1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:01,560 Good morning. Once again, church family. 2 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:07,240 If you have your Bibles, if you would turned to James chapter 4 3 00:00:07,640 --> 00:00:10,160 or type in your devices, James chapter 4. 4 00:00:11,640 --> 00:00:15,040 And this morning we're going to be in verses 9 to 12. 5 00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:19,080 The past two weeks we've only been doing 2 verses at a time 6 00:00:19,080 --> 00:00:22,440 because they've been pretty dense passages and this morning 7 00:00:22,600 --> 00:00:24,360 we're going to double that. We're going to get the four 8 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:28,240 verses. James 49 to 12:00. 9 00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:33,280 Let me read the text, open us in a word of prayer, and then we'll 10 00:00:33,360 --> 00:00:35,880 jump into the sermon this morning. 11 00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:41,120 James chapter 4, beginning in verse 9. 12 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:51,520 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to 13 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:56,120 mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the 14 00:00:56,120 --> 00:01:01,640 Lord, and He will exalt you. Do not speak evil against one 15 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:04,480 another, brothers. The one who speaks against the 16 00:01:04,480 --> 00:01:07,800 brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and 17 00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:10,920 judges the law. But if you judge the law, you 18 00:01:10,920 --> 00:01:13,160 are not a doer of the law, but a judge. 19 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:17,760 There is only one law giver and judge, he who was able to save 20 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:22,000 and to destroy. But who are you to judge your 21 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:30,240 neighbor? Let's pray for this morning as 22 00:01:30,240 --> 00:01:35,120 we get to a text that deals with the topic of contrition and 23 00:01:35,120 --> 00:01:39,600 deals with the topic of of judging one another. 24 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:45,000 Lord, I pray that you would give us a broken and contrite heart 25 00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:51,680 this morning, Lord, That you would help us to see what a gift 26 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:56,120 of grace it is when we are able to be broken over our sin. 27 00:01:57,400 --> 00:01:59,760 That it is not meant to be foreign to us. 28 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:02,880 That we are not to be a stranger to brokenness. 29 00:02:03,480 --> 00:02:10,680 That we are to feel comfortable in this place, not that we 30 00:02:10,680 --> 00:02:15,200 should stay there. Lord, help us to to be a people 31 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:19,600 who receive and freely receive the forgiveness and the love 32 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:22,960 that are so abundant at your feet. 33 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:26,880 But on the path to getting there, God, would you help us to 34 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:30,080 not be strangers to the road of contrition. 35 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:39,760 I pray this in Jesus name, Amen. I wonder if a counselor has ever 36 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:44,600 told their client, or if a parent has ever told their 37 00:02:44,600 --> 00:02:49,960 child, or if a pastor has ever told his congregation. 38 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:58,760 Be miserable. You should be miserable. 39 00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:05,200 We live in a society where feelings are everything, aren't 40 00:03:05,200 --> 00:03:07,800 they? That's the society we live in. 41 00:03:07,800 --> 00:03:12,320 Feelings are everything. They even supersede truth in our 42 00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:16,320 society. We go to counseling, we take 43 00:03:16,320 --> 00:03:20,480 medication, we seek out friends, we perhaps go to church, we 44 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:24,680 listen to music, we watch TV. We do all these things to 45 00:03:24,680 --> 00:03:30,440 console our emotions and the effort that we would feel good. 46 00:03:32,200 --> 00:03:39,600 We seek out things that will make us feel better, feel happy. 47 00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:46,640 So what do we do when we come to the apostle James and he tells 48 00:03:46,640 --> 00:03:58,440 us be miserable, be wretched? I wonder if James is the type of 49 00:03:58,440 --> 00:04:01,240 friend we would call when we need some affirmation. 50 00:04:03,960 --> 00:04:09,680 Maybe not. So what is James saying here? 51 00:04:10,120 --> 00:04:13,200 What is he getting at? That's what I hope to clarify 52 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:15,640 this morning. So as we look at the text this 53 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:18,120 morning, I, I, I have woven together the exposition and the 54 00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:21,560 application together. So they will, we won't have 55 00:04:21,560 --> 00:04:23,360 separate sections for them. They'll be woven together. 56 00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:25,720 And let's look at this section by section. 57 00:04:25,720 --> 00:04:32,400 Let's start in verse 9A where James writes to us, Be wretched 58 00:04:32,680 --> 00:04:37,960 and mourn and weep. Now last week we had looked at 5 59 00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:40,760 imperatives that James gives and two verses. 60 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:44,200 And this morning we're going to look at six more imperatives 61 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:47,080 that he gives in the first 3 verses of our passes. 62 00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:51,920 This morning, three of those six imperatives all occur in verse 63 00:04:52,040 --> 00:04:59,400 9A, that here they are #1 be wretched #2 mourn #3 weep. 64 00:04:59,800 --> 00:05:04,760 Let's look at those individually #1 be wretched. 65 00:05:05,640 --> 00:05:10,200 This is the only time this verb is used in the New Testament. 66 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:14,920 Here's a Greek definition of it. To experience distress, to 67 00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:19,440 endure sorrow, to be miserable. Now I want you to think about 68 00:05:19,440 --> 00:05:21,280 this. This is a command. 69 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:25,560 This is in the imperative mood. It's not every day that somebody 70 00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:31,800 commands you be miserable. Now, why would James tell them 71 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:33,800 to do this? Why would he command the church 72 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:35,560 to do this? We'll see in just a minute. 73 00:05:36,080 --> 00:05:39,120 The second imperative is this morn. 74 00:05:39,480 --> 00:05:42,040 This verb is used 10 times in the New Testament. 75 00:05:42,280 --> 00:05:46,280 The Greek verb is defined as this to experience sadness as a 76 00:05:46,280 --> 00:05:48,880 result of some condition or circumstance. 77 00:05:49,240 --> 00:05:52,400 And the third imperative this morning is weep. 78 00:05:52,760 --> 00:05:55,760 This Greek verb is actually used 40 times in the New Testament 79 00:05:55,960 --> 00:05:59,960 and it simply means to cry. Now here's the question that I 80 00:05:59,960 --> 00:06:02,160 had, and maybe you have this morning. 81 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:08,120 James had previously said to us in James chapter one, verse 2, 82 00:06:08,480 --> 00:06:15,320 to count it all joy. My brothers, when you meet 83 00:06:15,320 --> 00:06:20,360 trials of various kinds, count it all joy. 84 00:06:21,800 --> 00:06:25,200 So why did the man who exhorted the Church to count everything 85 00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:29,800 as joy, just a few chapters later, command them to feel 86 00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:33,800 miserable, to mourn, and to weep? 87 00:06:34,960 --> 00:06:38,280 Why would he do that? And I think that the reason is 88 00:06:38,280 --> 00:06:42,400 actually given to us through the wisdom of the author of 89 00:06:42,400 --> 00:06:45,320 Ecclesiastes. If you remember in Ecclesiastes, 90 00:06:45,320 --> 00:06:50,720 he said there is a time to weep and a time to laugh. 91 00:06:51,200 --> 00:06:55,000 There's a time to mourn and a time to dance. 92 00:06:56,880 --> 00:07:01,320 And James is basically saying to the church, church body, this is 93 00:07:01,320 --> 00:07:07,160 not or churches, this is not the time to laugh and to dance. 94 00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:11,800 This is the time to weep and to mourn. 95 00:07:13,480 --> 00:07:15,240 This is a time to weep and mourn. 96 00:07:15,240 --> 00:07:18,320 Weep and mourn over what? Why is he commanding them to 97 00:07:18,320 --> 00:07:21,720 weep and to mourn? They are to weep and mourn over 98 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:25,040 their sin, over the sin. If you remember, we've been 99 00:07:25,040 --> 00:07:27,280 looking at that. There are some in the church who 100 00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:29,320 have become friends with the world. 101 00:07:30,280 --> 00:07:32,040 They have grown comfortable with the world. 102 00:07:32,040 --> 00:07:35,640 They have propped their feet up on the coffee table of the 103 00:07:35,640 --> 00:07:38,640 world. James calls them sinners. 104 00:07:39,120 --> 00:07:43,720 He calls them double minded. And he's exhorting these people, 105 00:07:43,720 --> 00:07:47,880 these people, these particular people to feel miserable, to 106 00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:51,800 weep and to mourn over their sin. 107 00:07:52,040 --> 00:07:55,160 Now, this does raise a few questions, doesn't it? 108 00:07:56,160 --> 00:07:58,200 I had four and we're looking at 4 questions. 109 00:07:58,200 --> 00:08:00,920 You may have more, but I wrote down 4 questions that I that I 110 00:08:00,920 --> 00:08:02,680 thought of when I was thinking about this. 111 00:08:02,920 --> 00:08:07,920 Number one, is there any other biblical precedent for doing 112 00:08:07,920 --> 00:08:10,880 this? Is there any other biblical 113 00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:14,280 precedent for this? The reason I asked this question 114 00:08:14,280 --> 00:08:16,160 is because we all know that people can have different 115 00:08:16,160 --> 00:08:18,600 personalities. We all know that people can have 116 00:08:18,600 --> 00:08:23,640 different dispositions, right? Some of us are serious people. 117 00:08:23,960 --> 00:08:25,400 Some of us are more playful people. 118 00:08:26,440 --> 00:08:29,800 Some of us like sad music. Some of us only like happy 119 00:08:29,800 --> 00:08:33,840 music, right? I'll give you one example. 120 00:08:33,840 --> 00:08:37,320 Like I every week I kind of, I come up with a list of sermon 121 00:08:37,320 --> 00:08:39,360 titles and I'll go to Lauren. I'll ask her like, which one's 122 00:08:39,360 --> 00:08:43,720 your favorite, right? And I gave her a list and one of 123 00:08:43,720 --> 00:08:47,440 them was be miserable. She reads and she goes. 124 00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:54,360 She looks at me seriously. Safe to say she didn't pick that 125 00:08:54,360 --> 00:08:57,080 title. I picked that title. 126 00:09:00,840 --> 00:09:03,920 Is James just a melancholy type of guy? 127 00:09:04,800 --> 00:09:08,680 You know, is he just one of those guys who just likes he's 128 00:09:08,680 --> 00:09:12,720 like very serious and just you know, he's always wearing black, 129 00:09:12,720 --> 00:09:16,200 maybe has eyeliner and eyeshadow on and it's just or you know, 130 00:09:16,280 --> 00:09:18,360 like is that, is that who James is? 131 00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:21,840 Is there any other biblical precedent for this? 132 00:09:21,840 --> 00:09:24,480 Yes. I'll give you 2 examples. 133 00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:30,640 A Matthew 54, Jesus says blessed are those who mourn, for they 134 00:09:30,640 --> 00:09:34,680 shall be comforted. Now certainly Jesus may be 135 00:09:34,680 --> 00:09:37,800 referring to those who mourn over death and loss. 136 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:40,320 I think that's true. But many scholars believe that 137 00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:43,160 when Jesus says blessed are those who mourn, he may 138 00:09:43,160 --> 00:09:47,520 specifically intend to hear blessed are those who mourn over 139 00:09:47,640 --> 00:09:51,480 their sin, for they shall be comforted. 140 00:09:53,960 --> 00:09:56,360 Trust family. It is a great blessing of the 141 00:09:56,360 --> 00:09:59,400 Lord to be able to feel broken over your sin. 142 00:10:00,880 --> 00:10:06,040 It is a blessing. B Here's another example, First 143 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:11,120 Corinthians 52, the apostle Paul says, and you are arrogant. 144 00:10:11,440 --> 00:10:18,680 Ought you not rather to mourn? Do you remember the context 145 00:10:18,680 --> 00:10:21,480 there In First Corinthians 52, there is a man in the Church of 146 00:10:21,480 --> 00:10:23,880 Corinth that had his father's wife, whether it's his 147 00:10:23,880 --> 00:10:28,000 stepmother or is, you know, we don't know the situation, but he 148 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:32,040 has his father's wife. And the church is happy about 149 00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:33,080 this. Why? 150 00:10:33,200 --> 00:10:36,280 Because they think it's a symbol of their freedom in Christ. 151 00:10:36,720 --> 00:10:39,120 It had been reported to him. And and they're arrogant. 152 00:10:39,120 --> 00:10:41,520 Like look at us. Look at how free we are in 153 00:10:41,520 --> 00:10:45,360 Christ that we even we even accept a brother in our church 154 00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:50,640 who has his father's wife. And Paul says you should be 155 00:10:50,760 --> 00:10:57,560 mourning over this. Paul is rebuking the church that 156 00:10:57,560 --> 00:11:00,360 instead of privately boasting it of freedom in Christ, they 157 00:11:00,360 --> 00:11:02,400 should be mourning over this man's sin. 158 00:11:03,200 --> 00:11:05,000 So yes, there is biblical precedent. 159 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:08,800 This is not just a James thing. This is a Bible thing. 160 00:11:09,880 --> 00:11:14,880 That's the first question #2 should we feel bad for our sin? 161 00:11:17,120 --> 00:11:20,000 You know, like we all can maybe agree we should confess our sin. 162 00:11:21,240 --> 00:11:23,400 But should I feel bad for my sin? 163 00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:28,800 Should I feel bad? I asked this question because I 164 00:11:28,800 --> 00:11:30,640 have been around Christians. I've been around many 165 00:11:30,640 --> 00:11:35,240 Christians, including pastors, who have said in so many terms 166 00:11:35,320 --> 00:11:37,240 that we shouldn't feel bad for our sin. 167 00:11:39,240 --> 00:11:40,720 I have heard Christians give counsel. 168 00:11:40,720 --> 00:11:43,600 I've listened to Christians where one person came, they were 169 00:11:43,600 --> 00:11:45,160 in sin or they maybe done something. 170 00:11:45,160 --> 00:11:47,840 They went and got counsel from somebody and the other person 171 00:11:47,840 --> 00:11:50,240 said to them, hey, don't, don't feel bad. 172 00:11:50,240 --> 00:11:55,120 Don't feel bad. You shouldn't feel bad. 173 00:11:58,560 --> 00:12:02,760 And the the premise of their counsel is that God loves us, He 174 00:12:02,760 --> 00:12:07,960 forgives us, He has mercy on us, His favor is upon us. 175 00:12:08,160 --> 00:12:11,800 And brothers and sisters, those are all wonderfully true. 176 00:12:12,920 --> 00:12:15,920 Praise God, those are all wonderfully true. 177 00:12:16,080 --> 00:12:20,160 And they are not mutually exclusive with what James is 178 00:12:20,160 --> 00:12:24,760 commanding the church to do. They're not mutually exclusive. 179 00:12:26,960 --> 00:12:31,120 Last year I did a series on repentance, and I said that 180 00:12:31,120 --> 00:12:35,160 repentance has three components. I literated them so we can 181 00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:38,200 remember them. Confession, contrition and 182 00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:40,440 change. Repentance needs to have 183 00:12:40,560 --> 00:12:43,440 confession, contrition and change. 184 00:12:43,640 --> 00:12:48,120 And here James is highlighting the contrition component of 185 00:12:48,120 --> 00:12:52,160 repentance, contrition. And this contrition is so 186 00:12:52,160 --> 00:12:56,440 important in repentance because confession of sin absent of 187 00:12:56,440 --> 00:12:59,400 contrition is simply an acknowledgement of reality. 188 00:13:01,120 --> 00:13:04,880 If we confess our sin without contrition of our sin, all we've 189 00:13:04,880 --> 00:13:07,400 done is acknowledge reality, nothing more. 190 00:13:09,680 --> 00:13:15,640 Contrition must prick the emotions or otherwise it's not 191 00:13:15,640 --> 00:13:22,000 contrition. It's not enough to say I 192 00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:32,160 acknowledged that I sinned. We must also feel remorse. 193 00:13:33,520 --> 00:13:37,560 We must also feel guilt. We must also feel regret. 194 00:13:37,920 --> 00:13:41,360 We must also feel shame. We must also feel sorrow. 195 00:13:41,480 --> 00:13:50,560 We must feel these things #3 Question three. 196 00:13:51,040 --> 00:13:57,080 Can we feel too bad for our sin? Can we feel too bad for our sin? 197 00:13:57,240 --> 00:14:00,680 When James gives these commands, is it possible to be too 198 00:14:00,680 --> 00:14:05,400 wretched, to be too mournful, to weep too much? 199 00:14:07,800 --> 00:14:14,840 Yes, yes, we must remember that contrition is a road. 200 00:14:14,880 --> 00:14:18,240 It is not the destination. It's a Rd. 201 00:14:19,960 --> 00:14:22,160 Prolonged contrition, you say? What's wrong with that? 202 00:14:22,280 --> 00:14:27,680 Prolonged contrition robs the cross of its glory, you say, 203 00:14:27,680 --> 00:14:29,680 What's the destination then? Joy in the Lord. 204 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:34,240 Joy in the Lord is the destination. 205 00:14:34,880 --> 00:14:38,320 That's always the destination. Contrition is the road to get 206 00:14:38,320 --> 00:14:44,960 there. And #4 are we to feel this 207 00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:47,800 question for? Are we to feel this way for 208 00:14:47,800 --> 00:14:52,280 every sin? Are we to Should I feel 209 00:14:52,280 --> 00:14:54,640 miserable for every sin that I commit? 210 00:14:55,800 --> 00:15:00,040 No, no, he say. Well, what? 211 00:15:00,120 --> 00:15:00,800 What do you mean? What? 212 00:15:00,840 --> 00:15:01,360 What? What? 213 00:15:01,360 --> 00:15:05,960 Listen, we sin every day, if not every hour, if not every minute. 214 00:15:08,080 --> 00:15:11,000 If we felt this way for everything, we would never get 215 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:15,320 anything done. We cannot feel miserable like in 216 00:15:15,320 --> 00:15:20,480 this sense for everything we do. But the pattern that we see in 217 00:15:20,480 --> 00:15:25,120 Scripture is that when there is egregious sin, when there is 218 00:15:25,120 --> 00:15:29,160 ongoing sin, when there is unrepentant sin, there is 219 00:15:29,160 --> 00:15:35,520 mourning and there is weeping. Ezra and Nehemiah wept at the 220 00:15:35,520 --> 00:15:38,720 thought of Israel marrying foreign women. 221 00:15:39,320 --> 00:15:43,720 They both wept at it. The sinful woman, when she came 222 00:15:43,720 --> 00:15:51,200 to Jesus, she wept at His feet. Peter, after denying Christ, 223 00:15:51,200 --> 00:16:01,260 went out and wept bitterly. So those are four questions. 224 00:16:01,260 --> 00:16:03,860 One last thing I want to mention to you, this is very important 225 00:16:05,180 --> 00:16:09,940 and I, and I say this is very important because I know this 226 00:16:09,940 --> 00:16:11,900 doesn't apply to everybody. Some of us are more emotional 227 00:16:11,900 --> 00:16:13,740 than others. But if I'm painting with a very 228 00:16:13,740 --> 00:16:17,500 broad stroke, if I'm painting with a very broad stroke, we are 229 00:16:17,500 --> 00:16:21,600 not the most emotional church, including myself. 230 00:16:25,880 --> 00:16:30,640 Be careful that your emotions don't develop calluses. 231 00:16:33,480 --> 00:16:39,000 Be careful that your emotions don't develop calluses. 232 00:16:39,480 --> 00:16:45,200 It is a terrifying thing to be able to send frequently and to 233 00:16:45,200 --> 00:16:50,840 not feel bad for it. It is terrifying when you can 234 00:16:50,840 --> 00:16:55,080 send over when a husband can be unkind to his wife over and over 235 00:16:55,080 --> 00:16:57,560 and over again and not feel bad for it. 236 00:16:57,680 --> 00:17:03,280 When a woman can be idolize material things over and over 237 00:17:03,280 --> 00:17:05,520 and over again and not feel bad for it. 238 00:17:05,599 --> 00:17:08,720 When a man can look at pornography over and over and 239 00:17:08,720 --> 00:17:12,920 over again and not feel bad for When a woman or a mother can be 240 00:17:12,920 --> 00:17:16,960 unkind to her children over and over and over again and not feel 241 00:17:16,960 --> 00:17:20,280 bad for it. It is a terrifying thing if we 242 00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:25,880 can sin over and over again and not feel bad for it. 243 00:17:25,920 --> 00:17:30,240 Every time we do that, those calluses, they get thicker. 244 00:17:31,160 --> 00:17:34,920 They do. They get thicker and it becomes 245 00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:43,600 more difficult to feel. Look at verse 9B. 246 00:17:45,920 --> 00:17:50,760 Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 247 00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:53,720 Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 248 00:17:53,920 --> 00:17:57,160 The next imperative that James gives is found in this verb 249 00:17:57,360 --> 00:18:00,240 turned turned. It's the only time this Greek 250 00:18:00,240 --> 00:18:01,520 word is used in the New Testament. 251 00:18:01,760 --> 00:18:05,800 It's defined as this to cause a change of state with emphasis 252 00:18:05,800 --> 00:18:08,200 upon the difference and the resulting state. 253 00:18:08,880 --> 00:18:13,320 So the people are experiencing laughter and joy. 254 00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:17,360 That's, that's that's a good thing, right? 255 00:18:18,360 --> 00:18:20,880 I mean, when you're around your friends, we all experience 256 00:18:20,880 --> 00:18:24,120 laughter and joy. That's that's why they're our 257 00:18:24,120 --> 00:18:27,080 friends, because they make us happy. 258 00:18:27,120 --> 00:18:28,680 They bring laughter into our life. 259 00:18:28,880 --> 00:18:32,440 And James is commanding them. Let your laughter be turned to 260 00:18:32,440 --> 00:18:36,840 mourning. Let your joy be turned to gloom, 261 00:18:37,080 --> 00:18:39,840 which that word gloom can also be translated as despair, 262 00:18:39,960 --> 00:18:44,520 dejection, or depression. Now what exactly is James saying 263 00:18:44,520 --> 00:18:46,560 here? Why would he command the church 264 00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:50,720 to let their laughter be turned to mourning, to let their joy be 265 00:18:50,720 --> 00:18:52,400 turned to good? Why would he do that? 266 00:18:52,600 --> 00:18:59,560 Let me give an illustration. Suppose my wife found out that I 267 00:18:59,560 --> 00:19:06,160 was having an affair. I claim to her, I claim to all 268 00:19:06,160 --> 00:19:08,880 of you, that I love my wife with all my heart. 269 00:19:09,280 --> 00:19:12,440 But I've been having an affair for the past two years and she 270 00:19:12,440 --> 00:19:16,080 finds out. And suppose the day that she 271 00:19:16,080 --> 00:19:20,640 finds out, she expects that I would be broken. 272 00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:25,560 I would be remorseful, I would be sad. 273 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:31,600 But instead I just went on as though nothing was wrong. 274 00:19:33,320 --> 00:19:37,840 I was cracking jokes around her. I was excited to go to the NBA 275 00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:41,280 game on Saturday night. I was talking about how the 276 00:19:41,280 --> 00:19:45,680 market is up right now, and later that night I had a big 277 00:19:45,680 --> 00:19:47,320 bowl of ice cream with a smile on my face. 278 00:19:51,840 --> 00:19:52,920 Would there be something wrong with that? 279 00:19:56,320 --> 00:19:58,640 Do we not all instinctively look at that and say something's 280 00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:00,760 wrong? Something's very, very wrong 281 00:20:00,760 --> 00:20:05,120 with that? Shouldn't she expect me to be 282 00:20:05,120 --> 00:20:08,280 mourning? Shouldn't she expect me to be 283 00:20:08,280 --> 00:20:15,200 distraught and dejected? You see, the same is true with 284 00:20:15,200 --> 00:20:19,360 these professing Christians who have prostituted themselves out 285 00:20:19,360 --> 00:20:21,640 with the world. That's what's going on right 286 00:20:21,640 --> 00:20:22,880 now. There are some of the church who 287 00:20:22,880 --> 00:20:25,520 have prostituted themselves out with the world. 288 00:20:25,760 --> 00:20:31,520 They are enjoying themselves, perhaps they are, they are 289 00:20:31,520 --> 00:20:35,480 laughing and and and feel joyful that their new found success. 290 00:20:35,680 --> 00:20:38,440 I would imagine that part of the reason they have made themselves 291 00:20:38,440 --> 00:20:40,280 friends with the world is because it has brought them 292 00:20:40,280 --> 00:20:43,440 prosperity. We all know that if you start a 293 00:20:43,440 --> 00:20:46,440 business in, in 1st century Israel, you're trying to sell 294 00:20:46,440 --> 00:20:49,920 basket weaving and you realize, man, you've got to go rub elbows 295 00:20:49,920 --> 00:20:52,080 with the world to get these baskets out. 296 00:20:52,800 --> 00:20:54,480 I've got to go wine and dine with them. 297 00:20:54,480 --> 00:20:57,360 I've got to learn their language and I've got to be friends with 298 00:20:57,360 --> 00:20:59,320 them. And, and I won't be successful 299 00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:04,800 in my business unless I do that. And they, they feel good about 300 00:21:04,800 --> 00:21:06,000 it. They don't feel broken about it. 301 00:21:06,120 --> 00:21:09,960 They have gained a small piece of the world, but they are not 302 00:21:10,120 --> 00:21:13,560 broken over the possibility of forfeiting their soul. 303 00:21:18,640 --> 00:21:24,200 I see this all the time at the church where people, college 304 00:21:24,200 --> 00:21:43,470 students, young professionals, you may be happy, but is your 305 00:21:43,470 --> 00:21:51,990 happiness a righteous happiness? And and and don't even like 306 00:21:51,990 --> 00:21:53,790 guys. It's not just the party scene 307 00:21:53,990 --> 00:21:57,160 moms. You can become friends with 308 00:21:57,160 --> 00:22:04,800 other lost moms and adopt their ways and not realize you're in 309 00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:12,290 sin. James commands them. 310 00:22:12,290 --> 00:22:17,250 Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 311 00:22:18,490 --> 00:22:20,530 Now one thing I want to point out is that the three 312 00:22:20,530 --> 00:22:26,210 imperatives and 9A, they're all active, but the imperative and 313 00:22:26,210 --> 00:22:30,640 9B is passive. The three imperatives and 9A are 314 00:22:30,640 --> 00:22:33,160 all active, but the imperative and 9B is passive. 315 00:22:33,400 --> 00:22:37,480 That's why it's translated as let your laughter be turned. 316 00:22:37,880 --> 00:22:41,400 Let your laughter be turned. This reminds us that contrition 317 00:22:41,520 --> 00:22:45,040 is something we are commanded to feel, but contrition is not 318 00:22:45,040 --> 00:22:46,840 something we can manufacture on our own. 319 00:22:49,360 --> 00:22:52,560 I mean, how many times do we mentally know that we should be 320 00:22:52,560 --> 00:22:55,720 broken over something, but emotionally we just don't feel 321 00:22:55,720 --> 00:23:00,320 it. Everybody in this room, that is 322 00:23:00,320 --> 00:23:05,840 true of everybody in this room where we know, it's like, I know 323 00:23:05,960 --> 00:23:09,600 that I should feel bad for doing this or saying this or thinking 324 00:23:09,600 --> 00:23:13,160 this or feeling this or not doing this or not saying this or 325 00:23:13,160 --> 00:23:16,160 not feeling this. We know that we should feel bad 326 00:23:16,160 --> 00:23:18,080 for. But the reality is, if we're 327 00:23:18,080 --> 00:23:21,560 honest with ourselves, we say, I just, I don't feel bad for it. 328 00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:29,360 Brothers and sisters, contrition is a gift. 329 00:23:31,040 --> 00:23:38,720 It is a wonderful gift of grace. Sometimes we have to come before 330 00:23:38,720 --> 00:23:40,560 the Lord and we have to confess to him. 331 00:23:40,880 --> 00:23:46,400 Help me, Lord, I recognize I don't feel what I should. 332 00:23:46,440 --> 00:23:50,400 Help me to mourn over my sin. Help me to mourn over my 333 00:23:50,400 --> 00:23:55,160 brothers and sisters sin. Don't let me grow calloused over 334 00:23:55,160 --> 00:23:58,080 this. Lord, you ever prayed that you 335 00:23:58,080 --> 00:24:00,840 ever started to feel you were growing calloused over something 336 00:24:00,840 --> 00:24:04,840 in your life. Alarm bells should be ringing 337 00:24:04,840 --> 00:24:08,240 and going off saying I man, I feel it. 338 00:24:08,600 --> 00:24:11,000 I know my disciples been challenging me to put the 339 00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:18,440 controller down, but and we want to tune it out and and it's like 340 00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:22,440 in that moment, you got to stop and beg the Lord. 341 00:24:22,440 --> 00:24:32,720 Don't let me grow callous to this verse 10 A humble 342 00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:37,560 yourselves before the Lord. Humble yourselves before the 343 00:24:37,560 --> 00:24:39,480 Lord. The 5th impaired that James 344 00:24:39,480 --> 00:24:44,080 gives us this humble yourselves before the Lord. 345 00:24:44,080 --> 00:24:46,000 There are three points that I want to mention about this 346 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:48,280 command. Number one, it is a command. 347 00:24:49,840 --> 00:24:52,080 It is a command. Now, I point this out because we 348 00:24:52,080 --> 00:24:56,640 must remember that humility is not a personality trait. 349 00:24:58,240 --> 00:25:01,240 It's not it's not a personality like funny or extroverted, 350 00:25:01,800 --> 00:25:04,960 right? Humility is obedience. 351 00:25:06,880 --> 00:25:09,520 The reason why we must not categorize as personality traits 352 00:25:09,520 --> 00:25:12,320 because I can say all day, all day long, you know what? 353 00:25:12,320 --> 00:25:14,320 You know, guys, I've just never really been a funny person or 354 00:25:14,320 --> 00:25:15,760 I've never been an extroverted person. 355 00:25:16,040 --> 00:25:18,320 And if you're not a funny person, OK, fine, it's not your 356 00:25:18,320 --> 00:25:19,880 personality. If you're not an extraverted 357 00:25:19,880 --> 00:25:21,520 person, fine, it's not your personality. 358 00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:27,280 People are different, but we must not categorize humility as 359 00:25:27,280 --> 00:25:37,560 a personality trait. Humility is obedience #2 The 360 00:25:37,560 --> 00:25:41,560 verb here is a passive verb with a reflexive meaning. 361 00:25:41,880 --> 00:25:44,640 It's a passive verb with a reflexive meaning. 362 00:25:44,640 --> 00:25:48,160 What does that mean? If we translated this verb as 363 00:25:48,160 --> 00:25:50,520 passive, it would read like this. 364 00:25:50,800 --> 00:25:54,440 Be humbled before the Lord. Be humbled before the Lord. 365 00:25:54,680 --> 00:25:57,560 But almost no major translation translates it that way. 366 00:25:57,760 --> 00:26:00,080 Why? Why do they translate it as 367 00:26:00,080 --> 00:26:03,720 active? I think the reason is is because 368 00:26:03,880 --> 00:26:08,040 it appears that James doesn't intend for his readers to just 369 00:26:08,080 --> 00:26:11,560 idly sit by waiting for God to humble them. 370 00:26:13,240 --> 00:26:16,440 James gives a passive verb, but with a reflexive meaning. 371 00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:21,080 This is why the translator is translated as humble yourselves. 372 00:26:22,080 --> 00:26:26,640 Again, this brings out the divine causation and human 373 00:26:26,640 --> 00:26:31,560 responsibility to this command. Divine causation, human 374 00:26:31,560 --> 00:26:33,960 responsibility. I've told the story before, but 375 00:26:33,960 --> 00:26:37,320 I'll tell it again. I can distinctively remember a 376 00:26:37,360 --> 00:26:40,640 conversation with my former worship leader. 377 00:26:40,640 --> 00:26:44,440 This is many years ago. Like like almost maybe 2 decades 378 00:26:44,440 --> 00:26:50,480 ago, I remember I was sitting in my living room at seminary in 379 00:26:50,480 --> 00:26:54,960 New Orleans and we were talking about our spiritual walks and 380 00:26:54,960 --> 00:26:57,320 how we were doing. And I remember telling him how 381 00:26:57,320 --> 00:27:01,440 difficult humility was. I told him I was like, man, 382 00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:04,320 brother, like I've been praying for it and praying for it. 383 00:27:05,560 --> 00:27:07,960 And honestly, it just seems like God doesn't want to give it to 384 00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:12,960 me. And I remember him kind of 385 00:27:12,960 --> 00:27:18,680 looking at me and then quoting this passage saying, you know, 386 00:27:18,680 --> 00:27:23,720 Matt, the Bible charges us to humble ourselves. 387 00:27:25,640 --> 00:27:30,120 The Bible charges us to be responsible to humble ourselves. 388 00:27:30,440 --> 00:27:32,320 Now here's the question, which is it? 389 00:27:33,200 --> 00:27:36,880 Are we to pray for humility or are we to take the 390 00:27:36,880 --> 00:27:38,720 responsibility to humble ourselves? 391 00:27:40,840 --> 00:27:44,840 Both. Both. 392 00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:52,480 Not only does God give grace to the humble, God gives grace to 393 00:27:52,480 --> 00:28:02,600 be humble. We must pray for humility, but 394 00:28:02,600 --> 00:28:07,080 we can't just idly sit by and say he didn't give it. 395 00:28:09,760 --> 00:28:11,600 We have our responsibility to humble ourselves. 396 00:28:12,440 --> 00:28:15,800 Number three, Third Point I want to point out, we are to humble 397 00:28:15,800 --> 00:28:20,200 ourselves before the Lord. Don't miss that phrase. 398 00:28:20,560 --> 00:28:23,680 Don't overlook that phrase. We are to humble ourselves 399 00:28:23,880 --> 00:28:28,160 before the Lord. These phrases are so important 400 00:28:28,160 --> 00:28:31,280 in the New Testament. We are not just to rejoice. 401 00:28:32,840 --> 00:28:35,840 The command of Scripture is not to just rejoice. 402 00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:45,320 We are to rejoice in what? Say it in the Lord, Rejoice in 403 00:28:45,480 --> 00:28:49,600 the Lord. We are not just to humble 404 00:28:49,600 --> 00:28:54,720 ourselves, we are to humble ourselves before the Lord. 405 00:28:56,000 --> 00:29:01,760 Now why is that important? Because this command on paper, 406 00:29:02,800 --> 00:29:07,920 it's rather easy to do. Isn't it the command to humble 407 00:29:07,920 --> 00:29:10,480 ourselves? On paper it's rather easy to do. 408 00:29:10,480 --> 00:29:11,840 You don't need a high IQ to do it. 409 00:29:13,920 --> 00:29:16,000 No one needs a high IQ to humble themselves. 410 00:29:16,280 --> 00:29:17,600 You don't need to be rich to buy it. 411 00:29:17,600 --> 00:29:19,320 Nobody needs to be rich to buy humility. 412 00:29:20,280 --> 00:29:22,400 You don't need specialized training to understand it. 413 00:29:22,400 --> 00:29:25,600 Nobody needs to go to a class called Humility in order to know 414 00:29:25,600 --> 00:29:27,640 how to do this. You don't need years of 415 00:29:27,640 --> 00:29:32,560 experience to carry it out. This command on paper is rather 416 00:29:32,680 --> 00:29:36,440 easy to do. And yet we all know how 417 00:29:36,520 --> 00:29:44,800 difficult it is to humble ourselves in the moment somebody 418 00:29:44,800 --> 00:29:49,240 offends you. Ever had somebody offend you in 419 00:29:49,240 --> 00:29:51,840 that moment? Is it difficult to humble 420 00:29:51,840 --> 00:29:56,760 yourself? Someone is prideful towards us, 421 00:29:57,040 --> 00:29:59,040 you know, it's like if you're humble to me, it's very easy for 422 00:29:59,040 --> 00:30:01,720 me to be humble to you. But when you are prideful to me, 423 00:30:01,720 --> 00:30:05,000 it's very difficult to humble myself. 424 00:30:06,680 --> 00:30:08,520 When someone corrects us in front of others. 425 00:30:08,520 --> 00:30:10,480 You ever had somebody correct you in front of others? 426 00:30:14,200 --> 00:30:16,760 When we fail in front of others? You ever failed in front of 427 00:30:16,760 --> 00:30:20,600 others? Often when I tell people that, 428 00:30:20,600 --> 00:30:22,680 you know, like, would you like to give your testimony or give, 429 00:30:22,680 --> 00:30:31,160 you know, are we not, is it not fear of failure when we're faced 430 00:30:31,160 --> 00:30:37,920 with our own limitations and weaknesses, right? 431 00:30:37,920 --> 00:30:44,800 Do we, do we do we not? Is not going to bed a means of 432 00:30:44,800 --> 00:30:47,120 humbling ourselves? I am not a robot. 433 00:30:50,240 --> 00:30:53,800 If I don't go to bed at this time, I will be tired and I will 434 00:30:53,800 --> 00:31:01,960 not be able to listen very well. When someone unjustly criticizes 435 00:31:01,960 --> 00:31:03,720 us. It is one thing when they 436 00:31:03,720 --> 00:31:07,800 criticize us, and it's fair. But when somebody unjustly 437 00:31:07,800 --> 00:31:15,280 criticizes us, When someone hurts you and they're not sorry 438 00:31:15,280 --> 00:31:22,400 for it, or when someone is praised above you when you know 439 00:31:22,400 --> 00:31:24,640 that you did a better job than them or you can't do a better 440 00:31:24,640 --> 00:31:27,240 job than them and someone else is praised above you. 441 00:31:28,600 --> 00:31:33,480 In these moments, doesn't it feel impossible to humble 442 00:31:33,480 --> 00:31:39,000 ourselves? That just feel impossible to 443 00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:41,760 humble ourselves. How did we do it? 444 00:31:43,440 --> 00:31:47,120 And the answer lies in this last phrase. 445 00:31:47,360 --> 00:31:52,120 Humble yourselves before the Lord. 446 00:31:54,440 --> 00:31:57,680 We are not called to humble ourselves before man. 447 00:31:59,440 --> 00:32:02,640 We are called to humble ourselves before the Lord. 448 00:32:05,200 --> 00:32:10,680 It is only when we have our eyes turned upward and we see God the 449 00:32:10,680 --> 00:32:15,120 Father as holy and righteous. And it is only when we turn our 450 00:32:15,120 --> 00:32:18,880 eyes downward and we see our Savior washing our feet. 451 00:32:22,240 --> 00:32:25,160 It is only then that we are able to humble ourselves. 452 00:32:32,010 --> 00:32:37,810 But if you turn your eyes this way at others, I'll never be 453 00:32:37,810 --> 00:32:39,890 able to humble myself before you. 454 00:32:42,370 --> 00:32:44,410 I'll look at you and I'll see your sin. 455 00:32:44,770 --> 00:32:52,730 I'll see your pride and I'll match it or supersede it. 456 00:32:54,400 --> 00:32:57,920 It's only when my eyes are on the Lord that I'm able to do 457 00:32:57,920 --> 00:33:06,580 this. 10B. Humble yourselves before the 458 00:33:06,580 --> 00:33:14,260 Lord, and He will exalt you. Now, if we are looking for a 459 00:33:14,260 --> 00:33:21,100 prize for humility, our eyes will grow weary because it often 460 00:33:21,100 --> 00:33:25,200 doesn't come. If we think that in humbling 461 00:33:25,200 --> 00:33:30,120 ourselves, people will value that humility, they will prize 462 00:33:30,120 --> 00:33:31,920 it. Actually, in fact, quite the 463 00:33:31,920 --> 00:33:33,720 opposite. In fact, humbling ourselves will 464 00:33:33,720 --> 00:33:37,960 often come with more ridicule. It will come with more 465 00:33:37,960 --> 00:33:41,800 criticism, it'll come with more being taken advantage of. 466 00:33:41,800 --> 00:33:46,400 I think one of the most difficult parts of humbling 467 00:33:46,400 --> 00:33:51,760 ourselves is that often we feel unjustified, right? 468 00:33:51,760 --> 00:33:54,040 If I humble myself right now, I'm just going to feel 469 00:33:54,040 --> 00:33:57,840 unjustified. We'll feel misunderstood, We'll 470 00:33:57,840 --> 00:34:00,600 feel invisible. We'll feel undervalued. 471 00:34:01,040 --> 00:34:04,040 We'll feel underappreciated. We'll feel powerless. 472 00:34:04,440 --> 00:34:08,480 We'll feel exposed, We'll feel embarrassed, We'll feel foolish, 473 00:34:08,800 --> 00:34:14,920 We'll feel lonely. And we think humility won't 474 00:34:14,920 --> 00:34:19,639 solve this problem. There's a problem right now. 475 00:34:19,800 --> 00:34:23,080 And if I humble myself, it's not like humility is going to solve 476 00:34:23,080 --> 00:34:31,120 this problem. You know, after almost every 477 00:34:31,120 --> 00:34:34,120 conflict in my marriage, not every, but almost every conflict 478 00:34:34,120 --> 00:34:37,719 in my marriage through the years, over the past 18 years, 479 00:34:38,040 --> 00:34:44,600 7/17/18 years, I have this lingering thought in my head 480 00:34:45,639 --> 00:34:50,960 afterward. Why didn't I just humble myself 481 00:34:50,960 --> 00:34:57,480 there? Like, why didn't I just humble 482 00:34:57,480 --> 00:35:03,560 myself so often? The reason is that in the 483 00:35:03,560 --> 00:35:09,080 moment, in real time, I fear being misunderstood is that if I 484 00:35:09,080 --> 00:35:14,240 humble myself, I'm going to be misunderstood, or if I humble 485 00:35:14,240 --> 00:35:18,880 myself, a foolish decision is going to get made, or if I 486 00:35:18,880 --> 00:35:21,480 humble myself, I will be unjustified right now. 487 00:35:21,480 --> 00:35:26,000 So we don't want to humble ourselves. 488 00:35:26,920 --> 00:35:30,080 Now here's the question, How do we get over these reservations 489 00:35:30,080 --> 00:35:32,120 to humility? How do we get over these 490 00:35:32,120 --> 00:35:35,080 reservations to humility? By remembering this verse. 491 00:35:35,480 --> 00:35:40,520 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and here it is, and He 492 00:35:40,760 --> 00:35:47,280 will exalt you. These are words from our Lord 493 00:35:47,320 --> 00:35:49,440 Jesus Christ. Whoever exalts himself will be 494 00:35:49,440 --> 00:35:52,520 humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. 495 00:35:52,720 --> 00:35:56,640 I don't have to seek my exaltation. 496 00:35:56,760 --> 00:35:59,080 I don't have to seek my justification. 497 00:35:59,160 --> 00:36:01,240 I don't have to seek my validation. 498 00:36:01,320 --> 00:36:03,480 I don't have to seek my own understanding. 499 00:36:03,480 --> 00:36:07,960 I don't have to seek these things because I already have 500 00:36:07,960 --> 00:36:13,000 them. Remember in elementary school 501 00:36:13,000 --> 00:36:14,720 when we would? Maybe this, maybe not true for 502 00:36:14,720 --> 00:36:16,600 you, so if the story doesn't apply to you, I apologize. 503 00:36:17,240 --> 00:36:19,280 But for those it does apply to, remember in elementary school 504 00:36:19,280 --> 00:36:22,720 when we would play kickball at PE or gym class? 505 00:36:24,760 --> 00:36:30,640 It was a great honor to be picked first, and it was a great 506 00:36:30,640 --> 00:36:38,000 shame to be picked last. Isn't so much of life this exact 507 00:36:38,000 --> 00:36:45,760 same paradigm? School, work, relationships, 508 00:36:46,480 --> 00:36:51,560 families, We're all trying to figure out where we are in the 509 00:36:51,560 --> 00:36:59,100 pecking order. This even happens in the church. 510 00:36:59,540 --> 00:37:01,340 Do people see me as spiritually mature? 511 00:37:03,580 --> 00:37:05,460 Why do they say this person? I'm pretty sure I'm more 512 00:37:05,460 --> 00:37:06,540 spiritually mature than they are. 513 00:37:13,110 --> 00:37:16,030 And yet in all these situations, we can't humble ourselves. 514 00:37:16,030 --> 00:37:18,630 Why? Because God picked us first. 515 00:37:22,280 --> 00:37:24,400 If you're in Christ, God picked you first. 516 00:37:27,360 --> 00:37:30,560 And that means He will exalt you at the right time. 517 00:37:31,600 --> 00:37:34,760 And if the right time is not in this life, it will come in the 518 00:37:34,760 --> 00:37:40,480 next life. He will exalt you. 519 00:37:42,320 --> 00:37:46,680 He will validate you. He will make it right. 520 00:37:46,760 --> 00:37:49,960 Whatever was wrong in this life, he'll make it right. 521 00:37:50,840 --> 00:37:54,200 People will know. I have to think about this in 522 00:37:54,200 --> 00:37:55,680 the moment. I'm like, no, no, no, no, no, 523 00:37:55,680 --> 00:37:57,160 no, no. I can't humble myself right now 524 00:37:57,160 --> 00:37:59,200 because they won't know. They won't know they're wrong. 525 00:38:01,880 --> 00:38:06,040 They will. You just need to wait for it. 526 00:38:11,230 --> 00:38:15,350 He will exalt you at the right time. 527 00:38:18,640 --> 00:38:22,800 Look at verse 11. A Do not speak evil against one 528 00:38:22,800 --> 00:38:27,320 other brothers. Do not speak evil against one 529 00:38:27,320 --> 00:38:30,040 another brothers. After calling them adulterous 530 00:38:30,040 --> 00:38:36,440 people, sinners and double minded, James now returns to 531 00:38:36,440 --> 00:38:42,000 calling them brothers. He gives them a command. 532 00:38:42,800 --> 00:38:44,720 The 6th and final impaired this morning is this. 533 00:38:44,720 --> 00:38:46,920 Do not speak evil against one other brothers. 534 00:38:47,160 --> 00:38:49,840 What does this mean? The verb that's used here is 535 00:38:49,840 --> 00:38:51,840 only used five times in the New Testament. 536 00:38:51,960 --> 00:38:55,880 Three of them in this verse is defined as this to speak evil 537 00:38:55,880 --> 00:39:01,200 of, to speak degradingly of, to defame or to slander. 538 00:39:01,760 --> 00:39:04,440 Now, what's interesting is that the two other times that this 539 00:39:04,520 --> 00:39:08,680 word is used, it's in the context of the lost world 540 00:39:08,800 --> 00:39:12,320 slandering Christians. And so it's almost as if James 541 00:39:12,320 --> 00:39:15,000 is saying that when we speak evil of one another against our 542 00:39:15,000 --> 00:39:18,320 brothers, we become like the lost world because that's what 543 00:39:18,320 --> 00:39:20,160 the lost world does. They slander Christians. 544 00:39:20,440 --> 00:39:21,720 Now, what would this include for us? 545 00:39:21,720 --> 00:39:24,680 This would include everything from spreading rumors to 546 00:39:24,680 --> 00:39:28,280 gossiping about one another's sin, to tearing down a brother 547 00:39:28,280 --> 00:39:32,640 or sister behind their back or in front of their face, jumping 548 00:39:32,640 --> 00:39:36,320 to conclusions about their motives, unnecessarily shaming 549 00:39:36,320 --> 00:39:40,440 someone, publicly criticizing someone in front of others self 550 00:39:40,440 --> 00:39:43,760 righteously elevating ourselves and putting others down. 551 00:39:44,640 --> 00:39:48,600 These are things that characterize the world and they 552 00:39:48,600 --> 00:39:50,360 must not characterize Christians. 553 00:39:51,400 --> 00:39:55,120 And yet, sometimes we do see this in the church. 554 00:39:55,840 --> 00:39:59,600 We do see this among Christians. Do you know what's made this 555 00:39:59,600 --> 00:40:01,880 very easy to do in our day and age? 556 00:40:04,280 --> 00:40:09,200 It's made it too easy. Social media. 557 00:40:12,240 --> 00:40:17,880 Social media I have seen Christians who are public 558 00:40:17,880 --> 00:40:22,880 figures, even respectable public figures, tearing down fellow 559 00:40:22,880 --> 00:40:27,040 Christians online, a Christian they may not even met. 560 00:40:29,480 --> 00:40:34,360 There is a difference between speaking the truth and speaking 561 00:40:34,360 --> 00:40:41,720 evil, and even when we speak the truth, we are to speak it with 562 00:40:42,960 --> 00:40:48,680 grace and truth. Look at verse 11. 563 00:40:48,680 --> 00:40:50,760 B. The one who speaks against a 564 00:40:50,760 --> 00:40:54,880 brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and 565 00:40:54,880 --> 00:40:57,680 judges the law. Now what does James mean by the 566 00:40:57,680 --> 00:41:00,080 statement? A few points are in order before 567 00:41:00,080 --> 00:41:04,160 explaining this number one. James here introduces a second 568 00:41:04,160 --> 00:41:08,480 category of judging a brother. He has a second category. 569 00:41:08,760 --> 00:41:13,920 So James is not prohibiting our need to judge actions in the 570 00:41:13,920 --> 00:41:16,400 church. We must judge actions. 571 00:41:16,640 --> 00:41:19,640 James is prohibiting the type of judgement that pronounces 572 00:41:19,640 --> 00:41:22,680 condemnation on one another. That's the first point. 573 00:41:22,880 --> 00:41:25,680 The second point here is that the law here is most likely 574 00:41:25,680 --> 00:41:27,080 referring to the Old Testament law. 575 00:41:27,080 --> 00:41:32,960 All right, so with those two points being said, in what sense 576 00:41:33,320 --> 00:41:37,080 is speaking evil against a brother or judging a brother? 577 00:41:37,080 --> 00:41:41,240 In what sense is that tantamount to speaking evil against the law 578 00:41:41,320 --> 00:41:43,720 and judging the law? What does he mean by that? 579 00:41:43,960 --> 00:41:47,760 Well, if you remember, the law gave us the second greatest 580 00:41:47,760 --> 00:41:51,000 commandment. Love your neighbor as yourself, 581 00:41:51,160 --> 00:41:53,280 which would include our brothers and sisters. 582 00:41:53,400 --> 00:41:55,640 Love your brothers and sisters as yourself. 583 00:41:55,960 --> 00:41:59,960 But to speak evil against our brothers and to judge them is 584 00:41:59,960 --> 00:42:03,920 not to love them as ourselves. And So what James is saying is 585 00:42:03,920 --> 00:42:07,640 that when we do this, when we speak evil against one another 586 00:42:07,640 --> 00:42:11,120 or we pronounce judgment over one another, we have basically 587 00:42:11,120 --> 00:42:16,680 decided which portion of the law we're going to obey and which 588 00:42:16,680 --> 00:42:20,760 portion we're not. We've essentially said to God, 589 00:42:21,040 --> 00:42:23,920 God, I don't think this law applies to me. 590 00:42:25,640 --> 00:42:30,160 I don't think this law needs to be followed, which is to speak 591 00:42:30,160 --> 00:42:32,520 evil about the law and it's to judge the law. 592 00:42:33,280 --> 00:42:34,800 That's the argument that James is making. 593 00:42:35,720 --> 00:42:39,240 The verse 11 C. But if you judge the law, you 594 00:42:39,240 --> 00:42:41,920 are not a doer of the law, but a judge. 595 00:42:42,720 --> 00:42:46,040 James says that if we judge the law, by definition we are not a 596 00:42:46,040 --> 00:42:47,680 doer of the law. We're just a judge of the law. 597 00:42:47,680 --> 00:42:49,880 How so? Let me give an example. 598 00:42:50,400 --> 00:42:53,000 Growing up, I was a rebellious kid. 599 00:42:53,000 --> 00:42:55,640 I wasn't the most the most rebellious kid, but I was, I was 600 00:42:55,640 --> 00:42:58,920 a rebellious kid. Part of the reason that I was 601 00:42:58,920 --> 00:43:03,960 rebellious is because I was a self appointed judge of the 602 00:43:03,960 --> 00:43:06,360 rules. I didn't think this as a kid, 603 00:43:06,360 --> 00:43:09,240 but looking back in my wisdom now in my older years, I look 604 00:43:09,240 --> 00:43:10,560 back and I'm like, that's what I was. 605 00:43:10,560 --> 00:43:13,000 I was a self appointed judge of the rules. 606 00:43:13,640 --> 00:43:16,320 So the teacher, for example, teacher would say no talking in 607 00:43:16,320 --> 00:43:19,120 class. And I would think that's a silly 608 00:43:19,120 --> 00:43:20,360 rule. You can talk if you talk 609 00:43:20,360 --> 00:43:28,120 quietly. The speed limit say 35, That's 610 00:43:28,120 --> 00:43:30,320 ridiculous. You can clearly go 55 and still 611 00:43:30,320 --> 00:43:38,040 be safe. Sometimes we do this with God. 612 00:43:43,240 --> 00:43:47,720 God said to be pure in your thought and your deeds. 613 00:43:50,800 --> 00:43:54,800 That's impossible, God. You can't expect men to do that. 614 00:43:57,360 --> 00:44:00,680 You gave us this desire. You can't really expect us to do 615 00:44:00,680 --> 00:44:09,320 this. Anytime we think this way, we 616 00:44:09,320 --> 00:44:17,400 have become a judge of the law. We have placed ourselves above 617 00:44:17,400 --> 00:44:22,520 God's law and said God, I will determine what makes sense to me 618 00:44:22,760 --> 00:44:27,840 and what doesn't. And by doing so we have 619 00:44:27,840 --> 00:44:31,000 effectively become self appointed judges. 620 00:44:31,000 --> 00:44:34,560 But remember what James said earlier. 621 00:44:35,360 --> 00:44:41,520 We are to be doers of the law, doers of the word, church 622 00:44:41,520 --> 00:44:43,480 family. Be careful that we don't 623 00:44:43,480 --> 00:44:49,560 subconsciously create a bifurcated list of God's law. 624 00:44:51,120 --> 00:44:54,760 These are the commands that make sense to me, and I will obey 625 00:44:54,760 --> 00:44:56,960 them. And these are the ones that I 626 00:44:56,960 --> 00:45:03,120 kind of find rather silly or outdated or not relevant or too 627 00:45:03,120 --> 00:45:07,040 difficult or arbitrary or up for debate. 628 00:45:09,920 --> 00:45:12,160 Be careful you don't create this bifurcated list. 629 00:45:14,400 --> 00:45:17,160 Verse 12. Last verse, there is only one 630 00:45:17,160 --> 00:45:21,360 law giver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy, but 631 00:45:21,360 --> 00:45:24,240 who are you to judge your neighbor? 632 00:45:24,520 --> 00:45:27,520 James reminds the churches. There is only one law giver, 633 00:45:27,640 --> 00:45:30,080 there is only one judge and that is God. 634 00:45:30,480 --> 00:45:35,760 Now some might think, what gives God the right to give the law? 635 00:45:37,200 --> 00:45:40,720 What gives God the right to be the sole judge? 636 00:45:42,680 --> 00:45:44,680 Because he holds the keys to life and death. 637 00:45:46,640 --> 00:45:49,000 He alone has the keys to life and death. 638 00:45:50,080 --> 00:45:54,360 I was reading an article about retail theft in Washington 639 00:45:54,360 --> 00:45:57,240 state. It it said that Washington state 640 00:45:57,240 --> 00:46:01,000 is number one in the country and retail theft. 641 00:46:02,680 --> 00:46:05,360 I believe it. Just go to Walmart in Renton and 642 00:46:05,360 --> 00:46:07,000 you this will be proven true to you. 643 00:46:09,520 --> 00:46:13,320 There is one exception to this, Issaquah. 644 00:46:15,480 --> 00:46:16,680 That's what the article was saying. 645 00:46:16,960 --> 00:46:19,360 Issaquah, Why? They have their own jail system 646 00:46:19,360 --> 00:46:21,360 in Issaquah. And so when people are caught 647 00:46:21,360 --> 00:46:24,160 stealing, they are immediately booked into jail. 648 00:46:27,680 --> 00:46:30,640 The officers were saying that when they arrest people, they 649 00:46:30,640 --> 00:46:34,040 are absolutely stunned that they're going to jail. 650 00:46:35,720 --> 00:46:38,840 They just assumed that like, because everywhere else they 651 00:46:38,840 --> 00:46:40,800 don't, they don't do anything about it. 652 00:46:41,840 --> 00:46:44,560 They're stunned at it, but they happen to steal from a Issaquah 653 00:46:44,560 --> 00:46:46,000 business. They're actually going to go to 654 00:46:46,000 --> 00:46:48,520 jail. Often when they get arrested, 655 00:46:48,520 --> 00:46:50,360 they will say, what gives you the right? 656 00:46:52,440 --> 00:47:01,760 This badge gives me the right. There is only one lawgiver and 657 00:47:01,760 --> 00:47:11,920 judge and his name tag says God. And because he is God, he alone 658 00:47:11,920 --> 00:47:15,000 has the power to save and to destroy. 659 00:47:15,960 --> 00:47:19,240 Sometimes I can be guilty of thinking that I know what people 660 00:47:19,240 --> 00:47:21,160 deserve. I go out in society, I'm like, I 661 00:47:21,160 --> 00:47:23,960 know what this person deserves. This person deserves punishment. 662 00:47:24,080 --> 00:47:28,160 This person deserves hell. Who am I to make such a 663 00:47:28,160 --> 00:47:34,240 judgment? If God wanted to save Adolf 664 00:47:34,240 --> 00:47:37,800 Hitler and condemn Mother Teresa, who am I to say 665 00:47:37,800 --> 00:47:44,440 otherwise? James asked the church. 666 00:47:44,560 --> 00:47:48,320 Who are you to judge your neighbor? 667 00:47:48,520 --> 00:47:53,080 We must not be like the Pharisees who could not accept 668 00:47:53,080 --> 00:47:57,040 the salvation of a blind man, a tax collector, an adulterous 669 00:47:57,040 --> 00:47:59,520 woman and a Samaritan. They just couldn't. 670 00:48:01,760 --> 00:48:04,920 I would imagine that when we get to heaven, we will be very 671 00:48:04,920 --> 00:48:09,400 surprised at who was there and who is not there. 672 00:48:15,200 --> 00:48:18,560 I want to close with a short quote that I read this week in 673 00:48:18,560 --> 00:48:22,000 our small group book. It's just one line, but we're 674 00:48:22,000 --> 00:48:24,080 reading through a book in small group right now and I want to 675 00:48:24,080 --> 00:48:25,720 close with what we read this past week. 676 00:48:26,080 --> 00:48:27,560 Here's what she wrote. She wrote. 677 00:48:29,240 --> 00:48:38,320 Who else knows that the sin that will undo me is my own, not my 678 00:48:38,320 --> 00:48:43,320 neighbors, no matter how big my neighbors send may appear? 679 00:48:46,160 --> 00:48:46,520 Let's pray.