Please open your Bibles to the book of James. I know it's a bit of an adjustment to most of you, not only to have the sermon up front, but also to have the Bible hour so late in the afternoon. And we pray that the Lord would help us to make the adjustment. It's been part of our existence as a local assembly for as long as I can remember. So pray that we are able to make these adjustments so that we can continue to encourage each other. James four. Verse 11. Do not speak evil against one another brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you're not a doer of the law, but a judge. There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But you, who are you to judge your neighbor? The tongue is the gauge of the soul. You want to know what's happening in your heart? Listen to your tongue. It is the thermometer of the heart and the uncontrollable revealer of who you actually are. James tells us, chapter three, that no one, no man can control his tongue. That doesn't mean that God cannot. No body, no individual person has the capacity to have absolute control over his own tongue. without Jesus Christ. Something else is needed or someone else needs to intervene and he's been working his way towards this reality since the beginning of this book. God's grace and God's intervention is absolutely needed in the life of people in order that there may be a change of heart so that there may be a change of tongue. The way that you speak will not change if there's no heart change. So what change is after is a new heart, a changed heart, and a controlled heart, a heart that is controlled by God. James throughout this book shows the weakness and sinfulness of man's heart by pointing to our tongue. It is no different in chapter 4 as he deals with the tongue in verse 11 and 12. Who are you to judge? When you speak evil against your brother, you are judging him. And so the question that I will deal with next week is should we judge? Since James ends on a very awkward way, in a very awkward way, but who are you to judge your neighbor? So then should we judge? Well, you have to come back next week and I'll deal with that then. The state of the heart is made manifest by the revelation of the stone. And for this reason, James commands those who have been humbled by God in verse 10, those who have been caused to submit in verse seven, those who have been turned around in verse nine, to speak in a way that shows that their lives have been changed by God, and that is where verse 11 comes in. Do not, as a habitual, normative way of life, speak evil against one another. The command is very simple. It's very easy to understand. Don't slander. That's what it means to speak evil against brothers. Slander not is the title of this short sermon series within a sermon series. James does not want God's people to slander. What does it mean to slander? This is when we use inaccurate or damaging information to hurt someone else's reputation or themselves by the means of our words. Slander can be done when we use lies. That's obvious, right? When it's not truth statements, we are making up things about someone else, that is slander. But slander can also be done by using the truth. Ever thought about that? When the truth is used as a weapon to hurt and destroy and slander people. When we remind people of their sin, it's a truth statement, but we are slandering them. We are hurting them. When we spread sins that somebody has repented of and have turned their backs on and are no longer caught in that sin, but we perpetuate that sin. by reminding them of it. These are all slanderous ways that Christians engage in. Social media is the breeding ground for perpetuating slander. A guy may have repented five years ago, but today it is still spoken about. We must be careful that we do not engage in such slanderous speech on a public forum. Speaking against another brother is a grievous sin because it's an offense against God and yet we feel comfortable doing it. At the heart of what James is saying is that when you do this sin, when you participate in slander, you reveal something about yourself. You reveal your relationship with another brother and your relationship to God's word. In our passage this morning, the rest of us 11, we looked at the command last week, do not speak evil against one another brothers. We'll look at the rest of us 11. We find four realities that speaks about the person who slanders. Four realities that shows us who you actually are. And I will summarize it and then give you the statements. These four realities make manifest what you believe about God's people, what you believe about God's word, what you believe about God himself, and what you believe about yourself. These are the statements that these categories unfold. Slander reveals your actual relationship with God's people. Secondly, slander reveals your actual relationship with God's law. Thirdly, slander reveals your actual understanding of who God is. And then lastly, slander reveals your actual estimation of yourself. And you will see that as I read through the text. It should be obvious that this is how the passage is unfolding. James, tells us exactly what is going on in our minds and in our hearts as we reveal the character of our soul by means of slandering. So let's begin to consider the first of the two, I will not cover all four, the first of the two realities that is revealed in this passage. Number one, slander reveals the quality of your relationship with God's people. Look at the second part of verse 11. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother speaks evil against the law and judges the law. There's a net relationship between how you deal with God's people and your relationship to God's word. Here we see how slander reveals the reality of your relationship with God's people. In short, James says, when we speak against God's people, we judge them, we pronounce condemnation upon them, and we are guilty of a very particular sin. We have broken God's law. We are outside the bounds of God's law. And in fact, we have put ourselves over God's law and over God's people. We have become law makers. Slander is a subtle form of self-exaltation. Let that settle. This thing is creaking, and it's going to drive me insane. It's a subtle form of self-exaltation. You are belittling a person while lifting yourself up. Just think about how you actually do that. What does James mean, what is he meaning when he says that you are judging your brother and in judging your brother you're actually judging the law? You reveal what you really think of others and what you actually think of yourself. When James says here in verse 11, the one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother speaks evil against the law and judges the law, it could be interpreted in two ways. This could either be that slander is equal to judgment or that both slander and judgment does the same thing. So you kind of come up with the same result. So slander, when you slander, is equal to judgment or independent categories. When you slander and when you judge, you're doing the same thing. Either way, the sin of slander or judgment of another brother breaks the standard of God's law. and I will point out what James means in a moment's time. Now, notice how he inserts brother quite a few times in this passage. Do not speak evil against another brother, the one who speaks against a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, You are not a doer of the law, but a judge. Isn't that a bit of an overkill to use brother so many times? It kind of is, because he's made the point in the command, do not speak against another brother. So you don't have to mention it again. But for emphasis sake, he wants you to think about a specific relationship. So he repeats it over and over. What is a brother? Now in a Jewish context, we may be thinking, as Gentiles, familial brother, like my brother, who grew up with me. But James is not using it in that way, and some of us may be thinking in terms of how Paul uses it of the church of Jesus Christ. I don't think that James uses it in that way either. This is written in a very Jewish context, and you'll see the connection to Leviticus 19 in a moment's time. He's appealing to Jews how they think about God's people, how they treat God's people as a whole. Yet not all Jews are saved. So he does not necessarily mean every single Jew, but the nation as a whole who are identified as brothers, who are God's people. Those who are like you, those who have a relationship with God like you. So what James is saying is that you who share a relationship with God, you who are brothers, who have one father, you should never speak evil or speak against such a person. Why? Because the minute you speak evil or you slander your brother, you're no longer seen as equals. The person who slanders has elevated himself above the person who's being slandered. He is now no longer an equal of the brother, but a judge of the brother. James builds his understanding of this reality from the Old Testament. Now go back to Leviticus 19, which we looked at last week. There's so many connections to this passage in the book of James that it's hard to ignore it. Notice the primary relationship that is established in verse one. And Yahweh spoke to Moses saying, so it's God's command through Moses, and this is what it is. Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, you shall be holy for I, Yahweh, your God, am holy. That's your primary relationship. understand who I am and live in accordance with that reality. So from the get go, the primary relationship that God wants his people to think about is who he is and who you are. You are not God, you are not as holy as he is, but your goal, your intention is to become like him in his holiness, not be like God in absolute sense, but to pursue the holiness of God. Verse three, everyone, every one of you shall honor or revere his mother and father and shall keep my Sabbath. I am Yahweh, your God. The second primary relationship that is established is the relationship between man and father and son or daughter and mother or children and parents. Honor or revere your father and your mother. Where do we get this from? The law, Exodus chapter 19 and 20. Look at the next one, and you shall keep my Sabbath. What has God just done there? He summarized the entirety of the law, the foundational elements of the law, in two lines. I am God, I make the law, you will honor your father and your mother, and you will keep my Sabbath. Remember when I did the survey in Deuteronomy, I indicated that there were two commands that do not have negations. What are those two commands? Honor your father and your mother and keep my Sabbath. That's what Moses does here. He summarizes the entirety of the law in these two lines. If you honor God, you will love your father and your mother and you will honor them. If you honor God, you will keep the day that he requires to be remembered on holy. The net result of that is this four, do not turn to idols. or make for yourselves any gods of cast metal, I am Yahweh your God. There will be no rival in worship. If you have the right understanding of who God is, there will be a right understanding of what He requires, and that will be expressed in right relationships. That's what happens from verse nine onwards. When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleaming of your harvest, and you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor, for the sojourner, I am Yahweh your God." In other words, I make the rules. You will not pick up every grape that has fallen from the vine. In other words, leave some for those who are poor. Don't just think of yourself, think of others. You see how having a right relationship with God and honoring God has a net result in how you treat other people. And it goes on, verse 11, you shall not steal, you shall not deal falsely, you shall not lie to one another. Again, having a right relationship with God means that you will have right relationships with others. Verse 12, you shall not swear by my name falsely and so profane the name of God. I am Yahweh. In other words, you won't make promises to people by God that you cannot keep. You won't swear by God's name. God will hold you accountable for that. Verse 13. Let me just add in verse 12. You won't swear on the Bible. Christians do not swear in the Bible. You don't swear that I will promise to pay by God, and you don't promise to pay. God will hold you to your promise by his name. So, you know, when you go to the court, they ask you to swear by the Bible. Unfortunately, in the legal system, you have to swear by the Bible. Whatever your testimony is, that is what God will hold against you. Verse 13, you shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. Take note of that first mention of neighbor in the section. The wages of the hired worker shall not remain with you until, with you all night until the morning. What is he talking about? This is a outworking of lying and stealing. You weren't promised to pay him, and then you lie about it by withholding his wages till the morning. Verse 14, you shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God. I am Yahweh. Over and over in these sections, you see that since God is who he is and since there's a right relationship with him, there must be an effect or result of that sin in how you deal with others. And the verse that I want to highlight is verse 15 and 16. You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness, you shall judge your neighbor. Isn't that the opposite of what James is saying? James says you don't judge your neighbor, and here Leviticus says you must judge your neighbor. What is he talking about? He's talking about the righteous judgment by not being foolish and being partial in courts. So when you do have to make a decision between people, you won't choose between the one based on your discrimination. That's what he's talking about. Verse 16, you shall not go around as a slanderer among your people. Who's your people? Your neighbor. And you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor. Your people is defined by who your neighbors are and your neighbor is defined by who the people are. I am Yahweh. Look at the next line. You shall not hate your brother in your heart, who's your brother, your neighbor, who's from your people. But you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, who's your neighbor, your brother, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the son of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am Yahweh." The own people or the sons of the own people, they are the brothers, they are the neighbors. because that's how it is used in a limited sense within this context. What Moses does here is he tells us how to think about God's people, those who share the right relationship with God, those who have a love for God, those who are obedient to God, those who demonstrate that they know God, you will not deal unjustly with them. In fact, he ends up on the summary statement of the law, you shall love your neighbor as you love yourself. What Moses shows here is that an outflow of a right relationship with God, a right relationship with parents, and a right relationship to God's worship, what God requires, is made manifest in how you treat others. Verse 18 is crucial. Love for people, love for your neighbor is a manifestation of a right relationship with God. Neighbor is not the guy who lives next to you. Neighbor is not the guy who you meet down the road. Neighbor is the person who shares the same devotion as you to God. It is the brother whom you love who loves God. And that is the context in which we should understand this idea of neighbor and brother. What do we see here in Leviticus 19? All of us, all of the people of God are in equal footing. You treat them the same way because you are not higher than them, you are not better than them. There is one God, there is one judge, there is one law giver, and he is the one that sets the requirement. So then, back to James. To speak evil of your brother is to break the law. In James 4, the brother is used in a limited sense of those who love God, those who obey God, and those who have a shared relationship with God, with you. So, if that is the case then, he says, you will not speak evil against those who share your relationship with God. You will never slander those who are called brothers in Christ. Our slander is a means to exalt ourselves and shows our actual relationship with them. We have removed ourselves from them and we have placed ourselves over them. So what James is after is, providing a reason why the recipients, these brothers, those who have been humbled by God, should not speak evil against the brothers. Because in doing so, you elevate yourself and you demote your brother. Here's the weight of what James is saying. The mere act of speaking evil against your brother, the mere act of slaughtering your brother shows a broken relationship between you and God, which is manifest in you, between you and your brother. Why is this significant? Well, there's a historical context here that is debated in theological circles. I'm gonna give you both scenarios. The first scenario is this. Saved Jews were still allowed to go to the synagogue, and we know that's true because he mentions synagogue in chapter two, verse one and two, and The unbelieving Jews were criticizing and slandering the saved Jews because they have a devotion to quote-unquote another God. Jesus, and so they were critical of these Jews for their devotion to Jesus Christ. Second scenario is that the believing Jews who are also still going to the synagogue are speaking evil of the unbelieving Jews who are not worshiping Christ and who have a form of religion but no real depth in their religion and so they slander the people of God who are Jews. Generally, scholars choose one or the other, and I am not gonna do that. If it's both, then praise the Lord. If it's not, then well, I'm not gonna put my head on the block. James condemns evil speaking to those who are brothers. However you want to define that, you could just call it the people of God, which are the Jews, or it could be that, which is what I lean to, those who have a relationship, who share a relationship with God as Father, which I think are saved Jews. That is the limited sense in which I think James is talking about here. Don't speak evil against those who share the name brother. It's pretty simple, pretty easy to understand why. Taken against the backdrop of Leviticus 19, it is a command given by God. So if God gives a clear command that you will not slander your brother, what does it require of us? To obey it. A person who speaks evil against his brother is guilty of breaking the law. And that's what James is talking about. Notice what he says. The one who speaks evil against his brother or judges his brother speaks evil against the law and judges the law. I will look at that in a moment's time. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law. In other words, you have removed yourself from the authority of the law and you've become a judge over both God's people and God's law. When we sit in judgment on God's people, then we display a disconnect in having a life with God and love for his people. If you have a right relationship with God, what does God expect? To have a right relationship with his people. Slander, backbiting, defamation, exalts the slanderer over the one who's being slandered. We become judges and lawmakers. Politicians are good at this, right? Sorry, Damian. But so are pastors. Sometimes pastors are able to make laws where there are no laws. And they judge people based on those laws, which are not found in the Bible. You will not have a TV or you will be worshiping the devil. No. That is a law that God has not sanctioned. You have elevated yourself to a position that you don't have. We are not supposed to be lawmakers, but law keepers. Slander of any kind is in reality judgment of God's people. And this, James says, and Leviticus 19 says, is inconsistent with claiming to have a right relationship with God. And he's already dealt with this. Look at chapter three, verse nine. I'm gonna read from verse seven for context. For every kind of beast and bird and reptile and sea creature can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human no human being or no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil full of deadly poison. With it, we bless our Lord and Father, and with it, we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not be so. That is not a mark of a believer. You can't have a forked tongue. Only demons and devils and snakes have forked tongues. Speaking out of both sides of your mouth. What James is showing is that slander reveals what you actually think of God's people. They are lesser than you. They deserve your judgment. They deserve to follow your law. They deserve your criticism and not your praise. Those who slander sit in judgment of people. They have a critical spirit. We call this judgmentalism. What does it mean to sit in judgment over another brother? James doesn't take the time to explain it. Leviticus 19 does. If you read through that again, just understand the background there is right relationship with God must be demonstrated in the right relationship with others. Why? Because you are equal with them. They deserve the dignity and the honor that they should receive as image bearers. But when we slander, we raise ourselves to a standard And we want others to meet our standard. Our standard becomes the means of judgment. The standard is us. I specifically chose those words. See, a person who has no problem slandering, speaking evil against God, God's people, have no problem elevating themselves and being prideful. boasting in their own efforts and works. They elevate their own law, their own standard over people and are critical of those who fall short of it. Let me give you an illustration, and this may step on some toes. Have you ever heard of the term perfectionism? Yes, right? We use it quite often. I am a perfectionist. I'm not claiming that. I used to be, and then I got married, and I got cured, the Lord. delivered me from that sin of perfectionism. What do we mean by perfectionism? We mean the sin of control, the sin of criticism, the sin of self-created law. That's what perfectionism is. How do I know? Because that's what I was. By God's grace, he has changed me. You set a standard, it's gotta be this way and there is no other way. And everybody must meet that standard and you measure them and judge them based on that standard. And then you go ahead and slander them to the face and behind their backs for not meeting your standard. Guess what? There is no grace in perfectionism. ever met a graceful perfectionist? They don't exist because the standard is the law, my standard is the law, and if you don't meet my standard, guess what? I will slander you to your face and behind your back, because you don't deserve my honor. There is a self-created law that people must comply with. a high standard of perfectionism according to Denver. You can put your own name in there. That is sin. Critical people are judgmental people. They are proud people and they are graceless people. They have short fuses and they refuse to be patient with those who are just like them. We are all sinners saved by God's grace. If you're in a marriage relationship with a saved sinner, show grace. Why? Because both of you are sinners saved by grace on a journey, I hate that word, on a, I don't have a better word, journey to grow in grace before God. Those who slander exalt themselves to a position that they don't have, and they demote people to a position that they should not have. So not only does slander reveal the true nature of our relationship with God's people, but also slander reveals our true relationship with God's word. You see this in the second part, in the third part of verse 11. James says, the one who speaks evil against his brother or judges his brother speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you're not a doer of the law, but a judge. So the two things that he highlights here, the two things being judged is God's people, which I've just dealt with, and then God's law. Don't miss this. Speaking evil against your brother is judgmentalism. Both of God's people and God's standard, God's law. It's a grievous sin. Pride manifests itself in judgmentalism. Your James implores and commands the saints to avoid such criticism. Those who speak evil of God's people, who slander God's people have little respect and appreciation for God's word. And that's why he says, you not only speak evil against your brother, but you speak evil against the law and you somehow think you can judge God's law. What does it mean? What does this word judge mean? And I did a very intensive study of this word, and you know what it means? It means to judge, to be critical. What they are saying is that the law, God's word, has no authority over my tongue, over the way that I speak, over my heart. and therefore over my life. God has no control over what I say, and God has no lordship over what comes out of my heart. In judging and slandering God's people, we show an unwillingness to submit ourselves to the lordship of God. How do I know that? Look at verse 10. Humble yourselves before the Lord. He will exalt you. You don't exalt yourself and yet in speaking evil against your brother, what are you doing? You are exalting yourself and demoting God's word and God's people. You don't get to exalt yourself. God exalts you. God is the one that lifts you up. But in displaying your pride, in displaying your rebellion, in displaying your lack of appreciation for the word of God and lack of respect for what God says, you exalt yourself and you demote God's word. In doing so, you show what your actual relationship is with the Word of God. Slanderers demote the Word of God to having no authority over their own lives. It's a shocking statement. You judge, or you speak evil against the law, and you judge the law. What this implies is that you've exalted yourself to be a judge of God's word. Therefore, the last statement makes sense. You're not a doer of the law, but a judge. Think through that. You are not one who is subservient to God's word, but one who judges God's word. So then you make the decision over what is good and what is bad. Is it the Thomas Jefferson Bible, where he took out passages that he disagreed with and decided that some of the harsh statements of Jesus and God is not worthy to be in the Bible? So he just removes them. That's what you're doing when you are judging your brother. You judge the law. You are making decisions based on your estimation. What is good and what is bad and what should be obeyed and what should not be obeyed. You have elevated yourself to the position of God. There's huge debate on why James uses the word law. Who's he speaking with? Jews. What has been written by this time? The Old Testament. What are they very familiar with? The law. It's obvious that he's speaking to a Jewish context, and within the Jewish context, what was the standard of life? The law. So he's not saying that we must be keepers of the law in that believers today are subject to the law. And I'll show you that he actually thinks in terms of Leviticus 19, the very last part of Leviticus 19, when you get to it next week. But what James is after is that you have now decided to become the law determinator, determiner. The so-called slip of the tongue in discrimination, slip of the tongue in slander is in fact a demonstration of a heart that is unwilling to submit to God's word. The law clearly instructs not to slander and yet you decide to do the thing that God says you should not. What have you done? You've chosen to disobey, you've chosen to choose what you want and place yourself in the position of God. Moreover, not that it's greater, but in addition to, you've exalted yourself and excused yourself from accountability before God. If God is a lawmaker, and He is, He requires everybody under that to obey His command. But if you become the judge of the law, What does it say about everybody? They are under you. And if the law is under you, what does it say about you? You are over it. That makes you God. You've elevated yourself to the place that you don't deserve. Slander demonstrates a heart that is unwilling to submit to God. We think very little of this. Sin, slander, bad biting, evil speech, it leaks from a heart that has very little respect for the authority of God in that person's life. Now if you sit in judgment of God's word, what does it say about you? Well, it's pretty simple. You are now in the place of God. Look at his argument in verse 12. There is only one lawgiver and judge who's able to save and to destroy. So you think you are God? Well, go ahead, save and destroy. You've elevated yourself to a position that you don't deserve. In judging your brother, you've placed yourself over the law and over God's people. Let me just mention this. Law is singular here. And when he says that you've become a judge of the law, he means the entirety of the law. You are acting as if you are God. Wow. That is weighty. What is the solution to this problem? Look at the end of verse 12. Who are you to judge your neighbor? Why does James make a switch to neighbor? If you go back to Leviticus, we're not going to go there now because of time. But if you go back to Leviticus, Moses makes a switch between brother, neighbor, the son of your people, brother, neighbor. Who has he in mind? Who does he have in mind? The same group of people. So what does James have in mind when he says, who are you to judge your neighbor, your brother? What does Leviticus 19, I think it was 18, end with? You shall love your neighbor as yourself. What is that? Isn't that the royal law? Look at chapter two, verse eight. If you really fulfill the royal law, James chapter two verse eight, according to the scripture, you shall love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing well. And here the sin is partiality, but if you show partiality, you're committing sin and are convicted by the law. And James says, you have somehow decided to remove yourself from the responsibility of dealing with people on an equal basis. Notice the command, love your neighbor as yourself. The way that you want to be treated, treat them, love them in the same way as you love yourself. In other words, don't think of yourself more highly than you should. Think of them in the same terms as you would think of yourself. That is putting us all on an equal plane. That is what James is after. Who are you to judge your neighbor? You're not better than anyone else. So why then? judge. Why then sit in criticism? Why then slander? Because there's something wrong in your heart. The solution is simple. If we love God, we will love our neighbor. In fact, if you read Leviticus 19, what it begins with is duty and responsibility to God, and what does it end with? Duty and responsibility to other people. It's pretty obvious. You love God, guess what? You will love God's people. Loving God in the book of James is highlighted in a variety of different ways. caring for God's people, meeting the needs of God's people, not speaking evil against God's people, not hurting God's people, protecting God's people, honoring God's people. Submission, humbling before God means that those realities will be true of us. Slander is a serious sin. And if you struggle with the sin, I encourage you to look deep into your heart and ask God to forgive you. Because what you are demonstrating is that you think very little of God's people and very little of God's word. That is not a sign of a person that has a love for God and is a part of God's world. Those who have been changed by God do not as a regular habit of life slander those who are God's people. James shows that those who slander reveal their true relationship with God's people and their true relationship with God's word, and it is not in favor of those who are God's children. Let's pray. Father, we are thankful to you that you show us such great patience, and yet we are so impatient with sinners who have been saved by grace. We know we all fail. We know that we all have personal struggles. Lord, teach us to not exalt ourselves, not to judge other believers, not to slander them, but to be gracious to them. When doing so, Lord, we demonstrate that we love you and that we love your people and that we have an appreciation and respect for your word. We ask that you would change our hearts because we cannot change it ourselves. We ask that you would crush our pride, because we cannot do it ourselves. We pray that you would humble us before you, before your face, because we refuse to humble ourselves. Forgive us, Lord, in order to help us to be the kind of people that you would be pleased with. We pray these things in your name, for your glory's sake alone. Amen.