James 4:12

One only is the lawgiver and judge, even he who is able to save and destroy: but who art thou that judgest thy neighbor?

One only is lawgiver ... judge ... Moses was known as the great "lawgiver" of the Old Testament; and it is not amiss, therefore, to see his great antitype, Jesus Christ the Holy One, as the lawgiver and judge referred to here. Christ himself made his teachings to be the "rock" upon which alone the builder could safely build (Matthew 7:24-27). His word will judge men "at the last day" (John 12:48); God has commissioned Jesus Christ to "execute judgment" (John 5:37). Christ is the one who will preside in the judgment of all nations (Matthew 25:31ff). His words, "these sayings of mine," "whatsoever I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:20), are the constitution and bylaws of the kingdom of God; and this student cannot accept any interpretation of this which would in any manner dissociate these verses from Jesus Christ, unto whom only has been given "all authority in heaven and upon earth" (Matthew 28:18ff). James was steeped in the teachings of Jesus; and it is certain that these and other teachings of Jesus were in his mind as he wrote this.

Who is able to save and to destroy ... This same thought was given by Jesus in Matthew 10:28, which is usually cited as proof that the reference is to "God" and not to "Christ"; but it should be noted that Jesus, later in that same gospel, represented himself as being the one who would save and destroy by his judicial "Come ye blessed," or "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire" (Matthew 25:31ff), nor does the passage in Matthew 10:28 deny this. The reason so many do not understand James is that they do not see it as, almost totally, an extension of the teachings of Christ.

Who are thou that judgest ... ? There are certain types of judgments that Christians must make; but the kind of judging forbidden by the Lord is the uncharitable pronouncement of harsh and uncomplimentary allegations against fellow creatures. There are many reasons why this is a sin. First, Christ forbade it (Matthew 7:1); also, it inevitably bears fruit in the proliferation of harsh judgments; it is negative, unhelpful and destructive; it contravenes the love principle that binds Christians together "in Christ"; it usually is a mark of blindness, the participant in harsh judging usually being as deficient, or more, than the one judged. For further comment, see in my Commentary on Matthew, p. 90.