HOLD YOUR TONGUE!

JAMES 4:11-12

JULY 2, 2000

 

There is no more poignant display of pride than in the putting down of another in order to elevate oneself. Whether it is done behind the back or face-to-face, whether the content is slanderous or something true that should go unsaid, pride lurks at the root of one who would defame his brother.

 

James maintains his prophetic mode as he exhorts believers of the seriousness of the Christian life. He has already alluded to the "quarrels and conflicts" that existed among them and why they were happening. He demonstrates that the root of pride produces considerable problems so that we must take action to humble ourselves before the Lord. The problem of pride gives a person a feeling that he can denigrate another person. The air of self-righteousness makes him think that he has the right to talk down to a fellow believer. But, as Alec Motyer put it, "If you are really low before God (6-10), we have no 'altitude' left from which to 'talk down' to anyone" [The Message of James, 157].

 

The command to "humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord" is appropriately followed by the command, "Do not speak against one another, brethren." The theme of the tongue is certainly not new to James rather he offers a pointed reminder of the seriousness of misusing the tongue in the body of Christ. Out of regard for the body of Christ and the nature of the Lord, the Christian is to refrain from speaking against a brother. Why is this a major concern for Christians? Let us consider the rationale offered for restraining the tongue.

 

I. The command regarding the tongue

 

James has already addressed the tongue in this epistle. But in his style, he retraces ground he has already traveled to drive home the critical issues addressed. He has explained that the claim to being religious must be met with the discipline of a bridled tongue (1:26). The tongue is an extension of the heart, so that it reveals the inward motivations; therefore the believer is to "speak and...act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty" (2:12). He explains that the tongue is small but capable of accomplishing mighty things if properly harnessed (3:1-5). He also reminds us of the capacity of the tongue to cause great harm, as a raging fire therefore it must be controlled (3:6-12).

 

Now James comes back to the tongue to offer yet another exhortation for believers to restrain their tongues. We are met with the truth that our tongues can either build up or tear down the local assembly of believers.

 

1. A few qualifications

 

When James tells us, "Do not speak against one another, brethren," it is obvious that he is addressing Christians within the context of their local churches. How do we relate this command to the seemingly contradictory commands in the New Testament? We are told to exhort, admonish, instruct, and correct one another. Surely such commands will often be more than soft-spoken, casual conversations. We are also told to make judgments on false prophets (Matt. 7:15-16) and to "judge with righteous judgment" (John 7:24). We are also given the task of correcting a brother who is in error (Gal. 6:1). So, is James telling us to ignore all of these seemingly "confrontational" commands and maintain a spirit of timidity toward one another?

 

Let us be sure that as Christians we need the exhortations and admonitions of one another in the body of Christ. There are sometimes sins that we slip into so that we need someone to confront us and exercise discipline in our lives. We are safe to conclude that James did not in the least have these kinds of things in mind. What he was concerned with was the proud, arrogant attitude that would make one Christian think that he could talk down to another. And this is true whether it is face-to-face or in discussion with others. The arrogant attitude, often clothed in self-righteousness, is at the heart of "speaking against one another."

 

2. Characterizations of "speaking against one another"

 

"Do not speak against one another, brethren," is a command that appears to address a persistent problem that had emerged in the early church (thus the use of the present active imperative). One Christian would "bite and devour" another (Gal. 5:15). The word means "to talk against, to defame, to slander, to speak evil of." Kittel explained that the Greek term, katalalein, "is taken for granted in the pagan world (I Pt. 2:12; 3:16), but must be put off by the regenerate (I Pt. 2:1f.), not just on moral grounds, but for the sake of the new life in God (I Pt. 2:3)" [TDNT, vol. IV, 50]. The reason for the feuding among these particular Christians could very well have been due to the unrestrained tongues among them that continually denigrated others [C. Vaughan, The Bible Study Commentary, 93].

 

To speak against another is not simply the issue of slander, for that is clearly sinful. Paul exhorts the Ephesians to put away slander from their midst (4:31). Peter tells the young believers whom he addresses in his first epistle to put aside the slander, that obviously characterized their lives before Christ, and to live as "newborn babies" in the Lord (2:1). To slander someone is to misrepresent their character or to tell open lies about someone. It has the intent of malice due to some bitterness or vengeful spirit. This kind of speech has no place among Christians. To intentionally lie and misrepresent someone else for the purpose of damaging their reputation or position demonstrates a malignant heart, filled with bitterness and evil.

 

But the term James uses goes beyond just speaking slanderously about someone. It literally means to speak against or to speak down to or about someone. The idea is that the person speaking puts himself in the position of being above the other, better than the other, so that he can tear the other person down, and do so justly in his mind. It assumes the position of near perfection so that such a person thinks that he has achieved so much and gained such status that he has a right to denigrate others without feeling the least tinge of sorrow. This person thinks that he has an accurate gauge of another's motives, aims, and thoughts, so he can level his criticisms.

 

At times we justify "speaking against one another" when what we say might be truth rather than slander. But James does not limit this to slanderous words. Even when we speak the truth but do so with an aim to tear down or to elevate ourselves, we have fallen prey to this sin. Some boast and say, 'If I have something to tell you I will tell it to your face and not behind your back'. While there is certainly something admirable about this, there may still be a thin veil of self-righteousness in such comments. For whether it is behind the back or face-to-face, tearing another down by cruel remarks or self-elevating language is still sin. James is warning us of this so that we might learn to check our motives before opening our mouths to speak.

 

I remember one man many years ago who had the capacity to rile and wound others by the way he practiced an "in your face" approach to conversation. He had no problem confronting others, except that the motive was to elevate himself. He said, "God has given me the gift of speaking plainly." I think he was blaming God for his own sin! For his comments had nothing to do with exhortation or building up or instruction or discipline: things that Christians are to do. Instead they reeked of self-righteousness.

 

The sinfulness wrapped up in our natures comes out so sneakily at this point. For we might know something that is true about another person and think that since it is true we have a right to pass it along to others. If it damages the other person or tears down their character or will make you look better than the other person, then it needs to remain unsaid!

 

Go back to the root of this: a lack of practicing humility (4:10). Pride lunges to assert itself and will stop at nothing to elevate itself on a pedestal, even among the body of Christ. We have earlier noted that we deal with life by dealing with the tongue. Here we see that we deal with the tongue by dealing with pride. Alec Motyer has stated this clearly:

Defamation begins and lives on in the mind. It is something we say to ourselves long before we pass it on. But if our minds were drilled in biblical attitudes, then love for our brothers would begin to root out censoriousness. Consideration for our neighbours would begin to replace the hurtful and arrogant word by helpful and caring pastoral concern [158].

So we must nurture an attitude of humility before God if we are to hold our tongues from tearing down a brother or sister. But James adds to this sense of restraint by showing the whole nature of speaking against a brother.

 

II. The explanation for restraining the tongue

 

James' command is followed by an explanation that exposes the heart and soul of speaking against a brother. Seeing this can help to remind us of the seriousness of guarding our comments about someone or to someone.

 

1. The issue of speaking against and judging a brother

 

There is a repetition of terms that point to the body of Christ: "one another, brethren...brother...neighbor." So James warns, "He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law." At the heart of the problem is a failure to grasp the nature of the Christian community, the body of Christ. The terms that James uses point to a family relationship or a close tie (thus, brethren, neighbor). The person who is the object of the other's tongue is one who has also been redeemed by the blood of Christ, united to Christ and the church by the Holy Spirit, sealed together in the body by the Spirit, able to enter into the presence of the same Father, and destined to spend eternity together in heaven. They have shared together at the Lord's Table, partaking of Christ's body and blood in that symbolic yet mystical gathering of the church of Jesus Christ. They have entered through the veil of his flesh together into the presence of the Father's throne, there to pray and receive grace together for their needs. They have gone through the same waters of baptism, identifying them as being part of the same body of believers, having been immersed in Jesus Christ and joined to his body. Would the believer dare to raise his voice against another who is so intimately and uniquely joined to him as a brother or sister in Christ?

 

The last word of the paragraph, "neighbor," is a term that in the Old Testament designated "a fellow member of the community in covenant with Yahweh, i.e., one who shared in the rights and duties implied by membership in the covenant" [ISBE, vol. III, 517]. It is this same sense that James uses the term, rather than what we would think of normally as the person who lives next door to us on our street. Because of the close relationship a neighbor was to be treated as a brother: "you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord" (Lev. 19:18). In that same Old Testament context the Lord declared, "You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people, and you are not to act against the life of your neighbor; I am the Lord" (Lev. 19:17). The bonds of fellowship are to be so strong, the consciousness of relationship together in Christ so real, that Christians must restrain their tongues from speaking against a brother.

 

Would it be inaccurate for me to suggest that no sin has brought more damage to the body anymore than this sin of speaking against a brother? How many reputations have been ruined, churches split, families divided, and ministries shattered due to this sin? Can we even begin to count it? This kind of sin is so common that we can easily slip into the attitude that it is no big deal. We have grown so accustomed to pride and self-righteousness that denigrating a brother or sister seems to be part of life itself.

 

2. The issue of speaking against and judging the law

 

To add to the seriousness of speaking against one another, James explains that the nature of this sin is actually an attack upon and judgment of the law of God. "He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it." James had earlier reminded us that we are not to be like the fellow who looks at himself in the mirror and then forgets what he sees. We are not to look into the Word of God with no sense of response to it. "But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves" (1:22-25). Now he seems to drop a bomb right in the midst of our gossip, slander, and tearing down others: you are actually denigrating the law of God when you speak against one another.

 

This is a shocking statement! Who among us would dare to denigrate or put down what God has revealed and commanded concerning our moral behavior? Yet to speak against a brother is of such seriousness that it is a gross neglect of the law and even an attack upon it. The passage referred to likely is the one quoted earlier from Leviticus 19 about not slandering one another. To speak against a brother is tantamount to saying, "That command of God is stupid, ridiculous, insane; I will not bother to even think about it." "Blasphemy," you might say. And I fully agree with you. But when we speak against a brother we have fallen into the blasphemous pit of denigrating God's law.

 

Added to this is the charge of judging the law. What he means by this is that the person who speaks against a brother is claiming to know more than God. He would set aside the command of God without a thought, thinking that if things had been left to him, he would have never put such a command before humanity. He actually, in his mind, seeks to usurp the wisdom of God and prerogative of God in his moral demands. Doug Moo is right when he states, "However high and orthodox our view of God's law might be, a failure actually to do it says to the world that we do not in fact put much store by it" [TNTC, 152].

 

Are you treading down the law of God by your tongue? As if that is not enough, James takes matters one more step, so that we can grasp the seriousness of the way we treat others in the body of Christ.

 

III. The realization of our own position and the Lord's

 

Suppose you were the owner of a multi-million dollar business, one that you began and nurtured through all sorts of odds. And along the way, a young man, fresh out of college and with no experience, comes in and begins to tell you how to run your company. He would promptly be looking for another job! Yet this illustration is only a poor shadow of the reality James sets before us. For we are not dealing with a mere company, but the souls of men; nor are we dealing with a mere businessman, but the Creator and Judge of the universe. It is to him that we must answer in regard to the way we speak to others in the body of Christ.

 

1. Danger of being a judge rather than a doer

 

The first danger we encounter in speaking against one another is that of becoming a professional Christian who knows nothing of the practice of Christianity. "But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it." Christians are to be followers of Jesus Christ. Jesus declared, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments" (John 14:15). Never did our Lord tell us that love for him will be modeled by assuming the position of judge over what he has commanded us. Yet to speak against a brother is to speak against the law, which in turn puts us into a position of being a judge over the law and not a doer.

 

Do you recall how the Apostle Peter had a tendency to set himself up as judge of others? As he had shamed himself before the Lord and the disciples by denying Christ, our Lord brought Peter back into fellowship with himself. Then prior to the ascension, Jesus asked Peter three times, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" With each question, Simon Peter responded with an affirmation of his love, then Jesus gave him a command. How would Peter demonstrate his love for Christ? By lording his position over the other disciples? By judging the thoughts and motives of the other disciples? By establishing his own laws for the disciples that were contrary to those of Christ's? When Peter tried to bring up the Apostle John and what he had to do for Christ, the Lord rebuked Peter. He told him simply, "You follow Me!" (John 21:15-22)

 

The message of the text is clear: our responsibility is not to declare laws or commands, but to obediently follow Jesus Christ. Let me point this out in practical fashion. You and I have plenty of obedience to take care of without infringing upon God's responsibility to judge. If we are spending time speaking against one another, then we are surely neglecting our obedience. So concentrate on obeying Christ and stay away from the judge's bench over the law of God.

 

2. Danger of assuming what belongs to God alone

 

The solemnity of the whole matter is summed up in verse twelve: "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?" The command to love our neighbor as ourselves and to not slander our neighbor was not arbitrarily given. God did not write out all of the miserable things he could imagine, cut them into separate commands, and then put them into a hat to draw out whatever came to the top! His commands express his own moral nature. They are an extension of the righteousness and goodness of the Lord into humanity. We cannot improve upon the law of God unless God's character can be improved upon. So to set us up as judges of the law by disregarding it shows an ultimate disrespect for the Lawgiver and Judge himself!

 

There are not two, three, or more lawgivers and judges. Only one exists: the Lord God who created the heavens and the earth. Have you subtly attempted to usurp the position that belongs only to the Lord? For us to persist in speaking against one another in blatant disregard of God's command means that we arrogantly tamper with the throne of God. To this James reminds us that the Lord is "the One who is able to save and to destroy." None of us has the power or prerogative to do either. We cannot redeem anyone else, much less ourselves. We cannot send anyone to hell and seal his eternal destruction. The condemnatory nature of speaking against one another means that we assume the position of God as Judge. But only the Lord God has the righteousness and purity and goodness to judge rightly. If judgment were turned over to us we would miserably fail. For there is only one who is able to save and to destroy.

 

Conclusion

 

And now a simple question for us to consider in light of the command to not speak against one another: "but who are you who judge your neighbor?" God is on his throne. He has established the moral criteria for all humanity and he will judge the world in righteousness. So if the Lord is doing this, then what sense does it make for me to think that I can improve upon what he is doing or help him out by speaking against a brother?

 

Let us heed what the Scripture says so plainly. "Do not speak against one another, brethren." In doing so, may we manifest the sweetness of unity in the body of Christ.

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