James
The Letter of James, presumed to have been written by the half-brother of Jesus, was written to the Jews in Dispersion. James would see Jesus learning of God’s ways, through his prayers and thoughtful meditation. They probably worked together along-side Joseph and learned of the trade of carpentry. They would eat and laugh together as young children, and as they grew older, Jesus would pass on to James and the rest of the family, those things he himself was being taught by his Heavenly Father: those things that were right and true. James would have learned a lot by Jesus’ example. Even at the age of 12 years old, he stayed behind when his parents returned from Jerusalem. Upon his parents seeking and finding him in the temple, Jesus replied to Mary and Joseph “did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?1” Mary kept all these things in her heart. Afterwards, Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man (Luke 2:49-52). It was probably during and after these years that James would learn much about God’s wisdom and the royal law. He would see and hear what Jesus had to say about judging.
Judging
Judging comes in many forms: it can be in the tone in which we speak, the look upon our face, the way we walk, and the way we use our hands.
So judging is not just considering what another person has said or done; pondering it; or deciding whether a person has been right or wrong according to what God says in His Word; or even deciding what we personally consider to be right or wrong. (I include myself in everything that I have written because I know that I am not perfect and in need of much learning.) So what does God say about this matter?
This subject is talked about throughout the whole Bible, but I have chosen to stay with the Letter of James, with the exception of a few references. James 2:13 says “judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy; yet mercy triumphs over judgment.” In the beginning of this chapter, James talks to the brothers and sisters about showing partiality about their actions towards a certain man coming into their assembly, dressed in rich (expensive) clothing, and towards another man dressed in poor and shabby clothing. They were showing more attention to the well-dressed man, giving him the best seat in the room, and then telling the poorly dressed man to stand in a certain place or to sit at someone’s feet.
Those who were showing partiality, did so in the way they spoke and acted — they were using body language as well as speech and we can well imagine the looks on their faces. James has to remind them that it has been the “rich” who have oppressed them and dragged them to court. It was the “rich” who were blaspheming God! James reminds them also that God has chosen the “poor” in the world “to become rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom.” James warns that by their actions they were making distinctions among themselves, becoming judges with evil thoughts and dishonoring the poor among them. He says that if they show partiality, they SIN. He tells them to fulfill the ROYAL LAW.
This royal law was taught by Jesus to a Lawyer who in Matt 22:35-40 “asked him a question, to test him. ‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?’ And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.’ ” Jesus also says do to others as you would have them do to you (Luke 6:31 and Matt.7:12). Do we really stop and wonder if we personally fulfill this? When someone says something to you that hurts, do you not want to hurt back? This is called vengeance, but God says “vengeance is mine” (Rom 12:19) quoting from Lev 19:18.This chapter covers everything that God wants us to do and how to behave (see verses 2-3;9-10;13,14-18,33,35,36).
Do Unto Others
Jesus takes this up in the New Testament. This whole process of doing unto others as you would have them do to you is part of our growing in Christ. We start off as babes and gradually grow to mature adulthood, until we learn to walk with God and Jesus in our life, until we have the spirit of Christ dwelling in us. This is not an easy process because we fail many times and stumble on the way. It can be made easier if we yoke ourselves to Christ: “Come unto me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt 11:28-30). Jesus, in this part of the chapter mentions that he has hidden certain things from the “wise and understanding” and revealed them to “babes”. So these verses about yoking ourselves to Christ are spoken to the babes in Christ, but I think they can apply to anyone at any stage of their growth.
We have also been promised the help of God through His messengers — His angels — and through the forgiveness of our failings through the blood of Christ, his sufferings and death. With all this Spiritual help offered to us, why do we still continue to judge or condemn? First of all, because we are human and prone to do what is wrong. We wrestle with this every day just as Paul did, but Paul said that it was only through Christ that he could overcome (Rom 7:21-25). Secondly, in James 3:1-12, we are told that we all make mistakes, that the tongue is a fire, both blessing God and cursing man. We are told that no human being can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. James says that this cursing should not be allowed to happen. It is with our tongue that we also judge our fellow man.
Wisdom from God
This is the dilemma we are in, but James points out that the root cause of this is our “mind-set.” We have to seek the wisdom of God as mentioned in the first chapter, walking in faith without wavering. This is not mere book knowledge, but spiritual knowledge, having the spirit of Christ in us, our hearts and minds. Without this wisdom there is jealousy and selfish ambition and it is earthly, unspiritual, devilish, resulting in disorder and every vile practice (James 3:13-17 and Matt 7:1-2, 12). The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, without uncertainty or insincerity (James 3). James goes on to say that God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you, cleanse your hands, purify your hearts, be wretched and mourn and weep, let your laughter be turned to mourning and joy to dejection. Humble yourselves before the LORD and He will exalt you. Do not speak evil against one another because it is the same as judging one another. Who are you that you judge your neighbor? (James 4:6-12). We are left at the end of chapter 4 with a very challenging statement that should always be at the forefront of our minds (remember mind-set). We should MEMORIZE this. It will help us to control our thoughts and our tongue and in turn, prevent us from judging one another.
The Royal Law
“Whoever knows what is right to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin”
We often follow men’s writings as though they were inspired, but it is God’s words we must follow. These were expressed in Jesus’ words and by his example of suffering and obedience. This is the answer we need to prevent us from judging others — in other words the ROYAL LAW. In our growth in Christ, we are also told as a part of not judging others, we are to test the spirits (1John 4:1), be wise as serpents and innocent as doves (Matt 10:16). During our walk in Christ, we are warned against those who are false prophets, who come to us in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. How? By the fruit they produce — their actions, behaviors, and whether they prefer to succumb to man’s words or Gods Word. We do this in silence, asking again for the wisdom of God to guide us. Jesus gave us the perfect example of how to behave towards each other. He humbled himself, became a servant and washed his disciples’ feet — even those of Judas.
With all this said, we must try and be patient until the coming of our Lord and Savior. It is said that this will establish our hearts, and we will see how the Lord is compassionate and merciful, long-suffering, the fairest judge of all. He knows our hearts and how our minds work. He can and will seek vengeance on those who deserve it. We have to be satisfied that vengeance is from the Lord and his only. Therefore, in asking for God’s wisdom, we pray that we use it rightly, being confident in God’s promises that our Lord will be with us, to help us, and guide us. We will know that he is there: beside us and in us and offering forgiveness when we fail.
By doing so, may we really and truly fulfill the ROYAL LAW and not judge others.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One