I've entitled this message, The
Tongue. All the tongue is, is a window
into the heart. What is in our hearts comes out
in our words. It is from the heart the words
have their origin. The Lord said, out of the abundance
of the heart the mouth speaketh." And he said, by your words you'll
be justified and by your words you'll be condemned. Now James
says in verse 3, behold we put bits, James chapter 3 verse 3,
we put bits in the horse's mouths that they may obey us. And we
turn about their whole body. A little bit and bridle and a
horse's mouth thing might weigh 2,000 pounds. And you can get
it to go any direction you want just by that bit and bridle. And then he says in verse 4,
Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and
are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a
very small rudder. Very small in comparison to the
ship. In the same manner, so the tongue
is a little member. It's a very small muscle in the
body. It can't be compared to the quadricep
or the, I can't remember the names of any of the muscles,
but it's a very small muscle. But this is something that I'd
never really thought about before. Even so, the tongue is a little
member and boasteth great things. I don't know why that had never
really hit me before. This little member boasteth great
things. Now let me say a few things about
what the Bible says about us before we deal with this tongue
boasting great things. Let me remind you, the Bible
is the inspired Word of God. You believe that? It's the inspired
word of God. And you know what the Bible tells
us about ourselves? We're evil. When the Lord was speaking to
his disciples, he said, if you then, he's talking to Peter and
John, James, that bunch, if you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to
your children. How much more shall your heavenly father give
good things to them that ask him? Now, if the Lord looked
at you and said, if you then being evil, would you backtrack? What's he talking about? No,
you'd know it's so, wouldn't you? Genesis chapter six, verse five,
and God saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth and
that every imagination the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. You know, the whole Bible is
understood in the context of that verse of Scripture. That
tells what we are. How'd we get that way? Well,
in Genesis chapter 2, verse 17, God said, in the day you eat
thereof, you shall surely die. He ate and he died. He didn't
die physically, but he died spiritually. He became evil. And the reason
we're evil is that we're born of him. Romans 5, 12 says, by
one man sin entered the world, and death by sin. So that death
passed upon all men, and that all have sinned. When he sinned,
men you sinned. We were in Him. We can't be separated
from Him. We're part of Adam. And Romans
8, 7 says the carnal mind, the fleshly mind, the one we were
born with, is enmity against God. The psalmist said the wicked
are estranged from the womb. They go about as soon as they
be born, speaking lies. David said, behold, I was shapen. iniquity, and in sin did my mother
conceive me. I was born bad. Turn with me
to Psalm 14. I think this is very interesting.
This psalm is in the Psalms twice. You'd think once would be enough,
but this psalm is in the Psalms twice. Psalm 14 and Psalm 53,
the same psalm repeated twice. That gives us some idea of the
importance of this psalm. And Paul quotes it in Romans
chapter 3. You'll remember. But look what
the psalmist says in Psalm 14. The fool has said in his heart, no, God, that there is is in
italics. It's supplied by the translators. And I think if anything, it messes
the meaning up. The fool says in his heart to
God, no, no. They are corrupt. They have done
abominable works. There's none that doeth good.
The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men to see
if there were any that did understand and seek God. They are all gone
aside. They are all together become
filthy. There is none that doeth good.
No, not one. Now that is God's testimony when
he looked down from heaven and saw me and you. There's none
that doeth good. No, not one. Jeremiah 17, 9, the heart is
deceitful above all things, desperately wicked, incurably wicked. Without question, the Bible teaches,
God tells us that men are totally depraved and totally unable to
get themselves out of that mess. You believe that? You know it's
true regarding you? Now, in light of the scriptural
description of us, isn't it amazing the things the tongue boasts
of? I've got a free will. Right. I don't believe that for a second.
Your will is controlled by your nature. If you had a free will,
you could be perfect. You could never sin again. You
don't have a free will. You have a chained will, chained
to an evil nature. Somebody says, I have a good
heart. No, you don't. I'll assure you.
You have already exposed yourself when you think something like
that. The Bible says you have a deceitful heart. It says, I
have a deceitful heart, desperately, incurably wicked. Well, I can
do that which pleases God. The scripture says the carnal
mind is enmity against God, and it's not subject to the law of
God, neither indeed can be. Well, I can obey the commandments.
Paul couldn't. He said, we know that the law
is spiritual, but I'm carnal, sold under sin. Oh, these things
that this little member in our body boasts of. There were a bunch of boys around
a dog, And one of them was holding a leash, and a man came up and
looked at these boys. There were eight or ten of them. He thought,
what are they doing with that dog? So he comes up to them and said,
what are you boys doing? They said, well, we found this
dog on the leash, and every one of us want to take it home. And
so here's how we're going to decide. Whoever tells the biggest
lie gets to take the dog home. And the man was offended. He
said, that's appalling. When I was a boy, I never lied
like that. He handed him the leash. Here it is. You won. That's
every one of us. That's every one of us. When the tongue boasts these
things, it is lying, and that's what makes a man most like the
devil. He's a liar and the father of it. That's what the Lord said.
He's a liar and the father of it. God hates lying. there is a scripture in Revelation
21 or 22 I can't remember but it says, all liars, all liars
shall go to hell. I think of the Ninth Commandment,
thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor by gossip,
by slander, by innuendo, by silence. God hates that. Turn with me
for a moment to Proverbs 6, 16. When I said by silence, I meant
by silence when you should be defending them. Proverbs chapter 6. Verse 16. These six things doth
the Lord hate. And I want us to notice what
a place lying has in this. This six things that the Lord
hateth, seven are an abomination unto him, a proud look, a lying
tongue, hands that shed innocent blood and heart that deviseth
wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief. a false witness that speaketh
lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren. Now God hates
those seven things and you'll notice three of them had to do
with telling the truth. James says in verse 5, even so
the tongue is a little member And it boasteth great things,
tells lies on God, tells lies on people, misrepresents, even
so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold,
how great a matter a little fire kindles." Just a spark can start
a forest fire of thousands of square miles. Verse
6, now look at his description of the tongue. and this is such
an accurate description, the tongue is a fire. The tongue is the window into
our heart and it's a destructive fire. Proverbs chapter 16 verse
27 says an ungodly man diggeth up evil. He's looking for things.
He diggeth up evil and in his lips there is a burning fire. The tongue is a fire, a world
of iniquity. Not just iniquity, but a world
of iniquity. The sins of the tongue, lies,
criticism, gossip, slander, cursing, blasphemy, misrepresentation,
libel, falsehood, flattery, falsification, perjury, defamation, the sins
of the tongue, lies about God, lies about His character, lies
about His gospel, lies about the true state of man. Oh, the
sins of the tongue. Truly, it is a world, a world
of iniquity. The whole man is corrupted by
the tongue. Verse six, and the tongue is a fire, a world of
iniquity. So is the tongue among our members. James is talking about himself.
When I'm talking about the tongue, I'm painfully aware of the world
of iniquity that's in this tongue. And I'm ashamed. But it's me. It's me. It's you. I don't know
anyone that is able to tame their tongue. As a matter of fact,
he says there's no man that can tame it, doesn't he? Let's go
and read him. Verse 6. And the tongue is a fire, a world
of iniquity. So is the tongue among our members,
that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course
of nature, and is set on fire of hell. Now, the whole man is
corrupted by the tongue. The course of nature is literally
the wheel of life. The wheel of life. The wicked
are estranged from the womb. They go about as soon as they
be born. Speaking lies. Somebody says,
well, how can a baby lie? A baby can't even talk. Well,
they're doing it. They'll cry in such a way to make you think
something that's not so. Do you have to teach a baby to
lie? Do you ever have to teach your
children to lie? Well, they just follow example. No, it comes
natural, doesn't it? It's so easy. It sets on the
fire of hell. It is actually hellish. Verse
7. For every kind of beast, and
of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed."
Have you ever been to, what's it, SeaWorld? SeaWorld, yeah. I remember we
went there, and we were looking at those orcas, and they tamed
them. Those things, they'd get them
to do anything they wanted. We can tame anything. Anything has
been tamed of mankind, but, verse 8, but the tongue. can no man
tame. Now remember, the tongue's not
the problem. The tongue's just a muscle. It's the heart. The tongue is the index of the
heart. It's what comes out of the heart.
The tongue can no man tame. It's an unruly, uncontrollable,
unrestrainable is what the word means. It's an unruly evil. Have you ever tried to control
the evil of your heart? Doesn't work, does it? You try to put
down any kind of evil thoughts and so on, it doesn't work. Well,
you can't control the tongue any better than you can control
the evil. The heart is what the scripture says. No man can tame
it. The tongue can no man tame. It's
an unruly evil full of deadly poison. Verse 9, with that tongue therewith
bless we God, even the Father, and therewith curse we men, which
are made after the similitude of God. Now remember how the
Lord, it was said in creation that he made Adam after his own
image? Now that's just something that's
mysterious that I don't really understand. Somehow man is created
in the image of God. And in that sense, every man
is to be treated with respect. because of how they're made.
I know they're sinful, but everybody ought to be treated respectfully.
Everybody ought to be treated with consideration and love.
Man is made in the image of God. There's no reason to treat anyone
in a wrong way. There really isn't. I don't care
how bad they are. Man was made in the image of
God. And every man I've ever known has had something commendable
about him. What was that Western God, I
can't remember, the guy that said, I've never met a man I
didn't like, Gene Autry, I think is who said that. Well, I can't
say I've never met a man I didn't like. I've met a lot I don't
like. But I need to be gracious. But God said, let us make man
in our own image. I know man has fallen, but he
still bears the image of God. And I know this, we're called
upon by our Redeemer. to love our neighbor as ourself. How do you want to be treated? That's how you're to treat everybody
else, no matter what they do. That's what you and I are called
upon by our Savior to do. We're to treat everybody as we
want to be treated, to do unto others as we would have them
do unto us. I want to be given the benefit of the doubt, don't
you? I don't want to be judged and
criticized. I want to be forgiven. I want
to be shown mercy. I want people to be merciful
to me, to not hold my feet to the fire. I don't want somebody
to hold a grudge against me or give me the silent treatment.
I don't want to be treated in any way but with fairness and
respect. Now that's what I want and that's
what you want too. Well, that's how I'm called upon
to treat everybody else. I also want to be told the truth
of the gospel of Christ, don't you? I want to be told the truth.
Now, we bless God, we speak well of God, and we curse and defame
and speak ill of others, James says, my brethren, that ought
not so to be. It just should not happen. By God's grace, I want to speak
well of God. Oh, I want to celebrate who he
is when I speak of him. I want to speak of him in His
majesty and His glory and His grace. I want to speak well of
Him. I never want to speak irreverently
of Him. I want to speak of Him in a way
that glorifies the gospel of Christ. Oh, we want to speak
well of Him, don't we? But we want to speak well of
each other, don't we? I want to speak well of you. I don't
want to drag you down. You see, love covers a transgression. Anybody you love You see faults,
you see flaws, you see sins. Isn't that true? Of course it
is. If you love them, you cover it. You don't expose it, you
cover it. Love covers a transgression,
but iniquity stirreth up strifes. Verse 11, doth a fountain send
forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig
tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? No. Either are vine
figs? No. So can no fountain. Both
yield salt water and fresh water. It's only the tongue that does
this. Nothing else in nature. Only
the tongue. Now, what can we get from all
of this? Well, number one, Isn't the tongue an evidence? Now we know, we believe in total
depravity because of what the Bible says about us. That's why
we believe it. But isn't the tongue an evidence
that we really are the way the Bible says we are? Totally depraved? Our tongues would not say the
things it says if we were not totally depraved. And you know
what I learned from this, first of all? Okay, well, I learned
I'm totally depraved. I learned how much I need the
Lord Jesus Christ. He's the only righteousness I
have. And how I need him. My tongue is a reminder to me
of that. Something that I can't tame.
And remember this, regarding this thing of people speaking
ill of you, it's going to happen. Turn with me for a moment to
Ecclesiastes chapter 7. I love this scripture. I need
to read it a lot. Ecclesiastes chapter 7. Verse 21. Also, take no heed unto all words
that are spoken. Don't really pay any attention
to them. Lest thou hear thy servant curse
thee. Oh, you're filled with indignation that he would do
something like that. Then the wise man reminds us,
for oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth that thou thyself
likewise hast cursed others. Next time you get too mad at
somebody for saying something bad about you, remember, you've
done a plenty, haven't you? You've done a plenty. Now, what I get particularly
about this is I'm so thankful for the tongue, for the words
of the Lord Jesus Christ. All His words. His words. I know some count on them harsh
words, but the believer doesn't. He would say things like, come
unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, laboring under
the burden of your own sin, come to me. And that's a command.
It's not advice. It's a command. Do it right now.
Don't wait till you get better. Don't wait until something is
in place first. Come to me right now and I will
give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn
of me for I'm meek and lowly in heart. And you'll find rest
for your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Woman, that woman taken in adultery. That's a bad sin. That's a horrible
sin. That's a wicked sin. She was
taken in the very act. You know what he said to her?
Woman, where are those nine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee? She
said, no man, Lord. And he said, neither do I condemn
thee. How could he say that to her?
She was guilty. No, she wasn't. That sin was put away. That sin
you've committed that you feel so horrible about, it's been
put away. And he can say, I do not condemn
you. Go and sin no more. I think of
him saying to the thief, oh, the words of the Lord Jesus Christ,
when the thief said, Lord, remember me. Remember me when you come
into your kingdom. And he said, with sovereign authority,
today thou shalt be with me in paradise. Oh, the words of Christ,
faithful words, true words, the words of God. I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life. No man cometh to the Father but
by me." Now how could he say words like this? How could he
say to that woman who was caught in the very act and was guilty
as she could be, no doubt about it, how could he say to her,
I do not condemn thee? How could that be right? Because of what the Lord did
not say. when he held his mouth and didn't
say anything. His mouth was closed when he
was being tried. His mouth was closed. Speakest
thou not to me, Pilate said? Don't you know that I have power
to crucify you and I have power to release you? He wouldn't speak.
He wouldn't answer their accusations. He wouldn't speak. Why? Because
he was guilty. Because my lies, my sins, my
transgressions, my iniquities, He was made to bear. He became guilty of those sins. It was not as if He was guilty,
He was guilty. My sins left me and became His. And His righteousness is mine. When he didn't speak, it's because
he was guilty, but he did something that no one else could do. When
he died, he satisfied God, so that God is satisfied with me. And he can look at me and say,
I don't condemn you. There's nothing to condemn you
for. You're without spot, wrinkle, or any such thing. That is the
case of every believer through the work of the Lord Jesus Christ
on the cross. And now he can say to sinful
liars, people with wicked tongues, people with acid tongues, Him that cometh to me, I don't
care what your condition is, Him that cometh to me, I will
in no wise cast out. because of the silence of Christ. He can say things like that to
me and you. Now these tongues, by grace,
can also be such instruments of good. It's a good thing to preach the
words of the gospel, isn't it? To preach the gospel of His grace.
To call on men to come to Him praising God and speaking well
of Him in all of His most excellent attributes, and to speak well
of our brothers and sisters, seeing them as Christ sees them. without sin and covering in silence
their sins and faults. Now, I ran across this when I
was trying to prepare this message, and I thought this was very good.
You've all heard the term. We've all heard, think before
you speak. That's a good practice, isn't it? I haven't learned it
yet. I'd like to learn it. Think before you speak. Don't
just pop off. Think before you speak. But that
word, think, it supplies us with a very good acrostic. Think,
T, is what I'm getting ready to say true. Is it true? H, is it helpful? Is there any good that can come
from it? Is there any benefit that could come from it? I, is
it inspiring? Is it going to inspire someone
to seek the Lord, to honor Him, to preach His gospel? Is it inspiring?
N, is it necessary? Is there any reason to say it
in the first place? Does it have a reason? What good could it
do? K, is it kind? Is it kind? Love is kind. Think before you speak. Now how do I think of this? Lord, I can't
tame my tongue any more than I can tame my heart. Tame it for me. by sovereign, irresistible, invincible
grace, tame it for me, so that I might think before I speak. And I guess the best way of thinking
of the tongue being tamed is seeing the silence of the Lord
Jesus Christ. His silence. Because of His silence, me and
you can stand before God accepted, perfect, justified. Let's pray. Lord, we confess the unruly,
deadly, poison, and evil of the tongue. And Lord, we ask that you would
give us grace to speak well of you, and speak
well of our brothers and sisters, and to speak well of thy blessed
Son, and to speak well of thy Spirit. Let our words be words
that are true, words that are helpful, words that are inspiring, words that are necessary and
words that are kind. Lord, that is above the strength
and energy of the flesh. But I ask in Christ's name that
you do this for us and in us for Christ's sake. In his name
we pray. Amen. What do you got, Dwayne? 187. We'll stand and sing together. Best be the tie that binds our
hearts in Christian love. The fellowship of kindred minds
is like to that of all. Before our father's throne, before
our ardent friends, our fears, our hopes, our aims are one,
our comforts and our cares. We share our mutual woes, our
mutual burdens bear, and often hold each other close, a sympathizing
tear. When we asunder part, it gives
us inward pain. But we shall still be joined
in heart and hope to meet again.