Taming the Tongue/ 2 Kinds of Wisdom

Background

In 49 AD The author James, half brother of Jesus, and Jewish Christian who became a believer after the death, burial, resurrection and appearance to James in 1 Corinthians 15:7 “Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.” wrote this book to the Messianic Jews to encourage them to have faith that is active

Recap

In James 2 we read the warning to not sin by showing partiality or favoritism to those who are rich, while dismissing those who are poor...with the understanding that to honor the Word of God from Christ as found in Matthew 22:39 “And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Additionally, we explored faith as not something we have, but what we do. Whenever we’re stuck in indecision, or inactivity, we can recall the passage of James 2:26 “For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.” to push us to activities.

Caution to Biblical Teachers

James 3:1 “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.”

(Some NT passages portray boasting positively as something to be encouraged 1 Corinthians 1:31 “so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”, while others portray it negatively as something to be avoided James 4:16 “As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.”)

Speak Right Act Right

James 3:2 “For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.”

James 3:3–4 “If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.”

James 3:5–6 “So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.”

(The metaphor of fire would have resonated with James’ first century audience. Ancients relied on wood or charcoal braziers to cook and heat their homes, and a draft from open windows increased the danger of fire spreading rapidly. Moreover, ancients possessed few effective means for extinguishing fires)

World of unrighteousness example of worldly evil opposed to God, or the tongue, as a fire, exposes evil within a person Mark 7:15 “There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.””

James 3:7–10 “For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.”

(The Greek term here, kataraoai, often translated “to curse,” refers to causing injury or harm to someone through a statement. Ancients believed such statements had supernatural power Mark 11:12–14 “On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.”

James 3:11–12 “Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.”

What James is alluding to is the fruit simply manifest the composition of it’s origin.

Matthew 12:34 “You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”

Christian Wisdom

James 3:13 “Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.”

James 3:14–16 “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.”

James 3:17–18 “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”