Thank you for your patience yesterday when I wasn't able to write the blog. My sister had an early appointment for lumpectomy surgery and to have a chemo port put in. Unfortunately, the surgeon who attempted to put the port in managed to puncture her lung, so now she's in the hospital for a couple of days while she recovers from an injury that should never have happened. It was a long, painful, and upsetting day for her and for the whole family and we all desire your prayers for her healing.
Today James is going to tell us that we can't be friends with the world (with sin) and with God at the same time. He's going to promise us if we humble ourselves before God, God will show us favor. I don't know about you, but I could sure use some extra favor right now. I could use some encouragement, and although James is quite a strict teacher, I believe he's going to give us some encouragement.
James begins in a way that seems pretty harsh, but Jesus Himself used this same terminology when speaking of those who love the things of this world more than they love God. "You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God?" (James 4:4a) What James, (and the Lord Jesus in Matthew 12:39, Matthew 16:4, and Mark 8:38) is saying is something like this, "You are being unfaithful to the Lord when you live in sin!" In the Old Testament we often find God referring to Himself as a "husband" to Israel. The prophets of Israel compared idolatry to adultery because when Israel engaged in adultery she was being unfaithful to her Husband. In the New Testament we find the church referred to as the "bride of Christ". If we find the sins of this world more alluring than a faithful relationship with our Bridegroom, we are spiritual adulterers.
"Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God." (James 4:4b) Has your spouse ever been unfaithful to you? Has a close friend ever done something that made you feel betrayed? If so, then you can easily understand why James says that the one who is unfaithful to God is behaving as the enemy of God. When someone hurts us deeply, we feel like they've become our enemy, don't we? We probably don't understand why they've chosen to treat us as their enemy, but we're going to be shocked and hurt and traumatized by what's happened. Imagine how God must feel when we treat our relationship with Him lightly. He has done for us all that can possibly be done. He gave us the best He had---His Son---and to behave as if that sacrifice is of little value is to behave as if we are the enemies of God.
"Or do you think Scripture says without reason that He jealously longs for the Spirit He has caused to dwell in us?" (James 4:5) There is not a specific text we can match to James's quote, but anyone who has studied the Scriptures knows that God longs for close fellowship with us. James is saying, "When you came to Christ, God put the Holy Spirit in you. In doing so, He espoused you to Christ forever. So naturally the Lord feels a godly jealousy when those who are His are unfaithful to Him."
As human beings we sometimes experience jealousy. A lot of our jealousy is either sinful or unfounded. But we are not wrong to feel jealousy when someone who has promised to be faithful to us for life is unfaithful. We are not wrong to feel shocked, hurt, and betrayed. We are not wrong to say to ourselves, "Who is this person? I never imagined they'd be capable of doing such a thing. Do I really know them at all?" There are, of course, godly and ungodly ways to handle our emotions, but we are within our rights to feel jealousy over the one who is supposed to belong only to us. And this is how God feels. We are supposed to belong to Him more than we belong to anyone or anything else. He has a right to expect that of us.
"But He gives us more grace." (James 4:6a) What can the world give us that can ever possibly compare to what God gives us? What is worth trading in our relationship with Him? No one will ever love us as much as He loves us. Nothing can ever give us the satisfaction that a relationship with Him gives us.
"That is why Scripture says: 'God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.'" (James 4:6b) This quote is from Proverbs 3:34. God hates pride because pride is at the root of all sin. Pride is what caused the rebellion of Satan. Pride is what causes human beings to say, "I want what I want. I know what God has said to do, but I'm going to do as I please." God doesn't bless sin. But He does bless a humble spirit. King David, when he repented of his sins of murder and adultery, said to the Lord, "My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart You, God, will not despise." (Psalm 51:17) God despises the attitude that says, "I'm going to live the way I want to live." But He does not turn away the penitent prayer coming from a heart that says, "I've sinned against You! I'm so sorry. My heart is broken because of my sins. Please heal and restore me. Please help me to honor You in the way I live my life."
Lately the Lord has revealed to me some attitudes of mine that need work. I can either humble myself before Him or He's going to humble me. I'd far rather adjust my attitude than have Him adjust it for me. Remember when you were a kid and you did something you knew you weren't supposed to do? Wasn't it terribly unpleasant when your parents found out the thing you were trying to hide and they disciplined you for it? Weren't they easier on you when instead of hiding your mistake you admitted it and apologized for it? I bet when you did that you were disciplined lightly or not at all. God wants us to come to Him in a spirit of humility, knowing and admitting we've done wrong. He wants us to offer a sincere apology. He wants to help us do better. Because He's our Father, if we don't adjust our attitudes, sooner or later He's going to have to adjust them for us because that's what a good father does. James promises us if we take care of these things as soon as we realize we've sinned, God bestows favor on us. God loves a humble heart. God honors the prayer of the penitent. Let's live in His favor by confessing to Him anything we know is wrong in our lives. Let's turn from those things and be faithful to our God, for nothing this world offers us can begin to compare with what He offers us.
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