Introduction: A young man working in the produce department was asked by a lady if she could buy half a head of lettuce. He replied, "Half a head? Are you serious? God grows these in whole heads and that's how we sell them!"

"You mean," she persisted, "that after all the years I've shopped here, you won't sell me half-a-head of lettuce?"

"Look," he said, "If you like I'll ask the manager." She indicated that would be appreciated, so the young man marched to the front of the store. "You won't believe this, but there's a lame-braided idiot of a lady back there who wants to know if she can buy half-a-head of lettuce."

He noticed the manager gesturing, and turned around to see the lady standing behind him, obviously having followed him to the front of the store. "And this nice lady was wondering if she could buy the other half" he concluded. Later in the day the manager cornered the young man and said, "That was the finest example of thinking on your feet I've ever seen! Where did you learn that?"

"I grew up in Grand Rapids, and if you know anything about Grand Rapids, you know that it's known for its great hockey teams and its ugly women."

The manager's face flushed, and he interrupted, "My wife is from Grand Rapids!" The young man quick replied: "And which hockey team did she play for?"

 

1. Yes, our tongues can get us into all sorts of trouble.  Our speech can and does hurt many people  Is it necessary?  From what we have already seen in the book of James and what we will study this morning, absolutely not.

 

2. Some people believe James lacks continuity in his letter and point to this passage on the tongue, wondering why he is jumping back to one of his major themes ( James 1:26; 2:12; 3:1-12). However, in context this issue makes sense.  The connection between the verses before us today and the ones we have already studied here in James 4 is obvious.  When true humility is lacking in the life of a believer, then malicious backbiting will often occur.  The imperatives of James 4:7-10 are God-ward; now the emphasis is man-ward.

 

3. Let's again look at the tongue for I believe we all need to be reminded of God’s position on the wrong use of our tongue.

 

I. The Problem that is Addressed . . . "speak not evil one of another, brethren."

The words “Speak not evil one of another, brethren” are in the present imperative - This is a command to be obeyed immediately.  It means that the believers James was writing too had a problem in this area of the tongue right then and there.  That is quite obvious when you review what James has written in the first ten verses of James 4.

 

The words “speak not evil” mean "to talk about someone in a disparaging way, to put another down; to speak down on" These words carry the idea of running someone down, to lower a person in someone else’s estimation. 

 

It is also sad to note that James says “one of another”.  This reciprocal pronoun suggests that the situation was not one-sided, but those being maligned were themselves slandering in return.  It’s the attitude - “If they can dish it out so can I.”  There was a complete failure to turn the other cheek.

 

What makes this such a grave and sad situation is that they are “brethren”.  They are fellow members of the Body of Christ running each other down.  These are brothers and sisters in Christ “for whom Christ died” (Romans 14:15).

 

A. The problem is common . . . in the O.T., N.T., and the modern day.

1. Israel was told in Lev. 19:16-18 Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbor; I am the LORD. Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbor, and not suffer sin upon him. Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am the LORD.

 

2. Paul feared the same thing was taking place in the church at Corinth.  Note what he writes to them in 2 Cor. 12:20 For I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not: lest there be debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults:

 

Illustration: Moody bible church - lady with sharp tongue - to catch up on things you would talk to this lady.  She went to theChicago Daily News for her own business. Because it was a hot and humid day, her white dress became wet. While at the newspaper, she backed into a copy of news print and it was transferred to the back of her dress.  As she and her husband walked down the sidewalk, she noticed people looking at her strangely and snickering, for what was printed on the back of her dress was “Daily News”  She ask her husband what people were seeing and if anything was on the back of her white dress. Her husband told her "No honey, nothing printed there that shouldn't be there."

 

B. The problem is curable . . . in the sense there is a diagnosis available for such talk.

In I Peter 2:1,2  Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, all evil speakings, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:   Peter equates slander and gossip to spiritual immaturity. Even the spiritually immature stop using their tongue to cause damage in others.

 

Solution: If there is a problem with another believer you go to the source of the problem, that other believer, not to others who have nothing to do with the problem.

 

Illustration: On a windswept hill in an English country churchyard stands a drab, gray slate tombstone. The quaint stone bears an epitaph not easily seen unless you stoop over and look closely. The faint etchings read:

 

Beneath this stone, a lump of clay,

lies Arabella Young,

Who on the twenty-fourth of May,

began to hold her tongue.

 

II. The Problems that Arise from Speaking Evil . . . "he that speaketh evil of his brother . . ."

 

A. Divisions within the family . . . speaking evil against a brother, neighbor, and friend.

1. Many problems in the church could be resolved with proper restraint upon the tongue.

 

2. Have you ever been told something about another Christian, maybe a Christian in this church, that was not good?  How did you start looking at that other Christian now?  Wasn’t there always a big question mark in your heart and mind every time you saw them or talked with them?  There may have or may have not been anything true about what you heard about them, but you never forget that and it often puts a wall up between you and that other brother or sister in Christ. 

 

3. When we talk about another Christian behind their back we are causing damage.  How can this be stopped?  The next time somebody comes up to you and begins slandering or saying things about another brother or sister in Christ that are negative, ask the person if they have talked to the brother or sister in question about what they have been telling you.  If they say no, then dismiss what they have said and rebuke them for not going to the offending brother or sister in Christ first to find out if the “tale” is true or not.

 

4. If the information is true, does that mean we can go around and spread the “awful” news?  Certainly not.  The desire is to see that brother or sister in Christ repent and come back to the Lord.  Talking behind their back will never accomplish that, and yet so often that is all that takes place.

 

B. Degradation of the law . . . speaking evil is truly "speaketh evil against the law."

1. James is  not necessarily referring to the 10 Commandments, though the truth behind the law James is referring to here is found there.  James is referring to the heart of God’s moral law - a perfect love of God and one’s neighbor. This is seen in Jesus’ words in Mark 12:30,31 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

 

2. The law referred to in this text is the royal law, James 2:8 "If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well:"  If you recall, the context of James 2:8 is the problem of showing respect of persons within the Body of Christ - the church.  Recall that James was dealing with people accepting some believers into the church because of their wealth or otherwise, and not accepting other believers or attendees because they appeared to be poor.

 

3. Thus, to backbite and to run one another down verbally is to violate God’s law of love.  Of all people who should understand something of God’s love it ought to be God’s people who have been saved as a result  of God’s love.  We should exhibit that love God showed toward us toward one another.

 

C. Deification of self . . . you make yourself out to be the Judge, to be God.

1. You make yourself out to be Judge, Ruler, and Giver of the Law. James reminds such a believer that there is only "one lawgiver," and you are not Him. When you go around to others and gossip about another Christian you are deifying yourself and making yourself a judge of that person.

 

Ÿ         a. God’s authority far exceeds yours -- the "one lawgiver" holds others accountable.

Ÿ         b. God’s ability far exceeds yours -- He is "able to save and to destroy." James’ point is clear; YOU do not have the power of God to judge others. The word “able” is the same Greek word that can be translated “power”.  It is the Greek word that has been transliterated into the English as the word “dynamite.”  James is saying that when we unjustly judge a brother and take on the responsibility that belongs only to God, we are saying we have the same power as God does and that is a very dangerous thing to say and believe about oneself.  No man or woman has the power to spiritually save or destroy another.

 

2. There is a point that needs to be made right now before I bring this message to a conclusion: God’s Word does make provision for one believer, and sometimes more than one believer to confront another brother or sister in Christ about sin and disobedience in their life.  We should not come to the conclusion from the passage of scripture we are studying today that it is wrong for one or more Christians to confront other Christians about sin in their life.  Matthew 18:15-17 give us guidelines for properly handling church discipline.  There is a big difference between a proper handling of church discipline, talking privately to another brother or sister in Christ, and what James is saying is wrong in the passage we have been studying today.  The difference is in the approach and in the attitude of the one confronting the wayward brother or sister in Christ. 

 

3. Here in James 4:11 it speaks of Christians speaking evil of a brother, of running another Christian down.  That doesn’t sound like an attitude of love to me.  That doesn’t sound like the attitude of heart that desires to see a sinning brother or sister in Christ confessing sin and coming back to the Lord and the fellowship of the believers.  You see, that is the difference between what James is saying and what the Word of God says those who are spiritual are to be doing privately in the lives of those they love in the Lord.  There is a big difference and the judgment calls that are made are done so with completely different motives in mind.  If the motive for confronting another, even privately, about sin, is not from a heart of love, don’t do it.  More harm than good will result.  Make sure your heart is right with God and right toward the one you need and must talk with before going to them; then go to them in complete humility.  Many Christians never take the Parental Timeout before confronting sin in the life of others.

 

4. Even when your heart is filled with love and concern for the wayward brother or sister in Christ, we should never lose sight that God is the ultimate Judge, not us.  A truly humble believer will always be telling themselves that they are no better than the current wayward brother or sister in Christ that they need to talk with.  The truly humble believer will never forget that they are capable of doing the same things that they see in their brother or sister in Christ.  It is so easy to become high and mighty in our attitude toward those who have failed in their Christian walk with the Lord and with other believers, but it is always a wrong attitude of heart to have.

 

5. It is necessary to lovingly confront people when they sin against you or God, but what is to be avoided is the harmful, intentional attempt to destroy the reputation of another. Who has control of your tongue? God give us the grace to guard our tongues!

 

6. Permit me, as I close the message today, to reuse an acrostic I made use of in a message I preached on June 6th on James 4:1-3. It is the acrostic using the letters of the word THINK.

·    T—Is it true?

·    H—Is it helpful?

·    I—Is it inspiring?

·    N—Is it necessary?

·    K—Is it kind?

 

7. You know, I think we ought to write that down somewhere and remind ourselves of those questions.  We need to stop and think before we open our mouth and say things about one another that we are going to regret later.

 

8. I believe more damage is done in the body of Christ by people talking about other Christians behind their back than many other problems.  The Bible gives us a very clear warning  just a few verses further in our text - in James 4:17 “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”

 

Conclusion:

1. We each have a choice to make - are we going to obey God’s Word as it is declared to us from this passage of Scripture or are we going to continue cutting others down with our tongue and have an attitude that they deserve what we give them?  Based on God’s Word - to continue in something that you know is wrong, is sin.  The very thing that has caused one believer to speak evil of his or her brother or sister in Christ, will eventually bring another believer or believers to their door to ask why they are doing this in direct disobedience to God’s Word.  The one who has set themselves up as judge, jury and executioner will now be asked to give an account of why they have persisted in this evil way and will be asked to repent of this evil, of this sin. 

 

2. Would it not be far better for each of us to learn this passage of scripture in such a way that it is burned into our very heart and soul?  That we would remember this text of scripture the next time something evil is being said about one of our brothers or sisters in Christ and we nip it in the bud by asking the one telling us the bad news if they have talked with the person they are telling you about?  What we have studied today is not optional equipment in the life of a believer.  This is mandatory.

 

3. Let’s learn to put on and develop the “wisdom that is from above” that James tells us about in James 3:17-18.  If this is in our life then we will be well on our way to controlling our tongue.

 

4. Maybe there is someone here today who has heard this word “brother” mentioned quite a few times today, but has no idea what in the world that is but it sounds good.  The brother is a brother in Christ, a Christian.  To be a brother in Christ, one must repent of their sins and accept the free gift of salvation provided by Jesus Christ for our sins.  Jesus has paid the price for those sins with His blood.  There is nothing you or I can do to make ourselves right before God.  They only thing that God will accept is the work of God’s Son, Jesus Christ on the cross for us.  Have you come to Jesus?  He is the only way of salvation for every lost soul.