The Epsitle of James: a Commentary | Page 9

on business
and make money." 14Why, you do not even know what will
happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that
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appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15Instead, you
ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this
or that." 16As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is
evil. 17Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do
and doesn't do it, sins.
4:1-6: A warning against double standards
Clearly there were some problems among those
James wrote to, although it doesn't seem he wrote to
any one specific church community. They all involve
some measure of double standards in Christian living,
and probably basically a desire to keep friendship with
the world. Did not the Lord Jesus tell us we cannot
serve God and mammon (worldly wealth) (Matt 6:24)?
The life of the world is organised against God. So, to
compromise with the world is to attempt to sit on the
fence and thus compromise our Christian lives. It's
always tempting to think that we shall be better
ambassadors if we try to 'win friends and influence
people'! In fact, it never works that way; it leads to a
half-hearted Christianity which leads other people to
say 'No thanks'
But James has other complaints to make. They
quarrel and fight (lit. they 'kill and covet'), and finish up
the more impoverished. They live in envy of one
another; they are proud and hard-hearted.
v1. 'desires that battle within'- the 'law at work within
waging war' of which Paul speaks (Rom 7:23) There
was an obvious failure to trace their fighting and
quarreling to its source.
v2 Covetousness is a serious matter. It is sin's
opportunity (Rom 7:8). In my commentary of Romans
I noted:
Of the 10 commandments, the last one unlike all
the others deals with an inner attitude. It is bound
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up with so much sin; to want things for ourselves.
Paul speaks of 'covetousness which is idolatry' (Col
3:5). The tenth commandment is, in many ways, the
most fundamental. It forbids us to put any other
desire in place of that for God. And what was true
for Paul is true for us all. We all have covetous
desires, and the very prohibition kindles them. The
first sin was essentially to break the command not
to take something for self. This is the essence of
sin.
vv2-3. Why did they ask and not receive? Because
they were not asking in true faith, but with mixed
motives. Asking in faith is asking in the will of Jesus,
abiding in Him. (John 15:7,16; cp Matt 21:22; John
16:24; 1 John 3:22)
'ask'- aiteo- asking for something to be given; it
implies also asking of one in a higher position 'with
wrong motives- kakos- inherently evil motives.
v4. 'enemy'. The word exthros denotes hatred. Was
James trying to shock them into realising they were
God-haters if they compromised with the world.
v5. The meaning of this verse is obscure. Two
possible readings among those put forward are:
(i) Wiersbe takes the NIV margin. 'Or do you think Scripture
says without reason that the Spirit he caused to live in us
longs jealously?'..the flesh is the enemy of God the Holy
Spirit..The Spirit within jealously guards our relationship
with God, and the Spirit is grieved when we sin against
God's love
(ii) Motyer renders the same verse 'Or do you think
Scripture speaks meaninglessly. Does the Spirit he made
to indwell us with sinful jealousy'- and he comments "God's
people are indwelt by God's Spirit and there is no way in
which the living presence of the Spirit is compatible with..
the self-interest..destructive of the peace of the church"
The point is that in the gift of the Spirit, God gives us
'greater grace' (v6)- mugas- greater in stature, not in
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quantity. The Spirit with is God's greatest gift of grace.
It is the humble who receive the grace; God resists
the proud. James here quotes Prov 3:34 (cp Psalm
18:27) Peter quotes the same verse (1 Peter 5:5)
4:7-10: A warning against the Devil; a call to
repentance.
"Resist the Devil" "Come to God". These are the polar
opposites James presents here.
The Devil is always taken seriously in Scripture.
Peter warns he is like a roaring lion seeking prey; we
are to resist in faith (1 Peter 5:8): Paul tells us to put
on God's full armour (Eph 6:11). The very names
'Satan' and 'Devil' mean 'accuser' and 'deceiver'. He
will try tp put all sorts of lies into our minds, all sorts of
doubts, and he leads us into disbelief and sin. C S
Lewis in The Screwtape Letters warns us against
thinking the Devil does no exist; equally against a
preoccupation. If we resist the Devil he will flee, for we
belong to Christ, who has overcome (Col 2:15)
But we are never to be content with the negative. We
are to draw near to God: He will respond and draw
near to us. He never leaves or forsakes us (Heb 13:5).
There is truth in the wayside pulpit motto: 'If God
seems far away, guess who's moved?'
Inevitably we fail; inevitably we sin. And sin cannot
be taken