the nations of our God and of his Christ we do pray that you would cause rulers to rule in equity and justice and that you would cast down those who would seek to a sanction abominations throughout the lands and pervert the nation's we do just pray that you would raise up those who would rule in righteousness and be with us now in worship we long as we've already prayed to worship you in spirit and in truth we pray that that would continue you'd help us as we sing as we pray as we do all of these things in worship Lord do help help us to do so with true hearts genuine and earnest and joyful and we do pray that you'd be with Pastor Butler as he preaches your word once again strengthen the man in the pulpit that he might proclaim with great confidence with great courage and precision the things that you would have for this church this evening we do pray that your Saints tonight would be strengthened by the word encouraged and equipped to go into a week to be able to have opportunities to proclaim the gospel and to shine as lights in a crooked and perverse generation and we do pray that you would be powerful tonight to say that whether young or old any who are in present unbelief would by your grace and for your glorious sake leave these doors praising the triune God rejoicing in Christ and being found in him not having their own righteousness which is from the law but that which is from You Lord God through faith in Christ Jesus the Lord and it's in his name that we pray amen let's stand and sing again this time it'll be 451 to a familiar tune hymn number 451 [Music] please be seated you can turn in your Bibles with me to the Old Testament to the book of Joel so we begin that particular book the book of Joel as many books that we have in the Old Testament writing to an apostate nation we have the certainty of divine judgment and the righteousness that's found in the wholesome severity of God and yet in the midst of that we have the promise of the Lord Jesus Christ the promise of the Lord in whom men's tongues or that the one whom men's tongues will confess the one who brings deliverance book of Joel beginning in chapter 1 at verse 1 the word of the Lord that came to Joel the son of path you all hear this you elders and give your all you inhabitants of the land has anything like this happened in your days or even in the days of your father's tell your children about it let your children tell their children and their children another generation what the chewing locust left the swarming locust has eaten what the swarming locust left the crawling locust has eaten and what the crawling locusts left the consuming locust has eaten awake you drunkards in wheat and whale all you drinkers of wine because of the new wine for it has being cut off from your mouth for a nation has come up against my land strong and without number his teeth are the teeth of a lion and he has the fangs of a fierce lion he has laid waste my vine and ruined my fig tree he has stripped it bare and thrown it away its branches are made white lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth the grain offering and the drink offering have been cut off from the house of the Lord the priests mourn who minister to the Lord the field is wasted the morons for the grain is ruined the new wine has dried up the oil fails be ashamed you farmers whale you find dressers for the wheat and the barley because the harvest of the field has perished the vine has dried up and the fig tree has withered the pomegranate tree the palm tree also and the apple tree all the trees of the field are withered surely joy has withered away from the sons of men gird yourselves and lament you priests wail you who minister before the altar come lie all night in sackcloth you who minister to my god for the grain offering in the drink offering are withheld from the house of your God consecrate a fast call a sacred assembly gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God and cry out to the Lord alas for the day for the day of the Lord is at hand it shall come as destruction from the Almighty is not the food cut off before our eyes joy and gladness from the house of our God the seed shrivels under the clods storehouses are in shambles barns are broken down for the grain has withered how the animals grown the herds of cattle are restless because they have no pasture even the flocks of sheep suffer punishment Oh Lord to you I cry out for fire has devoured the open pastures and a flame has burned all the trees of the field the beasts of the field also cry out to you for the water Brooks are dried up and fire has devoured the open pastures amen will let us pray Heavenly Father we thank you for this the reading of your Holy Word we rejoice in this freedom and this opportunity to read the pages of your revelation to the sons of men that truly such a reading and sobering as we take in the righteous judgment of God upon a sinful nation upon sinners we think of what is written here Lord God and our minds are drawn to you and to your holiness into the you are infinite eternal and unchangeable in that holiness and in your justice and we are certainly brought to or we ought to be brought to that place where we fall on our knees as it were before such a righteous and a holy God for truly divine judgment is your due and it is deserving with respect to the sons of men we thank you as we read the rest of your scriptures that there is mercy that there is grace that there is eternal loving-kindness found in that salvation afforded in one and secured by Jesus Christ the Lord but those who are the righteous recipients of divine chastisement of divine judgment rather and nevertheless can find that safety and that salvation in Jesus Christ the Lord and we pray Lord God that you would by your grace and for your glory bring many to that place where they acknowledge you as that holy God the one and only living and true God with whom it is just to render judgment and recompense upon those who have violated your law and that all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God and yet that there is a savior even Jesus Christ the Lord who saves perfectly all those who come nigh through his blood we do pray that you would by your grace bring many forth from that place of sin and depravity of darkness and deadness in that sin to a place of life and light in Christ Jesus the Lord by your grace save many even this evening Lord that a multitude of newly redeemed tongues would sing along with us the praises of Father Son and Holy Spirit we pray in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord amen our final him before the preaching if you'll stand and sing with me is 492 that's 492 [Music] [Music] well please turn in your Bibles to James chapter 3 James chapter 3 we're looking at verses one to twelve this evening James three I'll begin reading in verse one my brethren let not many of you become teachers knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment for we all stumble in many things if anyone does not stumble in word he is a perfect man able also to bridle the whole body indeed we put bits and horses mouths that they may obey us and we turn their whole body look also it ships although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires even so the tongue is a little member and boast great things see how great a forest a little fire Kindles and the tongue is a fire a world of iniquity the tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body and sets on fire the course of nature and it is set on fire by hell for every kind of beast and bird of reptile and creature of the sea is tamed and has been tamed by mankind but no man contained the tongue it is an unruly evil full of deadly poison with it we bless our God and Father and with it we curse men who have been made in the similitude or likeness of God out of the same mouth proceeded blessing and cursing my brethren these things ought not to be so does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening can a fig tree my brethren bear olives or a grapevine bear figs thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh amen will let us ask the Lord's blessing as we look at this section our Father we thank you for the word and we thank you for the fact that it rightly identifies our issues and our problems and our sins and we would pray tonight that should give us the mind of Christ as we ponder this section of Scripture we would pray that the Holy Spirit would help us to internalize these things help us to see the necessity to govern to discipline our tongues help us as well to appreciate the fact that our Blessed Lord Jesus never sinned with the tongue our Blessed Lord Jesus never engaged in that that took that type of transgression any type of transgression and how we thank you and we praise you for what he accomplished on behalf of his people certainly a passage like this would lead only to despair apart from the cross apart from the reality that Jesus Christ is our Lord and our Savior we ask that you would forgive us now help us to glorify you as we receive the word and we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well it has been some time since we've been in the book of James but one of the things that we ought to appreciate is that James is impressing upon his audience or the people that hear him the necessity of faithfulness in the Christian religion we need to demonstrate spiritual integrity we need to be a people who indeed flow or follow our justification with sanctification and one of the things that James targets or identifies in a couple of places in this epistle is double mindedness he doesn't want the people of God to be divided he doesn't want the people of God to be double minded if you go back to James chapter one notice in verse six he says let him ask in faith with no doubting for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind for let not that man supposed that he will receive anything from the Lord he is a double-minded man unstable in all his ways he doesn't use the particular term double minded but in chapter 2 verses 1 to 4 that's certainly on display when the double minded man in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ tells the person that is rich and dressed nicely to sit up in the front and he tells the man dress than rags to sit in the back that is an expression of double mindedness look over at chapter four notice in verse seven he says therefore submit to God resist the devil and he will flee from you draw near to God and He will draw near to you cleanse your hands you sinners and purify your hearts you double-minded again he doesn't use this particular word in James three verses one to twelve but the concept is present the idea that we would with the tongue bless our God and Father and with that self same tongue curse those who are made in His image is a manifestation or a demonstration of the double mindedness that James condemns throughout this brief epistle well as we look at this section we'll look at it under three main headings first the warning concerning the tongue in verses 1 and 2 secondly the explanation of the power of the tongue in verses 3 to 6 and then finally the difficulty actually it would be more appropriate to say the impossibility in controlling the tongue but we'll leave it at difficulty at this particular point in verses 7 to 12 now obviously James doesn't have an axe to grind with that two-and-a-half or three inch piece of pink flesh that occupies the space between our lips it's not as if James is an anti tongue sort of a guy he's talking about speech he's talking about words he's talking about the way that we express ourselves because the tongue and the heart are very much connected out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks so let's look first at this warning concerning the tongue and it is important for us to consider the scope of the section notice in 3-1 Jane says and James is very pastoral he often our very son in many occasions uses the terminology my brethren if you look at verses 1 to 12 it's all negative it's not a positive statement in there this isn't James's special tips on how to be a better you and the way that you use your talk it is all negative it's more of a lamentation than it is an exhortation on how to properly use the time James is negative in verses 1 to 12 but he does it with that pastoral concern my brethren James also demonstrates a familiarity which we would have obviously expect with Scripture I believe that when he gets into this whole idea of of identifying animals and saying that men have tamed them or ruled over them he has the creation account in his mind and then when he speaks of us cursing those who were made in the likeness of God again creation so James is a master and he uses very common analogies very common illustrations not only common to Bible readers and those associated with Christianity but in the greco-roman world as a whole but no in the first place in terms of the scope he says my brethren let not many of you become teachers now there are three ways to take this I know it reads very straightforward but we need to consider the particular ways to interpret he says let not many of you become teachers so some suggest that the entire section in verses 1 to 12 all apply to teachers in the church everything that is specified here with reference to the danger of the tongue has to do with the teaching ministry in the life and context of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ another way to view the passage the way that Calvin Matthew Poole and Thomas Manton view it is that it has nothing to do with the teaching ministry in the church it has nothing whatsoever to do with the eldership or those charged with preaching and teaching the Word of God in the life and context of the church listen to Calvin he says be not many masters where we would read be not many teachers this is a legitimate translation he says be not many masters but I take masters not to be these who performed a public duty in the church but such as took upon them the right of passing judgment upon others for such reprove errs sought to be accounted as masters of morals for it is as were and in a disease in mankind to seek reputation by blaming others so Calvin pool and mantains suggests that it has nothing to do with the teaching ministry but to those within the Church of the Lord Jesus who appoint themselves as masters over others who appoint themselves as reprove errs over others those fastidian fastidious ones those holy ones those godly ones that want to correct the people of God not giving way not giving room to the holy spirit Manton says be not many we are all apt to do this to be a reprove er of our brethren but this itch must be killed so some see it as applying only to the teachers in the church some see it as not applying to the teachers in the church as well I think we're gonna side with those who see it as James moves from particulars to general he deals with the teaching ministry in the church that ministry that is connected very much so to the use of the time that ministry that is connected very much so to the propagation of words but from there he he expands and everything that he says from thence on does apply to each and every each and every individual in the life in the context of the local church so it's a particular admonition with reference to the teachers and then a general admonition or warning or lament with reference to everyone in the church so this is the warning let not many of you become teachers and then the reason they're knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment supported mention Jesus teaches that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks Lords we can tell a lot about a person by the way that they use their tongue we know what's in the heart not because we see it not because we use stethoscopes or MRIs or cat scans or any such thing but the way that a person speaks evidences are manifests what is in their hearts so James says let not many of you become teachers knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment in other words if a man of God scans in the pulpit of God and preaches heresy he is going to suffer as a result of that he is going to have to face the judge of all the earth and he has to give an account for the things that he has spoken he has to say why it is the case that he taught justification by faith plus words he's going to have to say why he denied the Trinity why he denied the hypostatic Union why he denied the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ he's not suggesting that to believe those things somehow get you off the hook but there is a double responsibility for those who would teach those things that's why the New Testament is so adamant that men must be qualified before they enter into the teaching ministry that's why first Timothy 3 and Titus 1 and first Peter 5 are in the Bible that's why Jesus commends the church at Ephesus in the book of Revelation we only ever think about the condemnation for the church in Ephesus when Jesus says you have left your first love we don't think about the commendation you have tested those who said they were apostles and were not praise God Almighty that they had done that and I suggest or I surmise or I believe that they had been embattled with these heretics and because of that they weren't devoting themselves properly with reference to the love of Christ it's hard to maintain a steady profitable devotional life with our Lord Jesus when you're standing on the front lines combating heretics so he's not unchurched them he's not be churching them he is not saying you left your first love in the sense that you've abandoned me you've apostatized he is condemning them for that he's calling them to repentance but what he does command is the reality that they took seriously what Paul said in first Timothy 3 and they applied it to those who said that they were teachers who said that they were apostles who said they had been gifted who said they had the spirit but they were not praise God for the church at Ephesus that kept those charlatans out praise God for the fact that churches take these things seriously and don't just rubber-stamp man into the eldership just say well he's accomplished here therefore he must be accomplished here all elders must be able to teach all elders must be able to communicate the truth of God and all elders will give an account for the manner in which and the things that they have said with reference to that teaching ministry this is James point he is not saying don't pursue the pastoral ministry he is not contradicting first Timothy 3 Paul says if any man desires to be an overseer it's a good thing it's a good work that he longs for that he desires James isn't saying don't do it we don't want preachers we don't want teachers no the discourse has to do with the power of the talk and those who utilize the tongue most within the context of the church are going to receive a stricter judgment now note the reality that G James describes in verse 2 he speaks of the common sinfulness of man and the uncommon existence of perfect man notice in verse 2 for reason we all stumble in many things Lords like not many of you become teachers for it we all stumble in many things this universality with reference to sin ought to give everyone pause when it comes to pursuing this teaching ministry this fact that we are all undone we are all tainted we are all besmirched as it were with sin ought to cause us to reflect very soberly on whether or not we want to pursue as a life calling teaching the Word of God to others Manton again says no work of ours is so pure but there is some taint and filth of sin cleaving to it which without a mediator in the rigor of the law would be damnable and notice that James includes himself he doesn't say for it you all stumble in many things Pastor James James the man who is identified in the Church of the Living God as James the just because he was a righteous man refers to himself this way for we all stumble in many things now notice what he goes on to say verse to be if anyone does not stumble in word he is a perfect man able also to bridle the whole body that can be understood in a whole host of ways but I think again it's negative the whole section is negative James is telling us that if there is a man out there who can bridle the tongue then he'll have proper government over the entirety of his being he's not suggesting there's a class of these men out there they happen to live with unicorns in a land with fairies and bunnies that that's where these men live there with the unicorns they say there's no such thing as unicorns see exactly again he's not trying to discourage men from pursuing the ministry he's trying to discourage all of us from having a more lofty view of ourselves than we ought verses one to twelve is a continual hammer drum against our sinful speech against the way that we use our tongs against the way that we speak to wives the way we speak to husbands the way we speak to children the way we speak to parents the way we speak to one another in the life of the church how many prohibitions are in the New Testament against gossip how many times do the people of God have to be told not to slander how many times do the people of God have to be reminded that they ought to keep their mouth shut and don't even get me started on Solomon in the book of Proverbs Solomon says that they're a foolish man is seen as a as a wise man he keeps his mouth shut I mentioned this this morning in the in the sunday-school hour you take a roomful of people the dimmest bulb in that room may be a pit appear to be a wise man because he doesn't open his mouth brethren this is a universal problem this is a universal issue James is not suggesting that there is a class of men out there go find them among the unicorns and install them into the pastoral ministry the statement highlights the close connection between the tongue and the rest of man inability to restrain the tongue would argue in a bill to bridle the whole body and that word used in verse two harkens back to verse 26 in Chapter 1 chapter 1 verse 26 any man who thinks he is religious but does not bridle his own tongue this man's religion is useless and it paves the way for what James is going to use as an illustration in verse 3 with reference to horses so that brings us then to the explanation of the power of the tongue in verses 3 to 6 there are illustrations and there are applications the first is the horse and the bit again it doesn't take a whole lot to expound such a thing like this pastor James puts this before us in a means by which we can easily understand the bits of small item verses the largeness of the horse but that small item properly placed controls the direction of the horse the second is ships and rudders again a ship is a massive vessel rudders in comparison aren't that big with reference to the overall mass of the of the ship and even in the fiercest of winds that rudder causes that ship to go in the proper direction so the way that bits function to horses the way that rudders function to ships the way that sparks function with reference to forests is the way that the tongue functions with reference to man notice in verse 4 he says look also it ships although they are so large that are driven by fierce winds they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires even so the tongue is a little member and boast great things now I don't think this is a negative statement in terms of the Tong I've said all of 1 to 12 is negative hear me for just a moment I don't think that he's using boast here in a in an improper bad way he's not suggesting that what the tongue boasts is incorrect I think he's highlighting that what the tongue boasts in fact correct Douglass move says it this way although the Greek word for boast is found only here in the New Testament the idea of boasting is often negative involving arrogant presumptuousness before God James's only other reference to boasting has justice nuance in for sixteen to seventeen here however it is used more neutrally the tongue can legitimately make the claim to have considerable power that that's legit its boast is accurate its boast is correct its boast is right on the way that a bit controls the horse the way that a rudder controls the ship is the way that the tongue controls the man it directs it it sets him on a particular path and we need to appreciate that and then notice with reference to the forest and the spark see how great a forest a little fire Kindles we've had a lot of forest fires we did last year hopefully we won't have as many this coming year but what happens it's lightning strikes in a particular place and it burns down old forests so James now has sort of upped the ante a little bit a bit in the horse's mouth is a good thing to direct that beast and the way that you want him to go a rudder on a ship is a good thing to direct that vessel in the way that you want it to go James is now showing us the destructive power of the Tong this spark can set alight an entire forest you see you think that the Tong is this sort of neutral thing that occupies space in your mouth no it has the potential for great ill it has the potential to destroy it has the potential to ruin families to ruin relationships to ruin churches to ruin society we spoke to that this morning with reference to our consideration of waffles and vows in our confession of faith chapter 23 brethren without truth there can be no commerce without truth there can be no social interaction without truth there can be nothing and unfortunately we are seeing it jettison in society we jettisoned in the church we see the removal of pulpits the introduction of things that are strange fire before the living in the true God brethren to quote James these things ought not to be that little vessel of that little bit in the mind and the mouth of a man is able to do a whole world of damage notice he calls it a deadly fire the tongue is a fire a world of iniquity the tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body and sets on fire the course of nature and is set on fire by hell so he moves from the illustrations the horse and the bit the ship and the rudder the forest and the spark to the application the tongue exercises great influence even so the tongue is a little member and boast great things and then he highlights by way of application that the tongue is in fact a deadly fire now verse 6 is a bit of a difficult verse in terms of the construction we won't get into all that we'll pull out the main thought that James presents or the main thoughts that James presents here the identification of the tongue as a fire a world of iniquity Oh pastor that makes me feel bad well you need to feel bad because you have potential in your mouth to do a lot of things wrong you just don't boost my esteem pastor James well let me boost your esteem by giving you a helpful encouragement keep your mouth shut be slow to speak James says in James 1 I mentioned this morning with reference to our study in chapter 23 if we you know that the fact that God designed us with two ears and one mouth probably evidences the fact he wants us to listen to times as much as we talk and if we actually pull that off we're probably still talking way too much we ought to be like that wise man or that foolish man that looks wise in the book of Proverbs we don't always need to speak up I know it's all right as Canadians it's all right especially in America man well you got the right to speak go ahead but that doesn't necessarily mean what you're gonna say is legitimate valuable and necessary Paul tells us let no corrupt proceed from your mouth but such that is as is necessary for edification imagine if before you actually spoke you thought through it you considered is what I'm about to say going to produce or promote edification or is it going to tear people down now if that exercise alone will help you keep your mouth shut a lot more during the day because you're gonna be thinking through that I think it was Google or one of those those companies an email thing where they have a way to sort of call back your email how you know it's better to not send it and wait than to have to call it die but praise God they have it so that you can call it bad how many times I'm not you know asking for every hand raised and every head bowed you know that's sort of a confession how many times you wish you wouldn't have said something I don't think that's only you know peculiar to me I'm sure it is but in a multitude of words what a Solomon say transgression is not lacking you have these Christian heroes or these Christian leaders that that preached a lot and they they wrote a lot and they lived a hundred two three four hundred years ago and and we critique them now and we say well he really shouldn't have said it and such in such a way brethren no man is perfect no man is able to tame the tongue no man is able to to govern his own body and men who write a lot and men who speak a lot are certainly more vulnerable to the criticisms of others it's just the law the more you say the more you will sin brother I want to grow in sanctification here's my encouragement to you keep your mouth shut I know that doesn't make you probably happy but I mean open your mouth when singing praises to God open your mouth to impart necessary edification open your mouth when it comes to prayer but with reference to brethren with reference to beloved wives or beloved husbands or beloved children we don't need to say everything that we want to say that's not alright given to us by God Canada and America may give us freedom of speech which even that is specious but God doesn't he doesn't say you can say whatever it is you want you can have encounter groups all the time no it's much better to just go to work do it until night come home be too tired and follow us dude go to sleep get up and do it the next day so we see the identification of the tongue is a fire a world of iniquity the potential to defile the entire body man as a whole the tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body and sets on fire the course of nature and note the origin of this defiling power and it is set on fire by hell it's an intriguing way that James calculates or portrays this now you know we're not supposed to ask well didn't James believe in the absolute sovereignty of God the decree and he governs you know all our actions and and all our thoughts and everything yes he's talking about the origin of wicked speech it comes from the devil you are of your father the devil you want to do the desires of your father he was a murderer from the beginning as a father of lies this is the origin for the filth that flows from your mouth now certainly it's the origin in terms of the heart never forget that but it's spurred on by the devil excuse me Matthew Poole says by the devil the father of lies and slanders and other tongue sins the tongue he cites their job 1:10 where the devil in Deitz job before God he cites their John 8:44 you are of your father the devil and he cites Revelation 12:10 just think about Revelation 12:10 for just a moment and the devil's activity therein job one what's the devil's function there he's an accuser of the Brethren let's just move from the the specific particular of teachers to everybody but let's suppose with calvin pool and Manton there's this sort of class of reprove errs that that have self-appointed and appointing themselves within the context of the church and you know they've they're pretty obvious because you know they're usually wagging their finger and usually complaining about you and telling you this that and the other you know what the devil is called in revelation 12:10 an accuser of the Brethren do you want to be an accuser of the Brethren do you want to be a self-appointed reprove ER of the Brethren who engages in this act of accusation excuse me if you do so your solidarity is with the devil pool goes on and says the tongue being the fire the devil by the bellows of temptations in flames it yet more and thereby Kindles the fire of all mischief in the world Thomas Manton said a tongue that is set on fire from hell shall be set on fire in hell he says you know who wished for a drop to cool his tongue the hot words of wrath strife and censure come from Satan and lead to Satan I think that's James's point it is set on fire by hell now let's look thirdly and finally at the difficulty in in in controlling the time he says three things here he says the tongue is untamable the tongue is poisonous and the tongue is inconsistent I'll use inconsistent because to say that the God the tongue is double minded sounds a bit odd but but that's what I mean the tongue is double minded we see that James is against double mindedness and so instead of calling the tongue double minded we'll call it inconsistent but notice in the first place it's untamable verses 7 and 8 for every kind of beast and bird of reptile and creature of the sea is tamed and has been tamed by mankind again I think the creation account the same sort of animals that God made in the beginning and James sir they have been tained the Dominion mandate God made man in his own image gave him dominion over the creatures he told him to subdue the creatures men evidences that or demonstrates that by the way he has domesticated large beasts by the way he developed bitten bridle and put it on a horse and gets on the back of it and rides it into battle or rides it into the horizon man has tamed beasts there are men who opened the jaws of crocodiles and put their heads in there I would suggest they are crazy man but they are men nevertheless there are those who have taught bears how to dance to see what James is saying men may be able to do that with the beasts of the field but they cannot do it with their tongue this is a depressing statement brethren but I don't think it's meant to depress I don't think it's meant to cast you down I think it's meant to cast you up into the bosom of Sovereign Grace it is to put you in dependence upon the living and true God the horse doesn't bit and bridle himself man does it God brought a bits and bridles his people through discipline through the the day and day out growing in the Grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ but in many respects it's a very depressing statement that James gives us every kind of beasts and bird of reptile and creature of the sea is tamed and has been tamed by mankind but no man contained the tongue it is an unruly evil full of deadly poison the statement reinforces James's point about the danger of an undisciplined time we are to recognize that we are to hear James's warning but we're not to go out and just give up we're not to throw up our hands in despair we're to go to the throne of grace we are to seek mercy from God Most High we are to pray Psalm 141 and ask y'all way to set a guard over our mouths station a Sentinel on either side most high and keep me from saying the sorts of things that will nice Mikan my confession of faith in the living and true God lord help me caused me to be like that fool who looks wise because he closes his mouth god help me to study and meditate upon the Proverbs of Solomon and see how many times the emphasis comes up on tongue or mouth or lips how many times does God call on us to guard the way that we speak how many times should we take those passages pray in those passages and ask God to help us to apply those passages so the tax doesn't cause us or it shouldn't cause us to despair it should cause us to have a proper understanding of the unruliness of the tongue but to go to the God of absolute sovereignty the god of absolute glory notice secondly the tongue is poisonous he mentions this in verse 8 but as the supreme demonstration he gives us verses 9 and 10 which may indeed be the the focal point in the in the passage so James is addressing a particular situation going on in the context of the church but it also gives him opportunity to have this sort of discourse on the tongue as a whole but the Robb the issue the problem going on is verses 9 and 10 here's how we know it's a poisonous vessel here's how we know that it's problematic here's how we know that there are issues he says in verse 9 with it we bless our God and Father and with it we curse men who have been made in the likeness of God out of the same mouth precede blessing and cursing my brethren these things ought not to be so the poison of blessing God and cursing those created in His image turned for just a moment to Romans 3 Romans chapter 3 and setting forth the universal depravity of all mankind the Apostle Paul reaches back to the Book of Psalms to underscore his case that all the world is liable before God for his just condemnation but notice in Romans 3 13 and 14 their throat is an open tomb with their tongues they have practiced deceit Psalm 5 9 the poison of ASPs is under their lips 1:40 verse 3 whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness Psalm 10 verse 7 so this isn't new to James this isn't something developed by James he hadn't had a new thought he is simply rehearsing what scripture always everywhere teaches that there is a world of poison a world of iniquity a world of fire in your mouth and if you don't govern it if you don't watch over it if you don't discipline it you're gonna ruin your family you're gonna ruin your church you're gonna ruin your society you're gonna ruin your life you see that's what I think James wants us to appreciate there is great potential in that mouth and herein lies the biggest problem with it we bless God and with it we curse men listen to Calvin he says it is an impious profanation of God's name when the tongue is virulence or bitterly hostile towards our brethren and pretends praise to him that we may then rightly praise God the vise of evil speaking as to our neighbor must especially be corrected that makes a lot of sense doesn't it how can I open up my Trinity hymnal and belt out you know him 136 or open up my Trinity Psalter and sing of the blessed man of Psalm 1 when I called my wife horrific names on Sunday morning because my my we DS had too much milk in it how can I possibly enter in to worship the living and the true God when I have treated the wife of my youth with disregard or ladies how can you effectively praise God most I when you have said nasty horrific things to your husband or when we've treated our children not as image bearers of the Living God but it's a target for our attack I think Calvin is right on here how in the world will we bless God when we have cursed men Manton says the same tongue should not bless God and curse men it is hypocrisy the evils of the tongue where they are not restrained cannot consist with true piety I love what he says here obedience is counterfeit when it is not is not uniform what that's sink in for a moment obediences counterfeit where it is not uniform God doesn't just call you to be a hard worker on six days the rest of the time you know just speak whatever evil you want the hard works gonna cancel out the evil no obedience is not legit obedience is not real if it is not uniform and then he says this one table and there he's talking about the tables of the law remember there are two our duty toward God our duty toward men he says one table cannot be kept with the violation of another if you don't get anything else tonight get that verses 9 to 10 with it we bless God with it we praise God with it we pray to God with it we sing songs to God and with it we curse men who are made in his likeness who bear His image who have come from his hand it is absolutely contrary he says out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing my brethren these things ought not to be so as if he'd even need to tell us but because he's a pastor and because he wants the people of God to get it he puts it very clearly these things ought not to be so again listen to man turn in your carriage toward man let this check injury and indecency of speech he is God's image you know screaming at your kid because he hasn't eaten all of his toast is not treating him with the dignity that he deserves as an image-bearer yelling at your wife is not treating her as an image-bearer cursing at your husband do I need to keep going is not treating them as an image-bearer a critical spirit a gossipy mouth a slanderous is not treating the targets of that buffeting as image bearers Manton goes on in this section to say though images are not to be worshiped yet the image of God is not to be bespattered with reproaches James wants us to call he wants us to see the double mindedness of the tongue in our mouth the inconsistency and he wants us to repent and then notice verses 11 and 12 that double mindedness is illustrated here with these naturals does the spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening you know you're always gonna have that person well yeah there's actually this place in Africa that you know it was the strangest thing this grapevine produced an apple okay it may maybe that happened he's speaking generally from creation he's not scientist James it's kind of tedious when you're going through commentaries they spend you know three paragraphs on oh this actually did occur back in you know 15 18 and in this you know villa that's not change the point James is telling us something that we ought to know does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening of course it doesn't can a fig treat my brethren bare olives are a grapevine bare figs of course not does the snow spring yields both salt water and fresh Poole says the Apostle argues from what is impossible or monstrous in naturals to what is absurd in man nerves he's underscoring the inconsistency of the Doug double mindedness of the tongue in this poison that is produced wherein we bless God and we curse men who are made in his likeness Alec MO tear says it this way a fig must have a fig tree as its source a grape can only come from a vine and all live from an olive tree salt water has a salt source sweet water a sweet source bitter words a bitter heart critical words a critical spirit defamatory unloving speech issues from a heart where the love of Jesus is a stranger that's James's point that's James's point and we need to take heed to it well in conclusion the purpose of the section as I've already pointed out it's not James's tips on a half of the happily governed tongue it's negative there's no okay now here's how you need to correct this here's how you need to fix this again I don't think James is against that sort of practical exhortation and encouragement in fact I'm gonna do what you know I'm saying James is not doing here in just a moment because the rest of the bible does speak to this particular issue I think James assumes that his audience knows that James knows that the rest of the Bible speaks to the government of the tongue James is familiar with the book of Proverbs James is obviously familiar with the Old Testament James was you know the brother half-brother of our Lord Jesus much of James's deejay reeks of or smacks of what Jesus taught this whole idea of out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks James is following suit with his Lords teaching but I think Dale Allison records for us properly what's in view he says three one to twelve is more lament than help because James offers no counsel on how to tame the tongue but to do so would undo his own rhetoric which emphasizes that the tongue is untamable his chief goal is to warn not to instruct that's okay biblical authors can do that preaching can do that even if you don't get the five helps on how to govern your tongue you need to hear the warning that James brings before us on the abject danger that the tongue produces in the minds our and the lives of men we need to ponder the warnings of Scripture and we need to receive it now by way of qualification some will say well if I can't do it perfectly why should I try at all if I cannot be the complete man of verse two why would I even bother why not just you know blather out anything that comes into my head or heart and you know just rip everybody apart you're not supposed to do that the fact that you cannot obey the law perfectly does not mean you ought not to pursue obey the law perfectly you get that right imagine your kid you know Daddy you've told me about total depravity you've told me about my in Adam Ness you have told me that I'm you know a covenant breaker before God you've talked to me about total inability and yet you Yammer on about honor your father and your mother father I can't do you say well that's right son you know stay up all night and eat Doritos and watch TV and don't go to school to know you gently encourage the young lad to do his best give it the old college try Watson or I'm sorry Manton addresses this particular subject he says if it cannot be tamed what shall we do why do you bid us bridle it I answer one if we have lost our power God ma must not lose his right our inability to obey perfectly does not remove God's right to our obedience perfectly I realized that we just don't like this line of thought the Puritans were a whole lot better here than we are weakness doth not exempt from duty we must bridle it though we cannot of ourselves - though we cannot bridle it yet God can difficulty and impossibility as to the creatures endeavors are left that we may fly to God Lord's verse 8 while it is negative and verse 8 while it is depressing verse 8 while it is a downer essentially being told that you and your own strength cannot tame the tongue for the blood-bought child of God who knows divine resources are available to him verse 8 will promote in him prayerfulness dependence acknowledgement of his need and a searching out of the scriptures in order to ask God to help him to govern his tongue and I'm just going to repeat the the sort of suggestions I gave when we considered James 1:26 I'll just run quickly through these the practical suggestions from other parts of the Word of God first the necessity of justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone it's the means by which we govern our tongue it's not our own strength James already told us that despite the strength and power of God Almighty and the way that we come into the to the contact with that that power is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone in other words the best way to govern the tongue is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ the best way to govern the tongue is to be in him as pastor cam referenced earlier Philippians 3 be found in him not having my own righteousness which is from the law but that righteousness which is from God through faith in Christ Jesus the Lord that is primary if we are not in Christ those divine resources are not able available to us to aid us in this pursue secondly a good healthy dose of the fear of God the fear of God as Manton said the image ought not to be worshipped but it certainly ought not to be be spattered with reproaches if we fear God hopefully will esteem his images if we fear God hopefully we will treat with respect and dignity and love and honor those who bear His image you see that you see the close connection could it possibly be the way that I treat people is reflective of the way I view God could it actually be measured that way if we are wretched to our spouses we are wretched in our churches we are wretched in society it's probably because we're not doing well with God in fact you'll see that throughout the prophets they would indict the nation and very often they would use the second table of the law to show them their own sinfulness and they would typically bring it back to a first table situation it's because you don't fear God it's because you don't love God it's because you don't honor God what is the particular order in the Decalogue it's not haphazard it's not random God comes first then men if we are treating God properly if we walk in the fear of God then the logic is this we will treat his image-bearers properly that's pretty easy isn't it it's easy to say it but as I'm saying it I'm realizing it's a whole lot harder to apply it thirdly the importance of self-examination the importance of self-examination it's always a possibility in such sermons that persons they won't God my wife's sitting next to me cuz she really needs to hear this I'm so glad my husband's here boy he just he really needs a good dose of this tongue control brethren we all do we all need this we all need to heed we all need to hear we all need the warning we all need to examine ourselves fourthly we need to be in prayer in Scripture if no man contain the tongue because it's an unruly evil and that text does not only warn us but cast us on to divine grace or or throw us or hurl us upon divine grace certainly prayer and scripture are absolutely necessary we need to recognize the power of the Thar the tongues power or potential for evil I'll just call out the Proverbs 11 9 12 17 to 20 to 15 1 & 2 17 9 18 21 25 18 26 28 realizing that probably only Isaac got those so if you want these just email me and I'll send you the notes I don't want to spend a whole lot of time on each of these bridges makes the observation a discipline tongue is a gracious mercy to the church can I get an amen brethren that is a gracious mercy to the church discipline time you know when Paul says we need to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace in Ephesians 4 do you know what the biggest threat to the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace is it is that little two and a half inch pink thing between our lips loose lips sink ships and loose lips destroy churches now certainly pastors can wake up on a Sunday morning and come and preach sermons on the fact or on the the heresy that Jesus is a creature certainly pastors can stand up in pulpits and deny the Trinity and justification by faith alone I think that certainly does happen but more often than not it's those who have become masters of others that destroy churches we need to as well recognize the tongues potential for good have you ever had anybody who just encouraged you and it just was nice you can do that to someone else too that's okay well you know encouraged me know you can do that for others it's a great thing I highly encourage it the necessity to bridle your own tongue and to stop being a self-appointed reprove er of the Brethren now I I'm not I took it as the particular teachers to the general everybody but I think Calvin pool and Manton they're alleged their interpretation is certainly legitimate within the context of the church there are those who are the finger wag ears to everyone else on how they ought to conduct themselves setting our fingers let us get into our closets and let us govern our own hearts and govern our own tongues I love that statement a solemn and keep your heart with all diligence for out of it spring the issues of life notice what Solomon does not say keep the heart of your wife keep the heart of your husband keep the heart of your kids keep the heart of the guy in the church that really has problems Keeper be kind be encouraging be an accountability accountability buddy be whatever oh that's great but you are to govern your heart you have a full-time job in that it is a 24/7 pursuit to govern your own heart / Tom you you probably don't have time enough in the day to govern you know for other people's hearts and tongues I'm just guessing here you just don't have that time we need to recognize the close connection between the heart and the tongue Matthew 12:34 out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks and we need to recognize that we will give an account of the way in which we used our tongues Matthew 12:36 I say to you that for every idle word men may speak they give a count of it in the day of judgment and then Jesus makes the very clear statement by your words now he is not upbraiding justification by faith he's highlighting that closed tongue heart connection is highlighting the reality those justified by grace through faith will by and large use their words properly those who have not been justified by grace through faith will not use their words properly it is a demonstration a litmus test it is a barometer if you will of the spiritual condition of the heart of man and I think we always ought to close after a passage like this with an appreciation of fresh of the active obedience of our Lord Jesus Christ praise God that he never reviled praise God that he never deceived praise God that he never gossiped praise God that he never slandered praise God that he never used his tongue in a manner that James says we all use it we praise God for the imputed righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ we praise God for his life his death his resurrection we praise God for the power of the Christian gospel that is able to cleanse us from all sin even tongue sins this ought not to produce in us more tongue sins but it ought to produce in us an appreciation for the god of absolute grace and mercy who has cleansed us in the blood of the Lamb well let us pray our Father we thank you for your word and we thank you for this warning we thank you God for the way it's couched and we pray that you'd help us to take it to heart help us to see the impossibility in our own strength to bridle the tongue men can tame horses men can tame beasts of the field yet when it comes to the way that we speak we fall so short we pray that you would help us we pray that you would grant us grace we pray that this church would know the mercy of a disciplined Tong on the part of all those here and with it may we bless you and with it may we speak well of our of our fellows we ask that you would go with us now bring us together on Wednesday night that we may study Scripture bring us together next Sunday for worship with thank you for the events of today and Surrey we pray for that work that you would establish it that you would solidify it that you would cause it to be a beacon of light in that community and may sinners come and hear the truth and may they be saved by your grace and for your glory go with us now we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord amen close with a brief time of meditation and then be dismissed you you