James 3:7-12: The Tongue Can No Man Tame
2024-10-26
Here, let us take a pause and consider the power of the tongue as a segue on what it means to tame the tongue. We will consider the wisdom books of the Bible and see the power of the tongue.
- Controlling the Tongue in the Book of Job
- Controlling the Tongue in the Book of Psalms
- Controlling the Tongue in the Book of Proverbs
- Controlling the Tongue in the Book of Ecclesiastes
Now, let us continue our study regarding tongue controlling in the context of James.
James 3:7-8
For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. (James 3:7-8)
Taming our tongues is compared to taming these beasts. We see that humanity has tamed every kind of animal, but no one can tame his own tongue. Consider that the Scripture has said that humankind has tamed every kind of beast, and how impressive that is. Every means every. Has humanity tamed the blue whale? A quick internet search indicates that the biggest snakes are the reticulated python that can grow up to 32 feet and the green anaconda that can be over 20 feet long and weigh up to 550 pounds. Somebody somewhere tamed them.
Think about the lion tamers and those who tame animals in circuses. These fierce beasts were tamed by man.
The Bible mentions the possible sauropod behemoth, which “moveth his tail like a cedar” (Job 40:17) and whose “bones are as strong pieces of brass” (Job 40:18). Somebody somewhere tamed this creature.
How about the mighty leviathan, who “esteemeth iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood” (Job 41:27). “Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out. Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron. His breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth” (Job 41:19-21). Here is a real-to-life fire-breathing dragon that broke apart metal with ease. Somebody somewhere tamed it.
To think that these fierce beasts could be tamed and there is not even one who could tame his own tongue! If we cannot tame our own tongues, then why all the commandments concerning our speech? Going through all the wisdom books and through what we have seen in James so far, we have not seen all the teaching concerning our speech. If we cannot control our speech, then what can?
God can by the power of His Holy Spirit, whom we have dwelling in us. He can tame the tongue. This power only comes “from above.” The power to do anything right only comes from that heavenly power given us by the Spirit.
Apart from Him, however, the tongue “is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.” The tongue cannot be restrained or instructed; it can only be crucified. Throughout our study so far, we have seen the tongue is poison both to the speaker and to the hearer. “Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips” (Romans 3:13). We are defiled and others are harmed. To stop the endless venom, every word must be filtered by the Spirit of the LORD. “Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God” (Romans 6:13). The tongue is one of those members to yield to the Lord.
James 3:9-10
Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. (James 3:9-10)
Blessing and cursing are opposites and are mutually exclusive. So when we bless God and curse men, “these things ought not so to be.” This is because people “are made after the similitude of God.”
We spoke of people being in the image of God elsewhere. We bear His image on this earth. We were meant to bring Him glory more than anything else. We reason, think, feel, and act like no other creature in creation. “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?” (Psalm 8:4). Even as fallen image bearers of God, He cares for us and avenges us. “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man” (Genesis 9:6).
So when we curse other people, who imperfectly bear God’s image, it is contradictory to blessing God. If we curse other believers, it is even worse, because in Jesus, we are that perfect image-bearer of God, because Jesus is the true image of God. “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature” (Colossians 1:15). And again, “And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him” (Colossians 3:10).
When we say that blessing and cursing come “Out of the same mouth,” we see that the same source provides both the “blessing” and the cursing. We turn to a few examples in the physical world.
James 3:11-12
Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh. (James 3:11-12)
A fountain is not going to produce both sweet and bitter water at the same time. A little bitter makes the whole thing bitter. Consider Exodus 15:22-27. The waters of Marah were bitter by nature. They needed either a different water source or God needed to miraculously heal these waters. The LORD chose to miraculously heal the waters. Surely a tree would not normally heal waters big enough to hydrate hundreds of thousands; this was a miracle.
The healing at Marah was also a miracle that had an object lesson. Like the tree healing the water, the LORD heals His people. “I am the LORD that healeth thee.” He changes the nature of His people spiritually. He makes us anew via the new birth. He completely changes the source of our life, from natural, ephemeral life to heavenly, eternal life from the Lord Jesus Christ. From there, the LORD brought them to an oasis that needed no healing. Likewise, our fount source must be supernaturally changed to produce blessing instead of cursing.
The same is true of the olive and figs. They cannot come from the same plant. “And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:11-12). Plants only bear fruit after their kind. It is the same with us. If we rely on the Spirit who came down from above, then we will speak after His kind. If we don’t, then we will speak from our own fallen resources. He will bless, while we curse.
From this, we see that if we are blessing God while cursing His images, that we cannot be bearing fruit or water from two different sources. The so-called “blessing” spoken with the cursing is not real. We must repent ourselves back to God so that He can provide through us what we need for His service.