Healing A Murderous Heart – Part 2
James 4:1-12
January 18, 2015
The last time we met we began studying this very penetrating text.
As we have said many times over,
James is holding the church up next to Jesus
And is questioning the areas where she is inconsistent in her life.
He has addressed areas from how she handles her trials
To how she relates to the less fortunate, To how she uses her tongue.
And most recently James is dealing with her quarreling and conflicts.
He started out by asking:
(1) “What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you?”
He wasn’t asking if there were quarrels and conflicts,
He had already perceived them.
He was asking why they were there.
(In reality he was revealing why they were there)
James had a real problem with the concept that
Brothers couldn’t dwell in forgiveness and unity and peace,
And yet they were still willing to call themselves Christians.
It is an issue that is worth searching out
We began this study last Sunday night.
#1 THE PAINFUL REVELATION
James 4:1-5
James laid it all out on the line and revealed why these people
Had lives characterized by quarreling and conflict.
The reason is because at their very core they were SELFISH PEOPLE.
“Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel.”
They were people with inward lusts and desires
They were people who wanted the things of the world
And when they didn’t get them, they were so outraged and so selfish
That they were actually willing to fight and quarrel and commit murder.
James could have easily been describing the life of “CAIN” to us.
A man so engulfed in his own desires and envy
That he actually rose up and killed his own brother.
But James also revealed that there is a very good possibility
That they are also LOST PEOPLE.
(4) “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself and enemy of God.”
It was bad enough that these people would fight and quarrel and murder
Because they didn’t get what they want.
The problem James mentions here is that
They even wanted those things to begin with.
How could a genuine child of God have such strong love for the world?
And so James calls them “adulteresses”
And enemies of God.
AND AS WE SAID, THAT IS A PAINFUL REVELATION.
The presences of fighting and quarreling does not reveal good things about you.
In fact, listen to what Paul told the Corinthians
1 Corinthians 11:17-19 “But in giving this instruction, I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse. For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part I believe it. For there must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you.”
Did you catch that last statement?
“For there must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you.”
While conflicts and factions are regrettable, they are very telling.
They reveal a people in love with the wrong thing,
Who are also selfish in their human nature.
And that is James’ point.
You wouldn’t have all these conflicts and quarrels
If you weren’t selfish adulterous people.
And so we determined the need to examine ourselves.
It is in fact a painful revelation, but it is a necessary one.
A Painful Revelation
#2 A POWERFUL EXPLANATION
James 4:6
And we can agree that this verse is good news.
We may be sinful We may have lustful desires
We may be quarrelers and fighters We may even be found to be enemies of God
“BUT He gives a greater grace”
We do not wish to minimize our sin,
But we certainly do wish to magnify God’s grace.
Our sin may be extreme, but Gods’ grace is greater still.
He can and will forgive even the most depraved sinner.
He can and will forgive even the most distant enemy.
“Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
That forgiving grace of God is available
To all who will humble themselves before God.
• Do not be proud
• Don’t ignore His warning
• Don’t argue with His assessment
• Don’t dodge His confrontation
• Don’t refuse His request
Instead, be humble.
Admit that you are what God says you are.
And then be willing to do whatever God asks you to do.
Because if you will be humble,
Then this great grace that James is talking about will be yours.
And that is how a murderous heart gets healed.
God heals it, in response to humility.
And that is where we got to last Sunday night.
Tonight we want to push forward.
Verse 6 was indeed good news, but it was purely informational
It was merely an explanation of God’s grace and how it is received.
James wants you to know what to do.
A Painful Revelation, A Powerful Explanation
#3 A POINTED EXHORTATION
James 4:7-10
This section is about as pointed as it comes.
• In fact in these 4 verses you will find 10 distinct commands.
• This is as good of “what to do” section as there is in Scripture.
In fact, 14 years ago when I was asked to preach for the very first time,
This was the text I chose.
I did so because it is so pointed, so practical, and such an easy explanation of how a person lost in sin can find the amazing grace of God.
You won’t find many invitations in Scripture
That are much clearer than this one.
And what I want to do tonight is take these 10 commands
And break them down into 3 categories
To help us understand what James is requiring.
So let’s say:
• You recognize selfishness in your heart
• You see those lusts and desires James mentioned
• You know that murder has even occurred because of it
• You see that you are also at enmity with God because of a love for the world
• You understand that you need God’s grace
WHAT DO YOU DO?
Like the Jews at Pentecost “Brethren, what shall we do?”
Like the Philippians Jailor: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
Three things you need
1) A NEW MASTER (7-8a)
“Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”
James wastes no time in telling you
What your problem has been up until now.
The main problem is a lack of submission.
In our world submission has become a dirty word.
And yet it has always been a beautiful word to God.
• Children are to submit to their parents
• Wives are to submit to their husbands
• Slaves are to submit to their masters
• Believers are to submit to one another
• Church members are to submit to their leaders
• People are to submit to the governing authorities
And the reason all of those areas are so important
Is because they all point back to our submission to the supreme authority.
Romans 13:1 “Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.”
Now granted there Paul is referencing the governing authorities,
But the principle is a universal one.
“There is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.”
However, you must admit that none of the things on that list
Are considered important today.
• We see children out of control
• We see feminism
• We see workers complaining about their employer
• We see distrust of pastors
• We see slander of governing authorities
As James mentioned, instead of believers being subject to one another
We have conflicts and quarrels.
See, the whole issue is that people are not submitting to God.
It is not hard to spot children that are walking in submission to God
They are obeying their parents
It is not hard to spot a wife that is walking in submission to God
She is submitting to her husband
It is not hard to spot employees that are walking in submission to God
They are hard workers and great employees
It is not hard to spot a congregation walking in submission to God
They will submit to the leadership of their elders
It is not hard to spot a citizen walking in submission to God
They will obey and honor the king
AND THAT IS PRECISELY WHY THESE BELIEVERS ARE FIGHTING AND NOT SUBMITTING TO ONE ANOTHER
THEY AREN’T SUBMITTING TO GOD.
So the first command is to submit.
“Submit therefore to God.”
It’s time you determine to quit doing what you want
And start doing what God says.
And if you are really going to humble yourself before Him as James said,
Then first and foremost it’s time to stop rejecting His authority in your life.
SALVATION IS AN ISSUE OF SUBMISSION TO GOD.
Now coinciding with this command James says,
“Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
Here is what you may not have realized.
When you were living your life doing whatever you wanted,
You may have thought you were in charge – you weren’t.
You were a slave of the enemy.
2 Timothy 2:24-26 “The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”
It is amazing how often times lost people consider themselves to be free to do whatever they want, and yet all they ever do is sin.
The reality is they are slaves of the enemy.
• They are slaves because they have bought his lies
• They are slaves because they have taken his bait
• They are slaves because they have succumbed to his temptation
They did what James warned about back in chapter 1
James 1:14 “But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.”
These people loved themselves so much
And were so intent on fulfilling their own lusts
That when Satan offered to fulfill those desires,
They actually submitted to him.
Was this not what Eve did when she took the fruit he offered?
And that is what James is saying.
If you want to fix the problem, you are going to have to get a new master.
No longer can you love yourself
And thus submit yourself to the enemy for the gratification of your flesh.
It’s time for you to resist Him and submit yourself to God’s will.
And incidentally choosing to do this will have a wonderful consequence.
First, if you resist the devil, what will he do?
“he will flee from you.”
If you resist him he will leave;
After all there are plenty of people in the world who won’t resist him.
You don’t have to bind him
You don’t have to rebuke him
You don’t have to cast him away
All you have to do is resist him and he will flee on his own.
1 Peter 5:8-9 “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.”
WHAT DO YOU MEAN RESIST THE DEVIL?
What that really means is – RESIST YOURSELF
Do not walk by the flesh.
If you resist your flesh, the devil will flee,
Because the only handle he has on you is your flesh.
So if you resist the devil he will flee,
And if you will submit to God, what will He do?
(8a) “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”
It really is quite simple, and yet it is so effective.
If you yield up control of your life to God,
He will take control of your life.
To some people that sounds awful – “I don’t want God to take control”
That’s because they don’t realize where the ship is headed.
But if they realized they were in a plane about to crash,
They’d be more than willing for God to step into the cockpit.
If you will yield control of your life to God, He will take control of it.
And make no mistake what we are talking about here.
We are talking about SALVATION.
Romans 10:9 “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;”
So if you want that grace that is only for the humble,
Then it’s time to get a new master.
Get out of the car, get away from the steering wheel,
Go get in the trunk and let Jesus drive.
You’ve made a mess of things on your own, it’s time for a new master.
That is the first exhortation of James.
2) A NEW MOTIVATION (8b-9)
“Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom.”
Granted those are not pleasant commands, but they are SO necessary.
IT IS CALLED REPENTANCE.
James is asking you to quit loving the sin you formerly loved
And to begin to hate it like God does.
“Cleanse your hands” is another way of saying quit sinning.
• You’ve got bloody hands
• You’ve been murdering your brother because of your unfulfilled desires
• STOP IT!
“purify your hearts, you double-minded” is another way of saying to start being devoted to God.
God has not had sole possession of your heart and life.
It harkens back to some of the most famous exhortations in Scripture.
Elijah on Mt. Carmel:
1 Kings 18:21 “Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him a word.”
Joshua before Israel:
Joshua 24:14-15 “Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. “If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
It is to no longer have a heart compared to “weedy soil”
That would gladly allow the seed of God’s word to grow
Were it not for all the weeds it won’t let go of.
And the call here is to solidify who will be in charge of your heart.
Will you give your whole heart to God?
Will He receive all your love?
That has been the problem hasn’t it?
You haven’t given God your whole heart.
It’s like Amaziah
2 Chronicles 25:1-2 “Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. He did right in the sight of the LORD, yet not with a whole heart.”
Scripture says this about him
Because he later began to bow down to the gods of the Edomites.
He loved God, just not with all his heart.
And we have a word for that – ADULTERER
Which again is James’ point!
• You haven’t submitted to God
• You haven’t loved God
• You haven’t turned from sin
So not only do you need a new master, but you need a new motivation.
You’ve got to quit living according to what will please you
And start living according to what will please God.
(9) “Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom.”
James is referring to the same thing Jesus referred to in the Beatitudes.
Jesus said to be “poor in spirit”
Then He said:
Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
You’ve got to hate the sin that made you poor in spirit.
And this is such a huge issue.
In fact, I fear that this has become a lost concept.
It is hard to find people these days who hate their sin.
Oh, they hate the consequences of their sin, but they don’t hate their sin.
And that is not enough.
• You can’t just hate that your sin got you in trouble
• You can’t just hate that your sin caused problems for you
• You can’t just hate that your sin brought consequences
YOU HAVE TO HATE SIN
Listen to what Paul said:
Romans 7:9-13 “I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died; and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? May it never be! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by effecting my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful.”
So “sin would become utterly sinful”
And that is what James is talking about.
You can’t just hate that God is angry at your quarreling,
You have to hate your selfishness that caused it.
You have to see the world and its lusts as evil and dangerous.
You have to hate what it does
Put it all together and it is CALLED REPENTANCE.
It’s not just stopping wrong behavior, but hating wrong behavior.
So if you want to partake of that grace that is big enough to forgive you,
Then you need a NEW MASTER and you a NEW MOTIVATION.
3) A NEW METHOD (10)
“Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”
Instead of trying to secure your own desires by your own efforts,
It’s time to take a back seat and let God’s will be done in your life.
(As opposed to the person too proud to even pray)
Don’t try to push your way in, let God accomplish His purposes.
Jesus taught:
Luke 14:7-11 “And He began speaking a parable to the invited guests when He noticed how they had been picking out the places of honor at the table, saying to them, “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then in disgrace you proceed to occupy the last place. “But when you are invited, go and recline at the last place, so that when the one who has invited you comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will have honor in the sight of all who are at the table with you. “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
The guy James is talking about would have been the first
To run grab the place at the table they deserved.
They might have even gotten in a fight with someone else
About how they deserved it more.
And then if they didn’t get the seat, they’d go set in a lesser place
And absolutely verbally assault the person who took their seat.
But Jesus said, instead of that method, why not try humility?
Do you see how that is exactly what James is talking about?
We have a person filled with conflicts and quarrelling, WHY?
Because they think they deserve something they don’t have
And so they try to push and bully their way into getting it.
And James is saying, you’ve got to let that method go.
You need to submit to God, resist those temptations, quit loving that sin,
And start letting God put you where He wants you
Instead of forcing your will to occur.
And I hope as we look at this you are seeing the difference
Between those who are saved and those who are lost.
James is giving here the way of salvation.
• Get a new master (God, not you)
• Get a new motivation (love God, not sin)
• Get a new method (humility instead of conflict)
It is very direct, it is very pointed,
But it is how you receive that grace James was talking about.
You must submit to, love and trust God.
If you will, He will give you His grace and fix your murderous heart.
Because “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
And once your heart is fixed, then you are able to obey James’ instruction.
Painful Revelation, Powerful Explanation, Pointed Exhortation
#4 A PRACTICAL APPLICATION
James 4:11-12
And here is where it comes full circle.
(Don’t try this if verses 7-10 aren’t in order – you’ll fail)
Now we get back to the issue.
• Once sin has been exposed
• Once grace has been explained
• Once redemption has been received
Now we get back to it
“Do not speak against one another, brethren”
It is a simple command,
But don’t slander, don’t malign, don’t accuse, don’t attack.
WHY?
“He who speaks against a brother or judges a brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it.”
That is to say that when you judge your brother or slander your brother
For doing something that you don’t like
(not for something that is sinful)
When you do that, you are inadvertently saying
That the law did not go far enough.
The law may not have said what he did was sinful,
But in your mind it should have.
By judging your brother, you are also saying the law is not good enough
This happens any time we condemn or slander our brother
For something that God’s word does not condemn him for.
Furthermore it reveals that you have forgotten your place.
(12) “There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?”
Only One gives the Law, and only One judges by it.
“but who are you..?”
I’ll answer that for you – NOT GOD
So stop speak against and judging your brother – stop quarrelling!
CHRISTIANS DON’T ACT THAT WAY!
Do you get the point?
James looks at a church that is quarreling and fighting and slandering.
• His desire is to tell these Christians to “STOP IT”
• But he realizes the fact that they do it may mean they aren’t Christians
• So first he witnesses to them
• Then he commands them what to do
BUT THE POINT IS EASILY SEEN
THERE IS NO PLACE IN THE CHURCH FOR SLANDER, QUARRELING, CONFLICTS, LUSTS, OR HEART MURDER.
If it is present, it must be healed.
And the only way it can be healed is selfish and worldly people
Stop serving their own lusts and start serving God.
(i.e. – GET SAVED!)
If they will, then God will heal their murderous heart
And mold them into those peaceful people
Who exhibit the wisdom from above that James talked about in chapter 3.
SO THERE IT IS:
James 4:7-10 “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”
And beloved, if that is you, then you know what to do.
If it is not, then you know where to take a person when that is them.
