Taming the Tongue - James 3

James 3

Taming the Tongue  - Now James devotes a whole chapter to the third way by which faith can be recognized: a controlled tongue.

3 Not many of you should become teachers (masters), my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.

Life Application Bible says - Teaching was a highly valued and respected profession in Jewish culture, and many Jews who embraced Christianity wanted to become teachers.  James warned that although it is good to aspire to teach, the teachers’ responsibility is great because their words and example affect others’ spiritual lives.

Jesus warned

Luke 12:48 ⁴⁸ But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. 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.

Matthew 12:37  37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Now, you can teach any other subject, doesn't matter if you are teaching something that will latter on be proved to be wrong, but if you are teaching the Word of God the consequences of the false teaching are so vast that as the teacher you will be held responsible. That is why I seek to be so careful in teaching the Word of God to keep, as much as possible, my own opinion out of it and speculation out of it completely.

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.

To not stumble in word shows true spiritual maturity. This is especially relevant to teachers, who have so much more opportunity to sin with their tongue.

What you say and what you ‘don’t’ say are both important.  Proper speech is not only saying the right words at the right time, but it is also controlling your desire to say what you shouldn’t!

Typical examples of an untamed tongue include gossiping, putting others down, bragging, manipulating, false teaching, exaggerating, complaining, flattering, and lying.

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.

Psalm 32:9

Do not be like the horse or the mule,
    which have no understanding
but must be controlled by bit and bridle
    or they will not come to you.

You don’t solve the problem of an unruly horse by keeping in the barn, or the problem of a hard to steer ship by keeping it tied to the dock. In the same way, even a vow of silence is not the ultimate answer for the misuse of our tongue.

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.

Psalm 12:3, 4

3May the Lord silence all flattering lips
    and every boastful tongue—

4 those who say,
    “By our tongues we will prevail;
    our own lips will defend us—who is lord over us?”

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.

Children are told sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me. But that child’s rhyme isn’t really true. The bitter pain of a word spoken against us can hurt us for a lifetime, long after a broken bone has healed.

What others say to us and what we say to others can last a long time, for good or for evil. The casual sarcastic or critical remark can inflict a lasting injury on another person. The well-timed encouragement or compliment can inspire someone for the rest of their life.

Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death, is the man who deceives his neighbor, and says, “I was only joking!” (Proverbs 26:18-19)

In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise. The tongue of the righteous is choice silver; the heart of the wicked is worth little. The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of wisdom. (Proverbs 10:19-21)

Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, but a good word makes it glad. (Proverbs 12:25)

Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones. (Proverbs 16:24)

Proverbs 16:27 27 A scoundrel plots evil, and on their lips it is like a scorching fire.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. (Proverbs 18:21)

Matthew 15:11, 18-19 11 What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”  18 But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.

⁷ 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.

Yet it can be brought under the power and the control of the Holy Spirit.

It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

Psalm 140:3  3 They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent’s;
    the poison of vipers is on their lips.

⁹ 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 and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

Jesus taught in Matthew 12:34-37 that a man’s words are a reliable revelation of his inner character. What we say can indicate what we are.

34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. 35 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. 36 But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

I know I've said many things that I wish I had not of said; said in a moment of anger. How I wished I could have taken them back. And there are a lot of things that I wish I had said that I didn't - a word of encouragement, a word of forgiveness, a word of comfort. You know we sometimes just don't want to give that person that consolation of saying, "Well that's all right, I understand." If I only had said it though, I could have saved them so much mental anguish and turmoil. I could have let them know that it really didn't matter.

Two Kinds of Wisdom (Wisdom shows us how to do good works)

¹³ Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.

True wisdom is also evident by its meek manner. Those who do their good works in a way designed to bring attention to themselves show they lack true wisdom.

¹⁴ But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. ¹⁵ Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. ¹⁶ For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

Their “wisdom” is more characteristic of the world, the flesh, and the devil than of God.

The fruit of this “wisdom” is plain: confusion and every evil thing. The wisdom of the world, the flesh, and the devil may be able to accomplish things, but always with the ultimate fruit of confusion and every evil thing.

¹⁷ But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. ¹⁸ Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

Proverbs 11:18   18 A wicked person earns deceptive wages, but the one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.

Table Talk

1.     Satan uses the tongue to divide people and pit them against one another.  Idle and hateful words are damaging because they spread destruction quickly, and no one can stop the results once they are spoken.  Are there words Satan has used you to say that have caused scars on someone else?  Share, if you can, and pray for forgiveness and restoration.

2.     Have you ever known anyone who claimed to be wise but acted foolishly?  

3.     Now, what marks your life? What kind of wisdom comes forth from you?

JAMES CHAP. 2:14-26 Faith and Deeds

JAMES CHAP. 2:14-26

No Faith = No Commitment

14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 

James wrote to Christians from a Jewish background who discovered the glory of salvation by faith. They knew the exhilaration of freedom from works-righteousness. But they then went to the other extreme of thinking that works didn’t matter at all.

c. James does not contradict Paul, who insisted that we are saved not of works (Ephesians 2:9).

Ephesians 2:8-9

⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast.

   James merely clarifies for us the kind of faith that saves. We are saved by grace through faith, not by works; but saving faith will have works that accompany it. As the saying goes: faith alone saves, but the faith that saves is not alone - it has good works with it.

   Paul also understood the necessity of works in proving the character of our faith. He wrote: For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10).

Ephesians 2:10

¹⁰ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Titus 3:8

8 This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone

15Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

It’s Faith alone that Justifies and Faith that justifies is not alone

¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.

You have faith, and I have works: Some might try to say that some have the “gift” of works and others have the “gift” of faith. “It’s fine for you to have your gift of works and that you care for the needy. But that isn’t my gift.” But James will have none of this kind of thinking. Real faith will be demonstrated by works.

b. Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works: The appeal of James is clear and logical. We can’t “see” someone’s faith, but we can see their works. You can’t see faith without works, but you can demonstrate the reality of faith by works.

¹⁹ You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

*There are no atheist demons! They fear God and tremble!  So what!?

20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless[d]? 21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete (PERFECT) by what he did.

Faith and works cooperated perfectly together in Abraham. If he never had believed God, he could have never done the good work of obedience when asked to offer Isaac. As well, his faith was shown to be true - was completed, was made perfect - by his obedient works.

23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”[e] and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

Works must accompany a genuine faith, because genuine faith is always connected with regeneration - being born again, becoming a new creation in Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17).

2 Corinthians 5:17

¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:^[a] The old has gone, the new is here!

If there is no evidence of a new life, there was no genuine, saving faith.

i. As Charles Spurgeon is reported to have said: “The grace that does not change my life will not save my soul.”

25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?

It is significant, James uses two examples of a living faith: Abraham (the father of the Jews) and Rahab (a Gentile). James perhaps is subtly rebuking the partiality that may have developed on the part of Jewish Christians against the Gentile believers starting to come into the church.

“He purposely put together two persons so different in their character, in order more clearly to shew, that no one, whatever may have been his or her condition, nation, or class in society, has ever been counted righteous without good works.” (Calvin, cited in Hiebert)

26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

“Man is not justified by faith alone, that is, by a bare and empty knowledge of God; he is justified by works, that is, his righteousness is known and proved by its fruits.” (Calvin)

Another translation - The Message (MSG)

Faith in Action

^14-17 Dear friends, do you think you’ll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, “Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!” and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?

¹⁸ I can already hear one of you agreeing by saying, “Sounds good. You take care of the faith department, I’ll handle the works department.”

Not so fast. You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove.

^19-20 Do I hear you professing to believe in the one and only God, but then observe you complacently sitting back as if you had done something wonderful? That’s just great. Demons do that, but what good does it do them? Use your heads! Do you suppose for a minute that you can cut faith and works in two and not end up with a corpse on your hands?

^21-24 Wasn’t our ancestor Abraham “made right with God by works” when he placed his son Isaac on the sacrificial altar? Isn’t it obvious that faith and works are yoked partners, that faith expresses itself in works? That the works are “works of faith”? The full meaning of “believe” in the Scripture sentence, “Abraham believed God and was set right with God,” includes his action. It’s that mesh of believing and acting that got Abraham named “God’s friend.” Is it not evident that a person is made right with God not by a barren faith but by faith fruitful in works?

^25-26 The same with Rahab, the Jericho harlot. Wasn’t her action in hiding God’s spies and helping them escape—that seamless unity of believing and doing—what counted with God? The very moment you separate body and spirit, you end up with a corpse. Separate faith and works and you get the same thing: a corpse.

TABLE TALK QUESTIONS

1.      Do you hate sin and fear God?

2.      Are you saved?  Now what are you doing with it?

3.      Do you maintain good works or just occasionally, maybe once every other year?

4.      Are you prepared for Jesus’s return?  Will you be ashamed of yourself when He comes?

Psalm 139:23-24

23 Search me, God, and know my heart;

    test me and know my anxious thoughts.

24 See if there is any offensive way in me,

    and lead me in the way everlasting.

Remember; Rehab was not sitting around praying for a ministry to homeless spies.  God called; she obeyed!