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The Epistle of James 4: 1-10….Do Not Choose The World
What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. 4 You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? 6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble." 7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
Discussion
James' epistle implies that there were quarrels and conflicts among the church members. The problem was they were worldly and dissatisfied. (Ecc 2:1-3). The love of pleasure tempts us, and much like Eve was tricked, our desires will sometimes lead us into sin.
God wants us to be happy and have the desires of or heart but Instead of giving in to the temptationsthat the desires of our heart create in us, we should go to God in prayer and make certain that the desires of our heart are those that will please God, and not anger or sadden Him. Ask for God's guidance in all that we undertake, and try to eliminate from our lifestyle those things that edify self, and fulfill selfish desires. The true disciple of Christ is one who is loving forgiving and humble, serving the needs of others, in service to Jesus Christ. (James 1:27)
The desire to have bigger and better, and more of the things which we perceive will make us happy, and our upscale lifestyle which displays our wealth, have the potential to draw us ever deeper into sin. And technology has made available to us so much more of the things which draw us into the worlds ways. All of these things influence our relationships with each other and with God. In verse 4, James says friendship with the world is hostility towards God. Loving what the world has to offer will most often turn us away from God. Some of the attitudes of our present lifestyles include such phrases as "Look out for number one”, Live like there is no tomorrow"And “living la vida loca” (which means living the crazy life). Materialism, superstition, loose morals, and selfishness are all examples of a hedonistic lifestyle. All of these things refer to the worldly system of thought that is contrary to the Bibles teaching Jesus said in Matthew 7:13 &14 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. (Joshua 1:8) We must make a choice, living in this fallen world and partaking of the worlds way, or living in the world but not becoming “of the world”. The choice is ours. Just as Eve was tempted by Satan to eat of a fruit which God had forbidden, Satan's ways are clever and enticing, seemingly harmless, but the true believer, a disciple of Christ knows the difference. Choose life with Jesus, it's the only way.
Questions
1. What issues do you think church members in verses 1-3 might disagree over?
2. As in verse 4, why does James refer to these members as adulturous?
3. James speaks of one characteristic that God opposes, what is that characteristic?
4. What is one of the most difficult characteristics for a human being to exhibit?
5. What is there about “living the good life” that is so good? And what is dangerous about it?
6. How are we to live in, and be influenced by this world, and not become part of it?
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The Epistle of James 4:11-17 Judge Not Your Brother
11 Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you--who are you to judge your neighbor? 13 Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. 17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, it is sin for them.
Discussion
It is so easy to find fault, to point to the flaws of others, to recall their shortcomings and failures, and to slander their good name. (Romans 2:3). It is not pleasing to God for such matters to be ongoing among his followers, and James has probably had enough of that by the time he writes this letter. His church, or other churches among the early Jewish Christians in Jerusalem were probably struggling with the habit of judging each other for the selfish gratification of it. Judging others to be less than ourselves elevates our status in our mind, and gives us some satisfaction.
That type of behavior has escalated in our society as we become more sophisticated and gain more access to higher educational techniques and enjoy a higher level of learning, We become more judgmental of our fellow man. Mainly it is the world's way to belittle what we might consider the less priviledged among us, and to judge that they are not properly equipped and as such cannot possibly know what it takes to get along successfully in this world.
If one is to succeed in this life one must “have an inside track”, or “know the ropes”, or “have some clout”, or “know the right people”. It pays to have “friends in high places”. Why are these phrases even in use today?….. Does anyone know?….. All of these worldwise sayings come to us from the worlds way. (Philippians 2:5-8).
If one is to serve God one cannot serve “the World” too. We will ultimately choose to become a servant of God, a Disciple of Christ, or we will, as did Adam and Eve, succomb to the choice offered by Satan, and disobey God's plan for our life. That choice has been made before by many in our world, and it will continue to be a choice that human beings have to make. But all is not lost, God sacrificed an animal and made a covering for the sin of Adam and Eve. God also knows the heart of man and has a plan of salvation for our failed choices as well. His Son our Lord Jesus is a covering for our sins as well, Jesus can still become Lord of our life if we ask him into our heart. It really is that simple. The worlds way or God's way. (Colossians 3:17). Which leads us to the last verse in this chapter, If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, it is sin for them……The worlds way puts our eternal soul at risk…...Because Jesus went the way of the cross, my soul has been rescued. His sacrifice saved my soul, I simply could not have done it myself……Jesus saved me.
Questions
1. What is meant in vs 11 by speaking against a sister or brother?
2. How is it that offering ourselves as the judge of another, is opposing God?
3. What directs us when making certain moral decisions?
4. What wisdom is gained by being led by the worlds ways?
5. What wisdom is gained by following The bible's teachings, God's way?
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Opening Prayer... Father God, Tonight we ask that you would impart to us that which You would have us learn from this our study of the Epistle of James. How it is that we are to properly reflect our faith and belief in the way we treat our fellow man. Guide us in our daily interactions with each other so that our example will become a witness to our faith in You and Your teachings. Help us we pray in making our way in this world that we might not become a follower of the worlds way but a true witness in what You teach us through Your son Jesus, in whose name we pray. AMEN
Ecc 2:1-3 I said to myself, "Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good." But that also proved to be meaningless. 2 "Laughter," I said, "is madness. And what does pleasure accomplish?"3 I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly--my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives.
James 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, [and] to keep himself unspotted from the world.
Joshua 1:8 - This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
Romans 2:3 - And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?
Philippians 2:5-8 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Colossians 3:17 - And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
Closing Prayer, Dear God we pray that we have garnered some manner of truth for our purpose in this world gone mad with self promotion and self gratification. And just as those Christians were Jerusalem in James' day, we need Your guidance and direction for our lives, we need to understand that it is not what we worship that saves us, but it is who we worship and in whom our faith is built around that will bring us out of the chaos that we experience day by day. Now we pray that you will be with those of our group who are suffering illness or infirmity _______________Be with those we have spoken Lord, and with those remaining in our hearts concern, bring them your strength and give them peace as they battle for their health and well being. Now be with us as we leave this place and bring us again to study Your word next week. We pray this in Jesus name Amen.
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James Chapter 4 Meditation
James first mentions the relationship with each other. He chooses significant terms to identify the ones his readers would be judging: brother in 4:11 and then neighbor at the end of 4:12. Jesus used the term brother in his instruction against judging (Mt 7:1-5), and he used the term neighbor in the great commandment to love (Mt 22:39). In light of all that James has written so far about God's mercy toward us, these terms now come as reminders that our family bonds in God's mercy are violated when we who have received mercy turn to judge each other; and God's goodness to us is treated with contempt when we show judgment instead of mercy to our neighbors.
Second is the relationship with the law. James insists that we are to be doers under the law, which is contradicted when we try to be judges over the law. The "law" could refer to the Old Testament command in Leviticus 19:16, which prohibits slander, and to Leviticus 19:18, "Love your neighbor as yourself," which James quoted in 2:8. Given James's reverence for the teachings of Jesus as the royal law of the kingdom, it is likely that he also has in mind Jesus' specific command against judging in Matthew 7:1 and Jesus' own quoting of Leviticus 19:18. James's point is that if we accept God's mercy through Christ, we place ourselves under Christ's law, which commands mercy. If we then judge others instead of being merciful toward their faults, we are rejecting that law and so setting ourselves up as judges over the law. This contradicts our proper stance as recipients of grace--we are to be doers under the law.
The third relationship is with God. One, as the subject of the sentence emphasizes that there is only one who is Lawgiver and Judge. When we judge each other, we are contradicting that fact. This is a revealing insight into our hearts. In judging people, what we really want is to take God's place. The United States government is arranged in judicial, legislative and executive branches, with a careful separation and balance of powers. In the realm of personal relationships, however, judging and lawgiving operate together; the one who judges another person is presuming to have authority to set the law or standard by which the other person is judged. Judging is an attempt to be in control as God is in control, which has been our rebellious desire ever since the serpent told Eve she could be "like God, knowing good and evil." Our sins of judging are attempts to set ourselves not only over the law but over the Lawgiver as well.
What James has been prescribing is a life of faith that has two facets: confidence in God's grace and passion for God's righteousness. The confidence and the passion are complementary responses to God's judgment and mercy. God's mercy triumphs over judgment on our behalf; therefore we may be confident in relying on grace. However, we who have genuinely grasped grace will become all the more eager to grasp righteousness, realizing that our lack of righteousness so nearly brought us to disaster in the fearful judgment of God. Once one has humbly sought grace for escape from judgment (4:10), it becomes unthinkable to set oneself up as judge over a neighbor (4:11). It is part of a single stance before God to submit to him for his grace (4:7) and to submit to him for his law; one cannot be both a judge over the law and a doer under the law (4:11). James is showing us a well-integrated faith in Christ as both merciful Savior to be trusted and righteous Lord to be obeyed. AMEN
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