Session 11

With Control
Believers demonstrate godly maturity by controlling their speech.

JAMES 3:1-12
Silence gets the best of us sometimes. We are listening to a
conversation and suddenly silence erupts. No one says anything
and we just can’t help ourselves. Silence opens the door for us to
contribute and feel like we are part of the conversation. We quickly
realize we are talking about something we know very little about,
but that doesn’t stop us from telling what we think we know.

When might a person feel obligated to speak even though he or she does
not really have anything of value to say? What might happen if someone
speaks even when he does not have anything of value to say?

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UNDERSTAND THE CONTEXT
JAMES 3:1-12
In the previous section, James hammered the truth that faith
without works is dead and useless (Jas. 2:14-26). Then he began
introducing works that reflect genuine faith. He started with the
use of the tongue (3:1-12). A redeemed heart reflects itself in a
redeemed tongue. James listed three examples where God changes
a person’s speech. He helps teachers measure the importance of
their words (vv. 1-2), believers realize the influence of their words
(vv. 3-6), and worshipers understand the way their words relate
to genuine worship (vv. 7-12). Those who possess faith reflect that
faith in their speech.
Sometimes those who claim to follow Christ use their speech
to deceive others, berate them, or curse God. Those who do these
things need to examine their faith to make sure it is genuine. That
person may be a Christian who is out of fellowship with God, or
that person may be a lost person who needs a relationship with
God. Either way, examining our speech can result in a closer walk
with Christ.
Why do you think James chose speech as an indicator of saving faith?

EXPLORE THE TEXT

WHEN TEACHING THE TRUTH (JAS. 3:1-2)
1
Not many should become teachers, my brothers, because you
know that we will receive a stricter judgment. 2 For we all stumble
in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is
mature, able also to control the whole body.

VERSE 1
James cautioned people who wanted to become teachers in the
church. A certain amount of prestige and authority accrued to the

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position of teacher. Many converted Jews became a part of the
early church. Judaism revered rabbis as teachers. This deference to
Jewish teachers probably influenced the respect accorded Christian
teachers in the church community. James expressed concern that
some sought the position for the wrong reasons.
James cautioned potential teachers because they would receive
a stricter judgment. In truth, God holds all Christians to a high
standard. Teachers, however, receive closer scrutiny. The important
job of Christian teacher includes modeling the life of Christlike
character. Teachers carry the weight of responsibility for the
spiritual growth of other believers. There is great potential for
harm if a teacher runs afoul of the truth, but there is also great
potential for good for those who faithfully handle God’s word.
If teachers are held to a high standard, why would people want to
assume that role?

VERSE 2
The teacher has a difficult job because the main tool of his ministry
is the hardest part of the body to control—the tongue. Before
looking at teachers specifically, James acknowledged that everyone
will stumble in many ways. No person can claim to follow perfectly
the teachings of the Lord. James already said that the person who
stumbled in one portion of the law was guilty of breaking it all
(2:10). This made it doubly difficult for teachers, because they were
included in the word all. Even teachers fall short of what God wants
from them. By using the word we, James acknowledged that even
he, as a teacher in the church at Jerusalem, would stumble at times.
This word stumble meant to trip and fall, but often was associated
with spiritual failure.
James stated that those who did not stumble in their words
were mature. One of the most difficult things for a teacher to
control is the tongue, and doing so indicates a certain level of
maturity. Proverbs is filled with teachings about controlling one’s
speech (Prov. 10:8,11; 16:27-28; 18:7-8). It takes a mature person
to use one’s words wisely. James explained that the one who could

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control his speech could also control the whole body. The verb
control is the Greek word for guiding with a bit and bridle. James
will return to this imagery, the tongue as a small instrument that
controls the whole body, in the next verse.
How does mastery over the tongue prove one fit to teach?

WHEN INFLUENCING OTHERS (JAS. 3:3-6)

3
Now if we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey
us, we direct their whole bodies. 4 And consider ships: Though very
large and driven by fierce winds, they are guided by a very small
rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So too, though the
tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts great things. Consider
how a small fire sets ablaze a large forest. 6 And the tongue is a
fire. The tongue, a world of unrighteousness, is placed among our
members. It stains the whole body, sets the course of life on fire,
and is itself set on fire by hell.

VERSE 3
James said in verse 2 that those who control their speech are also
able to control the whole body. With this in mind, he launched
into an illustration demonstrating the power of the tongue. A bit
is a small instrument, especially when compared to the power of
a horse. However, with the bit in the horse’s mouth, the rider can
turn the horse to the left or to the right.

We have an incredible ability to influence others through

our words.
Words may seem small and insignificant, but we have an
incredible ability to influence others through our words. With our
choice of words, we can discourage or encourage. We can build up
or tear down those with whom we speak. Though words are small,
they pack a strong punch!

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VERSE 4
James shifted illustrations, but he was making the same point—
the tongue is small but has incredible power. This time he used a
ship’s rudder as an illustration. Ships had two major challenges
when trying to navigate the wind and the seas. First, they were
very large. Second, the ships were driven by fierce winds. Without
a mechanism to steer the ship, the ship was at the mercy of
the wind. But with a very small rudder, the ship’s captain could
steer the ship wherever he desired to go. In the same way, those
who control the tongue have incredible power and influence
over others.

How does the skill required to ride a horse or to navigate a boat compare
to skillful use of words?

VERSE 5
James summarized the discussion to this point about the size
of the tongue and its great power. The tongue is a small part of
the body. Though small, the tongue makes great boasts. Boasting
occurs usually in a derogatory sense, and that may be the
intention here because of James’s third illustration. He explained
that a small fire can burn down a large forest. An old Japanese
proverb said that a tongue three inches long can kill a man six
feet tall. This is the destructive power of the tongue. The tongue
can be useful, like a bit or rudder, or it can be destructive like a
forest fire.

VERSE 6
That the tongue is a fire is not in doubt. Proverbs 16:27 says,
“A worthless person digs up evil, and his speech is like a scorching
fire.” Also, “As charcoal for embers and wood for fire, so is a
quarrelsome person for kindling strife” (Prov. 26:21). James
called the tongue a world of unrighteousness. Words have so much
power for destruction and can create a whole world of problems—
dissension, strife, anger, bitterness, envy, and other social ills.
The tongue influences how others see that person, it stains the
whole body. A person with a filthy mouth or a critical tongue may

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be judged on the basis of his tongue. The tongue sets the course
of life on fire and it can be set on fire by hell. The word used for
hell, gehenna, referenced the valley of Hinnom, located south
of Jerusalem. It was the place for garbage to be deposited and
burned. Jesus used the word as a comparison to hell, prepared
for the devil and his angels. Hell itself can inspire speech for
destructive purposes.

BIB LE SK I L L : Use other Scripture to help understand a Bible passage.

Read these passages in your Bible: Psalms 34:13; 39:1; Proverbs 18:21; 21:23;
Matthew 12:37. Read several verses before and/or after the passages to
understand their contexts. What do the passages teach us about control of
the tongue as discussed in James 3:7-12?

WHEN OFFERING PRAISE (JAS. 3:7-12)

7
Every kind of animal, bird, reptile, and fish is tamed and has been
tamed by humankind, 8 but no one can tame the tongue. It is a
restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With the tongue we bless our
Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in God’s
likeness. 10 Blessing and cursing come out of the same mouth. My
brothers and sisters, these things should not be this way. 11 Does a
spring pour out sweet and bitter water from the same opening? 12 Can
a fig tree produce olives, my brothers and sisters, or a grapevine
produce figs? Neither can a saltwater spring yield fresh water.

VERSES 7-8
God gave humanity dominion over all the animals and His great
creation (Gen. 1:28). James referenced this in verse 7, saying that
every kind of animal, bird, reptile and fish … has been tamed
by humankind. The word translated tamed meant to subdue,

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tame, or domesticate an animal. Not all animals are tamed, but
as humanity has taken dominion in the world, we have exerted
control over the animal kingdom. James forcefully compared
the domestication of animals with the out-of-control nature of
the tongue.
James said no one can tame the tongue, and he described the
tongue in two ways. The tongue is a restless evil. The idea behind
restless was something that was uncontrollable, like anger. While
we can control wild animals, we have a hard time controlling the
small tongue.
James also described the tongue as full of deadly poison. Psalm
140:3 makes this imagery clear, “They make their tongues as sharp
as a snake’s bite; viper’s venom is under their lips.” Fueled by hell
and with the venom of the serpent, the tongue has the power of
great destruction.
The noblest uses of the tongue are to offer praise to God and
to build up those who are created in His image.

VERSE 9
One positive use of the tongue is that we can bless our Lord and
Father. This is the highest and most noble use of the tongue. Creation
uses the frailty of words to praise the One who made it. Whether in
public or private, the importance of praise cannot be overestimated.
We were created for God’s glory, and returning praise to Him fulfills
our calling on earth. However, with the same tongue used to praise
God, we can also curse people. This is ironic because in cursing
people, we are really speaking evil of the God who made them since
humanity was created in God’s likeness (Gen. 1:26). The dilemma
of the tongue is that it is small and powerful, but it must be used
for good rather than evil. The noblest uses of the tongue are to offer
praise to God and to build up those who are created in His image.

Why does the praise of God demand a tongue that is under His control?
Why do you think people have this double standard in the way they
speak to God and the way they speak to those created in His image?

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VERSE 10
This verse highlights the inconsistency of the tongue. Blessing
and cursing can come out of the same mouth. Certainly not a single
reader of this lesson would claim that this has never happened to
him or her. We all feel the sting of rebuke from James in this verse.
Maybe in the same day or even the same setting we have attempted
to worship God with our words and then turned our words into
harmful weapons toward our fellow believers. To show that this
is not a problem only among unsaved people, James identified
his readers as brothers and sisters, a term that encapsulated all
Christians. He strongly stated that things should not be this way.
The mouth is to express praise to God and to express love to those
who were made in His image. A double standard in the way we
speak to God and the way we speak to others cancels out the good
that we might do with the tongue.

VERSES 11-12
Though the human tongue is inconsistent, that is not the way God
made it to be. James used two illustrations from the consistency of
nature. In verse 11 he showed that a spring could not produce sweet
and bitter water at the same time. What comes out of the spring
is what is inside the spring. Areas around the Dead Sea produced
salty water, but springs in Galilee poured out fresh water, making
the Jordan River. Never did one spring produce both. Also, a fig
tree cannot produce olives, and a grapevine could not produce figs.
The double standard found in the human tongue is not present
in other parts of God’s creation. The mouth of a redeemed person
should bring health and healing, not destruction and chaos.

How can we use our speech to measure the consistency of our walk with
God? How is a person’s speech a mirror of a person’s character?

K E Y DOC T RI N E: Salvation
Justification brings the believer unto a relationship of peace and favor with
God (Titus 3:7). (Our tongues should reflect this peace and favor.)

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IN MY CONTEXT
• Teachers are held to a high standard and are accountable to God
for what they teach.
• Believers must be aware of how they can potentially influence
others through their speech.
• Believers should view their speech as a window to the condition
of their hearts.

What are some practical ways you can use your words this week to help
others? Review your list later in the week and check off the ways you
have encouraged others this week.

List needs in your church. How can you use your words to influence
others for good in meeting these needs in the church? Put together a plan
of action and begin to act on it.

Evaluate the consistency between your praise of God and your influence
of people through your words. What needs to change so your praise and
influence are more closely aligned?

Prayer Needs

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