Would you turn back to James
5? Rob, my voice still feels a little
weak, so you might wanna, maybe you don't need to, I don't know.
Everybody hear me okay? Let's read this ninth verse again. Grudge not. one against another,
brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the judge standeth before
the door. I've entitled this message, Grudge
Not, One Against Another. That's a command. It's spoken
of in the imperative. Now the word grudge means to
groan. You ever done that being around
somebody? It means to sigh, to mutter,
to be grieved, to hold a grudge. grudge not one against another. Brethren now, James wouldn't
have have to say this if it were not something we're all guilty
of. You guilty of this? I know I
am an unfriendly feeling or attitude
toward another person or another race. an unforgiving spirit that perhaps doesn't wish a person harm but
holds a long time grudge over past mistakes and won't let them
go. A secret desire to see somebody
else fail or get what they have coming to them. You ever desired
that for somebody? I'd like to see them get what
they have coming. An unwillingness to speak to
another or show them common courtesy. The gossiping tongue which enjoys
relating the weakness, infirmities, and failures of others. You can call this what you will,
but James calls it grudge not one against another. It's born
of a judgmental attitude, pride, and a feeling of superiority.
That's what's behind this attitude. Look what James says in James
chapter three, verse 10. Out of the same mouth, What comes out of my mouth, out
of the same mouth, perceiveth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought
not so to be. And brudging one against another,
my brethren, these things ought not so to be. Now some groaning is good. Hear
me. Do you know the Lord groaned?
It actually says he looked up into heavens and sighed the same
word. He was a man of sorrows and acquainted
with grief, the scripture says. And what do you think it was
like for him to be with people like me and you? You remember
when he said, how long shall I suffer you? How long shall
I be with you? And you can understand his groans. The Apostle Paul said, we ourselves
groan within ourselves waiting for the adoption to wit the redemption
of our bodies. We're in these sinful bodies.
My sin is ever before me and I groan. I grieve. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5,
in this tabernacle we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed
upon with our house, which is in heaven. We desire to be delivered
from this body and made just like the Lord Jesus Christ. He
said once again, in this tabernacle we groan, being burdened. Isn't it a burden to deal with
yourself? I know that's my greatest burden. And I've grown under this weight. The writer to the Hebrew said
in Hebrews chapter 13 verse 17, obey them that have the rule
over you and submit yourselves for they watch for your souls
as they that must give account that they may do it with joy
and not with grief. Same word. with groaning, with
sighing. Now we can see where groaning
can be a good thing, but groaning and grudging against our brethren. When we do that, we're putting
ourselves in a very dangerous position. Look what the Bible
says in our text, James chapter five, verse nine, grudge not
one against another brethren, What are the next four words?
Lest you be condemned. And we'll get more into what
that means in a few moments. He says, Behold, the judge standeth
at the door. And he's observing all this.
More on that in a moment. Now the key word to understanding
this verse in verse nine is grudge not one against another. What's
that next word? Brethren. Brethren. This is the name that's
most often used to describe the Christian. I think we read two
or three times in the New Testament the word Christian. We read twice
believers. We read 61 times saints. But
literally hundreds of times believers are called the brethren. We know, John said, that we pass
from death to life because we love the brethren. Peter said,
love the brotherhood. And James uses this word 19 times
in this book. Look in James 1 too. My brethren. count it all joy
when you fall into diverse temptations. Verse nine, let the brother of
low degree rejoice in that is exalted. Verse 16, do not air
my beloved brethren. Verse 19, wherefore my beloved
brethren, let every man be swift to hear. slow to speak, slow
to wrath, or to pop off. Chapter two, verse one, my brethren,
have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory
with respect to persons. Verse five, hearken, my beloved
brethren, hath not God chosen the poor of this world, rich
in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them
that love him? Verse 14, what doth it profit my brethren, though
a man say he hath faith and have not works, can faith save him? Verse 15. If a brother or sister
be naked and destitute of daily food. Chapter three, verse one.
My brethren, be not many masters or teachers, knowing that we
shall receive the greater condemnation. Then verse 10. Out of the same
mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things
ought not so to be. Verse 12, can the fig tree, my
brethren, bear olive berries? Either a vine, fig, so can no
fountain yield both salt water and fresh. Chapter four, verse
11, speak not evil one of another brethren. He that speaketh evil
of his brother and judges his brother speaketh evil of the
law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you're
not a doer of the law, but a judge. Chapter 5, verse 7, be patient,
therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Our text,
verse 9, grudge not one against another, brethren. Verse 10,
take, my brethren, the prophets which have spoken in the name
of the Lord. Verse 12, but above all things,
my brethren, swear not at all. Look in verse 19, brethren, If
any of you do err from the truth and one convert him, let him
know that he which converteth the sinner from the error of
his way shall save a soul from death and shall hide a multitude
of sins. Now, who are the brethren? We
just read 19 times where in this one epistle alone, and it's in
the word hundreds and hundreds of times, who are the brethren? Who are these brethren whom the
psalmist said, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to
dwell together in unity. Every human being is a brother
and sister. We all come out of the same parents,
Adam and Eve. Paul said in Acts chapter 17,
God hath made of all nations one blood. one blood. You know that black person, that
yellow person, that white person, that red person, whoever they
are, they're equally brothers. They come out of the same parents,
Adam and Eve. Let me say this, we're to love
them and seek their salvation. Don't you want your brothers
and sisters in Adam to know the Lord? Sure you do. But that's
not the sense in which James is using the word brethren. These
are the brethren which can say, our father, which are in heaven. Not everybody
can say that, because God is not everybody's father, is he? You remember when the Lord said
to the Pharisees, you're of your father the devil, and the lusts
of your father you will do. He said regarding the tears that
were sown by the enemy, these are the children of the wicked
one. The Lord said to the Pharisees,
if God were your father, you would love me. God is not father to all men. The brethren are the children
of God and they've been His children from the foundation of the world. Now I realize I was born into
this world just like any other natural man, a child of wrath.
But let's look what the scripture says about this. Turn with me
to Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8, verse 29. For whom he did foreknow. Now foreknowledge is not him
knowing beforehand events. It doesn't say anything about
what he foreknew. It says whom he did foreknow. He said to Jeremiah, before I
formed thee in the belly, I knew thee. If I'm a child of God,
I've always been seen as him, a child of God. Let's go on reading. For whom
he did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed
to the image of his son that he might be the firstborn among
many brethren. Here we have the brotherhood
before time began. Look in Ephesians chapter one. Somebody says, oh, confuse people.
What's confusing about it? I don't know anything confusing
about that. The elect have always been loved by God. They've always
been chosen in Christ. They've always been foreknown
by God. They've been predestinated to be children. Look at Ephesians
chapter 1 verse 4. According as he hath chosen us
in him before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and without blame before him, in love having predestinated
us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according
to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of
his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the Beloved. Turn with me to Hebrews chapter
2. This passage speaks so powerfully of this. beginning in verse 10. For it
became Him for whom are all things, and by whom are all things. Do
you know everything is done for Christ, and everything is done
by Christ? That's His absolute sovereign
rule over all things. In bringing many sons unto glory,
to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings,
for both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified."
Now, who is he that sanctified? That's the Lord Jesus Christ.
He set me apart. He put His hand upon me. He sanctified
me. Both he that sanctifieth and
they who are sanctified are all of one. For which cause? He's not ashamed to call them
brethren. Saying, I will declare thy name
unto my brethren. In the midst of the church will
I sing praise unto thee. And again, I'll put my trust
in him. And again, behold, I and the children which God hath given
me. Now these are the brethren. Now think of what Christ said
of his brethren in Matthew chapter 25. He said, inasmuch as you've done
it to the least of these, what? My brethren, you've done it unto
me. And inasmuch as you did it not
to the least of these, my brethren, you've done it not to me." Now
you know what that means? That means how you treat me is
how you treat Christ himself. That's how close this union is.
Both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all
of one. Now the brethren are the elect. The brethren are those that Christ
died for. The brethren are those who were
birthed by the Spirit of God. They which are born of the Spirit
are spirit. Peter calls them partakers of
the divine nature. Now, how does God see the brethren?
Turn with me to Colossians chapter 1. Colossians chapter 1. Verse 21. And you that were before
time alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet
now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death
to present you Now look at these three words, holy and unblameable and unapprovable. What are the next three words? In his sight. You know what that
means? That means in God's sight, when
he looks at Todd Nybert, He looks at someone who is holy, who is unblameable, and who is
unreprovable in his sight. God doesn't look at me as if
I were that way, but I'm not. He sees every believer. because
of what Christ has done for them. This is how real what Christ
has done for the believer is, that when God sees every believer,
he sees someone who is holy, who is unblameable, and who is
unreprovable in his sight. Now somebody says, I don't feel
that way. Me either. That doesn't take away from the
reality of it. I am. holy and unblameable and
unapprovable. That's how the brethren really
are. And for me to grudge against
one of the brethren is something that ought not so to be. Amen. Now, how can I know if I'm one
of the brethren? I see the glory the greatness,
the grace bestowed upon the brethren. How can I know if I'm one of
the brethren? How can I know if I'm a child of God? Paul said to the Galatians, ye are all children of God by
faith, which is in Christ Jesus. Now,
what is faith? It's not faith in yourself. It's
not faith that you're one of the brethren. It's not faith
that you're saved. It's not faith that you're a
believer. It's not faith that you're one of the elect. It's
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. You believe He's the Son of God. You believe He's the Jesus, the
Savior. Thou shalt call His name Jesus.
He shall save His people from their sins. You believe He's
the Lord, that He's in control of everything. You believe He's
the Christ, God's prophet, God's priest, God's king. Now, faith
is not faith in yourself. Do you understand that? It doesn't
have anything to do, listen to me, it doesn't have anything
to do with what you think about yourselves. Faith has wholly
to do with what you think of Him. Faith in Christ. If you have faith in Christ,
you are one of the brethren. By this we know, John said, we
pass from death to life because we love the brethren. Oh, Greg's
not one against another brethren. Sure, they have faults, but what
about yours? What about yours? Can you look
down your nose in moral superiority at anybody? Can you? Well, if you can, you
know what you are? You're blind as a bat. You're
blind to what you are. Grudge not one against another,
brethren. Ask the Lord to deliver you from
this great sin, grudging one against another. Now back to
our text in James chapter five. Grudge not, verse nine, grudge
not one against another, brethren, Look at these next four words,
lest you be condemned. What's that mean? Does that mean
that if I have this attitude of grudging against my brethren,
I'm going to hell? Is that what that means? If it is what it means, I am
going to hell and you are too. Turn with me to Matthew chapter
7. I think this will be helpful. Matthew chapter 7. Judge not that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge
you shall be judged. And with what measure you meet,
it shall be measured to you again. Now let me ask you a question.
Does that mean that if I judge somebody harshly, God's going
to use the same standard of judgment with me? If it does mean that, I don't
have a chance. Let me tell you why. Because I judge somebody every
day. Every single day, I judge somebody for something when I
shouldn't. Well, what does that mean? I
know it doesn't mean that you'll be condemned if you judge somebody
and God will use the same standard of judgment on you that you use
on other people. I know it doesn't mean that because
scripture says there's therefore now no condemnation to them that
are in Christ Jesus. But I do know what it means.
Listen, have you ever been around somebody that's judging you?
You just feel their eye of criticism on you, and they're judging you,
and you know they're judging you. What is your reaction? You despise them. You see every
flaw, you see every contradiction, you see every glaring inconsistency
in that person, and buddy, you put it on them, don't you? But
if somebody is merciful toward you, if somebody doesn't judge
you, if you feel that spirit of grace with someone and you
feel like they've got your back, you overlook their fault, don't
you? It's not that you don't see them, but you overlook them.
You think, I'm worse than they are. And this is precisely what
that's talking about when it's talking about if you have this
grudge against your brother, you're going to be condemned.
You're the one that's going to hurt yourself from it. Let me
show you this in the scriptures in Matthew chapter 14, or Romans
chapter 14. Remember, the way to interpret
scripture is other scripture. That's the only way to interpret
scripture. Verse 23, 22. Hast thou faith? Have it to thyself
before God. Happy is he that condemneth not
himself in that thing which he alloweth. Now, if there's something
that you feel liberty to do that you don't feel a sin against
God, if you want to take a drink of alcohol and you're not condemned
for it, happier you. Do it. That's what he's saying. Don't feel condemned for that.
And he that doubteth, verse 23, he that doubteth. is damned if
he eat. If that man who knows a piece
of meat has been sacrificed to an idol, and he thinks, I know
this is wrong. I know it's wrong. I should not
eat this. I shouldn't have anything to
do with this meat. It's been sacrificed to an idol. And he goes ahead
and eats it anyway to fulfill the lust of his flesh. It's going
to taste good, even though he feels it wrong. You know what
he is? He's damned. Now does that mean
he's going to hell? No. How many times have you done
something when your conscience told you this is wrong? Let me help you out. Every day.
Every day. Am I coming pretty close to the
truth? Every day. Does that mean you're damned?
No. Christ is your righteousness.
But you're condemned, aren't you? You know what you've done
is wrong. You know that it's sin against
God. You ask for forgiveness and cleansing, and you can't
sin against God without feeling some of the consequences of it
in this life. You're damned if you eat. That's
not talking about eternal damnation. So what is this thing of being
condemned? Now, this is a scripture that came to my mind that would
explain this. Turn to 1 Corinthians 11. 1 Corinthians 11, beginning in
verse 17. Now in this, I declare unto you,
in this that I declare unto you, I praise you not that you come
together for the better, but for the worse. Now he's talking
about when they came together to observe the Lord's table.
For first of all, when you come together in the church, I hear
that there'll be divisions among you, and I partly believe it,
for there must also be heresies among you, that they which are
approved might be made manifest among you. Now, when you come
together, therefore, into one place, this is not the Lord's
supper. For in eating, everyone taketh before his own supper,
and one is hungry, and another is drunken. What? Have you not
houses to eat and drink in, or despise you the church of God,
and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? Shall
I praise you in this? I praise you not. For I received
of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus,
the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread. And when
he'd given thanks, he'd break it and said, take, eat. This
is my body, which is broken for you, this do in remembrance of
me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had
supped, saying, This cup is the New Testament in my blood. This
do ye, as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. For
as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you do show
forth the Lord's death till he come. Whosoever therefore shall
eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily shall
be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But let a
man examine himself You don't need to examine anybody else.
Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread
and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh
unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning
the Lord's body. For this cause, because you eat
and drink unworthily, for this cause, many are weak and sickly
among you, and many sleep. Now what's that mean? Well, I
guess it means just what it says. I don't know how else to interpret
that. Because of your eating and drinking unworthily, not
even thinking about what the Lord's table means, maybe even
thinking to eat and drink unworthily is to think you're worthy. That
kind of hard-hearted, self-righteous attitude, just going through
the motions. He said, for this cause, many are weak and sickly
among you, and many even sleep. They're dead. This time last week, I was in
the hospital. I was sick, real sick, very sick. Anybody in here think, what do
you reckon he did? You reckon he did something bad
to put himself in that kind of position? Now, how do I respond
to that? You know, I deserved to be sick
and killed every day, as far as that goes. I remember one
time when I was in the hospital, somebody came to me and said,
you're getting what you deserve for what you preach. That actually
happened. The preacher came in to visit me and said, you're
getting what you deserve for what you preach. And I said,
I'm getting what I deserve, but not for what I preach. That's kind of like the disciples
saying, Lord, who did sin? This man or his parents that
he was born blind? What a stupid question. Coming
from stupid disciples like me and you. Wonder what they did
to get themselves into this pickle and this trouble. Wonder why
they're sick. What did they do? You know, that's a thought that
ought not ever come across our mind. Here's why. Look what the next verse says.
Verse 31. For if we would judge ourselves Condemn ourselves. Put the noose
around our own neck and say guilty as charged. If we would agree
with what God says about ourselves, if we would judge ourselves,
we should not be judged. Now you want to hold a grudge
against somebody? It's okay if it's you. You can murmur about
yourself all you want. You can say, oh, you can be like
Paul, old wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the
body of this death. You can say I'm the chief of
sinners. You can judge yourself. You ought to judge yourself.
But to judge somebody else under any condition, to hold a grudge
against somebody else is as wrong as it can be. The only appropriate attitude
is if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. If I'm
going to grudge or judge somebody, the only one person I'm to treat
that way is If I have that attitude about
myself, it's impossible for me to grudge against my brother.
That only comes from this self-righteous, proud attitude. And look what
he says next in our text in Galatians, I mean, James chapter five. Grudge
not one against another, brethren, unless you be condemned. It's
only going to hurt you. Behold, The judge standeth before
the door. If the Lord is watching me or
you grudge against our brethren, what do you see? It's almost
funny, isn't it? Same thing that James said in
James chapter four, verse 11. Or verse 12. There's one lawgiver who's able
to save and destroy. Who are you? And it's literally
in the original, you, you. Who are you to judge anybody
about anything? How does Christ see me? Psalm of Solomon, thou art all fair, my love. There is no spot in thee." Now
that's the reality of justification. If he has justified me, you know
what that means? That means I'm altogether fair, lovely to him. When he sees me, he sees somebody
without spot, wrinkle, or any such thing. How does Christ see my brother? He says to my brother, thou art
all fair, my love. There is no spot in thee. How am I to see my brethren? The same way Christ sees them. the same way Christ sees it.
Now it's fine to hold a grudge against yourself, to groan over
your own personal sinfulness, but with regard to the brethren,
make love your aim. Pursue, follow after charity. I repeat, by this we know that
we pass from death to life because we love the brethren. Now, somebody that Christ loves,
somebody that loves Christ, how do you feel about that person?
You love them, don't you? Grudge not one against another,
brethren. Let's pray together. Lord, how eternally grateful
we are that through Christ we're all together fair and lovely
and there's no spot in us. Lord, help us to see each other
that way as you see us and forgive us for grudging one against another. Lord, cleanse us from this, purge
us from this, and give us grace to love at all times the brethren. In Christ's name we pray, amen.
What do you got, Matt? What page? Stand and sing 355.