There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?
There is one Lawgiver who alone has authority to give the law and to judge, because he alone is able to save and to destroy. This Lawgiver and Judge is Jesus Christ, who alone has been appointed Judge, having taken humanity and lived a perfect life in this world. No person has any right to take the judgment seat and usurp his prerogative by judging, condemning, censuring, or ruling over another. To speak evil of a brother and judge him is to speak against the law and judge it, instead of obeying it and being a doer of it. Each person must therefore come down from the judgment seat, humble himself before God, examine and correct himself, and confess his own sins rather than finding fault with others.
God Alone Is Judge
There is one Lawgiver who alone has authority to give the law and to judge, because He alone is able to save and to destroy. For that reason no person has any right to take His place by condemning, passing sentence upon, or speaking evil of another. To speak evil of a brother and judge him is to speak against the law and to judge the law itself, and the one who judges the law is not obeying it or doing it but setting himself up as a judge in God's place. The verse therefore calls for humility before God, restraint from evil speech, suspicion and strife, and mercy toward others, since those who show no mercy will themselves stand in need of mercy.
Christ alone has been appointed Judge, and He alone can be Judge. The Father is not the Judge, and the angels are not. He took humanity upon Himself and lived a perfect life in this world in order to be Judge, so Jesus Christ is the Lawgiver and Judge and the one Leader, and no one has been appointed to sit in judgment on others. It is all anyone can do to discipline himself, and all must come down from the judgment seat in humility rather than presume to measure a brother's standing before God or judge his character.
As Creator He is the only Judge who will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. He judges impartially by response to His law and, through Jesus Christ, judges the secrets of the heart, which human beings cannot read. He alone knows whom He approves and commends and sustains and whom He condemns, so human workers are not called into His council to judge others and must be very careful in speech lest they discourage those God approves. Setting oneself up as judge of the motives and actions of fellow men and usurping the prerogative that belongs to God alone is no light thing, and the one criticized may be more righteous before God than the critic, since outward religious status does not replace inward obedience.
He is the great Lawgiver over life and death whom the world will soon meet in the face of His broken law. Because He is able to save and to destroy, pardon and peace can be hoped for only by turning from transgression to obedience. He will do the last great work in the earth when confederacies and unions in the great cities bind men in bundles, when men rule over other men and demand much of them, and when the lives of those who refuse to unite are in peril.
Leave Judgment to God
No one has been given the right to climb onto the judgment seat, to sit in judgment over another, or to seize God's own prerogative by judging, condemning, censuring, or ruling over brethren. To pass sentence on one another and to speak evil of one another is forbidden, for only the one Lawgiver has authority to give the law and to judge, since He alone is able to save and to destroy. Grievances are not to be nursed in suspicion or defended in harshness, but are to be taken up directly and humbly, with confession and reconciliation and with speech that heals rather than tears down. To speak evil of a brother and to judge him is to speak against the law and to judge the law, instead of obeying it and being a doer of it. Whoever judges and condemns fellow men in this way takes the place of a judge and usurps what belongs to God alone. Such judging calls for humility before God and restraint from evil speech and strife. The judging that is forbidden takes many forms: speaking evil, fostering suspicion, and condemning conduct; measuring a brother's standing before God and presuming to judge character; judging motives and actions; defining the character of sin; telling another his duty; and ruling over another and controlling others by harsh words. No church worker has the right to treat guarding the interests of the churches as permission for harshness and human control, for such pressing of personal judgment is out of Christ's order and comes from self ruling instead of being under the control of the Holy Spirit. No person has a God-given right to set himself up as a god to tell someone else his duty. Human workers have not been called into God's council to judge others, and because they do not know whom the Lord approves, commends, and sustains, they must be very careful in speech lest they discourage those God approves. The person criticized may be more righteous before God than the critic, since human beings cannot read the heart and outward religious status does not replace inward obedience. Those redeemed through Christ are each answerable to God and are not subject to one another as spiritual masters, but Christ is the one Leader and His people are to work in unity, loving God and their neighbors. God alone is judge of human faith, so the church has no right to control the conscience, to define heresy, or to punish people for their beliefs. To claim that authority is an error that leads to intolerance and persecution. Those who treat others without mercy will themselves need mercy. Taking the judgment seat over another with a critical spirit shows that Christ is not enthroned in the heart, and such a spirit drives the Spirit of God from the soul. Instead of accusing, each accuser is to come down from the judgment seat, get down on the knees, humble himself before God, give attention to his own soul, and see that he is pursuing a course that elevates and ennobles. Each person must examine and correct himself, remove the beam from his own eye so as to see clearly, discipline himself, and with humility and contrition confess his own sins rather than spend the time justifying self and finding fault with others. Finding fault with everyone reveals the critic's own imperfection. The spirit of criticism and judging one another must not exist among Christians, because it makes the church weak. It grieves Christ when church members speak out the faults of their brethren, and words of criticism that should never be spoken place an obstruction in the way of a fellow Christian, for which everyone who hinders another by such speech has an account to settle with God. Such judging is watched by all heaven, and when revealed it does great harm, permeating the churches with a disposition to harsh judgment and censure that spoils the work of God. In place of judging, brethren with humble minds, feeling their weakness and defects, should meet together to ask the Lord to enlighten their understanding and fill their hearts with His love, examining the Scriptures rather than examining one another. Doing this defeats Satan, causes imaginary difficulties and barriers between brethren to vanish, and replaces jangling and accusation with love, compassion, and respect. Christ is the model in holiness, compassion, patience, forbearance, love, courtesy, and sound judgment. On the great day of atonement, afflicting the soul is better than striving for the highest place and causing discord and strife. To exalt self and set oneself up as accuser of brethren is a course of which Christ is ashamed. Those who turn from accusing to earnest pleading for the holy fragrance of Christ's character are placed on vantage ground, where Christ's intercession prevails with God as the almoner of infinite grace, while those who keep accusing lose that opportunity and encourage evil angels to war against God's people. James 4:5-12 must be read and practiced in daily life and studied every word as for life, together with James 2, James 5:13-20, and Matthew 7. Practicing its truth gives knowledge of the work God has given to do, beginning with work in the own heart to obey God's law and be doers of the word in reaching lost souls, where neglect leaves these chapters a dead letter.
There is one Lawgiver who alone has authority to give the law and to judge, because he alone is able to save and to destroy. This Lawgiver and Judge is Jesus Christ, who alone has been appointed Judge, having taken humanity and lived a perfect life in this world. No person has any right to take the judgment seat and usurp his prerogative by judging, condemning, censuring, or ruling over another. To speak evil of a brother and judge him is to speak against the law and judge it, instead of obeying it and being a doer of it. Each person must therefore come down from the judgment seat, humble himself before God, examine and correct himself, and confess his own sins rather than finding fault with others.
God Alone Is Judge
There is one Lawgiver who alone has authority to give the law and to judge, because He alone is able to save and to destroy. For that reason no person has any right to take His place by condemning, passing sentence upon, or speaking evil of another. To speak evil of a brother and judge him is to speak against the law and to judge the law itself, and the one who judges the law is not obeying it or doing it but setting himself up as a judge in God's place. The verse therefore calls for humility before God, restraint from evil speech, suspicion and strife, and mercy toward others, since those who show no mercy will themselves stand in need of mercy.
Christ alone has been appointed Judge, and He alone can be Judge. The Father is not the Judge, and the angels are not. He took humanity upon Himself and lived a perfect life in this world in order to be Judge, so Jesus Christ is the Lawgiver and Judge and the one Leader, and no one has been appointed to sit in judgment on others. It is all anyone can do to discipline himself, and all must come down from the judgment seat in humility rather than presume to measure a brother's standing before God or judge his character.
As Creator He is the only Judge who will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. He judges impartially by response to His law and, through Jesus Christ, judges the secrets of the heart, which human beings cannot read. He alone knows whom He approves and commends and sustains and whom He condemns, so human workers are not called into His council to judge others and must be very careful in speech lest they discourage those God approves. Setting oneself up as judge of the motives and actions of fellow men and usurping the prerogative that belongs to God alone is no light thing, and the one criticized may be more righteous before God than the critic, since outward religious status does not replace inward obedience.
He is the great Lawgiver over life and death whom the world will soon meet in the face of His broken law. Because He is able to save and to destroy, pardon and peace can be hoped for only by turning from transgression to obedience. He will do the last great work in the earth when confederacies and unions in the great cities bind men in bundles, when men rule over other men and demand much of them, and when the lives of those who refuse to unite are in peril.
Leave Judgment to God
No one has been given the right to climb onto the judgment seat, to sit in judgment over another, or to seize God's own prerogative by judging, condemning, censuring, or ruling over brethren. To pass sentence on one another and to speak evil of one another is forbidden, for only the one Lawgiver has authority to give the law and to judge, since He alone is able to save and to destroy. Grievances are not to be nursed in suspicion or defended in harshness, but are to be taken up directly and humbly, with confession and reconciliation and with speech that heals rather than tears down.
To speak evil of a brother and to judge him is to speak against the law and to judge the law, instead of obeying it and being a doer of it. Whoever judges and condemns fellow men in this way takes the place of a judge and usurps what belongs to God alone. Such judging calls for humility before God and restraint from evil speech and strife.
The judging that is forbidden takes many forms: speaking evil, fostering suspicion, and condemning conduct; measuring a brother's standing before God and presuming to judge character; judging motives and actions; defining the character of sin; telling another his duty; and ruling over another and controlling others by harsh words. No church worker has the right to treat guarding the interests of the churches as permission for harshness and human control, for such pressing of personal judgment is out of Christ's order and comes from self ruling instead of being under the control of the Holy Spirit. No person has a God-given right to set himself up as a god to tell someone else his duty.
Human workers have not been called into God's council to judge others, and because they do not know whom the Lord approves, commends, and sustains, they must be very careful in speech lest they discourage those God approves. The person criticized may be more righteous before God than the critic, since human beings cannot read the heart and outward religious status does not replace inward obedience. Those redeemed through Christ are each answerable to God and are not subject to one another as spiritual masters, but Christ is the one Leader and His people are to work in unity, loving God and their neighbors.
God alone is judge of human faith, so the church has no right to control the conscience, to define heresy, or to punish people for their beliefs. To claim that authority is an error that leads to intolerance and persecution. Those who treat others without mercy will themselves need mercy. Taking the judgment seat over another with a critical spirit shows that Christ is not enthroned in the heart, and such a spirit drives the Spirit of God from the soul.
Instead of accusing, each accuser is to come down from the judgment seat, get down on the knees, humble himself before God, give attention to his own soul, and see that he is pursuing a course that elevates and ennobles. Each person must examine and correct himself, remove the beam from his own eye so as to see clearly, discipline himself, and with humility and contrition confess his own sins rather than spend the time justifying self and finding fault with others. Finding fault with everyone reveals the critic's own imperfection.
The spirit of criticism and judging one another must not exist among Christians, because it makes the church weak. It grieves Christ when church members speak out the faults of their brethren, and words of criticism that should never be spoken place an obstruction in the way of a fellow Christian, for which everyone who hinders another by such speech has an account to settle with God. Such judging is watched by all heaven, and when revealed it does great harm, permeating the churches with a disposition to harsh judgment and censure that spoils the work of God.
In place of judging, brethren with humble minds, feeling their weakness and defects, should meet together to ask the Lord to enlighten their understanding and fill their hearts with His love, examining the Scriptures rather than examining one another. Doing this defeats Satan, causes imaginary difficulties and barriers between brethren to vanish, and replaces jangling and accusation with love, compassion, and respect. Christ is the model in holiness, compassion, patience, forbearance, love, courtesy, and sound judgment.
On the great day of atonement, afflicting the soul is better than striving for the highest place and causing discord and strife. To exalt self and set oneself up as accuser of brethren is a course of which Christ is ashamed. Those who turn from accusing to earnest pleading for the holy fragrance of Christ's character are placed on vantage ground, where Christ's intercession prevails with God as the almoner of infinite grace, while those who keep accusing lose that opportunity and encourage evil angels to war against God's people.
James 4:5-12 must be read and practiced in daily life and studied every word as for life, together with James 2, James 5:13-20, and Matthew 7. Practicing its truth gives knowledge of the work God has given to do, beginning with work in the own heart to obey God's law and be doers of the word in reaching lost souls, where neglect leaves these chapters a dead letter.