Episode 156 - The Tongue is set on fire by Hell James 3:1-12

James 3:1   Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 

2 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. 3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 4 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. 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.

How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

Whenever I sit down to study the passage for the next episode, I have found myself laughing. I read the text, and I think to myself, why should I bother saying anything about this? This is so clear. Certainly, my words and ideas concerning this text cannot bring any more light to the meaning. Yet, allow me to reflect on this for a bit since I suspect that maybe I need to get the truth and wisdom from this text more than anyone else. This text is cautionary advice with respect to the words that come out of our mouths.

This section begins with a reminder that those who teach others will “be judged with greater strictness.” (James 3:1) By who? I think the implication is that judgment comes from the LORD. That is serious business. We must be careful in teaching others God’s word so that we do not teach them error and lead them astray. There are numerous warnings and examples of false prophets in the Bible and how God deals with them. It’s not pretty. The rest of the text reveals that control of what we say extends to more than just having integrity with the Scriptures.

In verse 2 James says, “if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.” I don’t think James is teaching that any of us can or do live a sinless life. In fact, the beginning of verse 2 states, “We all stumble in many ways.” He is teaching that control of our words is the essential discipline in the pursuit of righteous living. To me, I think he’s saying that controlling what we say must be a priority in our life. He drives the point home of the power of our words by comparing our tongue to the rudder of a ship or a bridle in a horse’s mouth. They are small but have a significant ability to control the direction of the ship or horse respectively. 

Do you need some more conviction or motivation? James continues by saying the tongue is “set on fire by Hell” that affects “the entire course of life.” (v. 6) As if it couldn’t be any worse, he continues by saying that creatures can be tamed by man. “But no human being can tame the tongue.” (v. 7-8) This sounds like a desperate situation. 

Then, in verses 9-10, I think James reveals the worst thing that our tongues can do. He says, “With it (the tongue) we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.” (James 3:9-10) The worst thing we do with this small member of our body is to curse people who are made in God’s image. Is this not blasphemy itself? By cursing people made in God’s image, we are cursing God’s work and thereby cursing God. Therefore, our blessing God while we curse His work is hypocritical as well as blasphemous. 

What’s the solution if this is true about ourselves and we have no power to tame it? My deduction is that we need to pray to the LORD that He helps us see others as He sees them and, at the same time, pray the Holy Spirit controls our tongues.

By the way, this was not an original thought of James. Jesus himself taught, “17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person.” (Matthew 15:17-18)

Prayer: Lord, fill our hearts with what is good, right, and just. Control our tongues so that we may not attack others and offend You.