Since James is writing to the believers, these strong words about war, fights, lust, murder and covetousness apply to us. James probes about the cause and where wars and fights originate from. Often, we are more concerned with winning an argument rather than having a godly attitude that brings peace. I remember when I was fourteen being furious with a teacher reporting to another member of staff that I and another student were fighting, when in fact we were only arguing and no blows were thrown! How easily we fail to see our blind spots and exhibit a shallow piety.
The cause of wars
Sadly, outsiders looking in can often see this all too clearly and that is detrimental to a credible witness. Jewish philosopher Baruch Spinoza observed: “I have often wondered that persons who make boast of professing the Christian religion-namely love, joy, peace, temperance, and charity to all men-should quarrel with such rancorous animosity, and display daily towards one another such bitter hatred, that this, rather than the virtues they profess, is the readiest criteria of their faith.”[i]
Hence this question about the origin of our strife digs beneath our façade and reveals our attitude. James is writing to believers, so we are not entitled to state, ‘not applicable’ or point merely to the reasons of divisions of others. Even the apostle Paul was highly conscious of this inner struggle with sin where the flesh wages war against the Spirit (Romans 7:14-25). This is a problem within all of us for which we need God’s grace to fight the good fight.
The origin of wars clearly lies with us and our sin. Pride and covetousness commence in our thinking, so before we can correct our behaviour, we must correct our thinking which is uncovered and manifest in our attitude. You may consider the language employed too strong since ‘you are not like that.’ Consider King David, a man after God’s own heart and think of the spiritual depth of his psalms and his many godly deeds. Yet he lusted after Bathsheba and he coveted Uriah’s wife resulting in adultery and murder. He could not obtain what he wanted and when he did, at what cost? And what cost to Uriah, Bathsheba, to David, his family, to Israel and their child? The sword would never depart from their house.
Coveting is a most deadly sin because it is the root of other sins. It begins with small thoughts that may be imperceptible, undetectable, seemingly innocuous, yet it grows to monstrous proportions. In a similar way we cannot see a disease unless we observe it under a microscope. Be we can see the disastrous effects and it must be killed before it grows and causes yet further damage.
Praying to God instead of desires for pleasure
How can the believer prevent wars and fighting? Through prayer. James wrote to the diaspora who did not get what they desired since they did not ask the Lord and when they asked it was not from godly motive since they were asking amiss. How pivotal is prayer in your life for solving problems? How regular is prayer in your life? Instead of lusting and coveting and being full of selfishness and pride, you must pray. If you lack wisdom you can ask of the Lord who will grant that to us liberally (James 1:5).
An objection is raised since someone prays yet that they do not obtain what they desire. When you ask something of the Lord, how do you ask Him? Is your motive carnal or spiritual? This is a vital question that we must regularly consider and it is a huge problem in many congregations today. Some people pray as if they are giving orders to God or organising His calendar! Some are ignorant or misguided, thinking that somehow, they cannot ask amiss. Do you seriously expect the King of the Universe to answer your prayers so that you can spend that on your pleasures?
There is no shortage of Scripture about asking something from the Lord and expecting to receive that by faith (Mark 11:22-24; Matthew 7:7; John 16:24), but we must be careful not to view those verses in isolation. They were not written in a vacuum and must be considered both in their immediate context and within the full counsel of God’s word. What does it mean to ask in His name? As a formula, a formality or a promise to be cashed in?
Or, as according to His will and purposes that His name may be glorified? Do you see the difference? This is instead of feeding the selfish desires that war within our members. The Lord is not our vending machine. Some will ignore these questions because they want to satisfy their own covetousness. They want God to be their vending machine, their ultimate genie and are happy to use a formula of prayer to get what they want of their own desire. Rather 1 John 5:14-15 corrects that thinking in that we need to pray according to His will.
Friendship with the world is enmity with God
James thunders in verse 4, ‘adulterers and adulteresses. Remember throughout the Tanakh (Old Testament), Israel experienced persistent problems with idolatry, characterised as spiritual adultery. But this also applies to you and me in our attitude towards the world and the things of the world. Do you want to be a friend of God? Then you will be at enmity with the world. Do you want to be a friend of the world? Then you are at enmity with God.
What is meant in this context by ‘the world’? The world here relates to the basic principles of this world, worldly things in opposition to godly thinking. This does not mean that we fail to care for the needs of a dying world (cf. John 3:16). But our attitudes and desires and allegiance are to the Lord, not to the world or the things of this world. Pray that you would stay close to the Lord and refuse to be corrupted by the world.
Verse 5 is notoriously difficult to be able to interpret definitively. “Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously.” Bear in mind that some things in Scripture are difficult to understand (2 Peter 3:16). The first difficulty is that ‘the Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously’ is not a direct quotation from the Tanakh. However, it could be described as a summary of Old Testament teaching, or verse 6 could be in view regarding a quotation. It may be a summary of teaching in verse 5 as a prefix to verse 6, a quote from Proverbs 3:34.
The second problem is which ‘spirit’ is being referred to in verse 5? There are two options. Firstly, the Holy Spirit and secondly a human passionate spirit within us that years jealously. If the Holy Spirit is in view, then consider that as believers our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We were brought with a price and belong to God. The Lord is rightly jealous over those who belong to Him. If the spirit refers to a human ‘spirit’ yearning with jealousy, there will be a conflict within us. The NKJV capitalises ‘Spirit,’ referring to the Holy Spirit and that is the view that I am taking here. Note that in this paragraph and the one above, I have leant heavily on Arnold Fructenbaum’s commentary.[ii]
Where is the practical application for the above? Humble people that are godly, pray and recognise their continual need to pray and remain close to the Lord. Live and pray in such a way to make it easy for others to see if you are of God, or the world. You cannot serve God and mammon and neither can you serve two masters.
Godly humility cures worldliness
Verse 6 helps to unlock this passage, “But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” If you have a problem with self-pride then you are in trouble. Why? God resists the proud. But if you are humble, God will show you grace. James quotes Proverbs 3:34 showing God gives more grace. “Surely He scorns the scornful, but gives grace to the humble.”
In the context of Proverbs 3, this provides guidance for the young, for the foundation throughout their and our lives. We live in a day and age where pride is seen as a desirable virtue. Though how often have we heard the biblical expression in everyday life that “pride comes before a fall?” Proverbs 3:34 is also quoted in 1 Peter 5:5-10 which mirrors James 4:6-10 and notice that like Proverbs 3:34, Peter addresses the young people first.
Verses 7-10 shows us how godly humility cures worldliness and to be humble in God’s eyes. What is the spiritual solution to the ongoing sense of pride and desire for pleasure warring for our members? In a fire drill, it is vital to know what to do, what to leave and where to go. Action must be taken promptly. You leave what you are doing, leave the non-essentials and go to the meeting point that is safe. Verses 7-10 provides the drill and shows us how to submit to God and resist the devil.
Step one-submit to God
Submit to God. This is a military term and we must recognise our rank and God’s rule. We must willingly submit to God and recognise our need to obey Him in everything. Submitting to God is a military term, or military order. Let us now think about resisting the devil. By submitting to God, this helps us not to give free and easy opportunities for the devil.
Step two-resist the devil
In Ephesians 6:10-20 we are instructed clearly about wearing the whole armour of God and resisting the devil. “Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil (Ephesians 6:11). The Roman soldier had protection on their front and they were able to stand when tested. Paul mentions girding the waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, feet shod with the gospel of peace, the shield of faith and the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Earlier we thought about how fights arose. People argued when they should have prayed. People protest stating, “I have prayed.” Their prayers are not answered for they ask amiss. We saw clearly that our prayers must be prayed in accordance with God’s will and purpose. In the Ephesians 6 section on spiritual warfare, we are commanded to pray always and with all prayer, supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end will all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.
Step three-draw near to God
We have a remarkable promise in verse 8. “Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.” We can approach the Lord in prayer and we should do this often and in all situations. This is an incredible privilege and opportunity and is sadly something we can at times take for granted. We now no longer make sacrifices and extensive preparations or wait for the Day of Atonement. Our Messiah has made access possible through His blood making atonement so that we can boldly approach the throne of grace. Having submitted ourselves to the God and resisted the devil, we should draw near to Him.
Step four-cleanse your hands and purify your hearts
We are instructed to cleanse our hands and purify our hearts and it is vital to consider the context. This would have spoken so powerfully to the Jewish believers, who this letter was written to (James 1:1) and who would have been familiar with ceremonial cleansing. Consider how a believer in Yeshua (Jesus) can approach God now and think of the nation of Israel at Mount Sinai. Waugh writes, “To enter God’s presence is to move like a priest from the altar of sacrifice to the laver, and thence into the house of God’s presence.”[iii]
Macdonald adds, “Hands speak of our actions and our hearts represent our motives and desires. We cleanse our hands and purify our hearts through confession and forsaking sins, both outward and inward. As sinners we need to confess evil acts; as doubleminded people we need to confess our mixed motives.”[iv]
Godly sorrow
We are told to lament and mourn and weep. To let our laughter be turned to mourning and our joy to gloom. For there is a godly sorrow that leads to repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10). This is the kind of sorrow for sin over worldliness, materialism, secularism or formalism that the Lord requires of us. Some cultures can express sorrow or weeping as a formality, but that is not the same as godly sorrow. Our Lord stated, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted (Matthew 5:4). There is a godly sorrow that leads to repentance. If we humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord, He will lift us up.
Godly humility cures worldliness. If you are slipping, run towards God rather than from Him. We have been given the Divine prescription. Make sure that you are praying, not arguing. We are commanded to submit to God, to resist the devil and he will flee from us. And to draw near to God, to cleanse our hands and purify our hearts and to lament and mourn and weep. Our laughter will be turned to mourning and our joy to gloom, but then the blessing comes! Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up.
[i] Douglas Moo Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (IVP, 1985; Leicester), p18 cited from Tracatus Theologico-Politicus, ch.6.
[ii] Arnold G. Fructenbaum Ariel’s Bible Commentary Hebrews-James I&II Peter-Jude Exposition from a Messianic Jewish Perspective (Ariel, 2005; San Antonio), p290
[iii] G. Waugh Ritchie New Testament Commentaries James (John Ritchie Ltd, 2003; Kilmarnock), p322
[iv] William MacDonald Believer’s Bible Commentary (Thomas Nelson, 1995; Nashville), p2237
