James: More GraceSample

Praise God that he is so reliable and dependable. He ‘does not change like shifting shadows’ (1:17).

But we are not like that at all – just look at our words.

• It is not that everything we say is wrong. What is the issue with words that James is concerned about here (v. 10)?

God is totally united in all he says and does, but we do not share God’s consistency. We bless God one minute and curse those made in his image the next (v. 9). When we open our mouths, you can never be sure what sort of words you will get!

James says ‘we’ here. We praise. We curse. He is not claiming he is perfect. He knows, ‘We all stumble in many ways’ (3:2). But James also doesn’t want his readers to excuse or settle down with their foul speech. ‘My brothers and sisters,’ James says emphatically, ‘this should not be’ (v. 10).

James wants his wayward readers to grasp how strange their mixed speech should seem to them. Jesus taught that our words flow out of our hearts; they reveal who we are on the inside. James gets his readers to think about how the natural world works to help them see this truth. He points them to water flowing out of springs and fruit growing out of plants.

• What point is James making through these examples (vv. 11–12)?

There is a consistency in nature. Fig trees produce figs. Vines produce grapes. Fresh springs produce fresh water. Salt springs produce salt water

– always. You don’t get one thing one minute and something different the next. The inner nature of these things is stable and fixed, so what they produce is not changeable either.

It is as if James is saying, ‘And what about your inner nature, dear brothers and sisters? What does your cursing alongside your praising show about that?’

James is concerned that his readers are double-minded. Their hearts are divided and this shows in their speech. Actually, it shows in their outward behaviour in lots of shocking ways and so James doesn’t want many of them to be teachers.

As you look around a church family for wise people to teach God’s word, what should you look for? Wise words about God are vital. But a wise person is also someone you can rely on not to praise God one minute and slander you the next. Wisdom is shown in a consistency of life and lip; teaching and living must speak the same message. That is the kind of wise person you want teaching you!

Pray

Ask God to give you a pure and undivided heart, and a godly consistency in your words.