Living with right judgment (Week 9)

welcome:

If you are new tonight i just want to say welcome and thank you for being here. were gonna be getting into James 4 starting in verse 11 but i would like to start with a few announcements

Announcements:

Senior luncheon November 23rd

Thanksgiving at the Jail food or volunteers needed.

Prayers for Megan Ashers Nana who is hospitalized currently due to seizures from a stroke

Katlyn needs help moving out of her apartment on the 22nd and if you are available please let her or myself know

As always if you have anything to say ask or add to the study tonight please stop me at any point

am a bulldozer

And with that being said lets look at James 4:11-12

James 4:11–12 ESV

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?

Prayer:

For context tonight we had just gone through the end of versus 8 9 and 10

talking about drawing near to God and then also letting us know that we need to cleanse our hearts cleanse our hands and repent and that if we humble ourselves God will exalt us

And from that point we see James move into another subject saying do not speak evil verses 11 through 12 James begins to talk about judgment

so let's read that again

James 4:11–17 (ESV)

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.

We see James referencing back to chapter three talking about the tongue

He's reiterating that we are to not Let our tongue speak evil against one another

By way of reminder

James 3:8–10 ESV

8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.

So again James is concerned by what you and I say about one another

And this can oftentimes be seen as cursing or fighting or yelling or saying horrible things about somebody

But this can be just as easily gossip

In the church we have a habit of gossiping about one another being deeply involved in someone's life and then sharing that information with somebody else

And then with that information with that gossip we produce these judgments about each other

Did you hear what Zach did the other day did you hear what Marc-e said the other night

you hear let me tell you they're so stupid that's such an idiotic thing to say don't you agree

And sometimes we spiritualize this we take it and say listen I heard that this is happening in so and so's life let me tell you all about it and then we can pray for them

As Christians we are not to give in to gossip and speak evil about 1 another

Oftentimes we frame this with the idea of I just need advice about how to handle this situation with this person they really hurt me and I want to know what I should say

But that's not how conflict is designed to be dealt with in the Bible

If we look at Matthew 18 15-17 it says

Matthew 18:15–17 ESV

15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

What I'm hoping to make clear is that we are not supposed to gossip and speak evil about each other we are supposed to seek Resolution

And in this group in our own minds I want us to ask ourselves this question do we struggle with gossip?

I can tell you I for one am somebody who enjoys knowing what's happening in peoples lives it's a struggle

Over the course of my life I've been somebody that wants to know what's going on always but I've realized that's gossip and that's not something any of us should be practicing or walking in

If you or I are in a conversation and you're noticing that this is heading towards something that is gossip you need to shut it down immediately

And I'm not going on this tangent to call anybody specifically out or make anyone feel bad

but I think this is a very applicable area when it comes to speaking evil against one another

Because as we see in verse 11 James makes it very clear that this is wrong

what are some other ways that we might speak evil against one another ?

What are some reasons that we may gossip or speak evil against one another?

Pride

self righteousness

maybe even lack of conversion or sanctification

What I want us to be careful of is saying that this isn't me maybe it is maybe we need to seek the Lord and ask him to convict us

Matthew 12:34 (ESV)

34 ...out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

So a good question for us before we even get into the rest of what James is saying what is in our hearts?

At church on Sunday pastor Chuck really hammered home the question of are we truly saved?

Because many will come to Jesus on the judgment day saying Lord Lord did we not do so many works wonders and miracles in your name

and he will say I never knew you

With that said I want to ask all of us to take a moment just to think who is on the throne of our hearts

what is our greatest desire is it ourselves is it this world is it pride, Self importance

Or genuinely is it God is it Jesus who is on the throne of our heart

The most important thing to understand and be confident in is to understanding and confidence of knowing that Jesus is your savior beyond a shadow of a doubt

Tonight If you can sit here and not care about these things you don't care about if you gossip or not you don't care what comes out of your mouth

Or maybe you only care because of what other people might think

If that's the case then I would encourage you to talk with somebody to night about giving your life to Christ

Because out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks it's a litness test

You will know them by their fruit , In John 15 we are described as believers as a branch connected to the vine

But if you sit here tonight and you feel no need to care about the things of God no need to care about what you say to other people no desire to please God then it may be that you don't know him

But tonight if you are somebody who struggles with these things if you have a struggle with gossip if you have a struggle with what you say or think about other people

i'm not here trying to beat you up the chastening and conviction of the Lord is a sign of life

Branches that are connected to the vines will be pruned in its painful conviction hurts

but 2 Corinthians 7:10 says

2 Corinthians 7:10 ESV

10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.

If you desire to please God don't let this crush you but give it to him repent and forsake and cling to Christ

Sanctification is a process better today than yesterday and better tomorrow than to day

Remember the standard is perfection and that's why we need Christ for salvation and for sanctification

I know that was a lot guys but genuinely I just feel like this is very important for us to understand

Any thoughts on that before we continue on to the second half of 11 and 12?

James 4:11–12 (ESV)

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?

So here we see James tells us not to speak evil against one another tells us to not be judges of one another

And he moves into if you judge the law you're not a doer of the law but a judge what do you think James is saying there?

I believe James is saying the same thing that Jesus is saying in Matthew 7:1

Matthew 7:1 ESV

1 “Judge not, that you be not judged.

And if you haven't had a chance to listen to Pastor Chuck's sermon on this I highly recommend you go check it out sometime

James is not saying not to make judgments about people because we're supposed to be wise

I should make assessments on people and have right judgment have discernment

You and I should have discernment about who we talked to who we hang out with what we do for work and what we trust people with

We should have judgment on who we date who we marry who we listen to for advice who we listen to for spiritual shepherding

You and I are supposed to make right judgments but what I believe James and Jesus are referring to is wrong judgment

What would an example be for wrong judgment?

What would an example be of right judgment?

What we see James saying is stop comparing your sin to someone else's

Stop justifying yourself by condemning somebody else

And This is why I kind of went down the road of gossip gossip is the condemnation of somebody else with the exaltation of yourself

Matthew 23:12 ESV

12 Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

This type of judgment is rooted in pride this type of judgment is the judgment that says I would never do that how dare you

That person is doing a terrible job I could do so much better

This Is Us speaking wrongly or evil about anybody in the church whether they are your friend acquaintance and elder a pastor this is judging them emotions

This is looking at somebody and saying man there are wreck they must not be saved

We are not to be the judges of other people's salvation yes we are to have right judgment yes we are to push each other and confront each other if we claim to be brothers and sisters about our walk with the Lord

But this isn't meant to be a self justification or condemnation on somebody else

I believe Jesus illustrates this point perfectly in the Book of Luke

Luke 18:9–14 ESV

9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Again which one of these people are we do we recognize our sin and our need for a savior or are we living a life of self justification

You and I are not enough but Christ is enough we don't need to compare we don't need to gossip we don't need to judge other people in order to justify our own sin

All we need to do is lay ourselves at the feet of the cross and ask God to forgive us and save us and sanctify us

But this is why James concludes in verse 12 that there is only one lawgiver in 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?

You and I are not qualified to judge someone else's soul

You and I are not qualified to make a final judgment on somebody

You and I are allowed to supposed to and encouraged to Judge our own fruit and see if we're in the faith

Philippians 2:12 (ESV)

12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,

Judgment starts at the House of God judgment starts in our own heart

And if we feel the weight of our sin it should not kill us but lead us to repentance

Don't let the devil use your history your past or your struggle to condemn you but give it to Christ and let him take it from there

1 John 1:9 (ESV)

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

After we take the right judgment to our own soul then we can go to our brother and sister and help them

If you have a brother and sister who is struggling and you don't see any fruit in their life

If you are concerned that they don't know the Lord and you love them and they claim to be a brother and sister go to them about their fault like we talked about earlier

If I'm a doctor and I find out that you have cancer the most loving thing I can do is tell you and then tell you how to be treated

This isn't a ha ha moment where you're like look at how bad you are you suck this is a sober conversation

That is supposed to be handled with truth and love

So if I'm trying to land the plane here I want to leave us with three questions and one application

Do you struggle with speaking evil or judging your brother and sister wrongly?

And if so give it to God and seek counsel and wisdom from God and others

How can we this week instead of speaking wrongly about a brother or sister how can we speak life into a brother or sister this week

Jesus says we will be known by our love for one another are we known by that

And finally have we given our lives to Christ or have we been faking it for a long time

If you're offended by that question that makes me even more concerned

I don't believe we can lose our salvation but Jesus says many will come to him that he doesn't know so does Jesus know you and do you know him as your savior

Application for this week is to be doers of the word; doers of the law

And the law according to Matthew 22:37-40, is Summarized like this

Matthew 22:37–40 (ESV)

37 ...You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

38 This is the great and first commandment.

39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

So let's be doers of the law and let Christ make final judgments and we make good judgments

Let's pray