Intro

Don’t Compromise

James 4:4-6 “You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.””

James begins this new section pretty aggressively, calling the church an ‘adulteress people”

This is actually a common practice in the OT (Jer. 3:20 “Surely, as a treacherous wife leaves her husband, so have you been treacherous to me, O house of Israel, declares the Lord.’ ”” )

When you give your life to Christ, it’s a commitment, like marriage, and so, when you compromise on that commitment, it’s like compromising on your marriage.

Compromise: Accept standards that are lower than what you want.

Compromising on your faith doesn’t always look as bad as it sounds. It might be just letting something yin your life that draws you away from God a little bit, but it can lead to worse,

Exs.

Sports

Video Games

Screen Time

Repent

instead of compromising with the world, turn from those things and turn to God

We get 10 commands on what to do now that we are going to follow Christ without compromising

Submit to God (7)

Make God the ruler of your life.

Resist the devil (7)

Don’t let evil into your life.

Draw near to God. (8)

Draw closer to God; pray, read, worship Him: He will get closer to you!

Cleanse your hands (8)

Not literally, instead use your hands (the things that you do stuff with) to do good, not evil.

Purify your hearts (8)

Wash yourself in God’s Word, go away from all the evil in your life

Be wretched, mourn, weep, turn laughter to mourning (9)

God is not telling you to be miserable!

But, we shoudl honestly experience sadness when it’s time to be sad, and not just put it away to make jokes.

Mourn for your sin!

Humble yourself before God (10)

The last is nearly the same as the first

Put yourself below God, make him the ruler

Turn away from your sin and make God the ruler of your life!