James 3:1-12

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Well welcome everyone. Let’s continue our study of the Book of James today. If you would, please take your Bibles with me and turn to the passage that was just read, James 3:1-12. 

I get the immense privilege of preaching this passage today on “the tongue,” which is appropriate for me in so many ways. First of all because I’m an extravert. I like to talk. And if that wasn’t enough, I’m also a professional talker. Preachers gotta preach! So that’s why I need to listen really closely to what James is saying in Chapter 3 of this letter. 

And the truth is that all of us need to listen closely because all of us (introverts, extroverts, preachers, non-preachers) are going to struggle with sins of the tongue. It’s a human thing, it’s not an extrovert thing. If you are a homo sapien, If you are a human made in the image of God, which I assume most of you are who are listening right now… maybe some of you at home are watching with a dog or cat close by… But the rest of us are human beings who are going to struggle with our tongues.

When Sanja and I lived in Chicago, we had this friend from Colombia. He was a really good guy named Alejandro, and he was kind of a foodie. He would always take us to these hole in the wall places for ethnic cuisine. And one time he took me to this Colombian restaurant for a famous Colombian delicacy. He wouldn’t tell me what it was until we got there. But when we got there he ordered for me this perfectly cooked (and very tasty, by the way) beef tongue. 

And I remember thinking to myself, this poor cow! What did his tongue ever do to deserve this? If any creature’s tongue deserves to be eaten, it’s probably the human tongue. But of course that would be cannibalism. And that’s not very appetizing. 

There’s this famous Aesop’s fable, where a king asked his cook to prepare the finest dish in the world. And his cook prepared tongue for him. Then the king asked him to prepare the worst dish in the world. So the cook once again prepared tongue for him. And when the king asked him what gives, he said, “the tongue is the best of things when used wisely and lovingly, but it is the worst of things when used carelessly and unkindly.” It’s the best, and it’s the worst. 

And you know Aesop sounds a lot like James here in James 3. Look at verse 9 in your Bible. 

9 With [the tongue] we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.   

Here’s the essence of my message today, and I want you to hear this. This is not going to be one of those messages that just denounces the sinful use of the tongue. In this message, what I want to help us do, all of us, is use our tongues for good and not evil. We want to use our tongues rightly, for good purposes. Not to tear down others or curse those who are made in God’s image. We want to use our tongues, our speech, to encourage and build up others, and to praise the Lord too. So let’s talk about how to do that. 

I’ll give you three statements from the text this morning. Three blinding flashes of the obvious if you paid attention to that reading of the text just a minute ago. 

Here’s the first:

1) Our tongues are small but powerful (3:1-6)

Incidentally, chapter 3 is not the first place that James speaks about the tongue. James says in James 1:26, “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.” James says in James 1:19, “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.” The tongue is actually a theme throughout the Book of James. James wants the church to be aware of the great dangers intrinsic to human speech. 

And let’s face it, James is no spring chicken. He’s not just espousing platitudes or talking in hypotheticals. He knows how much destructive power there is in the tongue. He was there when the Pharisees and the religious leaders of Israel used their speech to accuse, entrap and eventually crucify his big brother, Jesus. These were the “teachers” of the people. These were the shepherds of the people. No wonder Jesus said about the crowds that they are like sheep without a shepherd (Matt 9:36). 

So when James drills down on the power of the tongue, notice who he references first in verse 1. 

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

Two questions here for you: 1) Why are teachers judged with greater strictness? And 2) What does that mean that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness? Let’s take those questions in turn. First the why. The reason why teachers are judged with more strictness, is because we are using our tongues to represent God before the world. We get up before the church and say, “Thus says the Lord.” That is a huge task and responsibility… and burden I might add.

Our “Preachers Guild” has been feeling the effects of this. Those of you who teach in Children’s ministry, I’m sure, feel the effects of this. There is an immense sense of duty and responsibility with teaching children. You are teaching precious children about God. There is nothing better than that! But there’s a warning here. Don’t take on that task lightly. Don’t misrepresent the God of the universe or use your teaching platform for selfish gain. 

Now what does it mean that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness? Well it doesn’t mean that we have a different standard, other than faith in Jesus Christ, for our salvation. That just doesn’t square with Scripture. What it does mean is that God will discipline us more strictly in this present life. What it does mean is that God calls us to a higher standard of character and morality (see 1 Tim 3 and Titus 1 for more on that). What it does mean is that God will expose our hypocrisy and our misrepresentation of him to the world. And God will ultimately take that into account when he rewards us in eternity in what’s called the bema seat judgment for believers. 

There is actually the potential for greater reward in eternity for those who lead and teach in the church. 1 Peter 5 talks about the “unfading crown of glory” that will be given by Christ to elders who shepherd their flocks well. That motivates us as elders to lead this church well. That’s the positive reinforcement of our task of teaching. The negative reinforcement is James 3:1:

we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 

James says in verse 2:

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.

In other words, the tongue is like the final frontier of Christian sanctification. If you are able to bridle your tongue, then you can control the whole body. If you are able to master your tongue, then you can master anything. 

And here’s the obvious counter to that. “Come on, James. Really? Aren’t you exaggerating here? It’s just a little tongue. It’s just a little hunk of muscle and flesh. It’s so tiny compared to the rest of my body.” James anticipates that objection. 

Look at verse 3. 

3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well.

Have y’all ever ridden a horse before? This big, majestic beast that weighs half a ton or more. It could crush you with its weight. And yet this little bitty bit in its mouth is able to steer that great animal. All you have to do is flick your wrist here or there to steer him or get him to giddy up. That is a great illustration, by the way. James is so good at giving illustrations. 

Speaking of which, look at verse 4. 

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.

When I was in Florida a few summers ago, my dad and I rented this sailboat and took it out on the ocean. It was just a little dual-pontoon catamaran. But it’s a lot closer in size to the ships in James’s day than our modern-day, gas-powered, ocean-liners. And when you get on these sailboats, you get your boat lined up. You get your job working and your mainsail. You find where the wind is blowing, and you harness it to get your sails taut. It’s really quite a rush. And once you do that, all you’ve got to do is hold onto this little rudder less than 1% of the size of the entire boat. And you hold that thing steady, and you can steer the whole boat. 

And when I was sailing with my dad, I could tell he was kind of nervous about letting me sail the boat and hold the rudder. Because when you tack in a boat that size—meaning you turn it around to reset the sails—if you aren’t careful with that rudder, you can flip the entire boat. So every time I was about to tack this boat, I could see my dad getting nervous, “Like O no, this guy’s about to kill us.” “He’s my son, and I love him. But he better not flip this boat.” And this itty bitty little rudder wielded this incredible power over the entire boat including us in the boat. 

And here’s how the illustration works. Let me spell out what James is saying here. Your tongue, church, is just an itty bitty thing. It’s this tiny muscle. And yet it is extremely powerful. It has the power to direct the course of your life. You can use it to harness the wind, so to speak. You can use it for good. Or you can use it to destroy. And many people do that. 

Let’s take marriage for example. Some husbands use their tongues to build up and encourage. Some husbands use their tongues to destroy. Some wives use their tongues to build up. Some use them to destroy. That power is there. Kids can use your tongue for good. They can use it to pray or sing or speak respectfully to parents and praise them publicly. But they can use it to destroy the peace in the home. We can all use it to do that. That power is there in this little bitty instrument. This tiny muscle. 

By the way, what’s the largest muscle in your body? Do you know? In Latin, it’s called your gluteus maximus. And there’s an old Louisiana proverb that goes like this: “Don’t let your alligator mouth overload your hummingbird behind.” What does that mean? It means you better stop talking, or the rest of your body, namely your gluteus maximus, is going to pay for it. 

By the way, your tongue is the only muscle in your body that is detached on one end. It’s attached to bone on one end, but not the other. Did you know that? It’s detached, meaning it’s loose. Your tongue is loose, and you’ve got to metaphorically speaking tie up that tongue, before its looseness gets you into trouble. John Calvin says it this way, “a slender portion of flesh contains the whole world of iniquity.”

“O come on, Pastor Tony. It’s not that big a deal. So what if I’m a little loose with my tongue. That’s just how I am! God made me this way!” I love those personality tests, by the way, like the Myers Briggs test. Have you guys ever taken those? Myers Briggs or Enneagram or the DISC analysis. Whenever I take those tests, I always get the same results. I always score as the loudmouthed, overbearing, extravert that’s not afraid to speak his mind. In Myers Brigg language I’m the ESTJ, which someone told me once is the stereotypical abrasive American that travels abroad and annoys people from other countries. That explains a lot of my trips to Croatia honestly. 

And you know there’s this temptation in my heart when I take those tests to say, “That’s just me. Deal with it, people.” “This is the way God made me. I can’t change. What’s the big deal anyway?”

Well I don’t want to be ashamed of the way that God made me. I’ve made my peace with my propensities as an extrovert and an opinionated person. But I don’t want to use that to excuse my bad behavior. I want to be better. I want to change that aspect of my personality and hone that power for good not evil. And here’s why. Here’s why this is so important. Look at verse 5.   

5 So also the tongue is a small member [just like the rudder on a boat; just like the bit in the mouth of a horse], yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 

If you’ve ever seen a commercial with Smokey the Bear, you know all about that, right? All it takes is a cigarette butt! All it takes is a spark from a campfire! 

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. 

That word for “hell” here is the Greek word γέεννα. “Gehenna” was an actual place in ancient Israel called the Hinnom Valley. It was a great trash heap with perpetually burning rubbish. It had an evil reputation in the OT as a place of child sacrifice, and eventually it came to be used in the intertestamental period as the place of final judgment. So when James mentions γέεννα in this passage, he’s not talking solely about some perpetually burning trash heap in Israel. James is saying that your tongue and my tongue can be used by Satan to accomplish some truly hellish things. Doug Moo says it this way: “The power of Satan himself, the chief denizen of hell, gives to the tongue its great destructive potential.”

John Bunyan has a character called “Talkative” in Pilgrim’s Progress. And Talkative, according to Christian, was “a saint abroad and a devil at home.” In other words, he talked a big game. But he used his tongue for great evil at home.

“O Pastor Tony, it’s not that big a deal. This is the way I am. I just speak my mind. I can’t help it. This is how God made me.” Yeah it is a big deal! Satan can use your tongue as a great destructive force in this world. Are you aware of that? Are you willing to change that about yourself? 

Now if your answer to that question is yes. “Yes, Pastor Tony, I want to change.” Then that’s great. I want to change too. But unfortunately, I’ve got some more bad news for you. You see your willingness to change, my willingness or desire to change, isn’t enough! 

Here’s what I mean by that. Here’s the second point from our passage. 

2. Our tongues are untamable by human power (3:7-8)

And to that you might say, “Well thanks a lot, Tony. You got me all excited about using my tongue for good and not evil. You got me all convicted about how I need to tame my tongue. And then you tell me my tongue is untamable. What am I supposed to do now?”

Well hold on now. There’s a key adjective in that second point. It’s the adjective “human.” It’s the Greek word ἄνθρωπος, which we get our word anthropology from. Anthropologically speaking, no, you can’t tame your tongue. But theologically speaking… theos means “God” in Greek … theologically, through the power of God inside of us, we can do what is humanly impossible.

James says this in verse 7, 

7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 

I hope you can see the allusions there to Genesis 1. Remember in Genesis 1, God made all the animals in days 5 and 6. God created all the creatures, and then he created his best creature—the top-dog, so to speak. He created man in his own image, and he told man to have dominion over the animals. And we’ve done that. 

We’ve got animals in zoos. We’ve got animals in circuses. We’ve got animals that do our bidding. We’ve got beasts of burden. We’ve got domesticated pets. I’ve got two cats that are killers outside, but inside they are as tame as can be. 

And that’s nothing compared to what people do with dolphins or whales or tigers or elephants. I already mentioned horses. We tame the largest and most dangerous creatures in the world and use them for our bidding or use them for our entertainment. That was even true in James’s day. But look what James says in verse 8.     

8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 

When I was a kid, the teachers literally had to tape my mouth shut. Because I wouldn’t stop talking and disrupting the class. You probably can’t get away with that today. But did that tame my tongue? No. I just kept on talking! 

Sanja, Alastair, and I used to watch this show called “The Amazing Race” together. And it’s really quite amazing… not the race… but it’s amazing how little control of the tongue most people have on that show. And in one episode they say, “I’m sorry I said that. I’ll never say it again. I’ll never insult you again or hurt you.” And then in the next episode, like just a few hours later, they are calling each other “Idiot! Moron! Imbecile!” That’s amazing to me in “The Amazing Race.” No human being through human power can tame the tongue. 

Listen, if you are going to win this battle with the tongue, you’re going to need something more powerful than a strong will committed to behavior modification. In fact you’re going to need something more than just a tongue-change. What you need is a heart-change. Remember what Jesus said. “Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45).

Because what is the tongue? What is it ultimately? We’re not really talking about the muscle or the body part. The tongue here is a metonymy for speech. And that’s something that we as humans do. It’s unique to us as creatures made in the image of God. And speech derives from the heart. And our hearts are intrinsically wicked (Jer 17:9). And because of that, it’s a weapon wielded and used by rebel soldiers who defy the King of Kings. 

The Book of Proverbs says this: 

Proverbs 12:18 – There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts… 

Let me ask you: “Is that you?” Imagine a sword thrust into the flesh of an enemy, stabbing and cutting and severing organs on the way in and on the way out. That is the out-of-control tongue. And what’s really sad is that more often than not rash, spiteful words aren’t thrust into our enemies, they are thrust into the people that we love the most. Our spouse! Our kids! Our siblings! Our parents! Fellow believers! 

But here’s the thing. The goal is not to take that weapon out of the soldier’s hand. The goal is to change the heart of that soldier so that he fights for the right cause. That’s the key to winning the battle against the tongue, so now you can wield that weapon for good instead of evil.   

Proverbs 12:18 – There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. 

Proverbs 18:1 – Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits. 

So here’s my last point. And here’s where James is going here. Yes, 

1) Our tongues are small but powerful (3:1-6)

2) Our tongues are untamable by human power (3:7-8)

But also 

3) Our tongues are redeemable for good and not evil (3:9-12)

The goal of this message is not just to restrict the evil of the tongue. It’s not just to tape the mouth shut so that it doesn’t cause any harm. The goal is to wield the power of the tongue for good and not evil. And if you are going to do that, you’ve got to access a power outside of yourself. You’ve got to harness the power of the Holy Spirit inside of you. 

And if you don’t have faith in Christ, you don’t have the Holy Spirit inside of you. If you do have faith in Christ… if you have been saved by grace… then you inevitably have that Spirit inside of you to help you tame your tongue. Your tongue is untamable by human power. But it is tamable by the power of God working inside of you.   

James says in verse 9:

9 With [our tongues] we bless our Lord and Father, 

And that’s true. We do that when we pray. We do that when we sing praises to God. We do that when we evangelize people with the gospel and tell them, “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son… so that we may not perish but have everlasting life.” Our tongues can be used for great things. 

9 With [our tongues] we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 

This is the Scriptural equivalent to the phrase: “Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?” James is pointing out an irony here. We praise God with our tongues, but we curse those made in the image of God with our tongues. We bless God, and then we curse the image of God. It shouldn’t be like that! Why are we so duplicitous? Obviously there are people that curse God and curse men made in the image of God. James doesn’t even talk about them. He’s talking to people in the church. He’s talking to Christians who should know better. 

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. 

In other words, you are not a bitter spring, Christian. You are not the Dead Sea. You are a saved follower of Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of you. You should be producing fresh water. You should be producing speech that gives life and health. You should be uttering words that encourage and build up, not words that lead to death and death.

Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs?

In other words, you’re not an unbeliever anymore, Christian. You should be producing fruit in keeping with repentance. Faith without works is dead. You should be producing works of righteousness as evidence of your saving faith. And words are works. Your mouth should be demonstrating the fruit of your faith!

  “I can’t do that, Tony. I’m an ESTJ. I’m an 8 on the enneagram scale. I’m an extrovert. I’m opinionated. I’m from Latin America, Pastor Tony. This is just how we are. I’m a middle child, Pastor Tony. I’m an American. I’m Irish. I’m high strung. I’ve had a hard life.” No. No. No. You are not those things first. You are a blood-bought follower of Jesus Christ first. And Jesus says, through his little brother James, use your tongue for good not evil. You have been redeemed. Your whole body has been redeemed. Show it. Show it with your speech. 

And you know what, when you make mistakes as a follower of Christ Jesus… Is that going to happen with your tongue? Are you going to sin with your tongue even after you have been redeemed by Christ Jesus? Yes you will. 

Look, I can't tell you how many times I’ve had to say sorry to my mom, to my dad, to my wife, to my son, to my elders for sinning with my tongue. When that happens, you do two things: 1) You own it. You confess it and repent. “I’m sorry. Please forgive me.” And then 2) You fall on the grace of King Jesus.

 You don’t self-condemn. Jesus doesn’t condemn you. You don’t condemn yourself. Just praise God for the grace that he gives to save sinners. 

You know your entire life you will work to train your tongue. You will. Your entire life you will work on how to bless and not curse. If you don’t believe that right now, that’s because you are too young to realize the damage that your own tongue can produce. You’ll find that out eventually. And thankfully someday we won’t have to fight with our tongues or train them any longer. That’ll be a glorious day. But that day hasn’t happened yet. That awaits us in eternity.

And I want you to know that when God saved you, God knew how sinful and untamed your tongue was and would continue to be. He knew all about that. And yet he still saved you. He still loves you. Your tongue cannot nullify the work of salvation that God has worked out in your heart. Your tongue can do a lot of damage and destroy a lot of stuff. But it can’t destroy that.

I’ll close with this. Charles Spurgeon captures how different cultures in history have articulated the power and the destructiveness of the tongue. As far as I can tell, Spurgeon didn’t write this poem, but he preserved it for us to meditate on. 

Listen to this… 

“The boneless tongue, so small and weak,

Can crush and kill,” declared the Greek.

“The tongue destroys a greater hoard,”

The Turk asserts, “than does the sword.”

A Persian proverb wisely saith,

“A lengthy tongue—an early death.”

Or sometimes takes this form instead,

“Don’t let your tongue cut off your head.”

“The tongue can speak a word whose speed,”

The Chinese say, “outstrips the steed.”

While Arab sages this impart,

“The tongue’s great storehouse is the heart.”

From Hebrew wit this maxim sprung,

“Though feet should slip, ne’er let the tongue.”

The sacred writer crowns the whole,

“Who keeps his tongue doth keep his soul!” 

What’s the hope for the Greek? For the Turk? For the Persian? For the Chinese? What hope does a sinful Gentile like you and me have in San Antonio, Texas? That poem doesn’t say, not explicitly, how we keep our soul from the destructive power of the tongue. 

Here’s our hope. And I know Spurgeon would agree with this. There is no hope of taming the tongue, not without the grace of Jesus Christ. Because before Jesus can change your tongue, he has to change your heart. Let me ask you this, has Jesus changed your heart? Has he given you a new heart? Jesus came to do that. And he did that by dying on the cross for your sins. It was an act of sheer grace. And the Bible says that by faith in him you can have a new heart. And then he will place his spirit in you. If you haven’t embraced Jesus Christ as your Savior, by faith, I invite you to do that now. Bow with me in a word of prayer.

Taught by Tony Caffey

Senior Pastor of Verse By Verse Fellowship

James Series