The Epistle of James - Godly Values
Part 32 - There is only one Judge
James 4v11b-12
25th January 2019
This carries on from last week, when James was writing about slandering a brother in Christ.
James 4v11b-12
Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it.
There is only one lawgiver and judge, the one who is able to save and destroy, but you
- who are you to judge your neighbour?
Jesus said, "love your neighbour as yourself". That means we should love our neighbour as much as we love ourselves, and we should love our neighbour in the same way that we love ourselves. I expect that, when you sin, you give yourself a bit of a pass, "Well, yes, I did sin, but I'm still a Christian, I'm still a good person, I'm still part of the church. I mean well. I messed up but God forgives me." Treat your brother in the same way.
When Jesus said, "love your neighbour as yourself", He was quoting Leviticus 19v18, part the Law of Moses, the Torah. If you speak against your brother or sister in Christ, you are not loving him or her as you love yourself, and therefore you are speaking against the Law, and breaking the law of God. And you call the other person a sinner!
If you vent about what an awful person your brother in Christ is, you might feel better for a short time, but you're proving yourself a sinner, you're damaging your brother, and you're damaging the church. You're doing harm.
Your brother in Christ is a sinner saved by grace, and you're a sinner saved by grace. What's the difference? Maybe your sins are different from his. Maybe you get caught in different ways, but we're all sinners. Let's never speak against, but only for one another.
We're all guilty because we've all spoken against other Christians and we all need to repent, including me. WE need to pray, "Father God, please forgive us for the times we have chosen to be negative about a brother or sister in Christ. Please wash us clean and help us never to do it again, in Jesus's name."
James reminds us that There is only one lawgiver, and that's God Himself. Also, There is only one judge, and it isn't you. God Almighty is able to save and destroy. He has the right to destroy what He has made, but you don't. James asks, "but you, who are you to judge your neighbour?" Who do we think we are?
Sometimes we feel like it. Sometimes, we want to say that this or that brother in Christ is a terrible person who really let the side down. "This would be a great church if it weren't for him". "My life would be brilliant if it weren't for her". "Everything was going so well before he did that". Who are you to judge to judge your neighbour?
Please, dear brothers and sisters, when you feel the desire for revenge, or criticism, or negativity welling up in your heart, tell yourself the following: "I am a sinner too. I will not judge my brother or sister. They're saved by grace, and justified by faith, just as I am."