James 4:11-17
I love my little Maddie. She is so cute and adorable! And oh, does she have a temper! One of the funniest things she does is when we disappoint her or do not let her have her way. All of a sudden, she will do this: (If you’re reading this I am sorry you couldn’t see me slumped over, hunchbacked with my arms hanging straight down in front of me as I stomped across the floor with a big pouty face and sad-angry eyes). She seems to think that maybe we will change our minds if we see how upset she is. But unfortunately for her, even if she puts on an Oscar winning performance, we will not change our minds about what we believe is the right thing for her. And slowly, over many repetitions of similar circumstances we watch her grow and learn how to behave better.
When she is slouched over like that and stomping around, she also sometimes slanders us, saying that we never let her have any fun, or, we don’t love her etc. It is a great sin. Other, even greater sins she commits when she is lying or trying to hide from us something she is doing when she apparently knows we should disapprove. Did I mention she is only 5? Can we forgive her? How can we NOT forgive? We love her! But do we let her get away with it? Of course, not! That’s no way to forgive. Letting her get away with her sinful ways would be negligence! Refusing to instruct her, because we know she loves us and assume she will automatically grow up, would also be negligence.
To our loving Heavenly Father, we are all a lot like such toddlers. If he had a refrigerator, our scribbled drawings would be hanging all over it and you should see his Iphone full of videos of you being cute! You have probably loved your own children the way God loves you. You love your kids even when they drive you crazy? You’d do anything to help them and show them the wisdom that they need for life? God loves us even when we drive him crazy. God has done all he could to how his love and instruct his children. His love is shown not just in Jesus’ death on the cross but in all the history beforehand. Through the Old Testament, God makes his concern for sin and judgement of rebels very clear. God makes rebellious humans love for sin very clear! God makes our need of a Savior quite obvious!
And then God meets the need because he loves us! He sent his one and only son in to the world that whosever believes in him may not perish nut have everlasting life. That’s love that blesses us to survive the judgment to come. Then, once we understand how much God loves us, we are better able to accept his instruction and wisdom for living.
Being born again in Christ is not an end in itself. It is just the beginning of a wonderful new life in Christ! It is as if you have been recruited for a heavenly mission that will take great effort and determination to accomplish. It’s not easy street. It’s boot camp! Most religious people think they have to obey God or else. But Christians know the real truth. We want to obey God because he loves us!
Ans so we want to know how God intends for us to live according to his will. That’s why James wrote his letter In this section, James continues on in what sounds a little like a tirade against bad behavior in the church. Now he is highlighting sins that occur because of an uncontrolled tongue. He has earlier simply announced that the tongue is a source of trouble, set aflame by evil. Now he is giving three specific examples, slander and judgment, which go together and boasting. The first two break the Law of Love for one’s neighbor. The third attacks the foolishness of pursuing wealth without regard for God’s will.
First, about slanderous or judgmental words. One might wonder why James thinks it important or necessary to repeat these basic truths here. The answer is, good discipline is accomplished through much repetition of the same wisdom. God has ordained that many of his servants were inspired to say similar things, often. The more it is repeated, the harder it is for us to learn it and yet the more important it is for us to learn too. Doesn’t this principle bear out in the process of raising our own children?
James has already talked in general about the dangers of an uncontrolled tongue. So, it makes sense that he would give an example. It also makes sense that he would choose an example that illustrates what is actually happening in the church he is writing to. I spoke last week about the uphill battle they had against the culture that they had originally grown up in and that was all around them. James is working hard to overcome this. But what about us. Are we so civilized and enlightened that we no longer have this struggle?
That’s a rhetorical question. All you have to do is glance at all the newspapers with their colorful pictures and bold headlines, you know, the ones you find at the head of the check-out line at the grocery store. Those publishers are making tons of money selling slander and judgmentalism! People love it! Humans tend to be opinionated. We like to be right and we like to be sure we are right. The more controversial the opinion, the louder the supporter can get in defending it. And if it hurts somebody’s feelings, they will stand on their freedom of speech.
Trouble is people tend to theorize and jump to conclusions. We prefer to believe what makes sense to us. Sometimes there doesn’t even have to be much basis for it in reality. The flat earth society is still going strong. Conspiracy theorists of all kinds always seem to find their followers. Social media has only fueled this fire. Fake news is big news these days. I saw a case in which one author took the same raw facts on a political story and wrote it up in two slants. He sold the same story to publishers on both the left and the right. He told it to the left the way they wanted to hear it and he told it to the right the way they wanted to hear it. And he made it sound like bad news either way! That’s what people respond to.
Just a couple days ago, I learned about a whole web site that a young man set up just to see how fast his totally false news would spread. He started it as a joke. He literally made up stories and told lies in public using catchy headlines about politics and public figures. Those stories spread into millions of likes and shares in just a few days as people passed them along and hardly anybody tried to verify. If it’s on the web it must be true!
Now, you have to realize, that I got that story off the internet too. So, there’s a good chance that this story about totally fake news being wantonly and uncritically gobbled up as if it were true, may itself be very fake news! No matter how likely it sounds and how believable it is, knowing what we know about human nature, you have to check the facts before you pass it along. And if you can’t know for sure, don’t share it. Especially when it’s about people who are close to you. There is however, one place, and only one really, where you can find absolute, verifiable, totally reliable truth. And that is in God’s word!
The Law of God says, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." - Exodus 20:16. "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." - Leviticus 19:18. "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." - Matthew 5:44 And in Matthew 12:36 Jesus said, “But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken.” There’s plenty about this all over Scripture.
James argues it this way. “Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?”
Slander and judging breaks relationships. But the triune God, Father Son and Holy Spirit, have always existed in loving relationship. So, of course, his design and plan is for all humans to be united with him and with each other in deep and abiding, loving relationships. Slander and judging threaten to break that up or prevent it from happening. The one Judge and Lawgiver of the universe will make sure that one way or another this kind of behavior comes to an end. Repent and accept God’s discipline! Give it up willingly, or else!
As with physical bullying, slanderous words and judging others harshly is usually the result of harboring deep insecurities in one’s self. But if you know who you are in Christ, you will be much better able to be merciful and patient with others. By self-awareness of God’s grace at work in our own lives, that is when we are able to say, “There but for the grace of God go I.” That sentence really means not, that I got lucky enough to be spared that downfall, but really, that I know I am just as human as the worst of sinners and under the right circumstances I could actually act like the worst of sinners. And at least in my mind, I have. So, if I haven’t actually fallen so far in public, it is really only by the preserving and forgiving grace of God.
As for James second example of poor tongue control, boasting about pursuing dreams and goals without referring to the Lord’s will is just as foolish and dangerous. We often forget just how quickly our circumstances can change, when our frail bodies encounter overpowering and destructive forces that can change everything about us in the blink of an eye, up to and including the end of life itself.
Jesus himself spoke of the issue in this parable from Luke 12:15-21, “Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
This points at another common thread between the ancients and us, materialism. Storing up treasures is a common human practice. Many hoard gold and silver, storing up treasures on earth. In another place, Jesus instructs us to store up treasures in Heaven instead. In this parable, Jesus is making the same point as James. Be on your guard against greed. Do not rely on how much money you have stored up and believe that it will always be there for you, or that you will always be there for it.
This is even more true in today’s economy. It used to be that if you had a pile of gold or other goods stored up in a vault or a barn, it would stay there until you used it, spent it, sold it or someone stole it. In today’s economy of investment and debt, most of you here have recently lived through the proof that so-called piles of money can just evaporate when investments fail and the stock market drops. I’m sure no king ever stood at the door of his vault to watch his gold melt like snow and disappear. But just a few years ago, you could check your investment account every couple of minutes and watch your net worth go down. I’ll bet some of you have personal experience with the distress of the drain and strain on your resources.
In Jesus’ parable, and James’ teaching, we learn of the other variable. Life itself is fragile and unpredictable. There is weakness inherent in anything other than God that we might look to for security. Brand new tires on a sturdy car? Might be no match for a fine slick of ice! Strong healthy body builder type fitness? It still doesn’t take a very big car in a high-speed accident to break the strongest muscleman. And it doesn’t even have to be your fault! Also, diseases, from the common cold, to the dreaded cancer can still strike.
Use all the wisdom you can to grow that nest egg. The bible encourages you to do that. God wants you to be blessed. And do the best you can to take care of your body. It is God’s temple that he has loaned to you for this life. Keep it strong and healthy so that you have more options and greater freedom and strength to serve the Lord in any way he calls you. Enjoy good health so that you can sing and dance and feel the joy of life. But neither one is guaranteed.
There is only one eternal reality in which we ought to find our surest security. That is God and his great, great love for his creation. Do everything according to God’s will. Take into account that only his plans stand firm. The builders labor in vain if they’re not mindful that the Lord is the architect and provider.
James’ book is all about discipleship, the art of discipline. It is the instruction that moves us to live more by the spirit than by the flesh where we began. It is teaching Christians how Christians ought to behave toward one another and toward people in the world around them. But we need to remember that Christianity is not a religion where one has rules that need to be adhered to. It is a relationship with God where a life of love and unwavering devotion is the result. For God and humanity.
What did Jesus mean when He said that the law is written on our hearts? He didn't mean that it's memorized in our minds like a script you are to follow. It means that mutual love produces devotion in a natural and unforced way. You WANT to please the one you love. And over time, you learn how to. Do you follow a script on how to keep the love of your family and friends or does your love actually create the script?
And the same applies towards your family and friends’ love towards you. Can you tell who has genuine love for you and who may be using you to benefit themselves? Can God tell? A works based faith is using God to benefit you. But, in a genuine relationship, you have nothing to worry about because the love is there.
God knows we are flawed and cannot pursue the perfect relationship with Him. But He also knows whether we have a contrite heart and want to do the best we can to remain devoted to Him. And the same can be said of Him to us. He knows what we need and when we need it. Both physically and emotionally.
And like your parents, he disciplines you because He loves you and wants you to learn what you need to learn so that you may grow. That's the Triune God I know and love. A God that interacts in love in your life just like a relationship does. The love is there, but the behavior that fulfills that love is learned through the discipline administered by a wiser overseer, either parents, teachers or God himself. We can thank God for James.
I would like to close with a prayer that I received in my e-mail from Stephen C. Weber. He called it “A Prayer for Godly Character” and he didn’t write it either. It is abbreviated from a prayer written in a blog called “My Sunshine Room” http://www.mysunshineroom.com. That blog is owned by a woman called Margaret. Her friends call her sunshine. The world in which we live is rich with resources and blessings that Christians are sharing all over the world through the internet and social media. All the best of them are examples of words well chosen for the benefit of others, the opposite of slander, judgement and boasting. So, it is a fitting conclusion to today’s message. Let us pray.
“Father, grant us strength and courage as we face the many decisions to divert from Your plan of truth and righteousness. May godly character be that by which we are known, for a good name is more desirable than great riches (Proverbs 22:1). May the rewards of our good character lead to blessings for ourselves as well as for our children (Proverbs 20:7). And may our children be known by their actions as well, by whether their conduct is pure and right (Proverbs 20:11).
Help us to make every effort to grow in our character as we add to our faith, goodness, and knowledge, and self-control, and perseverance, and godliness, and brotherly kindness and love. For if we possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep us from being ineffective and unproductive in our knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:5-8). Amen.
I love my little Maddie. She is so cute and adorable! And oh, does she have a temper! One of the funniest things she does is when we disappoint her or do not let her have her way. All of a sudden, she will do this: (If you’re reading this I am sorry you couldn’t see me slumped over, hunchbacked with my arms hanging straight down in front of me as I stomped across the floor with a big pouty face and sad-angry eyes). She seems to think that maybe we will change our minds if we see how upset she is. But unfortunately for her, even if she puts on an Oscar winning performance, we will not change our minds about what we believe is the right thing for her. And slowly, over many repetitions of similar circumstances we watch her grow and learn how to behave better.
When she is slouched over like that and stomping around, she also sometimes slanders us, saying that we never let her have any fun, or, we don’t love her etc. It is a great sin. Other, even greater sins she commits when she is lying or trying to hide from us something she is doing when she apparently knows we should disapprove. Did I mention she is only 5? Can we forgive her? How can we NOT forgive? We love her! But do we let her get away with it? Of course, not! That’s no way to forgive. Letting her get away with her sinful ways would be negligence! Refusing to instruct her, because we know she loves us and assume she will automatically grow up, would also be negligence.
To our loving Heavenly Father, we are all a lot like such toddlers. If he had a refrigerator, our scribbled drawings would be hanging all over it and you should see his Iphone full of videos of you being cute! You have probably loved your own children the way God loves you. You love your kids even when they drive you crazy? You’d do anything to help them and show them the wisdom that they need for life? God loves us even when we drive him crazy. God has done all he could to how his love and instruct his children. His love is shown not just in Jesus’ death on the cross but in all the history beforehand. Through the Old Testament, God makes his concern for sin and judgement of rebels very clear. God makes rebellious humans love for sin very clear! God makes our need of a Savior quite obvious!
And then God meets the need because he loves us! He sent his one and only son in to the world that whosever believes in him may not perish nut have everlasting life. That’s love that blesses us to survive the judgment to come. Then, once we understand how much God loves us, we are better able to accept his instruction and wisdom for living.
Being born again in Christ is not an end in itself. It is just the beginning of a wonderful new life in Christ! It is as if you have been recruited for a heavenly mission that will take great effort and determination to accomplish. It’s not easy street. It’s boot camp! Most religious people think they have to obey God or else. But Christians know the real truth. We want to obey God because he loves us!
Ans so we want to know how God intends for us to live according to his will. That’s why James wrote his letter In this section, James continues on in what sounds a little like a tirade against bad behavior in the church. Now he is highlighting sins that occur because of an uncontrolled tongue. He has earlier simply announced that the tongue is a source of trouble, set aflame by evil. Now he is giving three specific examples, slander and judgment, which go together and boasting. The first two break the Law of Love for one’s neighbor. The third attacks the foolishness of pursuing wealth without regard for God’s will.
First, about slanderous or judgmental words. One might wonder why James thinks it important or necessary to repeat these basic truths here. The answer is, good discipline is accomplished through much repetition of the same wisdom. God has ordained that many of his servants were inspired to say similar things, often. The more it is repeated, the harder it is for us to learn it and yet the more important it is for us to learn too. Doesn’t this principle bear out in the process of raising our own children?
James has already talked in general about the dangers of an uncontrolled tongue. So, it makes sense that he would give an example. It also makes sense that he would choose an example that illustrates what is actually happening in the church he is writing to. I spoke last week about the uphill battle they had against the culture that they had originally grown up in and that was all around them. James is working hard to overcome this. But what about us. Are we so civilized and enlightened that we no longer have this struggle?
That’s a rhetorical question. All you have to do is glance at all the newspapers with their colorful pictures and bold headlines, you know, the ones you find at the head of the check-out line at the grocery store. Those publishers are making tons of money selling slander and judgmentalism! People love it! Humans tend to be opinionated. We like to be right and we like to be sure we are right. The more controversial the opinion, the louder the supporter can get in defending it. And if it hurts somebody’s feelings, they will stand on their freedom of speech.
Trouble is people tend to theorize and jump to conclusions. We prefer to believe what makes sense to us. Sometimes there doesn’t even have to be much basis for it in reality. The flat earth society is still going strong. Conspiracy theorists of all kinds always seem to find their followers. Social media has only fueled this fire. Fake news is big news these days. I saw a case in which one author took the same raw facts on a political story and wrote it up in two slants. He sold the same story to publishers on both the left and the right. He told it to the left the way they wanted to hear it and he told it to the right the way they wanted to hear it. And he made it sound like bad news either way! That’s what people respond to.
Just a couple days ago, I learned about a whole web site that a young man set up just to see how fast his totally false news would spread. He started it as a joke. He literally made up stories and told lies in public using catchy headlines about politics and public figures. Those stories spread into millions of likes and shares in just a few days as people passed them along and hardly anybody tried to verify. If it’s on the web it must be true!
Now, you have to realize, that I got that story off the internet too. So, there’s a good chance that this story about totally fake news being wantonly and uncritically gobbled up as if it were true, may itself be very fake news! No matter how likely it sounds and how believable it is, knowing what we know about human nature, you have to check the facts before you pass it along. And if you can’t know for sure, don’t share it. Especially when it’s about people who are close to you. There is however, one place, and only one really, where you can find absolute, verifiable, totally reliable truth. And that is in God’s word!
The Law of God says, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." - Exodus 20:16. "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." - Leviticus 19:18. "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." - Matthew 5:44 And in Matthew 12:36 Jesus said, “But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken.” There’s plenty about this all over Scripture.
James argues it this way. “Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?”
Slander and judging breaks relationships. But the triune God, Father Son and Holy Spirit, have always existed in loving relationship. So, of course, his design and plan is for all humans to be united with him and with each other in deep and abiding, loving relationships. Slander and judging threaten to break that up or prevent it from happening. The one Judge and Lawgiver of the universe will make sure that one way or another this kind of behavior comes to an end. Repent and accept God’s discipline! Give it up willingly, or else!
As with physical bullying, slanderous words and judging others harshly is usually the result of harboring deep insecurities in one’s self. But if you know who you are in Christ, you will be much better able to be merciful and patient with others. By self-awareness of God’s grace at work in our own lives, that is when we are able to say, “There but for the grace of God go I.” That sentence really means not, that I got lucky enough to be spared that downfall, but really, that I know I am just as human as the worst of sinners and under the right circumstances I could actually act like the worst of sinners. And at least in my mind, I have. So, if I haven’t actually fallen so far in public, it is really only by the preserving and forgiving grace of God.
As for James second example of poor tongue control, boasting about pursuing dreams and goals without referring to the Lord’s will is just as foolish and dangerous. We often forget just how quickly our circumstances can change, when our frail bodies encounter overpowering and destructive forces that can change everything about us in the blink of an eye, up to and including the end of life itself.
Jesus himself spoke of the issue in this parable from Luke 12:15-21, “Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
This points at another common thread between the ancients and us, materialism. Storing up treasures is a common human practice. Many hoard gold and silver, storing up treasures on earth. In another place, Jesus instructs us to store up treasures in Heaven instead. In this parable, Jesus is making the same point as James. Be on your guard against greed. Do not rely on how much money you have stored up and believe that it will always be there for you, or that you will always be there for it.
This is even more true in today’s economy. It used to be that if you had a pile of gold or other goods stored up in a vault or a barn, it would stay there until you used it, spent it, sold it or someone stole it. In today’s economy of investment and debt, most of you here have recently lived through the proof that so-called piles of money can just evaporate when investments fail and the stock market drops. I’m sure no king ever stood at the door of his vault to watch his gold melt like snow and disappear. But just a few years ago, you could check your investment account every couple of minutes and watch your net worth go down. I’ll bet some of you have personal experience with the distress of the drain and strain on your resources.
In Jesus’ parable, and James’ teaching, we learn of the other variable. Life itself is fragile and unpredictable. There is weakness inherent in anything other than God that we might look to for security. Brand new tires on a sturdy car? Might be no match for a fine slick of ice! Strong healthy body builder type fitness? It still doesn’t take a very big car in a high-speed accident to break the strongest muscleman. And it doesn’t even have to be your fault! Also, diseases, from the common cold, to the dreaded cancer can still strike.
Use all the wisdom you can to grow that nest egg. The bible encourages you to do that. God wants you to be blessed. And do the best you can to take care of your body. It is God’s temple that he has loaned to you for this life. Keep it strong and healthy so that you have more options and greater freedom and strength to serve the Lord in any way he calls you. Enjoy good health so that you can sing and dance and feel the joy of life. But neither one is guaranteed.
There is only one eternal reality in which we ought to find our surest security. That is God and his great, great love for his creation. Do everything according to God’s will. Take into account that only his plans stand firm. The builders labor in vain if they’re not mindful that the Lord is the architect and provider.
James’ book is all about discipleship, the art of discipline. It is the instruction that moves us to live more by the spirit than by the flesh where we began. It is teaching Christians how Christians ought to behave toward one another and toward people in the world around them. But we need to remember that Christianity is not a religion where one has rules that need to be adhered to. It is a relationship with God where a life of love and unwavering devotion is the result. For God and humanity.
What did Jesus mean when He said that the law is written on our hearts? He didn't mean that it's memorized in our minds like a script you are to follow. It means that mutual love produces devotion in a natural and unforced way. You WANT to please the one you love. And over time, you learn how to. Do you follow a script on how to keep the love of your family and friends or does your love actually create the script?
And the same applies towards your family and friends’ love towards you. Can you tell who has genuine love for you and who may be using you to benefit themselves? Can God tell? A works based faith is using God to benefit you. But, in a genuine relationship, you have nothing to worry about because the love is there.
God knows we are flawed and cannot pursue the perfect relationship with Him. But He also knows whether we have a contrite heart and want to do the best we can to remain devoted to Him. And the same can be said of Him to us. He knows what we need and when we need it. Both physically and emotionally.
And like your parents, he disciplines you because He loves you and wants you to learn what you need to learn so that you may grow. That's the Triune God I know and love. A God that interacts in love in your life just like a relationship does. The love is there, but the behavior that fulfills that love is learned through the discipline administered by a wiser overseer, either parents, teachers or God himself. We can thank God for James.
I would like to close with a prayer that I received in my e-mail from Stephen C. Weber. He called it “A Prayer for Godly Character” and he didn’t write it either. It is abbreviated from a prayer written in a blog called “My Sunshine Room” http://www.mysunshineroom.com. That blog is owned by a woman called Margaret. Her friends call her sunshine. The world in which we live is rich with resources and blessings that Christians are sharing all over the world through the internet and social media. All the best of them are examples of words well chosen for the benefit of others, the opposite of slander, judgement and boasting. So, it is a fitting conclusion to today’s message. Let us pray.
“Father, grant us strength and courage as we face the many decisions to divert from Your plan of truth and righteousness. May godly character be that by which we are known, for a good name is more desirable than great riches (Proverbs 22:1). May the rewards of our good character lead to blessings for ourselves as well as for our children (Proverbs 20:7). And may our children be known by their actions as well, by whether their conduct is pure and right (Proverbs 20:11).
Help us to make every effort to grow in our character as we add to our faith, goodness, and knowledge, and self-control, and perseverance, and godliness, and brotherly kindness and love. For if we possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep us from being ineffective and unproductive in our knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:5-8). Amen.
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