The Tongue

Introduction and reading of passage

The Lexham English Bible Chapter 3

Not many should become teachers, my brothers, because you* know that we will receive a greater judgment. 2 For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect individual, able to hold in check his whole body also. 3 And if we put bits in the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we also guide their whole bodies. 4 Behold also ships: although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot wishes. 5 So also the tongue is a small member of the body* and boasts great things. Behold how small a fire sets ablaze how great a forest! 6 And the tongue is a fire! The world of unrighteousness, the tongue, is set among our members, defiling the whole body and setting on fire ⌊the course of human existence⌋, being set on fire by hell.

7 For every species of animals and birds, of reptiles and sea creatures, is being tamed and has been tamed by the human species, 8 but no human being is able to tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless the* Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so! 11 A spring does not pour forth from the same opening fresh and bitter water, does it?* 12 A fig tree is not able, my brothers, to produce olives, or a grapevine figs. Neither can a saltwater spring produce fresh water.

Epistle of James

As we study our bibles, daily, notice I said daily, we must understand the context of what we reading.

Whether it be the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke or John or the major prophets of the Old Testament, it is imperative we read it with the intended target group in mind.

Understanding the context of what we are reading help us understand the concept of the teaching at hand. Understanding who is writing the passage and who the passage was intended for and what era it was written will greatly increase our success in rightly dividing scripture.

This letter written by James, the brother of Jesus, was composed somewhere in the early AD 50s.

In the Reformation period, the great reformer Martin Luther critiqued the Letter of James as lacking in gospel clarity. This may be due to the intended audience being Jewish Christians that had already came to faith.

What this letter lacks pertaining to salvational doctrine, it makes up in with a deep well of wisdom. The letter of James has before been coined as the Proverbs of the New Testament.

Though James did not comment on certain salvational teachings, the letter of James has a central focus of the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount. In the 5 chapters of James there are over 15 different references from the teachings from the Sermon on the mount.

James drew directly from his Brother’s teaching and pours out his wisdom through this letter and teaches us how we are to operate in our day to day lives. This is echoed in 1:22, “But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”

We should also note that James did not just reproduce the sermon that Jesus had previously presented. He was so well acquainted with the teachings of the Lord that he saw with clarity how they should impact the Jewish Christians to who he wrote to. This is something we see in the Old Testament as well. James lives in his culture, speaks to his culture, and he speaks for his culture.

Talking about the brethren, teachers, and judgment

Verse James 3:1 “My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.”

James starts out by addressing who he is speaking to, “My brethren”. Just the same are you. We are brothers and sisters of James, because of our Blessed, Jesus Christ. This letter was speaking to his brethren, Jewish Christians spread outside of the land of Judea, but he is also speaking directly to you.

“Be not many masters” is the next part. In the sixteenth century “master” meant “schoolmaster.” The KJV was published in 1611. That is why the term master is seen here.

The phrase means ‘do not be too eager to teach,’ ‘do not press into the work of teaching’

Do not get into the way of being teachers or do not set yourselves up as teachers is a more applicable way of interpreting in a way more understood today.

Acts 15 James letter, this is not the first time he has spoke to or about unauthorized teachers.

The title of Doctor of the Law was highly coveted among the Jews. To be a teacher was highly esteemed.

In Matthew 23:7–8 as Jesus spoke to the crowds and His disciples he described some of the perks the teachers were receiving, “And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.”

These men James was speaking to had seen the treatment the other teachers had received and wanted to experience it also. There are certain things that comes along with the privilege of being a teacher of Christ. Most people want to be around you, you will become the popular person in the bunch, people will come to you for advice, help, you will be central to a lot of the things that go on in your church community.

These men who had more than likely seen poverty and hard lives saw an opportunity to become a more than what they were and many were exploiting the church for the means to provide for their families and live a more luxurious life.

It is nothing new to understand that the teachers of this day were hypocrites, as Matthew 23:14 states:

Matthew 23:14 “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.”

These men that had come from nothing were also falling into traps of greed, power, and lust of things of this world. This is another reason James speaks to not everyone should be a teacher.

We see the same thing today with teachers not understanding what they are speaking about, or just saying they are speaking the truth with no regard for what they are saying, who they are saying it to, and the One sitting in Heaven that will judge them for teaching the wrong thing.

Furtick of Elevation in Charlotte, Joel Osteen in Houston, the pastors of the United Methodist organization that are preaching God accepts homosexuality, majority of the top 10 richest pastors are from Africa because they are preaching Health and Wealth, the prosperity gospel.

This will not end well for them. 2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, in order that each one may receive back the things through the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

The verse ends with James being quick to remind his brethren that those that teach are held to a higher standard. Teachers are held to a higher standard due to being responsible for not only their soul but how they have lead the ones they have taught. Whether they have lead that person intentionally down the path of destruction or unintentionally, it plainly states that Christ will hold teachers to a higher standard.

Ezekiel 3:18 “When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.”

James starts out speaking of teachers because of the things that were going on, the strong possibility of error in their speech, but he is not only talking to the teachers. He is speaking to all people.

So where does that leave us when we are speaking of teachers? Does that mean we cannot teach others about Jesus? Absolutely not! We are to spread the name of Christ in every opportunity that rises. Should many of the body of Christ be teachers and pastors, no!

Ephesians 4:11–12 “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:”

Notice it says “Some”

1 Peter 4:10 “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”

If you are in the body of Christ, your Father in Heaven has given you a gift, we are not all able to do the same thing.

What we need to realize from this verse is the great responsibility of teaching God’s Word.

There is only one perfect man.

Verse James 3:2 reads “For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.”

Being a Christian is hard work. It is not just something we become mature in the moment we are born again. And even when we become mature we still stumble in many ways each day. James clearly states that we all fall short in many ways.

The second half of this statement could very well be used for an example to reinforce the truth from the first verse.

Just as being a Christian, studying the Bible takes the same effort.

It would be very possible for someone to take this statement out of context and teach a babe in Christ, or someone lost, or someone who doesn’t study their Bible that all they would have to do is watch their language and they are a perfect person.

That is not the case here. James first and rightly points out that we all stumble in many ways. Then secondly, If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man.

When we compare that to the text in James 2:10 “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”

Or let compare the interpretation to 1 John 1:8 “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”

Those two statements do not line up.

What James is saying is if a man was able to control his tongue, oh he would be a perfect man, strong enough to control all the members of his body. Refrain from all other sins.

No part of us is in a more slippery place than the tongue.

There is only one perfect man, and that is our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. There is only one person who hasn’t broken the law.

We are not able to control the tongue,nor or we able to control the tone of what comes out with it, nor are we able to keep in perfect control the other members of our body.

Even if we came to a point in our lives that we were able to control our tongue and control the other parts of our body, and be considered perfect by this standard, we have previously broke the law that God has put forth and therefore do no have the righteous required to come into his presence. It is only by the gift of salvation that we as Christians can have that requirement, that righteousness, and it is borrowed from Jesus Christ.

As we come to Christ, and believers mature in Him, things get better, our language cleans up, we don’t do things we once did, this is true. But the only way we are able to control ourselves in any manner, is by Jesus living in side us.

It is through the work of the Holy Spirit that restrains and convicts us helping to bridle the tongue and refrain from other acts of darkness.

What we need to recognize from this verse is the great potential of sinning in what we say.

The Illustrations

James 3:3 “And if we put bits in the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we also guide their whole bodies.”

The first illustration here relates to the verse first previous.

We are creatures, just like horses. We were created by the Creator and it was when He spoke in the first Chapter of Genesis that He gave humans dominion over all the other creatures of this earth.

It is only because He allowed us to put bridles in the mouths of horses that we are able to, just the same as, it is only by Him we are able to bridle our own tongues or any other member.

What James is illustrating here is we are the same.

A man who can govern his tongue can govern his whole nature, just as a bridle controls, not only the horses mouth, but the whole animal.

This illustration we have here is a type of argument.

It is called a fortiori.

This is a latin term that literally means “from the stronger argument”

The term is similar to the expression “all the more” and refers to a conclusion that can be drawn with greater logical necessity than a previous.

In rabbinic literature it is known as a “kal va-homer” qal wahomer, = since X is known to be true for a certain situation, it must obviously be true for a comparable situation where the same logic is even stronger.

The same type of argument is applied to verse 4, as it reads:

James 3:4 LEB

Behold also ships: although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot wishes.

Notice again how James uses something large and powerful in his analogy, ships like horses are powerful, and in this illustration there is an outside force impacting the vessel.

What good is a ship if you cannot direct it where to go? It has so much potential, so much strength, but without the rudder the ship is headed for disaster.

The same can be said for us, if we do not control the things that come out of our mouth we are headed straight for disaster.

I want to take notice what happens when we put bits in wild horses mouths. When we have control of these animals they become useful.

We are able to utilize the strength of the body horse to pull a chariot, or pull a plow.

We as Christians need to understand this teaching if we are able to control our bodies we can pull a plow to turn over the soil to get ready to spread the seed of the Gospel. How we control our body, how we are able to keep ourselves in check can be used as a tool by the LORD.

The same goes for the ship. Ship are knows vessels. Vessels that are carrying cargo. What good is the vessel or the cargo if it is not under control.

If we can direct ourselves, vessels of the Holy Spirit, we can take what we are carrying to other places and people and it can be life-changing for them.

The only way this is possible is by reliance on Christ and producing the fruit of the Spirit.

Verse 5 reads

James 3:5 LEB

So also the tongue is a small member of the body and boasts great things. Behold how small a fire sets ablaze how great a forest!

Again, James goes back to something that is small, but changes the out come. A spark if drop in the right place can cause a deadly destruction.

The tongue is the same way! We can breathe fire with our words.

There is a joke in our home, of being a “Dragon”. Whenever some one is tired or ill or just not in the best mood, they can come off as hateful.

We do it so many times without noticing, we breath fire with our words. We shouldn’t be dragons.

Our words are like the person riding down the road and flips a cigarette out the window. They are gone, leaving a mess of destruction behind them for someone else to deal with.

Let’s take notice the word “boast” in the 5th verse. This is the only place in the Bible αὐχέω “ac-kel” is used. This is different from the boasting of the Lord Paul speaks of. This is boasting in ourselves or boasting in what we have or what we have done. It literally means to show off.

The only boasting we should be doing as Christians is boasting in the Lord God Almighty.

We are not perfect beings, we have established Christ is the only perfect one, but we have to be cognoscente of how we talk and who we are talking to about them.

What about a mom who is boasting about her kids to the woman who cant bare children? This is doesn’t intentional but could crush the other person.

Verse 6 starts with James exclaiming the tongue a fire! It reads:

James 3:6 LEB

And the tongue is a fire! The world of unrighteousness, the tongue, is set among our members, defiling the whole body and setting on fire the course of human existence, being set on fire by hell.

Yes the tongue is a fire, and if we are not careful we are fire breathing dragons!

The possibility of all sins lie on the slippery slope of the tongue. It is a world of unrighteousness that can and does affect the world around us.

Let take secular universities for example. The woke literature they are presenting, and the professors with their atheist and agnostic views.

What are they doing? They are setting fires to the forest of what were strong tree of the Lord that were or were going to be fruitful for the Lord.

This fire of the tongue changes human existence and effects the position of the soul for its eternity.

Then we come to the last part of this verse and we ask ourselves how is our tongue set on fire by hell?

We fell in garden. The dirty serpent Satan himself used his tongue to lure Eve into taking the fruit. He changed the course of human existence and now we have our worldly and fleshly desires to deal with.

Greed, hate, lust, are all things that boil out of our heart and drive the tongue that can cause an array of destruction.

We must make sure it is the fire of the Holy Spirit that flows from this member and not the fire of hell.

The Lexham English Bible (Chapter 3)

7 For every species of animals and birds, of reptiles and sea creatures, is being tamed and has been tamed by the human species, 8 but no human being is able to tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

For man there is not one other creature that can not be captured or killed. All have been placed under the dominion of the Adamic race by God as it is noted in Gen 1:26.

Our Father in Heaven has given us a set of teeth to cage with and and set of lips to seal with and we still cant tame the tongue.

Verse 8 says “no human being is able to tame the tongue!”

Not one, not you, nor I, nor James. The only one who was able to do it was Jesus Christ.

The evil that lies on the tip of it pries through the cage and seal we tried to barricade it in with.

There is evil that lies just behind the lips of each one of us.

James 3:9 LEB

With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.

We wake up in the morning and hit our knees and bless the Lord, we call out to Him thanking Him for another day. We bless Him for the rest we had the night before and the rest we find in Jesus Christ.

We as Him to use us. To use His servants and allow us that joy of being used by the One who has all power in His hands.

But before we make it to work what have we done? We have cursed the driver that cut us off, not realizing they’ve been up all night with a sick baby and there concentration was not what it was supposed to be.

Before lunch what have we done? We have gossiped about the clothes someone was wearing or the affair you heard about last night!

What would happen if instead of cursing these people and driving them further down, we lifted them up in prayer.

What would have if blessings rolled off the tips of our tongues instead of curses.

We may be able to have a stronger witness.

James 3:10 LEB

From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so!

A hypocrite us any person who puts on a false display of virtue.

Hypocrisy is defined as the characteristic of acting in a way that is inconsistent with one’s, belief system, or speech.

Blessings and cursing should not come out of the same mouth.

Let’s break down how a Christian may curse someone.

Being ambassadors for Christ, a reflection of the virtues of Christianity, what happens when we are caught spreading rumors?

What happens when we flip someone the bird in traffic?

What happens when we are caught speaking flirtatious comments to someone other than our significant other?

It not only separates us from Christ and could disqualify us from finishing the race of faith in victory...

but it also could curse the person that seen, or heard, or felt what we said.

That person may believe that there is not truth or love in Christianity and not come to the faith.

This ought not be so.

Charles Spurgeon,

If there is only one waterfall in a river, only one in a thousand miles, everybody hears about it and it is marked on the map. But if another river should flow on smoothly, gladdening the meads on either hand and bearing navies out to sea, it would not cause such a noise as that one cataract would make.

In like manner, a holy life is not talked of by an ungodly world half as much as one unholy act of an inconsistent professing Christian. How they delight to speak of that! How they roll the story of the sins of God’s people under their tongues as sweet morsels! You may repent of your backsliding; you may become even more zealous afterward, as you should do. But, my dear brothers, after having once stained your reputation, it is not easy to wipe out the blot.

James 3:11–12 LEB

A spring does not pour forth from the same opening fresh and bitter water, does it? A fig tree is not able, my brothers, to produce olives, or a grapevine figs. Neither can a saltwater spring produce fresh water.

300 Sermon Illustrations from Charles Spurgeon (Water Can Never Rise Higher than Its Source (Luke 6:43–45; Titus 2:14; James 3:11))

It is an old maxim that nature can never rise above itself. Water, coming from the top of a hill, will rise as high as its source. But unless there is some extraordinary pressure put on it, it will never rise higher.

So it is with human nature. Scripture says it is exceedingly vile; we cannot expect good works out of an evil nature. Can a bitter well send forth sweet water? As poison does not grow on healthful trees, with healthful fruit, so healthy fruit cannot grow on poisonous trees.

Its not possible to live perfectly, its not possible to tame our tongues 100% of the time.

It is possible to know the one who is perfect, who died for our sins, rose from the dead, and wants to help you become acceptable and not double minded.

If you already know him, that’s fantastic. Call out to Him. We can all mature in Him until His return.