Loving, Speaking, and Confessing the Truth

Minister:
Date: AM
Text: James 3; Lord's Day 43
Psalters: 238, 428, 190, 386
  1. The idea.
    1. God speaks, i.e., communicates perfectly within Himself and to His creatures, especially His children.
      1. He created man in His image: able to know and speak the truth and able to communicate thoughts.
      2. The power of speech is very great (as a rudder to a ship, James 3:4,5). It can comfort or confuse; build up or destroy.
      3. Truth is not just facts, but also a moral-ethical tone because He who is Truth is also Love.
    2. Sin ruined communication and the ability to use the tongue for good.
    3. Grace restores the ability to know and speak the truth in love, but we still have the nature to lie.
  2. The violations of this command.
    1. Natural man holds the truth under in unrighteousness, so it is distorted and perverted (Rom. 1:18; 3:13,14).
    2. The most frequent lie is about ourselves, denying specific sins (I John 1:10) and "forgetting" our sinfulness (James 1:24).
    3. Sometimes we lie directly, but more often it is a poisonous half-truth (distort the truth) or cowardly silence.
    4. Gossip is speaking the truth unnecessarily.
    5. Every violation of this commandment is most serious: (Prov. 12:22; 6:16-19; 19:5,9; 21:28; Psalm 15:-3; Rev. 21:8).
  3. This command sets before the redeemed the duty to express our gratitude by speaking the truth in love (Eph. 4:15,16).
    1. The speaking God enables His children to be truth speakers, graciously giving us the Spirit of truth.
    2. Because a part of God's glory is that He is truth, the glory of believers is that we know the truth, speak and live it.
    3. We speak the truth about ourselves.
    4. We speak the truth with and about our neighbor, seeking their spiritual good.