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Category Archives: James “The Litmus Test for life”


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28. Test 6: The Tongue Test – Part 1

James 3:1-12

Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2 We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their 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 evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. 7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

As we return to the book of James, we come to the tongue test. It’s here that we are reminded that what comes out of our mouth is a reflection of what is hidden in our hearts. Harmful and hateful words don’t just hurt they reveal a heart problem. Your words reveal your walk, a walk that is either grounded in truth or trash. It’s here as James gives us several real life illustrations that reveal the characteristics of test-failing tongues. My pray as James takes us through the tongue test, is that these would be more than just words but a way of life. At 29:45 past 5 AM on July 16, 1945, something spectacular happened. In northern New Mexico, the still dark early morning sky became as bright as the noonday sun. In that one blinding flash, the Atomic Age had begun. The atomic fireball shot upwards at 360 feet per second destroying everything around it. Three weeks later an atomic bomb named “Little Boy” was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan leading to the death of over 150,000 people that day alone. Watching from high above the co-pilot of the Enola Gay said, “What have we done?.” J Robert Oppenheimer, the scientist who oversaw the building of the bomb, famously said this about his creation after the first test detonation: “Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.” On December 20, 1951, something else spectacular happened. In Arco, Idaho, the still dark sky was also brightened with light. It was brightened by light bulbs powered by the first electricity produced from nuclear energy. The uranium used to produce that electricity, is the same uranium that is used in the atomic bomb. The exact same science is used in the reactor and the bomb, the same atoms and electrons, the same reactions and physics. So, what’s the difference? It’s in how they’re used. When used one-way, atomic energy powers homes and lights up the dark. But when used another way, it produces death and destruction. In our passage today, James talks about another extremely powerful object, take out the cow tongue. Like atomic energy, the tongue is capable of life and death, as Proverbs 18:21 says – “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” What about you, are your words like a power plant that lights up lives around you or a bomb that levels and destroys life? That’s why the tongue test it is such an accurate test of our faith, because an object as powerful as the tongue can only be controlled by the most powerful person in the universe, the Holy Spirit. When left to our control, the results are chaos and carnage. Jesus said that what is in a person’s heart inevitably comes out of his mouth. Just like water flowing from a well, the words that come out of the mouth reveal the purity of the source. If the source is the Holy Spirit the words will be pure, but if the source is a sinful heart they will be poison. The only way we can display genuine faith is by letting the Holy Spirit harnesses the power of our tongues to heal and not to hurt. To help us see is we are passing the tongue test, James shows us what words that are not controlled by God’s Word look like. It’s here in verses 1-2 that we see the first characteristics of a test-failing tongue, it is: 

  1. Condemning. (1-2)

People like to pull this verse out when they are looking for new Sunday School teachers. But while James is talking about teachers, is he really saying that we should shy away from being teachers? If you pull the verse out of its context, you could conclude that, but that’s the only way that interpretation would make sense. In its context, what James is saying is that by nature, our tongue condemns us, all of us. Now I want you to picture a teacher in your mind. What does that picture look like? My picture looks like Mr. Ashland, my 5th grade English teacher. He immediately comes to mind as the prototype of what a teacher is supposed to be. But who did I learn more from, Mr. Ashland or my parents? Mr. Ashland or my grandparents? Mr. Ashland or the kids I ran around with? Mr. Ashland or Pastor Marvin Reynolds who lead my whole family to the Lord? The point is, Mr. Ashland carried the title “teacher” and in the 5th grade, if you had asked me who my teacher was, I would’ve said, “Mr. Ashland.”  But there were a whole lot more teachers in my life than just him many of whom have been very influential. Only a very few teachers actually carry the title of teacher and whether you like it or not, you’re a teacher. Someone is paying attention to your life and listening to your lips. Your walk and your words are impacting their lives with influence. Like the little boy who handed the preacher a one dollar bill saying I hope this helps Pastor. Confused the Pastor asked why do I need help? Because my daddy says you’re the poorest preacher he’s ever heard.” Most of us would be surprised and some of us shocked at the lessons we teach with our tongues. Are the lessons your teaching building up or belittling? The tongue can express or repress; offend or befriend, affirm or alienate, build up or belittle, bless or bruise, comfort or criticize, cultivate or kill. James is saying that because we teach with our tongues, we’re responsible for those lessons. Jesus will judge our words and when the lessons lead to corruption we will receive greater condemnation. If by the words you use, people are not pointed to Christ, they will be pointed to condemnation. That’s the test, does your tongue lead people to Christ or to condemnation? There’s really no in between. A test-passing tongue leads people to life because it leads people to the Lord. 


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Pandemic Perspective – Part 24 Anger

Ephesians 4:26-27

And “don’t sin by letting anger control you. Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 for anger gives a foothold to the devil.

Anger is something we all experience and we all deal with it in different ways. Some are screamers, yet others while they present a stoic face on the outside are seething on the inside. Some get in your face. Some give you the silent treatment, but one thing we all have in common is that we all get angry. The truth is that when you let anger get the best of you, it brings out the worst in you because it gives the enemy a foothold. Right now there are a lot of angry people in this country and we are giving the enemy a foothold. John 10:10 reveals his goal, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. Is it any wonder that what we have seen in most of the protests is theft, death, and destruction! So what do we do with this strong emotion called anger? Is it possible to be a Christian and still get angry? How can we honor Jesus in our anger? Paul gives us answers to these questions in the fourth chapter of Ephesians. First:

  1. Use your anger for good

Maybe this point sounds strange to you. Some folks believe that anger by nature is sinful, so how could you ever use your anger for good? Verse 26 tells us that anger is not a sin. It says, “In your anger, do not sin…” So, by that statement alone, you can be in a state of anger and not be sinning. After all, Jesus got angry. The biblical writers had the same hang-ups about anger that we do today. Only one of the gospel writers was courageous enough to say that Jesus got angry. Do you remember the occasion? Most people think of the time he knocked over the tables of the money changers in the Temple and drove out the animals. People were being cheated and swindled in the very act of worship. Jesus certainly could have been angry there yet the scripture describes him as full of “zeal.” But the writers never called it anger. The only time scripture records that Jesus got angry was when he was staring down the prideful Pharisees who preferred keeping their manmade rules about the Sabbath over seeing a man healed of his withered hand. Mark calls it like it is in Mark 3:4-5, “Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent. 5 He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.” The truth is that some things ought to make you angry. You should be angry when someone is discriminated against. You should be angry that your Christian brothers and sisters are being imprisoned and tortured and murdered around the globe. You should be angry whenever someone gets raped or murdered. You should be angry when a Veteran commits suicide. Some things ought to make you angry. If you never get angry you might want to check your pulse! The key is that in your anger, do not sin. At its core anger is a protest and we need to ask the question is my protest constructive or destructive? Use your anger for good, not for evil. We need to explain our anger not express it, when we do we will immediately open the door to solutions instead of arguments. James urges us to be “quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires” James 1:19-20. Choose to build constructively with your anger, not to tear down. Look for a solution, make the world a better place. Speak the truth in love, not in hate. Take a stand when you ought to, but do it with careful humility, not careless pride. Not only should we use our anger for good but we should:

  1. Deal with your anger quickly.

The last part of verse 26 and verse 27 read, “Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.” If you nurse that anger past sunset, you’re likely to move into the kinds of things verse 31 talks about like bitterness and rage. And guess what? Your body was not designed for that! God did not create us to carry bitterness, resentment and rage. Ever heard of psychosomatic illness? Your rage will show up in other ways, like ulcers and migraines and insomnia. Or we displace our unresolved anger on innocent others like a spouse or friend. Our anger will grow out of control consuming us because we’ve given the devil a foothold. Our body houses the Holy Spirit, but when we let anger last longer than a night, we’re opening up opportunities for the devil to work through us. Unresolved anger is undoubtedly what Jesus had in mind when he said, “But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell” (Matthew 5:22). Jesus spoke of strong language that betrayed an unforgiving heart. And he disturbingly portrayed unresolved anger as mental murder. Now you won’t always be able to resolve everything literally before sunset. But what you can do is to resolve to resolve it. If you’re angry with your spouse, you can at least admit it and plan together to talk it through the next day when you’re both at your best. Some of us think we’re great because we hold our anger in. Use your anger for good, deal with it quickly, and lastly:

  1. Learn to let it go

Is it time to cut the line and let that person off your hook. Maybe it’s time to release the offender to God. That’s one area where our faith gives us a distinct advantage over unbelievers. We don’t have to settle every account, because God will. Of course, what we’re talking about here is the dreaded “F word”: forgiveness. When it comes to living as the church, verse 32 is one of the most beautiful verses in the Bible. It reads, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” We need to show each other some kindness and some compassion, the kind of kindness and compassion we would like to receive. And we need to forgive each other. Why? Because in Christ, God forgave us! Christians of all people should lead the way in forgiveness. Yet when it comes to forgiveness it often doesn’t feel like it’s the right thing to do. Even though it doesn’t match what you’re feeling on the inside it is still the right thing to do. We live in a world where there’s a lot of pain and heartache, a world into which we are to bring love and forgiveness, and break the cycle of hatred. Are you protesting with anger and projecting hurt or promoting love? Christian singer and songwriter Matthew West wrote a song entitled, “Forgiveness.” And there is a line in the song that says, “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.”  How about you? Are you a hothead? Or are you the silent type that stews forever on the inside? Neither one is good, because both are damaging. Both grieve the Holy Spirit. Both give the devil a foothold. How about yielding your anger to God? Next time your angermometer is about to blow a gasket, how about slowing yourself down by talking to God: “God, you know I’m hot right now. Why am I so upset? And how can I use this strong emotion to honor your name and grow your kingdom? How can I use my anger for your righteous purposes?” That’s a prayer worth praying, as we seek to put the brakes on our anger. I am thankful that God in His wisdom wired us with such strong emotions that help us to know something is not right. But we need to monitor our emotions not multiply them.