JAMES 4:1-17 The fourth chapter of James is a very practical chapter. James knew how to get to the heart of the matter with the church of the first century and also with the church today. Some of the things James says in this chapter don t sound as though they really should be addressed to Christians and we ll see that in a moment. But, all of us know that Christians aren t perfect. Christians don t lose their old nature the moment they become saved. There are still problems within the church and that s what James wrote about in this epistle. So, let s see if we can identify with some of these problems and then learn to avoid these problems We re going to read the Scriptures a little differently today, because James sort of talks about a topic, and then talks about another topic and then comes back to the first one. The first thing we ll see in this chapter is that Christians can be At War with Each Other James 4:1a; 11-12 What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? To whom was James writing? He was writing to Christians! And apparently the Christians to whom James was writing were quarreling! They were in conflict with each other! Why? James doesn t make this clear, and I don t guess it really matters, because James does is tell them how to get these quarrels and conflicts cleared up! Before we get to that, let me just say this problems in the first century church were common. The Corinthian church had major problems and Paul wrote to the Corinthians in order to clear up these problems. Paul said the people in the Galatian church were biting and devouring each other. unity. Paul encouraged the believers in the Ephesian church to get together in spiritual Even the great church at Philippi had problems two women couldn t get along with each other. As long as believers live in these bodies of flesh, we ll have problems. But, there is a way to avoid them and that s what James is attempting to teach these folks He tells them in verse 11 not to speak against each other. And here again we see our tongue getting involved in something it shouldn t be involved in. There is a way to speak the truth to a Page 1 of 8
brother or sister in Christ. What is it? Ephesians 4:15 tells us we are to speak the truth IN LOVE. We re not to speak with a critical spirit. God s Word gives us so many specific instructions regarding a brother who needs to be admonished or instructed. And we are always to do it with a loving spirit. Love indeed does cover a multitude of sins. It delights the enemy for Christians to be in conflict. Church conflicts are just what he wants. We don t read many articles in the newspaper about churches that are peaceable and content, do we? But, let a church have problems let a church split and the enemy makes certain it gets in the newspaper! Jesus said, By this shall all men know that you are My disciples: if you love one another. When Jesus was asked by His disciples to name the greatest commandment in the law, He said, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. And Jesus went on in that passage to say, On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets. So, James is saying, Listen folks, when you speak against each other, you re showing utter disregard for the Law! If someone shows disregard for the Law of God, this means he places himself above the Law and judges the Law to be inferior and himself to be superior. James goes on to say in verse 12 that there is only one Judge! There is only one Lawgiver! Men will find that out one day! Both believers and unbelievers will find out who the Judge really is! One day, all unbelieving people will stand before the Great White Judgment and God will judge them. And one day, believing people will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ and all their works will be judged! How will He judge the words that have come from our mouth? We all belong to the Lord Jesus Christ! That makes us all members of the same family. We all have the Holy Spirit living within us and yet we fight and quarrel! Why? James answers that question by telling us that there is another war that is going on He tells us Christians are often At War with Ourselves Verses 1b-3 James tells us the source of the war with each other is the war that goes on in our own body! The word members in the latter part of verse 1 doesn t mean the members of the church, it means the physical and mental elements of the Christian. And James says we have a war going on within ourselves! And that war manifests itself in lust even in murder sometimes and in fighting and quarreling. Page 2 of 8
Then, James says that we don t have because we don t ask and then when we do ask we don t receive because we ve asked with wrong motives that we might spend it on our pleasures. What s James talking about? I believe James is telling us that if we prayed with the right motives, God would deliver us from the war that goes on within our mind and body. I believe James is telling us that if we got our prayer life in order, then lust and murder and fighting and quarreling wouldn t be a problem for us. What is prayer? Of course, it s talking to God! But, it s so much more than that, isn t it? I mean, real prayer doesn t begin in your heart and mind or in my heart and mind. Real prayer that is prayed with right motives and gets right results begins in the heart and mind of God! It comes from His heart to our heart and then is prayed back to Him! Why does God even want us to pray? Because God longs to give good gifts to His children. And God longs to hear us express our deep desires. When we pray are we informing God of anything? Of course not! God knows every thought we think. But, for some reason we cannot explain, God has chosen many times to limit His power to the prayers of His people. You do not have because you do not ask. How much more could we have if we would only ask? How much more hunger and thirst for His Word could we have if we would only ask? How much more enlightenment from His Word could we have if we would only ask? How much more service could we be to Him if we would only ask? And how honest are we when we pray? I mean, do we tell God everything that s in our heart? We might as well, He already knows what s there. I read this week this comment by a man named Fenelon who lived back in the Middle Ages: Tell God all that is in your heart, as one unloads one s heart, its pleasures and its pains, to a friend. Tell Him your troubles, that He may comfort you; tell Him your longings, that He may purify them; tell Him your dislikes, that He may help you to conquer them. Talk to Him of your temptations, that He may shield you from them; show Him the wounds of your heart, that He may heal them; lay bare your indifference to good, your depraved tastes for evil, your instability. Tell Him how self-love makes you unjust to others, how vanity tempts you to be insincere, how pride disguises you to yourself as to others. If you thus pour out all your weaknesses, needs, troubles, there Page 3 of 8
will be no lack of what to say. People who have no secrets from each other never want for subjects of conversation. They do not weigh their words, for there is nothing to be held back; neither do they seek for something to say. They simply speak out of the abundance of their heart. Do we pray like that? Or do we come to God, thinking we can fool Him as we think we can fool our friends and our family? Think about it! There are some things we have trouble telling even that one person who is dearest to us. There are some things we just cannot confess to him or her, aren t there? Why? Because we don t want them to think less of us! But, God already knows the worst about us and loves us anyway! He saw beyond my faults and saw my need! I think the bottom line of being able to pray an effectual fervent prayer that is not prayed with wrong motives is to consistently pray unselfish prayers. When our motives are selfish, they are wrong. When our motives are for our prayers to be answered for our glory, they are wrong And when our praying is wrong, our whole Christian life is wrong. The purpose of our praying is not to get our will done, but to get God s will done! People who are waging war in their own members and who are not praying with the right motives will always be at odds with other people. They are never happy. They are always looking at others with jealousy and envy. And when there are folks in the church who are like that, you can rest assured there will be quarrels and conflicts in the church. Not only does James say we are at war with each other and at war with the world, but we also are At War with God Verses 4-10 Men and women have been at war with God since the Garden of Eden! And sadly, even we can be at war with God! God has called us and set us apart. He has called us to a pure and holy walk. He has told us to live in the world, but to not be a part of it. And James says that when a Christian has a friendship with the world then that Christian is committing spiritual adultery! The church is the bride of Christ and we are called to be faithful to Him! The Jewish Christians who read this letter in the first century knew exactly what James was talking about. The prophets Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Hosea used the terminology adultery when they prophesied against Israel and Judah for their sins. God said in Exodus 20, I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God We often think of jealousy as a negative attribute but God does all things well! And when the Scripture tells us that God is a jealous God, you can rest assured that this jealousy is good! Jealousy for you and me is usually wrong. Page 4 of 8
For instance, if Shirlee Jolly is jealous of another soloist, that s wrong, because she isn t the only soloist in the world she doesn t have a corner on the music world! If Jan Lynch is jealous of another school counselor, that s wrong, because Jan doesn t have exclusive rights to being a school counselor. If Bro. Bob is jealous of another preacher, that s wrong, because God hasn t called just Bro. Bob to preach His Word. If I m jealous of another Sunday school teacher, that s wrong, because God has called others to teach in Sunday school. But, when God says, I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God that s not wrong, because there is no other God! Our God is the only God! He alone is worthy of our faithfulness! He alone is worthy of our loyalty! He alone is worthy of our worship and He alone is worthy of our devotion! And when we turn our back on Him and we are friends with the world, He looks at us as adulteresses! God s grace! Verse 6 tells us God gives a greater grace (NAS) more grace (KJV)! greater and more than what? Grace! Grace! God s grace! Grace that will pardon and cleanse within! Grace! Grace! God s grace! Grace that is greater than all our sin! God s grace is greater than all our sin, folks! But, He doesn t shower His grace upon just any of us! He gives His greater grace to the humble! God is opposed to the proud! I believe pride is one of the most insidious sins there is. If we do a good job and folks tell us we do a good job, then pride rears its ugly head, doesn t it? I heard Corrie ten Boom say many years ago that when folks came up to her and commented favorably on her lectures then she considered those comments flowers that she just added to the bouquet that she offered to the Lord at the end of the day. God resists the proud, but He gives grace, more grace, greater grace to the humble. In the next several verses, James gives us some imperatives he tells us Submit to God Resist the devil Draw near to God Cleanse your hands Purify your hearts Be miserable Mourn Weep Turn your laughter to mourning Turn your joy to gloom Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord Page 5 of 8
I believe this is a picture of a sinning Christian who comes in repentance before God and he sees his sin the way God sees his sin and humbles himself before God and is finally exalted by God! This is the greater grace of God in action! He exalts you and He exalts me if we are willing to submit to Him! Well, in the time that we have left, let s look at Verses 13-17 At the beginning of this chapter, James addresses war with others, ourselves and with God. And he ends this chapter talking about the will of God. And when you think about it, these two subjects aren t far apart, are they? I mean, when a person is outside the will of God, it follows that he will be in conflict with himself, or with others, and certainly with God. I believe one of the hardest things we ever try to learn is how to completely submit our will to the will of God. We say we do it, but then we take it back, don t we? In looking at this passage, I want us to think of the will of God in three ways two being negative and one being the one we ought to follow. Disregarding the Will of God 4:13-14;16 It seems that James is speaking of wealthy businessmen in the church men or women who had a lot going on in their businesses. They had promises to keep and miles to go before they sleep. They had big plans and they intended to follow up on those plans no matter what. These men didn t consult God. These men didn t consult God s Word. These men simply didn t care what God wanted. I think if we were all honest, we would have to confess that at some time or another we have all been guilty of that. Some of us lived like this longer than others. Maybe some of us are still living like that! Most decisions are made like this in our world today. God s will is completely ignored. No thought is given to what is right in His eyes. Men just plunge ahead and do what is right in their own eyes. Judges make decisions about the Word of God and never consult the God of the Word. They don t care about Him. They certainly don t regard His will as being important! (Alabama Supreme Court) How foolish of us to think we know more than God. God is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, and everything in between. He knows the future we don t even know what today is going to bring. We are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away! Page 6 of 8
Not only do we see a disregard for the will of God, but we also see Disobeying the Will of God verse 17 When Christians know the will of God and deliberately disobey the will of God, they will be chastened. If chastening doesn t come to the disobedient professed believer, then it s a good sign real salvation has never come to him either. He is a professor, but not a possessor. God s chastening is an evidence of His love, not His hatred! Actually, we should get great comfort when we are chastened because it is evidence that we really belong to the Lord Jesus Christ! Not only do we need to remember that chastening comes to the Christian as a result of sin, but we also need to remember that God s Word teaches that there is a heavenly reward to either gain or lose through our obedience or disobedience. How foolish to lose out on rewards in heaven as the result of willful disobedience that also brings chastening here on earth! One last thing and we ll be through We ve looked at folks who disregard God s will and folks who disobey God s will let s look quickly at folks who Do the Will of God verse 15 If the Lord wills is not just a cliché. Jesus said, My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work. How do we know God s will for our lives? Haven t you asked that question? I believe we start with the thing we know we ought to do, and do that. Then I believe God sees our faithfulness in the obvious and He opens the way for us to know His will for something that isn't quite as obvious. I think many times we think of God as going around hiding His will in a box and just daring us to find it! But, that s not the way God is! God wants us to know His will. Now I must say, sometimes He is silent. He just doesn t allow us to know His will right away. And I believe many times when this is true, it s because He is testing us Is she going to go ahead of Me? Or is she going to wait for Me to reveal My will to her? Sometimes His will is not as obvious to us as it is at other times. But, I believe at some point, the answer will come. We will have a peace that comes only from Him. We will know that He has revealed His will to us Sometimes God s will goes against our flesh. He wants us to do something that we really don t want to do. But, I believe I can truly say on the authority of the Word of God that if we do His will, God will bless what we do even to the extent that one day we will love doing what we thought we would hate doing! Page 7 of 8
When God called me to teach this class some ten years ago, I have to tell you, this is not what I wanted to do. I ve shared before with you that speaking in a group of two made me so nervous I would hyperventilate. But after Bro. Casey asked me to teach this class and I had prayed for weeks and weeks about whether to do it or not, God woke me up in the middle of the night one night and showed me clearly from His Word what His will was and His will was for me to teach. Is it still hard for me to stand in front of you do I still get nervous? Yes, but not nearly as hard as it used to be. God has given me a love for His Word and a hunger and thirst to dig into His Word that came to me in full measure only after I said, "Yes, Lord. Every year when it s time to recommit to teaching, Bill says, Well, are you going to teach again this year? And I say something like this God hasn t told me not to yet. He will probably wake me up in the middle of the night one night and show me clearly from His Word that it s enough. Well, this chapter has left us bruised and bleeding, hasn t it? I mean, I believe there is not a one of us in here who hasn t felt the admonition of James at least in one area of our lives! We ve all had conflicts in our own spirit. We ve all had times when we had conflicts with God. We ve all had times when we were at odds with a fellow believer. We ve all had times when we didn t seek the will of God or times when we knew the will of God and didn t follow it. May God give us that greater grace that grace that is indeed greater than all our sins and may we allow that grace to end the conflicts and to reveal to us the perfect will of God each and every day of our lives! Page 8 of 8