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Lesson 11 |
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| A Study of James - Lesson 11 - James 4:1-6 |
Chapter 4
A Source of Great Evil: The Desire for Worldly
Pleasure (James 4:1-6)
What is the source
of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that
wage war in your members? 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. 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. Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: "He jealously
desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us"? But He gives a greater
grace. Therefore it says, "GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE
TO THE HUMBLE." Submit therefore to God.
One of the most prevalent conditions plaguing mankind is the tendency to fight and quarrel with others. Whether it be sibling rivalries in the home or devastating and bloody wars among nations, the ultimate cause is the same—an improper desire for worldly pleasures. Rather than humbly seeking from God the good gifts He gives to His children, we instead fight to obtain things that rightfully belong to others. Or, if we do pray to God, it is often with selfish motives or a demanding attitude. To those who humbly submit themselves to Him, God gives a grace that is greater than our evil desires, enabling us to successfully resist them.
What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? – James clearly believed in the depravity of the human heart, and recognized it as the source of sinful behavior. James is very specific here, identifying the source of human quarrels and conflicts as our inordinate lust for the pleasures of this world.
Those who have much expect much (witness the "culture shock" experienced when Americans visit a third-world country), and will often fight to keep their opulent lifestyle, or to increase it. Thus it is very hard for the rich of this world to enter the kingdom of God.
Mark 10:25 – It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.Nor are the poor of this world exempt from the temptation to quarrel and fight in order to obtain the pleasures of this world. This is evident in the high rate of violent crime that plagues our inner cities. Conflict is a vice that characterizes both rich and poor, and we cannot blame our environment for our quarrelsome behavior. The problem comes from within…
Mark 7:21-23 – For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.Man's problem with worldly desire is twofold: First, we never seem to be content with the good gifts God has given to us.
Proverbs 27:20 – Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.Second, when we seek such gifts, we seek them through illegitimate means—through deception, theft or injury—rather than by seeking them from the great Giver of all good things.
James 4:2 – 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.Blessed is the man, who like Paul, has learned the secret of godly contentment.
Philippians 4:11 – Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.your pleasures that wage war in your members – Both the saved and the unsaved are engaged in conflicts that arise from the sinful desires that abide in us. The difference is that the unsaved wholly give themselves over to such desires—fighting against anyone who would stand in the way of fulfilling those desires—whereas the saved have declared war against such desires so that the battle is now fought in the heart rather than in the streets.1 Timothy 6:6-10 – But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
In other words, the believer no longer sides with these sinful desires. They are still his desires, yet he now views himself differently—as belonging to Christ—and sees the sinful desires as being incompatible with a proper relationship to His holy Lord. It is as though he is now a different person, and the old, sinful desires belong to someone else (even though they are still his desires). In other words, there is an "old" me, and a "new" me. The sinful desires belong to the "old" me, but the "new" me is the real me—the "me" that has been saved from sin and that will inherit heaven. The "old" me has been condemned to die—and one day it will be no more.
Romans 7:19-25 – For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.Our sinful desires are here seen to be waging a war within us, to obtain control of our bodies. If we do not resist and subdue the enemy within us, it will gain control of our members—our mouth, eyes, ears, hands, feet, etc.—and expand the war to fight against those around us. This underscores the need to deal with sin in our hearts before it spills over into our words and actions.Galatians 2:20 – I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
Romans 6:11 – Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 5:15-18 – But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.What does it mean to "walk by the Spirit" and to be "led by the Spirit" in this passage? Among other things, it means that we should always be conscious of our new relationship to Christ—united with Him in His death and His present life in heaven. And it means our lives should be lived with a constant concern for the things of God…
Matthew 6:33 – But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.We are not to go on living our lives as the unsaved do. It should not be "business as usual" for the Christian. Instead, we should live each hour of each day before the face of God (Coram Deo)—being concerned for His glory, for our own sanctification and obedience, for the salvation of family members, friends and acquaintances, and for the spiritual growth of our brothers in Christ.Colossians 3:1-3 – Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
Matthew 6:20-21 – But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
In part, this means meditating often upon God's glorious character and upon the great works He has done to save us: choosing, redeeming, quickening us. It means saturating yourself with the scriptures, and with sound teaching from good books, good audio tapes, good radio programs, etc. It means looking for opportunities for witness and service, and being quick to take advantage of them. It means examining your heart—identifying the sin within—sins of both omission and commission—and dealing with them via confession, repentance and prayer. It also means examining your life— prayerfully considering the progress and direction of your life—evaluating your priorities, your job, your ministry in the church and at home, your witness at work and in your neighborhood—and considering how you might best use your gifts for God's glory.
It means asking yourself some important questions: Am I spending enough time in prayer and in the Word? Am I ministering adequately to my family through family devotions, by witnessing to my children, and encouraging my spouse regarding the things of the Lord? Am I living a consistent life? Are my job, my commute, my chores or my hobbies taking up precious time that could be spent with my family or with the Lord? Should I be giving more of my resources to the Lord's work? Should I change jobs or "sell the boat" or move into a less expensive house to free up more money for Christian ministry? Are there ministries at church I could be helping with? Or, am I so overcommitted with church ministries such that I am neglecting the spiritual care of my family? Should I consider starting a home Bible study, or perhaps offer my home as a place where someone else in the church could hold such a study? Has the Lord called me to be a pastor or a missionary? Should I adopt a child, or become a foster parent, or welcome an exchange student into my home? Could I help out at a nursing home, a shelter for unwed mothers, a youth camp or an inner-city mission? …
The list is virtually endless, and will undoubtedly be different for each of us, as the Lord lays particular burdens on each person's heart. The important thing is that we are asking such questions, and that we have an earnest, continual concern to live our lives for God's glory.
You lust and do not
have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight
and quarrel. – Lust
and envy are the root cause of many sins. When a person is prevented from
obtaining by legitimate means something he greatly desires to have,
he often resorts to deceit, theft or quarreling.
Yet earthly pleasures never satisfy—once we obtain
the thing we desired, we want more, or else we want something different.
The craving never ceases. The emptiness can never be filled with the pleasures
of this life. It can only be filled with God Himself—He must
come into our hearts and abide there. Once we have tasted God's goodness,
earthly pleasures seem hollow and unsavory in comparison.
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. – Rather than resorting to sinful solutions to obtain the things we want, James says that we should instead seek them from God in prayer. Those who do ask for such things often find that God does not give them the thing they ask for. Why? Because their motive for seeking these things is not pure. When we try to pray for some extravagant thing that doesn't honor God, we often feel the hypocrisy of it. Such a prayer seems merely to "bounce off the ceiling". At least it should. Those who have learned to value the things of God tend to pray differently. The subject matter of our prayers becomes more directed toward the things that glorify God, and the luster of earthly possessions seems to fade.
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. – James uses the word "adulteresses" to teach us that our love for the Lord is to be single-hearted. To set your desires on the pleasures of this world is to forsake God as your greatest pleasure. It is no different from a wife who sets her desire on someone other than her husband. This is why scripture equates covetous greed with idolatry…
Colossians 3:5 –Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.Friendship with the world is hostility toward God and makes you an enemy of God.
Matthew 6:24 –No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: "He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us"? – This is a difficult text for two reasons: First, because James seems to express this as a quotation of scripture, yet it is unclear what scripture he could have had mind. Some have suggested Genesis 6:3 or Numbers 11:29. But neither seems to fit the verse very well. John Gill suggests that James is simply summarizing the overall teaching of Scripture on this subject, rather than quoting any particular passage.
Second, because the intended meaning of the quoted text is somewhat obscure and disputed. This appears to be due, at least in part, to some ambiguity in the manuscripts, as to whether the word "dwell" here means "dwelt" or "was made to dwell". Hence, it is unclear whether the "jealous desire" is here attributed to God or to the "Spirit" (or "spirit") He has given us. Here are some of the resulting possibilities…
| 1. | Recognize that the covetous desire for earthly pleasures is a great evil, and is the root cause of many sins: quarreling, deception, theft, adultery, murder and rebellion against God. |
| 2. | Pray for the things you need in this life, rather than resorting to sinful means to obtain them. |
| 3. | If you find there are selfish requests you cannot justify bringing before God, then pray instead for forgiveness and repentance, and for the grace to overcome such evil desires. |
| 4. | Set godliness and contentment as two of your primary goals in life. Learn to submit to God's wise, loving sovereignty in all things, and to be content with whatever He has ordained for you. |
| 5. | Be aware that fleshly desires give rise to conflicts. For the Christian, this ought to be an inner conflict, as the Spirit wars against the flesh. We need to actively oppose our evil desires. |
| 6. | Recognize that there is a both an "old" and "new" you. The "new" you is Christ living in you, and is the "real" you. Consider the "old" you to have died with Christ on the cross. |
| 7. | Learn to "walk by the Spirit" and to be "led by the Spirit". Saturate yourself with the Scriptures and sound Bible teaching as you learn to fill your life with prayer and good works, reflecting often upon God's glories. Examine your heart and life, considering how you might better serve Him. |
| 8. | Seek from God that "greater grace" we need to overcome our fleshly desires as you submit to your heavenly Father in humble, loving obedience. |
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Lesson 11 |
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