James 3:15 KJV [15] “This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.”      When we promote ourselves, we create envy and strife among others.  It will never uplift our brethren or encourage the weak, and glorifying the flesh never glorifies God. When we strive to be the most popular or number one, it is not of God.      Self-promotion is earthly, sensual, and devilish. The Devil’s goal was to be number one, and he wanted to promote himself above God’s throne. It is so wicked to magnify ourselves! That should be our attitude when it comes to …

James 3:14 KJV [14] “But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.”      James gives a direct command in this verse to “glory not”. The tongue loves to brag on the flesh. We must be careful to guard against lifting ourselves up. The pride of self-promotion has destroyed the testimony of many people. Several years ago, I  read a quote that said, “Pride and grace never dwell in the same place.”      Some people like to brag about how they have mistreated someone. They think that it makes that person …

James 3:13 KJV [13] “Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.”     Knowledge enables us to know things in part, but wisdom enables us to put those things together. For example, a man can be a genius, have a photographic memory, master computer skills, and have many intellectual abilities, but he may struggle to complete simple tasks in life. He has knowledge, but he lacks wisdom.      A knowledgeable man may speak many words but never say anything worth hearing. On the other …

James 3:12 KJV  [12]  “Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.”      James gives us a simple fact that we can all understand. A fountain cannot give forth two kinds of water, and a tree cannot bear two types of fruit. Whenever we drink from a fountain, we expect clear sweet water. When we plant an apple tree, we expect the tree to produce apples. These are simple facts that everyone would agree on.      The same is true about the vocabulary of the Christian. …

James 3:11 KJV [11] “Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?”      I remember as a boy going with my dad to a spring on the side of the road in the town where we lived. We would take plastic jugs and fill them to the brim with clear, cold water. It tasted very pure and refreshing, especially on a hot summer day. The spring was always faithful to give us the same clear, cold water. Recently, I was driving through my hometown, and I stopped by the spring to see if anything had changed. …

James 3:10 KJV [10] “Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.”      Our thought in this verse is a continuation of our last verse. James reminds us again not to allow blessing and cursing out of the same mouth. You see, a double tongue is a hypocritical tongue. Our speech can confirm our faith, but it can also condemn our faith. It can reveal any hypocrisy that may be within us.      Some people are good at talking out of both sides of their mouths. What they say is …

James 3:9 KJV [9] “Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.”      I remember as a boy, a religious man who lived on our street. I call him religious because I don’t know if he was ever truly saved. I’m not saying the man wasn’t saved, but I remember questioning his faith in God. I know this sounds judgmental, but the things he said and did were very confusing to me.      I would see him go to church, come home, and even testify about how the …

James 3:8 KJV [8] “But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.”      Why is the tongue so evil? Why can it not be tamed? The answer to these questions is simple. The tongue is full of deadly poison. An evil tongue will not just make one sick, but it will destroy the life of an individual. It defiles the man from the inside out. The tongue fertilizes the wicked soil of his soul. The sin of pride, or perversion, that may be lurking in his heart and mind is soon announced …

James 3:7 KJV [7] “For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:”      God has given man the ability to tame the wild beast of the field, the fowls of the air, and even the animals of the sea. Animals great and small were placed under the authority of man. If you have ever been to a circus, then you have seen this verse come to light. It is both entertaining and fascinating to watch these animals follow the commands given to them …

James 3:6 KJV [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.”     The ancient Greeks considered fire to be one of the major elements in the universe. They placed it alongside water, earth, and air. You can feel and smell fire just like you can feel water, earth, and air. Fire can be extremely helpful to a man if it is used correctly. It can provide him with …