Introduction
Are you trying to be “lifted up” by God while still lifting yourself above other people with your words? The central teaching of James 4:10 is this: the way up in the Christian life is down, when I humble myself in the sight of the Lord, God Himself will lift me up, and that humility must be practiced in how I treat and speak about others.
James 4:10 is not a religious slogan; it’s a bedrock promise: “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up” (James 4:10). Every human heart wants to be lifted, career ladders, social status, “high spirits” after a win, relief from being “down.” But James gives us God’s paradox: real elevation comes through humility in God’s presence, and James is about to show that this humility is not just something I feel in my prayer closet; it becomes visible in my relationships. Today I’m helping you practice humility the first way James presses it home: being humble with people (James 4:11–12). Next, James will confront humility with plans (James 4:13–17), but first, we must face our words and our judgments.
Main Points
Are you trying to be “lifted up” by God while still lifting yourself above other people with your words? The central teaching of James 4:10 is this: the way up in the Christian life is down, when I humble myself in the sight of the Lord, God Himself will lift me up, and that humility must be practiced in how I treat and speak about others.
James 4:10 is not a religious slogan; it’s a bedrock promise: “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up” (James 4:10). Every human heart wants to be lifted, career ladders, social status, “high spirits” after a win, relief from being “down.” But James gives us God’s paradox: real elevation comes through humility in God’s presence, and James is about to show that this humility is not just something I feel in my prayer closet; it becomes visible in my relationships.
Today I’m helping you practice humility the first way James presses it home: being humble with people (James 4:11–12). Next, James will confront humility with plans (James 4:13–17), but first, we must face our words and our judgments.
Humility Is The Key To Being Lifted
James 4:10 is a promise with a condition: humble yourself, and God will lift you up. If I miss this, everything else becomes what James would call “useless religion.” This is the turn away from warring, fighting, and striving (James 4:1) and back toward the presence of God, where He alone can raise a life into joy, satisfaction, and “life more abundant.”
Here’s the hard truth: I often want God’s lifting without God’s humbling. I want the blessing of His kingdom while keeping the right to be right, the right to be admired, the right to win. James says the “upward” life comes through the “downward” posture.
So I’m not just asking, “Are you humble before God?” I’m also asking, “Does your humility show up in how you treat the person sitting next to you, the driver next to you, the coworker next to you, the neighbor next to you?” Because this is what it means to humble ourselves “in the sight of the Lord” (James 4:10). God is watching how I handle people made in His image.
Watch Your Mouth After Worship
James moves immediately from the promise of humility to a command about speech:
“Do not speak evil of one another, brethren.” (James 4:11)
This connects to James 3, where we learned the contradiction of the tongue:
“With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men… My brethren, these things ought not to be so.” (James 3:9–10)
I can sing true worship songs and then walk out and tear down God’s image-bearers with criticism, contempt, and harsh words. James says that doesn’t fit together.
And I want you to feel how practical this is: it’s possible to hear the sermon about the tongue and still lose control of the tongue the very next day. The point isn’t to shame you; it’s to awaken you. Humility is not proved by what I believe about worship. It’s proved by what comes out of my mouth when I’m irritated, disappointed, threatened, or feeling superior.
So I’m discipling you toward a simple practice: after you bless God, refuse to curse people. If we want the lifting of God, we must let Him rule our speech.
Evil Judgment Is A Counterfeit “Lift”
James explains why evil speech is so serious:
“He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother speaks evil of the law and judges the law.” (James 4:11)
James is not banning discernment or loving correction. Scripture calls us to admonish, exhort, and sharpen one another with truth. What James is confronting is a harsh, unkind, critical spirit that continually finds fault, the kind of judgment that doesn’t aim to restore, but to elevate the self by diminishing someone else.
This is a major temptation because, in a fallen world, it’s not hard to find flaws. I can always locate someone to look down on. And that’s why judgment becomes a counterfeit way of being “lifted up.” Instead of being raised by God through humility, I raise myself by comparison.
James is warning us: the moment my speech about others becomes a ladder for my ego, I have left the path of humility.
Self-Righteousness Despises Others
To help us understand James’s logic, Jesus tells a parable that mirrors exactly what James is targeting:
“He spoke a parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others.” (Luke 18:9)
Two men go to the temple: a Pharisee and a tax collector (Luke 18:10). The Pharisee prays like this:
“God, I thank You that I am not like other men… or even as this tax collector.” (Luke 18:11)
Do you hear it? It sounds religious. It even uses gratitude language. But it’s really contempt dressed up as prayer. He lists good deeds, fasting, tithing (Luke 18:12), yet his “holiness” is fueled by comparison.
This is what happens when I start talking about “the church” like I’m not in it. It’s what happens when I criticize “the fan club” of Jesus as if I’m not part of the same bride Christ is sanctifying. The minute I put myself in the judge’s seat, I’ve already begun to fall from humility, even if my theology is technically correct.
So I want to coach you gently: beware of the pride that grows in the soil of being right. If my “rightness” produces disdain, it isn’t the wisdom from above.
One Lawgiver, Not Many Judges
James presses the theological reason even deeper:
“But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?” (James 4:11–12)
Here’s what’s happening when I speak evil and judge: I’m not merely assessing a situation, I’m acting like I sit over God’s Word, as if the law is on trial and I’m the arbiter. James says that posture turns me from a doer into a judge.
And then he reminds me of reality: there is one Lawgiver. God alone has ultimate authority. God alone can truly save. God alone has the right to destroy. That statement is meant to humble us into our proper creaturely place.
This doesn’t remove accountability in the church; it removes arrogance. It reminds me that the Holy Spirit convicts, God shepherds His people, and Jesus will purify His bride. My call is to obey, love, speak truth with gentleness, and leave final judgment with the Lord.
The Humble Cry For Mercy
Jesus ends the Luke 18 parable with the opposite posture:
“And the tax collector… would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’” (Luke 18:13)
That is what it looks like to “humble yourself in the sight of the Lord.” It isn’t performative. It isn’t comparative. It’s the soul coming honestly to God for mercy.
And this is where James has been leading us: draw near to God, and part of drawing near is letting His presence break our pride. When I’m truly near to God, I’m less fascinated with everyone else’s failures and more gripped by my need for grace.
So I’m inviting you to practice humility like this: replace evil judgment with repentance; replace contempt with compassion; replace harsh speech with a mercy-shaped mouth. When I do, I’m not becoming weak, I’m positioning myself for God’s lifting.
Conclusion
James 4:10 is the promise we all long for: God will lift up the humble. But James refuses to let humility remain theoretical. He brings it into the everyday battleground where pride often wins: how we speak about each other, how we judge each other, how we position ourselves in relation to God’s law and God’s people (James 4:11–12).
If you want to be lifted by God, don’t climb over people. Don’t elevate yourself by critique. Don’t worship with your mouth and wound with your mouth. Instead, come near to God like the tax collector, poor in spirit, honest, repentant, and let that posture reshape how you talk about the brethren.
There is one Lawgiver. I’m not Him. You’re not Him. And that’s good news, because the One Lawgiver is also the One who gives grace to the humble.
Lord, we come in Your sight and we ask You to humble us. Forgive us for the ways we have tried to lift ourselves up by speaking evil, by judging with harshness, and by despising others in our hearts. Put a guard over our mouths, and make our words consistent with our worship. Teach us to be doers of Your Word, not judges over it. You alone are the Lawgiver, the One who can save and destroy, so we surrender our pride and our comparisons to You. Have mercy on us as sinners, draw us near, and lift us up by Your grace. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Conclusion
James 4:10 is the promise we all long for: God will lift up the humble. But James refuses to let humility remain theoretical. He brings it into the everyday battleground where pride often wins: how we speak about each other, how we judge each other, how we position ourselves in relation to God’s law and God’s people (James 4:11–12).
If you want to be lifted by God, don’t climb over people. Don’t elevate yourself by critique. Don’t worship with your mouth and wound with your mouth. Instead, come near to God like the tax collector, poor in spirit, honest, repentant, and let that posture reshape how you talk about the brethren.
There is one Lawgiver. I’m not Him. You’re not Him. And that’s good news, because the One Lawgiver is also the One who gives grace to the humble.
Closing Prayer
Lord, we come in Your sight and we ask You to humble us. Forgive us for the ways we have tried to lift ourselves up by speaking evil, by judging with harshness, and by despising others in our hearts. Put a guard over our mouths, and make our words consistent with our worship. Teach us to be doers of Your Word, not judges over it. You alone are the Lawgiver, the One who can save and destroy, so we surrender our pride and our comparisons to You. Have mercy on us as sinners, draw us near, and lift us up by Your grace. In Jesus’ name, amen.