Bible Commentaries
James 4

Verses 1-3

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? James 4:1

This verse is a little puzzling by the immediate usage of two Greek words, polemoi (wars) and machai (fights). Later in the verse he also uses the Greek word strateuomenon (make war, do battle). These are all military terms and it shocks us a little to see them used of the church. In the next verse he even uses the Greek word for "kill" (phoneuete) and that shocks us even further.^(F1) Is it possible that such evil and cruel things could be going on in the body of Christ, especially in the first century?

Obviously, since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden there have been wars and murders in abundance. So there are wars of all kinds raging around us every day. Even as Christians we are in a constant war between our flesh and the Holy Spirit of God dwelling in us (Romans 7:23). So, perhaps it should not be surprising that wars of differing kinds rage even in the church. Paul in his ministry does speak of "conflicts on the outside, fears within" (2 Corinthians 7:5).

Still, the ideas of battle and even killing within the church itself have been too much for some commentators. The early Greek scholar Desiderius Erasmus (1466 – 1536), even felt the verb "murder" (phoneuete) in verse 2 was a textual error and should be replaced by "envy" (Gk. phthoneite). However, modern scholars have discounted this idea since there is no manuscript evidence for such a change. Rather it may be likely that James is thinking once more of Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1ff.) where the sins of hatred and insult are regarded as the same as murder (cf. 1 John 3:15).^(F2) The web commentator David Guzik by citing Hiebert in the following verse says, "The word kill [murder] is startling and meant to startle; James sought to force his readers to realize the depth of the evil in their bitter hatred toward others."^(F3)

We do not have to look far in scripture to see that wrong thoughts and feelings have caused great division and warfare among God's people. We see how Lot caused a quarrel and later a division between himself and Father Abraham (Genesis 13). Absalom by his wrong thoughts caused a great division and war with his father David (2 Samuel Chs. 13-18). The disciples of Jesus caused problems and difficulties when they got into an argument about who would be greatest in the kingdom (Luke 9:46-48). The Corinthian believers came to the point of suing one other in court because of their disagreements (1 Corinthians 6:1-8). Then the Galatian Christians were "biting and devouring" each other (Galatians 5:15). There were even two wonderful women, who were no doubt friends of Paul, but who could not get along with each other in Philippians 4:1-3.^(F4)

Whether the battles are outward or inward, James puts his finger on their cause. They come about because of evil desires (Gk. hedone). Peter later warned the church saying, "Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul" (1 Peter 2:11).

We should take note of the Greek word "hedone," from which we get our concept of "hedonism."^(F5) Today we are living in a hedonistic age where the populace has run headlong to pleasures, self-gratifications, lusts, desires, appetites and passions. Because of such things the US is a nation of bloodshed where an ever-growing portion of our population is being confined to prison. We know that the same hedonism can infiltrate the church to some degree. Perhaps the beautiful words of Psalm 133:1-2 were written to discourage just such a thing, "…How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron's beard, down on the collar of his robe."

James continues, "You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God" (4:2). The Lord gives us a great secret here that will put an end to quarrels and fights. The secret is prayer. Through proper and persistent prayer the searchlight of God can illuminate the hidden lusts and passions burning in each of our hearts. Through prayer we can also have our real needs met. After this, there will be no more cause to envy others.

Quite simply we do not have because we do not ask. Once more this seems to be a reference to the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus says, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened" (Matthew 7:7-8).

James is quick to add a qualifier to his statement about asking. He goes on to say, "When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures" (4:3). The Bible is clear that all prayers cannot be answered. Some people are really not praying but "scheming" when they talk to God. As Bob Utley says, "the worst thing God could do for most Christians is to answer their selfish prayers!"^(F6) "The craving for pleasure in the end shuts the door of prayer. If a man's prayers are simply for the things which will gratify his desires, they are essentially selfish and, therefore, it is not possible for God to answer them."^(F7)

We need to spend enough time on our knees so that we begin to understand who God really is and what his plan is for our lives. When we determine what his will is for us and when we then ask according to his will, we can know that he will hear us. We can ask "anything" according to his will and he will hear us. We can be totally assured of his answer (1 John 5.14).

The Bible tells us what kind of prayers God hears. They are the prayers of the righteous (Psalm 34:15); who call on him in truth (Psalm 145:18); the penitent (Luke 18:14); who ask in his name (John 14:13); the believing (Mark 11:24); and as we have said above, those who ask according to his will. "It has well been said that the purpose of prayer is not to get man's will done in heaven, but to get God's will done on earth."^(F8)

Verses 4-6

SPIRITUAL ADULTERY

You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. James 4:4

Here some early Christians are called "adulterous people." In this instance James is no doubt speaking of spiritual adultery. In several other scriptures the church is called the bride of Christ. In 2 Corinthians 11:2, Paul makes it clear that she is a bride-to-be or a bride in waiting and that it was his task to present her to Christ as a pure virgin (cf. Ephesians 5:24-27; Revelation 19:7). When the church becomes defiled with the loves and passions of this present evil age she begins to miss her high and holy calling of being the bride of Christ.

We see in scripture that Israel was also looked upon as God's bride. When Israel turned to idolatry as she often did, the husband/wife relationship became threatened (Ezekiel 6:9; 16:32; Hosea 3:1; Jeremiah 3:8). In Jeremiah 3:8, we see that God finally gave Israel, the northern ten tribes, their bill of divorcement and sent them away into captivity. After some 2700 years they are, for the most, part still divorced and still in captivity.

What a warning this is! We dare not let such a thing happen in the church. There is such a tragic picture of this in an early Christian worker named Demas. He labored some time with Paul but finally the apostle spoke these sad words of him, "…Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me…" (2 Timothy 4:10). We see a similar thing in the Book of Revelation as the mighty church at Ephesus had begun to lose her first love (Revelation 2:4). The great wedding of the Lamb is approaching and we as the bride of Christ in-waiting must make ourselves ready for this wonderful event (Revelation 19:7).

It is clear that a believer can become an enemy of God by being friendly with the enemies of God.^(F9) Because of this possibility the scripture admonishes us, "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them" (1 John 2:15); "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will" (Romans 12:2).

Here we realize once more that real Christian faith boils down to relationship with God. We might further define it as a holy, loving relationship. As we see in the marriage covenant it is indeed an intimate relationship. Abraham was a good friend of God. They spent much time talking together. God shared with him his secrets. Earlier, Enoch was also a great friend of God, insomuch that God took Enoch home with him and he never came back.

Religion is worthless if it does not result in a close relationship with the Creator of the Universe. Such a relationship is now made possible through the cross of Christ. This relationship must be kept pure and holy at all costs. God is a jealous husband and will not permit us to mix this holy relationship with the things in the world and with its idolatry.

"Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us?" (4:5). While we cannot immediately recognize this as a scriptural quote^(F10) it certainly reflects the spirit of scripture found in several other places such as Exodus 34:14. In this passage God says: "Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God" (cf. Deuteronomy 4:24; 6:14-15; Zechariah 8:2).

This verse has been a troublesome one over the centuries. Some scholars see the "spirit" mentioned as the human spirit, such as we see reflected here in the NIV where "spirit" is not capitalized. However, the passage seems to flow much better if we understand that it is God's Spirit who is jealous or envious. Moo states that the imagery of God as spouse is the key to understanding the verse. The appropriateness of God's jealousy outweighs any linguistic difficulties of the Greek word phthomos (jealous, envious).^(F11)

"But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says - 'God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble'" (4:6). God can recognize the proud coming a mile away (Psalm 138:6). Here in his quote of Proverbs 3:34, he assures us that he resists the proud but at the same time gives grace to the humble (cf. 1 Peter 5:5). In Isaiah 57:15 God says, "For this is what the high and exalted One says – he who lives forever, whose name is holy - 'I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.'" We remember that Jesus, the divine and holy Son of God, rode into Jerusalem on a lowly donkey (Matthew 21:7-9). What an example for us. He instructed us that it is the humble in spirit who will receive the kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:3).

Barclay says about pride, "Pride does not know its own need, cherishes its own independence, and does not recognize its own sin. It shuts itself off from God; its real terror is that it is a thing of the heart."^(F12)

On the other hand the humble receive mercy. Mercy must be one of the greatest gifts from God and really a key to all other gifts. It is surely one of the things most desired by those of earth. It is interesting that on my website I have close to 200 books and articles offered, but the one that is always close to the top of the list of weekly requests is the article on mercy.

Verses 7-10

SUBMITTING TO GOD

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7

By using the Greek imperative "submit" (upotasso) James is inserting a military term. It means "to align oneself under authority."^(F13) This might be too much to ask in the "do your own thing" age of ours. Quite simply, God has an army and we are in it.

Not only are we to submit ourselves to God but we are to resist the devil. We can almost hear the Lord commanding things like "Fall in!"… "Forward march!" We will remember that in Ephesians 6:13, Paul gives some more military instruction, "Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." Peter says a similar thing, "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings" (1 Peter 5:8-9).

The devil, being the master strategist he is, certainly knows when we are weak, discouraged, demoralized, and disorganized. He will pick such times to attack the church. However, when we take a stand and the people of God take a united stand, the devil will flee and wait for a better day. The simple truth is that when we dare resist the devil he will run away. This is illustrated so clearly in the temptation of Jesus in Matthew 4:1-11. The devil presented Jesus with three great temptations, all striking at the heart of his coming ministry. With each of the devil's three temptations the Lord replied "It is written" (4:4,7,10). Jesus stood like a rock. He stood on the eternal word of God and the devil fled.

In the frozen arctic country of Canada, musk-oxen are often attacked by wolves. A lone musk-ox, although he is one of the strongest land animals, is in great danger of being brought down by a pack of wolves. However the oxen have learned to gather in a circle with little ones in the center. They place their back sides at the center with their heads and long front legs and hoofs facing outward.^(F14) All the wolf pack sees is a mass of sharp horns and dangerous hoofs. Usually the wolf pack slinks away and waits for a better opportunity.

"Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded" (4:8). This is a great promise, that if we draw near to God he will draw near to us. When we feel God far away we can know it is not God's fault. There is a wonderful supporting passage in Malachi 3:7. God says, "…Return to me, and I will return to you…." Indeed, "the only true safety is nearness to God."^(F15)

We are instructed here to wash our hands and purify our hearts. This picture is probably taken from ancient tabernacle. Before the tabernacle there was a brazen laver where the priests were obliged to stop and ceremonially wash their hands and feet before entering (Exodus 30:18-21). We know that in Jesus' day the Pharisees held to a ceremonial washing of hands before meals (Mark 7:3). In fact, Jewish people today continue with a ceremonial washing of hands (Hebrews ntillat yadayim) before meals and at other times.

The hands are symbols of our acts and our lifestyle. God wants to purify our lifestyle and bring it into conformity with his commands and instructions (cf. Isaiah 1:16). He also wants to purify our hearts. The heart is the center of our being and it is really out of our hearts that our actions flow. This passage is a call to repentance for Christians. Sometimes we think that repentance is just for the lost and unsaved but it is also for saints. I once heard a Christian professional football player say in his testimony that he had become "a repenting type person." That sums it up pretty well. We must keep on repenting because to some degree we keep on sinning despite our efforts to stop (1 John 1:8).

As sinners we are all "double minded" at times. The Greek word is dipsychos and James has used it before. It has the meaning of being "two-souled" or unstable. It is difficult for God to depend on us in such circumstances. It is also difficult for others to depend on us.

"Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom" (4:9). James continues on with his theme of repentance for believers. Jesus says in Matthew 23:12, "For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." The Bible also says, "The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit" (Psalm 34:18).

In our postmodern society we cannot help but note that there is not so much grief, mourning and wailing over sin. It has simply gone out of style. It has probably done so because we are gradually losing the understanding that we are sinners (Romans 3:23). We are also gradually losing the understanding of just how bad and evil sin really is. In earlier times, especially in the great frontier revivals of America people fell on their faces and wept over their sins until they found forgiveness. It was a mess, with people weeping and moaning over their wrongdoing. When people did get saved in those days they were really saved.

Davids remarks of our situation today saying, "Modern evangelism has tended to short-circuit this process by promising peace before a person has fully realized the seriousness of his or her condition."^(F16) The result is that we have churches filled with half-saved people. When temptation, trouble or difficultly arises, too many of these fall away from what little faith they had (cf. Matthew 13:1-9). In his Sermon on the Mount Jesus said, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted" (Matthew 5:4).

James continues with his humility theme saying, "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up" (4:10). "The picture is that of someone prostrate before an oriental monarch, begging mercy."^(F17) The picture is also that of the poor Prodigal Son all ragged and hungry in the hog pen. When he fully realized his fallen position he repented, he made a firm decision saying, "I will set out and go back to my father and say to him - Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants" (Luke 15:18-19). The young man did something. He turned from his old life and returned to his father, who was eagerly waiting for him. This is a picture of real repentance. As the old saying goes, "a lot of our repentance today needs to be repented of."

In the kingdom of God things often seem topsy-turvy. If we wish to live we must die. If we wish to go higher we must go lower. Calvin says, "as a tree must strike deep roots downwards, that it may grow upwards, so everyone who has not his soul fixed deep in humility, exalts himself to his own ruin."^(F18)

Verses 11-12

JUDGING OTHERS

Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. James 4:11

James has already spoken much about the improper use of the tongue. In verses 11-12 he seems to be giving us some type of closing summary about this subject.^(F19) He focuses first on the matter of slander. In Leviticus 19:16 we are commanded, "Do not go about spreading slander among your people…." The Greek word for slander here is katalaleo and it means to speak evil against another. We know today that this can include defamation, rumors, malicious or false stories about another person. This is particularly grievous when the other person is a brother or sister in Christ. The Bible is clear that slander is something of which we must rid ourselves (Ephesians 4:31; 1 Peter 2:1). We cannot do this alone but the Lord through his Holy Spirit will help us clean up our speech.

We are told here that anyone who judges his brother judges the law. The Bible tells us that we are free to judge ourselves (1 Corinthians 11:31) but not to judge others. Again in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus says, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged" (Matthew 7:1). When we judge others we actually condemn ourselves (Romans 2:1) because we are probably guilty of the same thing. It is that old business of pointing a finger at someone and suddenly realizing that three of our fingers are pointed back at us.

But how can we judge the law by judging others. If we happen to be judging a brother of sister in Christ we need to realize that the law is written on their hearts (Jeremiah 31:33; Psalm 37:31). If we judge them we are in a real sense judging the law. God did not send us here to judge the law but to keep it in the truest spiritual sense through the power of Christ.

"There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you – who are you to judge your neighbor?" (4:12). We must learn to leave all judgment to God. Outside of judging ourselves we are told in scripture to "…judge nothing before the appointed time…" but to "…wait till the Lord comes." (1 Corinthians 4:5). The Lord at his coming will judge all the dark and hidden things in people's hearts.

It is silly for us to even think about judging someone else, especially a brother or sister in the Lord. If we are living by the Royal Law of love we can't even think about judging one another. "Criticism usurps God's authority, for as Paul states, 'Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls [Romans 14:4].'"^(F20)

Verses 13-14

BOASTING

Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." James 4:13

In ancient times Jews were great merchants and traders.^(F21) They have continued to be merchants through the pages of history, even up to this present day. Because of a common religion, common languages such as Hebrew and Yiddish, it is relatively easy for Jewish people to travel worldwide and to conduct business between peoples and nations. The Jews have a natural facility in language anyway, having been dispersed to all nations on earth. In Israel today it is difficult to find a Jewish person who cannot speak at least two or three languages fluently.

During the late Middle Ages Jewish people were severely persecuted and forced out of the nations of Spain and Portugal. Many of those Jews were accepted into the Ottoman Empire and into the Netherlands. In these places they were largely responsible for building gigantic trading empires. In the Ottoman Empire the Jewish center of Salonica became the greatest mercantile center of the Mediterranean. The Jewish people helped the Netherlands to become a vast colonizing and trading power far out of proportion to its size.^(F22)

The Bible says here that the problem with such a lifestyle of travel, trading and merchandizing can be one's own presumption. A person can become presumptuous in assuming that he will live long enough to make such an extensive trading journey.

James seems to be drawing heavily here upon Proverbs 27:1, which says, "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring." How different are our plans from the plans of the Lord which stand forever (Psalm 33:11). In Luke 12:16-21, Jesus tells an interesting story of a successful farmer whose crops were so bountiful that he decided to take down his barns and build bigger ones. He also decided that he could take it easy, eat, drink and be merry for many years. "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'" (Luke 12:20).

James exclaims, "Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes" (4:14). How can we make plans for a year when we do not even know what will happen tomorrow? Our life is very brief at its best. The Book of Job particularly describes the brevity of life in saying that our days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle (7:6); they are vanishing cloud (7:9); a shadow (8:9); and that they are few and full of trouble (14:1-2). Many other scriptures verify the brevity of human life (Psalm 39:5-6; 78:39; 102:11; Hosea 13:3; 1 Peter 1:24).

The great Shakespeare in his play Macbeth put it into these memorable words:

Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more.^(F23)

God knows the number of our days (Psalm 139:16) as well as the number of our years. It would profit us to heed the words of Psalm 90:12: "Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." "In laying their plans with reference only to this world, these business people have failed to reckon with a fundamental fact – the insubstantial and transitory nature of 'this world.'"^(F24)

Verses 15-17

LIVING BY THE LORD'S WILL

Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. James 4:15-16

In the Middle East among Muslims the words "Imsh' Allah" (If Allah wills) are constantly heard. It seems that this expression has almost become a catchphrase in order to allow people to escape responsibility or to procrastinate. We should rather internalize this concept and always seek the Lord before we launch into a serious enterprise.

We see this idea "if the Lord wills" often in the New Testament. Paul uses it in 1 Corinthians 4:19 and 16:7. We see it used in Acts 18:21 and in 21:14 (cf. Romans 1:10; 15:32). We will see it again in Hebrews in 6:3.

The Lord Jesus lived his life and died according to the will of God. He said in John 4:34, "My food…is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work." Even as he faced the cross Jesus said to his Father, "…may your will be done" (Matthew 26:42). Like Jesus we should find out God's will, know it, and seek to do it in our lives. We see in Colossians 1:9, that Paul prayed for people that they could know God's will, "For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives…" We need to learn to pray like this for ourselves and for our brothers and sisters in Christ.

"James will not discourage us from planning and doing, only from planning and doing apart from a reliance on God."^(F25) When we fail to factor God into our plans we will probably end up with a mess. Thomas a Kempis, the late Medieval Catholic monk and author of The Imitation of Christ, said, "Man proposes but God disposes." Or as Wiersbe says, "When God cannot rule he overrules."^(F26)

"If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, it is sin for them" (4:17). Here James mentions a sin that is often overlooked in Christian ranks. It is the sin of omission. We are all familiar with sins of commission, when we decide to do things our way and not God's way. The sin of omission is not a matter of committing a sin by our own will but it is a matter of leaving a good thing undone, or a thing that God has requested that we do.

In Luke 10:30-37, Jesus gives us the famous parable of the Good Samaritan. What made the Samaritan "good" in Jesus' eyes was that he stopped his journey to attend to a wounded man along the roadside. Before he did so both a priest and a Levite had passed by the poor man, no doubt in their hurry to get on with their "ministry." They had both committed the sin of omission for failing to do what they knew they should do and what their Bible assured them that God desired them to do (cf. Matthew 23:23).

The great seventeenth century Puritan minister, Cotton Mather, had this principle of action, "that the ability to do good in any case imposes an obligation to do it."^(F27) Paul also says in Galatians 6:10, "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."