James 4:1-10 A Warning Against Worldliness

Scripture: Beau Wollerton

Intro: A View of Reality

One thing you notice as you drive up through California and Oregon is that reality doesn’t match perception

If you were to watch the news or be glued to social media you would think that this country is viciously divided

You would expect everyone to go around just hating people who aren’t like them

That just wasn’t true

The further north we got the nicer the people became

Everyone was considerate and appreciative

WE didn’t go in with any expectations but we were surprised at how friendly people were

Even in Portland, which prides itself on being weird, the people were generally friendly

That doesn’t mean they didn’t have any problems or knew how to drive in the fast lane, but they were friendly

The early church exploded because of the Holy Spirit and the people’s kindness

Scripture tells us no one had any need because people would sell what they had and give to those in need

As we get into chapter 4 of James, Pastor James notices his church is struggling

It’s not because of Jewish or Roman persecution, but because of worldliness

Worldliness is looking, acting, and wanting everything this world offers

The people wanted to live for Jesus but they weren’t willing to give up the things of this world

It was causing internal angst and external conflict

James gives us some simple steps to overcoming worldliness

The Internal War vs. 1-3

The first step in dealing with worldliness is to deal with the internal war

There were conflicts in the church

These were a result of a desire for pleasure and jealousy towards others

That is the basic definition of worldliness: A desire for pleasure and being angry at those who have what you don’t

Paul describes the struggle in Galatians

Galatians 5:17 ESV

For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

This is the struggle

We desire things of the flesh and it prevents us from do what we’re supposed to do

On the flip side when we desire things of the Spirit it helps us battle the things of the flesh

The types of desires that lead to conflict are described. 

Covetousness leads to conflict (you lust and do not have). 

Anger and animosity lead to hatred and conflict (murder).

1 Peter 2:11 ESV

Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.

vs. 2-3 James answers a question that perplexes many still today: unanswered prayer

First we do not get what we pray for because we do not ask

God knows what you need but he makes you come to him for it

Parents if you do provide everything for your children with having them ask you do them a disservice

Asking is not begging

Second, we don’t get what we pray for because we ask with the wrong motives

A lot of requests to God is to spend it on your own pleasures

The External War vs. 4-6

The Second step in dealing with worldliness is to deal with the external war

James comes out hard and rebukes the church

He calls them adulterers

This is a rebuke presented in Old Testament vocabulary.

God spoke this way in the Old Testament when His people were attracted to some form of idolatry

Friendship with the world is idolatry

Romans 8:7 ESV

For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.

The earliest manuscripts of the Bible do not have adulterers and adulteresses, only adulteresses

This is not because women have more of a problem with this than men

It is because the church is the bride of Christ

Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? 

James recognizes that we cannot both be friends of this world system in rebellion against God, and friends of God at the same time

Matthew 6:24 ESV

“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.

Even the desire to be a friend (wants to be a friend) of the world makes that one an enemy of God.

Enmity = Deep-rooted hatred

The Spirit yearns jealously for us

The indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit has a jealous yearning for our friendship with God.

The Spirit will convict the Christian who lives in compromise

Galatians 1:4 ESV

who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,

The same Holy Spirit convicting us of our compromise will also grant us the grace to serve God as we should.

This wonderful statement – but He gives more grace – stands in strong contrast to the previous words

Steps to Overcoming Worldliness vs. 7-10

As is typical with James he gives us steps to overcome worldliness

Step 1: Submit to God

Submit means to yield to a stronger person

God is the Almighty Creator of Heaven and Earth

It means to order yourself under God, to surrender to Him as a conquering King, and start receiving the benefits of His reign.

We should submit to God because He created us.

 We should submit to God because His rule is good for us.

We should submit to God because all resistance to Him is futile.

We should submit to God because such submission is absolutely necessary to salvation.

We should submit to God because it is the only way to have peace with God.

Step 2: Resist the Devil

Resist = to standfirm

This means to stand against the devil’s deceptions and his efforts to intimidate.

1 Peter 5:8 ESV

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

As we resist the devil, we are promised that he will flee from you.

A famous ancient Christian writer named Hermas wrote, “The devil can wrestle against the Christian, but he cannot pin him.”

Step 3: Draw Near to God

The call to draw near to God is both an invitation and a promise.

It is no good to submit to God’s authority and to resist the devil’s attack and then fail to draw near to God.

We have it as a promise: God will draw near to us as we draw near to Him.

What does it mean to draw near to God? Spurgeon considered a few ways:

It means to draw near in worship, praise, and in prayer.

It means to draw near by asking counsel of God.

It means to draw near in enjoying communion with God.

It means to draw near in the general course and tenor of your life.

Step 4: Cleanse Your Hands

As we draw near to God, we will be convicted of our sin.

So we lament and mourn and weep as appropriate under the conviction of sin, and we are compelled to find cleansing at the cross.

Step 5: Humble Yourselves

Then He will lift us up, because God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble, and grace – the unmerited favor of God – always lifts us up.