Sermon Central
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Tounge Trouble
Contributed by David Whitten on Dec 4, 2001 (message contributor)
Summary: ILL:Little boy selling a push lawnmower. Baptist preacher come along and wanted to buy it and asked did it run. "Yes sir", said the boy. The preacher pulled and pulled on the rope and said, "Son, this thing won’t start." The boy said, "That’s ‘cause you ‘
Tounge Trouble
THE TROUBLE MAKING TONGUE
Self control is an awesome thing to behold. This Fruit of the Spirit is the most respected fruit listed in Galations 5:22-24. Perhaps this is because so few of us have obtained it. We respect those who demonstrate it.
ILL:Little boy selling a push lawnmower. Baptist preacher come along and wanted to buy it and asked did it run. "Yes sir", said the boy. The preacher pulled and pulled on the rope and said, "Son, this thing won’t start." The boy said, "That’s ‘cause you ‘gotta’ cuss it." The preacher said, "Son, I’m a Baptist preacher, and I haven’t cussed in 18 years." Boy said, "Keep pulling; it’ll come back to you."
The Problem is that some times old habits "Come Back to You". It Takes Self Control to keep it from coming back. Out text recognizes that.
The heart of this mornings text is the attribute of self control. Lets listen and study God’s word to obtain what we long for.
1 Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.
2 We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.
3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal.
4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go.
5 Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.
6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man,
8 but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless , full of ly poison.
9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness.
10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.
11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?
12 My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring
This morning, I want to take an close look look at this passage. Let’s begin with verse one.
V. 1
1 Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.
The reason for this statement is that many Jews would pursue being a Rabbi for clout it brought them. It made them look good. They were concerned with their position, not the influence they had on those they taught.
For example, a preacher may enjoy the attention he gets as a minister. He may insist on being called “Reverend”. A man with such view of him self shold examine his motives for being in the ministry.
The second part of v1 gives the reason that not many of you should presume to be teachers. Teachers will be judged more strictly. Teachers will incur greater judgment. Because of their influence, the student is at the mercy of the teacher. The teacher will form the students understanding about what he teaches.
A teacher educates students with more than the facts of lessons. The lesson is taught by the teachers’ perception naturally. A teacher’s opinions and observation will be passed on to the students. James tells us that teachers will be held accountable for what the student learns.
In the context of James, he is specifically speaking of controlling the tongue. We will notice the majority of teaching is done by what the teacher says. His words. His tongue teaches. He must control his tongue so that it speaks fact and truth rather than simply opinion.
V. 2
2 We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.
Anyone who can master the use of his tongue, who doesn’t fall into sin through the use of words, misrepresentation or falsehood shows himself to be mature in spirit. The tongue is usually the hardest member of the body to control The ability to control it shows incredible spiritual maturity and follows Christ’s example who revealed the prophecy in
