Lesson 46
3:7-8 The untameableness of the Tongue
For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the
sea is tamed,
and has been tamed by the human race
- Its rather ironic
that man can subdue the animal kingdom but is not able to subdue that small
part of his body - the tongue.
3:8 Continues
But no
one can tame the tongue;
- that
is no one has inherently within them self, from their own resources the ability
to subdue the tongue.
*** What is hopeless
for anyone when the sin nature rules can become a reality when God's grace
provisions and power are utilized in life.
James paints two very vivid pictures
of this untamed, uncontrolled tongue when he says it is a restless evil and
full of deadly poison.
The adjective restless (avkata,statoj)
implies a caged animal, one who
is not subdued and ever pacing uneasily back and forth.
and full of deadly
poison - adj qanathfo,roj = death bearing
- poison = ivo,j great term for the
destructive force of the tongue which is seen very clearly in a gossip and
maligning others
Summary 3:7-8
1. Man displays an
amazing and often ingenious ability to dominate and subdue the animal world and
yet under his own power is unable to tame his own tongue.
2. It is also a part
of the POG for man to be subdued - domesticated - that is, to live under His
authority.
3. Man has no
inherent ability to control his tongue which as James notes is a major source
of evil.
4. The only sure
control of the tongue comes from the exercise of wisdom one acquires from BD -
from above. [see
this coming up in vs:13ff]
5. Just as animals
are trained by a higher being, so man must also be aided by a higher being,
God, if he is to rise above the
natural trends & influences of the
sin nature.
6. We must recognize
that there are many situations - conditions of life that that we'll never
control without God's assistance.
7. God has the
inherent power and resources to help anyone with any problem.
8. James pictures
here the tongue that is restless, unstable, unreliable and constantly prone to
break out in vicious speech.
9. Its impact on
those around you is like a deadly poison. (destructive
to others)
Ps 140:3; Rom
10. By itself the
tongue is only able to produce dead works.
11. The cure for S/O/T
is:
a. to have God's viewpoint - His
wisdom and to use it; God's way of aiding us.
b. If one sin's against you - object
of S/O/T - what to do?
Mt 18:15-17 gives some guidelines
12. There is great
blessing for the one who utilizes the grace resources and controls the
tongue. Ps 34:12-13
3:9-10 Here we see the
fickleness and instability of the tongue
With it (the tongue as the instrument of
speech) we bless our Lord and Father
Now the Contrast
and with it we curse
men
- even
as bel's we can still be guilty of this
inconsistency giving praise one minute
and cursing someone the next.
who have been made in
the likeness of God.
these things ought not to be.
Summary 3:9-10
1. James again
includes himself in the misuse of the tongue in view here referred to as
cursing.
2. Therefore even
believers are guilty of duplicity and the verbal sin of cursing others.
3. To
both bless and curse indicates the inconsistency of the tongue and shows its
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde nature.
4. To bless God means
to give praise to Him for who His is and what He has done for us.
5. Cursing an
individual means to articulate a MAS of hate.
6. This sin nature's
activity is seen by James to be all the more repugnant since man is created in
the image of God. Gen 1:26-27
7. Sin has marred the
likeness but it is still present.
8. The likeness of
God refers to the soul and its essence not the body.
9. Man like God possesses invisible, immaterial
but very real attributes.
10. Man possesses the
ability for thinking/reason, the capacity to appreciate things (emotion) and
volition (self-determination) all of which is patterned after God's essence.
11. Therefore to
curse a man is in effect an attack on God whose likeness man still bears.
12. Instead we should
express respect and goodwill towards those who irate and may even harm us. - overcome evil with
good DGP Rom 12:21
13. This type of
verbal sinning detracts from our praise of God.
14. It is obviously
okay to deplore and reject
the evil of men but to curse them is a sin.
Jude 22-23
3:11-12 The consistency of
nature speaks against the inconsistency of man under the sin nature's
rulership.
James goes once again to nature to
illustrate the points he wants to make.
1. Nature is a
reflection of the Creator. Totally faithful - consistent with the
characteristics each were given. He designed the laws under which they all
function.
2. Each will produce
in harmony with it's own nature (phusis).
3. Royal law demands
consistency - that's God's desire for the Believer.
4. Just as the fig tree cannot genetically
produce olives it is impossible for the believer under the rulership of his sin
nature to produce anything but -R, human r, human good.