James 4:11-12

Jesus is The Law and The Judge

Prayer:

Intro:

Hello

Faith Works: judging others

Judgement

Context: perhaps some members of the church criticizing and speaking against other members who didn’t keep the Mosaic law the same as them. Perhaps they weren’t circumcised, maybe they no longer participated in many of the jewish temple rituals, or perhaps they were introduced to bacon and made it a staple. there is lots of discussion of poorer people in the church. Maybe the rich were calling them lazy, or maybe the poor were calling the rich greedy.

Regardless of the original cause of conflict, there were factions being developed in the church

Disunity being sown through slander and gossip

Who cares now?

Question

Should I never criticize another person? Even if they are doing something wicked? Should I just accept everyone’s behaviors or attitudes?

no: not “tolerance” or indifference or passivity

The bible is full of confrontational prophets who speak bold truths to God’s straying people

The bible is quick to condemn certain behaviors or attitudes called (wickedness or sin) and equally quick to celebrate good ethics called holiness or godliness.

Everyone makes judgements, perhaps especially christians, for we have the law of God

But everyone judges and naturally so- there is right and wrong and good and evil in the world. We must make judgements

the real question is: how do I judge others as a Christian?

3 things:

Talk up not down, talk to not about

Be a Doer of the Law, not The Judge of the Law

Remember Jesus

P 1: Talk up, not down - Talk to, not about

11 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers.

Who is this for?

“One another, brothers”

-Christians gathered in the house of God

-how often churches are torn apart by evil words that get perpetuated

-all people everywhere. How we live here, we live out there. How we love one another here, we love everyone out there.

“Speak Evil Against”

Should I never criticize another person? Even if they are doing something wicked? Should I just accept everyone’s behaviors or attitudes?

He does not say, “Do not speak truth that is loving, gentle and patient and maybe hard to hear.”

-Do not slander

-Do not gossip

-Do not make and spread accusations about a person

the church we want to be:

Talk up not down, Talk to not about

-hard to do

-easy to talk about another person

-any non-confrontational people here?

We call it “venting” but that is another way of usually just saying- complaining, slandering, gossiping.

Speaking evil

-easy to talk down to another person

-Any strong, protective personalities not afraid to speak up? (i know a few here)

We call it strength or courage, but sometimes when people like us confront it is more like bullying:

-belittling, condemning, harsh, strict, firey and intense, or just plain judgmental

-We spoke the truth, but we spoke it against the brother or sister

We spoke truth but we spoke it from a place of evil

Should I never criticize another person? Even if they are doing something wicked? Should I just accept everyone’s behaviors or attitudes?

Talk up, not down - Talk to, not about

Transition: Why do we speak evil? why do we slander, gossip, bully and belittle?

v 10: hint pride vs humility

We speak against other because we are frustrated with them.

We are often times frustrated with them because we want them to change and just be different

We want them to change and be like who?…. you?

We become the judge of our brother, the judge of the Law and the judge of God

why do we speak against our brother or sister? because we sit as judge.

P 2: Be the Doer not the Judge

11b The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. 11c But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.

1. Judge- define

Connected with speaking evil. heavy criticism, slander, gossip and accusing

Judgement that condemns someone’s character or value

Should I never criticize another person? Even if they are doing something wicked? Should I just accept everyone’s behaviors or attitudes?

Be a Doer of the law, not the judge of the Law

2. How am I guilty of judging the law if I judge another person?

How am I guilty of speaking out against the law when I speak out against a brother?

Well, every judge’s job is to judge a person according to the written law of the land

not only do we judge our neighbor, we judge our neighbor according to which law? Ours.

our standards, our law. not God’s. (pride)

In doing so we judge God’s law as well. (pride)

We judge and condemn the person and say, “not good enough” and we judge and condemn God’s law by saying, “nope, also not good enough.”

3. Be the doer not the judge

something to keep in mind. Your job, your primary objective is to be a doer of the law, not her enforcer, not her interpretter, not her creator

You are not a supreme court judge in God’s kingdom

You are a citizen

Be the doer not the judge

there is only 1 lawgiver and 1 judge.

not you.

you, do what God tells you to do.

[Application]

Should I never criticize another person? Even if they are doing something wicked? Should I just accept everyone’s behaviors or attitudes?

Transition:

So then, how do we judge?

Mat 7:1-5

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye

How should I judge? with extreme caution and extreme humility

Look at yourself first.

What is God’s law for? to point to Jesus. The OT Law pointed to Jesus. The NT law, love God and love your neighbor (enemy) as yourself points to Jesus. Because he is the love of God perfectly displayed. And love towards God in human likeness. And radical love towards all people. For his friends, and for his enemies. (forgive them, they know not what they do.” He has shown radical love towards us. We are so different than Jesus. thank God he has not judged us, but come to forgive us.

Can I not be a doer of the law and a judge at the same time? (every judge thinks they are good and the standard)

P3: Remember Jesus

12 There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?

(Mat 5)

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?

solution:

Jesus fulfilled the law and stands as judge

Jesus is the law of God- everything points to him (Mat 5:39-40)

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life

Jesus is Judge

John 8:15

15 You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. 16 Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me.

Who should judge? God above all. Christians are also called to judge other christians.

How should christians judge? become a servant, not an accuser