We’re in the book of James- this book written by Jesus’ little brother, and what we’ve been saying in this entire sermon series so far is that James is delivering to us a concrete and real vision of the Christian life. We’ve been answering the question- what does it look like when the Gospel of Jesus lives in every aspect of our being- this is religion that actually works on our lives. Today we’re looking at how James speaks into a very real part of our lives which is communication and how we use our words. To give you a stat to perk you up a bit- every day every person writes about half a book. Every day. Think of how many libraries you write in your life. Think about that a little bit as we listen to James’ words in chapter 3.

3 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.

James said that the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. And it should! It really should! I know that normally we say that boasting is bad, but sometimes it’s just the truth- that though the tongue is a tiny little organ in your body, it can really mess up your life. That’s what James is saying when he comments here- and he’s not exaggerating. This shouldn’t surprise us. Words have power. It was words, God’s words, that spoke out into nothingness and created everything. It shouldn’t surprise us then that when our words go out over that creation that it shapes reality and bridles what’s going on in our lives and steers us in a certain direction in our lives. This is what James is teaching us. Words hold the power to shape your life. Even secular psychology teaches this. It’s called cognitive behavioral therapy that says that if you just have better words for yourself, better self-talk, that it will produce better outcomes in your life and better behaviors. Words do that for you. Or think of the words of Martin Luther King Junior. It was just words that tore down oppressive racial structures. Or think of the guy who Martin Luther King Junior was named for- the monk from the 1500s who committed to speaking God’s Words. What was the result? A reformation of the entire church so that millions of people today- not just Lutherans ya’ll- millions of people today October 6th are hearing the gospel that they are saved by grace alone through faith alone. Words are that big of a deal. I’ll bet that if you think about it, you’ll be forced to admit that words alone have shaped the entire trajectory of your life. 

I can think of a lot of examples of this in my life. One example that sticks out to me is that during high school I started dating a girl named Charis Goelzer. Maybe you know her. We dated for a couple months before my Dad got to meet her. We went out to eat all together one night, and afterward, my Dad said to me- I really like her. You can tell right away that she is a girl who really loves her Savior. Those words from my Dad changed the way that I saw her. She wasn’t just cute anymore. She was a girl who really knew and really loved her Savior. Can you make the leap? Can you tell how those words affected my life? 

The tongue is just a small part of the body but it makes great boasts- it can even boast that positive power. But James says 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. The tongue is dangerous. James says it’s like a spark that burns a forest down. We get that as Oregonians don’t we? Our tongues are dangers! In fact one commentator said this and I think that it’s interesting to think about- that if we weren’t born with our tongues, we’d be required to get a license to carry it around with us because it’s that dangerous. None of us are actually primed to bring healing into the world with our tongues. All of us are primed, in fact, to bring a little bit of hell. And this is true. We can all admit this- when I think about all the pain I deal with when I counsel people- you know where most of that pain comes from? Words. Sit with someone with body image issues, why? Because she was told she wasn’t beautiful. Words. I sit with someone who is dealing with perfectionism. Why? Because they were told they weren’t worth much and so they always try to prove they’re worthwhile. All because of words. It’s all words that does that. Words burn down marriages, words get you fired, words destroy your relationships. It’s all words. The tongue is a tiny part of the body, but it makes great boasts- today it can even boast that kind of destructive power. 

Words can even tell you what’s really going on inside a person. Did you know that? This is something that James has been implying the whole time. James gives us the illustration of the bridled horse- keeping in mind that a bridled horse has someone riding it. And he gives us the image of a ship- keeping in mind that someone is steering the ship. He talks to us about how humans can tame all kinds of animals but we can’t tame ourselves- because he knows that our hearts are wild, and he wants to think about that. And he wants to think about ourselves like a spring of water so that we can consider the source. James wants us to think about where all of it comes from- the heart. Words have the power to reveal the heart. And we understand this- that at someone level those words are revealing what’s going on inside. And that’s really important to understand. 

I’ll tell you I’ve been a little concerned this week that I’d preach this sermon and everyone would leave and think that I preached about vocabulary- and how what James wants us to do is to fix our output. I’ve been a little nervous about that. Now, James is concerned about that. He does want us to pay attention to what we say. James is concerned about our output, but that’s not the primary application today. James wants to get to the heart of the matter. He wants to change our hearts. It’s important that we do. Ya know, if you think about it, why do people use words that are meant to make other people feel small? Isn’t it because they feel small inside? They don’t know how much God has valued them in Christ. And so all there is to do to change their own value is pull others down. Where do manipulative and controlling words come from? They come from people who feel like there’s no control in their life- where there’s no God who’s working all things for their good. And so they feel like they need to gain some control. Where do vain words come from? It comes from a heart that feels ugly and not worth noticing. It comes from a heart that has to say somebody look at me and notice me! It’s a heart that doesn’t understand that God has noticed them. Where do all evil words come from? They come from a polluted source. That’s what James is saying. See words reveal the true state of our hearts. They reveal our hearts to be the polluted source. The tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Today it can even boast that- the revealing of the truth about us.

But you know what else words can do? Words hold the power of true life. And words hold the power to truly heal our hearts.  You know what the apostle John called Jesus? He called Jesus the Word. He called Jesus the Word. The Word made human who came to live among us to give us his himself. And his word. Think about the beauty and the power here. When Jesus was on his cross, did you notice that God did not speak any words to him? God went silent. At other significant moments in Jesus’ life, the Father speaks to his Son He affirms him! He says you are my Son whom I love, with you I am well pleased! But here on the cross at the most significant moment of his life, there’s no word. Why not? Because God saw all our hellish words on Jesus, and so Jesus suffered hell so that we wouldn’t. So that when God speaks to us now, he speaks the word that should’ve been reserved only for Jesus. What are God’s words for you? You are my son. You are my daughter. With you I am well pleased. You see, that’s the word that heals your heart. That’s the word that speaks out over us and makes us clean. That’s the word that cleanses the source from where our words flow.

And, that is the last word. With you I am well pleased. And that is the word that lives in our hearts so that we see just how much we matter to God. This is why we’re people where gossip dies with us. And this is why we’re people who are constructive with our comments and who compliment someone else- because we’re that secure inside. Because we know how much God has valued us. And we are not people who are manipulative and controlling with our words because we know we don’t have to fight for ourselves. Because God is eternally fighting for us through Jesus. 

Words speak so much life. They could get somebody a job. They can break somebody loose from an addiction. They can tell a sinner their sins are forgiven, give life to an unbeliever. Words have so much value. Words can even move a church to speak words of life. That’s what we do here. We speak. To somebody struggling who feels imperfect, what do we say? Christ was perfect for you- so you are perfect. To someone here who feels abandoned, what do we say? God is with you. To somebody who is grieving a death, what do we say? Death isn’t the final word. In Jesus’ name. The tongue is just a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Today, it boasts in Jesus. Amen.

Let’s pray. Lord Jesus, you are the word of God- God’s final message to us. The message he has spoken over the entire world. Lord, we pray for faith in that- that you are our final destiny- the one who guides and shapes our lives. And we pray Lord, that as you are the Word, that you speak through us and that you give life to a hurting and broken world through the power of words. In Jesus names we pray. Amen.