TEXT: James 1:26

SUBJECT: Baxter on the Tongue #1

Tonight, with God's blessing, we'll begin the study of Richard Baxter on the Tongue. I don't mean "on the tongue" like a cough drop, but on how to control what you say.

This is a fairly long chapter, made up of several sections. In the first place, he gives "General Directions for the Government of the Tongue". Then he gets specific: swearing, lying, scoffing, babbling, and filthy talk. We'll look at each in the next few weeks, the Lord willing.

How do you control your speech? In this first part, Baxter gives fifteen "big ideas" for doing it. They apply to every verbal sin. Tonight, we'll look at the first five of them.

Words matter! We all know this--when they're used against us. If someone lies about you, you know how much words matter. You know that. But it's hard to remember that: They matter just as much when you say them. Your lies or gossip or abuse hurt them as much as theirs hurt you.

You don't have to take my word for it. The Bible says so, Proverbs 18:21: "Death and life are in the power of the tongue". Many other verses can be cited to the same effect.

Some positive, Proverbs 12:18, "The tongue of the wise brings healing..."

Others, negative, Proverbs 15:1, "Harsh words stir up anger".

Words matter! If you remembered this, you'd speak better than you do.

When it comes to speaking, do you have bad habits? Most of us do. What do we do about them? We often try to break them--to stop gossiping, to stop taking the Lord's Name in vain, and so on. This won't do! Bad habits cannot be broken; they have to be changed into good habits.

The Bible says so, for example, in Ephesians 4:28:

This applies to your speech. God doesn't want you to keep your mouth shut all the time. He wants you to put your mouth into His service. Baxter says you can do this in several ways:

These things are directly opposed to the sins of the tongue: Blasphemy is replaced by praise; gossip is replaced to encouragement; justifying yourself is replaced by confessing your sins. And so on.

If you spent more time saying these good things, you'd have less time for saying the bad.

In short, "Put off the old man by "Putting on the new man".

Under this heading, Baxter gives 30 examples! Some of them are obvious, others are a bit more subtle. Let's start with the obvious ones. They are:

These seem pretty obvious to me. Unless you're terribly hardened, you feel guilty about doing them. Thus, I needn't spend a lot of time on them.

But others are easier to miss, Let me give them to you now. Ask yourself: Am I guilty of them?

This is one I'm guilty of! There's a time to talk about sports or movies or computers or cars or hobbies. Nothing wrong with discussing these things--at the right time! But there's also a time when other things should be discussed. Things more spiritual in nature. There is a time for jokes. And a time for refraining from jokes.

Some things should be laughed at! But God, the Bible, heaven, and hell are not among them! Holy and funny men are sometimes guilty of this. Even Charles Spurgeon goofed with the Word and jested in prayer. Not as a habit, of course, but once in a while, his good humor got the better of his good sense.

Have you ever done this? Used the Bible to win an argument? Used it against someone you were mad at? The Bible wasn't written to help you win fights! If you use it that way, you mis-use it and speak evil of God.

Talking to talk is wasteful at best and often leads to others sins, like gossip and lying. You'd be better off not doing it.

Baxter is not against laughing. He says, "Honest mirth is lawful". But it's overdoing it that is so bad. No one likes to joke and laugh more than I do, but you've got to beware of becoming "drunk" on humor.

Ephesians 5:4 provides a good test. "Neither filthiness nor foolish talk not jesting...but rather the giving of thanks".

If you can joke and laugh and still give thanks, you're okay. But if they put you out of that mood, you're overdoing it. "Sin is the transgression of the Law". Every one of these things is forbidden by God. Keep the list in mind and maybe you'll sin less with your lips than you do now.

At times, a dirty word will slip out of a clean heart. An abusive word will come from a loving heart. A lying word from a true heart. No one's perfect.

But consistently bad talk does not "slip out". It proceeds from a bad heart. The man who badgers his wife all the time has a proud or cruel heart.

You may clean up some of your talk by self-discipline only. But you can't make your whole way of talking good till your heart becomes good. In some cases, this means "the new birth". Not every church member is saved. Some speak wickedly because they are wicked. As for believers? We have to be honest about ourselves. We have to confess our sins to God and (if appropriate) to others. We have to fight temptation. We have to pray, read the Bible, go to church, and use every other means of grace to make our hearts pure.

This is a good point. If you want to have something worth while on your tongue, have something worth while in your head! Study the Bible and pray for wisdom. If you do, God will bring good thoughts to mind which you can turn into edifying words.

Remember, you don't have to be brilliant or witty or super-articulate to be a good conversationalist.

"I have more understanding than all my teachers