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A review of the back story of James:
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James had a peculiar big brother – Jesus
In time James moved from skeptic to believer in his brother
James learned from his brother/Messiah God’s desire for his church
o To wield authority to challenge the gates of hell
o To live in unity
o To make disciples
o To witness to the ends of the earth
o To heal, reconcile and save human beings
o To represent the kingdom
Shortly after his brother departed earth James became the pastor/leader of Jesus’ first church.
In time that church was scattered when one of his deacons was martyred
James kept in touch with his scattered flock and was horrified to learn of their state. Rather
than representing Jesus Kingdom they were:
o Struggling through trials
o Blaming God for temptation
o Losing their moral integrity
o Intellectualizing their faith
o Slandering one another
o Flaunting their wealth
o Practicing discrimination
o Suffering great pain
Deeply troubled, James drafted a letter that would address his scattered flock in a nononsense way…and that letter has been preserved for us in the book of James
One of the topics he needed to address was the topic of the tongue…or the words that were spilling
from their mouths that were doing great damage to their lives, the church and the kingdom.
James 3:1
READ the whole passage…
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Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who
teach will be judged more strictly. 2 We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in
what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.
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When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4
Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are
steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5 Likewise, the tongue is a small part of
the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6 The
tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the
whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
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All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by
mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
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With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been
made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters,
this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers
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and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce
fresh water.
A summary statement: Words have the power to build or destroy so guard your tongue and choose
your words carefully.
To make his point James pulls out all kinds of metaphors…
The tongue is like:
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A bit in a horses bridle
A rudder on a ship
A dangerous spark in a dry forest
An untamed animal
A snake (full of poison)
A spring gushing water
A tree or grapevine
o In these analogies and metaphors : the Tongue has an influence grossly out of
proportion to its size
o Vs. 5 - “The great boasts of the tongue” – Makes great boasts = does big things – has
enormous capacity
o The tongue is a very powerful human/ societal/ community instrument – for good an ill.
The tongue has power to the extreme – it has the power of life and death
The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. Proverbs
18:21
Handle them carefully, for words have more power than atom bombs. --Pearl Strachan
Words have set whole nations in motion…Give me the right word and the right accent and I will
move the world. Joseph Conrad
His point is clear…Words have the power to build or destroy so guard your tongue and choose your
words carefully.
Before we walk through this passage – Questions that I want you to submit before God
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When it comes to my words/tongue – am I dangerous?
Would those around me praise me for the way I use my words or condemn me?
In what ways in the past 24 hours have I damaged someone with my words?
Pray
James compares and contrasts the extreme power of the words:
The extreme power of our words:
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1. Our words will either build the immature or stunt their growth
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many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach
will be judged more strictly.
In that day teachers had enormous authority: No Bible, mostly brand new followers of Jesus, young
church.
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Teachers were so important that they deserved stricter judgment. The mistakes of a teacher
are compounded for generations.
From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has
been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. Luke 12:48
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Before you free yourself from this section – “I’m not a teacher”
o Parents, employers, supervisors, older friend, mentor - anyone who has some degree of
authority over others
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He says to these people with authority –
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all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man,
able to keep his whole body in check.
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“We all sin…but if you can have moral integrity with your tongue/words everything else will fall
into place – you’ll keep everything else in check.”
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To those of you who have authority - Guarding your words is job one!
o Does that surprise you? What? My tongue? What about my heart, or choices, or
soul…tongue…?
o Let me tell you my story – (sorry for those of you who have heard these stories
numerous times)
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Bruce Wilkinson
Older man in former church
The extreme power of our words:
1. Our words will either build the immature or stunt their growth
2. Our words will either shape and influence the course of a community or misdirect and
destroy it.
3 When
we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4
Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are
steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5 Likewise the tongue is a small part of
the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6 The
tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body.
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The reference to a large animal (horse), ships and forests probably indicates the influence of the
small tongue on a large community - A church, a city, a nation
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Admittedly words can have a powerful influence for the good of nations and communities
o Our own independence as a nation was fueled by words
o As was the civil rights movement
o And the Arab Spring
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But …All over the world today forest fires are being set by flame-thrower rhetoric of our day.
The level of uncivil discourse is horrendous and it infects whole churches and whole
communities and our nation. Tears at the fabric of a community.
Abuse of words has been the great instrument of sophistry and chicanery, of party, faction, and
division of society. --John Adams 2nd US president
Illustrations:
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Talk radio
Political ads – just wait it’s going to get nasty
Bloggersphere
Town hall meetings or school board meetings
The worst of all - Church business meetings
And while our communities are torn apart by self-indulgent words our enemy is laughing all the way to
the bank:
Vs 6 contin. - It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on
fire by hell.
Un-Civility has its roots in hell.
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Gehenna not the abode of demons and satan
o Valley of Hinnom – fire pit where rubbish was burned constantly
o Had become an metaphor as a place of condemnation and source of evil
The extreme power of our words:
1. Our words will either build the immature or stunt their growth
2. Our words will either shape and influence the course of a community or misdirect and destroy
it.
3. Our words will either be a source of passionate worship that points others to God or
ugly curses that destroys human being.
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kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been
tamed by man, 8 but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With
the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in
God's likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not
be.
Here is a great irony – in the last 60 minutes most of you uttered words of praise. Words that blessed
God. Spoke truth and beauty – that is a powerful ability you have!
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But within moments of leaving here, out of that same mouth will come curses. Not profanity but laying
a curse on another human being.
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You will strike out like a snake (Vs. 8) – full of deadly poison
You may think – nah...not me…. But let me tell you how to curse another human being…
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First note Vs. 9 – “who have been made in God’s likeness” – the image of God
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female
he created them. Genesis 1:27
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With that in mind…we curse others when by our words we call that image bearing into
question – diminish their identity - make people insecure about themselves.
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Let me get more specific:
How to curse a human being:
1. Dismay them with shame (humiliation, disgrace)
2. Paralyze them with guilt (accusation. blame)
3. Terrorize them with fear (dread, panic)
We can do this to our children. Our spouses. Our friends. Our co-workers.
And the result is devastating. A cynic can chill and dishearten with a single word. --Ralph Waldo
Emerson
The extreme power of our words:
1. Our words will either build the immature or stunt their growth
2. Our words will either shape and influence the course of a community or misdirect and destroy
it.
3. Our words will either be a source of passionate worship that points others to God or ugly
curses that destroys human being.
As James wraps up his discourse it’s almost sounds like he is thinking outloud…
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both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers, can a fig tree
bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. James 3:1-12
How on earth can the tongue be the source of both life and death?
How can such a small thing that was created to praise God end up undermining the work of God in
the world – yet it does.
Words have the power to build or destroy so guard your tongue and choose your words carefully.
Let me return to the questions I asked earlier…
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When it comes to my words/tongue – am I dangerous?
Would those around me praise me for the way I use my words or condemn me?
In what ways in the past 24 hours have I damaged someone with my words?
Let’s have a time of repentance.