3Not many of you should become teachers,(A) my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged(B) more strictly. Taken out of the pit and from the miry clay, on your lips is now a new song of praise to your God. 2:24; the "matter" of a fire in Ecclus. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Eph 4:15, Prov 5:1). Too many Christians fall into the trap of believing that God gives regeneration and justification, but then we are essentially left to our own efforts to do the rest. Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. How we use our tongues provides clear evidence of where we are spiritually. We have all seen or caused moments like this. Probably from the base of komizo; orderly arrangement, i.e. You may unsubscribe from Bible Gateways emails at any time. vii.) Luke 16:24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. From his assumed security he had pronounced six devastating maledictions. Teach the children the accounts in Matthew 5:33-37, James 1:26, 3:2-13, and 1 Peter 3:10. A primary particle; down, in varied relations (genitive, dative or accusative) with which it is joined). Flattery is an attempt to manipulate someone through excessive and insincere praise. Youre not from around here . If then we would "walk in love" we must curb the tongue; but, better still, strive to cleanse the heart, and so be quite determined that nothing shall go forth but words of meekness and affection. 12:18, "Rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing"), but he is also aware of the tongue's death-dealing powers. If so, it is difficult not to share with James a sense of disgust. The tongue is thus characterized, because it leads to and embraces all kinds of wickednesses. After describing how true saving faith always leads to good works in James 2:14-26, James focuses his attention on the tongue. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers, NT Letters: James 3:5 So the tongue is also a little (Ja Jas. Proverbs 12:18 - There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health. Of these, the first, which is that of the Revisers, appears to be preferable. We need to see that we live by every word that comes out of Gods mouth. Similarly, Adolph Hitler and Saddam Hussein spoke words that led to hate, oppression, and genocide. The first is experienced by hot tempered folk; the second yielded to by the malicious; the third welcomed by the otherwise weak and defenceless; and all of us at times are in each of these divisions. There is no more powerful passage in the Old Testament than Isaiah 6; but it is often read as if it were detached from Isaiah 15. He does so in a series of six woe pronouncements (Isaiah 5:8, 11, 18, 20, 21, 22). The tongue is a very important part of the . Matthew sees our Lord Jesus as fulfilling the prophecy of the first of the Servant Songs in the second half of the prophecy of Isaiah: He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets; a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench. 14But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition(R) in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. This is the paradox of true believers. It expresses a damnable contradiction in our very being. 1 Chronicles 29:10,20 Wherefore David blessed the LORD before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel our father, for ever and ever. A fools tongue, Bruce Waltke wryly notes, is long enough to cut his own throat (Bruce K. Waltke, The Book of Proverbs: Chapters 115, NICOT [Eerdmans, 2004], 102). I have the privileged status of being a resident alien in the United States. Now he goes on to show that (3) spiritual maturity is evidenced by the use of the tongue. (D.M. So, says Jesus, the tongue projects the thoughts and intentions of the heart. As the heart hears with open ears the Word of God again and again, it is renewed and begins to produce a transformed tongue. Bible Truth: Good speech can honor God - using the tongue. When Peter preached at Pentecost, 3000 people were saved (Acts 2). All, the whole, entire, complete. The young desk clerk could find no reservation under his name. Middle voice from katara; to execrate; by analogy, to doom. James is very specific about the energy source for such destruction. Coarse joking is making light of sinlike sex, racism, or even crimes like murder. Sanctification in any area of our lives always expresses this double dimension a putting off and a putting on, as it were. Of uncertain affinity; a limb or part of the body. As words that have been formed in Gods mouth are digested as the bread of life by us, they begin to form our thinking, affections, and volitions in a wonderful way. Writes the wise man of Proverbs 15:4: A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit. Again, in 3:6, he directly says that no human can subdue the tongue. By saying this, James aimed to show the Jewish believers how weak and vulnerable they were to their own tongues, and how they needed to depend on God to control them. Nor is this Jamess first reference to speech. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc. 7Men can make all kinds of animals and birds and fish and snakes do what they want them to do. . This is probably what James meant when he said in 3:6 that the tongue is set on fire by hell. Satan wants to control our tongues, and sometimes, he uses negative or positive circumstances to do so. A bodily organ, limb, member. The saintly Robert Murray MCheyne was surely nearer the mark when he resolved that when a fellow Christians name was mentioned in company, if he could not say anything good about him, he would refrain from all speech about him. James also compares the tongue to a fire. Are we fighting it? The truly wise are mild and peaceable, without envy and strife. (1) In order for believers to conquer sin, including sins of the tongue, God broke the power of our sin nature on the cross. Likewise, our lips should not produce unwholesome fruit. If you have any questions, please review our Privacy Policy or email us at privacy@biblegateway.com. It served as the city dump hence the reference to fire which presumably constantly burned there to destroy garbage (Dr. McCartney reports that it continued to be thus used through 1996 and beyond). It is in the very giftedness God has given that sin has been at its most perverse and subtle! 6The tongue is a fire. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body. How careful you are as you put on a dress for a wedding, especially if it is your own. The good person out of the good treasury of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasury produces evil, for his mouth speaks from what fills his heart. In contrast is the tongue of the wise, whose wholesome words bring common sense, discernment, comfort, soundness, and benefit to others. Both the book of Proverbs and our Lord Jesus spoke with searching clarity about the nature and use of the tongue. If anyone does not make a mistake with his tongue by saying the wrong things, he is a perfect man. My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned. Some versions say we will be judged for every idle word. Likewise, Matthew 5:19 says. : "is set" or "has its place," and so simply "is." Ministry should be pursued for more opportunities to serve God and others and not to be served or honored. Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive 1st Person Plural. 2 For we all stumble in many things. He has no false perfectionism. In James 1:26, he said, If someone thinks he is religious yet does not bridle his tongue, and so deceives his heart, his religion is futile. True faith always results in a changed language. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught. See how a very small fire can set many trees on fire. Verse Concepts. God tells us in His Word that the tongue has incredible power. What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? James shows us that one of the principle marks of maturity is self-discipline. Of course, all this is naturally true of the unregenerate man. Let there be something of benevolence in all that I speak. Think how small a flame sets a huge forest ablaze. So too the tongue is a small part of the body, yet it has great pretensions. 10 Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. 12Can a fig tree give olives or can a grape-vine give figs? Despite its being a small instrument, the tongue holds tremendous power to produce both good and evil. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. From homoioo; assimilation, i.e. If we do wrong, it will be held against us more than other people who are not teachers. The tongue of the righteous is as choice silver, The heart of the wicked is worth little. James uses the biblical term Gehenna the background reference being to the Valley of Hinnom on the southern outskirts of Jerusalem. This is the method of grace from beginning to end. Guarding the eyes implied guarding eyes in the heart as well as in the head. James may well have been familiar with this picture from common experience in daily life. Then we need to grasp a second principle. . Our tongues will begin to demonstrate the Spirits fruits including love, peace, gentleness, and self-control. Because of the evil tendency of our tongues, we must daily live in the Spirit so God can use our tongues for good instead of evil. 9With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in Gods likeness. James 1:26 - If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. As is well known, in his early days as a reformer, Martin Luther thought that James was an epistle full of straw: In sum the gospel and the first epistle of St. John, St. Pauls epistles, especially those to the Romans, Galatians, and Ephesians; and St. Peters first epistle, are the books that show Christ to you. The exhortation of Proverbs to keep your heart with all vigilance is immediately followed by an exhortation to put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you (Proverbs 4:2324). To curse. They can stir up anger or they can soothe the soul. Also, good circumstances can sometimes lead us to speak prideful or careless words. Various things photographed from unusual angles were presented, and the challenge was to guess what the objects actually were. Likewise, when Satan tempted Eve in the garden with his words, Did God really say? he sowed seeds of doubt into Eve, which helped lead our world into sin, chaos, and destruction. Matthew 12:37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. For figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from brambles (Lk 6:43-44). Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord (James 5:14). Because of the great respect given to Jewish teachers, many were seeking to become rabbis for selfish reasons. but a powerful instrument of much good, and great harm. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasts great things. 28. The control of the tongue has both negative and positive aspects. In Matthew 12:36-37, Christ said, I tell you that on the day of judgment, people will give an account for every worthless word they speak. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the. . (2) Third illustration. Resemblance. But that was my guilt. In fact, this is one of Jamess burdens also. All rights reserved. To curb. Often to protect ourselves, we shade the truth to avoid responsibility, or we exaggerate to make ourselves look better. Then, he calls it a restless evil and a deadly poison. When calling it a restless evil, James is saying that the tongue never sleeps, and therefore, we must always be on guard with it. (2) "oft." With teachers, their judgment is greater because, presumably, they have greater knowledge of Gods Word and because their words affect more people. In what ways have specific pastors/teachers been a blessing to your spiritual life? It is clear that the Jewish Christians James wrote to were struggling with their language and that the pattern of their language might have demonstrated a deeper spiritual problem in their livesa lack of true saving faith (cf. One of Gods goals for believers is for them to become mature in the faith, and he often uses trials to create that in our lives. Why does James apparently give no practical counsel about how we are to deal with the tongue? Sadly, this often happens in churches today. (Isaiah 50:46). . All rights reserved. Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? (James 4:1). Turning to check the answers I was astonished to find it was in fact a photograph of a human tongue! For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me (Colossians 1:2829). Lloyd-Jones, Romans, Exposition of Chapters 3:204:25, Atonement and Justification, [Banner of Truth, 1970], 19). Though a bit is small, it can be used to change the direction of a large horse. (2) Also, in order for believers to conquer sin, including sins of the tongue, God gave each believer a new nature, empowered by the Holy Spirit. It involves the ability to restrain the tongue in silence. If we are visitors, we will not be able to control our tongues; our tongues will control us and others in a negative manner. If someone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect individual, able to control the entire body as well. In this, we see another reason James encouraged these Jewish believers to develop a sanctified tongue. 3 [ b]Indeed, we put bits in horses' mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their . Graces are fragile; therefore guard your tongue lest it destroy them. Later experience with antinomianism would clarify his thinking on the importance and value of Jamess perspective.). Our only hope as we pursue the discipline of self that leads to mastery of the tongue is that we are Christs and that we are being made increasingly like him. Pray for forgiveness for the sins of our lipscomplaining, bitterness, criticism, coarse joking, boasting, lying, and any other words that dishonor God and hurt others. The schoolteacher is accountable for the students in his classroom. The image of fire is an archetypea symbol that is recurrent in a "wide variety of works of literature.". A spring does not pour out fresh water and bitter water from the same opening, does it? Fire; the heat of the sun, lightning; fig: strife, trials; the eternal fire. . "But the things that come out of a person's mouth come from the heart, and these defile them" ( Matthew 15:10 ). But people often remind me, You have an accent. (That said, it is one of the wonderful things about the presence and work of Christs Spirit in preaching that, fifteen minutes into the exposition, it is possible that others cease to notice the accent and hear only his accent.). For every kind of animal, bird, reptile, and sea creature is subdued and has been subdued by humankind. People need to have their mouths shut, stopped. . In the LXX. Made after the similitude of God; better, likeness . This is what James challenges these believers about in this textspecifically focusing on their language. English Standard Version For we all stumble in many ways. Leviticus 19:16 - Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the LORD. Delivered, albeit not yet perfected and glorified, your tongue now shows forth his praises. Body, flesh; the body of the Church. (3) It sets fire to the course of human existenceemphasizing how it can destroy a persons entire life or the direction of a community or nation. Rather wonderfully, this is what James helps us to do throughout his letter. The mouths of these Jewish believers were causing damage in their churches, and James challenged their faith and encouraged them to live it out through their language. . What comes out of our mouths is usually an accurate index of the health of our hearts. Galatians 5:16 says, But I say, live by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. Then in Galatians 5:22-23a, Paul describes the fruits of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. By living in the Spirit, which refers to obeying and worshiping God and turning away from the world and sin, we gain power over our tongues. Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Dative Feminine 3rd Person Singular. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way. Alas, we do not realize how powerful for evil the tongue is because we are so accustomed to its polluting influence. Genesis 5:1 This is the book of the generations of Adam. I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. Including the comparative mikroteros apparently a primary word; small (figuratively) dignity). So James sees that the tongue is an instrument of extraordinary power, out of all proportion to its size. James describes the harm we can cause to . Be grandiloquent. So anyone who breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever obeys them and teaches others to do so will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. The Father opened the ear of his Son; the Son was not rebellious. I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go. Who is God calling you to speak gracious words toencouraging words about their personality, spiritual gifts, hard work, and calling? Self-discipline in regards to one's speech is rare. Did not Jamess brother pray sanctify them in [or by] the truth; your word is truth (John 17:17)? A male human being; a man, husband. (U) 16For where you have envy and selfish ambition,(V) there you find disorder and every evil practice. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. and let them cover themselves with their own confusion" (Psalm 109:28-29). An enclitic indefinite pronoun; some or any person or object. correction . 8 But no man can make his tongue say what he wants it to say. The Tongue, the Bridle, and the Blessing: An Exposition of James 3:1-12. James 3:112 is a veritable pathology laboratory in which analysis and diagnosis take place. 7 Beautiful Ways We Can Reflect on God During a Commute, Surround Yourself with the Right Team to Weather Lifes Storms. Jam). . Whether suddenly or slowly, life is eaten away and destroyed. But this wisdom comes from the world and from that which is not Christian and from the devil. Verb - Present Indicative Active - 1st Person Plural. Therefore, if we have been saved, our tongues have changed, and in submission to God, we must continue to change them. From the same as genea; nativity; figuratively, nature. James shares the perspective of Paul and, in turn, of the psalmist. Here, then, are twenty resolutions on the use of the tongue to which the letters teaching gives rise: 1) Resolved: To ask God for wisdom to speak and to do so with a single mind. The work of the Word inaugurates the Christian life, but it also sustains its progress. Introduce poison here and we endanger everything. Remember that imagery whenever similar words seek to force their way out of your mouth. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindles! I have felt the pollution on my tongue. The word is only found here in the New Testament. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Proud member King James Bible And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. 11Does a well of water give good water and bad water from the same place? A primary word; 'whole' or 'all', i.e. The truly wise are mild and peaceable, without envy and strife. My tongue is ongoingly cleansed and transformed by (if I may so express it) what comes from Gods tongue. A primary pronoun of the first person I. Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Feminine Singular. An apple tree doesnt produce figs. The tongue eventually reveals the heart of a person. . Avoid flattery. 2 Samuel 20:1 And there happened to be there a man of Belial, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite: and he blew a trumpet, and said, We have no part in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to his tents, O Israel. OUR FOCUS IN THIS STUDY is the teaching of James 3:112: Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. And with our tongue we speak bad words against men who are made like God. Against whom will Isaiah pronounce the ultimate woe? . 14If you have jealousy in your heart and fight to have many things, do not be proud of it. Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger. Also, Proverbs 10:19 says, When words abound, transgression is inevitable, but the one who restrains his words is wise. Wise people restrain their words, so they can listen better and, therefore, discern what others are saying to avoid miscommunication. Was this the place to which our Lords body would have been taken were it not for the thoughtfulness of Joseph of Arimathaea? . Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular. 3) Resolved: To set a watch over my mouth. The tongue is a "small part of the body" ( James 3:5 ), yet Proverbs 18:21 says it "has the power of life and death.". See! Application Question: In what ways has God given believers power to control the tongue? A well does not give both good water and bad water. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. The tongue that is under his lordship always shares that tendency. A primary word; 'fire'. New Living Translation In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. 2 We all stumble in many ways. Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers, NT Letters: James 3:9 With it we bless our God (Ja Jas.