If any one appears to be religious, let that man be guided from above. James has been discussing wisdom: wisdom from above brings peace and righteousness but wisdom from below produces strife, confusion, and every evil work. Now what produces this strife besides envy? He wants them to move from the esoteric considerations of wisdom to practical observation. It is not only envy that produces strife, it is lusting after worldly things, and placing too high a value upon worldly pleasures and friendships. This is true with respect to individuals, between nations and between brethren.
What do you find startling about verse 2? YOU KILL! Erasmus, an early translator, thought it might have been envy (a word similiar in Greek), and envy received wide acceptance in the English Bibles before 1611. However, it is dropped altogether now as there is no variation from KILL in the manuscripts.
Where does murder spring from? It begins with a desire that dominates the thinking so that it is taken more and more seriously. It begins to dominate the passions, and plans and schemes how to achieve what it wants. Finally imaginations blaze into action and terrible unscrupulous steps are taken to obtain desires.
There are three basic approaches to this section in the beginning of James 4. Some say it refers to zealous nationalist Jewish Christians. The Jews were a seditious people, often fighting with the Romans. James informs them it was not a zeal for country, nor for the honour of God, but as a result of their prevailing lusts. Others opine that it refers to poor standards among Christians leading to murder (cf. 1 Pet. 4:15). Since the wars and fighting were said to be “among them”, it is preferable and conceivable to take the expression metaphorically. “Fighting” and “killing” are words that can be used of arguments and disputes and hatred, so it is probably best to say it refers to conflict within the church:- pride, malice, covetousness, ambition and revenge.
From lust for power and dominion to lust for pleasure and riches – from these lie all the broils and contentions of the world. The cure for contention is to lay the axe at the root. Kill the lusts that war in our members, else these things can become a way of life (Titus 3:3). Lust is never satisfied, and when it gets what it wants it only wants more. Can a man filled with envy and hatred, pray? He thinks God is not answering his prayers and so he quits praying and goes about seeking to obtain his desires by carnal means. Besides, he is intent upon what he wants and does not consult God as to whether he should pursue those things or not – whether they would be good for his spiritual advancement. Because they sought these things by unscrupulous means, and when they in their self-righteousness and instability did pray, God didn’t honour their prayer because they were so materialistic in their thinking. They prayed for fulfillment of lusts rather than the will of God.
Men can be wicked and yet ask for God’s blessings: Matt. 23:29-35 credits Jesus’ opponents of building the tombs of the prophets and garnishing the graves of the righteous. Jesus foretold His disciples in John 16:2 that he who kills you will think he does God service. People are praying the prayer of Jabez (1 Chron. 4:10) and it is purely selfish in most cases. It is not wrong to ask for temporal blessings (eg. give us this day our daily bread) but in seeking them for a wrong purpose to squander in self-indulgence. What do our prayers say about us? Are they directed to God fulfilling His work in us, or in treating God as a benevolent old Grandfather whom we want to spoil us? Prayer is predicated upon several parameters: obedience (1 John 3:22; Ps.66:18), abiding in Christ (John 15:7), praying in His name (John 14:14), praying in accordance with His will (1 John 5:14), and here we have the added criteria of a worthy motive.
We might think that with so many qualifications and conditions on prayer we might as well not pray. It’s seems bit like the fine print on the bottom of an insurance proposal. I remember the big hailstorm in Toowoomba in 1976 which was followed by a week of general rain – was carpet household or contents? Were ceilings destroyed by hail and tempest or by steady rain? Has God got it all sewn up with respect to prayer? Not so, but it does tell us that prayer is not for selfish material ends. God has something else, something higher in mind. When prayers are self-centred what is left out? Forgiveness, welfare of others, advancement of the Kingdom, spiritual growth etc. There is probably more rubbish written on prayer than on any other subject (except the Holy Spirit perhaps).
Verse 4 indicates that men can love both the friendship of the world and God. And what is it that causes so much frustration in life and so much church trouble? The fight between the fleshly nature of the Christian and the Spirit of God. Very often these evil desires which only want to gratify the flesh are at work in different church members who come into conflict with each other, causing the friction and wars. Those causing the wars and fightings are called adulterers and adultresses. He is not singling out this specific sexual sin, but the infidelity in friendship with worldly ways. This is 1 John 2:17. Divided allegiance is impossible: as Jesus said in Matt. 12:30 and 6:24, we are either for or against and can’t serve two masters. All the lusting, coveting, envy, and strife are caused by adopting the world’s values and the world’s way of attaining.
Who is the spirit referred to in v.5? The human spirit or the Holy Spirit? The simplest approach seems to be that there is a natural tendency to envy, which the scripture in general testifies. What is envy? – my pleasure at your good fortune. Somebody has something that I want but don’t have, and I’m not happy about that. For example, the first murder was because of envy and the murder of Jesus was through envy. It is listed as a work of the flesh in Gal. 5:21 etc. Even the irreligious John Laws harps about the evil of envy from time to time. What can man do about this?
God does not give us the spirit of fear, or envy for that matter – but He gives grace (Jas. 1:17). To whom does He give this grace? To the lowly (Prov. 3:34). J.B. Philips, in his paraphrase, renders verse 6 as, He gives grace potent enough to meet this and every other evil spirit if we are humble enough to receive it. So he says in verse 7 we must submit to God for, as he said in v.6, God sets Himself against the proud. How does he do this? Ps. 138:6 puts it, he has respect for the lowly, but the proud He knows afar off. So it means there will be blessings withheld, punishments appropriate, and the continuing problems that come with envy. How do we submit? Allow God to control the life by doing His will – he knows best – His wisdom is greater – worldly wisdom creates problems as Ch. 3 testified. You cannot fill a jug that is already full, and God cannot put graces into a life that is full of itself and its own ways and wisdom.
And so in submitting to God we must resist the Devil. Why resist? Because it works; he does not like opposition. How do we resist the Devil? First we resist the temptation to sin – if we keep yielding to temptation, the Devil will continue to follow us. Do you want a break from the Devil? Resist him and he will leave you for a season. Some think it’s just easier to sin and repent later, and they wonder why the Devil doesn’t give them a break! They wonder why they do not get around to repenting. Next, we resist his wisdom. To do this we must study and pray, for Satan can defeat human philosophies and human reasoning, but not the world of God.
In contrast to that, verse 8 tells us to draw near to God. Why? He will draw near to us. In this sense God and Satan are the same – resist each and each will leave, draw near to each and each will draw near. So I’ll draw near to both and have the best of both worlds? Nay, any attempt to draw near to both God and the Devil will be double-mindedness and will result in God leaving! How do we draw near to God? God said through the pen of Jeremiah, you shall seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. (Jer. 29:13). We need to seek close fellowship with God through prayer, study, meditation, worship, and taking care of business! James says, cleanse your hands! The expression, get a little dirt on your hands is a symbol for evil deeds. There can be no submission to God, resistance to the Devil and communion with God when we walk in darkness. Everything detrimental to fellowship must be dispelled. This is similar to Paul’s admonition for men to pray, lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting. Besides cleansing the hands we are to purify the heart. The hands symbolize the actions while the heart stands for the inward motives and affections. Don’t be spiritually two-faced as it won’t work, as Jesus said in Matt.6:24, no man can serve two masters. Remember we met this man in Jas. 1:8. Your life will be one compromise after another. Draw a line in the sand and choose you this day whom you will serve!
James goes on in verse 9 with the admonition to be afflicted and mourn and weep. By cleansing the hands and hearts, the process of drawing nigh to God will be completed with prayer and godly sorrow. Trouble-makers behave the way they behave because they are not truly converted – they have no vital, meaningful relationship with Christ. The first step in arresting this situation is conviction and acknowledgement of one’s true condition – then true sorrow for sin which brings about a change of direction and change of commitment. Without sorrow for sin there is no joy of salvation.
Verse 10 tells us that whereas human pride and wisdom stands behind disobedience and worldly strife, humility before God is essential. Humility is the only path to honour in God’s estimation – this is a paradox, as Matt. 23:12 points out, exalt self and be abased. How does one humble oneself in the sight of the Lord? It begins with something like this: O Lord, I’ve been a fool. I’ve acted as if I am smarter than you and as if my ways are better than your ways, my thoughts higher than your thoughts, and I, myself, have been the God of my life rather than give you the rightful place in my life. Then because no one lives to himself, and because worldly wisdom and envy cause strife, Verses 11,12 follow:
The Lord has given us a critical faculty which we must use as He intended: eg. prove all things – hold fast to that which is good. – in which we are not called upon to form judgements upon people, things, and our own conduct. The problem is that we are prone to abuse and misuse this critical faculty. It is an outgrowth and cause of the strife and warring amongst themselves. Matt.7:1ff is often abused by suggestions that it teaches we shouldn’t make judgements. However, it is not wrong to point out that it is not teaching that and label false teaching for what it is. But let us not be blind to what it is teaching. It is teaching against the habit of being critical of others. It tells us where our emphasis needs to be: ie. looking out for our own sins, seeing them as worse than the sins of others (theirs are specks and mine are logs) and dealing with them before we attempt to help others with their failings. It is so easy to be blind to our own condition, whilst being all-seeing and all-knowing with respect to the sins of others. We are to focus on being doers of the law, not one being givers and judges of the law. God preserved that role for Himself.
In finishing off the chapter, verses 13-17 counsels us to humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord by submitting to God’s providential care. To act as if we are the captain of our own ship is “boasting” says James. Aristotle described the word as referring to one who claims the credit for a thing not done, or something very much exaggerated. The presumptuous confidence of making a financial killing – one year is all I’ll need. So much worldly happiness lies in the promises men make to themselves before hand – the heart and the mind are full of visions as to what they shall do, and be, and enjoy at some future time when the fact of the matter is they cannot be certain of the time or advantages they imagine to themselves. God is not in the picture and this is practical atheism. Not only did he plan his life without God, he bragged about it. Many a Christian has lost his soul because he planned moves on the basis of how good it was for his bank account and did not consider the possible cost to his soul.
But in submitting to the Lord and being humble before Him, the wise and productive Christian seeks first of all the mind of God as to what he should do. Worldly pursuits squeeze the Lord out. We only have a short time to be used of the Lord: that disappearing vapour that is our short life between the cradle and the grave. As Jesus Himself said, I must works the works of Him that sent me while it is yet day. God has decreed that we do not know for certain the events that will transpire in our life nor the duration of our life. It is sad that our urgency is reserved for material pursuits and the Lord is put on the back burner. The one talent man was not an evil-doer: – yet he was called wicked. Waste is wicked. Knowing to do good but never finding the time to do it is sin. There are two approaches to life: Eat, drink, and be merry, or seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. If any man appear to be religious, let that man be guided from above.