"Do not speak evil of one another, brethren, He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?"
the heart of your words
When you speak against a brother
or sister in Christ what do you think you are manifesting? Pride?
Double-mindedness? Maybe both and
maybe much more. But how is this judging
the law? Do you remember what James said
in 2:8-13? (If not, read it again.) Here,
James is contrasting ‘judging’ with ‘doing’.
This implies that ‘judging’ is paired with a prideful , above-the-law
attitude along with non-action in the law.
On the other hand, ‘doing’ is paired with humble acceptance and
obedience to the law. The one accepts
the authority of the law while the other denies it.
How ironic that this is speaking specifically to “brethren”—Christians! We may have a high and mighty view of God’s
Word, His laws, the doctrines of Christianity, and even the ability to argue
convincingly for the truth. But if we
fail to do the Word, the law, and the
truth, then we demonstrate that our head knowledge is rhetoric rather than
belief. If in that rhetoric we spill
into speaking against brothers and sisters in Christ, we are not only not loving them, we are also playing the
role of God in relation to them. We must remember that ‘doing’ is not only in
action, it is in our mind as well.
Self-righteousness, superiority, unforgiveness , judgmentalism,
materialism, racism…these all demonstrate a lack of humble acceptance of God’s
royal law.
“…when we criticize and
condemn others, we are in fact pronouncing our own verdict over their
spirituality and destiny… Such behavior is … a manifestation of a worldly
spirit (3:15; 4:1,4). It must be
replaced by ‘the wisdom from above’, with its meekness, reasonableness and
peaceableness (3:17). This flirtation
with the world must be seen to be incompatible with God’s jealous desire to
have his people’s wholehearted allegiance (4:4-5). Yet God is willing to turn and bestow his
favor if sinful pride can give way to deep-felt repentance and sincere
abasement before him (4:6-10)”[1]
How pompous it is to speak against another of God’s children! And oh, how gracious God is to forgive us and
cleanse us when we confess and repent!
If you have been speaking evil of someone, there is no time like the
present to stop and consider the core of your thoughts. Then, seriously consider God’s love and
grace: receive it, and extend it.
Read
and Pray: Psalm 94, Matt. 7:1-5, 10:28, I Peter
2:1-3
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