3:7-8 - Taming the tongue 3:9-12 - Consistency is Required 3:13-18 – Wisdom (Jealousy destroys peace) |
Introduction: Applying the Truth from verse 2:26: Faith without works is dead (or, “if it can't be seen, it probably doesn't exist”). James provides another example of living your faith - the tongue. Why does James make such a big issue of this problem? Our conversations, more often than our actions, cause strife in the church.
He makes several main points:
- Be careful - v.1
- The tongue is small, but control is huge - v.3
- Control requires a 'pilot' - v.5b
1 My friends, not many of you should become teachers. As you know, we teachers will be judged with greater strictness than others.
2 All of us often make mistakes. But if a person never makes a mistake in what he says, he is perfect and is also able to control his whole being
3 We put a bit into the mouth of a horse to make it obey us, and we are able to make it go where we want.
4 Or think of a ship: big as it is and driven by such strong winds, it can be steered by a very small rudder, and it goes wherever the pilot wants it to go.
5 So it is with the tongue: small as it is, it can boast about great things. Just think how large a forest can be set on fire by a tiny flame!
6 And the tongue is like a fire. It is a world of wrong, occupying its place in our bodies and spreading evil through our whole being. It sets on fire the entire course of our existence with the fire that comes to it from hell itself.
V. 1 - “My friends, not many of you should become teachers. As you know, we teachers will be judged with greater strictness than others.” -
If you are going to be a teacher of the Word, helping people grow in their faith in Christ, be aware that people will be watching to see if you live what you teach. You must be able to “live it” if you are teaching and training fellow Christians.
“As you know, we teachers will be judged with greater strictness than others.” - This is not a warning but a ‘caution’. This applies to more than teaching and preaching. If I tell my golfing buddies about my faith in Jesus Christ, you can bet they are watching to see if I am a hypocrite!
A teacher is someone who has a mastery of their ‘subject’ and a knack for conveying the truths to others. I don’t know who said, “It isn’t taught if it hasn’t been caught.” If the students can’t grasp and apply the concepts you are teaching to their lives, then you’ve been talking, talking, and talking - not teaching.
V. 2 - “All of us often make mistakes. But if a person never makes a mistake in what he says, he is perfect and is also able to control his whole being ” -A key phrase in both sentences is ‘make a mistake’; translated in other versions as ‘slip’, or ‘stumble’ (e.g.: NASB). This is not about planning and then committing a ‘mistake’ (which is a definition of intentional sin). It is about slipping and losing control, or, unintentional sin. The concept of ‘slipping’ and committing an unintentional sin is not a New Testament phenomenon. Look in the Pentateuch where God gave the Israelites laws about intentional versus unintentional sin. (See: Num 15:22-31)
“he is perfect” - Who is the perfect man? The mature, the one who can control. We sometimes tend to think of ‘perfect’ as without blemish, untainted, spiritually holy. The word used here is more like ‘complete’ or ‘mature’. This thought is fleshed out in the next phrase:
“also able to control his whole being” - James has narrowed the focus from just general living to a specific part of your life - your speech. How is the tongue related to the whole body? - the mouth (tongue) can only say what the mind is thinking. (Does this lead us to no such thing as "I didn't mean it"?) Matt. 12:34ff., Matt. 15:3-11. Controlling what you say is demonstrating obedience to the Lord. I read today in a daily devotional book the following: “If you get an emotional experience out of a worship service but aren’t willing to obey, you are using Him without giving yourself to Him. Christians are saved by faith, not by obeying the law, but the law shows us how to please, love, and resemble the one who saved us by grace.” (See Note 1, below)
Note: this concept ‘what you say can hurt others’ is overcooked in the “woke” movement. (See: Note 2)
One of the conclusions we can draw is: Everyone fails to do what is right.
V. 3-4 - “We put a bit into the mouth of a horse to make it obey us, and we are able to make it go where we want. Or think of a ship: big as it is and driven by such strong winds, it can be steered by a very small rudder, and it goes wherever the pilot wants it to go. ”
What great illustration about control. Horses are much bigger than we humans, but we can train them to respond to our control. The bit fits in their mouths - just a small piece of metal - and the animal does what we want. Likewise, a ship can be steered with a rudder that is vastly smaller than the vessel. The horse must be trained to obey - the term is ‘broken’ - and will go where the rider desires. A wild horse will not respond in the same way, even a ‘tame’ horse must be taught how to respond to a bit in its mouth.
V. 5 - “So it is with the tongue: small as it is, it can boast about great things. Just think how large a forest can be set on fire by a tiny flame!” -The bit is small and the big horse can be guided by it. The rudder is very small and can turn the ship. Note the key words repeated in verses 3-5: “BIG”, “LARGE”, “STRONG”, “GREAT”, versus “SMALL”, “VERY SMALL”, or “TINY”. A tiny rudder can steer a ship into a safe harbor, or onto the rocks and destroy the vessel. The influence of the bit or the rudder is much greater than the size would suggest.
“the tongue: small as it is” - Thinking of the relative size of the rudder to the ship, James is leading us to see that the tongue, your speech, can have the similar relative impact on those around you.
“It can boast about great things” - Just because the tongue is small does not mean it does not have a large impact. From where does boasting come? It starts in our minds and fueled by either evil conceit or pride and is put into words we speak. Both evil conceit and righteous pride can lead to trouble. If the thought behind the boasting is “How could they do this to me, don’t they respect me?”, then we have let evil have its way in our hearts and minds. Pride can come in a couple of forms: “Look what God has done for us!”, or “Look what I have done!” Giving praise to the Lord is not bad, unless we are ‘praising God’ to diminish others.
“A forest can be set on fire by a tiny flame!” - The picture is that of destruction spread rapidly from a seemingly tiny thing. Think of all the “Smokey Bear” advertisements you have seen on TV. “Only you can prevent a forest fire.” “This forest fire was started from a single match.” A big, physical man can hurt a lot of people with his brute force. A small comment from a tiny person can lead to emotional and spiritual damage that is as devastating as forest fire. The tongue itself is not the problem, the control is the problem!
V. 6 - “And the tongue is like a fire. It is a world of wrong, occupying its place in our bodies and spreading evil through our whole being. It sets on fire the entire course of our existence with the fire that comes to it from hell itself.” - The tongue itself is not the problem, it is the words spoken by your tongue. Words can build up another person. Words can destroy another person. Be careful what you say.
“It is a world of wrong, occupying its place in our bodies” - The tongue, the things we say, are a window into the world in our brain. Evil speech comes from our minds, our hearts (emotions), our self-control.
We can split families because of hurtful things said. (My Mom had a brother who refused to speak or spend time with the rest of the family. I don’t know the whole story, but there was some serious anger there!) We let anger overwhelm our control and spew hateful and invective. Politics is rife with speeches and advertisements that are not only wrong, but hurtful causing pain and anger in others. At times it seems that all politics is lies. Arguments between races can flare into violence because of what is said. An activity such as a football game can turn into a riot because of things said. Wars are started by what is said, threatened, or lies spread unjustly. Hurt feelings are nursed, people are whipped into a frenzy. Thousands upon thousands die over these arguments.
Our natural self must be controlled by letting the power of the Holy Spirit work in us completely.
“spreading evil through our whole being.” - There is an old proverb: “Don’t let your mouth get you into something your body can’t back up.” (That’s how I remember it; probably from a Flip Wilson routine, or maybe the movie ‘Top Gun’.) In other words don’t let the things you say to others get you into trouble, especially with someone bigger, stronger and more vicious. The tongue itself is not the problem, it is the vehicle that transports our thoughts into physical being - where others can hear and react. It reveals our ‘being’ - whether it is natural or controlled by the Lord. ‘Natural man’ does not have a positive image in the Bible. Natural man is opposed to the Lord. See Jam 1:3, and “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.” (1 Cor 2:14).
The tongue does not make us evil, nor does it cause us to be evil. It does reveal our present spiritual condition. Are you controlled and empowered by the Holy Spirit or not? What comes out of your mouth, your speech, is controlled by your brain and spirit.
“It sets on fire the entire course of our existence” - It is not just your speech that is revealed as problematic, but that your whole being is under the influence of evil. Jesus Christ died, and the Holy Spirit was given to all people who would confess Him as Lord and Savior. The Holy Spirit is in us to help us grow into the person Jesus wants us to be.
The entire course of our life is the circle of people around you - family, friends, neighbors, your sphere of influence. How you live your life - either in the power of the Holy Spirit, or under your own power always with the possibility of being influenced by evil forces - will affect those around you. (remember sermon on Deut 6:4-6)
What is the corrective action? Repent and be healed! Confess your sin, and ask the Holy Spirit to fill and control you.
“The fire that comes to it from hell itself.” - This is a reference to ‘Gehenna’, which was the valley of Hinnom. This place was where evil religious practices of pagan nations were performed. Human sacrifices, often children, were done here, and their bodies were burned. In some cases it seems that children were sacrificed on fiery altars. Their bodies were thrown into the valley where fires consumed them. Some of those pagan practices had ceased, and now the valley was a garbage dump - no one wanted to live in the valley where children were sacrificed. It was a defiled place, polluted and contaminated - the endless fires there became a picture of Hell.
Note 1: T. Keller; “The Songs of Jesus”; Viking; 2015.
Note 2: “Wokeism” tends to say that certain words can harm people, and in some cases they are correct. But it seems so arbitrary. Some curse words appear to never be avoided. Other words are ‘evil’ only if certain people say them. Perhaps even the word ‘evil’ is bad only if certain people say it. Some words make no sense: “American”, “immigrant”, “man”, “woman”. This is too deep a subject to go further here.
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