James 3:1-5
Notes
Transcript
Read 3:1-12
Read 3:1-12
James moves from taking about the fruit coming from salvation that shows the changed heart and new life in general, to talking about a specific fruit of the spirit that will and should come but due to our sinful nature may be one of the more difficult or may take more time for the fruit to fully mature. The taming of the tongue is most definitely a fruit or work of salvation and there are multiple passages in the Old and New Testaments about taming ones tongue. Psalm 34:13 “Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit.” , Psalm 52:4 “You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue.” , Proverbs 17:20 “A man of crooked heart does not discover good, and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity.” , Proverbs 26:28 “A lying tongue hates its victims, and a flattering mouth works ruin.” , Isaiah 59:3 “For your hands are defiled with blood and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies; your tongue mutters wickedness.” , Romans 3:13 ““Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.”” Which is a quote from Psalm 5:9 “For there is no truth in their mouth; their inmost self is destruction; their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue.” One of the defining characteristics of mankind is his ability to communicate, this also can be one of mankind's greatest opportunities to show his sinful nature.
1
1
Comment:
James starts out this section on taming the tongue with a warning to those who may want to be come a teacher, or become someone who functions in an official teaching role, warning those to not take the job lightly or without truly praying over it. For those who do become teachers will be judged by God on what they taught and how they led those that have been given to Christ as a bride with a greater strictness. Those who communicate the word of God to the flock and are charged with overseeing their spiritual nourishment and growth will be judged by how they used their tongues and speech with more scrutiny that the rest. James includes himself with this statement also saying, that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.
Question:
2
2
Comment:
For we all stumble in many ways, that statement is such a major understatement on the condition of fallen man. The rest of verse 2 can be interpreted in a couple of ways, one way would be that the rest of the verse is a hypothetical impossibility as no man apart from Christ is perfect and James is commenting on the practical impossibility of not stumbling in what he says. Saying that that man would be perfect and keeping the rest of his body away from sin would naturally follow the unstumbling tongue. Or this can be interpreted that the perfect man is describing one who is spiritually mature and is able to control what they say with great effort and help from the Holy Spirit and also because they are more mature in their sanctification they are also able to keep the rest of their lives on solid spiritual grounds. But in either interpretation the mouth or the control of the mouth and what flows from it leads to control over the whole body or the whole person.
Question:
3
3
Comment:
Verses 3 and 4 offer two examples by comparing the tongue, a small part of the overall body to two other small things that control much larger things. Firstly in verse 3 the bit in a horses mouth, it is a small device that sits on top of the tongue in the horses mouth but by pulling this small thing you are able to move a massive animal like a horse to the right or left or force it to come to a complete stop. So can the controlling or lack of control over what comes from our tongues and out of our mouths control us.
Question:
4
4
Comment:
Secondly in verse 4 James compares the tongue and its ability to move and direct a person or group of people, for good or bad, to the rudder of a ship. In comparison to the size of a ship, the rudder is a tiny thing, but with a small movement of it from the ship’s pilot, he alters its course, and if the rudder is moved to much and too quickly it could also topple the ship over and capsize it. Such is the tongue of man and what comes out of our mouths.
Question:
5
5
Comment:
How easy it is sometimes for us to boast in ourselves and in our man made accomplishments, how many times and in how many places does the bible say something about boasting. Psalm 5:5 “The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers.” Psalm 12:3 “May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts,” Proverbs 27:1 “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.” Ephesians 2:8–9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” 1 Corinthians 1:31 “so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.””
Tongues and speech have power and if left unchecked can bring ruin like a match in a dry forest. Go all the way back to Genesis and what the devil said to Eve, “did God really say?” but tamed righteous words can have power for good. Go back to creation itself, “And God said, ‘Let there be light’ and there was light” From the beginning words have power and can be used for good and evil.
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