James Lesson 5
James (Hold Your Tongue)

Junior/Adult Level

January 28, 2018

This week we will learn the importance of the words that we allow to come out of our mouths.  Our words matter to GOD and they can lift up or they can tear down.  I pray that this lesson helps us all to have more discipline so that we can hold our tongues so that GOD may be glorified and so that we can bear much fruit for HIS Kingdom.  GOD Bless You All.


Handout: James (Hold Your Tongue)


Last week, we learned that we must be doers of GOD’S Word and not hearers only.  We can read our Bibles and listen to The preached Word every day of our lives for hours and hours, shouting over it, weeping over it, being moved by it, but unless we allow it to get planted into our hearts we will never be changed by it.  We must be willing to change, to deny ourselves and become more and more like Christ. 

John 3:30 “HE Must increase, but I must decrease.”

Are we willing to decrease so that HE can overtake us fully, wholly?  It’s is my soul’s prayer.  I want to be overtaken by HIM…more of HIM…less and less of me…till I cease to exist and HE is all. 

In our previous lesson, we ended with James 1:25
James 1:25 “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”
We understood that if we want our works to be blessed by GOD, we must intently look into the perfect law of GOD, and continue doing what it says, simply put, we are to do what Jesus told us in Matthew chapter 6.
Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the Kingdom of GOD, and HIS Righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
We must get in GOD’S WORD, read it, learn it, study it, and DO, DO, DO what HE says and continue to obey.  It’s about obedience.  Moving on to finish up the first chapter of James, lets read on to verse 26 and 27. 

James 1:26-27 “26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.
27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
Wait a minute!!!!  What?!  We just finished learning that we must do all these good works and obey GOD and die to self and we would be blessed by GOD, but now this next verse, verse 26 is telling us that all our good works are in vain if we can’t control our words? 
That word religious, is in the original Greek transliteration, thrēskos or religion (thrēskeia) it means fearing or worshipping GOD.  (Strong’s Lexicon Results)
This is so interesting and hard to accept.  We can spend all this time worshipping and having discipline for GOD but if we are out running our mouths speaking ill will about others, gossiping, or just plain unable to control our words in anger or otherwise, all those things we do are pretty much vain or as James wrote it in the Greek mataios, it means devoid of force, truth, success, result; useless, of no purpose. (Strong’s)
Now I don’t know about you, but that cuts me to the quick, but see this is a good thing because it forces us to look at what we have been saying, and it makes us aware so that we can change.  Think of it; just say we have been out all week, just serving GOD, doing what HE said.  We have been helping the poor, we have been witnessing about JESUS we have been worshipping but we have not be watching what we say and everyone around us see our works, but if our tongues and our words are opposite, we are not going to have much influence for The LORD.  We are here to bear much fruit for GOD’S Kingdom, and in order to do that, we learned in previous lessons that we must have a good root system that is grounded in CHRIST but if we cannot control our words, we are harming our harvest.  We can lie to ourselves all day long thinking that as along as we live good moral lives that what we say doesn’t really matter that much but the truth in GOD’S Word says otherwise.  See our words stunt the growth of our root system, and how can we bear much fruit if our roots are bad?  We cannot.  The book of Titus says it like this.
Titus 3:1-8 “Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,
To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.
For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.”
Solomon wrote this:
Proverbs 8:5-11 “O ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart.
Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things.For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips.All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them.
They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge.10 Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold.11 For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.
See if we could get this deep in our hearts…that our words do matter and pray and ask GOD that just like in verse 8 of this Proverb, that all the words of our mouths would be rightousness; and that nothing forward or perverse would be in them, how pleasing and how much fruit we could bear for The LORD!
I want GOD to bless my works; I want to bear a great harvest for HIM.  I shudder to think that I would spend my time serving HIM and then allow my tongue to speak evil things and make all the work I did meaningless.  What a waste that would be. 
Proverbs 18:4 “The words of a man’s mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook.”
Proverbs 18:4-8 “4 The words of a man's mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook.5 It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to overthrow the righteous in judgment.6 A fool's lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for strokes.7 A fool's mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul.8 The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.”
Proverbs 12:6 “The words of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood: but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them.”
Proverbs 15:1 “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.”
Proverbs 16:24 “Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.”
OUR WORDS MATTER!  They matter to us, they matter to others and most importantly they matter to GOD, who hears and knows all. 
Let’s make our lives count and the works we do for GOD mean something.  I end this lesson with one of my favorite verses and it is my prayer.  I pray that it is your prayer as well. 

Psalm 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight O LORD, my Strength, and my Redeemer.”
Dear Righteous, Heavenly FATHER…
Thank You for the lesson today.  Thank YOU for YOUR WORD that we have to guide us into pleasing YOU.  LORD, I ask today that You help us to continue in good works for Your glory and that we would be able to hold our tongues so that nothing comes out of our mouths unless it is pure, life to others, and pleasing to YOU.  Thank YOU for loving us and forgiving us and we ask that You forgive every time that we have hurt others with our words.  Help us LORD to change and to remember that Your ways are the best way. In JESUS name we pray.  Amen.  Thank YOU LORD! :O)