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The tongue is James’ favorite illustration.
While we may get tired of talking about our speech, this is the hardest area to avoid sin in our life.
This is a practical application of our faith James has talked about many times.
• Be quick to listen, slow to speak (1:19)
• Keep a tight rein on your tongue (1:26)
• Our tongues reveal sinful discrimination (2:3-4)
• We all stumble in what we say (3:2)
• Our words are powerful and damaging (3:3-5)
• What we say reveals our spiritual condition (3:6-8).
The next discussion on the tongue is in our passage today
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?
The outline is simple.
It starts with a command: Don’t slander.
Then James explains why we shouldn’t do it.
In 5:9, he gives us the command not to grumble, then he explains why we shouldn’t do it.
So both times it is a command followed by an explanation.
That is simple enough and that is the outline we will follow.
What is the Command? - Do not speak evil against one another.
The word for speaking evil is repeated three times:
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...
James 4:11–12 (NLT)
11 Don’t speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters.
If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God’s law.
But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you. 12 God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge.
He alone has the power to save or to destroy.
So what right do you have to judge your neighbor?
Some versions translate this word as slander, but it has a more broad and deeper meaning to it.
With all that said, let’s take a look at the command.
You are told in verse 11, “Don’t speak evil against each other….”
Then James goes on to give an indication of what he means when he says,
“If you criticize and judge each other….”
For me to “speak evil against” you is for me to “criticize and judge”you in some way.
Now what does that mean?
To “speak evil against” (katalaleo) refers to the mindless, thoughtless, carelessness, critical, derogatory, untrue statements directed against others.
It has a malicious intent to it.
This is where you say things to be hateful, spiteful, mean, cruel, or hurtful in some way.
The idea is to tear someone down behind their back.
This is sometimes translated slander.
Remember, the word “evil” means to be selfish.
You are speaking selfishly against this person.
To “criticize and judge” (krino) others is to condemn them.
James is not referring to constructive criticism, but destructive criticism.
This is badmouthing someone before you really know them.
You are cutting them down to others, but you have heard something bad about them.
You are criticizing them, slamming them, cutting them down, and saying things about them that you don’t know if its actually true or not.
But you are passing this negative information about them to others without talking to them or finding out if its true or not.
These types of evil speech include
(1) Slander—saying false, harmful things against others,
We have slightly more sophisticated words for slander today.
We call it
defamation of character,
character assassination,
belittling,
using veiled innuendoes or
saying things with double meanings.
(2) Gossip—saying negative things behind someone’s back, whether true or false,
(3) Criticism, giving negative critiques directly to others which are not meant to build them up.
Since the church has emphasized not speaking false information about others—
slander is often not a big problem.
It has also emphasized not gossiping behind others’ backs.
But the church has failed to emphasize how criticism harms others.
Some believers think as long as it is true and it is towards another’s face, then it’s OK.
When God’s Word tells you to not judge others, it is not telling you to not make judgments about people.
There is a difference between making a judgment and being judgmental.
There is a difference between constructive judgment and condemning judgment.
However, people like that have misunderstood James and Scripture in general.
James is saying that we shouldn’t say anything true or false that tears others down instead of building them up.
Just because we know something is try does not gives us the right/authority to share it with others.
Even if it is ru
Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen as much as it should in our churches.
Selfishness and arrogance are the roots of evil speech.
One of the reasons why you are so dissatisfied in life is you feel like you have to correct everything and everyone.
You are overly critical and judgmental and because of this you find it difficult to be content in life.
(selfishness)
The other reason you may sin with your tongue is because you think you know better and you have all the answers.
You think you must correct everything about every person.
that is arrogance/pride.
We think we know the other people’s motives and share things even when we do not know the whole story.
Why because we assume the worst about others and the best about ourselves.
Spurgeon.
The Prince of Preachers experienced such evil accusations.
He and his wife, Susannah, had a peculiar practice.
They would not give away the eggs their chickens laid, but would sell them – even to close relatives.
As a result, some gossiped about them and labeled the Spurgeons stingy and un loving. .
Others would criticize them saying doesn’t the church pay you enough so that you do not have to have a side business.
Others would slander them and say that they were greedy and uncompassionate.
But when Mrs. Spurgeon died in 1903, it was revealed that the egg money had been used for years to support two elderly widows.
The Spurgeons had endured the criticism in silence, knowing that time would validate their actions.
Their accusers in their arrogance and ignorance judge them without know ing all the facts and knowing their motives.
The story reinforces the truth that things are not always what they appear to be, and people are often wrongly judged because all the facts are not
revealed.
How easy it is for us to jump to conclusions when we may not know what we are talking about.
How easy is it to denigrate someone out of arrogance and selfishness.
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