WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.060 Well, please do turn up James chapter 4. 00:00:03.680 --> 00:00:06.320 We'll be focusing on verses 11 and 12 this morning. 00:00:07.199 --> 00:00:10.419 I read the wider passage to give us the context from last week. 00:00:10.500 --> 00:00:15.480 If we were to boil the letter of James down, if you've been with us over the weeks, 00:00:15.520 --> 00:00:17.579 this is now the ninth sermon in the series. 00:00:17.699 --> 00:00:23.640 If you've been with us through that time and we were to boil the letter all the way down to its essence, 00:00:24.320 --> 00:00:27.980 it would simply be this, the Christian faith is visible. 00:00:27.980 --> 00:00:35.500 That is a heart that has been genuinely renewed by God can be seen in the life that it produces. 00:00:36.960 --> 00:00:45.980 What has been done to us internally by God in terms of transforming our hearts can be seen in a transformed life. 00:00:46.120 --> 00:00:50.900 God's people are, James says, doers of the word, not hearers only. 00:00:51.380 --> 00:00:53.480 And he says there is no alternative. 00:00:53.479 --> 00:01:01.179 Faith that is professed but that doesn't have any apparent effect on the one who is professing it, 00:01:01.259 --> 00:01:04.299 James says, chapter 2, verse 26, is dead. 00:01:05.799 --> 00:01:08.879 He's absolutely stark on this point. 00:01:09.939 --> 00:01:15.319 If God has changed your life internally, it is visible externally. 00:01:15.939 --> 00:01:19.379 That's one of the big problems that our culture has with Christians. 00:01:19.379 --> 00:01:23.400 The inconsistency between what we say and the way that we act. 00:01:23.480 --> 00:01:26.660 And James is saying they're absolutely right to think that way. 00:01:27.260 --> 00:01:29.120 Because that is supposed to be how it works. 00:01:30.159 --> 00:01:34.800 Real faith is living and living things are by nature, guess what, alive. 00:01:35.340 --> 00:01:36.960 And faith is no different. 00:01:38.400 --> 00:01:40.600 Things that are living get out there. 00:01:41.200 --> 00:01:41.920 They move. 00:01:42.400 --> 00:01:43.540 They animate things. 00:01:44.020 --> 00:01:45.460 And faith is no different. 00:01:45.980 --> 00:01:51.100 The problem is, we know, truth is, lots of us keep our Christian faith up in our heads. 00:01:51.099 --> 00:01:55.500 But this kind of person knows what the faith teaches. 00:01:55.719 --> 00:01:57.599 May even think great things about God. 00:01:57.699 --> 00:02:03.099 May even think lofty, true, wonderfully rich theological things about God. 00:02:03.719 --> 00:02:09.079 And even in their better moments, they want their life to reflect what they know more closely. 00:02:09.080 --> 00:02:15.580 But the pressures of life, the conflicting desires that we all feel in here, that desire, 00:02:15.700 --> 00:02:18.920 I want to be Christian, but I also want to be well-liked and popular. 00:02:19.640 --> 00:02:23.600 That desire, I want to be Christian, I also want to be rich and I want to be powerful. 00:02:24.140 --> 00:02:25.520 They conflict. 00:02:26.200 --> 00:02:32.500 As well as that, the context around us means that our Christianity doesn't venture any further than actually up here. 00:02:32.580 --> 00:02:34.600 The top two inches stays in our heads. 00:02:34.599 --> 00:02:39.060 We have very holy thoughts, but there isn't much holiness in the way that we live. 00:02:41.719 --> 00:02:44.639 And we've seen that James is writing to people like that. 00:02:44.759 --> 00:02:48.879 And he is challenging them and he is exhorting them to change this. 00:02:49.579 --> 00:02:54.359 And last week, if you were here, he took us to ground zero of where this change will come from. 00:02:54.620 --> 00:02:58.879 Look back over in the next column, chapter 3, verse 6, he says, 00:02:58.879 --> 00:03:04.859 Sorry, chapter 4, verse 6, God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. 00:03:05.439 --> 00:03:08.659 Submit yourselves, therefore, to God. 00:03:09.919 --> 00:03:13.400 Ground zero of the changed life is repentance. 00:03:16.199 --> 00:03:17.120 Cleanse your hands. 00:03:17.219 --> 00:03:18.800 Verse 8 of chapter 4, 00:03:18.879 --> 00:03:23.000 Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 00:03:23.120 --> 00:03:24.639 Be wretched and mourn and weep. 00:03:24.919 --> 00:03:27.859 Repent of the heart that you have. 00:03:29.479 --> 00:03:30.639 The sinful desires. 00:03:31.319 --> 00:03:32.219 The sinful behavior. 00:03:32.639 --> 00:03:38.419 The fact that you say with your mouth that you're Christian and your life doesn't bear that out. 00:03:39.299 --> 00:03:41.319 James is writing to people like that and he's saying, 00:03:41.780 --> 00:03:44.620 I'm taking you to ground zero of where this transformation comes from. 00:03:44.680 --> 00:03:45.240 It's repentance. 00:03:45.639 --> 00:03:49.939 However, he knows that any change in our lives comes from a changed heart. 00:03:49.939 --> 00:03:55.919 But that repentance, that mourning and weeping, if it's sincere, it always leads to action. 00:03:56.579 --> 00:03:59.479 It always leads to something happening. 00:03:59.479 --> 00:04:06.019 The truth is, if we're honest, we don't mind talky Christianity. 00:04:07.019 --> 00:04:11.179 We can even be quite good at explaining the truthy Christianity. 00:04:11.180 --> 00:04:17.360 And we also don't mind, I'll get to it later, Christianity. 00:04:17.860 --> 00:04:21.100 Or, I really must get round to it, faith. 00:04:21.959 --> 00:04:25.240 But those versions of the faith, James has been at pains to assist. 00:04:25.240 --> 00:04:27.579 If they're not followed by action, they're dead. 00:04:27.579 --> 00:04:34.500 So, James lays out what action is required. 00:04:34.639 --> 00:04:38.060 He describes what it looks like to live in the light of repentance. 00:04:38.800 --> 00:04:41.139 He says, humble yourselves before the Lord. 00:04:41.479 --> 00:04:45.919 And just to be clear, that means changing your behavior in these specific ways. 00:04:45.920 --> 00:04:52.420 And he names several areas that, Lord willing, we'll come to as we close out the letter in coming weeks. 00:04:52.660 --> 00:04:54.920 But he begins this morning with the tongue. 00:04:55.100 --> 00:04:56.860 Verse 11. 00:04:58.600 --> 00:05:01.040 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. 00:05:02.819 --> 00:05:06.120 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. 00:05:06.939 --> 00:05:11.520 Now, if you have read James with any care, actually, let's be honest, if you read it even at a superficial level, 00:05:11.520 --> 00:05:14.900 you can't miss how significantly James views the tongue. 00:05:15.920 --> 00:05:20.980 It's one of the big threads that runs through the letter, particularly the damage that it can do. 00:05:21.060 --> 00:05:24.740 Do you remember I said that when we talked about the tongue previously in chapter 3, 00:05:25.020 --> 00:05:27.800 he really describes the tongue as a weapon of mass destruction. 00:05:28.660 --> 00:05:38.200 This tiny little piece of skin in this flesh, in the cradle of your jaw, can burn whole forests down. 00:05:39.139 --> 00:05:40.700 It can destroy things. 00:05:42.139 --> 00:05:43.939 James has been at pains to say that. 00:05:43.939 --> 00:05:47.360 And it is this that he takes up again with his hearers. 00:05:47.860 --> 00:05:50.199 Because we've seen they are quick to speak. 00:05:51.300 --> 00:05:53.740 They are angry, especially their leaders. 00:05:53.939 --> 00:05:56.000 They are stirring up intemperate rhetoric. 00:05:56.319 --> 00:06:00.300 They are using their words in a way that is going to have a terribly devastating effect. 00:06:01.360 --> 00:06:02.759 They are careless with their words. 00:06:02.759 --> 00:06:07.680 And their distorted desires for power and influence are leading them into fights and quarrels, 00:06:07.779 --> 00:06:11.620 which are expressed in harsh words, critical words. 00:06:12.659 --> 00:06:16.939 Turning on others and speaking evil against them. 00:06:18.099 --> 00:06:21.740 And James says that repentance means that you actually need to do something about this. 00:06:22.399 --> 00:06:23.719 I can't just tell you about it. 00:06:23.720 --> 00:06:26.420 I can't just say you need to humble yourselves in repentance. 00:06:26.860 --> 00:06:32.940 Actually, the truth that accords with repentance looks like changing the way you speak. 00:06:34.200 --> 00:06:36.860 He says, no, don't explain it away. 00:06:37.740 --> 00:06:40.440 Don't suggest that other people have misunderstood you. 00:06:41.320 --> 00:06:45.880 Humbling yourself before the Lord requires you to humble your mouth before Him. 00:06:46.700 --> 00:06:48.800 He says your mouth needs to become Christian. 00:06:48.800 --> 00:06:53.680 And that will mean stopping doing two things. 00:06:54.379 --> 00:06:56.160 First of all, two points. 00:06:56.860 --> 00:06:59.560 Stop saying what you're saying. 00:07:01.020 --> 00:07:01.879 Verse 11. 00:07:02.720 --> 00:07:03.800 Stop saying what you're saying. 00:07:03.939 --> 00:07:05.519 Do not speak evil against one another. 00:07:05.639 --> 00:07:09.160 Brother is the one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, he says. 00:07:10.240 --> 00:07:12.560 Now, the word evil isn't there in the original. 00:07:12.680 --> 00:07:14.480 Do not speak evil against one another. 00:07:14.660 --> 00:07:15.800 That has been supplied. 00:07:16.500 --> 00:07:17.980 It just says don't speak against. 00:07:19.259 --> 00:07:21.920 Don't speak against one another in the life of the church. 00:07:24.379 --> 00:07:26.860 James isn't saying that you never criticize somebody. 00:07:27.280 --> 00:07:29.540 He isn't saying that you never challenge somebody. 00:07:29.800 --> 00:07:31.780 He isn't saying that you don't rebuke somebody. 00:07:32.180 --> 00:07:38.120 Don't take that, clip it out, rip it, as it were, bleeding from its context and say, 00:07:38.319 --> 00:07:42.740 you can't say these things to me because this verse says it, 00:07:43.060 --> 00:07:45.100 if somebody's challenging you about a particular thing. 00:07:45.100 --> 00:07:51.020 What he's doing is talking about the angry speech that he's already ruled out in chapter 1, verse 19. 00:07:51.900 --> 00:07:58.800 He's talking about the harsh criticism that is delivered by an unbridled tongue in 126. 00:07:59.379 --> 00:08:03.080 He's talking about the kind of fiery speech that I mentioned from chapter 3 00:08:03.080 --> 00:08:08.120 that will burn those that it's directed at and it will stain those who hear it. 00:08:08.120 --> 00:08:14.980 James is talking about speaking with malicious intent to bring someone else down. 00:08:14.980 --> 00:08:22.800 And I think going further, he means this with particular respect to people's Christian faith. 00:08:22.800 --> 00:08:28.720 So in verse 12, you see when it says that only God can save or destroy, 00:08:29.680 --> 00:08:34.060 the implication is that these people are speaking ways that assume that they have the authority to do that. 00:08:34.279 --> 00:08:35.480 We'll come to that a little bit later. 00:08:35.940 --> 00:08:39.019 But they think that they can judge the condition of another man's heart. 00:08:40.799 --> 00:08:45.460 They are critical of others with respect to their grasp of or their commitment to 00:08:45.460 --> 00:08:48.000 or their outworking of the Christian faith. 00:08:48.000 --> 00:08:53.360 This often happens when the pressure is on. 00:08:53.759 --> 00:08:56.100 Remember these people scattered and persecuted. 00:08:56.320 --> 00:08:57.000 They are struggling. 00:08:57.419 --> 00:08:58.200 They are marginalized. 00:08:58.500 --> 00:08:59.580 They are in small groups. 00:09:00.059 --> 00:09:03.840 And often what can happen, you would think that that would be a cause for people to pull together. 00:09:04.440 --> 00:09:07.659 But often what happens is that there is a pulling apart. 00:09:08.340 --> 00:09:11.620 There is a fracturing because people's egos get in the way. 00:09:11.779 --> 00:09:13.600 People position themselves wanting influence. 00:09:13.720 --> 00:09:14.840 That's what we've seen in James. 00:09:14.840 --> 00:09:20.960 But also they turn on one another because they don't think that they're handling the situation appropriately. 00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:26.720 In church life it can work out in a number of ways. 00:09:28.100 --> 00:09:35.019 We can dismiss people because they're immature and they don't really get it. 00:09:35.639 --> 00:09:41.879 When it is you and your group's perspective on a particular application of the Christian faith. 00:09:41.879 --> 00:09:50.379 If you don't hold the same view as me on this issue that's secondary to the gospel, 00:09:51.200 --> 00:09:54.179 maybe important, but it's not at the heart of things. 00:09:54.240 --> 00:09:58.799 If you don't hold the same view as me, you're written off or you're talked down to 00:09:58.799 --> 00:10:03.000 or you're not with us on this kind of language. 00:10:03.000 --> 00:10:06.039 Or worst of all, you're viewed as deficient in some way. 00:10:08.159 --> 00:10:12.039 Now this attitude invariably creates an in-crowd and an out-crowd in church life. 00:10:12.440 --> 00:10:14.679 It is its own version of partiality. 00:10:18.139 --> 00:10:22.159 Another way this can happen is when people in church life criticize one another because they have, 00:10:22.240 --> 00:10:25.840 it is argued, adopted ideological convictions. 00:10:25.840 --> 00:10:28.180 And again, this works both ways. 00:10:28.940 --> 00:10:32.860 They, whoever they are, have been captured by the woke agenda. 00:10:33.660 --> 00:10:36.720 Whereas they are too engaged in the culture war. 00:10:38.300 --> 00:10:40.460 Now whether that's true or not isn't the point. 00:10:41.560 --> 00:10:43.060 The assessment may indeed be correct. 00:10:43.500 --> 00:10:47.259 The problem is the way we speak about the person on the other side. 00:10:48.660 --> 00:10:53.759 In a church that is diverse, you would expect that there would be a raft of opinions on these sorts of issues. 00:10:53.759 --> 00:10:58.620 And one of the beautiful things about the body of Christ and her unity is that we can, 00:10:58.740 --> 00:11:04.259 we can be united at what is most vital and central and still hold a diversity of views. 00:11:06.860 --> 00:11:09.500 So the assessment may be correct on either side, 00:11:09.559 --> 00:11:12.519 but the important thing is how we speak about people on the other side. 00:11:12.600 --> 00:11:14.259 It's rarely done with compassion. 00:11:14.620 --> 00:11:16.100 It's rarely done with concern. 00:11:16.319 --> 00:11:20.059 It's rarely done sowing in peace, as James has already told us. 00:11:20.059 --> 00:11:24.059 In pursuit of a harvest of righteousness, our tone is usually against. 00:11:26.199 --> 00:11:27.779 We typically go after them. 00:11:27.899 --> 00:11:28.679 We criticize them. 00:11:28.879 --> 00:11:29.739 We speak against. 00:11:31.979 --> 00:11:38.319 Yet another way we can do this is by speaking against people for being too prescriptive, 00:11:38.899 --> 00:11:40.000 too idealistic, 00:11:40.419 --> 00:11:43.479 too, dare I say, serious about the Christian life. 00:11:43.480 --> 00:11:51.279 Each of us is called to apply the scriptures to every corner of our lives in obedience. 00:11:52.360 --> 00:11:56.860 We must do every single thing that we do to the glory of God. 00:11:58.940 --> 00:12:03.340 Every single thing that we do as Christians is submitted to the Lordship of Christ. 00:12:03.340 --> 00:12:05.960 What we eat and what we drink, 00:12:06.420 --> 00:12:07.280 the way we speak, 00:12:07.660 --> 00:12:09.720 the way that we conduct our family life, 00:12:09.879 --> 00:12:11.660 the way that we conduct our business life, 00:12:11.759 --> 00:12:14.899 the way that we conduct our relationships inside and outside the church, 00:12:15.399 --> 00:12:15.960 everything. 00:12:16.860 --> 00:12:19.000 There is a Christian way to eat an apple. 00:12:20.080 --> 00:12:22.740 Everything we do to the glory of God. 00:12:23.860 --> 00:12:24.820 Christian way to eat an apple. 00:12:24.820 --> 00:12:29.560 You take a bite and you give glory to God for the wonderful flavor and the taste. 00:12:29.660 --> 00:12:29.980 And you say, 00:12:30.120 --> 00:12:33.060 Thank you, Lord, that this is not something that belongs to Satan. 00:12:33.320 --> 00:12:34.580 That's a Christian way to eat an apple. 00:12:36.160 --> 00:12:36.360 Okay? 00:12:36.520 --> 00:12:38.400 Everything is to be done to the glory of God. 00:12:39.620 --> 00:12:42.620 Now that means that we do things that make us outliers in the culture. 00:12:42.740 --> 00:12:46.100 And particularly in the context that James is describing here, 00:12:46.340 --> 00:12:49.760 that we've been talking about a context where we are on the back foot as Christians. 00:12:51.900 --> 00:12:53.220 It's going to make us outliers. 00:12:53.220 --> 00:12:53.840 If we say, 00:12:53.980 --> 00:12:56.379 No, I'm not bowing the knee to these cultural gods. 00:12:56.480 --> 00:12:58.420 I am only bowing the knee to the Lord Jesus. 00:12:58.660 --> 00:13:01.279 And I do all that I do to the glory of his name. 00:13:04.019 --> 00:13:07.100 Increasingly, outliers become the object of scorn in the culture. 00:13:07.160 --> 00:13:08.160 And we see that as well. 00:13:09.779 --> 00:13:12.120 But this should not be the case in the church. 00:13:13.720 --> 00:13:15.660 And yet, it often is. 00:13:17.060 --> 00:13:19.440 People who have a particular view on certain things. 00:13:19.440 --> 00:13:21.720 People who take the Sabbath seriously. 00:13:21.720 --> 00:13:26.200 I've been maligned for that by Christians in the past. 00:13:27.460 --> 00:13:31.200 Christians who have a particular view about the importance of Christian education. 00:13:31.980 --> 00:13:37.300 Christians who choose not to own a television because they don't think that it's a wise and prudent use of their time. 00:13:38.040 --> 00:13:39.120 Christians who are T total. 00:13:39.820 --> 00:13:42.080 They're all a bit serious, we're told. 00:13:42.899 --> 00:13:45.040 That's a terrible way to speak about brothers and sisters. 00:13:45.039 --> 00:13:49.779 Back in the day when our older children were homeschooled and people sometimes asked me, 00:13:49.860 --> 00:13:51.459 Well, do they go to local schools? 00:13:51.579 --> 00:13:52.279 Christians asked me, 00:13:52.339 --> 00:13:53.240 Do they go to local schools? 00:13:53.299 --> 00:13:53.620 I would say, 00:13:53.719 --> 00:13:54.879 Yes, very local. 00:13:56.719 --> 00:13:58.639 Because I didn't want the eye rolling. 00:13:59.399 --> 00:14:02.000 I didn't want them to hear me mention the H word. 00:14:02.000 --> 00:14:07.179 It's this kind of thing that we see in church life, speaking against others. 00:14:07.700 --> 00:14:11.919 I should say I've heard very little of it here in the time that we've been here. 00:14:12.059 --> 00:14:14.120 But these are things that we need to be aware of. 00:14:14.580 --> 00:14:15.919 We need to be mindful of. 00:14:17.240 --> 00:14:20.279 Speaking against others can be toxic in church life. 00:14:20.600 --> 00:14:24.080 Writing off a new Christian or a young believer because they don't get it 00:14:24.080 --> 00:14:30.160 is like an employer criticizing a new employee because they don't get their new job fully yet. 00:14:30.960 --> 00:14:33.259 You would think that was a very strange thing to do. 00:14:33.660 --> 00:14:36.500 They don't need to be criticized or patronized or gossiped about. 00:14:36.580 --> 00:14:39.420 They need to be helped and encouraged and enabled to grow. 00:14:41.740 --> 00:14:46.560 Similarly, speaking against the people who value and emphasize things that they think are important in their discipleship 00:14:46.560 --> 00:14:49.400 but that you don't see the same way is just as bad. 00:14:49.399 --> 00:14:54.379 We all have to work out our salvation with fear and trembling 00:14:54.379 --> 00:14:59.259 and if someone in the church takes a different view to you on something for biblical reasons 00:14:59.259 --> 00:15:01.519 don't speak against them. 00:15:02.199 --> 00:15:04.179 Don't judge their faith for it. 00:15:05.240 --> 00:15:07.120 James says stop saying what you're saying. 00:15:09.120 --> 00:15:10.240 And here's why. 00:15:11.439 --> 00:15:15.539 When you speak against someone you are positioning yourself above them. 00:15:15.539 --> 00:15:19.740 Look Timothy Johnson in his commentary on James says this. 00:15:20.519 --> 00:15:38.379 It has the same root as the fights and quarrels that we talked about last week. 00:15:38.379 --> 00:15:41.320 Disordered passions with yourself at the center. 00:15:41.480 --> 00:15:43.279 Making yourself the judge. 00:15:43.399 --> 00:15:45.759 Making yourself superior to others. 00:15:47.220 --> 00:15:49.179 I've just alluded to where James goes next. 00:15:49.279 --> 00:15:51.779 It isn't just as simple as being critical of another person. 00:15:52.200 --> 00:15:56.080 James goes on to explain alongside stop saying what you're saying. 00:15:56.179 --> 00:15:59.559 He says secondly, stop sitting where you're sitting. 00:15:59.559 --> 00:16:05.579 When you speak against someone you're passing judgment on them. 00:16:06.519 --> 00:16:09.219 But you don't just sit in judgment over them. 00:16:10.339 --> 00:16:13.719 You also, verse 11, sit in judgment over the law. 00:16:13.819 --> 00:16:17.239 The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother 00:16:17.239 --> 00:16:20.739 speaks evil against the law and judges the law. 00:16:21.719 --> 00:16:26.419 But if you judge the law, you're not a doer of the law but a judge. 00:16:26.419 --> 00:16:31.019 Why is James introducing the law here? 00:16:32.399 --> 00:16:34.099 What's the law got to do with this? 00:16:34.219 --> 00:16:39.559 Well, back in chapter 2, verse 8, you remember he told us what law he means here. 00:16:40.219 --> 00:16:42.759 You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 00:16:44.120 --> 00:16:46.240 Taken from Leviticus 19, verse 18. 00:16:46.399 --> 00:16:48.559 You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 00:16:48.919 --> 00:16:53.399 Taken from the words of Jesus that we heard before our confession this morning. 00:16:53.399 --> 00:16:58.240 And James is saying that if you speak against your brother, 00:16:59.120 --> 00:17:02.159 speaking against him falls foul of that law. 00:17:02.299 --> 00:17:08.700 In fact, in your judgment, the law that says you should love that person is actually evil. 00:17:09.379 --> 00:17:11.460 What he means is you think that it's actually beneath you. 00:17:12.039 --> 00:17:13.379 It's not something you need to obey. 00:17:13.940 --> 00:17:15.019 You don't do the law. 00:17:15.099 --> 00:17:17.019 You stand in judgment over it, actually. 00:17:17.019 --> 00:17:23.559 It's like when you're driving along and you see the speed limit sign. 00:17:23.740 --> 00:17:25.139 Your eyes are working fine. 00:17:25.220 --> 00:17:26.279 You see the speed limit sign. 00:17:26.359 --> 00:17:30.019 You see what it says and you choose to drive faster than the speed limit. 00:17:31.879 --> 00:17:34.980 You're the one who's deciding whether or not you're going to heed the law. 00:17:35.879 --> 00:17:38.680 And when you drive above the limit, you don't do the law. 00:17:38.779 --> 00:17:40.799 You judge the law to be beneath you. 00:17:41.160 --> 00:17:42.579 It doesn't apply to you. 00:17:42.579 --> 00:17:45.819 You clearly are above the law. 00:17:47.579 --> 00:17:50.399 When it comes to God's law, Christians aren't allowed to do that. 00:17:50.879 --> 00:17:52.199 We're not allowed to judge it. 00:17:52.279 --> 00:17:53.259 We have to do it. 00:17:55.579 --> 00:17:58.899 We don't like it when people flagrantly break the law. 00:17:59.000 --> 00:18:05.599 When we're driving along and somebody in their lowered, blacked out sports car zips up the inside 00:18:05.599 --> 00:18:08.939 and cuts through at high speed and we think to ourselves, 00:18:09.079 --> 00:18:10.659 who do they think they are to do that? 00:18:12.579 --> 00:18:13.939 They think they're above the law. 00:18:14.039 --> 00:18:16.079 We don't like people who think they're above the law, 00:18:16.179 --> 00:18:18.859 except when we like to position ourselves there. 00:18:20.539 --> 00:18:25.019 And James says it's the same when you criticize and demean or slander others in the church. 00:18:25.419 --> 00:18:28.799 If you think that you're above the law, you're sitting in judgment on God's law. 00:18:32.220 --> 00:18:34.139 And he doesn't stop there. 00:18:35.139 --> 00:18:35.899 Keeps going. 00:18:36.199 --> 00:18:37.399 He's pushing us hard this morning. 00:18:37.699 --> 00:18:38.279 Thanks, James. 00:18:39.179 --> 00:18:40.240 It doesn't stop there. 00:18:40.240 --> 00:18:44.359 The superior attitude means that in the end, secondly, you sit in judgment over God. 00:18:44.720 --> 00:18:45.240 Verse 12. 00:18:45.319 --> 00:18:45.819 Do you see that? 00:18:46.259 --> 00:18:48.440 There is only one lawgiver and judge. 00:18:48.799 --> 00:18:50.440 He was able to save and to destroy. 00:18:51.380 --> 00:18:52.920 But who are you to judge your neighbor? 00:18:57.140 --> 00:19:00.160 It's God who says, love your neighbor as yourself. 00:19:00.160 --> 00:19:06.860 And God has the right to say that and to say that it's good for us to do that because he is God. 00:19:09.240 --> 00:19:15.940 But when we speak against someone, we take God's seat and we assume God's right to judge another person. 00:19:16.800 --> 00:19:18.540 It's incredibly searching, isn't it? 00:19:18.539 --> 00:19:21.619 And it's James. 00:19:21.720 --> 00:19:24.379 He doesn't, again, he doesn't just state it as he always does. 00:19:24.440 --> 00:19:25.859 He doesn't just assert the theology. 00:19:26.019 --> 00:19:27.599 He turns it into a personal challenge. 00:19:27.960 --> 00:19:29.440 He says, who do you think you are? 00:19:34.440 --> 00:19:39.119 When you judge your neighbor, rather than heed God's word to love your neighbor, 00:19:39.119 --> 00:19:42.500 who are you to do this, Reuben? 00:19:45.159 --> 00:19:51.519 Who are you to sit in judgment over the law, even over God himself, Reuben? 00:19:52.799 --> 00:19:56.500 There is no higher expression of arrogance. 00:19:58.459 --> 00:20:00.479 Stop sitting where you're sitting. 00:20:02.839 --> 00:20:05.819 Stop saying what you're saying and don't sit in judgment over other people. 00:20:09.119 --> 00:20:12.459 Well, thanks, James. 00:20:13.459 --> 00:20:14.519 It's all very good. 00:20:15.059 --> 00:20:16.139 Easier said than done. 00:20:16.279 --> 00:20:17.239 How can we do this? 00:20:18.439 --> 00:20:23.099 What on earth does it mean to stop saying what you're saying and stop sitting where you're sitting? 00:20:23.219 --> 00:20:28.279 Well, I want to suggest three areas of application that start in the church but broaden out as well. 00:20:29.959 --> 00:20:32.379 Simply, the first one has to be use your words well. 00:20:34.079 --> 00:20:35.179 Use your words well. 00:20:35.179 --> 00:20:38.519 James has already told us in chapter 3 about the disproportionate power 00:20:38.519 --> 00:20:39.980 that we possess with our tongues. 00:20:41.180 --> 00:20:42.279 It works both ways. 00:20:42.480 --> 00:20:44.700 Criticism, lies, slander, harsh judgment. 00:20:44.859 --> 00:20:47.700 These things can devastate another person. 00:20:48.460 --> 00:20:49.680 Proverbs 25, 18. 00:20:49.799 --> 00:20:52.180 A man who bears false witness against his neighbor 00:20:52.180 --> 00:20:55.400 is like a war club or a sword or a sharp arrow. 00:20:56.819 --> 00:21:00.119 When you lie about someone, which is what you do when you misrepresent them, 00:21:01.400 --> 00:21:04.799 when you speak ill of them to someone else, 00:21:05.180 --> 00:21:07.259 it's like hitting them with a club. 00:21:07.259 --> 00:21:10.440 It's like slashing them with a sword, piercing them with an arrow. 00:21:12.339 --> 00:21:15.700 To think that this is what we would do to our brothers, verse 11, 00:21:15.759 --> 00:21:17.279 we would do in the life of the church. 00:21:18.539 --> 00:21:22.839 The people that we have taken vows to link arms with in church membership. 00:21:23.299 --> 00:21:24.379 May it never be. 00:21:24.380 --> 00:21:31.400 But it is also important to remember that when the Bible prohibits one thing, 00:21:32.440 --> 00:21:34.400 in doing that it is promoting the opposite. 00:21:34.620 --> 00:21:36.660 So you know that do not murder means, 00:21:37.040 --> 00:21:39.040 don't just not murder but promote life. 00:21:40.380 --> 00:21:43.340 Do not commit adultery means love and cherish faithfulness. 00:21:43.339 --> 00:21:48.639 So do not speak against means use your words well. 00:21:49.879 --> 00:21:53.919 Again, because of the disproportionate good that they can do. 00:21:55.559 --> 00:21:59.619 Encouraging, supportive, edifying words. 00:22:00.359 --> 00:22:02.159 Good humor to bring a smile. 00:22:03.419 --> 00:22:05.159 Light words that brighten the mood. 00:22:05.160 --> 00:22:08.019 Respectful words that show honor where it's due. 00:22:09.400 --> 00:22:10.460 Husbands to wives. 00:22:10.600 --> 00:22:11.519 Wives to husbands. 00:22:13.000 --> 00:22:16.600 How many of your words have built the other up rather than torn them down, 00:22:16.660 --> 00:22:18.160 even in the last few days? 00:22:20.660 --> 00:22:21.880 Children to your parents. 00:22:22.580 --> 00:22:23.519 Boys and girls, look up. 00:22:23.600 --> 00:22:24.860 This applies to you as well. 00:22:26.360 --> 00:22:28.080 It applies to the way you speak to your siblings, 00:22:28.240 --> 00:22:29.300 but also to your parents. 00:22:29.380 --> 00:22:30.000 You think to yourself, 00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:32.140 oh, it's just mom and dad. 00:22:32.279 --> 00:22:33.759 I'll just say what I like to mom and dad. 00:22:33.839 --> 00:22:34.079 No. 00:22:34.680 --> 00:22:35.460 Speak well. 00:22:35.980 --> 00:22:36.859 Be respectful. 00:22:39.660 --> 00:22:40.539 And parents, 00:22:40.920 --> 00:22:41.720 to your children, 00:22:43.400 --> 00:22:46.799 don't sit above God's law with the words that you use. 00:22:46.900 --> 00:22:48.519 Be gentle and loving 00:22:48.519 --> 00:22:50.019 and encourage them. 00:22:50.019 --> 00:23:00.339 Make your children laugh. 00:23:06.480 --> 00:23:08.220 Speak wise words to them. 00:23:11.460 --> 00:23:14.079 Speak well to them and of them. 00:23:16.779 --> 00:23:19.599 Maybe you need to apologize this morning to someone. 00:23:20.019 --> 00:23:23.960 someone that you've spoken against 00:23:23.960 --> 00:23:25.980 and you need to put that right. 00:23:26.339 --> 00:23:27.319 Well, your apology, 00:23:27.740 --> 00:23:29.619 your repentance will be a good word 00:23:29.619 --> 00:23:30.519 that will bring healing. 00:23:31.200 --> 00:23:32.819 Use your words well to do that. 00:23:32.960 --> 00:23:35.160 Maybe you need to resolve to use your words in a new way 00:23:35.160 --> 00:23:37.799 and certain relationships start today. 00:23:38.039 --> 00:23:38.579 First of all, 00:23:38.660 --> 00:23:39.519 use your words well. 00:23:42.400 --> 00:23:42.799 Secondly, 00:23:43.039 --> 00:23:44.819 be a positive voice on social media. 00:23:44.819 --> 00:23:48.099 if you absolutely, 00:23:48.359 --> 00:23:50.119 absolutely have to be on social media. 00:23:52.539 --> 00:23:53.599 Speak against, 00:23:53.859 --> 00:23:54.639 as a phrase, 00:23:54.740 --> 00:23:56.019 seems to be made for 00:23:56.019 --> 00:23:56.960 X, 00:23:57.079 --> 00:23:58.019 formerly known as Twitter. 00:23:59.679 --> 00:24:00.759 There is something about the 00:24:01.500 --> 00:24:02.960 unreality of social media 00:24:02.960 --> 00:24:04.240 that lends itself both to 00:24:04.240 --> 00:24:05.500 against and above, 00:24:05.619 --> 00:24:06.379 speaking against 00:24:06.379 --> 00:24:07.839 and sitting above others. 00:24:07.839 --> 00:24:10.299 Remember that your Christian faith 00:24:10.299 --> 00:24:11.599 extends to what you say 00:24:11.599 --> 00:24:13.839 and how you say it on social media. 00:24:14.079 --> 00:24:15.819 Love your neighbor as yourself 00:24:15.819 --> 00:24:17.619 applies on Instagram and TikTok 00:24:17.619 --> 00:24:19.500 just as much as anywhere else. 00:24:21.379 --> 00:24:22.899 And it's not just about restraint, 00:24:23.019 --> 00:24:24.500 but also trying to use the platform 00:24:24.500 --> 00:24:25.379 to speak positively, 00:24:25.519 --> 00:24:26.619 if you absolutely, 00:24:26.859 --> 00:24:28.099 definitely have to be on there. 00:24:28.099 --> 00:24:31.059 If you read through your last month's posts, 00:24:31.179 --> 00:24:32.019 how many of those words 00:24:32.019 --> 00:24:32.939 are marked by kindness 00:24:32.939 --> 00:24:33.719 and wisdom 00:24:33.719 --> 00:24:34.899 that is seeking to encourage 00:24:34.899 --> 00:24:35.519 and build up 00:24:35.519 --> 00:24:37.019 or sarcasm and criticism 00:24:37.019 --> 00:24:38.759 that is designed to promote yourself 00:24:38.759 --> 00:24:40.639 and tear others down. 00:24:42.079 --> 00:24:42.819 Have a look. 00:24:43.240 --> 00:24:43.859 See what you think. 00:24:44.859 --> 00:24:46.599 What you said might be incredibly funny. 00:24:46.799 --> 00:24:47.839 Sarcasm and cynicism 00:24:47.839 --> 00:24:49.139 are often very funny 00:24:49.139 --> 00:24:50.819 and they do have their place, 00:24:51.199 --> 00:24:53.019 particularly in exposing pride, 00:24:53.159 --> 00:24:54.819 but they don't usually build up 00:24:54.819 --> 00:24:56.159 and that is to be our goal. 00:24:58.099 --> 00:25:00.899 Doing rather than judging God's law. 00:25:02.179 --> 00:25:03.559 Be a positive voice online 00:25:03.559 --> 00:25:04.759 and then thirdly, finally, 00:25:06.099 --> 00:25:07.639 remember God's words. 00:25:10.740 --> 00:25:12.779 If like me you find this convicting, 00:25:13.679 --> 00:25:15.980 this is where you need to land this morning. 00:25:18.399 --> 00:25:20.740 The only person who has the right 00:25:20.740 --> 00:25:22.959 to judge our neighbor is God. 00:25:24.099 --> 00:25:25.859 So he is the only one 00:25:25.859 --> 00:25:27.799 with the right to judge you and me. 00:25:28.099 --> 00:25:31.899 How has he treated us? 00:25:33.859 --> 00:25:35.679 Not as we deserve. 00:25:36.539 --> 00:25:38.759 Think of all the legitimate ways 00:25:38.759 --> 00:25:40.079 God could speak against you. 00:25:41.439 --> 00:25:43.059 Imagine if the God of truth 00:25:43.059 --> 00:25:44.719 who cannot speak evil, 00:25:45.019 --> 00:25:46.000 who cannot lie, 00:25:46.159 --> 00:25:47.719 said in here now, 00:25:47.799 --> 00:25:48.379 in this room, 00:25:48.559 --> 00:25:49.079 right now, 00:25:49.259 --> 00:25:49.779 out loud, 00:25:49.879 --> 00:25:50.980 so you could all hear 00:25:50.980 --> 00:25:53.279 all the things that are true of me. 00:25:56.360 --> 00:25:58.380 Most of it would be speaking against me 00:25:58.380 --> 00:26:01.000 because the truth is 00:26:01.000 --> 00:26:01.740 that my sin, 00:26:01.920 --> 00:26:02.620 my failures, 00:26:02.799 --> 00:26:03.460 my pride, 00:26:03.620 --> 00:26:05.039 my speech would make up 00:26:05.039 --> 00:26:06.240 most of what he said. 00:26:06.240 --> 00:26:10.079 And imagine that for yourself. 00:26:11.099 --> 00:26:12.279 Imagine how you would feel 00:26:12.279 --> 00:26:13.759 if he came in and he said, 00:26:13.900 --> 00:26:14.680 stand up please, 00:26:14.819 --> 00:26:15.720 and he said everything 00:26:15.720 --> 00:26:17.599 that was true about you. 00:26:19.059 --> 00:26:20.240 The guilt and the shame 00:26:20.240 --> 00:26:21.319 would be awful. 00:26:21.319 --> 00:26:25.960 And yet he never speaks 00:26:25.960 --> 00:26:27.319 about us like that. 00:26:28.919 --> 00:26:30.619 God never speaks 00:26:30.619 --> 00:26:31.980 to humiliate us. 00:26:32.480 --> 00:26:33.159 Ever. 00:26:34.819 --> 00:26:36.200 Instead, he forgives us. 00:26:37.200 --> 00:26:38.240 He covers our guilt 00:26:38.240 --> 00:26:39.159 and our shame. 00:26:39.700 --> 00:26:40.460 4 verse 6, 00:26:40.539 --> 00:26:41.119 look again, 00:26:41.419 --> 00:26:43.480 he gives more grace. 00:26:44.279 --> 00:26:45.619 More grace. 00:26:46.199 --> 00:26:47.559 If you are in Christ 00:26:47.559 --> 00:26:48.219 this morning, 00:26:48.799 --> 00:26:49.979 God's words to you 00:26:49.979 --> 00:26:52.019 are no condemnation. 00:26:54.359 --> 00:26:55.439 Those words hang 00:26:55.439 --> 00:26:56.019 like a banner 00:26:56.019 --> 00:26:57.239 over your life. 00:26:57.379 --> 00:26:58.419 No condemnation. 00:27:00.959 --> 00:27:01.919 The question is, 00:27:01.979 --> 00:27:02.979 how is that even possible? 00:27:03.319 --> 00:27:04.399 How is that even possible 00:27:04.399 --> 00:27:04.959 given the way 00:27:04.959 --> 00:27:06.199 that we've used our words? 00:27:06.279 --> 00:27:06.799 Well, it's because 00:27:06.799 --> 00:27:07.799 the one who does 00:27:07.799 --> 00:27:09.000 have the right to judge us, 00:27:09.399 --> 00:27:10.519 the one who is perfectly 00:27:10.519 --> 00:27:11.399 within his rights 00:27:11.399 --> 00:27:12.439 to speak against us, 00:27:12.519 --> 00:27:13.559 to condemn us 00:27:13.559 --> 00:27:14.599 for all eternity, 00:27:14.599 --> 00:27:16.459 chose not to do that. 00:27:17.679 --> 00:27:18.619 He chose instead 00:27:18.619 --> 00:27:19.539 to judge his son 00:27:19.539 --> 00:27:20.459 in our place. 00:27:22.719 --> 00:27:23.500 The judgment 00:27:23.500 --> 00:27:24.359 that we deserved 00:27:24.359 --> 00:27:26.819 fell on the Lord Jesus 00:27:26.819 --> 00:27:27.740 so that it didn't 00:27:27.740 --> 00:27:29.139 have to fall on us. 00:27:31.480 --> 00:27:31.740 So, 00:27:33.299 --> 00:27:34.039 as David Gibson 00:27:34.039 --> 00:27:35.000 puts it in his book 00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:35.480 on James, 00:27:35.599 --> 00:27:35.799 quote, 00:27:35.899 --> 00:27:37.319 God has a bottomless 00:27:37.319 --> 00:27:38.379 sea of grace 00:27:38.379 --> 00:27:39.039 and mercy. 00:27:39.879 --> 00:27:40.939 All our sins 00:27:40.939 --> 00:27:41.539 and offenses 00:27:41.539 --> 00:27:42.699 are taken to Calvary 00:27:42.699 --> 00:27:43.399 and punished 00:27:43.399 --> 00:27:44.179 and paid for 00:27:44.180 --> 00:27:45.160 and done away with 00:27:45.160 --> 00:27:46.279 and he buries them 00:27:46.279 --> 00:27:47.000 in the ocean 00:27:47.000 --> 00:27:48.100 of his forgetfulness. 00:27:48.880 --> 00:27:49.900 He gives grace 00:27:49.900 --> 00:27:51.360 to humble, 00:27:51.600 --> 00:27:52.400 penitent sinners. 00:27:53.100 --> 00:27:53.720 The judge 00:27:53.720 --> 00:27:54.600 becomes 00:27:54.600 --> 00:27:55.580 a savior, 00:27:56.519 --> 00:27:57.100 a friend, 00:27:57.420 --> 00:27:57.980 end quote. 00:28:00.140 --> 00:28:00.660 God's 00:28:00.660 --> 00:28:01.980 words to you 00:28:01.980 --> 00:28:02.480 this morning 00:28:02.480 --> 00:28:03.799 are, 00:28:04.200 --> 00:28:05.299 I love you, 00:28:06.120 --> 00:28:07.460 I sent my son 00:28:07.460 --> 00:28:08.140 for your sin, 00:28:08.140 --> 00:28:09.759 I sent my son 00:28:09.759 --> 00:28:10.540 for all 00:28:10.540 --> 00:28:11.680 your bad words 00:28:11.680 --> 00:28:13.400 and he took 00:28:13.400 --> 00:28:13.840 those words 00:28:13.840 --> 00:28:14.480 to the cross. 00:28:15.400 --> 00:28:16.600 I punished them there 00:28:16.600 --> 00:28:18.080 and they're gone. 00:28:21.680 --> 00:28:22.820 And as is always 00:28:22.820 --> 00:28:23.400 the case, 00:28:23.540 --> 00:28:24.700 it is as we experience 00:28:24.700 --> 00:28:25.620 that grace 00:28:25.620 --> 00:28:26.840 in our own hearts 00:28:26.840 --> 00:28:27.940 that we are able 00:28:27.940 --> 00:28:28.759 to get ourselves 00:28:28.759 --> 00:28:29.540 out of the way, 00:28:29.680 --> 00:28:31.040 to reorder our desires 00:28:31.040 --> 00:28:32.440 and so speak well 00:28:32.440 --> 00:28:33.180 of others. 00:28:33.180 --> 00:28:34.740 speaking against 00:28:34.740 --> 00:28:35.900 someone flows 00:28:35.900 --> 00:28:36.580 from our own 00:28:36.580 --> 00:28:37.259 superiority, 00:28:37.600 --> 00:28:38.360 our own need 00:28:38.360 --> 00:28:39.299 to push ourselves 00:28:39.299 --> 00:28:40.400 up and to push 00:28:40.400 --> 00:28:40.960 them down 00:28:40.960 --> 00:28:41.799 so that we know 00:28:41.799 --> 00:28:42.759 that we are okay. 00:28:43.840 --> 00:28:44.940 But when we remember 00:28:44.940 --> 00:28:45.700 God's mercy 00:28:45.700 --> 00:28:46.640 and grace to us 00:28:46.640 --> 00:28:47.779 and when the words 00:28:47.779 --> 00:28:48.580 that God speaks 00:28:48.580 --> 00:28:49.000 to us 00:28:49.000 --> 00:28:50.259 of no condemnation 00:28:50.259 --> 00:28:51.140 in Christ, 00:28:51.299 --> 00:28:52.140 I love you 00:28:52.140 --> 00:28:53.420 and I have accepted you 00:28:53.420 --> 00:28:54.400 and I have forgiven 00:28:54.400 --> 00:28:55.340 all of your sin, 00:28:55.500 --> 00:28:56.160 when those words 00:28:56.160 --> 00:28:56.840 hit our hearts, 00:28:57.060 --> 00:28:57.759 we are liberated 00:28:57.759 --> 00:28:58.539 from that need 00:28:58.539 --> 00:28:59.279 to be superior. 00:28:59.279 --> 00:29:00.879 We are liberated 00:29:00.879 --> 00:29:01.379 from the need 00:29:01.379 --> 00:29:02.359 to push others down. 00:29:03.599 --> 00:29:04.700 We can build them up. 00:29:05.139 --> 00:29:05.920 We can serve them. 00:29:06.359 --> 00:29:07.299 We can seek their blessing. 00:29:07.619 --> 00:29:08.819 We can speak words 00:29:08.819 --> 00:29:09.680 that are positive 00:29:09.680 --> 00:29:10.259 to them 00:29:10.259 --> 00:29:11.579 rather than tearing them down. 00:29:14.319 --> 00:29:15.539 Do your words 00:29:15.539 --> 00:29:16.379 show that you know 00:29:16.379 --> 00:29:17.480 this grace in your life? 00:29:19.339 --> 00:29:20.460 Remember God's words 00:29:20.460 --> 00:29:20.960 to you 00:29:20.960 --> 00:29:24.019 and allow them 00:29:24.019 --> 00:29:24.440 to lead you 00:29:24.440 --> 00:29:25.180 to humble yourself 00:29:25.180 --> 00:29:25.839 before Him. 00:29:26.460 --> 00:29:27.139 That will change 00:29:27.139 --> 00:29:27.599 your heart 00:29:27.599 --> 00:29:28.980 and then your words 00:29:28.980 --> 00:29:29.440 will follow. 00:29:30.920 --> 00:29:31.680 Let's pray together.