THE UNTAMABLE TONGUE
Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on June 19, 2024 under AM Bible Study |
AM Bible Study Group: June 19, 2024 from James 3:2-8
Theme: We need to trust the Spirit of our Lord to help tame for us the terrible tongue that we ourselves cannot tame.
(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).
In the Seattle Museum of History and Industry, there’s a glass case that contains an old glue pot. It doesn’t look like much. In fact, at first, you’re not even sure what it is. But as you read the description, you discover that it’s believed to be the glue pot that boiled over, overheated, and started the Great Seattle Fire of June 6, 1889—a fire that almost completely devastated the city. Because of that little glue pot, much of Seattle had to be rebuilt. As you look at it, you stare at it with a sense of awe. It amazes you that such a small thing could have caused so much destruction!
But the destructive potential of that little glue pot is limited and temporary. You can go and look at it, because the city is still there. But in James 3, Pastor James writes of another ‘little’ thing whose destructive power is much greater—and that can cause damage that is truly eternal. In James 3:1-12, James wrote;
My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. For 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. Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. 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. Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And 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. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh (James 3:1-12).
Last week, we considered just verse 1; where Pastor James warned that—because of the potential danger of the tongue—“not many” should presume to rise up in the church to be teachers. Those who do so will receive a much stricter judgment for the reckless use of their tongue. And this week, we’ll consider verses 2-8; and what James tells us about the dreadful potential of the tongue itself. Like that glue pot, it too is a relatively small thing—one of the smallest members of our body—just a tiny, wiggly, wet muscle. And yet, the destructive potential of it is truly staggering.
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The tongue is being used in this passage as a figure of speech for … well … speech! The capacity of speech was given to us by God for a reason. We may be tempted at times to ignore that reason; and simply draw a brush out of that ill-famed glue pot and glue our lips shut for good. But that would be to fail to use our tongues and our speech for the high reason God gave them to us.
We stand out among God’s created beings on earth in that God has made us in His own image. And included in that image is the capability of rational speech. God intends for us to use our capacity for speech to do what no other creature on earth can do—and that is to express back to Him His praise and glory in verbal and reasonable form—to sing our praise to Him intelligently in songs of worship, or to speak back to Him thoughtfully the words He has given us, or to utter our request to Him trustingly in prayer. But sadly, because of our fallenness, our tongues become used all too often for unworthy purposes that grieve God’s heart. As it says in Ephesians 4:29-30;
Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption (Ephesians 4:29-30).
That verse expresses the kind of standard that James himself would hold up to us. But do you notice, in reading this passage from James’ letter, that it’s also a standard that is impossible for us to achieve? He tells us that if a man is able to avoid stumbling in what he says, then he can control the whole body. But then he also goes on to tell us that no one can tame the tongue. The potential of our tongues for good is truly wonderful; and yet, instead, he warns us that with it, we instead bless God and curse men. It’s frustrating to have this high standard set before us … and yet be so terribly incapable of keeping it!
And yet, perhaps that frustration is intended to turn our attention to the Lord Jesus—the only member of the human family to have walked the earth without ever sinning with His tongue. In John 7:46, we’re told, “No man ever spoke like this Man!” Luke 2:47 tells us that—whenever He was questioned—”all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers”; and Luke 4:22 tells us that “all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth”. In John 6:63, He said of Himself, “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” And in John 12:49-50, He told those who opposed Him, “… I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”
When we look at how Jesus spoke throughout His time on this earth, we soon feel the burden of how sinful we have been in the use of our own tongues. We ourselves know personally—and often very painfully—the destructive potential of our own tongues. We can tell stories of the damage we have done … and yet, are often too ashamed of ourselves to do so. We know all too well that, in our own power, we cannot ‘tame’ the tongue. And so—as this passage helps to remind us—we need to trust the Spirit of our Lord to help tame for us the terrible tongue that we ourselves cannot tame.
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Now, James began by giving us a piece of valuable information. Notice first that he stressed to us how …
1. SELF-CONTROL IS CENTERED ON THE TONGUE (vv. 2-5a).
After warning us not to hastily become “many teachers”, he tells us, “For 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.” To “stumble” means to “make a false step” or “transgress” or “put one’s foot in a sinful place”. In the original language of James’ letter, it’s the same word he used in James 2:10 for those who “keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point”. And James tells us that the man or woman who doesn’t “transgress” in this way with their tongue is able to control the whole rest of their body. This is because, as it says in Proverbs 18:21,
Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it will eat its fruit (Proverbs 18:21).
James uses the word that is used to control a large animal—that is, to ‘bridle’ it by a bit in the mouth. James uses this same word in James 1:26, when he says, “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.” It may be that this was a favorite metaphor for Pastor James. It pictures how a large thing can be controlled by something small—but which has an influence that is greatly out of proportion to its size. He went on in verses 3-5 to give a couple of examples: “Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. 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. Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.”
Jesus taught this as well. In Matthew 12:34-35, He said that
“… out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things” (Matthew 12:34-35).
And in Matthew 15:18-19, He explained to His disciples that
“… those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies” (Matthew 15:18-19).
Just as is true of the bit in the mouth of a large horse, and the rudder of a mighty ship, the tongue is a small member of the body. But it has a decisive impact on the course of the life of the person who owns it. We should beware of it. Its power is remarkably out of proportion to its size.
And yet, as decisive and as strategic to the whole body as it is, James reminds us that …
2. WE OURSELVES CANNOT CONTROL THE TONGUE (vv. 5b-8).
Look at how he tells us this in verse 5. He carries the idea of ‘a small thing having a big impact’ to illustrate one of the most out-of-control and destructive things we can know of in the natural world: “See how great a forest a little fire kindles!” (v. 5b). Just like that tiny glue pot destroyed a city, so the tongue can set an entire life ablaze.
James then goes on to say; “ And the tongue is a fire …” (v. 6a). If we were to happen to see a small flame flickering in our home in a place it shouldn’t be—that is, not in the fireplace, or not on a candle, or not in a lamp—we wouldn’t ignore it. Instead, we’d be immediately and justifiably alarmed. That little flame could get out of control very quickly; and so we run, if we can, to extinguish it. And James is urging us to look at our own tongues with the same sense of caution and alarm. We need to see it as a little thing that can get out of control very suddenly and rapidly—and cause a great deal of destruction as a result.
In the verses that follow, James extends the metaphor to describe the deadly potential of the tongue in other ways; that is …
– As a “world of iniquity” (v. 6b). Think of our mobile devices. We certainly love them; don’t we? We almost don’t know what we’d do without them; because with just a press of the screen, it connects us immediately to ‘a world of information’. It’s like having the Library of Congress at the tip of our finger. But James would warn us that we also have a “world of iniquity” that can be released through the tip of our tongue—far more iniquity, in fact, than we can imagine.
– As that which is so situated in the body that it defiles the whole person. (v. 6c). Proverbs 17:28 says,
Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace;
When he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive (Proverbs 17:28).
By contrast, a man or woman can be considered otherwise very ‘honorable’ and ‘dignified’; and yet, by saying one foolish thing, he or she can bring terrible shame and dishonor to themselves—not just upon their mouths where the tongue is, but upon their whole person!—and not just for a moment, but often for the rest of their lives!
– As that which sets on fire the course of nature (v. 6d). Many great politicians or leaders have worked hard to raise themselves to a position of prominence; and yet brought themselves to complete shame—and saw their whole careers brought to ruin almost overnight—by some careless word or foolish utterance. The world tends to forget whatever other good things they might have done; but the folly of their lips is remembered for the rest of their lives.
– As that which is set on fire by hell (v. 6e). It’s as if our tongues have a direct fuel line to hell itself. The devil has done much of his work in this world through the use of unrighteous human tongues that don’t restrain themselves.
– As that which cannot be tamed (vv. 7-8). All creatures of the animal kingdom—even the most dangerous of beasts—can be and have been tamed by man. James names them all: “every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea”; that is, from all realms of the animal kingdom. But not even the greatest animal trainers in the world have been able to tame even their own tongues. The tongue is an unruly evil—wilder and more unpredictable than the most dangerous and unpredictable wild animal. And what’s more, it’s full of deadly poison!
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Think once again of that infamous glue pot. It must have looked small and seemingly unimportant at the time. Even in the glass case in which it sits today, it looks unimpressive and harmless. But someone neglected to keep a cautious eye on it; and it boiled over, caught fire, and destroyed much of a city. If someone had known in advance the potential danger of such a small thing, perhaps they would have done something to keep it under control.
Well; our tongues are like that. They too are small; and their destructive potential of them is great beyond human measure. If you knew in advance the danger your tongue would cause, you would do what you could to tame it in time; wouldn’t you?
But here’s the thing that James lets us know: no human being can tame it. It is humanly beyond complete taming. Only the Lord Jesus—who Himself never once sinned with His mouth—can tame it for us through the power of His indwelling Holy Spirit.
So; let’s learn to pray—regularly and sincerely—as King David prayed;
Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;
Keep watch over the door of my lips (Psalm 141:3).
Only He can.
AE
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