Faith Works to Control the Tongue Studies in the Epistle of James Faith Works to Control the Tongue

Faith Works to Control the Tongue James 1:26 If you cannot control your tongue (words), you might as well not even call yourself a Christian! You do more bad than good when this is the case

Faith Works to Control the Tongue James 3:1-12 How powerful the tongue is How evil the tongue can be when not controlled How we can use our tongue as a blessing What God expects from Christians regarding our tongue

Faith Works to Control the Tongue The power of the tongue! James 3:5a Small, but very powerful! James 3:3-4 The tongue is compared to a bit in a horse's mouth and a rudder on a large ship What is the significance of this?

Faith Works to Control the Tongue The Tower of Babel- Gen 11:1-8 James 3:5b We all posses something very powerful that if not used carefully can destroy many things

Faith Works to Control the Tongue How the tongue can be used for evil James 3:6-8 An untamed tongue paints a picture of a monster, something very scary/ugly What 4 characteristics are given to the tongue? fire a world of unrighteousness an unruly evil deadly poison

Faith Works to Control the Tongue An untamed tongue can stain us with sin Matt 15:1-11 (vs 11) A stain is difficult to remove, but not impossible

Faith Works to Control the Tongue What sins can come from an untamed tongue? Lying - Col 3:9 Gossip - Eph 4:29 Speaking evil of others – James 4:11 Complaining – Phil 2:14 Cursing - Col 3:8 Dirty Jokes – Eph 5:3-4 Idle words – Matt 12:36-37 Useless arguments - 2 Tim 2:23 Swearing – James 5:12

Faith Works to Control the Tongue How our tongue can be a blessing Col 4:6 Eph 4:24 Using our words to bless others - 1 Cor 4:12 Encouraging others - James 5:13-18 Praying - James 5:13-18 Thanking God - 1 Thess 5:18 Spreading the Gospel - Rom 1:16/10:14-15,17

Faith Works to Control the Tongue What God expects of us regarding our tongue 1. James 3:2 Our daily desire should be the perfect man This is an achievable concept

Faith Works to Control the Tongue 2. Prov 18:21 God gives us power to choose if we will do good or evil with our words God expects us to choose wisely, knowing we will be judged based on that decision 3. James 3:9-12 Which choice have you made? You're either pleasing God with your words or dishonoring Him; there is no in between

Faith Works to Control the Tongue 1 Peter 3:8-10 vs 10: For “whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil...” (ESV).