Read James 4:1-10:

 1   From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?

This is a bold statement.  Ultimately, war is the culmination of conflict.  There are wars between neighbors and there are wars between countries.  But all conflicts begin within.  They begin with lusts, unfulfilled lusts, unabated lusts, our actions that we take to satisfy the lusts of the flesh.  The flesh desires all manner of things: power, wealth, sex, comforts and pleasures.  When we allow our fleshly members to be our masters, we will act out our desires to the point of having varying degrees of conflict with our neighbors, our brethren, or even strangers.   

2   Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

Here he describes the mechanism of lust leading to conflict and war.  When we are denied the lusts of the flesh, it causes anger, jealousy, envy.  We must have it.  And in the end, if we live long enough, we realize that Solomon was right after all when he said that all is vanity and vexation of spirit.  The truly needful things we have not because we ask not.   

3   Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

Our prayers should be, “Lord, give me what I need,” rather than, “Lord, give me what I desire.”

Matthew Henry: “Since all wars and fightings come from the corruptions of our own hearts, it is right to mortify those lusts that war in the members. Wordly and fleshly lusts are distempers, which will not allow content or satisfaction. Sinful desires and affections stop prayer, and the working of our desires toward God. And let us beware that we do not abuse or misuse the mercies received, by the disposition of the heart when prayers are granted. When men ask of God prosperity, they often ask with wrong aims and intentions. If we thus seek the things of this world, it is just in God to deny them. Unbelieving and cold desires beg denials; and we may be sure that when prayers are rather the language of lusts than of graces, they will return empty.”

So we must be careful to have pure motives when we ask God for things.  Too often, men really mean to feed their fleshly desires with the material things that God gives them.  When we are blessed unexpectedly with money or riches, it is the height of vanity and pride to assume that God is giving you those things for your own consumption; but rather, we should consider how we might take that and be a blessing to others.  Without that mindset, you will find that more and more of your prayers return unanswered, unfulfilled, perhaps even unheard.

  4   Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

Why does he use the word “adulterers” here?  What is adultery?

Adultery means many things, besides the universally understood unfaithfulness to the marriage bed.  It refers to the joining together of that which ought to remain separated.  In ancient times, even the grafting of tree branches was called adultery because it denoted an unnatural union.  In ancient Israel, when they would worship God in pagan temples or pagan altars or use pagan methods, God would be angry because they were mixing pagan worship in with true worship of God.

I think an illustration that really helps to define the concept of adultery is in the meat processing industry.  When meat is found to be contaminated with things that ought to not be mixed into it, the meat is called adulterated.  In other words, there’s stuff mixed in it that shouldn’t be there.

Now the scripture here refers to two things that should be mutually exclusive in the life of a Christian: friendship of the world and friendship with God.  The two do not go together.  If you are a friend of the world, you make yourself the enemy of God; but worse than that, you set yourself at enmity with God, which is in fact a state in which you are opposed to God, opposed to His will for your life, opposed to the things of God.

Again, Matthew Henry: “An enemy may be reconciled, but “enmity” never can be reconciled. A man may have a large portion in things of this life, and yet be kept in the love of God; but he who sets his heart upon the world, who will conform to it rather than lose its friendship, is an enemy to God. So that any one who resolves at all events to be upon friendly terms with the world, must be the enemy of God.”

There is no way to be a friend of this world, walk in the ways of the world, have your conversation like unto that of the world, and be on good terms with God.  It’s not possible.

Furthermore, when we remember who James is addressing, believing Christians, then we can see yet another reason he would refer to adultery.  Believers are the bride of Christ.  We are betrothed to the Lamb of God, which will culminate in the wedding supper of the Lamb.  To go after other pursuits, other idols, fleshly desires, temporal things, the comforts and lusts of the world, is to commit adultery against our future heavenly spouse.  We must keep that in mind when we do the things we do, when we set our eyes upon the things of this world.   

5   Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? 6   But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

Matthew Henry: “Did then the Jews, or the loose professors of Christianity, think the Scripture spake in vain against this worldly-mindedness? or does the Holy Spirit who dwells in all Christians, or the new nature which he creates, produce such fruit? Natural corruption shows itself by envying. The spirit of the world teaches us to lay up, or lay out for ourselves, according to our own fancies; God the Holy Spirit teaches us to be willing to do good to all about us, as we are able. The grace of God will correct and cure the spirit by nature in us; and where he gives grace, he gives another spirit than that of the world.”

So we see that God gives us a spirit of grace to counteract the pull of the flesh.  When we are humble before God, rather than proud, we are given the ability to resist lusts, to quench them and go after godly things.

He says, “God resisteth the proud.”  Is there a link between pride and lust?  I believe there is.  I believe there are three ways in which pride and lust go hand in hand.

Listen once again to Matthew Henry: “The proud resist God: in their understanding they resist the truths of God; in their will they resist the laws of God; in their passions they resist the providence of God; therefore, no wonder that God resists the proud. How wretched the state of those who make God their enemy! God will give more grace to the humble, because they see their need of it, pray for it, are thankful for it, and such shall have it.”

Three things, then:

1. In their understanding they resist the truths of God. In Romans 1, we learn that a certain vanity of mind will lead us believe our own version of the truth, to suppress the truth of God in favor of that which tickles our fancy, which sets us at liberty, so to speak, to ignore the needful things of worshipping and praising and thanking God and instead to commence worshipping and praising and thanking ourselves. This is the flesh.
2. In their will they resist the laws of God. To the lustful man, God is no fun. The laws of God are a killjoy.  He can’t go about rioting and philandering because of those pesky commandments in the Bible.  So, he fulfills the desires of the flesh and leaves his relationship with God by the wayside, and cares not of the consequence.  He arrogates the law of his flesh OVER the laws of God.
3. In their passions they resist the providence of God. This has to do with contentedness. Godly contentment is possible for the humble.  But the proud have a sense of entitlement, a sense that life owes them a few pleasures, or maybe more than a few.  What God provides is not good enough, does not satisfy the flesh, namely because it is not for the flesh.  So when fleshly desires are exalted above the truly needful things, the passion of pride will drive us to seek those things even to our own ruin.

So the Lord resists the proud.

  7   Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8   Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.  9   Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10   Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

Ten things to help us get over the lusts of the flesh and avoid the evil consequences:

1. a) Submit yourselves before God
2. b) Resist the Devil
3. c) Draw nigh to God
4. d) Cleanse your hands
5. e) Purify your hearts
6. f) Be afflicted (over sin)
7. g) Mourn (over sin)
8. h) Weep (over sin)
9. i) Let your laughter and joy be turned to mourning and heaviness
10. j) Humble yourselves in the sight of God What will happen if we do these things?

The scriptures tell us three things will happen:  The Devil will flee; God will draw nigh unto you; the Lord will lift you up.

It’s very simple.  Do these things; the devil runs away; God moves closer to you; and then he lifts you up.  He lifts you up higher than pride or lust or worldly accomplishments can ever take you.

Matthew Henry: “Submit yourselves to God, for he is ready to do you good. If we yield to temptations, the devil will continually follow us; but if we put on the whole armour of God, and stand out against him, he will leave us. Let sinners then submit to God, and seek his grace and favour; resisting the devil. All sin must be wept over; here, in godly sorrow, or, hereafter, in eternal misery. And the Lord will not refuse to comfort one who really mourns for sin, or to exalt one who humbles himself before him.”

 Now Read James 4:11-17:

 11   Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.

Matthew Henry: “Our lips must be governed by the law of kindness, as well as truth and justice. Christians are brethren. And to break God’s commands, is to speak evil of them, and to judge them, as if they laid too great a restraint upon us. We have the law of God, which is a rule to all; let us not presume to set up our own notions and opinions as a rule to those about us, and let us be careful that we be not condemned of the Lord.”

What is he talking about here?  I believe there is a very important message in this one verse.  We are to govern ourselves by the law of love and by the laws of God.  What often happens, though, is that people tend to apply their own opinions and notions as to how the law should be applied to other people.  Indeed, it is our fleshly nature to do that to others even before we do that to ourselves, making us hypocrites.  We hold others to a higher standard than we hold ourselves: a higher standard, or a more discriminating standard, than even that which the law demands.  In other words, it is not our place to be judging other brothers by saying, “Well, the law of God says this, and in my opinion they are not applying it correctly; therefore, those people should be rebuked or punished.”

How do we balance, then, this scripture, with the one that tells us to “judge righteous judgment”?

Mostly, I believe it speaks to legalism and phariseeism.  There are people who look at someone’s actions or behavior and say, “That person is not saved,” or, “That person is not spiritual.”   But the bible says, “Who art thou that judgest another?”  What real insight do we have into an individual’s spiritual or eternal condition?

So this is not a call to restrain ourselves from judging righteous judgment.  This is not a call to restrain ourselves from calling a spade a spade.  Rather, it is a call to not be hyper-judgmental of a brother’s actions or behavior to the point where you are excluding them even from the body of Christ.  We are not judges, in that sense.  Only God is judge in that sense.   

12   There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

There it is.  There is only one lawgiver, and He alone will judge whether someone has met the requirements of the law.  And by the way, no one does that.  Only by pleading the blood of Jesus will we be found innocent.  The phrase “to save and to destroy” is further evidence that this passage of scripture is dealing primarily with judging people as to their lost or saved condition.  James, after all, is speaking to saved folk.   

13   Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:   14   Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

Here is an interesting piece of advice.  It speaks to the eternal view of things, the reality of our own mortality and utter dependence on God’s providence.

Matthew Henry says this: “”Go to now,” is a call to any one to consider his conduct as being wrong. How apt worldly and contriving men are to leave God out of their plans! How vain it is to look for any thing good without God’s blessing and guidance! The frailty, shortness, and uncertainty of life, ought to check the vanity and presumptuous confidence of all projects for futurity. We can fix the hour and minute of the sun’s rising and setting to-morrow, but we cannot fix the certain time of a vapour being scattered. So short, unreal, and fading is human life, and all the prosperity or enjoyment that attends it; though bliss or woe for ever must be according to our conduct during this fleeting moment.”

Now, does this mean that we shouldn’t have long-range plans?  Certainly not.   But rather we should be careful to include God’s will and the seeking of God’s will in all of our plans.  We should seek for God to establish our plans.  To make our own plans of our own wills, and then on top of that to count what we will reap here on earth in the future, without considering God’s will for our lives, is to live as a fool, a biblical fool.  In our society, we are encouraged to be ambitious, to plan to achieve and gain and rise up in our world.  Those things are not evil, of themselves, unless it is our design to achieve those things in complete disregard of what God wants us to do, or without even so much as asking God whether these things may be so.

Finally, there is the idea of the imminence of death.  Your plans should be such that you can rest knowing you have taken care of the eternal things before you die, for it might be tomorrow.  Have you settled all quarrels with your brethren?  Have you told all your lost loved ones about Jesus and how to be saved?  Have you told your neighbors?  Have you righted the personal wrongs you have done to others?  Have you forgiven those who wronged you?

These things will play a bigger role in your eternal life than questions like, “Did I provide for my IRA to rollover into an annuity?  Does my will carefully explain what to do with all of my riches?  How are my stocks doing?”

  15   For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

Here is where we get or expression: “Lord willing.”  But we should be careful that saying, “Lord willing,” is not just a habit, but our real attitude, our real desire to see that the Lord’s will is accomplished in our daily lives.  It’s one of those phrases that we say, like “bless you” and “good morning”, that we say without necessarily meaning them.  If we say, “Lord willing,” let it be with a slight trembling that comes from a righteous and sober fear of God.  Let us say it because we do not wish to idly or presumptuously offend the Lord by announcing our intentions ahead of His will.

We are not even to assume that the Lord wants us to live one more day.  That’s why in our morning prayers we should thank God for yet another day.   And at the end of the day we should thank God for the day he has given us.  This sort of thankfulness, if truly expressed, will keep our hearts in the right posture and make us able to glorify God and worship God.  Thankfulness is the beginning and origin of worship and glorification of our God.   

16   But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.

What then happens if we don’t thank God and seek his will in all things?  It is evil.

Matthew Henry says this: “It is foolish, and it is hurtful, to boast of worldly things and aspiring projects; it will bring great disappointment, and will prove destruction in the end. Omissions are sins which will be brought into judgment, as well as commissions. He that does not the good he knows should be done, as well as he who does the evil he knows should not be done, will be condemned. Oh that we were as careful not to omit prayer, and not to neglect to meditate and examine our consciences, as we are not to commit gross outward vices against light!”   

17   Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

The things you know you ought to do, but fail to do, will be judged.  A neglected prayer life, an irresponsible witness life, vain imaginations of success and gain that do not defer to the will of God; all these things will be counted as sins of omission.

The specific application of this scripture should be within the context of the scripture.  It is talking about making plans without God.  So to him who knows he should seek the Lord’s face in all things, and fails to do it, all of those actions that follow will be as sin to him.  God doesn’t want us striking out on our own.  That’s why we come to Him for salvation, because we know we can’t do it on our own.  We are to depend on the Lord, depend on prayer, depend on His providence, His goodness, His mercy.  To do otherwise is foolish and will lead to disappointment, disillusionment, and a propensity to sin.