James Chapter 4

7/29/2019 James Chapter 4

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Book and Chapter: James Chapter 4

Themes:

Key Verse:

Outline:

How to Become Gods Enemy 1-5

On Humility 6-10

On Judging 11-12

On Arrogance 13-17

Application: No review, no stew. Vs. 4 avoid being GODs enemy by burying HISWORD in my heart. 15 min. of scripture review is my meal ticket.

Talking Points:

Verse Observation Cf. Question/Answer

1What is the source

of quarrels and

conflicts among you?

Is not the source your

pleasures that wage

war on your

members?

There was conflict

among the Jews enough

that James took a fair

portion of his small letter

to address it.

Personal pleasures are

not personal at all.

Id imagine this verse istalking about lust.

Q: Is pleasure the

source of my conflict with

others?

A:

2You lust and do not

have so you commit

murder. You are

envious and cannot

obtain so you fight and

quarrel. You do not

have because you do

not ask.

I could have a lot moregood things If I had just

askedtaken God up on

His promises.

You dont get 100% of thethings you dont ask for.

1Jn.3.15: Everyone who

hates his brother is a

murderer; and you

know that no murderer

has eternal life abiding

in him.

Jn.16.24: Until now you

Q: How does lust cause

murder?

A: The object of my lust is

someone elses wife. Inlusting after his wife I am

showing hatred. Hating is

killing 1Jn.3.15.


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have asked for nothing

in My name; askand

you will receive, so

that your joy may be

made full.

Jas.5.17: Elijah was a

man with a nature like

ours and he prayed that

it would not rain, and it

did not rain on the

earth for three years

and six months. Then

he prayed again and the

sky poured forth rain.

Q: What kind of envy is

separating me from

others?

3You ask and do notreceive because you

ask with wrong

motives, that you may

spend it on your

pleasures.

This resolves the

question I prayed forsomething, why didntGod give it to me?

Lk.11.11:

Now suppose one of

you fathers is askedby his son for a fish;he will not give hima snake instead of afish, will he?

Q: If the son asks for a

snake, will the father give

it to him?

Q: What do I ask God mos

for?

A: Forgiveness, direction

Him to be glorified, to use

me in his Kingdom, for a

man.

Q: What are my motives

for asking these things of

God?

A: Forgiveness: Mostly m

motive is to feel better

about myself and more

secure in my relationship

with God.

Q: God, what do you wan

to give me that Im notasking for?

4You adulteresses,

do you not know that

friendship with the

Surefire way to be

Gods sworn enemy: Befriendly to worldly

1Jn.2.15-16 Do not

love the world, or

anything in the world. If

*Q: What things of the

world am I being toofriendly with?


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world is hostility

toward GOD?

Therefore whoever

wishes to be a friend

of the world makes

himself an enemy ofGOD.

things. Scary. Imdefinitely in danger of

being Gods enemy.

Lord, take away my

desires of worldly things:Cash, cars, careers and

cuties. Nothing good

comes from the world,

but good thing comes

from you, Lord, my God.

anyone loves the world,

the love of the FATHER

is not in him. For

everything in the

world: the cravings of

sinful man, the lust ofhis eyes, and the

boasting of what he has

and does comes not

from the Father, but

from the world.

Rom.8.15: For the mind

set on the flesh is death,

but the mind set on the

Spirit is life and peace.

A: Me time I should be

treating other people as

more importance than I

am (Phil.2.3-4). Wheneve

Im going out on an

adventure I should bringa guy Im ministering toalong with me. If no one i

available I should really

ask God to reveal my true

motives for my alone

time, and ask Him that Hi

will be done.

*A: Possessions. Frankly

dont have any money for

anything right now, and I

know that its not Godswill to be in debt to

others. I need to live

within my means.

A: My thoughts: Imalmost constantly

dwelling on fleshly

desires rather than

spiritual ones.

Application: No review,no stew. . Get back into a

aggressive daily habit of

scripture memorizing,

review, and recitation.

Spend 15 min. a day doin

this. No scripture, no

sleepor dinner.

Adventure in pairs or to

seek God. Dont buy

anything.

5Or do you think

that the Scripture

speaks to no purpose:

HE jealously desires

the SPIRIT which HE

has made to dwell in

us?

The scripture never

actually says that.

Either: 1. GOD desires the

HOLY SPIRIT which he

has made to dwell in us.

-or-

Rom.8.15:

For you have notreceived a spirit ofslavery leading tofear again, but youhave received a

Q: What reference is

James talking about?

A: He could be referring

to the general sense of th

teaching of the Scripture


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GOD desires our spirit. I

tend to think that its the

latter. If so God desires

my spirit, my very soul.

How cool is that? Its very

humbling that GOD hasjealousy (a very strong

emotion) for my spirit.

spirit of adoption assons by which we cryout, "Abba! Father!"

6But HE gives a

greater grace.

Therefore it says,

GOD IS OPPOSED TO

THE PROUD, BUT

GIVES GRACE TO THE

HUMBLE.

The humble receive

grace; the proud are

opposed by the livingGOD.

Q: What greater grace

is James referring to?

A: Humility

7Submit therefore

to GOD. Resist the

devil and he will flee

from you.

Submit comes before

resist.

This means satan knows

when hes not wanted,

and leavesflees!

Q: Is it possible to resis

the devil without

submitting to GOD?

Q: Is it possible to submit

to GOD without resisting

the devil?

Q: How can I resist the

devil?

A: Submit to GOD.

A:

*8Draw near to GOD

and HE will draw near

to you. Cleanse your

hands, you sinners;

and purify your hearts,you double-minded.

Cleanse your hands:

external purity.

Purify your hearts:

Internal purity.

Q: How can I draw nea

to GOD?

A: In prayer

A: In the Word

A: In fellowship

(mt.18.20)

9Be miserable and

mourn and weep; let

your laughter be

turned into mourning,

The road to repentance

should be walked in

misery.

2Co.7.10: For the

sorrow that is

according to the will of

GOD produces a


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and your joy to gloom. repentance without

regret, but the sorrow

of the world produces

death.

10Humble

yourselves in the

presence of the LORD,

and HE will exalt you.

No one, even in theirlowest state deserves to

be exalted by the one true

GOD. It is by HIS grace

that this happens. I

should take GOD up on

this incredible offer.

Q: What is humility?

A: Seeing yourself as God

sees you (righty).

11Do not speak

against one another,

brethren. He who

speaks against abrother or judges his

brother, speaks

against the law, and

judges the law; but if

you judge the law, you

are not a doer of the

law, but a judge of it.

This seems to say that

we shouldnt judgeanyone, but Paul says that

we should be judges of

those in the church.

I dont understand thisverse.

1Co.5.11-13: But

actually, I wrote to you

not to associate with

any so-called brother ifhe is an immoral

person, or covetous, or

an idolater, or a reviler,

or a drunkard, or a

swindlernot even to

eat with such a one. 12

For what have I to do

with judging outsiders?

Do you not judge those

who are within the

church? 13 But those

who are outside, God

judges. REMOVE THE

WICKED MAN FROM

AMONG YOURSELVES.

1 Cor 5:11-13 (NASB)1Co.6.1-5: Does any

one of you, when he has

a case against his

neighbor, dare to go to

law before the

unrighteous and not

before the saints? 2 Or

do you not know that

the saints will judge

the world? If the world

is judged by you, are

Q: Is there a difference

between speaking agains

his brother and judging

his brother?

Q: How is judging a

brother the same asjudging the law?

Q: Who do I speak

against?

A: Maybe Jim McKnight

Q: Who do I judge?

A: Mark Delrosario

Q: When is it ok to judge?


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you not competent to

constitute the smallest

law courts? 3 Do you

not know that we will

judge angels? How

much more matters ofthis life? 4 So if you

have law courts dealing

with matters of this life,

do you appoint them as

judges who are of no

account in the church?

5 I say this to your

shame.

Heb.10.30: But

actually, I wrote to you

not to associate with

any so-called brother if

he is an immoral

person, or covetous, or

an idolater, or a reviler,

or a drunkard, or a

swindlernot even toeat with such a one. 12

For what have I to do

with judging outsiders?Do you not judge those

who are within the

church? 13 But those

who are outside, God

judges. REMOVE THE

WICKED MAN FROM

AMONG YOURSELVES.

12There is only OneLawgiver and Judge,

the One who is able to

save and to destroy.

But who are you who

judge your neighbor?

I must have no part in

judging those outside the

body of believers.

13Come now, you Assuming my future Pr.16.9:The mind of Q: Why is it foolish to


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who say, Today ortomorrow we shall go

to such and such a city,

and engage in business

and make a profit.

will go a certain way is

arrogance (vs.16).

man plans his way,

But the Lord directs his

steps.

assume my own future?

A: It gives the illusion tha

Im in control. I could get

hit by the chicken truck

crossing the street

tomorrow.A: It takes relying on GOD

as the provider of my

needs out of the picture.

14Yet you do not

know what your life

will be like tomorrow.

You are just a vapor

that appears for a littlewhile and then

vanishes away.

This life represents 0%

of Infinity vapor is

putting it lightly.

This really puts things in

perspective. If life is really

this short, there is no time

to spend on anything that

is not eternal! GOD andpeople.

Jas.1.11: For the sun

rises with a scorching

wind, and withers the

grass, and its flower

falls off, and the beauty

of its appearance is

destroyed. So too, the

rich man in the midst of

his pursuits will fade

away.

Q: What will I do with

my vapor?

15Instead, you

ought to say, If theLORD wills, we shall

live and also do this or

that.

The planning process

hasnt stopped, but has

acknowledged GODssovereignty, and is

submitted to GODs will.

16But as it is youboast in your

arrogance; all such

boasting is evil.

Assuming I can take

care of my own future is

arrogance. It is evil.

17Therefore to one

who knows the right

thing to do, and does

not do it, to him it is

sin.

The law of the

conscience.

Sins of omission.

The more I know, the

more I must obey, or I am

sinning.

Sitting in a chair for a day

(depending on motive)

may very well be sinning.

Rom.14.23: But he

who doubts is

condemned if he eats,

because his eating is

not from faith; and

whatever is not from

faith is sin.

Q: To one who doesnt

know hes sinning, is thatstill sin?


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How to Become GODs Enemy 1-5

What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasuresthat wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. And

you are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you

do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you

may spend it on your pleasures. You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with

the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world

makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: "

He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us"?

On Humility 6-10

But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, " God is opposed to the proud, but gives

grace to the humble." Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and

purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your

laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the

presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.

On Judging 11-12

Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother, or judges his

brother, speaks against the law, and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a

doer of the law, but a judge of it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able

to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?

Unfortunately, this means

that Im almost constantly

sinning. I know more than

Id like to give an accountfor. I know that I should

love as Christ loved, butoften I keep to myself.


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On Arrogance 13-17

Come now, you who say, " Today or tomorrow, we shall go to such and such a city, and

spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit." Yet you do not know whatyour life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then

vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, " If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this

or that." But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. Therefore, to one

who knows the right thing to do, and does not do it, to him it is sin.

Documents

James Chapter 4