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Judged By "Whom"; James 3
Posted by Chris Johnson in Bible & Theology
I am seeking your assistance while I complete a commentary on the third chapter of the letter written by James. There is a thematic question that seems to be imbedded in the text concerning the Greek word krima translated as “judgment” or “condemnation”. The follow-up to this post will be an attempt to clearly defend James’ modification of what we typically see translated as“stricter judgment”.
It is my contention, that according to the theme and context of this passage; preceeding and beyond, that the Greek term and its modifier is used not primarily as a perspective of judgment from God alone, but moreover a perspective borne among the author and the peers he is instructing. In other words an interesting question to ask is… “who” is doing the stricter judging at this point in the text? And is there enough evidence to suggest that James is speaking not only of God’s judgment of those seeking to become teachers in the congregation, as is typically taught at this juncture, but more specifically of the teacher being under stricter judgment within the context of the congregation?
James 3:1-5 Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment. (2) For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well. (3) Now if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well. (4) Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. (5) So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! (NASB)
A hint of stricter judgement being hoisted upon the teachers within the context of the church is represented by the use of “meizon” which sets krima apart in a distinct fashion. Its quantitative aspects bring a numerical and unusual value over and above that of a more qualitative expression of “perrisoteron” krima; a term which is typically and historically used to cement the understanding of the James 3 passage.
If the passage does in fact reflect a teacher receiving a much stricter judgment in the midst of the congregation, …. A stricter judgment tied to the way a man is able to bridle and control his tongue, etc.…in the midst and under judgment within the congregation born of God,…would this change or do harm to the text?
How do you preach or teach this section of James? Is there room for two judgments, the church and God, while James describes the attributes and failings that accompany teachers? Do you think it is possible to defend this practical section of James’ letter as beyond the judgment of God alone?
I am sincerely interested in your feedback!
Blessings,
Chris
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Try not to focus separately on God, the ‘teachers’, or the ‘congregation’. Instead focus on the unity of ‘the Body of Christ’ and how one part impacts the whole Body.
I think this may add a deeper dimension to your inquiry.
I think the idea of judgement should be broadened to its extremes so that all the nuances of what that means in terms of teaching comes out. For instance, Paul teaches Timothy to study to show himself approved, a workman, who rightly divides the word, needing not to be ashamed. Look at the terms of judgement, approval, labor, meticulous detail, not incurring penalty. Then Paul also instructs that men be silenced. That requires judgement, but it is expressed in a different way, that is by limiting what can and cannot be taught. In that sense the scrutiny, that is the severity of judgement upon teachers is greater than it is among non-teachers, a priori. Certain men are forbidden to speak, while others are instructed not to argue over mere words. There again, there is a division as to who will be judged and who will not, what are mere words and what are words that cause the faith of some to fail. First Corinthians’ companion teaching shows a stricture placed upon the teachers that is not necessarily upon others. Jesus places the same upon those who teach who are given much, and those who are not. Some will be beat with many stripes, others with few.
What we can see is that not just the judgement rendered as justice for past actions, but judgement prior to and in the act is to be exercised. The Micah passage can be rendered, judge rightly: love mercy and walk humbly. Jesus said to judge not by the outward, but rightly. By that he could not mean that the outward is not a consideration, it is only part of it.
Expand the meaning and see if it doesn’t still capture the sense of James.
Chris,
I heard it preached as both the judgment of God and the congregation, as the congregation has to limit the eldership and other teaching positions to those who can accurately handle the Word. I think there is plenty of reason to argue for both.
I think a lot of attention should be given to the “for” in verse two. We all stumble in many ways, and having a position of teaching authority over other people tends to increase the amount of judgment received. How many lay people constantly get bombarded about how to raise their kids, how to dress, who to talk to, and places to be?
Chris,
When Lucifer fell and took 1/3 of the host of heaven with him, did those angels fall willingly or innocently?
The position a teacher holds carries a tremendous weight of responsibility both in the eyes of God and the people. I, for one, would challenge one who teaches falsely or lives opposite of what he/she teaches, and have done so. We do have instructions on how to address those issues. I have to lean more toward the stricter judgement of God toward the teacher simply because what a teacher teaches is what God has provided us to teach. God wrote the book we teach from and it is His to rightly judge.
In Matthew 5:19 it seems to provide a result of the judgement in both a positive and negative way: “Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” It seems that judgement has a positive aspect about it as well.
Thanks for the early comments! “keep-um comin”
I will be in meetings for most of the morning, but will try to respond as time permits. This section is particularly important in the life of the church and how one thinks or understands rewards. How it is preached and taught can easily send the hearers into varying directions.
Blessings,
Chris
I think it’s both.
If someone were a sporadic attender in a church, it doesn’t seem that he’d be judged as harshly as a teacher who was leading a class astray; teaching false doctrine. At least not by the churches of which I’ve been a part.
And if the church is fulfilling Paul’s 1 Corinthians 5 mandate to judge those within the church, isn’t God behind that anyway?
As to standing before God some day, I won’t be looking for any kind of justice. Mercy’s the only thing that’ll help me, then.
We complain if someone condemns our actions and we tell them not to “judge” us, however, if it is praise or a reward we are excited and never mention that same kind of judgment. Both are judging and I think the stricter judgment goes both ways here. I can see both in the verses that Chris used from James. If we look at it only from the negative I think it would fall into a legalistic condemning view of teachers.
Finally returned from my travels…..
Christiane,…thank you for the response. Unity is a remarkable subject and is the core of what James is getting at in the life of the body. Without Christ in us,…there is no potential for unity. To “maintain” the quality of what is already perfect, “unity of the Spirit”, teachers and the congregation must have some understanding of what this unity consists of….. thus James’ teaching of how one can control his/her tongue is indicative of the person of the Spirit living in the believer. James is also cautioning the use of what some may try to feign as unity…… “can’t we all just get along without clarifying the truth” type mentality,…which some mistake as Christian unity.
Thank you for the feedback,
Blessings,
Chris
Thomas, Andrew and Bob,
I think that the passage does speak of both as well….but will argue in the commentary for a more prominent position of one over the other. Thanks for the feedback and brief discussion. Most of what the historical bible commentator’s use for support of James 3 is very slim and more often than not this passage can get preached from a host of angles. My attempt in the commentary that is to follow… is to narrow the focus of the teaching to the substance of what James is digging at within the context of his exhortation.
Blessings,
Chris
Bruce,
Good thinking my friend….. This is moves to the heart of the passage and hopefully I can dig out some salient evidence that supports the Matthew passage and a host of others…. and the thought of “right” judgment. You are absolutely right that God is the teacher…the Holy Spirit teaches and brings us into all truth…..so that is a vital aspect of what James has recorded.
Good stuff Bruce,
Blessings,
Chris