James has been telling us things that we are to do, such as humbling ourselves in the presence of God, submitting ourselves to God, and resisting the devil. Today he brings up several things that he tells us not to do before reminding us that we are always to do good.
"Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister judges them and speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it." (James 4:11) We know James is speaking to fellow Christians because he addresses them as "brothers and sisters". He's telling Christians how to treat their brothers and sisters in Christ, saying, "Don't say ugly things about each other. You are violating the law of Christ when you do that, and as I said in the eighth verse of the second chapter in this letter, the royal law of Christ you are to follow is the law of love. It's the law that says to love your neighbor as yourself. Do you want people slandering your good name, talking about you behind your back, broadcasting your mistakes to anyone who will listen, and judging you as if you are a worse sinner than they are? No, and you shouldn't do these things to anyone else."
The Scriptures don't tell us to be ignorant. If we know the word of God, we can easily recognize sin. I don't think we're expected to pretend we don't notice sin, but instead I think we are intended to remember that we are not the ones who will pass judgment on anyone's life. Suppose I'm out in public and I see a fellow church member behaving badly or doing something immoral. I have no business calling up my friends to tell them about it. The only person I should tell about it is God. I should take that person to the Lord in prayer, because only God is able to straighten out what has gone wrong. God is the only one qualified to judge anyone's sins, and although I can recognize sin in someone's life, it's not my place to harbor an attitude of condemnation toward them. I'm breaking the law of love when I do further harm to a person who is already harming himself. It's not my law he's breaking; it's God's law, and only God has the right to pass sentence. "There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and destroy. But you---who are you to judge your neighbor?" (James 4:12)
Who would you rather have judge you for your sins? God or man? I'd rather have God judge me, because God is actually more merciful. Yes, it's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:31) But in many ways it's an even more fearful thing to fall into the hands of man, as David recognized when he prayed in deep distress, "Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for His mercy is great; but do not let me fall into human hands." (2 Samuel 24:14b)
Next James tells us not to brag about all the big things we intend to do. Our lives are fragile and we don't know whether tomorrow is going to come. We can't assume that life is going to go on in the same way day after day after day. We need to live with the knowledge that this life is temporary, because that will help us fix our thoughts on the things which are eternal. "Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that. As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil." (James 4:13-16) We can't even draw the next breath unless it's the Lord's will. We can't live as though this life is all there is, or as if this life is more important than the eternal destination of our souls. There's nothing wrong with making a living; the Lord honors honest hard work. But focusing on storing up treasures on earth takes our mind off building an ever-growing relationship with the Lord. It gets our priorities out of order. This is why Moses prayed, "Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." (Psalm 90:12) Moses asked the Lord, "Help us to remember that our time on earth is short. Help us to keep everything in proper perspective. We aren't wise when we live only for today."
We have to be on guard against not only sins of commission, but also sins of omission. "If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, it is sin for them." (James 4:17) The word of God tells us both what to do and what not to do. If we know we ought to show love or mercy or encouragement to our fellow man, it's a sin if we don't do it. If we know we ought to help the needy and minister to the sick and comfort the brokenhearted, it's a sin if we don't do it. The law of love doesn't consist only of refraining from doing evil to one another. It includes doing good to one another. I think if we keep the words of Jesus Christ in our minds we will do a better job of refraining from sinning against our fellow man and we will do a better job of showing the law of love to our fellow man. "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of Mine, you did for Me...Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me." (Matthew 25:40,45)
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