You can see, brothers and sisters, from the opening statement of James in chapter 1, that it is a common thing for God's people to lack wisdom. And so we are invited there to ask God for it. And so taking up that theme here in this part of his letter, James is drawing the contrast between the wisdom of the world and the wisdom that comes from God. Last week we were looking at that contrast and we saw the general principle clearly established that worldly wisdom wrecks havoc in the Church of God. Already in the days of James there were quarrels and disputes and fights among God's people. Why was it? Well, it was because they didn't ask for that wisdom that comes from above. But rather, they were guided by their own impulses and desires instead of by the Word of God. And so the result was that they had all kinds of difficulty. And he calls them here to repentance. He calls them to come back to God's Word. He calls them to humble themselves before Almighty God that the devil might flee from them. And now tonight we come to a more specific indication of what he's talking about as we deal with this problem of slander. Now I use that word even though it may not be altogether adequate in expressing the idea in the original language. And I want to give that to you by giving you a literal translation of the two words that are here rendered by the word slander. The New International Version says, brothers, do not slander one another. But literally translated, here is the way it reads. Brothers, don't talk down one another. Now, that's an uncommon word in the Greek New Testament. And whenever you run into them, the only way you can be sure what it means is to study its usage in the Bible. And not only that, but compare it with other passages of the Bible that deal with the general subject of which it is a part. And when we do that, we can certainly see that this doesn't mean that we have to ignore sin in our brother. Now, what did Christ say that we are to do if we see sin in our brother? It's in Matthew 18, verse 15. If your brother sins, he says, well, then you go to him and tell him his fault between you and him alone. So talking down your brother is not to be confused with going to your brother to tell him his fault. When you go to your brother, because he sinned and you face him in a Christian manner to tell him his fault and to seek his repentance, you're not talking down your brother, you are talking to your brother. And so we can certainly see that this cannot possibly be the evil of which James was speaking. If your brother doesn't listen to you, says our Lord Jesus, then take one or two more with you, so that at the mouth of two or three witnesses every word should be established. But still you don't broadcast it all around town. You go to that brother still again with only one or two others with you, and you try again to reach that brother, and you try again to bring him to acknowledge his sin and repent of it and flee from it. And then, and only then, if he will not listen and will not hear you, you finally tell it to the Church. But even then you don't tell it to the whole community, you don't tell it to the whole world, you tell it to the Church of Jesus Christ. And then if he won't listen even to the Church, the Bible says, then he shall be to you as a publican and a heathen. But going and doing that face-to-face with your brother is not what it means to talk down your brother. And I'm afraid that that's what we often see rather than what was prescribed by Jesus. Instead of going to that brother whom we feel has sinned, we talk him down, not in his presence, but in his absence. We talk him down in the presence of other people, and I believe that that is clearly what James has in mind in this passage. He is saying, brothers, don't talk one another down. For anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him in this manner speaks against the law and judges it. And if you've ever been on the receiving end of this sort of thing, you know how much it hurts. I remember some years ago when we were in New Zealand, and we had the terrible news that someone was circulating the slanderous report about Doris and I in this country, that we had broken up and were now divorced, and that my ministry was in ruins because of it. Whoever it was that started that, and whoever it was that took it up and spread it abroad, never once did they contact us to find out if it was true. Never once did they confront us and say, is this really so? Are you involved in this kind of sin? It was not talking to us about an alleged sin, but talking about us. In other words, talking us down in front of the church over in this country when we We were thousands of miles away, and I can tell you that that sort of thing really hurts. And I believe it was this sort of thing that James had in mind when he wrote these people. Now let me ask you, why do Christian people sometimes do this? Do you understand the reason for it? Well, please notice what James says. After having given us this definition, brothers, don't talk down one another, he goes on to say, for anyone who does speak against his brother, doesn't speak to him, you notice, but anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him, speaks against the law and judges it. Now, do you get the connection? What they're really finding fault with is not that brother so much as it is the law of God that is represented by that brother. Now, you can see that all the way through the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. Why did people call Jesus a glutton? Do you think there was any shade or semblance of that in Jesus? Do you think Jesus at any time acted like a glutton? I don't think so. I'm sure he didn't. They said he was mad. Do you believe that Jesus Christ at any time acted as though he was mad? I don't think so. They even said that Jesus had a demon. Now, why did people say that Jesus had a demon? Do you think that he ever on any occasion acted as a man would act if he had a demon? Of course he didn't. Why then did they cast this kind of false accusation against him? Why did they talk Jesus down all over the land when he wasn't there, even to be confronted by what they were saying. Well, I can tell you it was one very simple reason. It was because they didn't like the things Jesus was teaching. That's a simple explanation, and that is the whole explanation. Everything Christ said came out of the word of God, and he was quite able and he was certainly willing to prove everything that he said. He could demonstrate beyond argument why he could do it so well that even the learned rabbis didn't know how to answer him. He gave them a biblical reason that was so powerful and convincing that nobody could answer him, but they didn't like what he said. And what do you do if you don't like what a person says and you cannot refute it and you have no answer to it, but you don't like it. In fact, you hate it. Well, there's only one thing to do, and that is to turn against the person and attack the person in their absence by talking them down. And that's exactly what they did to Jesus. And if you remember anything about the ministry of the Apostle Paul, you'll know that all the way through his ministry, which was a great and beautiful thing, the same thing happened to him. They couldn't withstand the teaching of Paul face to face. Nobody could do that, just like they couldn't withstand the teaching of Stephen. They were overwhelmed by the power of the biblical truth that came from the mouths of Stephen and Paul alike. And because they couldn't handle what he said, then as soon as he was gone, they began to talk him down in front of other people. Now that's where this great wickedness comes from. And it's very much in the church today. If you show people today out of the word of God, many people, many nominal Christians, many members of the church, If you show them that it is a sin to violate the fourth commandment, the scandalous sin of this generation, for sure, the violation of the Sabbath day, and they have no answer to it and they can't escape it, do you know what they're likely to do? They're likely to attack you personally because they really hate the doctrine that you're teaching. And they attack you as if you are the cause of the problem. But they don't come to you and say, now, brother, you've sinned. They don't do that. No, they talk you down in front of other people. But their real target is the Bible. and the one who gave it. For anyone who speaks against his brother in the way that we're talking about here, in the way that James has defined, anyone who speaks against his brother like this or judges him like this is really speaking against the law and is really judging the law. Now that's really the way it is. I've seen it many times when elders go on home visits. And they come to a person in the congregation and they confront him and remind him of his vows and of his responsibilities and his duties, and they don't like it. And they don't tell you then and there, and they don't have an answer for you then and there, and they know they don't have an answer anywhere. But when you are gone and when the elders are out the door, then it begins and there is an attack against their person. And the reason is not really because of their person, but because of that which they have come there to say and teach out of the Word of God. I remember some years ago in our New Zealand church, we had a family with very serious problems. Perhaps I shouldn't even dignify it by saying problems. They were living in a very sinful way, because the woman had become the head of the house, And the husband had really abdicated his responsible authority because he found it easier to be weak and let his wife run the household her way rather than to take the leadership responsibility that God gave him. And I can tell you that time after time the elders of the church would try to go there and meet with them and talk with them about this thing that was not right, and show them out of the word of God that it was not right, and to bring them to repentance. And they didn't want to hear it, and they would not hear it, and they would not even allow the elders inside the door to discuss it with them. And instead what they did was to go around, especially to any weaker members of the church, any members of the church who had any grievance of any kind, and they began to talk down the pastor and the elders. It was a great and wonderful thing to see that they completely and dismally failed to bring division and destruction to that church, too, because the elders were firm against it, and the people as a whole were firm against it also, and God vindicated that, and to this day they have not been able to get that sympathetic ear that they tried to. But the point I'm making is, what they were doing was talking down their brothers. And the reason for it was that they were really sitting in judgment on the law of God. They didn't like what the Bible says. It's as simple as that. They didn't like what the Bible says, and by implication that means they didn't like what God says, because the Bible is the word of God. And if you don't like what the Bible says, you don't like what God says. And if you don't like what God says and you don't like what the Bible says, then you're not going to like what the elder says if he says what God says. And when he's gone, you're going to be tempted to talk him down in front of other people. And this has done great harm in the church of Jesus Christ. Because like it or not, there is no one who has the right to make laws for God's people but God himself. And it is God, as we read in our text, who is the lawgiver and the judge. There is only one lawgiver and judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. You know, our reforming fathers used to say that all church authority and all church power is entirely ministerial and declarative. The elders of the church locally and in the Presbytery and in the General Assembly, they have no right whatsoever to pass any law of their own devising, period. The elders of the church have no legislative power whatsoever. They have only the power, like the local law enforcement officer does in the state of North Dakota, to apply the laws that God has already given. And to declare those laws, you walk up to an officer of the law, highway patrolman, and you ask him what the law is, he's responsible to be able to tell you what the law is. Officer, what is the speed limit here on this highway? I don't see any sign. He's supposed to be able to tell you, but he can't change that law, and he can't make a new one. And it is exactly the same in the Church of Jesus Christ. All legislative authority in the Church of God belongs to God alone. And his law is found in the Bible alone. And it is the task of the pastor and the elders of the church to do nothing more and nothing less than to declare to God's people what that law is, what that Word of God really teaches. And there's no way that anybody can change that. If we don't like what God's law is, we're in the same predicament we are if we don't like the speed limit being 55. You might get the law of the state of North Dakota changed, but you're not going to get the Bible changed. That's for sure, because God's holy law is absolutely perfect and reflects his own mind and heart. And so the man of God who has real wisdom realizes this. And even if he doesn't like one of God's holy commandments, if he is shown that it is God's holy commandment, And it is presented to him for what it really is, what God has commanded, even if he doesn't understand it, even if he doesn't like it, his responsibility is to bow to it, because there's only one lawgiver and judge, not man, but God alone. Now that doesn't mean that we are saved by keeping the law. There's no such thing as salvation by works in the kingdom of God. It's a free gift, absolutely free, given to us as a gift. But what you have to remember is that you're not really a saved person if you're not grateful for your salvation. If you're not grateful to God who sent Christ his Son to endure the curse of the law in your place, you're not a Christian. If you are grateful that God sent his own beloved son to die in your place and to take the horrible punishment of your sin, if you really are grateful, are you going to tell me that you're going to say to God, well, God, you tell me that I have to do that, but I don't like that and I'm not going to do it. You can't do that if there's any genuine gratitude in your heart, no. For this is the love of God, says John, that we love God and keep His commandments. And if we really love God, His commandments are not grievous. Maybe not easy, but they're not grievous. It doesn't grieve us that God says that we have to do this and God says we have to do that. He bought us, He redeemed us, He brought us out of the house of bondage, and He says, now I want you to do this. It doesn't grieve us that He does that. He has a right to do that because we are purchased with the precious blood of His dear Son. So the Bible says from one end to the other that this is the test that God applies. Are you people willing to serve me and keep my commandments? All the way through the Bible, that's the one and only certain criterion of judgment. When God comes to the day of judgment, that's going to be the test. Did you or didn't you? Willingly and gratefully say, Lord, I want to do what you tell me to do. If you want me to keep the Sabbath day holy, then that's what I want to do. That's what I'm going to do. It doesn't grieve me. I'm going to do that. Because you are the lawgiver and you are the judge. And I've been purchased with the precious blood of your son Jesus, and because I belong to you, Father, whatever you tell me, that's what I'm going to do." Now that is exactly what is missing in these people who yield to worldly wisdom, and they begin to talk down one another because of their real opposition to the law of God. And the warning of that is that God is going to judge. And the warning is, look, who are you to judge your neighbor? So what are you doing if you really start talking down your brother in the way that James is talking about? Well, do you know what you really are doing? In fact, you're saying it wouldn't do any good for me to go to him like Jesus said to wouldn't do me any good. He's a hopeless case. I'm not even going to try to go and see him and tell him his fault, because I know it won't do any good. Now, when you do that, you know what you're doing? You're prejudging his heart. You haven't heard him out. You haven't been to him. You haven't tried. You haven't said, brother, look, you're doing this and it's wrong. And you don't know how he would respond. You really don't. But you're acting as if you do. You're acting as if you had the omniscience of God and you could tell even beforehand what he would or wouldn't do. And you are acting as if you could judge that he is a hopeless case and that you ought to write him off without even trying. what Jesus said to do. That's the terrible thing in this grievous sin of talking down your brother. And you know, this is really not so uncommon in the church. It wouldn't surprise me if members of Bethel Church had talked me down when I wasn't there. It wouldn't surprise me. That's human nature. And that's the way we tend to act when we begin to slide away from the wisdom of God to the wisdom of the world. It's a sad thing, but I can testify that in nearly 40 years of preaching, very few people, there are a few, but very few people have ever come right to me and said, I think this is wrong and you ought not to do it. I've heard a hundred times as many instances in which people said things against me when I wasn't there. And I have to confess that I've been guilty of that sin, and I'm sure you have. And that's the wisdom of the world coming in to mar and harm the Church of God. And we shouldn't do that, because we are not the judge. We can judge a sin to be a sin, But we can't judge our brother to be a hopeless case and therefore avoid the duty that Jesus told us that we had to take care of. So when we act as if we already had tried everything, when we haven't, We act as if we already know that he's a hopeless case when we don't know that at all. We haven't been to him alone. We haven't been with one or two others. Then what we're really doing is acting like God. We're acting as if we could pass infallible judgment on our brother and our neighbor. And that has done great devastation and harm in the Church of God. Now, when you see this sort of thing out in the world, and you see it all the time, don't you? You see people knifing somebody else in the back every day when they're not there. That's a commonplace thing in the world. We expect that because the world belongs to the devil, and he's got his agents out working everywhere. Isn't it terrible when that invades the church? Isn't it terrible when the wisdom of the evil one invades the church and we act like that? And we begin to see the church destroyed as brother talks down brother and sister talks down sister. Look, brothers and sisters, let the world out there say whatever they like about us. Let you and me be brothers and sisters. Let us be the family of God and let us act on the basis of an entirely different wisdom. Let us always refuse to deal with each other this way, by talking down one another on account of our shortcomings. Let us always remember the golden rule and remember that we are to do to others and preeminently other saints of God in the household of faith as we would like them to do unto us. And I can tell you that I would rather have somebody come right to me and tell me, gee, you are wrong, this is a sin and you should stop it. I'd a hundred times rather have that happen than to have them cutting down my reputation and good name or anything else when I wasn't there. to hear it. So don't go tell anyone else, brother and sister. You go tell your brother. And remember, the next time you hear it, the next time you hear a Christian brother or sister talking down another brother or sister in your presence, just stop them right there and say, wait a minute. Have you gone to that brother first to tell him his fault? That's what Christ said, go first to your brother and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he will hear you, you've gained your brother. If you would do this, if I would do this, if we would all do this, really do it, then I can assure you that the world would begin to sit up and take notice why they'd say those people must really believe the Bible. They don't talk one another down. They're always building one another up. They don't talk one another down. And if we really did that, they would begin to believe we love one another. And that's what Christ commanded us, that we should love one another even as he loved us. Now, you can't help but wonder what lay behind this in the experience of James. I suspect that James never, ever heard Jesus Christ talking down a brother or sister, but that on more than one occasion, James was confronted by Jesus face to face to hear him say, James, this is a sin and you ought to repent of it. And looking back, he realized that that was love. The other isn't love, masquerades as love, but it isn't really love. The other is of the devil because it's really writing people off as a hopeless case. So here again we see what the wisdom of God says as over against the wisdom of the world. The wisdom of the world isn't hard for you to understand because that was born right in your nature. It's acting the way you would naturally act. It's giving in to the natural impulse of your own nature. The wisdom of God comes from above, doesn't come from down here. It goes against human nature, it goes against our natural impulse, but let us by the grace of God more and more imbibe that wisdom that we might do the things that God tells us to do here in his holy word and might abhor above all other things this sinful attempt to make ourselves the sovereign and omniscient judge of our brother. May God grant us this wisdom. Amen. We thank you tonight, O God, for this portion of your word and the lessons of it. How much we need the simple but profound wisdom of James, the brother of Jesus. We thank you, O Lord, that he learned it from Jesus and that we can learn it through his brother. We pray, O God, that this wisdom might be ours and that we might practice it more and more to the glory and honor of God. For we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.