James 4:11, what does it mean

[childofGod31]

I never understood this verse. What does it mean that by judging your brother you judge the law? It might have as well been written in a foreign language, except I did understand that you shouldn't judge your brother, I just didn't undertand "why not" explanation. Can anyone paraphrase the explanation, using different words?


And "do not slander" actually means "do not talk ill of your brother" right? (because "slander" is used in connection with "judge" and it woudn't make sense if it meant "make up lies about your brother" right? Because lying about your brother and judging your brother have nothing in common...)


JAM 4:11 Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it.
12 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?

Anybody has any ideas?

 

[AllForJesus]

This is a wondeful analogy between "brother" and "law" that express, in summary,the hight position that the Love comandment occupe.
Hope you understand what i mean

 

[pimorton]

When you judge your brother, you set yourself up above the law, which should be sufficient to convict. And when you, who can not fulfill the law yourself, judge another, you imply that law does not apply to you. So we stand in judgement of our brother and in judgement of the law itself. In reality, we all stand unworthy before a holy God, who allows us to live only by His great mercy so that we might come to him.

 

[Beasley]

good answer PI

The charges of the Law against us were nailed to the Cross and that includes the sins of others. As Paul said he would endeavor to know no man after the flesh. We should try to see other believers as God sees them, through Christ, in His righteousness.

The new creature in Christ does not sin. It was created holy and blameless. Sin is produced from the old man, the sin nature. Often other peoples sin natures are incited to distract us, to get our eyes on people and what they are doing, rather than on what God is doing. With eyes on people and their sins we get angry and commit all kinds of mental sin ourselves. Bitterness, anger, resentment, revenge motivation, etc...the list can be a long one. These sins in turn incite overt action, judging, gossiping, maligning, revenge and we practice self-justification to defend our reaction, our own sinful behavior.

Its sort of like well, so and so did thus and so to me so I'm justified in being angry or hating him. But we are not. As Peter asked Christ how many times should we forgive in a day, seven times? And Christ said no 70 x 7, really meaning an unlimited amount of forgiveness, because He forgave us. Loving as Christ love and learning to forgive as Christ forgave us comes through learning the thinking of Christ and becoming conformed to his thinking, to his image.

 

[plmarquette]

Grace v's the Law ... if you violate a portion of the 10 commandments , or the book of Leviticus ( ministers and ministry )or Deuteronomy ( health and dietary laws )

The first 5 books of the bible are the law of moses , the pentauch ... the relationship of men to their fellow men and men to God .

Look at Proverbs 6.18-24 and Galatians 6.7 ... don't sit in Jesus' chair , speaking evil , wondering when he will get his ... saying God does not work quickly enough to punish the widked

( Jesus will judge the quick and the dead ) ,

but rather -- Romans 12.18-21 , Mat 5.14-5 bless he who persecutes & misuses you , demonstrate the love of Christ , that he might repent of his sin ..

 

[Adoniram]

John MacArthur in the Believer's Bible Commentary explains it this way, and I'll paraphrase:

Jesus gave us a new commandment (John 13:34)- to "love one another," so if we speak evil of or judge our brother, we are guilty of breaking that commandment. And in doing so we are usurping God's authority as judge.

Three questions we should ask ourselves before criticizing another person. What good does it do them? What good does it do you? What glory is there in it for God?

 

[kathir]

i think tat it emphasises the fact that we r no greater to look at others n find fault with them.....one question which strikes me very often is ..if christ didnt judge me according to my sins how will i be correct in judging others?.....