James 3:1-12
James chapter 3 verses 1 through 12 on first inspection seem like a random collection of sayings that have little or nothing to do with one another. Truthfully, this is all connected when we understand what has come before. What connects all of these things here is the tongue.
James has never stopped talking about the tongue throughout this letter. He began talking about boasting in Jesus’ exaltation. To boast is to speak about something. He follows that up with being quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger. These are the two sides of the tongue. We can, and should, speak boastfully of what Jesus has done but we need to be slow to speak when it comes to talking about other people.
Even when James was talking about favoritism the tongue was central. He said don’t say to someone to sit here or there. How we speak to people matters. Then last week, we talked about faith versus works. Simply speaking what you believe is not enough, it must be followed up with actions. You can see the tongue is central to everything we do and say and therefore it must be controlled. Today’s text is following on from that.
Before we look at what verse 1 means let me address the KJV. The word “masters” in KJV does not speak of masters in the sense of slavery but in the sense of “schoolmaster.” In that sense, there is no difference or contradiction here. We do not call teachers “masters” today but in England hundreds of years ago that was the common terminology used. Now that we understand that lets look at what he means about teachers receiving a stricter judgment.
First, we need to understand what James is talking about regarding teaching. James is not speaking of being theologically correct here. If a teacher fails to teach that Jesus is the Christ, then they are already judged. There is not a stricter judgment God can impose on someone who rejects Christ than what is already in place. James is not talking about such a person. Such a person does not really concern James because they are not a follow of Jesus.
The person James is speaking about here is the person who acknowledges Jesus as Lord and then goes about teaching others. Within belief that Jesus is Lord there are many, many points of theology. Nobody gets them all right. I don’t care which teacher you talk about, they could be the greatest theologian in history, there is something they have gotten wrong, some point of theology they have not gotten right. Does that mean that every teacher is facing a stricter judgment? If so, why would anyone sign up to be a teacher?
What James is speaking about here, and this is consistent with everything he has already said, is about being morally correct. A teacher must not be domineering, quick to pass judgment, show favoritism to one group over another, or be unwilling to help people in need. A teacher who does act like this is going to face strict judgment.
Where does James get this idea? He gets it from Jesus. Look at what Jesus had to say about the Scribes in Mark 12. (Mark 12:38-40) This text we are looking at then should not scare people away from teaching the truth of Jesus, but it should make us mindful of how we conduct our lives.
One of the aspects of verse 1 here that all the English translations miss is the word “become” does not mean so much to be a teacher, instead, it says “not many should presume to be teachers.” Just because you have all the right theological training does not qualify you to teach. The first criteria for teaching is being morally right in how you treat other people.
Verse 2 reinforces the idea that we are all going to make mistakes. We all stumble in many ways. If someone doesn’t stumble, then they are mature. This goes back to chapter 1 when James spoke of maturity. That is what we are striving for but this side of heaven it is going to elude us. That does not mean we don’t try to obtain it.
James’ point here is that when we can control our tongue, the rest of the body becomes easier to control. Our words tend to control our actions. James gives a series of examples that demonstrate how powerful the tongue is. Just notice that whatever the tongue is compared to is the thing that controls something else.
Verse 9-12 are the popular verses from this chapter, but they are the hardest to follow. God designed us with one mouth. Out of that mouth, we are called to bless our Lord and Father but often we use it to curse other people. What we need to remember is that the people we are cursing are made in God’s likeness. How then can we bless God and curse His likeness from the same mouth? As James says, this should not be.
He then gives a couple of examples from nature, other things God designed and created, that are not capable of doing contradictory tasks. A spring cannot produce both sweet and bitter water. A fig tree cannot provide olives any more than an olive tree can produce figs.
We might be tempted to ask if the tongue is such a horrible thing, why do we have one. Would it not be better to cut it out and not have the temptation to use it for evil? To do that misses the point of the tongue. While it can be used for evil, it was created to be used for good.
Our tongue was created to bless and honor God. That must then include blessing those made in God’s likeness. We must be careful that we don’t define this too narrowly. It is still not enough to just wish people blessings and not do anything physical for them. While James is talking about the tongue, we need to remember that the tongue is what controls the body for James. Therefore, just as with our faith, it is not enough just to say or not say something, we must also show our works for the benefit of others.
The tongue is a fire that can cause much destruction, but we must remember that it was created to do good. The problem then is not the tongue itself but how we choose to use it. This applies to all who desire to teach the truth of Jesus, which should be all of us. All believers are called to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus to the world. We cannot simply choose not to do this because we don’t want to live morally correct lives. We are called to teach and therefore are called to use our tongue to bless and not curse.