MPC, 26th January 2003.James 4 - "Talking Tough"
Maurie Cropper MPC, 26th January 2003.
A week ago triple world boxing champion Kostya Tszyu downed yet another opponent in what one sporting commentator described as "clinical". Another report said that after cruising to victory over Texan 'Jesse' James Leija the champion was becoming bored.
To a lot of people, boxing is boring. But that doesn't stop us from getting caught up in quarrels and fights.
In fact my guess is that most of us at some stage of our life have been caught up in, or witnessed fighting or quarreling. It might have been as a kid. Fighting with your siblings. Or in the playground at school. Maybe you remember seeing your parents quarreling. Or you've overheard your neighbours going toe to toe. Or maybe they've overheard you.
Wherever it happened or whatever it was about... fighting and quarrels always leave a nasty taste in the mouth. And while most of us don't like a fight or quarrel, yet all the same, they happen. And sadly, we who call ourselves Christians can too easily find ourselves getting caught up in the heat of a particular moment.
We might regret it. Wish it hadn't happened. But it does.
So how can we overcome the problem?
Well, James has the solution for us here in chapter 4. Because the problem of fighting and quarreling was one that James also had to tackle. And for the sake of those who have been away or are visiting us for the first time today, it'll help if I recap on what Phil said a couple of weeks ago about the context of James' ministry. Understanding the context will help us to understand what's happening here in James chapter 4.
We get the detail of James' ministry from Acts 21, where James is the well respected head of the church in Jerusalem. James is not only the leader of a big church, but he also has a big problem on his hands. The problem being, that the majority of the Jerusalem church was made up of people from two very different backgrounds - Gentiles and Jews.
A mixed bag of Gentiles and Jews who had now become Christians. In a mixed bag of people like that there was always going to be the potential for disagreement. And there was.
And we read in Acts 21, that until Paul had turned up, it appears that James had been able to keep a lid on it. But because it had been reported that Paul was telling new converts that they didn't have to follow the Law of Moses, James and the elders of the Jerusalem church were beginning to panic.
If you want to do a quick flick over to Acts 21 reading from verse 20, you'll find it says: "After his report, they [James & the elders] said to Paul: 'You see brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them... are zealous for the law. They've been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or to live according to our customs. What shall we do? Because they'll certainly hear that you're here..."
And for the Jews who in James' time had made some sort of transition to Christianity, they still expected Gentile converts to be obedient to the law of Moses. This is what James was dealing with. Jews who were zealous for the Old Testament Law... and expected Gentiles to also commit to it! So the heat was on, and it appears that dissention was breaking out.
James is quick to point out that the fighting and the quarreling wasn't just because of superficial issues or tensions. And isn't that usually how it is? On the surface it appears that we fight over the silliest little things, and to be true, it often is - both silly and trivial. Because the more serious thing is what's really driving the superficial stuff. It's a heart issue, driven by what James describes as "desires that battle within you."
V.1 "What [do you think] causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from the desires that battle within you?" And he's right isn't he? The battle between living the Christian life and a brooding self-absorbed heart! It's about having your own way; about getting your own way; it's about putting yourself first! And putting other people down. It's about demanding and coveting and quarrelling and fighting, and leaving God out of the picture... or when you deign [think fit] to include him... it's only to further your selfish ways, to get what you want!
We know it's wrong but out heart-felt desires get the better of us. The Greek word for desire is 'hedonon', where we get the word heodonistic. Which says it all: self-indulgent hedonistic pleasure. But if you think I'm going over the top, listen again to James' own words.
1What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from the desires that battle within you? 2You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. 3When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
And a more accurate translation of word for "kill" that the NIV uses in verse 2, is the word murder. It's the same word that is used in the Beatitudes, when Jesus says: "Just as a murderer will face judgement, so too will anyone who hates his brother." And Jesus' much loved disciple, John, says, "Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer" [1 John 3:15]. So James is clearly pointing out that hating and coveting what others have, will always end up in fighting and quarreling. And if that wasn't bad enough, wrong motives resulted in unanswered prayers.
In fact, James is beginning to sound more like an Old Testament prophet. He's showing a bit of fire in the belly. And especially when he confronts his readers with the words in verse 4: "You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God." James is making it quite clear that friendship with the world is a clear form of unfaithfulness towards God.
And James' pushes the point even further. Being unfaithful to God by choosing the world over him means they've changed sides and they're now on the side of the enemy! The last part of verse 4: "Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God." And isn't it always the case that unfaithfulness and betrayal go hand in hand!
And with almost a tinge of the 'creation and fall story' in his words, James goes on to say in verse 5, ..that it is with good reason that the scriptures remind us that the original spirit God gave mankind... now envies intensely.
James is highlighting the human tendency to be envious and jealous. The created, yet fallen spirit inside everyone of us... will envy, covet, and desire, and remain unchecked, unless we allow God's wisdom to influence a change in our lives. A wisdom that stems from God's grace. A wisdom and grace that not only influences a change in our lives, but can overcome the spirit of rebellion that envies so intensly! So almost as a foil to verse 5, James says in verse 6: "But he [God] gives us more grace." Which could be read as: 'But God's grace is greater.' Suggesting that God is able and willing to overcome sinfulness. And in particular, God gives grace to those who are seeking to know him. Grace to the humble, but not to the proud. James is quoting from Proverbs 3:34, which in context is also about the benefits of heavenly wisdom, and a lot to say about not envying or hating others.
So in quoting the Old Testament Proverb, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble", James is getting closer to the solution for fighting and quarrelling that comes from desires doing battle within each one of us. Because it is now that James reminds his church that grace can only be received by those who are willing to admit their need of God, and in humble submission, accept his gift of grace. The solution then is to submit to God. But submitting is such a hard thing to do. We all know how hard that is to do.
Take what's happening around the world at the moment. Saddam Hussein won't submit to UN 'Arms Inspectors'. He just won't toe the party line.
A couple of weeks ago North Korea announced that it would no longer bide by any World Nuclear Pact. They withdrew from United Nations Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and then announced that United Nations inspectors and observers were being expelled. They've apparently threatened to resume testing ballistic missiles and re-open their mothballed nuclear power plants. They're rejecting the authority of the UN. They simply won't submit. It's a hard thing to do.
But it's not only nations that thumb their noses at any notion of submitting to a higher authority.
Closer to home it might take the form of tax avoidance
Or what about the repeat traffic offender? Like the guy who in January 2000 was jailed for 18 months and banned from driving for 1,000 years. On the fifteenth of January this year another 2 years was added to his ban, and he was sent back to jail for another six months. The presiding magistrate said: "It's ridiculous. It's seven lifetimes. I'm speechless." He just won't submit. It's a hard thing to do.
Submitting is a hard thing to do. Our sinful nature just cannot stand the thought of us submitting to someone else. And especially to God!! Surely there's an easier way to stop fighting and qarrels, and to overcome the battles raging within us?
And while James would know how tough a call it is, he tells us that's exactly what we have to do. Humbly submit to His Grace. And in doing so James says: 'God will come near to you'. Our part of the solution is to submit to God, and in doing so that battle within you will cease. God is no puppeteer. We have our part to play. And it doesn't stop with submitting to God.
Because the worldy desires that are doing battle within us are very much the interest of the wounded and defeated ruler of the earth. In submitting to God, James tells us we must also resist the devil. And the Greek form of the word to resist or to oppose the devil, suggests that we must make a stand against the devil now. And the way the Greek is used, it clearly suggests - that when you take a stand against the devil... he will flee from you.
The whole context from verse 6 on, is strikingly similar to 1 Peter 5:5-9... which also quotes Proverbs 3:34. Where Peter also connects the need for humility with resisting the Devil, and also follows with a string of commands like James.
And whatever power Satan may have, in God's strength, the Christian can be absolutely certain that he or she won't be overcome by Satan! So instead of succumbing to Satan's desire to separate us from God, we should draw near to God.
And in drawing near to God, the somewhat priestly language that James uses in verse 8, "washing of hands"... and "purifying your heart", calls attention to our need of confessing sin before God. And if the verse 8 reflects priestly traditions, verse 9 echoes the language of the prophets. But James is no kill-joy. That is, he's not denying that laughter or joy has it's place in the Christian life. He's simply pointing out that that the 'laughter' of someone whose been pursuing worldly wisdom is the laughter of the fool [Ecclesiastes 7:6] who refuses to take sin seriously. It's the mark of a proud person who is indifferent towards God. Instead of indifference, James says in verse 10 "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up."
And as to James' reference to double-mindedness in verse 8, James used this term earlier in chapter 1:6-8, to characterize the person whose faith is marked by doubting and instability. So in the context of this chapter, James is referring to the Christian who, because they doubt God, they foolishly seek friendship with the world. They ignore what the Bible says, and more and more take on worldly values. Values, that because they haven't submitted to God or resisted the devil, have unfortunately brought about a change in behaviour in the brethren in Jerusalem.
They are now slandering one another. And speaking out against each other. In fact they consider themselves above the law, and especially the 'royal law' that James previously spoke of in chapter 2:8... which says: "If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbour as yourself"... you would be doing alright". That quote is straight from one of the old law books of the Old Testament, Leviticus 19:18 which reads: "Don't seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbour as yourself."
James reminds us that all the laws are wrapped up in the royal law, love your neighbour as yourself. With only one Lawgiver and judge, who's "able to save and destroy". And it's not anyone of them says James. The Bible is clear, that the work of saving and destroying or judging is attributed to James' brother... Jesus!
And James lists off what worldly values look like, and what affect they have on people. Firstly, they begin to influence their view of the world, and for the worse! They no longer consider God as being in charge of the world! They think they can live for the moment, traveling here and there. Self-absorbed in their business adventures and making money. Boasting and bragging... with no regard to whether God might have a say in anything. Foolishly ignoring the fact that they're life is only one breath away from being taken from them.
Listen again to how James puts it. Verse 13: "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 don't even know what'll happen tomorrow! What's your life? You're a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes... Instead, you ought to say, 'If it's the Lord's will, we will live [here or there] and do this or that.'
James is challenging his listeners to re-evaluate their lives. He's wanting his church to take stock of how dangerous and foolish it is to go down the worldly-wise path. As wide and as welcoming as it might appear. Yet it is full of people who are unwilling to humble themselves and submit before the God of the universe. It is a road full of self-absorbed people who have turned their backs on God and have no interest in anyone but themselves. A road that might be attractive to the worldly desires of the heart, but ultimately only leads to disappointment, despair and destruction. A road that was taking them, and will take you away from God.
I think today is a good time to stop and re-evaluate our lives. I looked up my Oxford Mini Thesaurus and found a total of 52 cross-references for envy and bitterness. Sadly, one for every week of the year.
And there's probably a few we're personally struggling with. So I'm going to lead us in prayer. And to give us all an opportunity to sort out anything with God that we might feel has to be sorted out...