James 4:6—The power of the greater grace
But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6
Let’s review James 4:1-5:
- Christians can get into conflict and http://bionicwookiee.com/order-viagra-pills-usa/ strife due to envying each other.
- We can become so caught up in what’s best for me that we start to view other believers as rivals.
- We can be petty, contentious, self-centered, and self-serving.
- We can prioritize our pleasures over our relationship with God.
- James called all of this friendship with the world, and whoever pursues any of these things makes himself an enemy of God—a spiritual adulteress.
This is quite a strong assessment by Jesus’ baby brother. Unfortunately, what James described in this portion of his letter is a universal temptation for all of us who are in Christ. That’s why we are warned about it in the Word of God.
Sometimes you may feel like you’ll never get certain areas of your flesh under control. At other times you may become so gripped by the outrage of strife, misperceptions, critical sniping, or back-stabbing that you want to explode or throw your hands up in disgust—who needs them anyway? You may wonder: Will things ever get any better? Is there any way out of this pit?
The way out? Grace. God’s grace is sufficient for you. He is with you in trouble; He is with you when strife rises up against you; He is with you when you are tormented by an avalanche of accusing thoughts. His grace will bear you throughout your life and will bring you safely to your eternal home. If you fall seven times, He won’t fail to lift you up, ever. If you sin against Him seventy times seven, He will forgive and then continue to do so. He loves you with an intense, everlasting love. Even if you are faithless, He will remain faithful to you. This is your comfort and your strength.
Within each of us exists a soul that must be saturated with the Word of God to overcome the temptations that abound; each of us also has a mind that must be renewed. As you pursue God in your life, if you find yourself falling repeatedly, then repeatedly get back up. Confess your sin to Him who is faithful and righteous to forgive you, and He will cleanse you from all unrighteousness (see 1 John 1:9). Keep pressing on; lean heavily upon Him and hold His Word close.
However, if you seek to justify your sin—whatever it may be—or to excuse yourself from needing to address it before God, you are teetering on the edge. God’s grace still exists for you, but out there on “I’ll Do it My Way Highway” or “Blame Others-ville”, you are in dangerous territory; God will have to deal with your heart before He can pour out His help. Maybe you believe that since Jesus died for all of your sins, past, present, and future—and He did—you get a free ticket to live as you want. It’s all covered, anyway; why should I get under condemnation? That’s so “before Christ”!
If this describes you, my friend, you are living in a lesser grace; you’re living in “by-the-skin-of-your-teeth” grace; you’re living in grieving-the-Holy-Spirit and arousing-the-jealousy-of-God grace. Yeah, there’s grace over there, all right—the kind of grace that enables you to pass through the fire into Heaven after everything you’ve stood for in life is consumed by the flames of judgment (see 1 Corinthians 3:10-15). However, you don’t want to monkey around in that lesser grace all too long (and believe me—I’ve visited there myself—more times than I care to admit). Theologians disagree as to the limits of God’s grace when it is willfully tested on an ongoing basis; nevertheless, you don’t want to be the one to find out the degree at which “I did it my way” pushes the envelope past the bounds of God’s longsuffering.
That said, I honestly believe God suffers long with us to enable us to deal with issues about which we have grown dull or calloused. He is, after all, full of grace. But He wants us to reflect His nature to the world around us, and if we consistently choose to ignore His conviction, His Word, and His reproof, then we won’t manifest Him to anyone, no matter what we say or think.
But He gives a greater grace.
Don’t miss out on the greater grace to settle for an inferior, “get-away-with-it” grace. The greater grace is powerful stuff, straight from God, poured out through the blood of Jesus, and dwelling within you by the Holy Spirit. The greater grace grants you the power to resist that sin; the greater grace enables you to bless those who curse you and clomid hoseitandkoelewyn.com to pray for those who despitefully use you (see Luke 6:28). The greater grace empowers you to live out 1 Peter 3:9 so that you don’t repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but instead, you repay evil with blessing. This is your calling in Christ. By this, Peter wrote, you will inherit a blessing.
Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
Can you see it? God wants your entire heart. He longs for you to humbly admit your weaknesses, fear, sin, anger, and anxiety to Him as they arise. He’s already aware of them; He just wants to pour out that greater grace upon your life and circumstances—even those secret concerns—so that you can experience His radical help and deliverance. The proud man refuses to deal with his sin; he denies it, ignores it, or excuses it—and he stays stuck in his mess and misses out on all that God has for him. The humble man pours out his failures and concerns before God; he takes to heart the correction given; and he receives forgiveness, cleansing, and grace in world-overcoming, abundant supply.
Why live any longer in the shadows and back alleys of an inferior, “get-away-with-it” grace? Let the Lord lovingly lift you out of that lesser place to the fresh air and sunshine of His greater grace. It will be so worth it.
Dorothy
Read MoreJames 4:5—God’s jealousy
Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: “He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”? James 4:5
James was writing to born-again believers and correcting those who exhibited the following: [Taken from James 4:1-4.]
- Quarreling and http://ecomm.com.ar/precio-kamagra-espana/ conflicts within the church
- Lusting after one another’s possessions, position, power, and/or prestige
- Allowing antagonism to boil over to the point of murderous thoughts—perhaps even murder, itself
- Envying and fighting over jealous desires
- Not seeking God to fulfill wants and desires
- Asking God, but with wrong motives—in order to fulfill selfish desire as opposed to being better able to serve or glorify God
- Becoming like the world, demonstrating hostility to God—spiritual adultery
When you receive Jesus Christ as Lord, you become a new creation and the habitation of God through the Holy Spirit. As a believer, your new course is to pursue God, feed on His Word, worship with like-minded believers, and listen to and obey the leading of the Holy Spirit. By doing these things, you grow in Christ and build on the foundation of His Word—a trustworthy platform from which you can make divinely-informed decisions. However, He does not turn you into a robot or marionette. In other words, God does not excuse you from maintaining your end of your relationship with Him.
Once you are born again, you are born again. But you have the responsibility as a new creation to conduct your life—both inwardly and outwardly—according to the precepts of the New Testament. You are called to work out your salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12b); you are admonished to present your body to God as a living sacrifice and to refuse to be conformed to the world (see Romans 12:1-2). You are further instructed to be transformed by the renewing of your mind and to receive the Word with humility which is able to save your soul (see Romans 12:2 and James 1:21).
The 1970 movie “Love Story” introduced a slogan into pop culture: “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.” I remember moviegoers being so moved by the sentiment of that message, yet even as a teenager, I didn’t buy it. If someone hurt me, I thought, I’d want them to apologize. As far as I saw it, not saying you were sorry meant that you were taking advantage of someone’s love, intent upon doing your own thing, with no regard for their feelings.
And so we have the uncompromised gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus voluntarily died so that you could be saved. In fact, you were saved by grace through faith. Your salvation is not the result of your works—it’s a gift from God (see Ephesians 2:8-9). However, you were not saved merely to acquire hell-insurance. Your salvation opened the door for you to have free access to God—the Maker of the universe—as your Father, both now and for eternity. Your salvation began the adventure of your life, founded on and maintained by close intimacy with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
And since you aren’t a puppet or a programmable droid, everything you think, do, and say really does matter to the One with whom you are in relationship. And therefore, the slogan of the seventies, “Love means never having to say you’re sorry,” should never be your philosophy as a Christian.
Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: “He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”?
James made it very clear—you and I are accountable before God as new creatures for our choices, behaviors, attitudes, and words. The privilege to be a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit is not to be taken lightly—it is monumental and paradigm-shifting. As a Christian, you walk around this planet with the Spirit of the Living God on the inside of you. And yet, you have the freedom to ignore, neglect, or defy His leading. If that is the course you choose—supported, perhaps, by a misguided understanding of His grace—you might feel that it would be legalistic or unnecessary to confess selfish or compromising choices as sin and to ask for forgiveness. This dismissive attitude toward personal behavior arouses God’s jealousy. Simply stated, here’s why: You, who have entered covenant with Him, refuse to allow the God of grace to counsel, correct, and lead you—actively denying Him the Lordship that you originally gave Him.
God’s abiding grace poured out on you doesn’t render null and void the fact that you have the capacity to grieve the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 4:30 cautions all of us, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” It is very possible to grieve the Holy Spirit; therefore it makes sense that God jealously desires His Spirit not only to dwell in you, but also for Him to be honored through your words, actions, and attitudes.
You have the unparalleled opportunity to be indwelt by the Spirit of God. Don’t neglect Him or grieve Him. Nothing you crave—nothing this world has to offer—could ever come close to the joy, pleasure, and wonder of being a yielded vessel of the Spirit of God.
Dorothy
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Read MoreJames 4:4—Friendship with the world=hostility toward God
You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. James 4:4
James didn’t pull any punches. He called believers who embraced the world’s moral and ethical patterns adulteresses. He likened their happy acceptance of carnal ways to a woman who stepped out on her husband to enjoy a tawdry affair. Quite bluntly, James warned that this kind of lifestyle demonstrated hostility toward God.
I saw four angles to this verse while thinking about it: 1. Context, 2. Restoration; 3. Non-traditional/unconventional approaches; and 4. Discerning the difference.
Context. James was writing about Christians who were engaged in vicious, strife-filled contention, jealously viewing one another as bitter rivals rather than as beloved brothers and sisters. It was because of their antagonism to each other that James addressed them so indelicately. He wasn’t referring to the way they presented themselves physically or their choice of recreational activities; he flatly stated that their penchant to look upon one another as opponents to outdo was friendship with the world and, therefore, enmity toward God. So often we measure worldliness by appearance or style, but here James assessed the contentiously strifeful way believers reacted to one another’s possessions and privileges as friendship with the world.
Restoration. Unfortunately, I have observed believers who view those that struggle or are different in some way with disdain, casting aspersions on them. However, it’s important to understand that James wrote this verse to bring diagnosis and remedy to his brothers and sisters, not to pigeon-hole them for treatment as worthless, second-class Christians.
Whenever you see someone who is in moral, ethical, or spiritual trouble, a key verse to remember is Galatians 6:1: “Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.” Whether you simply pray for your brother or you go to him as well, your goal is his restoration, not to destroy his reputation.
The non-traditional and unconventional. Great damage has been done to the good name of godly people by those who brand them as “worldly” or “carnal” when in actuality they were merely following the leading of God. Jesus was smeared in such a way. He said, “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds” (Matthew 11:19.) When someone is obeying God, their unorthodox approach will nonetheless bear the fruit of wisdom and changed lives.
“I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some” the apostle Paul declared in 1 Corinthians 9:22b. He was determined not to allow differences in cultural practices hinder him from reaching out to people. To Jews, he was a Jew; to those under the Law, he lived as under the Law; to those without law, he lived as without law; to the weak, he became weak—all for the sake of the Gospel (see 1 Corinthians 9:19-23). Recognize that God may lead men and women in unconventional or non-traditional ways to win the lost. This is not worldly; it’s obedience to the Holy Spirit.
Discerning the difference. When you witness questionable behavior in another believer, the first line of action is to pray. Seek God on their behalf. They are your brother or sister; because of that, you love them. Put Galatians 6:1 into practice, looking to yourself lest you also stumble. Love requires no less. When you find yourself wanting to expose your brother or sister to others “for the purpose of prayer”, you must allow the Holy Spirit to search your heart; you just might be engaging in the very behavior that James calls hostility to God.
If, in your discernment of worldliness in someone, you long for them to be restored and helped, you’re probably on target; proceed in prayer. If in your discernment you feel indignant, scandalized, and morally or spiritually superior, then you need to step back, take a breath, and seek God. Maybe the brother or sister is in error; but you are on the verge of stepping into error on an even more dangerous level, yourself.
And be very cautious when those among you rise up who don’t fit the mold. Let God do what He will with them; if He’s directing them, you don’t want to find yourself fighting against God (see Acts 5:39).
Friendship with the world is a very real pitfall to watch out for. That’s why staying in the Word, in prayerful relationship with God, and in fellowship with other Christians is so vital—the Lord uses each of these to instruct and correct us, helping us to make wise decisions, healthy corrections, and empowering us to order our conversations aright (see Psalm 50:23).
When your brother stumbles, seek his restoration. Do it with meekness, looking to yourself that you, likewise, don’t stumble. And remember, one of the worldliest things you can do is to engage in strife and contention, creating division, and undermining the reputations of men and women for whom Christ died.
Dorothy
Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God. Psalm 50:23, KJV
Read MoreJames 4:1-3—Quarrels, conflicts, and wrong motives
What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. James 4:1-3
I have to be honest—this section of James is difficult for me to write about. Perhaps it’s because when I was born again, God landed me in a wonderful group of believers—my college Bible study group—and each one of them looked out for everyone else’s best interests. And in the churches I have attended—although they weren’t untouched by conflict—I rarely witnessed the hornet’s nest described by James. Disagreements happen, fallings-out occur, but I’ve seen very little of this kind of carnal hate-fest in my years as a believer. I have been blessed to be around loving, gracious Christians and wise leadership. For that I praise God.
What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you?
It’s good to discern the cause of conflict when it arises. Likewise, it’s good step back and be brutally honest with yourself when you feel yourself gravitating toward strife. Why am I so upset with him/her/them? What’s stirring this sense of outrage in me? These things are nearly always two-sided. Rarely is one party an angel and the other a devil—especially between brethren. If you have a tendency to think you’re never wrong, then perhaps you’re the main problem in this deal! Jesus is the only One I can think of who is actually right 100% of the time.
Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members?
Bible teacher David Guzik wrote about this section, “There is some root of carnality, an internal war within the believer regarding the lusts of the flesh. No two believers, both walking in the Spirit of God towards each other, can live with wars and fights among themselves” (see http://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide_Jam/Jam_4.cfm).
Are you living in a state of “me vs. him/her/them”? Check your carnality gauge. It’s probably through the roof. Guzik goes on to quote New Testament scholar Douglas Moo, “James seems to be bothered more by the selfish spirit and bitterness of the quarrels than by the rights and wrongs of the various viewpoints” (ibid.) Amen to that.
You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel.
The apostle John said, “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him” (1 John 3:14-15). Lust—whether for someone else’s stuff, status, position, relationship, or anything else—can lead you into jealousy or indignation bordering on hatred. You’ve got to learn to recognize the signs of envy in your own heart so you can stop it before it takes root. Don’t let yourself flirt with that green-eyed monster! If you discover you are dealing with jealousy, then acknowledge it before God, and receive His mercy and grace to deal appropriately with it. If you don’t, you will be held accountable.
You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.
Many Bible teachers cite this section to diagnose underlying causes for unanswered prayer. It’s important to recognize, though, that James specifically wrote this portion of his letter to contentious Christians involved in conflicts and quarrels due to their lust for what each other possessed. Therefore, this admonition should not be universally applied to all cases of lack and unanswered prayer. Have you prayed for something and have not yet received it? Don’t automatically assume you have asked with the wrong motive; a number of reasons exist for unanswered prayer; this is but one of them.
However, if your prayers remain unanswered and you find yourself in a constant state of conflict with one or more believers, then check your heart. Are you jealous? Are you angry that someone else has attained a position or status that you think you deserve? Do you feel slighted because of someone else’s blessings? Are you fuming because someone did not listen to your advice or go along with your opinion? Are you stewing because someone has snubbed or overlooked you? James just might be talking to you. Both jealousy and a misplaced sense of “righteous” indignation are definitely prayer hinderers—and blessing blockers.
Your job? Guard your heart, watch over the state of your soul, and yield to the correction of the Lord whenever that familiar conviction arises within you. Leave it to the Lord figure out everyone else’s heart, soul, and motives, and don’t get your hackles up over the distribution of God’s blessings, abundance, and wealth. There’s enough for everyone, and He’ll never run out. Only believe.
Dorothy
Read MoreJames 3:18—Sowing in peace
And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. James 3:18
James 3 ends with a triumphant statement which includes four key components: the seed, its fruit, the sowing, and the sower.
The seed. When seed is mentioned in the New Testament, it typically means the Word of God. The seed which James referred to is the wisdom from above—first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy (see James 3:17). Any act of obedience to the Word of God is seed that you sow. Likewise, when you shun those things that are contrary to the Bible or which violate your conscience, you are sowing good seed.
Its fruit. Good seed produces good fruit. Does fruit appear immediately once the seed is planted? Not in nature, it doesn’t. But good seed, nonetheless, develops over time into good fruit. This seed, the wisdom from above, acted on in obedience to the Word and the Spirit of God, is excellent seed, and as Peter wrote, it’s imperishable and indestructible (see 1 Peter 1:23). And imperishable seed can only produce one kind of fruit—imperishable. Do you want the indestructible fruit of righteousness abounding in your life? If so, it’s worth your time and effort to find out what God’s wisdom is for your life—and then act on it.
The sowing. The way you sow your seed is more significant than you may realize. God has given you amazing seed which produces awesome fruit, but there is a way in which to sow it that will produce the best results. Not having a green thumb myself, I have observed others who do go to great lengths not only to secure good seed to sow, but also to make certain that they plant it correctly. I have a hunch that the rewards you receive on the Day you see Jesus face to face will reflect your manner of sowing just as much as the fruit produced by your sowing.
How do you sow, then? James wrote that you sow in peace; in other words, if there is bitter jealousy in your heart or any selfish ambition, you will find sowing in peace impossible. Your sowing must be in accordance with the gentleness of wisdom (James 3:13), not in the bitterness of one-upsmanship. Your sowing must be pure and with a reasonable, kind demeanor; your sowing must be with merciful words, behavior, and deeds; you must sow while standing unwaveringly in the Truth; and you must sow in genuineness and sincerity, without hypocrisy (see James 3:17). This is how you sow.
The sower. That’s you. And James gave you a title: one who makes peace. As you sow your seed in peace, in the gentleness of wisdom, with purity, reasonableness, mercy and kind deeds, exerting steadfastness, and without any hypocrisy, you, the sower, are a peacemaker. You are not a competitor. You are not a fault-finder. You are not an underminer. No, you are a peacemaker on a quest for wisdom from above.
May you reap a harvest of the fruit of righteousness as you sow the good seed of God’s wisdom!
Dorothy
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