James 3:6-12

6: And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. 
7: For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. 
8: But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. 
9: With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; 
10: from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. 
11: Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? 
12: Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh.

*** 

James continued the thought that the tongue—such a small part of the body—could set a whole forest on fire, and it is a fire, he said. It is a world of iniquity. The tongue—small as it is—can defile the whole body. It sets on fire the course of our life. Once the fire starts, it consumes us as well, as it is set on fire by the fires of hell. That is the untamed tongue.

James pointed out that every creature on earth—of water, sea, and air—can be, and has been, tamed by man. But no one can tame the tongue. We cannot tame another person’s tongue, like we do the creatures of the earth. We can’t even tame our own tongue. He calls it a “restless evil” and “full of deadly poison.” Something looking to do harm.

James said that blessing and cursing come from the same mouth. We bless our Lord and Father, yet curse men who are made in His image. This isn’t the way its supposed to be. A fountain does not send both fresh water and bitter from the same place. Neither does a fig tree produce olives, or a vine produce figs, or salt water produce fresh.

Jesus said you will know them by their fruits. A good tree bears good fruit, and a bad tree bears bad fruit. He said to either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad (Matthew 7:16-23). Anything other than this is deceptive, for evil may appear as good.

Jesus asked the Pharisees who were accusing Him of doing good by an evil spirit, how could they, being evil, speak what is good, for a man speaks from that which fills his heart (Matthew 12:33-37). If one is filled with evil, they will speak evil. If it sounds good it is either hypocritical or deceptive. The heart and mouth will agree. 

Our words reveal our heart. Yet all that glitters is not gold, be on guard against deceptive words—both from our own heart as well as others. So, one who blesses God and curses man from the same mouth—is his heart good or evil? Is he what Jesus called some scribes and Pharisees—a hypocrite, who honors God with his lips but his heart is far from Him (Matthew 15:7-11)? We don’t want to fall into that class. So, we must determine to be a good tree which produces good fruit. Thank God we can be. Through faith in Christ, we are born again—new creatures in Christ—and when His Spirit dwells in our hearts, we can fulfill our destiny to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29).


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