A Deeper Insight to Humility
James Chapter 4
Caree Connolly
In
the chapter 3 of James, we learned that control over the tongue can be
difficult. James gave a few examples of what the tongue was similar to. It is likened
to a ship's rudder, and also a horse's bridle. James tells us that although man
can tame any creature on the planet, he can't tame his own tongue. That's
something only God can do.
We also learned that faith produces wisdom. It is
not a worldly wisdom. It is a wisdom from above, pure, and full of mercy.
As
we begin Chapter 4, this chapter will give us a deeper insight on humility and
our dependence to God and His will for us.
Faith Produces Humility
James chapter 4:1-6
Where do wars and fights come
from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure
that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and
cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.
You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on
your pleasures. Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship
with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of
the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture
says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”? But He
gives more grace. Therefore He says: God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”
When the word war is said,
most people think of battles like the Korean War, World War I , or World War II
to name just a few. James is speaking in this case of fighting amongst our
brothers in Christ. It was happening then; we know it still goes on in
today's churches.
(But what does it tell us in the Scripture?)
Psalm 133: 1 “Behold, how
good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.”
Sadly, we see though here in this
book of James, the different battles which can develop within the church body:
- Class Wars: We read about that in James 2:1-9 {the rivalry between rich and poor. How the rich is given attention and the poor is either ignored or looked down upon.}
- Church Wars: James 1:19. 3:13-18 {church members vying for positions of authority, like wanting to be teachers. Reading the Word, but having their own opinion on what it means}
- Employment Wars: which we will be seeing in James 5 {constant bickering about the rich having power to control the poor.}
- Personal Wars: will be brought out in verse 11 and 12 {saints speaking evil to one another. }
It is not good that the
church is at war within itself. Leader against leader, church against
church, fellowship against fellowship. The example set is watched by the world.
Jesus' prayed: “
That they all may be as one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that
they may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” John
17:21
So why do we war amongst one
another
when we belong to the same family, trust in the same Savior;
and are in indwelt by the Holy Spirit?
when we belong to the same family, trust in the same Savior;
and are in indwelt by the Holy Spirit?
James is able to answer this.
James 4:1-3 says Do
they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust
and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet
you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you
ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
The word lust means: an
intense desire. We see how people in the world around us sometimes use the lust of the flesh to get
what they want. And the lengths they go to obtain those desires the scriptures refer to as: Robbery,
murder, trickery, lying, and other ungodly means. And here James is speaking
of his brethren acting in the same like manner.
One of essences of sin is
selfishness. Genesis 12:10-20 tells the story of Achan, and his selfish
greed. We know Eve desired that fruit over obeying the Lord.
“We have turned every one to his own way” Isaiah 53:6
Our selfish desire can be
dangerous. Leading to wrong actions: Lust, covetousness, fighting and killing.
And they lead towards praying wrong.
If we are not praying
correctly, or praying with a self attitude, our walk with Christ is wrong.
"Prayer is not getting man's
will done in heaven, but getting God's will done on earth. It is not overcoming
God's reluctance but laying hold of God's willingness." Richard C. Trench
"Prayer
requires more of the heart than the tongue." Adam Clarke
Some Christians do not seek
God's will through prayer, but instead tell God what He needs to do. And when
it doesn't happen, they get angry. Angry first at God which eventually turns to
anger at people.
Humility
Cures Heedlessness
James 4: 7-10
Therefore submit to God.
Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw
near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts,you
double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to
mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the
Lord, and He will lift you up.
Warren Weirsbe says in his commentary that when we are at war with ourselves, either internal or external; the root cause is rebellion against God.
But God created this
world in perfect harmony.
“Than
God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.” Genesis 1:31
Yet when sin entered the world, this led to conflict against God.
“Sin
is lawlessness, and lawlessness is rebellion against God.” I John 3:4
How can
a believer than war against God? The scriptures tell us that Christians have
three enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil.
- The world: human society that is anti-God and anti-Christ. God is an enemy of the world, and we are a friend to the world, we are not a friend of God.
Matthew 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate
the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the
other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
- The flesh: This would be our old nature. When we accept Christ, we receive a new nature within. The old nature is still lurking in the background though.
If you are living to please the flesh, you are not pleasing
God.
“The carnal mind is enmity against God.”
Romans 8:7
- The devil: the devil opposes the Son of God. Pride as what brought Satan down, and he uses pride to cause warfare between the saint and Savior.
Psalm 10:4 “In his pride the
wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
Proverbs 11:2 When
pride comes,
then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.
Those are the enemies of the believer, but James does not
leave us without the proper tools for combat.
Verse 7; Submit to God. Warren Weirsbe likens this to a
military term. 'get into your proper rank'. We need to surrender
unconditionally to God. And not give Satan any foothold in our lives.
Verse 8; Draw near to God. God draws near to us when we
deal with the sin in our lives, which keep Him at a distance. He does not share
us with anyone.
II Corinthians 11:2 I
am jealous for
you with a godly jealousy.
Verse 9-10; Humble yourselves before God. Some can show
outward submission, but not be humbled inwardly. God hates the sin of pride.
And He will chasten the proud believer.
He wants a attitude just like it says
in Isaiah 34:18 “To this man will I look, even
to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.”
Matthew 23:12 “He that shall humble himself shall be
exalted”.
If we are truly repentant and humble, He will lift us up
out of trouble.
Do Not Judge a Brother
Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil
of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law.
But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is
one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?
We seem
to have come back around to the darn tongue again. Sometimes it just gets us
into trouble. There is a Greek word; katalaleite; which means 'any thing that
may hurt or injure another.'
From
the commentaries I've read, this verse is delvlng into a more serious note. As
Christians, we should not be defiling or defaming each other. Keeping our
brothers and sisters good name is important. There is that old saying; If you
don't have something good to say, don't say anything at all.
As for
being a judge...
The law
of Moses says, “Thou shalt not go up and down as a tale-bearer among thy
people”. Leviticus 19:16
and Matthew
7:1, “Judge not, that you be not judged”.
The sum
of both we should love one another. And the only true lawgiver is our Lord God.
Do Not Boast About Tomorrow
James
4:13-17
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and
such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you
do not know whatwill happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It
is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead
you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or
that.” But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is
sin.
James
first reproved the Christians for judging one another. Now he must address
their lack of providence. In Warren Weirsbe's commentary, he thought James
might have been talking about the wealthy merchants in the assembly. Needless
to say though, these people were taking no regard to seeking the will of God or
praying about important decisions. Their thoughts were centered on the success
of their life. Getting their own way.
James
reveals the foolishness in ignoring the will of God.
Verse
13, he brings into focus,{ the complexity of life.} We all have things that we
do everyday. And it's made up of people places, activities, and goals. Life is
a mystery in itself. When we seek His will, life starts to make sense. We no
longer live in a mysterious, threatening world. It's our Father's world!
Verse
14a; {The uncertainty of life.} We don't know what tomorrow brings. Proverbs
27:1 “Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day brings
forth.” The people of James day were planing far ahead. We see this happening
just as much today. Jesus had a parable of the rich man who had many barns to
hold all crops, and had to build even more. You can read about this in Luke 12:16-21
We
don't know our tomorrow, but God does.
Being in His will though, gives us
confidence for tomorrow.
Verse
14b; {The brevity of life} for us, life can seem long, and we measure it by
years. But in comparison to eternity, life is a vapor. Job 7:9 “Our days upon
earth are a shadow”. We count the number of years on our birthdays. (well,
maybe those in this room), but God tells us to number our days. (Psalm 90:12)
Since
life is so brief, instead of just 'spending' our life doing nothing, we need to
invest our life to things that are eternal.
The
final few verses speak of God's will. “If the Lord will” is not just a
statement. It's the attitude of the heart. The apostle Paul refers to the
Lord's will in: ( Romans 1:10, 15:32, I Corinthians
4:19, 16:7)
Many
know the will of God, but choose to disobey it. That brings us back into the
word pride. (I know what you want of me, but prefer not to do it) Not a good
attitude. Others think that God's will is a formula for misery. Not so. It's
not doing God's will that leads to misery. The Bible tells us that disobeying
God's will can be a serious thing.
Colossions
3:22-25
Bondservants, obey in all
things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as
men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. And whatever you do, do
it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will
receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. But he
who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.
God's
Word states His will for us to follow;
Yield
our-self: found in 2 Corinthians 8:5
Avoid
sexual immorality: I Thessalonians 4:3
Rejoice,
Pray, and Thank God: I Thessalonians 5:16-18
I
am so thankful that God's will is not cold and impersonal. The will of God is
a living relationship Between Him and us.
This
chapter gives us a look on behavior and actions.
Wars can be fought, even
within a church body -- whether it be with others, ourselves, or God Himself. God
wants us to humble ourselves and submit to Him.
He will lift us up!
We
are reminded that the tongue can still cause damage to a brother or sister in
Christ, if we use it to judge. But it's God who is the true judge. Also our lives here on
earth are just temporary. We should be looking forward to being eternally with
Jesus.
Finally, God's will is what and who we should always seek. Doing His will is so
much better than our own.
Are we truly living in humility today?
No comments:
Post a Comment