Two weeks ago we considered James 4:7-10 which says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”
In those three verses James gave 10 commands. When these commands are done by a believer they will receive grace and be exalted by God. Ever since I preached that sermon I have tried to wake up every morning and pray through those verses before I get out of bed. At first, I felt good about what I was doing but I soon discovered that I did not yet fully understand the importance of this process and how these verses can be applied to my life.
I began to see the importance of these verses as I began to study the things that James began to say next. With this in mind let's read James 4:11-12 which says, “Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and also to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?”
In those two verses you probably noticed that there were four words that are often repeated. For example,
The word ‘judge’ shows up 5x
The word ‘law’ (with no article) shows up 5x
The words ‘speak against’ shows up 3x
The word ‘brother’ shows up 3x in just one verse
Observing these words may help us to see what James’ main point is. It is something like this, “God is the only Lawgiver and Judge, who will judge every person, He alone is able to save and to destroy, therefore, we must stop judging one another and speaking against one another.”
James begins verse 11 with these words, ‘Do not speak evil against one another, brothers.’ There are three things to consider about these words. First, the verb ‘do not speak evil’ is an imperative verb. This means that James is not giving Christians a suggestion or a recommendation. No, James is giving a command that is to be obeyed by God’s people.
Surely there would be many practical reasons why we should obey this command. For example, we think we are smart enough and well-informed enough to judge others, however, this is rarely the case. Let me illustrate this. This week Jim F. reminded me that he and Claire have been married for 65 years. After all this time Jim still admits that he still has a lot to learn about Claire. Claire, however, like most wives knows Jim better than he knows himself. And yet, I am sure that Claire does not always know every detail and every bit of information about Jim so that she could be the best judge regarding her husband.
If this is true of Jim and Claire, how much more is this true of me and you. There are some people in this church who have worshiped together for several decades. Over that time they have gotten to know each other really well, but they still would make lousy judges towards each other.
Yes, there are many practical reasons why we should obey our text today and not judge others. James, however, does not give us a long list of the practical reasons why we should not judge our neighbor. No, instead James goes to the heart of the matter and says that when we speak against someone we speak evil against the law and judge it. When we do this we are not being doers of the Law of God but a judge of it. Therefore, James gives us this command, “Do not speak evil against one another, brothers.”
Secondly, the command that James gives here is in the present continuous tense which means that this command is to be obeyed right now, immediately, and continuously. James knows that these congregations were experiencing a lot of discord and strife; therefore, immediate action is required. (7-10) A biblical response is to be implemented without delay. If we fail to obey this command it will not take long before there are fractions, divisions, and warring going on in the church. Therefore, the church is to continually obey this command and when we sin in this way we ought to quickly seek reconciliation with those individuals.
Third, this command is also in the plural tense which means that this command is given to everyone. This command is to be spoken among the whole congregation and it is to be immediately put it into practice by all.
When James gives this command he could have then said with the apostle Paul, “I am writing these things to you so that you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.” (1 Timothy 3:14-15) It is with this much weight and authority that we ought to consider these words.
When James commands us to ‘not speak evil against’ each other he is addressing a terrible sin that is all to common among God’s people and it must be addressed and stopped. James is speaking of the fact that believers are not to engage in back-biting and talking maliciously against one another.
In these congregations there ought not to be defaming each other, ruining someone's good reputation, or the slandering of another person. When done these things tarnish someone’s reputation. These words will always injure someones character, cast aspersions on their reputation, and vilify them before others.
Illustration of how easily this can happen: Dick K. Tells the story of a woman that he worked with at Sentry who came into the office with a big bruise on her leg. Her coworkers asked her how this happened and with a smile on her face she would tell them how her husband was working on the deck that weekend. At one point he got up and went to the garage and while he was gone she came out of the house and fell because the boards were missing.
At the beginning of the day she could smile and laugh about this but after being asked about this throughout the day, and after hearing everyone’s comments about how her husband should have been more careful, she became increasingly angry at her husband. Dick always finishes this story by saying, “By the time she left to go home from work we were all glad that we were not married to her that evening. We were all glad we were not her husband!”
No one at work that day tried to make this woman angry at her husband but that is what happened. If our words can stir up strife, conflict, and anger this easily, shouldn’t we be very careful? And if this can happen even when we are not trying to intentionally do this, then how much worse can our words be when we are intentionally malicious with our words?
Apparently, there were many in these congregations who were carelessly and maliciously speaking against, criticizing, and judging others. This was probably done in private, behind someone’s back, and with the express purpose of doing that person harm in some way.
There are times when we need to make judgments or address certain things with others. This should always be done, however, face to face and not behind their backs, secretly, covertly, without someone’s knowledge. That is the sin that is being committed here that James is addressing.
Illustration: Recently I went a courtroom where the Judge was sentencing a person. I left that courtroom convinced that the judge knew the seriousness of the role that he plays in that case. I say this because this judge spent quite a bit of time laying out the facts, his line of thought, and his reasoning for the sentence he was about to give this person. You could tell he did not treat this flippantly, casually, or lightly. As I listened to him speak I couldn’t help but ask myself, “Do I think through and reason my words this carefully before I speak?” No, shamefully, I do not often do this and it leads to terrible consequences.
Notice that in verse 11 the word ‘brother’ is mentioned three times. James is emphasizing this family relationship between believers in this verse. We should ask, “Why is James emphasizing this type of relationship in this verse so much?”
We know that it is not the proper role for a ‘brother’ or a ‘sister’ to play the judge towards the other. It is not uncommon for brothers and sisters to try to play the role of a judge. Sometimes a sibling will try to tell the parent how they should discipline their brother or sister as if they know best. This, however, is not their proper role and the parent will not put up with it.
It appears that these believers had a tendency to place themselves in this role as a judge. It appears that these Christians had a habit of sitting in the judges seat because this is not the first time that James had to confront them for this. In James 2:2-4 James wrote these words, “For if a man wearing a gold ring comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, ‘You sit over here in a good place,’ while you say to the poor man, ‘You stand over there,’ or ‘Sit down at my feet,’ have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?” Notice that here James gives us more practical reasons for not being a judge- we are sinful and often given to have evil thoughts. This is why in Galatians 6 Paul says, “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restroe him in a spirit of gentleness.” (Galatians 6:1)
After giving this command at the beginning of verse 11 James gives three reasons why we are not to speak evil against our brothers. The first reason is because it is a violation of God’s law. James says in 11b, “The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law.”
These words, “The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law.”, ought to surprise and even shock us as evangelical Christians. As such, we are quick to profess quite boldly that we believe that the Word of God is inspired, authoritative, and sufficient in all things regarding faith and practice.
As Evangelicals, like Peter, we can’t think that we would never speak against the Word of God or exalt ourselves over it. (Matthew 26:34) We would like to think that we would never despise God’s word. And yet, James says that if we speak against our brothers and sisters in Christ we are speaking evil against the law and we are judging God’s law.
What law is James referring to when he says this?
James could be speaking specifically about the 10 commandments when he says this. When we slander and maliciously talk about others we are breaking God’s Moral Law. It is worth noting, however, that even though this word ‘law’ is used five times in our text there is never a definite article before it. In other words, when we find the word ‘the’ in ‘the law’ this word has been added by the translators for ease of reading and not because it is there in the Greek. This probably means that James had a broad view of the tern ‘law’ when he uses this term. This means that James is thinking of the moral law, the whole of scriptures, and the royal law which tells us that when we love God and our neighbor we fulfill the entire law.
As he writes this James may be thinking of passages like Leviticus 19 which says, “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the LORD.” (15-16) Then we read these words next, “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of Him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.” (17-18)
The second reason that we are not to speak this way is addressed at the end of verse 11c. James says, “But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.” (1:22-25) Here is another example of where James has already addressed how this congregation needed to be doers of the Word and not hearers only. (James 1:24-27)
In our society we see many practical examples of this. For example,
During COVID the same politicians who wrote laws and demanded so much of others proved to be hypocrites by how they acted. They had made themselves judges over others but they did not practice the very laws that they forced others to live by. (Matthew 23:1-4)
Another example of this is when we see a state or federal legislator pulled over by a policeman and they try to get out of the ticket by confessing that they are someone important in the government. These individuals try to make the case that because of their position they should not be held to the same standards that others are.
None of us likes to see a politician act this way. We know that when they do this they are acting like judges and they are guilty of breaking the law. Similarly, James says that when believers speak evil against others in the church they have exalted themselves up to the position of a judge and they are not being a doer of the Word of God. We know this type of behavior is wrong when a politician does it and James wants us to know that this behavior is wrong for Christians to do as well and this behavior will come with even greater consequences!
The third reason that James gives for not speaking this way because in verse 12a James says, “There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy.”
Some of the best parenting advice that I have ever heard came from Ray Haas. He said that when his three boys were young he used to say to them, “Do this!” Then when his boys would ask, “Why do I have to do this?” Ray would tell them “Because I told you to.” For a while this seemed to work so Ray did not think that he could be doing something better.
One day, however, Ray realized that there was a problem with this. One day these boys would grow up and be out from under neath his authority and then how would they live? When he realized this Ray began to always instruct his boys with the scriptures. (Ephesians 6:4)
Ray began to realize that if he did this then even after his boys moved out from his authority they would still know that they were living under God’s rule and reign wherever they went. After his boys moved out they were free from his authority but they were still under the authority of God. No matter where they went in life they could not escape the responsibility of obeying their maker.
You and I instinctively think and act with the wisdom of this world. (One of the main points of this book is to begin to live according to God’s wisdom.) We too probably had parents who would tell us to obey them because they told us to and many of us can’t think of even one time when our parents pointed us to a judge who was higher than them.
And yet, now that we have become Christians we realize that there is a someone who has a higher authority than everyone else. James wasn’t always a believer but once he believed he confessed that he was a servant of God. (James 1:1) This means that James now sought to obey the LORD and His Word. Like Ray Haas, James had come to have a high view of the Scriptures and it was his aim and desire, by the grace of God, to obey them. (James 4:6-10) Not only this but his desire was to teach others that this should be their goal and aim too.
There is a Judge who has the power to save and to destroy and He alone can sit in the seat of Judgment. Therefore, as we come to the end of our text James asks in verse 12, “But who are you to judge your neighbor?” There is only one Person who has the ability to save and to destroy and it is not you and I. No, it is the LORD alone who can do this. Therefore, He alone should be sitting in the seat of judgment.
The truth is, we are often prone to take this seat of judgment. This being the case, we desperately need again to obey James 4:7-10. We desperately need the full counsel of God so that we can see our sin and respond appropriately so that we can receive God’s grace and be exalted by Him alone. We cannot have any success in trying to exalt ourselves. Therefore, let us determine to do the opposite of this. Let us determine to be a humble and contrite people who cultivate a heart that weeps, laments, and sorrows over our sin.
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