By Kathryn Wright
Recently, I have read some writings by Bible teachers who say we can determine true believers by what they say. These teachers propose that Isaiah does that by describing the language a believer uses and what a believer does with his lips. It is then maintained that the NT Book of James supports this kind of proof of salvation.
These arguments are unconvincing, to say the least. More importantly, they are unbiblical.
Language: Isaiah 19
Isaiah prophesied during times that were desperate and dark. The Assyrians were about to invade. Destruction was coming, not only for Israel but for many of the nations that surrounded her. In chapters 13–23, the prophet describes the judgment that will fall on Israel’s Gentile neighbors. For example, in chapter 19, Isaiah predicts the destruction that will fall upon Egypt. That nation will be taken into captivity.
However, there is still hope. In contrast to the gloom and doom of his day, Isaiah provides a glimpse into Egypt’s future (vv 16-25). Speaking of the Lord’s future earthly reign from Jerusalem, he says:
In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear by the Lord of hosts; one will be called the City of Destruction (Isa 19:18, emphasis added).
During the millennial reign of Christ, some major Egyptian cities will incorporate the Hebrew language and swear by the Lord of Hosts. Many see this description as indicative of regeneration. For example, the Nelson Study Bible makes this succinct comment: “These new habits spring from the miracle of regeneration.”
Motyer, however, argues that this is an indication of genuine faith, saying:
It is typical of Isaiah (cf. 6:5, 7) that the foremost mark of true religion is speech (cf. Jas 1:26) (J. Alec Motyer, The Prophecy of Isaiah: An Introduction & Commentary, 168).
These comments spring from a Calvinistic perspective. Under that theological system, born-again people make their salvation evident through their habitual good works. In this example, the good work would be the incorporation of the Hebrew language. The Calvinist would argue that spiritually saved people show this condition through their speech. It is maintained that the Egyptians of Isaiah 19 prove they are saved by their use of the Hebrew language.
Lips: Isaiah 6
Motyer cites two passages to support his view that Isaiah has “true religion” in mind. First, he cites Isaiah 6, which describes the Lord’s commissioning the prophet to preach to the Nation of Israel. In this famous passage, Isaiah has a vision of the throne room of God. The Lord is seen on His throne surrounded by angels who, in respectful awe, praise and worship Him (6:2-3). In response to this vision, the prophet is moved to confess the sin of having unclean lips (v 5). After this confession, he is purged (via a live coal on his lips), then assigned to preach to the nation.
Regarding this verse, Motyer writes:
The touching of the lips with the live coal shows how God ministers to the sinner at the point of confessed need (cf. verse 5). The effect is instantaneous. The two verbs, has touched and is taken away, are co-ordinate perfects, stressing that as soon as the one happened the other happened also. Isaiah contributes nothing; all is of God… Isaiah confessed what he knows (lips) but God deals also with his guilt/iniquity, the inner reality of the deviant nature, and with his sin, the specific instances of shortcomings. All of this arises from the payment of the price…God covers guilt out of free grace… (Motyer, Isaiah, 78, emphasis added).
Motyer sees this passage as a conversion experience. However, despite his use of the phrase free grace, and his insistence that Isaiah does nothing to obtain this purging, Isaiah does confess his sin. The prophet had a role in this cleansing process. It is a process. He had to do the work of confession. Then the angel had to take the coal, bring it to Isaiah, and put it to his lips to cleanse him. This is not an instantaneous cleansing. Human confession, the actions of an angel, and the use of coal were all involved in this purging.
Jennings remarks on this passage:
Isaiah instantly recognizes that it is his lips that are unclean, not merely those of his neighbors…In the light of that glory, there is “no difference, for all have sinned and come short” of it. He is no better, any more than that one thief on Calvary was better than the other, he was no less a thief. The publican in the temple was not “better” than the Pharisee. The only difference was that these confessed that there was no difference. But that is of so vast a difference as to bring a blessing instead of a curse, a kiss instead of a blow, heaven instead of hell (F.C. Jennings, Studies in Isaiah, 64).
Motyer and Jennings would agree that this is an account of Isaiah’s spiritual conversion. Jennings speaks of the necessity of confession in order for that conversion to take place. Similarly, Ironside writes:
It is ever thus when man is brought consciously into the presence of God. When Job saw the Lord, he cried, “I repent in dust and ashes.” When Simon recognized in Jesus the Creator of the fish of the sea, he fell at His feet and cried, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” And so with our prophet. When he saw himself in the light of the holiness of God, he at once acknowledged his sinfulness… (H.A. Ironside, Expository Notes on the Prophet Isaiah, 39).
In response to this confession, Ironside continues:
As the coal touched his lips, Isaiah heard the comforting words, “Thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.” The divinely sent messenger proclaimed the good news of redemption and purification from sin… (Ironside, Isaiah, 39-40).
To summarize, scholars generally agree that Isaiah 6 is a description of the prophet’s salvation, and that his confession was a requirement for receiving that salvation. However, there are many problems with this interpretation.
First and foremost, confession is not a requirement for receiving eternal life. The unbeliever is saved by faith in Jesus alone for eternal life (John 3:16; 5:24; 6:40; 11:25-28; Eph 2:8-9). In the Gospel of John, the only evangelistic book in the Bible (John 20:30-31), confession of sin is never mentioned as a requirement for salvation. Its absence from the Gospel of John shows that confession is unnecessary to one’s receiving eternal salvation. Furthermore, Isaiah 6 never mentions faith or eternal life, or that what Isaiah is receiving is a gift. Isaiah is cleansed via a hot coal on the mouth.
This is a passage about the purging of sin, about judgment, and about the consequences of sin. If Isaiah were an unbeliever at the beginning of the passage, his acknowledgement of sin, while good, would not save him from the lake of fire. Unbelievers can acknowledge their sins. Many Catholics, Mormons, and members of cults regularly confess their sins as a part of their rituals. The acknowledgement and confession of sin are works. Therefore, no one has received eternal life because they knew or acknowledged that they were a sinner.
Second, believers confess their sins. Much of the discussion of Isaiah 6 loses sight of the fact that in the Bible, believers are the ones who most often confess sins. Church-age believers, for example, are encouraged to confess their sins as they walk with the Lord (1 John 1:9). Job and Simon were already believers when they made such confessions.
While confession is not required in order to receive eternal life, it is a prerequisite for receiving the forgiveness of sins as we walk with the Lord. In Isaiah’s case, it was a necessary part of his preparation for going out as the Lord’s mouthpiece. The Book of Isaiah deals with a rebellious nation that needed to confess and repent of its sins in order to restore its intimacy with God. As God’s representative, Isaiah needed to be an example of this. This is a fellowship passage, in preparation for a job. However, nothing involved is a salvific issue.
Finally, Motyer uses Isaiah 6 and 19 to show that the prophet connects true religion and speech. However, the contexts of these two chapters are vastly different. In addition, neither chapter explains how a person receives eternal life. Isaiah 19 speaks of the Hebrew language being used in Christ’s millennial kingdom. Isaiah 6 describes the Lord’s preparing a prophet who is already a believer for the ministry to which God has called him. Using these two chapters to argue that true believers will change their speech is invalid.
Loving Words: James 1:26
Motyer cites Jas 1:26 as a cross-reference to the passages in Isaiah:
If anyone among you thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless (Jas 1:26, emphasis added).
Motyer believes that such a person––one with unclean speech––is not saved. But James is written to believers who are being admonished to be slow to speak during trials (1:19). In short, this passage deals with discipleship truths rather than with proving our eternal salvation via our words.
Zane Hodges writes:
James dismisses the religion of any Christian person who places no restraint on the use of his tongue. Sanctimonious prayers in public or private were worth little if the person who offered them had lips filled with slander, deceit, and cursing when he talked to other people (see 3:9-10) (Zane C. Hodges, The Epistle of James: Proven Character Through Testing, 46).
Notice that James doesn’t question the salvation of the person who fails to control his tongue. He does, however, reject the usefulness of their religion. What good are puffed-up prayers when we don’t use loving words toward others? This is a verse about the practicality of using loving words, not a litmus test of a person’s regeneration. Many believers fail to bridle their tongues. Refraining from cursing and unwholesome speech, while good, does not prove a person is a Christian.
Conclusion
Combining Jas 1:26, Isaiah 6, and Isaiah 19 in order to prove that true Christians control their tongues and use godly speech is an exercise in futility. James warns Christians about being hypocritical in their speech. Isaiah 6 deals with the confession of sin that a believer engages in. Isaiah 19 describes people’s use of the literal Hebrew language in the kingdom to come. People will learn this new language just as people today learn new languages. This has nothing to do with their spiritual salvation. If we read these texts in their contexts and stick to the plain meaning of each, we will avoid misunderstanding them.
Unfortunately, some Calvinists read their theology into these passages and attempt to argue that eternal salvation requires a cleansing of our lips through confession of sins and that a true Christian is known by his pure speech. Neither proposition is true. Eternal salvation is by faith alone, not confession. Furthermore, as James makes abundantly clear, Christians often do not speak in a godly manner.
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Kathryn Wright and her husband, Dewey, live in Columbia, SC. She is the GES missions coordinator, women’s conference speaker, writer, and Zoom teacher.
