James 4:4-6

“You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore
whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no
purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? But
he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Intro:
What did you all talk about last week?

Question of the Week: If you could bring any historical figure from the past into the present who
would it be and why?

“You Adulterous People”

James starts this portion of Scripture with a bang calling those in the Church who make a practice of
worldliness in their lives "Adulterous People." James is using this language to highlight for us the gravity of
sin in the Christian's walk. We as Christians have been brought into the church and live as members of
Christ's body. Whenever we sin and turn from the Lord we drive separation in our relationship with Him i.e
we act in adulterous ways. We seek things that are lesser and find ways to live without Him who gave us
life and our salvation. Throughout the Old Testament, we see God call out His people for betraying their
relationship with Him in the Prophets and in places like Jeremiah 3:6-10 where it says, “The LORD said to
me in the days of King Josiah: “Have you seen what she did, that faithless one, Israel, how she went up on
every high hill and under every green tree, and there played the whore? And I thought, ‘After she has done
all this she will return to me,’ but she did not return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it. She saw that
for all the adulteries of that faithless one, Israel, I had sent her away with a decree of divorce. Yet her
treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but she too went and played the whore. Because she took her
whoredom lightly, she polluted the land, committing adultery with stone and tree. Yet for all this her
treacherous sister Judah did not return to me with her whole heart, but in pretense, declares the LORD.”
Here is an example of God’s people turning from the worship of Him just to turn to other gods and idols.
Another example of this can be seen in the New Testament in
“Friendship with the World”
What does it mean to be a friend of the world? While the phrase brings pictures to mind of all
people holding hands saying kumbaya and singing “Imagine” by the Beatles, friendship with the world is an
awful thing to have as a follower of Christ. To be a friend of the world is to be a friend of the sin and death
that permeates in and around our world. When James writes “The World”, he isn't referring to the physical
world we live in but to the hearts of all men and their actions. Since Romans 3:23 tells us that, “all have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God”, all of the intentions of the world are sinful and centered on
themselves rather than on God. Being a friend of the world aligns us with the actions and intentions of
these people. James in this passage says that those who are friends with the world are in enmity with God.
What does that mean? According to Merriam-Webster, Enmity is a positive, active, and (typically) mutual
hatred or ill will between two parties. James is using this word to highlight the fact that those who align with
the world with their thoughts and desires are ultimately attacks against Him. Later in this verse James
shows us that the friend of the world is an enemy of God. Allying with the world in sin is making a
declaration of war against God.
Renunciation of the world, in the Christian promise, is not forsaking it when tired and clogged with its
delights, but the earliest severance from it; to break this vow, or not to have made it, is to belong to the
foes of God, and not merely to be out of covenant with Him
Verse 5 "Doesn't the Scripture say?"
Verse 5 has made me go insane. According to Barne’s Notes on the Bible, ‘Few passages of the New
Testament have given expositors more perplexity than this.” When reading the verse there are two different
interpretations that, while both can be correct, have kept me second-guessing myself. The first
interpretation of this verse is that the “spirit” is the sinful desire of our flesh that causes us to crave envy
and hate towards our Creator. This can be seen in other translations of this passage like the King James
Version where it says, “Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to
envy?” “our natural corruption, excited and influenced by Satan, strongly inclines us to unkind and envious
dispositions toward our fellow-creatures." The second interpretation of this passage is that the spirit that
dwells in us is the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of love, that dwells in all believers, yearns against jealousy and is
directly opposite to all those unloving tempers which necessarily flow from the friendship of the world. An
argument for this interpretation can be seen in Galatians 5:17 where it says, “For the desires of the flesh
are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each
other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.” No matter which interpretation is correct, both
maintain that the fleshly desires are to be put to death as we live in our walk with Christ through the Holy
Spirit.
“He Gives More Grace”
While we still sin against God and turn from Him, He still loves us and provides us with His grace despite
our failings. The Holy Spirit that He has given us lives within us to give us grace for our stumbling. But He
only gives us grace if we look to Him for it. Whenever we stray from God, the only way to come clean is to
humble ourselves, repent, and submit to the Lord. If we draw near to God, He comes near to us. He gives
us more grace. How many of us sin on a daily basis? ALL OF US!! We as Christians should be more
than thankful that God gives His people grace for their sins if they look back to Him for their forgiveness.

“God Opposes the Proud”

Here James quotes from Proverbs 3:34 saying, “Toward the scorners he is scornful, but to the humble he
gives favor.” This is also similar to what Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:5 where he
says, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Here we see that the reverse is true. God
opposes those who puff themselves up and seek to gain glory for themselves because of their sins. Within
the Catholic tradition, Pride is considered one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Pride is a very deadly sin that can
find it roots in all of us. Saint Augustine, an amazing theologian in the 3rd century, wrote in his City of God
that, “Pride is the beginning of sin. And what is pride but the craving for undue exaltation? And this is
undue exaltation - when the soul abandons God to whom it ought to cleave as its end, and becomes a kind
of end to itself.” Pride is the antithesis of God’s creation, it is the complete opposite of how God created the
universe. The thought that anyone deserves more praise or adoration than God Himself is of the first lies
that came from Satan’s mouth. Another quote from Augustine, (as you can tell I really like this guy) says
that “It was pride that changed angels into devils; but it is humility that makes men as angels.” While
attempting to prop ourselves up in our pride, we actually bury ourselves. It is only humility and meekness
that will truly bring us up.
Discussion Questions:
What are some areas in your life where you can see your love of the world? How can we fight against this?

Do any of you have friends that are also friends of the world? If so what are some ways that we can show
them Christ?

What are ways that we can remind ourselves to seek God for grace and forgiveness for our sins? How do
we strive to fight temptation and against these sins when we are offered to sin against Him?
PRAY REQUESTS?