Bible Study February 10, 2025
James 4:11 (AMP)
11 “Believers do not speak against or slander one another. He who speaks [self-righteously] against a brother or [a]judges his brother [hypocritically], speaks against the Law and judges the Law. If you judge the Law, you are not a doer of the Law but a judge of it.”
I thought of this scripture when I read this earlier today.
“Patrick Mahomes should NEVER be compared to Tom Brady again! Twice his Chiefs have been blown off the field in the Super Bowl where the games have become UNWATCHABLE Mahomes is very gifted and a 1st Ballot HOF,” David Shepard of Audacy wrote. “His GOAT conversation is done!”
“I love you @PatrickMahomes, but this is actually the worst QB performance I’ve ever seen,” a Chiefs fan account wrote.
You can speak without criticizing other people. Obviously we see the above quotes (whom I do not know made them) as examples of “no grace.”
There are several things we can learn from this verse.
- Do not criticize or bear false witness against another. If we were to look at James 4:11 we would is speaks directly to “speaking against another.” However, our society lives in very little grace.
- Criticism and judgement are essentially the same thing. If you speak against your brother then you are criticizing him. We should seek to speak positive words (or simply said “shut up”).
- When speaking against another we are violating the law of God.
We must seek to live in harmony with one another. I seriously doubt Patrick Mahomes will read much that is written he knows what happened yesterday, he certainly does not need to be reminded.
There are many scriptures that speak against criticism. But really it only takes one for us to know that criticism is wrong.
I will leave you a couple scriptures to contemplate.
Ephesians 4:29: “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”
Proverbs 15:1: “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”
God Bless
Asbury Chapel 