The Babbler

Conwy Castle 2001

Dec 08, 1999

Another good and thoughtful sermon from Pastor Michael Phillips from Grace Baptist Church in California:

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TEXT: James 1:26 SUBJECT: Baxter on the Tongue #6

Richard Baxter was an English Puritan: (12 November 1615 – 8 December 1691)

James 1:26

New American Standard Bible (NASB) 26 If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not [a]bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless. Footnotes: James 1:26 Or control

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This means a babbler is quite a bit like a lazy man. Most lazy men don't lie around all day. They're very busy--busy doing nothing! That's what a babbler does...

Baxter is not saying, "Analyze every word that comes out of your mouth". That's not possible or desirable. Rather, he's saying, "Don't get into the habit of going on and on and on".
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I am generally pretty quiet and not a babbler. There would be of course, other imperfections I would need to struggle with, in God's grace. But along with the Book of James, I do live by Proverbial concepts in regard to speech and talk. In this I hope to be less tempted to babble.

Two examples...

Proverbs 10:19: New American Standard Bible (NASB) 19 When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, But he who restrains his lips is wise.

Proverbs 21:23: New American Standard Bible (NASB) 23 He who guards his mouth and his tongue, Guards his soul from troubles.

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From there, Baxter goes on to give several examples of vain speech.

1.Random talk. 

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The star of it was in another movie which they have to discuss too. 

To me this reads as 'unimportant talk'. Regardless of a topic, for myself personally, I hope and pray for meaningful speech and conversation.

2.Hair splitting.

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This is a big problem with people who take doctrine seriously. 

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But little things matter less than big things!

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The believer who's always going off about some trifle or arguing over every little word someone else uses, is a babbler!

Phillips here seems to me, is stating that the babbler, in error, often prioritizes little things over big things. Also in agreement with Phillips from previous sermons reviewed, related,is a problem of biblical Christians that prioritize their secondary doctrines to the exclusion, on various levels, of biblical Christians that disagree on those secondary issues.

3.Long-Windedness.

Some pastors should take note. I like Phillips' shorter sermon/lectures. In my personal opinion, many sermons extant today are too repetitive.

4.Wasteful talk. 

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Think of celebrity gossip--Who's dating whom, and so on. It doesn't matter! Most TV talk is this way. "Who shot J.R.?" It doesn't matter!

I reason this strongly connects to 1. Random Talk. I view both as 'unimportant talk'.

5.Excessive joking.

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Baxter is not against joking; not against funny stories; not against laughing. But we mustn't overdo it. Proverbs 25:16 gives the principle, "Have you found honey? Eat only as much as you need, lest you be filled with it and vomit!"

A wise person knows when to be serious, when to be sad, and when to be funny.

6.Stupid talk.

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Giving opinions on topics you haven't considered. And so on.

A man's got to know his limitations - Magnum Force (1973).

MARTIN, CHARLES G (1986) 'Proverbs' in The International Bible Commentary, Grand Rapids, Zondervan.

September 16 2015