James 3:1-5 Bible Teaching

James 3.5
March 29th 2015
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Okay – James chapter 3.

Now, it seems that James moves on to a new concern here in chapter three and this may be so.

We’ll discuss what this concern is in a minute but he spends no small amount of time talking about what the human tongue – and most of what he says about it is negative.

As noted thus far what James seems to frequently mention in the first two chapters what we say.

Now he gets very specific and really gets after the tongue.

I’m not so sure this chapter however has any connection to his comments about what we say in chapters one and two.

I say this because of verse one of chapter three.

So why don’t we read our text for today – verses 1-8 and then we’ll get into it.
(Verse 1)

James 3:1 My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.
2 For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.
3 Behold, we put bits in the horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body.
4 Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.
5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!

Alright, back to verse 1.

1 My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.

The line in the King James, Be NOT many masters, could be translated masters (as it is in other places) but because the Greek word is DID AS KOLAI (teacher) it seems that he is telling them:

“My brethren, don’t have a lot of you become teachers.”

It’s an interesting line on a number of accounts.

In the New Testament, while the word for “prophesy” means to speak out into the future of events, it is commonly believed that when prophets and prophecy are spoken on it is referring as much to people teaching as being a prophet like unto Moses. Probably far more in my estimation.

Understanding this definition we read Paul say, relative to speaking in tongues, that we ought to covet to prophesy – in other words, seek the spiritual gift of teaching – covet it – over the spiritual gift of speaking in tongues or interpreting tongues.

Teaching is certainly an important and covetable gift within Christianity. And according to Timothy it ought to fall into the hands of faithful men who have certainly been called out and gifted by God to do it. Yet here, James says:

“Don’t many of you become teachers,” what gives?

An insight is found in the next line where he says:

“Knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.”

The word used here does not necessarily mean condemnation but more-like judgment, trial, or a detailed account.

From who? From other people and from God Himself.

And it is to this subject – why those who teach are subject to greater scrutiny that James goes.

Apparently, in the earliest of the church, especially among the Jewish converts, there was a strong drive among the believers to become teachers.

There is an admittedly Apocryphal book called “The Ascension of Isaiah the Prophet,” and the Editor – a guy named Dr. Lawrence way back in the day, believes that it was written not too many years past the Apostolic period.

On pages 23-24 of the book there is this insight:

“in those days (the days of the Messiah) shall many be attached to office, destitute of wisdom; multitudes of iniquitous elders and pastors, injurious to their flocks, and addicted to rapine, nor shall the holy pastors themselves diligently discharge their duty.” (chap. iii. 23-24).

It seems, if this account is true, that due to the culture of teaching and instructing and the spirit of synagogue that many of the converted Jewish men were interested in becoming teachers in the faith without having the creditials – with the creditials being the vocaire from God (or call) an abundance of the Holy Spirit, faithfulness, and the gift to teach.

Instead, many were seeking to become didaskolos – teachers.

James says, “Don’t have many be made teachers,” because not only is there an accountability to be had to both God and Man in becoming a teacher or instructor, you are literally playing with fire! (something he will articulate in a minute).

Paul seems to touch on the issue of men not prepared to teach but remaining steeped in the law or sin in Romans 2 saying:

17 Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God,
18 And knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law;
19 And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness,
20 An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law.
21 Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?
22 Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?

In other words in the church at Rome to whom this epistle was written Paul is telling them that they are ill prepared and hypocritical teachers, appealing to elements of the Law (still) and then not living what they teach.

Being a teacher of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a position that ought not go out to the masses.

It is a spiritual gift, it requires faithfulness, and the Spirit, and control of ones faculties – because if a person who teaches is not careful he could start a wild fire by and through the things he says – or his tongue.

James advice seems to be that a small number of qualified, faithful, spiritually gifted teachers would better discharge the duties of the office than a large.
And that there was a great danger in crowding the body with unprepared, uncalled, unqualified people who simply desire the office.

When the word didasko is rendered Master in the New Testament it seems to refer to a schoolmaster who takes the position of teaching seriously and not flippantly.

To be flippant would be like flicking lighted matches out into the forest as you drove along the highway.

This appears to be the situation among the converts from the House of Israel.

Many were pandering to first teach before being ready in the faith or the gift – this may have been the result of a number of factors.

First of all, it was a very coveted position among the Jews for a man to become a teacher (Rabbi, Master).

To get there a tremendous amount of preparation was required – decades of diligent learning and training.

Along comes Jesus and the Gospel of Grace. His chosen disciples (apostles) were unlearned by comparison and they often appealed to weak outcasts of the Jewish community who were willing to humbly hear.

Possessed with the Gospel of Grace – the Good News – many of these converts slipped very naturally into desiring to be seen as masters of the faith – great spiritual leaders with insights into this nascent faith.

At the risk of sounding cynical, in some ways, “the Gospel makes experts of us all.”

James was saying: Resist this inclination. Not many should be teachers. There’s a responsibility that comes with the position and a danger if this advice is not heeded.

So while any man (in that day and in any person in this) ought to be willing to become a teacher when called to it by the Spirit and should consider it a privilege if this call is legit, there are few things more dangerous (according to James) than a
person wrongly assuming the position.

I have had the privilege to watch numerous people for nearly twenty years believe that the call is upon them to go into the ministry of teaching.

In our school of ministry there were thirty five males ranging in ages of 19 to 72 – all attempting to have the call appear in their lives.

Several of them have actually worked with Alathea and none of them are teaching today.

A couple have left being in ministry all together.

Stepping back I can see several things they expected that led to great disappointment.

First, most of them expected the experience to be rewarding and rewarded.

Half of this equation was partially true – teaching CAN be rewarding – can be.

Rewarded? Not too often. Therefore those who are called to teach will teach whether it is rewarded or not.

Another thing people quickly learn when it comes to teaching is the amount of time required to do it well. When a person believes they are called of God to teach but do not think it requires constant learning and labor what typically happens is they rely on personality.

This will only go so far for instructors in Christ before they run out of material and/or they become redundant because they play the same song on the piano over and over and over again.

Another thing that comes with teaching the Word can be (for all but especially for everyone not truly called) is the hope that you and your insights will be respected if not applauded. Unfortunately (or fortunately) this is not always the case and in fact it is often the opposite – your teachings and laborious preparation are often disrespected or called into question.

Remember that line, “the Gospel makes everyone an expert?”

Teachers of the Word learn this really quickly since most people interested in the Bible will actually read it.

It’s really a fascinating situation because when it comes to being an instructor in the things of Christ audiences that are mature in the faith respond and relate to good solid teaching in a much different manner than those who are either immature or who are not interested in hearing the Bible taught.

What I mean by this is people who are mature in the faith often just expect solid teachings that are substantiated by the Word and when it is delivered they are not impressed – just concurring and appreciative – and praising God NOT praising the deliverer.

On the other hand when teaching those who are new or babes or who are weak in the faith these are often greatly excited by cotton candy teachings and often provide gushing feedback when they are touched emotionally rather than by the Word.

As a result of all this – at least in our day and age, teachers, as a means to avoid criticism, to receive positive feedback, and to please the people, they might be tempted to appeal or pander to the crowd rather than instruct them.

This is fine if you are an entertainer or motivational speaker. But in matters of biblical truth there is a real responsibility to give your all in preparing and understanding, then then facing the music when it is either received favorably or not.

This leads to a final difficulty teachers of the Word face – and that is teaching the “hard stuff.”

The Word is full of very difficult passages. These things include stances against sin, including

Lust
Adultery
Homosexuality
Divorce
Lying
Cheating
Stealing
Hell
The reality of suffering and the like

And each of these topics have a broad range of application.

Teaching in the Kingdom automatically means a willingness to teach the hard stuff without equivocation.

Now, after having said all of this some of you MAY – may be looking at me and you MAY – MAY – be tempted to think that I fail in some or all of these areas.

I may, but from my mouth to God’s ear it is not intentional.

I try to examine all that is there and related to the topic at hand, I take the calling seriously, I put in the hours, and I will not cut corners nor make my aim entertainment.

But I do believe that a teacher has to be willing to also break from anything that is tradition if the manual suggests otherwise (contextually) – come what may.

In any case, James advice to the scattered converts is not many should seek to be teachers. (verse 2)

2 For (and the reason is) in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.

Let me speak about this first line from verse 2:

“FOR in many things we offend all.”

The meaning of this seems to be, Over the course of our lives we all do enough sinning, enough failing and falling, and erring – we all have a natural proclivity to sin and stumbling (by the way the Greek word translated to “Offend” here in the King James means to fail or stumble) . . .

“Listen,” James writes, “very few ought to seek to teach. The reason is we are all already so culpable for the ways we fail don’t heap more failure upon your head due to poor teachings.

Remember when Jesus said back in Matthew, “let your communications be yea, yea or nay, nay for anything more is evil.?”

Well, James seems to be saying that in addition to being sinful people who stumble and fall over other things DON’T add the onus of making yourselves a teacher of men because with it comes some serious responsibility.

In fact when we think about it, if there was EVER a place where we were going to be under God’s scrutiny it would be when we are speaking, saying, and doing things in His name.

In other words, over the course of normal living we probably do enough sinning in the things we say at work, about our enemies, against or with our neighbor – DON’T ADD TO IT the fact that you also chose to make yourself a teacher of the Word – and you did it badly.

The scripture is rife with advice on how we speak in general terms.

Psalm 32:9 says:

“Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.”

Psalm 34:13 adds:

“Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.”

What did Jesus say in Matthew 12:34

“O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

1st Peter 3:10 For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:

The paradox in all of this, which the Bible is full of – paradox – is it is BY the words we speak (preach, share) that others come to understand the Son of God and God’s love for the world in sending Him.

I mean from Moses (whom God sent to Pharaoh to speak – through Aaron) to Isaiah, to Jeremiah, to Ezra, to Ezekiel, to John the Baptist, to Jesus to the apostles – all have been sent and commanded to go out and speak (if not teach).

Human beings are so constructed by God that we learn and understand and contemplate by the words of others teaching and sharing.

So there is an honest tension between what James says here and what God wants from all who possess the truth.

So this is the first point James makes – don’t seek to be a teacher in the things of God for the simple reason you will be held accountable for the words you say and the things you teach.

I have to add something I believe is very important here – if you find yourselves hesitant to speak or teach or share due to this passage or passages like it.

In fact I frequently have critical people in the Body use passages like this (combined with passages like Matthew 12:36-37) to infer that God is really going to strike me down for what they believe is my playing loose with biblical interpretation.

“Scripture says you will be held to GREATER responsibility/condemnation, Mr. McCraney.”

I understand this very well and readily embrace it – but naturally, I see it in a little bit different light.

I see timidity in a teacher, and holding back, and failing to “bring it all to the table” as being as egregious a crime in God’s eyes as the teacher who makes error.

This view is supported in various teachings of the Lord.

Remember in the Parable of the Talents what the condemnation was over?

Failing to be bold, failing to take a risk, due to FEAR, hiding the amount entrusted.

This is what scripture says about the one who did not increase what he had been given:

25:24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.

In this we might find some meaning (possibly) to what it says in 1st John 4:18
“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”

Okay. So enough on teaching and the perils and expectations of it.

This premise has launched James into a whole discussion on what we say, on the mouth, on words, and on the tongue.

And he adds here in verse two:

2 For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.

“If any man offend not in word.”

Now let me say at this point that when James refers to word or words, to the tongue or to speech or to saying things he is speaking of the same things – our verbal communications.

Got that.

So he says, “If any man offend NOT in Word (in His verbal communications) the same is a perfect man and able also to bridle the whole body.”

Is this true? Absolutely. Show me a man who NEVER has nor ever will sin, stumble, fail or fall in the use of words or in their communications –

They NEVER (that, I believe according to the literal translations, is the best definition of the Greek word for NOT)

But show me a man who never speaks an unkind word about another, never condemns, never uses vulgarity, never tells an off color joke or uses innuendo, a man who never gossips, expresses an unfair opinion, never shouts or screams unless it is warranted, never criticizes the actions of another without license – show me such a person, James says, and I will show you a perfect man.

In what sense would such a man be “perfect?”

James says that such a man is able to keep every other member of his body in subjection.

And while I believe what James says here is absolutely true I do not believe such a man exists after Christ.

However, what the mouth says, what the tongue communicates does reflect the Christian heart of the speaker, right?

Remember, James has already made it clear that being human in this life automatically comes with enough condemnation.

So he is not describing a man perfect in EVERY area of Christian living. He is merely saying that when a man has control over his mouth/tongue/communications/words such a man is in control of his body.

And there are men and women in this world who are really advanced in this area.

James purpose seems to be to show that if a person can control his tongue he will have complete dominion over himself, as much as a man has over a horse by the bit in its mouth or that a captain at the helm of a ship has over the ship if he has control of the rudder.

Such have complete control over the beast or boat.

In other words, the human tongue is a very important member of the human body to control. Why? Apparently, it governs the entire person.

We have a really great example of this in scripture in the person of Job. What was it that Job’s wife wanted him to do? Remember? “To curse God and die.”

That would be to use his mouth and to communicate words that were stumbling or sinful.

Job said no.

And he refused in the face of all that Satan did to him and all that his friends suggested to him to ever speak ill of God.

And how does the writer describe Job in the very first verse of the book?

Job 1:1 “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.”

I think we might assume that Job, having had great control over his tongue also had tremendous control over his body.

It is interesting that when Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness he appealed two of the three times for Jesus to employ His mouth.

The first temptation was:

(Matthew 4:3) “If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.”

And then the third temptation was:

“All these things (that he showed him in the world) I will give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.”

When a person has total control over the the things that his or her mouth will utter it is thought that the contents of their hearts is pure – since the mouth speaks the contents of the heart.

And if the inner man is in check then it only stands to reason that the tongue not only would remain pure but that that person would have control over other areas of their flesh.

James now gives us a few analogies ( horse bits and the rudder of ships) that relate to the human tongue and says (in verses 3-5):

3 Behold, we put bits in the horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body.
4 Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.
5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!

I’ve little knowledge about horses but it is frankly amazing that these giants beasts, almost all muscle, and pretty intelligent, can be governed by placing what we call a “bit” in their mouths.

How do they work – pressure and leverage. Imagine a ring being placed in your mouth with reins connected to it and someone standing behind you and pulling down on it and/or to the right or left.

When the pulling occurred you would move.

This is why bits work on giant horses – they take control of the lower jaw and using pressure leverage the beast into submission to stop, go (when released) and to turn.

Interestingly enough, the bit in a horses mouth fits over the tongue therefore controlling the tongue of the animal too.

The point James makes is it is a small piece of metal that controls the giant beast and likewise our tongues – relative to the rest of our body – is a little member but it controls us.

Therefore he who has proper control over his tongue can govern his whole body, as he who holds a bridle governs and turns a horse.

He gives us another example – a ship and its rudder.

Giant vessels plunging through the sea. Governed by what.
By comparison a small rudder.

Control the rudder, control the ship.
Same principle.

I suppose we could liken the “fierce winds” James mentions in his ship analogy which drive the ship as the passions that operate upon human beings.

Even a man under impetuous passion could be restrained, if the tongue is properly controlled, as the ship driven by the winds is by the helm.

I think in the case of Peter we see a man who had issues with an impetuous tongue. But in time it appears the lessons of James (by the Spirit) took hold.

James adds:

“Even so, (as compared to the bit and the rudder) the (human) tongue is a little member.”

And he adds

“That boasteth great things.”

Or

“Even so the tongue is a little member but BOY does it boast of great things.

And at this point James begins to illustrate the power and influence of the tongue – which we will get to next week.

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