TEXT: James 1:26

SUBJECT: The Bridled Tongue #7: Courage

Today, with the help of God’s Spirit, we’ll continue our study of The Bridled Tongue. To "bridle your tongue" means to control what you say, how you say it, and when. The reason to bridle your tongue is because—if you don’t—your "religion is worthless". It may boost your ego or impress other people, but it won’t please the Lord. He commands you to be "doers of the Word and not hearers only". And one big part of "doing the Word" is "bridling your tongue". It’s not easy to do--but no one said it would be. But do it, you must. If you want your religion to be real.

If you think bridling your tongue is just way too hard for you, you’re right! It is. James says it’s easier to steer a ship in a hurricane, tame a lion, or put out the fire of hell than to control what comes out of your mouth! That’s why you’ve got to start with Jesus Christ. By believing His Gospel and seeking His help every day. It’s only then that you’ll get a grip on your words and turn them into a blessing instead of a curse. When you feel guilty or discouraged or like giving up, call the verse to mind,

And that includes "bridling your tongue".

Thus far, we’ve looked at five rules that apply to everything you say. Everything you say ought to be true, kind, wholesome, timely, and humble. Every lie is wrong—even those we have a polite word for. The same is true of bragging, telling dirty jokes, speaking out of turn, and being mean.

Today’s subject is a little narrower. The trait is not needed all the time, but it is needed quite often. And when it is, it’s really needed! The topic is courage. The Lord wants you to speak bravely.

I don’t have to labor this one, do I? If you know the Bible at all, you know God prizes courage and looks down on cowardice.

He commands us to be brave. The Lord told Joshua to "be strong and very courageous". He said the same to His disciples, "Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul…"

We have the same commandment, "Be strong in the Lord and the power of His might".

The Christian is never better than when he’s brave; and never worse than when he’s yielding to fear. See Peter on the Day of Pentecost commanding the men who killed the Lord to repent. And see the same man a few weeks before, scared to confess the Lord in front of a little girl.

Under the Old Covenant, courage was seen mostly in what men did—fighting wars, killing giants, walking into a fiery furnace, and so on.

But now, bravery is seen mostly in what we say—speaking up for Christ, even when others would rather not hear it.

Make no mistake about it: the Lord wants you speak bravely. What he said to Paul in Corinth, he says to us in the Bay Area,

and do not keep silent".

That’s the duty of speaking bravely.

But what, exactly, does it mean? Whatever, it means, we can be sure of this much: Brave speech is compatible with the traits I mentioned a few minutes ago—with truth, kindness, wholesomeness, humility, and timeliness.

Therefore, it is not saying whatever you feel like no matter how it affects other people, Proverbs 24:11,

Mean, proud, obnoxious words are not brave. They’re mean, proud, and obnoxious. You’re not allowed to speak the truth any way you want to—with any words you like or tone of voice or any place or any time! No, you have to speak the truth--but only in love.

What does it mean, then, to speak bravely? It means To say what needs to be said without regard for what it will cost you to say it. If it needs to be said, you’ll say it—even if it gets you in trouble. It may cost you a friend or a job; it may get you thrown out of a church or punched in the nose. But if it really needs to be said, you’ll say it.

Think of Nathan accusing the king of adultery or Paul calling Peter a hypocrite. These things were not fun to say—or without risk. Yet they had to be said! And they were said—without regard for what it cost to say them.

The words of Nathan and Paul were not obnoxious or mean or hateful or proud. They were brave!

If the Lord wants us to speak bravely, there must be some need for it. And there is. Courage is most needed in two places: the world and the church.

In the world, we’re called to witness for Jesus Christ. That’s never easy, and at times, it’s terrifying. We’ll be laughed at or excluded. Or, we’ll lose the argument and make the Lord look bad. Many Christians are exposed to persecution. In China, you can be fined, jailed, and exiled for owning the Lord Jesus in public. In Saudi Arabia, the penalty is death!

Yet the Great Commission is still in effect—"Preach the Gospel to every creature". "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so". "Sanctify the Lord God in your heart and be always ready to give a reason for the hope that is in you…"

When it comes to witnessing, it takes courage. Many of us know that by sad and shameful experience. We know God’s will and Man’s need, yet we’re too scared to speak up for Christ!

The other place we need courage is in the Church. Believers do foolish and sinful things. When they’re serious enough, you’ve got to call them on it. Not every little fault, of course—that’s nitpicking. But "the big ones" have to be addressed. The Bible says so,

Since every believer reads the same Bible and wants to be holy, you’d think he would welcome criticism. But let’s face it, hardly anyone feels that way. And most of us are super touchy about it! We pay lip service to the Psalm, but we don’t believe it,

And if you say anything about their kids, it’s even worse! They may have said things a thousand times worse, but you’d better not say anything! Or else.

It’s not easy criticizing a believer to his face. But God commands you to do it, at times. And the believer needs it. So you’ve got to do it. Humbly, gently, and not often. But still, it needs to be done. And that takes courage.

Who needs courage? Everyone does. But some of us need it more than others. Some people are naturally bold and outspoken. They’re not afraid to say the politically incorrect thing. If they were Muslim, they’d be bold for Allah; if they sold cars, they’d be rich. These people don’t need to spend a lot of time working up their courage. They need to spend more time on patience, prudence, and kindness.

No, it’s the rest of us who need courage. Shy people; quiet people; people who are easily intimidated. People who are slow to think and stumble all over their words. We need to be braver than we are!

It’s easy to excuse cowardice. We say, "That’s just the way I am" or "I’m non-confrontational" or "I don’t want to be a loud mouth" or "I don’t want to cause trouble". These things may sound good, but deep down, we know what they are: Excuses! We’re too scared to speak up for Christ.

I’ve been morbidly shy my whole life. I can preach to 1,000 faces easier than I can look one man in the eye and tell him what he doesn’t want to hear. But that does not justify giving in to my fears. The Word still stands,

How do we become braver? In the world or in the church, where do we find the guts to speak up for Christ? In three places:

The first is love for others. Witnessing to sinners and correcting God’s people is not about you—it’s about them. It’s putting their good above your own. Your neighbor is a lost man. You know he needs Christ and, being on friendly terms with him, you’ve had plenty of chances to talk to him. But you haven’t. Why not? Because you’re afraid he’ll laugh at you if you do. And you care more about your short-term embarrassment than about his everlasting soul!

The same is true of fellow Christians. You know they’re sinning, but if you call them on it, things won’t be the same. They’ll get mad at you. Or, they’ll grow cold toward you. Or, they’ll leave the church. In any event, though you know what needs to be done, you won’t do it because, you’re thinking of yourself instead of them!

That’s got to be reversed!

Boldness, therefore, does not start with a lion-heart or a bulging biceps, but with love for others. That’s the first thing you need. The second is…

The fear of God. Of all the scary things our Lord ever said, Matthew 10:28 may be the scariest,

When you speak up for Christ, you’ll displease man. And that’s pretty bad. Until you compare it to not speaking up for Christ. When you don’t do that, you displease God. Who is safer to displease? The one who can kill your body or the One who can kill body and soul forever?

When it comes to the fear of God, pastors are eager to say, "Godly fear is respect, not terror". Baloney! It is chiefly respect, but there’s an element of terror in it as well. If we feared God half as much as we ought, we wouldn’t fear man half as much as we do.

Read your Bible and see what God it is you’re disobeying!

Godly fear is the second key to bravery. The third is simple obedience. Mark Twain once quipped,

What would happen if you spoke to your boss about the Lord? Well—you worry—I wouldn’t get a promotion or I’d lose my job or some other bad thing. Well, that might happen. But then again, it might not. If you witnessed to your boss, he just might believe in Christ and promote you! But, of course, you don’t know that. Because you’ve obeyed your fear more than you’ve obeyed your God.

No one ever rode a bike without climbing on it. No one ever learned to swim with jumping it. And no one ever spoke up with courage until he tried!

There’s a story in the Bible that illustrates the point. There once was a man with a withered hand. The Lord said to him, "Stretch out your hand". Now, he could have said, "I can’t—it’s withered!" But he didn’t say that. He simply obeyed. And in obeying Christ, he found the power of Christ.

The longer you give into your fears, the more scared you will be. So break through them! By simple obedience.

And the love of God be with you!

There you have it. Brave speech. God give it to us. For Christ’s sake. Amen.