The third chapter is a piece of literary art. James has
masterfully woven metaphor
after metaphor together to
from a common strand that full develops the speech test of
genuine faith. James introduces three subordinate themes in
James 1:19 in order to develop his overall theme of testing
genuine faith; the second is the basis of this chapter:
“slow to speak.”
Communicating with words is one of the distinguishing
marks of human life. God Himself has communicated with
man, whether by written words of Scripture or by His son,
who is the unique Word of God (John 1:1). Like so many
aspects of life that provide great advantages, however,
communication
through speech has its darker side.
Sometimes speech can injure. It can do more harm than
good. It can convey wrong information that can lead to
disaster. It can be used irresponsibly, without concern
for consequences. The solution is not to avoid it but to
use it as God intended.
The key to this test of faith in the third chapter is
making an inward evaluation based upon outward
manifestations. James supplies the data needed for this
evaluation through diverse metaphors from the imagery of
nature.
Though there were formal offices in the early church,
such as elder (James 5:14), there was no ordination
process or schooling needed to teach and preach. As a
result it was relatively easy for people with some
ability, but worldly motivation, to put themselves forward
as teachers. These uncalled teachers criticized others and
formed cliques in the church; other church members
followed suit in speaking harshly of them. James' response
is to call for control of the tongue, citing the danger of
the tongue, giving the marks of God's Spirit, and finally
exposing the worldly motivation of many in the church.
Teachers were important for the church (Romans 12:7; 1
Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians 4:11-13), but the church was
also plagued by false teachers (e.g., 1 Timothy 1:7; Titus
1:11; 2 Peter 2:1). The gift of teaching was easy to
counterfeit, if someone were eloquent enough. But as
surely as a person had "volunteered" to teach rather than
having been impelled by the Spirit, so surely would his
worldly motives become manifest in jealously, strife, or
heresy. James values the ministry, but he realizes that
its social attractiveness and power make it dangerous and
that one should be reluctant to enter it.
The danger of the ministry is first personal: We who
teach will be judged more strictly. Since every casual
word would be judged, how much more the words of those who
dealt in words? (Matthew 12:36-37). Since the Jewish
teachers will be judged severely, how much more, Christian
teachers? (Matthew 23:1-33; Mark 12:40; Luke 20:47).
An examination of the condemnations of false teaching
both in the Gospels and in 1 and 2 Peter and Jude show
that, as with elders (1 Timothy 3; Titus 1), the lifestyle
of the teacher was as important as the words he spoke.
Teachers were primarily models, secondarily intellectual
and theological instructors. By claiming this status the
teacher put both life and words under God's scrutiny, and
He would hold them responsible for misleading the flock in
word or deed. The danger is compounded by the fact that
all people stumble in many ways and none escape the
scrutinizing of God. Therefore, a teacher’s condemnation
is greater because of of his having a greater influence
and impact on the lives of others. Therefore, teachers are
held to a greater accountability by God.
James is not prohibiting everyone from becoming
teachers, but rather he is limiting the number of those
who seek to become teachers. He does not want many within
the church to become teachers. A teacher was a position of
some social rank in the first century. Interestingly, the
term didakalov (“teacher”) occurs 59 times in the NT and
41 of those occurrences refer to Jesus. It is also used of
John the Baptist (Luke 3:12), Nicodemus (John 3:10),
Jewish teachers (Luke 2:46), Paul (1 Timothy 2:7; 2
Timothy 1:11) and teachers of the church (Acts 13:1; 1
Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians 4:11). A comparison of the
usages of didakalov reveals that not once is the term used
so loosely as to refer to just anyone who would speak out
in a church service. This term is best understood by its
Jewish and early Christian usage as expositors of the Law.
Clearly, James refers to himself as a teacher in his usage
of the first person plural “we” in the
first verse.
Next Section - Test of Speech
