James could end this section at this point, having directed his readers with steps toward God. He is unrelenting, however, in making the explicit application to the problem with which he began—the problem of anger, impure speech and judging within the Christian community. He introduced this topic as early as 1:19. He focused on the aspects of judging and discriminating in 2:1-13. He returned to the issue of impure speech in 3:1 and specifically the problems of cursing and envy and fighting through chapter 3 and the beginning of chapter 4. Now he drives home his call to a life of faith in personal relationships. Here the coherence of James's letter is again evident, contrary to some commentators who see it as disconnected, self-contained pieces (e.g., Dibelius 1976:207-8; Laws 1980:186; and even Davids 1982:168-69).

First comes the pointed command Do not slander one another. The verb is katalaleo ("speak against"), which could include destructive verbal attacks, gossip behind another person's back and false accusations. Such offenses are not to be practiced among Christians.

Then James repeats this first verb in anyone who speaks against his brother but adds a second verb or judges him to make clear that the speaking against is a form of judging. Judging then becomes the real focus of these verses, and the remainder of the two verses is explanation of why judging is so wrong.

The fundamental notion of "judging" with the verb krino is one of distinguishing or making a distinction. It is certainly right to distinguish between good and evil; James himself is not timid about condemning people's evil behavior. Yet he warns against judging. To see what he means, we need to draw together the line of thought James has pursued about judging all through the letter. We must begin with James's emphasis on faith, because that is still the unifying theme of the letter.

1:1-18. Christians begin with a stance of faith. This faith could be summarized from 1:1-18 as confidence in God's mercy. James emphasized God's mercy with several examples: God is faithful to complete in us what we lack (1:3-4); God is generous to give to us without finding fault (1:5); God is kind to exalt us even in humble circumstances (1:9); God is reliable for us even when our own evil desires would entice us into temptation (1:13); God is, in fact, the gracious and consistent giver of every good gift (1:17-18).

1:2-6. Faith in this mercy of God has radical implications for our lives. The first implication is that because of faith in God's mercy, Christians face trials with joy. They believe God instead of wavering with doubts (diakrino). If they act on the basis of doubts, they are distinguishing (or judging) a basis for life other than God's mercy.

2:1-5. A second implication is that Christians are certainly not to practice partiality toward others, for then they would be discriminating (diakrino) and making themselves judges (krites). They would be treating people as if wealth instead of God's mercy were the factor determining people's value.

2:8-13. The royal law commands us to be merciful. If we treat others with judgmental discrimination instead of mercy, we sin and will be judged (krino) by that law. Our lives are based on God's mercy, by which we escape judgment and receive salvation; now in the law that we obey, our lives are again based on mercy. So both in being saved and in living the Christian life, "mercy triumphs over judgment!"

3:1-2, 13-18. Everyone stumbles and so is vulnerable to judgment. But because of faith in God's mercy, a Christian will act in humility. A Christian will be impartial (adiakritos, "without judging") and sincere (anhypokritos, "without hypocrisy").

Drawing upon this background, in 4:11-12 James would now help us avoid the sin of judging. He instructs us in regard to three relationships that form the context for our lives. In each case, judging is inherently contradictory to the true nature of the relationship.

First mentioned is the relationship with each other. James chooses significant terms to identify the ones his readers would be judging: brother in 4:11 and then neighbor at the end of 4:12. Jesus used the term brother in his instruction against judging (Mt 7:1-5), and he used the term neighbor in the great commandment to love (Mt 22:39). In light of all that James has written so far about God's mercy toward us, these terms now come as reminders that our family bonds in God's mercy are violated when we who have received mercy turn to judge each other; and God's goodness to us is treated with contempt when we show judgment instead of mercy to our neighbors.

Second is the relationship with the law. James insists that we are to be doers under the law, which is contradicted when we try to be judges over the law. The "law" (nomos) could refer to the Old Testament command in Leviticus 19:16, which prohibits slander, and to Leviticus 19:18, "Love your neighbor as yourself," which James quoted in 2:8. Given James's reverence for the teachings of Jesus as the royal law of the kingdom, it is likely that he also has in mind Jesus' specific command against judging in Matthew 7:1 and Jesus' own quoting of Leviticus 19:18. James's point is that if we accept God's mercy through Christ, we place ourselves under Christ's law, which commands mercy. If we then judge others instead of being merciful toward their faults, we are rejecting that law and so setting ourselves up as judges over the law. This contradicts our proper stance as recipients of grace—we are to be doers under the law.

The third relationship is with God. One (heis) as the subject of the sentence emphasizes that there is only one who is Lawgiver and Judge. When we judge each other, we are contradicting that fact. This is a revealing insight into our hearts. In judging people, what we really want is to take God's place. The United States government is arranged in judicial, legislative and executive branches, with a careful separation and balance of powers. In the realm of personal relationships, however, judging and lawgiving operate together; the one who judges another person is presuming to have authority to set the law or standard by which the other person is judged. Judging is an attempt to be in control as God is in control, which has been our rebellious desire ever since the serpent told Eve she could be "like God, knowing good and evil." Our sins of judging are attempts to set ourselves not only over the law but over the Lawgiver as well.

Now we can summarize. What James has been prescribing is a life of faith that has two facets: confidence in God's grace and passion for God's righteousness. The confidence and the passion are complementary responses to God's judgment and mercy. God's mercy triumphs over judgment on our behalf; therefore we may be confident in relying on grace. However, we who have genuinely grasped grace will become all the more eager to grasp righteousness, realizing that our lack of righteousness so nearly brought us to disaster in the fearful judgment of God. Once one has humbly sought grace for escape from judgment (4:10), it becomes unthinkable to set oneself up as judge over a neighbor (4:11). It is part of a single stance before God to submit to him for his grace (4:7) and to submit to him for his law; one cannot be both a judge over the law and a doer under the law (4:11). James is showing us a well-integrated faith in Christ as both merciful Savior to be trusted and righteous Lord to be obeyed.