Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on 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 neighbor?
James 4:11-12
The last sentence makes this paragraph come to life for at first it might seem like James is headed in a different direction. He isn’t speaking so much of slander and arguing here, he is speaking about judging others. Interesting isn’t it, that this comes where it does as the end of the whole passage, a passage that began talking about how we fight with one another.
Yes, that’s right, we started with fighting and quarrels and finish with an admonition not to judge…
In our day, many people like to complain about being “judged.” “Don’t you judge me!” they yell, while judging the other person a bigot of some sort. Very frequently, this is teamed up with another word: “tolerant” or more to the point, “intolerant.” So we hear over and over that we must not judge therefore we must be tolerant of everything. Is James going politically correct on us?
Not a chance!
The contemporary politically correct view on ‘judging’ and ‘tolerance’ is entirely an earthly view, and what has James told us about such things just a few short verses back? James is not writing this letter to the non-Christian world, he has directed it to Christians who are supposed to know better. When he tells us not to judge others, he doesn’t imply that any one of us who is doing wrong can turn the tables to justify wrong doing. Instead, he is telling us that we need to respect God’s authority to judge.
For me to judge one of my brothers or sisters in Christ means that I have taken upon myself the authority to pass condemnation upon the other person, and that is a direct affront to God, who reserves all such decisions for Himself. Thus, when we heap condemnation on one another, we are the ones in the wrong.
Suppose I see a brother who is engaged in sin, do I help him by calling him names or saying bad things behind his back? How can that possibly restore him in his relationship with God or with others? If, on the other hand, I have invested time and effort into having a relationship of mutual trust and respect between us, I may be able to help him see his error and gently guide him back to where he should be… and perhaps in the future he will help me out when I am adrift: This is love in action. If I don’t have that kind of relationship with him, I can probably find out who does… See the difference?
Take just a moment to consider the implications of this; go back and read the text from 4:1 and ask yourself why James put this last, where the “bottom line” is usually found. Who am I to judge my neighbor? All of those quarrels, being a friend of this world, not having prayer answered, grief and mourning… and they end up with who am I to judge others…
What is God telling you in these verses?
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This is one all of us who call ourselves Christians struggle with. I find that when I am in the minority on some issues I get a lot of heat or maybe “called out” by other Christians. These are hard positions to deal with and find yourself in, especially when it is from our own family.
True, it can be very difficult in those times…
Thanks for such an inspiring message god bless you 😁
I appreciate that, thank you!
Very apt for the christian life today. A struggle for many to get right – difference in coming along side a person and between watching from afar on our pedestals. good job Don.
Thank you
The true perspective in this is that we have the duty to judge, as we are taught already in the Old Testament, but also in the New. For instance, 1 Corinthians 5:9-13 as well as Titus 3. The Bible also teaches us that we need to judge righteously. We have to be sober in all, of a sound mind and be righteous. We also do not judge people but their deeds. Let us not forsake our duty, let us not turn His house into chaos by not judging when and how we should.
James: a misnomer as Jesus had no brother by that name. His real name was Jacob, just like Jeremiah was no Jeremy as called in the RNKJV. I just mention this for the sake of interest.
This is an area in which we should be careful, for we are discussing two words, “judge” and “judgment” that have multiple meanings in English. We are to use good and righteous judgment in dealing with people, by we are not qualified to pass judgment on anyone, for God has reserved that for Himself. Is it our duty to pass judgment on others? Never. Is it our duty to judge their deeds and motives in the sense of using good judgment to discern right from wrong? Absolutely.
Luckily, I am not English and therefore also have a more correct translation of the Bible in my own mother tongue. Part of the problem with this is the limitation of the English and the way in which such Bibles were translated, which is by no means as inerrant bas many would vow. Bibles in over two thousand other languages luckily were translated later and less mistakes were made, which also prevented misconceptions. it sometimes is difficult negotiating life around those in the Anglophone world simply because language defines doctrine, culture, therefore also who we become. this cultural difference brought about by language barriers can be a challenge.
In Germanic languages, we use different words for “judge” and “judgement.” Our words can be directly translated as “condemn” and “assess.” God can condemn but we can assess.
Yes, exactly. Lucky for we English speakers, the Greek makes that distinction as well.
English is Greek to some! 🙂 🙂 There is a new English translation that seems head & shoulders above the rest. it is called the One New Man Bible but I have yet to properly research it.
Reblogged this on Epiphanus – A Call In the Desert and commented:
When we judge, we need to be doing so righteously. One verse makes no truth; the entire message of the Bible is that we should not judge into condemnation but judge towards rehabilitation of the sinner. Judge righteously when we judge.
I tell people it does not mean we should never judge ourselves or other people because that has to be done sometimes; it means not to be judgmental. Everyone seems to understand that.
I like the way you allude to the current worldly issues, but you don’t get lost there. So many of us do. Thank you for a thought provoking teaching on what really matters, God’s word to us.
What a nice thing to say! Thank you