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?

Here James revisits a couple of previous topics to bring things together. The Greek word translated as “speak evil against” (καταλαλέω, ka-ta-la-leh-oh) means slander. It’s not about genuine criticism. James covered the evil we do with our tongues in chapter three.

The Greek word translated as “judges” (κρίνω, krin-oh) is about partiality. The first example in the 1979 BAGD lexicon is, “prefer someone to someone.” James ripped partiality back in chapter two.

So this passage is tying his earlier themes of partiality and the tongue to his recent point that being God is not our responsibility.

He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law.

Judging the law is way above our pay grade. It’s ridiculously inappropriate—and unproductive.

But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.

And, of course, we’re not God.

There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?

The conclusion is a modern colloquialism.

“Give it a rest.”

And note that this is about “brethren”—other Christians. There is plenty of evil right now in our world and James is not saying that we should ignore that. Exercising judgement over issues of right and wrong is essential. One of the church’s main roles is to be the ethical standard. Jesus commanded that.

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” — Matthew 5:13–16

For example, many churches in Germany failed miserably in the 1930s and 40s. They were silent, choosing to “not judge.”

If they did that based on their reading of James, they missed the point.

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These weekday DEEPs are written by Mike Slay. Saturdays' by Matt Richardson. Subscribe here: https://www.ailbe.org/resources/community

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Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.