The Fires of Hell

“...Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! 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.” (James 3:5-6)

It is interesting to note that every one of the five chapters of the epistle of James mentions the tongue or speech. It is interesting also note that James, one of the four half brothers of Jesus, did not believe in Jesus at first, although they grew up in the same household. But after Calvary, after the resurrection, after the ascension, James and the others were present and took part in Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit. James is later the pastor of the first church in Jerusalem.

Perhaps James had been guilty as an unbeliever of hurling unkind accusations at his older Brother. The cross, the resurrection and Pentecost made the difference in James. That which made a difference in James can make a difference in you.

Just a little spark from the end of a match can result in a devastating forest fire  with hundreds of houses destroyed as we have recently seen. That’s the way the tongue is. A little spark of a word spoken against someone can destroy a life, a family or a church.

James tells us that the origin of such activity is set on fire of hell. The word used here for hell is not “Hades,” or “sheol." It is “gehenna,” the word Jesus used as the lake of fire, never to be quenched, eternal, the place of everlasting punishment. It has been said that the fires of Pentecost cannot burn where the fires of hell are burning. No Christian should ever be guilty of participating in gossip.