James 4:12

12. "One only is the Lawgiver and Judge Who is able to save and to destroy [the One Who has the absolute power of life and death]. [But you] who are you that [you presume to] pass judgment on your neighbor?"

God sets the standards, and we believe in moral absolutism. God is the Lawgiver and Judge. God says that we are to preserve the good name of our fellow believers (Ex 20:16). God says we are to love our neighbor as ourselves (Lev 19:18). God says we are not to give false testimony against our neighbors (Ex 20:16). God says we are to love the truth and speak the truth in love. When we do the judging that James is talking about, we are breaking God's royal law. We are putting ourselves in God's place. We are becoming moral relativists because we are deciding what part of God's law we should keep and what part we can ignore.

When we see a brother or sister in sin, we don't know how hard he or she tried not to sin... and, we don't know the power of the forces that drove them toward it. We also fool ourselves thinking what we would have done in the same circumstances. James warns that we always need to be careful in our judging even when the facts seem to be so clear.

God is the one Lawgiver and Judge. He has set absolute standards for our morals, ethics, behavior, and speech. He tells us how to live and how to talk as servants of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. His standard only includes what is good and loving. His standard does not include what hurts another person.

Let's pick up with James verse 4:13 next time.

I love you.