Introduction: James 4:9-129 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
11 Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.
12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?
1. conflicts cant' be solved by just one side.
2. We tend to focus on the other person's actions and attitudes and not our own.
3. Our inner lusts, (feelings, desires, and pride) clouds our understanding of the conflict.
Be Careful of What You Say:
1. These verses are dealing with relational conflicts.
2. These verses are dealing with what we are saying during these conflicts.
3. The most hurtful words are said in judging someone in ways that are not Biblical.
What is Biblical Judging?
1. Make sure you have the facts right.
Don't assume one side is right.
Don't assume what you are told is all the facts.
What you're told may be true - but is it all of the truth? Missing information can be just as dangerous
as false information.
2. Judge their actions against what the Bible ways. (Matt. 18:15)
They are wrong because the Bible is right.
Deal with specific actions compared with specific Biblical commands.
3. We are not to judge someones motive or heart. (I Sam. 16:7, Rom.14:1)
Judgement based on assumed motives is a false judgement.
4. We are to judge in order to correct the one who is wrong. Matt. 18:15)
If what you are saying is not a part of the correcting process then you should not be talking about it.
5. We are to judge in order to warn others about the wrong. (II Thess. 3:13)
(James 4:11)
No comments:
Post a Comment