“The Book of James 4:1-10

Pastor Mike Barnett, February 2006

James 4

Submit Yourselves to God

 ¹What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? ²You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. ³When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

 ⁴You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. ⁵Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely?^{[a] 6}But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:
   "God opposes the proud
      but gives grace to the humble."^[b]

 ⁷Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. James 4:1-10

• The central truth in this passage is: “_____________________(Friendship) with the ___________________(world) is _______________(hostility) toward ______________(God)”.

• The statement that friendship with the world is hatred toward God” refers to the passionate desire of some in the community to seek ___________________(status) and ______________________(prestige) as their surrounding culture defined it.

• In this pursuit they showed favoritism and displayed an unwillingness to understand the law of love, thereby showing themselves opposed to God.

• The church is beset with jealously, selfish ambition, slander, anger, a willingness to depart from received teaching, and a host of other ills that follow the pattern of their culture.

• Certain ones had won a following by offering a philosophy that encouraged the pursuit of status as taught by society an unbridled by any authentic Christian witness.

• These teachings allowed a false belief to germinate and flourish that all of one’s old prejudices could exist and thrive within the church.

• Some were showing favoritism, while others were exploiting the poor.

• Arrayed against these were believers loyal to the gospel, who correctly understood the threat. The members of this group reacted variously to those following the teachers of false wisdom – some wanting peace at any price, others advocating a fight for the soul of the church.

NOTE: Just as there are mixed motives within each of us, motives and emotions wholesome and unwholesome, so within the Christian Community there is a wide _____________________________(variety) of impulses.

• James says their disputes come from the __________________________(desires) within them.

• It is the decision to __________________________(cultivate) rather than __________________________(control) the passions, that have contributed to the problems within the church.

• This desire for power and authority, a desire for popularity within the eyes of the powerful, constitute a state of _______________________ _________________________(double-mindedness).

• The members of the congregation are pushed this way and that, first by their conscience, then by evil impulse.

• What they want is not status, but rather what they hope status will ________________________(bring) to them: A sense of wholeness, joy, and peace.

15Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 1 John 2:15

• James asserts that believers do not have what they are seeking because they have been searching for it in alleys that are blind and in the fields that are infertile…They should ask God who gives wisdom, and this is a wisdom that results in wholeness and peace.

• Genuine spiritual life and faithful Christian living involve ____________________________(separation) from the ________________________(world) and all its contaminations.

• Continuing habitual ________________________________(friendship) with the world, on the other hand, is grounded in _____________________ __________________(human wisdom) and is evidence of _____________________(unbelief).

• Such ungodly friendship with the world inevitably results in personal _____________________(conflict) with others.

2 Corinthians 6:14-18 says:

 ¹⁴Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? ¹⁵What harmony is there between Christ and Belial^[a]? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? ¹⁶What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people."^[b]
 17"Therefore come out from them
      and be separate, says the Lord.
   Touch no unclean thing,
      and I will receive you."^[c]
 18"I will be a Father to you,
      and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."^{[d]  2} Cor 6:14-18

Matt 13:24-43 says:

 24Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

 27"The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?'

 28" 'An enemy did this,' he replied.
      "The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'

 29" 'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. 30Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.' "

The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast

 31He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches."

 33He told them still another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount^[a] of flour until it worked all through the dough."

 34Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. 35So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet:
   "I will open my mouth in parables,
      I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world."^[b]

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

 36Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field."

 37He answered, "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

 40"As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.  Matt 13:24-43

·        Conflict within the church is not God’s will or design.

John 13:34-35 says:

 34"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:34-35

Acts 4:32 says:

32All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. Acts 4:32

1 Cor. 1:10  says:

10I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. 1 Cor. 1:10

Phil 2:1-4 says:

 1If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.  Phil 2:1-4

1 Corinthians 3:1-3 says:

1Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? 1 Cor . 3:1-3

20For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may be quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder. 2 Cor. 12:20

Titus 3:1-3 says:

 1Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, 2to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.

 3At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.  Titus 3:1-3

·        The increase of impatience, frustration, anger and hostility is not only seen in street crime, but vividly portrayed on modern highways, where drivers use obscene gestures, dangerous acts of intimidation, and some times even gunfire to vent their displeasure at what another driver does or fails to do.

·        Hedonism is the ____________________________(uncontrolled) personal desire to fulfill every __________________________(passion) and whim that promises sensual satisfaction and enjoyment.

·        Unregenerate persons are ________________________(slaves) to their desires, tyrannized by their passions.

·        Consequently when the seed of the gospel falls on the thorny ground of their hearts, “they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity.

2 Peter 2:10-14, 17-21 says:

10This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature^[a] and despise authority.

   Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings; 11yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not bring slanderous accusations against such beings in the presence of the Lord. 12But these men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like brute beasts, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like beasts they too will perish.

 13They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you.^[b] 14With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood!

17These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. 18For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. 19They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. 20If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 21It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.  2 Peter 2:10-14, 17-21

Rom. 1:18-28 says:

18The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

 21For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

 24Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

 26Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

 28Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.

Rom. 1:18-28

• It is the war of the unbeliever’s flesh with his soul and conscience, which, despite the corruption of the Fall, has enough awareness of God and his truth (Rom 1:18-19) to be disturbed when he sins.

• Despite his rejection of God and his standards of righteousness, he cannot easily escape feelings of guilt; the law of God written in his hart activates his accusing conscience (Romans 2:14-15)

• The lust and envy that James mentions in 4:2 are reflections of “the boastful pride” that characterizes the worldly passion for personal satisfaction.

• YOU DO NOT HAVE BECAUSE YOU DO NOT ASK. Vs. 2

• Many of them do not even think of asking God for help of any kind, because they consider themselves to be ____________________ _________________________(self-sufficient), fully able to take care of themselves.

• They believe that all their needs and wants can be met by human means through their ________________(own) wisdom, power and diligence.

• They do not ________________________(believe) that “every good thing and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation of shifting shadow” (James 1:17)

• Consequently, it never occurs to them to ask him for anything.

• Many unbelievers do ask God for all sorts of things But they do not receive, because they ask with ______________________ ______________________(wrong motives) so that they may spend it on their ________________________(pleasures).

NOTE: They do not ask for things in order for God’s goodness and grace to be magnified or for sake of Hs glory and honor.

NOTE: They do not ask in order to be able to fulfill His perfect and divine will but to fulfill their ________________(own) sinful and selfish wills.

• In referring to adulteresses in v. 4, James uses the term metaphorically in a way that his Jewish readers would clearly understand.

• He is not talking about sexual, but spiritual infidelity, as the term is often used in the Old Testament of God’s unfaithful people.

Mark 8:38 says:

38If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels." Mark 8:38

1 John 2:15-17 says:

 15Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.  1 John 2:15-17

• Those who do not belong in Christ, belong to the world. They have a longing to be involved with the world’s drives, impulses, attractions, and people for which they have a determined and habitual attachment.

• James is not speaking of occasional spiritual weakness in Christians but of the continual, willing, enjoyable, and ungodly drives of unbelievers. A believer could never be called an enemy of God.

• The goal of the world is self-glory, self-fulfillment, self-indulgence, self ________________________________(satisfaction), and every form of self-serving, all of which amounts to hostility toward God.

• Anyone who does not belong to God belongs to the world and everyone who belongs to the world does not and cannot belong to God.

• _________________________(Friends) of the world are controlled by the ______________________(spirit) of the world and have no part with the Spirit of God.

• On the other hand, Paul makes clear that believers “have received”, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God.

1 Cor. 2:12  says:

¹²We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. 1 Cor. 2:12 

2 Cor. 2:6;14-17 says:

6The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient for him.  14But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. 15For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task? 17Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.  2 Cor. 2:6;14-17

·        Christians have a nature so utterly distinct from the lovers of the world, the followers of Satan, that they should never entertain any of the ways or hold any of the loyalties that characterize unbelievers.

·        Believers not only are to be separated from the world but ___________________(dead) to the world.

TRUTH: For believers to pursue worldly things goes against the grain of their __________________ _____________________(new nature), and they cannot be comfortable or satisfied until they ___________________________(renounce) those things and return to their first love – Jesus Christ.

Rom 8:6-9 says:

6The mind of sinful man^[a] is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 7the sinful mind^[b] is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. 8Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.

 9You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.  Rom 8:6-9

TRUTH: Some unbelievers who masquerade as Christians have considerable knowledge of the gospel and give it lip service. Unbelievers may regularly participate in Christian worship services and other church activities. They may even feel bad about their sins, recognize their imperfection, and, like the governor Felix, have a certain concern about their standing before God, but they never desire to forsake their sin or confess Christ as Lord and Savior.

Phil 3:18-19 says:

18For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. Phil 3:18-19

·        Before salvation, all Christians were “formally alienated and hostile, engaged in evil deed’s.

 21Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of^[a] your evil behavior. Col 1:21

·        But their salvation changed them from enemies to friends of God.

 8 "But you, O Israel , my servant,
       Jacob, whom I have chosen,
       you descendants of Abraham my friend, Isa 41:8

·        NOBODY CAN SERVE ___________________(TWO) MASTERS

Matt 6:24 says:

24"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. Matt 6:24

Amos 3:3 says:

 3 Do two walk together
       unless they have agreed to do so? Amos 3:3

• Out of jealously God longs for the spirit that he made to live in us. Vs 4-6

• The Holy Spirit that he sent to live in us desires us for himself alone.

• DO YOU ALLOW THE WORLD TO COMPETE WITH GOD?

• God desires with all his heart for us to come home and live with and in him, for us to ask for his wisdom.

• Instead, we follow the wisdom of the world, whether knowingly or unwittingly, and by following that errant path we can never achieve what we truly seek.

• GOD IS ___________________________(OPPOSED) TO THE ________________________(PROUD) BUT GIVES __________________________(GRACE) TO __________________________(HUMBLE). V. 6

• OPPOSED in the Greek (Antitossomai) was used as a military term depicting a full army ready for battle.

• God is in full battle array, as it were, against the proud, because pride is the basic sin from which all others issue.

• It is not always manifested in ways that other men can see, but it is never hidden for God’s eyes.

Prov. 3:34 says:

 34 He mocks proud mockers
       but gives grace to the humble. Prov. 3:34

·        God has no use for the proud, because they put themselves __________________________(beyond) his _______________________(grace).

·        GOD DOES GIVE ______________________(GRACE) TO THE _____________________(HUMBLE). V. 6

Isa 66:2 says:

 2 Has not my hand made all these things,
       and so they came into being?"
       declares the LORD.
       "This is the one I esteem:
       he who is humble and contrite in spirit,
       and trembles at my word. Isa 66:2

 3"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
      for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matt 5:3

NOTE: Just as pride is the __________________(root) of all ___________________(sin), so _________________________(humility) is the root of all _________________________(righteousness).

Matt 23:12 says:

12For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. Matt 23:12

Luke 18:13 says:

 13"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' Luke 18:13

·        Far from being conformed to the world (Rom 12:2), they were sent into it by Jesus (John 17:18) to provide light in its moral and spiritual darkness (Matt 5:14). They have been crucified to the world (Gal 6:14), overcome it. Matt 5:14., and remain unstained by it (James 1:270. To be a friend of the world while claiming to be a Christian is the height of self-deceiving folly.

Gal. 6:14 says:

14May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which^[a] the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Gal. 6:14

RESIST THE DEVIL AND HE WILL FLEE FROM YOU.  V. 7

·        Whereas the believer was once under the Lordship of Satan, through saving faith he eagerly places himself under the ___________________________________(Lordship) of Jesus Christ.

John 8:44 says:

44You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. John 8:44

1 John 3:8 says:

8He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. 1 John 3:8

·        The Devil cannot hold a sinner against the sinners will.

·        The Devil can’t lead a believer into sin without the ___________________________(consent) of that believers will.

“COME NEAR TO HIM AND HE WILL DRAW NEAR TO YOU” – V. 8

Isa 29:13 says:

 13 The Lord says:
       "These people come near to me with their mouth
       and honor me with their lips,
       but their hearts are far from me.
       Their worship of me
       is made up only of rules taught by men. Isa 29:13

Ps. 73:28 says:

 28 But as for me, it is good to be near God.
       I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge;
       I will tell of all your deeds.  Ps. 73:28

Jer. 29:13 says:

13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jer. 29:13

Eph 6:10-17 says:

 10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Eph 6:10-17

·        WASH YOUR HANDS, YOU SINNERS. V. 8b

·        The origin of this idea was in the Jewish ceremonial prescription for priest before they came before the Lord to offer sacrifices in the tabernacle or temple.

Ex 30:18-21 says:

18 "Make a bronze basin, with its bronze stand, for washing. Place it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water in it. 19 Aaron and his sons are to wash their hands and feet with water from it. 20 Whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting, they shall wash with water so that they will not die. Also, when they approach the altar to minister by presenting an offering made to the LORD by fire, 21 they shall wash their hands and feet so that they will not die. This is to be a lasting ordinance for Aaron and his descendants for the generations to come." Ex 30:18-21

Isa 1:15-16 says:

15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,
       I will hide my eyes from you;
       even if you offer many prayers,
       I will not listen.
       Your hands are full of blood;

 16 wash and make yourselves clean.
       Take your evil deeds
       out of my sight!
       Stop doing wrong,

Isa 1:15-16

Psalm 18:20

20 The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness;
       according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me. Psalm 18:20

Paul also used the condition of the hands to represent the external behavior of the life.

1 Tim 2:8 says:

 8I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing. 1 Tim 2:8

• When James says…”Come near to God and He will come near to you. Wash your hand you double mined…Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up” 4:8-10, he is employing the image of the Temple and the language of sacrifice.

• The Hebrews pictures repugnance to the pollutions of sin in the moral realm in terms of aversion to dirtiness in the physical realm.

• The Old Testament temple ritual contained a double distinction that was rooted in the imagery of physical pollution: “you must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean”.

 Lev. 10:10

¹⁰ You must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean,

·        In the Old Testament the unclean was “That which disqualified a person from participation in worship, so that he was debarred from the presence of God.

·        Sacrifice was the process by which this barrier was eliminated. Items that were unclean were unfit for the Jews. Clean items were acceptable, and such items were divided into “the holy” (acceptable for and dedicated to God) and “the common” (acceptable for every ay use)

·        Persons rendered unclean were not allowed access to the sanctuary and were therefore symbolically denied access to God.

·        Sin relegated the offender barred from God’s presence.

5 "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."

 6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."

Isa 6:5-7

·        The church was no community at all, but was fraught with divisions that needed to be mended.

·        Sacrifice was needed to cleanse the community and affect this healing, and so James asks his readers to sacrifice their self-interest by submitting to God.

But sacrifice imagery also cast its influence into the modern period, for we are culturally far more enamored of individualism than were even the targets of James rebu

AND PURIFY YOUR HEARTS, YOU DOUBLE-MINDED. V. 8C

• The unbeliever not only is to turn from outward sin but, even more important, from the inner sin of the heart from which outward sin springs.

• The word “double-minded” refers to those who try to live in ________________ _________________(two lives), one of the world and one of God. This sort of double allegiance is not possible.

Ezek 18:31 says:

31 Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel ?  Ezek 18:31

• Double minded means “double-_______________________(souled)”, therefore a double minded person therefore could not possibly be a ____________________________(Christian).

Isa 55:6-7 says:

 6 Seek the LORD while he may be found;
       call on him while he is near.

 7 Let the wicked forsake his way
       and the evil man his thoughts.
       Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him,
       and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

Isa 55:6-7

·        “There is a vital connection between soul-distress and sound doctrine.

·        Sovereign grace is dear to those who have groaned deeply because they see what grievous sinners they are.”  Charles Spurgeon

1 Tim 4:1-3 says:

 1The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. 3They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth.   1 Tim 4:1-3

·        LET YOUR LAUGHTER BE TURNED INTO MOURNING AND YOUR JOY TO GLOOM.  V. 9

·        James is not condemning legitimate laughter or joy but rather the flippant, trivial, worldly, self-centered, sensual kings that unbelievers revel in, despite, and often because of, their sinful pleasures.

Luke 6:25 says:

 25Woe to you who are well fed now,
      for you will go hungry.
   Woe to you who laugh now,
      for you will mourn and weep. Luke 6:25

Lam 5:15-16 says:

 15 Joy is gone from our hearts;
       our dancing has turned to mourning.

 16 The crown has fallen from our head.
       Woe to us, for we have sinned!

Lam 5:15-16

1 John 2:16 says:

16For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world.

1 John 2:16

James 4:4 says:

4You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. James 4:4

HUMBLE YOURSELVES IN THE PRESCENCE OF THE LORD, AND HE WILL LIFT YOU UP. V. 10

“Tapeinoo (humble yourselves) means literally to make low. Here it means to make oneself low, not in the self put downs that many people use in order to induce others to build them up, but in a genuine realization of complete unworthiness and lostness because of sin.

Isa 6:5 says:

 5 "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." Isa 6:5

·        God has always honored those who are spiritually humble.

2 Chron 7:14 says:

14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chron 7:14

Isa 57:15 says:

15 For this is what the high and lofty One says—
       he who lives forever, whose name is holy:
       "I live in a high and holy place,
       but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit,
       to revive the spirit of the lowly
       and to revive the heart of the contrite.  Isa 57:15

Matt 23:12 says:

12For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.  Matt 23:12

• In this section James reveals that this community was threatened by practices based on passions, by a capitulation to the standards and practices of “the world”, and by pride.

• In response, James has pointed out that following the passions only results in involvement in a ruthless and ultimately fruitless circle.

• The passions cannot lead us to our true goal, because they are essentially self-interested.

• He has pointed out that one must choose between the world and God, there is no middle ground, and there must be no equivocation.

• Pride is a feature of the standards of this world, and its antidote is humility.

·        Enamored as we are with individualism, evangelicals often find it easier to argue for structural change than submit themselves to the hard work of learning to live together in community.

·        Sacrifice was a symbol of loyalty and gratitude to God, offered by his people out of gratitude for his forgiveness.

Lev. 4:3 says:

 3 " 'If the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, he must bring to the LORD a young bull without defect as a sin offering for the sin he has committed. Lev. 4:3

·        The attitude for humility allows us clearer vision, to see out own need for God and to perceive his answer.

·        This passage implores us to draw near to God in order to be forgiven of our double mindedness that leads to quarreling, complaints and judgments within the church.

·        God is forgiving – He washes us clean.

·        James 4:1-10 offers a strong call to community, and especially community created by the spirit of humility and forgiveness.

·        When James says, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” he is aligning himself with solid biblical teaching.

·        Satan can be resisted primarily because he is weaker than God.

·        Satan at times operates boldly and personally, at other times more slyly and through structures of power and authority.

·        At other times, such as a cutting word unerringly directed, the fringe of his evil is felt.

·        IT must be not be taken too lightly or too seriously.

·        GOD IS SOVEREIGN AND THE DEVIL WILL FLEE IF RESISTED!