James 4:1-10

How to Have a Good Fight

There does not a day pass without evidence that we have something inherently wrong with our human society. Our world is filled with strife and violence. The perpetual conflict will not go away. In order for peace to endure a radical change must take place from the inside out. Every believer in Jesus Christ is called upon to impact the world for change.

In reality every church is composed of sinners; some are saved sinners and others are lost sinners. The problem with our world is with our human nature. The Lord changes the world by changing one person at a time. The inner reality of this new life in Christ is demonstrated by the way we live. It changes our hearts because out of the heart proceeds the attitudes and behaviors in life.

Because this is the way God works to accomplish His eternal purposes James uses strong language to express his indignation toward the hideous forms of sin manifesting itself among the members of the church. The apostle James tells us that there were problems in the early church, but he doesn’t say that all the Christians were guilty of these sins. However, the situation was bad, nevertheless.

THE SOURCE OF CONFLICTS (3:14-16; 4:1-2)

The source of conflicts takes us back to 3:14-16 where James points to “bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart” (v. 14). The arrogant person will deny it and defend himself. The “selfish ambition” aims only for personal profit and power which is eager to show off its own greatness. The attitude is seen in the church when we try to apply human standards of personal prestige and personal success to religious goals. What is in it for me is always the basic idea of the wrong motive (cf. Rom. 2:8; Phil. 1:17; 2:3; 2 Cor. 12:20). We see the influence of that attitude in Gal. 5:19-21. What is the result when “jealousy and selfish ambition exist”? “There is disorder and every evil thing” (Jas. 3:16). Is that not what we should expect from wisdom whose source is “earthly, natural and demonic”? It definitely is not from heaven. If it were from heaven it would manifest the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). It would be saturated in sacrificial love.

Who is fighting now? (v. 1)

“What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you?” (v. 1) There is a severe tone in James’ voice when he asked what is going on "among you" believers.

“Among your members” could be the personal life of the individuals or members of the community. Individual members become the center of strife in the community. A. T. Robertson observed, “James does not of course, here refer to wars between nations but to the factional bickering in the church, the personal wrongs that embitter church life.”

Ecclesiastical strife in denominations and churches is too often like that in unredeemed nations of the world. Nothing is uglier than religious or holy wars and it is uglier when Christians are involved. The lost world has a right to ask about our integrity.

One of the biggest helps in resolving conflicts is to define the problem. Describe the specific observed behavior of all parties involved. Who, what, when and where?

What were the fights?  (v. 1)

“Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members?”  Are we back on selfish ambitions?

There were “quarrels” which is a general term for a fight.

James uses the word "conflicts" to refer to a particular skirmish that was taking place among the believers. Mitton suggests the word for “conflicts” or “wars” (polemos) is used of wars among nations, feuds and vendettas between families, and conflicting impulses in a person’s life. Probably what James has in mind is more personal than what is normally considered “war.” It is probably more in the sense of “conflict,” “antagonism,” family “feud.” “Quarrels and conflicts” is an excellent translation (cf. 2 Cor. 7:5; 2 Tim. 2:23-24; Titus 3:9). How many families and sad to say churches have an enduring feud or persistent antagonism among its members? Tragic as it is what is so common among all humans also takes place in the church. Our old human nature is characterized with betrayals and strife and ill-will (Minton).

What was the cause of the conflicts  (vv. 1-3)?   

I think it was William Barclay who reminds us of James’ process of sin. A person allows himself to desire something and it dominates his thoughts until he finds himself involuntarily thinking about it in his thought life during his waking hours and dreaming of it when he sleeps. It begins what is aptly called a “ruling passion” in his life. He begins to form imaginary scenes of how he will obtain it and these schemes may well involve ways of eliminating any one who stand in his way and block his goals. For a long time all of this may go on in his mind and then one day the imaginations may blaze into action. Every crime in this world has come from desire, which was first, only an idea and a feeling in the heart, but which being nourished long enough came in the end to action.

Pleasures

Now you are going to take all the fun away from us preacher. James says the source is your "pleasures" (hedonon) meaning lust, desire and passion. It is a “satisfied desire.” The pleasure is essentially “the satisfaction of desire.” The word is neutral and it is always important to study the context in which it is used. Our desires may be perfectly legitimate, but when our goals are blocked we want to fight our way out.

What James asserts, Tasker says,

is that the human personality has, as it were, been invaded by an alien army, which is always campaigning within it. The verb strateuomenon implies that these pleasures are permanently on active service; and that the expression in your members means that there is no part of the human frame which does not afford them a battleground. Human nature is indeed in the grip of an overwhelming army of occupation. Its natural aim . . . is pleasure . . . . and Christians can use it as a reliable yardstick by which to measure the sincerity of their religion. Is God or pleasure the dominant concern of their life? (TBC, Epistle of James, p. 85).

Hedonai is the root from which “hedonism” comes. It is the “pursuit of pleasure” which enslaves a person (cf. Titus 3:3; Lk. 8:14).

The “passions” (epithymeo) here are the desires for personal satisfaction, for possessions, power, pleasure, even the desire to get even with someone. If a person follows these passions, chaos is inevitable because they will refuse to submit to the will of God.

Lust

“You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures” (vv. 2-3).

I think the New American Standard Bible is probably the best translation of a very difficult verse (v. 2). 

Envy

“You are envious and cannot obtain” your desires (v. 2). The root is selfishness. I want it now! Contemplating another persons’ possessions, abilities, or personal qualities arouses feelings of discontent. Someone purchases a new Cherokee Jeep and you have to keep up with him or her.

You continue to “hotly desire to possess, to covet” something.

Our Friendships

James uses strong words to describe such a person who indulges in selfish ambitions in the church. The best manuscripts have only the single word “adulteresses” meaning one who is unfaithful in their wedding vows.

If we take “adulteress” here literally James is boldly calling on individuals to repent. It is ironic that our day is characterized by an attitude of lax morals with people living in adultery and keeping up the church activities with a “so what” attitude.

If it is taken figuratively as with the sense of friendship with the world then he is stressing the fact that such a friendship is enmity with God. Preference to sin is open hostility to God (Rom. 8:7).

In the Old Testament the expression was used to express spiritual infidelity in terms of physical adultery. The people of God were called the “bride” or “wife” of God (Deut. 31:16; Isa. 54:5; Jer. 3:20) and any disloyalty on the part of Israel to the LORD God was spiritual adultery. Jesus called it “an evil and adulterous generation” (Matt. 12:39). The disobedience may or may not include the practice of adultery. To disobey God is like breaking the marriage vow. Lest we forget that all sin is sin against God and His devotion to His bride. Our relationship with God is like the intimate relationship of husband and wife. When we sin we break God’s heart. He is holy and He is a jealous God.

Hort suggested, “In the Old Testament all sin and apostasy are spoken of as adultery.” It was a figure that expressed disloyalty to the LORD God.

The world system is hostile to God and to be friendly with the world is to be in a relationship with those who exclude God’s will from their lives. “Friendship with the world is hostility (enmity) with God.” Jesus warned that to be loyal to Him would incur the hatred of the world and its opposition to Him. You cannot have an intimate love relationship with Jesus Christ and the world at the same time. It is impossible. “Enmity to God” equates to a refusal to “submit to God’s law” (Rom. 8:7). You cannot have peace with God and please Him and at the same time gain the approval of the world system (Matt. 6:24). You are forced to make a choice (Jn. 15:14).

We become like those with whom we associate. Our "friendship with the world" reinforces our selfish desires. “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (v. 4). If we can't get God's cooperation we run to the world’s philosophy and system for satisfaction.  It is lack of faith; it says I am all-sufficient.  God you are inadequate; I am omnipotent. 1 John 2:15 says, “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

Wrong motives

Verse 3, “you ask with the wrong motives, so that you will spend it on your pleasures.” They wanted to spend it freely upon themselves.

Consequences Of Our Unresolved Conflicts (4:2-3)

You reap what you sow.

Conflicts and Murder

Were the recipients of the letter to whom James wrote actually killing others? Or is he referring to murderous thoughts, words or actions (v. 2)?

If someone stands in the way blocking the goals of others who want something badly enough violence will ensue. Resentment against interference leads to murder. Remember David, Uriah and Bathsheba? Uriah blocked David’s goal to fulfill his lust with Bathsheba and was murdered. The apostle Paul stood in the way of some religious zealots and almost got killed except for God’s intervention (Acts 9:23-25).

THE SOLUTION TO OUR CONFLICTS (4:2-10)  

James introduces the solution to the problem in the second part of verse two. It is an abrupt change of mood as he changes from denouncing the wickedness in the community to a neglected cure. The solution is to repent and submit to the obvious will of God.

Minton says, “It is as though James says: You hunger for satisfaction, but are seeking it in the wrong place. Why not try prayer to God? If they reply that they do pray, since they are conventionally religious people, he replies, ‘You ask wrongly:’ you must be praying in the wrong way, selfishly and with wrongly aims. . . . Therefore God cannot answer your prayers” (p. 150).

The core problem is they are seeking what is clearly not in God’s will for them. “Only people utterly blind to God’s nature could ask God to give what they hungered to have. True prayer begins with a willingness to learn God’s will, and a readiness to submit our hearts to God to have them made to want His will. . . . The essence of prayer is not to get what we want out of God, but to have ourselves so changed by God that we come to want what He wants for us, to ‘love what God commands and to desire what He promises” (p. 151).

Pray

James states prayer as a new topic. But their prayers are selfish, “that you may spend it on your pleasures.”

Talk to God about it (v. 2, 3; Cf. Rom. 8:26-28). He is more deeply aware of our spiritual needs than we are. He wants the very best for our lives. He is committed to our best. He will not shortchange us.

Robertson writes: “Surely James does not mean to say that the one reason why the impulses to lust, covetousness, envy, fighting and murder are not gratified is that men do not pray so as to carry their point with God and man! That would make prayer a travesty and God a puppet of man’s evil desires.” He candidly adds:

How often we all miss it in prayer! We ask for what we should not, staking our judgment against that of God. We ask with a spirit of rebellion and not of subjection to the will of God (4:7). We ask, not for the glory of God nor for the blessing of others, but for the gratification of our own selfish pleasures, even when the things asked for are good in themselves.

We may even get to the point where we dare ask God for what is not good in itself. “No asking from God which takes place in a wrong frame of mind towards Him or towards the object asked has anything to do with prayer. It is an evil asking” (Hort). God cannot be made a private asset to further our own selfish interests or to serve the wicked world (cf. 1 Tim. 6:4f).

. . . . The use of the name of Jesus does not cause the door of grace to spring open for us unless we first put ourselves under the rule of Jesus (Studies in the Epistle of James, pp. 145-46).

Pray with the right motives. Perhaps it wasn’t that they were not asking; they were asking with the “wrong motives.” I thank God that He does not answer all my prayers.

“The only things really worth having are those we can ask God for, and if we ask for them completely ‘in Christ’s name,’ God will grant our prayer” (Minton).

Either we ask for the wrong things or we ask for things from the wrong motive.

Remember, the apostle Paul asked for the wrong thing (2 Cor. 12:8-9). God had a purpose in the thorn in the flesh.

How ineffective our praying when we ask for the wrong reasons. We want to spend it on our pleasures rather than to please God or serve Him. We want to spend it on our passions rather than enlarge the glory of God.

Clarify your values

We need to clarify our values according to God’s standards (vv. 3-4; Matt. 6:33). We hear a lot in the media these days about values. The politicians have had a heyday using the phrase “family values.” The phrase “family values” is a phrase that has come to mean anything you want it to mean. In the mouth of the politicians it means one thing, in the hands of the media it is something else, in the dedicated Christian family is an entirely different concept. I grind my teeth when I hear the word “family values” as it is used in our day on TV.

Why do I want in this situation? How does this behavior contribute to my security, significance and sufficiency? 

How will it make me a more mature believer?  Colossians 1:27-28

Do I want God’s will for my life? Do I humbly submit myself to the teachings of His Word? Do I choose what He has revealed in His Word, or do I go my own way?

Calvin suggested that we bridle our desires  “and the way of bridling them is to subject them to the will of God.”

Spirit-controlled life

Verse five has been called an exegete’s nightmare and “the most perplexing in the whole epistle.” The words quoted as from Scripture, do not come from the Old Testament. A number of arguments are purposed. But these words cannot be traced to specific passages in the Old Testament.

I think the best approach that does justice to the passage and integrity of the Scriptures is the suggestion John Wesley makes, “St. James seems to refer to many, not any one particular Scripture.” “James is not quoting any single passage from the Old Testament, but giving the sense of much of its teaching.” He is giving a summary in a few words the thrust of the Old Testament teaching on the subject.

As to the ambiguity of the Greek words in this verse, again men who love God’s Word offer a number of worthy suggestions. I think James is referring explicitly to the person of the Holy Spirit who has taken up residence in every believer.

The presence of the Holy Spirit within has our best interest in mind (v. 5). He yearns for an intimate friendship with us. He jealously guards, or desires to the point of jealousy what is best for us. He has made us His dwelling place. He has taken up residence or made His abode in us. God the Father sent the Spirit to dwell in us.

“Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: “He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”? An alternate reading is, “The Spirit which He had made to dwell in us jealously desires us.” He gets jealous when we become friends with the world. We grieve Him when we adhere to the world’s philosophy. The word “jealousy” means the feeling of displeasure produced by witnessing or hearing of the advantage or prosperity of others,” writes W. E. Vine. The Holy Spirit “earnestly or passionately desires” to be in control of our lives.

We are the temple of the Holy Spirit (I Cor. 6:19). “As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him” (1 John 2:27).

The Holy Spirit possessing all the potential power and help we need has a passionate desire to the point of envy. He wants to control our thoughts, words and deeds. He wants us to depend upon Him. The Holy Spirit has been caused to take up permanent residence in us. Cf. Romans 7-8. He has a strong, loving concern for the believer like that which a mother has for a sick infant. The margin of the NASB reads, “The Spirit which He has made to dwell in us jealously desires us.” It is less ambiguous than “He jealously desires the Spirit which He had made to dwell in us.” John Wesley preferred, “The Spirit that dwells in us lusteth against envy.”  He said the Spirit “is directly opposite to all those unloving tempers which flow from the friendship with the world.”

If James is not referring to the Holy Spirit then it is the spirit of man, which God breathed into him that is set free from evil by God.

God give us more grace (v. 6). 

God opposes the proud. Such a person is described as “haughty, one who thinks above and beyond that which is proper for a person. He is arrogant in his attitudes and behavior. God is continually opposed to such a person. Such a statement is always true in God’s unchanging opposition to the arrogant person.

“God is opposed to the proud” who think they have ever right to run their lives just as they wish. It is a painful lesson to learn in our selfish, independent winner takes all society. The opposite attitude is the recipient of God’s grace. God opposes the arrogant and graces the humble. In His grace we find forgiveness of all our sins and receive His sustaining grace and power for the future. In verse ten James writes, “Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.” That principle has not changed. That is still how God operates.

Sinful arrogant man is justly condemned in his guilt, but the LORD God reaches down in His abundant grace and satisfies His righteousness without compromise.

God gives grace to the humble. In fact, “God gives more grace.” “He gives a greater grace.” The humble are like empty vessels, ready to be filled. “But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, ‘God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’” God can use any old empty vessel He chooses. However, the arrogant, proud, haughty are full of self. God cannot use a full vessel. God cannot fill a vessel that is already full, especially of self. Here James says, God gives more and more grace. He gives it in abundance.

James sounds a lot like the apostle Paul here. Man does not deserve and should not expect to be treated in such a manner. The apostle Paul said, “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” (Rom. 5:20). More grace was added to the superabundance of grace. The grace super abounded with more added to that. Is this not consistent with the way God does things?

James says, “He gives a greater (more and more, abundant) grace. . . God . . . gives grace to the humble.” Minton writes, “God gives more grace, that is, more even than the violent strength of the envious desires, and sufficient to hold them in restraint” (p. 156).

The evidence of true humility is a life that is lived in submission to the will of God. God is a jealous God. “Jealousy” is a bad word in our modern English. However in Exodus 20:5 we find, “I the LORD thy God am a jealous God.” Is he being ugly? No. God longs for the entire, undivided loyalty of every human being. Man was created for God’s enjoyment and was redeemed by Jesus Christ for His exclusive loyalty. Should the Creator and Redeemer settle for second fiddle? He yearns for the “full devotion of our hearts.” He will not settle for less, nor should we.

Observed Behavior

Here are four things I can do now (vv. 7-10).

“Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (v. 7).

Submit to the will of God (v. 7a)

“Submit therefore to God.” The word “submit” is found often in the New Testament and it means to fall into rank and march under God’s sovereignty to do His will alone. Our submission to Him affects many areas of our lives and calls for submission in daily life (Rom. 13:1-5; 1 Pet. 2:13; Eph. 5:22; Col. 3:18; Titus 2:5; 1 Pet. 3:1; 1 Cor. 14:34; Titus 2:9; 1 Pet. 2:18; 5:5; 1 Cor. 16:16; Eph. 5:21). When I submit to God’s will I am consecrated to His will alone.

The word I am often asked to eliminate from the wedding ceremony is “obedience.” Sinful human beings hate that word. God says, “submit yourselves.” Hypotasso means to subject oneself, submit or subordinate to the authority of another. Life turns into a circus when we refuse to submit to one another.

How many homes turn into bloody war zones because children do not submit to their parents? I know too many parents who live in fear of their children. A characteristic thing I keep observing is that this is usually in the homes where the wives will simply not be subordinate to the husbands. The children simply follow the model of their mothers. What happens when church members run their own way and will not submit to God? What happens when citizens refuse to be submissive to government authorities? How long will you keep your job if you are rebellious and will not submit to your employer’s policies? We are to submit to one another and when we do not society disintegrates. What will happen when Jesus appears (1 Cor. 15:27)? Rebellion is out of question.

“Submit to God.” If you will not do that you will not responsibly submit to others in authority. When Jesus Christ returns every knee will bow in submission to Him. He will come in power and reign as sovereign over all the world and we will live lives of subordination to Him. We will be completely obedient to the will of God.

Romans 12:1-2 is one of the first passages I memorized as a young Christian. “Therefore, I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

When we are humble in the eyes of God we acknowledge and yield to God’s right to be sovereign in our lives. He has the freedom to command and order our lives the way He sees fit. Do I have a readiness to submit my life to His perfect will? Does my behavior give evidence that I am trusting God? Is there some area that I am withholding back for myself? Do I readily modify my behavior to bring it to obedience to His will? Or do I drag my feet when it comes to doing His will? Do I have to be manipulated or forced?

Resist the Devil (v. 7b)

The person who is submissive to the will of God will be defiant with Satan. Our obedience to God is measured by our resistance to Satan. The enemies of God become our enemies. If we love God we will not treat Satan with timid politeness. We will fight him with all our might. You cannot treat him with neutral indifference; you must “resist the devil.” In deed, that is the promise God gives us. “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” That is exactly what Jesus did (Matt. 4:1ff).

“Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Have you set yourself against Satan? Do you find yourself trying to use him to gratify your selfish desires? How tragic that we should find ourselves in complicity with him. Does what we read, our favorite television programs, movies, entertainment, Internet links, etc. reflect our collusion with him? Make a once and for all decisive decision to set yourself against Satan and his interests even though he should come upon you as a raging lion or disguised as an angel of light (1 Pet. 5:8; Eph. 6:11). You confront the devil with resolve and he will flee your presence. You cannot be timid or indecisive with him. You must boldly defy him against all his attacks. If you love the lord you will hate the enemy of the Lord. Don’t hesitate or halt; confront him. Don’t try to be a good ole boy with the devil or his friends. Don’t play with matches.

Do I hunger for holiness of heart?

Draw near to God (v. 8a)

“Draw near (engine) to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (v. 8; cf. Heb. 4:16; 7:19). Do I have a hunger for God? Have I made a deliberate decision to seek His holy presence every day of my life? Lord, Jesus will I see You today? Do I have a mindset that is constantly headed in the direction of God’s will for my life? Do I choose what He has revealed in His Word, or do I chose to go my own way?

Every Christian needs to understand and put into practice the source of power, change and deliverance, and ability to resist temptation. That source is Christ in you. It is not enough to know Christ as your Savior who died for your sins so you can go to heaven. We must know and put into practice the fact that Christ actually lives in us now. He is the source of our spiritual life and power to resist the devil.

We draw our strength from our awareness of His presence in us. God has never turned anyone away who comes to Him on His conditions. Jesus promised, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out” (John 6:37). God will draw near to us. The apostle Paul said we have “access . . . to the Father” through the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:18). He comes along side and takes us by the hand and leads us into the presence of the King and gives a personal introduction. In 3:12 he tells us that through Jesus Christ our Lord “in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.” John Calvin said, “God is never wanting to us, except when we alienate ourselves from Him.” We have immediate access into the presence of the Trinity. It is not an exclusive club of a select few. It is a bold freedom for all to come in and abide in Him and He with us. Romans 5:2 tells us that through Jesus Christ “we have obtained our introduction (our access) by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope.”

Minton writes, “This does not mean that in our relations with God, the initiative lies with us, and He comes to us only if we make the first approach. God is always drawing near to us in many different ways, and often we are unaware of His gracious presence, or else unwilling to acknowledge it.” Thank God He does not turn from us or withdraw from us as we often do. “But this is not God’s way: if we turn to Him in humble penitence, and confessed need, coming as a disobedient child to his father, we always find Him waiting to receive us, just as the turning Prodigal found, though he had done nothing to deserve such a fatherly love.”

Humbly Repent (v. 8b-9)

“God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (v. 6). Other passages in the Bible tell us God hates those who show themselves above others who think themselves pre-eminent, arrogant. The summit of all sins in the eyes of God is a proud heart. Such an attitude has a certain contempt for every one except oneself. He takes delight in making others feel small.

“Cleanse your hands, you sinners . . .” Do you have dirty hands? Have you been involved in something that would soil your hands if you were in the presence of God? The word “hands” symbolizes sinful behavior.

The “heart” gets us to the inner springs from which the behavior springs. “Purify your hearts, you double-minded.” Are you single-minded in your pursuit of God? This gets us to the heart of true character of repentance. We are changed from the inside out. Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matt. 5:8). Those who draw near to God have a pure heart. Outward behavior stems from the heart (Matt. 7:21-23). Moral purity stems from a pure heart.

What are you laughing at? James tells us just how serious a matter it is in vv. 9-10. Be wretched, mourn and weep. “Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you” (v. 9-10). This is the inner attitude of repentance. The weeping is a mourning that cannot be hidden. It is a grief which brings tears to the eyes. The Jewish people of James’ day wailed, fully expressing their sorrow. The apostle Peter wrote, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time” (1 Pet. 5:6). Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:3-4; cf. Luke 6:25).

Is James writing about sinless perfection? Have you ever met up with someone who thinks they are perfect? Who would ever be able to come into God’s presence if it meant sinless perfection on our part? I have never met such an individual, at least not by God’s standards.

In the very act of drawing near to God we are made aware of our sinfulness and the need to be cleansed in the blood of Jesus. When we come to Him we come with the attitude that we are ready and willing to be put right with God. Only God in His matchless grace can make us right with Him. When we confess our sins and repent to God He draws us near Himself. Again I quote Minton, “It is not true repentance, if we are still hoping to keep in our lives the very things we are repenting of. True repentance implies the readiness to discard everything that provides facilities for further sinning; it implies also a readiness to make what amends we can for wrongs already committed.”

The opposite of the “double-minded” (dipsychos) person is one who is “single-minded” of purpose or focused. Single-mindedness comes through clarified spiritual values. The double minded person says, “It really doesn’t matter what goes on in my imagination and thoughts as long a my outward behavior is respectable.” That is exactly what a double-minded person thinks.

The pure in heart have come to the realization that they are impure in God’s eyes and can only come to Him as spiritually impoverished humble beggars. If I am humble when I am confronted with my spiritual poverty I will agonize over it. I will mourn as one mourns over the dead loved one. When we mourn over our spiritual poverty like mourning for the dead God gives us His comfort. And not until then will He give it. Mourning over spiritual poverty is evidence that we are truly humble. Do I mourn or do I excuse my spiritual poverty?

Jesus said, “Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me . . .” (Matt. 18:4-5).

SOME ABIDING PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

The only behavior that changes is observed behavior (v 8b-10). Make a personal commitment to bring about necessary changes in your life now. As a result of this passage of Scripture I choose to change a specific behavior, and this is how I will do it, and these are my accountability friends who will hold me to my commitment.

When we have the right attitudes only God gets the glory.

How do we use the name of Jesus in prayer? Do we treat Him like a vending machine to dispense comforts and pleasures to promote our selfish ambitions and desires?

Many churches face destruction from internal factions and rivalry. Those who are involved in the intrigues consider their own selfish ambitions and personal pleasures the most important goal, not God’s will. The tragic result is the lost world is watching everything and saying you are no different from us. In their eyes the church is nothing more than another social institution and just as corrupt as the unregenerate world. Judgment must always begin with the church. But she is also the church that Jesus Christ die and shed His blood to purchase.

Do we stop to seek God’s will and direction at the expense of our own selfish ambitions? Joel Gregory well said, “Often, church disagreements conceal a whole spectrum of personal and vocational frustrations.” Every church desperately needs to keep its eyes on Jesus Christ. The whole world system as Gregory notes, “is energized, living, breathing, grasping and lusting for life—minus God!”

God gives more and more grace, abundantly. May we come with humble hearts, repenting of our wrong motives, selfish ambitions and hidden agendas and plead His grace.

Growing Christians continually repent. Every time the Holy Spirit puts His finger on sin in our lives we should at that very moment acknowledge it to God and ask Him for power to overcome it.