James 3:1-12 -----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.
Context.
-----Once James has thoroughly refuted the objection of those who would misuse the doctrine of justification by faith to defend wicked behavior, he returns to correct their conduct. In chapters 3 and 4 James reemphasizes concerns that he has already addressed in his letter: abusive speech, spurious religion, and spiritual adultery.
Not many of you should become didaskalos.
-----Most translations leave the impression that James’s concern is only about teaching. “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” The fullness of the word for teachers, “didaskalos,” is lost in translation. The word can be translated, “instructor,” “master,” or “teacher.” The verb, “teach,” is generally added to the verse by translators. More accurately the verse reads, “Not many of you should become teachers/masters, my brothers, for you know that we shall receive greater judgment.”
-----Most commentators understand James to be arguing that because of their greater stewardship teachers will be judged with greater judgment, but there is a meaning that fits more closely with the general context: “Judge not, that you be not judged, for with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. (Matthew 7:1,2)” Some in James audience practiced a very self-exalting, worldly form of religion (James 1:26,27). This boastful religion led them to judge others harshly. James warns, however, that they would be judged according to their own unmerciful standards (James 2:12,13). This would be a major problem for them because, as we have seen (1:19-21, 26-27), these very same people practiced no restraint with their tongue, and those who do not restrain their tongue do not restrain their body either, and they will not be able to stand if they are to be judged with the strictness they apply to others.
-----The passage that James begins in 3:1 ends with an exhortation (James 3:9) to cease speaking evil of, cursing, the brethren, “With [the tongue] we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.” If we go to 4:11 we see with more clarity what the cursing of the brethren is. “The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law.” So the wicked use of the tongue that will testify against them is the same as the harsh judgment they are applying to others.
A Judgment Parable.
-----James presents a major problem for these Christians who love to put themselves in the position of judging others. Their harsh judgment of others will result in a harsh judgment of themselves, and their harsh judgment of others will testify against them that they have failed to live up to their own standard. Let me illustrate this truth with the following parable from Matthew 7:
-----Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? [4] Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? [5] You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.
-----There once were two men. The first, “Dan Logman,” has a log in his eye. Logman’s log is nourished by its root. This rout is named “Worldly Pride” and it runs deep into his heart. Worldly Pride has deceived Logman into believing himself to be a righteous man because he has no speck of wood in his eye. He sees other people in his congregation walking around with specks and says, “These sinners are disgusting; they need to get rid of their specks.”
The second, “Pete Speckman,” has a speck in his eye. Unlike Logman’s log, Speckman’s speck is a dead shard of wood from a maple that the LORD killed long ago. One day the speck is noticed by Logman. In his fury, Logman tries to remove the speck, but in the process he remove’s Speckman’s eye. Dan Logman is confused, “I wonder why that wicked man’s eye came out. It probably was God’s judgment.”
-----James comes up to Dan Logman and says, “Dan, you injured Pete when you tried to remove his speck.”
-----Logman replies, “Oh, year right. Don’t make me out to be wicked like that Pete Speckman. I applied no more force to removing that Speck than I thought I needed, but it does take a lot of force to remove a wicked speck. Besides, I was really careful.”
-----James comes back, “No, you hacked at his eye with a pair of tweezers! That’s violent! You shouldn’t be quick to put yourself in the position to remove specks from people’s eyes because the amount of violence that you apply in removing debris from the eyes of others will be applied to you.”
-----“Big deal, James. It isn’t like I have any debris in my eye.”
-----At this point James hands Dan a mirror, and shows him a log in his eye that has engraved on the side, “The Log of Violent Speck Removal.”
-----James explains, “That log grows from a root: Worldly Pride. The root makes specks seem larger than they are. It impairs your judgment so that you are violent in removing other’s specks. Your debris is much greater than Dan’s was. The Lord is coming soon to remove debris. He’ll remove your log with the same violence with which you removed Dan’s speck. If you don’t get rid of that log of violent speck removal you won’t just lose an eye, but you will die as that log is run through the back of your head.”
A Perfect Man?
-----James 3:2 seems to destroy all hope for the one who wants to gain control of his tongue. “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.” Everyone stumbles. Those who can bridle their tongue do not stumble. Therefore no one is able to bridle their tongue. This is a sound logical argument, but a closer look at James’s letter rules-out such a meaning. His purpose in 3:2 is not to make his audience despair that there is no hope for overcoming their wicked tongues. We can know this because he commands control of the tongue elsewhere in the letter. “Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger. (James 1:19)” “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. (James 1:26)” “Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. (James 4:11)” “Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold; the Judge is standing at the door. (James 5:9)”
----- Even as James expects his audience to bridle their tongues, he admits that there is no taming the tongue (v.8). We may lament always at the wickedness of our tongue (as James seems to in this passage), but through the strength the Spirit provides we continually try to bring it into submission to Christ. In using the word “perfect” it is likely that James is responding to the high opinion they had of themselves. They judged others as if they themselves needed no mercy so they must have believed they were perfect. James here begins his demonstration (v.3-5) that if they really want to be perfect they must restrain their wicked tongues. Also, James’s idea of perfection is not necessarily a lack of moral failing. Perhaps when he says “perfection” he means Christian character that is consistent with true faith. James said in 2:22 that Abraham’s faith was completed (“teleios” the same word as in 3:2) by his works. In 1:4 his concern is that his audience would be perfect, not lack the steadfastness which comes from true faith.
The Exceeding Wickedness of the Tongue.
-----In verses 3-12 James uses several illustrations to demonstrate why wicked speech is worse than other sins. The horse and the ship illustrations demonstrate that those who do not restrain a harsh, condemning tongue do not restrain themselves as a whole from wickedness. The fire illustration demonstrates that wicked speech leads to other evils. The beast illustration demonstrates that in the fight for holy speech is a continual battle in this life.
A Final Warning.
-----James expresses that using his tongue against his brother is not something that is foreign to him (v.9). “We bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people.” Even as an apostle he bares witness to the fact that the tongue may be bridled, but it is never tamed in this life. Unless we might think, however, that this makes an abusive, judging tongue acceptable James reiterates his point. Verses 9-11 is a repeat of a warning that he has already given his readers: “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. (1:26)” No one should think that he belongs to Christ if he will not turn from his wickedness. To that end he says that no one can think that they are worshipers of God, if all they care to offer him is salt water.
-----To that end let us spend our lives working to control our tongues and offer the Father the freshest water possible. Let us look to Christ, the living water, and seek to imitate his endless founts. Then may we come before the Father weeping because our sacrifice is still far too salty for a king. Then may we look to Him who is the living water to make the sacrifice in our place.
Review
-----Not many of you should become [masters], my brothers, for you know that we who [judge] will be judged with greater strictness. For we all stumble in many ways [and need God’s grace], and if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. [So how will you who sin in what you say stand before a stricter judgment?] If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 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. [Similarly you who do not direct your tongue are neglecting the greatest part.]
-----So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things [so don’t think that your sins are less than those of others]. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 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. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. [Is it clear yet that you judge your sins too lightly?] With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. [Don’t be satisfied with such a situation!] Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water. [So don’t think you can be a worshiper of God if you are happy with dark things proceeding from your mouth (1:17,18).]
