Dial In with Jonny Ardavanis - The Tongue pt. 1

Episode Date: May 19, 2022

In this two part series, Jonny Ardavanis is going to discuss the power of the tongue.James 1:26 says: “if anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue, his religion is worthless.”Potentially you haven’t considered the massive significance of how you speak, write, and communicate, but the Bible says: “death and life are in the power of the tongue (Prov. 18:21).”Watch VideosVisit the Website Follow on InstagramFollow on Twitter

Hey guys, my name is Johnny Artavanis and this is Dial In. This is episode one of a two-part series on the topic of the tongue. In this episode, we're going to cover some of the illegitimate ways in which we use the tongue, and in our next episode, we will cover the legitimate, God-given ways for how you are to speak, write, communicate, and type. If you think this is a trivial topic, I ask you to think again. Let's dial in. Now, saving faith, biblically speaking, is always conjoined with transformation.

Those who have received new life in Christ act like new creatures. Now, I want to ask you a question. Imagine this with me. If I brought before you a consistent, unrepentant adulterer and asked if the fruit of their life evidenced that they had been changed by Christ, what would you say? Well, you would likely respond and say, of course not, Johnny. We're not saved by our works, but the fruit of their life don't evidence that the root of salvation has taken place in their heart. And if I brought before you a drunkard that was consistently and unrepentantly doing the same sin over and over again and asked you the same thing, you would give me the same response. This much is clear because those are disrespected sins, sins that are known to be offensive to those around you and ultimately offensive to God.

Now let me ask you another question. If I brought before you a gossip, a slander, or a crass and crude communicator and asked you if the fruit of their life evidenced that they had been changed by God, what would you say? Well, the scripture gives us the answer. In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul says this, do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither the, listen to this list, neither the sexually immoral, the idolaters, adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. But I forgot one. The text also includes, smack dab in the middle, slanderers, someone who criticizes others with

their tongue. Now, if I asked you to describe for me the culture that has rejected God, what would you say? What passage would you take me to? Well, if you're familiar with scripture, you would likely take me to Romans 1 because that passage describes a culture that has rejected God and is ultimately allowed to go their own way by God. Verse 28 describes this type of culture and it tells us, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, he gave them over to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. Then watch this. They are gossips, slanders, and haters of God,

insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil. They have no understanding, no love, no mercy. That's quite the list. Between the bookends of evil, murder, and inventors of wickedness, I debated starting this episode in this manner, but decided to do so for a specific reason. That being the possibility that the misuse or the sins of the tongue might be a small matter to you. But I hope you now see that they are no joking manner to God. In fact, Proverbs 18, 21 says, life and death are in the power of the tongue. The topic of the tongue in scripture isn't trivial. It is oozing with significance. In fact, eternal significance, life and death are in the power of the tongue. I want to look first with you at the importance of the tongue. We're going to be jumping around in a few different texts in the Bible to provide us with a

proper perspective regarding the way that we use our mouths. Although God, think with me, created us with a tongue to bring him glory and honor and to encourage and edify those around us, man's sinfulness is often most clearly evidenced in the fallen manner in which they speak. And this misstewardship of our tongue isn't just a minor blemish before God. It's offensive to him. In fact, Proverbs 6 lists six things that God hates, seven that are an abomination to him. Three of those things have to do with our tongue. God hates murder and lovers of evil. And then it says

liars, gossips, and slanders. The Bible functions like a tuning fork. And I begin this way in order that you might be tuned to the reality of how important the usage of the tongue is to God. In this episode, we will predominantly be in the book of James, but I want to look at a couple other places in scripture with you. If you've studied James before, you will predominantly be in the book of James, but I want to look at a couple other places in scripture with you. If you've studied James before, you know that James is the earliest book or the first book to be written in the New Testament chronologically. And James' goal in writing his epistle is essentially to describe the Christian life, the way that the Christian life actually is.

Many people profess Christ, but not many people possess Christ. And as James describes what the Christian life really is, in all five chapters, he is going to mention the tongue. I'll explain why in just a minute, but in James 1.26, he says this, if anyone thinks he is religious, stop there for a moment. This word for religious is used once in all of the New Testament, and it's used right here. It literally means if anyone thinks he is a genuine worshiper of God. This is for people like you listening to this podcast, trying to learn. This is a word that describes people who legitimately consider themselves to be lovers of God. This isn't just someone who believes in a higher deity.

This is a person who goes to Bible studies, Bible college, goes to Bible teaching, mission strips, disciple making, all of that type of stuff. That type of religious. So James continues and says, if anyone thinks he is religious and a contrasting statement is coming up and does not bridle or control his tongue, this person deceives his heart and his religion is worthless. Question for you. Have you ever been deceived by someone you trusted? Have you ever been betrayed? Well, betrayal and deception is tragic. But my friend Harry has told me a number of times,

the saddest form of deception and the saddest form of betrayal is self-deception. The person that thinks he is religious but does not bridle his tongue, that person is self-deceived and James says his religion is useless. This word for useless is also used in 1 Corinthians 15, where Paul tells us that if Jesus did not rise from the grave, our faith is in vain. It's worthless. It's useless.

It's tragic. In James chapter 2, James is going to talk about how faith without works is what? It's dead, meaning that we know that we are saved by grace and not by works. But if someone says that their heart has changed, and yet their behavior and deeds have not, the Bible says they are delusional. They aren't saved. That's chapter two.

Now remember that when James is writing this epistle, there are no chapter breakdowns. Chapters were later on developed after the development of the printing press. So what you have in chapter three is the continuation of the same thought that we found in chapter two. So after communicating that faith without works is dead and that legitimate faith manifests itself

in works, what do you think the scripture will say is one of the first evidences of saving faith? The way we use our tongue, because James knows that the tongue doesn't operate independently of the heart. In the same way, the doctor tells you to stick out your tongue because James knows that the tongue doesn't operate independently of the heart. In the same way the doctor tells you to stick out your tongue because it reveals illnesses and disease, James says the doctor is right. The tongue reveals your spiritual temperature. If you've listened to my series on the attributes of God, when we studied God's holiness, we looked at Isaiah 6. In Isaiah, this righteous prophet is confronted by the holiness of God. He had seen God for who he really was. And for the first time in his life, Isaiah had an accurate view of himself.

In this account, do you remember what the first thing Isaiah says is? He says, What an interesting thing to say. Why does he say this? Well, because Isaiah knows that his mouth, his lips, his tongue are a reflection of his heart. What you say, what you don't say, and how you say it is the most revealing thing about you. But consider with me, why does the tongue need to be bridled? Why does the tongue need to be controlled? Well, I want to look with you at five realities regarding the tongue. We will look at James 3 primarily, and then a few other sections in scripture,

five realities regarding the tongue. Number one, the tongue is powerful. James says this in chapter 3 verses 2 through 5. He says, for we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man able to bridle his whole body as well. Now, if we put the bits into the horse's mouth so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well. Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. So also the tongue is a small part of the body and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire. When I was in elementary school, growing up, we used to sing this song. It went five nights ago when we were all in bed,

Mrs. O'Leary left a lantern in the shed, but when the cow kicked it over, she winked her eye and said, it's going to be a hot one in the old town tonight. And then all the kids would shout, fire, fire, fire. Then we would sing four nights ago, then three nights ago. You know, we would whisper one verse, then shout the next verse, kind of like a Father Abraham type of drill. But what's the song about? Well, the song is about the Great Chicago Fire. And the story is that Mrs. O'Leary left a lantern in her barn and the cow kicked it over. And one single spark in Mrs. O'Leary's barn burnt 17,500 buildings, 300 people were killed, and 125,000 people were homeless from a single spark. I live in California and in between summer and fall, we have our fifth season, fire season.

Fires that devastate communities, they uproot families and they bring much grief, pain and loss. But the most interesting thing about something like a forest fire is its beginning, not as a massive destructive blaze, but as a tiny spark. The expression like wildfire was coined to represent the idea James is getting at. What else starts so small and then moves faster and is more powerful than you can even imagine? There is nothing like fire. When tamed, it brings great comfort and warmth and light. But when untamed, fire brings forth destruction, pain, and disaster. And for this reason, we just read, the tongue is a fire.

In Proverbs 16, 27, it says, an ungodly man digs up evil and in his lips, there is a burning fire. Everything his fiery mouth touches is set to flame and that fire spreads. The tongue is a disproportionately small muscle in your body, yet it wields much force. In James chapter three, what we just read, James provides three consecutive illustrations for the disproportionate power of our tongue. He first says it is like a bit in a horse's mouth. He says, now, if we put the bits into the horse's mouth so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well. James is saying, do you see that mighty horse? Do you see its speed,

its strength? Well, that horse is controlled by a tiny bit inside of his mouth. And if you control the mouth, you control the direction. Then he says, look at the ships in verse four. They also are so great and are driven by strong winds and are still directed by a very small rudder, wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. Now some of these first century Mediterranean ships could carry up to a thousand passengers. They were massive ships. They were feats of engineering and yet they were directed by a tiny rudder on the back of the ship. So what's the point here? Well the point is our legs are big, our arms are big, but our lives are moved, directed, and affected by the two-inch muscle behind an army of teeth. And then James is going to provide a third analogy that we've already observed.

The tongue is a fire that consumes. James will continue in chapter 3, verse 7. For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea. Those can be tamed and have been tamed by the human race. Verse eight, but no one among mankind can tame the tongue. Every kind of beast has been tamed by man. They can be taught tricks. In Thailand last year with Katie, I watched elephants paint beautiful watercolor paintings using brushes that are held elegantly with their trunks. Parrots can recite the constitution. Dogs can grab food from the fridge. But no one can tame the tongue. We used to sing the song, sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me.

I can't think of anything further from the truth. Words hurt because words are powerful. So first, the tongue is powerful. But secondly, why does the tongue need to be bridled? Well, secondly here, the tongue is also restless. James 3 chapter 8 says that the tongue is a restless evil. The tongue needs to be controlled because the average person spend the majority of their lives talking. 7,000 words a day is the average for one guy and up to 20,000 for some women. But either way, the tongue is restless for us all. Proverbs 10, 19 says, when there are many words wrongdoing is unavoidable, but one who restrains his lips is wise. The scripture says that there is a direct correlation in your life between the amount you talk and the amount you sin.

And the speech you utter, as we have already discussed, reveals your heart. In Matthew 12, 36, Jesus is going to say that a tree is known by its fruit. And then he directly transitions into how that fruit evidences itself. He says, for the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for in the day of judgment. For by your words, you will be justified. And by your words, you will be condemned.

The fruit of the mouth reflects the root in the heart. Did you know that? That you're going to give an account for every careless word that you speak? Do you know what that means? It means idle or empty, without intention, without premeditation. Why? Why are we going to give an account for every careless word? Because words matter.

James says that the tongue is a restless evil. Do you acknowledge this in your own life? Restless tongues are often a sign of a restless heart, a heart that is failing to find its rest in Jesus Christ. So first, the tongue is powerful. Secondly, the tongue is restless. Number three, the tongue is foul. At the end of verse eight, James continues and says,

it is a restless evil full of deadly poison. Then in verses nine and 10, he says, with it we bless our Lord and father. And with it, we curse people who have been made in the likeness of God from the same mouth comes both blessing and cursing. James points to a temptation of the tongue twice in these verses. He says that the tongue is the instrument by which we curse, by which we bring others down the instrument by which we communicate profanity, the same muscle that praises our heavenly father, Can't you see that the tongue is foul? When the Apostle Paul characterizes the fallenness of man,

and he really wants you to understand that all of mankind is depraved, and he's going to display all the ugly features of man's sinfulness. He points initially to the tongue as if to say, do you need a demonstration of the depravity of the human heart? Then listen to the way they speak in Romans 3, 10 through 13. You know this passage potentially. He says, there is none righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. They have all turned aside. Together they have become corrupt.

There is none that does good, not even one. Now watch this. Their throat is an open grave, and with their tongues they keep deceiving. The venom of asps is in their lips. The tongue opens and it spews poison. We need to look elsewhere in scripture to understand this reality more clearly, but the tongue is foul. It reveals the human heart. Ephesians 4.29 says, let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth. This instruction is given because the instruction is needed. We will talk about the remainder of this verse in our next episode. But this idea here of unwholesome words include crass or cuss words. Unwholesome means anything that is not fitting, not proper.

It's not consistent with the character of the Christian. Every single culture recognizes words that are explicit, words that are derogatory or crude. The Bible says, and I love this because you can't get any more simple than this. Let no unwholesome word proceed out of your mouth. None. How much? None. Culture creates indecent language to satisfy its craving for crudeness and vulgarity. So the Christian seeking to live as a follower of Christ in the world establishes this conviction. I am not going

to use any language that the culture recognizes as offensive or crass. If we move to Ephesians 5, we would see Paul is going to tell the Ephesian church to be an imitator of Jesus Christ, to be a mirror of the one that saved them and transformed them. And then he is immediately going to tell the Ephesian church to be an imitator of Jesus Christ, to be a mirror of the one that saved them and transformed them. And then he is immediately going to transition into what that looks like. What does it mean to be an imitator of Jesus Christ? Well, in verse 3, he says, flee sexual temptation. And then in verse 4, he says, and let no filthiness nor foolish talks with your tongue be even mentioned.

There must be no filthiness or silly talk or coarse jesting, But the tongue not only speaks foul language and crude humor. Number four, the tongue also lies. This includes embellishments, exaggerations, partial truth truth full-on slander white lies they are all here mark twain once said that a man is never more truthful than when he acknowledges himself as a liar but the tongue lies and therefore it needs to be bridled proverbs 12 22 says lying lips are an abomination to the lord revelation 21 8.8 says this, but as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second

death. I had to pick two verses, but there were dozens that I could have included. God is a God who cannot lie. He is a God of truth. This is why Satan, the one who stands in direct opposition to God, is known as the father of lies. A lie is the very thing that plunged all of creation into futility in the garden. The serpent approached Adam and Eve and said that in the moment you eat of this fruit, you will be like God. They bought into this lie, and now all mankind are born liars. And even those who have been reborn must continually wage war against the temptation to tell something short of the truth. I say something short of the truth because we are at times tempted with our tongues

to include the truth inside a non-truth which pacifies our conscience. This is the reason even the court of law, a secular institution, makes those taking the stand declare the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. We have to emphasize what the truth is because so many people justify half-truth. But the scripture says in Ephesians 4.29, Put off all falsehood from you. This is an imagery of a dirty garment. He says, throw it away. Get rid of it. Flee from every single temptation to tell anything short of the truth. Well, fifth and finally,

I'll let you guess what this final thing the tongue does is. Who am I? I have no respect for justice. I maim without killing. I break hearts and ruin lives. I am cruel and malicious and gather strength with age. The more I am quoted, the more I am believed. I flourish at every level of society. My victims are helpless.

They cannot protect themselves against me because I have no name and no face. To track me down is impossible. The harder you try, the more elusive I become. I'm nobody's friend. Once I tarnish a reputation, it is never the same. I topple governments and ruin marriages. I destroy careers and cause heartache and sleepless nights. I wreck churches and separate Christians.

I spawn suspicion and generate grief, making innocent people cry on their pillows. Even my name hisses. Who am I? I am gossip. Gossip is a particularly deadly sin. It has destroyed more people, damaged more reputations, deteriorated more friendships, and divided more churches than any sin that I'm aware of. Gossip is quickly told, quickly heard, and quickly spread. But worst of all, gossip is quickly believed. People will confess to all types of sins, theft, adultery, even murder, but no one confesses to gossip. The New Testament word for gossip literally means a whisper, a person who goes and says things one to another. Proverbs 16, 28 says,

a perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends. Maybe you identify yourself as a gossip, and maybe you go, I don't gossip. But I think there are a few ways, three in particular, in which gossip is disguised even amongst those who are solid believers. Gossip is disguised, first of all, I would say by godly concern. Gossip is also cloaked by requests for prayer. Hey, can you pray for so-and-so? She really needs our prayer. Why? Well, because she's struggling with this. Gossip is also cloaked by wisdom and discernment. I think if you have the gift of discernment, you need to be particularly aware of the temptation to gossip. God hates gossip because your tongue was not given to defame, slander, and whisper about others. It was given to praise, edify, encourage, and proclaim the truth.

The sins of the tongue are not minor. In fact, I want you to listen to what Paul says in Ephesians 4.30. After Paul has told us that no unwholesome word should proceed out of our mouth, he proceeds from there to say, Did you catch that? Have you ever really thought about that? The sins of the tongue are not just something God hates. They're not just something God opposes.

But there's something, the sins of the tongue that is, that God deeply grieves. It says, Do not grieve the Holy Spirit. This word grieve is used to describe deep pain. This means God is a person who feels. You are his representative and his child. And when your tongue is foul and not grace-giving, it grieves God's heart. It pains him.

The same word for grieves is used in Matthew 17, 23, when Jesus tells his disciples that the Son of Man is going to be delivered and killed. And it says that his disciples that the son of man is going to be delivered and killed. And it says that his disciples went away, grieved, deeply distressed. And that same word is used here when God hears his children using their tongues in illegitimate manners. Every time you are tempted to tell a lie, to slander, gossip, curse, Think about this reality if you're a believer. God is deeply grieved by the sins of the tongue. Have you ever heard the Spirit of God say to you, oh child, I am deeply grieved by the way you speak. I am sorrowed by the way that you use

your tongue that I gave you. Well, the question is, how are we to speak? Well, we're going to talk about this in our next episode, but for now we can look to 1 Peter 2.21, and I think this is fitting based on what we've just observed. In 1 Peter 2.21, Peter says, Since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you as an example for you to follow in his steps, who committed no sin, now listen to this, nor was any deceit found in his mouth, and while being reviled, that's like scorned and slandered, Now listen to this. Now the question is, why was Jesus silent? Our sins in his body on the cross so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness for by his wounds you were healed. Now the question is, why was Jesus silent?

He was silent because every word that has ever come from your lips is sufficient testimony against the holy God that you should be damned for all eternity because we have cursed him, his image bearers. And so Jesus comes into the world to bear the full penalty of the sins of the tongue. He remained silent and did not revile in return. He did not open his mouth because he went to the cross to pay for the sins of your mouth and my mouth.

And everything that God hates was paid for by a silent Jesus Christ who had no deceit in his mouth. Next week, we are going to look at how we are to talk, how we are to speak, but I will leave you with this in the meantime. The single most powerful aid in transforming your tongue is hearing. Hearing the word of Christ by his spirit in his word in such a way that your heart is fed by the sanctifying work of Christ. All other efforts to train or to tame the tongue are vain if they do not begin with a heart that hears God's word

and feeds upon his truth, his grace, his love, and his kindness. Well, until next time, stay dialed in.