Taming the Tongue: Part 2 - James 3:2Written by LaRosa Johnson
Thursday, 07 February 2008
Last time, we looked at James' warning for all would-be teachers and how he was specifically addressing this issue of the tongue towards them. With that still in mind, we want to go ahead and take a look at James 3:2, which speaks of perfection in speech. This continues to serve as a bit of an introduction to the matter, but it also lays the groundwork for everything he has to say concerning the matter of controlling one's tongue. Let us begin by reading our passage for today.
- Quote :
- James 3:2 (NASB) - For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well.
Let us look at this verse piece by piece so that we can understand what is being said, and then bring it back as a whole to get the overall picture. First, we find that "we all stumble in many ways." What does it mean to stumble? In this instance, stumbling refers to the act of sin. In other words, we all sin. Let us also note the "in many ways" part of the sentence, which lets us know that we all sin in more than just one way. As human beings, it is our nature to sin, and there is no limit to the number of ways in which we find to sin and offend a holy God. We are reminded of this in Romans 3:23 when we are told that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Let us also not forget what was spoken of in James 2:10 where we find that even stumbling in one point of the Law makes us guilty of the entire Law. Furthermore, the tense of this verb (present active indicative) shows us that this isn't just a one time stumbling, but it is rather a continuous action of stumbling over and over again. With that fact being established, we can then move forward in looking at the rest of this verse, understanding that no one, except for Jesus Christ is perfect.
The second half of this verse offers up a hypothetical situation. We are told that if a person is able to refrain from stumbling in their speech, then this person is perfect and able to control more than just their tongue. There are at least two ways in which this portion of text can be looked at, and we will examine both of them, as they are both legitimate. First, we can look at this as James meaning a literal perfection. In this since, hypothetically, the person who is able to not falter in his speech throughout the entire course of their life is a perfect person and has no sin in them. Why is that? Well, in the entire setting of this discussion, the tongue is being used to show the depravity of the entire body and person; but, James is using the tongue to show how such a small part of the body can contribute to much sin. With that being said, if you can keep your speech pure, then you will have control enough to keep the rest of your body from sinning. Of course, we know that, again, the only person to accomplish this was Christ and no one else before or after is able to attain such a level of perfection.
Since we obviously know that we are all prone to sin, the second approach would seem a bit more logical. This second view involves the idea of perfection being synonymous with spiritual maturity. Now, this is not a foreign concept, because if we go back to James 1:2-4, we see that James has already equated spiritual maturity with perfection. Since he has already used the terminology to relate to spiritual maturity, it would make sense to carry it through to this point also, even though the hypothetical works really well. With this idea in mind, the believer who is able to control his speech is one who has attained a level of maturity and sanctification that is admirable and noteworthy. In other words, if you're able to control your tongue, then theoretically you can just as easily control the remaining parts of your body, which means that you are walking in a great level of spiritual maturity with fewer and fewer sins being committed on a daily basis. This would seem to be the more appropriate of the two, considering the letter and language that has been used up to this point.
Now, why is bridling the tongue so important? Very simply, it is the sign of a true believer who is growing in holiness. Let us again be reminded of the words of James that we have already covered, this time in James 1:26. It is in this verse that we find that the one who is unable to bridle his tongue, yet while thinking he is religious, is someone who is deceiving themselves and has a worthless religion and faith. That is to say that true Christianity comes with a level of speech that is respectable in the sight of the Lord and grows just as the believer continues to grow on a daily basis. In other words, as Christians, over time, we should no longer be saying the things that we used to say (i.e. cursing) because we should be able to control ourselves better as time progresses; and, if not, then where is the spiritual growth?
It is with this that James then launches into his examples of how if the tongue is control, then the rest of the body will follow. We will look at that next time; but, as a brief recap for today, we noted that the believer should be growing spiritually on a daily basis, and a part of that includes being able to control your tongue. If you're able to do that, then you are well on your way to greater depths of spiritual maturity. Until next time, God bless!
devotion courtesy of Trailblazin Ministries
http://www.trailblazinministries.com/daily-devotions/02-07-2008.php
Home 
