Open your copy of God's Word to James chapter 3 this morning. James chapter 3 and also in the bulletin I have an insert for those of you who care to take notes and track with me and study these matters later during your devotions. That note page is in your bulletin. And if you're using one of the Pew Bibles, if you're one of our guests, we have Pew Bibles for you. If you don't have a copy of a scripture, those are located in the pockets in front of you with the hymnals. I'm going to ask you to turn to page 1209 in that Pew Bible. James chapter 3. I think it was last week I mentioned Dr. Seuss and Aesop. These are two names that we remember from our childhood, reading longer books or short books or even short stories that bore these two authors' names. And I even quoted Aesop in my last sermon to you. And I want to start this sermon by referring again to the great ancient storyteller, Aesop. And he would tell even one paragraph stories. And every time he told a story, there was always a moral to that story. And here is one of his shortest stories. He says, once upon a time, a donkey found a lion's skin. And so the donkey tried it on and he strutted around in his lion's skin and he frightened many animals. They were running from him. But soon, a fox came along. And the donkey tried to scare him as well. But the fox, hearing the donkey's voice, said to him, if you want to terrify me, you'll have to disguise your bray. And that's the end of the story. You say, what's the moral of that story? Aesop's moral is this. Clothes may disguise a fool, but his words will give him away." Good wisdom from the children's storyteller. Clothes may disguise a fool, but his words will give him away. You know, that came to my mind this week as I read a sermon preached by another pastor in another state to his congregation. And what he is communicating to this congregation is that words give you away. Listen to these words by a well-known pastor to his congregation. Quote, the tongue is you in a very unique way. Your tongue is a tattletale that tells on the heart and discloses the real person. And not only that, But misuse of the tongue is perhaps the easiest way to sin. There are some sins that an individual may not be able to commit simply because he does not have the opportunity. But there are no limits to what one can say. No built-in restraints. No boundaries. In Scripture, the tongue is variously described as wicked, deceitful, perverse, filthy, corrupt, flattering, slanderous, gossiping, blasphemous, foolish, boasting, complaining, cursing, contentious, sensual, and vile. And that list is not exhaustive. And then he said this to his congregation. No wonder God put the tongue in a cage behind the teeth, walled in by the mouth, And he finishes with this statement. Using another figure, someone has observed that because the tongue is in a wet place, it can easily slip. I'm reminded of Aesop. By a man's words, he will be given away. This issue of how we talk is not just a passing issue that we need to visit every once in a while to make sure that we're covering all the potential opportunities for sin. This issue of our speech as Christians needs to become more central. Actually, as we come back to this study that we're doing through the epistle of James, I think you're going to be surprised that James addresses the issue of our speech, the issue of our nouns and verbs, if you will, in every single chapter of this epistle. Or if you want to look at it this way, in every major point of his sermon, he addresses how we talk. You say, well, show us. Well, chapter 1, look at verse 19. This you know, my beloved brethren, but everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger. Look at chapter 1, verse 26. If anyone thinks himself to be religious and yet does not bridle his tongue, but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless. Come to chapter 2. Look at verse 12. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. Go to chapter 4, verses 11 and 12. Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother speaks against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge of it. There is only one lawgiver and judge. The one who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor? And then again, look over in chapter 5, verse 12. But above all, my brethren, do not swear either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath But your yes is to be yes. And your no, no. So that you may not fall under judgment. In every chapter, James is coming back to something that we too, as Christians alive in 2018, need to come back to on a regular basis. And it's how we talk. Our speech. We claim to be gospel people. Do we have Gospel conversation? Do we talk in a consistent way with our standing? You say, every chapter, we didn't stop off at chapter 3 yet. I want you to go to James 3 now. Because in James 3, I dare say that we not only have James' most extensive treatment of the tongue, he's going to talk about it from verse 1 all the way down to verse 12. And if you want to, I think you can make a case that he talks about the tongue all the way down to verse 18, the whole chapter. When we come to James 3, we're not only coming to his most extensive treatment of how Christians should talk and how they shouldn't talk, but I would argue that we are coming to not only the New Testament's central teaching on this in a most concentrated place and manner, but entire Scripture. I think and I believe that James 3, outside of what's spread out in the book of Proverbs, James 3 is the most concentrated theology of our words. This is a very, very important text that we're coming to. It's so important. That as we've learned earlier in this epistle, I just don't want us to stop by the mirror of the Word of God, look at it one time, and then move on. I want us to look carefully at the mirror of God's Word, especially when it comes to our speech, since James makes so much to do about our speech. And so I'm going to take three parts, three messages, three studies to go through James 3, verses 1-12. I'm calling this mini-series, if you will, Remember the Member. And I'm using the word member there from verse 6 where he refers to the different members of the body, the human body, and the tongue is the main member. So I want to talk to you this week, Lord willing, in the next two weeks about the importance of remembering the member. Today, we're going to talk about the muscle warning. The tongue is the strongest muscle in the human body, if you will, as far as impact potential. We're going to talk about the muscle warning today in verses 1 and 2. And then next week, we're going to talk about the muscle impact. The destructive force of the tongue. And then we're going to come by again in our third study and look at muscle control. How then do we control the tongue? You say, well, is James really starting a new topic here when he comes to James 3? I mean, he does give us that one indicator where he uses that phrase, my brethren, we're going to see in verse 1. And that usually signifies that he's moving on and telescoping out on his topics. But I want to be careful and remind you that he, in a sense, is broaching a new topic in an extensive way, and that's the tongue. He'd mentioned it several times, but now he's going to land on it for a while. But he really isn't changing the thrust of his epistle still. He ended chapter 1 this way, if any man thinks himself to be religious and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless. And then he goes from that thought into all of chapter 2 where we saw the importance of our life bearing forth fruit that's consistent with being Christians. And then he comes out of chapter 2 and what's his first exhibit? It's our words. He's saying if our lives are supposed to bring forth fruit, if our lives are supposed to be lived consistently with our salvation status, then the first matter that we need to stop off and investigate is how we talk. So in a sense, he's continuing on with the importance of works following faith. Homer Kent in his commentary agrees. He says proper speech is a work that true faith must exhibit. That's why we may also call these three sermons not only walking it, but talking it. Or we could go off on a little tangent from our theme for this series in James. We could call these three sermons in James 3, you say it, let's hear it. You say you're a believer in Christ, we're listening. And we'll be persuaded by what comes out of your mouth, because what comes out of your mouth is what comes out of your heart. So James is landing with both feet on the topic of our words. He has no gloves on in these 12 verses. You know, you say, well, I thought he was supposed to be comforting these believers who have been scattered because of persecution. Remember what James has done. He has comforted them in the opening verses. But then he has also in essence said, now look at what your persecution is revealing about your own hearts. Look what's come out of your hearts. Because you're being persecuted, you're saying things like, this is from God, and how can God give us bad gifts? So you're not only doubting God, but now you are actually practicing personal favoritism, trying to cozy up with Christians and non-Christians of influence who can probably try to alleviate some of your suffering. You're even turning your guns on each other. My, oh my, what this persecution is revealing about your heart. And the fact that he's spending so much time in all five chapters talking about their words means this. that when these Jewish Christians were being persecuted, when they were under the gun, when they were being pressed by trials, it was through the words they were speaking that they were revealing their heart and that there was much work to be done. Much work. And so he's saying here in James 3, verses 1-12, you must, as gospel people, you must control your tongue. You must. As a matter of fact, we can go beyond must. James is saying, you will control your tongue if you are truly saved. But I think we can even press it further than that. Not just you must and you will control your tongue, but listen. He's saying to those who are truly forgiven people. He's saying to those who truly possess the Spirit of God. He's saying to those who are rescued, not only you must and you will, but you can. It's possible. Because of your standing in Christ. Because of the resources you have in Jesus. Perhaps you're here this morning, and you're still in a loose orbit around the church. You're in a loose orbit around the things of God and Scripture, and you're still forming your opinion, and you're still looking in with curiosity as to whether this is real or not. You're saying, I can't see God. Is He real? I'm going to stay close to the church and keep watching. Well, let me say something to you, brother and sister. If you're still evaluating the truth of the Gospel, then look no further than those who say that they are Christians. Those who have truly been born again by the Spirit of God. And watch them carefully because we're not saying that their speech is perfect, but we're saying that there's a force, there's a Spirit, there's the Person of God indwelling His people that enables them to control their speech, And they're not perfect, and no one makes a claim to it, but they're growing. They're growing. And if you have not yet accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I want you to not only listen to this sermon this morning, but watch those around you. You're going to see that we're not perfect, but we're growing. And we struggle too with what we say, but God's at work in our midst. And as you see the Spirit of God at work in the people around you, I invite you to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior as well. Well, here's what I want to do this morning as we push through these first two verses. Before we unpack all 12 verses and the next two messages, I want to undertake three tasks with you this morning. Three tasks. And they're found just in verses 1 and 2 of chapter 3. I want to read through the entire 12 verses first, and then we're going to come back and look at verses 1 and 2. Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, Knowing that as such, we will incur a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he's a perfect man. Able to bridle the whole body as well. Now if we put the bits into the horse's mouth so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well. Look at the ships also. Though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, they are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire. and the tongue is a fire. The very world of iniquity. The tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body and sets on fire the course of our life and is set on fire by hell. For every species of beast and birds, of reptiles and creatures, of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. But no one can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it, we bless our Lord and Father and with it we curse men who have been made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. Does a fountain send from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives? Or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh." Heavy text. But we have only three tasks before us this morning. Task number one is simply this. Check your motives. Check your motives. Look at verse 1 again of chapter 3. Let not many of you become teachers. Let not many of you become teachers." What is this short phrase going to teach us? How is it going to prepare us to talk about all of our problem, all of our battle, with our words? I want you to note first of all, under this first task, I want you to note the office. Just simply the office. The word for teachers here is actually referring to an office. It's a gift to the New Testament church from the resurrected Lord. Hold your finger here and let's be reminded about the office and the practice and the leadership of teaching. Look at Ephesians 4 with me. Leaving your finger in James 3. Ephesians 4. Paul is going to be very helpful here. In verses 7-9. I'll go all the way through 10. You have the account of our Lord's incarnation, and His burial, and His resurrection, and His ascension. And as we crest into verse 11, we see His continued activity as He builds His church. Look at verse 11. And He, Jesus, the resurrected, ascended, victorious Jesus, gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers. Now there's a lot of discussion whether pastors and teachers is combined into one term. I personally land in that school of thought. It's an old Greek grammar rule being used there. But others break it apart. But either way, there were teachers in the New Testament church then and now who are gifted from the resurrected Lord to serve the body of Christ. Go back to James 3, but as you go back to James 3, listen to Paul in another passage talk about this ministry of teaching. Romans 12, 6-7, Paul writes, Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly, if service in his serving, or he who teaches in his teaching. Paul again in 1 Corinthians 12.29 says, all are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? And even the author of Hebrews chimes in in Hebrews 5.12 where he writes, for though by this time you ought to be teachers, So we see, just from a brief flyover of the New Testament, that the ascended, victorious, resurrected Lord Jesus is making sure that in His expressions of His church, we call them local churches, He has gifted men and women who are teachers. That's the office. Now, there's a problem. And the problem is the one being addressed by James in James 3.1. Recall that he's writing to this early layer of new believers who are predominantly Jewish. And the Jewish mindset, when they came together to worship, even those early Jewish Christians came together with a synagogue mindset. In other words, as they continued to gather, they would gather in a manner that resembled the synagogue worship of the Jews, where they would come together and listen to the Old Testament being taught by rabbis. Now, the new church didn't have rabbis, but they are not far removed from that mindset. And I just need to remind all of us that to the typical Jewish mindset back then and even today, the title rabbi is extremely exalted. Some even refer to the rabbi as, quote, my great one. This was the mindset not only today, but especially back then. Rabbis, those who would stand up and teach the law, and the local synagogues back then were held in the highest esteem by the Jews. As a matter of fact, listen to what our Lord says as He reminds His followers about the high esteem that these rabbis and those who stood up to teach in a synagogue held. He said these words in Matthew 23. But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men. for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments, and they love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the marketplace, and they love being called rabbi by men." Yes, the Jewish mind held rabbis in high esteem. As a matter of fact, there are stories. There's one particular story a rabbi was taken hostage and a ransom was demanded by his captors. And the Jews believed that they should pay the ransom for a rabbi before they would pay a ransom for their own parents. Such high esteem. There's another story of a funeral procession that was being held for parents of a family, and that funeral procession was abandoned in order to help a scribe travel across a road. They held rabbis in such high esteem. So, these new believers that James is writing to have just been in Christ for a few years, and their mindset of the exalted visibility of a rabbi is not far in the rear view mirror. Now, if you take that reality and add to that the fact that these Jewish believers have been scattered away from Jerusalem because of persecution, and they landed in communities where there were existing synagogues, or they were establishing new locations of worship that were fashioned after the synagogue, and on top of that, there was now a shortage of teachers, we're seeing a problem here. that according to James, there were many immature believers in Christ who were wanting to step into the role of teacher because they wanted the visibility and the respect. There was ample room with this scattered church for well-meaning, but ambition-driven believers to step into the spotlight. And this is a problem. This is a problem. They wanted to be teachers. And isn't it true that the spotlight shines in the front of the room? Arkent Hughes, when speaking to his congregation, got very frank at this point. And he writes, quote, the problem in a word was ambition, which has been and continues to be the bane of the church. Often, instead of being Christ-driven people, believers are need-driven in public ministry. The need for public attention, to be thought intelligent, to show oneself wiser than others, to have influence and authority can fuel the most ostensibly pious sermons. Such persons not only scramble the places of verbal prominence, but scheme to climb the ladder to be president of this work or chairman of that committee. Such ambition reaches its zenith when it envies others, becoming jealous when a rival is elevated or praised, and rejoicing when something goes wrong for the competitor." He's right. There's a problem here. There's a void of teaching. There's a void of teachers as they are scattered and scrambling as a church. And some people who are not equipped, not qualified, are stepping into the spotlight. And James is stepping in with this caution. Verse 1, let not many of you become teachers, my brethren. Now, what about the application? The application. as far as checking your motives. Some of you may be seated here this morning, and the conclusion you're reaching in your mind is this, well, I'm not a church teacher. So I don't have to listen to whatever's coming up in this short three-part series on words. I'm not a church teacher. And you're like, so let's just get on with the series. Now hold on a minute. Tap the brakes. Tap the brakes. Let's don't rush into verse 3 just yet. A couple of pastoral questions. 1. Are you a husband? If you're a husband, you're a teacher. Because Paul writes in Ephesians 5.25-27 that as Jesus washes his church with his word, so are husbands supposed to wash their wives with the word. If you're a husband, you're a teacher. in some degree. You say, well, I'm not a husband. Okay. Are you a wife? Because Paul says in Titus 2.4, if you're a wife, you're supposed to be teaching other women. You're a teacher if you're a wife. Are you a parent? That's my third question. I think you know where I'm going with this. If you're a parent or a grandparent, Ephesians 6.4 calls you a teacher. You are to bring up children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. You say, well, I'll fix that. I'm not married and not a parent. So I don't need verses 1 and 2 of chapter 3. I'm not a teacher. Well, I'm not done asking my questions yet either. Are you a friend to someone? Because when I read Proverbs 27.17, I read that iron sharpens iron, and so does one sharpen his friend. If you're a friend, you're a teacher to some degree. You say, well, I don't have any friends. I'm not married. I don't have any kids. I got one more question for you. Are you a Christian? Are you a Christian? Because when I read the Great Commission in Matthew chapter 28, I read these words. That we are to make disciples, right? Going, baptizing, and what? Teaching whatsoever I've commanded you. There's a real degree that every believer, to a degree, is a teacher. Yes, there is the gift of the teacher that stands in front of the church and teaches. I get that, and that's true, and that's real. But whatever's true for the teacher and the pastor teachers who stand up front, the elders in a local assembly, is not isolated just to them. What's true for them up front is true for everyone that's not up front. Because all of us have a teaching role. What James is doing skillfully with his pen here in 3.1 is he is using the office of teacher of pastor-teacher, if you will. And he's going to move a problem that we have right down to the general public in the body of Christ. It's a warning for all. So the first task is past us. We're ready to go to the second task. I call the second task, count the cost. Count the cost. Look at v. 1 again. "...let not many of you become teachers, my brethren..." Look at this. "...knowing that as such we..." I love how James includes himself here. We teachers will incur a stricter judgment. A stricter sentence, if you will, or another way you could translate this particular word is an accounting. When there needs to be a reckoning, a one-on-one reckoning. Now I believe he's talking to Christians here. He's talking to true believers here. So this reckoning is what we refer to, we get it from 1 Corinthians, the bema of Christ. It's where believers stand before Christ. Not to be condemned. There's no condemnation to those who are in Christ. But there is some sort, in the future, a reckoning for our life as a believer. And he's saying at that moment, those who stood in the ministry officially as teachers, and James is going to say, and anyone else who teaches, anyone else that has a tongue in their mouth, understand that we're going to have to answer for our speech. Now, both Testaments, are replete with connections between what we say and answering for it. Or what we don't say and answering for it. Remember Ezekiel? In Ezekiel 3.17-18 we read these words, Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman to the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, warn them from me. When I say to the wicked, you will surely die, and you do not warn him, or speak out to warn the wicked from his wicked way that he may live, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand." You see the connection between what we say and how we'll have to answer. I see it in Acts 20, Paul's brief testimony. He says in verses 26 and 27, Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. Sounding like Ezekiel. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. Again, the author of Hebrews is very much aware that there's an accounting coming up He writes, "'Obey those who rule over you and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable to you.'" But I think the strongest text, the strongest words that connect what we say and how we'll answer for what we say is from the mouth of our Lord Jesus in Matthew 12. He says this, But I say to you, that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." When it comes to opening our mouths, whether in an official speaking capacity or not, we have to understand that we're going to answer for that. but especially to those who are in an official teaching capacity. It says that we will incur a stricter judgment. That's at the end of verse 1. A stricter judgment. You say, well, how come we have a stricter judgment if we are in any capacity of a teacher, especially in an official capacity? I want to give you a threefold answer to that. It's a stricter judgment because of content. A stricter judgment because of content. One commentator says, too many of the Jewish Christians were attempting to teach what they did not clearly understand. If we stand up as teachers of God's Word and we say, this is what God said, and He not only said it then, but He says now, and we are wrong, that's a heavy thing to answer for. Say God said something and He didn't say that. And in teaching it wrong, we don't teach what He did say. I feel that weight every single time I get prepared to teach or preach God's Word. And it's a tiring weight that is now in its third decade. I'm not complaining. I'm acknowledging it's there. The words of our Lord in Matthew 5.19 from the Sermon on the Mount weigh heavy on my shoulders. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." It's heavy. It's heavy. This explains why when I transitioned from youth pastor, where I took my study time very seriously every week, but I transitioned to a senior pastorate in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, I felt that weight pressed down even more. And as a 33-year-old first-time senior pastor, I would study as I was able to throughout the week, and for a while as a solo pastor, so tending to a lot of different issues in a church of about 170. Scrambling for my study time, but when I got to Friday and Saturday, I took no calls. I scheduled no counseling. and I would study. And even on Saturdays, I would go in in the afternoon or into the evening, and I, with all the youthfulness of a 33-year-old, I would stay until 1 or 2 in the morning. Study. Going through different layers of my study. I did the same layers I do today. I go through some of the more simpler commentaries and study Bibles and see where I want to tap the ground in a passage. Then I get out the Greek and I get the Greek resources out and I go in. And after that, I dig into more exegetical commentaries. And then after all that, I might read one or two sermons that others have preached on this message, like Charles Spurgeon or others. And then I'm crafting an outline and packaging it. I feel that weight. And it would feel like I was studying for an hour and it's 2 in the morning and I had to make myself go home. And then I'd get up early and finish. Why? Because I've got to answer, for when I say the next morning, God says this, did He really say that in His Word? because I'm addressing His people that He has purchased with His blood for all eternity. And I don't want to get it wrong. I remember one time, and by the way, our church there in North Carolina backed up to a dark parking lot which went into North Carolina woods. And you know, that late at night, you hear creaks and you're a little more alert than normal, right? Not just because you're studying, but the boogeyman's out there somewhere. And it's two in the morning. And I remember one time, there was a knock at the door, a sudden knock at the door about one in the morning, and I went out my office door, similar to where it is here, and I looked out the back door and it was glass, and there was a man there with a gun. at like one in the morning. Boy, I woke up fast like that. And I made it through that. He was actually my friend. He was a police officer. But he was just checking on me to make sure I was still awake and studying. The gun woke me up though. I saw that before I saw his face. But you say, that's kind of crazy. No, that's the weight of being a teacher of God's Word. You want to get it right. You want to get it right. So there's a stricter judgment because of the content. But secondly, there's a stricter judgment because of integrity. Integrity. This is an issue of hypocrisy or honesty. In other words, as I stand here as a teacher, week in and week out, as Pastor Ernie stands here, and we teach you God's Word, do we get out of this pulpit, get into our vehicles, go home, or in Ernie's case, walk home, and go to our living rooms and live the total opposite with our wife and our kids. Or live the total opposite with our neighbors from what we taught just a few hours earlier. There's a stricter judgment because of integrity. What we stand up and say God's Word teaches, do we not obey it ourselves? We feel this way every day. I feel Paul's words in Romans 2, 1-3, For by your word you will be justified, and by your word you will be condemned. But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. Do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God?" It's a good question. Our Lord in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7, verses 1-5 says, yeah, don't be worrying about the speck in your brother's eyes that you just keep harping on when you've got a big beam sticking out of your forehead. It's an issue of hypocrisy. There's a stricter judgment because of the potential for hypocrisy or because of the need for integrity. And teachers feel that. But thirdly, there's also a stricter judgment because of impact. Stricter judgment because of impact. When a teacher teaches someone, not just officially as I'm doing right now, but as a husband teaches his wife, as parents teach their child, as a friend teaches his friend or her friend, as a believer disciples other believers, We set those believers, listen, on a trajectory. We set them on a course. And they're trusting that what we've taught them is true. But that person is going to go on a course. Is the course the right course? Our teaching has an impact. And it will impact for good or for bad. And we feel that weight. You know, there's good coaching and there's bad coaching, but time is what tells which it is. And coaches get fired. Our Lord even warns in Matthew 18, 6-7, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believes in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he would be drowned in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world because of offenses. For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes." Yes, a stricter judgment. Why? Because of content, because of integrity, and because of impact. Well, again, let me crawl into your thinking. You might be thinking by this point, well, okay, that settles it. I'm not going to get into any teaching role, ever. Officially in this church? Or in those five questions you asked? I'm not going to teach anyone. I mean, this is heavy. Officially or unofficially. Let me answer you if that's what you're thinking now. If you're thinking, well, that's the reason why I've stayed away from teaching and diving in more significantly here. I don't want to bear this responsibility. Well, the third task we have is for you to face the reality. And it's verse 2. for we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he or she is a perfect man, a perfect person, able to bridle the whole body as well. A couple of truths jump off this verse and hit me in my thinking as I read it. First of all, James is saying that this struggle is the norm for all believers. I love, did you catch what James did? He puts himself in the word we in verse 1. Dealing with official teaching in the church. But he also puts himself in verse 2 with we. Including himself with everyone in the church. Doesn't that do your heart some good? Remember who James is. James is the half-brother of Jesus. James is the oldest remaining sibling of the family. Was there even a physical resemblance in the family? Did James even have some physical features like Jesus? Possibly. I don't know. We're talking about James who by Acts 15, as an elder, a pastor at Jerusalem, the apostles are answering to him now by Acts 15. This is James! And he says, man, I've got to tell you something, I struggle with my words too. I'm so glad he says that. I get that common to man thing going from 1 Corinthians 10, 13. James, you struggle with this too? And none other than King David, the man after God's own heart says, oh yeah, yeah, I struggle with the mouth too. In Psalm 19.14, I have to pray these words, David would say. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord. This struggle with our words, with your words, is the norm, listen, for every believer. Every believer. It says we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he's a perfect man. One commentator says, nothing seems to trip a believer more than a dangling tongue. I like that. It says we all stumble in many ways. You see that word many? That's not talking just about frequency, but variety as well. This struggle is the norm for all believers. But a second reality jumps out of verse 2. This struggle, with our words, is the vehicle towards maturity. So what do you mean by that? Well, again, look at the verse. For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man. This is the Greek word teleos. We've seen this word already in this epistle. Chapter 1, verse 4. Let endurance have its perfect result so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. This isn't talking about a reachable perfection in this life. What we're talking about here is the direction and the progression towards maturity. In other words, the more that I have to struggle with my words and my constant struggle with sin, with what I say and what I don't say, I don't lose heart in that battle. I realize that this battle is a norm for every believer, and I must battle my tongue in order to press on towards maturity. This struggle is the vehicle towards maturity. You've got to do the yuck work There's maturity. It's like the demo team. Those of you who watch Fix Your Upper. You've got to have demo Tuesday or whatever before you can start putting up the new sheetrock or shiplap or whatever. You can't start that. You've got to do the hard work of demo. You've got to pass that way. But a third reality and final reality jumps off this second verse and it's this. This struggle is the introduction towards self-control. It's at the end of the verse. If you bridle the tongue, if you can have self-control of what you say, look at the end of the verse, you have self-control over your whole body. What do you mean, nouns and verbs control the body? No, no. Your tongue is closely wired to your heart. And what's in your heart is going to show up in your words. We've talked about that before. And if you harness that, that means you're harnessing your heart. See? And when you harness your heart, you harness not only your words, but you harness your looks. You harness your personal discipline with your body. I'm just going to throw this out there. If you struggle like I do with taking care of your body, If you struggle like I do with loving the fact that so much of general revelation is edible. If you struggle like so many do with lust, or with money, or with your marriage, or with being kind, or with growing in your faith and living out your faith, or with being involved with ministry, or even your work and your vocation, if you struggle with these peripheral issues of personal discipline, here's the challenge from verse 2. Start with your heart, and it's going to show out your mouth first. You get control of your words by God's grace and resources, and you're going to see that self-control easily spreads to the rest of your life. You bridle the whole body. I'm so encouraged that Paul says that self-control is one of the manifestations of the Spirit's fruit in Galatians 5.23. But that doesn't mean we don't have work to do. So James starts in chapter 3, verse 1, talking to the teachers and the leaders in the church. But he only uses that as an occasion. By the end of chapter 3, verse 1, and into verse 2, he's talking about all of us once again. You must control your tongue. Those of you who watched Operation Desert Storm unfold in the news, you saw how we overran the Iraqi war machine with our coalition forces and what was so unique is that we were able to strike strategic targets with never seen before accuracy. We deployed special forces behind enemy lines. These men had handheld lasers and they would focus that laser on a particular, not just block of the city, not just a particular building, but a room and the missiles that were launched from miles up would find that exact point where that laser was aimed. So what we're going to do, what we've started to do today and what we're going to do for the next two weeks is we are going to level our laser at the smallest target that if not submitted will do great damage to your Christian walk. We're fixing our attention on your tongue. Talk it. and live it. Proverbs 21.23 says, whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles. Proverbs 18.21, death and life. Hear that? Death and life are in the power of the tongue and those who love it will eat its fruit.