Henry Krabbendam - James - World Evangelical Alliance

into a burning issue. “You must be godly,” God proclaims in James 2, “and to
that end I give you the law as the standard of obedience, as the substance of
holiness, and faith as its dynamics, as the engine that sets it in motion.” Now,
what else would we yet need or want? Is all this not sufficient? Well, James
informs us, you must still learn to grasp how holiness is attained in the experience
of the believer. Practical godliness does not “just happen.” It is this issue
of implementation that James addresses in the present section. In doing so
he moves decisively beyond the subject matter of Section II into new territory.
His message consists of three main points.
First, it is not within the ability of man to bring about holiness (Jam. 3:1-
9). The poison in a “small member,” called the tongue, exemplifies this beyond
a shadow of a doubt. In fact, Paul would later enlarge on this and add
that this poison, designated as “indwelling sin” (Rom. 7:20), is to be found in
“all our members” (Rom. 7:23), that is, in every part, aspect or phase of human
existence. In a word, all of human existence is poison by definition. Second,
this implies that all holiness of any sort and to any degree can, must, and
does only come from “above” (Jam. 3:9-18). In a further word, the allpervasive
poison by definition has only one antidote, and that is grace! In a
later context Paul underscores this feature as well, when he emphasizes that
all good works are laid up in Christ (Eph. 2:10), and therefore must, and do,
originate in heaven (Col. 3:1-4). Third, only the recognition and acknowledgment
of man’s “nothingness,” coupled with a constant and consistent dependence
upon Him, will make practical godliness a reality (Jam. 4:1-10).
James shares all these three elements in Chapter 3:1-4:10. Whatever
concrete issues James addresses or whatever picturesque language he uses,
there is always more than meets the eye at first sight. All of the component
elements are woven together in a careful network of thought, and all aim to
disclose the deep structure of the Epistle. In the process it reveals a tapestry
that could not be more exquisite and conveys a message that could not be
more compelling. One commentator seems both to grasp this and to grapple
with it. He cannot make up his mind whether James 3, especially in the light
of all the metaphors, such as “bits and horses, rudders and ships, fires and
forests” suggests “an impossible possibility or a possible impossibility.” Bits
and rudders entail control (possibility) and fire the lack of control (impossibility)
(Brosend, 87-88). Regrettably he does not elaborate on this further. But
here he has, indeed, the hermeneutical key to James 3:1-4:10. Impossible by
definition! Possible by grace (only)! Promising, all right, since the tongue, as
the key to perfection (Jam. 3:2), resembles bits and rudders, but still impossible
because it is essentially fire and poison, and never does (reality) nor can
(capability) transcend this level or move beyond it.
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