Book of James

Lesson Eight
James 4:1-12

Warning Against Worldliness

1 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?

All wars and fighting comes from ungodly lust within the hearts of mankind. Whether it be lusting after the oil in another land, lusting after the power gained, or whatever one may think they will gain, it always comes from within the heart.

2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

These two verses seem to imply that there is a right motive to asking God for things, and there is a wrong motive. If your asking to appease the lust of your heart for something, this is asking amiss and God is not going to answer. However, asking that God may be glorified would be a much godlier motive for asking.

4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

The word "friendship" here means fondness. "World" refers to the world system, and "enmity" means hatred. So, being fond or loving the way this world system operates is hatred towards God. This world is in complete opposition to God. It stands against everything of God. You can not love evil and good... light and darkness. You can not love two masters. You either love God or you love this wicked world...but you can not love both.

5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?

6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Notice here in verse 7 that you must do two things to get Satan off your back...First, Submit to God. You must first be a child of God. Repent and trusting in Christ. Then, you must resist the devil. "Resist" means to stand against. You must take a stand against Satan and the works of darkness. This is an active stance...Faith in action. Submit to God, resist the devil AND THEN, and only then will he flee from you. But be on guard, for satan walks around as a roaring lion, seeking whom he can destroy.  He will be back, and when he does come back, you better still be resisting.

8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

Humble yourself and God will lift you up. Exalt yourself and God will humble you.

11 Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.

12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

This is speaking of judging another person.  We are to make righteous judgments.  This is judging the actions and behaviors if they are of God or not.  To say murder is a sin is a judgment of the action. To say a specific person is going to hell because they killed someone is a judgment of the person.  We can not judge the person, only the action.  And then, when we do judge the action, it must always be in light of God's Word.