James 4:11,12 – “Usurper”

As always, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹¹Brothers, do not speak against one another. One speaking against a brother or judging that brother of his speaks against law and judges law; but if you judge law, you are not a doer of law but a judge. ¹²One is law-giver and judge, the One able to save and to destroy; but who are you, one judging the neighbor?

Judging. There is obviously a huge difference between being discerning versus judging. This “judging” is a bad thing, while discerning is a necessity. First I want to think about this distinction.

Back in Matthew 7, Jesus said, “Judge not, that you be not judged” (vv1-5), then immediately says, “Do not throw your pearls to pigs” (v6) and “Watch out for false prophets … by their fruit you will recognize them” (vv.15,16). Obviously the “judging” Jesus is prohibiting is something different from discernment. We mustn’t “judge” but we need to discern who are the “pigs” and who are the false prophets.

Here is what I think is the difference: As we look around our world and see what we think is good or bad, there is a point where we move beyond simply observing and instead appoint ourselves the judge, jury, and executioner. Basically we usurp God’s office as “Law-giver and judge.”

… which is a really bad thing.

This is precisely why He says, “There is one Law-giver and Judge. Who are you to judge your neighbor?”

Who are you? Who am I?

In any kingdom, the king has the right to appoint for himself magistrates to perform the necessary functions of judging cases that arise between people. But he only appoints certain people. What if someone else just decides one day that they are a judge and hangs out a shingle? What will the king think of that? “How dare you?” he would ask and probably lop off their head. Most of us are just citizens of the kingdom. Our basic job is to simply keep the laws and leave judging to those appointed to do so. So it is, I believe, with God. There are particular situations where He actually calls people to be “judges,” that is to be discerning of other peoples’ behavior and “pronounce judgments” -- such as in the case of actual government (Rom 13:1, “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities …”), parenting (Eph 6:4, “You fathers, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord …”), etc. But, just as is true of my place in this world, my place as a citizen of God’s kingdom is to be a law-keeper, not a judge. Basically I need to spend my mental energies making sure I’m doing what I’m supposed to and God simply didn’t appoint me to be going around evaluating other peoples’ lives.

The problem occurs precisely at this point, when we go from observing, to appointing ourselves to be judge, jury, and executioner – when we arrogantly usurp God’s rightful office.

What is this? Is it not just another instance of our evil pride? JFB says, “[Criticism of others] flows from the same spirit of exalting self at the expense of one’s neighbors as caused the ‘fighting’ condemned earlier in James 4:1.” Nicoll  calls this “the love of finding fault … Pride, the most subtle of sins, has very many forms, and one of them is the love of finding fault …” Ellicott pointed out, “To take the law into one’s own hands is to break it!” Constable noted, “Criticizing 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 (Rom 14:1-3). We need to remember that we are on the same level with those we may wish to judge.”

And who are we like when we’re “judging” others? Who is called “the accuser of the brethren?”

Usurping God’s office? Being like Satan? Exalting self at the expense of others? “Brethren, these things ought not so to be.”

I noticed in church yesterday, as I was sitting waiting for the service to start, this is exactly what I was doing. I was looking around “judging” the other people, evaluating in my heart whether they pass muster or not. How evil! I’ve never realized before how much I do this. And it has never occurred to me before just how evil it is – usurping God’s place and imitating the devil!

God help me to be discerning as I live my life, but help me be very aware of when my heart moves from discerning to judging. May I keep the “judgment” focused on my own heart. That should keep me busy!

James 4:4-10 – “Exalted”

As always, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

⁴Adulteresses! Do you not know the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world has become an enemy of God. ⁵Or do you suppose that the Scripture says emptily the spirit dwelling in us lusts toward envy? ⁶But He gives more grace, therefore it says, “God opposes proud ones but gives grace to humble ones.” ⁷Therefore, submit yourselves to God and resist the devil and he will flee from you. ⁸Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse [your] hands, sinners, and purify [your] hearts, double-minded. ⁹Be miserable and be sad and cry tears. Let the laughter of yours be turned into sadness and the joy into dejection. ¹⁰Humble yourselves before the Lord and He will lift you up.

In the last part of verse 8 and into verse 9, James says “Cleanse [your] hands, sinners, and purify [your] hearts, double-minded. Be miserable and be sad and cry tears. Let the laughter of yours be turned into sadness and the joy into dejection.” This is one of the passages in James I have always thought in the back of my mind to be surprisingly negative. Most other writers, it seems, relegate these verses to all those “evil sinners” out there who “need to repent,” so I guess for them it’s all fine; but I believe the Lord is speaking to me (to us) pretty much any time He says anything, so one way or another He is speaking to me. Compare this to I John 3:1, “Behold what manner of love the Father has lavished on us …” The two thoughts seemingly couldn’t be more opposite.

The basic reason for the difference is in us, of course. The ugly truth is we are in fact depraved sinners and our only hope is a gracious God who covers us with the blood of Jesus and loves us anyway.

But I suspect therein is James’ purpose for writing these words and seeming so negative. As I have alluded earlier, I think James is writing to us as people who have become “religiously comfortable.” We have been at this a long time and definitely live “better” than most people. We go to church regularly. We don’t do a lot of the “bad” things other people do. We do a lot of “right” things. So we’re “okay.” Or so we think.

This side of Heaven, are we ever “okay?” The old hymn said, “This robe of flesh I’ll drop and rise, to gain the everlasting prize …” Paul said, “In me, that is in my flesh, there dwells no good thing” (Rom 7:18). The fact is, no matter how much I “grow” or “make progress” or “do better” I still am and always will be a depraved sinner and still capable of any sin in the book. As James has informed us, our mouths are still set on fire by hell and our natural wisdom is not just bad, it’s demonic! Us! Christians! People who’ve known the Lord for years!

I would suggest that when we get “religiously comfortable,” thinking down deep in our hearts, “I’m not doing so badly,” is exactly when we need to hear James’ admonition: “Cleanse [your] hands, sinners, and purify [your] hearts, double-minded. Be miserable and be sad and cry tears. Let the laughter of yours be turned into sadness and the joy into dejection.”

I am not “okay.” I never have been and never will be in this life. The day the Lord saved me I stood in complete and desperate need of His grace that He should even look on me and not throw me into hell. But no matter how much I “progress” or “grow,” does that ever change? I need to be constantly brought back to the throne of grace – the place where I remember God loves me because of Jesus, not because I’m “performing” well. His love never was based on my “performance” and it never will be. The relationship always has and always will be that I am in desperate need and He is a saving God.

When I forget that, I’ve lost the very essence of our relationship.

The world and our demonic wisdom says, “Be afflicted and mourn and weep? No way! I’m not going to be one of those morose old puritans. If I start thinking like that, I’ll soon be on Prozac!!!” But what does James say? “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up.” Peter says it, “Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you in due time.” What we’re talking about is humbling ourselves in the sight of God, and under the mighty hand of God. This isn’t “sit in the corner and sulk” business. This is about bowing in the presence of the eternal God and reminding ourselves of what His amazing grace willingly overlooks – the reality of who we are and where we stand. And what is the promise as we humbly allow ourselves to fall into the realities of who we are? “And He will lift you up.” “… that He may exalt you in due time.”

Here is one of the wonders of grace, the wonder of what Jesus’ blood has done for us – we cannot fall too far that His grace doesn’t catch us in arms of love and lift us to His warm embrace. We cannot peer too deeply into the abyss of our sinfulness, of our (many) failures and regrets and ever find a corner too black for grace. If we really believe in grace, if we really believe in the Cross, then we should have no fear to do as James bids us. In fact, one of the real reasons why we hesitate to do this is the very fact it requires us to step down. Once again, we are shot through with the devil’s sin and are loathe to be anything but “high and exalted.”

As Jesus said many times, “He who exalts himself (the devil and us when we act like him) shall be humbled, but he who humbles himself (Jesus – Phil 2:6-11—and us when we act like Him) shall be exalted.”

God give us all a fresh vision of grace. May we often remember we are not “okay” – but it’s okay – because of Jesus and His wonderful grace.

James’ words cut us to the quick, but if they shake us out of our spiritual lethargy and leave us marveling in the arms of grace, then I believe he accomplishes His goal.

 

James 4:4-10 – “Drawing Near”

As always, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

⁴Adulteresses! Do you not know the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world has become an enemy of God. ⁵Or do you suppose that the Scripture says emptily the spirit dwelling in us lusts toward envy? ⁶But He gives more grace, therefore it says, “God opposes proud ones but gives grace to humble ones.” ⁷Therefore, submit yourselves to God and resist the devil and he will flee from you. ⁸Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse [your] hands, sinners, and purify [your] hearts, double-minded. ⁹Be miserable and be sad and cry tears. Let the laughter of yours be turned into sadness and the joy into dejection. ¹⁰Humble yourselves before the Lord and He will lift you up.

Verse 8 is an interesting verse in the middle of all of this: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” What is first of all interesting to me is that, in a sense, we can’t be any closer to God. “For He is not far from any of us, for in Him we live and move and have our being ” (Acts 17:27,28). As David observed, “You hem me in – behind and before … Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? … if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your right hand will hold me fast” (Ps 139:5-10). God is Omnipresent. He fills all of the universe with all of His being everywhere at the same time. He is everywhere present. As Jay Adams once observed, “God is our environment!”

So, in a sense, does anyone else see the absurdity of the situation? How can I need to draw near the God in whom I live and move and have my being? I actually can’t possibly be any closer to Him. What can I conclude? First of all, obviously the “nearness” problem lies entirely within me and secondly, it is clearly not a physical problem (not a “distance” to be measured), but rather a spiritual problem – which is obvious, but I think it needs to be put on the table as I think through the verse. More on this later.

I have to say first of all that I like the fact that God is so “near” to us. I love Paul’s words that the very Gospel itself is already near us: “The Word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, this word of faith we’re proclaiming …” I love that salvation and faith are actually that close to every human being. The words “God, save me” are literally on the tip of every human tongue. They are already in our mouths and in our hearts. I suspect this is true because the “nearness” problem is not physical but rather purely spiritual – in other words, because God Himself is already near us, there is but that sheet thin wall of blindness and pride that keeps us from falling into His arms.

And I love what Asaph said, “But as for me, it is good to be near God” (Ps 73:28). Yes, it is good to be near God. Once again, it’s not that He’s ever far from us. It’s just that we have to let down the wall and allow His nearness to envelope us. Asaph’s point is that, if only we will, we’ll find it a very good thing. When we come boldly to the throne of grace, what do we find? “Mercy and grace to help in our time of need” (Heb 4:16). Jesus promised, “Whoever comes to me I will never cast out” (Jn 6:37). The leper said to Jesus, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” And what does the Bible say was Jesus’ response? “Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing,’ He said, ‘Be clean!’”

 I guess I just want to echo Asaph’s words: “But as for me, it is good to be near God” There is no safer, warmer place to be than in His lap, wrapped up in His big arms, so close you can hear His heart beating. In our absurd blindness and pride, we either simply don’t acknowledge Him or very deliberately push Him away. That is the singularly most stupid thing we ever, ever do as we go about our lives down here. Utterly cosmic folly.

Another thing I think worth noting: As I’ve observed before, James is writing to “religious” people. He’s writing specifically to Jews (1:1). He’s writing to the “religiously comfortable” and I believe he’s trying to shock them out of their lethargy. Isn’t it interesting that he needs to tell them to “draw near to God?” They could easily respond, “Near to God? We are God’s people!  And even better than that, we’re Jewish Christians! Our whole lives are built around our religion! Of course we’re near to God!” But, the problem is, does “religion” or religious practice make us near to God? I would suggest a very loud “No!” I would even suggest the very Jewish people are living proof that religious associations and activities don’t mean we’re near to God. As Jesus said of them, “They draw near me with their mouths, but their hearts are far from Me.”

Ah. Their hearts. Here is where the nature of nearness gets personal. We all are ready to acknowledge it’s not a matter of physical nearness, that it is a spiritual business – then somehow content ourselves that being “religious” is good enough. How many people honestly believe that because they go to church regularly, they have a relationship with God? Others not only go to church regularly but also go on to immerse themselves in church “ministry” and imagine that because they’re “serving God” so much, they have a relationship with him. We’re no different than the Jewish people of old. We said we know the nearness is a spiritual issue – but have we really dealt with it?

James’ charge to “draw near to God” is a charge to do exactly that. Not to “go to church.” Not to get head over heels “busy at church.” But to actually, deliberately, and personally draw near to God. To see that awful wall of pride and folly that so easily stands between us and our God. To claim the blood of Jesus that broke down that wall, that “rent the veil from top to bottom.” And to actually look into the face of God and say, “I love you.”

Lord help us all. When He calls us to “draw near to God,” may we not be found thinking, “He’s speaking to all those people who need to draw near Him. I’m one of those people who’s got this covered. Too bad so many others don’t.” God help us. He’s talking to me!

May I never be content except when it’s really true that I’ve “drawn near to God.”

And I’ll live with this promise, that if I draw near to God, “He will draw near to me!” “He is not far from us, … for in Him we live and move and have our being.”

 

James 4:4-10 – “Weeding”

As always, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

⁴Adulteresses! Do you not know the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world has become an enemy of God. ⁵Or do you suppose that the Scripture says emptily the spirit dwelling in us lusts toward envy? ⁶But He gives more grace, therefore it says, “God opposes proud ones but gives grace to humble ones.” ⁷Therefore, submit yourselves to God and resist the devil and he will flee from you. ⁸Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse [your] hands, sinners, and purify [your] hearts, double-minded. ⁹Be miserable and be sad and cry tears. Let the laughter of yours be turned into sadness and the joy into dejection. ¹⁰Humble yourselves before the Lord and He will lift you up.

Verse 7 is interesting in that it contains both the injunction to submit ourselves to God and alongside it to resist the devil.

We have a hero and a villain, our King and His most bitter enemy, the narrow way of the Cross and the highway to hell. In our absurd blindness, we imagine all of this a battle that we must one day consider and decide our allegiance. “I will hear you again at a more opportune time,” said Felix. But there is no third option. There are only two masters. If we would submit ourselves to God, we must resist the devil. If we submit ourselves to the devil, God will resist us. … And what we fail to realize is that not to very deliberately and wholeheartedly submit ourselves to God is to submit ourselves to the devil.

“I don’t see that,” one may say. Of course you don’t. “Hard to see the dark side is.”

All the more reason to very deliberately submit ourselves to God!

The devil -- not only the Lord’s most bitter enemy but ours as well; the master deceiver, the father of lies, and a murderer from the beginning; he who would offer you all the kingdoms of this world and their splendor, when in reality he only intends to brutally murder you; Grima Wormtongue whispering lies in your Theoden’s ear, pretending to be your friend while he absolutely destroys everything that ever mattered to you.

Resist him, says the Lord.

As to what it means to resist him, as always, thousands of writers have commented on this passage and offered their insights. I would like to add a thought that I haven’t found much addressed – that one of the monumental ways in which we must resist him is to vigilantly guard our hearts against the sin of pride.

Of course, we must guard our hearts against all sin, be mindful of our eyes and of our anger, of our love of pleasures and possessions. But as Manton pointed out, “Christians are not so much in danger of intemperance and sensual lust as pride; it groweth by the decrease of other sins.”

As I have pointed out earlier, pride is the devil’s sin. It is the hideous sin that hides itself, the sin which, as Manton  points out, can actually be growing even as we resist more obvious temptations and feel we’re becoming “better.” But God resists the proud. He “marshals His forces” against them. Even as we’re truly becoming “better,” striving to put off our anger, to be more patient and kind, to “do right,” we may actually be falling in the sin of pride.

The Pharisee scrupulously practiced his religion then prayed, “I thank Thee, Lord, I am not as other men … like this sinner.” He may have had many things “right” but he was blind to the sin of pride and it completely ruined him. Little did he know as he went away that “he was not forgiven.” The humble sinner went away with the only thing that mattered and the Pharisee with everything but.

I guess that’s my point. If we would resist the devil, we must resist what I suspect is his most subtle temptation. It worked on Adam and Eve: “Ye shall be as gods …” and down they went.

I would suggest that anytime we’re angry, or even just irritated, we should look for the sin of pride in our hearts. We’ll likely not see it at all, for one thing because we’re so focused on how “wrong” they are, or how “wrong” it is. But those very thoughts are focused on what someone else should change, not me. Instead I need to be asking myself, “Why does that anger me?” “Why does that irritate me?” If we would resist the devil, we must be asking the Lord to help us see really why we’re angry and I would guess it will always be true that there is some sin of pride hidden beneath it all.

Anger is something I still need a lot of work on, but fortunately, the Lord called it to my attention a long time ago. Another one I’m working on right now (and not doing very well) is fear. As I’ve often bemoaned, I’ve been an incorrigible worrier all my life. I’ve tried to tackle as worry but never made much progress. I’ve also tried to tackle it as fear, remembering the Lord says, “Fear not, I am with you,” and I think made some progress; but right now and as I study this section of James, I’m wondering if I’ll not conquer it until I root out the sin of pride that is secretly fueling it.

I don’t think I really see it yet, but how can worry and fear not be ultimately just a symptom of pride? The Lord says He’s in control. He says I don’t need to worry, I don’t need to fear. What am I really saying but that I don’t believe Him? I fear somehow in my heart I think I’m so important that I can’t even trust God to give me what I need and want, that somehow, in the end it will be up to me to fight the battle and win.

That is all very bad. But even saying it, I still don’t think I “see” it. Is this something in which I need to “resist the devil,” to draw near to God, to submit to Him and tell him what I’m thinking and ask Him to help me see the real battle?

Hmmmmm. Eph 6:11,12 tells us, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”

I still don’t “see” it but I’m sure the real problem under my worrying is pride. As always, it’s hiding. I can’t see it. My name is Bartimaeus. “What do you want Me to do for you,” Jesus asks. “Lord, I want to see.”

The only thing I see clearly is that my hope is to “be strong in the Lord.” I hope it’s true that, by drawing near to Him, I am resisting the devil. That is all I know to do now – to pray the Lord would help me see the real problem, the sin of pride, and root it out of my heart, that I could finally and decisively overcome the sin of worrying, not so much by pulling its weeds, but by killing its root.