The Tongue Boasts of Great Things

Introduction

“Writers carve language like a sculptor carves stone. They shape words into realities that compel belief and action. They listen not only to the rhythms of words but also to the silences between words. They understand that words do far more harm in the world than bombs and bullets, and more good than all the charities and humanitarian schemes put together.”

Those are the words from Daniel Taylor, his article titled “In Praise of Stories.” The residential RBS students will recognize that from our class reading this past week. But that is exactly true, isn’t it? The power of our tongues is far more devastating than machines, guns, or any other contraption human ingenuity can put together.

I’m sure you’ve heard the old adage, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” But if we’re honest, that is a flat-out lie.

I prefer the adapted version, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will break our hearts.” And if we’re honest with one another, we live in a world where words matter, whether the written word or the spoken word. What we say has the potential to cause deep damage in others, far greater than damage done by sticks or stones.

In the country of my exile, when Fidel Castro marched out of the Sierra Maestra Mountains in Cuba around 1959, he did not emerge with a vast army or overwhelming resources. He emerged with something far more potent: his tongue. Castro built his revolution not first through bullets, but through words—words that stirred anger, promised liberation, and persuaded thousands that he would bring justice and prosperity to Cuba.

But Castro’s tongue, so compelling and charismatic, became a weapon. His speeches ushered in not freedom, but oppression. His promises paved the way, turning Cuba into the first Communist regime in the Western Hemisphere, a regime marked by political imprisonment, censorship, religious persecution, economic collapse, separation of family, and decades of fear and tyranny.

Millions suffered—not because of tanks or missiles at first—but because of a man whose words inflamed passions, silenced dissent, and shaped a nation’s destiny in profoundly destructive ways. Think here in the United States, how evil ideologies like Marxism, the LGBTQ+ agenda, abortion, and other wicked sins have permeated, infiltrated our society for decades and we’ve been seeing the fruit in the last 10-20 years. That wasn’t done by violence. That was done with words. With sinful, evil, corrupting words.

Castro and every false ideology are sobering examples of what James teaches in James 3:6

“The tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness.”

Here in our passage tonight, James warns us that the tongue, though small in size, can unleash devastation—whether in a nation, a church, or a home. And while we may not lead revolutions (at least I hope not), every one of us wields this same dangerous instrument every day.

It can be simple to identify sins out there on a grand scale but James is not merely talking about dictators, ideologies, or political movements out there. He is talking about you and me—about the very real danger of the tongue in the everyday life of believers.

And so, having set before us the power of words, James now brings us into the heart of his argument. In James 3:1–12, he gives us four truths we must understand if we are going to honor Christ with our speech. Let’s consider first:

1. The Tongue is Small but Mighty (James 3:1-5)

James begins in verse one with a sobering warning to those who would be teachers in the church:

"Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness."

Why does he begin this way in chapter 3? This section is all about the tongue, and at first, it might seem out of place. But if we recall several things we have already considered, it makes sense. Remember that James, back in chapter 1, wrote in James 1:19:

"Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;"

and then in verse 26:

"If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless."

Here, James is expanding on that command, now as it applies to teachers within the church. But why should many not become teachers? He gives an eschatological answer—and notice, he does not say you will be judged, but we—he includes himself in that category.

The reality is, brothers and sisters, to be a teacher in the church of God is a great privilege—a wonderful privilege. But to borrow from Uncle Ben in Spider-Man: “With great power comes great responsibility.” Teachers will be judged more strictly because they have the capacity, with their tongues and with what they say, to do an incredible amount of damage to the local church. Their words will either teach the truth and, as a result, strengthen, encourage, and build up the faith of believers, or they can deny the truth and tear down precious souls.

Some men are doctors, lawyers, or even pilots—professions that are incredibly important in a well-ordered society. I don’t know about you, but I like having a skilled doctor who knows what he is doing. When I fly on a plane, I want to know that the person piloting the aircraft knows what they are doing and will get us from point A to point B alive. But even in those professions, while errors may cause serious harm—a doctor may kill a patient—the consequences are temporary compared to what can happen when a teacher in the church does not faithfully teach the truth. A misled soul can face consequences not only in this life but for all eternity! The consequences are devastating.

Let this be a reminder for you and for me: we need to pray for those in our churches who teach. Pray for your pastors. This sobering reality weighs heavily on our hearts every time we prepare to stand before you to preach. The weight of such judgment should cause pastors and church members alike to cry out to God: “Who is sufficient for these things?”

Brothers, a word to those of you who preach— Just like James warns here in James 3:1 that those who are teachers will be judged more strictly. Paul commands Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:2:

"Preach the Word."

And we love that phrase. Just saying it is like an injection of adrenaline into our preaching veins. But don’t forget the context of that exhortation: he charges Timothy in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: Preach the Word.

This, brothers, should be the backdrop and awe-inspiring shadow that undergirds our preaching every single time—the reality of final judgment. On that great day, all of our words, all of our actions, all the secret things will be revealed. What we did in the study, how we used our gifts, were we lazy or diligent? Keep that ever before you.

James then goes on to provide two visual examples of small items accomplishing great things—horses and ships.

First, he describes a bit in the mouth of a horse. Now, I’m not an expert on horses, and to be honest, it’s been a long time since I’ve gone riding—but I do know this: a bit is an incredibly small item compared to a horse.

A typical horse bit is 6–7 inches wide and maybe 0.5 inch thick.

It fits entirely in the horse’s mouth, resting on the tongue and against the bars (the gap between teeth).

A typical riding horse weighs 900–1,200 pounds.

Its body length can be 7–8 feet.

The head alone is about 2 feet long—and the bit is just a tiny piece inside that mouth.

The bit is literally a fraction of 1% of the horse’s body weight.

Yet this tiny piece controls the direction, speed, and even the temperament of the horse. Visualize trying to steer a 1,000-pound animal with a metal piece smaller than your hand. That’s the power of subtle control—and that’s exactly what James wants us to see with the tongue.

James gives a second visual aid: that of a large ship being controlled by a small rudder. Borrowing from a commentator who described one of the biggest ships in the world, the US aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower: it weighs over 91,000 tons, is nearly 1,100 feet in length, has a nuclear-powered 280,000-horsepower engine, a complement of 6,100 men and women, and carries nearly 100 aircraft. It is like a floating city. And yet all that weight, people, and hardware are steered by a rudder that’s just a tenth of one percent of the ship’s size.

James is telling us in this passage that it is the same with our tongues. The tongue is small, but mighty. This small member can control our own bodies, our actions. We must ask ourselves, brothers and sisters—do we control our tongues?

That brings us to the second characteristic that James gives us in our text:

2. The Tongue is Small but Destructive (James 3:5-6)

James shifts here from the influence of the tongue to the destructive potential of the tongue. He moves from the stable to the harbor—and now into the dry forest.

“So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.”

James wants us to feel the shock of that phrase—how great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! In the ancient world, a spark carried the same destructive power it does today. Just a single ember, carried by the wind, could destroy crops, homes, livestock, and entire villages. But the point here is not merely that the tongue is dangerous, but that it is disproportionately dangerous. Its size does not match its destructive potential.

The Palisades fires in California taught us this again. Investigators tell us it began with a small, seemingly insignificant brush fire—likely arson—smoldering unseen beneath the surface. Hidden embers, no larger than a fingertip, were carried by fierce winds and reignited, producing a blaze that consumed homes, disrupted lives, and brought death. That is the picture James wants burned into our minds: small sparks create devastating outcomes.

So it is with your tongue. One careless word. One cutting remark. One whispered gossip. One angry outburst. One slanderous comment.

And the wildfire begins.

James now deepens the warning:

“The tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness.”

That is staggering. James is not merely saying the tongue can speak evil—he says the tongue contains a whole world of evil, as though every sin known to man can find expression through this tiny organ.

• The tongue corrupts the whole person. Your tongue is not isolated from the rest of your being; it exposes, stains, and shapes your character. One lie becomes two. One angry rant becomes a habit. One proud boast becomes a posture of the heart. The tongue does not merely reveal corruption—it multiplies it.

• The tongue sets on fire the entire course of life. James uses a word that refers to the whole cycle of human existence. In other words, what you say today can burn through your marriage, scorch your children, destroy your friendships, divide your church, and even damage your future. The tongue leaves a trail. And that trail is either life or destruction.

• The tongue is set on fire by hell. This may be the strongest statement James makes in the entire letter. James is saying that the destructive potential of the tongue does not come from personality, upbringing, or culture—it comes from below. When we use our tongues sinfully, we are not merely being “unwise”… We are allowing the flames of hell to flicker through our lips.

This is why you cannot shrug off sinful speech. This is why Jesus said we will give account for every careless word. This is why Paul says unwholesome speech must be “put away” from the believer.

The tongue is small—but it is destructive. Do not underestimate the damage this small spark can make.

3. The Tongue is Small but Uncontrollable (James 3:7-8)

James now shows us that the tongue is not only dangerous—it is uncontrollable.

James 3:7–8 “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.”

Do you remember the command the Lord God gave to man in the garden? Genesis 1:28 “And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Man has done that. All throughout our existence.

Human beings have tamed lions. We have trained killer whales. We have dolphins doing backflips, hawks and all sorts of birds responding to whistles, talking birds, elephants painting pictures, and snakes dancing to the tune of a flute.

But here is the irony in all this: the tongue? No human can tame it.

You can tame a large, powerful beast, but you cannot tame your own speech.

It is a restless evil—meaning it is unstable, unpredictable, always ready to strike. It is full of deadly poison—meaning a single drop can kill.

Poison does not need gallons. It needs only a trace.

Your tongue does not need to unleash a barrage of words to do great harm.

(Borrowed from Sinclair Ferguson - he pointed me here)

The young Jonathan Edwards penned a number of his Resolutions around this theme. They are worth noting:

Never to say anything at all against anybody, but when it is perfectly agreeable to the highest degree of Christian honor, and of love to mankind, agreeable to the lowest humility, and sense of my own faults and failings, and agreeable to the golden rule; often, when I have said anything against any one, to bring it to, and try it strictly by, the test of this Resolution.Resolved

In narrations never to speak anything but the pure and simple verity.Resolved

Never to speak evil of any, except I have some particular good call to it.Resolved

One sentence can be poison to a marriage. One phrase can be poison to a friendship. One comment can poison and bring division within a church.

The point James makes is not that we should despair—but that we must not trust in our own strength to tame our tongues.

Self-help cannot tame the tongue. Therapy cannot tame the tongue. Good intentions cannot tame the tongue.

Only the Holy Spirit can tame the tongue because the tongue is not the real problem— it is our hearts.

Jesus said, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” If the heart is restless, the tongue will be restless. If the heart is proud, the tongue will boast. If the heart is bitter, the tongue will slander.

The tongue is a mirror of the soul.

If you want control over your speech, you must address the root problem— which is your heart.

4. The Tongue is Small but Revealing (James 3:9-12)

James gives us one more characteristic: the tongue reveals the true condition of our hearts.

James 3:9–12 “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. 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.”

James highlights the hypocrisy of the tongue.

We can sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs on Sunday and slander fellow image-bearers on Monday. We can read Scripture in the morning and speak harshly to our spouse or children in the afternoon. We can bless God with one breath and cut down our neighbor with the next.

James says, “My brothers, these things ought not to be so.”

Psalm 51:15 “O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.”

If God give speech and abilities of utterance, he must have the glory; it is the rent we owe to him. This is the advantage we have above the creatures, that we can be distinct and explicit in his praises: Ps. 145:10, ‘All thy works, O Lord, shall praise thee, and thy saints shall bless thee.’ The creatures offer the matter, but the saints publish it. The whole creation is as a well-tuned instrument, but man maketh the music. Speech, being the most excellent faculty, should be consecrated to divine uses: Eph Thomas Manton, The Complete Works of Thomas Manton, vol. 04 (London: James Nisbet & Co., 1871), 294.

He then gives three illustrations: • A spring cannot pour out both fresh and salt water. • A fig tree cannot bear olives. • A grapevine cannot produce figs.

The principle is simple:

What comes out reveals what is within.

A polluted spring reveals a polluted source. A bitter tongue reveals a bitter heart. A loving tongue reveals a changed heart.

Your speech is a diagnostic tool for your spiritual condition. You can hide your heart from people, but your tongue will eventually expose you. You can fake religious behavior, but you cannot fake a consistent pattern of holy speech.

Your tongue tells the truth—even when you don’t want it to. Have you ever said something without ever realizing it or giving it any thought, and you think Where did that come from?

You know what the world calls that? A Freudian slip. But James tells us our speech is not an accident. It is not a slip of the subconscious. But it is a reflection of hidden spiritual realities.

Our speech is the fruit. Our heart is the tree.

Jesus said the same: “A tree is known by its fruit.”

If there is ongoing, habitual, unrepentant corruption in the tongue, James says the heart is not right.

If the Holy Spirit is at work in a person, there will be evidence in the speech—blessing, not cursing; truth, not deceit; humility, not boasting; grace, not wrath.

The tongue reveals the heart.

Conclusion

James has shown us four things tonight: • the tongue is powerful, • the tongue is destructive, • the tongue is uncontrollable in human strength, • and the tongue reveals our heart’s true condition.

If we take what James is saying seriously, the natural conclusion might be: “Well then, I should take a vow of silence. If my tongue is this dangerous, maybe I should never speak again.”

But James does not say that. Nowhere in the Scriptures are we commanded to never speak again but Believers are to grow in disciplined, godly speech: —to speak truth, —to bless and not curse, —to encourage and not tear down, —to build up the body of Christ with our words.

But the question that comes from all that we’ve considered is this: how can this be, if “no human being can tame the tongue”?

What hope do I have? Here is where James drives us to the gospel.

The same God who gives new life also gives new speech. The same Spirit who regenerates the heart also reshapes the tongue. The same Christ who cleanses us from all unrighteousness cleanses our lips.

What is impossible with man is gloriously possible with God.

In the book of Acts, we read something wonderful that took place at Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out on those early Christians.

When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ac 2:1–4.

If the tongue is a fire, let it be a fire lit from above, not from below—from the Spirit, not from hell. If the tongue is powerful, let it be used for good. If the tongue reveals the heart, then let the heart be transformed by Christ day by day.

So pray with the psalmist: “Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips.”

And pray with Isaiah: “Here am I, send me” — only after the Lord has touched your lips.

And pray with David: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight.”

Brothers and sisters, if God has your heart, He will have your tongue. And if He has your tongue, He will use it to bring life, not destruction— —praise, not poison— —blessing, not cursing.

May God give us such tongues, for the glory of Christ and the good of His church.

Benediction

 "May the wisdom that is from above—pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits—be granted to you by our gracious God. May He guard your tongues, establish your hearts in holiness, and sow in you a harvest of righteousness that comes through peace. And may the God of all wisdom keep you blameless until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen."