A Pertinent Question

My reading this morning was James 4:11-12:

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?

When reading the epistle of James, we should keep in mind that James grew up with the Lord and saw perfect, divine behaviour first-hand. The word Christian means ‘little Christ’, therefore we are to imitate Christ’s walk as revealed in the New Testament and we are grateful to James for these practical guidelines.

The Lord never spoke evil of anyone, yet He knew the intents of people’s hearts. He only spoke righteous words of judgement against the hypocritical religious leaders of the day with divine authority. The whole area of church discipline is another matter, but we as believers are not to judge. We often jump to wrong conclusions without knowing the full details. There is always a reason why people act the way they do.

When we judge, we elevate ourselves to the rank of Judge and Lawgiver i.e. God Himself. Therefore James’ question should topple us off that pedestal.

WHO ARE YOU TO JUDGE ANOTHER?

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