Self-Centered Life (Part 2)

I made a point that self-centered life is the source of all our conflicts. This self-centered living comes within our selfish desires. We cannot have what we want, so we fight for it. Sometimes, when we can lose control of our emotions, we really fight.

James does not mention what these Christians are fighting about. But, today’s lesson may give us a hint, and how that could serve as a warning to us, and how God offers us hope and grace when we fail to live the life that He desires of us.

Big Idea: Self-Centered Life Is Spiritual Adultery.

Adultery

Adultery is a strong word. It means a husband is being unfaithful to his wife by sleeping with someone other than his lawful spouse, and vice versa.

In the Ten Commandments, the 7th commandment says, “You Shall Not Commit Adultery.”

God condemns adultery because it is a sin. When adultery happens, it breaks relationship between the married couple. As a result, trust, marriage vows/promises and hearts are broken.

Adultery is so treacherous that it destroys individuals and families emotionally, mentally, financially and spiritually. The unfaithful spouse betrays the loyalty and trust of the faithful spouse. Sometimes, divorce happens as a result of adultery.

I think most, if not all of us would agree that adultery sinful and wrong in many levels.

Sometimes, divorce happens.

Spiritual Adultery

What I do I mean by that?

The Bible depicts God as a husband to Israel. God is a faithful in rescuing Israel from Egyptian slavery. So, both God and Israel have entered into a relationship with each other. Just as God is faithful to Israel, Israel is commanded by God be faithful and obedient to Him. If Israel is faithful, then God will bless them. If Israel becomes unfaithful, God will discipline them and not bless them. But, even though Israel becomes unfaithful, God will always remain faithful.

Israel was unfaithful by worshipping idols, following false prophets and rebelling against God’s commandments. Israel was supposed to be faithful to the one and true God, but they ended up being faithful to other gods. That is spiritual adultery.

Israel was supposed to be faithful to the one and true God, but they ended up being faithful to other gods.

Israel is commanded by God be faithful and obedient to Him because

There is a book in the Old Testament known as Hosea that describes vividly this spiritual adultery. God tells Hosea to marry a woman called Gomer. Gomer would later become unfaithful to Hosea by committing adultery. Hosea would use this marriage and unfaithfulness to describe how Israel was unfaithful towards God in their relationship.

If you have time this today and this week, and if you have the courage and bravery, then you should read . It is probably the most graphic picture of spiritual adultery in the whole Bible because Ezekiel uses some extremely strong words (and some words may sound offensive to our hears).

In the New Testament, there is a picture of Jesus’ relationship with Christians (the church). In , the marriage relationship between a husband and a wife is paralleled to Christ’s relationship with the church (the Christians).

The church is not a building or a facility. The church is people, not building. The church means the gathering of Christians. If you’re a Christian, then you are part of the church.

This may sound weird to some of us, but if we are the church, then we are married to Christ.

the marriage relationship between a husband and a wife is paralleled to Christ’s relationship with the church (the Christians).

This may be something that you never realized, but if you are a Christian, then you have entered into an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.

VERS 4

The discussion on adultery, spiritual adultery, marriage and faithfulness are meant to help us understand James’ language in verse 4.

He calls these Christians, “You adulterous people!” James is not accusing Christians of committing actual adultery, but he is indicting them for committing spiritual adultery.

Self-Centered Life Is Unfaithfulness Towards God (v.4a)

How? They commit spiritual adultery by developing friendship with the world.

They commit spiritual adultery by developing friendship with the world.

Friendship is not an ordinary friendship like being buddies. This kind of friendship means to have a deep love and affection for something or someone. In this case, James says that these Christians have love and affection with the world.

James is not talking about the world as referring to the universe or the earth. He is speaking generally about things, systems and people that are hostile to God or hate God. We live in a society that is ANTI-God. It is a society that loves sin and wickedness, and is in rebellion against a holy God.

And so, James gives a stern warning (or an alarm) to those who are listening: “whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

In other words, if being a friend of the world is your desire, if that is your ambition in life, if that is what you are planning to do, then you have positioned yourself to a dangerous side: you have chosen the side of being an enemy of God instead of a friend of God.

Do you know who’s THE enemy of God? Satan. Satan opposes God. He opposes God’s purposes, God’s Word and God’s Work.

If you love the things in the world are against God.

People who love the things in the world are against God. Friendship with the world is an opposition against God, His purpose, His Word, and His Work. If there is this kind of friendship with the world, then Christians are in danger of being hostile towards God.

If there is this kind of friendship with the world, then Christians are in danger of being hostile towards God.

So, it comes back to the issue of why the Christians are fighting and quarrelling with each other. Perhaps, they are fighting because they have the desire to be friends with the world, which would feed a person’s self-centered life. They do not have what others have or they do oppose things that they do not want: it could be leadership and authority (such as being a teacher); it could be ideas or proposals presented in the church meeting that they oppose because they do not fit with their preferences.

1 John 2:15 ESV

15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

Satan opposes God. He opposes God’s purposes, God’s Word and God’s Work.

John 7:7 ESV

7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil.

Reflection: Is it possible to intimately love the world that hate God while at the same time loving God who hates sin?

Reflection: Is it possible to love the things and people that hate God?

Self-Centered Life Is Unfaithfulness To God (v.4a)

Matthew 6:24 ESV

24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

2. Self-Centered Life Displeases God (4b)

Self-Centered Life Displeases God (4b)

We look at verse 5, which is probably the most difficult verse to interpret in James. There are at least two reasons why it’s hard.

First, we do not know where James is exactly quoting from the Old Testament. There is no verse that says, “He yearns jealousy over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us.”

Second, who is “He” referring to? Is James referring to God or referring to human?

Without getting too technical, all you need to know is that James might be quoting from various places in Scripture and summarizing it.

The “He”, I think, that James is speaking about God’s jealousy. James is warning the Christians that flirting with the world or being in an intimate friendship with the world is a serious matter because it invokes the jealousy of God.

But the key to understanding this verse is the way James uses the Old Testament teaching on spiritual adultery. Remember, the Old Testament paints God like the husband to Israel, God’s people.

I think that James is speaking about God’s jealousy. James is warning the Christians that flirting with the world or being in an intimate friendship with the world is a serious matter because it invokes the jealousy of God.

Theology

Now, the Bible talks about the jealousy of God in various places. In the Ten Commandment, the second commandment says...

Exodus 20:4–5 ESV

4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,

Exod

when we talk about the jealousy of God, there may be questions that come to mind. I thought

When we talk about the jealousy of God, there may be questions that come to mind. “I thought jealousy is a sin, so is God sinning by being jealous?”

Jealousy - a strong feeling of possessiveness. The feeling comes when something which belongs to you OR does not belong to you is about to be taken away.

The English dictionary does describe jealousy in a negative sense, but it can be used in a positive sense. The Bible has descriptions of both.

Negatively, jealousy means having a self-destructive emotion over something or someone that may or may not belong to you.

Positively, jealousy means passionately committed to something or someone which rightfully belongs to you.

I married my wife Alison 3 years ago. We made a covenant/vow/promise to each other. Alison promised me that she takes me as her wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward…etc. Basically, Alison promised that she will be mine and I will be hers forever until death do us apart. So, I have rightful possession of her.

But, if she flirts with another guy or cheats on me, then I have the right to feel jealous because she promised that she belongs to me and no other guys can have her.

The key to understanding verse 5 or the jealousy of God is the way James uses the Old Testament teaching on spiritual adultery. Remember, the Old Testament paints God like the husband to Israel, God’s people.

Remember God and Israel made a covenant / promise with each other. It’s like a marriage vow. God demands total loyalty and allegiance from Israel because of His love and faithfulness. But, Israel went astray and cheated on God by worshipping idols. So, God was jealous for His people because He has rightful possession over them. God’s jealousy for His people does not mean that He’s a needed person, but it simply shows that He loves them deeply.

This is a reminder for us as Christians that God desires us to be wholly and totally committed to Him without cheating on Him by loving and valuing the things of the world.

The Gospel reminds us that we were created to be in a relationship with God, but we sinned and rebelled against Him. As a result, we are separated from a relationship with God. God would judge our sins and has every right to condemn us as sinners. But, Jesus Christ died for our sins to save us from hell and condemnation. Jesus Christ did not only save us from something, but He saved us so that we no longer live for ourselves, but we live for Him and for His glory. Christ saved us so that we can be His Bride.

Jesus Christ died for our sins to save us from hell and condemnation. Jesus Christ did not only save us from something, but He saved us so that we no longer live for ourselves, but we live for Him and for His glory as a follower.

Jesus Christ died for our sins to save us from hell and condemnation. Not only did He save us

This is a reminder for us as Christians (as the Bride of Christ) that God desires us to be wholly and totally committed to Him without cheating on Him by loving and valuing the things of the world.

3. Self-Centered Life Brings Up God’s Jealousy (v.5)

If verse 5 is talking about God’s jealousy for His people, then James is reminding us that God’s grace is completely adequate to our weakness. We need to recognize that we are not strong and we are weak spiritually. It’s counter-cultural to acknowledge weakness, but we need to do so.

If you feel that you have been self-centered or loving the world all this time and you felt convicted by the Holy Spirit from what I just talked about…or if you feel that you cannot measure up to God’s requirements, then there is hope for you from Scripture.

God GIVES you Grace! He will give you the ability, supplies and power to love Him and to meet His demands of your relationship with Him.

But, God’s grace demands a response from us. That is…we need to respond with humility. We need to recognize and admit that we need God’s help to meet our needs.

you feel that you cannot measure up to God’s requirements, then I want to offer you hope from Scripture. God GIVES you Grace!

If we do not respond to His grace, if we continue to live a self-centered life, if we continue to develop bitter jealousy and selfishness, then God will definitely oppose us and He will not favour us.

4. Self-Centered Life Is A Prideful Lif

Seek God’s Grace By Being Humble

5. Repent From Self-Centered Life By Humbly Receiving God’s Grace (v.6)

Conclusion

All of us have desires, wants, and needs. The Bible is not against us from having desires and passions, but it is against us having desires and passions on the wrong things. Knowing God through Jesus Christ fulfills our ultimate desires because we are created to know Him and find our satisfaction in Him.

We may never know exactly what the Christians in James’ time were fighting about, but I think they might have placed their desires and passions in the wrong thing instead of the right thing. They were meant to find their satisfaction in Jesus because He saved them. But, they committed spiritual adultery by finding pleasure and passion in other things. Perhaps you can consider that all of our conflicts and fighting might be due to self-centeredness.

If you have drifted from God and into some form of spiritual adultery, then you can find hope in God. He gives you more grace. You may feel that you are inadequate, or you may feel that you can never live up to God’s standard. Or maybe, you may feel that you have drifted so deep into spiritual adultery that you cannot imagine that God will forgive you. Then remember James’ words…He gives more grace.

If you humbly turn from your self-centeredness and towards God and His grace, He will forgive you. Jesus’ death and resurrection are more than sufficient to cleanse you.

Reflection: What is your biggest struggle when it comes to self-centeredness? How can you guard against it?