In our last paper, we discussed the vital subject of humility. The problem we have in teaching on subjects like this is that no one feels that they are in
violation of the principles being taught. Sermons on gossip do little good, for those guilty of this never see themselves as being gossips, when they discuss the perceived faults of another. Just so, many preachers and religious people feel that their interpretation of the Bible is the same as the will of God. I will affirm that the Bible completely reveals the will of God, but my interpretation of any given part might not reflect the will of God, for I am fallible, and my understanding is not absolute. This is what James means when he talks about humility, and urges that few put themselves up as teachers.
Here in the latter part of chapter four, he warns against judging a brother. He says, "Who do you think you are to judge your neighbor?" He precedes this
question with the admonition that we should wash our hands, for we are all sinners, grieve and mourn, for all of us fall far short of God's will. He goes so far as to say that when you judge your brother you are judging the law. Why? Because the law says "judge not", so when you do you are saying the law is
wrong, and your superior knowledge and rightness gives you the right to judge. This is a real problem for people who feel they cannot be wrong, and all who
disagree with them are disagreeing with God. Statements like, "It means just what it says", or "That's as plain as the nose on your face", speak to the ignorance of those who are unable to say, "to me".
James is making a strong emphasis on the fact that God has made us creatures of choice, and when we choose our own wisdom, and rest on our own self-righteousness, we have made the wrong choice. Christianity is a matter of choice. Faith is a matter of choice. James says, "Submit yourselves to God, and He will come near to you". You and I are not good enough, nor smart enough to handle the wiles of the devil, as he appeals to the ego of our earth-man. Only a humble realization of my own fallibility, and a total surrender to the grace of God will suffice to defeat the devil, and make him "flee from me".
God has not given me the task of straightening out the whole world. Nor has He given me any guarantee that my understanding of the truth is always correct. That is why I must depend upon the grace of God, rather than my own goodness. He alone is capable of judging man's behavior, and when I use my own wisdom to condemn others, I usurp God's sovereign authority, and there can be no greater sin. This not only imitates Adam's sin of rejecting God as the Supreme authority, but it divides God's people and destroys the love Christ prayed would bind us together as one.
In the closing verses of the chapter, James graphically describes our limitations and our weaknesses. He points out that we can't predict a minute into the future, nor can we control our destiny. We have no control over our life, which is like a "mist that appears for a while and vanishes". Only God can control our destiny, and the choice is up to us. Either stop depending on your own understanding, and your own righteousness, and submit yourself totally to God and His mercy, or choose your own wisdom and goodness, and continue to be a lost sinner.
As a last word, I would remind you that James is not talking to profligate evildoers. He is talking to people who claim to be Christians.
