James Part 7 - A Whole Tongue

The teaching series on James continues with James 3v1-12. This is from Sunday 10th May 2026.

Transcript

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God's word to us today, it is about how we use our words, how we use our tongues. So I'm gonna read and then pray and then preach. So James chapter three and verse one. Let's listen to the true and living words of God. Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness, for we all stumble in many ways, and if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also, though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder, wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature can be tamed, and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water. Almighty God, Heavenly Father, as we listen to these words about our words, we need your help very much. We pray for a filling of your Holy Spirit and ask that we would not only be hearers but doers of the word also. And we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Some bits of the Bible do not really need an introduction, and this is one of them. If you have the slightest sensitivity, you will feel the weight of this passage. Words, your words, my words. Words matter. Dare I ask, how has your speech been this Sunday morning since you rolled out of bed and opened your mouth? How has my speech been? Words matter to God. He is a speaking God, after all. To create the world, he spoke all through the Bible with all of his people. Words are God's preferred means of communication, of revelation. He doesn't come to us with pictures or mime, he comes with speech. And it is the way he has built us, human beings. We are wordy creatures. We are built in his image, precisely so we can fellowship with him. Words matter a very great deal to God. They are at the heart of who he is, how he has built us as human beings, and also how we are saved. Words matter to us because our speech is our fatal flaw. It's a bit like our Achilles' heel. The tongue, by virtue of being the most difficult of all parts of the body to control, becomes the conduit by which all the evil of the world around us comes to expression in us. So the tongue, it's our fatal flaw. Means, for example, the devil has a ready way to corrupt us, our tongues, our speech. Verse 2, for we all stumble in many ways, and if anyone does not stumble in this, in what he says, he is a perfect man. Now remember, James has been teaching us that God's desire is for us to be whole. And when we read that word perfect, it really means whole, complete. And it is the opposite of being double-minded or double-souled, split-souled. So the split soul is a person who feels and says, I love Jesus and I don't love Jesus. The whole soul comes before God and says, I love you with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, and out of that I then love my neighbor as myself. And in this passage here, it's whole speech. A whole heart that overflows in whole speech, a whole tongue, an undivided tongue, an unforked tongue. That is God's desire for you and for me. This is part of having a faith that works. Remember where we left off in James a couple of weeks back at the end of chapter two, we we hit this challenge. Faith apart from works is dead. We're not saved by works, but we're never saved without works. Whenever you find a real believer in Jesus, you will find someone who is doing good works for the Lord. You can't see faith in Christ, but you can see works prompted by that faith. And that includes our speech. You can hear whether someone follows Jesus or not. Now, James has already told us that words matter back at the end of chapter 1, 1 verse 26. He said that godly speech sits alongside caring for the unloved and fighting the stain of sin. Those things together, this is pure worship, this is true worship. And obviously, we come before this passage, uh, this standard, this command, we come with forked tongues to differing degrees. Uh James makes that really clear. Chapter 3, verse 2 we all stumble in many ways. That is to say, there is no one who has got this sorted. We are all in this together, and the Lord's desire, therefore, is that we go the way of godly progress in our speech, in our words. And his desire for us is not that we hear this word and do nothing and continue in a double-souled direction. So here's where we begin then as we come to our speech. Here's what James would have us know. Words have power. Words have power. The internet tells me that the average human tongue weighs less than 100 grams. I haven't thought of a painless way to check that out, and I don't intend to. The tongue is very small. Now, children, just for a moment, one time only, you have permission to stick out your tongue, okay? Stick out your tongue. Okay, now stop doing that. Don't normally do that because it's rude, alright? That little thing is small, it's very small. And James, in our passage, he reminds us of small things like that that have big power. So take a horse, take a war horse, a shire horse, a great beast. How can a puny human being control this beast? And the answer is a tiny bit. This little thing that sits in the horse's mouth to which the reins are attached. Or take a ship, take a cruise ship or an oil tanker or an aircraft carrier. It is huge, but the thing that directs it to port or to starboard is a small rudder. So also the tongue. This tiny thing, it can influence far more than we expect for good or for evil. James seems to say here that if you can master the tongue, you can master anything. It's like the control room for a human being. Self-control in our words, it is so hard, is it not so hard? It almost feels impossible. But the encouragement, when with the Spirit's help, we make progress in our speech, we are actually on the road to being whole. Tongue control makes a whole man, and it also blesses others with wholeness too. Think about the power of words. Think about preaching. Think about what I'm doing right now. God promises that words spoken from this pulpit will do his work in the power of his Holy Spirit. Here is his usual means of building the church. Frail, very ordinary words from the mouths of human preachers. Preaching really matters. And when preaching goes wrong, when it's bad, when it's unfaithful, when it's unclear, God's people get harmed. So words, words from here can do great good or great harm. Think about the words that we speak in the everyday life of our congregation, the words that we speak to each other. A word in season, encouragement, exhortation, rebuke. Words like that can strengthen someone in following Jesus. They might save a person from falling into terrible sin. Might stop an act of adultery. Keep that person trusting Jesus for another week. Or it could be a word that crushes or snares someone or insults them or pushes them away. Maybe drives someone from a church. So our tongues, they are so small, they have such disproportionate power. They are like mini nuclear weapons inside our mouths. And in our passage, James does stress the negative. Now he implies the positive, and we'll talk a bit about it, but he's just really blunt. He's a realist. We are sinners in a world of sin and sinners, and so the tongue it will be put to deadly use. It is a killer. Words can destroy. Now the image in the next few verses, verses 5 to 8, is not a horse, it's not a ship. Now, horses and ships, they are they are good things. Of course, they can be on course or off course, but they are good things. The image here though is a forest fire. A fire that is started by a tiny little spark and grows wildly out of control. Do you remember the Los Angeles fires last January? Tiny spark and then just consumes, it burns, it destroys. And God's word says to us, verse 6, and the tongue is a fire. The tongue is a fire. It is a world of unrighteousness. Your tongue is a world, it's like an ecosystem. It's a bit like the TARDIS. It is much, much, much bigger on the inside than on the outside. And you open the doors of the tongue, says James, and you peek inside. And what do you see? It's what it's disgusting. It's a world of evil, he says. Now, in our passage here, James does not give us a list of speech sins. But from the Bible, we can pull up such a list, can't we? Gossip, slander, lies, rumors, boasting, harsh speech, flattery, insults, wounds, empty words. You might be able to add to that list. So truly, the tongue, it is a weapon of mass destruction. James says it stains the whole body. Verse 6. And I think here we're now to think of poison. So poison that's introduced to a vein and then it floods the whole body. And James says that by us, at least, by us, the tongue is completely untamable. You could more easily tame a leopard or an eagle or a lizard or a dolphin. The tongue he says, this is a vivid, painful phrase, isn't it? It is a restless evil. End of verse 8. It is a restless evil. Do you ever find that your tongue just cannot sit still? Your words just you just can't be quiet. You can't shut up. It's why we constantly wish we could recall our words. Wouldn't it be wonderful if someone invented a verbal hoover? And you could just press a button and suck it back. Well, that does not exist. Words can destroy. Maybe it's lies that end a marriage. Or insults that mar a friendship. Harsh words that erode a child's trust in father or mother. Half of what is flung around on social media at least. Just take one speech sin. Take gossip, sometimes treated almost as an acceptable sin. Proverbs, by the way, it's got such a lot to say about speech sins and especially gossip. It feels delicious. But either way, it's not ours to share. The Bible even says that listening to gossip, receiving gossip is sinful. Look at Proverbs 17, Proverbs 18. Might other people, when they speak to us, might they think here is a person with whom gossip will get airtime? Or do they know that actually here is a person who will cut off the gossiping tongue? Gossip is so corrosive it can destroy a church. Now, obviously, this is not the whole story. Our tongues, in the hands of the Spirit of God, can be sanctified, made holy, put to godly use. They can bless and strengthen and love. We'll get there in a few moments, but we do need to know and feel the destroying power of sinful words. Even more than that, though. Our words are revelatory. That is, words reveal our hearts. Now, in the old days, when you went to the doctor, they used to get you to stick out your tongue, didn't they? And somehow or other, I'm never very good at science or medicine, somehow or other you look at the tongue and you can diagnose everything. I have no idea how that works or whether doctors still do that. And I'm sure I'll be told afterwards. Our tongues, though, are diagnostic. You can tell a lot by listening to a person's tongue. You don't look at it, you listen to it. And they actually reveal our hearts. And that's exactly what the Lord Jesus says. So Matthew 12, 34, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. So just think about that verse for a moment. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. That is what James assumes here. Wouldn't mind betting he has Jesus' words in mind. And his point here is this our words so often reveal a heart that is split into. So yeah, we're familiar with a snake and a snake's forked tongue, and it's very possible, indeed, almost unavoidable, having a tongue that points in two directions: forked words showing a forked heart, split words showing a split heart. That's verse 9, isn't it? With the tongue, we, on the one hand, we bless our Lord and Father. So it's Sunday morning, and we're in gathered worship, and we are full, genuinely full, of praise for our God, and we bless him for who he is and for his goodness toward us. And maybe it is as soon as the car journey home. Have you ever had a row in the car journey home from church? We have certainly had plenty of rows even before we get to church on a Sunday morning. With the same mouth, the same mouth, we bless our God and Father, and we curse precious human beings who are made in the image of God. And it is just frankly awful. Now, in the Bible, when we read about cursing someone, so verse 10, blessing and cursing. In the Bible, cursing is more than just using unpleasant or insulting words, it is wishing someone cut off from God. It is a real and deep hatred. And James says these utterly conflicting words can come from one and the same heart. And these are audible, hearable signs of a split heart. David Gibson, in his wonderful book on James, says that our speech is a window into our souls. Our speech is a window into our souls. Or put it another way, whatever we store in here, the heart, it gets broadcast from here, the mouth. So if I have a big heart, you will hear patient words. If I have a wise heart, you will hear sound words. But if I have, for example, an empty heart, you will hear maybe loud words, but they'll be hollow words. And if it is a forked heart, forked words will come out. And hence we're given those other illustrations there to think about. Verse 11, verse 12. The same spring of water bubbling up through the ground, it cannot produce both fresh water and salt water. Or if you've got a fig tree growing, that fig tree cannot produce olives, and vice versa. And if you've got a salty pond, it cannot produce sweet, fresh water. It's absurd, but my forked heart does produce split words, forked words. And so James says, verse 10, My brothers, these things ought not to be so. They ought not to be so. What do we do? What do we do with our tongues? Well, in the Lord's company, in the Lord's presence, with his help, let's think about becoming whole in our words. And there is a big clue in verse 8. I wonder if you spotted it. No human being can tame the tongue. No human being. We have to look outside ourselves. And wonderfully, we can and we do, and we look to the Lord. So think about the Lord to whom we come. You're this whole God, this perfect, entire God. We come to Him and He comes to us with words. He comes to us with words of grace and mercy. He says things to us like, chapter 4, verse 6, I will give you more grace. Boy, we need it. And he says, Yeah, I'll give it to you. More grace. He says, chapter 4, verse 8, draw near to me and I will draw near to you. So he knows us, he knows our hearts, knows our words, and he invites us to draw near. So there is nothing that you have said which God cannot wipe clean and forgive. It's an amazing thought, isn't it? There is nothing that you have said which God cannot wipe clean and forgive, even if here on earth the consequences of those words may long remain. And there is a beautiful encouragement. For us a little bit later in our chapter, if you just look down at chapter 3 and verse 17. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy, and good fruits, impartial and sincere. That's a wonderful verse, isn't it? Our words and our hearts, they are so often the opposite of that verse, aren't they? They're things that pour out of our mouth. Words that are impure, warlike, aggressive, unreasonable, merciless, with bad fruits, full of favoritism and hypocrisy. I mean, it's pretty vile, isn't it? And the wonderful thing, with God everything is possible. He can change us, he changes our hearts, he can change our words. And so we ask him, you know, Lord, work on my tongue, work on my heart. And Christian people who have walked with Christ over a period of time, we can testify to a growing holiness of speech. Some of us will know a little bit about John Newton. Many centuries ago, before his conversion, he was a sailor and a slave trader. He blasphemed, he cursed. Habitually, he said, My whole life was a course of most horrid impiety and profaneness. And he was wonderfully converted, and his tongue, his tongue was converted too, and the Lord said about changing it. He became a preacher, he became a hymn writer. Think about what his mouth used to sound like, and then you know how sweet the name of Jesus sounds. Amazing grace. That is, John Newton's speech more and more resembled that of Jesus. So when we look at a verse like verse 17, we we see and we well rather we hear Jesus, don't we? You know, the Lord Jesus did not stumble. Here is the only whole man with heart and life and lip. He loved God and he loved his neighbour. And we are told a little bit about, actually quite a lot, about the lips of Jesus. Even what he said and didn't say as he hung on the cross. So 1 Peter 2 talks about that. He didn't tell lies, he didn't speak hateful words when hated, he didn't use threatening words, even as he was crucified. And Christian people, it is the spirit of that Christ who dwells in the Christian. That Christ who is forming himself in us. So when we go to him and ask, all of the resources are there, if you like. And the perfect speech of Christ, the Spirit of Christ, who will reform our speaking. As we think about becoming whole in our words, there is a particular and specific warning. I wonder if you notice that right at the start of the chapter, verse one. I haven't mentioned that verse so far. Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers. That's how James introduces this topic, a special warning for those you want to teach others. They're engaged, a teacher, in an activity in which it is hardest to keep from sin. And the warning is about a Bible teacher, an elder or a pastor whose tongue is not under control. If his tongue is not under control, then terrible, terrible damage will be done. And not just sins of speech in the pulpit, though they are terrible, but also sins of speech out of the pulpit. So what you like at home, what you like in private, out-of-control speech, angry speech, thoughtless, quarrelsome speech, especially in the mouth of a teacher, an elder, a pastor, it will wreak havoc. Now, just by the way, do please pray for those who preach and lead and bear with us in our weaknesses. But what what might we do with our words this week? So if we're Christian people, we're joined to the Lord Jesus, we have his Holy Spirit living in us, and we've heard a warning, but what might we do with our words this week? We'll come back to those pictures that James gives us in verse 11 and verse 12. The first picture, it's a spring of water, you know, water that is gushing forth. Well, with the Spirit's help, we can pour out fresh water with our words. That is, words that bring life and refreshment. He also gives us the picture of a fruit tree. We can bear fruit in our words that are in keeping with our profession of faith. So in our words, don't think this sounds a funny idea, we can pour some water this week, or we can plant a tree and bear some fruit. Pick your metaphor, whatever you like. But that is what he wants us to do with our words. They're words that therefore will do good to other people, aren't they? Refreshing words, life, fruitful words, sweet, nourishing. So this week, the Lord being our helper, we can do that. We can pour out words that are from above, sow words that bear fruit. The book of Proverbs, it has so much to say about our words. I want to give us just one proverb to chew on, quite literally almost, as we try and put this passage into practice. If you're a note taker, just jot down Proverbs 16, 24. Proverbs 16 24, which reads, Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body. So just think on that. Gracious words are like a honeycomb. Gracious words are like a honeycomb. Now let's think about our words this week. James's letter, it's set in the context of a church family. So many times he says, my brothers, my brothers, he's talking about family life. So in the family, how can I speak words that are gracious? How can I bring words that are like a honeycomb? So with my with my brethren in the church family, or maybe in my biological family, so husbands and wives at home, parents and children. Gracious words are like honeycomb. My hunch is that when we are with familiar people, often in the family, we can get away, we think, with less sweet speech. We don't serve up honeycomb, we serve up vinegar. I know that's often true of me. And it shouldn't be so. That's what James says, isn't it? It shouldn't be so. So maybe think really specifically and concretely. Who are you gonna speak to? Who are you gonna speak about in new, sweet, and gracious ways? We're gonna finish with a moment for silent prayer. Take 30 seconds. There might be things you want to confess or pray about, bring to the Lord, and then I will lead us and pray in just a moment. Let's bow our heads. We ask that you would save any of us from feeling overly downcast. We thank you for the conviction that your Spirit brings, and also the life and grace that He brings. Sanctify our tongues, we pray. We ask that in union with Christ and in the power of His Holy Spirit we might wield these mighty gifts in ways that bless others and most of all honour you. And we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.