Sermon Tone Analysis

Causes and Cures of Conflict: A Case Study of James 3 and 4.

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I.  Introduction.

!! A.  In these in chapters 3 and 4 of his epistle James deals with a conflict.

!!! 1)  The aim of this paper is to look at what that conflict was, how he dealt with it, and see if what he says has any relevance to us today.

!!! 2)  The reason why I what to look at how James dealt with this conflict is because his approach is unique from what we see in the rest of New Testament.

!!!! a)  In the rest of New Testament, conflict is dealt with by stressing reconciliation (Mat.

5:23ff) and agreement (Phil.

4:2).

!!!! b)  James, on the other hand, does not talk about either.

!!!! c)  Rather, he deals with conflict by identifying the fundamental causes of conflict and then how to correct them.

!!!! d)  This step in reconciliation is important.

!!!! e)  It does persons or groups no good to sooth over hurt feelings if what caused those hurt feelings is not dealt with, because sooner or later what caused the hurt will come back and cause more hurt.

!!!! f)  It is like taking aspirin for the pain caused by a thorn in one’s foot.

!!!! g)  The aspirin may take the pain away for a while, but because the thorn is still there, the pain will come back.

!!!! h)  Sooner or latter, in order to stop the pain, the thorn will have to be removed.

!!!! i)  It’s the same with conflict.

!!!! j)  There are certain things that cause conflict.

!!!! k)  If we don’t eliminate these causes, no matter how much people what to get along, or no matter how effort we put in to help people get along, or no matter how successful we are at helping people to get along, sooner or later the conflicts will come back.

!!!! l)  To get rid of conflict, we must get rid of the causes of conflict.

!!!! m)  This is where James helps us.

!!!! n)  He discusses the causes of conflict.

!! B.  My hope is that by determining how James managed this conflict, we will we will be able to manage our own and perhaps avoid them.

!! C.  Our outline will cover four topics: the conflict he was addressing; the causes of this conflict; the cures for this conflict; and how James can help us deal with conflict.

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II.

The first topic we will address is: What is the conflict James was writing about.

!! A.  We need to begin this topic by tying chapters 3 and 4 together.

!! B.  Although, we usually disjoin these two chapters, and even the various elements within these two chapters, they should be read as a whole.

!! C.  The reason for this is because of the structure of these two chapters.

!!! 1)  Structurally, chapters 3 and 4 are tied together.

!!! 2)  In 3:1-12 he refers to a conflict that was created by bad speech.

!!! 3)  In 3:13-18 he refers to a conflict that was created by bad thinking.

!!! 4)  In 4:1-12 he tells his reader where this conflict came from and what to do stop it.

!!! 5)  The question, “πόθεν πόλεμοι καὶ πόθεν μάχαι ἐν ὑμῖν” in 4:1 assumes the previously mentioned conflict in chapter 3.

!!! 6)  If chapter 3 is not tied to chapter 4, we would be left wondering what conflict James was referring to.

!!! 7)  So, chapter 3 lays out what the conflict is and chapter 4 the causes and cures for it.

!!! 8)  Therefore, chapters 3 and 4 must be joined together.

!! D.  What is the conflict that James’ is talking about in these two chapters?

!!! 1)  James does not give us a detailed account of this conflict.

!!! 2)  Rather, what he does is touch on the major issues involved in this conflict.

!!! 3)  The reason he does not give us a detailed account of the conflict is because the community he was writing to already knew what the conflict was about they were facing.

!!! 4)  Because of this, the only thing he had to do was try to correct the conflict.

!!! 5)  Therefore, although we do not have a detailed account of the conflict, we can come to a fairly good idea about what it was by what James writes to fix it.

!! E.  It appears as though there were certain persons in this community who wanted to be teachers.

!!! 1)  This is seen in three words that he uses.

!!! 2)  The first word is διδάσκαλος, which is the usual New Testament word for teacher (3:1) (/BDAG /διδάσκαλος).

!!! 3)  The second word is σοφὸς (3:13).

!!!! a)  The principal meaning of σοφὸς is to be skilled at a handicraft (/LSJ /σοφος 6).

!!!! b)  Σοφος could be used of an architect because he was skilled in building buildings (/BDAG /σοφος 8, cp. 1 Cor.

3:10) or of craftsmen because they could create works of art (cp.

Ex. 31:3 LXX).

!!!! c)  In intellectual matters it spoke of one who was practical and prudent (/LSJ /σοφος 6).

!!!! d)  In rabbinic circles it was used to describe one who was trained in the Torah and it became a technical term for a scribe or ordained rabbi (/TDNT/ 7:505, Ropes 244).

!!!! e)  In this sense it refers to a teacher, which is probably how James is using it here because of the presence of the next word (cp.

Martin 128).

!!! 4)  The third word is ἐπιστήμων (3:13).

!!!! a)  Ἐπιστήμων refers to one who is an expert in any field (/BAGD/  ἐπιστήμων 1).

!!!! b)  In the Old Testament σοφὸς and ἐπιστήμων are found together and refer to a person or persons who have a correct understanding of God (Deut.

1:13, 4:6).

!!!! c)  Taking these σοφος and ἐπιστήμων together, one gets the idea that James is referring to persons who were, at least in their own mind, expert teachers regarding the things of God.

!!! 5)  The context suggests that these persons were not teachers yet.

!!!! a)  In 3:1 James tells the community that not many of them should become teachers, inferring that some in the congregation wanted to be teachers, but were not yet.

!!!! b)  The context also suggests that their desire to become teachers was denied (4:2).

!! F.  It appears as though when they were denied they responded with a barrage of negative responses.

!!! 1)  They became vindictive (3:9f), bitter (3:13), jealous (3:13), and belligerent (3:16).

!!! 2)  These responses appear to what have thrown the community into turmoil and conflict.

!!! 3)  For whatever reason, the community did not handling this well and James stepped in to help.

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III.

The next topic we will address is: What were the causes of this conflict.

!! A.  Broadly speaking the cause of all conflict is sin.

!!! 1)  James mentions three sins that these Christians were guilty of that caused this conflict.

!!! 2)  They were an undisciplined tongue, unspiritual wisdom, and unrestrained passions.

!! B.  At the outset, we should note that these build on each other.

!!! 1)  The undisciplined tongue comes from the unspiritual wisdom and both of these come from the unrestrained passions.

!! C.  The first cause of this conflict that James identifies is an undisciplined tongue.

!!! 1)  Although James is talking about our physical tongue in these verses (cp.

3:5), it is not the tongue, in and of itself, that is the cause of conflict; it is what the tongue produces: bad speech.

!!! 2)  In this sense he uses the tongue metaphorically for what is spoken.

!!!! a)  This metaphorical use of the tongue could refer to one of two kinds of speech in this chapter.

!!!! b)  On the one hand, it could referrer to teachings.

!!!!! (1)  This comes from the dative ἐν λόγῳ (3:2).

!!!!! (2)  This is probably how ἐν λόγῳ is to be understood in Matthew 22:15, where Pharisees attempted to trap Jesus in his teaching.

!!!!! (3)  Since one of the uses of λόγος in the New Testament is what is taught (cp. 1 Cor.

1:18, 2 Cor.

5:19) and since James is addressing would be teachers, one could argue that the λόγος in 3:2 refers to the doctrine that these people were teaching or wanted to teach.

!!!! c)  On the other hand, the tongue could refer to simply what was spoken.

!!!!! (1)  Because James is talking about specific blessing and curse in chapter 3, he is more likely he using the tongue to refer to speech rather than doctrine.

!!!!! (2)  We can refine this comment a little bit.

!!!!! (3)  The phrase ἐν λόγῳ is also used in the New Testament to mean the quality of what is said (2 Cor.

6:7).

!!!!! (4)  Therefore, James is using the tongue in this chapter not only to refer to what these persons spoke but also the quality of what they spoke.

!!! 3)  The problem with these persons’ tongue was it was undisciplined.

!!!! a)  This is seen in seen the phrase οὐδεὶς δαμάσαι δύναται (3:8).

!!!! b)  The basal meaning of δαμάζω is “to reduce from an uncontrolled to a controlled state” (/BDAG/ δαμάζω).

!!!! c)  When used of animals it means to “tame” (/LSJ/ δαμάζω I 1).

!!!! d)  One would think that because James is setting the tongue (3:8) parallel with animals (3:7), he probably using δαμάζω to speak of training the tongue.

!!!! e)  These peoples’ tongues were undisciplined.

!!!! f)  This is also seeing in the word ἀκαταστᾰτος.

!!!! g)  Ἀκατάστατον  is often translated “restless” (/BAGD /ἀκατάστατος, RSV), but can also mean “disorderly” (/LSJ/ ἀκαταστᾰτος).

!!! 4)  The product of these persons’ undisciplined tongue was vindictiveness and vilification.

!!!!! (1)  Their vindictiveness is seen in three words that James uses in these chapters.

!!!!! (2)  The first word that he uses is κατάρα and it verbal form καταράομαι (3:9f).

!!!!!! (a)  Κατάρα means to curse.

!!!!!! (b)  This word however, does not mean cursing in the sense that we understand cursing today, using foul words.