We will start by reading from James chapter 3, James chapter 3 verse 1 to 6. 1 My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. 2 For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. 3 Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. 4 Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. 5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. May God add his blessings to the reading of this word.

As we have been looking into the epistle of James, there have been so many topics that have come already in this study in the first two chapters itself. So, it a very good epistle as we see covering many practical topics and very much important for a Christian life. have seen about trials, we have seen about temptations, we have seen about how we ought to look at the Word of God, we have seen how we ought to be with one another, we have seen also that characteristic, that which really justifies, that which really verifies or vindicates true faith, works of obedience. And now we are going to look into another aspect of teaching or of how one ought to come. with teaching and especially in that regard, James will look at the use of the tongue and how the tongue is such an important litmus test of one's spiritual health. In all of this, James has also been continually talking about faith.

None of these topics are divorced from the very essential theme of this whole letter which is faith and is again again centered with the Lord Jesus Christ, the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, on how we know Him, what we think of Him, how zealous are we to hold on to the promises that He has given to us while enduring trials, how zealous are we to know Him and hold on to Him while going through temptations and how we see one another. In all these things, we can see these two things again again clubbed together. Today, we are going to look at Chapter 3, as we read the portion from verse 1 to 6. It starts with the familiar addressing, my brethren, we have seen that in Chapter 1, verse 2, we have seen that in Chapter 2, verse 1 and now we seeing it in Chapter 3, verse 1, clearly indicating something new, another topic is going to be addressed here. In one way it is a new topic but in another way it is a continuation of what we discussed last time, where we were looking at works of obedience, springing out of genuine faith that the works... ordained of God are being walked by those who are true faith.

And one of the characteristics of genuine faith will also be new life, new birth, will also be a transformation in the one who truly professes, truly believes in the Lord Jesus Christ. And nothing else shows the transformation like the transformation in the use of the tongue. and that's what we will be seeing largely in this particular portion. But James brings that before us in a very different context. He's not just primarily talking about the use of the tongue. It will be there and that will also be covered as we look into the study. But look at how he's bringing this up. His topic is something else actually and that is what we also see in Chapter 4 as we look into it. We see about wars, see about fighting, we see about conflicts within the assembly and all that is then traced back to this particular verse and the situation in the assembly at that time where James has to address this part. James says very strangely enough, be not many masters or be not many teachers.

Be not many teachers. It's a strange thing to say if we are to think of ourselves. Wouldn't we like that there are more teachers? Isn't it a good thing? Isn't it a profitable thing for the saints that there are more teachers, that more people can teach well? But James wants us to understand how grave a matter it is to teach from the Word of God. How solemn, how sobering a thought it ought to be that one is standing to teach from the Word of God. And to balance things out, will today firstly look at what scripture tells about this particular ministry. What are we doing here in terms of teaching? And for that firstly, we must turn to John chapter 16 to answer who is the teacher here? Who is really the teacher? John chapter 16 verse 7 to 15, we read the portion, but particularly verse 13, For he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak, and he will show you things to come.

He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you." The Gospel of John, the Lord is telling us very clearly about the ministry of the Holy Spirit, about His coming and what He is going to be involved in doing here. Beginning from chapter 14 and verse 26 especially, where it is given to the Apostles, that the Spirit of Truth will come in such a manner so as to bring to their remembrance the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. And there we have the foundation of the Gospels, the Book of Acts, that this is how the writings were given. It was the Spirit of Truth, a Holy Spirit giving those words to the inspired writers. Not only that, we read here, He shall not speak of Himself, but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak. and He will show you things to come. So, two other things are also mentioned here. Things concerning Christ, things concerning the Church, things concerning the saints, all these things from Christ, from the Son is taken by the Holy Spirit and given to us through these writings which were given primarily to the Apostles, to the inspired writers.

That is the work of the Holy Spirit to bring out these truths into the open for the saints. Not only the epistles and all the way up till the book of Revelation that he would show things from the Sun and bring it out before the saints but also things to come. So you look at the book of Revelation, we look at other parts of the Gospels be it or be it the epistles where things to come are mentioned, are given in clarity. Again we have the Holy Spirit is the one who has brought these things to the Apostles. It is through Him receiving from the Sun and giving it to us with the primary objective. to glorify Him, to glorify not the Holy Spirit but the Son of God. That is the primary objective of the Holy Spirit today in every ministry, especially in any teaching ministry. So, if we are to answer the question, who is the teacher here? It must be the Holy Spirit. In 1 John 2, verse 27, 1 John 2, verse 27, but the anointing, this is referring to every believer, It abiding presence of the Holy Spirit within every single believer in the family of God.

He is the teacher. It is only through the Holy Spirit that every believer comes to know of the truth, grows in the truth, is guided into all truth and note the usage in the John's Gospel, it is all truth, there is nothing left to be told from the son to the saints. All truth that the Lord wanted to tell on that day which the disciples could not handle, could not grasp at that day has been conveyed, has been brought to us through the inspired writings of the New Testament and the one who is the author is also the one who is the real teacher here. We also have very familiar verse in 1st Corinthians chapter 2 verse 13. Here we have Paul the human instrument who is involved in the teaching. But how is he teaching as he says, verse 13 of chapter 2, 1st Corinthians, It is the Holy Spirit speaking, though the agents, though the people involved in conveying those words, in bringing out those words, may be the men.

fundamentally where we want to start with this topic, when James is addressing that, we not many teachers, we have to first of all understand, the real teacher here always has to be the Holy Spirit, whether it is us ministering from the pulpit, whether it be a believer sitting with the Word of God, trying to learn something, it always must be the Spirit of God, apart from Him, nothing can be taught from the Holy Word. then we must look at the question also, is there then a need for a teacher? And the answer is quite clear, there is. 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 2, it's a very clear command given to Timothy at that time, and the things that thou has heard of me among many witnesses, the same, commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also. This is the way the testimony is going to continue. This is the way, this truth once for all, the faith once for all handed down delivered to the saints. How is it going to be faithfully propagated over the generations? This is the way.

This is the biblical way. The same, commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also. Identify those faithful men, teach those faithful men and those faithful men are responsible then to teach. others also. There is a great need undoubtedly for teachers. Ephesians chapter 4, where we look at teachers as the very gifts given by the Lord to the church. We read of that in verse 11 chapter 4 and He gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and teachers. Here again we are very clearly the instruction or the knowledge of the fact that yes indeed teachers are there, teachers are given in fact by the Lord Himself as gifts to the church for what purpose? Verse 12 says, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.

This is the key which James wants to address. The true ministry of teaching of these teachers who are given as gifts by the Lord to the church is this. This ought to be the whole objective, the whole purpose of such ministry, perfecting of the saints. for the work of the ministry. So indeed, we ought to see that kind of effect happening or that desire with which the teaching is being done. That the saints are being further equipped, the saints are being built up, the saints are growing, the saints are becoming steadfast and strong for the work of the ministry. It is for their benefit that is the whole objective here. Not glorying in oneself. It is not for the objective of showing how well one knows the word of God. It is not the objective to show how well one can orate some things from the word of God.

It is not to say in other words to gain glory for oneself. And that is what is being addressed in James chapter 2. What is the context that James is addressing when he is saying, be not many teachers, be careful before putting yourself up towards this. Be not so eager to stand in the place of a teacher dispensing out things from the word of God. What is the context that James is then talking about? You must remember this is a very, very early letter, just branching out from the Jewish religion and we have to then consider the setup there. We have to consider the scribes that the Pharisees there and all the Jewish leaders that exercised much monopoly, much authority in teaching or through teaching. In John's Gospel chapter 11, we see how when the people continued to still follow the Lord Jesus despite many times they are going away but after the miracle of the resurrection of Lazarus, when again people would start going towards Him, the main concern of the Jews at that time is, all our plots, all our things are going in vain, don't you see that they are again going after Him? Now the Romans will come, they will take away our authority and our nation.

The Romans will come, they will take away what is ours, which is primarily the authority that they had over all the people. Such is the context that James is really addressing here. And so, we must turn to some characteristics of these people. We look to Matthew chapter 23. We have a very detailed discourse there, how the Lord was utterly displeased. by such display of authority, such misuse, abuse of this ministry of teaching. The Lord says in verse 2 onwards, saying, the scribes and the Pharisees sit in the Moses seat. Here the firstly thing we must notice, they are themselves sitting in the Moses seat. So in every synagogue there would be a particular place or a seat, a particular seat where the teacher would sit to read out and to explain things from the Lord. The Lord's focus here is to say, it is not God appointed.

They themselves are appointing themselves to take up this ministry, to take up this teaching ministry. And they are taking that place of Moses' seat. They are self-appointed, they are not God appointed. That's their first characteristic. The worst characteristic, verse 3, All therefore, whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do, but do not eat after their works, for they say and do not. So, they are saying from the Law of Moses. So, listen carefully to what they say because it's coming from the Law of Moses. Listen to that and do that, but don't you do their works, don't you follow them, don't you follow their life, don't you be like them. What a verdict! is given to those who would desire to exercise much authority over people and would want to claim that we are the teachers of God. The sayings are good, what they are saying out is very nice, but if you look at their lives, stay far away from it.

Don't let any of that come into your lives. Don't let any of that be any of you. Such a shameful verdict is what comes to these people who really prided in their knowledge of the Word of God. They are hypocrites to say. Verse 4, another characteristic. They bind heavy burdens and grievous to be born and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. They are not really looking to help, they are not really looking to build up, they are not really looking to edify, but only to oppress, only to subdue, only to keep people under. them that is their another characteristic. 6, Love the uppermost rooms at feasts and the chief seats in the synagogues and greetings in the markets and to be called of men, Rabi, Rabi. They love honor.

They love to receive honor for themselves. These are the very characteristics which the Lord absolutely hated and which He clearly called out and which James is well aware of. James is well aware that such things can easily happen in the nature of man, that man starts desiring to teach because it brings with it all of these things. It brings with it that kind of honor. It brings with it that kind of authority that people have to follow what you are saying. It brings with it that kind of ease with how one can go about in their lives. And this is sad part, if you look at the life of a scribe and a Pharisee, it's not an easy life. If you see how a scribe was declared to be a scribe at that time, it really put efforts from his 5-6 years old onwards. He is really dedicated to this purpose. He is fully involved from his childhood to memorize the Old Testament. to really be able to reiterate everything that the word of God says, to be under some people who are already qualified rabbi's and after much training, much proving, these people are declared to be scribes and Pharisees.

But this is the final verdict that the Lord had to give such people. So this is the context that James is coming from. Jew of a Jew, if you could say it that way. He knows very well how this system works and he has seen the death of that system. He has seen how corrupted it can get when what that which was given from God is corrupted by man. And James wants the church to be absolutely free from it, to be wary of this danger that can so easily come in. And in the New Testament as well, we have many such references. by Paul, by Peter, we will look into that also later, how false teachers can also so easily creep in, creep in unawares and how they can divide, how they can bring false teaching, heretical teachings, dividing teachings and how they can easily start dividing the people of God. This is the context with which James is bringing this.

If you look at Chapter 4, verse 1, just to give you that picture of why all of this is related. Chapter 4 verse 1, This was the prevailing situation that James wants to address, that there are men simply driven, simply moved not by the wisdom of God that comes from above, but rather they are moved by their own lust in receiving honor, in dividing, in being those whose God is their belly. They going after their own things. This is very clearly the context which James is trying to put before us. So then what should be the mindset? How should a genuine teacher, a true teacher of the word, how should they approach this ministry? James is not trying to scare people away. He is not forbidding teaching. He is not forbidding the desire or for an assembly to have teachers. but rather he is regulating this.

He is trying to give us an impression of how serious this ministry is. One reason he says, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. He says, we, he including himself in it. He is including himself in it and he is saying, we shall receive greater judgment. And the point is clear. Those who study the Word of God more, those who are made more aware of what truth is, when they fail to keep it, they are of course liable to more judgment. When you have been given more, you are also going to be accountable for more. When one has not known the truth, they less accountable compared to one who has known the truth more, is also then obliged to keep it as in that same way. Teaching comes with that kind of a grave responsibility that we actually bring upon ourselves more scrutiny, we actually bring upon ourselves the possibility to be under greater judgment and James puts himself in that very same situation along with all who are genuinely teachers.

There is the example of a man named John Knox. He is a Scottish reformed theologian from the 16th century, very influential man in those times in the reformation movement. The first time that he was ordained when he was declared that he should be the minister of this church and he said that hereafter you are the one who is to minister from the word of God. The man was so overcome by the thought of it, he just wept. He just wept and wept, wept and wept and he went to his room, he went to his house. He could not speak anything that day because he was gripped by the gravity of this situation. that here is this man who is now going to be responsible for teaching, for ministering from the Word of God to the flock of God. Such was the zeal or such was the desire towards God that such men had in the past.

That's how teaching was considered that this is a very grave thing, this is a very responsible thing that one has to be very careful in. very reverently approaching because we are handling something very precious. We are handling the truth as we saw from John's Gospel. This is what was never given before. This is what the Lord wanted to give to His disciples but they could not handle it at that time. But it is the Spirit of Truth who gave everything to us in this writing. The truth, all truth, everything needed is here. And so every time a teacher stands before the people of God, it's absolutely necessary that it is the truth being told. It cannot be the opinions of men, it cannot be the wisdom of men, it cannot be one's preferences, but it must be the Word of God.

It is with that realization that one has to stand before the people of God in ministering. And as we saw earlier, it has to be with understanding one's own weakness, one's own limitations. and relying greatly upon the Spirit of God because only He can actually teach anything to anyone. James gives us a litmus test. For those who would be too eager to step up and to take this place of teaching, James wants them to see very clearly a litmus test. He has already done this in verse 26 of chapter 1. For those who wanted to think that they are religious, that they have no need for reformation, they have no need for correction, they have no need for growth in the will of the Lord. He already said, this is your litmus test, check your tongue. Normally when you go to a doctor, a general physician, that's also one thing that they keep doing, they check your tongue, because that is physically also already a very good indicator of how you are doing physically.

the colour of the tongue, what's happening there, it only gives them enough indications what are you physically. James says spiritually that's also very much the case. Check your tongue, check the use of it and you will come to see where you are standing. So the one who is thinking he is very high religious man, check your tongue, don't deceive yourself, you will come to the ground. The same here in verse 3, James wants us to understand it is to be taken with much seriousness that teaching as a ministry should be in that dependence on the Holy Spirit, understanding the weakness of the flesh, best demonstrated in where we stand with the tongue. He says in verse 2, in many things we offend all, we stumble or we all stumble. Notice again, He saying we here, He is not excluding Himself.

So this is not a topic on or He is not telling about... sinlessness, he is not saying sinless perfection. He along with John, in 1st John as well, they use the words we. If we sin, then we have an advocate. If we confess our sins, it's always we. They are including themselves in these situations. And we know that these are apostles, but they are not Christ. No man is like Christ, sinless and perfect. They are all though far advanced in the spiritual matters, in the spiritual journey, they are yet men. They are also yet susceptible to sin. And that's what James is putting here, that everyone should realize this part, that in many things, we all stumble, in many things, we offend all. And the greatest of that demonstrations is from the tongue that he says.

If any man stumbled not, offend not in word, the same is a perfect man and able also to brittle the whole body. James says that if one is able to actually control perfectly the use of their tongue, they have more or less figured out their whole life. They have more or less figured out how to overcome every other sin because this is the most difficult thing to do. If one is able to actually control their tongue to speak when you ought to speak, speak the right things. to keep quiet when you ought to keep quiet, to have all the wisdom needed in all of these things, to speak the right word in season, always seasoned with salt, all these things together at all times, if one has figured out to do that, then indeed you are a perfect man. And James wants to bring us the influence of this tongue, how powerful an influence it is.

And again remember this is primarily about the teaching, about how powerfully can good teaching, sound teaching be taken and how destructively can also false teaching, that teaching which is not from God have its effect. So, it takes us through three illustrations. First, about horses. We hold, we put bits in the horse's mouth that they may obey us and we turn about their whole body. We all know horses, we have seen at least in videos how horses are. Wild horses are very dangerous. They are really difficult to do anything with. are for all practical purposes to humans, not of any use. They are unprofitable. But they have such massive strength.

They are so brave. We see that they would be used in wars primarily because they are really brave. They can just go forward to face any danger, any threat, never afraid of things. They have such courage. They have such strength within them, internally, from within. But how do they control it? By a very small object, a metal object. So this bit here is not food, it is about a metal object harnessed to the horse's mouth which tied to a rope is what gives control, gives regulation to this horse's movement. So that small bridle, that small metal object, James says is able to control something so powerful and make it useful. That's the point here.

That something so small when used rightly can put something like a horse's strength to good use. Then he talks about ships in verse 4, behold also the ships which though they be so great and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm withers over the governor listed. So you have such massive ships even in that time, massive ships which can easily be taken to and fro by the winds, by the waves, but you can control that ship by a very small wheel, by very small helm. A big object when controlled rightly by that small controller can again be put to good use. It is not adversely impacted by the external influences, by the by the waves but it is going according to the desire of the man in control. That's what James is saying here that if we can control the tongue then it can be put to much profitable use.

Controlling the tongue, this very small object in our body just like you control a horse with that small brittle metal object, if you can control our tongue it is going to be of much great use. Same goes with the illustration of the ship that then we are not affected by the external things but rather just like the helm, a small helm controls and goes according to the desire of the governor. Same way if one can control the tongue, it can also be put to the right course. It can go where this man actually wants it to go, its life to go. And these are the good ways, good examples of how the tongue can be used. In the next one he says, verse 5 onwards, about fire, about how a destructive power is also seen in the same tongue. It takes a very understandable illustration for all of us.

We have heard, we have read, we have seen also recently last year especially, they were in the news so much about fires that can just easily consume cities. Forest fires which are started accidentally by someone not switching off some plug by sometimes somebody camping in a forest not putting out their coal fire properly or someone accidentally just using a matchstick incorrectly and the dry forest forest floor quickly, exponentially multiplies this fire to consume a whole forest, to consume cities, houses, everything is entirely destroyed in its path. So you see, much power that a little start, a little spark can have. That's also what the tongue can do. So again, coming back to teaching, in how or what is being taught, if there is sound teaching, if there is teaching according to the Word of God, then the effect would be that it is indeed moving according to the course that God wants us to move in.

If it is indeed sound teaching, then we see that it is equipped more and more for the work of God. But in case it is the other way, where it is false teaching, where it is teaching that can divide, then it can also bring great damage. Great damage can be done by those who are irreverently handling the Word of God, who are handling the Word of God carelessly and putting themselves into a place which they were not called. by God to do. And we have to look at that portion also. Many places we see about the false teaching. In Acts 20, Paul warns the Ephesian elders how after his departure, there would be savage wolves, some even coming from within and who will distort truth. Truth has been given, they will distort truth.

Let's turn to Romans chapter 16 verse 17. Now I beseech you brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you have learned and avoid them. Mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine. So one of the ways divisions happen amongst the people of God is indeed through teaching something that differs. That is what heresy is in its root. heresy is to teach something that is different, diverse, that is not the truth, that departs from the truth. And then there are people who will go after that diversion, who will go after that distortion. And then there is groupism. And then you see the people of God getting divided based on such teaching, such differing, diverse, distorted truth being preached from the pulpit.

can result in actual realized divisions in the assemblies as well. We have seen a lot of dangers, we seen how carefully this must be handled. So how does one handle it then? We already mentioned, it must be realizing one's own weakness. Again, again, we stress, James is not trying to scare teachers away, he is not saying, don't ever think of teaching, don't ever think that you are able to teach, that's not the point here at all. But James is again and again giving us the gravity of the situation. And how may we approach it then? Firstly, knowing the weakness of our flesh, knowing that we are, like James puts it, it is so easy for us to be stumbling, it is so easy for us to offend others, especially through the use of our tongue.

And we ought to work on, indeed, living a life that... is consistent with the truth that is being preached. We saw the examples of the scribes or the Pharisees. That is the one thing that clearly shows them to be false teachers. They can say a lot of things, but there is no practicing of what they saying. Firstly, that is what needs to be always observed. In the case of Ezra, that's what we see. He set his heart to do three things. He wanted to know the Word of God, he wanted to obey it, and it is only then, the third thing that we see, He wanted to teach it to Israel. He wanted to know it, he wanted to obey it and then he wanted to teach it.

This obedient step, when skipped, then there are dangers in the ministry itself and for the health of the assembly. But how may we obey? And there comes the point of it is only by the Holy Spirit. We have a verse here in verse 7 that the tongue James says, how it is untameable for every kind of bees, of birds, of serpents, of things in the sea is tamed and had been tamed of mankind by man's power, by man's influence, man's genius, man's cleverness and strength and everything man has tamed everything every dangerous being but the tongue can no man tame it is an unruly evil full of deadly poison no man can tame. It's a very clear indication of what James is saying there. It is not going to be tamed manly by man's power, by the flesh, by the determination of the flesh, by the strength of the flesh, by the excellence of our flesh, be it our knowledge, be it our discipline, be it our anything.

The tongue is not going to be tamed by man. But it can be tamed by God. It must be tamed by the Holy Spirit of God. who resides within us. This alone is the way that we may see this so naturally prone to destruction object that is placed in our bodies, in our members. If it has to be reversed, if it has to be transformed for the work of God, it entirely has to be by the Spirit of God. We may read one verse also in that connection. Colossians 3 verse 16. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

The use of the tongue is so reversed in the life of a believer. In the life of a natural man, it is not possible. They will not be able to tame their tongue. A believer also in his flesh, if he tries in his flesh to tame the tongue, he will fail. But there is a way that God has given to us, it is His Holy Spirit. He is the one who will transform, who is willing to transform and who can transform the use of our tongue to that which is fitting to Him and for His service. When one's life is in control of the Spirit of God in that way, then James' point also being, it is fitting for the ministry. as well. is fitting because there has been the very realization of the obedience of that power of God in one's life. It is also fitting that they are teaching, they are bringing out the truth of God through these tongues that have been sanctified by the Holy Spirit. May His name be glory.