James has been discussing the distinguishing marks of true, saving faith. He spent the first half of chapter 2 on the topic of favoritism within that context, and then he revealed that saving faith is alive unto good works in the second part of that chapter. Just as Paul said in Ephesians 2:8-10, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” So in light of a very serious issue, that genuine faith is seen in a person’s deeds, James turns to the topic of speech. We must consider, then, that our words are categorized under our deeds. At the end of chapter 3, James offers a summary statement and categorizes what he has been saying as wisdom. Let’s take a look.
1) V1 – 1Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.
It seems like a change of topic. It appears that James has finished talking about genuine faith and how it plays out in good deeds. But he’s still there. James is talking about the importance of our words in proving that our faith is genuine. Both our words and our actions – and even, dare we say, our thoughts – fall under the category of works. And when these elements line up according to God’s commands, then our faith is shown to be genuine. When our actions and our words and even our thoughts are like those of Jesus, our faith is living, not dead. James wants that to be obvious in our lives, and so brings up the example of teachers. James rather bluntly says, “Not many of you should presume to be teachers.” In America, teachers are undervalued, underpaid, under-respected, and the like; similarly the profession of preacher, or pastor, is about as esteemed as that of used-car salesperson. But in Biblical times, to be a teacher or rabbi was the highest honor. Even Jesus, in his proclamation of seven woes against the Pharisees, warned the disciples about the esteem of their coming position (Matthew 23:6-12).
Teachers, and especially their words (and other works), are to be heavily scrutinized, “judged more strictly,” because they are in a position of authority over God’s people. Think about the differences in the way Jesus patiently dealt with the laity opposed to His critical rebukes of the leaders (compare John 3 with John 4). Teachers have tremendous influence for good or evil, which explains why the New Testament authors thoroughly warn their audiences and congregations of the rise of false teachers from within. Teachers can become greedy and arrogant, perhaps in part because they are shown favoritism over those who are less prominent within the church. So James addresses his audience in respect to teachers, as an example to warn against improper speech.
2) V2-12 –2We 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. 3When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4Or 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. 5Likewise 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. 6The 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. 7All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, 8but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. 11Can both fresh water and salt [or bitter] water flow from the same spring? 12My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
With a very simply, yet theologically rich remark, James sets the stage for his continued discussion on the topic of appropriate speech in v2. He says, “We all stumble in many ways.” There is no perfect Christian, and that is not even the goal in this life. Maturity and integrity and humility are the goals in this life, although perfection will come for the Christian at the return of Jesus. But here, James is saying, “I could talk about a lot of different issues in the context of the distinction between vibrant Christian faith and a mere dead profession, or intellectual assent to the facts, but I’m choosing to go on with speech.” And he says, “If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.” James says, “If you can guard your tongue, then you can reach perfection; if you can control your speech, then you can control your whole self.”
In v3-12, James gives a series of illustrations to prove his point that speech is a crucial part of our holiness. Placing a small bit in a horse’s mouth gives us a steering wheel to control a stronger creature than we could otherwise handle (v30; a tiny rudder enables us to guide an enormous ship into powerful winds (v4). Likewise, the human tongue is small but it has great control over us, as well as those who follow us (think of pre-battle speeches, half-time motivations, etc.). Not only can the tongue exhibit influence, it can corrupt and do tremendous harm (v5-6), in the same way that a small cigarette butt can send millions of acres of forest up in smoke and turn them to ashes. The familiar saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me,” was meant to comfort children who had been teased by others, but does it really work? Don’t words cause more pain, most of the time, than physical beatings?
In v7-8, James explains that the tongue problem is a heart problem. Though humans can tame just about any kind of animal, we can’t tame our own tongues. And Paul says the same thing in Romans 3:10-18, quoting the Old Testament, “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Paul says the problem for humanity is moral, and it flows out of the heart through the mouth first. Jesus said, “Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks… The things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean’” (Matthew 12:34; 15:18). But thankfully, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved… so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 10:9-10; 15:6).
Though the inconsistency of our speech, praising God on Sunday and cursing one another during the week (v9-10), should not be, God’s mercy can forgive and His grace can restore. James says that a spring can’t emit both salt and fresh water, and a fig tree can’t grow other kinds of fruit. In Matthew 7:15-23, near the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught the same thing James is saying, “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from Me, you evildoers!’”
3) V13-18 – 13Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. 16For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. 17But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.
I love the way Ligon Duncan previews his sermon on this passage:
“How do you know if there is wisdom, real wisdom, true wisdom stored up in your heart? That’s what James asks [here], and he gives a very good, a very careful, a very nuanced answer. You will perhaps sense that James is already turning to that third topic which he mentions in James 1:26-27. In James 1:26, James says that true religion shows itself in the speech. In James 1:27, he says that true religion shows itself in our care and concern, our practical love shown towards Christians in need. And thirdly he says, true religion shows itself in separating oneself from worldliness, in refusing to cave into worldliness. And in all this talk about wisdom James is already phasing in to a discussion of worldliness. He’ll give himself almost exclusively to that subject in chapter 4. But already here at the end of chapter 3 he is on to his third topic of worldliness. You see, worldliness begins with a lack of wisdom. Wisdom begins with the fear of the lord. Worldliness begins without the fear of the lord. And so worldliness always entails a lack of wisdom. And James has three important things that he wants to say to us about wisdom in this passage. The first you’ll see in v13-14 where he talks about true wisdom being shown by the behavior. The second you’ll see in v15-16 where he shows us negatively what false wisdom looks like. And then the third thing you’ll see in v17-18 where he shows us what true wisdom looks like.”
Paraphrasing, James answers his own question, “Who is wise among you? The one who humbly does good deeds without envy, self-exaltation, or denial of the truth.” If you think it’s wise to exalt yourself, to boast in your “good deeds,” then your “wisdom” is worldly at best, or worse, of the devil (v15). The wisdom from God brings peace. And the true Christian lives by the wisdom of God, acknowledging God in all your ways (Proverbs 3:5-6), which results in wise word choices, especially humble verbal and physical responses to situations where the temptation to exalt yourself is prevalent (v13). There’s no place for jealousy, envy, or bitterness in the heart of one who is truly wise (v14), for those qualities reveal insecurity, disorder, a preoccupancy with one’s self (v16).
Sometimes it’s easy to spot worldly wisdom and exalt it, mistaking it for heavenly wisdom. It may be difficult at first to distinguish worldly wisdom from godly wisdom. We might see an excellent financial manager or medical doctor and presume that God has blessed them with divine wisdom; but in reality, as Jesus said in Luke 16:8, “The people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.” They may have worldly wisdom that puffs them up on the inside, envy and jealousy that demands they work hard to keep up with the Joneses, bitterness that would never show up on Sunday morning at church, disorder in their inner being, and a preoccupation with building up themselves that hinders their ability to authentically invest in others.
By their fruit you will know them. Thus, James goes on to describe the fruit of godly wisdom in v17-18. He lists 8 characteristics and 1 end result of divine wisdom. Looking first at the result, or the primary evidence, of godly wisdom – “a harvest of righteousness” (v18) – we learn that there is nothing wrong in it, nothing evil about it, nothing negative to point to regarding godly wisdom. There is not a single foul motive, and that what James desires and demands from Christians in his audience.
Now, getting to that harvest of righteousness, the first attribute of godly wisdom is purity. Ligon Duncan says, “There is a purity, there is a cleanness before God, there is a holiness in this wisdom that characterizes the truly wise person, the wise Christian.” The second character trait of a person with godly wisdom is love of peace. This description does not refer to one who marches in protest against war, or one who compromises Christian doctrine for the sake of avoiding offense. Being a peace lover is simply doing what Paul says, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (Romans 12:18). Don’t be the one who stirs up trouble or causes strife, but don’t let yourself be trampled either, by failing to stand firm. Being considerate is a third evidence of having been blessed with divine wisdom. This attribute is akin to meekness and gentleness, being patient in the demands made of others, because you’ve been there and you understand what they are going through. A fourth trait is being submissive, being reasonable and patient in listening to others; a submissive person will not interrupt someone else while they are speaking. A fifth characteristic is being full of mercy; it’s an active form of humility and compassion towards others. The sixth attribute of godly wisdom, according to James, is being filled with good fruit; in other words, the truly wise person will exhibit the fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5:23 in increasing measure. Seventh, impartiality is a trait of godly wisdom. There’s focus and consistency, generally speaking, without wavering or signs of favoritism. Finally, the eighth attribute is sincerity; opposed to hypocrisy, the sincere person will exhibit integrity and a “what-you-see-is-what-you-get” genuineness. Jesus complimented Nathanael for his sincerity when He said, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false” (John 1:47).
So these traits of true, godly wisdom by their very nature sow peace and harvest righteousness. But James is about to say, in the next chapter, that we don’t have this kind of wisdom because we don’t ask God. We struggle in our church relationships, because we exhibit a little worldly wisdom and even less divine wisdom. We must change that, which comes by asking God, by relying on the Holy Spirit who gives peace and wisdom (Luke 11:9,13; John 11:22; 15:7,16; 16:23; Ephesians 1:17). The result is peace through righteousness.
Footnotes
- 3:11 Greek bitter (see also verse 14)
Bible text from Gospelcom.net. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.