THE WORDS OF MY MOUTH

  The Words of My Mouth                                                                12.12.12
                                                   (James 1: 26,27, 3: 1-12)

        "Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be 
          acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.  
                                                                                            Psalms 19: 14
         "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver." 
                                                                                          Proverbs 25:11
                                                                             
      There are a number of  errors the teacher of religion may make 
involving the misuse of the tongue, or words.  The practice of a lea-
der or  teacher in the  church of  Jesus Christ using  his position to 
enrich himself financially, at the expense of others, is most obvious. 
We  cannot,  however;  overlook  some errors that  are more subtle.  
There  are always  groups within  organized religion  favoring  man-
made tradition over  the commandments  of  God.  This creates dis-
ciples  who are not allowed  direct access to  the  Throne  of  Grace 
who must rely on clergy for a word from Deity.  
                        That flies in the face of true religion.

  Along with this is the tendency in religion to hide behind ritual, or 
form and tradition,  keeping adherents from experiencing the truth 
as revealed in God's  Word.  Having a verbal  religion  that does not 
change  the heart is called  Hypocrisy by the  Savior.   Pharisees are 
alive  and well  in the  "Christian  Church"  today.   Men  eventually 
reveal the contents of their hearts through their speech, for a bitter 
or poison spring cannot produce sweet water.  As Abraham Lincoln 
is quoted, "You can fool all of the people some of the time and some 
of  the  people all of the time, but you  cannot fool  all of  the  people 
all of  the time."  (I would add to that;  You cannot fool the Lord any  
time.)  This is possibly one reason for the abbreviated tenure of pas-
tors in many churches.  In evangelical congregations,  it's less than 
two years, on average. We find it takes roughly one to two years for  
parishioners to discover that their new pastor is no more worthy, in 
many cases of being followed, than his predecessor and another year
or so to get  him to leave.  The process is repeated all too often in our 
churches, making us a laughing stock among those on the outside.

     Looking  into the Epistle of James, the brother of Jesus,  we find 
that those of us who lack control of our tongues are deceived. To be 
deceived and yet remain a teacher,  leader or pastor in the Church is  
a scary proposition.   One who is a teacher of  The Word is  held to a  
strict standard of conduct.  If he does not teach the truth as revealed 
in God's Word, he lacks the integrity for the position.   The tongue is 
a small part of the body,  but ramifications of our words are wide ran-
ging, can teach error, deceive and engender strife.  The worth of man 
is revealed by his words, taken on the whole over a period of time.   
Teachers have in their hands the eternal destiny of persons in their  
charge. The Berean church in the  New Testament is  an example for  
us to follow.  We must search the the Word of  God and  measure the 
teaching, then we may be approved by the Lord as more noble than 
those who blindly accept error, as taught.

      Finally,  we find Christ saying in Matthew 15, when asked why His 
disciples  did  not strictly observe  the  ritual  of  washing  their  hands 
before  eating.  "Hypocrites!   Well  did  Isaiah   prophesy  about  you, 
saying:  These  people  draw  near  to me with their mouth,  and honor 
Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me, and in vain they wor-
ship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men."

     He then turned to the multitude and said: "Hear and understand:  
Not what goes into  the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of 
the mouth, this defiles a man." The principle we must understand is; 
we are responsible for our own  relationship to the Lord.  Since it  is 
the most important area of life,  we must  guard  our lips  from error 
and live the truth we, personally, glean from the Word of God. What  
then,  is  the responsibility  of  the  teacher?  The  Spiritual  teacher/
minister  brings, from the Word of  God,  truths  that encourage, dis-
ciple and inspire us, that we  may become  teachers  of  the best.  All  
this is done  under the anointing of the Holy Spirit as Jesus lives out 
His  life  in  us.  This  is the  only source of  life to  the  Child  of  God.
When Christ found us,  we were  dead in  trespasses  and  sins,  with-
out hope in the world.

“The letter of the law brings death, but the Spirit of God brings life” 
and with it, freedom in Him.  A caveat here; we cannot expect  per-
fection, even in a gifted  pastor/teacher or  other leader within  the 
church,  but overall, his life must be a reflection of the life of Christ 
in word and deed, and free of reproach that  might reflect poorly on 
our Lord.  

    "If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his 
    tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.  
     Pure religion and undefiled before God is this, To visit the father-
   less and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted 
     from the world."  
                                                                                      James 1: 26-27

                       See the post; "Religion Gets a Bad Rap."
http://biblicalclarity-don.blogspot.com/2012/09/religion-gets-bad-rap.html
                                                                                       donporter     12.19.12