Warnings and Words to Teachers.
Book of James Chapter 3
Today our lesson concerns those who teach the Word of God.
*****Jas 3:1 My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.
The word "masters" means instructors or teachers.
James included himself when we said we shall receive greater condemnation.
What James is saying is, that the Lord Jesus is our Master and we are to teach the things that He said or that He approved, which is the Word of God we have in our possession.
What did the Lord Jesus say? Mat 23:8 But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.
Mat 23:9 And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.
Mat 23:10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.
We certainly only have one Master and He is our Lord and Savior.
We can never be a master teacher but we can teach the way Jesus taught by using all the Word of God, rightly divided.
2Ti_2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Is teaching a calling?
We must understand a Pastor is a calling and the biggest majority of them are also great Teachers like our own Pastor.
A Teacher on the other hand is not a Pastor and neither can he be unless he is called of God.
A teacher also is not self-appointed.
No one can teach the Bible without first being a Christian and not a new Christian.
The Apostles were trained by Jesus for three years and this seems a fair amount of time for any of us.
How did I get into this position? I first I felt I was drawn to help in the youth department.
At that time Travis was our youth Pastor and I asked him if there was a place where I could help him with the youth.
And I began to teach the kids and I loved it.
As time passed the previous teacher of this class asked me if I could help him by teaching every other Sunday.
Now do not get me wrong, I do not feel I was called but I was pushed along by the Holy Spirit and felt I could not say no to either of these things.
So I was trying to teach the youth on Sunday night and every other Sunday in this adult class.
During this time I began having some medical issues which cause me to run to the bathroom.
I did not have a helper with the kids which was needed and you cannot just run off and leave a bunch of kids to themselves for any amount of time.
It was during this time that I had to make a choice and I chose the adult class because I can run off to the bathroom and leave you lovely people.
My issues have cleared up and I am much better now.
The previous teacher left to go to another Church and I became the full-time person filling in until this class elects someone else.
Any time someone else wants to teach in this class we can have an election and that person will be the new teacher if the votes are his.
I have been here since 2013 filling in until that teacher arrives or our Master arrives.
What James is saying is, to love the work of being a teacher, but do not strive to be after the honor of a Teacher like our Master, the Lord Jesus Christ.
In other words, I must learn just like you do and then we can all learn together the truth of the Scriptures until we get what the Lord is trying to teach us.
You see, the temptations and trials that we face, we will face them together!
Just so we understand, the tongue is the tool of the teacher and because of this, if I use my tongue for a sinful purpose in this class, I will face a harsher judgment from the Lord!
I must never give you a warning from the Lord without applying it to myself also.
To be honest, teaching this class has given me an opportunity to learn more from the precious Words that the Lord God, our Creator, has given to us.
****Jas 3:2 For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.
If I allow the Word of God to be my bridle then, in that sense only, I have become a perfect teacher, but in no way am I a perfect person, as only the Lord Jesus Christ has been perfect in the time He was upon this earth and He is our only Master!
All this being said, I will not allow this fear of judgment to neglect doing my best as a teacher.
I depend upon the Holy Spirit to keep me straight, and I know I still make mistakes, and if you hear me do that then tell me and we will get the right answer from the Word of God.
The Words God has given to us, are the only perfect thing upon this earth!
Psa_119:89 For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.
Sometimes I use too much politics and I will try to use less but we are to apply the Word of God to our lives today in real time.
You see, as long as there is fuel to our temptations, then we have to be on guard in this life until Jesus Christ returns to take us home.
You see, I always know if I got the message across that I had and failed to do so.
I also know that when I stand before you that the Holy Spirit will bring out things that need to be said.
Another thing I know is, that when I have prepared a lesson that has too much information in it for the time we have, I try to rush the lesson and sometimes mess it up completely.
I am trying to do better.
The one thing my tongue shows me is that I am always stumbling and coming up short with what I am trying to teach, but I make no excuses because I know the Lord rewards effort and the Holy Spirit will correct my mistakes.
We know our tongue will speak about what is on our minds and what is in our hearts so, that same tongue will either justify us or condemn us before God.
This is exactly what the Lord Jesus said!
Mat 12:34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
Mat 12:35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
Mat 12:36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
Mat 12:37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
The Lord Jesus is my Lord and Savior, and I depend upon Him to teach me!
Every part of me, from my head to my toe and everything inside me, was designed to serve the Lord and I want to try to make sure that they do!
The Lord wants us to be clear about the harm and the good that can come from the proper use of our tongues.
*****Jas 3:3 Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body.
Jas 3:4 Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.
Sometimes, we can understand what the Lord is saying by the way we do things ourselves.
A horse is a powerful animal, but a bridle and a bit can place this large animal under our control.
The Lord says if we follow His instructions, we will not need a horse’s bridle with that bit that controls the tongue.
Psa 32:8 I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.
Psa 32:9 Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.
A piece of rope or leather connected in the right places, with a bit can control a very large horse!
Even the largest of ships have a small rudder compared to their awesome size, but that rudder turns the ship in the way it should go!
So it is with our tongue! It is such a small member of our body, but the destructive power of our tongue is very great!
We can boast about anything, but no matter how that boasting is done, it is almost always destructive.
Boasting is nothing more than vain or empty talk, unless we are boasting about what the Lord has done in our lives!
Our words are the expressions of our thoughts!
There was no such phrase in the American language as "brotherly love", until Christians used it!
There was no such word as Christian until the world used it to describe all those who were trying to live like Jesus Christ, the Messiah.
We should understand that every word we speak has its own history and at its appointed time, it was added to the library of the world's thoughts.
It is only the wisdom that is from above that gives us the proper way to use our tongues!
We should ask ourselves, why are we so willing to freely speak about the business of others than to attend to our own affairs, when we should be freely speaking the Words of Christ Jesus and His affairs?
A kind word has helped more people than can be counted when cruel words can break the heart of weak spirits who may never recover from them.
We must consider that we are the king of our tongue, but we are also a slave to suffer from its abuse.
In most cases, it takes a bridle to calm a nervous horse and a ship is only a useful thing if it can turn to a set course.
That small rudder gives safety to a ship, just that bit gives calmness to a horse.
Those that do not know the Lord do not have the power to control their tongue, and we see this increasingly today in this wicked world.
*****Jas 3:5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
Jas 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
We have an upcoming election between two men.
We will be asking ourselves, are we voting on what they say or are we voting on the actions we have seen from them both.
The main thing we should be asking is, what is their relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ?
We know that all the fires that roar over our nation every year, each began with one spark.
One of the greatest fires in California was started by a man lost in the wilderness so someone might find him.
Billions of dollars were lost and several people died because he made a foolish mistake in a dry forest.
This is the same action of our tongues if we do not bridle them and give the Lord the reins and the control of that bit in our mouths.
We know that a forest fire can destroy everything in its path and our tongues can destroy every good relationship we have ever made.
Boasting is also a sin of the tongue.
What are some of the things Our Lord hates?
Pro 6:17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
Pro 6:18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
Pro 6:19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
We see a lying tongue, and a false witness using his tongue to speak lies, when he that sows discord by the use of his tongue.
Any sort of falsehood will ruin our testimony!
Any sort of falsehood can ruin the testimony of any Christian.
I wish our politicians could understand this one thing as well as each of us are to understand.
Lies destroys marriages.
Lies destroys friendships.
Lies destroys our reputations.
In this life we have now, our tongue is an ever-present tool of evil, unless we allow it to be bridled by the Word of God.
Jer 18:4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
If the Potter does not remake us, then our tongue will lead us into the fires of Hell!
Rom 9:21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
We must allow the Word of God be the bits in our mouths, to control that terrible wicked tongue that we have!
The tongue can defile our whole body!
Our nation is on a slide to Hell, because of all the lies that are spoken in it today!
Our news sources no longer post the truth but use politics to sway others to certain things almost always against the Word of God and the actual truth.
Only the Lord Jesus can tame our tongues!
*****Jas 3:7 For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:
Jas 3:8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
In our world we hear that word "religion" an awful lot and we should be able to see that "religion" is not good for anyone, because religion cannot tame the tongue!
Religion cannot rule the speech so, it is a failure and it is fraud.
The tongue is like a wild beast that needs taming, but religion is not a tool that will work!
The tongue is fierce and uncontrollable, and religion does not have the answers to tame it!
Why, might we ask? It is because the unbeliever is a child of the Devil.
1Pe_5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
It is only the Lord Jesus Christ who can tame the tongue because it is only the Lord Jesus Christ who can cage the Devil!
Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Religion is only a friend of the Devil, but the Lord is the Master of all His creation.
*****Jas 3:9 Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.
Jas 3:10 Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
No matter how much we claim to be Christian, it must show in our actions, and our tongue and our speech is a ready indicator of what is in our heart.
All of humanity were first made in the image of God!
Gen 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Gen 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
What people seem to forget is that image did not really mean our bodies.
God is Spirit and you cannot see a spirit.
It is true that the Lord Jesus was a man and also God, but He took on the looks of man.
There is an enormous difference between "image" and "likeness".
"Image" is our reproduction in form and substance.
"Likeness" is more our resemblance of thoughts and actions other than outward similarity.
We should understand that it is our nature that was made in the image of God.
It was the sin of Adam that changed this image!
The truth of these things is that humanity possess qualities that no animal could ever possess, and most true scientists have found this to be true while evolutionists try to make this to be false.
Evolutionists have great imaginations but they have no concept of the truth!
We can trust that the Lord speaks the truth!
The truth is, when we bless the Lord, our Heavenly Father, and then, use that same tongue to curse some person who is made in the similitude of God we are not who we say we are.
We cannot profess the Lord Jesus Christ and act like the heathens that are in the world!
Heathens meaning idolaters who oppose the truth of the Lord Jesus!
Psa 50:16 But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth?
Psa 50:17 Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee.
Psa 78:37 For their heart was not right with him, neither were they stedfast in his covenant.
The Lord gives us His own examples of what He means here.
Then the Lord asks, “are we really wise or fools?
*****Jas 3:11 Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?
Jas 3:12 Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.
Jas 3:13 Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.
When you go to a water fountain you will get either bitter water or good water.
If you go to an apple tree you cannot get oranges.
If you are a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, you will not act like those of the world!
When the Holy Spirit speaks of wisdom, He is speaking of a moral matter rather than an intellectual quality!
To be "foolish" is to be without the Lord Jesus Christ!
Psa 14:1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
It is only by the Lord Jesus Christ that this wisdom comes to us!
1Co 1:24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
1Co 1:25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
The wisdom of God brings about the good life we all deserve, the life that our Heavenly Father intended for us, when He first created mankind until the sin of Adam.
We cannot twist and turn the Word of God to mean something that God did not intend!
As teachers, if we cannot teach the Word of God as God intended, then we are not teachers to begin with!
The wisdom of the world cannot compare to the wisdom of the Lord!
The Christian teacher must apply the facts of the Bible, and they are facts, no matter what this lost world says.
We must have a translation into our language from a reliable source which is the Received Text.
A translation from a translation such as the Vatican Text, will never have the complete truth!
Not only is the Biblical teacher to teach the truth of God, that Christian teacher must live what he teaches!
A knowledgeable teacher is not a person who has all kinds of facts and theories, speculations, and notions in his mind!
A Biblical teacher is a good moral person who is just, loving, and caring, and who lives what he knows, and teaches according to the Word of God!
Meekness is the strength to control and discipline and does so at the right time.
Meekness does not make us weak; meekness is a strength!
Meekness is having strong self-control!
The Christian teachers who teach should show a control with righteous anger against injustice and evil again, according to the truth of God!
Eph 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
Eph 4:2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
Eph 4:3 Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
There is only false wisdom and wrong teaching in this world and especially in our own nation.
*****Jas 3:14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
Jas 3:15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.
Each teacher is to concentrate on those before him and not be envious of others.
Teachers cannot compare themselves to other teachers because comparison cuts and hurts.
If any teacher begins to teach a false doctrine, then those he stands before must question him immediately.
It is the same for any preacher who stands before any congregation anywhere.
As Christians we do not have to tolerate such things!
False wisdom and wrong teaching can only cause problems in the entire church!
We have seen much of this throughout our nation.
As teachers, we must not react angrily while being corrected if that is the case!
The Bible, the Word of God will settle all disputes!
True wisdom comes only from the Lord who knows all things!
1Co 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
1Co 2:15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
1Co 2:16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
We must understand that envy is the mother of strife, just like the Devil is the father of all lies.
When these two things come together nothing but wickedness can come from it!
Ambition can sometimes lead to these things, when we all should be seeking the wisdom of God and not the wisdom of some man!
*****Jas 3:16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
To be honest if these things are allowed in a church, then that church will cease to be a tool in the hands of God!
The soul will become restless and the soul will not be at peace with itself nor with others!
Eph 4:29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
Eph 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
Eph 4:31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
Eph 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
When we have grieved the Holy Spirit then He cannot do His work of Redemption.
Some can feel pride in their different beliefs, but the teacher must not give in to different beliefs that go against the Word of God.
The Word of God can settle all differences rightly divided!
2Ti_2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
This is a command unto all of us and not just to the teacher or the preacher.
Any teaching that goes against the Word of God is false teaching and false wisdom!
When we are not teaching the truth then we are not living the truth!
All false teaching is of this earth because there is no false teaching that comes from Heaven.
We must be very clear on this!
*****Jas 3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
Jas 3:18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.
America is full of false teaching today as is the world and the Church has allowed it to happen!
There is no such thing as a modern Gospel!
The Gospel we have today is the same Gospel that has worked since the time that the Lord Jesus Christ taught the truth of the Word of God!
The source of true wisdom is from the Lord!
True wisdom does not come from the knowledge of this world we live in!
True wisdom has first got to be pure!
It must be pure from fault and defilement, which means it must be morally pure!
All we have today is an immoral world from the knowledge of immoral men.
A person with pure wisdom will lead a clean and pure life!
He will discipline himself in all things and keep himself fit for the use of the Lord.
A wise person will keep his relationships pure!
He will lead a moral and just life!
He will protect his family from this immoral world!
Mat 5:7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Mat 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Mat 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
A truly wise person will keep himself pure before God, so that his relationship with God is always open to the being used of God!
A true teacher works to bring mankind closer to the Lord and closer to each other!
A true teacher will be gentle in dealing with other people.
The effect of true wisdom is the fruit of righteousness!
Eph 5:9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
Eph 5:10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.
If we can just get people to be at peace with each other, this world would be a much better place!
As true Christians we are not the enemies of this world, we in fact want to be friends, but take note, we will not tolerate the worlds objection to us living according to the Word of God because we have no choice!
We have chosen to live by the truth and we will and nothing in this world can change that!
We must maintain our relationship with the Lord!
We will not force the Word of God on anyone!
We just ask that the world just take one look at what the Lord Jesus Christ has to say.
Why is this world so afraid to take one look at Jesus?
Most of our world does not know what the Lord says, because the world listens to false teachers and false Christians.
Every building with a steeple is not a Church.
Every gospel that is taught is not the true Gospel.
Everyone who claims to be a Christian is not a true Christian, because a Christian must walk in the ways of the Lord Jesus Christ!
The Church is to be peace makers and not war mongers, but we will not allow the world to walk all over us!
Amen
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