The Tongue is a Fire

A single sentence can do what years of good intentions can’t; it can change how someone sees you, sees the church, and even how they see God.

We read James 3:1–12 then sit with its blunt message about the tongue. James compares our speech to a bit in a horse’s mouth, a rudder steering a ship, and a small spark that can set an entire forest on fire.  The point lands because we’ve all watched words travel faster than our regret.

We also take seriously James’s warning that not many should become teachers because teachers are judged more strictly. That includes anyone who represents God publicly, explains Scripture, or carries influence in a faith community. We talk about why the hesitant, humble teacher may be the safest teacher, and how the world often holds Christian leaders and Christian “examples” to a higher standard. When a believer blesses God but curses people made in God’s likeness, the damage can spread outward, shaping whether someone wants to have anything to do with church, Christianity, or the gospel.

The hope in this passage isn’t perfection; it’s direction. If no human being can fully tame the tongue, we still have a real starting point: the heart.

We close with prayer and a simple practice for Christian living and spiritual growth, asking God to cleanse what’s inside and training our minds through meditation on God so our speech becomes steadier and kinder.

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James 3:1-12 - King James Version
3 My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.

2 For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.

3 Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body.

4 Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.

5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!

6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

7 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:

8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

9 Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.

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

11 Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?

12 Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.

Transcript

Welcome And Purpose

SPEAKER_00 0:06

Welcome to the Christ Quarter. Thank you for taking a quarter of an hour out of this day to enjoy the presence of Christ and the words of Christ. Today let's read a section of Scripture, discuss what it means, and also how it applies to our lives. I hope that God will speak to you through my words and more importantly through his scriptures, and will bring you closer to Him. I am blessed and thankful to have this time to speak with you, and I thank you so much for being with me here today. Today's scripture selection is James chapter three, verses one through twelve. The King James Version reads as follows My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation, for in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same as a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. Behold, we've put bits in the horses' mouths that they may obey us, and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, which though they be so great and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth, and the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. So is the tongue among our members that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature, and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beast 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. 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. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries, either vine figs? So can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh. Then I V says it this way Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check. When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal, or 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. Likewise 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. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one's life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and sea creatures are being tamed, and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord the Father, and with it we curse human beings who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives or grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. Let us pray. Lord, we thank you for this day. We thank you for the freedom and the ability to discuss your word and enjoy your presence. Help us to understand your word and your will for our daily lives more fully. We ask that you bless this discussion of your word, that it will speak to someone who needs to hear from you. We ask that you use these words to bring someone closer to you, and that you will touch their hearts to love others through action in your name. That each of us will do something to love their neighbor in action as well as in word. That each of us will do our best to represent you to the world. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. The verses for today are humbling. What are we to do about our tongues, our speech life, the sinful private thoughts that enter our minds and are hopefully pushed far away. They are still there lurking in the shadows, and it only takes a moment for one of them to leap from the shadows, land on our tongue, and leap out into the world. Too late we realize what we've done and we try to repair the damage. But it is impossible. We cannot unspeak a spoken word. Worse still is the fact that if we believe what we said, we will be insincere in trying to take it back. As Clara said on Andy Griffith, many a truth is said in jest. This is true, but hurtful truths are often said in anger. We must be extra careful to be slow to speak when we are angry, when we're irritated, or even just when we're tired. This is true of everyone, but it is especially true of teachers. In today's lesson, James is especially talking to those who are masters or who wish to be. The using of the word master is referring to teachers of the word of God. Teachers of the Word of God have a respected position and duty. Because of this, there are many people who wish to become teachers for that reason only. Of course, if this is their only or primary desire for teaching, they should not become teachers. At the same time, there are many people who have a heart of a teacher but are hesitant to become teachers. In my opinion, sometimes these hesitant people make the best teachers. If they're hesitant because they are aware of the very real responsibility being a teacher brings with it, then they are equipped with the right heart to teach. In my opinion, the teacher who takes the act of teaching very seriously and is careful to accurately provide God's word to their students while also carrying themselves in a godly manner, knowing that they're being watched. This is the right type of teacher. In our verses today, James is speaking to us all, in that we should all be careful in what we say and how we act, how we carry ourselves. All of us are teachers in the sense that someone is watching us and learning from our example. But I feel that he is speaking primarily to those who have accepted the position of teacher and who are actively spreading and explaining God's word. Let's get right to it. Those among us who have accepted the responsibility of being a teacher should hold ourselves to a higher standard of behavior. What that standard is depends on each individual teacher. It depends on what God has called you to do and how He has gifted you to do it. Regardless of your standard, the way to maintain yourself within it is to control your tongue, control what you say. What we say comes from what is in our hearts, and our hearts are evil. Jeremiah chapter 17, verses 9 and 10 says, The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings. Knowing this, we know that we cannot say everything that is in our hearts, everything that comes to mind. We then know that we must control our tongues. Verse 2 of our scripture says, For in many things we offend all. This means that in many ways we all offend. The person who does not offend by word is in such control of his mouth that he is also in perfect control of his body, and his behavior is then perfect. This doesn't describe any of us. We all offend, and we must make an effort to offend as little as possible by controlling our tongue. Teachers are watched more intently because of their position and their standing in the community. How many of us remember seeing our middle school teachers outside of school for the first time? It seems so amazing. And we immediately put on our good behavior out of respect for that person or maybe out of a desire to please that person. On the other side of that, the teacher likely improved their behavior once they realized one of their students was watching them. As teachers hold themselves to a higher standard, so does the world hold those teachers to a higher standard. Teachers of the Word of God are also representatives of the people of God. When the world sees one of God's teachers behaving in a certain way, they tend to ascribe that behavior to all of God's people. Teachers must hold themselves to a higher standard. Verses 6 and 8 of today's scripture points to some of the reasons why this is important. And the tongue is of fire, a world of iniquity, so is the tongue among our members that it defileth the whole body and setteth on fire the course of nature, and it is set on fire of hell, but the tongue can no man tame, it is an unruly evil full of deadly poison. Teachers must hold themselves to a higher standard, and this starts with control of the tongue. We cannot fully tame our tongues, but we must do our best to control it. Suppose we as a new Christian or as a curious non-Christian see a Christian that we greatly respect, someone we have told people about. We have told people how compassionate the person is, how gentle they are, and then we see this person yelling at someone and cursing at them. Our entire opinion of that person has now changed. It may be that they have never acted this way before in their life, but they have now destroyed their reputation with us, and we will be hesitant to tell people how good they are in the future. Worse than this, the effect that person has had on us has been corrupted. I have personally spoken with many people who left the church when they were young because they were disappointed in someone or hurt by someone in the church, someone who they had respected. I also have spoken to people who believe in God but are not Christians because they judge God by the Christians they know. Our behavior can bring people to the church or push them away from the church. Also, those who are curious about God but are not willing to attend church because of the behavior of some church folk are not being taught. If they were taught what the Bible actually says and what God is actually like, they might well become Christians and work in the family business. This is what I'm reminded of in our verses today when James refers to the tongue setting fire to the course of nature. One Christian yells at someone, another person sees this and is disappointed in that Christian. This leads them further away from God and further away from the church. They end up not becoming a Christian and therefore do not use the gifts God gave them. The people they would have affected and brought to God never become Christians, and so it goes. Like a small ember inflamed by a breeze, spreading to a leaf, which spread to a stick, which spread to a tree, which set the entire forest on fire, destroying thousands of acres of trees, stores, schools, and homes. This is how powerful the tongue is. Knowing this, what can we do about it? We know that we cannot fully tame our tongues, so how do we minimize the damage we do? We start with the heart. The tongue is only given a voice to what is in our heart. Ask God to enter into our heart and clean it up, and then meditate on Him. The more we think about and meditate on the things of God, the fewer opportunities the heart has to feed the tongue wicked things to say. And the less likely it is that we will say those wicked things, and the more likely it is that we will say godly things that will help our brothers and sisters and further God's kingdom. The answer is think about and meditate on God. That concludes our scripture discussion for today. Thank you for spending this time with me talking about, learning about, and enjoying Christ. It is my hope that God has used my words to touch you today and has brought you closer to Him. Let us pray. Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is a kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.