2. James 3:1-5a
James 3:1-5a
1 Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers,
because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.
2 We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he
says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.
3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us,
we can turn the whole animal.
4 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.
5 Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great
boasts.
I. Our Speech Shapes Our Direction (v. 1-5a)
3. James 3:5b-6
James 3:5b-6
5b Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a
small spark.
6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among
the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole
person, sets the whole course of his life on fire,
and is itself set on fire by hell.
II. Our Speech Has Great Destructive
Power (v. 5b-6)
4. Proverbs 16:27-28; Romans 1:29-31
Proverbs 16:27-28
27 A scoundrel plots evil, and his speech is like a scorching
fire.
28 A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip
separates close friends.
Romans 1:29-31
29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness,
evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder,
strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips,
30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful;
they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their
parents;
31 they are senseless, faithless, heartless,
ruthless.
5. James 3:7-8
James 3:7-8
7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures
of the sea are being tamed and have been
tamed by man,
8 but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless
evil, full of deadly poison.
III. Our Speech is Uncontrollable Without Divine
Help (v. 7-8)
6. James 3:9-12
James 3:9-12
9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with
it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness.
10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My
brothers, this should not be.
11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same
spring?
12 My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine
bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
IV. Our Speech Reveals Our True Hearts
(v. 9-12)
7. Matthew 12:34b-37
Matthew 12:34b-35
34 … out of the overflow of the heart the mouth
speaks.
35 The good man brings good things out of the
good stored up in him, and the evil man brings
evil things out of the evil stored up in him.
36 But I tell you that men will have to give account
on the day of judgment for every careless word
they have spoken.
37 For by your words you will be acquitted,
and by your words you will be
condemned."
8. Matthew 15:11; 18-19
Matthew 15:11
11 What goes into a man's mouth does not make
him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth,
that is what makes him 'unclean.'"
Matthew 15:18-19
18 But the things that come out of the mouth come
from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.'
19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder,
adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false
testimony, slander.
9. Practical Advice
1. Talk Less!
Flavil Yeakley: “Wes, you’ve got two eyes, two ears, and one
mouth. You ought to look and listen a lot more than you speak.”
Abe Lincoln: “It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool,
than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.”
Calvin Coolidge: “I have never been hurt by anything I did not
say.”
Mark Twain: “A closed mouth gathers no foot.”
Proverbs 10:19
19 When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who
holds his tongue is wise.
10. Practical Advice
Proverbs 18:21a
21a “The tongue has the power of life and death …”
2. Before you speak, T.H.I.N.K.
T —Is it True? Are your words honest? Often, the juiciest gossip is not.
H —Is it Helpful? Will your words help bring about a solution, or will
they add to the problem?
I —Is it Inappropriate/Immoral/Idiotic? Is it the right time to say this? Is
it the right circumstance? Am I saying this in the right way? Is it a
dirty joke, a cuss word, or something Jesus wouldn’t say?
N —Is it Necessary? Does this really need to be said? Do I really have
anything to add? Does a sin need to be confronted
(James 5:19-20)?
K —Is it Kind and considerate? Are your words
genuinely based on a desire to help? Is what
you say motivated by love?
11. Review
From James 3:1-12
I. Our Speech Shapes Our Direction (v. 1-5a)
II. Our Speech Has Great Destructive Power (v.
5b-6)
III. Our Speech is Uncontrollable Without Divine
Help (v. 7-8)
IV. Our Speech Reveals Our True Hearts (v. 9-12)
Talk Less, and T.H.I.N.K. before you speak!
