Scripture: James 3:3-11, Matthew 12:34-37 and Matthew 26
Video Link: https://youtu.be/mjjmeei6YjM
Audio Link: Stream Sermon – 9 Aug 2026 – The Tongue by tawabaptist | Listen online for free on SoundCloud
Structure:
- Introduction
- The tongue punches above its weight
- The tongue has a mind of its own
- Learning to control your tongue
- Conclusion
Introduction:
Good morning everyone.
Over the past few weeks, we have been looking at the Bible and Jesus through the lens of different body parts. So far, we have considered the eyes, the hands and the kidneys. This morning our focus is the tongue.
When I think about the tongue, the image of a surgeon’s scalpel comes to mind. A scalpel is a powerful instrument. It has tremendous potential for good or evil. In the hands of someone who knows what they are doing, a scalpel can bring healing. But in the wrong hands it can end a person’s life. In the same way, our tongue has power to give life or take it.
There are many verses in the Bible which talk about the power of the tongue. James 3 is the classic passage though. From James 3, verse 3 we read…
3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5 Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. 7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by humankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?
May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.
The tongue punches above its weight:
You have probably heard of the phrase, ‘punching above your weight’. A person or a team or a country that punches above its weight is said to have more power or influence than people would expect them to have for their size.
Vatican City, the smallest country in the world, punches above its weight.
It occupies just 120 acres, with a population of only 500 people (mostly priests and Swiss Guards). Yet despite its tiny size, 1.3 billion Catholics around the world look to the Pope and Vatican City for direction.
Iceland is another example of a country that punches above its weight. Despite the cold weather, volcanic eruptions and a population of only 370,000 people, Iceland is one of the happiest and most peaceful nations on earth. It has also emerged as a leader in renewable energy, proving that size is not everything.
The tongue is not the strongest muscle in the body, but it is the strongest for its size. It never gets tired (like other muscles) and it can achieve more (with less effort) than your arms and legs combined. The tongue punches above its weight.
James makes this point in the verses we read earlier. The tongue is like the bit which goes in a horse’s mouth. Although the bit is small, it turns the whole horse. So too, the tongue (as small as it is) directs a person’s life.
Likewise, the rudder of a ship is relatively small, but it steers the ship where the pilot wants it to go; even though the ship is much larger and is driven by strong winds. Likewise, our tongue has the power to help us hold our course when we are driven by currents and storms too great for us.
You may wonder, how does my tongue direct my life? What good does my tongue do when I must face the storms and changing tides of circumstance? Well, the words we speak with our tongues can have a powerful and far-reaching effect.
When Abigail’s husband, Nabal, insulted David, wise words on Abigail’s tongue prevented David from taking revenge.
Or when Haman plotted genocide against the Jews, gracious words in the king’s ear, from queen Esther’s tongue, saved the Jews.
Or when a woman caught in adultery was brought before Jesus, the Lord saved the woman from stoning, not with his fists, but with his tongue, saying: “Whoever is without sin may throw the first stone.”
Winston Churchill’s tongue guided the nation of England through the difficult days of the Battle of Britian and indeed through the whole of the war.
Survivors of domestic violence and sexual abuse find a way out by not keeping silent but using their tongues to speak up and ask for help.
The words we speak to ourselves can also have a powerful effect on the direction our lives take. If you tell yourself, ‘God is with me to help me’, you are much more likely to find the courage to face life’s challenges and overcome.
Returning to James 3. Verse 5 says: Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts.
Boasting is often considered a sinful activity in the Bible, especially when the boasting is not legitimate. Pride goes before a fall and all that. But the tongue can legitimately boast of its power to determine a person’s destiny. [1]
As J.B. Phillips paraphrases: “the human tongue is physically small, but what tremendous effects it can boast of.”
Or as Will Warden paraphrases: “the human tongue punches far above its weight.”
The tongue has a mind of its own:
Sadly, this may not always be a good thing, for our tongue has a mind of its own. As I said at the beginning of this message, the tongue (like a scalpel) can be used for good or evil. It can heal or it can harm. It can direct your life along the right path, or it can send you down the path of destruction.
From verse 5, James continues: Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
In 1886 Robert Louis Stevenson wrote a novella titled: Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Dr Jekyll is a decent man, a kind and fair man, but he has a darker side which Stevenson calls his ‘Mr Hyde’.
The Mr Hyde of Dr Jekyll’s personality comes out at times, especially at night and commits all sorts of heinous crimes and offences. Later, the poor Dr Jekyll has to face the consequences and make reparation for Mr Hyde. In the end, Mr Hyde took over.
Our tongue can be like Mr Hyde; with a mind of its own, as uncontrollable and destructive as a forest fire. A world of evil among the parts of our body.
Our tongue writes cheques we cannot honour. It makes us guarantor for debts we cannot pay. It says things which embarrass us and hurt others; things we wish we could take back. But like the proverbial toothpaste, once it is out of the tube there’s no putting the words back.
The words of our tongue, let loose in the world, can have a catastrophic effect beyond what we may have intended or imagined. Indeed, our tongue can set in motion a series of events which are beyond our control.
How many wars have been started, how many revolutions and riots activated, by the tongue of some despot? Time and time again we see the world set on fire with violence by an out-of-control tongue. Our tongue has a mind of its own.
Sometimes people want to minimise the sins of the tongue, as if the words we speak are somehow less harmful than other bad things people might do. But this is not how the Bible sees it. In Romans 1, Paul lists sins of the tongue (like deceit, gossip and slander) alongside murder. To gossip against someone is to show contempt for God.
To slander someone is to say false things about that person, things which damage their reputation. When you slander someone or pass on gossip, you undermine trust and you isolate the person you are slandering. You cut them off from justice and from the community. It breeds hurt and dissension.
From verse 7, James continues to highlight the dangerous nature of the tongue: 7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by humankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
In these verses James compares the human tongue with all sorts of wild animals. The implication here is that the tongue is more dangerous than a wolf or a bear or a tiger or a snake, for it cannot be tamed as those animals can.
Verse 8, with its reference to the tongue being full of deadly poison, points to the reality that our tongue has the power to kill. The thing with poison is that it can only harm you if it gets under your skin. And therein lies the danger. The words of a poison tongue can easily get under our skin and do all sorts of harm.
The old saying, ‘Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me’, is so very wrong. Bones and bruises heal a lot quicker than hurtful words from a lying tongue.
Putting it altogether, James is saying, our tongue has the power to direct our whole life (for good or ill) and yet our tongue is not directable by us. That puts us in a difficult position. Our tongue has us by the short and curlies. We bear the responsibility for what our tongue says but we are not able to control our tongue all the time.
Learning to control your tongue:
We might think James’ message about the tongue being an instrument for evil is a bit strong or a bit negative, but James is echoing Jesus on this subject.
If anything, Jesus’ teaching about the tongue and the words we speak was even saltier still.
In Matthew 12, Jesus is unfairly accused by the Pharisees of being in league with the devil. In reply the Lord says to the Pharisees…
34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. 35 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.
Behind me here (in the sanctuary) is a flower arrangement created by Luke.
In the background are some flowers arranged in the shape of a heart.
And directly in front of the heart is a tongue. In a spiritual sense there is a direct connection between the heart and the tongue. The mouth speaks what the heart is full of.
If we think of our heart as a well or a spring of water, then the tongue is like the bucket we use to draw out the water. If the well of our heart is full of good things, then good things will be on the bucket of our tongue. But if our heart is full of evil, then evil words will be on our tongue. What do the words on your tongue say about the contents of your heart?
James makes the point that out of the same mouth come praise and cursing.
The implication being that our hearts are not pure. The well of our heart contains both good and evil, a mixture of brackish salty water and fresh clean water. Of course, a well like that is no good for drinking from, because the salty water contaminates the fresh water.
Returning to Matthew 12. Jesus goes on to say, from verse 36…
36 But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”
The Pharisees’ words about Jesus were empty words. They were untrue words. The Pharisees condemned themselves when they accused Jesus of being in league with the devil. The words of their tongue revealed the contents of their heart; that they had rejected Jesus. If we reject Jesus, God will reject us.
Jesus’ words to the Pharisees, in Matthew 12, serve as a warning to us. All of us have spoken empty words at some point. Words we did not mean. Words we cannot justify. Words we wish we could take back. Words which could be used as evidence against us. What hope do we have?
Well, Jesus is our hope. If we accept Jesus, God will accept us. Jesus does for us what we cannot do for ourselves. Jesus alone had perfect control of his tongue and indeed his whole body. He never sinned, not once. If we are in Christ, then we are clothed in Jesus’ righteousness, not our own failure.
As the apostle Paul says in his letter to the Romans: There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. This does not give us license to be careless with our words. To the contrary, it calls us to imitate Jesus by learning to control our tongue.
What then does controlling your tongue look like? Does it mean remaining silent and saying nothing? Well, no. Complete silence is not the answer. Not speaking at all does not prove you have control of yourself. If you are going to learn to control your tongue, then you will need to speak sometimes.
Learning to control your tongue is a bit like learning to play football.
You don’t learn how to control the ball and score goals by standing on the sideline. You learn how to control the ball by getting on the field and kicking the ball around with the other players.
Sure, you will trip up and miss spectacularly sometimes. You might even be penalised or yellow carded occasionally. Other times though you will be right on target and maybe even score a goal.
As in football, so in life; the aim is to learn to control our tongue. Sometimes we will get it wrong; other times we will nail it. We do our best in the knowledge that our best will often fall short, but that’s okay, for we are trusting in God’s grace, not our own abilities or goodness.
God gave us a tongue to communicate. We need to talk. If we don’t use our tongue to speak, we do ourselves and others all sorts of mental and emotional harm. We deprive ourselves of social connection and friendship.
Our tongues are a bridge to intimacy. They help us to understand others and make ourselves understood. Our tongue has the potential to shield us from loneliness. We need to learn to use our tongue wisely.
We are not all the same. Some of us like to think about what we say before we say it. Measure twice, cut once. Others are more spontaneous. They just blurt things out without too much thought. Cut first, then try and make it fit later.
The apostle Peter had a tendency to blurt things out without thinking. Sometimes what came out was good. Other times not so much. Even when he said the wrong thing though, it led to a teachable moment, so we are pleased in a way that Peter wasn’t too careful about what he said.
The night before he died, Jesus predicted that all his disciples would desert him. Peter was adamant that he would never disown Jesus, he would rather die first. But Jesus said: 34 “Truly I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”
A few hours later, Peter finds himself standing in the courtyard outside the place where Jesus is on trial. Three times Peter is outed as being with Jesus and three times he denies it, in the end with curses.
Despite the heads up he received from Jesus and despite his best intentions, Peter cannot control his tongue. Fresh water and salt-water from the same well. Noble promises and rash curses from the same mouth. We are no better.
Immediately a rooster crowed. 75 Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.
Fortunately, the story does not end there. A few days later, after Jesus had risen from the dead, the Lord takes Peter aside and says to him three times, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Three times Peter had denied Jesus behind his back. Three times he gets to reaffirm his love to Jesus’ face.
Jesus reinstates Peter saying, ‘Feed my lambs’. Jesus did not use his tongue to criticise or condemn. Jesus used his tongue to heal and restore.
At Pentecost, Peter’s tongue was touched by fire from heaven. In the power of the Holy Spirit, Peter preached the gospel and thousands came to faith in Jesus.
Peter’s restoration is instructive for us. When we blow it; when our tongue runs away from us and we regret our words, it does not mean the end of the road. There is a way back. God’s grace is sufficient for us. His power is made perfect in our weakness.
Let us pray…
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord. Amen.
Questions for discussion or reflection:
- What stands out for you in reading these Scriptures and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
- Discuss / reflect on the images James uses to highlight the power of the tongue. E.g. bit, rudder, fire. What do these images share in common with the tongue? What unique insight does each image lend to the tongue?
- What examples can you think of (from the Bible or more recent history) of the tongue directing the course of someone’s life? How has your tongue directed your life (for good or ill)?
- Why are the sins of the tongue (things like deceit, gossip and slander) so serious? What damage do these sorts of sins cause?
- What is the connection between the heart and the tongue (or mouth)? What do the words on your tongue say about the contents of your heart?
- How do the words of Jesus in Matthew 12:36 make you feel? (But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken.) Why do you feel this way?
- What does controlling our tongue look like? Why is it important to speak? What is a good (wise) use of our tongue?
Bibliography
William Barclay, The Letters of James and Peter, 1965.
R.V.G. Tasker, James: An Introduction and Commentary, 1957.
Alec Motyer, BST: The Message of James, 1985.
William Varner, James, Evangelical Exegetical Commentary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), 319–365.
Douglas Mangum, ed., Lexham Context Commentary: New Testament, Lexham Context Commentary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2020), Jas 3:1–12.
Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Jas 3:1–12.
Douglas Moo, “James,” in Evangelical Commentary on the Bible, vol. 3 of Baker Reference Library (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1995), 1157–1158.
Douglas J. Moo, James: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 16 of Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985), 122–135.
[1] Douglas Moo, 122-135.
Tawa Baptist 