A recurring theme in James’ letter is the truth that what is inside a Christian’s heart is what eventually comes out. In the words of Solomon: “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he (Proverbs 23:7).” Wrong thinking within leads to wrong living without. Evil thinking within leads to evil speaking without.
In this tiny paragraph of two verses James addresses the matter of speaking evil against a fellow Christian. To speak evil may also be rendered to “slander” as the NIV has it. Here’s how James puts it in James 4:11-12:
11 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.
12 There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?
James instructs us as to the danger of slander, the danger of speaking in evil ways that “tear down” rather than “build up” (recall James 3:1-12). Two actions surface from a study of these two verses, two actions that will improve our communication with others.
Allow the Bible to Determine Your Communication
If you are a Christian, you will allow the Bible to provide the framework for the way you speak, the way you talk. James is clear, “Do not speak evil of one another…”
The verb translated by the words “speak evil” conveys the idea of speaking in a demeaning way of people when they are not present to defend themselves.
It is the idea of “talking down” another Christian, not “talking down to” another, but “talking down.” It is the sense of tearing down, demeaning, belittling, destroying another person. And again, it is especially the idea of doing so when that person is not present to defend himself or herself.
So it is the idea of talking to others about others in a way that does not help, but rather hurts. It is talking about another Christian surreptitiously, spreading slanderous gossip to others about a person who is not present to address the speaker.
It may well be that the substance of the things said about another is true. Slander is not necessarily false. In fact, in this context, James could have used a different word to convey lying, but he does not. He is addressing bad communication that is, in essence, the speaking about another brother or sister in an unhelpfully critical way especially when that person is not present to defend himself.
Have you ever done this? Have you ever spoken about another person who wasn’t present to defend himself? Perhaps you spoke in a critical way that was demeaning of that person. In doing so you placed yourself in a morally superior position over the person about whom you were speaking.
Many of us are familiar with the legend of the dandelion. According to the legend, if you pick a dandelion and blow upon it and all of its seeds disappear, then your wish will come true. Of course it is just a legend, but the image is helpful. If you’ve ever blown upon a dandelion, you’ve watched it release a spray of those tiny little seeds which are carried away to a number of different directions. Trying to locate and retrieve those tiny little seeds would be next to impossible.
Speaking evil of another Christian is like blowing upon a dandelion. Your words spread to a number of directions as various people hear what you have said and then pass it along to someone else. Trying to “take back” your words would prove as difficult as trying to locate tiny dandelion seeds in a field.
Speaking evil of another Christian is like blowing upon a dandelion. Your words spread to a number of directions as various people hear what you have said and then pass it along to someone else. Trying to “take back” your words would prove as difficult as trying to locate tiny dandelion seeds in a field.
Perhaps you would say you have never spoken evil of another Christian. Have you ever listened to someone speak evil of another? If so, you are culpable in an act that is ungodly and not becoming of a Christian.
If someone turns to us and begins engaging in slander of another brother or sister, we must help by telling him not to speak to us if he is going to speak evil of another brother or sister. We must take this person to passages such as this in James 4:11 and lovingly explain that his behavior is wrong. We may also turn to passages such as Matthew 18:15 where Jesus says, “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.” Never give a hearing to those who speak critically of other Christians especially when those others are not present to defend themselves.
And be forewarned: someone has wisely said, “Whoever gossips to you will gossip about you.”
Is it always bad to talk about a person who is not present? Of course not! There are many occasions during a day when we will be talking about others. Allow me to share a helpful exercise to ensure we will always speak in edifying (to “build up”) ways of others when they are not present. It’s really simple: just imagine that the person is present when you are speaking about him. Picture him right there with you as you are talking to the other person. You are likely to be more fair, kind, and careful with your words.
One of the reasons it is wrong to slander a believer is because that believer is an actual brother or sister, a member of our Christian family, the family of God. The word translated “brethren” in verse 11 may be better translated “brothers and sisters,” all members of the family of God.
Just as it is wrong for you to speak evil of a brother or sister in your physical family, so it is wrong to speak evil of a brother or sister in your spiritual family—in fact, it is arguably more wrong as your spiritual family is a family of those united in Christ, children of God, our Father.
As God’s children, then, we are co-equal brothers and sisters. None of us is even firstborn! Only Christ is the firstborn (Romans 8:29) so no one has the right to “talk down” another brother or sister. We are all of equal stature. In the words of J.A. Motyer, “We have no ‘altitude’…from which to ‘talk down’ to anyone!” 1
Your Christian brother or sister is your family. You take care not to speak evil of your physical family—your husband, your wife, your parents, your children—so you don’t speak evil of your church family. You wouldn’t be unfaithful to your physical family, so you won’t be unfaithful to your church family. You don’t get angry and walk out on your physical family, so you shouldn’t get angry and leave your church family.
James argues that when Christians speak evil of other Christians they have become judgmental critics: “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.”
He is addressing our fallen tendency of have a judgmental spirit, placing ourselves in a morally superior position over our brothers or sisters.
Here is an important qualification: when James warns about “judging” a brother or sister, he is not saying that Christians are never to make moral evaluations. He is not saying that Christians are never to judge between right and wrong. James himself, in writing this letter, is making a number of moral evaluations! He is clear about what is right and wrong.
When James warns about “judging” a brother or sister, he is not saying that Christians are never to make moral evaluations…James himself, in writing this letter, is making a number of moral evaluations!
Similarly, when Jesus says, “Judge not that ye be not judged (Matthew 7:1-5),” He is not forbidding all judgment. In the very same passage where Jesus says, “Judge not that ye be not judged,” He warns about false teachers (Matthew 7:15-20). He says that the way one may determine whether teachers are false is by making a judgment about the kind of fruit they are producing; is it good or bad? This analysis requires moral evaluation, a judgment.
We must always beware of taking Bible verses out of context. To do so increases the risk that we will lose the meaning of the text. God’s word is powerful when rightly interpreted. Our desire should always be to determine the true meaning of a verse and that meaning is often discovered simply by giving careful attention to the context.
Taking verses out of context is in vogue in our culture. How many times, for example, have we heard someone appeal to Matthew 7:1 and cry: “You’re not supposed to judge!” Is this really what the Bible teaches? Are we never once supposed to make a moral evaluation about whether something is true? Or whether someone’s conduct is appropriate? Of course not.
The Bible does not teach Christians to look the other way when a brother or sister sins. The Bible calls for addressing that sin carefully and lovingly (cf Galatians 6:1-2).
James does not forbid making moral evaluations altogether. He is concerned about our having a judgmental attitude or a judgmental spirit. It is not so much that of “judgment of truth” as it is about “being judgmental.” It’s an attitude of moral superiority, thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought.
Speaking in an unhelpfully critical way about another person makes oneself judge and jury. In speaking evil of others, not only are we placing ourselves in a high position of moral superiority over another Christian, but we are also placing ourselves in a high position of moral superiority over the Bible.
James says, “He who speaks evil of a brother…speaks evil of the law and judges the law.”
It is as though we believe we know better than the Scriptures. We act as though we know better than the law, law such as Leviticus 19:16: “Do not go about spreading slander among your people (NIV).” Our attitude is: “Well, I can slander if I please. I know better than the law. I know better than ‘the royal law’ which is to love your neighbor as yourself (James 2:8). I don’t really need to do that. It doesn’t apply to me.”
Wrong thinking within leads to wrong conduct without.
As Christians we must allow the Bible to determine our communication. Secondly:
Allow the Bible to Determine Your Limitations
Forgive the allusion to Clint Eastwood’s character in the Dirty Harry movies, but a memorable quote from “Magnum Force” is where Eastwood’s character Harry Callahan says, “A man’s got to know his limitations.”
While I couldn’t recommend the movie for family viewing, I can say that that particular line is essentially what James is saying in verse 12: We’ve got to know our limitations.
We are incapable of placing ourselves in a high position of moral superiority over others because we’re not that smart, we’re not that good, and we’re not that fair—in a word, we’re not God!
When we have a judgmental spirit, we are acting as God. We are acting as though we are the ones who lay down the law. James corrects this thinking: “There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?”
James is incredulous: “Who are you?!” Who do you think you are, placing yourselves in a high position of moral superiority over others? Do you think you’re sinless? Do you think you’ve never done anything wrong? Or said anything wrong? Or made an unpopular decision? Do you really think you’re that good? Who are you to judge another?!
“There is one Lawgiver.” That one Lawgiver and judge is God. He is the only one “able to save and to destroy.” Only God can both save and destroy in an ultimate sense; eternally save, eternally destroy.
God is the only one in a position of moral superiority. That’s why God is the one who gives the law. Only God has the right to give biblical laws because God alone is consistently good, right, fair, and knows all things.
Would any of us dare claim that we are always good, always right, and always fair? Is there one of us who would dare claim that we know all things? Of course not. This is why there is no place for our acting morally superior to others. It’s as though James were saying, “Frankly, you’re not that good a person! You’re not that smart. Know your limitations. You don’t know everything about that person you are criticizing. You don’t have all the facts.”
See, when you judge another person by being critical and demeaning, you are acting like you have all the information about that person’s situation. You’re acting like you know and have all the facts.
James is warning against our jumping to conclusions and judging before all the facts are in.
A church member once gave me ways I could pray for her while she was away on a mission trip. She had written down a number of statements she wished to keep. Her plan was to review these statements each day and she had asked me to pray that she would keep them. One of the statements read: “I purpose to never assume I understand or know the motives of others.”
That’s a good statement. James is warning here against doing that very thing. By saying there is but one Lawgiver and by asking, “Who are you to judge another?” James is reminding us that we don’t have all the information about another person’s situation. We don’t know that person’s motives. We don’t know why they acted the way they did or why they said what they said. We don’t know that. We’re not that smart. We’re not omniscient. In a word, we’re not God.
Solomon warns in Proverbs 18:17: “The first to present his case seems right, till another comes forward and questions him.” That’s another way of saying there are times when we think we have all the information only to discover later that there was much we did not know.
Solomon warns in Proverbs 18:17: “The first to present his case seems right, till another comes forward and questions him.” That’s another way of saying there are times when we think we have all the information only to discover later that there was much we did not know.
There is one Lawgiver. We’re not that smart. We don’t have all the information. We don’t know everything. What is more, we ourselves are often guilty of the very actions we condemn in others. Such knowledge should engender a greater humility within us.
The great Scottish preacher Alexander Whyte was a bold, yet humble minister known for his authentic, self-effacing manner. G.F. Barbour tells of one memorable occasion during Whyte’s ministry:
When he was speaking in a slum where its inhabitants were known for their drinking he astonished his hearers by informing them that he had found out the name of the wickedest man in Edinburgh, and he had come to tell them; and bending forward he whispered: “His name is Alexander Whyte.” 2
What About You?
- “You’re not supposed to judge!” Is this true? Explain.
- How do you feel about helping another Christian by not listening to gossip and encouraging their following Scripture? Are you comfortable doing this? If not, why not?
- How does our “not having all the information about another person’s situation” help us mind our tongues?
directorfsm
I can’t even count how many times someone has throw in my face Matthew 7:1 “It says Judge not less you be judged, Christians aren’t supposed to judge;” so completely out of context.
Todd Linn, PhD
Indeed! Hardly a week goes by…