3, the book of James, the third chapter. We're going to read together James chapter 3, verses 1 through 2. James chapter 3, the first two verses. My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. For in many things we offend all. If any man offends not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. Now, James, in his previous statements back in chapter one, which we have already discussed together, has spoken to the issue of the control of the tongue. In chapter 1 and verse 19, he exhorted his readers to be swift to hear, but to be slow to speak. And in chapter 1 and verse 26, he said that if a man claims to be a Christian, but does not bridle his tongue, then he is self-deceived and his profession of faith is vain and is empty. Now, in chapter three, James again takes up this issue of the tongue and its control and its proper use, and he begins to develop it more fully. And we will see that virtually the entire chapter is given over to a discussion of this issue. Now, he opens this discussion of the subject of the control and use of the tongue by addressing those who, because of both strong opinions as well as a ready faculty with speaking, naturally gravitate towards positions of teaching other people. Now, it is an unfortunate trait of human character that people oftentimes do not adequately consider the consequences of their actions before they engage in them. They take actions and make choices while spending little or no time thinking about and soberly evaluating what effects and outcomes those actions might be. And as a result, they get themselves into situations they have no business being in with results that are highly undesirable. And it is exactly this kind of thoughtless blundering forward that James is warning against in the passage before us. Many people set themselves forward as public teachers of the word of God. They write books, they go on the radio or on the TV, they enter into the pastorate with scarcely a thought about the accountability that they bring upon themselves by doing so. And so James cautions against taking on such momentous responsibilities as being a public teacher of the Word of God without very carefully weighing all of the consequences of making such a choice. And so we want to consider together this evening this caution that James provides to those who would quickly take to themselves positions of public teaching of the word of God. He says, My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater judgment. And so the first reason he gives as to why people should be cautious about becoming public teachers of the word of God is because of the danger of divine judgment, because of the danger of divine judgment. Now, we might think that someone who goes into the ministry and who teaches the word of God will receive nothing but a pat on the back from God for taking on the task of spreading the word. But really, that is a false assumption. It may be that God will indeed be pleased with those who take to themselves the public teaching of the Word of God. But it may also be very well that people will come under the severe displeasure of God for taking to themselves the responsibility of teaching the Word of God. And so James addresses this latter possibility in this first verse. Now he starts out by saying, my brethren, He is obviously speaking in this passage to Christians in general, and he says to them, be not many of you is the idea masters. Now, the Greek word here translated as masters is the word didoskalos, and it means one who is a teacher. And what he is saying here is that not many of you Christians, not many of you brethren in general, not many of you should become teachers. That is, not many of you should become public teachers of God's word. Now, every time this word didoskalos is used in the scripture, without exception, it is used to refer to public teachers of God's word. He's not talking about a parent teaching their child. He's not talking about a believer privately exhorting another believer. He's talking about those who take to themselves the public office of teaching the scriptures to people at large. Now, the reason why the word masters was used as a translation here in the King James Version is because public teaching necessarily puts one in the place of being an authority on what he teaches. If someone stands up and he teaches on something, supposedly it's because he's an authority on that subject. And secondly, it usually involves some degree of authority over those who are taught. Typically, public teachers exercise authority of one form or another over those who are taught. You have heard the term, for example, schoolmaster. Well, that's the equivalent of schoolteacher. And the reason why the schoolteacher is called the schoolmaster is because he is a master of his subject. And he also is a master over those whom he teaches. And so this position of public teaching puts one in the place of being an authority regarding what he teaches and in a position of being in authority over those whom he does teach. Now, this word didoskelos is translated 46 times in the New Testament with the word master. in the King James Version, and 43 of those times, 43 out of those 46 times, it is a direct reference to Jesus Christ. He was forever being called Master, and it's the translation of this word, didoskelos, which means teacher. The word is used once of John the Baptist, it is used once of Nicodemus, and it is used once in this chapter in James chapter 3 and verse 1. Ten other times, The word is translated teacher. Now, it is precisely because of the sinful desire that arises out of pride that motivates people to want to be seen as an authority and to want to exercise authority over other people. That causes James to issue this caution. You see, there's a certain attractiveness to being a public teacher of the Word of God, either writing books, or going on the radio, or entering into the ministry. And the attraction is this, is that it is a position of authority. And it is a position in which people look upon you as an authority. And because of that, it is a position that is highly appealing to human pride. And it is very frequently the case that people who have a problem with pride enter into the position of being public teachers of the word because it gives them a position of being in authority and having authority over other people. A biblical illustration of this is in 3 John 1 9-10, where it says, I wrote unto the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, receives us not. Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he does. speaking against us with malicious words and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren and forbids them that would and cast them out of the church. So this fan diatrophies was one who had gravitated into the public ministry of the word of God. He obviously had a position of leadership within the church. And the reason why he had moved into that position of leadership is because he loved the preeminence that it gave him among them. And so it takes a great deal of maturity to be able to be in a teaching position and not fall prey to the sin of pride. In first Timothy three in verse six, one of the requirements for one who takes on a public teaching position is that he not be a novice. Lest being lifted up with pride, he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Now, James is not saying none of you be teachers. There must be teachers in the church. But he is warning against the sinful tendency that many have who, out of pride or other false motives, put themselves forward as public teachers of the word of God. The God given desire for authority and dominion, which was given to us at our creation, but has been perverted by the fall. often finds an ungodly expression in the desire to exercise authority over other people by taking the position of being a teacher, and thereby becoming, as 2 Corinthians 1.24 says, those who have dominion over the faith of others. Now, it is true that those who publicly teach God's word are masters. That is, they are in a place of being an authority about what they teach, because if they're not, they certainly have no business teaching. And secondly, they do exercise some degree of authority over those that they are teaching. And there is nothing wrong with this if That authority is placed upon them by God as a result of his gifts and as a result of his callings rather than mere human ambition and human pride. But there will be not many. who receive such gifts and callings in any given assembly in proportion to the number of people that are in that assembly. If you've got more people aspiring to teach the word, then you've got to listen to the word. Then you probably have a problem with people entering into that position for the wrong reasons. The ratio between teachers and learners should be a ratio in which there are few teachers and there are many learners. Not many are to be teachers. The clear implication is that in any assembly, the vast majority of the people should be learners and not teachers. Now, the reason that he supplies is that there are some consequences to taking on the responsibility and authority of being the teacher of the word of God. And that is that such teachers will receive the greater condemnation or, as the New King James Version says, the stricter judgment. What James is telling us is the reason why not many should aspire to this. is because those who do engage in it are going to receive a stricter judgment than those who do not engage in it. The Bible tells us that there are serious spiritual dangers connected with the assumption of the task of being a public teacher of the word of God. There is danger both for the teacher as well as for those that they instruct. If the teacher is untaught or if he is unqualified, then those that he teaches are in danger of being seriously misled and subverted in their Christian life. And you see this all the time where people are taught bad doctrine by their pastors or by the radio preachers or by the writers of books, and they start to follow and practice and put into implementation as bad doctrine and has very negative effects upon their Christian lives. But there is spiritual danger to the teacher as well. And it is this danger that James speaks of in verse one when he mentions this stricter judgment. Teachers have an especially heavy responsibility. It is a biblical principle. that the greater the trust committed to one, the greater the responsibility that person bears. In Luke 12 and verse 48, it says to whom much is given, much is required. And so the office of a teacher of the word of God is one of great influence, and therefore it is one of great responsibility. And this responsibility is pressed upon the consciences of those who are teachers of the Word of God by the very scriptures themselves. Turn with me, if you would, to the book of Ezekiel, chapter 33, verses 7 through 8. Pardon me, 7 through 9. Ezekiel chapter 33, verses 7 through 9. In this passage, God is speaking to Ezekiel and he is likening him to a watchman, a sentry that is set up to warn the city about the approaching enemy. And he says in Ezekiel 33 in verse seven, So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman under the house of Israel. Therefore, thou shall hear the word at my mouth. and warn them from me. And so the duty of a minister of the of the gospel is to hear the words that God's mouth. He is to study the scripture. He is to learn what God has to say, and then he is to take those words and convey them to the people. Verse eight. When I say unto the wicked, oh, wicked man, thou shalt surely die. If you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it, if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity, but thou hast delivered thy soul. And so what he is saying here is that if the minister of the message of the gospel does not deliver that message properly or accurately, God is going to hold him accountable for that. Now, people bear responsibility for their own actions and their own choices, whether the minister preaches properly or not. If a person sins and he's warned, And he dies in his sins? Well, he dies in his sins. And if a person isn't warned and sins and he dies in his sins, well, he dies in his sins. But the point is, is that the faithfulness or the lack thereof in the presentation of the word of God to the people of God is going to be a matter of accountability before God for the minister of the gospel. The failure of a teacher to do his job properly makes him accountable to God for his failure. God says he will require it at your hand. Now, what is the nature of this accountability? Well, let's turn to First Corinthians chapter three. First Corinthians chapter three. Now, in this passage, Paul is talking in the context about ministers of the gospel and of their activity. In verse five of First Corinthians, chapter three, he says. Who then is Paul and who is Apollos? but ministers by whom you believe, even as the Lord gave to every man. So he's talking here in the context about ministers of the gospel and their activity. In verse six, he says, I have planted Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. He goes on in verse eight and he says, Now, he that plants and he that waters are one and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are labors together with God. You are God's husbandry. You are God's building. And now he begins to talk about his activity as a minister of the gospel. He says, according to the grace of God, which is given to me as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation and another builds there on. And he's talking about laying this theological and doctrinal foundation of truth He says, But let every man take heed how he may build thereon, for other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. And so he's saying the foundation of the message and ministry of every true minister of the gospel is the person and work of Jesus Christ. He says in verse 12, Now, if any man build on this foundation, Speaking of further teaching with reference to that, the expansion and development of the truth of the scriptures that are founded upon Christ. If any man build on this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay and stubble, every man's work shall be made manifest for the day shall declare it because it shall be revealed by fire and the fire shall test Every man's work of what sort it is. And so he's saying that what a person does by way of preaching is going to be put to the test. Now, if these preachers are not laying the foundation of the right doctrine of the person and work of Christ, well, their work is not going to be put to the test because their work is all just garbage and they're going to be cast into hell. But he's talking here about truly saved ministers of the gospel. Because he goes on and says they should be saved. But what he is saying here with reference to them is that as they preach their work, the work that they have done in teaching the people of God and attempting to build them up in the truth, it's going to be put to the test. And it says the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he has built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. There is the possibility of a positive outcome to a man's teaching ministry. Verse 15, but if any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss. But he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire. And so what he is saying here is that if someone has not done a proper job of preaching and teaching God's word, then his ministry consists of the construction of things that will not stand in the day of judgment. They will be burnt by the fire here, which is the the picture of God's judgment. And God will say, well, that was worthless. And that was wrong teaching. Or he'll say that was good and that was right and that was proper teaching. And the teaching will be put to the test. And if the teaching is good, then it will remain and he will receive a reward. And if it is bad, it will be destroyed. And it says he shall suffer loss. Now, that's a real danger to suffer loss. And you might say, well, what is that loss? Well, one thing we do know, it's not loss of salvation because it specifically says he shall be saved. And although I do not know exactly of what this loss consists, I am certain of one thing, and that is it will be of great magnitude of profound significance and of eternal meaning. In other words, this is not like losing the spare change in your pocket. This would be a meaningless threat if the loss were not of great significance. And this is why Second John Chapter one in verse eight says, look to yourselves that we lose not the things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. And so this is the first reason why people should be very cautious about becoming public teachers of the word of God is because of the danger of divine judgment. God is going to weigh and evaluate every sentence that has come out of the pen or the mouth of every public teacher of the word of God. And that is not a light responsibility. The recognition of that should cause ministers of the gospel and teachers of the word of God to be exceptionally thoughtful and careful about what it is they are saying and being certain that what they are teaching is based upon God's own word without any dilution or without any perversion. So that on that great day of judgment, God will be able to look upon that work and say that is gold and silver and precious stones that had lasting eternal value. How sad that a man would labor in the scriptures and teach all of his life and then have the vast majority of that dismissed by God as not only being valueless, but as being that which is a source of loss to those who engaged. People take the thought of that loss altogether too lightly when they venture upon the teaching of God's word. And that brings us then to our second major point this evening. Having seen that. People should be cautious about becoming public teachers of the word of God, not only because of the danger of judgment, secondly, They should be cautious about becoming public teachers of the Word of God because of the danger of human fallibility. Because of the danger of human fallibility. James not only warns about the impending judgment that is going to come upon those who presume to be public teachers of the Word of God, but also he talks about their fallibility. Notice verse two. He says, For in many things, We all offend. In the King James, the word order is reversed, but that's the sense. In many things we offend all. What he's saying there is in many things all of us offend. The word offend here means to trip or to stumble. And what he is saying here is that imperfection is that which characterizes us. All of us trip and stumble a great deal in our Christian walk. Now, anyone who is honest with himself and anyone who believes the testimony of Scripture will freely admit, yes, I offend in many ways. In many ways, I stumble and I fail to do what I should do. And one of the areas in which it is the easiest To stumble and to fall into sin is in the area of speech. Indeed, nothing less than perfection is the mark of the man who avoids every sin of the tongue. Notice verse two, for in many things we all offend. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man and able to bridle the whole body. And so what he is saying here is that the mark of perfection is someone who never offends in words. In fact, the tongue is so difficult to control and to keep from sin. He is saying that if we can control the tongue, then every other sin of the flesh could be controlled as well, because none is as difficult to control as that. If a man has sufficient spiritual strength and vigilance not to offend in word, then he has sufficient spiritual strength and vigilant not to sin in any other area. For the area of the tongue is the very hardest to control. It's harder to control than sexual lust. It's harder to control than envy. It's harder to control than hatred. It's harder to control than covetousness or any of the other sins. And so James is arguing here from the greater to the lesser. He's saying, if you can control your tongue, hey, the rest is a walk in the park. It's kind of like if the guy can lift 500 pounds, it's no big deal to lift 10, right? That's the argument he's using here. Now it is obvious that if the tongue is the hardest to control, then a person who occupies the position of a teacher is in a position of great danger of sinning, since the use of the tongue lies at the very center of his activity. Seeing that so much of a teacher's work has to be done by speaking, And that in prosecuting that work, he is liable to be drawn into heated controversy. And that a small error in speech can result in offense to a great many people and a discredit to God in his gospel and a leading of people astray in their behavior. In light of that awareness, James is saying, don't rashly rush in to be a teacher of the word of God when it is so easy to offend. and to fall into sin in that activity. If human fallibility is manifested anywhere, it is most likely to be manifested in the area of the control and the use of the tongue. Therefore, in ministries that employ the tongue as their primary means of operation Only the most mature and godly men should be placed because of the very high likelihood that human fallibility will be displayed here more than anywhere else. And so it is important for us to recognize that entering into the public teaching of the Word of God is not something for fools. It is not something for those who are eager to display how much they know. It is not something for those who have not had long experience in developing Christian graces and in Christian maturity. You will notice when you read the lists of the qualifications for public teachers of the word that among those qualifications are the ability to control oneself in the area of speech. And so no person is suitable to be a master until he has, for a considerable length of time and with considerable success, been a learner. And we must not take people who have some facilities, a natural facility with speech and strong opinions about matters and automatically assume that they are called into the ministry. You also need to pray. for your teachers, that they may receive a reward and not a loss at the day of judgment. The people who teach you take great risks upon themselves in order to accomplish that for you and for your edification. And that is something that needs to be understood They take a great responsibility, and therefore they need great grace. We used to have a little tract in the back of our church. It's out of print now, unfortunately. But the title of the tract was A Plea to Pray for Pastors. And if you would ever hope to do anything for me, I hope that the thing you would do is pray for me, that I would not receive loss, but a reward on the Day of Judgment. And that's not just for my benefit, by the way, that's for yours. Because if I do a good job, it will be to your edification and to your blessing. And if I do a bad job, it will be to your harm and to your hurt. So in praying for your pastor's benefit, you're also praying for your own. Something else we need to recognize is that if we deal with our sins of our tongue, then a great deal of the rest of our problems in our life will be taken care of. James makes it clear that if we can control the tongue, we can control the rest of it. And so that's a good place for us to start. Think about what you say and listen to yourself through the ears of other people and ask yourself, what would I think if I were hearing someone else say this to me? And ask yourself, is that something that I should be saying? The scripture says, Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace to the hearer. You work on the sins of the tongue and you'll find a lot of other sins automatically taken care of themselves. Finally, all of us need to be aware that there is a coming day of judgment. It's not just for pastors. It's not just for public teachers of the Word of God. All of us are going to give some account. And while it is true, teachers of the Word of God are going to have a stricter account. That doesn't mean others are going to have no account. And so we shall all appear before the judgment seat of Christ to receive the things done in our bodies, whether they be good or bad. And this should not be something that terrifies us or puts a sense of foreboding over us. But rather, it should be a motivation to us to do all that we do with judgment day honesty, recognizing that there's going to come a day when we shall have to account for all things and we need to be able to give a good account. And so. If we would not be pleased to have such a word or such an activity or such a thought be brought again to our attention as we stand before the living God, well, just don't engage in it now. And you'll do just fine. Well, may the Lord impress upon us the significance and relevance of these exhortations, not only as they particularly apply to the public teacher of the Word of God, but as they apply in general to each of us. Shall we pray together? Our Father, we thank you for The teachers you have given to your church down through the centuries. Father, how we have profited from the writings and from the ministries of those who you have appointed, invested with the authority of being masters in Israel. And Father, I pray that you would help me to be faithful and responsible as a teacher of the Word of God And that nothing but gold and silver and precious stones would come out of my mouth. And father, I pray for each of us that we might live in the light of Judgment Day. Knowing that if we do well, we shall receive a reward. And father, may that cheer us and encourage us in the doing of right and give us a sense of satisfaction when we have done right. that the Lord will honor those who honor him. And Father, may it be a motive to us, an additional motive, to avoid those things that would be uncomfortable to be brought to our attention before the living God. Father, I pray that none in this room would suffer loss, but that all would receive a full reward, as John says. Help us not then to lose the things that we have wrought by folly. But Father, may we go forward as faithful people who bring all of our behavior and attitudes to the plumb line of God's own Word. And walk in parallel paths with that word. In Jesus' name we ask it. Amen.