James 3:1-12 - Homiletics

Speech

I. THE GREAT RESPONSIBILITY OF TEACHERS . This is forcibly shown by St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:15 , etc. Even of those who have built upon the right foundation the work is to be tested by fire, and "if any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire." What, then, must be the "greater condemnation "in store for others whose very foundation was faulty? In a commentary especially designed for teachers of others, a strong recommendation may be permitted of Bishop Bull's noble sermon on the text, "Be not many masters:" 'Concerning the Great Difficulty and Danger of the Priestly Office' (Bull's 'Works,' vol. 1. sermon 6).

II. IMPORTANCE OF MASTERY OF THE TONGUE . Without a bit in the horse's mouth it is impossible for the rider to have command over his steed. So, without a bridle on the tongue, no man can govern himself aright. David felt this, and said, "I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me" ( Psalms 39:1 ). Even Moses, the meekest of men, was shut out of the land of promise because he "spake unadvisedly with his lips." And with regard to the one sin, of which we read that it "hath never forgiveness, neither in this world nor in the world to come," it is clear that it is a sin of the tongue, for it is always spoken of as " blasphemy ," and never in general terms as" sin against the Holy Ghost." "We rule irrational animals with a bit; how much more ought we to be able to govern ourselves!" (Wordsworth).

III. THE VARIED CHARACTER OF SINS OF SPEECH .

1. Sins directly against God; e.g. blasphemy, the mockery of holy things, swearing.

2. Sins against our neighbor; e.g. evil-speaking, lying, and slandering.

3. Sins against ourselves, infringing sobriety, discretion, or modesty. (See Barrow's' Sermons,' vol. 1. sermon 13)

IV. IMPORTANCE OF LITTLE THINGS . The bridle is a very little thing, but the rider cannot do without it. The rudder is very small, but it enables the steersman to guide a very large vessel. A tiny spark may set on fire a huge forest. So the size of a battle-field is quite disproportionate to the extent of country won and lost upon it. The tongue is a very little member, but a victory over it will save the whole man; on the contrary, a failure to rule the tongue involves far more than the sin of the moment; for, small as it is, the tongue "boasts great things, and defiles the whole body," and so leads to the ruin of the whole man.

V. THE TONGUE IS A FINE . The apostle is speaking of the tongue as an instrument of ruin, destruction, and devastation. As such it is kindled from beneath—"set on fire of hell" ( 1 Corinthians 3:6 ). But there is another sense in which the tongue is a fire, kindled from above, cheering and warming and gladdening men's hearts, and if its power for evil is great, so also is its power for good. "The fire of man's wrath is kindled from beneath, as the fire that cleanses is kindled from above. Bearing in our minds the wonder of the day of Pentecost, it is hardly too bold to say that we have to choose whether our tongue shall be purified by the fire of the Holy Spirit or defiled by that of Gehenna" (Plumptre).

VI. THE GUILT OF SLANDER .

1. The slanderer injures himself. "The tongue... defiles the whole body."

2. Slander is uncontrollable. "The tongue can no man tame." It "sets on fire the wheel of birth;" that wheel "which catches fire as it goes, and burns with a fiercer conflagration as its own speed increases ... You may tame the wild beast; the conflagration of the American forest will cease when all the timber and the dry under-wood is consumed; but you cannot arrest the progress of that cruel word which you uttered carelessly;… that will go on slaying, poisoning, burning, beyond your own control, now and forever."

3. Slander is unnatural. "These things ought not so to be." It is a contradiction to nature, as much as for a fig tree to bear olives, or for a fountain to produce both fresh and salt water.

4. Slander is diabolical in character. "The tongue … is set on fire of hell." The very name of Satan is "the slanderer." (See Robertson's 'Sermons,' vol. 3. sermon 1)