1 From
whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your
lusts that war in your members? 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. 3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may
consume it upon your lusts. 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. 5 Do ye think that the
scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? 6 But
he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth
grace unto the humble. 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the
devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw
nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double
minded. 9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned
to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight
of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. 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 the law, thou
art not a doer of the law, but a judge. 12 There is one lawgiver, who is
able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another? (James
4:1-12)
An unlikely opening focus for today's devotion is the subject of
"War" and "Fighting." A very effective tool of teaching is
the pointed question, and that is what James, as our teacher, employs in verse
1. 1 "From whence come wars and fightings among you? come
they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?"
Every thinking adult has, at some point, pondered this question. How is it that
wars are forever with us and seemingly unavoidable? Great wars begin with
smaller skirmishes. The soul is full of contradiction and uncertainty. The
great continental wars have always been ignited by the small match of lust and
hate that wars in the heart of perhaps a single man. Caesar had his insatiable
ambition, and Napoleon lust for unlimited power. These strong sentiments,
embraced by strong and charismatic personalities, found their expression in the
broader scale of armies and navies. But the spark began in a single heart. A
small spark kindles a great fire.
James defines the cause of wars and strife in simple, yet forceful, terms: 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." Have you ever
killed? Have you lusted after that which was not meet? Yes, you have done these
things that are common to the sinful soul of every man, woman, and child. Hate
is the thought which, when consummated, results in murder. Lust is unlawful and
immoral desire, unchecked, for gold, for sex, for power, or for pride. We all
know those emotions that derive from a sinful heart, do we not? We cannot
acquire all that satisfies completely because we go about the acquisition in
the wrong way. We attempt to acquire those things that we presume will make us
happy by our own devices. Once gotten, we realize that those things only add to
our misery. Should we not ask of the hand of God, and all such things that are
needful, and of which we may not even be aware, will be added to us?
Perhaps you have, indeed, prayed for those possessions that are not suitable
for you. Why were they not granted? Did Jesus not say, "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do,
that the Father may be glorified in the Son." (John 14:13)
So, if we have asked for unsuitable things, and in the name of the Lord, why
have they not been granted? There is authority in prayer, even. But the
authority to grant, or to withhold, belongs to God and not the supplicant. When
we pray in Christ's name, we are in the same position as an ambassador of a
great king conducting business on his behalf and with his authority. We can ask
nothing, or offer nothing, that it is not the will of the king to grant. The
same is true of praying in Christ's name. For that means praying with the Mind
of Christ. 3 "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss,
that ye may consume it upon your lusts." When we pray out of
lust, we pray amiss. A sinful heart can offer no prayer that goes beyond the
brazen sky. "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not
hear me: (Psalms 66:18) Our prayers must be offered for those Godly
things that it will be the Lord's pleasure to grant, not out of our own selfish
ambitions.
It is disheartening to observe what small circumstances can lead to general
wars that devastate the country and rob the cradles of their precious contents.
How wondrous is the opposite circumstance when men and women can dwell in
peaceful havens together without war and malice. "Behold, how good
and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!"
(Psalms 133:1) This is very nearly impossible for men so to live. Why? Because
even the just cannot abide wicked and evil invasions and excursions against
those things men hold as Holy. I am not saying that there is never any
justification for war, but such an extremity should be the last resort of the
Godly nation. If Satan stirs up evil and wicked inclinations in our enemy, we
must deploy our arms on the frontier against him, lest a greater evil ensue.
Wars are often fought on the Holy ground of the Church, and within the very
walls thereof.
There is a declared war, even in our own souls. Satan believes he has purchased
the soul of every man and woman with a LIE in Eden; but when the Holy Ghost has
brought us to the Throne of Grace, a spiritual war is declared against the
malefactor. It is a war that is ceaseless in the space-time continuum. It will
rage and burn until we close our eyes in the sleep of the saint. That war is
between righteousness and wickedness. We are not innocent bystanders of the
war. We must ally ourselves with the Holy Ghost and He will clean our hearts of
all sinful debris of war. 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."
The Persians have a fitting saying: "If you are the friend of my enemy,
you are also my enemy." This is completely true of the war that wages in
our members. We must choose sides. There is no neutrality when it comes to this
spiritual war. If we love the world, and if the world loves us, then God has
not part with us. We cannot love God AND Mammon. Remember that you and I were
just as taken in adultery as the woman brought to Jesus in the Temple grounds
in John 8. We have been caught red-handed, and there is no defense for our
sins. But we must become mute in our justifying arguments and plead - not His
justice, but His mercy and grace.
5 " Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit
that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?" The spirit in man that
lusteth to envy is a 'dead' spirit. It is destined for the long grave. But the
Holy Spirit that comes to live in the heart of the Elect of God is forever and
eternally ALIVE! That spirit which we have inherited from Adam is dead in
trespasses and sin; but the gift of God is life eternal! AMEN. Though we are
all deserving of severe judgment, the grace of God excels the condemnation that
is our just deserts. 6 "But he giveth more grace. Wherefore
he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble."
The Pharisees were too proud to come to Christ for mercy, therefore, they
received it not. You will call that Jesus was always compassionate and kind to
the sinner, but He was harsh and direct to the Pharisees. Pride destroys the
soul. It led to the fall of Satan from Heaven, and it is a sin hated by God.
The lusts of our hearts are like enemy soldiers who have breeched our lines of
defense. They weaken and destroy our souls. " Dearly beloved, I
beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war
against the soul;" (1 Peter 2:11) What is our weapon against these
lusts that destroy us? It is the Holy Spirit of God! "This I say
then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For
the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and
these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that
ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law."
(Gal 5:16-18)
7 "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and
he will flee from you. 8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to
you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to
mourning, and your joy to heaviness." The devil is a
formidable enemy. No man can stand against him; but God is greater than Satan.
"He who is in you is stronger than he who is in the world." If
we enlist our souls in the care and command of God, we have that greater power
to wage war against the devil on our behalf. When I was a young boy, I always
held my father's hand a little tighter when I felt threatened. Where God is, no
danger can approach. If we remain right by His side, and hold His hand in ours,
we will be safe regardless the demonstrations of the enemy at our front.
Without resorting to that saving Grace of God, our hands are filthy, our hearts
are black, and our minds have no certain course. Our false joys will become
overt mourning, and laughter will be followed by tears of remorse if we repent
not.
10 "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall
lift you up." Humility is an acknowledgement of our inability
to save ourselves. If we humble ourselves before God, he will place our feet on
high ground; but, if we lift ourselves up in pride before Him, He will relegate
us to that lowest place where the fires burn continually. 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 the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge."
God's Word is sufficient to judge - not ours. We must not be tale-bearers or
propagators of malicious gossip - especially in the church. How sad must the
Father be to see His children spewing hate about one another!
12 "There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy:
who art thou that judgest another? " James is not referring
here to righteous judgment, but judgment based upon our own impressions and
values. If God says murder is a sin, we may know that any who murders is a
sinner. That is not OUR judgment, but God's. "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge
righteous judgment." (John 7:24) It is the law of God that
judges and not the law of man or of ourselves.
There is an answer to all of the wars the soul is party to: submission unto
God! "When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies
to be at peace with him." (Prov 16:7) Perhaps America, too, might
reflect on her global wars and decide if these are wars of righteousness or of
lust? Our beloved land has become a by-word and a hated nation by many in the
world who have lost respect for her. She is the major purveyor of pornography
throughout the world, and a vessel for the spreading of every kind of reprobate
sin such as abortion and homosexuality, drugs and alcohol. Listen to the
remnant of your heart, America, and return to the Rock of your Salvation.
