Word of Salvation – Vol. 33 No. 34 – September 1988

 

Fellow Saints

 

Sermon by Rev. S. Bajema on James 3:9-12

Reading: James 1:19-27; 3:1-12

Singing: Ps.H.89; 45:2,6,7,8; 252: 1,3; 295:2,3; 20

 

Fellow Saints.....

The book of James is a very practical, down-to-earth book.  In this book we can see the concern of a Pastor for his flock.  Yes, a Pastor!  Here is a man, though an apostle, yet able to relate to the needs of the man and woman in the pew.  James does not begin with doctrinal explanations as Paul does.  Instead, James gets straight to the situation at hand.  Not that he isn't theological, mind you!  He certainly speaks of who God is.  But James is especially concerned with the ethical; with the living of the Christian life!  This may seem to put James out of step with the rest of the New Testament.  But he isn't.  In fact, the letter of James ties in with the rest of the New Testament like the book of Proverbs ties in with the Old Testament.

As we read Proverbs we don't immediately see how it ties in with the Old Testament prophets.  So there's the temptation, as there is with James, of seeing it as a book of morals.  You know, those quotes you see written in diaries and on calendars!  But this is not what either Proverbs or James is about.  Instead we have to see them as commentaries.  Proverbs is a commentary on the law is of Moses, and James is a commentary upon the salvation that is ours in Christ.  Both are commentaries intended for the guidance of the people of the Lord.  Both are offering practical wisdom for our daily lives.  And through both we can come to see that Word of the highest wisdom – yes, Jesus Christ Himself!

Let's consider, then, the pastoral advice of James as found in the words of our text.  And as we look at the text we'll note three points.  In the first place – what the situation was.  Secondly – what the situation should be.  And thirdly – how this ideal situation comes about.

Firstly, then, what the situation was.

James, the Pastor, is responding to a difficulty in the early Christian Church.  The situation is described in chapter 4:1-4.  There we read: (read verse 1 to 4).  The situation is clear.  Instead of the peace and unity which the early Church should have had as a true body of the Lord Jesus Christ, there were fights and quarrels.  We can only be saddened by this.  Such a short time had elapsed since that tremendous unity of the Church following Pentecost, and already there was division in that body.  A division that was caused by the wrong use of the tongue.

The tongue!  That small piece of flesh lying in your mouth.  It is this small part of our anatomy which is often responsible for the unfaithfulness of the Church to her Bridegroom, Christ Jesus!  We must be careful, though, not to separate our tongues from the rest of our bodies.  What we speak comes from what we think.  As James pointed out earlier:

“...each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.  Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin....!

It is through the wrong thoughts, resulting in the wrong speech, that Satan is causing these early Christians to stumble.  Already at this this early stage in the history of the Church, the devil is out to wreck that precious unity that they have in Christ.  And in the situation which James is addressing, the evil one has been having much success.  He has taken these Christians' eyes away from Jesus.  If we turn to verse 11 of chapter 4 we see this quite clearly.  There we read: (read verses 11 & 12).

We see again that old trap of Satan.  Men are being tempted to set themselves up as their own gods.  Wasn't this, after all, the first temptation?  Did not Adam and Eve fall into that trap of wanting to be like God, and thus gods themselves?  We do exactly the same when we curse men.  We set ourselves up as our own gods.  We say that we are in a position to judge.  But – what is it exactly to curse someone?  To curse someone is to wish evil upon them.  Perhaps we want to get back at someone.  We use our mouths as a very effective weapon to do this.  Maybe it is the spreading of the latest gossip about a particular person. Or there is resentment because of the position that someone has.  So you undermine his or her position.  "They're not really that important", you keep reassuring yourself, as you tell others about their unsuitability.  You work hard to tear that person down!  And then on Sunday we can stand in church and praise our Lord and Father, just a few rows away from that person we have cursed!

Truly it is, as James puts it:
            Out of the same mouth come forth praise and cursing.

David gives an example of this action in Psalm 55.  He tells there:

“If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself against me, I could hide from him.  But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship as we walked the throng at the house of God.

And later he describes this fellow church member:

”My companion attacks his friends; he violates his covenant.  His speech is smooth as butter, yet war is in his heart; his words are more soothing than oil, yet they are drawn swords.”

This person is certainly not someone we would want against us!  And yet we can be, and we are, that very same person!  Oh, we say a friendly hello alright.  But what is it that's on our hearts?  What are we going to say about that person later, when we're with our particular group of friends?  Indeed, our words are more smooth than oil, yet they are drawn swords.  This particular temptation is very strong!

All those different illustrations earlier on in chapter 3 clearly showed that.  And if we seriously examine ourselves, we will say: Yes, in this matter, I too have sinned!  I too have praised God and then cursed my neighbour.  So we've seen what the situation was in the early Church, and how that situation remains with us, in this 20th century.  We've looked at what the reality is before us.  But, let's turn now to the ideal.  In this way we come our second point.

2. This tells us of what the situation should be.

How are we, brothers in the Lord, to use our mouths?  The word 'brothers' here comes from a Greek word which refers to members of the Christian community.  So it refers to both men and women, to all those who are a part of the Body of the Lord.  Brethren, what should our situation be?  People of God, together with James we must firmly state that our situation should not be like it was, and like it still is.  What right do we have, to curse men who are made in God's likeness?

Yes, we all know how rotten and sinful our neighbour is.  But have we stopped to think of him as being made in God's likeness?  Here James goes right back to the creation account in Genesis 1.  As those well-known words there tell us:

Then God said, "Let us make man in our own image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

Sin affected every part of our lives with the fall in the Garden of Eden.  But mankind, like a mirror that is shattered, still gives a reflection to those who look into it.  So what James is saying in our text is that when we put down our fellow man we are also putting down his Maker.

If we're in an art gallery, and we begin to make insulting remarks about a painting, we are actually making a comment about the artist.  We're really saying that he's no good.  That, brother or sister in the Lord, is what we do every time we wish evil upon someone else!  What we are called to do, however, as God's children, is to respect that which comes from His hand.  Don't we praise God for the good He gives us in creation?  Yes, even nature tells us about a mighty and caring Creator.  This is well illustrated in verses 11 and 12 of our text:

Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?  My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs?  Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

The point is that if nature itself is still able to follow a logical pattern, should not also we do that in the treatment of those who also come from God's hand?

If we want to truly recognise and praise our Lord and Father, then we must see and recognise what He has done.  We cannot, even for a moment, give ourselves any merit.  Only through God's Word will we know how to live.  Only in coming to grips with our position before God can we relate to our fellow man.  But how are we to do this?  What are we to do?  In James 1 we read:

“...get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent, and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.”

Humbly accept the Word!  Why, Church of God, does this not point straight to the Word!  How else is it that we're saved by faith if it is not through Jesus Christ.  He was the One who was completely obedient to the will of God.  Having looked at what the situation should be, we come to realise that we cannot use our mouths in the right way.  On our own there is no hope.  But the requirement is still there, though!  We are called to reflect perfectly God's likeness.  That's what we'll have to answer for on Judgment Day!  Face it, congregation, we can't do it.  We cannot join together all those shattered pieces of the mirror.  In fact, we are only just one of those many hundreds of broken pieces, lying there helplessly.  We need God's help.  And, sure enough, we have it!  No man can tame the tongue.  Yet God can!

It is Divine power that is able to take captive every thought, to make it obedient to Christ.  As Paul points out in Ephesians:

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

God has set out for us a life of serving Him.  So we must be doers of His Word.  How are we then to use our mouths in the right way?  How can we stop our gossip?  What is it that needs to be done to respect God's likeness?  What needs to be done is that which God has laid out for us in His Word.  We have to come to grips with that Word, be challenged by it, and grow through it.  The more we look to Jesus, the more we will reflect His life in our lives.  As we pattern our lives upon His, the Body as a whole will grow more Christ-like.  Ephesians 4 puts it this way:

“...speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, that is, Christ.  From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”

Next time you are tempted to spread some juicy news, no matter how much of a small thing you might consider it, ask yourself this question:

Am I prepared, as a fellow member of Christ's Body, to tell this to that person face to face?

If you are not prepared to do that, then how can what you're about to say be to the upbuilding of the Body as a whole?

Our Lord Jesus said:

“The good man brings good things out of the good stored in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart.  For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.”

May it indeed be, brothers and sisters, that out of the Word stored up in our hearts, we are able to show where the treasure of our soul lies.  Then much good will most certainly flow.  May our thought be that of the hymn-writer, who wrote:

            Have Thine own way, Lord!  Have Thine own way!
            Thou art the Potter, I am the clay.
            Mould me and make me after Thy will,
            While I am waiting, yielded and still.

            Have Thine own way, Lord!  Have Thine own way!
            Hold o'er my being absolute sway.
            Fill with Thy Spirit; then all shall see
            Christ only, always, living in me.

Amen