Introduction.
James commences chapter 4 by asking the question
" What causes fights and quarrels among you"?
The current world situation makes this question
from James as relevant in our day, as in any previous
generation. War is a fact of life.
War has been a part of
every era of human history. In spite of all the treaties
which have been made we still have wars and rumours
of wars today.
The continuing Middle
East Crisis cannot be settled at the negotiating table.
The roots of this conflict are firmly embedded in centuries
of hatred and hostility that are reaching a climax.
The events that we see
happening today may well be leading up to Armageddon.
The stage is being set for an escalation of wars, which
will culminate in the final battle which was foretold
by the Prophets of God thousands of years ago.
Not only are there wars
between nations, there are wars of one kind or another
on almost every level of life. We have, in our society,
wars between individuals, and there can be wars and
fighting among Christians, those who profess to be members
of the body of Christ. How striking is the contrast
between the closing verse of chapter 3 and the opening
verse of chapter 4
James
3:18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace
of them that make peace.
Here we have the fruits
of righteousness being sown in peace, while in chapter
4 there is fighting in the ranks of God’s people.
Although the early church
showed deep affection one to another but they also had
their moments of bitter strife. The Apostle Paul had
to rebuke the Church at Corinth
1
Cor 3:3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there
is among you envying, and strife, and divisions,
are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
The atmosphere, in which
we live today, is one of strife and contention and this
can filter very easily into the confines of the Church.
2
Cor 12:20 For I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not
find you such as I would, and that I shall be
found unto you such as ye would not: lest there be
debates, envyings, wraths, strafes, backbitings,
whisperings, swellings, tumults:
This is the kind of
unrest that can be found in the Church of today. These
things ought not to be so.
Psa
133:1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for
brethren to dwell together in unity!
Surely, Christians, above
all people should live together in the unity of love
and harmony, but there are times that they do not. Lot
caused a quarrel with his uncle Abraham. Absalom went
to war against his father David. The disciples argued
over who would be the greatest in the kingdom.
The Apostle Paul was
always exhorting the Churches to cultivate spiritual
unity.
James deals with the
root cause of this problem of strife among believers.
The
Question James Asks. V 1
"From whence
come fighting and wars among you".
As James views this problem
he notes that
1.
War is Universal
(Amp
v1) what leads to strife, discords and feuds
and how do conflicts, quarrels and fighting originate
among you?
What causes these fights
and where do they come from? Instead of working together
in a spirit of peace, people were in constant conflict.
The picture drawn here
is one of a battlefield. The plurals used indicate that
this was not an isolated event.
The word for fighting
in the Greek is Polemoi—meaning a continuous
state of war.
It is a word that is
used in the book of the Revelation. It is the word that
is used to depict the conflict between Michael, the
Dragon and the host of angels as "War in heaven"
Rev
12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels
fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and
his angels,
Later we read that the
forces of evil will make war against the Lamb
Rev 17:14 These shall make war with the Lamb,
and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of
lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him
are called, and chosen, and faithful. Later in
the book we read.
Rev
19:19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the
earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war
against him (the glorified Christ) that sat on the horse,
and against his army.
The very climax of earthly
humanity is marked by conflict. Right to the end men
will have hostility in their bones and war will be their
seething passion.
The leaders of men will
go to war against the Lion of Judah, but He will conquer
every foe. They shall be killed with the sword that
proceeds from His mouth and the birds of the heavens
shall feed on their flesh.
It will be a fearful
thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Was James right in the
assessment he makes?
Verse-1? Yes he was.
It is probable that James wrote this letter in Jerusalem,
a city; whose name means (the possession of peace).
Yet how little peace this city has known.
When James wrote this
epistle, it was the period leading up to the invasion
by the Roman Emperor Titus in A.D.70. when multitudes
were massacred.
James wrote this epistle
against the background of continuous unrest, and the
nations of the world and their people are still in a
state of continuous unrest.
Illustration.
Professor Quincy—in his book "The study
of war", states—that from 1480—1941 the
nations of the world have been engaged the following
number of major wars. Great Britain 78 France 71 Spain
64 Russia 61 Austria 52 Germany 23 USA 13 China 11 and
Japan 9. Then from 1945 until a few years ago men used
the term "the cold war" to describe international
tension.
President
Kennedy—addressing the United Nations on
26th Sept 1961said "Every man, woman
and child live under the nuclear sword of Damocles,
hanging by the slenderest of threads, capable of being
cut at any moment by accident, miscalculation, or madness"
This is still true in
this new millennium. 2000 years ago Jesus prophesied
a time of wars and rumours of wars, when nations would
rise up against nations. How relevant these words are
today, as the scene is being set for the abomination
of desolation, spoken of by the prophet Daniel.
This will be a time that
will consummate with the battle of Armageddon and the
return of Jesus Christ to the earth in Power and great
Glory. The question that is being asked today is not
"Why Armageddon" "Where Armageddon",
but "how soon Armageddon"?
We do not know the time
but this we do know, that, before the day of the Lord
commences, the Church will be removed from the scene
and glorified with her Lord, to be with Him forever.
The
Lord the Lamb we shall glorify
And
this shall be our song
Glory
to Him who loved us
And
washed us in His blood
Who
cleansed our souls from guilt and sin?
By
that pure living flood.
1.
War is Universal
Dwight
D. Eisenhower Every gun that is made, every warship
launched, every rocket fired, signifies, in the final
sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed,
those who are cold and are not clothed.
This world in arms is
not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of
its labourers, the genius of its scientists, the houses
of its children. This is not a way of life. Under the
cloud of war, it is humanity hanging itself on a cross
of iron.
2.War
is Individual
In
verse 1,2--James brings this matter right home
to the individual reader. He makes it clear that war
originates from man’s sensual desires. Man desires
to have what he cannot obtain, and thus, he goes to
war to obtain what he desires.
The fiercest and the
bloodiest wars have begun with one man’s festering
heart of selfish desire. Hitler and Saddam Hussein are
prime examples of the desire to have and to control.
Hitler’s annihilation
of six million Jews was the outward expression of his
inward selfish desire for control. We need to remember
that war is the external symptom, and not the source.
The source is within us.
3. War is Shameful
We must keep in mind
that James is addressing the Lord’s people.
"Where do wars and fighting come from among you?
Friends the source is
within, and every outward action is the result of a
selfish inward desire. The outward sins of David and
Bathsheba, which eventually resulted in murder, began
with David’s selfish desire to have someone, who
belonged to someone else.
1.The
Question James Asks. V 1
2
The Condition James Exposes
Our quarrels and conflicts
come from our desires that battle within us.
James is speaking to
believers, who have found the Prince of peace and the
Path of peace, and yet, they are fighting and squabbling
with one another. Surely this is shameful.
But before we condemn
others, are we always gentle and peaceable and pure
in our desires. It is always easy to blame the other
person! It is never our fault.
Illustration—One
day there was trouble in the carpenter’s shop,
the tools were having a good old row. One said, "It
is the Hammer’s fault for he is too noisy. "Nonsense"
said the Hammer, "it is the Saw’s fault, he
keeps going backward and forward, and you never know
just where you are with him".
"It is not my fault,"
shouted the Saw, "it is the Plane’s fault,
his work is too shallow and he only skims the surface".
"It is not my fault" replied the Plane; "it
is that old Screwdriver, he is always going around in
circles".
The Screwdriver said,
" the whole thing began with the Ruler, he is always
measuring people by his standards".
The Ruler was furious
and he said " What about the sandpaper, he is always
rubbing people up the wrong way". "Don’t
blame me" said the sandpaper, "it is that
old drill over there and we all know just how boring
he is".
Just then the Carpenter
came in and using all the Tools he made a beautiful
pulpit for his local Church, from which the Gospel of
peace, would be preached to many every Lord’s day.
This is a fable but it
does illustrate the wonderful Grace of God. The Heavenly
carpenter, uses imperfect instruments, such as we, to
do a work for His glory
This story also reminds
us, that as Christians, we need to make every effort
to live at peace with all men and especially those who
are of the household of Faith. As one of old has said
"Give
me courage to show the dove in a world so full of serpents".
James exposes a condition
that is very harmful, even today, in the Church. It
is the lust for Prominence, for Power, or for Possessions,
which comes from selfish passions and is the cause of
strife and division. Jesus said---
Mark
7:20 And he said, that which cometh out of the man,
that defileth the man.
Mark
7:21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed
evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
Mark
7:22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness,
an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
Mark
7:23 All these evil things come from within, and defile
the man.
Wherever lust and self
-will rule the heart, conflicts and disputes will continue.
War in the heart is helping the cause of war in the
church, and a dissatisfied heart is never at peace with
God.
James makes it clear
that the source of Conflict is your lust, which wars
in your members. It is the lust of the Old Nature, which
is the problem.
The Old man, which is
corrupt and deceitful, is constantly at war with the
New man, which is after God created in righteousness
and true holiness
The condition, which
James exposes is
1.
PERSONAL--- your lusts—your desire.
This is something that we all have to face up to, for
it is the very essence of sin.
2. PENATRATING--- your desires war on
your members. You fight and war. Eve desired to become
as wise as God. Abraham lied about his wife because
he desired to save his own life. Achan caused Israel
to suffer defeat in the land of promise because he desired
the spoils of AI.
Friends, selfish desire
in the heart of the Believer is a very dangerous thing.
James
4:3Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that
ye may consume it upon your lusts. James 4:3You ask
and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you
may spend it on your pleasures. (NKJ)
When our motives are
wrong, our praying is wrong. Prayer is not to get our
will done in heaven, but to get God’s will done
on earth. James exposes the deceitfulness, the wickedness,
and the selfishness of man’s heart. He exposes
how we love to gratify the flesh instead of crucifying
the flesh.
George
MacLeod --- "What upsets every scene, domestic
or political, is not man's desire to be so bad. So far
I have never met a man who wanted to be bad. The mystery
of man is that he is bad when he wants to be good".
Friends, when one’s
body, mind, and spirit are not totally yielded to God,
life becomes a vicious circle of seeking but never being
satisfied.
There were believers,
who were at war with each other over positions in the
Church and over Church policy. Each thought that his
idea, that his way was best. Selfish ambition ruled
and not self-submission.
How damaging it is, to
the furtherance of the Gospel, when the people of God
are at war with one another, while the world looks on.
Is it any wonder that Jesus prayer.
John
17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also
which shall believe on me through their word;
That
they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in
me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us:
that the world may believe that thou hast sent me
It is very sad when believers,
who trust the same Saviour, are baptized into the same
body, and are indwelt by the same Spirit, and yet they
are constantly at war with each other.
1.The
Question James Asks. V 1
2
The Condition James Exposes v 2,3
3.
The Solution James Proposed. V7-10
How can wars and conflicts
cease among the people of God?
1. SUBMIT TO GOD V7 This word submit is
a military term which means—get into your proper
rank, know your place and keep it.
2. RESIST THE DEVIL. V 7 Do not assist
the devil. Give him no room to operate in your life
or in the life of the Church.
Eph
4:27 "neither give place to the devil.
Do not give the devil
a foothold; keep him out of the ranks. For submitting
to God and resisting the devil leads to victory on the
battlefield.
3 DRAW NEAR TO GOD--– There is a
place of quiet rest near to the heart of God. How can
we get there? We draw near to God when we seek His face
in repentance, confess our sins, and seek His cleansing
and forgiveness.
James
4:9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter
be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
4.
HUMBLE YOURSELVES. V 9
David the psalmist said,
"It is good for me to draw near to God".
It
was A.W. Tozer who said, when speaking of drawing near
to God, "Nearness is Likeness" The
nearer we get to God the more we become like Jesus.
When we draw near to Him he graciously draws near to
us.
CONCLUSION
It is good for us to
be in His presence, for in His presence there is peace,
joy, and real blessing.
JESUS
MASTER WHOSE I AM
PURCHASED
THINE ALONE TO BE
BY
THY BLOOD O SPOTLESS LAMB
SHED
SO WILLINGLY FOR ME
LET
MY HEAT BE ALL THINE OWN
LET
ME LIVE TO THEE ALONE.
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