I’ve been writing about the book of James, and we’ve been talking about a lot of different topics. We’ve spoken about wisdom and the lack of wisdom during trials. We’ve spoken about how trials are a way to strengthen our faith and perseverance. We’ve talked about having the faith required to see beyond this life and to take pride in our heavenly dwelling place, regardless of our current circumstances. James wrote about how we should be people that are not just hearers of the word, but doers of the word. Most recently we learned that faith without works is dead. If our faith isn’t good enough to produce actions, then it’s not good at all. A saving faith is supposed to be a gift from God above. And that means that it needs to be Good. It means that the fruits of faith need to be good. It means that when we have a living faith in God, it will bear fruit. The fruit will look different ways at different times, but when we are really saved, our priorities change and the things that were important to us shift. At the end of last post, we spoke about Rahab. How her life in Jericho was not remarkable and she was in a humbling and humiliating profession. But when she encountered God’s people and believed in the power of their God, her priorities and her allegiance shifted away from Jericho and towards Zion. Towards the people of God. In the Old Testament book of Joshua it stated that she lives among the Israelites to this day. She truly became an Israelite. Her life and spirit were born again when she encountered an understanding of God. Today’s post will be about some of the fruits of being born again. In James 3, there are primarily two, Your speech and your wisdom.
Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2 We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.
James begins chapter 3 by making a statement about teachers, which doesn’t seem to follow with what he was talking about before. He says not many should become teachers. Different translations say teachers in the church or Masters. Why? Teachers will be judged more strictly. The King James version says that teachers receive a greater condemnation. Why is this? Teachers use their mouths and their voices to instruct and explain the word of God. If I teach something wrong, that error can be multiplied by the number of people that trust what I say. It’s a scary thought, and it always humbles me before I preach. I am always a little nervous that I will misinterpret something or tell the congregation something that isn’t true. I don’t want to be the reason that anybody believes untrue things about God. I don’t want to be the source of a theological or doctrinal error. That fear often makes me reluctant to preach. But that concern should extend to all believers, because at some point in all of your lives, you will need to be prepared to teach. Whether it’s your son or daughter, or a friend or coworker, or any another person who knows you spend time at church. At some point, a question will come up. You just might be the only Christian in the room. You will need to be the one who has an explanation, or at least the right idea of where to search in the Bible. That should motivate you to study your Bible and learn what it says. It should encourage you to ask questions when some verse or some part seems confusing or inaccurate or even unbiblical. Studying the word of God is always worth it. It’s a useful pursuit, whether we are learning something new, or reviewing something, or learning an old idea a new way. That will help us to be the voice of Biblical truth. Verse 2 says that we all stumble in many ways, but if you are never at fault in what you say, you are able to keep your whole body in check and you’re perfect. Is that possible? I don’t think so. James isn’t talking about a new path to salvation that bypasses Jesus and justifies or perfects your sinful nature by cleaning up your speech. I believe that we are all imperfect and need Jesus to save us, and the Bible teaches this concept of our fallen human condition. But when James writes verse 2, he’s really saying that you can find out someone’s imperfections pretty quickly just by listening for long enough. If you listen to someone and they are never at fault for saying something wrong, then they may be perfect, because we will find out later the hardest part of the body to tame is the tongue.
3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5 Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.
James explains how a small little thing can change the course of something much larger. A little bit moves a large horse. A tiny rudder sets the course of a whole ship. Likewise, our tongues and our words can get us into big trouble. We can make promises or claims with our tongues and have to use our whole bodies to back those claims. Just by one “Yes” we can agree to something that could enslave us into a binding contractual agreement without an easy out. With just one “No” we can close a door that will never reopen for us. That’s harsh, and kind of strict, though, right? But can’t we just pretend that we didn’t say those things, or get out of our agreements later? Well, when we do back out of our claims, then our Yes is no longer our Yes, and our No is no longer a No. Jesus warned us not to be that way. Remember Matthew 5:33-37
33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
The Bible says let your yes be yes and your no be no. No swearing on anything in heaven above or earth. Why? Because we involve an absolutely trustworthy God in our imperfect credibility. Even the best intentioned, most honest person is still far less credible than God. Matthew 5:36 says we aren’t credible because we aren’t in control. We can’t make a hair white or black. We should just say what we intend to do, and do our best to do what we say. The degree to which we do what we say will build or tear down our credibility. Now, of course we can’t live up to every promise we make. We aren’t perfect, and we aren’t sovereign! When our yes is not a trustworthy yes, that means we’ve lost something when we don’t follow our tongues. We lose our honesty and integrity. We become the boy who cries wolf. People stop believing us. That’s socially not good, but what’s worse, when we are involving God, or teaching about God or the Bible, people will use our lack of credibility to stop believing God’s credibility and they will stop trusting the Bible’s credibility. See why James warns people about being teachers in verse 1? Teaching others raises the stakes another level. That’s why we are so concerned with false doctrines, and false prophets, and dishonest churches with poor doctrine. We understand the danger, because the Bible warns us. But we don’t have to travel far to see teachers that should not be teaching. Whether they lack the credibility, or they lack the discipline to actually study the word and preach it correctly, or they just don’t care, there are plenty of people doing a poor job at teaching.
6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. 7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
Since the tongue and our words are how we express all of the things that are inside, it is very easy to see our sinful nature’s effect on us by our tongues or our speech. Either our words are unfiltered and honest and clearly indicate our sinful nature inside, or our words are filtered and refined and polished up, and then we are actually being dishonest in a different way.
By the way, verse 8 shows us that James didn’t ever expect to find perfection alluded to in verse 2.
James 3:2 Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.
James 3:8 but no human being can tame the tongue.
I wrote a while back about the value of our words as Christians. We were studying proverbs and learning about the wisdom of the old testament.
Proverbs
10:21 The lips of the righteous nourish many, but fools die for lack of sense.
12:18 The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
12:25 Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.
18:21 The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
We are to use our words to praise God, to build up his people. To provide wisdom to Promote instruction, to give and express compassion, to nourish the hungry with the words of life, to bring healing and cheer to a people that are anxious and weighed down by their sins. That’s the goal. James 3:9-12
9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
According to Proverbs, our tongues, our words have the power of life and death. We can use this great gift from God, this language, to communicate praise and worship. To communicate the good news of an abundant life and an eternal peace with God. There are people out there who are hungry for this word. There are people out there who are listening to lies and false doctrine. They are being fed prosperity doctrines and get rich quick schemes. They are going into a building that looks like a church, that has a cross, but they aren’t hearing the Gospel. We need to value Bible believing churches and what we do there. We need to work and give toward a future where the next generation can hear something different than what Hollywood entertainment is selling, What Washington politics are promising, what Wall Street is projecting for the economy. We have a place where we can learn doctrine. We have a place where we are free to read the Bible and question ideas. We can study God for who he is. We can build our future on an unchanging, authoritative rock of Scripture, which is the word of God, who became flesh, Jesus Christ. The Word of God that dwelt among us, and was the provision for our sins and was the way for our forgiveness. While the Atheists mock and deny, while the Pentecostal churches condemn and find sins like pants or Gum, sins that for some reason are too severe for Jesus’ Blood. While the catholic church closes down our cities, and parades around a guy who supposedly speaks with the authority of God, but has brought a different infallible message than the previous infallible messengers. While all that is happening out there, in our church we have Jesus Christ. The only Begotten Son of God. As Hebrews says: “fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” One high priest who lives and intercedes for us, who remains our high priest forever. One sacrifice for atonement. One offering to end all offerings. One King. One prince of Peace. Let’s use our language and our tongues to affirm these truths! Let’s honor God with our speech and our conduct and our lives! James closes chapter 3 with a little discussion about wisdom.
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
Have you been changed by God? Has God called you into a new life? Have you heard the word of God and been affected by it? Congratulations. You are saved, and are adopted into God’s family! Your faith is good and is a gift from God. He has given you wisdom and discernment. Since your faith is good, it will have fruit. Show your love of God and your faith in Jesus Christ by your good life. Demonstrate that you aren’t just a hearer of the word but a doer of the word, by doing deeds done in humility. What types of things will prevent us from doing good deeds? False wisdom. Verse 14. It’s bitter envy, and selfish ambition. These two things will get in the way of our good deeds. These two things will lie to us, telling us that we need more, and we don’t have enough. Our bitter envy tells us that our wants are greater than God’s provision. Envy is a lie to us that tells us covetousness is ok, and God’s plan is bad. Selfish ambition tells us that our ambitions and our Kingdoms are greater than God’s Kingdom. When we see these things we should not boast about them, but we should also not ignore it. James says don’t boast about it or deny the truth. Confess the truth when you see it. It seems like an appropriate time to admit and confess that I have struggled with selfish ambition. I wanted to be promoted at my job, I wanted a bigger, more prestigious position, I wanted these things so that my tithes could be bigger and more longer lasting, but when I looked at my heart, God showed me verses like these, and taught me that I was driven by my own ambition. I was envious of people who made multiples of what I was making. When I did try to tithe, my selfish ambition was telling me that I was foolish to give that amount, because I should be working harder and using that money to invest wiser. I would try and not let my right hand know what my left hand was doing. I was wearing myself out. I was chased after something that didn’t completely happen. My life was marked by disorder, and fears. I was following wisdom of the world instead of the wisdom of God.
17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.
The wisdom that comes from heaven first of all pure. Purity means that it has no blemish or imperfections. Wisdom that is from heaven comes from reading scripture, it comes from praying for wisdom. It comes from God’s generosity, since James tells us that God gives without finding fault. Wisdom from heaven is peace loving. When I was envious and full of selfish ambition, I wanted peace from worrying about things and bills and loan payments; but I wanted to do it my way, not God’s. Wisdom from heaven is considerate. I had to think of the needs of others before my own wants and desires. I had to care about other people. This thought process invaded my purchasing decisions. Suddenly buying something that I wanted was less important than making sure that I have saved enough to tithe and give an offering without anxiety and the voice in my heart telling me that I wasn’t ready to give. But I learned how to be considerate. I spent summers without air conditioning because I realized that my desire for comfort was actually keeping me in debt. Higher debt and higher bills meant more fear, more envy, and more selfishness. I could be paying off other things, but I wanted a comfortable 73 degree room, when God made the ambient temperature 93. I could spend $20 eating out, but if I bought $20 of the right groceries, it was like getting 2-3 dinners with food left over for the next day. When God’s wisdom showed me my selfishness and taught me consideration, I started trusting God over my finances and I began spending differently. That allowed me to reduce anxieties when I knew I should be giving a tithe or offering. Wisdom from God is submissive. That means when God tells you to do something, or to act, you should submit to his authority, instead of trying to do things your own way. As it relates to bitter envy and selfish ambition, it also means that instead of focusing on how to advance your career or get ahead, you should recognize what Paul called contentment. Whether the situation seems good or bad, that’s the place that God wants you to be at this moment. And at this moment, what does obedience look like? What does submission look like? If we are focusing on what obedience looks like after we get our next promotion, we are missing a chance to obey now. We are good at figuring out what obedience looks like after we win the lottery, but don’t run through the exercise of asking what obedience looks like currently. The israelites spent 40 EXTRA years wandering around the wilderness because they didn’t know how to submit to God’s authority in the present moment. They wanted to invade and conquer and take the promised land, so that they could build a nation for God. But they wanted to do that on their terms. So God taught them the hard way how to obey and submit. They needed to go back and eat flavorless manna and learn to submit themselves as homeless wandering nomads before they were ready to settle in the land and build the tabernacle.
God’s wisdom gives us fruits of cooperation and care for others, instead of concern for ourselves. God’s wisdom helps us to be full of mercy and gives us good fruit. We become impartial and sincere. All of these fruits of wisdom can’t be practiced alone. We need each other to extend mercy. We do good fruits and works to build each other up. We should love each other in a way that is impartial, since all of us are children of God. And we need to be sincere and honest with each other. He closes with verse 18 which says, Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness. As Christians we are uniquely at peace with God. We were enemies, but Jesus Christ ended the war, and bought our peace with God. We can live at peace with each other, because God first showed us what it means to be at peace. We can forgive because we’ve been forgiven. We can be merciful, because God has shown us mercy. In doing those things among ourselves, within the Body of Christ, we demonstrate God’s love in action. People should be able to see what forgiveness looks like when they observe how we interact. People should be able to see peace and love in our churches, and when they see that, they will want that. They will see how they are not at peace with God, and will look to the Savior who is the ultimate Peacemaker. When fallen humans look to Jesus, we see our sin and His righteousness. But God in His love chose to end the war and make peace. He looks to us and sees former enemies, who have turned into allies and friends. He looks to us and instead of seeing our sins, God sees a harvest of Christ’s righteousness, which was imputed or placed upon us. God’s wisdom allows for us to experience all of this, and I prefer His wisdom over this world’s wisdom any day.