City Life Starter

The Word: James 3:1-12

1Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.

2For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well.

3Now if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well.

4Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires.

5So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!

6And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell.

7For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race.

8But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.

9With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God;

10from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.

11Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water?

12Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh.

The letter from which this passage of Scripture comes was written by James, the half-brother of Jesus, also known as “James the Just.” While not a believer in Jesus during Jesus’ ministry (see Mark 3:21), when Jesus appeared to James after Jesus’ resurrection, James became a believer. Thereafter, James became a leader in the church in Jerusalem.

In this third chapter of his letter, James addresses the power of the tongue. First, he talks about the power of the tongue to direct (vv. 3-4). Because of the power of the tongue to direct others, he gives warnings to teachers to ensure they properly direct others. James likens the tongue to a bridle used to direct a horse—the rider pulls the reigns and the mouth of the horse to the right, the horse turns to the right. James likens the tongue to the rudder on a ship—as the rudder turns the entire ship turns.

James then addresses the power of the tongue to destroy (vv. 5-8). The tongue, James says, is like a small fire that can set ablaze an entire forest. Through rumor, gossip, and slander, the tongue has the power to destroy reputations, relationships, and organizations.

Lastly, James notes the tongue also has the power to bless (vv. 9-10). James asks the rhetorical question of whether the same opening from a fountain can bring forth fresh water and bitter water. Jesus noted the same truth, “The mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.” Matthew 12:34. Do you want to know what is in your heart? Listen to what comes out of your mouth. If our hearts have been transformed, our mouths should become a source of blessing for others.

Application

After James became a leader in the church in Jerusalem, his influence caught the attention of the local Jewish leaders. Hoping to use James to undermine the growth of the church, the Jewish religious leaders took James up to the roof of the temple in Jerusalem where all there could see and hear him. They then told him to explain to the people that they had been led astray in following Jesus. Instead, James preached from the top of the temple that Jesus was the Son of God. James used his tongue to direct. As a result, the religious leaders threw James off the temple.

The fall did not immediately kill James, but then those on the ground then began to stone him. Somehow James was able to rise to his knees, and he began to pray for those who were trying to kill him. In other words, James used his tongue to bless. James. At that point, one of the priests standing nearby heard James praying for them and shouted, “Stop what you are doing. The righteous one is praying for you!” However, a fuller standing nearby then picked up a club and ran toward James and hit him squarely in the head, killing him with one blow.

James knew the power of the tongue, and even when faced with the threat of death used his tongue to preach the Gospel. Then in the midst of execution, he spoke to bless those who were in the very act of executing him, proving his heart had been truly transformed. We can take James’s words in James 3:1-12 seriously because he demonstrated their weight in the face of death. How will you use your tongue to bless and direct people toward Jesus this week?