James 4:11-17 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is James 4:11-17. Let’s go!
James 4:11 (ESV)
11 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.
On verse 11: How is it that when I bad mouth someone and judge them I am bad mouthing God’s law and judging it? It’s because when I bad mouth or judge another person, I am acting not in accordance with God’s law which tells me to not slander my neighbour and to love my neighbour as myself; rather I am acting in accordance with my own made up law which says, “JB is the judge and jury”. When I bad mouth another person and break God’s law to not slander others, I send the message that God’s law at least in this case is not worth following and that instead I should follow my own law. So by railing and ranting against people who we think have disobeyed God’s law, ironically and hypocritically we break God’s law ourselves and speak evil of the very law we think we’re holding other people accountable to.
James 4:12 (NIV)
12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you–who are you to judge your neighbor?
On verse 12: What does it mean to judge someone? To judge someone means to give the final verdict on that person’s life. God alone is qualified to act as judge. When God judges, his judgments are true and justified (Revelation 16:7). In contrast, when we judge others, it often comes in the form of mercilessly condemning others, railing against their perceived sins and failures while being blind to our own weaknesses and flaws. When we judge others, we end up attacking their character without fully understanding who they are and without much humility, love, or compassion. That’s why Jesus says, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” (Luke6:37) For even Jesus “did not come to judge the world, but to save it” (John 12:47).
So what should you do if you see a brother or sister not living in accordance with God’s Word? Should you just turn a blind eye? Should you not voice any opinion at all when a fellow Christian keeps disobeying God’s command? Were Paul, James, and even Jesus being hypocrites when they would voice a negative assessment about someone else’s character or behaviour? No. When we see a brother or sister living in a way that is contrary to God’s Word, we can and should be concerned. We are even commanded to rebuke that person if we have all our facts straight and we’re in the right place in their life to do so. However, in voicing that concern or that negative opinion, we must always do so gently with an attitude of humility, compassion and love. Let our goal always be to restore and protect, not to reject and attack. Remember that God alone is judge, that we don’t see the full picture and that all of us have our own issues and flaws to deal with.
James 4:13-16 (NIV)
13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.”
14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”
16 As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil.
On verses 13-16: What kind of evil boasting is James warning us against? It’s when I make plans for my future without asking what God wants (v15). It’s when I assume that I have my whole life figured out and that I don’t need God’s help (v13). It’s when I take for granted the time that I have on earth and do not appreciate that life is short and to be treasured (v14). When I act in any of these ways, I am boasting in the prideful and evil way James is warning against. Instead of being evil boasters, may we be those who seek God’s will before we plan our future, and who appreciate every day as if it is our last.
James 4:17 (NIV)
17 Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.
On verse 17: This verse is a sobering reminder that I sin not only when I go out of our way to do wrong things. I also sin every time I don’t go out of my way to do the good that I know I ought to do. There are sins of commission and sins of omission. Even if on a given day you think you didn’t do anything particularly immoral, you can sin just by not doing the moral things that you know you ought to do. That’s why we all need a Saviour. Every moment of my life, I would be disobeying God and incurring His wrath were it not for the blood of Jesus that constantly covers my life.
Heavenly Father, I pray that I would let You be the judge while I just focus on loving people. I pray that I would not be an arrogant boaster who plans his life without consulting You. And thank You that Your mercy, like a constant rain, falls on my life, continually cleansing me of all the wrong I have done and all the right I didn’t do. You are the only One worthy to be the judge, and yet no one shows mercy like You. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
