Sermon Outlines: Words that Kill

My husband and I have a brief Bible study together every morning before we start our day. Our last study was taken from James chapter three which discusses how dangerous our words can be. I've read these passages many times before, but this time they came alive to me in a new way.

James 3:5-6 says:

"So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire. And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell."

In other words, our tongue, or the words we use, can destroy not only our lives, but also the lives of those around us. James goes on to say in 3:8-10:

"But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way."

All of us have been guilty of this from time to time. Often we curse others when we feel insecure or threatened. We believe they have done us wrong somehow. We want to hurt them, even kill them with our words. James makes it clear that this kind of reaction is not from God. James 3:13-16 says:

"Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing."