Read the Other Articles in this Series
The Power of Our Words
The Gravity of Our Words
We All Sin
In our new series, we’re exploring the power of our words. In James 3:1-12, James gives us several graphic examples of the evil we can do with our tongues and he exhorts Christians to speak righteously.
In our last article, we looked at James 3:1. We discussed the gravity of our words and how not many Christians should become teachers. In this article, we’ll look at James 3:2 to see what makes controlling our words so difficult.
In James 3:2, James transitions from talking about teachers to talking about all of us.
For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.
James acknowledges that even redeemed believers still stumble or sin in many ways.
1 John 1:8 says,
“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
Paul says in Romans 7:18-19:
For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.
Paul, one of the greatest believers who ever lived, still struggled with indwelling sin. And the same is true of us.
The Many Ways We Sin With Our Words
James goes on to say: And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.
Basically, he’s saying that, as believers, we still sin and we still sin with our mouths.
There are many ways to sin with our mouths and here are just a few:
- Lying
- Cursing
- Complaining
- Deceptive Flattery
- Gossip
- Abusive/Mean/Disrespectful Words
- Angry Words
- Rash Words
- Crude/Coarse Joking
And sinning with our tongues doesn’t just include the words we’re speaking, we can also have a rude or disrespectful tone or our volume can be weaponized if we’re yelling at someone.
If we’re speaking 16,000 words a day on average, that is a lot of opportunities to sin with our words.
James says that if someone doesn’t sin with their words, he’s “perfect.” That word perfect (teleious) has two meanings: flawless or mature. You could actually apply both to this passage: if someone never sins with their mouth, which is impossible, then they must be perfect. Jesus is the only person who has ever lived who never sinned with His mouth and He was perfect.
Or he could also be saying that a mature believer would have greater self control over his words. If they have self control over their words, which is extremely difficult, they should also have control over their bodies.
In our next article, we’ll explore some of the graphic illustrations that James uses to describe the destructive power of our tongues.
