Rev. David Holwick ZA First Baptist Church Ledgewood, New Jersey July 24, 1994 James 4:11-12 WHO MADE YOU A JUDGE? ===================== I. Guilty as sin! It happened just a few years ago. The banks in New Jersey had been robbed systematically, one after the other. What made the robber stand out was his politeness. He just gave the tellers a note which said, "Please place your money in this bag. Thank you." The newspapers called him the GENTLEMAN BANDIT. The widespread publicity led to a very unlikely arrest - the suspect was a Catholic priest. His church was appalled but stood beside him, saying they knew he could not be the bandit. They signed petitions, held protest marches and came up with his bail. But the police were certain they had their man. All of the eyewitnesses positively identified him. And the news media dug into his past, to find that in a previous church he had left under a cloud because of financial irregularities in the parish. For a priest he had a pretty expensive lifestyle - his own apartment and a fast car. His church was probably standing up for him because otherwise they looked like dupes. As I watched the story unfold on the news, I was positive this priest had pulled a fast one. He probably had a socio-pathic personality so he could rob banks and preach the next Sunday without feeling any guilt. But you know the old Bible verse: "Be ye sure, YOUR SIN WILL FIND YE OUT." (Numbers 32:23) No one outside his congregation was standing up for this guy. But then a funny thing happened. The REAL Gentleman Bandit was caught red-handed. As it turned out, he was the spitting image of the priest. It's just that he WASN'T the priest. The priest was released, his church threw him a big party, and the news media and I felt a little sheepish. #2718 A. All of us form judgments of others. 1) As soon as you meet someone, you form an impression. 2) Often, you'll pass that impression on to someone else. -2- B. It is a natural tendency - and dangerous. 1) Prejudice and backbiting can have great consequences. "Battle Cry of Freedom" history of Civil War. Personal feuds between generals cost tens of thousands of lives. Most of it was due to mere pettiness. 2) Judging, criticism and gossip are among worst sins. a) Paul lumps them with murder and fornication. Rom 1:29f b) James also thinks the tongue can be a tool of evil. 3) Use of tongue gives evidence of your commitment to Jesus, or your worldliness. II. Run 'em down. A. The literal Greek of this verse forbids more than slander. 1) Do not "KATALALEO" one another. 4:11 a) Literally it is, "Do not speak down on one another," or "Do not speak against one another." b) Slander is malicious speech that is untrue. 2) James is forbidding ANY SPEECH (whether it is true or false) which runs down another person. B. Why do we run people down? 1) Revenge: They hurt us, and deserve to be hurt in return. 2) In the end, it only gets us. A psychiatrist for the Veteran's Administration, David H. Fink, did a study of 10,000 people. He divided them into two groups: those suffering from nervousness and tension, and those who did not. As the study progressed, he discovered a crucial trait. Those who suffered from extreme tension tended to be habitual faultfinders. They were constant critics of the people and things around them. Those who were free from tension were the least fault-finding. Harsh criticism doesn't just affect your victims - it affects YOU, and my be a sign that something is wrong in your life. #2722 -3- 3) Self-righteousness. a) Unmasking hypocrisy. b) The need to elevate ourselves, at expense of others. At the turn of the century, the world's most distinguished astronomer was certain there were canals on Mars. Sir Percival Lowell spent his life studying the solar system with the biggest telescopes available. Mars was his favorite target. When he looked at Mars, he saw a maze of channels & canals. He was convinced the canals were proof of intelligent life on Mars. Perhaps they were a race of creatures older and wiser than humans. Lowell's observations gained wide acceptance. No one dared to contradict him. But now we know that he was wrong. Spacecraft was gone to Mars and landed on its surface. The whole planet has been mapped, and no canals have been found. How could Lowell have seen so much that wasn't there? There are two possibilities: 1. He wanted to see canals so badly, he did, over and over. 2. He had a rare eye disease, which made him see the blood vessels in his own eyes. The Martian canals he saw were nothing more than the bulging veins of his eyeballs. Over and over, we "see" faults in others because we don't want to believe anything better about them. And so often we think we have a first-hand view of their shortcomings, when in fact our vision is distorted by our own disease. #2721 III. The truth is no defense. A. Most agree that we should not slander people. 1) We can be sued. a) I can slander, because the church has insurance on me. b) You probably don't. 2) Is truth an adequate defense? -4- B. Many think it is okay to tell negative information if it is TRUE. 1) Passing lies about someone is wrong. 2) Passing on damaging truth seems like a moral duty. 3) Many believers use truth as a license to righteously destroy the reputation of others. C. Face to face is no excuse. 1) Fault-finding can be just as bad to the face as behind the back. 2) Most are painfully aware of their faults. 3) Ripping them up can defeat them spiritually. D. Truth alone is not good enough. Only LOVE is. IV. We can, and must, make judgments. A. The Bible is full of human judgments. 1) The prophets raked people over the coals. 2) James himself rebukes the rich. B. Matthew 7:1 is often interpreted to forbid all judgments. 1) In context, Jesus condemns those who judge others while overlooking their own (greater) faults. 2) We must deal with our own sin first. C. We have a duty to make judgments. 1) To beware of false prophets, we have to assess them. Matt 7:15 2) We are ordered to recognize fruit. Matt 7:16 a) This requires careful judging. b) Sin should be called sin. D. Making RIGHT JUDGMENTS is the rub. John 7:24 1) "Judgmentalism" is thoroughly condemned in Bible. 2) A critical spirit that seeks to run others down, is sin. -5- V. Why judgmentalism is wrong. A. We elevate ourselves above the Bible. 1) God's Law is the LAW of LOVE. 2:8 2) When we break the law by running others down, we are actually judging it to be invalid. a) We are saying those verses don't apply to us. b) It is almost as if we think we can improve on God's Word. B. We elevate ourselves above God. 1) This takes us a step higher. 2) Ultimately, only God has the right to judge. a) We must judge, but we will always be imperfect. b) God alone knows the heart. One of the most famous preachers of the 1800's was Charles Spurgeon. He was Queen Victoria's favorite preacher, and he was a Baptist. Spurgeon and his wife had a practice of selling, but refusing to give away, the eggs their chickens laid. Even close relatives were told, "If you want them, you have to pay for them." Since he had a huge church and a salary to match, some people labelled the Spurgeons as greedy. Sort of like how television evangelists are labelled today. The Spurgeons accepted the criticisms without defending themselves. It was only after Mrs. Spurgeon died that the whole story was revealed: All the profits from the sale of eggs went to support two elderly widows. The critics never knew this; HOW OFTEN DO WE? There are many times when it is best to leave our doubts about others to Almighty God. He is still in charge of the universe - he'll know what to do with them. #2723 -6- VI. Acknowledging our sin. A. Only God can save and destroy. 1) "There is no God besides me. I put to death and I bring to life." Deut 32:39 2) Job had to confront God's "otherness." Job 40:7-11 3) Jesus tells us not to fear those who can kill the body, but not the soul. Instead, fear God, who can cast into hell. Matt 10:28 B. God prefers to save. 1) God doesn't want to condemn anyone. 2) He sent Jesus to take our penalty. 3) Jesus knows what it is to be judged sinfully. C. God will judge, fairly but eternally. 1) We have all been judged by people. a) We resent it because so often unfair. 2) We will be judged by God. a) Are you ready to face him? b) Are you ready to live for him? -------------------------------------------------- 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. JAM 4:12 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? =================================== Original sermon: December 27, 1987 =================================== I. The Gentleman Bandit illustration. A. All of us form judgments of others. B. It is natural and dangerous. II. Bad sin, according to Bible. A. Evidence in James. B. Use of tongue gives evidence of commitment to Jesus. C. "Speak evil" equals slander. III. Supercritical spirit. A. Harsh manner. 1) Libel by pastors. 2) Truth must be wedded to love. B. Two reasons not to be harsh: 1) Criticizing brother is same as criticizing the Bible. a) Lev 19:16,18 b) Jesus and mote in eye. c) Sir Percival Lowell and Mars canals. 1> He wanted to see badly, and thus did. 2> Rare eye disease. 3> We see faults in others because we want to. d) Psychiatrist study and faultfinding. 1> Faultfinders are tension-filled. 2> Criticism affects us more than others. 2) Criticism challenges God's authority. 4:12 a) Most criticism based on some truth. b) False impression of Charles Spurgeon. (eggs) 1> We usually do not see whole picture. IV. Is criticism always wrong? A. Bible has criticism. 1) Stinging rebukes of prophets. 2) James himself, against rich oppressors. 3) Christian on a jury? B. Four biblical principles: 1) Bible is inspired; we are not. 2) Investigate matter fully. 3) Criticism should build others up, not tear down. a) Straight to them, not behind back. 4) Standards we use will be used against us. C. No statues built to a critic.