Talk Is Not Cheap- James 3:1-12

The tongue can be the source of great humor, but someone once observed- “The tongue is the only instrument that get sharper the more it is used.” There is a dark side to the tongue that is exemplified in Proverbs 18:21”Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” We are used to the statement “Talk is cheap” There is a time when that is true, but there is another way in which talk is never cheap. Jesus said that the words of our tongue are a revelation of our heart in Matthew. It is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.

James warns us that words without works take us to Hell! He also warns us that our tongues in an of themselves are the hardest part of the body to bring under submission to Jesus Christ. James chapter 3 is anything but one of my favorites- it is full of hard sayings for me. It always leaves me enormously convicted of my need for the Grace of God in my life.

James 3:1 ¶ Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.

James 3:2 We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.

James 3:3 ¶ When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal.

James 3:4 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.

James 3:5 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 3:6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

James 3:7 ¶ All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man,

James 3:8 but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

James 3:9 ¶ With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness.

James 3:10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.

James 3:11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?

James 3:12 My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

When I was a child and claimed to be sick, my Mom would bring me to her and place her hand on my forehead to test that-then she would say “Stick out your tongue”. She could tell from just looking at it all kinds of things it seems. My Grandmother used to tell me if I told a lie my tongue would go black. If she questioned my validity the first thing she would say would be “Stick out your tongue” I would swallow hard and she could tell quickly if I was telling the truth- she was very deceitful be clever. James does something like that here- Examine your tongue- Your tongue tells what your heart’s condition is.

True faith can be seen- that is James’ all the way through his book. True faith is demonstrated- in the works that can be seen and the words we hear. Faith is not invisible- it is demonstrable. Here James makes his first point- a message for teachers to remind them that they have a demanding responsibility before God, determined BY God. Verse 1: Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers- or more literally- “Do not become teachers many of you my brothers” the Greek says. Then follows a warning against the dangers of teaching the Word of God. Why ever would that be so?

In Judaism teachers had great respect – they were called Rabbi- which in one respect means “My Great One”. They were viewed with honor and respect and given deference. In the first century the position was highly regarded. According to Joachim Jeremias who is one of the great living scholars of that period of time, scribes of Jerusalem had become the new upper class. There was the aristocratic wealthy upper class and then there were the scribes- this was the quickest way to status in Judaism. From all corners of the world, young Jews streamed to Jerusalem to sit at the feet of the masters. They learned from their master in daily life as well as in the lecture room. His actions and even his gestures were closely watched. They were venerated like the prophets of old, perhaps moreso. They were the bearers and teachers of esoteric knowledge.

The early church had the same kind of value placed on teachers. Of all faiths of the world, the Christian Gospel places emphasis on teaching. That is because we have a revelation from God-revealed truth that God has given and one of the greatest things we can know is “What has God said?” The way in which we do that is that we are taught the Word of God. The early church valued the ministry of teachers The danger is that whenever a ministry is important it can be valued for the wrong reason. In church history teachers were called by deferential titles, and even wore special clothing- One of the names given was “The Parson” That is a kind of shift on the word “person” there was a sense in which the Parson was THE Person in the community. He was usually the most educated and well read, and perhaps the most gifted intellectually. That has certainly changed in our modern times. As Leith Anderson points out- when the average preacher stands up in front of a congregation, he knows there is probably not a single subject that he knows more about than anyone else in that congregation. We still continue to put pastors on a pedestal today- we say that‘s Adrian Roger’s church or that’s Charles Stanley’s church or “That’s sos and so’s church”. The flip side of the problem is that we too readily step up to knock them off the pedestal they did or didn't desire in the first place.

It was that value placed on teachers- and some of it appropriate- that leads to this warning. Don’t presume to be teachers- when something is valuable we can have an ambition to be part of that for the wrong reason because of the prestige, the position- there’s something nice about being four feet above contradiction.- James knows there is something in us that can desire to teach for the wrong reason. He is not trying to discourage those called to teach- but make sure God has gifted and called you! Do not seek it.

He also wants us to understand that with privilege goes responsibility so we read at the end of the verse-“…we who teach will be judged more strictly.” In other words when teachers stand before God, the principle" to whom much is given, much is required” applies. To know the truth makes me responsible to do the truth- to teach the truth gives me an even higher level of responsibility to live it. This is not my favorite verse in the Bible, but one I continually need to remember. I will be judged in a way that others will not than those who listen to me. There is also a sense that this applies to people- people should require consistency of teachers. We know that when a high profile teacher falls they affect all kinds of other people. The fall of a teacher can be catastrophic in terms of the reputation of Christ- other believers rightly hold teachers to a higher accountability. I do not think James is encouraging a critical attitude toward those who teach- he is encouraging in those who teach a divine sense of responsibility before God.

In the light of James 3:1 I would encourage anyone with a desire to teach to examine themselves carefully. In a sense it is the one who knows he is incapable of being sufficient for the task that the Lord calls and uses most mightily. Think of Moses, Amos, Jonah, etc.

In verse 2 James shifts away from the teacher per se to the tongue and to the way all Christians use their tongue. There are some who read all of verses 2-12 as referring to teachers and will even try to suggest that in verse 6 for example that James is using the body in the way Paul does, that the tongue is the teacher in the midst of the church congregation. While that is possible I think it is very unlikely because most of this applies to every single one of us and how we speak. It is interesting that in the New Testament the two that were the most concerned about the way the tongue was used are the Lord Jesus and James. Over and over we find that what James is concerned about we find first in the ministry of the Lord Jesus.

I almost wonder- now this is speculation- if some of that didn't come from both growing up with Joseph and Mary for parents. Of course the Son of God was born into a family where God's truth was valued, but you can almost see both James and Jesus learning from their parents as the Lord was taught humanly and of course God the Son taking that further and james learning on that basis.

Look at three things James is going to tell us about the tongue - in verses 2- the first part of verse 5 James wants to remind us that the tongue has disproportionate power. The whole here is to remind us that the tongue, small as it is has the enormous ability to control. He begins by reminding us about our nature. James has a deep sense of human depravity. One of the things that is true about verses 1-12 is that it is not going to prescribe answers- it is just going to give us the problem.. It is going to push us to ask "where do we go to deal with this problem?" but the answer is not in the text. We need to go back to the Lord.

James reminds us of sin- we all stumble in many ways. Failure is a common human experience. I think primarily here he is thinking about the ways we stumble and sin with our tongues. It is an universal and continual experience. "Many ways" can also be translated "many times".

Let's do some spiritual arithmetic. What would be a reasonable number of times that you think- "Ah, I shouldn't have said that"? or "I could have said that better"- let's be kind and just suppose one sin a day with the tongue. If I could bring it down to that I would be in great shape- but at the end of 65 years you would be accountable to God for 23,725 sins. If you begin to think that you are probably not on the One-A-Day brand you begin to realize what an enormous heap of sins we can accumulate in the presence of God, walking in the Light. But where sin abounds, Grace super-abounds! So James reminds us that if anyone is not at fault in what he says, he is a mature person. He is able to have the fruit of a self controlled life and is moving towards where God wants him. None of us are in that position in an exhaustive sense. Tongue control is a key to self control. The person who brings his tongue under the direction of the Holy Spirit has all of his life under that direction.

Now obviously James is not saying it is the tongue per se- because then obviously mute people would be sinless. It is out of the abundance of the heart that the tongue speaks. He is not suggesting to not teach your children to talk so they won't sin. Obviously the issues go deeper into the heart. Suppressing the tongue does not change the desire of the heart.. But he wants us to understand that it is the tongue where it is easiest to fail and it is hardest to control. the tongue is a revelation of our innermost character in the presence of God. I will never have complete control over my tongue in this world- not until I reach maturity in glorification with Jesus. Tongue control is no less an issue late in life than it is earlier in life.

James uses illustrations to show us how we communicate effectively with our tongues. These word pictures make points. The two illustrations in verses 3 and 4 relate to the control of something. There were two things that men in the first century were able to steer- horses and ships. You can think of many other things we steer today, but that was pretty much the limit of what they were able to control in this particular way. So first we have the illustration of a horse - we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us. By pulling on the reigns of the bridle, you can control the horse in particular ways- the whole animal by one small bit of metal- controlled through its mouth- that is James' point.

Then think back to the sailing ships of the first century- the winds driving them , the seas buffeting them and moving them in different directions. It is not because of the wind or the waves that a ship gets where it is going. Sailors know you have to set the sails in a particular way but it is the rudder that determines the direction of its destination. All the evident power is not the real power. The power is directed by the set of the rudder. So at the beginning of verse 5 James says the tongue is like that.. The tongue is a small part of the body- Martin Luther called it "a little bit of fat between your teeth" but that little bit of fat has the enormous power to direct life, power that is out of all proportion to its size. Some of us know that because we continually get in trouble with our tongues- whether peaking the truth but not in love, saying yes when we should say no, speaking out of turn, gossiping, lying or cursing, there are so many creative ways in which to use it- yet it was meant to be an instrument of blessing.

In the middle of the verse it says the tongue boasts great things . While it is true that we can use it for that what it is saying in this context is that the tongue can rightfully boast great power. Think of the great dictators of the past century- they martialled great power and forces by the power of the tongue. In an age of mass communications the power has exploded exponentially. On the other side think of the words of a Churchill where one man's words rallied the hopes of a nation.

The tongue determines our destiny. If you say "I do" in the wrong context your life will be forever changed by that action for better or for worse, for richer or poorer.

Now James wants us to see that the tongue has destructive potential. He uses two different illustrations for this point. Now the fire in the end of 5 and verse 6. Think of the enormous power unleashed in Los Alamos a couple of weeks ago. You have seen the mass destruction and blight brought on by the spark of fire that was set- The intent was for it to be a controlled burn. This reminds us of the enormous potential of one spark of fire.

In Texas, where we lived for seven years, one cigarette can set a grass fire that spreads destruction so rapidly it is uncontrollable… There exists roughly the same climate in Palestine- and James wants us to think of the devastation brought by one spark applied in the wrong way. He applies this in verse 6. The tongue is a fire. It gives off sparks that can ignite relationships.. He goes on to say it is a world of evil. The phrase in Greek almost seems to say it represents the world.- Satan's order. In fact the word Satan means accuser and it is with the tongue that accusations are made..

"The fire" was identified early with the Valley of Hinnom. It was also a place where the prophets Jeremiah pronounced terrible curses of God's judgment and slaughter of the wicked (Jeremiah 7:31-32; 19:1-6). Isaiah saw the judgment of the wicked in terms of burning: "And they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind" (Isaiah 66:24). By the second century B.C., the Valley of Hinnom had come to be equated with the hell of the last judgment (Joachim Jeremias, "gehenna," TDNT 1:657-658).

There is some evidence that the Valley of Hinnom was the refuse dump of Jerusalem. The Prophet Jeremiah identifies the location of the Valley of Hinnom as "near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate" (Jeremiah 19:2), that is, the place where broken pots were discarded. NT scholar Joachim Jeremias observes, "It was still in modern times the place for rubbish, carrion, and all kinds of refuse" (Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus, Fortress Press 1962, translated 1965, p. 17). Jeremias (p. 310) also cites an ancient Jewish document that identifies the Dung Gate as leading to the Valley of Hinnom. It is logical, then, that it was a place where garbage burned continually. (Both David John Wieand, "Hinnom, Valley of," ISBE 2:717, citing Lightfoot; and Leon Morris, Matthew, Eerdmans, 1992, p. 115; see this as a possibility.) If Gehenna also has the connotation of burning refuse and garbage and uncleanness, then James' comment, that the tongue "is itself set on fire by Gehenna" is particularly apt.

If you want to find out if a person is worldly, listen to what he says. The words on my lips reflect whether the world is in my heart. It corrupts the whole person. What I say affects all of me- In this sense, talk is not cheap. Words burn. Words scald.

I think of the times I have said things- words said to people I love- words carelessly said. Certain things that are said lodge into the hearts and wound in a way that only God can heal. Like an arrow that has left the bow, it cannot be taken back. Proverbs 26:20-22 says "For lack of wood the fire goes out and when there is no whisperer contention quiets down. Like charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire so is a contentious man to kindle strife. The words of a whisperer are like dainty morsels and they go down deep into the innermost parts of the body". James says the tongue is SET ON FIRE BY HELL. It is almost as if I have a foreign agent in my body.

John Calvin once wrote "The vice of the tongue spreads and prevails over every part of life. It is as active and potent for evil in old age as it ever was in the days of our youth." Do you ever tell yourself to just be quiet? Why do we shoot off out mouths? Part of the reason is what James says next.

The tongue is an untamed beast.

The little girl loved the circus, but she was afraid of the tiger. She probably had no reason to be, however, because the huge old cat had been tamed and was caged. It was hopelessly overweight, and I suspect it no longer had any teeth. Along with its lion friends, the striped beauty went through its routine in meek subjection.

Yet there was a sign there that said "Do not feed the Tiger" If it got a chance, it would strike out.

You've heard the stories about pit bull attacks- invariably, they always say- oh it was so gentle, so tame, so good with children.

Even under the strictest self-discipline and constant monitoring, the tongue's unruly nature lurks dangerously below the surface. You can tame a tiger, but only by prayer and watchfulness can you control your tongue. It is a restless evil. The word restless implies the concept of something that is caged but lurking in it is a power to lash out at any moment and do the most amazing things. You might ba able to tame a tiger, a lion, a leopard, a cheetah, and other wild animals, especially if you work with them from birth. But according to the apostle James, you cannot tame the human tongue. He wrote, "It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison" (3:8). You may have heard "sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me." When you came home the victim of namecalling. But notice how Mom was not quite so genial when you used those names on your siblings? We know that though we recite that verse, it is wishful thinking. Words burn.

Words abuse people. The art of the snappy putdown is still alive today. When you become adept at the use of sarcasm to defend yourself effectively it can become a great moral battle in your life. I know I can say things and not really mean it- but it is always the other person that knows my wounds. You may not have that battle. It is a poison.

Final illustrations are given in verses 9-12. James here is reminding us that not only does the tongue have disproportionate power and destructive potential, but it reveals a polluted heart. He is concerned about the doubleness of the tongue The same tongue can say all the right things spiritually can come into God's very presence, can sing hymns and bear the fruit of lips that confess His name.. A tongue can pray, preach a sermon can delight in worship- the purest highest, noblest use of the tongue is to praise our Lord. Jesus said if these do not cry out even the rocks will cry out!

James is concerned that we can sing the Doxology and then as we go home we can have cutting critical remarks to make about someone we were just worshipping with. Or we can get into an argument with a member of our family. Or maybe we reverse it on Sunday morning and curse each other on the way to church! "Hurry up! You're not ready yet?" Then the instant spiritual transformation of driving onto the parking lot. Of course that has never happened to any of you.

"Damn you" may seem a trivial thing to say on the surface, but behind it is a powerful sense of playing God. It is alone who judges in this way. In an awful sense it is saying- you are worthy of hell and I have the power to consign you there. When we take God's role, we are attacking His image and his sovereignty. If I bless God it is required that I recognize that people are made in the image of God, even though that image is marred by the fall. We must not only value their life in an abstract way we not only fight for life of unborn children because they bear that image also, but the very way we speak to others around us whom we dislike and who anger us displays how seriously we take the image of God.

James uses some final, simple illustrations- they are pretty obvious and we will not linger on them. Three pictures all come to the idea of the "source". Nature tells us that you do not get two different things out of the same source. There were all kinds of springs around the region of the Dead sea- they were either fresh or salt springs but never both. The life and nature of the tree is revealed in its fruit. We see Jesus teaching this in John 15. So how can I give double fruit with my tongue? If our words are polluted, so is our heart.

We must also watch what words we listen to. The Tonight Show with Jack Paar was almost pulled off the air because of the mention of the word "toilet" in the 1960's. That serves to illustrate how far standards have dropped in our society. Today we have the toilet flushing right into our living rooms. Never begin to minimize the importance of the words we speak.

James does not prescribe a cure here- but let me close by suggesting three things that are helpful. All three are taken from the Old Testament. Isaiah 6 is an interesting passage- the glorious revelation of the holiness of God. Isaiah's first impression was "Woe is me! I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people with unclean lips." This was one of the most righteous men of his time speaking. God responded by applying a coal to the lips of Isaiah. We need to ask the Lord to cleanse us, and in a special way apply His redemption to our mouths.

Make the prayer of Psalm 141:3 our own. "Set a guard, Oh Lord, over my mouth. Keep watch over the door of my lips". That would be a good prayer to pray every day.

Isaiah 50:4 is about the servant, the Lord Jesus Christ. I love the way it describes the need of my heart. "The Lord God has given me the tongue of a disciple (NASB) so that I may learn to sustain the one who is weary with the Word every morning he wakens me- morning by morning he fills my ear with His truth." We need to ask the Lord to give us the tongue of a disciple. We need to learn to yield a good word that ministers comfort to the soul.

We all can change ! The inconsistency of our words can cease. The antithesis of happy words of love and forgiveness flowing alongside the bitter words of hatred can cease. The fruit of peace and gentleness and encouragement can be found on your lips. The effectual sanctification of the indwelling Spirit will make you increasingly sensitive in your language and you will become wise. Cry mightily to God that he make you a new creation, and that all things will become new. Present your body to God as a living sacrifice. Pray with all your heart, ""Set a guard, Oh Lord, over my mouth. Keep watch over the door of my lips"

Ten Tips for Taming Your Tongue from www.cusscontrol.com

(Not a Christian site, but pretty good advice if fueled by the Spirit).

Follow these links or scroll down through each page to learn how to tame your tongue.

1. Recognize that swearing does damage.

2. Start by eliminating casual swearing.

3. Think positively.

4. Practice being patient.

5. Cope, don't cuss.

6. Stop complaining.

7. Use alternative words.

8. Make your politely.

9. Think of what you should have said.

10. Work at it.