James (written)

Friday, 2 August 2019

Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. James 3:10

The previous thought from James is that with our mouths we both bless our God and Father, and with it we also curse men who were created in God’s image. Now he shows how inappropriate that is by saying that “Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing.”

Here, he gives a general repeat of what he has just said in order to show that these things do, in fact, occur. We do bless God while at the same time we do curse men made in His image. It is no longer an abstract example of what might be, but a concrete statement of what happens. However, though this is the case, he continues with, “My brethren, these things ought not to be so.”

The verb translated as “to be” is in a form which signifies something like, “these things should not come to pass in this way.” This is what is known as a litotes, which is an ironic understatement where something spoken as a negative is making an affirmative statement. If someone says, “You won’t be sorry,” he actually means, “You will be happy about the result.” This is what James is doing. In saying that such things should not come about, he is indicating that they do come about, and that it is inappropriate that such things occur.

Charles Ellicott notes the following concerning the term, “ought not” –

“The Greek equivalent for this is only found here in the New Testament, and seems strangely weak when we reflect on the usual vehemence of the writer. Was he sadly conscious of the failure beforehand of his protest? At least, there seems no trace of satire in the sorrowful cadence of his lines, ‘Out of the same mouth!’”

In other words, though this matter is spoken against, it is almost a given that it does occur and will continue to occur. It seems to be a sad resignation that man finds himself unable to curb his tongue. Even James, then, must have felt the conviction of the offense as he wrote.

Life application: One of the many contradictions of our lives is set before us here by James. We bless one person, of whom we are favorably disposed toward, and we then turn around to tear down another person we dislike. We praise God with our lips on Sunday morning and then speak words which diminish His glorious name on Monday. All are guilty of this to some extent. But suppose we don’t directly speak the Lord’s name in a profane way – do we still allow ourselves to watch movies that do?

It’s hard to see a movie today that has a PG rating or higher that doesn’t contain profanity of some sort and most of them include the use of the name of Jesus or God in a profane way. Although we’re not actively cursing in this way, we are passively receiving this when we watch. Each of us needs to evaluate this and come to a decision about what we will and won’t allow into our lives. We should then to stick to it as best as we can.

These are only some examples of the myriad of them that we demonstrate each day, but they do indicate what our walk with the Lord is like to others. When they see us using demeaning words towards others, they know the state of our heart. When we allow our lips to diminish the name of the Lord, we condone such talk in their lives as well.

We should make every effort to carefully use our tongues towards others and allow them to only speak praises, not smears; blessings, not curses. When we fail, as we certainly will, let us remember to acknowledge our fault and do our best to go forward with the determination to not continue down that path.

O Lord, our tongues are not always free from words that are impure or which diminish Your glory in the eyes of others. We fail to bless and instead we curse. We fail to praise and instead we smear. No matter what others do, give us the strength to prevail over this error which so easily arises in our daily lives. We love You, and want that love to be apparent to all through the words of our mouths and through our daily lives. Amen.

Thursday, 1 August 2019

With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. James 3:9

James, having just spoken about man’s inability to tame the tongue, goes on to write, “With it we bless our God and Father.” Some manuscripts say, “Lord and Father.” If the rendering is “Lord,” there is already a precedent for calling Him “Father” in Isaiah 9:6. If “God” is correct, it is speaking of God as Father, not God the Father. Whichever is correct, the intent of the words is obvious. We praise our Creator with our tongues.

This is the purpose of man. It is to glorify God with every fiber of our substance, including with our tongues. He is worthy of it, and it is right and fitting that we do so. And yet, at the same time, James continues with, “and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.”

Rather than “who,” the translation would be better stated as, “which have been made in the similitude of God.” It is not that some men have been so made and others have not. Even the most fallen and depraved men bear God’s image. As this is so, James is calling out the logical contradiction which arises in blessing God and then in cursing those made in His image.

The scholar Bengel notes that even though Absalom fell from his father’s favor, he remained the king’s son. That never changed. The same is true with man. Though we have fallen from God’s favor, the image of God in man has not been erased. Therefore, we should not curse man and presume to turn around and bless God. Instead, we should bless. It is a hard thing to do at times, but it is what James logically calls for. And which he will continue to confirm in the next verse.

Life application: James’ thought goes back to the first page of the Bible –

“So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Genesis 1:27

The very next words in the Genesis account are, “Then God blessed them…” Man is God’s image-bearer and has been blessed by God; therefore, we show disrespect to God when we curse others, whom He has blessed.

Any curses on man are at God’s prerogative – violations of His law, for example. But for us to flippantly curse our leaders because we disagree with them, our supervisors because they are overbearing, our neighbors because we are tired of them, or any others for whatever reason, we only bring discredit upon ourselves.

Instead of curses, let us shower our enemies with blessing. This is what Jesus expects of us in Luke 6:28 and is what Paul repeats in Romans 12:14. Bless, and do not curse.

Lord God, in Your word, a tough challenge has been placed before us. We are asked to bless others because they bear Your image. Even if our mouths don’t curse others, our hearts often do. And sometimes it wells up and comes out of our mouths. Give our hearts a hefty cleansing and take away the evil thoughts they produce towards others. May our mouths reflect pure hearts, and may we shower others with blessings. Amen.

Wednesday, 31 July 2019

But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. James 3:8

In the previous verse, James spoke of the taming of “every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea.” Man has subdued life on the earth so much so that he has massive elephants standing on balls in the circus, and killer whales bouncing balls off their noses in large aquariums. Other than the Loch Ness monster, which still remains rather elusive, almost every imaginable animal, bird, or sea-creature is found in some type of zoo or aquarium. These things have been tamed, or subdued. And yet, as James continues, he says that “no man can tame the tongue.”

The expression he uses is very strong in the Greek, “no one of men.” He is stating that nobody has been fully able to restrain the tongue. We have had 6000 years of human history, and yet the tongue remains unbridled and it freely wags about, causing harm to self and pain to others. As he then writes, “It is an unruly evil.” The word translated as “unruly” was introduced in James 1:8 when referring to the man who is “unstable” in all his ways. This is its last use in Scripture.

The word signifies that which is unstable or unsettled, but even those words fall short. Unruly is better. It is an almost anarchic display. The tongue casts off the rule of the mind and follows its own destructive course. This is truly evident when seeing someone shout out something totally outside of their normal character. It is as if the words sprang from hell, the source of chaos itself. What issues forth is simply uncontrolled evil, and it is “full of deadly poison.”

Here, James uses a word found elsewhere in classical Greek and in the Apocrypha, but which is found only here in Scripture. It signifies “death-bearing,” or “death-bringing.” In other words, the poison that is contained in the tongue can, and often does, lead to death. James’ words are true, both as recorded in Scripture and as has been evidenced to throughout history. A simple misuse of the tongue has landed people on the gallows or before a firing squad.

In 2 Samuel 1, an Amalekite came to David and boasted that he had killed Saul, king of Israel. His words were a lie, but he made the claim in order to ingratiate himself to David. Thinking his tongue had brought him honor, he found out that it was the bringer of death to him –

“So David said to him, ‘How was it you were not afraid to put forth your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?’ ¹⁵ Then David called one of the young men and said, ‘Go near, and execute him!’ And he struck him so that he died. ¹⁶ So David said to him, ‘Your blood is on your own head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed the Lord’s anointed.’” 2 Samuel 1:14-16

Life application: Watch your tongue.

Lord God, our tongues sure can get us into a bad patch. When we engage our mouths before engaging our brains, it can lead us into a world of hurt – both for ourselves and for those around us. Help us to stop… and then to think. Only after this, then should we open our mouths and speak. Be with us in this, O God. The tongue is an unruly evil. Help us to keep it in check – to Your glory. Amen.

Tuesday, 30 July 2019

For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. James 3:7

James now takes the example of an unrestrained tongue, and he contrasts it to the beasts of the earth, some of which are incredibly wild, some ferocious, some plainly stupid, some bearing various types of intelligence, and so on. He begins with, “For every kind.”

This should read, “For every nature.” He is not comparing individual men with particular beasts. Instead, he is referring to a general relation between man’s nature and the nature of various creatures. And, as noted, this is not the same in all creatures. Understanding this, he lists various categories for us to consider. The first is of beasts and birds (it is plural in the Greek).

The word translated as “beast” is one which is not one used of sacrifices. Those are generally herding animals which have been tamed since the earliest recorded pages of Scripture. Rather, this is a general term for wild animals that would otherwise seem untameable. We could think of a raccoon or a wild hog maybe. The word for “bird” signifies any flying animal in general. Simply because they do not naturally exist in the land of Israel, we could think of a macaw or a toucan.

James continues with reptiles and sea things (again, the Greek is plural). The word for “reptile” signifies a creeping creature, quite often a serpent. For the sake of rarity, one could think of the monitor lizard. The word for those things in the sea is found only here in Scripture, enalios. The prefix en means in, and hals signifies the sea. Thus, it is anything in the sea. Maybe a sea otter or a porpoise would suffice for our examples.

James says that, of these various categories, each “is tamed and has been tamed by mankind.” The word translated as “tamed” signifies being subdued, but that state involves obedience and restraint. Humans have exercised dominion over the beasts of the earth in this manner.

Some of these are massive in size, some have claws and teeth which are very dangerous, others may have quills that can shoot at man or have poisons which can kill immediately. And yet, they have been subdued by man. How unlike the description of the tongue of the previous verse. James will continue with this line of thought in the verses ahead.

Life application: Though we can tame all kinds of animals, we find it hard to tame our own tongues. What an indictment! Unreasoning animals are better students than we are in some respects. Let us make a concerted effort to speak words which are soothing and healing, rather than of evil and poison. In the end, when we speak flippantly of others, we degrade ourselves as well.

Lord God, just as we need help controlling our tongues against that which is vile, so we pray that You will help us to actively use them for that which is wholesome and edifying. May our tongues not be tools of destruction, but rather implements of blessing and love. Be with us in this challenge to improve our words so that we will increase our praises of others and our blessings in Your name. Thank You for hearing our prayer. Amen.

Monday, 29 July 2019

And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. James 3:6

For this verse, James pulled out his Greek lexicon and used several words which are rarely found, or only found here. He just said in the previous verse, “See how great a forest a little fire kindles!”

Now, building upon that thought, he says, “And the tongue is a fire.” He has made a direct comparison of a fire, which is small and yet it can burn down a whole forest, to the tongue which is small. It implies that the tongue can also do an immense amount of damage. He will further explain this. Before doing so, he says that the fire, which the tongue is, can be equated to “a world of iniquity.”

The word for “world” is a common one, kosmos. It generally signifies an orderly arrangement, which the physical world certainly is. In this, he is saying that the tongue “is an organism containing within itself all evil essence, which from it permeates the entire man” (Vincent’s Word Studies). It is an orderly arrangement of that which is contrary to God’s righteousness and His righteous judgments.

Understanding this now, James continues with, “The tongue is so set among our members.” The word translated as “is so set” is not uncommon, but it is more than a simple “is.” It signifies to “set in order,” or “appoint.” One can think of the tongue being put in charge, or having authority. With this setting of authority within our members, James then says “that it defiles the whole body.”

Here is another new word in Scripture, spiloó. It signifies to stain, spot, or soil. One can see the root of our modern-day word “spill” in it. When one spills something, it can stain something else. This word will only be seen again in Jude 1:23.

The tongue, like the little fire of the previous verse, goes forth and puts a stain upon the whole body. As the verb is a present participle, it literally reads, “defiling the whole body.” It is active and it spreads like a cancer to every member. Once this happens, James says that it “sets on fire the course of nature.”

Here, James uses two new words. The first is phlogizó. It is a verb used twice here in James 3:6, and nowhere else. It means “to cause to blaze.” It is also a present participle, and so it more literally reads, “setting on fire.” The tongue actively is setting on fire “the course of nature.”

Here is the second new word, and it is found only here in the Bible, trochos. It signifies a wheel. It is that which moves on a circular track and thus it speaks of a circuit representing the “moral axis” on which our lives turn. Along with this, James ties the word “wheel” in with the word genesis, signifying one’s birth or lineage. Because of the unusual nature of the words, translations vary widely –

the whole course of one’s life (NIV)
your whole life (NLT)
the course of nature (BLB)
the entire course of our existence (GNT)
the course of human existence (NET Bible)
the successions of generations (Aramaic)
the wheel of nature (ASV)
the wheel of our nativity (Douay-Rheims)
the whole round of our lives (WNT)

Probably, the Douay-Rheims gets the closest to what James had on his mind. We are born into the world and, from that point on, our life turns on an axis like a wheel. This “wheel of nativity” is set on fire by our very small tongue. For example, the baby who was born in an obscure area of Upper Austria turned into a raging monster who exterminated countless lives in a war which spanned the earth.

Upon his death, nothing is remembered of his supposedly innocent birth. Rather, his tongue brought him to a state of infamy as it brought destruction and ruin. He is but one example of every human who has come into existence, with but one exception. Our tongues can be an uncontrollable fire from the moment we are born until the last breath we take. James is warning us of this and calling us to pay heed. The “wheel of nativity” is a vivid description of the state of human life.

James finishes with the thought that this small and yet terribly powerful part of the body “is set on fire by hell.” Here he uses the same word as before for “set on fire,” and it is again a present participle. Hell itself is setting the tongue on fire, causing it to blaze like an inferno. But the word translated as hell is the word Geenna, or as the Hebrew calls it, Gehenna.

The word comes from two Hebrew words, gay (pronounced gah-ee) & Hinnom. Thus, it is the Valley of Hinnom, a valley west and south of Jerusalem where the trash of the city was burned, including the bodies of the slain. It was a place of putrefaction and burning heat. Thus it is symbolic of the final place of punishment for the ungodly.

The tongue receives its power to defile from hell, and it leads those who use it for this purpose directly to the place from where its power was derived. The wheel of nativity for some goes from the control of the devil back to the place where the devil and all ungodly will be forever banished to.

Life application: When a person is corrupted, everything he or she comes into contact with is also affected by that corruption. Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormons, rejected the words of Paul in Galatians 1:6-8 and proclaimed “another gospel.” In this, he has deceived millions of people in successive generations by his false teachings. Paul quite clearly calls any gospel other than the one he proclaims, “anathema,” or worthy of eternal condemnation.

Adolph Hitler invoked the name of “Jehovah” when railing against the Jewish people. His evil words led to the destruction of many millions of Jews, Christians, and other “undesirable” people in the lands he controlled. His words came not from God, but from hell itself. His tongue received the instruction of the devil and repeated it to the destruction of not only the lives of those he fought against, but the lives of his own people. Germany was laid waste by one small tongue – a spark in an immense forest.

These examples only touch on the evil found in the history of mankind. Today we face evil in the form of Islam and the Islamic imams who speak of, and participate in, the destruction of western society. Israel is to be “wiped off the map” according to these lunatics. Their words stir up billions of Muslims and are leading us down the path to Armageddon.

Such large examples tend to make us overlook our own destructive tongues though. Let us, even in our small circles of life, conduct our tongues in reverence of God, in building up our friends, and in the tender care of our children. May our own tongues be especially careful to always be salted from heaven and not spiced with the fires of hell.

Lord God, our tongues have not always been a tool for blessing – You know this all too well. Please help us to control them so that they will be used for goodness rather than evil, for blessing rather than cursing, for godly counsel rather than wickedness. Hear our petition and our prayer – made in the powerful name of Jesus. Amen.