The Tongue Again

James 4 cont’d:

Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?

Here we go…more verses about our tongue.  What’s up with James, anyway?  He really likes to speak harshly against that which comes out of our mouths.  It must be really important!

Gossip is bad.  And to gossip about those with whom we serve the Lord is downright awful!  But we all do it.

God is the one true lawgiver and judge.  And when we talk against a fellow believer, we are in effect trying to take His place by passing judgment on them.  Then we sometimes go further and reach a verdict and find them guilty of all that we’ve judged them for!

When a Christian friend wrongs us, commits a sin, or is behaving badly, it’s okay to go her in love and confront her…if it’s done in love…with the purpose of restoration.

But it’s never okay to slander her, talk behind her back, or judge her as evil, because in doing so we commit “murder” of the most horrific kind – the kind that destroys friendships and relationships.

These verses come right after James’ instructions to repent and come clean.

And that includes repenting over what we say about others when they’re not around.