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JAMES - Be Doers of the Word, and not Hearers Only
Studies in the Letter of James (by Dr. Richard Thomas)
Chapter IV
Presumption in Judging (James 4:11-12)
JAMES 4:11-12
11 Don’t speak against one another, brothers. He who speaks against a brother and judges his brother, speaks 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 Only one is the lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge another?
In this brief passage James presents a variation on the theme earlier introduced, the curbing of the tongue (1:26; 2:12; 3:8,9). Now he reproves the human passion for censoriousness. On no account are we to speak evil of a brother. There is a modern trend of describing one’s censorious attitude as ‘judgmental’, thereby justifying it. While slander is excluded in this verse (11), James also frowns on the judging of others. We must be wary of handing out easy judgments on others from an attitude of superiority. Long ago John Wesley declared that “Methodists are bound not to mention the fault of an absent one”. What about the faults of those present? Let us see how Wesley dealt with this problem.
A preacher friend together with the great evangelist were once invited to dinner. The host’s daughter, a noted beauty, had been deeply moved by Wesley’s preaching. During the conversation the friend took hold of the young lady’s hand and drew attention to the sparkling gems she wore: “What do you think of this for a Methodist hand?”. The girl blushed; Wesley was embarrassed, his aversion to jewelry being wellknown. Smiling graciously he remarked, “The hand is very beautiful”. That evening she turned up at the service without jewels, accepted Christ and became a devoted Christian.
James is addressing the brethren; the person hypothetically slandered or condemned is a brother too. The mutual relationship is stressed, his brother. We ought to suspend harsh judgment and hyper-criticism of those we know to be the Lord’s people. Other victims of our critical judgments may potentially be our brothers or sisters. We might do well to universalize the maxim (1 Corinthians 5:12a).
By inference the slanderer is breaking the royal law (2:8) and impairing fellowship. In passing judgment without authority he sets himself as prosecutor, witness, lawgiver and judge. True the saints will judge the world, but not just yet. So don’t be in a hurry (1 Corinthians 6:2).
How are we then to treat rebuke and reproof? Clearly there are texts that permit Christians in positions of responsibility to exercise the duty of rebuking those who have earned reproof (1 Timothy 4:20; 2 Timothy 4:2; Titus 1:13; 2:15 cf. Titus 3:1; 1 Timothy 5:1). In 1 Thessalonians 5:14 we find a clue as to what is involved in rebuking – a warning with a view to setting the unruly person right (Galatians 6:1). There is a subtle difference between rebuking and judging; those unaware of the distinction should avoid both. In any event people accept rebukes only from those they love and respect. Never rebuke an individual whom you dislike. Don’t exercise the ministry of reproof unless you possess the complementary gift of encouragement. The two should go hand in hand.
Ideally the judge should be the lawgiver. Men separate the legislature from the judiciary on the grounds that no one is competent enough to cope with both functions. God who gave Moses the Law is the sole lawgiver; He as committed judgment into the hands of Christ (5:9; John 5:22). The divine-human Judge has power to justify or condemn. In this connexion Samuel Johnson’s words are apt: “Even God does not condemn a man until he is dead. Who are you to do so?”.