The Most Dangerous Sin
James 4:7-10
It’s been said that the most dangerous sin is whatever sin you least consider sinful.
Take the sin of pride, for example. Most of us could easily rattle-off a list of sins we’d rank worse than pride (like murder, or adultery, or blasphemy, just to name a few). But pride? Who does that hurt? We may realize that God “resists the proud” (James 4:6) and finds human pride to be abominable in His sight (Pr. 16:5)… but our very definition of pride is often light years short of God’s definition.
American culture not only doesn’t see pride as a sin, they exalt it under the banner of self-esteem as the arch-virtue of society! A few years ago, M-TV published a survey of Hollywood pop culture icons on the “Seven Deadly Sins.” They interviewed such renowned "theologians" as Ice-T and Queen Latifah. One of the rappers said: “Lust, a sin? That’s what I live for!” Another said: “Pride isn’t a sin! We all need pride!” But this is the counsel of the uninformed. When any sin is viewed apart from a biblical worldview, it all becomes petty and relative.
Most people only see pride as an offensive aberration of personality… a social nuisance and nothing more. “A proud person,” they will say, “is one who is arrogant and acts as if he’s better than others.” It’s associated with inordinate self-esteem… an ego out-of-balance. Of course, that’s part of what pride is, but it’s like the tip of a massive iceberg. These definitions of pride are not incorrect – they’re just incomplete. There’s so much more beneath the surface.
In James 4, verse 7-10 the emphasis is on breaking pride’s grip on the sinful soul. These words were apparently addressed to the unbelievers within the Jewish church – he refers to them as “sinners” – they were the ones who didn’t pass the tests of faith in the first three chapters. So these commands are primarily warnings to unbelievers within the visible church who are too proud to confess their need for repentance. But James offers them hope with his warning. In honor of God and His Word, let’s stand for the reading of these verses.
7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. [NKJV]
[Prayer] In these four verses, there are 10 verbs – all in the imperative mood. So these verbs are all commands. This morning, I’m going to give you these 10 commands in six expositional propositions that help all sinners subdue pride to honor Christ. The first part of verse 7 says: “Therefore submit to God.” Here’s the first point…
I. Pride is subdued when sinners submit to God (7a).
The “therefore” is part of the original Greek text. If you have a word-for-word translation like the NASB or NKJV, you’ll have a “therefore” in the text. The NIV has the word “then”. But both of these words are “connecting words” to link the solution in vv. 7-10 with the problem stated in verse 6, namely, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Since that is true, therefore… submit to God.
The word “submit” is a military term. It has the literal meaning “to rank under”. Since this verb is in the passive voice, it suggests that our submission here is not forced, but voluntary. The command here is to willingly and joyfully submit to God. This is something we should want to do, especially when we realize the hellish consequences of pride. The proud are resisted by God – meaning, they are opposed by Him and are the objects of His inevitable wrath.
The word “resists” or “is opposed to” are also military terms. They describe a full army ready for battle. James indicates that God is in full battle array against the proud; they are already in His scope and His aim is perfect. The only thing preventing the execution of His wrath against these proud religious sinners is His patient mercy. God is so patient and so merciful. But their judgment does not sleep forever. Soon enough, His merciful patience will yield to His just and holy wrath. It is only the mere pleasure of God that keeps defiant sinners alive at this very moment. We must submit to God! Not as hostile captives, taken against our will; but as dearly-loved adopted children. Submission is one of the strongest antidotes for pride.
The second half of verse 7 refers to the brutal master of unbelievers. It says: “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” That’s the second command.
II. Pride is subdued when sinners resist the devil (7b).
To submit to God as your new Master is to resist your former master, the devil. So these first two commands work in tandem. Submit to God, resist the devil. It’s like one fluid motion. To resist literally means “to stand against”. It has the same basic force as to what God does with the proud – He resists them, He opposes them. Now God is saying through James, you do the same with the devil and his temptations.
For believers, this is a matter of spiritual life and death! Resisting the devil is not a trivial matter. This has to do with your private thought life and your personal morality in light of your obedience to God’s Word. Resisting the devil does not mean you bypass the dessert cart at a nice restaurant as if Satan’s main agenda is to get you to violate the terms of your diet. Such thinking only trivializes the enemy. The critical issue is not how big your waste size is – it’s how big your understanding of God is! Where God is seen as small, sin is viewed as trivial; where sin is trivial, Satan has been given carte-blanch in that individual’s life. Therefore, resisting the devil is spiritually directed and morally demonstrated.
After resisting the devil, the Bible says “he will flee from you”. How does this work? Jesus resisted the devil in the wilderness temptations. He opposed the lies of the enemy using Scripture. The Word of God assaults every lie that Satan poses. Jesus could have said anything to defeat the devil, but He used the already written Word of God – all from Deuteronomy. Jesus resisted the devil by quoting the Bible in order to show His followers how to use His resources!
The Bible is just as powerful in our lives, because the power that defeats the enemy is not ours, but God’s. Memorizing Scripture and knowing key verses is like being constantly armed for every spiritual assault. Memorize Scripture. If there was a better way to resist the devil, wouldn’t Jesus have used another method? He had every means at His disposal and every knowledge of His foe. He used the Word of God! Memorize Scripture. Sometimes just speaking Scripture out loud during times of temptation can have a dramatic effect. Quoting Scripture out loud asserts God’s authority over every temptation, every enemy, and every weakness.
In the face of such resistance, “he will flee from you”. No wonder the Word of God is called the “Sword of the Spirit”; it is an awesome weapon in the heart of a Christian. After the sinner submits to God and resists the devil, verse 8: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” So here’s the third point…
III. Pride is subdued when sinners draw near to God (8a).
In order to draw near to God, one must first believe that God exists; they need to believe that He’s desirable and that He invites us to approach Him, but only on His terms. This drawing near refers to a personal, intimate relationship with God. In the OT, to draw near referred to one who sincerely approached God in penitence and humility.
Drawing near to God is not a statement about your proximity to God – as if God were physically distant and you should move closer. This is a statement about the orientation of your heart and your mind. Saturate your thoughts with God’s Word. Do what God says in His Word. Read books by people who study God’s Word deeply and explain it clearly. Take time throughout your day to talk to God. It doesn’t need to be long periods – just brief snatches during the day and book-ended with an unbreakable appointment every morning when you wake up and an unbreakable appointment every evening before bed.
Scripture memory will also enhance your prayer life and breathe fresh air into your daily routine. He says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” The proud never do this. They may draw near to religion so people will think highly of them. But the proud will never draw near to God because this requires unseen, private devotion where the main compensating credit comes from God’s indwelling presence. But for the believer, this is more than enough.
The rest of verse 8 says: “Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” Here we find the fourth proposition…
IV. Pride is subdued when sinners cleanse and purify their lives through repentance (8b).
The terms “sinners” and “double-minded” make it clear that James is referring to unbelievers in this section of verses. They may be in the church and even call themselves Christians, but they are still addressed as unbelievers who need to obey these commands by the grace that God freely gives to those who humble themselves in repentance.
To have clean hands refers to the OT ceremonial ritual for priests. They used the laver to cleanse their hands before entering God’s presence. This figure means that our hands and hearts should be cleansed of all known sin so we can draw near to God. Then the next phrase “purify your hearts” is parallel to “cleanse your hands” and “you double-minded” is parallel to “you sinners”. This is a Hebraic way of saying the same thing through two parallel statements. The second phrase amplifies the first. The real issue here is repentance. Repentance from all known sins and living in humble obedience to God’s Word is the essence of true Christianity.
Verse 9: “Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.” Here’s the fifth proposition.
V. Pride is subdued when sinners awaken to the sober terrors of God’s wrath (9).
Until a person learns to lament and mourn and weep over their sin and alienation from God, they will never be able to have authentic joy in Jesus Christ. The NASB says “Be miserable…” Pride is happy in its wickedness; it feels no need for God. Therefore, a person is never further away from blessedness than when they are delighting in their wickedness. The wicked are happy in their drunkenness. They are happy in their adulterous affairs and pornography. They are happily distracted by late-night parties every night of the week into the wee hours of the morning. But they’re just one heartbeat removed from destruction. They don’t realize that they’re hanging by a thin thread over an unfathomable chasm that burns with the unquenchable fire of God’s holy wrath! They have to be awakened to such realities.
To the heart bent on sinful indulgence, God represents the end of all they love in this world. They hate God because they love their sin. Yet God’s Word has been brought to many of these same people; it comes by divine appointment, I’m sure. And when some of these people hear God’s Word, it pierces them to the heart – and they see themselves for who they really are. When God reveals Himself to a person, they never leave with the impression that they’re such a good person that God needed to have them on His team! No… they become aware of their lost and helpless estate. They lament and mourn and weep. Their drunken laughter is jolted into a sober mourning because they see themselves correctly. This is the beginning of new life. Until there is weeping over sin, there will never be delight in the Gospel of Christ. And sixth…
VI. Pride is subdued when sinners humble themselves before God (10).
Verse 10 says: “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” He began with pride back in verse 6 and here he comes full-circle back to humility. Pride always wants to be lifted up for fleshly reasons. It wants to be noticed and applauded and congratulated. But God says the way up is down. “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.”
We should all desire to be lifted up by God. It’s not wrong to be lifted up – it’s only wrong to lift ourselves up. When God lifts a person up, it is always for His glory to reveal His grace and His mercy in the lives of totally undeserving sinners. Humility is always attractive in those who love the Lord… but pride is deadly. If it’s unrecognized, it’s the most dangerous sin there is.
Let’s Pray.
(c) Charles Kevin Grant
April 25, 2006
