Faith That Works: Tongue

Are you familiar with these descriptions of how we use our words?

Tip of the Tongue = a temporary failure/inability to retrieve a word from memory

Tongue in Cheek = words spoken that are not meant to be taken entirely seriously

Tongue Twister = words combined together that are very difficult to pronounce

Tongue Tied = being unable use the words you want to due to confusion

Cat Got Your Tongue = a phrase refers to when a person has no words to say

Bite Your Tongue = a phrase which describes holding back or withholding use of words

Slip of the Tongue = an unintentional or accidental use of words

All of these catchy descriptions have to do with the WORDS that come out of our mouths.  I don’t think any of us understand, or take seriously enough, the power of our words.  Look at what James has to say about the tongue . . .

READ:  James 3:1-12

God Himself displays the power of words.  In Genesis 1 it says that God said, “let there be light,” and there was light.  He said, “let there be water and land,” and it was so.  He said, “let the earth sprout vegetation” and it was so.  He said, “let the earth bring forth living creatures,” and it was so.  God has the kind of authority that when He speaks, it happens.  We were created in God’s image, and although we can’t speak something into existence, our words do have the ability to create reality for those whom our words are directed toward.

Our words deeply impact us and our hearers.  We need to be using our words to create blessing and not a curse!

1.  Our words STEER the path of our lives (vs 2-6) – The steering wheel is to a car what the tongue is to our lives.  The difference in a car staying safely on the road and being mangled by an electric pole, tree, or oncoming vehicle is an attentive driver in control of the wheel.  We will be able to successfully navigate our way through the twists and turns of relationships with friends, neighbors, co-workers, bosses, parents, spouses, children, etc when we use our words in a manner pleasing to God.  On the other hand, when we use our words in a manner that is not pleasing to God our relationships with others will be headed toward a fiery wreck.

2.  Our words have immeasurable potential for EVIL and DESTRUCTION (vss 6-8) – “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”  Although a helpful phrase when trying to deal with hurtful words spoken to us, we all know from experience that this little poetic phrase is false.  Hurtful words directed toward another person damages their inner soul and spirit.  Sadly, because of our selfish nature, our words tend toward hurting others.  This does not have to be the case!  We can use our words to bring good, blessing, and hope into the life of others we speak with.

3.  Our words cannot be used HYPOCRITICALLY (vss 9-12) – Words we use that are contrary to the standard of the Bible (gossip, crude/obscene/profane/corrupt talk, lie, using the Lord’s name in vain, argumentative, slander, malice) should be foreign and rare for a believer in Christ.  We cannot say we hold to a God-given standard with our words and be disobedient to it!  Such hypocrisy with our words reveals a deeper issue in our hearts.  For the words that come out of our mouths reveal the true nature of who we really are (Mt. 12:33-37; Lk. 6:43-45). 

CONCLUSION

Every word that comes off of our tongue has the potential to heal or injure, to encourage or ridicule, to lift up or tear down, to honor or disrespect, to build trust or to breed doubt, and ultimately to bring life or death.  Matthew 12:36-37 says that we will be held accountable for “every careless word we speak”.  Don’t be careless!  Let’s be wise with our words and use each and every one in a way that builds others up (Eph. 4:29) and is honoring and pleasing to God.  When we do, we are steering our lives toward Christlikeness and away from unrighteousness.

Faith That Works: Works

I think my 8 year old son at times truly believes that he is a superhero.  There are times I have observed him playing alone and he is in his own little imaginary world with a sword and a shield battling invisible enemies in the backyard.  He is climbing through the swing set, jumping on the trampoline, or up in the tree house (making light saber sounds) living out a scene from Star Wars.  It is one thing for Zachary to think and say that he is a superhero, it’s a whole other thing for him to actually BE one! 

READ:  James 2:14-26

In a similar way that Zachary says he is a super hero, it is easy for us to say that we have faith in Jesus Christ.  And although it is impossible for Zachary to experience the reality of being a super hero, it is possible for us to experience a life of transformed attitudes, actions, and words through a real faith in Jesus Christ!  Before we dig further into what this means we have to answer a few simple questions . . .

What are faith and works?  1) FAITH = Christian worldview (belief) that a person is saved by grace through Jesus Christ and that He is the Lord (and therefore the leader) of the actions of their life.  2) WORKS = Good attitudes, actions, words (deeds/actions) exhibited by a Christian who is being obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit.  We are not saved by works, but works are the (super)natural result of a life built on faith in Jesus Christ!

How do works reveal (confirm) the existence of our faith?

1.  Works display that our faith is ALIVE (vs 17, 26) – Before faith in Christ we are dead in our sins and are incapable of doing works that please God (Eph. 2:1-3, Col. 2:13, Rom. 8:5-8).  When we put our faith in Christ we are “reborn”, we are a new creation, we are given a brand new spiritual life (Jn. 3:1-8, 2 Cor. 5:17, Eph. 2:4-5, 10).  It is the good works that come from the leading of the Holy Spirit living inside those who have put faith in Jesus Christ that provide objective evidence that our faith is living and real (Rom. 8:9-11, Gal. 5:16-25)!

2.  Works show the AUTHENTICITY of our faith (vs 18) – Saying we have faith is not a sufficient response for those looking to us for how faith makes a real difference in life.  Even demons believe in God!  Saying we have faith must be accompanied by a tangible, Holy Spirit led, action that benefits others. The good lives we live are the best “proof” we have to show others that we have put faith in Jesus Christ and that He is the Lord of our lives. 

3.  Works is what makes our faith USEFUL (vs 20-25) – Our faith does more than simply give us a new spiritual status (forgiven, heaven).  Our faith begins the process of sanctifying us and restoring our very existence back to the way God originally intended it to be.  The good works of our lives become practical expressions of the glory God created us to enjoy and experience.

For some of us having a living, authentic, and useful faith is only in our imagination.  There are times that we pretend and it may appear that our faith is real, but we know that there is something missing.  In order for our faith to be resurrected from the dead and come alive we simply need to acknowledge that we are a sinner and put our faith in Jesus Christ for forgiveness and commit to making Him the Lord of our lives.  For others, our faith is alive, it’s real, and it is expressing itself through good works.  We must continue being obedient to the Holy Spirit so the world can be eye-witnesses of what a living, authentic and useful faith in Jesus Christ looks like!

Faith That Works: Favoritism

Have you ever thought that another person was WEIRD (different, awkward), and that fact changed how you acted around and treated them?  I have met plenty of weird people in my opinion.  I’ll be honest, I think that some of YOU are weird.  Even more honestly, I am confident that many of your think that I am weird.  Actually, I have a relational theory . . . ALL OF US are weird!  As normal as you think you are, and think that normal means being “just like you”, there is someone out there that thinks they are the normal one and that you are weird. 

When someone is similar to us, we often think more of them and treat them in ways that elevate them.  When someone is different from us, we often think less of them and treat them in ways that degrade them.  None of us qualifies to make the judgment that we are more important, more significant, or more valuable than anyone else.  We are all imperfect sinners who are deserving of being ignored and rejected.  When we finally come to the realization that we are all a bit weird, we will be in the humble position to treat all others without favoritism.  By considering others weird (or different) and showing favoritism, we are standing in judgment and our verdict is that we are better than them.  This is NOT appropriate for a follower of Jesus Christ!

James 2:1-13

What are some ways we show favoritism?  1) AVOID those who are different than us. 2) IGNORE or PAY LITTLE ATTENTION to those who do not benefit us. 3) Emotionally/verbally/physically MISTREAT those who are lesser than us (gossip, embarrass).  Each of these ways we show favoritism draw a circle around us that only allows certain people in and keeps other people out.  We must erase our boundaries of favoritism and make efforts to allow anyone and everyone into our lives no matter how similar or different they might be!

How do we avoid showing favoritism?

1.  HONOR other people ABOVE yourself (vs 6) – Rather than dishonor others who we believe to be lesser than us by avoiding them, ignoring them, or intentionally mistreating them, we need to treat them as if they are more significant than us.  The only way to live this out is by choosing to make ourselves a servant to all people at all times.  Jesus Christ is our example of what servanthood looks like, Phil. 2:6 says that He, “made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant . . .”  Growing and maturing as a follower of Christ is always a demotion. 

2.  LOVE others as you love YOURSELF (vs 8) – By asking ourselves, “how would I want to be treated in this situation?” we are equipping ourselves with the attitude necessary to treat all people with respect, honor, dignity, and equality (cf. Luke 6:31).  No one likes to be intentionally avoided, ignored, or mistreated.  If this is not how we would like someone to treat us, then we must not treat others in this way.  Remember, everyone wants to be treated with genuine respect, honor, and value.

3.  Extend MERCY when you feel like passing judgment (vs 13) – Treating another person with kindness and compassion, no matter what we think of them or how they have treated us in the past, is a winning choice every time!  We will never go wrong in relationships when we choose to be merciful rather than judgmental no matter how different another person might seem.  To the same extent that we are merciful or pass judgment will be the same extent to which God is merciful or passes judgment on us (cf. Mt. 6:14-15).

CONCLUSION

Favoritism is very self-focused.  When we are in relationships only for our own benefit we will favor those we think will benefit us.  Favoritism will disappear when our relationships become other-focused.  When we are in relationships for the benefit of others we will be willing to honor, love, and extend mercy to anyone, no matter how “weird” we think they might be!