James 4:1-12

Why do we so often give into desire? (V 1-3)

When we look at this passage, James boils the fights of his audience down to 1 central cause: the desires of the flesh

We want what we can’t have and we do what we can to make it happen.

We have a burning desire to do what we are not supposed to do. the desires of the flesh that we are called to when we look at our desires

In our fleshly state, our wills are not perfectly in line with the Lord. Rather they lead us to follow the desires of our evil hearts

But as we grow in the spirit and in sanctification, we grow in obedience to what God has asked of us

we grow in self control so that we are able to not give into temptation

What does it mean and look like to repent? (V 4-10)

One who lives without restraint and lives in step with what the world seeks

James uses this language as a way to speak against the coveting desire that seemed to be consistently present within the audience he writes to communicate that they have pursued idolatry. This rebuke would have been recognized in the Old Testament

We cannot be a friend of the world and follow the Lord

but each believer has a spirit that dwells inside of them that gives them conviction of sin

we are not to merely be a people who grit our teeth to not sin, but by the changing of our desires we are coming to discover just how deeply our sin is rooted in us

James calls us at the conclusion of this passage to mourn and weep over our sin

Repentance is grieving the way our sin has taken us from the heart of the Lord. It is sorrowful acknowledgement of the sin in which takes place in our life

When we sin, what do our prayers look like?

Are we passive and glossing over our sin as if it is no big deal?

Or do we acknowledge the gravity of just how great our sin is and what it has done?

Why does James warn of speaking evil of others here?

Because if our hearts are for the things of God and in alignment with his will, they will not be divisive towards others

When Jesus says all of the law and the prophets can be summed up in two commandments, he wasn’t lying

If left up to living however we want, we love to gossip and tear down and speak ill of one another.

But when living with a sanctified heart, we are able to withhold what our tongues are prone to say and love others the way the Lord has intended