SERMON: “The Perverseness of the Tongue” (James 3:6–12)
“The
Perverseness of the Tongue”
(James 3:6–12)
Series: “James: True Faith Works” #15 Text: James 3:6–12
By: Shaun Marksbury Date:
February
2, 2025
Venue: Living
Water Baptist Church Occasion:
PM Service
I.
Introduction
In ancient Greece, the famous philosopher Pythagoras tasked
his servant with preparing two meals. One
must be with the finest ingredient, and the other must be prepared with the
worst. For both, the servant presented
the same dish: tongue.
“Why is this both the best and the worst?” he asked.
The servant replied, “Because, when the tongue is used
wisely, nothing is better. But when it’s
used wrongly, nothing is worse.”
Regardless of your opinion on using tongue as a protein in
your next meal, you utilize your tongue everyday — for good or for ill. James 3 reminds us of this fact, and we began
studying this last week. We noted that
the tongue, though small, has a great deal of power and influence, so we do
well to utilize it wisely.
Yet, the tongue can leave others feeling sour. More than that, it can also poison
relationships and lead to untold destruction.
Like an unruly animal, it must be tamed, though this is impossible without
God’s transforming grace.
This evening, we’re seeing just why we need to tame the
tongue. We will consider again the fact
that the tongue is a perverse source of fire (v. 6). We will also consider that the tongue is a
perverse source of brutality (vv. 7–8).
Finally, we will consider that the tongue is a perverse source of confusion
(vv. 9–12). Let’s consider the first of
these.
II.
First, the tongue is a perverse source of fire
(v. 6).
And 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.
The tongue is a danger like fire. This continues the thought of the previous
verse: “So 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!” In fact, the translators of the NASB here
broke v. 5 in half and made the second sentence a new paragraph to match this
verse. Given the repeated imagery, this
verse is certainly connected to the previous one.
Fire can obviously be a source of blessing, when used
properly, but it can destroy without care.
Scripture likens our words to fire in many places. For instance, Proverbs 16:27 says, “A
worthless man digs up evil, while his words are like scorching fire.” We don’t want to be described as worthless,
but our thoughtless words can make us worse than worthless: they can burn those
around us.
In fact, James uses an interesting expression here for the
tongue. He says it’s the world of
iniquity or “unrighteousness” (LSB).
It’s difficult to determine the exact meaning of this phrase, whether it
means something like “an unrighteous world” or even an “ornament of iniquity.”[1] Yet, it clearly means that his small member
can be used for all manner of evil — it not only can set the whole forest
ablaze, it is the whole world of iniquity and unrighteousness.
This is so much so that, as the ESV translates this verse,
the tongue is “staining” the whole body.
Our words are not simply dangerous for others, but for ourselves, as
well. As Jesus said, “It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds
out of the mouth, this defiles the man. … But the things that proceed out of
the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders,
adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders” (Matt. 15:11,
18–19). This influences our whole being.
Consider this: Those things we speak and repeat make us more
confident in them. If it is the Word of
God, great. Yet, if we speak according
to falsehood, anxiety, lust, etc., then we begin to give ourselves over to those
things. This can either help or harm our
whole existence.
And that’s likely what James means when he says the tongue “sets
on fire the course of our life.” This phrase might sound strange to us, but it
refers to all of life, from beginning to end, and
extending outward in influence — much like a wheel. In other words, the tongue gets us into
trouble from childhood into adulthood, and its flames can destroy all the
relationships in our lives.
Of course, that makes sense when we consider how words of
abuse can tear apart a marriage and the confidence of another person. Yet, consider its source: It’s inflamed by
the fires of Gehenna, of hell. Jesus
said, “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be
guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You
good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says,
‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go
into the fiery hell” (Matt. 5:22). Note
that even the demonic host can use your tongue for evil.
This refers to everything which might be harmful to others —
lies, cussing, gossiping, false teaching.
This is why James said that those who have true religion in chapter one have
a handle on the tongue. It has a
perverse power to scorch everything. It
can also be brutal, as we see next.
III.
Second, the tongue is a perverse source of
brutality (vv. 7–8).
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.
We’ve already started to consider that we can utter abusive
words with our tongues, and that is part of the danger highlighted here. James begins by pointing us to the animal
kingdom. He uses the word “species”
here, but not necessarily in a taxonomical sense, but more in the nomenclature
of “kinds” of animal life. He talks
about four different categories of life — beasts of the land, fowl, reptiles,
and aquatic life. His point is that the
tongue is much like brutish creatures.
Of course, we might think of how the tongue has force like a
rushing bull. It can attack prey like a
falcon. It can slither like a serpent
and sting like an asp. It can swim along
the currents of deception.
Yet, as James says, we can tame all of these creatures. Not only are there farms on which the beasts
of the field roam, there are hatcheries for the creatures of the sea. Some folks in this church have terrariums at
home for reptiles. Other people not only
keep have cages for birds, they can train them to dispatch messages. We can and have tamed this life; the Lord has
given us dominion over the earth.
Yet, no one can tame the tongue! If you have raised children, you know how
difficult it is to teach them to properly use it. You tell them not to lie, and they might
become maliciously compliant, telling everyone exactly what they think. It’s difficult because, without the help of
God and the guidance of His Word, we find that the tongue can seem to say
exactly the wrong words at the wrong time.
James here calls the tongue “restless” — it’s “an unruly,
unsteady, staggering, reeling evil (like the ‘unstable’ man of 1:8).”[2] He says it’s full of deadly poison. It’s almost like a den of snakes, with the
young snakes that bite and don’t know how much poison to release. Sometimes, when a clerk at a store is less
than helpful, people strike like serpents, poisoning someone just trying to
make it through the day. Sometimes,
social media becomes an outlet, with people sharing false information about
people, consuming them like vipers. We
need to beware how perverse this tongue can be.
Again, we can’t stop it alone. Thankfully, the God who sent the miracle of
tongues on Pentecost (cf. Acts 2:1–11) can help us to tame the tongue. Before we talk about that, though, let’s
consider one other way that the tongue is dangerous.
IV.
Third, the tongue is a perverse source of
confusion (vv. 9–12).
With it we bless
our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the
likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My
brethren, these things ought not to be this way. 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? Nor can salt water produce fresh.
Scripture often creates a series of contrasts to instruct us. There are people who are friends of the world,
and there are people who become friends of God.
There are those who come from their father the devil, and there are
those who represent the heavenly Father.
There are some who serve money, and then there are some who serve
Christ. Here, we have those who bless
and those who curse — but both blessings and cursing come from the same mouth!
This is evidence of what James just said in v. 8, that the
tongue is “a restless evil.” It can
deceive ourselves and others by blessing God.
Incidentally, “Lord and Father” in this instance refer to the same
person in the original language, a subtle reminder of the Jewish nature of this
letter. Perhaps they were uttering the
Hebrew addition of “blessed be He” to God’s name,[3] but they were praising Him
one way or another.
Now, James isn’t just throwing stones at them. He says “we” here. The first-person “we” must refer to
Christians, as they are the only ones who truly bless the Lord. Yet, James even sees his own tongue as part
of the shameful dualistic reality.
What reality is that?
That the tongue both blesses and curses.
To curse someone in popular culture usually involves invoking a spell,
which would also be a sin. Yet, this is
referring more to considering someone destined for hell (Matt. 25:41) or even using
the power of words to deprive life (Mark 11:21). To tell people to go to hell or to wish death
upon them would be examples of cursing.
Sometimes, we use this term synonymously with “cuss,” referring
to foul language. This goes beyond the
bad words to the bad heart of speaker, though.
We must not allow hatred to motivate us either to tear people down with
hurtful language or to wish them suffering and eternal condemnation. Jesus commands to “bless those who curse you,
pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 6:28).
Paul says in Ephesians 4:29, “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your
mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of
the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.” Christians grieve the Holy Spirit when they
speak according to the flesh.
We must remember that we’re speaking of people made in the
likeness of the God we bless. The Greek
term here for “likeness of God” is homoiōsis theou. Often, we use the Latin tern imago dei
to describe the idea of the image of God in mankind in general, reflecting
Genesis 1:26–27. There is a rise of
racialism today, with people looking to genetics, average IQs and personality
types, phrenology, and things of that sort to create artificial divisions in
humanity. God’s Word affirms that we are
all one blood, despite what differences may be apparent. Those Christians who use patterns of say,
certain urban behaviors to speak ill against a whole people group are violating
God’s Word.
This should especially apply to Christians, though. Paul’s exhortation to the Galatians was to do
good to all, “especially to those who are of the household of the faith” (Gal.
6:10). James has repeatedly been
addressing the brethren, and believers are being restored to the fullness of
God’s image through sanctification in Christ (2 Cor. 3:18). Thus, while we must watch our words with all
people — bearers of God’s image, deserving dignity and respect — Christians
should take even more care for fellow believers as reflections of this renewed
image.
This has a positive application, as well. Our tongues could be used only to praise God
and to build others up in the Lord. As
James says here in v. 10, it “ought not to be” that “ from the same mouth come both
blessing and cursing.” Let’s be
consistent in our language.
To further emphasize this, just as he did in vv. 3–5, James
uses three more illustrations in vv. 11–12.
Two are related in nature, referring to water, and the other is a
supporting one — a tree giving two kinds of fruit. James does this to emphasize that one mouth
shouldn’t produce two kinds of speech.
First, in v. 11, James gives the illustration of two kinds
of water coming from the same stream or fountain. Usually, baring some major geological
event, only a single water source would feed it. A mountain stream, for example, would not
suddenly have ocean water flowing with it.
The next illustration is like it: a fig tree will not start
producing olives. This image is straight
from Christ’s teaching. Jesus said, “You
will know them by their fruits. Grapes
are not gathered from thorn bushes
nor figs from thistles, are they?” (Matt. 7:16). That was after He said not to judge (v. 1),
meaning some judgment is necessary in our lives. We can certainly discern if there is good or
bad speech coming out of our mouths, for instance.
It may be that you think harsh language, given in a spirit
of contempt, will accomplish good. This
is a fine line that some Christians walk.
There is something to be said of satire, and sometimes it’s called the serrated
edge. Elijah employed this against the
prophets of Baal, for example. However,
there is a limited window and use for this, and we must beware lest we violate
the principles of Christian love.
With that in mind, James gives one final illustration. Just as a fig tree doesn’t produce olives, salt
water cannot produce fresh water. We
must bridle the tongue.
V.
Conclusion
Remember that the Jewish believers James addresses were
undergoing persecution. The pressures of
this life have a way of revealing our hearts, much like squeezing the tube gets
the toothpaste onto your brush. So, what
comes out of you when you are squeezed?
Does a sharp word from your wife, your kids, your friend, a coworker, or
someone else open a world of iniquity in your mouth?
Examine what comes from you.
You might erupt into a volcano of hate and cursing. Might I suggest that it is indicative of a
heart burning with the fires of hell rather than a passion for God? Let that be your sign that something is
seriously wrong in your faith, and you need to repent and turn to the Lord for
help and salvation.
And, He does help. It
may be that such eruptions used to describe you, but now, you struggle with an
occasional bad word that you’re trying to get out of your vocabulary. That’s sanctification — so let Him continue
that work. He is sufficient to train
your tongue in righteousness.
[1] See A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament,
(Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1933), Jas 3:6.
[2] J. Ronald Blue, The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An
Exposition of the Scriptures, 1985, 2, 828.
[3] John MacArthur Jr.,
Ed., The MacArthur Study Bible,
electronic ed., (Nashville, TN: Word Pub., 1997), 1931.
