{"id":6217,"date":"2015-03-18T01:17:14","date_gmt":"2015-03-18T01:17:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/?p=6217"},"modified":"2015-03-18T01:17:14","modified_gmt":"2015-03-18T01:17:14","slug":"james-412-who-are-you-to-judge-your-neighbor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/?p=6217","title":{"rendered":"James 4:12\u2014Who are you to judge your neighbor?"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?<\/em> James 4:12<\/p>\n

The Lord God is the Judge. He is the Lawgiver, and all just laws find their origin in Him. Lawlessness, the refusal to submit to righteous laws, has been at work for centuries according to 2 Thessalonians 2:7. This rebellion seems to be swelling to a crescendo in our time; wherever you look, you\u2019re likely to see its effects.<\/p>\n

And because of the prohibition stated time and again in the Bible about judging your brother, all too often the church world feels like it\u2019s been painted into a corner in regards to addressing cultural decay. Christians think they are not allowed to call sin what it is\u2014SIN\u2014for fear of judging someone.<\/p>\n

Ezekiel 33:1-9 is clear. Believers, as watchmen, have a responsibility<\/em> to warn concerning the approach of wickedness. The New Testament urges\u00a0us to be ready to snatch folks out of the fire, having mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh<\/em> (Jude 23). God\u2019s standards apply to everybody. And His standards won\u2019t budge, despite shifts in popular cultural\u00a0thought.<\/p>\n

1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 declares, \u201cBut examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil<\/em>.\u201d You see, evil is evil; when you are called to refrain from judging others, it\u2019s the person <\/em>you\u2019re not to judge; you absolutely have the right to discern sinful behavior<\/em>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s what you do<\/em> with your discernment that is the issue here.<\/p>\n

If you observe your brother stealing, you have the right\u2014and the responsibility\u2014to see to it that the thief and his theft are justly confronted. When you see the decaying morality of the culture creeping into the church\u2014even into your own\u00a0circle\u2014you have the right and<\/em> the responsibility to address it.<\/p>\n

However, to rail against a brother or a sister is not<\/em> discernment; it\u2019s judging. When you feel the need to let others know how off<\/em> someone is; when you desire to bring down the good name of a ministry, a preacher, or an individual Christian; when you\u2019d rather see someone suffer and be disgraced more than you long to see them restored, you have abandoned your<\/em> place and are assuming the role of judge\u2014a role reserved for God alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cWatch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life<\/em>\u201d (Proverbs 4:23). The way\u00a0you respond to perceived sin or error in someone else’s life is huge<\/em> to God. Due to the fact that you and I don\u2019t know everything about everything, we must be very<\/em> careful to watch over our hearts when we think someone else is off-base. Have you considered that your discernment might not be fully accurate? Have you reckoned with the fact that you weren’t created to discern every motive of another person’s heart? Have you faced the fact that whether your discernment is accurate or not, your name is not<\/em> \u201cHoly Ghost\u201d?<\/p>\n

What are you doing with your discernment? Each of us must give an account before God for how we handle the perceptions, discernments, hunches, and observations we pick up about others. Each of us, likewise, is accountable for how we guard our hearts and words when faced with someone else\u2019s indiscretions or vulnerabilities.<\/p>\n

It has been said that the person who bothers you the most needs you the most. James wrote, \u201cFor we all stumble in many ways<\/em>\u201d (James 3:2a). John wrote, \u201cIf we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us<\/em>\u201d (1 John 1:10). Anytime you discern error or sin in someone, ask yourself this: How would I<\/strong> want to be treated if others perceived that I <\/strong>was in error or sin?<\/em> Treat your brother and sister the same way you<\/em> would want to be treated. If you refuse, remember this: There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

May our discernment be true and our responses pleasing to the Lord.<\/p>\n

Dorothy<\/p>\n

But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all <\/strong>stand before the judgment seat of God.<\/em> Romans 14:4, emphasis added<\/p>\n

For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.<\/em> James 2:13<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor? James 4:12 The Lord God is the Judge. He is the Lawgiver, and all just laws find their origin in Him. Lawlessness, the refusal to submit to righteous laws, has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[77],"class_list":["post-6217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-james-4","tag-judge-not"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6217"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6217\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6224,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6217\/revisions\/6224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}