James 4:1-6 - Temptations & Trials: Triumphantly Overcome
Introduction
Review of Last Week:
I. The Wise, & Understanding Person or Teacher
A. Shows good behavior
B. Shows meekness
II. The False Wisdom
A. Its description: Arouses envy, selfish ambition, pride, and inconsistency
B. Its source: Not of God, but of the earth, sensual & demonic
C. Its effects: Confusion & evil works
III. The True Wisdom
A. Its source: Of God
B. Its description: Pure…
Its effects: The fruit of righteousness
This Weeks Outline
I. The Causes of Temptation & Wrong Doing, 4:1-6
A. Lust: The Passion For Pleasure & Gratification that rages within the body and its members
B. Distrust: Seeking something & never trusting God or asking God for it
C. Praying amiss: Praying with the wrong motive
D. Worldliness: Friendship with the World
E. Conclusion: The cure
1. Knowing that the Spirit of God yearns over us with jealousy
2. Knowing that God gives the humble believer grace & more grace, but God resists the proud
This week we are going to look at
The Causes of Temptation & Wrongdoing, 4:1-6
Introduction: James asks a startling question!
“Where do wars fights come from among you?” (v. 1)
1. Wars and fighting’s are between people in the church, not internal conflict in the individual however it does start in the individual and ultimately ends up in outward wars.
2. Discord in the church is not by God's design John 13:34-35; 17:21; 2Corinthians 12:20; Philippians 1:20. Discord is a result from tares (false believers) in the church and wheat (truly redeemed people) that make up the church
3. People often blame environment and circumstances for the conflicts around us. People say that man is basically good, wrong, Just watch the news.
4. If man is basically good, then why will man follow Satan at the end of the millennium?
a. When Satan is released at the end of the millennium to reveal the true character of Christ rejecting sinners who are brought into judgment for the last time ever Revelation 20:7
5. James says these wars come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members (v.1)
6. This is the very root of mans problem
7. The ultimate choice in life lies between pleasing oneself and pleasing God; and in a world in which men’s first aim is to please themselves is a world which is a battleground of unkindness and separation (The Letters of James and Peter, p.116)
It is sad to say that to often Christian are at war with each other rather that with Satan
1. Ps. 133:1 - Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
2. Lot caused a quarrel with his Uncle Abraham Gen. 13
3. Ablsalom created a war for his father David 2Samuel
4. The Galatian believers were "biting and devouring" one another Galatians 5:15
5. Even the disciples argued over who was the greatest in the kingdom Luke 9:46-48
6. The Corinthian Church quarreled amongst each other, taking each other to court 1Corinthians 6:1-8; 14:23-40
7. James 4:11-12 believers were speaking evil of one another, instead we should speak the truth in love.
8. The Philippians church even had two women who were quarreling Philippians 4:1-3
9. Some Christians who fight and quarrel among themselves even say they are doing it for God's sake. Jesus warns His disciples that men would persecute and kill them, and think that they are offering a service to God John 16:2,3.
Verse 1
I. Lust:
A. The Desires For Pleasure (v.1)
· Jesus taught the seeking of pleasure choked out God's Word Luke 8:14; Matthew 13:7; 13:22
· If you live to please yourself you are not living for God
· The flesh seeks to take control over your life and wages war against the soul 1Peter 2:11
B. Lust
1. Lust means to crave pleasure; to crave gratification.
2. Scripture says this wars within our bodies
a. There is a constant warfare going on inside us
b. Our bodies are a battlefield of wants and desires
3. Few people may control their visible sins such as vengeance or murder
4. But some gratify it by
a. Overeating
b. Selfishness
c. Buying more than what is needed
d. Looking when they should not.
e. Drugs, alcohol, sex, possessions, money, recognition, authority etc.
5. The result of lusting and coveting is wars and fights (v.1)
6. Lust is used three times in verses 1-3 in the King James.
7. Verses 1 & 3 the word hedonon is used
a. This means out of your sinful, sensual pleasures
8. Verse 2 means a yearning passion
a. This is not always evil
b. Luke 22:15 Christ desires (yearns) to eat the Passover with the apostles
9. What distinguishes a good desire from and evil desire?
a. The Motive: desiring the necceties of life is good
b. Greed: money is needed but to consume for lust is sin.
Verse 2
II. Distrust:
The Original Manuscripts
1. In the original manuscripts there was no separation of words or even any punctuation. This makes it difficult to interpret this verse. The NASB translates it, "You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. And you are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel."
A. You Lust and do not have (v.2)
1. Lust or desire in verse 2 is different then used in verses 1 & 3.
a. A yearning desire or passion (v.2)
2. Some desire good things but they do little to fulfill these desires
a. Work, think,
b. They do not call upon God to meet their basic needs
B. You murder and covet and cannot obtain (v.2)
1. Covetousness, hate, anger, bitterness all lead up to committing murder
2. Jesus taught that if you hate your brother you have already committed murder in your heart Matthew 5:21-22
3. Some want so much, that if they cannot have it they are willing to lie, steel, cheat, and even kill
C. You fight and war (v.2)
1. Some are willing to go to war for property, land, power, position
2. They are willing to throw a whole country into a fight or war
3. Romans 1:21-32
D. “Yet you do not have because you do not ask” (v.2)
1. Mans desire can never be fulfilled apart from God. Why?
a. Mans deepest craving is spiritual
b. Spiritual desires cannot be fulfilled with physical or material things
c. In Buddhist Philosophy, desire is said to be the source of all suffering. To combat suffering we should simply stop desiring.
d. Man cannot completely control his desires, he needs the power of the Holy Spirit
2. True joy, peace, happiness, meaning, hope and fulfillment in life come only from God Unbelievers are unwilling to ask for these things from God, because they are unwilling to come to Him on His terms.
a. What are God's terms? Submit to God and acknowledge their dependence on Him
3. As believers instead of always seeking, and seeking, and seeking for things we want, we should ask God for the things we need.
4. He knows what we have need of any way Matthew 6:32
5. If there is some good thing we desire, don’t strive and struggle to get it, rather ask our Heavenly Father who gives good and perfect gifts to His children James 1:17.
But you might say, "I have asked God, but I did not get it."
Well, then you need to establish your priorities and asking according to God’s will not yours!
Application
We must establish our priorities and we do this by:
Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. (Colossians 3:2 NKJV)
1. Deciding what is most important to us. For the Christian, the primary concern should be his relationship with God
Paul said, “But indeed I count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord…that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death Philippians 3:8,10.
2. Reordering our time, energies, and thoughts around what is most important to us.
3. We need to examine our lives to see where we're wasting time that could be spent developing our relationship with God. Our thoughts and energies are so often concentrated on the material and physical concerns of life 1Timothy 6:8
Verse 3
III. Praying Amiss
A. Praying with the wrong motive (v.3)
1. You ask and do not receive. Why?
a. Doesn’t the bible say I am to cast all my cares upon Him because He cares for me 1 Peter 5:7.
b. Yes, but are you praying according to God’s will?
2. Because you ask amiss.
a. Amiss simply means to pray wrongly, not to pray right.
3. That you may spend it on your pleasures
a. To many times I have prayed for the wrong things, trying to get “My greed’s instead of my needs”
b. Prayer is not throwing up a bunch of request to God like He is some waiter bringing me all I want.
c. Prayer is to get God’s will done on earth
d. Psalm 37:4
e. Jesus said For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also Matthew 6:21
f. Where is your heart, in heaven or on earth?
What is the right motive for prayer?
How can we pray and know that God will give the desires of our heart?
1. By asking for the Glory of God
2. When we want something God must be glorified in it or it is of no value!
3. We must want a closer walk with the Lord resulting in fellowship with the Father making Christ better known to others.
4. We must pray according to God's will 1John 5:14
Verse 4
IV. Worldliness
How does a believer declare war with God? By Being Friends with God's Enemies.
James uses a very strong language here by calling people adulterers and adulteresses! (v.4)
A. Adulterers & Adulteresses! (v.4)
1. Adultery is someone who unfaithful to his or her spouse
2. Adulterers & Adulteresses A metaphorical description of spiritual unfaithfulness Matthew 12:39; 16:4; Mark 8:38
3. The Unfaithful Israel as a spiritual harlot 2Chronicles 21:11,13; Jeremiah 2:20; 3:1,6,8,9; Ezekiel 16:26-29; Hosea 1:2; 4:15; 9:1
4. These people are professing Christians, outwardly associated with the church, but holding a deep affection for the things of the world.
1. Spiritual adultery is a Christian who turns away from God to the world, breaking his or her commitment to God for things like
a. Money, land, possession, cars, power, clothes, fame, boys, girls
2. Believers are called the bride of Christ
2 Corinthians 11:1-2; Ephesians 5:24-28; Revelation 19:7; Revelation 21:9
3. Therefore, our affection should be for Christ Philippians 1:8
4. As the bride of Christ we are to know, understand, & believe Him
5. We are to “live and move and have our being” in Him Acts 17:28
B. Our Relationship With Christ Must Be A Love Relationship
1. We must remember what Christ has done for us to spend eternity with Him in Heaven!
a. It cost Him unbelievable pain at the cross!
b. The pain of bearing all the sins of the world-and the wrath of God against those sins!
c. The pain of God the Father forsaking Him!
d. When understanding this, this love constrains my heart to serve Christ out of love
#2Corinthians 5:14
James then asks a probing question,
“Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? (v.4)
C. Friendship With the World (v.4)
1. A strong emotional attachment to the things of this world. Those with a deep longing emotional attachment for the things of this world give evidence that they are not redeemed 1John 2:15-17
2. Remember lots with Genesis 19:17,26; Luke 9:62; 17:32-33; Hebrews 10:38; 2Peter 2:18-22; Revelation 22:10-12.
a. She illustrates the doom of turning back. She came close to being saved; she had prepared. She was faithful to her husband, Listening to his spiritual warnings, walking with him through the sinful city (world), and walking toward God's designated safety.
b. But She walked behind her husband, not by his side; therefore, she was able to look back upon her sensual experiences in the world of Sodom. When she did, she perished with the worldly.
3. Remember lots wife who came so close, but who tried to hang on to the delights of the world. Her physical body walked out of Sodom, but she left her heart back there.
a. Lots wife was destroyed on the very threshold of deliverance.
b. Her heart was so knit together with Sodom and all that it stood for that she was reluctant to leave; in looking back, she came under divine judgment.
c. Christ warned, "Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it Luke 17:33
Remember Lots wife –The attachment to Sodom was so powerful that she delayed and looked back; she was overwhelmed by oncoming judgment, just before reaching the place of safety.
Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God (v.4)
Whoever (v.4)
1. In the Greek this is emphatic. It indicates a deliberate choice to give allegiance to the world rather than to God.
2. Demas is an illustration of on who chose to desert the cause of Christ because of love for the world 2Tim 4:10
3. It is a crime to be a traitor for a country but even worse for a Christian to betray God Judas Iscariot Luke 6:13,16
An enemy of God (v.4)
1. Unbelievers are God's enemies is taught throughout Scripture
Deuteronomy 32:41-43; Psalms 21:8; 68:21; 72:9; 110:1,2; Isaiah 42:13; Luke 19:27; Romans 5:10; 8:5-7; 1Corinthians 15:25
The World (v.4)
This is a reference to the evil spiritual system dominated by Satan and in opposition agaisnt God and His Word 2Corinthians 10:3-5; 2Corinthians 5:19; John 12:31; 1Corinthians 1:21; 2Corinthians 4:4; 2Peter 1:4
A Contrast Between Abraham & Lot
· Abraham was a friend of God #James 2:23
· Lot ended up in a war
1. Christ visited Abraham \ only the angels went to Sodom to visit lot Genesis 18:1-3,16,22
2. Christ had a message of joy in the daytime for Abraham and Sarah \ the angels had a message of judgment at nighttime to Lot Genesis 18:10,14; 19:1,13
3. Abraham had the power of God \ Lot had no influence on his family
4. Abraham saw Sodom destroyed and lost nothing \ but Lot lost everything except his soul Genesis 19:27-29; 1Corinthians 3:12-17
A Christian gets involved With the World Gradually by Compromising
1. Friendship with the world James 4:4
2. Then you get spotted by the world James 1:27
3. Friendship leads to loving the world 1John 2:15
4. Friendship with the world makes it easier to conform to the world Romans 12:2
"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. (Matthew 6:24 NKJV)
"For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:26 NKJV)
"But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. (Luke 21:34 NKJV)
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world----the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life----is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:15-17 NKJV)
Verse 5-6
V. Conclusion: The cure
For The Scripture Says (v.5)
· This is a NT way of introducing an OT quote
John 19:37; Romans 4:3; 9:17; 10:11; Galatians 4:30; 1Timothy 5:18
· The quote however, is not found in the Old Testament, it is a composite of general OT teaching Either allegiance to the world and God at the same time are impossible, or Scripture is vain, that is, without value.
A. Knowing that the Spirit of God yearns over us with jealousy (v.5)
1. When the believer is heavily tempted and does wrong, he or she is not cast off and rejected and forsaken by God.
2. God still loves the believer – no matter what he or she does!
3. When you know this, you are far more able to repent and return to God
4. The Prodigal Son Luke 15:17
Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? (Romans 2:4 NKJV)
B. Knowing that God gives the humble believer grace & more grace, but God resists the proud (v.6)
1. God gives grace to the Humble
a. This phrase shows that God's grace is greater than the power of sin, the flesh, the world, and Satan Romans 5:20.
b. The Old Testament quote from Proverbs 3:34; 1Peter 5:5 these passages clearly show who obtains God's grace -- the humble, not the proud enemies of God
c. The word "humble" does not refer to a special class of Christian, but refers to all believers
d. Isaiah 57:15; 66:2; Matthew 5:3;18:3,4; Luke 18:9-14
2. God resists the proud
a. Those who reject God will find that God opposes them.
b. Pharaoh's experiences illustrate this well. He refused to recognize or give allegiance to God in spite of many evidences of God's Sovereignty. As a result he found that God opposed him.
