USS Comstock Sermon #4

21

Three Terrible Sins

James 4:11–17

James writes to Christians. Here he speaks of three sins which Christians often overlook. Note these three sins: 1) the sin of criticism—hurting and destroying the Christian brother, 2) the sin of carelessness—hurting yourself as a child of God, 3) the sin of callousness—hurting the work of God,

I. The Sin of Criticism—vv. 11–12

A. Justice—v. 11a. We should not speak evil of anyone. When someone fails, forgive them. Pray for each other—Galatians 6:1–2.

B. Judging—v. 11b. The Bible warns against judging. Note the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:1–5. Note these words to those who judge: “Thou hypocrite …” Only hypocrites judge others.

C. Judged—v. 11c. If we judge others, then God will judge us. Note these words: “… Thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.”

D. Judge—v. 12. Only God, who made the law, is able to be the judge. We all have our own faults. Note: “Who art thou that judgest another?”

II. The Sin of Carelessness—vv. 13–16

The sin of always saying “Tomorrow!”

A. Attitude and the future—v. 13. “Look here, you people who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we are going to such and such a town, stay there a year, and open up a profitable business’ ”—LB.

B. Attention to the future—v. 14. Life is very short. It is like a fog, that soon vanishes. The writer of Proverbs tells us not to boast about tomorrow—Proverbs 27:1.

C. Acceptance to the future—vv. 15–16. “What you ought to say is, ‘If the Lord wants us to, we shall live and do this or that.’ Otherwise you will bragging about your own plans, and such self-confidence never pleases God”—LB.

III. The Sin of Callousness—v. 17

Many commit sins of omission—knowing but not doing. Note the words of Jesus in Matthew 23:23. Also, note the punishment upon those not fully obeying their masters—Luke 12:47.

A. Knowing and doing God’s will—1 John 2:17. The Scripture is filled with those who disobeyed God’s will.

B. Knowing and doing God’s Word—Joshua 1:8. Obeying His Word means success; refusal to obey means failure.

C. Knowing and doing God’s work—Mark 16:15. Witnessing is a very important part of God’s work.

Satan, knowing his time is short, is doing everything in his power to put these three sins on God’s people. He knows the power of these sins and how they will affect the Christian. The Christian life is a time of rejecting the temptations of Satan. The Christian must be aware of the ways in which Satan works to destroy God’s people.

Pentz, C. M. (1978). Outlines for Growing Christians (pp. 40–41). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.