Faith With Feet: The Right Path

2020–07-19

Pastor Jonathan Falwell

Key Verse: James 4:17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

 

1. The Real Issue – SELF

James 4:1-4 Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. 4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

  • A. Motyer says, “The channels of communication with God and of supply from God have become blocked….We find that the unfettered flow of prayer upwards, and of response downwards, is no longer operating; we are somehow out of sorts with God. The passions are at work again. We want it all for self.[1]”
  • Our main problem in life today comes from misplaced priorities and desires
  • Our focus should be on God’s best for us, not our perception of the world’s best
  • This misplaced priority is rooted in pride

[1]J. A. Motyer, The Message of James: The Tests of Faith, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1985), 143.

2. The Solution to Pride

James 4:5-10 Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”? 6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” 7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

  • Verse 5 is an often misunderstood passage. It simply states that God desperately desires His Holy Spirit to be our guide
  • James clearly gives an obvious encouragement immediately following – “God resists the proud…”
  • So, the solution is clearly stated…Draw near to Him, pursue holiness, hate sin!

3. The Right Attitude

James 4:11-12 Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?

 

James 4:11–12 (NLT): Don’t speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters. If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God’s law. But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you. 12 God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor?

James 4:11–12 (NLT): Don’t speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters. If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God’s law. But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you. 12 God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor?

  • First steps towards right living
  • Treat others well. This is why Jesus stated “Love God, Love People”
  • It is not our job to attack, vilify, and condemn others. It is our job to love.

4. Our Proper Focus

James 4:13-17 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; 14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” 16 But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

  • Focus your heart on today
  • Do what is right…today
  • Live for Him…today

 

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