WHAT MAKES A MATURE CHRISTIAN

11 July 2021

Scripture for today

4 Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. 4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?

6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:

“God resists the proud,

But gives grace to the humble.”

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.

Submission to God

A. Allows Escape

the flesh vs 1-3

the world vs 4-5

the devil vs 6-7

B. Allows Enjoyment

i. God’s Grace “But he giveth more grace, wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud but giveth grace to the humble. vs 6

ii. God’s Guidance Look further to the text in vs 13-15

iii. God’s Goodness Humble yourself in the site of the Lord and he shall lift you up. vs 10

The Epistle of James 3. Pure Prayer Is without Anger/In Trust 4:1–10 (12)

The inner-community strife flows from the evil impulse, the lust within, and thus blocks prayer. The Christians are adulterous, for they have provoked God to jealousy. Therefore they must repent and turn from the devil and his works. Concretely this will mean ceasing to criticize one another, for in doing this they have assumed God’s prerogative

The Epistle of James a. Prayer with Anger and Desire 4:1–3

(1) “From where do wars and conflicts among you stem?

The Epistle of James (a. Prayer with Anger and Desire 4:1–3)

The wars and conflicts in question are not external to the community

The Epistle of James a. Prayer with Anger and Desire 4:1–3

The community conflicts come not from a passion for truth or godly wisdom, but from “your pleasures” or, better, “your desires.

The Epistle of James a. Prayer with Anger and Desire 4:1–3

The body is itself neutral, but it is often controlled by sin. This is precisely what Paul argues in Romans 6–8. Sin has to be conquered by Christ before a person can do what he wants with his body. Thus the fight is within the body of the individual Christian.

The Epistle of James a. Prayer with Anger and Desire 4:1–3

This struggle is not just against God and his Spirit

For James the reason is quite simple: evilly motivated prayers will receive no hearing by God. God is no magic charm which must help if the proper words are uttered.

The Epistle of James a. Prayer with Anger and Desire 4:1–3

The point is that the good gift is not desired for sharing with others or godly ends, but simply to gratify desire, the evil yēṣer. Thus the prayer will not be heard, for the motives are totally selfish and worldly.

The Epistle of James b. Condemnation of Compromise 4:4–6

The call, then, is to submit to God. If one remains proud and continues to seek the world, God’s jealousy, God’s resistance will surely fall. But all is not lost. There is still an even greater graciousness to God. If one will simply humble oneself, God will extend his grace and mercy. This verse, then, is a solid basis on which to build an emphatic call to repentance, which James proceeds to do.*

The Epistle of James c. Call to Repentance 4:7–10

This submission is accomplished first by resisting (i.e. not submitting to) the devil, which is precisely what God does to the proud

The Epistle of James c. Call to Repentance 4:7–10

The means of resistance is either good works (Test. XII) or total commitment to God. For James there would be little difference between these two, although his emphasis here is on total commitment.

The Epistle of James c. Call to Repentance 4:7–10

Such true repentance will not be without results; God will give grace to the humble