Wednesday Preverb – 11September2024 – James 3-1-12

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FIRST MESSAGE

 

This week’s theme is words have consequences. 

In our call to worship psalm, David desires that the words of his mouth would be acceptable to God.

In Proverbs, the writer speaks about the importance of listening to the words of wisdom.

In James, the apostle writes about the importance of taming the tongue.

And in Mark, Jesus warns us about being ashamed of him or his words.

 

 

James 3:1-12

WHAT DOES THE PASSAGE SAY?

 

James 3:1-12  NKJV     James 3:1-12  NRSV     

My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. 2 For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a [mature]perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. 3 [Now if]Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. 4 Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. 5 Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.

See how great a forest a little fire kindles! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of [unrighteousness]iniquity.  The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of  [existence]nature; and it is set on fire by  [Gehenna]hell.  7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind.  8 But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.  9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the [likeness]similitude of God.  10 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? 12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs?  [NU Neither can a salty spring produce fresh water Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.    

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will face stricter judgment. 2 For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is mature,[a mature man] able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. 3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. 4 Or look at ships: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits.

How great a forest is set ablaze by a such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of life, and is itself set on fire by hell.[Gehenna]  7 For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, 8 but no one can tame the tongue—a restless[uncontrollable] evil, full of deadly poison.  9 With it we bless the Lord[God] and Father, and with it we curse people, made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth comes a blessing and a curse. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.    

 

WHAT DOES THE PASSAGE MEAN?

 

James 3:1-12  NKJV     

The demonstration of a living faith in controlling what we say

 

 

 

1 My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.  

 

What is James talking about?

    • God’s stricter judgement on teachers

Why is God stricter on teachers?

    • the greater accountability of teachers

Why do teachers have greater accountability?

    • They have greater influence.

Enduring Word Commentary:   Let not many of you become teachers:  sober admonition for those who would become teachers in the church. They must take the responsibility seriously, because their accountability is greater … and they shall receive a stricter judgment.

Some want to become pastors and teachers without considering its cost in terms of accountability and the need for teachers to have appropriate character and live right.  Notice the following quotes referenced by David Guzik in The Enduring Word Commentary …

        • (Luke 12:48)
        • “God will judge us on the last day with special strictness on account of our influence over others.” (Moffatt)
        • Therefore, teachers were both tested more and would be judged more strictly.
        • “Their case is awful; they shall receive greater condemnation than common sinners; they have not only sinned in thrusting themselves into that office to which God has never called them, but through their insufficiency the flocks over whom they have assumed the mastery perish for lack of knowledge, and their blood will God require at the watchman’s hand.” (Clarke)
        • “The comparative adjective greater [stricter] implies degrees of treatment at the judgment seat.” (Hiebert)

 

2 For we all stumble  in many things.  If anyone does not stumble  in word,  he is a [mature]perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. 

What is James talking about here?

    • the difficulty of not stumbling

Why is James so concerned about stumbling?  

    • For we all stumble in many things:  The greater accountability of teachers is especially sobering in light of our common weaknesses.  After all, we all stumble in many things.  The ancient Greek word translated stumble does not imply a fatal fall, but something that trips us up and hinders our spiritual progress.
      • We all stumble:  James included himself among those who stumble. Yet he did not excuse his or our stumbling. We know that we all stumble, but we should all press on to a better walk with the Lord, marked by less stumbling.
      • ii. This is another of the several statements in the Bible which tell us that all men sin (also including 1 Kings 8:46; Job 14:4; Proverbs 20:9; Ecclesiastes 7:20; and 1 John 1:8, 10).
      • If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man:  James provided a way to measure spiritual maturity for teachers and for all Christians. Jesus demonstrated in Matthew 12:34-37 that words are the revelation of the inner character.
      • To not stumble in word shows true spiritual maturity. This is especially relevant to teachers, who have so much more opportunity to sin with their tongue.
          • We stumble in word about ourselves, with our boasting, exaggeration, and selective reporting.
          • We stumble in word about others, with our criticism, gossip, slander, cruelty, two-facedness, and anger; or with flattery and insincere words meant to gain favor.

 

 

3 [Now if]Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body.  4 Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires.   5 Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.  See how great a forest a little fire kindles!   6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of  [unrighteousness]iniquity.  The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of  [existence]nature; and it is set on fire by  [Gehenna]hell. 

What is James talking about here?

    • The power of the tongue.

We put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us: A small bit in the mouth controls a strong horse. A small rudder turns a large ship. Even so, if we have control over our tongue it is an indication that we have control over our self. Whoever can control the tongue can bridle the whole body (James 3:2).

    • The bit and the rudder are small but extremely important.  If they are not controlled the entire horse is out of control and the entire ship is out of control.  It is possible for something as small as the tongue is to have tremendous power for either good or evil.
    • You don’t solve the problem of an unruly horse by keeping it in the barn, or the problem of a hard-to-steer ship by keeping it tied to the dock.  In the same way, even a vow of silence is not the ultimate answer for the misuse of our tongue.
    • If the tongue is like a bit in the mouth of a horse or the rudder on a ship, it leaves us with the question: Who or what holds the reins, or who or what directs the rudder? Some people have no hand on the reins or rudder, and therefore say whatever comes into mind. Others direct their tongue from their emotions or from aspects of their carnal nature. James points us towards having the Spirit of God, working through the new man, set directing hands on the reins and rudder that is our tongue.

 

See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: The fire of the tongue has been used to burn many. Children are told sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me. But that child’s rhyme isn’t really true; the bitter pain of a word spoken against us can hurt us for a lifetime, long after a broken bone has healed.

“In the two former illustrations, animals and ships are controlled by small objects; in this last illustration, a huge forest is destroyed by a tiny spark. The tongue likewise can either control or destroy.” (Burdick)

What others say to us and what we say to others can last a long time, for good or for evil. The casual sarcastic or critical remark can inflict a lasting injury on another person. The well-timed encouragement or compliment can inspire someone for the rest of their life.

James echoes the testimony of Proverbs regarding the tongue:

    • Proverbs 26:18-19
    • Proverbs 10:19-21     
    • Proverbs 12:25.   
    • Proverbs 16:24   
    • Proverbs 18:21

James isn’t telling us to never speak or to take a vow of silence; in many ways that would be easier than exercising true self-control over the tongue. The bridle, the rudder, and the fire can all do tremendous good when they are controlled properly.

The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: There aren’t many sins that don’t involve talking in some way. “It is though all the wickedness in the whole world were wrapped up in that little piece of flesh.” (Burdick)

 

 

7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind.  8 But no man can tame the tongue.  It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.  

 

The difficulty of taming the tongue.

a. Every kind of beast and bird… has been tamed by mankind: A wild animal can be more easily tamed than the tongue. In fact, James tells us that no man can tame the tongue.

i. The human spirit has incredible capacity for sacrifice and self-control. Sometimes we hear a desperate survival story of someone who cuts off their own leg to get free from a tree that has fallen on them, and then they make it to a hospital for medical treatment. Yet that same man can’t tame the tongue perfectly.

b. No man can tame the tongue: Nevertheless the tongue can be brought under the power and the control of the Holy Spirit. We might say that only God Himself is mightier than the human tongue!

c. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison: The untamable tongue is even more dangerous when we consider the deadly poison it can deliver.

i. “The poison of the tongue is no less deadly, it murders men’s reputations by the slanders it utters, their souls by the lusts and passions it stirs up in them, and many times their bodies too by the contentions and quarrels it raiseth against men.” (Poole)

ii. A woman once came to John Wesley and said she knew what her talent was and she said, “I think my talent from God is to speak my mind.” Wesley replied, “I don’t think God would mind if you buried that talent.” Speaking forth everything that comes to mind is unwise, poisonous speech.

 

 

 

 

 

 

9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the  [likeness]similitude of God.  10 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.   11 Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?   12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs?  [NU Neither can a salty spring produce fresh water Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.    

 

The contradictory character of the tongue.

a. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men: The tongue can be used for the highest calling (to bless our God) and it can be used for the lowest evil (to curse men). In those who are born again, it shouldn’t be said that out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing.      Peter’s tongue confessed Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the living God and denied Jesus with curses. John said, “Little children, love one another” and he wanted to say the word to bring down fire from heaven upon a Samaritan village.

b. These things ought not to be so: Our speech should be consistently glorifying to God. We shouldn’t use one vocabulary or one tone of speaking at church and a different one at home or on the job. Like a spring of water, our mouths shouldn’t send forth fresh… and bitter from the same opening.    “This outburst of James suggests that he had suffered from the strife of tongues in the religious world… it reads like a transcript of bitter experience.” (Moffatt)

c. Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh: James points to the ultimate impossibility of such a contradiction. If bad fruit and bitter water continue to come forth, it means that there is no contradiction. The tree is bad and the spring is bad.   Jesus taught in Matthew 12:34-37 that a man’s words are a reliable revelation of his inner character. What we say can indicate what we are.

ii. Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives: “It would be a monstrosity, a thing to be wondered at, and stared at as unnatural and absurd if a fig tree started bearing olive berries and it is just as unnatural for a Christian to live in sin. Can he so live as to bear the fruits of iniquity instead of the fruits of righteousness? God forbid that it should be so!” (Spurgeon)

iii. “Unless you are regenerated, born from above by a new and heavenly birth, you are not Christians, whatever you may be called, and you cannot, produce the fruit which is acceptable to God any more than a fig tree can produce olive berries.” (Spurgeon)

· You can label a fig tree “Olive Tree” and that will not make it an olive tree.  · You can trim a fig tree to look like an olive tree, and that will not make it an olive tree.  · You can treat a fig tree like an olive tree, and that will not make it an olive tree.  · You can surround a fig tree with many olive trees, and that will not make it an olive tree.  · You can transplant that fig tree to the Mount of Olives, and that would not make it an olive tree.

From WILLIAM BARCLAY’S COMMENTARY …

 

THE TEACHER’S PERIL

Jas. 3:1

My brothers, it is a mistake for many of you to become teachers, for you must be well aware that those of us who teach will receive a greater condemnation.

In the early church the teachers were of first rate importance.  Wherever they are mentioned, they are mentioned with honour. In the Church at Antioch they are ranked with the prophets who sent out Paul and Barnabas on the first missionary journey (Ac.13:1). In Paul’s list of those who hold great gifts within the Church they come second only to the apostles and to the prophets (1Cor.12:28; compare Eph.4:11). The apostles and the prophets were for ever on the move. Their field was the whole Church; and they did not stay long in any one congregation. But the teachers worked within a congregation, and their supreme importance was that it must have been to them that the converts were handed over for instruction in the facts of the Christian gospel and for edification in the Christian faith. It was the teacher’s awe-inspiring responsibility that he could put the stamp of his own faith and knowledge on those who were entering the Church for the first time.

In the New Testament itself we get glimpses of teachers who failed in their responsibility and became false teachers.

    • There were teachers who tried to turn Christianity into another kind of Judaism and tried to introduce circumcision and the keeping of the law (Ac.15:24).
    • There were teachers who lived out nothing of the truth which they taught, whose life was a contradiction of their instruction and who did nothing but bring dishonour on the faith they represented (Rom.2:17-29).
    • There were some who tried to teach before they themselves knew anything (1Tim.1:6-7); and
    • others who pandered to the false desires of the crowd (2Tim.4:3).

But, apart altogether from the false teachers, it is James’ conviction that teaching is a dangerous occupation for any man.

    • His instrument is speech and his agent the tongue.
    • As Ropes puts it, James is concerned to point out “the responsibility of teachers and the dangerous character of the instrument they have to use.”

The Christian teacher entered into a perilous heritage. In the Church he took the place of the Rabbi in Judaism.  There were many great and saintly Rabbis, but the Rabbi was treated in a way that was liable to ruin the character of any man.  His very name means, “My great one.”  Everywhere he went he was treated with the utmost respect. It was actually held that a man’s duty to his Rabbi exceeded his duty to his parents, because his parents only brought him into the life of this world but his teacher brought him into the life of the world to come. It was actually said that if a man’s parents and a man’s teacher were captured by an enemy, the Rabbi must be ransomed first. It was true that a Rabbi was not allowed to take money for teaching and that he was supposed to support his bodily needs by working at a trade; but it was also held that it was a specially pious and meritorious work to take a Rabbi into the household and to support him with every care. It was desperately easy for a Rabbi to become the kind of person whom Jesus depicted, a spiritual tyrant, an ostentatious ornament of piety, a lover of the highest place at any function, a person who gloried in the almost subservient respect showed to him in public (Matt.23:4-7). Every teacher runs the risk of becoming “Sir Oracle.” No profession is more liable to beget spiritual and intellectual pride.

There are two dangers which every teacher must avoid. In virtue of his office he will either be teaching those who are young in years or those who are children in the faith. He must, therefore, all his life struggle to avoid two things. He must have every care that he is teaching the truth, and not his own opinions or even his own prejudices. It is fatally easy for a teacher to distort the truth and to teach, not God’s version, but his own. He must have every care that he does not contradict his teaching by his life, continually, as it were, not, “Do as I do,” but, “Do as I say.” He must never get into the position when his scholars and students cannot hear what he says for listening to what he is. As the Jewish Rabbis themselves said, “Not learning but doing is the foundation, and he who multiplies words multiplies sin” (Sayings of the Fathers 1: 18).

It is James’ warning that the teacher has of his own choice entered into a special office; and is, therefore, under the greater condemnation, if he fails in it. The people to whom James was writing coveted the prestige of the teacher; James demanded that they should never forget the responsibility.

 

THE UNIVERSAL DANGER

Jas. 3:2

There are many things in which we all slip up; but if a man never slips up in his speech, he is a perfect man, able to keep the whole body also on the rein.

James sets down two ideas which were woven into Jewish thought and literature.

(i) There is no man in this world who does not sin in something. The word James uses means to slip up. “Life,” said Lord Fisher, the great sailor, “is strewn with orange peel.” Sin is so often not deliberate but the result of a slip up when we are off our guard. This universality of sin runs all through the Bible. “None is righteous, no not one,” quotes Paul. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom.3:10; Rom.3:23). “If we say we have no sin,” says John, “we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1Jn.1:8). “There is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins,” said the preacher (Ecc.7:20). “There is no man,” says the Jewish sage, “among them that be born, but he hath dealt wickedly; and among the faithful there is none who hath not done amiss” (2Esdr.8:35). There is no room for pride in human life, for there is not a man upon earth who has not some blot of which to be ashamed. Even the pagan writers have the same conviction of sin. “It is the nature of man to sin both in private and in public life,” said Thucydides (3: 45). “We all sin,” said Seneca, “some more grievously, some more lightly” (On Clemency 1: 6).

(ii) There is no sin into which it is easier to fall and none which has graver consequences than the sin of the tongue. Again this idea is woven into Jewish thought. Jesus warned men that they would give account for every word they spoke. “By your words you will be justified; and by your words you will be condemned” (Matt.12:36-37). “A soft answer turns away wrath; but a harsh word stirs up anger…. A gentle tongue is a tree of life; but perverseness in it breaks the spirit” (Prov.15:1-4).

Of all Jewish writers, Jesus ben Sirach, the writer of Ecclesiasticus, was most impressed with the terrifying potentialities of the tongue. “Honour and shame is in talk; and the tongue of man is his fall. Be not called a whisperer, and lie not in wait with the tongue; for a foul shame is upon the thief, and an evil condemnation upon the double tongue…. Instead of a friend become not an enemy; for thereby thou shalt inherit an ill name, shame and reproach; even so shall a sinner that hath a double tongue” (Sir.5:13-6:1). “Blessed is the man who has not slipped with his mouth” (Sir.14:1). “Who is he that hath not offended with his tongue?” (Sir.19:15). “Who shall set a watch before my mouth and a sea, of wisdom upon my lips, that I shall not suddenly fall by them and my tongue destroy me not?” (Sir.22:27).

He has a lengthy passage which is so nobly and passionately put that it is worth quoting in full:

Curst the whisperer and the double-tongued; for such have destroyed many that were at peace. A backbiting tongue hath disquieted many and driven them from nation to nation; strong cities hath it pulled down and overthrown the houses of great men. It hath cut in pieces the forces of people and undone strong nations. A backbiting tongue hath cast out virtuous women and deprived them of their labours. Whoso hearkeneth unto it shall never find rest and never dwell quietly, neither shall he have a friend in whom he may repose. The stroke of the whip maketh marks in the flesh: but the stroke of the tongue breaketh the bones. Many have fallen by the edge of the sword; but not so many as have fallen by the tongue. Well is he that is defended from it and has not passed through the venom thereof; who hath not drawn the yoke thereof, nor hath been bound in her bands. For the yoke thereof is a yoke of iron and the bands thereof are bands of brass. The death thereof is an evil death, the grave were better than it…. Look that thou hedge thy possession about with thorns and bind up thy silver and gold and weigh thy words in a balance and make a bridle for thy lips and make a door and bar for thy mouth. Beware thou slide not by it, lest thou fall before him that lieth in wait and thy fall be incurable unto death (Sir.28:13-26).

 

LITTLE BUT POWERFUL

Jas. 3:3-5a

If we put bits into horses’ mouths to make them obedient to us, we can control the direction of their whole body as well. Look at ships, too. See how large they are and how they are driven by rough winds, and see how their course is altered by a very small rudder, wherever the pressure of the steersman desires. So, too, the tongue is a little member of the body, but it makes arrogant claims for itself.

It might be argued against James’ terror of the tongue that it is a very small part of the body to make such a fuss about and to which to attach so much importance. To combat that argument James uses two pictures.

(i) We put a bit into the mouth of a horse, knowing that if we can control its mouth, we can control its whole body. So James says that if we can control the tongue, we can control the whole body; but if the tongue is uncontrolled, the whole life is set on the wrong way.

(ii) A rudder is very small in comparison with the size of a ship; and yet, by exerting pressure on that little rudder, the steersman can alter the course of the ship and direct it to safety. Long before, Aristotle had used this same picture when he was talking about the science of mechanics: “A rudder is small and it is attached to the very end of the ship, but it has such power that by this little rudder, and by the power of one man–and that a power gently exerted–the great bulk of ships can be moved.” The tongue also is small, yet it can direct the whole course of a man’s life.

Philo called the mind the charioteer and steersman of man’s life; it is when the mind controls every word and it itself is controlled by Christ that life is safe.

James is not for a moment saying that silence is better than speech. He is not pleading for a Trappist life where speech is forbidden. He is pleading for the control of the tongue. Aristippus the Greek had a wise saying, “The conqueror of pleasure is not the man who never uses it. He is the man who uses pleasure as a rider guides a horse or a steersman directs a ship, and so directs them wherever he wishes.” Abstention from anything is never a complete substitute for control in its use. James is not pleading for a cowardly silence but for a wise use of speech.

 

A DESTRUCTIVE FIRE

Jas. 3:5b-6

See how great a forest how little a fire can set alight. And the tongue is a fire; in the midst of our members the tongue stands for the whole wicked world, for it defiles the whole body and sets on fire the ever-recurring cycle of creation, and is itself set on fire by hell.

The damage the tongue can cause is like that caused by a forest fire. The picture of the forest fire is common in the Bible. It is the prayer of the Psalmist that God may make the wicked like chaff before the wind; and that his tempest may destroy them as fire consumes the forest and the flame sets the mountains ablaze (Ps.83:13-14). Isaiah says “wickedness burns like a fire, it consumes briers and thorns; it kindles the thickets of the forest” (Isa.9:18). Zechariah speaks of “a blazing pot in the midst of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves” (Zech.12:6). The picture was one the Jews of Palestine knew well. In the dry season the scanty grass and low-growing thorn bushes and scrub were as dry as tinder. If they were set on fire, the flames spread like a wave which there was no stopping.

The picture of the tongue as a fire is also a common Jewish picture. “A worthless man plots evil, and his speech is like a scorching fire,” says the writer of the Proverbs (Prov.16:27). “As pitch and tow, so a hasty contention kindleth fire” (Sir.28:11). There are two reasons why the damage which the tongue can do is like a fire.

(i) It is wide-ranging. The tongue can damage at a distance. A chance word dropped at one end of the country or the town can finish up by bringing grief and hurt at the other. The Jewish Rabbis had this picture: “Life and death are in the hand of the tongue. Has the tongue a hand? No, but as the hand kills, so the tongue. The hand kills only at close quarters; the tongue is called an arrow because it kills at a distance. An arrow kills at forty or fifty paces, but of the tongue it is said (Ps.73:9), `They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth.’ It ranges over the whole earth and reaches to heaven.” That, indeed, is the peril of the tongue. A man can ward off a blow with the hand, for the striker must be in his presence. But a man can drop a malicious word, or repeat a scandalous and untrue story, about someone whom he does not even know or about someone who stays hundreds of miles away, and cause infinite harm.

(ii) It is uncontrollable. In the tinder-dry conditions of Palestine a forest fire was almost immediately out of control; and no man can control the damage of the tongue. “Three things come not back–the spent arrow, the spoken word and the lost opportunity.” There is nothing so impossible to kill as a rumour; there is nothing so impossible to obliterate as an idle and malignant story. Let a man, before he speaks, remember that once a word is spoken it is gone from his control; and let him think before he speaks because, although he cannot get it back, he will most certainly answer for it.

 

THE CORRUPTION WITHIN

Jas. 3:5b-6 (continued)

We must spend a little longer on this passage, because in it there are two specially difficult phrases.

(i) The tongue, says the Revised Standard Version is an unrighteous world. That ought to be the unrighteous world. In our bodies, that is to say, the tongue stands for the whole wicked world. In Greek the phrase is ho (GSN3588) kosmos (GSN2899) tes (GSN3588) adikias (GSN0093), and we shall best get at its meaning by remembering that kosmos (GSN2889) can have two meanings.

(a) It can mean adornment, although this is less usual. The phrase, therefore, could mean that the tongue is the adornment of evil. That would mean that it is the organ which can make evil attractive. By the tongue men can make the worse appear the better reason; by the tongue men can excuse and Justify their wicked ways; by the tongue men can persuade others into sin. There is no doubt that this gives excellent sense; but it is doubtful if the phrase really can mean that.

(b) Kosmos (GSN2889) can mean world. In almost every part of the New Testament kosmos (GSN2889) means the world with more than a suggestion of the evil world. The world cannot receive the Spirit (Jn.14:17). Jesus manifests himself to the disciples but not to the world (Jn.14:22). The world hates him and therefore hates his disciples (Jn.15:18-19). Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world (Jn.18:36). Paul condemns the wisdom of this world (1Cor.1:20). The Christian must not be conformed to this world (Rom.12:2). When kosmos (GSN2889) is used in this sense it means the world without God, the world in its ignorance of, and often its hostility to, God. Therefore, if we call the tongue the evil kosmos (GSN2889), it means that it is that part of the body which is without God. An uncontrolled tongue is like a world hostile to God. It is the part of us which disobeys him.

(ii) The second difficult phrase is what the Revised Standard Version translates the cycle of nature (trochos (GSN5164) geneseos, GSN1083). It literally means the wheel of being.

The ancients used the picture of the wheel to describe life in four different ways.

(i) The wheel is a circle, a rounded and complete whole, and, therefore, the wheel of life can mean the totality of life.

(ii) Any particular point in the wheel is always moving up or down. Therefore, the wheel of life can stand for the ups and downs of life. In this sense the phrase very nearly means the wheel of fortune, always changing and always variable.

(iii) The wheel is circular; it is always turning back upon itself in exactly the same circle; therefore, the wheel came to stand for the cyclical repetition of life, the weary round of an existence which is ever repeating itself without advancing.

(iv) The phrase had one particular technical use. The Orphic religion believed that the human soul was continually undergoing a process of birth and death and rebirth; and the aim of life was to escape from this treadmill into infinite being. So the Orphic devotee who had achieved could say, “I have flown out of the sorrowful, weary wheel.” In this sense the wheel of life can stand for the weary treadmill of constant reincarnation.

It is unlikely that James knew anything about Orphic reincarnation. It is not at all likely that any Christian would think in terms of a cyclical life which was not going anywhere. It is not likely that a Christian would be afraid of the chances and changes of life. Therefore, the phrase most probably means the whole of life and living. What James is saying is that the tongue can kindle a destructive fire which can destroy all life; and the tongue itself is kindled with. the very fire of hell. Here indeed is its terror.

 

BEYOND ALL TAMING

Jas. 3:7-8

Every kind of beast and bird, and reptile and fish, is and has been tamed for the service of mankind; but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

The idea of the taming of the animal creation in the service of mankind is one which often occurs in Jewish literature. We get it in the creation story. God said of man, “Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth” (Gen.1:28). It is, in fact, to that verse that James is very likely looking back. The same promise is repeated to Noah: “And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every bird of the air, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea; into your hand they are delivered (Gen.9:2). The writer of Ecclesiasticus repeats the same idea: “God put the fear of man upon all flesh, and gave him dominion over beasts and fowls” (Sir.17:4). The Psalmist thought on the same lines: “Thou hast given him dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet; all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field; the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the sea” (Ps.8:6-8). The Roman world knew of tame fish in the fish-ponds which were in the open central hall or atrium of a Roman house. The serpent was the emblem of Aesculapius, and in his temples tame serpents glided about and were supposed to be incarnations of the god. People who were ill slept in the temples of Aesculapius at night, and if one of these tame serpents glided over them, that was supposed to be the healing touch of the god.

Man’s ingenuity has tamed every wild creature in the sense of controlling and making useful; that, says James, is what no man by his own unaided efforts has ever been able to do with the tongue.

 

BLESSING AND CURSING

Jas. 3:9-12

With it we bless the Lord and Father and with it we curse the men who have been made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth there emerge blessing and cursing. These things should not be so, my brothers. Surely the one stream from the same cleft in the rock does not gush forth fresh and salt water? Surely, brothers, a fig-tree cannot produce olives, nor a vine figs, nor can salt water produce fresh water?

We know only too well from experience that there is a cleavage in human nature. In man there is something of the ape and something of the angel, something of the hero and something of the villain, something of the saint and much of the sinner. It is James’ conviction that nowhere is this contradiction more evident than in the tongue.

With it, he says, we bless God. This was specially relevant to a Jew. Whenever the name of God was mentioned, a Jew must respond: “Blessed be he!” Three times a day the devout Jew had to repeat the Shemoneh Esreh, the famous eighteen prayers called Eulogies, every one of which begins, “Blessed be thou, O God.” God was indeed eulogetos (GSN2128), The Blessed One, the One who was continually blessed. And yet the very mouths and tongues which had frequently and piously blessed God, were the very same mouths and tongues which cursed fellowmen. To James there was something unnatural about this; it was as unnatural as for a stream to gush out both fresh and salt water or a bush to bear opposite kinds of fruit. Unnatural and wrong such things might be, but they were tragically common.

Peter could say, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you” (Matt.26:35), and that very same tongue of his denied Jesus with oaths and curses (Matt.26:69-75). The John who said, “Little children, love one another,” was the same who had once wished to call down fire from heaven in order to blast a Samaritan village out of existence (Lk.9:51-56). Even the tongues of the apostles could say very different things.

John Bunyan tells us of Talkative: “He was a saint abroad and a devil at home.” Many a man speaks with perfect courtesy to strangers and even preaches love and gentleness, and yet snaps with impatient irritability at his own family. It has not been unknown for a man to speak with piety on Sunday and to curse a squad of workmen on Monday. It has not been unknown for a man to utter the most pious sentiments one day and to repeat the most questionable stories the next. It has not been unknown for a woman to speak with sweet graciousness at a religious meeting and then to go outside to murder someone’s reputation with a malicious tongue.

These things, said James, should not be. Some drugs are at once poisons and cures; they are benefits to a man when wisely controlled by his doctor but harmful when used unwisely. The tongue can bless or curse; it can wound or soothe; it can speak the fairest or the foulest things. It is one of life’s hardest and plainest duties to see that the tongue does not contradict itself but speaks only such words as we would wish God to hear.

 

 

 

Lectionary Notes

 

Who Can Tame the Tongue?

James 3:1-12 NRSVUE

 

Growing up, most of us heard something along the lines of “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all?” We might not have realized it at the time that we were receiving sage, biblical advice. Perhaps you were also told something like “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” You don’t have to live very long to discern that this is not biblical. Words misspoken can crush a soul. Haven’t we all been victims of someone else’s words?

We are going to be focusing on a passage that talks about the importance of our words as there is great power in our tongues.  Our words can set the course of our lives for good or for evil.  Although James’ words may seem daunting, we will also see where our hope lies in taming the tongue.

 

James 3:1-12

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will face stricter judgment.  2 For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is mature,[a mature man] able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle.  

3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies.  4 Or look at ships: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.  5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits.   

How great a forest is set ablaze by a such a small fire!  6 And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of life, and is itself set on fire by hell.[Gehenna]   

7 For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, 8 but no one can tame the tongue — a restless[c] evil, full of deadly poison.  

9 With it we bless the Lord[God] and Father, and with it we curse people, made in the likeness of God.  10 From the same mouth comes a blessing and a curse.  My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so.  11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water?  12 Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives or a grapevine figs?  No more can salt water yield fresh.    

 

 

Those of Jewish background who were now converted, had previously held their former rabbis in high regard.  To fulfill this cultural norm they naturally looked for teachers for their new Christian community.  Apparently more than enough men were aspiring to serve in that role.   These unofficial teachers may have been taking certain latitudes in their teachings.  Thus, James admonishes his readers to “not have many masters.”  James warns those who teach that they are held to a higher standard.  I think this is partly because teachers and preachers are afforded a captive audience, therefore their words can affect more people.  Also, those who preach and teach generally have more training than the average churchgoing person.  You would assume as well that these people have a certain amount of maturity.

Those who teach are to lead by example.  This would be in line with the overall message of James’ epistle.  Our faith is to be made evident by our works.  So, if you are teaching others, make sure you are growing in the areas that you are teaching about.  For instance, a fitness instructor who is poorly out of shape by neglecting his own workouts loses all credibility.  Likewise, those who teach should live out what they are asking of others.  This is good advice for any believer, not just those who teach.

 If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. Or look at ships: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. (James 3:3-4 NRSVUE)

James uses a couple of analogies here to show how small things can be quite powerful.  In the first century A.D., horses and ships were the primary means of transportation.  The horse held a bit in its mouth and with it, the rider could control where she wanted this powerful animal to go.  Ships have rudders that enable the captain to steer it wherever he chooses.

Modern travel now consists of automobiles and airplanes.  A mere steering wheel can turn an entire bus.  Small ailerons cause the wings of an airplane to respond to the pilot’s steering.  Human beings are also equipped with something very small that can steer the course of our lives.  Our tongues are to be used to bless and to encourage, to speak to what is true and right and good, to utter the praises of God.

So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits. How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of life, and is itself set on fire by hell. (James 3:5-6 NRSVUE)

Just as our tongues can be used for blessing and praise, they can also just as easily be used for cursing.  A careless word can tragically alter the course of a friend or loved one’s life.

This is a good place to share a personal story about when the words of someone hurt you, or how your words hurt another person.

So, what James does now is turn from the analogies that show the usefulness of the tongue to analogies of how destructive it can be.  The analogy that is being employed here is that of a forest fire.  In many cases, it is a small spark that causes great damage.

The state of California is known for its wildfire season, which occurs nearly every summer.  In July 2018, the largest wildfire in their history, the Ranch fire combined with the River fire, burned more than four hundred thousand acres of land.  After a thorough investigation, it was determined that the cause of the Ranch fire was started by a spark from a hammer striking a nail.  The spark landed on some flammable materials nearby.2

The tongue then, can set fire to every good thing in your life.  It can consume your friendships, your family, and even your congregation.  Wars have been waged over words, costing millions of lives.  So, when James says that the tongue is a “world of iniquity,” and “is itself set on fire by hell,” he’s insistent about making his point.  

It’s easy to pick out the overt sins.  Any believer is likely to abhor murder, theft, drunkenness, and sexual immorality.  But what about sins of the tongue?  We probably know those who are prone to gossip, or those who speak harshly to others.  We may not appreciate these things when we witness them, but at the same time, do we understand how deadly this can be for a congregation that desires to be healthy?

For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison. (James 3:7,8 NRSVUE)

Think about how amazing it is that we can train animals, whether it is for laborious tasks or mere tricks.  Parrots can be taught to speak.  Whales and dolphins can be taught to jump out of the water on command.  Certain dog breeds learn to herd sheep. Cats?  Well, they seem to be able to train us better than we can train them.  Despite how well we can tame and train non-human creatures to perform human-like tasks and tricks, we still are not able to tame our own tongues.

James repeats himself here with the idea of how evil the tongue is, while also giving us a different analogy.  He now describes the tongue as a deadly poison.  Now that is something to consider!  What if every time we were tempted to say something negative about someone, we saw an image of our tongues as a bottle of poison.  What if the image of a skull and cross bones on the bottle came to mind?

When James says that “no human can tame the tongue,” he is not leaving his statement open for human hope.  After all, what would be the point of James telling us all of these difficult things to hear without giving us any hope?   He is reminding us that we know the one who can tame it.  The Father has sent the Holy Spirit to us.   The Spirit is here to guide us as he lives through us.  The Holy Spirit helps to train our speech in ways we could never perform by our own strength and will.   Our trust is placed in God’s abilities and not on ours.

With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse people made in the likeness of God.  From the same mouth comes a blessing and a curse.  My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so.  Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water?  Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs?  No more can salt water yield fresh.   (James 3:9-12 NRSVUE)

I don’t know if you have been keeping track of the analogies, but James offers up some more here.  He mentions that trees can only produce certain fruit.  Springs of water can only contain that which is common to them, salt or fresh water.  The analogy is that we have been made in the image of our loving Father.  We have been accepted in the life of Christ Jesus, and through the Holy Spirit, there is a quality of life that is consistent with whom we flow from and are rooted into.  This life of ours is not consistent with the foul things that the tongue wants to say.

When James asks the rhetorical questions regarding trees and springs producing that which flows from their proper source, we are to see ourselves as God’s newly designed people who resemble the life of his son, Jesus.  We are not merely left to our own devices. The Holy Spirit with us assures us of our relationship with the triune God.  As the body of Christ, we share that same relationship with one another, where we speak the truth in love, and where our tongues are used for blessing and not cursing.

Note what the psalmist said:

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:14 NRSVUE)

We won’t always agree with one another. We don’t all have the same temperaments or personalities.   But how we speak to one another in the body of Christ is of vital importance.   We are to remind one another of who we are in Christ.   We are to speak God’s praises.   We are to build up, encourage, and edify one another.   Our tongues are to be offered up to our loving God who wants to set the course of our lives through speech filled with grace and love.

This week, ask God to help you use your tongue for good.  Ask him to give you the words that encourage and bless others.  Watch what happens.

 

 

 

 

 

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