"Taming the Tongue"

James 3:1–12 CSB

Not many should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we will receive a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is mature, able also to control the whole body. Now if we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we direct their whole bodies. And consider ships: Though very large and driven by fierce winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So too, though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts great things. Consider how a small fire sets ablaze a large forest. And the tongue is a fire. The tongue, a world of unrighteousness, is placed among our members. It stains the whole body, sets the course of life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. Every kind of animal, bird, reptile, and fish is tamed and has been tamed by humankind, but no one can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in God’s likeness. Blessing and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, these things should not be this way. Does a spring pour out sweet and bitter water from the same opening? Can a fig tree produce olives, my brothers and sisters, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a saltwater spring yield fresh water.

In our passage this morning, James presents another issue of genuine faith: namely, the control of our tongue.

We have already seen in our study of James that the genuineness of a person’s faith is demonstrated by his speech (cf. 1:26)! The tongue reveals what is in a person’s heart!

James mentions speech in every chapter of his epistle (1:19, 26; 2:12; 4:11; 5:12), in keeping with his purpose in writing—to demonstrate that true believers will manifest that new life in the way they live—and speak!

In these first twelve verses James personifies the tongue. The question is WHY?

Q: Why does James speak about the TONGUE instead of the HEART?

A: Because the tongue reacts to what is in the heart!

A common Jewish literary device was to attribute blame to a bodily part.

(Romans 3:15)– “Their feet are swift to shed blood;”

(2 Peter 2:14)– “They have eyes full of adultery…”

We understand those verses as references to the guilt of the inner person! So, when James speaks of the mouth and the tongue, we understand them as the means by which the heart expresses itself!

And he was not alone…PAUL – (Romans 3:13-14); ISAIAH – (Isaiah 6:5)

Romans 3:13–14 CSB

Their throat is an open grave; they deceive with their tongues. Vipers’ venom is under their lips. Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.

Isaiah 6:5 CSB

Then I said: Woe is me for I am ruined because I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Armies.

NOTHING more vividly marks a person’s sinfulness than their mouth!

And because the mouth is such a clear indicator of our hearts, James gives us clear, compelling reasons for the person of faith to “tame the tongue!”

We will look at the first TWO (of six) reasons this morning…

I. The Potential for the Tongue to Bring CONDEMNATION! – (3:1-2a)

1. The EXAMPLE of a Teacher! – (v.1a)

Though James doesn’t mention the tongue, the context is clearly the matter of speech. He warns his readers to take care not to thrust themselves into a teaching position

2. The DANGER in Being a Teacher – (v.1b)

Because of the importance of what takes place when a person picks up the Bible and begins to teach, James issues a sobering warning: “…for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.”

We who teach will stand before the Lord and give an account of everything we say!

This does not mean God does not want His Word taught!

1 Timothy 4:6 CSB

If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, nourished by the words of the faith and the good teaching that you have followed.

1 Timothy 4:11 CSB

Command and teach these things.

2 Timothy 4:1–2 CSB

I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and because of his appearing and his kingdom: Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage with great patience and teaching.

What it does mean is that those who teach must do so with humility, preparation, and a deep understanding of the weight and responsibility involved.

1 Timothy 1:6–7 CSB

Some have departed from these and turned aside to fruitless discussion. They want to be teachers of the law, although they don’t understand what they are saying or what they are insisting on.

Ezekiel 3:16–21 CSB

Now at the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, I have made you a watchman over the house of Israel. When you hear a word from my mouth, give them a warning from me. If I say to the wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ but you do not warn him—you don’t speak out to warn him about his wicked way in order to save his life—that wicked person will die for his iniquity. Yet I will hold you responsible for his blood. But if you warn a wicked person and he does not turn from his wickedness or his wicked way, he will die for his iniquity, but you will have rescued yourself. Now if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and acts unjustly, and I put a stumbling block in front of him, he will die. If you did not warn him, he will die because of his sin, and the righteous acts he did will not be remembered. Yet I will hold you responsible for his blood. But if you warn the righteous person that he should not sin, and he does not sin, he will indeed live because he listened to your warning, and you will have rescued yourself.”

Ezekiel 33:7–9 CSB

“As for you, son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. When you hear a word from my mouth, give them a warning from me. If I say to the wicked, ‘Wicked one, you will surely die,’ but you do not speak out to warn him about his way, that wicked person will die for his iniquity, yet I will hold you responsible for his blood. But if you warn a wicked person to turn from his way and he doesn’t turn from it, he will die for his iniquity, but you will have rescued yourself.

Acts 20:26–27 CSB

Therefore I declare to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, because I did not avoid declaring to you the whole plan of God.

3. The DANGER to Those Who LISTEN! – (v.2a)

“Stumble” is a synonym for the word “sin.” It means a moral lapse, a failure to do what is right, an offense against God. It is a present-tense verb. James is saying we all continually fail to do what is right!

And nowhere is this more clearly seen than in our speech.

There is no easier way to sin because you can say anything you want! Circumstances may keep you from doing certain evil things, but you can say anything at any time!

The warning of Jesus in this regard is particularly sobering:

Matthew 12:33–37 CSB

“Either make the tree good and its fruit will be good, or make the tree bad and its fruit will be bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart. A good person produces good things from his storeroom of good, and an evil person produces evil things from his storeroom of evil. I tell you that on the day of judgment people will have to account for every careless word they speak. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

The reason people will be judged on the basis of their words is because words are a true reflection of the heart!

BECAUSE we all are starting off as damaged goods, and because the consequences are eternal, it is imperative that those who teach HELP us and not HINDER US!

It’s also why the ELDERS of a church must be “…able to teach”

1 Timothy 3:2 CSB

An overseer, therefore, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, self-controlled, sensible, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,

That ability is further described in (Titus 1:9) as a fourfold responsibility:

Titus 1:9 CSB

holding to the faithful message as taught, so that he will be able both to encourage with sound teaching and to refute those who contradict it.

· He is always LIVING the Word – “holding to the faithful message…”

· He is always LEARNING the Word – “…as taught”

· He is always TEACHING the Word – “…so that he may be able both to encourage with sound teaching”

· He is always DEFENDING the Word – “…and to refute those who contradict it.”

And by the way, it doesn’t say to be nice while doing it! – (Titus 1:10-16)

If some who are “insubordinate, empty talkers, and deceivers” stand up in this church and starts spouting nonsense, or falsehood they will be “silenced,” they will be “rebuked sharply”—and not with the goal of kicking someone out, but rather that they might be, “…sound in the faith!”

The second reason to tame the tongue is…

II. The Potential for the Tongue to CONTROL! – (3:2-4)

There is some question about what James means by “perfect” (Gr. telios)

Those who believe in the doctrine of perfectionism (that it is possible for a believer to mature to the point of not sinning) hold that James is describing the perfection of God!

I (along with most teachers) believe this is an expression of maturity! In other words, if a person does not continually stumble with his or her words, they are spiritually mature!

In fact, the ONLY PERSON who had a perfect tongue was Jesus Christ!

(John 7:46) – “…No one ever spoke like this man”(and this from soldiers sent to arrest Him)!

(1 Peter 2:22) – “He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.”

If you want to measure how mature you are, ask yourself, “How’s my speech?”

THERE’S an important truth here: If I want to bring my whole spiritual life under control, I need to work on my tongue because whatever spiritual dynamic controls my mouth can control the rest of me!

NOTE James’ illustrations:

1. BITS used to CONTROL HORSES! – (v.3)

2. RUDDERS used to GUIDE SHIPS – (v.4)

I’m not sure if you’re aware, but these two illustrations are fraught with danger if I spend too much time and effort making comparisons (that may or may not be appropriate), so I will model control over my tongue and simply say the following:

From the HORSE we learn that if you get control of your mouth, you can direct your whole person!

From the SHIP we learn that power applied at the right point in your life is sufficient to control the rest of you!

CONCLUSION – (3:5)

There is great power in the tongue!

It can tear down people, destroy churches, shatter relationships, wreck marriages, devastate families, ruin nations, and cause wars!

ON the other hand, it can build up, convey enthusiasm, bring encouragement, comfort, love, joy, and peace! But most important, your words can bring LIFE—to you and others!

Romans 10:8–9 CSB

On the contrary, what does it say? The message is near you, in your mouth and in your heart. This is the message of faith that we proclaim: If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.