We are completing our study of taming the tongue from James 3. James taught us at the beginning of chapter 3 that the tongue sets the direction for our lives. Use your tongue in righteous ways and this will set your life direction toward righteousness. Use your tongue in evil ways and this will set your life direction toward sinfulness. The tongue is like a rudder of the ship and the bit in the horse’s mouth.
Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin. (Proverbs 13:3 ESV)
James then taught us the dangerous nature of the tongue. The tongue is like a small fire setting on fire a world of unrighteousness. James told us that the tongue is a deadly poison and a restless evil. The tongue has the power to give life or strike death in the hearts of others. At the end of this section, James taught us something important. He told us that the tongue reveals the heart. Salt ponds do not produce fresh water. Fig trees do not produce olives. Grapevines do not produce figs. The point is that a good and righteous heart does not produce a vile tongue. Jesus said in Matthew 15:18 that what comes out of the mouth is sourced from our hearts. Therefore, if we are going to tame our tongues and change our words then we need to change our hearts. This is where takes us next in his teaching. Open your copies of God’s word to James 3:13-18.
Get Wise! (James 3:13)
James begins by asking us a question. Who among you is wise? Who among you has understanding? Now I think we would all want to raise our hands to these questions. I don’t think the point of the question is for us to say that we are not wise or that we lack understanding. He expects us to say that we have wisdom. James told us at the beginning of this book that if we lack wisdom, we are to ask God who will give it to us (James 1:5). We are commanded to walk in wisdom (Colossians 4:5). But perhaps more to the point of this paragraph, if we understand what James is teaching about using our tongues, then show it. Look at what James says in response to his question in verse 13.
By his good conduct he should show that his works are done in the gentleness that comes from wisdom. (James 3:13 CSB)
If you have wisdom and understanding, then show it in your life. If we are wise and have understanding, then our lives should show it. If you have this wisdom, then show it by doing works from humility and gentleness. The internal source is our gentleness and meekness of wisdom. We realize that our tongues reveal our wisdom. Our tongues reveal the kind of wisdom that is inside of us and the type of wisdom we are following. Abraham Lincoln is attributed as saying, “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.” This saying is probably generated from the Proverbs themselves.
The one who has knowledge restrains his words, and one who keeps a cool head is a person of understanding. Even a fool is considered wise when he keeps silent— discerning, when he seals his lips. (Proverbs 17:27-28 CSB)
When there are many words, wrongdoing is unavoidable, but one who restrains his lips is wise. (Proverbs 10:19 NASB 2020)
The gentleness that comes from wisdom will be seen in how we act and in how we talk. Our words show which wisdom we follow. Our actions show what wisdom is ruling our lives. James is going to define two types of wisdom. There is a wisdom that is from below and there is a wisdom that from above. Let us first consider the wisdom that comes from the earth. Look at verses 14-16.
Wisdom From Below (James 3:14-16)
James asks us to examine ourselves. Your words show if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition. The word translated “selfish ambition” in many translations refers to selfishness that generates strife. The person is self-serving and envious. You are so self-consumed that you are jealous of others and cause problems with others. Gentleness and humility mark the wise and understanding person. Envy, jealousy, and self-serving concerns are marks of earthly wisdom. They are natural, unspiritual, and demonic. Ironically, such people claim to be wise and spiritual. James tells such people to stop. Stop lying to yourself and stop lying to others. Your wisdom is not from above. Your actions and your words show that you are not operating from humility and gentleness that comes from wisdom.
Sadly, such people deny the truth of the problem, which is what James says at the end of verse 14. Our words can show our worldliness. We say things that show that we are self-seeking. We say things that show how much we are thinking about ourselves and not about others. Our words show what is in our hearts.
Notice the outcome of this earthly wisdom. The outcome is disorder and every evil practice. Selfish thinking makes messes in life. Self-seeking causes disorder and destruction. Jealousy and envy only cause strife and difficulties. James is asking to be really honest at this moment. Look at your life. Do you see disorder? Do you see vile things and evil acts? The reality is that there is jealousy and selfishness. Think about how envy and jealousy ruin everything. Rather than enjoying the life that God has given you, you spend your time wishing for a different life. You spent your waking hours wanting things to be different, wanting the life someone else has, and fighting to get that life rather than enjoy the life you have. You have blessings from God in your life. But we ignore them and trash them in our jealousy and envy. Jealousy focuses on the bad in our lives and tries to achieve the good that God has given to others. We destroy our lives because we choose not to be happy with the life that God has given to us. James says to stop boasting. Stop talking about yourself. Stop drawing attention to yourself. Stop making everything about you, pulling everyone into your destructive orbit. The problem is in you, not with everyone else. The problem is that there is bitter jealousy and self-seeking inside which is generating all kinds of disorder and vile practices.
Wisdom From Above (James 3:17-18)
Now James draws the contrast for us in verse 17. The wisdom that comes from above has completely different characteristics than earthly wisdom that is ultimately unspiritual, natural, and demonic. The wisdom from above is first of all pure. Purity is such a powerful word. Think about how often this word is used today in terms of advertising products. We want things that are pure. We want pure water so we have filters to clean the water. We want pure foods. I remember a commercial jingle when I was kid that advertised “pure cane sugar sweetened by the sun.” Purity is what is necessary as James has been talking about wisdom and talking about how we use our tongues. Our tongues will continue to be a restless evil and full of deadly poison without first purity. The key point of transformation for our lives begins by purifying our hearts. In fact, James will teach this very point in chapter 4.
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (James 4:8 ESV)
Peter makes the point that purification must come first so that the righteousness can flow from our lives.
Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God. (1 Peter 1:22-23 ESV)
God’s transforming work will happen through the living and enduring word of God working on our hearts. As we are actively working to purify our hearts, then we will see the rest of the wisdom that comes from above fall into place. The wisdom from above after purity is then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, and sincere. So think about our tongues as they relate to our hearts. A peace-loving heart will say words that generate for peace, not strife and friction. We are not going to be combative or confrontational. Rather we are seeking to build and restore relationships, not destroy them.
Further, a gentle heart is going to be able to speak gentle words. I think we can easily miss that our powerful Lord and Savior showed great gentleness and consideration for others in his life on the earth. The wisdom from above is willing to yield (NKJV, NRSV), submissive (NIV), and open to reason (ESV). There is nothing harsh or domineering about being submissive and willing to yield to others. We submit ourselves for the good of others. We are filled with mercy and good fruits which is seen in how we speak. Friends, we need to be merciful with others. We need to be merciful in our words and thoughts about others. We need to have mercy on others. Earlier James said this:
So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. (James 2:12-13 ESV)
These are terrifying words. How can we think that we are going to receive mercy from God when we have refused to show mercy to others? The last thing I want is for judgment without mercy on me. Yet how often can our hearts, our words, and our actions be full of judgment without mercy on others? Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful, but they shall receive mercy” (Matthew 5:7 ESV). Friends, the scriptures show us that there is a way to be merciful and still hate sin and evil. Jesus obviously shows this in his life where he clearly condemns sin while at the same time shows gentleness and mercy to the people he interacts with. The Pharisees lacked such mercy and love. They would not eat with the tax collectors and sinners and even condemned Jesus for doing so. Notice how Jude showed this balance as he concluded his letter.
But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh. (Jude 20-23 ESV)
Listen to how James concludes his message in James 3:18. A harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. We reap what we sow and we have the ability to reap a harvest of righteousness if we will sow peace. Do we sow peace with our tongues? Do we sow peace in how we treat people? Do we sow peace by how we talk to each other? God promises that we will reap what we sow (cf. Galatians 6:7-8).
Taming The Tongue
As we conclude I want us to think about the three points James has made to teach us how to tame the tongue. First, we must tame the tongue because what we say sets the direction of our lives. Second, we must tame the tongue because our words can set on fire a world of unrighteousness. Our words have the power to harm or to heal. Finally, we have seen in this lesson that taming the tongue requires the wisdom that comes from above. Earthly wisdom feeds jealousy and selfishness which fuels the tongue to cause disorder, strife, and all kinds of evil. If we see this in our lives and in our words, then we know we are following the wrong wisdom for life. Godly wisdom, however, is completely different from earthly wisdom. If we understand this and have the wisdom that James is talking about, then we will show the gentleness of wisdom in our good works. Godly wisdom is first pure. Pure hearts will lead to pure tongues. Look at our words and see if our words are peaceable, gentle, open to reason, submissive, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, and sincere. So we are asked to be discerning and look at ourselves honestly. Which wisdom are we following: the wisdom from above or the wisdom from the earth?