November
17th
James 4
Holiness in the world
1:
From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence,
even of your lusts that war in your members? 2: Ye lust, and have
not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and
war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. 3: Ye ask, and receive not,
because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. 4: Ye
adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the
world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the
world is the enemy of God. 5: Do ye think that the scripture saith in
vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? 6: But he
giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but
giveth grace unto the humble. 7: Submit yourselves therefore to God.
Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8: Draw nigh to God, and
he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify
your hearts, ye double minded. 9: Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep:
let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
10: Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you
up.
Holiness
in kind words
11:
Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his
brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and
judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of
the law, but a judge. 12: There is one lawgiver, who is able to save
and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?
Holiness
in describing our future plans
13:
Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a
city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: 14:
Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your
life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then
vanisheth away. 15: For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we
shall live, and do this, or that. 16: But now ye rejoice in your
boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. 17: Therefore to him that
knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
James
discusses the arguments that occur between the brethren. He says were
go these wars and fights come from? Well they come from lust and
unholy desires. He accuses the brethren with adultery. He tells them
to submit themselves to God and Satan will flee from them. Draw nigh
to God and he will draw nigh to you. He pleads for personal holiness.
James is speaking to his brethren who live under the Mosaic law. He
says, that he who speaks evil of his brother is clearly breaking the
law of God. He says, who are you to judge a brother. James then
comments on those who are presumptuous regarding the future. They
say, tomorrow I’m going to do this and that. However, they do not
know what tomorrow will bring. They should say If God will l will do
this and that… James says, our lives are like a cloud of steam from
our breath on a cold morning, which appears for a little while and
then vanishes away. James brings thought after thought, often without
an obvious connexion. Finally he states the principle that iIf you
know what is good then you must do it and if you don’t do good then
you are sinning.
- Why is it that brothers argue?
- What is the secret to victory over Satan?
- Why should men say If the Lord will, etc etc?
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