James 4:1-10 Sermon Outline

James 4:1-10


1What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but dgives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.



Facing the Giants

This chapter makes it clear that there were carnal divisions and disputes among these believers.

One cause was the selfish desire of many to be teachers (3:1), "Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness."

but ultimatly the basic cause was disobedience. There was a lack of true separation in the lives of the people = Lack of Sanctification

Leviticus 20:8 "Keep my statutes and do them; I am the Lord who sanctifies you."

1 Corinthians 1:2 "To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours"

It is tragic when brethren dwell together in discord instead of unity (Ps. 133) "Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! . “Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet? ?” (Amos 3:3)



I. The Enemies (or giants) We Must Face (4:1–7)



We noted in 3:15 that the Christian battle within themself against three main enemies - the world, the flesh, and the devil.

You find this same listing in Eph. 2:1–3, "And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and pwere by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind."

These enemies echo troughout Scripture,

The unsaved person lives for the world and the flesh and is controlled by the devil.

Those who trust Christ receive the Holy Spirit within and have a new nature. But still, they will battle these enemies.



A. The flesh (vv. 1–3).



The word “lusts” does not necessarily mean sensual passions. It simply means desires, the inner wants of the person.

These desires are at work in the members of the body, and they excite the flesh and create problems.

Please keep in mind that the body itself is not sinful; it is the fallen nature that would control the body that is sinful.

The flesh is human nature apart from God, just as the world is human society apart from God. This is why Rom. 6:6 "We know that wour old self1 xwas crucified with him in order that ythe body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin," - exhorts us to yield the members of our bodies to the Spirit:

See also the emphasis in Rom. 8 "For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us"

In v. 2 James describes these believers’ sinful actions: they desire, they kill to obtain (see Gal. 5:15), and they do not stop to pray about their desires. And, when they do pray, they pray selfishly that they might enlarge their pleasures, not to glorify God.

The flesh can even encourage a person to pray! Butv of course, when a believer is at war with himself, it is not likely that he can have peace with others.



B. The world (vv. 4–5).



Spiritual adultery: is being married to Christ yet loving the world

Rom. 7:4 "Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God"

2 Cor. 11:2–3 "For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. 3 But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ."

In the OT, God called Israel’s idolatry “adultery” because the idols had robbed Him of the people’s devotion. How can Christians have friendship with the world when they have been called out of the world? (John 15:18–19) We have been crucified to the world, and the world to us (Gal. 6:14).

There are four dangerous steps that take the believer into a wrong relationship with the world:

(1) friendship with world, James 4:4; "You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God."

(2) being soiled by the world, James 1:27; "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

(3) love with the world, 1 John 2:15–17; "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

(4) conformity to the world, Rom. 12:1–2; "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

The result is that the compromising believer is judged as in the world, yet not condemned (1 Cor. 11:32 "But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.). Lot illustrates this folly; see Gen. 13:10–13 and chapter 19. Believers who are friends of the world are at enmity with God. They grieve the Spirit, who jealously yearns for their love.



C. The devil (vv. 6–7).



Christians who live for the world and the flesh become proud, and the devil takes advantage of this situation, for pride is one of his chief tools. God wants to give us more grace—more than anything Satan can give!

The Christian must use the Word to resist Satan (Luke 4:1–13), and this the Spirit will enable him to do.

But God will not help the Christian who is proud, who refuses to repent of sin and humble himself (James 4:6). Grace is for the lowly, not the lofty. We must first submit to God; then we can effectively resist the devil.

But, if we resist the Devil (v.7) he will flee from us.



Therefore, It is important that Christians examine themselves to see these enemies and apply God's power to them.



II. How do we apply this lesson and defeat this enemy, & utilize the power fo God. (James 4:8-10)



A. Draw near to God (v.8a) Let him be your shelter & fortress

B. Repent of your sin (v. 8b)

C. Realize your sin and mourn over your mis-strep (v. 9)

D. Humble yourself (v.10) and be exaulted by God.