Tongue On Fire: James 3.1-12

A man by the name of Tony Campolo came to Letourneau University in Texas to give a message at their chapel. As he was giving his message on the tens of thousands of people who die of starvation, said “Every day 25,000 people die of starvation or illness related to malnutrition. And no one gives a crap (not the real word)...and the sad thing is that most of you are more worried about the fact that I said a bad word then the starving people!" Tony Campolo in his speech was making a point. And his point was not necessarily well-taken by the people who were in attendance. There is a passage in the Bible that speaks about how men & women are to hold their tongue in check. Turn with me to James 3.1-12. James as he wrote this letter, started off chapter 3 by writing to his readers that not many of them ought to become teachers. Why did James start this section of his letter this way? James was a leader in the Jerusalem church and one of his first concerns in chapter 3 had to do with people who desired to be teachers. There were many Jewish christians who read James’ letter who wanted to become teachers. And why not? Being a teacher, you get recognition, people know you, even respect you - if your a good teacher, you become famous, and people remember you, so on and so forth. There are many who have mixed motivations in becoming a teacher. But James tackles this problem head on. Continuing on in verse 1 he writes “...for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” Let’s put ourselves in the Jewish culture for a moment. Go back with me 2,000 years ago. Teaching was a highly valued and respected profession among Jews. Just as much as chinese people value and respect people with a high education (B.A., Masters of Divinity, Ph.D, etc). To the Jews, teaching could be comparable to today’s professions, such as doctors, lawyers, authors, engineers, professors, etc. A lot of Jews yearned to become teachers. But, James gives them a warning. Teachers in the church can and will be judged more strictly. How is it that teachers in the church are the ones who will be judged with more strictness?

I believe that Sunday school teachers have a great impact in the lives of their people. How? They teach God’s Word, they also live alongside the lives of their people. They encourage, they nourish, they build up the faith of their people. My mother, when she was only 11 years old, back in Surabaya, Indonesia gave her life to the Lord, and began teaching Sunday school. She would tell me of one particular story, of when she held Sunday school, at her mother and father’s place, where they were literally hundreds of kids packed listening to her teach. One of her students, now already married and has a family is in full time ministry. Teachers are judged with more strictness because they are like the steering wheel of a semi-truck. Small in comparison to the rest of the vehicle, but when you turn that wheel to the left, the entire truck turns with it. If you turn it to the right, the entire truck turns to the right. Teachers have a high standard that God has set in place, and they are to follow that standard. Teaching is a spiritual gift that God gives. In Ephesians 4.10-12, the Bible tells us that Christ gave spiritual gifts to some to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up. Some Jewish Christians that James was writing to did not have spiritual gifting in teaching, but they wanted to teach regardless.

Verse 2 of chapter 3 tells us that “...we all stumble in many ways, and if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.” Now, here, James writes to the Jewish Christians that those who desire to become teachers, must understand that it is a weighty responsibility, because the tongue is the most difficult part of the body to control. For James to say “we all stumble” implies that everyone makes mistakes in their speech. He is declaring to his readers that everyone sins in their words, even among Christians. How do we know if we’re sinning in our speech? When we put others down, when we gossip about other people, when we manipulate, brag, complain, lie, so on and so forth. I don’t know if you’ve ever been in a position or place where you didn’t mean to say something to someone, but you did. The excuse is “it just slipped”. I think we can relate to what James is saying about stumbling in our speech. Look at verse 2 again “If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a ‘perfect man’ able to keep his whole body in check. If any person could be found to never sin with his tongue, then he/she would never sin in any other way, either. Why is that? Since the tongue is the most difficult part of the body to control, if any person could control their tongue from putting others down, from bragging, from lying, from manipulation, then they would be able to control their bodies from being instruments of sin as well.

Take a look at verse 3 and 4 where James gives us illustrations of just how powerful the tongue is. In verse 3, the illustration is of a bit in a horses’ mouth. A bit is part of an equipment that you place on a horses’ mouth to control, direct them in which way to go. It’s a small piece of the equipment and yet it demands for the horse to obey it. And look at verse 4, where James gives an example of a ship and how influential the tongue is. He compares the tongue to the rudder of a ship. Ships in those days were driven by strong winds, and a small rudder. The rudder was miniscule in comparison to the vast ship, and yet it had the greatest influence on where the pilot wanted the ship to go. Does James stop here? No way. He continues and says “Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts.” Just like the rudder of a huge ship, and the bit that drives a horse, the tongue is a small piece of the body, and yet it exerts its powerful influence. James tells us that the tongue “makes great boasts” and this is no empty claim. The Bible tells us in the Psalms “May the Lord cut off their flattering lips and silence their boastful tongues. They say, ‘We will lie to our hearts content. Our lips are our own - who can stop us?” The tongue is powerful and it can persuade, influence and sway multitudes of people. I don’t know about you, but I love reading books written by authors who have long ago already passed away. Men like Charles Spurgeon, Jonathan Edwards, quotes by Martin Luther King, Jr., and C.S. Lewis. They move the heart by their words. Listen to some of their quotes. C.S. Lewis once said “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” Or a quote by Martin Luther King Jr., who said “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” and “In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” These are words that have persuaded, influenced, and moved people and nations. These words have come from the tongues of men who have seen the Lord God.

As much as the tongue is small and unique, able to build, encourage, give hope and move nations, it is just as much destructive and evil. James gives us an example, the tongue is like a forest set on fire by a small spark. The Bible tells us that the tongue is a like a fire, a “world of evil among the parts of the body” The Message tells us “By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony into chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in a smoke and go up in smoke with it...”

The tongue is a raging fire that consumes something as large as a forest. An uncontrolled tongue can do terrible damage. Satan uses the tongue to divide people, and turn them against one another. Hateful and anger-filled words can do much damage because they destroy quickly - once said, nobody can stop the results. A few words spoken out of anger can destroy a relationship that took years to build. The same could be said of a forest that took years of tree planting, only for a small spark to consume it. Does it take a week to rebuild that forest? It could take years, perhaps decades to restore and rebuild.

Can the tongue be tamed? Can it be controlled? Look at what the Bible says to us in verse 7 & 8 “All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, BUT no man can tame the tongue.” Even though God has given mankind authority over all kinds of animals, man himself cannot bring under subjection his/her own tongue. A man once said “Because of the Fall man has lost dominion over himself.” Does this mean that God has no control over the tongue? No. God is all Sovereign. He is in control of all things. The person who has been born-again will be able to control his/her tongue by the indwelling presence & power of the Holy Spirit. Why? Because if one is a Christian, then the Spirit lives within them, and according to what the Bible tells us, the fruit of the Spirit is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control...” In its natural, sinful state, the tongue is a “restless evil, full of deadly poison.” It is like a serpent ready to inject its deadly venom into its next victim.

The next three verses 9-12, James shows us just how inconsistent our tongue can be. “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have ben made in God’s likeness.” How is our tongue inconsistent? It is inconsistent because with the tongue we curse people, and with the same tongue we praise God. When we curse people, we are cursing our Father. Remember in Genesis, the Lord has said “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness...God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” Although the image of God has been scarred, that image in people is still very much there. I pointed out earlier that Christians have the indwelling presence & power of the Holy Spirit, but even so, we may not necessarily be practicing what the Spirit is telling us. For example, when you are confronted with a temptation, you have two choices - either to submit to the evil that is before you, or you remember and practice what God says to “resist the devil and he will flee from you.” To the Jewish Christians, James writes that “this should not be”. The mouth should be consistently used to praise God, to express love, and kindness to all men. We are to be a blessing, in Christ, through our speech and language.

As chapter 3 ends, James asks a question to his readers: “...can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs?” It’s only natural for a plant to produce its own kind. An apple tree produces apples. A mango tree produces mangos. You never see an orange tree producing watermelons. In the same way then, out of a godly man come wholesome, encouraging words, from a sinful, wicked man, comes sinful, detrimental words. Which person are you? The man or woman that produces encouraging, godly words, or the one that produces evil, sinful speech? The Bible clearly tells us that our language, our tongues can be used to destroy, and discourage people and nations. It is the one part of our body that is the most difficult to control. This message this morning is not only a message for you, but it is also a message for me. We must be careful with the words that come out of our mouths. With it, we can set a people on fire for God, or we can set on fire a people towards a path of destruction. Again, let me ask you, which man & woman are you this morning? Are you a fig tree that produces olives and salt spring producing fresh water? A godly man and woman cannot produce sinful words. I will say what James told his listeners, “Brothers (& Sisters), this should not be.”
Let’s pray.