PAUL TRIPP

MINISTRIES, INC.

What It Sounds Like To Be Perfect

March 9, 2008

James 3:1-12
You can turn in your Bibles or your bulletins to James 3.
I couldn't help but think of an incident in my own life as I thought of these hard-to-read,
hard-to-hear words of James 3.
I've always had a bit of a struggle in my marriage its with the issue of time. Luella
was raised in Cuba. She has a bit of an island and a Latin view of time; some of you
understand. I was raised by a man who thought that the sole litmus test of the value of a
human being was punctuality.
And there was one Easter morning in the Tripp family; we were attending a church at
that point that had decided the best way to celebrate Easter was to have a full breakfast
before the service.
I don't know what that has to do with Easter, but it was a tradition. That meant that we
would have to leave about an hour and a half early. I woke up with feelings of
impossibility.
I walked into the bathroom, and Luella was standing there; my nine-year-old son was
standing there, and I could tell by the way that Luella was dressed that she was not near
being ready.
So I began to say helpful things to her like informing her that it was not, in fact, an
Easter dinner; it was an Easter breakfastletting her know that a couple of our children
were probably already in the car waitingreminding her that I was an elder in the
church, and my arrival before the ham and eggs was very important to my ministry.
About then, my nine-year-old son said, Daddy, may I say something? I should've said,
No! I said, Sure, you can talk.
And he said to me, Daddy do you really think this is the way that a Christian man
should be talking to his wife?
I'm a counselor; I'm good at these conversations. I said, What do you think? And this
little boy with a sincere faith of a child said, Daddy, it doesn't make any difference what
I think; what does God think?

I slogged my way out of the bathroom being duly chided, got to about the threshold of
the door, and he said, Daddy may I say something else?
I wanted to say, No, No, please don't. He said, What I mean, daddy, is what does the
Bible say?
I went into my bedroom, and I had a series of thoughts. The first one was, my pride sort
of reared up; I wanted to be a hero to my son. It hurt that he saw through and heard
through those words and felt for his mommy.
But that didn't last very long. I was overwhelmed with a sense of the love and grace of
God.
Think about how small this moment is in the Tripp family, just one moment, on one
morning, in one room, in one house, on one street, in one city, in one state, in one
nation, in one hemisphere, in one place, at one time, on the globe. And my Lord was in
that room, and He cares about the smallest moments of your life. He cares about those.
Its an amazing thing. Its hard to imagine grace that present, that magnificent, that
active. You see, the reason grace has to be present in those moments is because those
little moments happen to be where you live.
We live in the most mundane, normal minor of moments. And if that grace can't reach
us in those moments, if God doesn't care about this moment, if His Kingdom doesn't
have zeal to reign in those moments, we have no hope!
And that's why, as hard as the words are, that you are about to hear, you ought to hear
them as words of magnificent love! Because if God didn't care about you, He surely
wouldnt care about all those conversations you have every day. How can you pay
attention to all of them at once? What magnificent power that is, but He does, and He
cares.
Remember where we are in James. Were in the second half of James where James is
seeking to lay out this new agenda for our lives. His catch phrase is the righteous life
that God desires the paradigm has changed.
And as I will say to you every sermon till were done with James, it's not any longer a life
that's directed by my kingdom purposes, by what I want, and what I feel, and what Ive
determined I need.
No, it's not that. Its a life that now is in love with God, in love with His purpose, and
wants to live at the most practical levels of everyday life, that righteous life to which I
have been called. My life is now shaped, not by my desire, but by God's plan His will,
His way for me.

Now it's impossible for James to talk about that righteous life at the practical level
without talking about our talk.
Now, I don't need to know you very well; there's one thing I know about you; you talk;
some of us more than others. Were talkish people.
I mean, what is more exciting in the life of a little child than when that child begins to
form language? Its such an exciting time because its so intensely human for that child
to talk.
And one day hes with his daddy, and he mumbled something, Mmasweradslflb. His
dad says, I think he said, John Calvin! It was probably just indigestion.
But were hungry for that child to talk because it's such an amazing thing when we can
have relationship that is now propelled by words. Its a wonderful thing; it's an amazing
gift; it's God-like in its quality.
There is perhaps no moment sadder in all of life than when someone you love falls silent,
never to speak another word.
Fortunately, God gave my mom a few days, and we all gathered at her bed, and I will
never forget that moment when it became very clear that she would speak no more.
I wanted to hear her voice again. I wanted her to say, Paul, I love you. I wanted to
finish a thousand unfinished conversations.
Theres something fundamentally human about this world of talk, and so it's impossible
for James to talk about God's claim on our life, God's call to us, this righteous life that
He desires for us to live, without looking at this important area.
Look with me at James 3, verse 1, Not many of you should become teachers, my
brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.
It makes sense that as James, in his pastoral way, is thinking about talk, he immediately
thinks about those who would want to be teachers. And surely James is reprimanding
people that are teaching false doctrine to the people that he's been called to minister to.
The chief of those false doctrines in James is a situation where people who were
teaching this easy believism faith, this gospel that would say, Once you believe, you
can live however you want because youre in.
And as we've seen James argues, That's not true faith. So he says to those teachers,
Watch out! Those who teach will be judged with a stricter standard.

And then, James moves to this mundane world of talk in which all of us live. Let me
read verse 2 for you:
For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he
says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. (Or verse 7,) For
every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has
been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a
restless evil, full of deadly poison. (ESV)
Here's the first thing James wants us to know, this is humbling. There is no greater,
more consistent, more penetrating evidence of your and my need of grace than our world
of talk.
There is nothing that argues for how deep and full my need of present grace - its rescue,
its forgiveness, its deliverance, its power - than what comes out of my mouth.
Think about it. Would you be quite comfortable with me playing a public recording right
now of everything you said last month? Last week? Yesterday? Today? On the way to
the service this evening? Its an incredible thing.
And were going to understand why James would say this, and he speaks with strong
words to us. He says, If you're perfect in your world of talk, in order for you to be
perfect, you would have to be an absolutely, completely perfect person.
Now here's what I can tell you for sure. Since there are none of those kinds of people in
this room, we can say this with surety: somewhere, someplace, for all of us, our world of
talk is a world of trouble.
There's not a person in this room somehow, someway, who doesn't struggle with his
tongue. And the possibilities are endless in the ways that we can struggle. How about
the hasty unthoughtful word, the proud word, the selfish word, the self-serving
exaggeration, the sly suggestion, the manipulative flattery, words of anger, words of
slander, harmful gossip, innuendo, words of doubt, the competitive words, impure words,
rebellious words, self-aggrandizing words, words of condemnation, threats, words that
inflict guilt, words that induce shame, thoughtless words, boasting, conflictual words,
self-servingly selective stories, words of criticism?
And we could just go on and on and on. It seems like the catalog of possibilities for
trouble with our tongue is virtually endless. There are so many mines to step on. It's
almost impossible not to step on one every day of your life.
And then James says this in verse 7, For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea
creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame
the tongue.

You do not have the autonomous power to solve this problem. It is only solved by means
of the exercise of transforming grace. And of all the things that a human being is able to
tame, all the animals that we can harness, James says, The one thing we all
demonstrate our inability to harness is our tongues.
Now, these are hard words to hear, and I would encourage you this evening, wrestle with
your hearts tonight.
Wives, don't sit there and think, I'm glad my husband is here this evening. Husbands,
don't think of the wonderful applications you could make to your wife after the service is
over. Parents, don't think of your children. Friends, don't think of your other friends.
Open your heart and say, This is the mirror of the Word of God; this is describing me.
Let God speak into your heart and show you where trouble exists for you in this area.
But James speaks further. Not only is the tongue a principal evidence of our deep need
for the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, he wants to say something else to us, that the
tongue has life-shaping and life-altering power. Hear these words, verse 3:
If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole
bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by
strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot
directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.
How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a
world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the
whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. (ESV)
Could the words be any stronger? James uses these wonderful, again, visual examples,
these word picture a small bit in the mouth of a horse allows him to be directed
wherever you want him to go. A rudder, which is small in comparison to the size of the
ship, is able to guide that ship wherever the pilot wants it to go. A small spark, as we
have seen in great forest fires in America, can set acres upon acres on fire.
And then James says, that is exactly the kind of power that God has given you in your
ability to communicate.
There is a very powerful proverb that says words like this, this is my paraphrase, Words
give life; words bring death; you choose.
What that proverb is saying is you've never spoken a neutral word. Your words always
have direction to them. Either your words are moving in a life direction words of hope,
and peace, and reconciliation, and encouragement, and forgiveness, and wisdom, and
instruction, and truth. Or, your words are going in a death direction words of

condemnation, and anger, and malice, and slander, and gossip, and criticism, and
judgment.
Listen, there is no such thing as a healthy human relationship where part of its health
isn't wholesome, wonderful, sweet, loving, gracious communication. And there is no
such thing as a bad and broken relationship that part of its brokenness isn't evil words.
Now, here's what we need to do with this. We must not back away from the power of the
words that we speak.
You know that old childrens saying that says, Sticks and stones may hurt my bones,
but names will never hurt me. Nothing could be further from the truth! Long after
physical bruises have healed, wounds of the heart live with power.
Parents, think about it, when in a moment of frustration and irritation and exhaustion,
you burst into the room of your child, and you say things that those ears should never
hear. How can you back away and say, Well, he knows that I love him.
Whats happening in the heart of the child in that moment? Is he saying, Boy this is
helpful; I'm so glad this person is in my life; I wish he or she was in my room more; I'm
receiving such wisdom at this moment? Those words encourage and stimulate the very
rebellion that you would want to break down.
Husbands, when you speak harsh words of criticism toward your wife, does that make her
heart want to move toward you? Does that encourage trust of you? Does it make her
want to rest in your love and your leadership? Surely it doesn't!
Its impossible to be honest and back away from the life-shaping, life-altering power of
the tongue.
One of my sad experiences has been to sit with couples, now barely clinging onto a
terribly broken marriage. They would sit in my office, and their very posture on my couch
would be a picture of what was happening in the relationship.
And you could feel the acrimony. You could see the steely glances go between them.
And I would look at that couple, and I would always think, there was a day when they
adored one another. There was a day when they longed to be in one another's presence.
There was a day when they hung on one another's words, when a phone call would come
and they would hear the voice of another person, and love would fill their hearts.
And that relationship has been set on fire and burned down with words--words of
selfishness and bitterness and anger, words of judgment and criticism, words of
condemnation and hopelessness.

There have literally been times in counseling where I would hear the things that a
husband and wife would say to one another, and tears would stream down my face hard
to imagine that it had come to this.
Brothers and sisters, James is saying, God has placed in your mouth a powerful gift,
and it will influence the course of your life, the character of your relationships.
Now here's why were so able to minimize that because most of our talk is in little
moments. And yet isn't that exactly what James is arguing about, is this very small
thing, this seemingly inconsequential thing, this seemingly minor thing that has great
ability to set the course of life? Are you taking seriously the powerful gift that you have
been given?
Well, if that's not enough, James says one more thing. He wants us to see, look with me
at verse 9:
With it (that is the tongue) we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse
people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come
blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring
pour forth from the same opening both fresh and saltwater? Can a fig tree, my
brothers, bear olives, or grape vine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield
fresh water. (ESV)
Now, heres the final point, and this is a very, very important point. It sort of collects
those other points and brings them to a very practical place; here it is: James is arguing
that your words always reveal the true character and condition of your heart.
And he does that again with a physical example. James is in good company, this is
exactly what Christ taught. Christ said, Its out of the heart that the mouth speaks.
Christ used the example of a tree, the example we thought about. You know an apple
tree is an apple tree because it has apples, but you instinctively know that that tree is
apple-istic all the way down to its roots. If it didn't have apple-ism in its roots, it would
not produce apples as fruit.
In the same way, your problem, my problem with the tongue, our problem with talk is not
a vocabulary problem; it's not a technique problem; it's a heart problem! And what you
have James teaching here, and this is important to get, is the principle of organic
consistency, the principle of organic consistency: whatever is in your heart will rule your
words.
There's organic consistency between what is in your heart and what comes out of your
mouth. Now here's actually what James is saying, this is very humbling: perhaps our
hearts are not as pure as we think they are, because salt water doesn't come from a pure
water spring; cursing doesn't come from a heart filled with blessing.

Now, I dont want to believe that. I want to believe that my problem with talk exists
outside of me, not inside of me. I want to point this way and James says, No, No, No,
don't you actually see what's being revealed here? Your heart, the true character and
condition of your heart, is always revealed by the words you speak.
You have never spoken a word that is not ruled by your heart. Word problems are heart
problems.
And here's the issue. In laying claim to every word you would speak, your Messiah is
laying claim to every thought, every intention, every desire, every motive of your heart-He wants your heart!
In Ezekiel, the prophet rises and speaks to the Lord, and he says this. This one thing I
will do. I will recapture the hearts of my people to serve me and me alone.
Why does cursing, anger, impatience, bitterness, flow out of our hearts? Because, in our
hearts, there is still a war between the kingdom of self and the Kingdom of God, and we
need help.
You say, Well, Paul, this has been encouraging. Well, hear these words: you and I do
not need to be afraid to look in the mirror of James 3. God puts this mirror in front of
you because He loves you, and He wants to rescue you out of the claustrophobic confines
of your own little self-defined kingdom to live in the glory and beauty of His Kingdom of
goodness and grace.
The place to start is by owning your helplessness. You see, there is a solution here.
James says, No man can tame the tongue, and he's right, but Jesus can.
And the hope for us here is found in one word--that word is not an item of vocabulary;
that word is not something you would look up in a dictionary; that word is a person, and
His name is Jesus. Your struggle with words is found in Jesus, The Word. He came and
He lived utterly perfectly. In fact, His perfection is most powerfully demonstrated by His
talk. Never was there deceit found in His mouth; never did He utter a threat; everything
He said was perfect in every way.
And He lived that perfect life for you and for me. And He went to the cross as the
perfect Lamb of God. He suffered and died for you and me so that tonight, March 9, we
could be on our knees and say once again, I need your help; I need your forgiveness; I
need your rescue, and I need your grace. I have a heart problem! And we could do that
utterly unafraid, full of hope, full of joy, receiving the love that is offered by the Lord
Jesus Christ.
Listen, you can only be two places: You will minimize and justify your world of talkor
you will look in the mirror of the Word of God, and you will fall down helpless. There's
no in between. And as you fall down helpless, you fall into the arms of the Word, and He

rescues you from you! Praise Him! Praise Him! There's hope for us; there's hope for
this little member that has such power because His grace is sufficient; His strength is
made perfect. Where? In our weakness.
Lets pray: Lord, how humbling, how exposing, how convicting this passage of Scripture
is. How much we have taken this gift as our own. How often we've used it for own
purposes. How far we fall beneath Your standard. And yet, we are not hopeless because
You are, and You are a God of glorious, transforming grace. I pray for everyone in this
room: man, woman, boy, and girl--Oh God, Mark. that we would embrace our need of
You and find the help that can only be found in You. In Jesuss name, Amen.

2008 Paul Tripp Ministries

www.paultripp.com