James Chapter 3 — Commentary on Verse 10

    Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Jamesamplifiestheabsurditybyrepeatingit.Notehismeekness:hemighthavereprovedthem sharply,butindissuadingthemfromtheevilsofthetonguehewantstogivethemapatternof modesty and gentleness.

    Thisshouldnotbe. That is, it should be quite different. This is a phrase savoring of apostolic meekness: see 1 Timothy 5:13 and Titus 1:11.

    Notes on Verse 10

    Note1. Blessings and cursings do not suit the same mouth. This is like the person in Aesop who blew hot and cold with the same breath. A good person should be constant. The same heart cannot be occupied by God and the devil, nor the same tongue be used for such different purposes. The Pharisee prayed and censured at the same time (Luke 18:11). When the tongue is employed in prayer, it is as it were hallowed and consecrated, and therefore must not be used for vile purposes.

    Note2. Shouldnotbe. We must look not to what we desire to do but what ought to be done. Lust, or the bent of the spirit, is not the rule of duty. Many people advise with no other counselor but their own hearts; worldly constraints are a poor warrant. Animals are led by strength of instinct and natural impulse; man is to be governed by an outward rule. There is a higher Lord than your own will. Look, then, not at what you want to do, but at what you should do.

    Canbothfreshwaterandsaltwaterflowfromthesamespring?Mybrothers,canafigtreebear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

    Here are several illustrations taken from the same aspect of nature, to show that one cause can give birth to only one sort of thing. He reasons from what is impossible in nature to what is absurd in manners.

    Notes on Verses 11-12

    Nature abhors hypocrisy; contrary effects from the same cause are against the way God orders matters in creation. It is true that a Christian has a double principle—flesh and spirit—but not a double heart. Hate the double-dealing that occurs when you profess religion and live in sin. See how contrary this is to the whole course of nature; say, “Surely this cannot come from a uniform and good heart.” Especially use these illustrations to check the deformities of your speech. When you are inclined to both bless and curse, to pray and revile, say, “This would be monstrous in nature; is there anything else in the world with such different uses as the tongue?”

    Whoiswiseandunderstandingamongyou?Lethimshowitbyhisgoodlife,bydeedsdoneinthe humility that comes from wisdom.

    James now diverts to another matter, though it is closely related to the previous one—an exhortation to meekness as opposed to envy and strife.

    Whoiswiseandunderstandingamongyou? He speaks about wisdom and understanding because all the former evils come from thinking that we have greater ability than others or because they affect the reputation of prudent Christians. Now, says the apostle, if you would indeed be like this, you must have a meek godliness.

    Lethimshowitbyhisgoodlife. The first requisite of true wisdom is to honor knowledge in practice, that being the point of all information; and the understanding person has a greater obligation to duty than do other people.

    Bydeedsdoneinthehumilitythatcomesfromwisdom. Here is the second requisite: prudent meekness in behavior, wisdom being most able to consider frailties and to bridle anger.

    Notes on Verse 13

    Note1. Wisdom and understanding go well together; one informs, the other directs. Good apprehension and good judgment make a complete Christian. Where there is heavenly wisdom, there will also be prudence, a practical application of our light to the occurrences of life. So do not rest in “the embodiment of knowledge” (Romans 2:20); couple it with wisdom. A Christian is better known by his life than by his speech. Mere “knowledge puffs up” (1 Corinthians 8:1). People who speculate sublimely are just wise fools, like the lark that soars high and peers and peers but falls into the fowler’s net. Knowledge without wisdom may soon be discerned; it is usually curious and censorious.

    Note2. True wisdom ends in good behavior. Surely the practical Christian is the most wise: in others, knowledge is only like a jewel in a toad’s head. “Observe [God’s laws] carefully, for this will show your wisdom” (Deuteronomy 4:6). This is saving knowledge; the other is mere curiosity. The point of all this is to examine those who please themselves with a false wisdom.

    (1)      The worldly wise. People are cunning and spin a web of vanity in achieving their worldly aims. Alas, this is the greatest folly! “Since they have rejected the word of the LORD, what kind of wisdom do they have?” (Jeremiah 8:9). Who would dig for iron with picks of gold? Similarly, your spirits and your deepest concerns are worth more than vanity; they are tools that God uses for more than mere iron.

    (2)      Those who content themselves with human knowledge. Some can almost unravel nature but do not know God or themselves. Some of the heathen were well endowed with intelligence, but “although they claimed to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:22).

    (3)      People who hunt for ideas and sublime speculations, knowing only in order that they may know. A poor soul that looks to heaven has more true wisdom than all the great rabbis of the world: “The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple” (Psalm 19:7).

    (4)      Those who are sinfully crafty have enough wit to brew wickedness. It is better to be a fool in that craft: “In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults” (1 Corinthians 14:20). Happy are those whose souls never enter into sin’s secrets! “I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil” (Romans 16:19).

    Note 3. The more true wisdom is, the more it is meek. Wise men are less angry and more humble.

    (1)      They are less angry. Much is spoken about a fool’s wrath: “Stone is heavy and sand a burden, but provocation by a fool is heavier than both” (Proverbs 27:3). He lacks judgment to moderate its rage. The more wisdom a person has, the more he can check passion. “A man’s wisdom gives him patience” (Proverbs 19:11).

    (2)      They are more humble. “With humility comes wisdom” (Proverbs 11:2). Pride and folly always go together, and so do humility and wisdom. The world often looks on meekness as folly, but it is heavenly wisdom. Moses is renowned in Scripture for wisdom and meekness. Those who are morally wise are the most humble. “The unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit … is of great worth in God’s sight” (1 Peter 3:4). The world counts this an effeminate softness; God counts it as beautiful. This is the best Christian temper. There are excellent fruits of meekness that reveal its use (see, for example, 2 Timothy 2:25 and Proverbs 15:1).

    Note4. Lethimshowit. A Christian must not only have a good heart but a good life, and must in his behavior show the graces of his spirit: see Matthew 5:16. We must study to honor God and honor our profession of faith. It is one thing to do works that can be seen and another to do them in order that they shall be seen.

    Butifyouharborbitterenvyandselfishambition[strife,KJV]inyourhearts,donotboastabout it or deny the truth.

    Having shown the effect of true wisdom, James infers that if the contrary were found in them, they would have little cause to glory; and he mentions two opposites to the double effect of wisdom: envy and selfish ambition.

    Butifyouharbor. The apostle’s modesty in reproving is noticeable. He does not positively indict them but speaks hypothetically, as he does in 1:25 and 2:15. In reproofs it is wiser to proceed hypothetically than by direct accusation.

    Bitterenvy. He notes the root of tongue-evils. We say it is zeal and justice, but the true cause is envy. He calls it bitter envy to distinguish it from holy emulation. It is bitter to ourselves and others. It makes us unpleasant to those with whom we have dealings.

    Andselfishambition. This is the usual effect of envy. And he says inyourhearts because although it is managed with the tongue or hand, it is first contrived in the heart, and because this aggravates the matter. There may be unintended breaches between Christians, but where they are cherished they are abominable.

    Donotboastaboutit—that is, either your Christianity (allowing an evil so contrary to it) or your zeal (which is so culpable) or any special wisdom and ability, as if you were able to reprove others (this is the most probable meaning, for the main drift is against opinionated wisdom). You have no reason to boast of your intelligence and zeal in censuring or contention, as people often do in such cases, unless you want to glory in your own shame; rather, you have cause to be humbled, that you may get these vile affections mortified.

    Ordenythetruth. Some say this means by a worldly profession of faith. Hypocrisy is a practical lie. Some speak lies, others do them. But “he who does what is true comes to the light” (John 3:21, RSV). Beware of false pretenses of zeal and wisdom: see Romans 11:1 and 1 John 1:6.

    Notes on Verse 14

    Note1. Envy is the mother of strife. They are often coupled. In Romans 1:29 “full of envy” is followed by “murder, strife …”; see also Romans 13:13; 1 Corinthians 3:3; 2 Corinthians 12:20; Galatians 5:20. There are two sins that were Christ’s sorest enemies: covetousness and envy. Covetousness sold Christ, and envy delivered him. These two sins are still enemies to Christian profession. Covetousness makes us sell religion, and envy makes us persecute it. So “do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit” (Philippians 2:3).

    Note2. Selfishambitioninyourhearts. There is nothing in a person’s life that was not first in his heart (see Matthew 15:19); that is the source of sin and the fountain of folly. So look to the heart; keep that clean if you want to have your life free from wrong. “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (Proverbs 4:23). If you want to have a public life that is holy, let your heart be pure before God; especially cleanse your heart from envy and selfish ambition.

    Note3. Envious or contentious people have little reason to be proud. Envy suggests either an absence or poverty of grace. Where there is an absence of grace, envy reigns; and where envy is resisted but not overcome, grace is weak. “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24). “I saw,” says Augustine, “a little child looking pale with envy.” This is natural but odious; it is an attack on God and his dispensations, as if he had distributed his gifts unequally. It also hurts others; we malign the good that is in them, and so come hatred and persecution. This is also painful to ourselves, and so Proverbs 14:30 says that “envy rots the bones.” In short, it arises from pride, is carried out in covetousness and evil desire, and ends in discontent. “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger” (Ephesians 4:31). It is hateful to God, prejudicial to others, troublesome to ourselves; it is its own punishment.

    Envy reveals its presence:

    (1)      By grief at others’ enjoyment. In Genesis 4 Cain was sad because Abel’s sacrifice was accepted. Other people’s having something does not cause our lack of it, but we envy it.

    (2)      In rejoicing at their evils, disgrace, and ruin: see Psalm 22:7.

    (3)      By lack of sharing. People want everything enclosed within their boundary and are vexed at the most common gifts of others, because they want to shine alone. Moses, on the contrary, said, “I wish that all the LORD’S people were prophets” (Numbers 11:29). Consider these things, and how inappropriate they are to your professed faith. The same applies to strife: it does not become those who should be cemented with the same blood of Christ. All strife is bad; your heart is never better for it. But envious strife is worst of all. Paul said that some people preached the Gospel out of “envy” (Philippians 1:15), and in this way religion, which is the best thing, is made to serve the vilest desires.

    Note4. Envy and strife often go under the guise of zeal. It is easy to assume a pretense of religion. One faction at Corinth called their sect by the name of Christ: “I follow Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:12). They are listed among the rest of the factions; “I follow Christ,” in the apostle’s sense, is as bad as “I follow Paul,” “I follow Apollos,” and “I follow Cephas.” So then, examine those desires that appear under the guise of religion; there may be zeal in the pretense, and bitter envy at the bottom.

    There are two shrewd presumptions upon which, if you cannot absolutely condemn this sort of thing, you may have cause to be suspicious. One is when it boils up into odd and peculiar actions. True zeal, though it may increase the stream, does not usually make it overflow the banks and break one rule to vindicate another. The other is when we are inclined to glory and boast, as in this passage. We usually boast of graces of our own making. “Come with me and see my zeal for the LORD” (2 Kings 10:16) was in effect simply, “Come and discern my pride and hypocrisy.” Hypocrites have so little of the power of religion that they adore their own form.

    Note5. Hypocrisy is the worst kind of lie. The practical lie is worst of all. By other lies we deny the truth, but by this we abuse it; and sometimes it is worse to abuse an enemy than to destroy him. The practical lie is little better than blasphemy: “I know the slander [KJV, blasphemy—Ed.note] of those who say they are Jews and are not” (Revelation 2:9).