The Tongue Is A Fire
Our Bible passage, introduction to Sunday 25th January service and hymns are below.
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Our principal verses are:
Jas 3:1 My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.
Jas 3:2 For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.
Jas 3:3 Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body.
Jas 3:4 Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.
Jas 3:5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
Jas 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
Jas 3:7 For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:
Jas 3:8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
Jas 3:9 Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.
Jas 3:10 Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
Jas 3:11 Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?
Jas 3:12 Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.
The Tongue Is A Fire
As we begin a new section of the Apostle’s teaching it is worth remembering that James is throughout this little work distinguishing between true and false religion. He is teaching us two things. First, that within every company of professors there will dwell those who have no real faith, whose lives reveal no true, enduring evidence of spiritual transformation. Second, true believers are warned not to imitate the hypocrisy of unbelievers.
Pure religion
James has been speaking of pure religion and how faith implanted in a man’s heart by the Holy Spirit must change the allegiance, attitude and ambition of every redeemed child of God. The grace of God does not leave a sinner where it finds him. It lifts him from the miry clay of servitude to Satan and sets his feet on the solid rock which is Christ Jesus. Upon this footing it is every true believer’s desire to worship God in spirit and truth and serve the Lord Jesus Christ in gratitude and love.
Doers of the Word
Now James wishes to convey to the Lord’s people some general principles of conduct so that they might be ‘doers of the word and not hearers only’, and especially to warn against the bad example of double-minded men. James had previously said, ‘If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain’ (1:26). Now in chapter three he dwells upon the immeasurable trouble caused by an unbridled or uncontrolled tongue and the damage it can do.
The burden of a master
The apostle begins this section by telling the Lord’s people, ‘be not many masters’, that is, do not eagerly assume the position of teacher, or preacher, of the Word of God. James knows it is a role fraught with pitfalls, temptation and heavy responsibility. It is a solemn task to be entrusted with the spiritual direction of a congregation. It is a great burden to undertake the oversight of men’s souls, which is the principal duty of a preacher. Preaching is a calling, not a career.
Offending in many things
The tongue is the principal tool of a preacher; words are his stock in trade. The tongue is a most useful instrument for good but a most potent power for evil. Because of the peculiar dangers inherent in speaking and preaching it is better ‘to be swift to hear, slow to speak’. James acknowledges all men are sinners and includes himself as an offender ‘in many things’ and the tongue as the source of greatest offence. A man who can control his tongue can control his whole body and be perfect, but there is no such man.
Out of all proportion
The Apostle contrasts the size of the tongue with the greatness of the damage it can cause. It is damage out of all proportion. He likens the tongue to the bit in the horse’s mouth that turns the horse’s head and alters its direction. It is small like the rudder that steers a mighty ship. Such is the power of words. Then he points out that a little fire can consume a vast amount and a loose tongue unleash a world of anger and iniquity. The potential for foolish and vicious talk from an unbridled tongue is ‘an unruly evil, full of deadly poison’.
Blessing God, cursing men
James calls upon the Lord’s people to be wise and wary in their speech and recognise the tongue’s power for both good and evil. From the same mouth can come both blessings and curses. James wonders that this can be. A believer’s works should reflect the state of our spirit, the nature of our affections and the desire of our soul after Christ. Sweet water and suitable fruit will be the produce of a new heart. A man’s speech betrays where he comes from!
The battle of two natures
Every redeemed child of God has within him two natures. Each strives for ascendency. The old man of the flesh wars against the new man of the spirit, and the tongue, and our talk, is a powerful weapon in that battle. We all need to be circumspect about what we say and how we say it. Hypocrisy and pride lie at our door. James calls the tongue untameable and so it is and so it remains without the grace of God and the righteous example of Christ to teach us better.
A force for good
Nevertheless, the tongue can also be a source of great blessing when it speaks truth and faithfully declares the gospel of Jesus Christ. God’s preachers are charged with rightly dividing the word of truth and declaring the whole counsel of God. It is their duty to bring forth truths old and new to convince the sceptical, convert the sinner and comfort the sad. The gospel, honestly preached quickens the dead, enlightens the dull and nourishes the souls of God’s people with grace, peace and wisdom from above.
Amen
Hymn 25
Breathing after the Holy Spirit. Ps. 44. 25, 26
I. Watts C.M.
1
Come, Holy Spirit, heavenly Dove,
With thy all-quickening powers;
Kindle a flame of sacred love
In these cold hearts of ours.
2
Look how we grovel here below,
Fond of these trifling toys;
Our souls can neither fly nor go,
To reach eternal joys.
3
In vain we tune our formal songs,
In vain we strive to rise;
Hosannas languish on our tongues,
And our devotion dies.
4
Dear Lord, and shall we ever live
At this poor dying rate?
Our love so faint, so cold to thee,
And thine to us so great?
5
Come, Holy Spirit, heavenly Dove,
With thy all-quickening powers;
Come shed abroad a Saviour’s love,
And that shall kindle ours.
Hymn 1042
“I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.” Rom. 1. 16
T. Kelly L.M.
1
I need not blush to own that he,
On whom my hope of heaven is built,
Was crucified on yonder tree,
Since ’tis his blood that cancels guilt.
2
Nor need I blush to call him Lord,
Whom heaven adores with all its hosts;
Yes, Jesus is by heaven adored,
In him the brightest seraph boasts.
3
What though the world no glory sees
In him my soul admires and loves,
I wonder not – how should he please
The man who of himself approves?
4
I too could boast of merit once,
And Jesus had no charms for me;
But all such claims I now renounce;
No merit but in him I see.
Paul was single-minded. He made it his determined approach to speak as becomes a servant of Jesus Christ, to speak as becomes an ambassador of God in a foreign land, to speak as Christ’s mouthpiece, as Christ’s tongue on this earth.