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James 3

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Not many of you should become teachers. The tongue is tiny, like a horse's bit or a ship's rudder, but it steers the whole body, and one spark can burn a forest. We bless God and curse people with the same mouth. Real wisdom from above is pure, peaceful and gentle.

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In this chapterThe Big Question · Christians disagreeFaith and Works · after verse 5

Taming the Tongue// Psalm 64:1–10

¹Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. ²We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to control his whole body.

³When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can guide the whole animal. ⁴Consider ships as well. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot is inclined.

⁵In the same way, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it boasts of great things. Consider how small a spark sets a great forest ablaze. ⁶The tongue also is a fire, a world of wickedness among the parts of the body. It pollutes the whole person, sets the course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

JAS 3:5[NOTABLE]The tongue is small, but it can burn down a whole life.
JAS 3:6[NOTE]HELL. The Greek word is Gehenna, the Valley of Hinnom south of Jerusalem, where kings of Judah once burned their children as sacrifices, Jeremiah 7:31. Jesus used the name for hell.

The Big Question · Christians disagree

Faith and Works

Did James and Paul Disagree?

James 2:14 to 26 · Romans 3:28 · Galatians 2:16 · Ephesians 2:8 to 10

WHAT JAMES SAID: A man is justified by his deeds and not by faith alone, 2:24. Faith without deeds is dead, 2:26.
WHAT PAUL SAID: A man is justified by faith apart from works of the law, Romans 3:28. Both men use Abraham and the same verse, Genesis 15:6: Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, Romans 4:3 and James 2:23.
THE EARLY CHURCH: James was slow to be accepted. Origen, about AD 240, is one of the first to quote it by name, and Eusebius, about AD 325, listed it among the books some disputed. By about AD 400 it was in every major list. Augustine, about AD 413, said there is no fight: Paul means works done before faith, to earn it, and James means works that come after faith.
LUTHER'S STRAW: In his 1522 New Testament Martin Luther compared James to John, Romans, Galatians and 1 Peter and called it a right strawy letter, because he said it has nothing of the gospel in it. He moved it near the back. The straw line was dropped from later editions, and Luther still quoted James in his sermons.
TRENT AND CALVIN: The Catholic Council of Trent, 1547, quoted James 2:24 and taught that justification grows through good works done by grace, and it rejected faith alone. John Calvin answered that same year with a famous line: it is faith alone that justifies, but the faith that justifies is never alone.
TODAY: In 1999 the Lutheran World Federation and the Catholic Church signed the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification. They agreed that we are saved by grace through faith in Christ, not by our merits, and that good works must follow. They still disagree on some details. The next page gives every view.

Every View · The Case Each Side Makes

James 2:14 to 26 · Romans 4:1 to 5 · Galatians 5:6 · Philippians 2:12 to 13

SHOWN, NOT EARNED: Most Protestants say Paul and James answer different questions. Paul asks how a sinner is made right with God: by faith. James asks what real faith looks like: it works. Justified in James means shown to be right, as in show me your faith, 2:18. Key verses: Ephesians 2:8 to 10 and Galatians 5:6. Best case: it keeps grace free and faith real.
DIFFERENT KINDS OF WORKS: Paul fights works of the law, like circumcision and food rules, used as a ticket into God's people. James means acts of love, like feeding the hungry, 2:15 to 16. Best case: the two men use the same word for different things.
ABRAHAM, THEN AND LATER: Paul points to Genesis 15, when Abraham first believed. James points to Genesis 22, years later, when Abraham offered Isaac. The later act proved the earlier faith was real, 2:21 to 23.
CATHOLIC: Justification begins by grace through faith and baptism and grows through good works done in grace. James 2:24 means what it says. Key verses: Galatians 5:6, faith working through love, and Romans 2:6 to 7. Best case: it takes every word of James at face value.
ORTHODOX: Salvation is a lifelong journey of becoming like God, by grace, with our free cooperation. Faith and works are two sides of one life. Key verses: Philippians 2:12 to 13 and 2 Peter 1:4.
THE NEW PERSPECTIVE: Scholars like E. P. Sanders, 1977, James Dunn and N. T. Wright say works of the law in Paul mainly means the Jewish badges, like circumcision and food laws, so Paul and James are not even talking about the same works.
A REAL DISAGREEMENT: Some scholars, and Luther in his early years, think James and Paul really disagreed, or that James was answering people who twisted Paul's teaching. Best case: it reads both letters without forcing them to match.
WHAT ALL SIDES AGREE ON: We are saved by God's grace, not by earning it. Real faith never stays alone; it shows up in love for the poor, 2:15 to 17. Both Paul and James say so, Galatians 5:6.

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 bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. ¹⁰Out of the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, this should not be! ¹¹Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? ¹²My brothers, can a fig tree grow olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

JAS 3:9[ALLUDES TO]Refers to ← GEN 1:26-27

The Wisdom from Above

¹³Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good conduct, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. ¹⁴But if you harbor bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast in it or deny the truth. ¹⁵Such wisdom does not come from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. ¹⁶For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every evil practice.

JAS 3:14[HEART]If you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not brag about it.
JAS 3:15[DEMONIC]Wisdom that is earthly, unspiritual, demonic

¹⁷But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere. ¹⁸Peacemakers who sow in peace reap the fruit of righteousness.

JAS 3:17[NOTABLE]Eight marks of God's wisdom, the opposite of the jealousy and ambition in 3:14 to 16.

James 3

Taming the Tongue// Psalm 64:1–10

The Wisdom from Above

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