Today, we are going to work through just two verses from James 4, verses 11-12. These verses have their own little introduction and conclusion, and sort of stand alone. Let's start by reading just the first sentence in verse 11:
(11) Don't speak evil of one another, brothers.
In my translation, James starts by commanding us to not "speak evil of" one another. What exactly does this mean?
The NIV translates the same verb as "slander," which means you shouldn't tell lies about each other. But the verb doesn't necessarily mean telling a lie.
The idea is more like, your brother or sister in Christ did something stupid, or sinful, and you find yourself wanting to talk about it to other people. You want to publicly criticize them, and say bad things about people.
Let me give you three examples of how it's used in classical Greek. The first is from Polybius, who was a Greek historian. He's talking about politicians passing a law, or bill, that's considered stupid. Which seems like a pretty modern example, right?:
"Upon this decree being published in Greece, it created a feeling of confidence and gratification in all the communities except the Aetolians. These last were annoyed at not getting all they expected, and attempted to RUN DOWN the decree by saying that it was mere words, without anything practical in it; and they based upon the clauses of the decree itself some such arguments as follow, by way of disquieting those who would listen to them. They said “That there were two distinct clauses in the decree relating to the cities garrisoned by Philip: one ordering him to remove those garrisons and to hand over the cities to the Romans; the other bidding him withdraw his garrisons and set the cities free. Those that were to be set free were definitely named, and they were towns in Asia; and it was plain, therefore, that those which were to be handed over to the Romans were those in Europe, namely, Oreus, Eretria, Chalcis, Demetrias, and Corinth. Hence it was plain that the Romans were receiving the ‘fetters of Greece’ from the hands of Philip, and that the Greeks were getting, not freedom, but a change of masters.”
Polybius, Histories (Medford, MA: Macmillan, 1889), 240.
When a politician passes a stupid law, if you're doing this Greek verb, you will publicly criticize it. It's stupid, and you let people know it's stupid.
A second example, also from Polybius, describes the war efforts of a general named Fabius:
"He, then, during the following months, kept his army continually hovering in the neighbourhood of the enemy, his superior knowledge of the country enabling him to occupy beforehand all the posts of vantage; and having supplies in abundance on his rear, he never allowed his soldiers to go on foraging expeditions, or get separated, on any pretence, from the camp; but keeping them continually massed together and in close union, he watched for favourable opportunities of time and place; and by this method of proceeding captured and killed a large number of the enemy, who in their contempt of him straggled from their camp in search of plunder. His object in these manœuvres was twofold,—to gradually diminish the limited numbers of the enemy: and to strengthen and renew by such successes in detail the spirits of his own men, which had been depressed, to begin with, by the general defeat of their armies. But nothing would induce him to agree to give his enemy a set battle. This policy however was by no means approved of by his master of the horse, Marcus. He joined in the general verdict, and DECRIED Fabius in every one’s hearing, as conducting his command in a cowardly and unenterprising spirit; and was himself eager to venture upon a decisive engagement.
Polybius, Histories (Medford, MA: Macmillan, 1889), 248.
So this general played it safe, sort of. He built his soldiers' confidence by putting them in positions to succeed. He got them used to the idea that they would be victorious in battle. But he did this by not taking chances. He played it safe. He refused to engage in large battles that could go either way. And Marcus, "his master of the horse" (whatever that means), responded to this by deciding that he was cowardly and unenterprising. You're given this big army, and all these resources, and you don't have as much to show for it as you should. So Marcus "decried" him in everyone's hearing. Everyone was told that Fabius was a coward, and a poor steward of army resources.
Was all of this true? It's not a lie, exactly. It's not slander. It's more like "public criticism."
So sometimes, this is the situation we find ourselves in. Our brothers or sisters in Christ do something that we think is cowardly, or dumb, or a waste of resources, or sinful, and we publicly criticize them. We tell their story to our friends and coworkers. We spread the news about them. Maybe what we say is true. Maybe it's not. I'm not sure it matters. Either way, we are criticizing them. We are "speaking evil of" them. And that's what we aren't supposed to do. God expects you keep your opinions to yourself. If you can't say something nice about someone, don't say anything at all.
At this point, we maybe expect James to talk about why we shouldn't do this. Why shouldn't you and I publicly trash each other's reputations? Why shouldn't you and I make sure that people think unkind, negative things about each other? Why shouldn't people know about every single one of our flaws, and every stupid thing we've ever said or done?
And that's what James does. But he does it, a little differently than we expect. Let's start at the top, James 4:11:
(11) Don't speak evil of one another, brothers.
The one speaking evil of a brother or judging his brother speaks evil of the law and judges the law.
What law is James talking about? I think it has to be God's royal, kingly law. We, as citizens of God's kingdom, are expected to obey the laws of the kingdom. And above all else, that means two things: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and soul, and mind, and strength." And, secondly, "love your neighbor as yourself."
When you and I bad-mouth each other, we are at the same time bad-mouthing God's kingdom laws. We are publicly criticizing God's laws, and saying that we know a better way to live. We are judging the law as being inadequate, and not something to be followed. We are choosing to be rebels, and outlaws.
At this point, James takes a little step forward with a Now comma (working from de to de):
Now, if the law you judge, you aren't a doer of the law but a judge [of the law].
(12) There is one lawgiver and judge-- the One Able to Save and to Destroy. ["One" is focused]
What kind of relationship are we supposed to have to God's kingdom laws? James says, you should be a "doer," and not a "judge."
Your job is not to evaluate the laws, and decide which of them you can safely ignore. That's not the position you are in. When God tells you to do something, God expects you to do it.
And God has every right to expect this. He is the one lawgiver and judge. He's "The Man." He's the one who makes the decisions about how his kingdom should look, and how people should act inside of his kingdom.
James then uses overspecification (=describing someone or something in greater detail than is technically necessary, so that we view someone/something in a particular way), to help us think about what kind of Lawgiver and Judge God is. God is "The One Able to Save and to Destroy."
There is a promise here, and a threat. On the day of judgment, you will either be saved, or destroyed. Those are your two possible fates.
God is the one who will decide your fate. And He will do this, on the basis of his kingdom law.
James then wraps up this little section by taking one last step forward:
Now, you-- who are you-- the one judging your neighbor? [Runge thinks "who" is focused. The first "you" would be Position 1, topical framing. Not sure]
When you publicly criticize your neighbor, you are taking on a role you weren't meant to take. You've chosen to become a judge of the law, and now we learn, you've also become a judge of your neighbor. If you do this, you're playing God. Your trying to sit in his throne, and do his job.
Before you do this, you should take an honest look at yourself. Consider your strength, and compare it to God's. Think about if you are able to save and to destroy on the day of judgment. Think about if you can take God head-on, and win.
The idea is nonsense, of course. If we fight God, we will never win.
So who are you? Someone who shouldn't tangle with God. You don't start fights you have no shot at winning.
The other thing we should see here, is that James changes his language here. This whole time through, he's been talking about how we talk about "one another." It's about how we treat the people in this room. Suddenly, instead, we are talking about "your neighbor." Why?
Any time we hear "neighbor" language, we should find ourselves reflexively thinking about Jesus' words, "Love your neighbor like yourself." We should think about God's royal, kingdom laws.
The people in this room, your brothers and sisters in Christ, are your neighbors. You love them, the way you love yourself.
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So those are the two verses today. What do we do with them?
Let me start, by asking you a question. Why do we find ourselves wanting to speak evil of each other? [Get answers]
(1) Our feelings got hurt.
Some of us are more thin-skinned than others. Maybe we've always been that way. Maybe it's because we've been criticized quite a bit for this or that, and we've found that as we get older, we become more defensive. In this area, at least, it feels like we are going backward spiritually/in wisdom. But when we are hurt, we find that we lash out. And one of the easiest ways to lash out, is by speaking evil of others, to our friends, and family, and coworkers.
It's really difficult, when someone hurts you, to keep that pain to yourself. It's hard, when you're mistreated, not to talk about that person to everyone.
(2) We didn't get what we wanted.
At some point along the way, this church will make a decision that you or I will disagree with. It will go in a direction that you think is a mistake. And there's a decent chance that it will do that, knowing that you disagree. Maybe that disagreement will be over the types of songs we sing, or which missionaries we support, or what materials we use in Sunday school or small groups. Maybe it will be over how expensive a coffee we should have in the meet and greet area. It could be big, or small. But it will be something, eventually.
And when this happens, it's a hard thing. It's hard enough, when you don't get your way. It's even worse, when you don't get your way, and people who made the decision knew what you wanted. It feels like they won, and you lost.
So what do you do?
Our natural tendency, in that situation, is to speak evil of one another, to someone. And when we do that, in this situation, we usually put an ugly spin on it. We add an interpretation.
We say, "The church, or elders, or pastors, made that decision, because they are selfish, or scared, or lack vision. They did it because they don't care about me."
We spin it in an ugly way, and then we speak evil of them to outsiders.
Did they sin? No. It's not a matter of sin. It's a matter of preference, and priority, and vision.
I think the spin, and the interpretation, we put on other people's actions is where things tend to get really ugly. When we speak evil of one another, part of that process is describing character flaws. We call each other controlling, or manipulative, or proud, or selfish. We give people nasty labels.
(3) That person did something to make life more difficult, or expensive, than it needed to be for us.
There are times when people in this church will need our financial support. When this happens, those of you who give could very easily find yourself thinking evil thoughts. You'll compare your boat/truck/house to theirs. You'll compare your flip phone to their smart phone. You'll compare the hours you work, with what they do.
Maybe you give, because you know you should. But that giving comes with a price. "[Name] needed a loan when his furnace went out, because he... what? Because he's a little lazy, and doesn't spend his money well, and didn't plan for the unexpected."
Again, we put an ugly little spin on it, and we dishonor people by trashing their reputation.
Or say one of you needs a tree taken out, and you try to do it yourself, and fail. You call me to help, and it's now way harder than it needed to be. Maybe I help, but my help comes with a price. I speak evil of you, by telling people how badly you botched the job. Everyone knows you are a failure, when it comes to tree removal.
Our help shouldn't come with the price of a trashed reputation, and gossip.
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We understand that there are lots of reasons why we might find ourselves wanting to speak evil of one another. We hurt each other's feelings. We don't always get our way. We make life hard for each other. With some of us, our personalities just naturally clash. If we weren't both brothers and sisters in Christ, we would probably have nothing to do with each other.
But here we are (smirking).
So what do we do?
We stop speaking evil of one another. We become the type of church that lives with an awareness that we are one people, living under one God, the Lawgiver and Judge, the One Able to Save and to Destroy. We become a church without undercurrents, where we honor each other, and build one another up. We become a church that's focused on loving God, and loving each other, and shining as lights in [place]. We become a church where we are okay with not getting our way. We become the type of first fruits that God created us to be.
One of the things that Jonathan Edwards is famous for is his resolutions. I'm not sure how many he had. I can't even give you examples of some of them, without using google. All I know, is that he had lots of resolutions. And as he went through life, he added to his resolutions about how he would live. From that day forward, he would be a different man. After wrestling with this passage this week, I've come up with four for myself:
(1) I won't publicly criticize any of you, or speak evil of any of you.
(2) If I have a problem with you, I will either go to you, and talk about it with you, or I will keep my mouth shut, understanding that it's not a big deal really.
(3) If I learn a piece of juicy gossip about you, because you made a mess of your life in some way, I will never share it. No one else will ever know.
(4) If someone speaks evil of you, I will speak up, and try to put a stop to it.
Translation:
(11) Don't speak evil of one another, brothers.
The one speaking evil of a brother or judging his brother speaks evil of the law and judges the law.
Now, if the law you judge, you aren't a doer of the law but a judge [of the law].
(12) There is one lawgiver and judge-- the One Able to Save and to Destroy.
Now you-- who are you-- the one judging your neighbor?
