The Tongue

James 3:1-12

About the Sermon

Now it's time for James to talk to us about our tongues. The tongue, of course, is just a figure of speech for speech itself. As we've said, James is intensely practical, but that doesn't always feel good. Here in James 3:1–12, Jesus' brother applies Jesus' words about the words that come from our mouths. These words are the overflow of the heart. James reveals our problem, but he also tells us it doesn't have to be this way. In fact, it should not be this way. And God has grace and more grace to make it so if we will only humble ourselves and receive his perfect and implanted Word.

About the Series

The book of James is beloved of Christians for its famously practical wisdom and instruction. But James is no less painful as it is practical, addressing our many problems with a simple diagnosis: double-mindedness. Our fractured relationships, James says, are symptoms of our fractured souls, souls in a fractured relationship with our Father. But James offers more than this searing diagnosis but a program and prescription for wholeness: “draw near to God and he will draw near to you.” The message of James is this: God offers double-minded people the possibility of wholeness through repentance and faith. Our God “yearns jealously” over us and “he gives more grace.”
The book of James is beloved of Christians for its famously practical wisdom and instruction. But James is no less painful as it is practical, addressing our many problems with a simple diagnosis: double-mindedness. Our fractured relationships, James says, are symptoms of our fractured souls, souls in a fractured relationship with our Father. But James offers more than this searing diagnosis but a program and prescription for wholeness: “draw near to God and he will draw near to you.” The message of James is this: God offers double-minded people the possibility of wholeness through repentance and faith. Our God “yearns jealously” over us and “he gives more grace.”

Sermons in the Series