James 4:1-5
Task of the believer – pursue holiness; exercise living faith demonstrated by good works; bear fruit; work out salvation. To actually reach the goal, attain the holiness God intends for us, achieve victory in living Christian life – requires knowledge. Have to know the enemy in order to overcome. Since it’s spiritual enemy, warfare, weapons must be spiritual ones to be effective. Means they must come from God, their use be directed by God in strength he supplies.
John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, Chapter 1, Book 1, Section 1
“Our wisdom, in so far as it ought to be deemed true and solid Wisdom, consists almost entirely of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves. But as these are connected together by many ties, it is not easy to determine which of the two precedes and gives birth to the other. …no man can survey himself without forthwith turning his thoughts towards the God in whom he lives and moves; because it is perfectly obvious, that the endowments which we possess cannot possibly be from ourselves. …the infinitude of good which resides in God becomes more apparent from our poverty. …We are accordingly urged by our own evil things to consider the good things of God; and, indeed, we cannot aspire to Him in earnest until we have begun to be displeased with ourselves.”
Is a given: true, accurate self-knowledge only possible in any measure for Christian. Unregenerate person deceived by sin and Satan, can’t and won’t recognize/identify source of obstacles to holiness. In addressing issues, James uses shockingly strong language, perhaps to draw attention to seriousness of problem. Shouldn’t dismiss too quickly as not applying; think through what James is saying in context of other biblical instruction as he deals with nature of our condition, why things are that way, what it means for our relationship with God.
A. nature of our condition v.1
a war zone
wars / fights; conflicts / quarrels; battlefield terminology, shocking since directed toward activity inside the church
does not mean there was actual blood on the floor, missing limbs, casualties
far worse than that
begin as sins of the heart, not the hand
often hidden under veneer of smiles, right-sounding words, most of the time
have both human and spiritual consequences – blown relationships with man and God
remember Jesus’ and John’s words: Matt. 5:21-22; 1 John 3:15 “everyone who hates his brother is a murderer”
so,… problem is internal
not result of circumstances
war is already going on within, kept under wraps much of the time
particular circumstances give opportunity for break-out
source: “desires for pleasure” (1) and “lust” (2)
ἡδονή – hedone – enjoyment, pleasure
occasionally used +, most often –, in regard to life focused on “this world”
hedone refers to pleasure derived from the desire acted upon and realized
ἐπιθυμέω – epithumeo – passionately desire, long for, set your heart on (usually pleasure)
not inherently negative, used in Scripture both + and –, more often –
identify the right culprit
problem is not presence of desire, even enjoyment of pleasure
issue is what sin has done to corrupt desires, make pleasure the goal
desires and passions that are self-indulgent, not God-focused, result in conflict
anyone/thing that gets in way of satisfying them is fair game, literally
B. reason of our condition v.2-3
“You lust and have not, so you murder.
You burn with desire to have, and cannot obtain, so you fight and war.
You have not, because you ask not.
You ask, and do not receive, because you ask amiss so that you may squander it upon your lustful desires.”
point 1 – summary of the issue, points 2-4 outline how you get there
failure to be content; stems from focus on what is lacking, not what is present
determined to have what they believe is deserved, certainly what is desired
will stop at nothing to achieve goal, even murder (figurative or literal)
can be stuff related, doesn’t have to be; power, position, influence, being right, own way, recognition
methods are all the usual: spin, rushed decisions, foot-dragging, manipulation, etc, etc.
point 2 – where it begins: burning desire to have that is frustrated
desire to have, make attempt to get, fail in attempt
try again, turn up the heat, determined to remove opposition, fail in attempt
now it’s open conflict, whatever it takes to achieve goal
point 3 – more of problem is exposed: wrong method
attempting to achieve ends by own means, efforts, not striving in prayer
two aspects that are important
it’s hard (not impossible) to ask God for wrong things, what we know (or are pretty sure) he would not approve
prayer, not fighting, God’s appointed way to achieve right goal right way
point 4 – last but not least, wrong motive
fervent prayer must be God-centered in order to be answered
“May we not seek our own good and benefit? I answer, not ultimately, not absolutely; but only with submission to God’s will, and subordination to God’s glory. The main end why we desire to be saved, to be sanctified, to be delivered out of any danger, must be that God may be honoured in these experiences, in comparison of which our own glory and welfare should be nothing.” Thomas Manton
effectual prayer must follow models given
disciples’ prayer; Jesus’ high-priestly prayer; prayers of Paul
even short portion of Jesus’ prayer for himself had God’s glory ultimately in view
if self-gratification is source of fights and conflict, way to peace must be through self-denial in submission to God’s will
should go without saying: self can’t deny self in own strength; only through living faith instructed by God’s Word and empowered by God’s Spirit that believer can obey Jesus’ command – deny self, take up cross, follow (Mat. 16:24; Mar. 8:34; Luk. 9:23)
C. evaluation of our condition v.4-5
leaves no room for doubt / question what he means – James in echo from OT prophets charges people of God with adultery (4a)
speaking of spiritual unfaithfulness, using language of marriage
equivalent of idolatry
doesn’t have to be issue of “ultimate trust” to count – simple preference is enough
in adultery – prefers someone else to God
in idolatry – have greater thirst / desire for created thing than for Creator
demonstrated in priorities based on preferences where God doesn’t come first
spending time / effort that rightfully belongs to God on something else
further defines it as “friendship with the world” (4b)
subscribe to world’s way of thinking and doing
prefer things world holds important
cultivating relationships with others who do the same
and “enmity with God” (4c)
no gray area, it’s either / or
same as Jesus said in Matt 6:24 “no one can serve two masters”
world is kingdom of Satan, place where he rules men’s hearts, is at war with God and his people
to become friend of the world – eventually get sucked in, become enemy of God, too
to summarize:
Friendship with the world, then, “means to affirm the values, choices, priorities of a meaning system that grounds meaning in material possessions, status and regard.”
Friendship with God, on the other hand, is “to affirm the values, choices and priorities of a meaning system that grounds meaning in the promise of the one who gives every good gift and is both ‘lawgiver’ and ‘judge (Jam. 4:11-12)’” William Brosend
just in case you were wondering if this is at all serious….
Bible warns of penchant for envy, inordinate desire; means what it says (The present Commentary opts for the following translation. “The spirit that he (i.e., God) caused to dwell in us, lusts to envy” (envies intensely, NIV;) Krabbendam)
if we give in to desire, feed it with world’s friendship, situation is hopeless
no way we can escape power of indwelling sin coupled with external encouragement to sin
don’t despair!
as great as danger is, God’s grace is greater – see v.6
when Christian understands / acknowledges true inward condition, then is ready for God’s solution
Whether we are born again or still in need of conversion, our only hope lies in acknowledging utter inability and total dependence on God. Doesn’t mean we stop working, passively waiting for God to do his thing and make us all better. We have responsibility to do what is right – making right choices, resisting sin and Satan. In words of Luke (describing work of Barnabas in Antioch), may we “remain true to the Lord with a firm resolve of the heart” (Acts 11:23, HCSB). May God grant us grace and strength to do that.
