The Book of James (2)

Do Not Judge a Brother

James 4:11–12 NKJV

Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of 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 one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?

Matthew 7:1–5 NKJV

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Romans 14:4 NKJV

Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.

True humility disallows slander against fellow Christians, for slander equals judgment, not only of the person slandered but also of the law of love (cf. 2:8). God alone stands above the Law, so he retains the sole right of judgment and the unique power to grant eternal salvation or condemn for eternity.

Way too much time has been spent within the Body of Christ with divisions amongst God’s people. Divisions are to be expected within the people of the world. But Paul was pretty clear about the fact that there should be NO DIVISIONS amongst us.

1 Corinthians 1:10 NKJV

Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

Isaiah 29:14 NKJV

Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work Among this people, A marvelous work and a wonder; For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, And the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden.”

So, what happens when we all realize that our wisdom is actually feeble and foolish in comparison to God?

That is exactly the problem! The Church is full of people that have not humbled themselves enough to see that they need to seek God’s wisdom and not their own.

What has the wisdom of mankind produced other than every foul and wicked thing that God has named as abomination and sin?

Therefore, in regard to judging our brothers and sisters in Christ; unless the wisdom comes from the revealed Word of God, we have no business judging one another.

Do Not Boast About Tomorrow

James 4:13–17 NKJV

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

Mortality is real.

Control is an illusion.

James here is exposing the folly of ignoring the temporal nature of life and pursuing material gain instead of following one’s conscience.

1. STATEMENT OF BOASTING (4:13)

James’ attack is direct.

Now listen is literally, “Go now.” It is the same construction found in 5:1, a colloquial phrase used only by James in the New Testament.

The interjection both goads the reader and gains his undivided attention. The offender attacked by James is a fairly typical businessman who makes his plans apart from God.

He is self-assertive in his travel plans: we will go to this or that city; self-confident in his time schedule, spend a year there; and self-centered in his trade relationships, carry on business and make money.

“Carry on business” is from a compound verb (emporeusometha, from en, “in,” and poreuomai, “to go”) from which the English word “emporium” has come.

It is related to the noun (emporos) which could be translated “merchant,” “trader,” “drummer,” or “one who goes in and gets the trade.” A vivid picture of the Jewish merchant James tried to correct is a go-getter salesman out drumming up business for the bottom-line objective: “Make money!”

2. SENTENCE ON BOASTING (4:14)

To the selfish hustlers James simply stated, Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.

Man’s plans are always tentative.

His plans are not his own.

Time is not his own.

In fact, life is not his own.

James then fired another of his famous questions: What is your life? The answer is a mist (“vapor, a puff of steam”). Believers need this godly perspective on their earthly sojourn. Among other things, it blasts boasting right out of the selfish, proud quagmire from which it emerged.

Job 7:7 NKJV

Oh, remember that my life is a breath! My eye will never again see good.

Psalm 102:3 NKJV

For my days are consumed like smoke, And my bones are burned like a hearth.

1 Peter 1:24 NKJV

because “All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away,

3. SOLUTION FOR BOASTING (4:15–17)

4:15. The key to avoiding boasting is to maintain a godly perspective. Instead of making big plans on the human plane, one must expand his view to include God in the picture. In place of vain boasting one should say, If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that. These are not so much words to be used like some charm but a realistic attitude that affects all of one’s being and behavior.

Acts 18:21 NKJV

but took leave of them, saying, “I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem; but I will return again to you, God willing.” And he sailed from Ephesus.

1 Corinthians 4:19 NKJV

But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord wills, and I will know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power.

4:16. To make sure his readers understood, James reiterated that to boast and brag … is evil. Self-centered bragging must be replaced by God-honoring trust. The cure for boasting is belief.

1 Corinthians 5:6 NKJV

Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?

4:17. It is likely that chapter 4‘s concluding sentence, Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins, is related not only to the matter of boasting but also to all the advice given thus far in the epistle.

“Then” (lit., “therefore,” oun) supports this contention. James’ readers could not plead ignorance. The letter abounds with exhortations to do good. To fail to comply is clearly sin.

To attain spiritual maturity a believer must do the good he now knows. He must stand confidently on God’s Word even in trials and temptations. He must compassionately serve his brethren without prejudicial favoritism but with practical faith. He must speak carefully with a controlled tongue and wise, cultivated thought. He must submit in contrition to his all-powerful Father, Law-giver, and Judge with a humble spirit, just action, and a trusting heart. He must be what God wants him to be, do what God wants him to do, speak as God wants him to speak, and sense what God wants him to sense.

Luke 12:47 NKJV

And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.

John 9:41 NKJV

Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.

2 Peter 2:21 NKJV

For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.

Chapter 5

James 5:1–6 NKJV

Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter. You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.

Rich Oppressors Will Be Judged

Imagine the contrast of what constituted wealth 2000 years ago as opposed to modern times. I’m sure James could have never fathomed the types of riches people in the last days would amass.

Regardless of the time or era, money has always been a problem for mankind.

1 Timothy 6:10 NKJV

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

It never ceases to amaze me how many people chase after money to the exclusion of all other things. In fact, our planet is set up these days to force people into an everyday pursuit of money. We have become so dependent on the consumerism mentality, we have in many ways forgotten about the most important aspects of life.

Whenever the pursuit or love of money is placed before one’s pursuit of God, the results speak for themselves.

James is portraying here that it is already an established fact that there will be a future demise of the rich and all of their material wealth will eventually rot.

The ultimate and eternal fate of rich oppressors spells hope for the poor oppressed and gives them reason to wait patiently for Christ’s return and the final judgment.

In biblical times, manual laborers received wages at the end of each workday.

Mosaic law prohibited employers from delaying payment (Lev. 19:13) and promised punishment to transgressors on God’s hearing the cries of the defrauded (cf. Deut. 24:15).

Leviticus 19:13 NKJV

‘You shall not cheat your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of him who is hired shall not remain with you all night until morning.

Deuteronomy 24:15 NKJV

Each day you shall give him his wages, and not let the sun go down on it, for he is poor and has set his heart on it; lest he cry out against you to the Lord, and it be sin to you.

James portrays the pursuers of wealth as fools indeed through imagery borrowed from the Israelite sacrificial system: by leading a lifestyle focused on gaining pleasure, they give God good reason to condemn them (5:5).

The next verse, which intensifies the accusation in 4:2, exemplifies the frequent biblical equation of the rich with the unrighteous and the poor with the righteous (for James, oppressed believers). The selfishly ambitious do not just murder—they murder the righteous!

Be Patient and Persevering

James 5:7–12 NKJV

Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest you fall into judgment.

James cautions Christians to remain patient as they eagerly anticipate judgment day, for the same Judge of the unrighteous rich will also judge believers (cf. 4:11–12).

The Hebrew prophets and Job exemplify the patient endurer of suffering to whom God ultimately showed mercy (5:10–11).

Christians must not slander each other (5:9) or take oaths; rather, they are simply to tell the truth (v. 12; cf. Matt. 5:34–37).

Matthew 5:34–37 NKJV

But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.