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Good morning!
Thank you for the testimonies this morning.
Last week we finished up chapter three in our study of James.
Our goal in this study is to discover true faith.
A faith that never stops growing and a faith that is seen by the world.
Last week we talked specifically about wisdom and where we, as believers, look for the wisdom that we need.
James talks about the difference between Wisdom that comes from God and wisdom from the world.
James isn’t saying that wisdom that comes from living on earth is bad, but that when people try to imitate God’s wisdom, it leads to evil.
We talked about this being the enemy’s favorite tactic.
He convinces us that our wisdom is equal to God’s.
This is what he did with Adam and Eve in the garden.
James is trying to reorient the church back to looking to God, not one another, for wisdom.
God’s wisdom will not only produce peace, but it will help us to really understand Him.
That was the goal of their fighting in the church that he was writing to.
They wanted to understand God, but rather than asking God, they were fighting about their own ideas.
This leads us up to chapter four.
James is going to continue to unpack what is happening in the hearts and minds of the church.
Look with me at the first three verses of James 4.
Most of the time, when people are bent toward fighting, and there seems to be no way to reconcile, it can be traced back to pride.
1.
Our pride divides us.
As I have mentioned many times during this study, the church that James is writing to is at war with itself.
Now, in this passage, we get a clear view of why.
Remember that they are living under Roman rule, and debating was the popular form of learning and communication.
Because the church was choosing to follow the world’s way of teaching, it was at war with itself because each of the members felt they needed to be right.
The issues that they were debating were lost in the argument.
The chief thing that was being argued over was the role that the law played in this new understanding of God.
Keep in mind that fr most, if not all of them, grew up under Jewish law.
I can only imagine how difficult it would have been for them to leave those traditions.
Jesus fulfilled the law through his life and death.
We see this happening in other churches as well.
This wasn’t a singular event.
If you think about it, most of the New Testament is a compilation of letters that were written to give direction and teaching to these new churches.
Look with me at what Paul says to Titus in his letter.
Titus 3:4-11
In this portion of the letter, Paul lays out the theology of Jesus and grace.
He follows that up by telling them not to fight about it.
If the person that is starting the quarreling doesn’t stop, tell them to leave.
God’s character isn’t divisive, and if the church allows that kind of person to dominate the conversations, they will overshadow what God was doing.
Paul and James are combating the same issues in these different churches.
In fact, we see similar issues popping up for Timothy and the churches in Ephesus and Corinth.
God had dynamically changed the nature of His relationship with people, and there were many who were struggling with that change.
Their way of dealing with those changes was to debate them.
Rather than asking God to help them understand what HE was doing, they debated about what they thought He was doing.
And as many of us have experienced before, those who want to fight are typically willing to take those arguments to the grave simply to be correct.
Because of their pride, they would not or could not give up on their particular standpoint.
Rather than letting God speak to what they were struggling with, they looked within themselves and their past beliefs to reach the truth.
As we see by their actions, they were far more committed to the process than they were to the truth.
Look at what James goes on to say.
As a quick aside, depending on what translation you look at, you may see verse four translated as adulteresses, which is feminine.
Some have tried to make that mean something negative towards women, but James is speaking to the church in the same way that the prophets of the OT did.
We, as believers, are the Bridegroom of Christ.
So, when James says adulteresses, he isn’t talking to just women, but to all of us, the bridegroom.
James is addressing our desire to conform to and please the world.
2. Our desire for the world’s approval separates us from God.
As the bridegroom of Jesus, if we seek the world’s approval, we cheat on Jesus!
I’m sure that most of us are familiar with the phrase, “be in the world, but not of the world.”
This is kind of what James is getting in this section.
Let’s define again what James means by “the world.”
The greek word is Kosmou which comes from the word Kosmos.
Kosmou means world system - the people constituting the world whose values, beliefs, and morals are in distinction and rebellion to God’s.
James is talking about the people that are distinctly against God.
James is saying that if we are on the team of those that are opposed to God, we too are opposed to God.
In focusing on our desire to be like the world, we are turning our backs on God.
In essence, we are saying that the world’s way of doing things is better than God’s way.
If we are following this line of thought, the message that we are spreading is in direct competition with God.
Rather than trusting in God and encouraging others to do the same, we are preaching our own gospel.
The gospel of _______(Insert a name here) instead of the gospel of Christ.
If our time and energy are focused on ourselves, we are building up our kingdom, and we are not only directly opposing God but also pushing others away from Him.
This is the exact opposite of what Jesus did.
Rather than thinking of the needs of others, we are focused on what we want.
Do you see how great a contrast there is between what the world says and what God says?
The world encourages you to do what is best for you, whereas God tells us to do what is best for others.
This is the example that Jesus lived.
It is impossible to do both at the same time.
We have seen over and over again in the OT that God’s people choose to turn their backs on God in order to worship other gods.
I believe this is what James is referencing.
Look at this example from Joshua.
In this passage, Joshua is reminding the people of all the times they have abandoned God.
The people said they would never...
Joshua reminded them they always...
He is also reminding them that if they forfeit the covenant God is offering, they are forfeiting the forgiveness they need.
Do you see the point that James is driving home?
We either worship and serve God, or we worship and serve the world.
We can’t do both.
This passage is the structural linchpin.
It holds the first five verses to the last four.
It is the main point of what James wants to get across.
If we are living in pride we are pushing God away, but if we are living humbly, God draws near.
James is building his case, piece by piece, showing the church their sin.
They are treating one another so poorly because of their pride.
James is calling them to stop giving in to pride and to be humble.
The message is the same for us.
We cannot live a life that is pleasing to the world and pleasing to God at the same time.
I know that may sound harsh, but the world doesn’t want the same things that God does.
They have two different standards.
So, how do we go about humbling ourselves?
I’m glad you asked.
Look at what he says in the next three verses.
3. Humility now will bring exaltation later.
This idea goes back to the great role reversal that we talked about earlier in this study.
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