Lesson 25: Fighting (part 3)
Read James 4:1-10 - www.bible.com/bible/59/jas.4.esv

James 4:6 – To be in opposition to God is pride at its worst. James says God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. If I am in opposition to the Creator of the Universe, I am on a collision course. God wants us to depend on his grace while Satan wants us to depend on ourselves. Satan is the author and founder of ‘do it yourself’ spiritual enterprise. He enjoys inflating the ego and encouraging the believer to do it his own way.

James 4:7 – What do we do to keep pride from controlling our lives? Submit to God. This term is a military term which means to get into your proper rank. When a private acts like a general there is going to be trouble. Opposing God’s grace, the source of our strength, is the ultimate pride. By being prideful we cut off God’s grace. Complete submission is the only way to complete victory. Next we are to resist the devil. We are to resist Satan not God. The devil can be defeated. He need not overpower us and cause us to sin. As Christians we can resist him and when we do he will flee from us. To resist Satan means to stand firm (Ephesians 6:14). A soldier with his armor on can be ready for battle and be victorious. (Ephesians 6:10-18) If we turn and run we will be attacked by the prowling lion.

James 4:8 – Step one is submitting to God, step two is resist the devil, step three is draw near to God. Some people only draw near when they are in trouble. They live the way they want until they get in trouble then go to God to get out of trouble. It should not surprise us that God does not respond to that type of manipulation.

*A Christian who is living close to God has developed a relationship with God that is like: a) a master and slave, b) a husband and wife, c) a boss and employee, d) a friend with a friend. ______


Notice how in the rest of verse 8 James indicates that submitting, resisting and drawing near leads to behavioral change. True submission always leads to a change in attitude and action. James writes about 2 changes: external – cleanse your hands, internal – purify your hearts. Many of these believers were double minded, thinking they could love both the world and God, consequently they were unstable in all they were doing (James 1:8). Purify means make chaste – the opposite of adultery.

James 4:9 – Godly sorrow. There are some Christians who are sorry only after they get caught. The reason for their sorrow is that they got caught. This is not true repentance. Repentance involves change, to do an about face. God hates the sin of pride. It seems that these people were living in sin and rejoicing in it, thus James wrote James 4:9 – “Be wretched, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to gloom.” Christians who are deliberately sinning ought not to be laughing. They ought to be mourning.

James 4:10 – It is better to humble ourselves before he humbles us. It is far less painful.