Introductory remarks:
In the last chapter James dealt with the problematic tongue and its dangers when not controlled. In this chapter he will deal with the problem of being worldly. "James tells them they have conflicts because of fleshly desires. They cannot love this world and serve God too. Those who will humble themselves before God will draw near to Him. Acknowledge God as the one who judges and who has the power over what happens, rather than living as if you are in control" (A Survey of James - By Brenda). This chapter may be outlined as follows: Friendship with the world vv. 1-10: Judging a brother vv. 11-12: Warning against boasting vv. 13-17.
Friendship with the World
Verse 1, "From whence come wars and fightings among you? Come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?"
LGT "What causes wars and fightings among you? Is it not this, from your lust for sensual pleasures, which war in your members?"
What causes wars and fightings among you: vain desire causes Christians to remain out of fellowship, and the result is factions and hatred in the family. Is it not lust for sensual pleasures, which war in your members: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, has been and ever will be the Christians warfare, that is, the threefold basis of appeal which wars against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. "For the wars famous in tragedy . . . have all flowed from one source - desire either for money or glory or pleasure. Over these things the human race goes mad. Lucian, the Greek satirist, writes: 'All the evils, which come upon man - revolutions and wars, stratagems and slaughter - spring from desire. All these things have as their fountain-head the desire for more'" (William Barclay).
Verse 2, "Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not."
LGT "Ye desire, and have not; ye murder and are covetous, and are not able to obtain, ye fight and war, but ye have not because you ask not."
This is a very difficult verse to explain because of the incongruity of the first part and the last phrase, but ye have not because you ask not. The best I can come up with is that in the first part of the verse he is describing the Christian who is out of fellowship, going to the wrong source for his desires, that is, he is using human logic to fulfill his desires, and not going to the Word of God for the right spiritual answers. I believe James is telling them that they need to go to God and confess their evil desires; they need to lay their souls bare before God. McGee quotes a saint from the Middle Ages, Fenelon, describing the proper way to approach God regarding all your needs and desires:
"Tell God all that is in your heart, as one unloads one's heart, its pleasures and its pains, to a dear friend. Tell Him your troubles, that He may comfort you; tell Him your joys, that He may sober them; tell Him your longings, that He may purify them; tell Him your dislikes, that He may help you conquer them; talk to Him of your temptations, that He may shield you from them; show Him the wounds of your heart, that He may heal them; lay bare your indifference to good, your depraved tastes for evil, your instability. Tell Him how self-love makes you unjust to others, how vanity tempts you to be insincere, how pride disguises you to yourself as to others.
If you thus pour out all your weaknesses, needs, troubles, there will be no lack of what to say. You will never exhaust the subject. It is continually being renewed. People who have no secrets from each other never want subjects of conversation. They do not weigh their words, for there is nothing to be held back; neither do they seek for something to say. They talk out of the abundance of the heart, without consideration, just what they think. Blessed are they who attain to such familiar, unreserved intercourse with God."
I believe Fenelon has described confession quite well. I would add this; in our confessing to the Father, that is laying our souls bare before Him, that it is not for God that we give all our secrets of our hearts, because He already knows these things; it is for our own spiritual benefit that we go to Him unreservedly, and without fear anxiety of soul, as to the very best friend we have, that is, we approach our heavenly Father as One who loves us with the same great love that He has for His only-begotten Son.
Verse 3, "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts."
LGT "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask evilly, in order that in your pleasures ye may spend [it]."
Ye ask and receive not, because ye ask evilly: the word for ask in the second phrase is in an infinitive in the middle voice, so that asking evilly is asking for oneself, which is described in the following phrase: In order that in your pleasures ye may spend it: this means that one asks for himself out of sensuous desire. It is not wrong to ask God for help in making a living, but it is wrong to ask for wealth for oneself. Calvin states on this verse "the only way a man may bridle his desires is to subject our desires to the will of God". "In this life, we have to choose whether to make our main object our own desires or the will of God. And, if we choose our own desires, we have thereby separated ourselves from fellowship with other believers, and from fellowship with God."
Verse 4, "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God."
LGT "Adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore would be a friend of the world, makes himself an enemy of God."
Adulteresses: James uses the feminine form of adultery here because he is speaking to true church members, which is the body of Christ. The word adulterer is not in the best manuscripts. The word adulteress here is used to describe the infidelity of the church, the bride of Christ. Know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God: throughout the teaching of both James and Paul, stress is laid upon the consecrated Christian to come apart from the world and be separated from it. The world hates God, and therefore in truth hates His family. If a believer seeks the companionship with the world, he looses fellowship with God, for man cannot love God, and at the same time love the things of this world (Rom. 12:1,2). James uses the word kosmos for the world, which means the world system that is separated from God. Whosoever therefore would be a friend of the world, makes himself an enemy with God: James is not saying that they should not be friendly toward the world, just that they should not try and have fellowship with the world. Most Christians at one time or another seek deliberately to be friends with the world because they like what the world has to offer. It is far easier to live like the world in the lusts thereof, but there is no joy or satisfaction in this type of life, because fellowship with the Father has been severed.
Verses 5, 6, "Do ye think the scripture saith in van, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble."
LGT "Or think ye that in vain the Scripture speaks, with envy the Spirit does long, which took up [His] abode in us, and He gives greater grace? Wherefore He says, God sets Himself against [the] proud, but to [the] lowly He gives grace."
Or think ye that in vain the Scripture speaks: James always keeps his teaching within the confines of the Word of God. With envy the Spirit does long: this refers to the Holy Spirit, which makes more sense in the context than man's spirit. The Holy Spirit longs for each and every believer to reach spiritual maturity, and to put their complete trust in the Father of grace. Which took up His abode in us: the Holy Spirit indwells every believer the moment he or she puts his or her trust in Christ as Savior. And gives greater grace: the greater demand, the greater the grace; God is always ready to help us in our time of need. Wherefore He says, God sets Himself against the proud, but to the lowly He gives grace: James quotes Prov. 3:34 to prove this doctrine of God's infinite grace.
Verse 7, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
LGT "Be subject therefore to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
This verse is an introduction verse to what follows. Be subject therefore to God: James does not expect these Christians to be submissive to God in a legalistic sense, but he has already stated in the last two verses that all believers have been indwelt with God's Holy Spirit; so what he is stressing is that man will either submit to selfish pride or to God and His word. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you: when a believer is occupied with the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, and is daily learning Bible Doctrine, they will realize that they are indwelt with the Holy Spirit, and that it is the Spirit in the believer that gives grace and strength to resist the onslaughts of the evil one. What we feed on daily will come out in our actions. James is saying the only thing that can keep us from the Father, that is, out of fellowship with Him, is our own foolish pride. "This pride shuts itself off from God for three reasons.
It does not know its own need. It so admires itself that it recognizes no need to be supplied.
It cherishes its own independence. It will be indebted or obligated to no one and not even God.
It does not recognize its own sin. It is occupied with thinking of its own goodness and never realizes that it has any sin from which it needs to be saved. A pride like that cannot receive help, because it does not know that it needs help, and therefore it cannot ask." (William Barclay).
Verse 8, "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double-minded."
LGT "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse [your] hands sinners, and purify [your] hearts, ye double-minded."
Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands sinners: we read in Exo. 19:22, that the priest entered the temple to draw near to God; but first they had to cleanse themselves, representing spiritual cleansing. The priests represented the people, as their mediator; however, today we have Jesus Christ at the right hand of the Father mediating for us; Christ has finished His work of salvation, and now He is representing us before the heavenly Father. Today we are priests, and we go boldly before the throne of grace, confessing our sins and making our requests known to the Father. And purify your hearts: purifying the heart is through confession, and this is the daily cleansing needed for continual fellowship with our Father. Ye double-minded: "The apostle James here seems to have had his eye on those who were vacillating in their purposes; whose hearts were decidedly fixed, but who were halting between good and evil. The heart was not right in such persons. It was not settled and determined in favor of religion (what Barnes calls religion, I call fellowship), but vibrated between that and the world. The proper business of such persons, therefore, was to cleanse the heart from disturbing influences, that it might settle down in unwavering attachment to that which is good" (Barnes).
Verse 9, "Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to heaviness."
LGT "Be wretched, and mourn, and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and [your] joy to heaviness."
In this verse James is writing what the believer's attitude should be regarding their sins. "These words express the contrast between the loud unseemly gaiety of the pleasure-seeker, and the subdued men and down cast look of the penitent" (TEGT). "James is demanding that these self-satisfied, luxury-loving, unworried hearers of his should be confronted with their sins and should be shamed, grief-stricken and afraid, for only then can they reach out for grace and go on to joy far greater than their earthbound pleasures" (William Barclay).
Verse 10, "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up."
LGT "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you."
The key word in this verse is "Humble". When I think of a humble person I think of someone who has an unassuming persona, that is, one who points to others for his success. A person becomes humble only when he realizes what he is in God's sight. We have nothing in ourselves that God looks on us with approval. Christ has imputed all that God approves of in us. We will never be humble until we realize that all our righteous nesses are filthy rags, and that we are instruments in the hands of the indwelling Holy Spirit. It is not until we humble ourselves, that is, submit to the Holy Spirit our wills, that God will lift us up to appreciate all that He has done, and will do for and through us. We are His, and He is ours; we need to dwell on this wonderful position He has placed us in, and humble ourselves with this realization, and then the Lord will be able to use us to His honor and glory.
Judging a Brother
Verse 11, "Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge not the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge."
LGT "Speak not against one another, Brethren, the one who speaks against [his] brother, or judges his brother, speaks against [the] law, and judges [the] law: but if [the] law thou judgeth, you are not a doer of [the] law, but a judge."
Speak not against one another: James returns here to the subject of the ill use of the tongue. He uses the present imperative saying, 'stop speaking against one another.' Brethren: James makes his objection to their behavior palatable by referring to them as his brothers. The one who speaks against his brother, or judges his brother: these were Jewish Christians recently converted, so they still held the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament, which we know them as the Pentateuch, with much reverence; they were judging one another by who kept the law, and who held the Torah with more reverence. Speaks against the law: the law forbade them speaking against one another. And judges the law: "The reason speaking against and judging a brother is equivalent to doing the same to the Law is because the Law has been misinterpreted and misapplied; the Law had, in fact, been maligned; it had been made out to be something that it was not. It is not a general principle, therefore, which is being laid down here, viz.: that speaking against a brother or judging a brother is always necessarily speaking against and judging the Law; these things are breaches of the Law, but not necessarily for that reason denunciation of it; the point here is a maligning of the Law by making it out to be something that it was not. It is not a general principle, but a specific case, which is referred to here" (TEGT). But if the law thou judgeth, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge: "Here again it is a specific case which is referred to; as a general principle the statement would be contrary to fact, for it is possible to give a judgment upon the Law, in the sense of criticizing it, or even to denounce it, and yet obey it; the Rabbis were constantly discussing and giving their judgments on points of the Law, and were nevertheless earnest observers of its precepts. When a man misinterpreted the Law, and then acted upon that misrepresentation, and denounced others who did not do likewise, then he was truly not a doer of the Law, but a judge, - and a very bad one too" (TEGT).
Verse 12, "There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another."
LGT "One only is the lawgiver and judge, who is able to save and destroy: who are you who judges another?"
One only is the lawgiver and judge: James is saying that when they judge one another, they are taking the position of being God. Judgment is reserved solely for our God. Who is able to save and destroy: the Creator of the universe, that's who. Who are you who judges another: you are just another of God's creation, and He certainly doesn't need the impudence of one of these of His creation to help Him. When one judges another he or she leaves himself or herself open for judgment.
Warning against Boasting
Verse 13, "Go to now, ye that say, To-day or to-morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain."
LGT "Go to now, the ones who are saying, To-day and To-morrow we will go into this city and we will spend a year there, and may traffic and will make gain."
It is not sin that the apostle is condemning here, but thoughtlessness. No plan made by a Christian ought to exclude God. James gives in detail what the attitude of the believer making plans should be in the next three verses.
Verse 14, "Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away."
LGT "Ye who know not what [will be] on the morrow, [for] what [is] your life: for you are even a vapor, which for a little [while] appears, and then disappears."
Those of us that have lived on this earth past our three-score and ten years know what a vapor life is. We do not even have a clue as to what tomorrow might bring, so doesn't it make spiritual sense that we put our life in the hands of our God who knows the beginning from the ending, and he knows what is best for us, and He also has our welfare in mind.
Verse 15, "For that ye ought to say, if the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that."
LGT "Instead your saying [should be], If the Lord should will and we shall live, also we may do this or that."
James is saying that instead of saying what is the will of man, they should rather realize they are in the hands of God, and they should at all times submit to His everlasting will; namely, because it will happen just the way the Lord desires it to happen. Making plans is not a bad thing, but making plans leaving God out is disaster ready to happen.
Verse 16, "But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil."
LGT "But now you glory in your vain boasting: all such boasting is evil."
My dad used to say, "If a man can brag without lying, let him brag." As clever as this may sound, James says that all boasting about oneself is vanity. Paul says let your boasting be in the Lord.
Verse 17, "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin."
LGT "To [him] knowing therefore to do good, and not doing [it], it is sin to him."
This verse does not stand-alone from the context of this chapter. James is saying that now you know that you should put your confidence in the Father, and if you do not, and keep up your vain boasting, you are sinning.
The next chapter will be James dealing with riches.
Share freely but cite the source: http://bbbiblehelps.epizy.com