With Submission Believers are to be committed to living out God s will.

Transcription

1 Session 12 With Submission Believers are to be committed to living out God s will. JAMES 4:6-17 The word submission carries all kinds of emotional responses. The act of accepting the position of submission or yielding to another seems to go against our very grain. The very act seems to indicate that the person or entity to which we submit is better than us in some way. Is submission a good thing or a bad thing? How can submission in the right circumstances be advantageous to the one submitting? Suggested Use Week of November

2 UNDERSTAND THE CONTEXT JAMES 3:13 4:17 In James 3:13-18, James demonstrated the difference between true wisdom and false wisdom. False wisdom results in envy and selfish ambition (v. 14). It is earthly, unspiritual, and demonic (v. 15). It produces disorder and every evil practice (v. 16). On the other hand, true wisdom is from above, peace-loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without pretense (v. 17). Its primary characteristic is peace. For those causing dissension in James s day, they needed to check the source of their wisdom. In James 4:1-5, James described the result of false wisdom, which cared nothing for peace. Wars and fights among people arose from passions that were out of control (v. 1). Those who lack wisdom are ruled by their own passions, and this causes them to carelessly run over people instead of loving them. James called them to step away from friendship with the world and to become a friend of God (v. 4). With this background, James explained the proper attitudes a believer should possess. Identify the directives given in James 4:6-17. What connections do you see in these directives? EXPLORE THE TEXT THROUGH HUMILITY (JAS. 4:6-10) 6 But he gives greater grace. Therefore he says: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. 7 Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be miserable and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. 110 Explore the Bible Personal Study Guide

3 VERSE 6 James called his readers to a life of humility. After describing the factions and dissensions between those who lacked true wisdom (4:1-5), he explained that God gives greater grace. Despite humankind s tendency to fight with one another and dominate each other (vv. 1-2), God keeps giving grace. James quoted Proverbs 3:34 to demonstrate how God s grace operates in a believer s life. First, God resists the proud. Resist was a military term that described an army arrayed for battle. Like an army entranced to thwart the movements of an enemy, God opposes those who are proud. This term was an extremely unfavorable expression and was a vice in a person s life. Second, God gives grace to the humble. Those willing to admit their need receive grace or favor from God. The way God relates to people is often in response to their attitude. KEY DOCTRINE: Salvation Growth in grace should continue throughout the regenerate person s life (1 Pet. 2:2). VERSE 7 James described the attitude of the humble in terms of their actions. One might expect this from a person emphasizing faith and works so heavily. He stated that the humble person will submit to God. Humble people surrender to His will and His way. The humble person also must resist the devil. As God resisted the proud, so should the humble resist Satan. Jesus served as an example of this principle in the wilderness (Matt. 4:1-11). God promised that resistance would result in Satan having to flee from them. What is the relationship between being humble and being able to resist the devil? What are the keys to resisting the devil? Session 12 : With Submission 111

4 VERSE 8 James promised that if the humble would draw near to God, then His presence would surround them. We draw near to God through worship, prayer, and godly living. However, we cannot approach God on our own merits. We all fall short of the ability to enter God s presence on our own merits. Therefore, two things are needed. Sinners need clean hands and a pure heart (Ps. 24:4). James encouraged the humble to cleanse your hands and purify your hearts. This recalls the language of the tabernacle, where a blood sacrifice was made for the heart and ritual cleansing washed the hands. We cannot draw near to God except by that which the tabernacle foretold the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We need His blood to cover our sin nature and to cleanse our daily missteps that hinder fellowship with God. We cannot be double-minded in thinking that we can serve God and Satan. BIBLE SKILL: Take seriously all biblical commands for Christian living. Identify at least three biblical commands for Christian living found in James 4:7-10. Express them as brief (2-3 words), positive imperatives. (Example: Submit to God, v. 7.) Develop a path of obedience for each imperative. That is, think of reasons God gave these commands. Create a chart listing the damage that might be caused by ignoring them and benefits generated by obeying them. VERSES 9-10 James encouraged his readers to embrace their humility. Using three strong words for grief, he encouraged them to be miserable and mourn and weep. Their trials were designed to produce joy in them. The prideful person resists this type of humility and invokes the resistance of God against him. The prideful boasts in his laughter and joy but cannot embrace his humble estate. 112 Explore the Bible Personal Study Guide

5 Instead of resisting the Lord, the right response to God is to humble oneself. This paints the picture of a person falling prostrate before a powerful ruler. Those who submit themselves to God will receive a positive response from Him. He will exalt them. This involved lifting something high, like Moses did the bronze serpent in the wilderness (Num. 21:9). God s exaltation is always for His own glory, not ours alone. Of the actions listed by James, which ones are internal and which ones are external? How do the internal actions impact the external actions? THROUGH GRACE (JAS. 4:11-12) 11 Don t criticize one another, brothers and sisters. Anyone who defames or judges a fellow believer defames and judges the law. If you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor? VERSE 11 Those who are humbled before the Lord will not criticize one another. Criticism is malicious and judgmental speech designed to tear down rather than build up. The one who speaks negatively toward a fellow Christian defames and judges the law. How does he defame the law? The critical Christian defames the law by ignoring the law of love that James had already mentioned (Jas. 2:8). But how does the critical person judge the law? The fault-finder sets himself up to be the judge of others, a role that he is neither qualified nor called to execute. Tearing others down not only hurts them, it also hurts us. We all have known people who are excessively critical. Sometimes we have been that person. By tearing people down, we are showing that we are law-breakers and have assumed the role of judge that we are not qualified to execute. Tearing others down not only hurts them, it also hurts us. Session 12 : With Submission 113

6 VERSE 12 James reminded his readers that there was only one lawgiver and judge. God was the author of the law, and only He could administer it properly. He alone is in a position to judge the lawbreaker correctly. He alone is in a position to save and to destroy. Guilty and not guilty are in His hands alone. That is not to say that we cannot read the law and know when we are wrong. This is not a prohibition against confronting a fellow believer who is caught in sin (see Gal. 6:1). Rather, this emphasizes that God alone knows the motives and thoughts of the heart. God s judgment determines the eternal destiny of those who come to His courtroom. Having identified the gravity of God s role as lawgiver and judge, James asked, who are you to judge your neighbor? Considering the gravity of this judgment and the lack of all information that is only at God s disposal, why would any human want the role of judge? We are called to leave judgment in the hands of God. Show grace to other believers and allow God the right that is sovereignly His to be the ultimate judge. What might a person s willingness to judge others reveal about his or her understanding of God? Does this type of person always have an inflated view of him or herself? Explain. THROUGH SUBMISSION (JAS. 4:13-16) 13 Come now, you who say, Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit. 14 Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring what your life will be! For you are like vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes. 15 Instead, you should say, If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that. 16 But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. VERSES Believers who are committed to living out the will of God abandon their own self-sufficient attitudes and submit 114 Explore the Bible Personal Study Guide

7 themselves to God s will. James pictured the opposite of that attitude in verse 13. He described the work of a merchant who made plans to travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit. The traveler planned the time of departure, the length of stay, and the plans for profit, but he had not consulted God or taken His will into account. Like the rich fool in Luke 12:16-21, he planned everything based on his own intellect and reasoning. Life is too unpredictable and brief to fail to include God in the process of planning it. James called attention to the fragility of life to show the foolishness of leaving God out of one s plans. Life is filled with unforeseen circumstances known only to God. Nobody knows what tomorrow will bring except the Lord. We are like vapor that appears for a while, then vanishes. Life is too unpredictable and brief to fail to include God in the process of planning it. What are some ways people may be guilty of planning without considering God s direction? VERSE 15 Instead of planning one s own steps without consulting God, the godly person should qualify his plans with, if the Lord wills. James was not against planning but against planning that refuses to seek and surrender to the will of God. Jesus wanted the cup of suffering to pass from Him, but He submitted Himself to the will of His Father (Luke 22:42). This is the pattern James recommended as well. Making plans for the future is good, but God must be at the center of those plans, whether it is during the planning or execution phase of those plans. The will of God is not some vague pursuit of a hidden pathway but the outgrowth of a relationship with God. Like the psalmist said, Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart s desires. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act (Ps. 37:4-5). As we humble ourselves before God, He melds our desires with His, and we can know the will of God for our lives. Session 12 : With Submission 115

8 VERSE 16 Planning our lives without God is equivalent to boasting. Pride tells us that we are able to manage our own lives. James described a refusal to submit our lives to God as arrogance and evil. The first word can mean pride and pretense. It is an arrogant sense of selfsufficiency and self-importance. The prideful person thinks he can do life without God, and this is the ultimate arrogance. With the second word, evil, James revealed that planning without God is not only unwise, but it is wicked, immoral, or sinful, all synonyms of evil. Far from a harmless omission, presumptuously planning one s own life neglects the One who gave it to you. It neglects the One who has authority over it. The prideful person thinks he can do life without God, and this is the ultimate arrogance. THROUGH OBEDIENCE (JAS. 4:17) 17 So it is sin to know the good and yet not do it. VERSE 17 To know the good and yet not do it is the ultimate expression of sin. James drew upon a commonly held definition of sin to encourage his readers to adopt the attitudes that he mentioned in the previous verses attitudes of humility, grace, and submission to the will of God. His readers could not plead ignorance when it came to the will of God. They had the Word of God and the Spirit of God living in them. They knew right, and yet they did wrong. That is sin. A person who only wants to know the will of God but has no intention of doing it falls short of the mark. Living life outside of the will of God is the ultimate expression of arrogance. It turns the believer into a judge and purveyor of truth to others, when that is really God s role. It plans a life that is not promised to be there tomorrow. Obedience is a key attitude that believers must embrace. Which of the attitudes mentioned in today s lesson is the most difficult to sustain? Explain. 116 Explore the Bible Personal Study Guide

9 IN MY CONTEXT Only through submitting to God can a person have victory over sin and the devil. Believers are to offer grace to others who are struggling with obedience. Believers must seek God s leadership in every area of their lives. God desires His people to be obedient followers. Identify areas in your life in which you have trouble submitting to God. What actions can you take to improve in that area? Discuss as a group how to best offer grace to believers who are struggling with obedience. Identify how you would want to be approached if you were that person. What principles can your group follow when offering God s grace? What decisions are you facing? What actions do you need to take to discern the will of God in each decision? Review James 4:17 every day this week. Prayer Needs Session 12 : With Submission 117