Untamed Preacher Tongues

“Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.” James 3

James 3: 1-2 connects the teaching of the Gospel with the taming of the tongue. He reinforces the accountability that God set on teaching and then he goes on to tell us our common imperfection in teaching and the consequences that can follow in later verses of his epistle. However, there is also an implied promise, the purer our verbal teaching, the purer our lives. This is what he means when he says that a teacher can keep their whole body in check.

When I teach systematic theology I try to teach each systematic doctrinal position equally without my own dogmatism. I tell my students that if their brother's position on a debatable issue can be supported from the Bible then their obligation as a Christian is the love their brother or sister who has the opposing position. I do this because all teachers and denominations, “stumble in many ways” However we should work toward perfect doctrine and theology. Theology is what you think doctrine is what you do. One always flows from the other.

I also try to force my students to seek the scriptures for themselves in order to determine their position and debatable issues. The result is an interesting mix of believers who challenge each other academically and love the word of God, each other, and the Lord himself.

James 3:5 “The tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.”

There seems to be both a symbolic and literal application of this passage. As we make application of of the word “body” and apply it to the body of Christ, we can historically document “a world of evil among the Body of Christ” He begins his conversation about this “world of evil” as it relates to individual teachers however.

Preaching is a powerful medium and can be a bit of an intoxicant. It is easy to drift into teachings that is “puffed up by our vain imaginations” It is easy to preach the power of his resurrection without the fellowship of his suffering. The other error of an untamed preacher tongue is to not speak the word of the Lord for that day, it is like despising prophecy. The preacher wants to tickle ears without the Spirit of God being attached to the word. When these errors continue to occur preaching becomes more of a sensual experience than a spiritual experience. Richard Gazowski, said many years ago, “lust and the Holy Ghost can feel very similar” I think he was right and I think course that “corrupts the whole body, and sets the whole course of one's life on fire” is the consequence of untamed preacher tongues that refuse to preach the “whole counsel of God”. Paul could say to his congregation “I have not withheld anything from you but preached publicly and from house to house.” Acts 20:20. When he did this he kept himself strong. It would be interesting to study the correlation between pastors falling into sensual sin and their commitment to preach the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Divine revelation is also not a substitute for communicating all that God desire to communicate. Jesus said to Peter “flesh and blood have not revealed this to you but my father in heaven” and “get behind me Satan you do not have in mind the things of God” within minutes of each other. Peter wanted a Kingdom but not a crucifixion.

Let us keep our “whole body in check” by preaching the “whole counsel of God” and let the fires that burn in our lives by the fires of revival.