We’ve been working our way through the Epistle of James. Let me review a few important points to remember about this letter.
James wrote his letter to people who were already Christians, who had been driven out of Jerusalem and scattered abroad by persecution. These were committed Christians who had already suffered for their faith.
The vast majority of Christians at this time were Jewish. They knew the Jewish faith and the Old Testament of the Bible. (The New Testament was not formed yet.)
Our
Scripture today is James 4:1-10, but we will take it in three sections.
James 4:1-3
1 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they
come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You desire but do not have, so you
kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and
fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not
receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what
you get on your pleasures.
The first thing that strikes me from this section is how Christians still struggle with sin and envy. Remember, James is writing to Christians, not unbelievers, and these were hardcore Christians whose faith had been tested by persecution and they remained faithful. And Christians still struggle with sin—both in Bible times and today.
People often mock Christians because we don’t always live up to our own
standards—we struggle with sin just like everyone else and sometimes we have bad
attitudes and even do horrible things. Just
because we are forgiven and saved from Hell doesn’t mean God has fully healed
our sinful nature yet. That takes time.
But that doesn’t mean we get a pass to just live however we want. We need to let the Holy Spirit reform our character. And we should be getting better and better, day by day. James is very blunt—calling out the jealousy and selfish motivations of Christian and naming the evil it leads to: quarrels and fighting, even killing in order to get what we want.
I cannot help but wonder if James was thinking of a Jewish story from the Old Testament all of his readers would have known: the story of Joseph and his brothers. Do you remember the story? Jacob gave his son, Joseph, a beautiful coat of many colors. But Joseph's brothers were jealous when they say it because it reminded them their father loves Joseph more than them. So they planned to kill Joseph, but his brother Reuben convinced them to sell Joseph into slavery instead. That's how Joseph ended up in Egypt where he eventually rose to power as second in command to Pharaoh. God used the brother's terribly evil plan to save Egypt and the whole middle east from famine. Now the Jewish readers to whom James wrote would have known the Joseph story like the back of their hand.
The Joseph story is
the story of humanity—jealousy, envy, and using power to take want we want. Why does one nation attack another
nation? Because they have something we
want and if we have the power, we will take it—by force if necessary. And even so-called “Christian” nations throughout
history have acted this way. Even though they claimed to act in Christ's name, they were doing thing s Christ would have called despicable. This is not
God’s way. And Christians must give up
our love for the things of this world.
James 4:4-6
4 You adulterous people, don’t you know that
friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore,
anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously
longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? 6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God
opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”
James says being friends with the world means being enemies with God. What does that mean? It means if we love the things of this world more than we love God, we're not choosing God's way. God wants us to be faithful to Him. He gives us grace to turn away from our selfish ways.
Think
about Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus' twelve disciples. Judas was close to Jesus, saw His miracles,
and heard His teachings. But Judas loved
money more than he loved Jesus. He chose
to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. In doing this, Judas chose friendship with the
world over friendship with God. His love
for money led him away from Jesus, showing us the danger of putting worldly
things above our relationship with God.
Do you see how dangerous it is to flirt with worldly desires?
Now, you
may say, “I would never do what Judas did.
I would never betray Jesus.” Listen, if you love the things of this world, your desires will drive a wedge
between you & God. A wedge starts out small, but it gets wider and wider. Who knows what
evil you might be willing to do if you let those dark desires grow inside you.
That’s why
James bluntly calls out our sin with strong language in verse 4, “You adulterous people…” “…anyone who chooses to be a friend of the
world becomes an enemy of God.” James doesn’t pull any punches, because he wants
you to know what you must do.
James 4:7-10
7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from
you. 8 Come near to
God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and
purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve,
mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he
will lift you up. And remember, Jesus is
talking to Christians.
James says, “Submit yourself to God.” Submission doesn’t sound fun—especially to Americans. We Americans are a proud people. We are proud of our independence. We founded our whole nation on the idea of not being subservient to a king! And we proud Americans want to hold our heads up high and not submit to anyone. So, it can be a foreign concept to be submissive to God. We just don’t like to do it.
Imagine you're driving to a new place and you make a wrong turn. Soon, you realize you're lost. You have a choice: you can keep going in the wrong direction,
hoping it will somehow lead you to your destination, or you can admit you made
a mistake, turn around, and go back to where you messed up.
I do that sometimes—make a wrong turn. I hate turning around and going back. Maybe that’s a sign I have too much pride. I will often let the GPS re-route me so I don’t have to turn around. Usually, it only adds a few minutes to my commute. I can deal with that. But even as much as I hate to turn around, if my GPS says it’s going to take an extra 30
minutes or an hour if I don’t turn around, then even a stubborn old man like me
is willing to humble himself and turn around.
Submitting to God is like admitting you made a
wrong turn. It's recognizing that going your own way isn't working and deciding to turn
back to God. When you submit to God, you let Him guide you. Just like turning around and getting back on the right road will help you reach
your destination, submitting to God and following His ways will lead you to a
better life, a more holy, Christ-like life.
James also says, “Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.” That doesn't mean we have to fight the Devil ourselves (we could never win). No, we resist the Devil by drawing near to God. We recognize that the evil, selfish desires in us--the way we “love the world”--are actually attacks from the Devil. So don’t indulge those desires. Turn away from your love of the world and you are turning away from the Devil. “Come close to God, and God will come close to you.” And this makes the Devil flee.
Repent of your sin. Mourn for the ways
you have turned your back on God and God will forgive you.
You don’t have to live in sin and you don’t have to be overwhelmed with shame. Our God is a God of grace. He never gives up on us. We can never sin one too many times. God always welcomes us back when we turn around and come back to him. Therefore, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.”
Conclusion & Challenge
James teaches us the importance of turning from our selfish
desires, choosing God's way, and submitting to Him. We've seen how fights and quarrels come from
our desires, how loving the world more than God makes us His enemy, and how we need to humble ourselves, resist the Devil, and draw near to God. Now, I want to challenge each of you to take a
tangible step this week to put this message into practice. Here's what you can do:
1. Identify
a Struggle: Think about
an area in your life where you are struggling with selfish desires or where you
feel tempted to go against God's will.
It could be a relationship, a habit, or a personal goal that is leading
you away from God.
2. Pray
for Strength: Take time
each day to pray about this specific struggle.
Ask God for the strength to resist the Devil and the wisdom to make
choices that honor Him.
3. Seek
Accountability: Share your struggle with a trusted friend,
family member, or someone from our church. Ask them to pray for you and to help
keep you accountable. Sometimes, just knowing that someone else is there to
support you can make a big difference.
4. Actively
Resist: When you feel tempted, remember James' words:
"Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you." Take practical steps
to avoid situations where you might be tempted and make conscious decisions
that align with God's will.
5. Draw
Near to God: Spend time each day reading the Bible, praying,
and worshiping. The closer you are to God, the stronger you will be in
resisting temptation and living according to His ways.
Closing Prayer:
Dear God, thank You for Your Word and the wisdom we have learned from
James. Help us to turn away from our
selfish desires and to choose Your way in every area of our lives. Give us the strength to resist the Devil and
the wisdom to draw near to You. Guide
us, Lord, and help us to support one another as we strive to live in a way that
pleases You. In Jesus' name, Amen.
