James 3:1-12 NKJV 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 perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. 3 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 iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by 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 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? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.
James now instructs us on speech and how to speak righteously. This is part of the Law of Christ.
Warren W. Wiersbe writes: “In order to impress on us the importance of controlled speech, and the great consequences of our words, James gave us six pictures of the tongue: the bit, the rudder, fire, a poisonous animal, a fountain, and a fig tree. You can put these six pictures into three meaningful classifications that reveal the three powers of the tongue.”
V1 “My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.” These are teachers of the Scriptures and the Christian way of life whether official teacher (pastor, etc.) or the rest of us. God hates lies, so we must teach the truth. God hates twisting His words to align with any error. You can read some types of Scripture twisting here (https://www.apologeticsindex.org/5849-scripture-twisting). Correct Bible interpretation is: “When the plain sense of Scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense; therefore, take every word at its primary, ordinary, usual, literal meaning unless the facts of the immediate context, studied in the light of related passages and axiomatic and fundamental truths, indicate clearly otherwise.” ~Dr. David L. Cooper. God holds us accountable. If we lie about, give allegorical interpretations, or twist (a form of lying), there are consequences. Compare Matthew 12:37, 1 Corinthians 3:10-15, Romans 2:21. We are dealing with the Word of God. We must tell the truth of the Bible in its plain, normal sense. We are to stop lying (God help us)–Ephesians 4:25. Compare these verses for our warning–Jeremiah 9:5, Zechariah 8:16, and Proverbs 12:17.
V2 “For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.” No Christian is sinless. If possible that we never tell lies, then the person has arrived to being perfectly aligned with God’s law. I wish it were possible, but it is not (Romans 7).
V3 “Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body.” These are examples of obedience. The first is the horse.
V4 “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.” Second example–ships.
V5 “Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles!” What we say should be easy, but it is not. What we say has many ramifications. There are consequences (the kindled fire). The Greek word for “boasts great things” is (G3166) μεγαλαυχέω megalaucheō, which means to talk arrogantly. Pride is one of the sources and motive for sin. The source of pride is the heart (Mark 7:21-22). One example is Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4:28-30), and another is Diotrephes (3 John 1:9). Some types of evil speaking are lies, berating, gaslighting, threats, and words said to destroy someone.
V6 “And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.” Set on fire by hell means speaking lies that the devil would. See Matthew 12:33-37. We must speak the truth but speak wisely–with self-control and good attitude.
A few quotes:
(Through the Bible Day by Day: A Devotional Commentary (7 Vols.)) A single spark may burn down a city. The upsetting of an oil lamp, in a stable led to the burning of Chicago. Lighted at the flames of hell, the tongue can pass their vitriol on to earth. Man cannot tame the tongue, but Christ can. He goes straight for the heart, for, as he said long ago, the seat of the mischief is there. See Mark 7:14, 15; Ps. 51:10.
Wilbur Pickering: “Notice the violence of the description of the tongue—‘organization of wickedness’, ‘defiles the whole body’, ‘uncontrollable evil’,‘deadly poison’—it would be difficult to be more emphatic. Obviously James is describing something extraordinary. One of Satan’s most effective ways of lousing up our lives is by causing us to say things that we shouldn’t, and that by ourselves we wouldn’t. By this means he turns our homes, our schools, our work places into places of contention instead of peace. “No one among men is able to tame the tongue”—an unaided human being is presumably incapable of escaping from demonic attack, but the Holy Spirit can indeed tame our tongue, if we let Him.”
V7 “For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind.” An illustration of taming wild creatures.
V8 “But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.” Only Jesus could control His speech with a perfect, controlled, godly manner. An illustration of something that cannot be tamed. We all fail in our speech, but we should be diligent to grow our speech in grace (God’s assisting grace). Poison hurts and kills, so our speech might do. Speaking in anger and impulsively should be avoided. Telling the truth should be prioritized.
V9 “With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.” This is another example. The Greek word for “similitude” is (G3669) ὁμοίωσις homoiōsis, which means (Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Abridged – Little Kittel)) “This word means a. ‘of the same kind,’ b. ‘of like disposition,’ c. ‘belonging equally,’ and d., in geometry, ‘similar’ (of figures).” Adam and Eve were created in the image of God (communicable character traits). This image was severely marred by sin.
V10 “Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.” Barclay (beware) writes:
“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.”
V11 “Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?”
V12 “Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.” V11 and v12 are two examples of inconsistency.
We learn:
- What we say can bless or harm
- We need God’s help to speak correctly