In our church we’ve been walking through the book of James. As we come to a close on chapter 1 James continues to state a changed life is evidence of our salvation. If you’re in a good church you know the Word teaches eternal security, and we believe in this promise and are assured of our salvation. Second, the Holy Spirit assures us of our salvation according to Romans 8:16. And lastly, a changed life validates our salvation.

James gets real practical, when we accept God’s word, act on it and abide by it three major areas of our lives are going to be changed. James concludes this chapter with three examples of practicing the word. And the rest of the book goes on to specifically deal with each of these changes in our lives and how it reveals itself. This is how you will know if your life has really changed, this is the kind of fruit you will produce.

1. A Controlled Mouth: We control our Speech

James 1:26, “If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless.” (NKJV) In the Greek bridle means to hold in check, to restrain…to exercise self-control, we rein on our mouth.

James writes you can be involved in religious activities but if you can’t control your tongue your religion is useless…You might claim to be a Christian, know the word teaches eternal security, you may attend church, sing songs and do all the other things that are expected of religious people, but if you do not keep your tongue under control, your religion is worthless, and you are just deceiving yourself. Unless your salvation manifests itself in the way you speak, your salvation is nothing but self-deception. Modern day translation of what James is stating, if a person’s tongue is not controlled, his heart is not transformed.

A corrupt and unholy heart eventually will be exposed by corrupt and unholy speech. The tongue is not the only indicator of true spirituality but is one of the most reliable. It has been estimated that the average person will speak some 18,000 words in a day, enough for a fifty-four-page book. In a year that amounts to sixty-six 800-page volumes! Many people, of course, speak much more than that. Up to one-fifth of the average person’s life is spent talking.

If the tongue is not controlled by God, it is a sure indicator that the heart is not, either. Religion that does not transform the heart, and thereby the tongue, is totally worthless in God’s sight.

The mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The tongue is you in a unique way. It is a tattletale that tells on the heart and discloses the real person. Jesus said in Luke 6:45, “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.” (NIV)

What we are on the inside will come out of our mouths. One of the things that happens, when we become Believers is the Lord changes the things we talk about. Since we have a renewed heart as Believers it follows that we would have a renewed mouth.

If God gets control of your tongue He can control all of you! Why? The tongue is the leader in sinning; you and I sin with it more frequently and more potently than any other part of our body. (Repeat) You can’t do everything but you sure can say anything. If the Lord gets control of the most unstable part of the body, the others will also be controlled.

The result of genuine faith is a changed life and James wants us to know one of the changes that take place is with the tongue. The fruit of this new tongue speaks a new language. Now we use our tongue to praise the Lord, to confess our sins, to communicate Christ to the lost, & to edify others. We speak gracious words, kind words, loving words, thoughtful words, true words, holy words, sensitive words, edifying words, gentle words, comforting words, words of blessing, words of wisdom, words of thanksgiving, peaceful words. This is how you will know if your life has really changed, this is the kind of fruit you will produce…a controlled mouth.

Guard your words, Pastor Alex Garcia