SERMON TITLE: On Speaking Evil About Others
SCRIPTURE: James 4:11-12 (ESV)
SPEAKER: Josh Hanson
DATE: 5-17-26
Sermon Discussion Guide
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As always, it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time or if you’re joining us at our North Main Campus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.
We’re continuing our series in the book of James this weekend as we learn from the younger brother of Jesus, who believed that his older brother was God. And — in his letter — James has taken some teachings from his older brother and is showing us how to apply what Jesus taught to everyday life. Thus — when we listen to James — we’re learning what it means to be wise — for wisdom is taking God at his Word and applying it to our lives.
And in our verses for today, James is returning to two themes we’ve already encountered in his letter. Speech — meaning our words — and God’s law.
About the words we speak, James has said…
James 1:13 ESV
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.
And…
James 1:19 ESV
19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;
And…
James 2:14–16 ESV
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?
And…
James 3:1–2 ESV
1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.
And…
James 3:5–6 ESV
5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.
And…
James 3:8–10 ESV
8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.
And…
James 3:14 ESV
14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.
And…
James 4:2–3 ESV
2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
James has already said much about the words we speak. And about the royal — or the perfect law — James has said…
James 1:25 ESV
25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
And…
James 2:8–13 ESV
8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. 11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
So James has already written much about our speech — the words we say — as well as the royal or perfect law — meaning the Law of God.
Now, before we get to our verses for today, I want to ask you a question. What part of God’s law do you think doesn’t apply to you? What part of God’s law do you think doesn’t apply to you?
If you’re a Christian, my guess is you may have responded with, “Well, all of it applies to me. Sure, there are some ceremonial laws in the Old Testament that don’t apply to us today, but the law that James is referring to — as we’ve already seen — is the royal law — the big Ten — the Great Commandment — whatever you want to call it — and it applies to Christians today.” Hold on to that thought for a moment.
Now, if you’re here — and you wouldn’t call yourself a Christian — my guess is you probably responded to my question with, “I’m not sure.” There are probably parts of the law that you do think apply to people today, like “Don’t murder,” but there are other parts you’re just not sure about — or you’re sure that some parts of the law definitely don’t apply to you — like those pesky parts of the law that tell us who and who not to have sex with.
Now James’ goal is to teach us how to be wise. And, by wise, he means not just taking God at his Word, but applying God’s Word to life. Thus, we know we’re being wise or foolish — for example, when it comes to the law — not by simply saying, “All of the law applies to me today” — but we’re being wise when we take that truth — that all of God’s law applies to me today — and live accordingly. Being wise means we don’t say “This is what I believe about God’s law” and then go on to live as if we’re above God’s law.
We’ll see how all of this works itself out in a moment — but first, we need to turn to our verses for today. We’ll be in James chapter four today. James chapter four — looking at verses eleven and twelve. We’re in James chapter four — beginning in verse eleven. There we read…
James 4:11–12 ESV
11 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
Christians, don’t speak evil against one another. That’s the command — the only command — in our verses. Don’t speak evil against one another, brothers.
A few observations.
First, the word brothers is James’ way of referring to the Christians he’s writing to. And the only reason he’d need to command a group of Christians not to speak evil against one another is because — guess what they were probably doing? Speaking evil against each other!
Can you imagine? Christians speaking evil about other Christians? Unbelievable. Oh, wait, pretty believable.
Our second observation is that the kind of speech James is referring to is slander. He uses a similar phrase three times in verse eleven — speak evil, speaks against, and speaks evil. This is when we speak degradingly or defamingly of a fellow believer. It’s where we make malicious charges against someone else, attacking their good name and reputation. And, obviously, this is something Christians can do to other Christians as well as to non-Christians. This is also something that non-Christians can do to Christians. Slander is a sin that doesn’t care whose mouth it comes out of. Thus, God’s people are warned not to be slanderers — and not just here in James.
About those who serve in the church, we’re told…
1 Timothy 3:10–11 ESV
10 And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. 11 Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things.
Just as…
Titus 2:3–5 ESV
3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4 and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.
Christians are not to be slanderers. However, we’re to anticipate being slandered. This is why the apostle Peter writes…
1 Peter 2:12 ESV
12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you (or when they slander you…) as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
And…
1 Peter 3:14–16 ESV
14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.
And the reason why Christians are not to slander others, while expecting to be slandered, is because our enemy — Satan, who’s also known as the Devil — his name in the Greek language means “slanderer” and “false accuser.” Thus, to be a slanderer of others is to imitate the Devil, for his name means “the slanderer.”
Slander is the opposite of godly speech — words of love and blessing. In fact, slander destroys fellowship among God’s people because slander is devilish speech. Thus, James wants us to know how to be wise in our speech so that we don’t follow Satan’s lead by speaking evil against one another. And the way of wisdom — the way of not speaking evil against one another — begins by, one, thinking biblically about each other, two, thinking biblically about God’s law, three, thinking biblically about God, and — finally — thinking biblically about ourselves.
So let’s learn how not to slander one another by thinking biblically about each other, thinking biblically about God’s law, thinking biblically about God, and thinking biblically about ourselves.
First, thinking biblically about each other. We’re in verse eleven where James writes…
James 4:11 ESV
11 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother…
As one person has said, when “fellow believers are viewed as those chosen by God before the foundation of the world, for whom Christ died, who are loved and honored by God, and with whom we will spend eternity in heaven, we will seek to honor, love, and protect them. [Thus] the first step in avoiding the sin of slander is not keeping one’s lips sealed, but keeping one’s thoughts about others right.”
Biting one’s tongue isn’t the solution to the sin of slander; having a biblical view of each other is the solution to slander.
I wonder what your view is of those who are in the room with you right now? There are probably a lot of people in the room you don’t know. What do you think about them? Do you think biblically about them? How we think about one another — biblically or not — shapes what we say about one another.
Now, James, as you probably saw, also highlights judging one another. He doesn’t stop with slander — he also mentions judging, which is another topic he brought up earlier when he wrote…
James 2:4 ESV
4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
In both this verse and our verse for today, James isn’t making a universal statement about judging — there are plenty of places in Scripture where we’re told to judge one another. What James is saying is that we’re not to use God’s law to make judgments that result in us slandering others.
Which leads us to the law and how we’re to think about it biblically. We’re back in verse eleven again.
James 4:11 ESV
11 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.
As we’ve seen, by law, James wants us to remember what Jesus taught about the law. And — as we saw in a previous sermon — in knowing what Jesus taught about the law, James has told us that the fulfillment of the law is summed up by the command to love others. And here’s what that means.
The law — all of the commands and rules — is love codified. The law tells us how to love. Thus, to disregard, ignore, or disobey the law is to be an unloving person.
One Bible scholar explains…
“An examination of the Ten Commandments reveals them to be ten features of love verbalized. [We don’t have time to look at all ten, but a few will suffice.] The first commandment, “You shall have no other gods before me”, shows that love is not fickle, but single-minded, devoted, loyal…The third command, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain”…reveals love to be respectful toward its object…The fifth commandment, “Honor your father and your mother”, reveals love to be submissive to authority…The sixth commandment, “You shall not murder”, expresses the value love places on others… The seventh commandment, “You shall not commit adultery”, shows love to be pure and [that] love would never defile another person. The eighth commandment, “You shall not steal”, manifests the unselfish nature of love. Love seeks to give, not to take.”
God’s law shows us how to love him and each other. Back to one of the first questions I asked today: I wonder what part of God’s law you’re disregarding, making you less loving than God has created you to be? Where — in disregarding God’s law — you’re not a doer of the law, but its judge.
But there is only one who is judge — and to him we turn, as we think biblically about God. We’re in verse twelve.
James 4:12 ESV
12 There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy.
When we slander others, we put ourselves above God’s law and attempt to put ourselves above God. Do you know who else tried to put himself above God? The one whose name means slanderer. But there’s only one lawgiver and judge — the God of Heaven above. The one who is able to save and to destroy.
God is the only one able to save. Meaning, God is the only one who can deliver us from sin and save us from evil. This is why Jesus, God in the flesh, came to earth.
Luke 19:10 ESV
10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
For…
Titus 3:4–7 ESV
4 when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
And in response to this news…
James 1:21 ESV
21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
God is the only one who can save — and — he can destroy.
The word destroy means “to utterly destroy.” It has a sense of spiritual destruction. This destruction is the eternal judgment and condemnation that those — who don’t believe in Christ — will experience for all eternity. As Jesus said…
Matthew 10:28 ESV
28 Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
And as the apostle Paul says about the return of Christ…
2 Thessalonians 1:6–10 NLT
6 In his (God’s) justice he will pay back those who persecute you. 7 And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with his mighty angels, 8 in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don’t know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power. 10 When he comes on that day, he will receive glory from his holy people — praise from all who believe. And this includes you, for you believed what we told you about him.
Think biblically about God. For he is the one who gave us the royal law. He alone is the perfect judge. And he is the only one who is able to save and to destroy.
And, finally, think biblically about yourself. We’re in the last half of verse twelve, which says…
James 4:12 ESV
12 But who are you to judge your neighbor?
James essentially asks, “Just who do you think you are? I mean, who in the world do you think you are that you’re perfectly comfortable with slandering others?”
Whoever you think you are — and this is true for me too — when we slander others, we’re not thinking biblically about ourselves.
Who are you?
2 Corinthians 4:7 NLT
We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.
We’re fragile clay jars through whom the light of Christ shines forth in a world that’s clothed in darkness.
Who are you?
Luke 17:10 NLT
In the same way, when you obey me you should say, ‘We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty.’”
Even when we’ve obeyed God’s commands — maybe even receive an award for doing so — we’re unworthy of his grace.
Who are you?
2 Corinthians 5:16–17 ESV
From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
Having believed in Jesus, you’re a new creation.
Who are you?
Galatians 2:20 NLT
My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
If you believe in Jesus, he lives in you.
Who are you?
1 John 3:1 NLT
See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him.
You are a beloved child of God.
Who are you?
Ephesians 1:3–5 NLT
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.
You are chosen. Blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms. United with Christ. Adopted into God’s family. Holy and without fault in his eyes.
Who are you?
Romans 5:8 NLT
But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
You are someone for whom Christ died.
Who are you?
Romans 8:38–39 ESV
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
You are someone who will never be separated from the love of God.
Who are you?
1 Peter 2:9–10 ESV
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Who are you?
Ephesians 2:8–9 ESV
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Who are you?
Jesus says to you…
John 5:24 NLT
“I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.
Who are you?
Having believed in Jesus, you are someone for whom…
Romans 8:1–2 NLT
There is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.
All that you’ve just heard can be true for you, regardless of what you thought about Jesus, or the law, or if slandering other people was something you excelled at before you came here today — all that you just heard — and more — can be yours, if you listen to the advice of the wisdom that’s from heaven above.
And if you listen and respond to God’s wisdom, you will be loved by God, saved by God, cherished by God, eternally secured by God, and will be forever changed by God. Including the words you say about others — as words of slander become words of your past — and words of blessing are now the words of your present and future. For God’s Word — his Word of his love for you — will change you down to the very words that you say about others. Let’s pray.
Father in Heaven, thank you for your Word to us today. What words of blessing, even as we tackled the topic of slander.
Holy Spirit, continue to sanctify us, to perfect our words, to radically transform them from words of cursing to words of blessing, from words of slander to words of grace and truth.
And, Jesus, we pray all of this because our desire is that our whole being — down to every word we speak — would be a life that brings you glory and honor. For you gave your whole life for us — and in recognizing how you’ve loved us — we want to give our whole lives back to you.
Father, Son, and Spirit — for any who hear my voice who came here today without the new life that only you can give — may you open their eyes, give them ears to hear, and hearts that long for the peace, joy, hope, and love that’s found only through faith in you. And we pray all of this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Having heard and responded to God’s wisdom, may you go speaking words that honor him and others. Amen.
God loves you. I love you. You are sent.
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