James (24)

Chapter 4 Part 7

James 4:9–12 ESV

9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. 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. 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?

(Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary) Having mentioned sins of the tongue (Jas 3:5-12), he shows here that evil-speaking flows from the same spirit of exalting self at the expense of one's neighbor as caused the "fightings" that are mentioned earlier in this chapter.

This is all about your heart towards others

4:11. Warnings in verses 11–12 grow out of the rebuke of pride and the call for humility in verses 7–10. Verse 11 prohibits slander and insulting language. Pride and the lack of humility are the chief causes of slanderous, insulting language. Slander is critical speech intended to inflame others against the person being criticized. It involves talking against people, perhaps attacking them behind their backs. In this instance Christians were slandering Christians. Christians are brothers and sisters in Christ. For Christians to malign other believers is a living contradiction of the close family ties which should bind them together.

A slanderous Christian must face two charges. First, one who practices slander speaks against the law. The law that a critical Christian misrepresents is the law of love (see Lev. 19:18). Christians are called to love our neighbors as ourselves. The slanderous Christian fails to do this.

Second, one who practices slander judges the law. With a fault-finding attitude I set myself up as a judge. I neglect God’s law, thus declaring that it is a bad law and worthy of being removed. God calls Christians to keep the law, not to sit in judgment on it. When we slander our neighbors, we show our opposition to the law of love and imply that we are exempt from observing it.

Thomas D. Lea, Hebrews, James, vol. 10, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999), 322–323.

Romans 2:1–5 ESV

1 Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. 2 We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. 3 Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

Romans 14:10–13 ESV

10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” 12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. 13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.

1 Corinthians 4:1–5 ESV

1 This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. 3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. 4 For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. 5 Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.

Paul opposed the standards of leadership the Corinthian church had endorsed. In response to their thoughts, Paul said he did not care if the Corinthians or any human court (literally, “day”) judged him. Only God could know how faithful Paul had been to the mysteries God had revealed to him; therefore, only God could properly evaluate Paul’s performance. In fact, he reserved such a special place for Christ that he said, I do not even judge myself. Of course, he did not mean that he never evaluated his own life. He meant that he would not supplant Christ as his judge. Paul did not reject legitimate human criticisms with these words. Rather, he reminded his readers that there was only one authoritative judge and that the time for judgment had not yet come.

Richard L. Pratt Jr, I & II Corinthians, vol. 7, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 60.

I & II Corinthians A. Obligations of Leaders (4:1–5)

4:5. Paul drew a conclusion from the foregoing argument. Because God restrains final judgment until the day of the Lord, Christians should judge nothing before the appointed time. Instead, they should wait for the day when Christ will expose what is hidden, even the motives of men’s hearts. In many passages, Paul affirmed his belief that Jesus’ return will be accompanied by a great judgment for all people. Not only will God judge actions, but he will also judge intentions and motives (Heb. 4:12). As a result, at this final judgment everyone will receive his praise from God (see Rom. 2:29). God will honor those who prove faithful to Christ.

Paul mentioned these facts about future judgment so the Corinthians would stop judging him. It seems evident from Paul’s objections to the Corinthians’ behavior that they stood against Paul, judging him to be foolish and weak. For example, in their divisions, the Corinthians not only supported Apollos or Peter but opposed Paul. As the rest of the chapter would show, they evidently thought him low and foolish, preferring human wisdom to the wisdom he preached. Paul wanted them to stop judging him and to accept his authority as he addressed their problems.