Real Submission

Real Submission

“Get Real”

A Study of James

James 4:1-10

Recent research is shining light on the importance of male spiritual leadership in the home. Among their findings is the reality that 130 million of our nation’s 162 million men don’t attend any church. This, despite the fact, that 75% of them grew up with some sort of church background. Research has revealed that if a child is the first person in a household to become a Christian, there is a 3.5 percent probability that everyone else in the household will become Christians. Not very high at all. If the mother is the first to accept Christ, the percent goes up and 17 percent of the homes will see the remainder of its members trust Christ. But if the father is first, there is a 93 percent probability that everyone else in the household will follow. When father goes first spiritually, good things happen at home. Let’s all pray together that God will call even more men to spiritual revival and renewal. Never has there been a generation in our nation, where is has been more important than now.

Men are the leaders of the home. Men are in every way responsible for the leadership of their family. In fact, they will be held accountable for the way they lead. This thought links perfectly to our topic in James this morning. We are going to be talking about real submission.

If there is one thing that men want to do, it is to make a difference in this world. If fact if we are honest, all of us would say that we want to make a difference. We want to interact with culture, we want to talk with our friends about God, but we often do not know how.

On one hand we have most Christians saying we need to stay out of the world. There are versus like what we will look at today that say if you are friends of the world, you are an enemy of God.

Then we have verses that say, “Be in the world, but not of it.” Jesus even prays before he dies that we would not leave the world, but that we would stay in it.

Growing up in church I was taught that the world in which we live is a horrible place. A place that is beyond saving. Within the church you have two extremes when it comes to culture and how we interact with it. Build bubbles to keep it out and keep our kids from it or immerse ourselves so we relate to culture and then there is nothing different about us.

There was a poll several years ago. People asked, “what groups of people do you dislike the most?” top 3 answers, serial killers, child molesters, evangelical Christians. Why? I think it is 1) because we build a bubble around ourselves (We appear self-Righteous) or 2) because there is nothing different about us. (We appear like hypocrites.)

In this Series in James, we have been studying this letter written to Christians who were not acting like Christians. It is the same today as it was in the 1stcentury when James wrote this letter. The church he was writing to was struggling with the same problem. How do you interact with the world around you? How do followers of Jesus interact with the world around them?

James 4:1–10 (ESV)

James 4:1–10 ESV

1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore 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 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

1What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?

2You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.

3You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

4You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

5Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”?

6But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

7Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

8Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

9Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.

10Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

This is one of the most action-packed section of verses in the whole book of James. Many say this passage is the pivotal point in this letter.

When we think about the culture around us. We see it as something very different from the church. And in many ways, it is, but our culture has become incredible spiritual. Many people are asking questions about God and having conversations about spiritual things. Just look at the spirituality section or the self-help section on Amazon.

This is a problem for us as Christians. Most of us want to make a difference in the world around us but we do not feel adequate to take Jesus into our world.

In his book “Too Christian, Too Pagan”, Dick Staub said this, “In my observation most Christians are either too Christian or too pagan. The Christians who are “too Christian” are very comfortable with the Christian subculture but are ill at ease when in the world. On the other hand, Christians who are too pagan are at ease with the world but fail to integrate their faith into their everyday life.”

Taking Jesus into our world requires fully engaging both our faith and our world.

Yet few of us have learned to live a fully integrated life of faith in the world. Which leads us to where we need to be. Staub says, “The call of following Jesus will lead us to be too Christian for our pagan friends and too pagan for our Christians friends.” That is what we are going to examine today.

So, let’s pick up what James says,

James 4:1–3 ESV

1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

1What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?

2You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.

3You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

James starts this section by asking what causes fights and quarrels among us and in us. These wars come from our desires for pleasure, which are constantly fighting within us. Last week, we talked about envy, jealousy and selfish ambition. He picks up with this again. He says, you want something, you can’t have it, so you fight. It almost sounds like the church he was writing for was filled with a bunch of little kids. Good thing, we have learned our lesson and don’t do those things anymore, right? In verse 2 he says we don’t have things because we don’t ask. Then he says in verse 3, you ask but don’t get it, because you ask wrongly. We ask for things that will satisfy our pleasures, which is the equivalent of earthly wisdom. James is connecting the fights that we experience within our relationships and within ourselves to wisdom and whether we have wisdom from God or from the culture around us. At the end of chapter 3, as he is talking about envy and selfish ambition, he is now showing what leads to those things. Rivalry, pride, strife, things James would say are things of the world around us. Let’s talk about desires for a second. Desires are not always bad. A lot of times instead of saying desire we say, “I hope, I wish.” Every parent has hopes and dreams, desires for their kids. Not always a bad thing. For James though, desires are not good. Desires often leads to fights because they are self-centered. For example, husbands and wives easily end up fighting when resources are limited, and desires are unlimited. He wants a vacation week with the family; she wants a new fridge. He says, “I work hard all year. I need some fun, something to look forward to. I deserve it.” She says, “But what you spend on your hunting trip in one week can buy a fridge for the whole family and it will last for 20 years.” Sound familiar yet? She keeps going, “As for fun, are you forgetting about the week we have planned at the beach in July?” He says, “Yes that fridge will last 20 years, but you’ll want a new one in 5 years. And it rained every day and the kids fought constantly the last time we went to the beach, so it was hardly a vacation. Not what I would call a break.” When a husband and wife are arguing for their own way, they use as much truth as they can to win an argument. For example, it probably did rain, and the kids probably fought at the beach. They probably had lots of fun in the process, but that is forgotten, because the husband is arguing for his hunting trip. When we try to get our way, we remember history selectively. Then, when our spouse catches us in a small distortion, that can lead to another round of animated discussions. That is where desires lead. Think about our desire for status. Often, we don’t want status, instead, we want what comes with status: a sense of wholeness, joy, and peace. James is saying, as believers we do not have what we are looking for because we have been searching for it in the wrong places. G.K. Chesterton said, “Any man who knocks on the door of a prostitute is really looking for God.” I think we could put anything in there.

Whatever door you are knocking on, God is what You are looking for.

Whatever door you are knocking on, whatever you are looking for, you are really looking for God is what James is saying.

James 4:4-6 4You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

James 4:4–6 ESV

4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

5Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”?

6But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

I think it is interesting at the beginning of verse 4 James calls these Christians adulterous people. James is using the imagery of a marriage. One author (Douglas Moo) said this, “James uses the marital imagery to depict the relationship between God and his people is vivid and convicting. As a jealous lover, God demands that we return to him an exclusive and unwavering love. No flirtation with the world is to be tolerated. Our allegiance to God must be wholehearted and consistent. This call for spiritual ‘oneness’ lies at the heart of James’ message. This goes against the thinking that we can be friends with the world and be committed believers at the same time.” Throughout the bible, the relationship between God and the church is seen as a marriage. Throughout the bible, God says that we are committing adultery, spiritually speaking, because we are not truly following him. To show this, in the book of Hosea in the Old Testament, God tells the prophet Hosea to marry a prostitute to visually show what the followers of God are doing to God by following other gods. But often we think, I am not going after other gods. For example, when you think about new year’s resolutions, when was the last time you thought, I would like to grow closer to God this year. Often, we think, let’s go on that vacation, lose that weight, get that promotion. Not bad things, probably things that would be good. Martin Luther said,

“Whatever your heart clings to and confides in is really your God.” — Martin Luther

So, let me ask you, what are your gods? What things does your heart cling to? What things do you lay awake at night dreaming about? What things occupy your minds daily? If we are honest, often, moving the kingdom of God forward is not in the top 5. Rich Mullins said, “We want to live our lives the way we want and sprinkle a little Jesus on top.” We want to have our wants, our desires, do what we want to do, and then have Jesus bless them and give those things to us.

It doesn’t work that way

The audience James was writing to were worshipping God and pagan gods at the same time. What they wanted was the benefits that came from both Gods. It is like the one guy in the Mummy movies who was always wearing chains and religious symbols from every religious belief. He prayed to each God, hoping that he would get the right one. James is saying, you can’t pick both. When James says friends with the world in verse 4, what does he mean? We have friends we haven’t talked to in 20 years. We use the word friend lightly, but we really mean acquaintance. But in the 1st century, as today, true friends shared a mindset, the same outlook on life. They shared interests, goals, and values. They saw life the same way. Recently I saw an article by George Barna who has been doing research for several decades. In it, he describes that most Christians and non-Christians have the same values, the same wants and desires. He went on to say that many Christians believe what they want is what the Bible says, even though their wants line up more with what the culture says. He lists a few.

Christians and non-Christians often share the same worldly values: Acquisitions, Merit, and Self-Promotion.

Acquisitions. Our culture defines happiness in terms of what we have: bank accounts, homes, clothes, and cars. Our happiness is defined by experiences: fine restaurants, sporting events, skiing trips, and tours of Europe.

Merit-based. Our value and position depend in some measure upon our parents’ status and in great measure upon our accomplishments. This happens in the church. I remember as an intern pastor, I was always asked by well meaning Christians, “When are you going to become a real pastor?”

Self-promotion.We see this in sports all the time. Cam Newton parades around the end-zone jumping up and down dancing, while millions watch. Ryan Fitzpatrick scores and quietly hands the ball to the referee. Chad Johnson or Odell Becket score and they pull out costumes and parade and the field so all can see what they have done. Tory Holt scores and quietly pats his teammates on the back. Our culture loves Newton, and Becket, and Johnson because they are entertaining. Yet the other two are the better players and will end up the hall of fame.

James hits on this in verse 6, when he discusses grace and pride. He says:

James 4:6 ESV

6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

6But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

When we think about our relationship to the world around us, we are always looking for the line, the edge, the limit. I served as a youth pastor for while at a couple different churches. I would get asked by students one question more than anything else, “How far can I go and still be a virgin?” Questions like these are the wrong questions, and that is why James brings in grace. When you truly understand grace, and truly understand how big your need for God is, why would you want to see how close to the line you can get. One author (Daniel Doriani) said, “When people see their sin and their inability to reform themselves, when they stand before a holy God, they are guilty, and they often feel hopeless and ashamed. When our sin humbles us, when we plead for mercy, God grants the grace of forgiveness.”

James 4:7-10 7Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

James 4:7–10 ESV

7 Submit yourselves therefore 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 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

8Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

9Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.

10Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

James is calling us to stop living double lives. To live with oneness. James links submission to God with resistance to the devil. That, to submit to God’s authority is to resist the devil’s authority. To submit to God is to order our lives under his authority. To resist the devil means we oppose, we fight back, we take a stand against the devil’s authority. In verse 9, James reinforces the need to take sin seriously by adding “Let your laughter be turned to mourning” and “your joy to gloom.” Which seems backwards. In the scriptures, laughter is often the mark of a fool, the person who goes against the way of God. These people live with the hedonistic view of life, “eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die.” James wants us to see the seriousness of sin, how those things can come between us and God. The joy that James warns against is fleeting and superficial joy that comes when we indulge in sin. True joy can never be ours if we ignore or tolerate sin; it comes only when we have squarely faced the reality of our sin, brought it before God and let him cleanse us.

So, it begs the question: how do we interact with the world around us? We need to live a life that is too Christian for our Pagan friends and too Pagan for our Christian friends. How do we do that?

To really do this, we must look at the world around us, interact with it, critique it, learn from it, and ultimately make it better. Our culture is incredibly spiritual. Look at music. Bands like Creed, Live, Tori Amos, Kanye West, Jewel, Madonna, the list goes on, writing songs asking questions about God. Trying to figure this out. What happens often is that we don’t really listen.

There were these guys sitting on a bench talking. The one guy was a Christian and he was doing his best to share his faith. one of the guys was genuinely interested and was asking questions, but the Christian didn’t hear any of the questions. He came prepared with his sheet, things he needed to say, things he was supposed to say. And he missed a great opportunity. That is the problem, we have the answers to questions no one is asking. Most Christians are content to live their lives and not get too worked up about much. We live lives that are pretty much the same as everyone else, and we only protest when someone is infringing on my rights. If you read history books about the early church, the church James was writing to, do you know what you will not find? Protests. Ask most people about Christians, and protests will come up. They will say, they are against this and that. Jesus was known for being too Christian for the pagans, which is what attracted everyone to him, and he was too pagan for the religious ones, which got him killed. Shane Claiborne said, “You don’t get crucified for being cool; you get crucified for living radically different from the norms of all that is cool in the world. And it’s usually the cool people who get the most ticked off, since you are disturbing their order, for it was indeed the cool religious leaders and the cool politicians who killed Jesus.” So how does this work? G.K. Chesterton said,

“The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and not tried.” — GK Chesterton

If you read the stories in the New Testament who met Jesus and followed him, you will find two things in common. Jesus ruined their lives by showing them a better life. He ruined their plans in a good way by showing them a better way. That is what attracted so many people to the early church and to Jesus. What did people see? They saw a church where people loved one another, honored one another, esteemed one another, we’re likeminded with one another, bore each other’s burdens, we’re kind toward one another, submitted to one another, encouraged each other, comforted when needed and admonished when needed, edified one another, confessed faults to each other, didn’t keep grudges toward others, showed compassion, we’re hospitable, and the list goes on. What I just described is what a church is supposed to look like and what the world has been looking for and hoping is out there. But how does it ruin your life? It ruins it because you care about different things. When you truly follow Jesus, you stop caring about the things everyone else cares about. You worry about different things, because your sole purpose in life is to follow God and do what he wants you to do. It becomes a completely unplanned adventure. You don’t know where tomorrow will take you and you don’t know what you will do when you get there. But Jesus describes this life in John 10: as a life of abundance, a life so full. That is the life I want, not some imitation. That is what Christianity is supposed to be. It is supposed to be on offense instead of defense.

Christianity is supposed to be on Offense.

The church is usually playing defense, trying to keep the world out. In Matthew 16:18 Jesus says:

Matthew 16:18 ESV

18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

… I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Jesus is using offensive terminology, not defensive. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to play defense, I want to be on offense. I have always looked at this verse like this, as Christians we are supposed to storming the gates of hell loaded up with Super Soakers. That is what I think it supposed to be like. Super soakers in hand storming hell.

The day before the shooting at Columbine High School, where she died, Cassie Bernall wrote these words in her diary. Now I have given up on everything else I have found it to be the only way To really know Christ and to experience The mighty power that brought Him back to life again, and to find Out what it means to suffer and to Die with him. So, whatever it takes I will be one who lives in the fresh Newness of life of those who are Alive from the dead. It is easier to stay home, to stay in our bubbles and not venture into the world. But our culture is where God calls us to be. Not on the sidelines watching the parade go by. He calls us to be in the parade, impacting where it goes and what it does. He calls us to pick up our squirt guns and take on hell. Not sit on our clouds playing harps, that is not the plan. When you do this, you will become too pagan for your Christian friends, because they won’t understand it. It won’t make sense to them, because you are leaving the comfort of the Christian bubble to make the world different. While there, you will be too Christian for your pagan friends, mostly because they don’t know what a Christian is really supposed to be like, but they will find it so attractive that they will want to know what you have and what makes you different.

Illustrate Justin Cope

When you get this right, you will be an anomaly. Your Church friends will either be challenged to up their game or be offended and shamed by their self-centered lifestyle. Your Lost friends will be intrigued at your countercultural life and perhaps perplexed enough to investigate to learn how they can know Jesus like you do.

Submit to God and Engage your culture.

You and God together can change the world one life at a time.