May 28, 2025
“ENCOUNTERS WITH GOD”
“TONGUE-TAMING 101”
JAMES 3:1-12
The Christians that James wrote to were apparently having a serious problem with their tongues. James had warned them:
James 1:19 “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.”
James 1:26 “If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless.”
James 2:12 “So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty.”
The power of speech is one of the greatest powers God has given us.
Throughout the book of James, a probing question hold his whole theme together: “If you say you believe like you should, why do you behave like you shouldn’t?
- Power To Direct. James 3:1-5
2 Timothy 3:16 “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
Why does a teacher receive stricter judgment than the learner?
*First, a teacher is responsible to speak the truth, not personal opinions.
*Second, what a teacher says affects many lives.
*Third, teachers are expected to live the truth, not just teach it.
James 3:1-2 “My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. 2For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.”
A couple of clarifying remarks are necessary before we dig into the meat of the passage:
*First, James is not condemning teaching.
*Second, James is not condoning silence or promoting silence. He is urging self-control.
Jesus’ words in Matthew 15 set the proper theological background for James practical teaching about the tongue.
Matthew 15:14 “Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.”
Listen to Jesus’s words:
Matthew 15:11,17-19 “Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.” 17Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? 18But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. 19For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.”
*Power to Direct:
*First, the tongue is like a bit in a horse’s mouth.
James 3:3 “Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body.”
*Second, the tongue is like the rudder on a ship.
James 3:4 “Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires.”
*Third, He reminds of the potential danger of the tongue.
James 3:5 “Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles!”
The tongue is a small but powerful member.
2. Power To Destroy. James 3:5-8
James 3:5-6 “See how great a forest a little fire kindles! 6And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.”
Please observe a couple of things about the vivid terms James uses to describe this tiny muscle tucked behind our teeth.
*First, look at those intriguing phrases:
- “… a world of iniquity.” vs.6
- “…it defiles the whole body.” vs.6
- “…and sets on fire the course of nature” vs.6
- “…and it is set on fire by hell.” vs.6
In Greek the word translated “hell” is “geenna,” or Gehenna.
Our words can start fires:
*James also refers to the tongue as an untamed beast.
James 3:7 “For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind.”
*Here is a truth to be remembered:
James 3:8 “But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.”
God’s power through the Holy Spirit’s presence can transform your heart and take full control of the tongue. As Christ said regarding another impossibility:
Matthew 19:26 “But Jesus looked at them and said to them “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
James also pictures the tongue as, “..full of deadly poison.” vs.8.
Romans 3:13-14 “Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit”; “The poison of asps is under their lips”; 14“Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.”
3. Power To Delight. James 3:9-12
I think all of us can relate to James’s illustration from human experience:
James 3:9-10 “With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. 10Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.”
*James concludes by illustrating his point from nature.
James 3:11-12 “Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? 12Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.”
If our hearts are filled with grace, shouldn’t our lips overflow with goodness?
James says the product is consistent with the source. A man who speaks out of both sides of his mouth is a double-minded man:
James 1:8 “he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
James 4:8 “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
Matthew 7:18 “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.”
This sobering thought forces us to ask ourselves, where is this inconsistent speech coming from?
Let’s consider a few simple statements that sum up James’s practical concern:
*First of all, the tongue defiles.
*Second, the tongue defies-Have you surrendered control of your speech to the Lord Jesus?
*Third, the tongue displays what you really are.
Live Steaming
Groups
