James 3
Notes
Transcript
Context
Context
Who was James?
Half brother of Jesus. (Matthew 13:55)
Leader of the Jerusalem Church. (Acts 15)
We have been studying a lot of James up here recently. Patrick went over James 1 a couple of weeks ago. When I was here a couple of Wednesday nights ago, we did a deep dive into James 1:14. And last Sunday night, you all looked at James 2.
Natural Progression: James 3
What did we study in James 1?
Trials, temptations, hearing and doing the Word, etc.
What did we study in James 2?
Biased sin, faith without works, etc.
Tonight we will be talking about taming the tongue and how what we say matters.
Raise your hand if you have a tongue.
So it looks like James’ lesson applies to all of us in the room tonight.
We use our tongue for two things everyday: what are they?
Eating
Speaking
Someone read James 3:1-12
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
PRAY
James starts here with a great encouragement to his readers & listeners. He tells them ‘Not many of you should become teachers.’
Now, if we stopped there, that could be insulting…but he continues.
Why does James say not many people should become teachers?
English Standard Version Chapter 3
for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2 For we all stumble in many ways.
James is actually saying this lovingly. He is giving a warning that if you teach/speak (one of the tongue) you will be judged strictly.
He follows this with a subtle reminder that we aren’t perfect and make mistakes.
As a leader of the Jerusalem church, James knows that teachers make mistakes…and when they do, others will be there to judge them harshly.
As the brother of Jesus, he also knows that people are looking to judge teachers harshly. Because even though Jesus didn’t make mistakes or stumble in any way, he said things people disagreed with…which ultimately led to those who disagreed with him judging him with the greatest strictness possible: death.
James starts this chapter with a solemn warning: If you are going to speak, if you are going to teach, know that people will be there to judge you.
He uses this to shift into the tongue.
The Tongue
The Tongue
English Standard Version Chapter 3
And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. 3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 4 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. 5 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! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness.
James uses three illustrations to help guide the way we use our tongue. Take a minute and reread that section. What are they?
Horse - Bit
Ship - Rudder
Forest Fire - Spark/Campfire
James uses these things to show us how something small can lead to something much larger; and they’re not all bad…but they can be if used incorrectly.
EXPLAIN EACH ONE ABOVE
So how does that affect us?
English Standard Version Chapter 3
5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.
We continue to see the contrast between small and great. He now directly compares the tongue to the things he used to illustrate above.
The somewhat unexpected great thing he compares the small tongue to isn’t slander against someone else or things we would inherently think of as mean - it’s pride in ourselves.
Some things that stem from pride in ourselves:
Jealousy
Arrogance
Selfishness
Unwillingness to Learn
Sometimes these things lead to what we would consider mean or crude…but the root is pride.
He continues on using the fire illustration again.
English Standard Version Chapter 3
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. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue.
‘The entire course of life’ is changed and turned upside down by the (fire) tongue. He continues by saying that the fire that changes the course of life is set on fire by hell.
Fire - Speech
‘set on fire by hell’ - Evil speech is destructive. It is so destructive because it comes from Satan himself.
He continues on by saying ‘but no human being can tame the tongue.’
Which reminds me of everyone’s favorite sport: NASCAR.
Every year all drivers on the NASCAR circuit head to Darlington, SC.
Darlington Raceway is ‘too tough to tame.’
The reason Darlington has this slogan is because everyone has damage.
Even the winner usually ends up with some sort of damage on his car because the track is just that tough.
If the winners usually have damage, it’s difficult to drive on.
James is saying a similar things about our tongue: Even if we do use our tongue for good, likely we will end up saying something wrong or hurtful that will negatively impact our lives or those around us.
Why is that so?
English Standard Version Chapter 3
It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our 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.
The fire set by Satan, coming from hell, is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.
Restless Evil - unable to rest or relax as a result of anxiety or boredom.
He again compares the tongue and the things of the tongue to a different object.
Earlier he used three objects that we can see the impact of other things. Here he uses poison as his illustration. When we think about poison, we usually think of the direct affects it has on humans.
President Snow in the Hunger Games.
In the next verse he shows us why:
English Standard Version Chapter 3
9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.
Good thing: We bless our Lord and Father. We praise God.
Bad thing: We curse those who are made in the image of the same one we praise.
English Standard Version Chapter 3
10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.
He says that it shouldn’t be this way. Then he begins to show us that it is not only a bad thing, but it doesn’t make sense.
English Standard Version Chapter 3
11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.
IT DOESN’T MAKE SENSE. If I walked out to the garden in the summer and asked for an apple form a cucumber vine, my wife is going to look at me like I have 17 eyes.
Up to this point James has made it abundantly clear that blessings and curses CANNOT COME FROM THE SAME PLACE.
Blessing are of the Lord.
English Standard Version Chapter 1
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
Curses, therefore, are of the devil.
Our tongue can cause many problems if we are not working earnestly to tame it.
Wisdom from Above
Wisdom from Above
James starts chapter 3 by saying ‘Don’t be a teacher, it’s hard. You will mess up.’
When we move to the next section, we see James comparing and contrasting characteristics that will help us be more Godly.
Someone read James 3:13-18
Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 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. 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.
In the question he uses to open verse 13, he asks for 2 characteristics. What are they?
Wisdom
Someone who is able to give wise information.
Understanding
Someone who is able to listen and comprehend the situation.
When talking about wisdom specifically, James mentions that we should show our good works in the meekness of wisdom.
How many people have ever used the word ‘meekness’ in a real life human conversation?
Great, me either. Let’s get a quick refresher.
Meek - quiet, gentle, and easily imposed on; submissive.
To James, wisdom is not only about using your mouth, it’s also about using your ears.
Meek people have the ability to know when it is time to listen, and when it is time to speak.
He goes on to talk about some other qualities we should avoid.
English Standard Version Chapter 3
14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.
James names two more things that stem from that personal pride.
A little bit about me:
One summer during my college career, I moved far away from my home state of Virginia to work for a really big company as in intern.
Why? Because I wanted their name on me resume.
When I got done, people asked how it was. I told them great, wonderful, wish you could have been there.
The truth: I hated it.
I took that job out of selfish ambition, and it made me miserable.
I can personally attest that James knows what he’s talking about in the next few verses.
English Standard Version Chapter 3
15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.
James comes in hot. He says things like ‘earthly,’ ‘unspiritual,’ and ‘demonic.’
Where those two things (that he mentioned earlier) exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.
We see this all throughout the Bible.
Adam & Eve - Pride and Selfish Ambition
Aaron and the Idol - Pride and Selfish Ambition
David and Bathsheba - Pride and Selfish Ambition
The Pharisees who killed our Savior - Pride & Selfish Ambition
Sin abounds to the point of death and murder when we are consumed with pride and selfish ambition.
Now What?
Now What?
How do we battle these things? How do we gain wisdom and understanding?
But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.
The cure to the ‘disorder’ seen in verse 16 is the wisdom from above.
Pure - Untainted, without stain or error.
Peaceable - Not angry.
Gentle - Not wanting disorder or conflict.
Open to Reason - Willing to listen and understand.
Full of Mercy and Good Fruits - Paul makes a list when he talks about the fruits in Galatians.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Impartial - Not leaning one way or another.
Sincere - You mean what you say.
What happens when we act in those ways of wisdom from above?
And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
When we act with Godly wisdom, we are able to see:
Salvation - The work of God to save us from our pride and selfish ambition.
Harvest - Beauty of God’s design here on earth.
Friendship
Marriage
God’s blessings toward us.
Community with our fellow believers.
So, as we depart, lets avoid our own pride and selfish ambition and keep our tongue tame by being slow to anger, slow to speak, listening to one another, and doing our best to act out the qualities of wisdom James has show us tonight.
PRAY
