Tuesday 4th
James 4:1-12
NIV (vv6-8) – ‘But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favour to the humble.” Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded’.
ESV (vv6-8) – ‘ But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves 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.’
These three verses give us a number of statements, which we will look at, the first being ‘But he gives more grace’, this comes after James has written what my ESV has labelled as a ‘warning against worldliness’, he is describing what has become the upside down or back to front thinking of the believers he is writing to, sometimes they do not have what they need because they do not ask for it, but at other times they ask but do not have because their motives in asking are wrong, it is for personal passions rather than for the glory of God. James makes a strong statement, ‘Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?’ (v4) It is a strong statement but also a very much needed statement, and I want to suggest it is much needed today, where sadly many who claim to love God also want to love the things of the world, its passions, its selfish ambition, and that which is dishonouring to a life that claims to have been made anew or born again by the Spirit of God. James continues in the same verse to say ‘Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?’ we cannot claim to love God and to love the things of this world at the same time, the gospel, the message of the Cross requires us to make significant choices and important changes, it requires us to separate ourselves from all that has the appearance of evil, it requires us to surrender our all to the will of God. It requires us to decide either for the things of God or the pleasures of the world, we cannot straggle, we cannot sit on the fence, we cannot attempt to indulge in both and expect blessing, we need as the challenge came from Joshua to ‘Choose this day who you will serve’, and my prayer is that we will all respond with ‘as for me and my house we will serve the Lord’.
It is not easy living as a Christian in today’s society, especially the younger generation with all it has to attract, with pressure from peers and with the rising hostility there is toward a biblical perspective on morality and righteousness, but James tells us here that if we ask God will give, and on this occasion, we need to ask for grace to live in an anti-Christian society, grace to strengthen, grace to help us to endure, grace to enable us to stand, grace to help us to boldly declare that we are on the Lord’s side.
He gives more grace, the context of this continues in the rest of these verses, but for today in what area do you need more grace, the Scripture tells us that ‘where sin abounds, his grace abounds more’ it means that as we are living as sinners saved by grace, in this world that is dominated by sinfulness, God will give us grace upon grace to enable us to stand tall as his children, grace upon grace to strengthen, grace to keep, grace to help in time of need. Grace to say no to friendship with the world and grace to keep us in fellowship with God himself.
He gives more grace – need it? Then ask for it and receive more grace in your life today.