A Greater Grace

James 4:1-10

Where do the conflicts and where do the quarrels among you come from? Is it not from this, from your passions that battle inside you? You desire and you do not have; you murder and envy and you cannot obtain; you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask; you ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, so you can spend it on your passions.

Adulterers, do you not know that friendship with the world means hostility toward God? So whoever decides to be the world’s friend makes himself God’s enemy. Or do you think the scripture means nothing when it says, “The spirit that God caused to live within us has an envious yearning”?

But He gives greater grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.” So submit to God. But resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and make your hearts pure, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter into mourning and your joy into despair. Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you.

As much as we might like to be completely free from sin's presence in this world, the fact is that God delivers us from the penalty of sin and from its power, but allows us to struggle with the reality of its presence as part of our spiritual growth process. James hits this struggle at its source in a highly convicting passage -- but he doesn't leave us without hope. He lays a "grace greater than all our sin" right alongside his convicting words.

James bluntly observes that quarrels and conflicts come from the fleshly passions that remain at war within us even as Christians. Lust, envy, and a desire to be friends with the world, lead to murder, conflict, and idolatry. These are selfish desires that are in contrast to serving others as James has previously noted in 1:27; 2:14-17; and 3:17-18.

James wants his readers to do what we know is right (4:17) - serving with no room left for selfishness. He uses a strong comparison - that a person who decides to be a friend of the world is making himself an enemy of God. The verb choices are key here: God doesn't make this person an enemy; he chooses the world over God and in the process demonstrates hostility toward God, placing himself in the position of an enemy of God. Both choices are the individuals, not God's. James' bottom line here is that we cannot have a heart inclined to choose the world and be a friend of God. A heart inclined to love God will not love the world -- and will reject the lust, envy, and selfish desires James addresses in this section.

These are powerfully convicting words, and yet God offers a two-fold solution:

• A jealous, guarding Spirit (v. 5)
• A greater grace (vv. 6-10)

God's jealous Spirit won't tolerate the idolatry of loving the world more than God. This is a hard passage to interpret since we're not sure exactly where this Scripture comes from - but at least one thing it means is that God's Spirit won't allow the believer to be content loving the world more than God. That "divine jealousy" will cause a yearning that will not be satisfied with the world. Simply put, a worldly believer will be miserable in Spirit.

The grace that James speaks of is like that Paul highlights in Titus 2:11-14: not the grace of salvation, but the grace of sanctification. Specifically, this grace gives believers the power to:

• Submit to God (v. 7)
• Resist the devil (v. 7)
• Draw near to God (v. 8)
• Cleanse our hands (v. 8)
• Purify our hearts (v. 8)
• Mourn over sin (v. 9)
• Humble ourselves in God's presence (v. 10)

This is a beautiful picture of God's enabling us to do what He requires of us. The passage states that God "gives grace to the humble" -- and that humility comes when, by His grace alone, we recognize our utter incapability and His complete ability.

Grace, grace, and more grace. That's at the heart of becoming a friend of God.

Authentic Wisdom

James 3:13-18 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct he should show his works done in the gentleness that wisdom brings.

But if you have bitter jealousy and selfishness in your hearts, do not boast and tell lies against the truth. Such wisdom does not come from above but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where there is jealousy and selfishness, there is disorder and every evil practice.

But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and not hypocritical. And the fruit that consists of righteousness is planted in peace among those who make peace.

James' highly practical exhortation to authentic faith includes equally practical guidance in discernment. This passage contains specific characteristics that believers can use to assess the source of perceived "wisdom".

In its context within chapter 3, James is demonstrating here in part that a truly "wise and understanding" person will demonstrate that in his works -- in contrast to some individuals including teachers who claim wisdom and authority but lack the fruit James delineates. For a people who were used to a religious system that claimed a person was wise based merely on his position, this was radical!

James' teaching highlights the fact that true wisdom is available to all who seek it - a point made in chapter 1. Like Paul, though, he recognizes that there is wisdom of the fleshly sphere and wisdom of the sphere of God's grace (see 2 Cor. 1:12). James outlines what true wisdom from God looks like by showing first its contrast.

Wisdom that is not from above - that characterized as earthly, natural ("not having the Spirit"), or demonic - exhibits the following traits:

• Bitter jealousy
• Selfishness - Also translated "selfish ambition". Strife, contention. Root means "provoke" and a related root maens "debate". This also characterizes those headed for wrath and indignation (Rom. 2:8)
• Arrogance
• Lies against the truth
• Disorder - Confusion; commotion (as in war); tumult. A general state of upheaval. Root = "unstable."
• Every evil practice

1 Cor. 3:19-20 notes that the world's wisdom is foolishness and useless before God. In contrast, God's wisdom - the "wisdom from above", can be seen by these traits:

• Pure - clear, chaste (as a virgin). Associated with clean, unsullied. Root - "holy"
• Peaceable
• Gentle - Moderation, patient. In 1 Timothy and Titus, Paul uses this word in contrast to brawlers and not being contentious, and Peter uses it in contrast with being unreasonable (1 Peter 2:18).
• Reasonable/Accommodating - "easy to be entreated"; a compound root that means "well persuaded/trusted". Essentially, this represents a person who is not rigid, who is willing to bend (obviously where it does not cause an unbiblical compromise).
• Full of mercy
• Full of good fruits
• Unwavering/Impartial
• Without hypocrisy
• Bearing righteous fruit that is sown in peace by those who make peace. This reflects a key Old Testament principle that peace comes with righteousness (Isa. 32:17). This is not peace in the sense of no conflict - these people were, after all, being persecuted - but peace in the true meaning of shalom, wholeness, completeness, peace with God. While we are counted righteous in Christ by faith alone, the daily living out of a righteousness life requires our cooperation. James merely echoes Hosea 10:12 and Paul in Gal. 6:8 that we should pay attention to what kind of soil will lead to righteousness. We only find that kind of soil by abiding in Christ (Phil. 1:11; John 15). The bottom line: Right relationship leads to right action.

As noted at the beginning of this passage, James tells us what we should do with this wisdom. Rather than a means of boasting or being exalted above others as in the Judaism of the day, we are to demonstrate wisdom and understanding by:

• good behavior
• deeds
• gentleness

In other words, wisdom doesn't make us superior to others, it enables us to maintain good behavior, do good deeds, and demonstrate the gentleness that true wisdom brings.

God's wisdom and the world's wisdom are very different. In the context of authentic faith, James teaches that authentic wisdom and understanding are shown by deeds done in gentle wisdom, evidenced by good behavior. In contrast, "wisdom" that is characterized by bitter jealousy, selfish ambition, arrogance, and disorder, points to earthly, natural, demonic sources.

James wants his readers to know these marks as they don't "lie against the truth", being deceived by self-perceptions contrary to truth. God's true wisdom is pure, clean, peaceful, gentle, and patient (not contentious or unreasonable); it is merciful, fruitful, unwavering without partiality; without hypocrisy. It is sown in peace and yields the fruit of righteousness.

The "Untameable" Tongue

(James 3:2b-12) If someone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect individual, able to control the entire body as well. And if we put bits into the mouths of horses to get them to obey us, then we guide their entire bodies. Look at ships too: Though they are so large and driven by harsh winds, they are steered by a tiny rudder wherever the pilot’s inclination directs. So too the tongue is a small part of the body, yet it has great pretensions. Think how small a flame sets a huge forest ablaze. And the tongue is a fire! The tongue represents the world of wrongdoing among the parts of our bodies. It pollutes the entire body and sets fire to the course of human existence – and is set on fire by hell.

For every kind of animal, bird, reptile, and sea creature is subdued and has been subdued by humankind.But no human being can subdue the tongue; it is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse people made in God’s image. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. These things should not be so, my brothers and sisters. A spring does not pour out fresh water and bitter water from the same opening, does it? Can a fig tree produce olives, my brothers and sisters, or a vine produce figs? Neither can a salt water spring produce fresh water.

The tongue. Perhaps everyone can relate at some level to James' scathing critique of what we say - and understand that truly it is a mature person indeed who can control his tongue! James of course doesn't let us off the hook by explaining how difficult this task is; instead, he drives us to seek the wisdom of God.

James introduces this section with his admonition that not many should be teachers because of the stricter judgment incurred. Teachers have a special risk of causing adverse effects by not guarding their tongues. However, James applies this section to all believers, and that is the view we will take as we look at his teaching.

As we have seen, James frequently echoes the words of Christ. Here is no exception; our Lord said in Mt. 12:34-37 that we will be judged for our careless words. Our words condemn or justify us by revealing our hearts (Luke 6:34-35). James' teaching is not new! He illustrates his points, however, in quite powerful ways.

He compares the tongue to bits in horses' mouths and rudders on ships - things which are small but give direction to something much larger. The tongue, he teaches, is likewise the key to bridling our whole body. It's a small thing - but small fires destroy great forests. If not kept under control, it can destroy.

James continues by pulling no punches: he states that the tongue boasts of great things (v 5), is a world of iniquity (v 6), defiles the entire body (v 6), sets on fire our life's course (v 6), cannot be tamed (v 8), is a restless evil (v 8) full of deadly poison (v 8) and is used for both blessing and cursing (vv 9-10).

James zeros in on this last point, using two illustrations to show how unnatural it is for one thing to produce two divergent outcomes. Just as a fountain doesn't produce both fresh and bitter/salty water, and a fig tree doesn't produce olives or a vine produce figs, the tongue of a believer shouldn't produce both blessing and cursing.

"Blessing" is used here in the common biblical sense of blessing, praising, positive words of edification, or a concrete blessing or benefit. "Cursing" is used in the negative sense as the direct opposite of blessing. It's not so much "curse words" as it is the idea of speaking harshly words intended to "curse" the other person. These Jewish Christians were steeped in the Jewish worldview which had a strong sense of individuals' ability to bless or curse others. We can best see the meaning of this to the Jewish mind in David's encounter with Shimei in 2 Sam 16:

Then King David reached Bahurim. There a man from Saul’s extended family named Shimei son of Gera came out, yelling curses as he approached. He threw stones at David and all of King David’s servants, as well as all the people and the soldiers who were on his right and on his left. As he yelled curses, Shimei said, “Leave! Leave! You man of bloodshed, you wicked man! The Lord has punished you for all the spilled blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you rule. Now the Lord has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. Disaster has overtaken you, for you are a man of bloodshed!”

Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut off his head!” But the king said, “What do we have in common, you sons of Zeruiah? If he curses because the Lord has said to him, ‘Curse David!’, who can say to him, ‘Why have you done this?’” Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “My own son, my very own flesh and blood, is trying to take my life. So also now this Benjaminite! Leave him alone so that he can curse, for the Lord has spoken to him. Perhaps the Lord will notice my affliction and this day grant me good in place of his curse.” (2 Sam 16:5-12)

This reflects what is meant by "cursing" very well. A humorous English equivalent might be "a pox be upon you". It doesn't mean we have a falsely positive view of things or never acknowledge things about others that are true - the very example of Scripture shows the opposite, as James indicates even within this letter. Instead, this is an admonition similar to that in Psalm 50:19-20:

You do damage with words,
and use your tongue to deceive.
You plot against your brother;
you slander your own brother.

James' teaching is consistent with both Paul and Peter, who apply the same principle specifically in times of persecution:

• Rom 12:14 Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse.

• 1 Pet 3:9 Do not return evil for evil or insult for insult, but instead bless others because you were called to inherit a blessing.

James' overall focus, you will recall, is on the authenticity of our faith. As the fruit of a tree reveals its identity, our speech reveals our heart (Matt. 15:11, 18-20). And our heart is what God is concerned with. Bible teacher Bob Deffinbaugh from www.nextbible.org summarizes this point very concisely:

The heart is the key to controlling the tongue. James is not calling for more will-power and determination to control our tongues. If the tongue is set ablaze by hell, then only heaven can help us. And God has provided us with this help. He has given those who have placed their trust in Him a new heart. We are to be keepers of the heart, so that the thoughts of our heart are on Him who died for us. As our hearts are filled with Him, with His Word, with His salvation and grace, then our lips will reveal the overflow of our hearts.