Sermon Outline - James 4:11-17
Pastor Matt Dumas
March 25, 2023

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Do The Right Thing

James 4:11-17

11 Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it.

12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?

13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.”

14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.

15 Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.”

16 But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.

17 Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.


James returns to the danger of the tongue in trials.

  • Avoid harsh language and judgment in conflict.

    • Speech that is condemning in tone or content.

    • Speech motivated by the desire to tear down, not build up.

  • Pursue godly speech motivated by a desire for good for one another. It is motivated by encouraging one another in righteous living

My Notes


Our Plans

  • Planning is not the problem. Our presumption is the problem.

  • We assume that we are in control, instead of seeking the will of the Lord in our planning.

My Notes


Characteristics of Wisdom in Trials

  • Finding joy

  • Loving our neighbor

  • Guarding our tongue

  • Seeking peace

  • Pursuing humility

My Notes