Introduction. The Holy Spirit warned of the terrible danger of our tongue. Though “small,” it is like a “horse’s bit” or “ship’s rudder” changing the course of our life. It can be a “fire” that destroys, “can’t be tamed,” is an “unruly evil,” full of “deadly poison,” and used to “curse men.” (Jas. 3:1-12). He later added “Do not speak evil of one another, brethren” (4:11-12), and then introduced the full magnitude of this danger. “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. 12 There is one Lawgiver (Jas. 4:11-12).
We can’t speak evil, unless first assess and pass judgment. Yet we have been commanded not to do either. Jesus said: “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” (Lk. 6:37). Our eternal destiny may rest on our judgment of others. When a brother angers or disappoints us, if we forgive and let it pass we will be forgiven. But if we judge and condemn (speak evil), we will be judged and condemned by the same measure. We are also told to “judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts.” (1Cor. 4:5). Yet James passed beyond the sin and rebellion. While obedience infers respect, disobedience reveals contempt. When we speak evil of others we also “speak evil of the law and judge the law.
We can’t speak evil, unless first assess and pass judgment. Yet we have been commanded not to do either. Jesus said: “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” (Lk. 6:37). Our eternal destiny may rest on our judgment of others. When a brother angers or disappoints us, if we forgive and let it pass we will be forgiven. But if we judge and condemn (speak evil), we will be judged and condemned by the same measure. We are also told to “judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts.” (1Cor. 4:5). Yet James passed beyond the sin and rebellion. While obedience infers respect, disobedience reveals contempt. When we speak evil of others we also “speak evil of the law and judge the law.
Consider of the magnitude of these words! If we willfully and habitually violate any law given by our Lawgiver (Jesus), we are judging and finding it wanting thus becoming a judge of His laws. If we choose this path, we are no longer “a doer of the Law”, but instead have elevated ourselves to the position of being a “judge of law.”
This brings us to the most important decision of our lives. The decision to “walk by faith and not by sight” and “trust in the Lord with all your heart,” not “leaning on your own understanding.” Will we allow God to “direct your path” or “be wise in your own eyes” (2Cor. 5:7; Pr. 3:5-7)? “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God,” and David was praised when he “kept My commandments and followed Me with all his heart, to do only what was right in My eyes.” The alternative in the days of the judges was “everyone did what was right in his own eyes. (1Kg. 14:8; Jdg. 17:6).
We must make this choice today. Many churches have judged the law and set aside those they do not trust or respect in order to do what is right in their own eyes. God called those who willfully set aside His law to walk in their own ways “presumptuous.” He said anyone who “despised the word of the Lord, and has broken His commandment, does it presumptuously” (Num. 15:30-31)
These are sins that will never be repented or confessed, because they do not respect that law. They judged it, found it did not fit their understanding and refused to submit or even accept it. Although the apostles were told to “teach them to observe all things that I have commanded you,” and what they “write to you are the commandments of the Lord” (Mt. 28:20; 1Cor. 14:37), many still refuse to submit.
Paul commanded: “women keep silent in the church for it is not permitted for them to speak,” yet multitudes have judged this law and set it aside. He also said “Neither ... homosexuals, nor sodomites, ... will inherit the kingdom of God” (1Cor. 6:9-11). Yet this too has been judged, found wanting and rejected. Some even blaspheme the Holy Spirit, saying Paul was an ignorant victim of his culture, forgetting “it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.” For they all spoke “not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches” (Mt. 10:20; 1Cor. 2:13). What else but presumption and judging the law can cause people to do this? They do what is right in their own eyes by judging and setting aside law, but not what is right in God’s eyes.
Conclusion. Sometimes God’s laws are confining and lead to great unhappiness. Other times they just don’t make any sense to us. We long to set them aside, but we dare not. Judging the law elevates us to Lawgiver, a position we dare not take. For “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him — the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.” (Jn. 12:48). We can set it aside now, but it will still be there to judge and condemn us on the last day.
This brings us to the most important decision of our lives. The decision to “walk by faith and not by sight” and “trust in the Lord with all your heart,” not “leaning on your own understanding.” Will we allow God to “direct your path” or “be wise in your own eyes” (2Cor. 5:7; Pr. 3:5-7)? “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God,” and David was praised when he “kept My commandments and followed Me with all his heart, to do only what was right in My eyes.” The alternative in the days of the judges was “everyone did what was right in his own eyes. (1Kg. 14:8; Jdg. 17:6).
We must make this choice today. Many churches have judged the law and set aside those they do not trust or respect in order to do what is right in their own eyes. God called those who willfully set aside His law to walk in their own ways “presumptuous.” He said anyone who “despised the word of the Lord, and has broken His commandment, does it presumptuously” (Num. 15:30-31)
These are sins that will never be repented or confessed, because they do not respect that law. They judged it, found it did not fit their understanding and refused to submit or even accept it. Although the apostles were told to “teach them to observe all things that I have commanded you,” and what they “write to you are the commandments of the Lord” (Mt. 28:20; 1Cor. 14:37), many still refuse to submit.
Paul commanded: “women keep silent in the church for it is not permitted for them to speak,” yet multitudes have judged this law and set it aside. He also said “Neither ... homosexuals, nor sodomites, ... will inherit the kingdom of God” (1Cor. 6:9-11). Yet this too has been judged, found wanting and rejected. Some even blaspheme the Holy Spirit, saying Paul was an ignorant victim of his culture, forgetting “it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.” For they all spoke “not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches” (Mt. 10:20; 1Cor. 2:13). What else but presumption and judging the law can cause people to do this? They do what is right in their own eyes by judging and setting aside law, but not what is right in God’s eyes.
Conclusion. Sometimes God’s laws are confining and lead to great unhappiness. Other times they just don’t make any sense to us. We long to set them aside, but we dare not. Judging the law elevates us to Lawgiver, a position we dare not take. For “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him — the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.” (Jn. 12:48). We can set it aside now, but it will still be there to judge and condemn us on the last day.
- “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (Jn. 8:31-32)