How To Put Out the Fire of the Tongue (Part 2)
James 3:5b-12
Preached by Pastor Tony Miano
Pico Canyon Community Church
May 6, 2001
Introduction: Last week we began our study of James 3:1-12 by looking at the first four and a half verses. We looked at what James had to say about putting out the fire of the tongue by controlling the pride of speech and the power of speech. This morning, as we study the remainder of the passage, we’ll consider how we can put out the fire of our tongues by controlling the perversion of our speech.
Let’s read James 3:1-12 again.
We probably think of profanity when we think of speech that is perverse. Maybe we think of the last off-colored joke we heard at the office. Most Christians probably wouldn’t consider their speech to be perverse. I know that in my life, my speech is much cleaner now than it was before Christ saved me.
The word “pervert” sends chills up and down the spine of the law abiding, morally sensitive person. It probably even carries with it a greater discomfort for the believer. The word brings to mind issues and situations that we would never dream of being part of. You might find interesting Noah Webster’s original definition of the word “pervert,” from the 1828 edition of his dictionary.
Webster defined the verb “to pervert” as “to turn from the truth, or from its proper purpose; to distort from its true use or end . . . to turn from [that which is right to that which is wrong]; to misinterpret or misapply” (Webster, vol. 2, p. 35). So when we speak of the perversion of the tongue, the perversion of our speech, we are speaking of anything we say that causes a turn away from the truth, or from our speech’s proper use.
James addresses the issue of perverse speech by tackling three areas where all people, certainly his readers, struggle from time to time. James recognized that our tongues have the ability to destroy (vv. 5b-6), dispute (vv. 7-8), and double-talk (9-12).
This morning’s study should show all of us that our definition of a perverted tongue, at least until this morning, might not have been broad enough. I also want us to be very clear that what we’re talking about today is not just old habits that might die harder than others. It’s an issue of the heart. It’s a spiritual issue.
A Tongue That Destroys
Let’s take a look at a tongue that destroys. In the second half of verse five, James writes, “See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!” As we ended our time together last week, we briefly considered how the power of tongue resembles a forest fire. James uses a great deal of emphasis here to paint a very clear picture. And as we look at the last half of verse five, I want you to try to think of a kind of speech that might resemble a wildfire.
Whereas James spoke of the tongue’s power in the last two illustrations, in the second half of verse five he is speaking of the affects of the tongue. It can be every bit as destructive and uncontrollable as a fire. James begins the second half of the verse with the same word he used to begin verse four. Some Bible versions translate the word as “see.” Others translate it as “consider.” But in verse five, it has the same purpose as it did in verse four. James is calling special attention to what he’s about to say. So probably the best way to translate the word is “Behold!”
The way James begins the second half of verse five is a good example of why we should not just look at punctuation to determine where verses, paragraphs, or subjects begin and end in the Scriptures. Remember, the New Testament was originally written in Greek, in all capital letters, with no spaces between the letters and no punctuation marks. It’s probably best if we look at the second half of verse five as a verse in and of itself.
James uses the same Greek word, helikos, to describe “how great” is the forest and “how small” is the spark that sets the forest on fire. The importance of the word is not in the words “great” or “small,” but in the magnitude of each. James does this to make it very clear that the disparity between the spark and the forest with its ensuing fire is extremely large.
Comparing the tongue to the spark and flame of fire would have been a well-known analogy to his readers. Proverbs 16:27 says, “A worthless man digs up evil, while his words are like scorching fire.” And in Proverbs 26:21 we read, “Like charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, so is a contentious man to kindle strife.”
Although James is using terms that paint the picture of an enormous forest, it’s possible that his readers might have had a different kind of blaze in mind. You see, in James’ day, the Palestinian landscape was not made up of great, towering trees, but dense, low shrubs. So not only would his readers have in mind the enormity of the fire that James is describing and the manner in which the fire is set, but they might have also been thinking about how very fast a wildfire could race through the short and dense grasses of their fields.
In May of 1864, a conflict that many military leaders in our country predicted would last but a few months was now in its third year. The Civil War, the bloodiest conflict ever fought on U. S. soil, raged on. Great battles, such as Gettysburg, had already been fought, but there was still plenty of tragedy to come. One such occasion developed in a less commonly known battle in Virginia.
From May 3rd to May 8th, a battle was fought that would forever be remembered as simply “The Wilderness.” Mahria reminded me during the week that I would be sharing this story with you on the anniversary of the battle. I thought that was kind of interesting. Well, anyways—one of the commanding generals of the Union Army, John Gibbon, described the area of the battle as an almost impenetrable thicket where the visibility was only two to three yards.
This incredibly dense area of trees, vegetation and under brush saw two great armies converge on its soil. The Union Army, which by now vastly outnumbered the Confederates, brought 102,000 men to bear. The South only had about 61,000. Over 25,000 men, between the two armies, were killed or wounded—the majority falling within a two-day period. As tragic as the massive loss of life was, the death of 200 men graphically illustrates what we see in the second half of verse five.
The majority of soldiers were still using muzzle-loaded rifles. The men carried cartridges in pouches, on their belts. The cartridges were made up of lead shot completely covered with paper, and gunpowder. As a result of tens of thousands of rifles being fired throughout the forest, the ground was littered with confetti-size debris from the rifle fire.
When the paper hit the ground, it was still hot from the exploding gunpowder. With the amount of tinder on the ground, it took very little for the radiating heat from the paper to spark. The spark quickly grew into a forest fire that spread rapidly through The Wilderness. Trapped within the raging fire were two hundred wounded men. Some wore blue and some wore gray.
By mutual consent, the two war-torn armies suspended the fighting in order to try to save their helpless comrades. But the flame and smoke was too intense. Neither side could reach the men in time. What started as a small spark was the one thing a cease-fire could not control.
Although thousands of men perished from the affects of hot lead and cold steel, those who survived would forever remember the two hundred lives that were destroyed. For they saw how great a forest was set aflame by such a small fire.
Now, up to this point James has used a literary device known as simile to illustrate his point. He has compared the tongue to a bit and bridle, a ship’s rudder, and a spark that leads to a destructive fire. In verse six, James switches gears and uses a metaphor, which is a much more direct way of making an analogy.
James writes, “And the tongue is a fire.” James is emphatically saying that the tongue is not just like a bit, or not just similar to a rudder, or like a spark. Here he is saying that the tongue is every bit as out of control, dangerous, and destructive as a fire. The tongue is the fire of the human mind and body. James wrote this phrase in the present tense, which means the tongue is continually a fire.
James backs up what is probably the most definitive statement in the entire Bible about the destructive nature of the tongue by describing four ways the tongue is so very dangerous. First of all, James tells us that the tongue is “the very world of iniquity.” A reason why many people find this phrase difficult to understand is because they make an assumption about the meaning of “world,” as it’s used in this phrase.
The Greek word for “world” is kosmos. From this word we get the English words cosmos and cosmetics. The word carries with it a sense of order, a sense of organization—like a system of sorts. Some have suggested that James uses “world” as if to say that the tongue makes evil look attractive, like cosmetics on the human skin. But James uses the word cosmos four other times in his letter and none of them have this meaning. Just as we shouldn’t take one or two verses in Scripture and force a meaning on them that contradicts what the rest of the Bible teaches, neither should we force a meaning on the word cosmos in verse six that James doesn’t use anywhere else in his letter.
What James is referring to here is a world “system, scheme, or arrangement” (MacArthur, p. 156). In this case, James is talking about a world system of iniquity, which is another way of saying rebellion or evil. The destructive nature of the tongue has been at the root of just about every evil world or religious system you can think of.
A case in point is Nazism. Adolf Hitler’s rise to power was not as a result of his brute strength. It was not as a result of his abilities as a military strategist or technician. Hitler’s rise to power can probably be attributed to his ability as an orator. His tongue, his speech, was largely responsible for the evil and depraved political and social system known as Nazism.
The second way in which the tongue shows itself to be evil is seen in the phrase, “the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body.” Jesus said, “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man” (Mark 7:20b-23).
Every thing that Jesus mentioned in this laundry list of sin can be attributed to some form of speech. The only thing that comes out of a person that could lead to him or her doing these awful things is the person’s words. We won’t take the time to look at all of them, but let’s consider a few.
How about envy, slander, and pride. Is there a more obvious way that these three sins could be committed than through a person’s speech? How about adultery? How do most affairs begin? I would hazard a guess that most affairs begin with a kind, understanding, or flirtatious word between people of the opposite sex. When our tongue rages out of control, it affects the actions of the rest of our bodies.
James says that the tongue “sets on fire the course of our life.” I love the way James writes. Here we see the third way in which the tongue is dangerous. When James says “the course of our life,” he is referring to all of those things outside our own bodies that our speech influences.
As I studied this phrase, the first and probably the most significant thing that came to mind was how my speech affects my girls. I’ve seen my daughters’ countenance change, like the change in light as the sun moves behind and out from behind the cover of the clouds, because of my choice of words I sometimes speak to them. I’ve seen my words fill them with more joy and excitement than any ice cream cone or trip to the amusement park. And I’ve seen my words hurt them more than any spanking I could ever give them or any toy or privilege I could ever take away from them.
When I blow it (and I do blow it from time to time), I walk away thinking about how long my words might affect them. Did what I just say to my precious little girl leave a mark on her that could last for years? Think about it. James is relating the destructive nature of the tongue to the destructive nature of a fire. Wildfires burn very quickly with extremely intense levels of heat. But it takes years, sometimes many years, for the charred remains to grow back to a healthy forest. Something that which might take us but a second to say, could affect someone we love for years to come.
James ends verse six by saying that our tongue “is set on fire by hell.” James saves the worst danger of the tongue for last. James is saying that the tongue is so very dangerous because Satan can use it for his evil purposes. Again, James uses the present tense and is saying that what he’s talking about is a continual action. Satan working through our speech is a constant danger, even in the life of the believer.
The word James uses for hell is used by only one other person in the New Testament—Jesus. The word is Gehenna. “It is the Greek form of the Hebrew [word] ge-henom, “the valley of Hinnom” (Hiebert, p. 197). The valley was located outside the city walls, southwest of Jerusalem.
In the Old Testament book, II Chronicles, we can read about human sacrifices being made in this valley to the false god, Moloch. In Jesus’ day, the valley served as a landfill, if you will, for the city. In addition to the city’s trash, Gehenna was used to dispose of dead animals from sacrifices and dead criminals. The garbage was kept burning continually in order to keep down the level of waste. It was a disgusting place.
Jesus used the word Gehenna as a graphic description of hell and the place of final punishment for those who are not saved. Jesus’ words point to the fact that hell is a real place. In Mark 9:48, Jesus quotes Isaiah 66:24 to make His point. Jesus said, “where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.” That paints a pretty picture, doesn’t it? Neither Jesus, nor James for that matter, is saying that those who commit sins of the tongue are going straight to hell.
The point James is making is that Satan and his demons, will one day be assigned to hell for all eternity, along with every person who dies without receiving the free gift of salvation. Those demons are active today, through man’s wickedness, in spreading hell’s fire throughout the world. And the easiest and quickest way for Satan to do that is through the destructive power of the tongue.
Remember that I asked you earlier to think of a form of speech that best resembles a wildfire? I don’t know what you thought of, but the first one that came to my mind was rumor. Rumor and gossip are very closely related. The difference I see between the two is that gossip is sharing information about another without that person’s consent. A rumor occurs when that gossip spreads to other people.
Have you ever started or participated in a rumor that you were able to control? Were you ever able to truly take back what you said? “The story is told of a young man during the Middle Ages who went to a monk, saying, ‘I’ve sinned by telling slanderous statements about someone. What should I do now?’ The monk replied, ‘Put a feather on every doorstep in town.’ The young man did just that.”
“He then came back to the monk wondering if there was anything else he should do. The monk said, ‘Go back and pick up all those feathers.’ The young man replied excitedly, ‘That’s impossible! By now the wind will have blown them all over town!’ The monk said, ‘So has your slanderous word become impossible to retrieve’” (Hughes, p. 188-89).
Satan can use the destructive force of rumor or innuendo to do great harm, to undermine the witness and ministry of the church, to add stress and disharmony in the family, and to ruin friendships.
I’ve made it very clear to the leaders of the church and those who have committed to membership, that gossip, innuendo, and rumor will not be tolerated in this church family. We will deal with it quickly and decisively.
A Tongue That Disputes
James moves from describing the destructive nature of the tongue to showing how the tongue loves a dispute. In verses seven and eight, James writes, “For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.” By beginning this next section of the passage with the word “for,” James is telling his reader that he is about to justify what he just said about the destructive ability of the tongue. And he’s going to do that by showing how untamable it really is.
“The ancient world took pride in humanity’s ability to tame and control the animal kingdom” (Martin, p. 116). King David expresses this sentiment in Psalm 8:6-8. “You make him [man] to rule over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea, whatever passes through the paths of the sea.”
James makes the same point as David, and both men are looking back to the account of creation. In Genesis 1:26 we read, “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’”
There is not a creature on the earth that cannot be placed under the control of man, in one way or another. Man is not forced to live a certain way because of any animal on the earth. There is no corner of the earth that is so ruled by the animal kingdom that man is denied access.
Now, certainly there are those animals that are more difficult to control than others. When James uses the word tame, he doesn’t have in mind just man’s ability to train an animal to do a trick or to live unchained in your living room, among your small children. Some animals aren’t as intelligent as others. For instance, you wouldn’t expect an 800-pound Bengal tiger to use a litter box in your kitchen, like a common house cat, and you certainly wouldn’t turn your back on the massive carnivore to give it some privacy while it does its business.
James’ idea of taming here is not the training of animals, but the controlling of animals. Although we may not be able to teach a Bengal tiger to use a pan of Tidy-Cat or to balance our checkbooks, we can control the mighty cat. We’ve all probably seen the majestic beast in a zoo’s cage. God has given man the ability and authority to control every kind of animal that God has created.
But there is one animal that is outside man’s control, and that animal is the human tongue. James is not saying that man cannot control the tongue of his fellow man. He is saying that man cannot control his own tongue. And James makes it very clear that there is not a single created human being who can control the tongue.
A dangerous animal’s instinctive desire to fight or to attack can be subdued; can be rendered harmless, by the tranquilizer dart, or by a deadlier form of weaponry. It can be subdued by something as primitive as a bunch of leaves and twigs covering a very deep hole. But the tongue’s instinctive desire to fight or dispute is beyond man’s control because of his inherited sinful nature.
Ever notice that when a fellow says he agrees with you in principle, he’s invariably getting ready to argue with you? Have you ever argued with someone and, after going in circle after circle during the argument, you discover that the two of you actually agreed, but were just saying the same thing in different ways? We love to argue. We love to be right. We look at our constitutional right to free speech as a biblical principle. We think that as long as we don’t shout “Fire” in a crowded building, we can spew fire from our tongues at will.
We look at grumbling and disputing as part of what we perceive to be a “God-given” right to have our opinions heard. But what I find in Scripture is that we are to “do all things without grumbling or disputing” (Philippians 2:14).
I’ve shared this verse with people before, usually during a debate or argument, and the other person just looks at me like I’m just trying to get out of the discussion. And you know what? I bet that same verse has been shared with me when the shoe was on the other foot, and I’ve probably given the other person the same kind of look.
We love to argue. We love to fight. We love to gossip and make subtle innuendos, which we’ll look at in a moment. Maybe you feel a little uncomfortable when I say we love to do these things. But what else can be said for things we do so well? If you’re at all like me, you’ve probably experienced times in your life when you know that you shouldn’t say what you’re thinking of saying. But we rationalize it; we justify it in our own mind and say it anyway. As you chew on that for a second, consider the apostle Paul’s words.
“For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me” (Romans 7:18-20). Remember, what we are talking about is more than just bad habits. These are spiritual issues.
We’ve approached much of James’ letter as a “how to” book. As I studied this morning’s passage of Scripture, I thought about what would be some practical steps we can take to avoid the sins of the tongue we’ve been looking at. What stood out to me more than any other step or practice is that sometimes the greatest practicality in God’s Word is simply found in its truth.
I think the most practical thing we can do in regards to controlling our tongues is first coming to the realization that our tongue is beyond our complete control. This in no way serves as an excuse for us to continue to misuse our tongue. Do we really think that standing before the Lord and saying, “The devil made me do it,” will be an adequate defense? Seeing our tongues for what they really are, for what they are capable of doing, and recognizing sin for what it is and repenting of it, is the most practical thing we can do toward controlling our tongues.
Having shown a very clear contrast between man’s ability to subdue or tame animals and his inability to subdue his own tongue, he explains why this is the case in the second half of verse eight. The tongue “is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.”
James uses the same Greek word that is translated here as “restless” in verse 1:8. In 1:8, the word is translated as “unstable.” James’ use of the word in this other verse is in relation to the person who is double-minded. Like the double-minded person who cannot really trust in God and invariably falls into evil, the tongue, because it is uncontrollable, does the same” (Richardson, p. 155-56).
The tongue is so unstable that we have the ability to paint our words as compliments or harmless pieces of information, when, in reality, we are stabbing people in the heart. I referred to this ability a little while ago. It’s innuendo.
Innuendo looks like this. “You know, I’ve never actually seen Jim slap Jane.” Now, did I say that Jim abuses Jane? No. But what is the impression I left in your mind? The impression is that I am suggesting that Jim abuses Jane, but I just haven’t caught him in the act. What I have just done is slandered Jim and cast aspersions on the relationship he has with Jane.
Although you never actually heard an accusation come out of my mouth, it was there. Just like a poison can be odorless and tasteless, but deadly if swallowed, so too can our words be to each other. James takes his reference to the tongue being a deadly poison from the Old Testament.
In Psalm 140 David prays, “Rescue me, O Lord, from evil men; preserve me from violent men who devise evil things in their hearts; they continually stir up wars. They sharpen their tongues as a serpent; poison of a viper is under their lips” (vv. 1-3). David also said, “The wicked are estranged from the womb; these who speak lies go astray from birth. They have venom like the venom of a serpent” (Psalm 58:3-4a).
A Tongue That Double-Talks
Up to this point James has placed his focus on the instrument—the tongue. But in verse nine he moves into a whole new discussion. In verses 9-12, he returns to speaking directly to his readers, to the first generation Christians, and moves from talking about what the tongue does to what’s behind the behavior of the tongue. And he does this by teaching that the tongue has the propensity for double-talk, which reflects the heart of the speaker.
A double-talking tongue represents a person who, at best, has an inconsistent faith. James has dealt with the problem of inconsistency a few times already in his letter. We saw it in 1:6-8 when James talked about the “double-minded person” that prays while doubting God will answer. We saw it in 2:1-13, as we studied the hypocrisy of those who claimed to be people of faith while, at the same time, mistreating people in the church. And we saw it in 2:14-26 when James addresses those who talk like Christians, but whose lives do not reflect a genuine faith that produces good fruit.
James begins this part of the discussion, in verses 9-10a, with the starkest possible contrast he could think of. Believers use their tongues to bless God and curse men. From the same mouth, the same heart, and the same thoughts come praises and curses. As I’ve said before, the best illustration of a biblical truth is a biblical illustration. And Peter is probably the best example in the New Testament of what James is teaching.
We’ll take our first look at Peter in Matthew 16. “Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’”(vv. 13-16).
Peter acknowledged Jesus Christ as the Messiah with definitive words of praise and adoration. But the same man, the same fallible man, did not always praise God. In this next scene, we find Peter in the courtyard of the high priest. We find the story in Matthew 26.
“Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a servant-girl came to him and said, ‘You too were with Jesus the Galilean.’ But he denied it before them all, saying, ‘I do not know what you are talking about.’ When he had gone out to the gateway, another servant-girl saw him and said to those who were there, ‘This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.’ And again he denied it with an oath, ‘I do not know the man.’”
“A little later the bystanders came up and said to Peter, ‘Surely you too are one of them; for even the way you talk gives you away.’ Then he begun to curse and swear, ‘I do not know the man!’ And immediately a rooster crowed” (vv. 69-74).
To the people milling around the courtyard, Peter’s accent gave away where he was from. But Peter’s words gave away much more than that. His words revealed the duplicity of his heart. Here was the man who drew his sword to defend Jesus Christ, in the garden of Gethsemane only hours earlier. But now the fear of man drew his sin nature to the surface and he denied with cursing and swearing that he even knew Jesus.
The same man, who spoke blessings to the Lord in chapter 16, was now swearing and cursing while his Lord and Savior was being beaten and humiliated just a few yards away. Out of the same mouth came praises to the deity of Christ and cursing to the humanity of Christ.
James ends verse ten with these very strong words. “My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.” Again we see the phrase, “My brethren,” that James uses time and time again to implore his readers to listen to what he is saying and understand that the seriousness of his tone is a sign of genuine concern for their well being. There is another very important combination of words in this part of verse ten—“ought not.” This strongly negative combination is found nowhere else in the New Testament.
James is making a flat out declaration here. There is no ambiguity in his words. There are no shades of gray. James looks his readers in the eyes and says, “This isn’t right. You say you’re Christians. Your life should paint a different picture than your words do.”
James is making it very clear that there is never a reasonable or acceptable excuse for speaking harshly, for cursing another person, who is created in the image of God. If our explanation for such talk goes beyond genuine repentance, it carries no weight. I think there are Christians who think that God is going to overlook our sinful speech if we can give a good explanation for why we did it. That’s just not true. Throughout Scripture we find God forgiving sin. But we never see Him excusing it.
In fact, Jesus said, “But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the Day of Judgment” (Matthew 12:36). And Jude, one of Jesus’ half-brothers, when writing about Christ’s second coming, had this to say. “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him” (Jude 1:14b-15).
We can paraphrase what James is saying this way. “If we are truly followers of Jesus Christ, should we accept this notion that we can truly bless the Lord with our lips while, at the same time, talk to our fellow man with venom and malice in our hearts? Absolutely not!”
The human heart, forever changed by the grace of God, is completely incompatible with a fiery tongue. Paul wrote in II Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” I know that this was the case when Christ called me to Himself.
Before Christ saved me from my sin, I had a vocabulary that had a selection of adjectives you won’t find in Webster’s 1828 edition, or any other edition for that matter. The moment He became the Lord of my life, the desire to talk that way was completely gone. I even tried to curse and be vulgar, but even the thought of it repulsed me.
Because of the grace He freely extended to me, I am a new creature. I was not made perfect at that moment, and I’m not perfect now. The sanctifying work of Christ in my life is a process. But because Christ lives in me, the desire to take His name in vain is gone. The desire to destroy another person with my words is gone.
In those times when my tongue does become restless, when it fills with that deadly poison of an inconsistent life, when I fall short of God’s glory and sin, I may want to justify it in my own mind or to the person who had to face my verbal wrath, but my sin overwhelms me. There is no peace in my life until I repent of my sin and seek the Lord’s forgiveness.
James drives his point home about the incompatibility of pure and poisonous speech with three rapid-fire illustrations. In verses eleven and twelve we read, “Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs?”
James spends no time explaining the illustrations. All he wants to hear by way of response is the expected and reasonable answer to each of the three illustrative questions—“No. No. No.” After making his emphatic statement at the end of verse ten, James solicits an emphatic response from his readers.
James’ choice of words in verse eleven is not haphazard. The “opening” he speaks of in verse eleven is a metaphor for the mouths of his readers. The bitter water is representative of a speech that finds its origin in a bitter heart. The fresh water is representative of speech that springs, or literally “gushes out,” of a life-giving source. So, too, should our speech be evidence of the genuineness of our faith in Jesus Christ, the giver of eternal life.
In verse twelve, James again mirrors his Brother’s teaching. The point is that the fruit of the tree will never contradict the nature of the tree. Nor should our speech ever contradict the new nature we have in Jesus Christ.
Finally, James asserts that just like a salt sea cannot produce fresh, drinkable water, neither can a hardened, and hateful heart produce anything that is good. “An unrighteous heart cannot produce righteous words or works” (MacArthur, p. 161). And we cannot make our hearts righteous before God, by our own doing. We cannot merit the title “righteous” because of what we do or say.
God must first declare us to be righteous, and even then, what God sees in us is the righteousness of Christ covering our sinful natures. And as James so clearly taught us in Chapter two, everything we do and say should reflect the righteousness of Christ that has been given to us, by God’s grace.
If we cannot control our speech, if we tear people down, or slander them with gossip or innuendo, what does that say about our faith? Should anyone believe it to be genuine? Should the unbeliever living next to us, or working beside us simply take our word for it when our words sound no different than that of the unbelieving world? Friends, these things ought not to be this way.
As we come to the communion table this morning, let us first seek the Lord’s forgiveness for our words that dishonor Him. As we spend some time in prayer and remember the Lord’s sacrifice, pray that He will help you to do all things without grumbling or disputing. Pray that your speech would be consistent with your faith.
Pray that the Lord would remind you of those you may have offended with your words and that you would have opportunity, maybe even now—the person may be sitting next to you—to seek that person’s forgiveness. Ask the Lord to make you ever mindful of your words. Ask the Lord to provide you with the discipline you need to keep the fire of your tongue under control.
Paul tells us that each of us must examine ourselves first, before coming to celebrate at His table. Could there be a better time than right now to begin the process of putting out the fire of the tongue? And maybe you’re here this morning and after hearing God’s Word, you realize that you lack the authentic relationship with Jesus Christ that makes any control of the tongue possible.
Before you can even hope to control your tongue, Jesus Christ must first have complete control over you. Unless He is the Lord and Savior of your life, the best you can hope for is a band-aid to temporarily cover a mortal wound. If the Lord, through the power of His Holy Spirit, is drawing you to Him, answer that call. Repent and begin your life anew.
