James 3 Discussion

One sentence can heal someone or haunt them. James 3 does not let us hide behind “I didn’t mean it” or “words don’t matter” because it paints the tongue as a tiny spark that can set an entire forest on fire. We sit down as pastors and friends to read James chapter three, outline what it says, and talk straight about why speech is one of the most overlooked battlegrounds in Christian discipleship.

We dig into James’s warning that Bible teachers face stricter judgment, not just because leadership is public, but because influence multiplies damage when our words get loose. Then we slow down on the hard lines: a tongue “set on fire by hell,” and jealousy and selfish ambition described as unspiritual and demonic. That language is meant to wake us up to the real spiritual weight of gossip, harsh words, cursing, and the kind of speech that tries to control a conversation instead of serve the people in it.

From there we move to hope and clarity. James ties mature faith to humility and good conduct, and he describes wisdom from above as pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits. We talk about how your mouth reveals your heart, what sanctification looks like when your speech still needs cleaning up, and a simple practice we both use when anger rises: zip the lip, pray, and return to the conversation with restraint. If you want practical Bible teaching on taming the tongue, godly communication, and pursuing wisdom from above, press play, then subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review with the biggest speech habit you want to change.

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Transcript

Welcome And Simple Bible Method

Pastor Plek 0:10

And welcome back to a chapter a day. Keeps the devil away. I'm Pastor Plek. That's Pastor Holland. We're talking James chapter three. We're gonna outline, observe, interpret, and apply it so that you can walk confidently with Jesus Christ wherever you live, work, and play

James 3 On The Tongue

Pastor Plek 0:26

today. So let's get into James 3, verses 1 through 12. It's the big chapter on the response or big chunk in the responsibility and power of the tongue. Not many should become teachers because teachers face stricter judgment from God and people.

Wisdom From Above Versus Earthly

Pastor Plek 0:42

All right, now we're gonna get into verses 13 through 18. Wisdom from above versus earthly wisdom. True wisdom is shown through humility and good conduct, but the bitter ambition, selfish ambition are earthly and destructive.

Words That Burn Lives Down

Pastor Plek 0:56

All right, let's get into some observations. What do you see here?

Pastor Holland 0:59

All right, man. Um, sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me. Not true, says James. Not true. Your words can burn your life to the ground. Or at least burn somebody else's life to the ground.

Pastor Plek 1:14

I mean, I think that's like your words set the world on fire.

Pastor Holland 1:20

And it's like uh he he attaches this to teaching, especially. Not many of you should become teachers. Now, I don't think he's talking about like elementary school teachers here. Um, though there is, you know, that is related to this issue. I think he's talking about Bible teachers. Would you agree?

Pastor Plek 1:40

I think so. Um you think he's talking about pastors. Yeah, I'm thinking that someone who's speaking authoritatively on behalf of God. But I I think it's true, just from a general principle that teachers do get judged more strictly.

Pastor Holland 1:53

The more you talk, the more likely you are to sin with what you say. Right.

Pastor Plek 1:57

So I feel like but okay, I guess I'm saying from a earthly standpoint too. Yeah. Like, there's a reason you talked about your teacher behind her back whenever you know you're in fourth grade. Um even though you have no understanding

When Speech Is Set On Fire

Pastor Plek 2:13

of what preparation or whatever, you're gonna judge basically only because that person is the the seen person who stands there as an authority. Yep. And so you're naturally.

Pastor Holland 2:26

So yeah, and so when it says they'll be judged with greater strictness, um, is that talking about judged by other people or judged by God or both? I do think both. I agree. Is that where you're at? Okay, yep. Yep, yeah, and it says we all stumble in many ways. Um if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he's a perfect man. Wow. Like you can be perfect. If you can control your tongue, you can control anything. That's what he's saying. Yeah.

Pastor Plek 2:53

I mean, and I love how he goes bits into horses' mouth, yep. Uh rudders on ships, and then flames, small flames, sparks, if you will, setting a forest on fire. Yeah. So small things can control big things. Very much so.

Pastor Holland 3:09

All right. And you we know that even like um culturally, a very small vocal minority can impact the entire trajectory of a culture, community, nation, even. Yep. Um, and many times with your words. Right. Words are very powerful.

Pastor Plek 3:28

Um, okay, what about um I love how he says the tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life.

Pastor Holland 3:40

Set and set on fire by hell.

Pastor Plek 3:42

Yeah. All right. You're like, what?

Pastor Holland 3:44

Man.

Pastor Plek 3:45

Like, what if you just say a couple careless? Is that hell really operating here? Or are you operating on behalf of hell? I guess it doesn't really matter. Everyone's life is getting burnt down.

Pastor Holland 3:55

Yeah. And he he brings up demons again. So in chapter two, he's like, hey, demons believe in God, and you know, they're not saved. So like, don't have demonic faith. And now he brings up demons um in uh the latter half here, where he says, verse 15 um, when you have jealousy, yeah, selfish ambition, um, it's earthly, unspiritual, demonic. Yeah. And uh so set your tongue can be set on fire by hell, and bitter jealousy and selfish ambition is demonic. He's really getting into like hell and demon stuff, and saying, like, you gotta understand the severity of these kinds of sins, I guess.

Pastor Plek 4:36

And this is where your speech, and this is where I I don't want to get into cuss words too much, but sometimes what your cuss words reveal is um it's it's it's there for shock factor, right? And you're trying to, by using a word that's obscene, you're trying to control the conversation. But James is contrasting the destructive power of human speech with heavenly wisdom, which presents ethical speech and humility as evidence of transformed covenant living. I think we can go back to our old speech patterns, revealing our old

What Your Mouth Reveals

Pastor Plek 5:11

way of life.

Pastor Holland 5:11

Yeah, and and James, James riffs a lot off of Proverbs and Jesus' teachings. Like everything in James is basically like kind of rewording something from Proverbs and Jesus' teaching. Um, and so when remember what Jesus says, um uh that the out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. And then James says here, um, you know, does a spring pour forth water uh from the same opening, fresh and salt water? Right. He's saying, like, if there's nastiness coming out of you, well, guess what? That's what's inside you. He's saying the same thing Jesus said, but he's putting it in a different way. Yep. Um, can a fig tree bear olives? No. If you're bearing olives, you're an olive tree. If you're if you're cursing and saying nasty stuff, and that that's what you are inside coming out. Wow. And so he's like, James just hit hit hammering on this thing.

Pastor Plek 6:05

So what does that mean? And and I know this is you don't when you use analogy, you can't get into like saved or not saved, but I think that question comes up. If someone's using filthy language, does that mean they're not saved? Or is that rather they're still working on the sanctification process of God working out the stuff in their heart?

Pastor Holland 6:25

Yeah, it's like if you use filthy language, you're a filthy person. Right. Saved or unsaved. If you're saved, it's okay, the spirit's sanctifying the filth off of you. Right. Which, you know, that's we all we all need that. Um, if you're not saved, it's like, well, that you shouldn't expect any change in the filthy stuff because that's just who you are. Right. And you need to come to Jesus and find forgiveness and then receive his spirit who can cleanse the filth from within you and make you clean. Okay.

Hypocrisy Jealousy And Ambition

Pastor Plek 6:52

Let's get into some nature of man. How about humans naturally struggle to control their speech?

Pastor Holland 7:00

Wow, that is I mean, amazing that you got that from this passage.

Pastor Plek 7:04

I am pretty much a scholar.

Pastor Holland 7:07

Just brilliance right here. Yes, I agree. We struggle. Um, and you know, we it sh it reveals our hypocrisy and you know, it says we bless the Lord and we curse people. And it's like it just shows how yeah, hypocritical we can be.

Pastor Plek 7:23

And maybe to your point, people could reveal the condition of their hearts to their words. Yeah, exactly. Okay, what else?

Pastor Holland 7:30

Um, we struggle with bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in our hearts, um, acting like demons.

Pastor Plek 7:39

Um It's one thing to say I'm angry, it's another thing to say I'm demonic. Yeah.

Pastor Holland 7:43

I mean, but that's what J James says, right? He's like, that's demonic.

Pastor Plek 7:48

Yeah, okay. That's convicting right there. It

God’s Wisdom Produces Peace

Pastor Plek 7:52

is. How about uh uh let's get into the character God how about God is wise, his wisdom produces purity, peace, mercy, and righteousness.

Pastor Holland 8:02

Amen. Yeah, um when it talks about the wisdom from above, um, full of mercy and good fruits, and impartial and sincere. And you're just like uh the next part, a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. It really just shows, like, yeah, the purity and peace of God. He's righteous, he's holy, he's good. There's nothing impure about God, there's nothing filthy about God.

Pastor Plek 8:31

And in the same way, he values in human beings truth and integrity, where you don't just say one thing and do another that your life is consistent with what you believe and proclaim.

Pastor Holland 8:42

Yeah. And I think sometimes, like even using the word like I'm filthy inside, right? And sometimes like, gosh, that sounds so like intense and extreme, but it's like when you compare to God and how pure and holy and you know, it's like, yeah, we have a lot of filth. Um and I think the New Testament teaches us, though, that God does not see us according to that filth anymore in Christ. He sees us as pure and blameless because the blood of Christ forgives us and cleanses us. But there is still this reality of like the temporal sanctification. Like, even though he sees us as blameless because of what Christ has done, we still do struggle with sin and we do need to be cleansed for all of our days in this life of that sin by the power of the Holy

Application Zip The Lip

Pastor Holland 9:26

Spirit.

Pastor Plek 9:26

Nice. All right, let's get into some application. So that's sin to void, promise to claim, example to follow, command obey it, knowledge to believe, sin to avoid, how about uncontrolled speech, which would include gossip, cart, cursing, harsh word, harsh words, and selfish ambition.

Pastor Holland 9:40

Yeah. So sometimes the best thing to do is just be quiet, zip the lip. Zip the lip. And you pray silently. I this is what I do sometimes when I'm just like angry and I know it's about to just unleash. I I try to just go, I'm gonna be quiet and I'm gonna pray. And if I still want to say what I want to say in you know, 30 minutes, you know, I I can say it with you know, um, more restraint or something like that. Um but zip the lip sometimes.

Pastor Plek 10:08

Zip the lip. All right, promise to claim God's wisdom produces righteousness, peace, spiritual fruit in those who pursue it.

Pastor Holland 10:17

Um yeah, knowledge to believe. Um that the tongue is a fire. I think just I mean, really, just this and you know, related that not many of you should become teachers, like I don't know, just the wisdom uh that is like sometimes like being quiet really is the right thing. Be a listener when you're younger, just be listening more than you're talking to. Fine, seek wisdom from other people, and yeah, that yeah.

Pastor Plek 10:49

I like that. How about just command obey, control your tongue? I know that we we were hammering this. Control the tongue. Um, how about in the way you can do that is speak words that honor God and bless others? Uh just words of construction, not destruction. Yeah, that's good. Um, what else? Anything else before we land this plane?

Pastor Holland 11:09

Um open to reason in verse 17.

Pastor Plek 11:12

You know, just uh that concept of uh but the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, open to reason.

Pastor Holland 11:20

Yeah. Like willing to hear out the other side, not being so arrogant to think that you know you're always right about everything, but you know, um having that humility, that peaceful humility um to listen to someone who might have a reason why you're doing something wrong.

Pastor Plek 11:35

That's good. That's really

Final Takeaways And Farewell

Pastor Plek 11:37

good. All right. Hey, thank you so much for listening. We'll see you next time on a chapter a day.