James (25)

Chapter 4 Part 8

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?

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.

Had someone once tell me “I can not believe a Pastor would drive a truck like that.”

We do this all the time with different measures (TV shows, movies, weight, music, drinking……the list goes on and on.)

Paul battled people judging his call all the time.

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.

Acts 23:1 ESV

1 And looking intently at the council, Paul said, “Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day.”

James 4:13–17 ESV

13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

Homework:

Lets do something different next week Lets see what you guys come up with as far as what you see that other scriptures support these passages.