Words in italic type have been added for clarity. They are not found in the original Hebrew or Aramaic.
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James 3
The Untamable Tongue
James 3:1 My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.
James 3:2 For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect (mature) man, able also to bridle the whole body.
James 3:3 (Now if) Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body.
James 3:4 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.
James 3:5 Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.
- Genesis 8:21 Then the Lord said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth;
See how great a forest a little fire kindles!
- “A lie gets halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes.”
~Mark Twain (Samuel Clemmons)
James 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity (unrighteousness). The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature (existence); and it is set on fire by hell.
- Note: The Greek word for hell is “Gehenna”.
- James is directing his comments to rumors, lies, backbiting, damaging criticisms, and thoughts of bitterness, resentment, and anger that explode into hateful, damaging words using the sacred alphabet created by God.
- Psalm 5:9 For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; Their inward part is destruction; Their throat is an open tomb; They flatter with their tongue.
- Psalm 34:13 Keep your tongue from evil, And your lips from speaking deceit.
- Matthew 15:8 ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.
- Matthew 15:18-20 Those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. 20 These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”
- The tongue is a wild beast; untamed, lawless, unpredictable, and heartless.
James 3:7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind.
James 3:8 But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
- Psalm 140:3 They sharpen their tongues like a serpent; The poison of asps is under their lips. Selah
- Romans 3:13 “Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit”; “The poison of asps is under their lips”;
James 3:9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude (likeness, image) of God.
- The serpent has a “split tongue”.
James 3:10 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.
- A kind word can change the course of a river, rebuild the future, or create a new universe. It changes both the giver and the receiver.
James 3:11 Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?
James 3:12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? (Neither can a salty spring produce fresh water.) Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.
Heavenly Versus Demonic Wisdom
James 3:13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom.
James 3:14 But if you have bitter envy and (selfish ambition) self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth.
James 3:15 This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. 16 For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.
- The truth is in the fruit. Rotten fruit is a basket of poison for those who indulge in adultery, fornication, pornography, idolatry, envy, greed, hatred, abortion, sex trafficking, anger, murder, necrophilia, abuse, bestiality, thievery, and any act which markets on the souls of others as well as bringing destruction to one’s self.
- “I came from a city which has produced an oddly large number of psychopaths: Ted Bundy, the Green River Killer, and the D.C. sniper all came from Tacoma, Washington. It’s a myth that the prototypical serial killer is a psychopath. Now I recognize that a quintessential psychopath is someone consistently callous in the face of others suffering. They’re not necessarily out to hurt people, they’re out to get what they want and if other people get hurt that’s just collateral damage. …” ~ By Nina Strochlic 05 January 2018 ~ How Fear Makes You Do Good Or Evil “That’s called the mask of sanity. It’s what people found so remarkable about Ted Bundy—those who knew him thought he was a well-adjusted guy.”
- What is the difference between sin and evil?
“Evil has no consideration in which to acknowledge its sin and no intention of being other than what it is. Its darkness has no open doors to Light. Men sin, but evil is demonic. Evil has no capability to repent. Sin can be forgiven, evil cannot. Evil can only be cast out by the Son of God. Jesus died to forgive men of their sin, not to forgive demons of their evil.”~Barbara Grover
- Matthew 10:16 “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.
- Don’t be naive in your innocence.
James 3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.
- Pure
- Peaceable
- Gentle
- Willing to Yield
- Full of Mercy
- Good Fruits
- Without Partiality
- Without Hypocrisy
- In essence, wisdom from above is “drama-less”.
James 3:18 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
- Peace is rest. It is a Sabbath of rest letting God do your work on your behalf.
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