The picture was one the Jews of Palestine knew well. Temptations, trials (for clearly he refers to outward trials), are in no way the dreadful ogres that unbelief makes them to be. I admit it must be put by competent authority. Then let him live a life of such beautiful graciousness that he will prove to all that gentleness is enthroned as the controlling power within his heart. But that shouldnt distract preachers from the clear, strong, timely emphasis on the importance of considering the effects of what we say. He does not, I apprehend, restrict himself to public speaking, though opening with it, as we have seen. Teaching the Word of God is an awesome responsibility, Jesus mentions that a good tree brings forth good fruit and that one can know a man by the fruit (works) he produces (Matthew 7:16). In the third place, he calls itkind or humane, that we may know that it is far away from that immoderate austerity which tolerates nothing in our brethren. Those who profess religion ought especially to govern their tongues ( v. 1-12 ). (127) He, in the second place, calls it peaceable, to intimate that it is not contentious. Long before, Aristotle had used this same picture when he was talking about the science of mechanics: "A rudder is small and it is attached to the very end of the ship, but it has such power that by this little rudder, and by the power of one man--and that a power gently exerted--the great bulk of ships can be moved." Therefore, certainly, he in no way contradicts Paul, any more than in what is said of faith, or justification; indeed he does not at all treat of the same question that Paul has before him. Instead, he must recognize the feelings of others and, at times, sacrifice his own rights (1 Corinthians 8). The person is chastened in sickness for some evil; it is now judged; grace intervenes, and God heals. The current spirit in America is that of selfishness and a "me first attitude." From the same mouth there emerge blessing and cursing. For out of the mouth comes blasphemies and evil speaking." In this sense the phrase very nearly means the wheel of fortune, always changing and always variable. See the rabbinical meaning of this phrase at the end of this chapter. Whatever they may know to be their own proper place as Christians who never were in such a position, and, so far from being led into it, guarded from it. This, then, I suppose though not venturing to speak with more decision is the practical result. A good conversation. Thus it has been often and very aptly described as a loving parent who tells his child that he must go here or there; that is, the very places which he knows perfectly the child would be most gratified to visit. For if I do not teach the Word of God correctly, then those people that I may be leading astray, will be people for whom I will have to bear a responsibility. It hence follows, that they lie who glory in their cruel austerity. What has the apostle in view here? WebJames 3 New International Version Taming the Tongue 3 Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. Ye have heaped treasure together "not exactly "for the last days." To this, perhaps, it may be said, "Do you never find a difficulty?" It was used in the Septuagint to translate the Hebrew term shalom. Web3. [James said there is an inconsistency here.] He has a lengthy passage which is so nobly and passionately put that it is worth quoting in full: Curst the whisperer and the double-tongued; for such have, destroyed many that were at peace. He should not imagine he is superior to others, nor should he hurt others with his words. It becomes very confusing, especially to new Christians, to see other Christians wavering or being uncertain about certain issues on which they once stood firm. The New Testament often uses the word "fruit" to indicate the good works that should come with faith. This wisdom knows that the same measure of mercy we grant to others is the same measure God will use with us (Matthew 7:2). "Is any among you afflicted? Controversy here is, or ought to be, entirely out of the question. Rather are we encouraged to ask why it was according to the wisdom of God that such words as these should be presented to Israel, and especially to such of the twelve tribes as had the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, what a difference. On the mount He says, "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God" (Matthew 5:8). Paul begins his letters by wishing peace upon the readers. He said, "It's not really that which goes into a man that defiles a man, but that which comes out of a man that defiles him. [Note: Adamson, p. "But wilt thou know, O vain man?" - ESVSB, first pure -- literally, chaste, sanctified: pure from all that is earthly, sensual (animal), devilish (James 3:15). Click to enable/disable Google reCaptcha. Worldly wisdom might well wish to escape God's sight; the true wisdom is able to bear his very scrutiny. Be slow then to speak, swift to hear. James 3:17-18 (Smarty Pants / Heavenly Wisdom) May 8, 2021 / Jeff Stott. WebThey had seen his healing miracles. In the days of Jesus, the Pharisees considered religious purity simply to mean keeping the outward commands of the law. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." Ben Sirach began his book with the sentence, "All wisdom cometh from the Lord, and is with him for ever" ( Sir_1:1 ); and he makes Wisdom say, "I came out of the mouth of the Most High" ( Sir_24:3 ). Without making a difference-rendering to every man his due; and being never swayed by self-interest, worldly honour, or the fear of man; knowing no man after the flesh. First pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy: The character of this wisdom is wonderful. WebJames 3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. Web3. "The tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. So, if it were his only son that came of Sarah, so much the more bound to his heart because so singularly given in the pure favour of God, yet he would give him up, and be prepared with his own hand to do the dreadful deed. ", This introduces then the famous passage which has been the perplexity of so many minds: "What should it profit, my brethren, though a man may say that he hath faith, and have not works? And yet the very mouths and tongues which had frequently and piously blessed God, were the very same mouths and tongues which cursed fellowmen. Philippians 1:11 note; 2 Corinthians 9:10 note. There were teachers who tried to turn Christianity into another kind of Judaism and tried to introduce circumcision and the keeping of the law ( Acts 15:24). This means that it is not wavering and vacillating; it knows its own mind, chooses its course and abides by it. Verse 6. 17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. (Compare Galatians 5:1-26) The natural spirit of man does lust to envy, no doubt; but the Spirit that dwells in us opposes the flesh at all points, as we know scripture does. But he presses also the necessity of dependence on God in another form in the end of our chapter. In almost every part of the New Testament kosmos ( G2889) means the world with more than a suggestion of the evil world. It is an action, so James adds that this wisdom is full of "good fruits." A group where there is bitterness and strife is a barren soil in which the seeds of righteousness can never grow and out of which no reward can ever come, The man who disturbs personal relationships and is responsible for strife and bitterness has cut himself off from the reward which God gives to those who live his life. (i) We put a bit into the mouth of a horse, knowing that if we can control its mouth, we can control its whole body. Far from being theoretical and speculative, Jamess concept of wisdom is thoroughly practical. By the tongue men can make the worse appear the better reason; by the tongue men can excuse and Justify their wicked ways; by the tongue men can persuade others into sin. James first of all warns against a desire to teach the Word of God that would stem or emanate just from your own desire to be in front of people or whatever. Nor do I deny that there are answers to prayer of a very striking kind. The world hates him and therefore hates his disciples ( John 15:18-19). It means what is free from taint or pollution: the kind of taint must be learnt from the passage. And easy to be entreated - The word here used does not elsewhere occur in the New Testament. Let not such a one, therefore, expect anything of the Lord. Life in Christ is positive; the law was essentially negative. James 3:1-12 Who Can Tame the Tongue? Otherwise you will be prompted again when opening a new browser window or new a tab. - MSB, Without partiality (); here only in the New Testament. For this doctrine and practice the Pharisees were quite unprepared. 3; Magn. In the bright day that is coming God will bless the creature. Editorials. And he likens the tongue though it is such a small part of the body and yet able to do such great damage move so many things like the bridle in a horse's mouth, small but yet you can move that big horse around with just a little bridle in its mouth. He must not be childish and always demand his own way. The people to whom James was writing coveted the prestige of the teacher; James demanded that they should never forget the responsibility. James 2:1-26 "My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. Oh, how true is this, and how admirably drawn to the life! One of the great themes of the Bible is that of peace. Whence such wisdom cometh: It descendeth not from above, but ariseth from beneath; and, to speak plainly, it is earthly, sensual, devilish,James 3:15; James 3:15. The great point of all seems this: that there were works, but the works that James insists on are works where faith constitutes their special excellence, and indeed alone could be their justification. But a man can drop a malicious word, or repeat a scandalous and untrue story, about someone whom he does not even know or about someone who stays hundreds of miles away, and cause infinite harm. They certainly exhibit a certain care for conscientiousness. Aristotle defined it as that "which is just beyond the written law" and as "justice and better than justice" and as that "which steps in to correct things when the law itself becomes unjust." It is not the stubbornness of self-assertion or opinionativeness. We may find in this passage four characteristics of the wrong kind of teaching. But there is a very narrow dividing line between noble emulation and ignoble envy. If this wisdom is not freed from fault, it will be no better than the worldly wisdom. It means easily persuaded, compliant. Without partiality . There he engages in full fellowship with the Gentiles by eating with them. In all the Bible we meet no more energetic and truthful picture of the desperate evil to which men are exposed by that little active member. There is a kind of clever and arrogant wisdom which separates man from man, and which makes a man look with superior contempt on his fellows. It is, in the end, more eager to display itself than to display the truth; and it is interested more in the victory of its own opinions than in the victory of the truth. Surely we may ask this; for those who value the word of God are not precluded from enquiring what the object is. cities hath it pulled down and overthrown the houses of great men. Without hypocrisy. And it is devilish, such wisdom being the wisdom of devils (to create uneasiness and to do hurt), and being inspired by devils, whose condemnation is pride (1 Timothy 3:6), and who are noted in other places of scripture for their wrath, and their accusing the brethren. This prepares us for something even larger, not merely for Christian Jews, but for Israelites, for such wherever they may be not merely in the land but out of it "scattered abroad;" as it is said, "the twelve tribes that were scattered abroad." ], 3. Of course, this refers only to cases where it is right and proper to be easily persuaded and complying. So I think it is clearly here men capable of understanding what was spiritual. Let us hold this fast! Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above." This sounds strange now as men constantly look and judge out of their own present state; but it is impossible to understand the scriptures thus. An uncontrolled tongue is like a world hostile to God. Gentle - Mild, inoffensive, clement. the fruit of unjudged evil. (vii) The true wisdom is anupokritos ( G505) , without hypocrisy. It is evident that His good works were so outstanding that the common people saw them, not anything evil, as the hallmark of His career. ", And how is this then to be effected? One thing man hasn't been able to tame is his own tongue. And the only people who can sow these seeds and reap the reward are those whose life work it has been to produce such right relationships.". One sees thoroughly, in the midst of the utmost difference otherwise, how it is the same divine mind a mind above the contractedness of man. True wisdom may be know by the meekness of the spirit and temper. Why there was nothing but evil: he had shown this immediately before. Clearly he has God in view, and has His word before him, and that which would make His word understood. It might be easy to say one thing to one individual and an entirely different thing to another, but wisdom does not do that. Is first pure . For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. But as time went on the word came to describe the moral purity which alone can approach the gods. WebAdam Clarke Bible Commentary James 3:6. It was not the attainment. Biblical love and compassion issue in active love and service, not sentimentalities. Full of mercy and good fruits Again, the Saviour's own requirement that those who would be forgiven must themselves be willing to forgive others inspires James' comment in his epistle (see Matthew 7,9 and Matthew 6:14,15). Under this impression I read, "Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. The hypocrite practices deception so as to gain something for himself. Oh, if ever there was a work of faith since the world began, it was that work for which Abraham was ready yea, did put his hand to. WebJames 3:17 But the wisdom that is from above Which has God for its author; which is infused into the soul by the Spirit of God; and leads into the knowledge of things that are WebHere, in verse 17, James describes the characteristics of the wisdom from heaven. Web35 views, 3 likes, 2 loves, 1 comments, 2 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from The Church at the Mount: Study of the book of Galatians with pastor Cliff. Sir Thomas Browne has a passage on the savagery of scholars to each other: "Scholars are men of peace, they bear no arms, but their tongues are sharper than Actius' razor; their pens carry farther, and give a louder report than thunder: I had rather stand the shock of a basilisco, than the fury of a merciless pen." In Matthews gospel, Jesus brings to light many different types of behavior that involve hypocrisy. On the other hand, the effect of forgetting to whom the words are addressed, and of assuming that the epistle contemplates none but such as are born of God, is that you are obliged to explain away the strength of the divine word. Jesus suffering unjustly at the hands of His enemies is a good example of the kind of "gentle" attitude we should possess. At some point early in the history of the church, Peter pays a visit to Antioch. If they were set on fire, the flames spread like a wave which there was no stopping. Was she not willing, so to speak, to hand over the possession of the city in which she had been born and bred to those who were going to raze it to the foundations? He is gentle and kind, although in reality he has every reason to be stern and punitive toward men in their sin. (Burdick), iii. Thus the break is by no means so marked, but on the contrary natural and easily understood; for, in point of fact, James coalesces with the state of things that we find in the churches of Judea, and notably in the church at Jerusalem. Teaching the Word of God is an awesome responsibility, because when I stand here to teach God's Word, than I am responsible to be teaching the Word of God correctly. "Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. 16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. This would be hardly intelligible. 6. As we have found, he particularly warns against the tongue as the expression of the heart's excitement if not of malice. True wisdom may be know by the meekness of the spirit and temper. Then the chapter closes with giving us a sample of what pure and undefiled religion is, but chiefly as we observe in a practical way the main object and never lost sight of. Is any merry? The gospel writers often portray Jesus as looking upon the crowds with compassion (Matthew 9:36; Matthew 14:14; Matthew 20:34). (b) Eupeithes ( G2138) can mean easy to persuade, not in the sense of being pliable and weak, but in the sense of not being stubborn and of being willing to listen to reason and to appeal. So in talking about the tongue, it's a very small part of our anatomy. He must have every care that he is teaching the truth, and not his own opinions or even his own prejudices. I don't think that we should meddle or tamper with the Word of God. (ii) He is under the temptation to bitterness. The one was the most admirable submission to God with unqualified confidence in Himself, even when one could not see how His sure promise could stand, but sure it would. This is a little confusing for us, because we are in the habit of using soul in the same sense as the ancient people used spirit. In the next place he proceeds to show too how this works practically: "Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: but the rich in that he is made low:" such are the ways of God "because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away." Neil Armstrong stepped onto the surface of the Moon at 3:56 a.m., 21 July, British time. "And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace." Thus it is not only that God is inaccessible to evil Himself, but He also never tempts to evil at any one time whatsoever. There is no doubt that this gives excellent sense; but it is doubtful if the phrase really can mean that. Seeking nothing but Gods glory, and using no other means to attain it than those of his own prescribing. (Clarke), ix. There is no such thought that enters the mind of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. The wisdom that is from above The pure religion of the Lord Jesus, bought by his blood, and infused by his Spirit. "There is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins," said the preacher ( Ecclesiastes 7:20). WebMatthew Henry's Commentary on James 3:17 Commentary on James 3:13-18 (Read James 3:13-18) These verses show the difference between men's pretending to be wise, and their being really so. This wisdom is full of good fruits: This wisdom can be seen by the fruit it produces. James tells us. Full of mercy - Merciful; disposed to show compassion to others. It is extremely frustrating to speak to a "religious know-it-all." Web1. I am supposing, of course, that there is nothing in the terms of the oath that would involve false doctrine or countenance a superstition. That is to say, it is not a pose and does not deal in deception. The main object of that epistle was to consummate the breach of the old relationships of such Christians as were Jews in times past, and to lead them out definitively from all earthly connection into their heavenly association with Christ. WebJames 3:13-17 Who is wise and understanding among you? Similarly, Christians who sow peace by building good relations with others can expect to see a harvest of righteousness in their lives (18). The tongue can bless or curse; it can wound or soothe; it can speak the fairest or the foulest things. There must be no attempts to reach peace by overleaping purity. (i) There is no man in this world who does not sin in something. 2. Here at once would spring up a divergence of feeling among them. Here he looks at sin in the conduct, and accordingly there are evil workings within, and then the outward act of sin. Truth cannot be sacrificed in order to have peace. The maxim that a pure heart ought not to sacrifice truth on any consideration whatever, never gave rise to persecution: it has made many martyrs, but never one persecutor; it has pined in the dungeon, but never immured any there; it has burned amid the flames, but never lighted the faggot; it has ascended scaffolds, but never erected them; it has preserved and bequeathed civil and religious liberty, but never assaulted them; it is a divine principle - the principle by which Christianity became strong, and will ultimately command the homage of the world.
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