James 3:6-12
Notes
Transcript
Read 3:1-12
Read 3:1-12
In the first part of this section James includes at least the hint that the tongue can do good or at least neutral deeds, control of it will lead to control of the entire person, along with the not so good, boasting. But in this second part of the taming of the tongue section he drops any non evil deeds coming from the tongue of man. It is a consuming fire, it cannot be tamed, it is full of evil and poison, it is hypocritical, and cannot produce any good things. James really takes the gloves off and relates how serious an issue the control over one’s speech is in sanctification.
6
6
Comment:
The second half of verse 5 can be seen as a summary statement to what came before it and verse 6 expounds on that summary. James compares the tongue to a consuming fire, which is part of our bodies but staining or bringing the entire body down with its all consuming burning. MacArthur has an anecdote on fire, that is is unique in its ability to reproduce itself in an unlimited way as long as there is air and fuel for it to consume. He goes on to mention the Chicago fire of 1871, which was started in a barn by a lantern that was presumably kicked over by a cow and went on to kill 300 people and destroy 17,500 buildings that left 125,000 homeless. He also mentions a fire in 1903 in a Korean city that started from a pan of rice boiling over and spreading coals that destroyed a square mile of the city and 3000 buildings.
James uses a very strong and condemning comparison saying that the tongue is set on fire by hell itself. James uses the word gehenna here for hell, and other than in the Gospels used by Jesus, this is the only other place in the New Testament that gehenna is used. Gehenna literally means the valley of Hinnom and was a place that was used by the Canaanites, and also some wicked Israelites to perform child sacrifices to the pagan idol Molech until this practice was completely halted by King Josiah. The valley of Hinnom was a deep valley that after its use in child sacrifices was considered wholly unfit for any decent usage and was then on used to dispose of trash, garbage, and the dead bodies of animals and the bodies of executed criminals. It was continuously on fire and filled with maggots and is what Jesus used it to represent the eternal torment and punishment in hell, Mark 9:48 “‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’” Isaiah also eludes to the same place in the last verse of his prophecy, Isaiah 66:24 ““And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.””
Question:
7-8
7-8
Comment:
While in the first part of this section James may have, probably sarcastically or as a hypothetical impossibility, said that if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man. In verse 8 he says plainly that no human being can tame the tongue. He compares the tongue to wild animals, but unlike the wild animals that can be tamed, some with great effort by man, the tongue cannot. He goes on to say that it is a restless evil, the same word translated restless here is translated as unstable in chapter 1 verse 8. James 1:8 “he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” also saying that it is full of deadly poison, worse than a serpents venom as the tongue’s poison can destroy people morally, socially, economically and spiritually.
Question:
9-10
9-10
Comment:
In verses 9 and 10 James talks about the mouth being hypocritical, out of the same mouth praising God then cursing those who are made in the image of God. Even the Apostles were not immune from this, Peter confessed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God in Matthew 16 but then when Christ was on trial before the high priest he denied even knowing him three times before the rooster crowed in chapter 26. Paul lost control of his tongue in Acts 23 and called the high priest a whitewashed wall. James says this ought not to be how we conduct ourselves and how we speak, ought not, is a strong negative statement in the Greek and is only used here in the NT.
Question:
11-12
11-12
Comment:
James then in verses 11 and 12 uses a few analogies of the duplicitous or hypocritical mouth. First, and also lastly comparing the two sources of water on the planet, fresh or sweet water, that is good for drinking and irrigation, and salt, or bitter water that is good for neither. Also this may not be implied in the text but there is much more salt water on the earth than available fresh water, as is it not so with those who are in somewhat control over their mouths and those who are not? James then also uses two examples of fruit trees, or vines. Can a fig tree produce olives, figs being a naturally sweet fruit that can be eaten directly off of the tree, and olives that are only useful when highly prepared or crushed into oil. Then a grapevine cannot produce figs. These comparisons bring in to mind what Jesus said of how one will know one of his sheep, Matthew 7:16–20 “You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.”
Question:
