James 4 - Submissive To Separation
By Bro David Petersen
The Book of James
Introduction |
Chapter 1 |
Chapter 2 |
Chapter 3 |
Chapter 4 |
Chapter 5
4:1 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?
2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
Apparently professed believers were fighting among themselves. The word wars in verse 1 denotes strife. The word fighting means quarrels. The cause of conflict is "lust". Lust comes from the Greek word 'hedone' from which we get our English word hedonism. It signifies pleasure and the gratification of sinful desires. People are willing to do whatever they have to in order to get what they lust for.
It's bad enough when lost people fight among themselves, but when God's people do it, it is especially shameful.
3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
These people wanted to live in great power and plenty, in sensual prosperity; and thus they dishonour God by such gross and base ends; and therefore their prayers were rejected.
From this we need to learn to pray for the right thing. Selfish prayers will not be answered. There is no promise from God that we can "name it and claim it". You cannot just "write your own ticket with God".
When men follow their worldly business and ask of God prosperity, but do not receive what they ask for, it is because they ask with wrong motivation. They ask God to give them success in their pursuits; not that they may glorify their heavenly Father and do good with what they have, but that they may consume it upon their lusts--that they may be enable to live large, have that big house, drive a luxury car, eat in fine restaurants, take exotic vacations and wear fancy clothes.
In doing this they are not attempting to gloryify God, but seek to gratify their pride, vanity, desire for more and more.
But, if we thus seek the things of this world, it is just in God to deny them; whereas, if we seek any thing that we may serve God with it, we may expect he will either give us what we seek or give us hearts to be content without it, and give opportunities of serving and glorifying him some other way.
I don't think that many people have laid on their death beds and said "I wish I had made more money in this life", or "I wish I had spent more time at the office." He who dies with the most toys, still dies.
The Name It and Claim It Movement
Again, verse 3 says "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts."
The fastest growing segment of professing Christianity in recent years has been among so-called churches connected with the Positive Confession movement or Word-Faith movement (all part of the modern Charismatic movement). This is also known as the "Prosperity Gospel".
It has involved two distinct but closely related factions: the Norman Vincent Peale/Robert Schuller Positive-Possibility thinkers/Positive Mental Attitude, with their roots in New Thought; and the Kenneth Hagin/Kenneth Copeland Positive Confession and Word-Faith groups, which have their roots in E.W. Kenyon, William Branham, and the Manifest Sons of God/Latter Rain movement.
As the name "Positive Confession"/"Word-Faith" implies, this movement teaches that faith is a matter of what we say more than whom we trust or what truths we embrace and affirm in our hearts. The term "positive confession" refers to the teaching that words have creative power. What you say, Word-Faith teachers claim, determines everything that happens to you. Your "confessions," that is, the things you say -- especially the favors you demand of God -- must all be stated positively and without wavering. Then God is required to answer. Word-Faith believers view their positive confessions as an incantation by which they can conjure up anything they desire: "Believe it in your heart; say it with your mouth. That is the principle of faith. You can have what you say" (Charismatic Chaos, pp. 281, 285).
This is at the heart of the Positive Confession movement today, also known as the "name-it-and-claim-it" gospel. The Positive Confession movement is nothing but a charismatic form of Christian Science. This can be substantiated by simply comparing the similarities in their common beliefs. Positive Confession is basically warmed-over New Thought dressed in evangelical/charismatic language.
4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
This is the world's way: you fight for what you want. This creates a savage world full of division. Every man for himself. Look out for Number 1. When Christians are friends of the world in this way, and go along with its way, it is like committing spiritual adultery.
Paul told the church at Corinth "For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." 2 Cor 11:2.
The church is the bride of Christ. When Christ returns he will have a great wedding feast. In the meantime, the Lord's bride should not be fooling around with Satan, playing his game.
Satan is in charge of the world's systems. He is called "the god of this world" in 2 Cor 4:3-4:
"But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them."
When people's main pursuit in life is to fulfill their fleshly desires, they are supporting those worldly systems. They are "friends of the world". They are giving comfort and aid to the enemy.
Jesus told his disciples "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." John 15:14.
If we do what Jesus told us to do, there will be time when we will displease people who are opposed to his cause.
In John 17:14-18, Jesus said:
14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil <literally: the Evil One>.
16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.
God's people are to be in the world but not "of" the world.
The Lord's disciples are to be "sanctified" or set apart from the world for God's purpose. Knowledge of the truth is the agent that separates them. Jesus has assembled his sanctified people into local bodies and sent them into the world to fulfill the great commission to "go and teach all nations, baptize them and teach them to observe all things whatsoever he commanded." Matt 28:19-20.
This doesn't mean that God's people need to go off and live in communes up in the mountains. We have to be in the world in order to be witnesses for Jesus.
1 John 2:15-17
15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
Eph 2:1-7
1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
The Holy Spirit who lives within us yearns jealously for the faithful to be obedient to God and not to flirt with the world.
6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
God has given us a tall order in commanding us to be faithful to him in a world that is under Satan's control. God knows our needs and makes grace, his unmerited favor available to help us in our struggle against the world. In order to receive his grace we must be humble and admit our need for his help. Pride prevents grace because it refuses to be dependent on anyone, especially God.
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
So we are to submit to God, and resist the devil. Sometimes it seems like we are dyslexic because we resist God and submit to the devil. When God's people are in complete submission to God, they receive grace to get them through evey situation. They can be victorious and send the devil running.
The devil as a roaring lion walketh about seeking whom he may devour. Predators don't want to tangle with prey that fight back. They seek easy victims. Lions attack the weaker zebras in a herd. The devour the sick, the young and the old.
God's people don't have to holed up, taking their last stand against Satan's siege, but instead can be on the offensive and send Satan into retreat. It's possible to win. I am not saying that we are going to take the world for Christ in this age. That is not the picture of the end times that the Bible paints. But we can have victory over Satan in our personal ministry and in the ministry of this local assembly.
Verse 8 says that we should cleanse our hands. Everything we do every day should be with the purpose of serving God. Our hands get soiled as we work on things that do not suit God's purpose. I'm not saying that we need to be engaged in ministry every waking moment. But everything we do, working on our jobs, taking care of household chores, whatever should all be done for the glory of God and not in pursuit of worldly pleasures.
"Purify your hearts, ye doubleminded." We can't serve God effectively and be playing around with the world at the same time. Our hearts need to be pure, that is 100% focused on serving God. The impurities are our desires to serve our worldly lusts instead of God. Such impurity needs to be removed from our hearts.
9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
Verse 9 is a call to believers to repent. James called his readers to renounce worldliness. To "be afflicted" shows an intentional assumption of something that is challenging or rigorous such as the training that an athlete undergoes. To mourn is to recognize the damage that sin does in our lives and to be. Weeping indicates regret of sin and its consequences.
The Christian life should be a joyful life. Joy is a fruit of the spirit listed in Galatians 5. But those who are enjoying worldly pleasures need to repent and turn their fleeting joy into godly sorrow for sin.
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
God isn't going to forget those who humble themselves. They might not be lifted up in the world's eyes, but what matters is our condition in God's eyes. He will give us victory in this life. Yet there is a final settlement regarding the accomplishments of believers at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
11 Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.
12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?
13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.
17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
The Book of James
Introduction |
Chapter 1 |
Chapter 2 |
Chapter 3 |
Chapter 4 |
Chapter 5