With no pun intended I have deliberately chosen the title “A drop of Water on an emblazed tongue for my comment as opposed to Stephan Joubert’s title “Fire on your tongue” to demonstrate how easy it is to use biblical truths for all the wrong reasons.
Agreed, the tongue can be one of the most devastating and dangerous weapons of destruction imaginable. James, the brother of Jesus, makes this clear when he says he following:
James 3:6-11 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?
The Barnes Commentary notes the meaning thereof as follows:
And the tongue is a fire – In this sense, that it produces a “blaze,” or a great conflagration. It produces a disturbance and an agitation that may be compared with the conflagration often produced by a spark.
A world of iniquity – A little world of evil in itself. This is a very expressive phrase, and is similar to one which we often employ, as when we speak of a town as being a world in miniature. We mean by it that it is an epitome of the world; that all that there is in the world is represented there on a small scale. So when the tongue is spoken of as being “a world of iniquity,” it is meant that all kinds of evil that are in the world are exhibited there in miniature; it seems to concentrate all sorts of iniquity that exist on the earth. And what evil is there which may not be originated or fomented by the tongue? What else is there that might, with so much propriety, be represented as a little world of iniquity? With all the good which it does, who can estimate the amount of evil which it causes? Who can measure the evils which arise from scandal, and slander, and profaneness, and perjury, and falsehood, and blasphemy, and obscenity, and the inculcation of error, by the tongue? Who can gauge the amount of broils, and contentions, and strifes, and wars, and suspicions, and enmities, and alienations among friends and neighbours, which it produces? Who can number the evils produced by the “honeyed” words of the seducer; or by the tongue of the eloquent in the maintenance of error, and the defence of wrong? If all men were dumb, what a portion of the crimes of the world would soon cease! If all men would speak only that which ought to be spoken, what a change would come over the face of human affairs!
So is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body – It stains or pollutes the whole body. It occupies a position and relation so important in respect to every part of our moral frame, that there is no portion which is not affected by it. Of the truth of this, no one can have any doubt. There is nothing else pertaining to us as moral and intellectual beings, which exerts such an influence over ourselves as the tongue. A man of pure conversation is understood and felt to be pure in every respect; but who has any confidence in the virtue of the blasphemer, or the man of obscene lips, or the calumniator and slanderer? We always regard such a man as corrupt to the core.
Can I draw your attention to “Who can number the evils produced by the “honeyed” words of the seducer; or by the tongue of the eloquent in the maintenance of error, and the defence of wrong?” The most dangerous kind of defilement, not only of the perpetrator himself but also of those who listen and respond favourably to the words of his tongue, is to be deceived by the honeyed words of an imposter or false teacher.
Joubert’s choice of the prophet Isaiah’s experience in chapter 6 of his prophetic book is an excellent one. it proves beyond any doubt that every conceivable iniquity of the tongue, including honeyed words of deceit, dishonesty. falsities, erroneous doctrine and treachery MUST of necessity be purified and cleansed by a fiery coal from the altar, representing the Burnt Offering of Jesus Christ on the cross. Joubert intones:
After that, Isaiah could speak God-honouring language. From then, he could share words of hope and life with others.
Much of the God-honouring language Isaiah spoke had nothing to do with sharing hope and life with others but with God’s vengeance and righteous judgements on the nations. (chapters 13 to 23) and one of the abominable things that triggered God’s judgment on Judah was their spiritual fornication with Eastern philosophies and practices.
Isaiah 2:6 Surely [Lord] You have rejected and forsaken your people, the house of Jacob, because they are filled [with customs] from the east and with soothsayers [who foretell] like the Philistines; also they strike hands and make pledges and agreements with the children of aliens.
The adage “history repeats itself” is so true. The Emergent Church, of which Joubert is a close and ardent follower, is making itself guilty of the very same sins as Israel. She is saturated with the philosophies and spiritual practices from the East. Two of his biggest mates, Rob Bell and Ron Martoia, have proven this without a dash of doubt. Stephan Joubert is noted for saying things that are entirely alien to the Christian doctrine. His tongue has been in need of the purification of the fire from the altar for quite some time. On March 1, 2009 in a sermon at the Kemptonkruin Dutch Reformed Church he said the following:
“He [Rob Bell] says you must engage the culture. You must listen to the Buddhists. You must listen to what they have to say. It startles Christians because they do not clearly hear what Rob Bell is saying. He does not say: become like them. He says: read their stuff; find out why they are so important. They too may have truth. Truth is not only in Christianity. You find truth in Judaism. You can find truth in atheism. You can find truth wherever. God’s general truth is a little wider, but you say ‘Jesus is Lord.’” (Emphasis added).
What does God say?
Matthew 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Joubert once affirmed that everything that comes from the mouth (tongue, lips) of Rob Bell is pure Gospel truth. Are the following words from his tongue pure Gospel?
[In Yoga] it’s not how flexible you are, it’s not whether you can do the poses, it’s not how much you can bend yourself, it’s can you keep your breath [breathes in and out] consistent [breathes out] through whatever you are doing.
And the Yoga Masters say this is how it is when you follow Jesus and surrender to God. Is it’s your breath being consistent. It’s your connection with God regardless of the pose you find yourself in. That’s integrating the divine into the daily.
In similar vein Ron Martoia says of yoga the following on his blog Velocity Culture.
“Seven years ago I started down the yoga trail. Ashtanga Yoga is the power yoga, get a hard sweaty workout type of yoga. Some of you hear the word yoga and all sorts of red flags go up. Get a grip and do some reading. Yoga practice does not require you to be Buddhist, so relax. My nearly daily practice has improved so much. Yoga’s interface with a centering practice is actually a very interesting interplay. Maybe sometime I will write a post on that.” (Emphasis added).
What a load of nonsense! Anyone will tell you that yoga practice does not require you to become Buddhist but does that exempt you from the consequences of the practice? The word “yoga” means to be yoked or joined to the Supreme Soul and the merging of the individual will with the cosmic will. The Supreme Soul is not the God of the Bible because Jesus’ yoke is diametrically opposed to and radically different from the yoke of yoga. What does Jesus say?:
2 Corinthians 6:14-18 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
Like Stephan Joubert, Ron Martoia’s tongue is in dire need of the purifying fire from the altar. His leniency toward yoga makes him a perfect candidate for tongue purification, especially when you take into account that yoga proclaims that man is essentially perfect and that it is a so-called scientific technique to attain Divine Perfection and Immortality. How far on the road to Divine Perfection and Immortality has Ron Martoia and his Yoga-buddies advanced? It is flagrant blasphemy to participate in yoga which claims to be the path to Divine Perfection and Immortality while Jesus Christ said that He alone is the Resurrection and the Life. (John 11:25). Do they really want us to think they are Bible-believing Christians? You must be joking!
Of course, the cherry on the cake is Thomas Keating, Martoia’s and Joubert’s centering guru, who eagerly champions the fusion of Christianity and Eastern mysticism. In the book Finding Grace at the Center, written by Keating and Basil Pennington, the following advice is given: “We should not hesitate to take the fruit of the age-old wisdom of the East and ‘capture’ it for Christ. Indeed, those of us who are in ministry should make the necessary effort to acquaint ourselves with as many of these Eastern techniques as possible . . . Many Christians who take their prayer life seriously have been greatly helped by Yoga, Zen, TM and similar practices . . .“ Wow, this looks like a page from Judah’s history in the book of Isaiah when the prophet warned them of their impending doom which was the result of their own idolatrous Eastern mystic practices. (Isaiah 2:6).
Whose tongues need purification by fire —those of the guys who earnestly warn them of impending doom if they should continue on their maddening course or their own tongues that disseminate heretical and dangerous doctrines? Allow me to remind them of the man who desperately pleaded that someone dip his finger in water and cool his tongue.
Luke 16:24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
