Chapter BY Chapter

James Chapter 4

 

"What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."

 

"You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:

 

“God opposes the proud, but shows favor to the humble."

 

"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up."

 

"Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?"

 

James talks about 4 problems:

 

1) Fights and quarrels.

2) Friendship with the world.

3) Slandering one another.

4) Boasting.

 

Now some of the wording in this chapter is disturbing, explicitly the part about killing.  We need to review the background of James, and the epistle of James to shed some light on this.

 

James’ actual name is Ya’akov in Hebrew.  It is Latinized for the Greek epistle as James.  The anglicized version is Jacob.

 

James was assigned to be bishop of the church in Jerusalem, probably by consensus between Peter, John and the apostles. 

 

James is the principle author of the Apostolic Decree in Acts 15, which freed Gentile Christians from keeping the Jewish observances of circumcision, temple sacrifices, and dietary restrictions.

 

James is most likely James, the son of Alphaeus, one of the 12 disciples.  This is because both James the son of Alphaeus and James the brother of Jesus are said by contemporary historians to have been martyred in the same manner.  This makes James, actually the cousin of Jesus.  There is much evidence that this is the same person referred to as James, the brother of Jesus.  Both can be true because if one of their fathers had died, their family could be adopted by a near relative. 

 

Eusebius's Ecclesiastical History (Book II, 23) quotes Hegesippus' account of James from the fifth book of Commentaries on the Acts of the Church:

 

“James, the Lord's brother, succeeds to the government of the Church, in conjunction with the apostles… He alone was permitted to enter the holy place: for he did not wear any woolen garment, but fine linen only.”

 

Since it was unlawful for anyone but the High Priest of the Temple to enter the Holy of Holies, and then only once a year on Yom Kippur, Eusebius's quotation from Hegesippus indicates that James was considered a High Priest.

 

James was stoned to death in 62 to 69 A.D. by a group of Pharisees.  According to Hegesippus, the scribes and Pharisees came to James for help in putting down Christian beliefs, which of course he would not do. 

 

The first thing that we note about the letter is that it is addressed to the “twelve tribes scattered among the nations.”  This indicates that it is not addressed specifically to Christians, but to the Jews.  The assembly of Christians is called συναγωγή, in other words, synagogue, in James 2:2, a term everywhere else in the NT used for a Jewish congregation. This very terminology implies an early period, when Christianity was still very much regarded as a Jewish sect, confirming a date before 49 A.D.  Yet by identifying himself as a “a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,” James definitely identifies himself as a Christian.  He refers to “believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ” in James 2:1.  Saying. “Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming.” In James 5:7 is patently Christian.  Once again, he is addressing the Jews in James 2:8, where he says, “If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture.” 

 

There were persecutions of Christians around this time.  The persecutions by Saul in 34 A.D. and by Agrippa in 44 A.D.  In the early chapters of Acts, Stephen (7:57) and James, the brother of John the disciple (12:2), became victims of the Jerusalem mob and of King Herod Agrippa, respectively.  The wealthy landowners and religious aristocracy would certainly side with Agrippa’s attitude toward Christians wherever synagogues and Christians were through the diaspora or twelve tribes scattered throughout the nations.  Now we come to James 4:1-2 where it says, “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?  You desire but do not have, so you kill.” 

 

In the context of what was going on at that time, evidenced during the time when Christians were still worshiping in the synagogue, James 4:1-2 is the central purpose of the epistle of James.

 

 Instead of going right out and blasting the Jews for persecuting the Christians, see how wisely and intelligently that James has crafted his letter.  He talks about principles of faith and deeds.  James starts his letter talking about trials and tribulations.  This is what the Christians in the synagogue were going through.  James gives them encouragement by saying, “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”  Then, James addresses anger in Chapter 1 verse 19, “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.”  Notice how he is appealing to the inner man and inner motivations that cause sin.  This is a springboard that he will use later. 

 

In chapter 2 verse 8, James appeals to the Old Testament Law by saying, “If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right.”  Then he reminds them of the command, “You shall not murder.” 

 

In chapter 3, James talks about taming the tongue, which is one thing that needs to happen if one is to tame his anger.  This chapter ends with the words, “Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.”  This is the goal of his letter, that is, for all those that the letter is addressed to - to be peacemakers. 

 

Now in chapter 4, James gets to the ultimate point.

 

“What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?  You desire but do not have, so you kill.” 

 

Notice how that James points to the problem of persecution as a problem of the inner man.  The Jews could not get the Christians to renounce Jesus Christ as the Messiah, so out of their selfish desire for conformity to their ways, they resorted to murder. 

 

Now this is very similar to the way that James was martyred.  The Pharisees came to James and told him that he must go to the pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem and renounce Jesus as the Messiah.  So they took him up to the pinnacle of the temple.  Instead of renouncing Jesus Christ, James proclaimed, "Christ himself sits in heaven, at the right hand of the Great Power, and shall come on the clouds of heaven.”  The Pharisees then threw James from the pinnacle, but he was not killed - yet.  James then got on his knees and prayed, “Father forgive them for they do not know what they do.”  After this, the Pharisees proceeded to stone him to death. 

 

The early persecution of Christians was associated with materialism.  The Pharisees and the Jews in power crucified Jesus because for one thing his following was disrupting their power base.  By the time that James writes this letter, the Christians in Jerusalem had sold their properties and held all material things in common to help the poor among themselves.  It was a threat to the rich Jews to think about selling their possessions and joining this group.  It is likely that they also refused to help their Jewish Christian brothers and sisters when they were in need.  By joining this issue with materialism, James further shames and condemns them by saying, “You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God.  When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”

 

Notice that James ties the killing, the quarreling, and the fighting in with coveting.  It is not about Theology, it is about wanting something that is not yours.  In chapter 2, verse 19, James states, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.”  This refers to the argument of the Pharisees that were killing the Christians.  The Pharisees are asking God with wrong motives because they are not asking God for guidance to the truth.  Instead, they are merely asking to get their way. 

 

When James says, “You adulterous people,” in verse 4, he is alluding to the Old Testament prophets saying how that the Jews strayed from God.  They had strayed, not in having an allegiance to God as those who followed idols did previously, but they had strayed from the principles that God had been teaching them all throughout Scriptures.  When Nehemiah was governor of Israel, he convinced the rich to help the poor while they were rebuilding the wall.  Yet since then, they had returned to the ways of oppressing the poor. Amos 5:12 says, “There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes and deprive the poor of justice in the courts.”  So it was in the days of James.  They strayed from loving their neighbor as themselves.  They had treasured their own possessions more than their own people.  Therefore, James says, “Don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.”

 

Friendship with the world comes in many forms.  It is not just about adultery, materialism, drunkenness and debauchery.  Friendship with the world also comes in the form of selfishness, apathy, using religion for political means, expecting that you have to convince others of your exact way of thinking. 

 

This is a good example of what James said back in chapter 2 verse 18, when he said, “Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.”  Faith is more than just a Theological statement.  Faith in Jesus Christ is more than the fact that we believe that Jesus died for our sins.  If you believe in Jesus, then you believe that he lived the perfect life as an example for you.  If you believe in Jesus, you also believe in his teachings.  You believe in Jesus when he said, “if you love me you will keep my commands,”  You believe in Jesus when he said, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”  You believe in Jesus when he said, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

 

James now asks a question:

 

“Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us?”

 

This is not an exact quote of Scripture, but a combination of a couple of repeated themes in the Old Testament.  First, Exodus 34:14 “For you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”  Second, Ezekiel 36:27 “And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances.”  James is implying here that if God is a jealous God, and he puts his spirit within us, that if we part from his ways and refuse to help the poor, then we have God’s jealous anger burning against us.

 

James reiterates this by saying, “But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says, ‘God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.’”

 

James then gives an altar call:

 

“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.  Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”

 

Recently, I had an atheist arguing with me on Twitter.  I was explaining that Jesus had to die for our sins to fulfill God’s justice.  Then he asked, “How just is if I live my whole life without breaking any laws, and I go to Hell because I don’t believe in God, while someone else that broke laws goes to heaven because he asks God for forgiveness?”  My answer was simple, “How can you expect to live forever with God when you spend your whole life without him?”

 

God knows everyone’s heart, and that is the part that he wants.  Bringing your heart closer to God is what brings righteous living.  This is the way.  This is the path that God wants everyone to be on.

 

James then addresses slandering.

 

“Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it.  There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you - who are you to judge your neighbor?”

 

The definition of slander is, “the utterance of false charges or misrepresentations which defame and damage another's reputation, or a false and defamatory oral statement about a person.”  Gossip would fall into this category.  Anything unproven would fall into this category.  Just because there is a suspicion of something does not mean that it is true.  Everything should be handled appropriately and not through spreading rumors. 

 

James points out that anyone that who speaks against a fellow believer is also speaking against the law.  This means that he is speaking against all that Christians stand for.

 

James points out that there is only one Judge, and that is God.  When a person slanders, he is putting himself in God’s position, and will bring God’s judgement upon himself.

 

James then addresses boasting in James chapter 4:

 

“Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make money.”  Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.  Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”   As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.  If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.”

 

Now, a lot of politicians like to boast.  They make slogans like “Stronger Together,” or “Make America Great Again.”  They boast that things will be better with them at the helm.  While I disagree with some of the boasting, I certainly believe that we should all be striving to make things better for ourselves, our fellow believers, and our fellow countrymen.  I also think that someone running for an office should have some clear ideas on how to make things better.  They should also be praying that what they are doing is God’s will every step of the way.

 

Now what about our church?  Should we boast that God will fill this church again?  We should certainly strive for it, and we should certainly pray for God’s will to be done.  Howard’s idea about meeting weekly on how to minister to our community seems to be a good first step.  Here are a couple ideas.  We could have a hospital visitation ministry, or a prison visitation ministry.   We should pray, and we should say, “If it is the Lord’s will we will do it.”

 

In conclusion, there are 4 things that James addresses in Chapter 4, and he gives 4 solutions.

 

1) Fights and quarrels. Solution: Stop trying to merely get what you want and, with the right motives, ask God to help in the dispute.

2) Friendship with the world. Solution: Come near to God.

3) Slandering one another. Solution: Realize that you are taking God’s place in judging your brother or sister in Christ.

4) Boasting.  Solution: Have goals.  Pray that it is God’s will.  Say, “If it is God’s will we will do it.”