James begins this chapter by speaking about war, and throughout this chapter, he’s going to describe three types of war. However, he is also going to share with us how to stop these wars. And the first war he wants us to recognise is the war amongst ourselves.
God has been crying out in a loud voice for centuries and pointing out an important truth to all of God’s people, and that is, we must live in harmony with each other, Psalm 133:1.
If we look to the Old Testament, we find Lot quarrelling with Abraham, Genesis 13:8, and we find Absalom created a war with his father David, 2 Samuel 15-19. If you look to the New Testament, we find the disciples of Jesus arguing over who would be greatest, Luke 22:24-28. We find Paul and Barnabas had great contention over John Mark, Acts 15:36-41.
Even within the churches in the New Testament, we see Christians fighting with each other, Hebrews 12:14 / 1 Peter 1:11. At the church that met in Corinth, we find saints suing each other, 1 Corinthians 6:1-8, and competing in the public assemblies, 1 Corinthians 12:1-31.
At the church that met in Galatia, we find saints hurting and harming one another, Galatians 5:15. Even at Philippi, we find two women having trouble getting along with each other, Philippians 4:2-3.
Remember, James has already dealt with some of these wars when he spoke about church fights, James 1:19-20 / James 3:13-18. He spoke about favouritism between races like the rich and poor, James 2:1-9.
Later in this chapter, he’s going to speak about personal wars, James 4:11-12. When we get to the next chapter, he tells us that wars can occur due to employment or lack of it, James 5:1-6.
James begins by addressing fights and quarrels within the church. The reason there are so many church wars going on today is simply because of the war which is taking place within our hearts. It all has to do with desire and satisfying those worldly pleasures which we all have.
Desires like pride, power, possessions, money, credibility, etc., are all to blame for the fighting amongst ourselves or to put it in plain English, ‘selfishness’ and selfishness only lead us in the wrong direction.
James says that our selfish desires lead us to do wrong actions. He says selfish desires lead you to kill, quarrel and fight, James 4:2. Now, this may not be literal on our behalf, but it certainly is in God’s eyes, 1 John 3:15.
Motyer, in his commentary, says the following.
‘In the context of forceful words such as polemoi (’wars’) and machai (’battles’), it seems better to take phoneuete (’you kill’) as hyperbole for hatred. This also resolves the problem of seeming anticlimactic word order. To say ’You hate and covet’ is a much more natural order than to say ’You murder and covet.’ Furthermore, Matthew 5:21-22 and 1 John 3:15 show that hatred is equal to murder.’
Not only do selfish desires lead us to kill, quarrel and fight, they also lead us to mess up our prayer life. James says that any prayer which is prayed out of selfish motives is not going to be answered by God, James 4:3.
Davids, in his commentary, says the following.
‘If prayer is no more than a formula (saying the right words, believe hard enough, confess; it will happen), then Christians are back to a type of magic: They can manipulate God or impose their will on God, for he has to answer. In contrast, New Testament prayer grows out of a trusting relationship with a father whose will is supreme.’
And this is why people are often at war with one another. Every war or angry disagreement always has people who are at war within themselves first. But why? Why does it have to be this way? Why are people continually at war with themselves?
Well, to put it simply, it’s a matter of will. Every war which has taken place or is going to take place, either within ourselves or in the world, is caused by a rebellious heart. People are rebelling against God, and in some ways, those who are at war with others are also at war within themselves. Why?
Well, simply because they are at war with God first. In other words, just as we can become friends with God, we can also just as easily become His enemy. And James mentions three enemies we must not associate with if we want to be at peace with God.
James says if you become close friends with those who are not Christians you become an enemy of God, James 4:4. Please note that he is not telling us not to have any non-Christian friends but what He is telling us is that if we engage with our friends in any conduct, belief, or thought which is anti-God or anti-Christ, those actions will make us an enemy of God, they make the Christian become a spiritual adulterer or adulteress, James 4:4 / Hosea 3:1.
The second way we can become enemies of God is by going after unlawful desires. Those unlawful desires that would lead us away from God, those desires that wage war within us, can lead us to become God’s enemy.
In other words, these desires which we have are in direct conflict with what the Spirit of God would have us be and do, 1 Peter 2:11. Every time we give in to these desires or works of the flesh, Galatians 5:19-21, we’re actually fighting against God.
And so the third way we become an enemy of God is by letting our pride take over our lives, James 4:5. We all know that ninety-nine per cent of church fights, divisions and splits are caused by pride.
And that’s because pride is Satan’s greatest temptation, and when we give in to pride, we become friends of the devil and enemies of God. God opposes the proud but shows favour to the humble, James 4:6 / Proverbs 3:34.
Laws, in her commentary, says the following.
‘In this verse, James gave scriptural support for what he just asserted, James 4:4. However, he did not quote a particular verse but evidently summarised the scriptural teaching on God’s jealousy, Exodus 20:5 / Exodus 34:14 / Psalms 42:1 / Psalms 84:2 / Zechariah 8:2, in a new statement.’
One way to prevent pride from taking hold in our lives is simply by submitting to God, James 4:7. Can you imagine being in the army and a new recruit who is just out of training starts to act like he’s in charge? There will be a disaster on the way.
When we as Christians totally submit to God, then the victory is ours. Through Jesus’ life, He showed us a pattern of submission for us to follow, and the pattern was, ‘not my will but your will be done.’
The point is that we can’t resist the devil until we have learned to resist using our own will instead of God’s will. The world doesn’t know this, and even some Christians are not aware of this, but everyone needs to know that behind every war, fight, division, and personal struggle is Satan.
Most of the time, people listen to him because they are scared, and they run a mile every time a conflict of any sort begins. But we don’t have to run anywhere, because James says if we just resist those temptations, the devil will run away from us, James 4:7 / Matthew 4:1-11.
And while he is on the run, we can’t just sit back and be thankful it’s over, no! We need to come close to God, and He has promised us that as we walk closer to Him, He will meet us halfway, James 4:8. And we draw closer to God by washing our hands, James 4:8, in other words, getting our sins forgiven.
We draw closer to God by purifying our hearts, James 4:8, in other words, by getting totally devoted to God again. We draw closer to God by stopping being hypocrites, James 4:8. In other words, stop being double-minded like those who profess to be Christians but whose lifestyles don’t reflect it.
Whether we accept this or not, it is possible to submit outwardly and not be humble inwardly, hence why James mentions there are times when we need to grieve, mourn and wail, we need to change our laughter to mourning and our joy to gloom, James 4:9. These are all signs of true humility, Matthew 5:3-4. And if we would only humble ourselves like that, then we can put our trust back in God to help us, James 4:10.
Stulac, in his commentary, says the following.
‘How does one love hostile and hurtful people? The answer is supernaturally, by relying on the grace that God gives to the humble.’
If people want to stop all the wars in the world, within our congregations, within ourselves, then fight those selfish desires within our hearts, and God will draw near to us, cleanse us, and forgive us.
Until we learn not to be at war with God, until we learn to control and win the war within ourselves, until we learn not to be at war with others, the wars will continue.
The person who speaks against his brother is actually making himself the judge of his brother, James 4:11 / Matthew 7:1-5 / Romans 14:4. The evil speaking of slander is a hideous sin on the part of one who wishes to destroy the reputation of another, James 5:9 / Leviticus 19:15-18 / 2 Corinthians 12:20 / Ephesians 4:31 / 1 Peter 2:1-3 / 3 John 10.
The law of liberty allowed freedom in order to carry out principles of the law, James 4:11 / James 1:25 / James 2:8 / James 2:12. If a person judges as evil that which was in the area of freedom, that is, opinion, then that person is judging the law to be insufficient.
Constable, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Criticising our equals is a common sport, but it is inappropriate for mere mortals. We are all responsible to God ultimately and must leave the judgment of His servants up to Him, Romans 14:1-13. We need to remember that we are on the same level as those we may wish to judge. We are brothers and neighbours, Deuteronomy 32:39 / 1 Samuel 2:6-7 / 2 Kings 5:7.’
Those who judge their brothers in the areas of freedom of the law are making laws by which men are to be judged. They are binding where God has not bound, and so, they are judging the law to be insufficient and unable to furnish the man of God unto every good work, 2 Timothy 3:16-17 / Matthew 16:18-19.
The person who would seek to be a judge concerning his own laws that he has established, where God has not established law, must remember that there is the Judge of all things before whom we must stand, John 12:48 / Romans 14:4.
It is this Lawgiver who will judge all men according to His law, not the religious laws and traditions of men, John 5:37 / John 12:48 / Acts 17:30-31 / Matthew 25:31-46.
A person has the right to judge according to the law that is given by Christ, Galatians 6:1; however, if their motives are evil, then they have no right to judge. The person who would seek to judge out of evil motives, or judge in areas of freedom, has placed themselves in competition with Jesus, who is our only judge.
James is going to share three wrong ways to make our plans, and the first obvious wrong way to make our plans is to go ahead and make them while completely ignoring God’s will. He says, ‘Listen to me’, Isaiah 1:18, making plans without God’s approval is wrong because life is complicated.
The whole world runs around chasing the clock and trying to get here and get that done before a certain time. And we get caught up in time because time is very complicated. That’s why James says, today, tomorrow, when? I’m not sure when!
But not only can the timing of plans be complicated, so can the activities themselves be complicated. Some translations have James saying, I’m going to buy or sell, which is it? Am I going to buy or sell?
There are so many decisions to be made, but there are also so many mistakes that might be made. In other words, if we knew God’s will on any matter, that would increase our chances that our decisions and plans would be correct.
James says that making plans without God’s will can be wrong because life is uncertain. None of us and no one in the world has a guarantee that there will be a tomorrow, Luke 12:18-20 / John 15:5. We don’t know if the Lord will return tonight, we don’t know if we will still be alive tomorrow, and we don’t even know what will happen tomorrow.
James is telling us that it is only God who can bring about what He wills for the future without fail. We cannot do that; we cannot control tomorrow, no matter how well we have planned ahead. So if we’re going to make plans, surely the wise thing to do is to make them according to the One who does control tomorrow.
Not only is life complicated and uncertain, but life is also fragile, Psalm 39:5-6 / Psalm 39:11 / James 1:10. That was the problem in the Garden of Eden, when Adam took that fruit from Eve, he didn’t just disobey God to test the boundaries, he wanted to be like God, He wanted to be in control of his own life and destiny.
Even today, people are trying to prolong life, they are searching for immortality, and all along they refuse to remember God’s promise that we all will return to the dust where we came from, Genesis 3:19.
We can’t hide and pretend that we’re going to live forever; life is fragile, and it can change or be taken in a second. Now those of us who recognise that life is complicated, uncertain and fragile also understand that our lives are short.
James says our lives are, but only a moment; other translations say, ‘we appear for a little time’. The way some people go about making their plans is amazing. They take life for granted, or they presume they are going to live to at least ninety years old and make their plans accordingly, Job 9:25-26. Life is short, and because it is short, it should be important to us to do God’s will and not our own, 1 John 2:17.
James now gives us the proper way to make our plans. When we submit to God, then we’re actually submitting to God’s will, James 4:7. And when we submit to God’s will, then we’re actually submitting not only our lives to God’s will but also submitting our plans to the will of God.
And what James says here is that we can go ahead and make our plans, but we need to make sure they meet with God’s approval, Acts 18:21 / 1 Corinthians 4:19 / 1 Corinthians 16:7 / Philippians 2:19 / Philippians 2:24.
We need to understand two important principles concerning our faith. Saying, ‘God willing and if the Lord allows’, implies that we recognise that God does have a will for us even in the smallest of matters concerning our lives.
And secondly, it implies that we trust God enough to intervene if He needs to, to carry out His will in our lives. And so to find if it is God’s will, we shall see over a period of time, where it will become clearer if we have done God’s will or not.
Wiersbe, in his commentary, says the following.
‘In these verses, James presented four arguments that show the foolishness of ignoring God’s will: the complexity of life (James 4:13), the uncertainty of life, James 4:14. a. the brevity of life, James 4:14. b, and the frailty of man, James 4:16.’
People who make plans without God actually brag about their plans, which is nothing less than arrogance. It’s arrogant because they are doing what Adam did in the Garden; they are setting themselves up as if they were above God.
And to make plans that way is wrong because it is sinful. But as people full of selfish desires plot and make plans for the future, James tells us that we need to be careful about the plans we make for the future.
And making plans can be good and right, but they can just as easily be bad and wrong. James says that making plans this way is sinful because it involves arrogance and boasting, which we know is evil.
It is more sinful for Christians to make plans without God because we who are Christians should know better. We should know what is good; we should know to make our plans with God’s will in mind all the time. This includes all the plans within our personal lives and all the plans for the future of our congregation.
As Christians, we should take care of the orphans and widows, James 1:27. We must be determined to do what is good; otherwise, we are guilty of sin. Doing what is right and good to everyone is something all Christians must be actively involved with, Ephesians 2:10 / Galatians 6:10.