The basic point of our text is not complicated: ‘do not speak evil of one
another’. The saints were, apparently, giving in to a critical spirit. We
see the evidence of this earlier in the chapter where James speaks to them
about their ‘quarrels’ and ‘fights’. In this part of the chapter James
focuses on the words that they used as a part of those conflicts. And in so
doing he is quite clear: no criticism, no critical remarks about other
Christians. Now, it’s important that you understand a couple of things here.
First, James is forbidding criticism even if what you have to say is
completely accurate. Our translation, ‘speak evil of’ [NKJV] might make you
think that a criticism would be okay if the content isn’t evil but the
truth. Actually, the Greek word behind our translation is simply ‘speak
against’. Our translation is fine as long as you understand the word ‘evil’
not as referring to the content but to the intent. So, what we have here is
a prohibition against any criticism of a brother or sister even if what you
have to say is true. The second thing to remember here is that this
prohibition applies not just to the words that come out of your mouth. Your
thoughts are included. Jesus made that clear in the Sermon on the Mount. The
Law applies first to the heart, to the inner life. Then, it speaks to the
fruit of that inner life, to the behavior. So, you aren’t keeping James’
prohibition if everything that you say is pleasant and positive while your
heart is collecting a list of all the wrong things that this brother or
sister is doing, a list that you’d shout out loud if you were allowed. James
’ command deals with your heart.
Now, James gives us reasons for this prohibition. The first takes us back to
the theme he used before: the notion that we are a family. Three times in
these few sentences James labels the other person as a ‘brother’. He’s
telling us that this other person whom you are attacking with your words is
a member of the family. He has the same heavenly Father that you do. Assumed
is the question, ‘Is that the way to treat family?’ The answer should be
obvious. Then, there is the second reason. Criticizing a sibling says
something about your attitude to the Law of God. James talks about our
critic as judging the Law, of actually speaking evil of or criticizing the
Law. Now, what he is getting at here might not be as clear as the rest. But
all you have to do is remember the point of the Law. The Law is summarized
quite simply as loving your neighbor. [See Galatians 5.14] Criticizing
someone is rejecting God’s Law. It’s refusing to love. As such, it is a
comment about the Law. James describes this person as a judge of the Law.
This is ultimately a criticism of the God who wrote that Law.
James point, then, is clear. This isn’t one of those complicated portions of
Scripture. There is to be no criticism of the brethren. It’s contrary to
what it means to be the family of God. It’s contrary to proper submission to
the Law of God.
It’s here, of course, that we have a problem, and maybe you’ve noticed it.
What has James been doing for so much of this letter? He’s been critical of
these Christians! Just a glance at some of the verses at the beginning of
this chapter would suffice. If what James wrote there isn’t criticism,
actually rather sharp criticism, then what is? Is James ignoring his own
counsel? Is he, somehow, exempt? There seems to be a knotty problem here,
but where we find difficult problems in understanding the Scriptures there
we will also find deeper insight into the teaching of the Scriptures.
So, what is James doing? For one thing, he is following Jesus’ lead. Jesus
did similar sort of thing elsewhere. In Matthew 7 Jesus said, ‘Judge not
lest you be judged’. That is another way of saying what James wrote in our
text. It’s a clear command against criticism. And, just like James, it
sounds pretty cut and dried. It sounds absolute. Yet, consider more of what
Jesus said in that context. ‘Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw
your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack
you.’ [Matthew 7:6] Doesn’t that sound a bit critical? Jesus is talking
about people, after all, when He refers to dogs and pigs. Jesus includes in
this same context His parable about the log in your eye and the speck in
your brother’s eye. And that is a parable about how to properly criticize a
brother when he is wrong. What sounded so obviously absolute – ‘judge not’ –
isn’t. And that really isn’t so strange. A mother tells her young child,
‘Whenever you cross the street you must hold my hand.’ So, what does this
child say when the family is out for a walk and Uncle Bob tells him to hold
his hand while they cross the street? ‘I can’t hold your hand. Mommy said
that I’m supposed to hold her hand when it’s time to cross the street.’ And
then he goes over to his mother to hold her hand. His mother’s command sure
sounded absolute when she said it. Mothers and pastors regularly make
statements that sound awfully absolute when they aren’t entirely meant to be
so. And the reason is clear. There are some things that need to be stressed.
Saying something in an absolute way and leaving off the qualifiers for the
time being is one way to do that.
Jesus makes it easier for us to understand His ‘judge not’ statement because
He includes the qualifiers in what follows. But what about James? Are there
any hints that there are qualifiers for him? Yes, there are, but it’s not in
the content that he writes. The clue is in what he is doing as he writes. I
have been struck, especially lately, by the things that Jesus did, by how He
acted. Watching His behavior has proven both fascinating and helpful. We
miss much if we focus only on the content of what is being taught and
neglect the behavior of the person doing the teaching. James gives a
command, but it is a command that is tempered and nuanced by his own
behavior. He stressed the prohibition about criticism because of the need of
the church to which he wrote. But with a little wisdom they would have seen
that the absolute prohibition wasn’t quite so absolute. We still have a lot
to learn about how to study the Bible.
So, now we’re ready to pull this all together. Where shall we start? We
start where James does. Being critical of a brother or a sister, in our
words or even in our thoughts, is something that is to be avoided. He
forbids it. James last question is apt here. ‘Who are you to judge?’ We need
to take that ever so seriously, particularly since it is so easy to become
critical of others. That’s where we need to start. And yet, as we see by
James’ own example, not to mention Jesus’ own teaching, that there are times
when we need to critique another person. There are times when we need to
point out sin. There are exceptions to the ‘absolute’ rule. But there are
ways of doing that. James helps us know how. It’s in our text. First, you
must examine your motives. Remember how the Law is summarized: ‘Love your
neighbor.’ That’s in the background of what James is teaching. I would hope
that the next time you lock onto a fault of some brother or sister the
reason that you are doing that is because you want to love that person and
you’re trying to figure out the best way to raise the issue with him.
Proverbs 27.6, ‘Faithful are the wounds of a friend.’ There are times when
you will need to point out a fault. You will need to criticize. And it will
wound. But you do that because you are a friend and you want to see your
friend flourish. Your motive is the welfare of your friend. Your motive is
love. If that isn’t your motive then you are sinning even if you are
completely accurate about the other person’s fault. This is key to a good
marriage. You must point out your spouse’s sin. But do it with the right
motive.
The second thought here comes from verse 12. ‘There is only one lawgiver and
judge, he who is able to save and to destroy.’ It is God who decides to save
or to destroy. It’s His choice to bless with forgiveness or to condemn for
sin. From time to time it’s good to ask yourself, ‘Why did God decide to
save me? Why does He bless me with forgiveness?’ If you can come up with an
answer it just means that you don’t understand the question. Your God has
been gracious to you. He could take you apart, bit by bit, by listing all of
your sins and then send you straight to hell. But He didn’t do that. When it
’s time to point out the sin of another, remember God’s kind grace to you
and apply the same to that brother or sister. Back in Matthew 7 Jesus warned
us that the way we critique others will be the way God will critique us.
Our text has been emphasizing what is required of you as a Christian. Our
text has been emphasizing God’s Law. When the Law is properly understood by
a Christian, two things result. The first is conviction of sin. Who here has
not sinned against the teaching of our text? The Spirit uses the Law to show
us our sin. But then the Spirit also uses the Law to drive us to Christ.
Aware of our sin, we return again to Jesus for grace. First, we come for the
grace of forgiveness. But we also come to receive the grace that we need to
keep the Law, to obey what the Spirit has for us here. I sincerely hope that
the Spirit will do both things in your life.
