²For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well.

No one is perfect; we all know that. The apostle John wrote similarly: “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). Yet, do we really believe this? Some are kept from salvation because they think they are not bad enough to need free grace. Sure, they slip up from time to time, but they aren’t that bad. Some Christians theologize that they can reach a state of perfection, where they don’t sin anymore. Some refer to a second work of grace, a kind of holiness in one’s outward life. They might think of James’ reference to stumbling here as unintentional behavior that does not amount to sin. But as we shall see in the next few verses, the stumbling James has in mind is quite severe.

The pervasiveness of sin is taught all through Scripture.

The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it? (Jer. 17:9)

[A]ll have sinned and fall short of the glory of God . . . (Rom. 3:23)

If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. (1 John 1:10)

The trouble is that we too often think of sin as the “big” transgressions, like murder, extramarital sex, cheating on our taxes. Remember what James said in the previous chapter,

For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. (James 2:10)

He is about to examine that statement by using illustrations of how small things can bring about huge effects. However, the point is that our perspective on sin must be an all-or-nothing thing; there is no sliding scale based on how big or significant we think our actions are. James leaves no doubt. Although the elocutionary force cannot be adequately conveyed by words only, James makes the statement, expecting his readers will understand that it is impossible to bridle a person’s whole body. He is about to show the evidence in the small part of the body, the tongue. But the thrust of James’ letter is that we must do the good works of controlling ourselves, which involves our outward behavior. To claim that one is perfect in this proves James’ thesis immediately; such a person is self-deluded and arrogant, and that is sin.

Lord, help me recognize when I callously minimize sin in my life.