James 4
W E E K F I V E
Pride was at the core of the first great conflict between creation and God. Satan and his fallen angels thought that they could lead, create, and govern better than God Himself (Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:12-19). Pride, in its purest and most destructive form, still looks very much like that. It’s the notion that we can somehow lead, discern, and choose better than our Creator. When you say it out loud, it just sounds ridiculous. But at our center there is still this whispering, nudging voice that says, “I can do it better. And for doing it better, I deserve the glory.” Perhaps pride can most simply be defined as a longing for glory that doesn’t really belong to us. Instead of desiring a moment of worship and adoration directed towards God, we try to redirect that glory and praise to ourselves.
Conversely, humility was at the center of our reconciliation with God. Jesus humbled Himself to the point of death, even death on a cross, in order to restore the brokenness our collective pride had established. Think about that: the humility of God heals, covers, and restores the prideful destruction of humanity.
James wants to show us why the battle between our desire to serve God and our desire to serve ourselves constantly rages. As a result of this internal battle, we experience endless conflict in our lives and relationships. James knows the frustration of this tension, and he suggests we think differently about ourselves.
It’s no wonder that James harps on humility so much. He knew it to be the core redemptive posture of Jesus. James challenges his readers: “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you” (4:7-8). If we don’t pay careful attention, we miss the fact that this statement is sandwiched between verses encouraging the reader to choose humility as a way of life. This is a spiritual discipline that takes effort, but James knows it is the only way forward.
Pride always seeks personal glory, but leaves you feeling empty and lacking. It promises to make your name powerful, but all it really does is puff you up so that the deflation aches all the more. James calls on us all to walk in the way of Jesus, and to choose humility. Not only because it is the right thing to do, but because it brings a sense of wholeness and unity with God. It may seem counterintuitive, but then again, so is nearly the entire gospel and Jesus’ reverse economy of the Kingdom.
James 4
What is the source of wars and fights among you? Don’t they come from your passions that wage war within you? You desire and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and wage war. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and don’t receive because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.
You adulterous people! Don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the friend of the world becomes the enemy of God. Or do you think it’s without reason that the Scripture says: The spirit he made to dwell in us envies intensely?
But he gives greater grace. Therefore he says:
God resists the proud
but gives grace to the humble.
Therefore, submit 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, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
Don’t criticize one another, brothers and sisters. Anyone who defames or judges a fellow believer defames and judges the law. If you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring—what your life will be! For you are like vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes.
Instead, you should say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So it is sin to know the good and yet not do it.
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
READ :
James 4
OBSERVE & INTERPRET :
What initially stands out to you about this passage?
Look for key words, comparisons/contrasts, commands, etc. - what did you highlight or underline in this passage?
Key Words:
Comparisons:
Contrasts:
Commands:
Questions:
In 4:4, James calls his audience “adulterous” - how does this relate to faithfulness?
God’s grace is greater than our inclination to sin. Spend some time searching the Bible for the word “grace” - do a quick google search for Bible verses about grace, or use Logos or the Faithlife Study app or a study Bible or concordance. How does your understanding of God’s grace change the way you look at this passage?
APPLY :
Notice that in verses 7-11a James used very active language. Clearly, humbling yourself and submitting to God is not a passive action. How can you actively submit to God today or tomorrow? Try rewriting this passage and inserting your own name to make it personal.
How can you transfer the things you've learned in this chapter about conflict and fighting to your everyday relationships?
How does this shape your current attitude and feelings towards current events in this world (injustice, protests, violence, anger, etc.)?
What warning, command, or truth from this section of Scripture resonated with you the most? How do you need to grow in this area?
EXTRAS :
Use a resource like the Faithlife Study Bible app or the Logos Bible app to do some word studies or get new insight into specific words or phrases and how they fit into this passage of Paul’s letter.
Listen to the song “Draw Near” by Passion. Is there a line in this song that is most encouraging to you?
Listen to the song “Everything is Mine in You” by Christy Nockels. How does this song speak the truth that you see in James 4?
If you want to read more about resisting the Devil, look up the following passages:
Matthew 4:1-11
Ephesians 6:10-18
1 Peter 5:6-11
1 John 5:18
STUDY TOGETHER
There is great encouragement that comes with community and accountability when we study the Bible with other believers! If you plan to study with other people, follow these few steps during your STUDY TOGETHER time:
READ - Make sure to read the passage together
DISCUSS - Use the study questions from this blog to discuss your study of James over the week. If there were parts of the passage that you didn’t understand, ask other people what they thought or understood!
CHALLENGE - Spend time talking about how this passage applies to your life right now. How can you keep each other accountable to what you are learning or what God is working out in you?
PRAY - Don’t forget to talk to God and lift each other up while you are together. Take notes and be intentional to pray for your small group throughout the week.
SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT
R E S O U R C E S
A list of resources used throughout this online Bible Study series in James
James: A Double-Edged Bible Study, A TH1NK LifeChange Study by NavPress. A NavPress resource published in alliance with Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Copyright 2013 by The Navigators.
James Study by SheReadsTruth, https://shereadstruth.com/plans/james/ Copyright 2019 by SheReadsTruth, LLC. All rights reserved.
James Study by HeReadsTruth, http://hereadstruth.com/plan/james/ Copyright 2019 by HeReadsTruth, LLC. All rights reserved.
Grounded: Wisdom for Real Life from Proverbs and James by Clayton and Sharie King, LifeWay Press, 2018.
James: Faith / Works by Matt Chandler. Copyright 2018 The Village Church, Lifeway Press, All rights reserved.
