James Chapter 3 — Commentary on Verse 2

    Weallstumbleinmanyways.Ifanyoneisneveratfaultinwhathesays,heisaperfectman,able to keep his whole body in check.

    James goes on to dissuade his readers from being censorious. In this verse he uses two arguments.

    The first is the frailty common to all of us, which may be thought of in two ways:

    (1)      Will you condemn them for something no one is exempt from? The excuse of weakness is the unhappy privilege of all mortal men.

    (2)      Will you not show them the tenderness that you need yourselves? You too may fail; weall stumble in many ways.

    The next argument is the difficulty of not sinning with the tongue; anyone who can avoid that can do anything in Christianity.

    Weallstumbleinmanyways. He says we, including himself, even though he was an apostle of great holiness (Eusebius says he was surnamed “the Just” because of his great virtue). And indeed no one is exempt—not even the blessed Virgin, who is charged in Scripture for some slips (see Luke 2:49; John 2:3-4). It is useless to ask whether God can keep anyone totally free from sin in the bodily life; God’s pleasure is declared the other way. And as for the question whether some transient action of a renewed person may not be without actual sin, I answer in these propositions:

    (1)      In our deliberate actions, especially those who are moral, there is some mixture of sin. Ecclesiastes 7:20 says, “There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins.” And Luther says the same, that the best works of the regenerate are sins if they are examined by God. And Gregory the Great says much the same, that man’s merit is but sin and his righteousness unrighteousness if it is examined strictly. Indeed, before either of them the prophet Isaiah said that “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). Nothing we do is so pure that there is not some taint of sin clinging to it that in the rigor of the law, without a mediator, would be damnable. So even if the essence of the action is good, there is no way it can undergo the strictness of divine judgment because of worldly things sticking to it. Man is partly holy and partly worldly; the effect cannot be greater than the cause.

    (2)      I imagine there may be an action so quick that there is no room for corruption; for example, in a sudden glance or holy thought we may conceive a spiritual desire that, though not perfectly holy, is purely holy. Besides, in some actions the force and vigor of corrupt nature may be wholly suspended by the power of God—as it is in conversion, in which theologians say we are wholly passive. I cannot but justly condemn that unnecessary rigor in some who say that a renewed person actually sins in every action, be it but the walking of two or three steps. This is a silly notion that, under the guise of a deeper humility, destroys true humility. We need not make people more guilty. But the devil loves to cheat people of true humility by what is affected; and when the imagination invents supposed crimes, conscience is less troubled about those that are real.

    (3)      Such actions are not acceptable to God for their own sake. Partly this is because though they are pure or free from sin, they are not perfect: they might be more holy yet. And partly it is because they are done by someone who has a corrupt nature and is stained with the guilt of other actual sins, the least of which renders him liable to the curse of the whole law (see 2:10). So these actions too need a mediator; as the apostle says, “my conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent” (1 Corinthians 4:4). For one such innocent action, there are a thousand that are stained and polluted. Another question may be whether there are not some sins that in their own nature are so foul that a child of God cannot fall into them. I answer:

    (1)      There are some gross corruptions that are very contrary to grace, “the corruption of the world” (2 Peter 2:20). Therefore the apostle says, “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious” (Galatians 5:19)—that is, obvious to sense and reason, such as adultery, drunkenness, etc., acts that nature has branded with marks of shame and contempt. Into these a child of God may fall, though rarely and very seldom. We have instances of Noah’s drunkenness, Lot’s incest, and David’s adultery. Therefore, we may conclude that the children of God do not only sin freely in thought, but sometimes foully in act—however, not usually, but only when specially tempted; they are not given to women or to wine. The usual practice is a note of God’s hatred: “The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit; he who is under the LORD’S wrath will fall into it” (Proverbs 22:14). These sins, therefore, are not of usual incidence, as wrath and worldliness and pride are.

    (2)      There are other sins that are extremely contrary to nature itself, such as Sodom’s bestiality, into which a renewed person cannot fall—partly for the great dishonor such a fact would reflect on religion, partly because it is a note of God’s giving a person up to sin (Romans 1:26-27). These things are so far from being practiced by saints that they are not to be named among them (Ephesians 5:3).

    Ifanyoneisneveratfaultinwhathesays,heisaperfectman. Here is the second argument: bridling the tongue is a note of some perfection and effectual progress in grace. Never at fault in whathesays—that is, he always says what is known to be true, and that charitably, without vanity or rash oaths, as Gregory of Nyssa fully expounds it. You may take the words as a supposition. If anyone avoids the evils of the tongue, I will make bold to call him a perfect man, such as is not found among mortals. We often say this sort of thing when we speak about an unlikely practice: “Anyone who could do this would indeed be a perfect man.” Or you may take it positively, and in this case it is another argument against censoriousness: “If you do not offend in word, you are perfect”—that is, upright, sincere. People who are like this because they do not argue with God are expressed by the term perfect. Or else perfect is used here for some growth in Christianity. In the Jewish discipline there were two sorts of people—beginners, who exercised themselves in virtuous actions and endeavors, and others, whom Philo calls perfect; they were those who had attained some progress in the matters learned. The same word is used in this sense in 1 Corinthians 2:6—“We … speak a message of wisdom among the mature.” However much the weak like toys, grown Christians will discern wisdom in the plain preaching of Christ crucified. And this sense may be read in this passage: “Anyone who bridles his tongue is not a beginner or learner, one who is experimenting in religion, but a perfect person, one who has made some progress.”

    Abletokeephiswholebodyincheck. By body Grotius understands the church, which is called “the body” in 1 Corinthians 12:20 and Ephesians 4:12; and he makes the sense out thus: “Anyone who can keep himself in check in disputation is able to govern the church”—an intriguing exposition, but one alien to this context. By keeping his whole body in check is meant, then, governing all his other actions, which are here expressed by the term body because they are acted out by the members of the body—eyes, hands, feet, etc. Why he puts so much weight on this matter of governing the tongue, I shall show in the notes.

    Notes on Verse 2

    Note 1. No one is absolutely freed and exempted from sinning: “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). “Who can say, ‘I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin’?” (Proverbs 20:9). Solomon challenges all the world. Many may say this very thing boldly, but who can say so truly? All of us offend in many things, and many of us in all things. There is in everyone a cursed root of bitterness that God mortifies but does not nullify; it is cast down but not cast out. Like the ivy on the wall, cut off from the stump, body, and branches, some tendrils will sprout again, until the wall gets pulled down. God chooses that it will continue like this until we come to heaven. So then:

    (1)      Walk with more caution; you carry a sinning heart within you. As long as there is fuel for a temptation, we cannot be secure; the man who has gunpowder with him will be afraid of sparks.

    (2)      Censure with all the more tenderness; allow for human frailty in every action (Galatians 6:1). We all need forgiveness; without grace you might fall into the same sins.

    (3)      Be all the more earnest with God in asking for grace; God will still keep you dependent on and beholden to his power.

    (4)      Magnify the love of God with all the more praise. Paul groans under his corruptions (see the end of Romans 7) and then admires the happiness of those who are in Christ (Romans 8:1); they had so many sins, and yet none were damnable.

    Note2. The sins of the best people are many. The apostle says, Weallstumble. God would not abolish and destroy all of those sins at once. There is a prayer against outward enemies: “Do not kill them, O Lord our shield, or my people will forget. In your might make them wander about, and bring them down” (Psalm 59:11). He does not want them utterly destroyed, but for some to be left as a memorial. This is the way God deals in respect to sin. It is brought down but not wholly slain; something is left as a monument of divine grace. Peter of Alexandria, when he destroyed the rest of the idols, left one that was most monstrous and misshapen to remind the people of their former idolatry. God will still honor free grace. The condition of his own people is mixed, light checkered with darkness; those who walk in the light may stumble. So then:

    (1)      Do not be altogether dismayed at the sight of failings. A godly person observed that Christians are usually to blame for three things: they seek in themselves what they can only find in Christ; they seek in the law what will only be found in the Gospel; and they seek on earth what will only be enjoyed in heaven. We complain of sin and ask, when will the earthly state be free? You should not complain but run to your Advocate. You complain, as do all those who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, that “your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings” (1 Peter 5:9). They are all troubled with a busy devil, a corrupt heart, and a wicked world.

    (2)      However, bewail these failings, the evils that abound in your hearts and in your duties, that you cannot serve God as entirely as you served Satan, that your evil works were merely evil, but your good works are not purely good.

    Note3. To be able to bridle the tongue shows that we have grown in grace. Not only James but the Scriptures everywhere make this a matter of great importance: “The tongue has the power of life and death” (Proverbs 18:21). A person’s safety depends on using it aright. And lest you should think the Scripture only means temporal safety or ruin, see Matthew 12:37, “by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” Your words are one of the prime things that will be brought to judgment. “He who guards his lips guards his soul [life], but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin” (Proverbs 13:3). Solomon implies that this is like a city besieged: opening the gates betrays its safety. In the same way, the tongue is the gate or door of the soul, as it goes out in conversation; keeping it open or loosely guarded lets the enemy in, which proves the death of the soul.

    Similarly, in other passages this is the great sign of spiritual and holy prudence: “When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise” (Proverbs 10:19). Empty vessels are full of sound; discreet silence, or a wise ordering of speech, is a token of grace. “A man of knowledge uses words with restraint, and a man of understanding is even-tempered” (Proverbs 17:27). The Spirit of God gives exhortation upon exhortation and devotes many Scriptures to this argument.

    There were also special reasons why James should press this so much:

    (1)      This was the sin of that age, as appears from the frequent dissuasions from vain boasting of themselves and detracting from others in chapters 1 and 2. And it is a high point of grace not to be snared with the evils of our own times.

    (2)      This is the best revelation of the heart; speech is the express image of it: “out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34). When the heart is full, it overflows in speech. The story of blind Socrates is common, who said to a boy, “Speak, so that I can see you.” We know metals by the sound they make. “The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks what is just. The law of his God is in his heart” (Psalm 37:30-31). Good people will always be revealing themselves and giving vent to the fullness of their hearts.

    (3)      This is the hypocrites’ sin; they abstain from grosser actions but usually offend in their words, boasting professions, and proud censures: see 1:26.

    (4)      All of us are apt to offend with the tongue in many ways; most of a man’s sins are in his words. One writer lists twenty-four sins of the tongue, and yet the number may be increased—lying, railing, swearing, ribaldry, scoffing, quarreling, deceiving, boasting, gossiping, etc. At first, indeed, there was no other sin in society but lying; but now how many evils does this one part of the body perpetrate? When the apostle gives us the anatomy of wickedness in all the parts of the body, he stays longest on the organs of speech and goes over them all: “‘Their throats are open graves; their tongues practise deceit.’ ‘The poison of vipers is on their lips.’ ‘Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness’” (Romans 3:13-14). You see, this part of the body needs much reforming and polishing. “An evil man is trapped by his sinful talk” (Proverbs 12:13); that is, not only does he trap others by it, but he himself is trapped, to his own ruin and destruction.

    (5)      This is a sin into which we fall commonly and easily, partly because of the close connection between the tongue and the heart—we sin in an instant, and partly because we sin in that way without noticing.

    So then, take care not only of your actions but of your words. “I said, ‘I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin’” (Psalm 39:1). He would take care with his whole life but would chiefly watch his tongue; it was in that way that iniquity and offense was likely to break out soonest. Next to keeping our hearts, Solomon tells us to keep our tongues: “Above all else, guard your heart”; then, “Put away perversity from your mouth” (Proverbs 4:23-24). First the heart, then the tongue, then the foot (verse 26). Consider:

    (1)      Your speeches are recorded (see 2:12). Xenophon recommended that all speech be written down, to make people more serious. Every idle word will be brought into judgment (see Matthew 12:36); light words weigh heavy in God’s balance.

    (2)      They are punished: “He will turn their own tongues against them” (Psalm 64:8). Better that a mountain should fall upon you than the weight of your own tongue. “A fool’s talk brings a rod to his back, but the lips of the wise protect them” (Proverbs 14:3). We boast and insult; God will make it a rod to scourge us. Our tongue is not a sword but a rod because God will punish contempt with contempt, both in this life and in that to come.

    (3)      Consider what a vile thing it is to abuse the tongue in strife, censure, or insult. God made the tongue to celebrate his own praise, to convey the holy conceptions of the soul to others. Human excellence should not be debased in this way; better be mute than speak wickedness.

    (4)      It is no small thing that God should show in nature that he has set bounds to the tongue: he has hedged it in with a row of teeth. Other organs are double; we have two eyes, two ears, but one tongue. Children cannot use their tongue naturally until they can reason; certainly, therefore, it was never intended to serve passion and pride and every idle humor.

    For suitable remedies:

    (1)      Get a pure heart; there is the tongue’s treasury and store. A good person is always ready to talk, not forced by the company, but because the law of God is in his heart: “The lips of the wise spread knowledge; not so the hearts of fools” (Proverbs 15:7). Because of the parallel clause, it should be understood as “not so the tongues of fools”; whatever is in the tongue comes from the heart. Out of the heart come slander and evil thoughts (see Matthew 15:19).

    (2)      Watch and guard your speech: “I said, ‘I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin’” (Psalm 39:1). “I said” means, “I made a resolution.” The tongue needs to be restrained with force and watchfulness, for it is ready to bring forth every wicked thought. You must not only watch over it but bridle it; it is good to break the force of these constraints within us and to suffocate and choke them as soon as they arise. “If you have played the fool and exalted yourself, or if you have planned evil, clap your hand over your mouth!” (Proverbs 30:32)—that is, bridle and stifle those angry thoughts. Do not deal too softly with unruly evils but strongly resist them. This rule should especially be observed in worship: see Ecclesiastes 5:1.

    (3)      All our endeavors are nothing. Go to God: “Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips” (Psalm 141:3). David wants God to keep him from speaking amiss when he is in deep affliction. It is God alone who can tame the tongue: “From the LORD comes the reply of the tongue” (Proverbs 16:1). When the heart is not prepared, the tongue may falter. The saints sometimes desire God to open their mouth (see Ephesians 6:19; Psalm 51:15) and sometimes to shut it.

    (4)      So that you may not give offense with your words, use them in God’s service. It is not enough to abstain from speaking evil. “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up” (Ephesians 4:29). “Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving” (Ephesians 5:4)—that is, thankfully remembering your sweet experiences. We must avoid the evil of the tongue, and we must talk with one another about God’s blessings. “The tongue of the righteous is choice silver” (Proverbs 10:20)—not just because it is purged from vanity and lies, but because of its benefits. It is also called “a tree of life” (Proverbs 11:30) whose leaves are medicinal. So Proverbs 12:18 says, “The tongue of the wise brings healing.” This should shame us, because we are so backward in holy conversation, into refreshing and healing one another. And so we may learn that Christianity does not make us silent in conversation but gracious.