There Is Only One Judge

Posted by anthologycreative

Have you ever taught someone how to play a game or sport? I have. It’s hard work. There are a lot of rules to teach your student, and you have to make sure that you direct him or her closely.

Sometimes after teaching someone something new, a strange thing happens. After working hard to teach your student the game, another person comes along, and the student becomes the teacher. Your student begins to teach the new person, then relentlessly criticizes him when he gets something wrong. Ten minutes ago your student had never heard of the game, and now he wants to act like an expert! Sadly, we sometimes act like that in the Christian life.

Read James 4:11-12, zoning in on verse 12.

The verses leading up to today’s passage are about humility. What does being humble have to do with the passage for today?

What are we really doing when we criticize and judge other believers?

Is being “a judge” rather than “a doer of the law” a good thing or a bad thing? (Hint: see James 1:22-25.) Why or why not?

Who is the “one lawgiver and judge” that James wrote about in verse 12?

What do these verses have to do with how we treat other believers?

When we criticize other believers, we are acting as if we are the judge, but there is really only one Judge—and He has been infinitely kind to us. The ground around the cross is level. We all stand there as sinners in need of a Savior. Make sure you keep that in mind when you stand in judgment of a fellow believer’s words or actions.

Posted in Boys, Devotions | Tagged Camp Ridgecrest, James 4, Reprinted from ec magazine. © 2011 LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Used by permission.