Day 55 - James 3:1-12

Extreme Faith workout
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After 2 weeks of vacation, I am back to my daily workouts in the book of James. It was nice to have a little break, but it is also good to be back studying and applying to my life the book I am preaching from each Sunday morning.

How does James 3:1-12 fit the context of James 2:14-26 and James 3:13-18?
The power and use of the tongue follows up the basic them of the book of James laid out in James 2:14-26: you must demonstrate your faith by works; because faith without works is dead. So, the use of the tongue fits this context because there is no greater test of our faith than how we use our tongue. Then, in the following passage in James 3:13-18, it is talking about true wisdom, and that is demonstrated as well, by how we use our tongue.

James 3:1-12 - a paraphrase
Don't seek to become a teacher, because you will be held responsible for what you teach.
We all sin, but if you do not sin in the use of your tongue, you are complete in the faith.
You can control a horse by the bit in its mouth. You can control a ship by the rudder. So,also, the tongue is small in comparison to the whole body, but it also controls the whole thing. The tongue is small, but like a small fire, it can cause incredible damage. The tongue can negatively affect every aspect of life and gets its destructive power from Hell. You can tame all kinds of animals, but not the tongue. It is restless, evil and can kill like poison. We use our mouth to bless God and then turn around and curse men made in His image. We use our mouth to bless and to curse. It shouldn't be that way. A fountain doesn't send out 2 kinds of water. A tree doesn't bear 2 kinds of fruit. So, our mouths should not bring blessing and cursing.