SCRIPTURE: James 3:1-12 (ESV)
DATE: 4-19-26
As always, it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time or if you’re joining us at our North Main Campus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.
PASTORAL PRAYER
INTRODUCTION
We’re continuing our series in the book of James this weekend. In his letter, James has taken some teachings from his older brother and is showing us how to apply what Jesus taught to everyday life. Thus — when we listen to James — we’re learning what it means to be wise — for wisdom is taking God at his Word and applying his Word to our lives. So let’s see what James has for us today.
If you have your Bible, please turn with me to James chapter three. We’ll be in James chapter three — looking at verses one through twelve together today. We’re in James chapter three — beginning in verse one. There we read…
James 3:1–12 ESV
1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2 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. 3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 4 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. 5 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! 6 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. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.
Years ago, someone said, “Direction, not intention, determines your destination.” What the person was pointing out is that — often — we give our intentions way more credit than they deserve.
- We may intend to improve our health.
- We may intend to have a loving marriage.
- We may intend to raise our children to know and love Jesus.
There are lots of things that we intend — or have the intent to do — but direction, not intention, ultimately determines our destination.
Our intention is to improve our health, but for many, our direction is towards an inactive lifestyle and foods that are full of sugar and other highly processed ingredients that aren’t great for us. And, our direction determines our destination — not being as healthy as we intend to be.
Our intention is to have a loving marriage, but our direction — working extra late hours to impress our boss, coming home and gluing ourselves to screens, not praying together as husband and wife — leads to a marriage that resembles having a roommate rather than a spouse.
Our intention is to raise our children to know and love Jesus, but our direction — not having family devotional times, not regularly attending church, allowing sports and other activities to control our calendars — leads to children who are disinterested in Jesus.
Direction, not intention, determines your destination.
But what determines our direction? What causes us to go this way instead of that — to make this decision instead of that one? If direction, not intention, determines our destination — what determines our direction? James is going to tell us that it’s our words. The words we say out loud and the words we say to ourselves in our heads, are what determine our direction in life. And — to make this personal — your words are determining the direction of your life.
Earlier in James, we read…
James 1:19 ESV
19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;
James also told us…
James 1:26 ESV
26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.
So the tongue and our words aren’t a new topic for James. He’s just going to show us a bit more about this very practical topic — the power of our words.
But there’s one more question for us. If direction, not intention, determines our destination. And our words are what determine our direction — what determines our words? I mean, if our words are this important — if they determine our direction, which leads to the destination our lives are headed to — what determines our words? This is the question we’ll let Jesus answer.
But before we get to his answer, let’s return to our verses, where we find a warning about our words. Then we’ll look at both words of cursing and words of blessing, before we turn to Jesus’ answer to our final question.
A WARNING TO TEACHERS (AND TO ALL OF US)
So, first, a warning. We’re in verse one.
James 3:1 ESV
1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.
So James starts with a warning directed at teachers. And, to be clear, he means teachers of God’s Word. And his point is this: Those of us who teach God’s Word use words to do so. And, because we use words, we’re going to be judged with greater strictness because the words we say — one — usually have a much bigger audience than what most people experience — and two — when one teaches God’s Word, you are saying words of eternal importance.
Now, with this warning, James isn’t trying to get Bible teachers to quit. He doesn’t want to stop people from becoming Bible teachers. He’s just warning us that the more words you speak, and teachers speak more words than most, the more evaluation God is doing of what you say. And, unfortunately, the more you speak, the more you can become careless with the words you say — especially when we fail to heed the warning James gave earlier about being quick to listen and slow to speak.
On Tuesday, I was at BGSU to do a Q&A session with students. I’ve been doing this for a few years now. And college ministries always start past my bedtime. We spent over an hour on questions and answers, with follow-up questions sent in response to something I said in my answer to a previous question — it was a great time, and I love seeing how eager the next generation is to understand how the Christian faith applies to life.
This is just one example of how teachers of God’s Word are often asked to give their opinion on something or answer an individual’s question, meaning they speak, speak, speak into all kinds of situations. And more words usually — not always — but usually more words mean more errors — especially when it’s past your bedtime. Thus, those who teach — and not just preach on a big stage like this — but those who take on any form of teaching the Bible to others — are warned: Be careful with your words.
But James’s warning isn’t solely for those of us who teach. In fact, his warning to teachers is meant to grab our attention — so that we hear his general warning that’s for all of us. James continues in verse two with…
James 3:2 ESV
2 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.
Notice that he doesn’t say that teachers stumble in many ways. Nor does he say that “only teachers” stumble in many ways. The verse says, “We all stumble in many ways.” And “we” is inclusive. It includes teachers and non-teachers. It includes men and women. Young and old. Christians and non-Christians. His point is simple: All of us have stumbled when it comes to the words we’ve said.
The word “stumble” means to be defeated. Defeated by what? Sin. This is the word James used in the previous chapter when he wrote…
James 2:10 ESV
10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.
“Fails” is the same word as “stumble.” Remember, when it comes to being right with God by the law, the standard is perfection. You must obey all of the law, or you’ve failed. And now — in our chapter — James acknowledges that we’ve all failed — or stumbled — in many ways when it comes to the words that come out of our mouths. For if you hadn’t stumbled — or failed — with your words, you’d be a perfect man or woman. You’d be able to control your entire being when it comes to sin and its temptations. He explains it this way.
James 3:3–8 ESV
3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 4 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. 5 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! 6 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. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
By way of illustration, James shows us the power of our words. Though we’ve got some folks in our church with farms and animals, horses and bits aren’t used by as many of us as in James’s day. The same goes for rudders of a ship. If we were to use a twenty-first-century illustration, we’d say the tongue is like the steering wheel in your car. The steering wheel is a small part of the car, but it determines the direction the car is headed. And that’s what your words are like.
In contrast to our tongues, James first brings up animals. And he reminds us of how we’ve tamed all kinds of animals and creatures. We can go to a zoo, see all kinds of dangerous animals behind glass, and be amazed by their beauty without fearing their power. That’s what the word tame means in our verses. It means to subdue or make something your subject. And, what James is saying, is that though we’ve tamed and made subject all kinds of beasts and animals — this little part of our body — the tongue, representing our words, can’t be tamed. We can’t subdue it, we can’t break it in, we can’t make it our subject. Even those of us who “bite our tongues” still say some awful things to other people or to ourselves.
James goes so far as to say that the tongue is set on fire by hell, and the tongue sets our lives on fire. I wonder if you’ve experienced this?
You don’t have to live very long to be burned by the fire of hell coming out of the mouth of someone else, do you? Just like it doesn’t take long in life to see how your words can cause destruction and pain, not only to others, but to your own life.
- Our lives can be suddenly on fire because of some words that came out of our mouths.
- Relationships are no more because words of fire came out of your mouth.
- Unemployment because words of fire came out of your mouth.
- Self-hatred because of words of fire that — even if they’ve never been spoken out loud — are on repeat in your mind constantly — setting your life on fire. And not a holy refining fire — but the destructive fire that comes from hell.
James — being familiar with the Old Testament — probably had passages in mind like…
Proverbs 16:27 NLT
27 Scoundrels create trouble; their words are a destructive blaze.
He may have been thinking of…
Proverbs 26:21 NLT
21 A quarrelsome person starts fights as easily as hot embers light charcoal or fire lights wood.
People who like to quarrel and fight use their words like hot embers, igniting a fire. And though fire isn’t mentioned, James could’ve been thinking of these words of King David.
Psalm 140:1–3 NLT
1 O Lord, rescue me from evil people. Protect me from those who are violent, 2 those who plot evil in their hearts and stir up trouble all day long. 3 Their tongues sting like a snake; the venom of a viper drips from their lips.
Which is quoted by Paul when he writes…
Romans 3:10–14 NLT
10 As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous — not even one. 11 No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. 12 All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.” 13 “Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Their tongues are filled with lies.” “Snake venom drips from their lips.” 14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”
- Foul talk — words that have a stench to them like decaying flesh. We once had a mouse die in the wall of our home. The stench — from such a small creature — was awful.
- Our tongues are filled with lies — like venom dripping from our lips. We put labels on bottles to make sure we avoid ingesting poison. If only we had labels to warn people that poison was about to be spewed at them from our mouths.
- And our mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.
What an indictment about our words — about your words — about my words.
I wonder how you’re responding to what God’s Word is saying to you about your words?
- Are you dismissing what you’re hearing — “none of this is true of me.”
- Are you pointing the finger — “So and so needs to hear this.”
- Are you ashamed — “Man, I’ve said some horrible things.”
- Or are you hoping for an answer — “What am I supposed to do about this?”
How are you responding to what God is saying to you about the words you speak?
Something important for all of us to see is what James says in verse eight. He says…
James 3:8 ESV
8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
About this verse, Augustine — who lived in the fourth century — said, “James does not say ‘no one came tame the tongue’, but ‘[no human being],’ so that, when it is tamed, we admit that it was done by the mercy of God, the assistance of God, the grace of God.”
So, first, know that it’s impossible for you to tame your tongue. That’s the bad news. Now, the good news. Though it’s impossible for any human to tame their tongue, it’s not impossible for God. In fact, God’s power over our tongues is seen in an incredible moment in the early life of the church. Forty days after Jesus’ resurrection…
Acts 2:1–4 NLT
1 On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. 2 Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. 3 Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. 4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.
These tongues of ours — which can spew fire from hell that burns others and sets destruction to our lives — God — as we just saw — is able to use for his own purpose. He can set his people’s tongues ablaze with a message of holy fire — the gospel — the news of what Jesus has done in his life, death, and resurrection. And when God’s people submit their words to God’s authority, the gospel message will go forth like a fire setting a forest ablaze.
And the question for each of us is this: Which fire will come out of our mouths? Words that come from the fire of hell or words that come from the fire of Heaven?
WORDS OF CURSING AND BLESSING
Which leads us to words of cursing and words of blessing. Let’s briefly look at the difference between the words from hell and the words of Heaven. We’re in verse nine. There, James writes…
James 3:9–12 ESV
9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.
In the beginning God spoke, and he said, “Let there be light” — and there was light. God speaks, and blessings follow. Whether it be life to all that exists or a wife for Adam, who was alone in the Garden. God speaks, and blessings follow.
And a truth that James emphasizes is how all people are made in the likeness of God. Part of our being made in God’s likeness — or image — is that God created us to use our words in a way that images — or reflects — or is like the way he uses words. And how are we to reflect — or imitate — how God uses words? By speaking words of blessing.
But — after God speaks — we come to Genesis chapter three, where Satan speaks. And do you know what Satan got Adam and Eve to doubt? God’s word of blessing to them.
Genesis 3:1–4 NLT
1 The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” 2 “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. 3 “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’ ” 4 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman.
Now the woman spoke back to Satan with information that wasn’t accurate. And Satan both uses her inaccurate words — and twists God’s words — resulting in the man and the woman disobeying God, leading to sin entering God’s creation and us all living under a curse. The snake of hell spoke words from hell to deceive the man and woman into inviting hell into God’s perfect creation. And ever since, we’ve all used our words to curse each other.
“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never”…how does it go? That’s right. “But words will never hurt me.” What a lie. One person has said, “It’s a terrible thing that children have gotten hold of this nursery poem. Let me tell you what the poem should say. [It should say…} ‘Sticks and stones can only break my bones, but words can pollute and distort and destroy my very soul.’ [But that] doesn’t rhyme.”
With our words, we curse people who are made in the likeness — or image — of God. And, we do so, as Christians. We curse people with our words while we use our words to bless our God in Heaven. And, about this reality, James says…
James 3:10 NLT
10 Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!
Though a freshwater spring does what God created it to do — it produces fresh water. And though a fig tree produces figs, as God created it to do. And an olive tree produces olives, and a vine produces grapes, and an apple tree produces apples, and so on — though all of these creations do what God made them to do — our tongues don’t. Our tongues are like a banana tree producing apples. Yet our tongues — which were created to produce words of blessing — which demonstrate our being made in God’s image — instead produce words of cursing in the image of our Enemy. So, yes, James. This isn’t right!
CONCLUSION: JESUS THE TEACHER TO LISTEN TO
Which leads us to our only hope. His name is Jesus. And Jesus said quite a bit about our words. To some religious leaders, he said…
Matthew 12:34–37 NLT
34 You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. 35 A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. 36 And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. 37 The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.”
Another time he said…
Mark 7:20–23 NLT
20 And then he added, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. 21 For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. 23 All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.”
Ultimately, the words of cursing that we speak — whether to ourselves or to others — reveal something about the condition of our hearts. It reveals to us the curse we all live under because of Adam and Eve’s rebellion against God’s words of blessing to them. And we’re incapable of changing the condition of our hearts. Thus, we need a word spoken to us by Someone whose words can change us — and our hearts — forever.
As someone has said, “We need words. Words are powerful. We don’t have a self without words. You can say all you want, ‘All that matters is how I feel about myself.’ No. Somebody from the outside has to tell you you’re valuable. Somebody from the outside has to tell you you’re great. Somebody from the outside has to tell you you’re acceptable, or you won’t believe it. The Bible tells us God said to his Son, “You are my beloved Son in whom I’m well pleased.” The Bible tells us that if we believe in Jesus, the Father loves us in the same way as he loves his own Son. Until you hear over and over and over in your own heart through prayer, through reading the Word of God, through a variety of ways, unless you hear God saying to you, “You are my beloved child in whom I’m well pleased”…Until you hear a word from the outside that tells you who you are, you’re going to be trying desperately, through all kinds of duplicity and all kinds of deception, to create a self by getting people to tell you how great you are…[You see,] underneath it all, we know we’re unacceptable until [a] word from the outside [says…] “This is my beloved child in whom I’m well pleased.” That’ll heal your tongue. It’ll set your tongue on fire with a different kind of fire, the fire that came down at Pentecost, [a fire] not from hell but from heaven.”
I wonder if, even right now, you’re hearing that life-changing word from Someone else? A word from the God who created you. A word from Jesus, who came to live and die for you because he loves you. A word from the Spirit of God who is saying right now, “Receive my word: You are loved. You are forgiven. You are set free from the curse. You are mine.” I wonder whose word you’re listening to right now? The word of the Serpent, who wants to keep you enslaved under his curse, or the word of the God who is in Heaven, who created you, and who wants to set you free?
Later this year, my friend and fellow pastor, Alan Wright, will be with us. Alan has written many books, including The Power to Bless: How to Speak Life and Empower the People You Love. I was so impacted by Alan’s book that I bought all the staff and elders a copy for Christmas last year and invited Alan to come speak on the topic so we can all learn to use our words to be better blessers of others.
So if you want to be someone who uses your words to bless God and others — and even yourself — grab a copy of Alan’s book — again, it’s titled The Power to Bless. There’s a QR code at your campus’s Resource Center if you forget the title. If your Life Group is looking for something to study, it’d be a great option. And be sure to block off your calendar for the weekend of October 18th when Alan will be with us. He’s going to teach a Saturday seminar on blessing others with our words and preach for us during our worship services that weekend. Let’s pray.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, thank you for being a God who speaks. Who speaks words of blessing over your people and creation. As Creator, you have made each of us in your image — creating us to use our words to mirror your words — which are words of blessing.
Spirit, we confess that because of the curse and our own sinful choices, we’ve often used our words to curse others instead of blessing them. We’ve even used our words to curse ourselves. We confess this, ask for forgiveness, and Spirit, we ask you to lead us in a new direction with our words. Teach us how to bless. Guide us in what we say. All so that we reflect our God who blesses others with his words as we bless a world full of people who are desperate to hear some good news.
And, Jesus, you are God’s Word in flesh. The perfect Word of blessing to your people. And you continue to speak words of blessing to us. May we have ears to hear, so that our hearts and lives are forever changed, so that we head in a new direction. A direction of blessing others — for that is who you have called, created, and saved us to be. Thank you for this purpose. And we pray all of this in your name. Amen.
BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available / Resource Center for QR to book)
May you go imitating the God who had created you in his image by using your words to bless others. Amen.
God loves you. I love you. You are sent.