Fire–An Ever-Present Danger
If you live in Southern California, you are far too familiar with frightening scenes of wind-driven brush fires consuming everything in their path. When a brush fire strikes, vital watershed, expensive properties and homes are destroyed in minutes. People and animals are displaced, the skies turn black, and panic is the rule of the day. And yet as James reminds us, a more painful kind of damage can be done almost instantaneously by the human tongue. The words which we speak are capable of great destruction. Just as a small spark can create a horrific fire, our words can inflict great personal pain, or even destroy someone’s reputation which they’ve worked a lifetime to build. And then there is the fact that our words reveal how deeply and thoroughly sin resides in our hearts. The words which we speak reveal to everyone our deepest thoughts, they uncover our true character, and they expose how wise we may or may not be. A brush fire causes great havoc and damage. But the damage done by a fire often pales in comparison to the damage which can be done by the human tongue.
A Bit of Level-Setting
When we left off last time, we discussed one of the most controversial passages in all the Bible–James 2:14-26. In that passage, James makes his case that a living faith (i.e., a justifying faith) is a faith which inevitably manifests itself in good works. James has carefully set out the cause and effect relationship between regeneration, faith, and good works. In James 1:18, our Lord’s brother told us that God has brought us forth (regeneration) through the word of truth (the gospel). In verse 21, James speaks of how that same word has been implanted in our souls, inevitably giving rise to faith (James 2:1). Believers are to receive that word with meekness and humility. And that same word, which is able to save our souls is also to be obeyed. Says James in verse 22 of chapter one, “be doers of the word and not mere hearers only.”
In James 2:10, James tells us that the law of God exposes all of us to be sinners. If we break but a single commandment, we are as guilty as though we had broken every commandment. Sin but a single time and God regards us as law-breakers. And yet, Jesus Christ has fulfilled the law through his own perfect obedience to the Lord’s commandments. Because Jesus Christ has died for all of those times we have failed to keep the law, for the Christian, the law is now described as a “law of liberty.” As James puts it, the Christian who gazes upon the law perseveres during trials. Such a person is a doer who acts. But the one who only hears, but does not do, is like someone who looks at himself in a mirror and then immediately forgets what he looks like. The law exposes sin, reckons people law-breakers, and smokes out those who are mere hearers of the word only. When such people make a profession of faith in Christ, that profession is not accompanied by good works. They may claim to follow Christ, but give no hint of actually following him. They “hear” but they do not “do.”
When it comes to the matter of justification, James is answering the question “how can we tell if someone’s faith has justified them?” Says James, “show me your faith apart from works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” Genesis 15:6 tells us that Abraham believed God, and Abraham was reckoned as righteous before God (justified). But as James points out, Abraham’s “faith was active along with his works, and his faith was completed by his works” (v. 22). James’s point is that the faith which justifies is a living and active faith which, in turn, produces good works. This is what James is getting at when he says “you see that a person is justified by works, and not by faith alone” (v. 24). If someone claims to have faith in Christ, but gives no evidence (good works) of struggling to obeying God’s commandments, then whether or not they have truly trusted Christ remains an open question.
What Doers of the Word Are to Do
Having told his reader why good works are the necessary fruit of a justifying faith, James now begins a discussion of how true religion is manifested in the life of a Christian. In chapters 3-5, James addresses a number of topics. In the first twelve verses of chapter 3, James speaks of the destructive power of human speech (the tongue). This is our topic in this exposition. Then in verses 13-18 of chapter 3, James addresses the importance of seeking divine wisdom and the need to cease relying upon human wisdom. In chapter 4, James warns his reader of the danger of worldliness–in this case, fighting, quarreling and speaking evil of one another–before going on to warn his readers not to boast about tomorrow when they don’t know what tomorrow actually holds. James will then warn the rich not to trust in their riches, he exhorts his persecuted readers to be patient in the midst of their suffering, before closing the letter with a treatment of the prayer of faith. According to James, these are the acts of a pure and undefiled religion.
To read the rest, follow the link below
Read More