Nov 3
Your words determine your world, and your communication shapes your direction. Ben Stuart continues our collection, This Changes Everything, by looking at what James says about the power of the tongue. Your words are powerful — how are you going to them?
Scripture References
1.Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2.We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.3.When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4.Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5.Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6.The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.7.All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, 8.but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.9.With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10.Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. 11.Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12.My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
41.Peter asked, “Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or to everyone?”42.The Lord answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? 43.It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. 44.Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 45.But suppose the servant says to himself, ‘My master is taking a long time in coming,’ and he then begins to beat the other servants, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk. 46.The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.47.
“The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows. 48.But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.
19.Sin is not ended by multiplying words,
but the prudent hold their tongues.
1.Rescue me, Lord, from evildoers;
protect me from the violent,2.who devise evil plans in their hearts
and stir up war every day.3.They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent’s;
the poison of vipers is on their lips.140:3 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verses 5 and 8.
God’s Faithfulness
1.What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? 2.Much in every way! First of all, the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God.
3.What if some were unfaithful? Will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness? 4.Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written:
“So that you may be proved right when you speak
and prevail when you judge.”3:4 Psalm 51:4
5.But if our unrighteousness brings out God’s righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.) 6.Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world? 7.Someone might argue, “If my falsehood enhances God’s truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?” 8.Why not say—as some slanderously claim that we say—“Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is just!
No One Is Righteous
9.What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. 10.As it is written:
“There is no one righteous, not even one;
11.there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God.
12.All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.”3:12 Psalms 14:1-3; 53:1-3; Eccles. 7:20
13.“Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit.”3:13 Psalm 5:9
“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”3:13 Psalm 140:3
14.“Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”3:14 Psalm 10:7 (see Septuagint)
15.“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16.ruin and misery mark their ways,
17.and the way of peace they do not know.”3:17 Isaiah 59:7,8
18.“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”3:18 Psalm 36:1
19.Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20.Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.
Righteousness Through Faith
21.But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22.This righteousness is given through faith in3:22 Or through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23.for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24.and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25.God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,3:25 The Greek for sacrifice of atonement refers to the atonement cover on the ark of the covenant (see Lev. 16:15,16). through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26.he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
27.Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. 28.For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. 29.Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30.since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 31.Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.
The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost
1.When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2.Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3.They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4.All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues2:4 Or languages; also in verse 11 as the Spirit enabled them.
5.Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6.When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7.Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8.Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9.Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,2:9 That is, the Roman province by that name 10.Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11.(both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12.Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
13.Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”
Peter Addresses the Crowd
14.Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15.These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16.No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17.“ ‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
18.Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
19.I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20.The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
21.And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.’2:21 Joel 2:28-32
22.“Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23.This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men,2:23 Or of those not having the law (that is, Gentiles) put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24.But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 25.David said about him:
“ ‘I saw the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
26.Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest in hope,
27.because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
you will not let your holy one see decay.
28.You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence.’2:28 Psalm 16:8-11 (see Septuagint)
29.“Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30.But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31.Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. 32.God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. 33.Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 34.For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,
“ ‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
35.until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.” ’2:35 Psalm 110:1
36.“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
37.When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
38.Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39.The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
40.With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41.Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
The Fellowship of the Believers
42.They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43.Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44.All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45.They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46.Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47.praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
1.Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2.“Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”3.Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4.For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’15:4 Exodus 20:12; Deut. 5:16 and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’15:4 Exodus 21:17; Lev. 20:9 5.But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ 6.they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7.You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:8.
“ ‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.9.
They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.’
15:9
Isaiah 29:13
”10.Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. 11.What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”12.Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”13.He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. 14.Leave them; they are blind guides.15:14 Some manuscripts blind guides of the blind If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”15.Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.”16.
“Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them. 17.“Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? 18.But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. 19.For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20.These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”
13.Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14.but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
37.On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38.Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”7:37,38 Or me. And let anyone drink 38 who believes in me.” As Scripture has said, “Out of him (or them) will flow rivers of living water.” 39.By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
Ben Stuart
Ben Stuart is the pastor of Passion City Church D.C. Prior to joining Passion City Church, Ben served as the executive director of Breakaway Ministries on the campus of Texas A&M. He also earned a master’s degree in historical theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Donna, live to inspire and equip people to walk with God for a lifetime.