James 3:3  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!
6  And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

James began this chapter with the words of caution regarding spiritual leadership. A spiritual leader must always remember that he is just a man. He was born a sinner just like all other people. He might have done well in school, etc, but he is still just a man. There is much more to spiritual leadership than intellectual prowess. In fact intellectual ability can interfere with a person’s willingness to even get saved. Biblical salvation requires a recognition that God is supreme and of far greater significance than any person ever could be. Biblical salvation requires the recognition that it is God who guides the development of that child in the womb. The fall of man was a major blow to humanity. God has kept that fall from impacting us worse than it has.
God equips men with certain abilities. His will is for man to humble himself, and to know the true God and use his abilities for God’s glory. Elon Musk seems to be an intelligent man. He seems to understand finance and mechanical and digital matters. He has gathered a team around him that has designed and built cars, and spacecrafts. He is bankrupt of wisdom when it comes to family relationships. He has been married three times and has had children with other women beside that. He believes it is part of his responsibility to be fruitful outside of God’s design of marriage. He lives in open defiance of God. In the secular mindset, he is a successful man and one to be admired and Mr. Trump wants to put him in a high ranking position in his assumed upcoming government. Mr. Musk may be able to clean up some of the financial corruption in the U.S. Unless he truly repents and trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, he will end up in hell along with all other lost people. He has nothing to offer in the matters that are truly important. God has allowed Mr. Musk to do what he does. He is a walking illustration of how not to live. The secular world would never see that, but those who are born again must see that.
In verses 3 and following, God turned to the matter of the tongue. Every master has a tongue. He uses that tongue to pass on what he believes is important. God showed James that the bit is a small thing in relation to the size of a horse. That bit is positioned in a very tender part of the horse, the mouth. With that small bit, the person using the horse, is able to turn that entire animal in the direction the master wants it to go. The two major divisions of horses are the thoroughbreds and the larger draft horses. The thoroughbreds weigh between 900 and 1400 lb. The draft horse can weigh around 1800 lb. The bit that is used to direct these large animals weighs about 1.5 lb. That little device is able to control that massive animal.
In verse 4 God used the illustration of a ship. Ships are much larger now than they were in Bible times, however the point is that the ship is turned by a very small helm. The “helm” is the oar or the rudder of the ship. In proportion that helm is very small to the size of the ship. The “governor” is able to turn that ship in the direction he wants it to go with that little helm.
In verse 5 God points to the tongue. The tongue is a little member in relation to the size of the person. Yet that little member boasts of great things. Without a tongue a person cannot talk. A person can write, but he cannot talk without a tongue. Yes, it is true that with modern electronic devices, there are ways to say things without a tongue, but we are talking Bible language here.
God compared the tongue to a fire. A fire can be very beneficial as a source of heat. Even there, the fire does not need to be that big to heat an entire house. When a fire gets out of control, it can make quite a mess of things. It can destroy an entire house and even more than one house. It can burn an entire crop in the field. Samson used foxes with firebrands tied to their tails to destroy crops in the book of Judges.
In verse 6 we are told directly that the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The world is a big place. God is speaking here of the amount of damage that the tongue can and often does cause. In our world we have human rights tribunals and they are manned with people who have a desire to control others. They will re-interpret what a person says and they will condemn a person based on their biased opinions. There is little recourse if that tribunal decides you are guilty of offending someone with your words.
In Ontario there is a small town that chose not to fly the sodomite flag during the month of June. This took place in 2020. Since then, the human rights tribunal has determined that small town must pay the sodomite community $15,000.00 for offending them. Of that $15,000.00, $10,000.00 must come from the town and $5,000.00 must come from the mayor of that town. The mayor stated that this was a form of extortion and he was not planning to pay it. The sodomites were able to garnish his wages to force him to give them that money. He is right in not paying this wicked society any money. He was condemned for his words and his actions. His words were correct, at least from what I have read, and the actions of the sodomite community which also used words to condemn him, were wrong. I have not heard if the mayor will appeal this decision. The point is that the tongue can make quite an impression, either for good or for bad. James was directed to point out the damage the tongue can do.
In verse 6 he is referring to the bad that can come out of the mouth of a person. It will defile the whole body. Wars have been fought because of things that people said. In I Samuel 17 we read of a man named Goliath. He was a big man but he had a small tongue. He stood before his people and the armies of Israel. He chose to blaspheme God with his tongue. He taunted the armies of Israel to send a man to fight against him. He believed he had the power to defeat any man that Israel would set before him.
God chose the man who would respond to Goliath’s challenge. That man was not a big man like Goliath. He was a much bigger man, spiritually, than Goliath was. David was God’s instrument, used to take down Goliath and Israel won the battle that was fought after the fall of Goliath. That battle was started due to the boasting of a very foolish man. God won that battle to prove His greatness, both to the Jews and to the Philistines.
Goliath’s boasting was from hell. He defied the living God. He was directed by the devil to defy God. He learned that is a very foolish thing to do. He is suffering in hell now and will one day be resurrected and judged and cast into the lake of fire. His size will not help him. He would have been wise to learn to control his tongue.
God has more to say about the tongue and we will look at that next time, Lord willing. It is important to listen to what God has to say. Unless a person is saved, and walking humbly with the Lord, he is bound to say things that will hurt him and others around him. James was writing to saints. There is a danger in allowing the flesh to govern the life of the saint. We need to be submitted to God’s control of our life. Anger management classes, etc. will not fix the problem of the tongue. Salvation and dying daily will fix the problem of the tongue.
Pastor Bartel