The letter of James is about the importance of living out a consistent Christian faith and the sad tendency for all Christians to contradict our faith by the lives we that we live.  And in this sobering passage, James (one of Jesus’ younger brothers) exposes one of the most common and most troublesome ways in which Christians contradict their profession of faith in Christ, which is, by the words that come out of our mouths.

Words are powerful.  The tongue is a small but influential instrument.  And it is incredibly difficult to use that little instrument in a good, beneficial, and God-honoring way.  Recently I spent some time reflecting on James 3:2-12 and what it says about the use of speech in the Christian life and found eight truths in that passage worth meditating upon.  In this post, I’d like to share those 8 truths with you.

James is About Consistent Christianity

The letter of James is about the importance of living out a consistent Christian faith and the sad tendency for all Christians to contradict our faith by the lives we that we live.  And in this sobering passage, James (one of Jesus’ younger brothers) exposes one of the most common and most troublesome ways in which Christians contradict their profession of faith in Christ, which is, by the words that come out of our mouths.

James 3:2-12 is about the use of speech in the Christian life.  What James shows us is that our tongues often go rogue.  They get out of control and cause destruction like a wildfire in the Rocky Mountains.  Incalculable damage can be done to people and to relationships simply by the use of sinful speech.

But perhaps the main, overarching point of this passage – despite the difficulty of “taming the tongue” – is that growth in spiritual maturity has a lot to do with learning to use our speech for good.  The battle to gain control over your speech is a battle that both requires and evidences great growth in godliness.  If you really want to grow in godliness, you must give some serious, soul-searching attention to the use of your tongue.

So, with that, here are 8 truths about the Christian and his speech from James 3:2-12.  (It may help to read the passage yourself before reading the rest of this post.)

Sinning with our speech is extraordinarily easy and altogether common. (v. 2)

We see this in verse 2, where James acknowledges that “we all stumble in many ways.”  That is, we all stumble spiritually, which is to say we all sin, and in many ways.  Our speech is just one of the many ways in which we sin.

But then he says, “and if anyone does not stumble (i.e. sin) in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle his whole body.”  When James talks about a “perfect man” here, I take him as referring to a fully sanctified Christian.  It’s the Christian who has been made “perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (1:4).  This is a Christian whose growth in godliness has reached completion.  He is as spiritually mature as he could be.  This person has been fully transformed into the likeness of Jesus.

Now, in case you’re wondering, there is not a single Christian walking the earth today whom this would apply to.  As long as we are waiting for the return of Christ, we all have much room to grow spiritually.  And so, I think what James is saying is that we are all in need of significant spiritual growth when it comes to our speech, not to mention the other parts of our lives.  If you want to see how much spiritual growth is still needed in your life, just look at how you use your tongue.

It is so easy to sin with the tongue.  And sins of the tongue are on the lips of every Christian on a daily basis.  Sinning with our speech is easy and common.

Speech is the primary tool we use to navigate this life. (vv. 3-5a)

In verses 3-5 James uses two images to show how the tongue – while such a small instrument – possesses great power.  The first image (v. 3) is that of a bit that’s put into the mouth of a horse.  The second image is that of a rudder on a ship (v. 4).  Words are one of the primary things we use to navigate the terrain of life.

Think about it.  We use words to express love and hatred.  We use words to settle or exacerbate conflicts. We grow or harm friendships with words.We use words in the home, in the church, at work, and at play.  Words are the primary way we help one another grow in the faith (Eph 4 – “speaking the truth in love”). Words are one of the most important tools of parenting, and marriage.  Words are how we correct errors.  Words are what we use to help each other learn.

Everywhere we go and in the vast majority of the things we do – we use words to do those things.  Though it is a tiny instrument, the tongue guides a person’s life.  This is one of the primary reasons our speech and spiritual growth in the area of our speech is so critical.

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