James Episode 12

James 4:11–17

[11] Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. [12] There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?

Boasting About Tomorrow

[13] Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—[14] yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. [15] Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” [16] As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. [17] So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. (ESV)

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Transcript

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 James 4:11 

 [11] Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. (ESV) 

 James 1:26 

 [26] If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. (ESV) 

 James 3:2 

 [2] For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. (ESV) 

 It seems as though James is taking us in a new direction with verse 11 of chapter 4, but in truth he is bringing us right back around, “watch what you say”. 

 Paul says something similar in Romans, Romans 2:1 

 [1] Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. (ESV) 

 I don’t want to go to far down this rabbit trail, but in my own experience, we as apostolics, but even more so, we as holiness people are guilty as charged in this. 

 Let’s go one more verse before I try to articulate what is in my head here; 

 James 4:12 

 [12] There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor? (ESV) 

 Let me preface this here and now, Paul says; 1 Corinthians 14:33 

 For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. 

 As in all the churches of the saints, (ESV) 

 We must have order in the churches. I am against the idea that has risen up in the churches of a strong man leading the way. You do not find that within scripture. That structure leads to failures in leadership, usually moral failure simply bacause there is nobody there that has the authority over the strong man. 

 The example given to us in scripture is a Bishop over a city, and a group of elders serving in the position of pastors to the various congregations. I believe the UPCI has a similar organization structure with the regional presbuter and local pastors. I don’t want to get too far off in the weeds here, this isn’t where we are going, but anarchy can not rule in church. 

 That being said, there is only one Lawgiver and Judge, we cannot just arbitrarily create laws and enforce them on a congregation. Right and wrong has already been defined for us, the apostle John says, Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. (I John 3:4 [KJV]) 

 I remember hearing a message on YouTube of Billy Cole preaching and he said something that still resonates with me. His comment was, “you would never let a man that smokes behind your pulpit, but how many times have we allowed men with hate in their hearts to get behind the pulpit and preach.” 

 I’m not advocating for smokers rights in the church, but I can’t find a scripture that tells us not to smoke, but the Messiah said plainly; Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. (Matthew 5:21-22 [KJV]) John puts it a little more bluntly for us, Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. (I John 3:15 [KJV]) 

 We create laws and try to enforce them on people when we have zero authority to do so. Do I approve of smoking, of course not, but being over weight can do just as much damage to your health as smoking, but you are not likely to hear many sermons on over eating. 

 I’ve known churches in the past that would refuse to let a woman not wearing panty hose on the platform to play or sing. That’s not in scripure! That is someone’s personal opinion just like the beard topic. 

 Deuteronomy 4:2 

 [2] You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you. (ESV) 

 It’s hard, very hard coming from the background most of us come from, but we have to let God determine what is sin. There are some that would say, well drunkenness isn’t in the 10 commandments, but when one gets drunk it can cause you to break all 10 commandments. 2 Timothy 2:15 

 [15] Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. (ESV) 

 James 4:13–14 

 Boasting About Tomorrow 

 [13] Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—[14] yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. (ESV) 

 This is sort of a reminder of what Jesus had already spoken years before, 

 Luke 12:15–21 

 [15] And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” [16] And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, [17] and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ [18] And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. [19] And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ [20] But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ [21] So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” (ESV) 

 Should we just forget about working and providing for our families? That isn’t the point of Messiah’s story. His point is, you can get so caught up making a living that you forget all about serving God. You forget all about your mortality. Although I can’t attest to the validity of it, it has been rumored that their were bankers in the Twin Towers that chose to stay in the buildings and continue to trade because they knew what the markets were going to do in the wake of the attacks and they knew how to profit from it. They were addicted to making money. 

 1 Timothy 6:10 

 [10] For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. (ESV) 

 We need money in our current society to survive. I believe the point that James is making is don’t worship it, use it as a tool and if God closes a door, accept it and move on. 

 For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 

 Proverbs 27:1 

 [1] Do not boast about tomorrow, 

 for you do not know what a day may bring. (ESV) 

 We are reminded in Isaiah; 

 Isaiah 40:6–8 

 [6] A voice says, “Cry!” 

 And I said, “What shall I cry?” 

 All flesh is grass, 

 and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. 

 [7] The grass withers, the flower fades 

 when the breath of the LORD blows on it; 

 surely the people are grass. 

 [8] The grass withers, the flower fades, 

 but the word of our God will stand forever. (ESV) 

 As a vapor. I can give many examples. My oldest brother in the mid-90s was out working on his deck one day. 41 years old. I doubt he knew that day would be his last. 

 I learned yesterday of a man that was in the first little congregation I pastored, 54 years old and now he’s gone. Our lives are like a vapor. In comparison to eternity we are here for such a short little time, we should spend it wisely. 

 James 4:15–16 

 [15] Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” [16] As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. (ESV) 

 Truthfully, as I’m preparing this podcast right now, I have the intention of finishing it this very night and recording it tomorrow. I have a connection sabbath meeting this coming Saturday I hope to see some people from a good distance away that I haven’t seen in quite a while. 

 I have learned in the past few months my own self, to boast about doing any of these things just shows my ignorance. Health is a fragile thing. Life is a fragile thing. 

 When I was a kid I remember some of the older people saying, “Good Lord willing and the creek don’t rise”. It sounds funny, but there’s a lot of truth to that statement even if they were saying it in jest. 

 Jesus told us; Matthew 6:34 

 [34] “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (ESV) 

 James 4:17 

 [17] So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. (ESV) 

Luke 12:47–48 

[47] And that servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. [48] But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more. (ESV) 

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 Once again, this is brother Jason reminding you, Jesus is not in the godhead! 

 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. (Colossians 2:9 [KJV] 

 Until next time, goodbye and God bless.