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Scripture Reading : James 4:11

Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.

This verse deals with the main sin condemned by James¹—the tongue. Most of the third chapter concerns the tongue and reference is made to it in chapters one and two. Here evil speaking is put in an awful light. He says that to speak evil of a brother is to be his judge, and that is the same as speaking evil of the law, and judging the law. This is putting oneself over the Lord Himself, who is the one Lawgiver and Judge.

Do not speak evil of one another

In other words, "Speak not one against another," as it is rendered in the American Standard Version. This was evidently a prevalent sin among these early Jewish Christians, and James seeks to press home the seriousness of it. No doubt there was harsh speaking about and to one another; speech that was overly critical and fault-finding. Sadly, this uncharitable spirit prevails in our age, too.

Evil speaking helps no one

Some seem to think that by speaking evil of others they raise themselves in the opinion of those who will listen. But this is never so. No one likes a super-critical, fault-finding person. In time, evil speaking is sure to come back on one's own head. To speak evil helps no one, but definitely injures three people: the speaker, the one spoken to, and the one spoken of.

All are fallible

All human beings are fallible; none are perfect; so it is possible to find fault with any person if one is looking for faults. Some criticize servants of God for the silliest things; for the way they pronounced a word, or the way they hold their Bible in the pulpit, or the sound of their voice, or the color of their suit, or the way they waved their arm while preaching. To speak evil of a servant of the Lord is a serious thing. One brother was attempting to belittle the work of a preacher by bemoaning the fact that none of his children had been born again². A wise Christian replied, "I do not wonder that none of your children have been born again. All any of us heard from you is criticism. Your children are listening to everything you say, and because you criticize the messenger, they will not believe the message."

They spoke evil of the best

They spoke evil of Paul. John complains bitterly of Diotrophes, who prated against him with malicious words³. The devil spoke evil of God in Genesis 3. They spoke evil of Christ, too. They said, "This man receives sinners and eats with them" (Luke 15:2). The Pharisees called Him a sinner⁴. So, dear brother, dear sister, do not be surprised if some speak evil of you. It is not pleasant to experience, but there is some consolation in knowing that many far better than us have experienced it, too.

False accusation

The worst form of evil speaking is the willful false accusation, the spreading abroad of a plain lie. To act this way, is to be like the devil himself. He plainly lied to Eve about God. He was a liar from the beginning; "He is a liar and the father of it" (John 8:44). He is also called "the accuser of our brethren" (Rev. 12:10). So, to lie about a brother, or to accuse him falsely of anything, is to do the devil's work. Even if we do not originate false reports, let us not help spread them. Let us first check their truthfulness, and even if true, we should not spread them. A rumor spreads and often is very cruel in its effects. Already the law has said, "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor" (Ex. 20:16).

Exaggeration

Another form of evil speaking is exaggeration. If our brother has a fault, let us be careful not to make it worse. If a brother falls into something, there is danger of picturing him as being habitual in it. While social drinking is not suggested, still, the old saying is true—one drink does not make a drunkard. The story is told of a brother who, while visiting in the home of one of the elders, opened the refrigerator to get a soft drink, and noticed a bottle of unopened beer. He quickly started a rumor, and in a short time, the elder had to resign. From the beginning, a wise and dedicated older brother never lost his love for the accused elder and made his opinion known, by saying, “This is one rumor that one day will be shown to be untrue.” Some years later, after the accused elder had passed away, it was learned that before becoming a Christian, he had a problem with drinking. After accepting Christ and being born again, he stopped drinking completely, but kept that one bottle of unopened beer as a constant reminder of his past. What a terrible thing that gossiping brother did. To start a rumor is bad enough, but to start a false one is truly evil. To this day that terrible rumor is a painful reminder of why that congregation ceased to grow and is today nearing extinction.

Real faults

Even if a Christian has real faults, they do not need to be repeated or broadcast. "Love will cover a multitude of sins" (1 Pet. 4:8). Remember the old motto: "If you cannot say something good about someone, then say nothing." It is a good motto for our age as well. Let us speak of our neighbor's excellencies rather than failings. If we must speak of a brother's faults, let it first be to him, so that he might have the opportunity to know and perhaps change his ways, or maybe have the chance to reveal the real truth.

We have faults

We all have faults of our own. You know the old adage, "A man living in a glass house should never throw stones." If we have not been severe on ourselves, we have no right to be severe on others. Same speak evil of others in order to ease the conscience concerning personal guilt.

Mock sympathy

There is a sinister way of evil speaking. It is to express great sympathy for the erring one. "Poor brother so-and-so, he fell into this terrible sin; isn't it too bad?" This type of evil speaking is poison mixed with sweet liquor and served in a golden cup. Nice language and perhaps truth, yet positive disobedience because it is evil speaking none the less. It is well to remember that our verse is a command from the Lord Himself.

Evil speaking—the fruit of pride

The humble will not speak evil of others. It is lofty opinions of self that cause one to embark on the path of speaking evil of a brother. If we can refrain from this evil we have gained a great victory.

Evil speaking chokes the fruit

Evil speaking grieves the Spirit⁵. If not laid aside we will not prosper as Christians⁶. Much fruit in many a garden of God is choked by the awful weed of evil speaking.

Brethren

James uses the term "brethren," and its singular form "brother," many times. In this verse we have these terms a total of three times, the only verse in James that uses it more than once. He emphasizes this as a reason to refrain from evil speaking. It violates the law of brotherhood. The Christian tie should be stronger than any other earthly tie. "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith" (Gal. 6:10). To revile, defame, or speak evil of other Christians is certainly the opposite of doing good toward them.

Judges his brother

He who speaks evil of his brother judges his brother, and the Lord Jesus says, "Judge not, that you be not judged" (Matt. 7:1-5). We cannot help but judge many things. If we see a man staggering down the street, we might judge him to be drunk. If we see a person run out of a store with unwrapped merchandise, with someone chasing him, we might judge that person to be a thief. The same chapter that says, "Judge not" also says, "By their fruits ye will know them" (Matt. 7:20). We cannot help but come to conclusions about certain situations because of what we see and hear. The civil judge must decide certain matters, sometimes elders in the congregation must do the same. Therefore, our verse cannot refer to this form of judgment.

Fair Judgment

If it is our lot to pass judgment on someone, let us be careful how and what we do. Let us not be hard or uncharitable. Let us be sure of the facts, resisting mere rumors. Let us not try to judge a person's motives. We cannot look into the heart of a brother. Let us take the most charitable view possible, always giving the judged the benefit of every doubt. If the act is not positively known, let us refuse to pass judgment.

Do not judge matters of the conscience

Sometimes things that are judged do not call for judgment at all. They are a matter of conscience between the Christian and his Lord. In Romans 14 we have such a case. It was a question of eating certain meats. Some were condemned for eating such meat, while others perhaps were belittled for refusing to eat. Paul says, "Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats" ( Rom. 14:3). It was a matter of individual conscience before God. He says in verse 10 of the same chapter, "But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ." There are many things of an equally questionable nature today about which we must be careful to refrain from judgment.

You condemn yourself

Paul says, "Therefore you are inexcusable, 0 man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things” (Rom. 2:1). How true this often is.            The very one who judges another is himself guilty and maybe ever more so. Our failings may not be exactly the same as the one we are judging, but may be worse. Since Christ is the only one capable of impartial judgment, most things are better when left completely to His judgment seat.

Speaks evil of the law

What law is this of which they were speaking evil, or speaking "against" as the American Standard Version translates it. We naturally think of the Ten Commandments⁷, but James might not have had these in mind. This expression could be read, "speaks against law." He may be thinking of the Lawgiver and all His laws, as the next verse indicates. However the Ten Commandments do say, "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor," and perhaps most of their evil speaking was of this nature. He may be thinking of the royal law—the law of love, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." When brethren are speaking evil of one another, they are not loving one another, and so they are speaking evil of this law. The spirit of criticism and fault finding is condemned be this law of love. To break God's law is, in effect, to speak evil of it. James may also have had in mind what our Lord Jesus said, "Judge not, that you be not judged" (Matt. 7:1). This is also a law given by the one Lawgiver. Evil speaking is a violation of this law.

Judges the law

When one does not heed a law and openly breaks it, that person is judging the law to be of no value, or not capable of executing judgment. This is exactly what happens in the case of those who speak evil of their fellow Christians. By love, we recognize the righteousness and validity of the law, but by evil speaking we condemn it. For ourselves to sit on the judgment seat is, in effect, saying that the law and the Lawgiver are both imperfect.

Not a doer of the law

An evil speaker is not a doer of the law, but a lawbreaker. He has broken the Ten Commandments, the law of love, and the law of judgment⁸. We are told to be doers of the law, that is, to be obedient to the Word of God⁹. Our verse could also be looked upon as law. It is put in command form, "Do not speak evil of one another, brethren."

But a judge

To speak evil of a brother is to put oneself above God, to put oneself on the judgment seat. Such a person must think himself superior. Thus, by exalting self, a person reveals a lack of humility. Remember the old saying: "All that goes up must come down." Good advise to those who consider themselves above the law, yea, above God Himself. Such a person should come down off that high perch before the mighty God takes time out to put him down.

Footnotes:

¹ For a verse by verse study of the Book of James, see The Epistle of James in Additional Resources section of StudyJesus.com.

² For more information on salvation, see God’s Salvation in A Religion Library section of StudyJesus.com.

³ See 3 John 10.

⁴ See John 9:24.

⁵ See Ephesians 4:30, 31. For more information on the Holy Spirit, see God the Spirit in A Religion Library section of StudyJesus.com.

⁶ See 1 Peter 2:1, 2.

⁷ For more information on the commandments, see The Ten Commandments in Additional Resources section of StudyJesus.com.

⁸ See Matthew 7:1.

⁹ For more on the Bible, see God’s Word in A Religion Library section of StudyJesus.com.