2/4/26

James 4:11 NASB95 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.

The words "speak against" are one word in Greek, meaning to proclaim evil against. The scripture is saying, " Do not speak evil against each other. The word brethren, refers to the family of Christ. We refer to this as the Church. So we are told not to speak evil against each other in the church. We must not mistake this as speaking against church discipline. In church discipline, you are speaking the truth against a brother or sister. However, here it means to speak evil which is speaking a lie, slander, and hostility against them. It refers more to gossip than to the truth.

If you do this then you are speaking against the law. Which is of God and is truth. You are therefore judging the law as wrong and false. In such a case it is you who has committed the sin. This is often done in pride and selfish desire, which, if we read the entire 4th chapter of James, we can see is a subject of the chapter.

It is wise, before we speak, to stop and evaluate. Study and see if we are speaking to draw our brother or sister in Christ back to God, or are we speaking to tear them down in hopes of building us up. If it has any hint of the second one then we need to halt our speech. If we don't then we have not brought them closer to God but taken ourselves further from Him.

Pride likes to masquerade as righteousness, but its mask is cheap and the truth will soon be revealed.

James finishes saying, but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it.

Don't put on a mask of righteousness put on Christ who is righteous. Be truthful and speak to your brethren instead of being deceitful and speaking about them. Follow the law and don't call it false. This mask doesn't fit you. You were created for the imputed robe of Christ's righteousness, not a cheap mask.

Love Bro. Scott