James 4:11-17
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vs. 11: Slander: ‘speak against’
questioning legitimate authority ()
Slandering someone in secret ()
Incorrect accusations (; ).
Reason to not slander:
Love your neighbor (instead of judging your neighbor)
Does James have Levi 19 in mind? Did he read that part of the scroll when he wrote those words? James compares ‘judging’ the law with ‘keeping’ it.
We need to keep the law, not judge it. We often times question it’s legitimacy! “High and orthodox our view of God’s law might be, a failure actually to do it says to the world that we do not in fact put much store by it. Again we see coming to the surface James’s understanding of Christianity as something whose reality is to be tested by the measure of obedience.” Moo
Reason #1: It’s wrong to slander because it’s not loving and not loving goes against the law. It’s avoiding the command in to love your neighbor!
Reason #2: It’s wrong because it’s God’s right to be the Lawgiver and judge. It’s wrong to slander because you have no right to judge another person. God will save and destroy, but who are you to judge your neighbor?
: How to handle members.
Slander and the King
James is asking, in effect: How can you, being the kind of creatures that you are, presume to dictate the course of future events?
Vs. 14: Mist= smoke or vapor
“But whichever word we choose, the point is clear enough: human life is insubstantial and transitory, here one minute and gone the next. Illness, accidental death, or the return of Christ could cut short our lives just as quickly as the morning sun dissipates the mist or as a shift in wind direction blows away smoke.” Moo
But whichever word we choose, the point is clear enough: human life is insubstantial and transitory, here one minute and gone the next. Illness, accidental death, or the return of Christ could cut short our lives just as quickly as the morning sun dissipates the mist or as a shift in wind direction blows away smoke.
“But, as is so often the case, especially close to James’s teaching are some words of Jesus. In , he warns the crowds about covetousness and reminds them that “a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” In a brief parable, he illustrated his point with a rich man who, like James’s merchants, made definite plans for acquiring more goods, but who was prevented from executing his plans by his death ().” Moo
But, as is so often the case, especially close to James’s teaching are some words of Jesus. In , he warns the crowds about covetousness and reminds them that “a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” In a brief parable, he illustrated his point with a rich man who, like James’s merchants, made definite plans for acquiring more goods, but who was prevented from executing his plans by his death ().
Verse 15
Instead of saying… from vs. 13, instead say...
DMV: “If the Lord wills”
Vs. 16: “
Phillips captures the meaning that results from this interpretation very well: “ ‘you get a certain pride in yourself in planning your future with such confidence.”
“Phillips captures the meaning that results from this interpretation very well: “ ‘you get a certain pride in yourself in planning your future with such confidence.””
“Arrogant sense of self-sufficiency so characteristic of the world, that James condemns.”
“People not only leave God out of account in planning their lives; they brag about it as well, proclaiming in effect their autonomy and independence from the Lord.” Moo
People not only leave God out of account in planning their lives; they brag about it as well, proclaiming in effect their autonomy and independence from the Lord.”
“He warns, therefore, of the tendency of the world to “press us into its mold” by leading us, perhaps very subtly, to begin assuming that we control the duration and direction of our lives.” Moo
He warns, therefore, of the tendency of the world to “press us into its mold” by leading us, perhaps very subtly, to begin assuming that we control the duration and direction of our lives.” Moo
James explicitly connects the 16 and 17.
Vs. 17
God’s will of direction and God’s will of desire
Textual Outline:
Do not judge (because God is the judger)
Plan Properly
Investment of Time
Spend a year? Short period! Go, exploit, and trade
Investment of Finances
Profitability, business-minded
“If the Lord wills, we will live and to this or that.”
Not doing the Right Thing with your investment is actually a sin.