Sunday
Morning Bible Study
July
21, 2019
Reading: Matt. 5:13-26
Introduction
The book of James is possibly one of the earliest things written in the New
Testament.
It’s thought to have been written around AD 40-50
It was written by James, the half-brother of Jesus.
James’ father was Joseph, while Jesus’ father was God.
Though James didn’t believe Jesus was the Messiah until after the
resurrection, James would eventually be recognized as the leader of the church
in Jerusalem.
James was known in the early church as “James the Just” because of his
great devotion to God and purity of life.
Ancient historian Eusebius describes James’ prayer life, that he…
was frequently found upon his knees begging
forgiveness for the people, so that his knees became hard like those of a
camel, in consequence of his constantly bending them in his worship of God, and
asking forgiveness for the people[1]
While the apostle Paul wrote mainly to Gentiles, James is writing to the
Jews.
His teachings are going to be very practical (hence our “tools” pic) and
will draw much from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, as well as the book of
Proverbs.
4:1-6 Global Conflict
:1 Where do wars and
fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires
for pleasure that war in your members?
:1 wars and fights
James uses several Greek words to describe conflict.
The word for “wars” (polemos) describes
the bigger picture, the overall war being fought.
Sometimes the conflicts we experience in life are long term and ongoing.
It might be a struggle inside that you have with a particular
addiction.
It may be an external struggle, a difficult relationship with someone you fight
with.
The word for “fights” (mache) describes
the individual battles being fought inside the bigger “war”.
Within each of the “wars” we face, there are individual battles.
Our internal struggle with sin involves specific moments of temptation,
specific “battles”.
Externally, the people we face constant conflict with will involve specific
skirmishes, specific “fights”.
The verb translated “war” (strateuomai)
speaks of leading soldiers into battle, and we get our word “strategy” from it.
There is an amount of intelligence behind the battles we face.
Our own sin nature can be quite devious, leading us places where we face
difficulty.
It may be Satan directing his troops.
In the Avengers Movies, each movie is a “war”, with different “battles”,
directed by an enemy.
Let me remind you that when it comes to Satan’s “strategies”, he may be
stronger than you, but compared to Jesus he is a “puny god”.
where – pothen – of place: from where, from what
condition; of origin or source: from what author or giver
wars – πόλεμος polemos – a war; a fight, a
battle; a dispute, strife, quarrel
fights – μάχη mache – a fight or combat; of those in arms, a battle;
of persons at variance, disputants etc., strife, contention; a quarrel.
While polemos means the whole course of
fighting, the war, mache means a single battle
engagement.
you – humin – you.
Plural.
hence – enteuthen – from this place, hence
desires for pleasure – ἡδονή hedone (“hedonism”) – pleasure;
desires for pleasure
that war – strateuomai (“strategy”) – to make a military
expedition, to lead soldiers to war or to battle, (spoken of a commander); to
do military duty, be on active service, be a soldier; to fight
Present middle participle
members – melos – a member, limb: a member of the human
body.
James could be talking about the kinds of “inner conflicts” we might have,
but I think he’s mostly aiming at the kinds of disputes that come between
people in the church.
The word James uses for “members” is also the same word that Paul uses to describe
parts of a person’s body.
(1
Corinthians 12:12 NKJV) For as the body is one and has many
members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so
also is Christ.
I think there’s a sense in which we can see “conflict” that happens inside
of each of us, and where it comes from.
:2 You lust and do not
have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war.
:2 You murder …
I’m not sure that James is accusing someone in the church of physically killing
another person.
In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said that if you hate your brother, you
are as guilty as a murderer (Mat. 5:21-22)
(Matthew 5:21–22
NKJV) —21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not
murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a
cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says,
‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.
This is conflict.
:2 You lust and do not have
James uses three different words to describe these “roots” of our
conflicts.
:1 desires for pleasure – ἡδονή hedone (“hedonism”) – desires for
pleasure
In the New Testament, this word is always used to describe sinful
pleasures.
(Luke 8:14 NKJV) Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they
have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of
life, and bring no fruit to maturity.
(Titus 3:3 NKJV) For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived,
serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful
and hating one another.
(2 Peter
2:13 NKJV) and will
receive the wages of unrighteousness, as those who count it pleasure
to carouse in the daytime. They are spots and blemishes, carousing in
their own deceptions while they feast with you,
:2 lust – ἐπιθυμέω epithumeo –
to have a desire for, long for; seeking the forbidden
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said,
(Matthew
5:28 NKJV) But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman
to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
(1
Corinthians 10:6 NKJV) Now these things became our
examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.
(Romans 7:7 NKJV) What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On
the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would
not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.”
To be honest, this word is sometimes used in a positive sense, the idea of
longing for something that’s good.
Jesus said,
(Luke 22:15 NKJV) “With fervent desire I
have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;
:2 covet – ζηλόω zeloo – to burn with zeal; to desire earnestly
This word is also used in both positive and negative ways.
Negatively:
(Acts 7:9 NKJV) “And the patriarchs, becoming envious,
sold Joseph into Egypt. But God was with him
Positively:
(1 Corinthians 12:31 NKJV) But earnestly desire the best
gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way.
I saw this in an email this week:
Illustration
If I like it, it’s mine.
If I can take it away from you, it’s mine.
If I had it a while ago, it’s mine.
If I say it is mine, it’s mine.
If I saw it first, it’s mine.
If you’re having fun with it, it’s definitely
mine.
If you lay it down, it’s mine.
If it’s broken, it’s yours.
Lesson
Expectations and Conflict
Not all of our desires are wrong and sinful.
We can have desires for good things.
Yet how you handle these desires, how you set your expectations, can still lead
to conflict.
Illustration
Aug.12 -- Moved to our new home in
Montana. It is so beautiful here. The mountains are so serene and picturesque.
Can hardly wait to see them with a covering of snow. Gods
country. I love it here.
Oct.14th-- Montana is the most beautiful place on earth. The leaves are
turning all different colors. I love the shades of red and orange. Went for a
ride through some beautiful mountains and spotted some deer. They are so
graceful, certainly they are the most peaceful animals on earth. This must be
paradise.....I love it here.
Nov.11th-- Deer season will start soon. I can't imagine anyone wanting to
kill such elegant creatures. The very symbols of peace and tranquillity.
Hope it will snow soon. I love it here.
Dec.2nd--It snowed last night. Woke up to find everything blanketed with
white. It looks like a postcard. We went out
side and cleaned the snow off the steps and shoveled the
driveway. We had a snow ball fight (I Won) and when
the snow plow came by we had to shovel the driveway again. What a beautiful
place. I love Montana.
Dec.12th--More snow last night. I love it . The
snow plow did his trick again ( that little rascal ),A
winter wonderland . I love it here.
Dec.19th--More snow last night . couldn't get out
of the driveway to get to work this time. I'm exhausted shoveling. I need a snow plow.
Dec.22nd--More of the white stuff fell last night. I've got blisters on my
hands from shoveling. I think the snow plow hides
around the corner and waits until I'm done shoveling the driveway. Chump! They
should use more salt to melt the ice on the roads.
Dec.25th--White Christmas Ya right! More darn
snow. If I ever get my hands on that person who drives the snow
plow, Lord forgive me for thinking that thought. Don't know why they
don't use more salt to melt the ice.
Dec.28th--More of that white stuff last night., Been inside since Christmas
Day except for shoveling out the driveway after " Snow
Plow Harry " comes by every time. Can't go anywhere. Cars buried in
a mountain of white. The weather man says to expect another ten inches of the stuff tonight.
Do you know how many shovels full of snow that is.
Jan. 1st--Happy New Year. The weatherman was wrong (again
) . We got 31 inches of white stuff this time. At this rate it
won't melt till the 4th of July. The snow plow got
stuck up the road and the driver had the guts to come to my door to borrow a
shovel. I told him that I had broken 6 shovels already from shoveling the stuff
he's pushed into my driveway. I broke the last one over his head.
Jan4th--Finally got out of my house today. I went to the store to get food
and on the way back a deer ran in front of my car and I hit it. Did $3,000.00
damage to the car, those beasts are a menace. Wish the hunters had killed them
all last November.
May 3rd--Took the car to the garage in town. Would you believe the thing is
rusting out from all the salt they keep dumping all over the road?
June 1st--Packed up and moved to Arizona. I can't imagine why anyone in
their right mind would ever want to live in that state of Montana.
And to be honest, some of that conflict may be necessary.
Our evil desires will certainly lead to conflict.
King David saw his desires get him into trouble.
(2 Samuel 11:2 NKJV) Then it happened one evening that
David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. And from
the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to
behold.
You know what happened.
David ended up committing adultery with Bathsheba.
Did it bring conflict?
David had Bathsheba’s husband killed.
But wait, there’s more, then came God’s response:
(2 Samuel 12:10 NKJV) Now therefore, the sword shall never
depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife
of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’
David’s “desires” led to wars.
King Ahab was one of the worst of the kings, and
he fell in love with his neighbor’s vineyard:
(1
Kings 21:2 NKJV) So Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “Give me your vineyard, that I may
have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near, next to my house;
and for it I will give you a vineyard better than it. Or, if it seems
good to you, I will give you its worth in money.”
When Naboth refused to sell his family’s vineyard to Ahab,
Ahab became depressed.
Ahab’s wife Jezebel told her husband not to worry, and
that she’d take care of everything.
She came up with a way to have Naboth slandered and put to
death – and they took the vineyard.
But God spoke up
through Elijah:
(1
Kings 21:21 NKJV) ‘Behold, I will bring calamity on you. I will take away your posterity, and will cut off from Ahab every male in Israel,
both bond and free.
Remember though that not all “desires” are wrong.
But even good desires have the potential for conflict.
Let’s say you and your business partner have two distinct ideas about the
future direction of your company.
You may feel that your vision is a good and noble one.
Yet if you are not careful in how you resolve your two
ideas, you are going to face conflict.
This kind of stuff even happens in church.
The pastor may want to do something good, but how he goes
about it may bring unnecessary conflict.
Internally, in our hearts, we also face conflicts connected to our expectations.
(Proverbs
13:12 NKJV) Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But when
the desire comes, it is a tree of life.
You may be facing the reality of a good thing not coming
to pass, and it makes your heart sick.
It’s not wrong to have desires for good things or to set
goals in your life (it’s a really good thing in fact)
– just know that with expectations come the potential for conflict.
have – echo – to have,
i.e. to hold; to have i.e. own, possess
present active indicative
you murder – phoneuo – to kill, slay, murder; to commit
murder.
present active indicative
It might not be that church people actually “murder” each other, but some
of the things we do to each other might come awfully close.
cannot – dunamai – to be able, have power whether by
virtue of one’s own ability and resources, or of a state of mind, or through
favorable circumstances, or by permission of law or custom; to be able to do
something; to be capable, strong and powerful
present passive indicative
obtain – epitugchano – to light or hit upon any person or
thing; to attain to, obtain
aorist active infinitive
fight – machomai – to fight; of armed combatants, or
those who engage in a hand to hand struggle; of those who engage in a war of
words, to quarrel, wrangle, dispute; of those who contend at law for property
and privileges
present middle indicative
war – polemeo – to war, carry on war; to fight
present active indicative
:2 Yet you do not have because you do not ask.
ask – aiteo – to ask, beg, call for, crave, desire,
require
present middle infinitive
Indicates the reason for not having is not asking.
:3 You ask and do not
receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
ask – aiteo – to ask, beg, call for, crave, desire,
require
present active indicative
receive – lambano – to take; to receive (what is given),
to gain, get, obtain, to get back
present active indicative
amiss – kakos – miserable;
improperly, wrongly
ask – aiteo – to ask, beg, call for, crave, desire,
require
present middle indicative
pleasures – hedone – pleasure;
desires for pleasure
spend – dapanao – to incur expense, expend, spend; in a
bad sense: to waste, squander, consume
aorist active subjunctive
:2 because you do not ask
If it’s not wrong to have desires/expectations/goals, is there anything we
can do to avoid conflict?
One of the biggest tools in our toolbox is prayer.
Lesson
Learning to Ask
We need to take our “desires” to God in prayer.
It’s hard to pray for something that you know is sinful – but that’s part
of prayer’s value – bringing light into our dark desires.
Sometimes it takes a lot of prayer to be able to look at that good “desire”
correctly and know how to proceed with it.
Sometimes in prayer I come to realize that my desire might be good, but
it’s not what God wants.
Sometimes those desires are things that require years of prayer before they
happen.
There is a place for wars and battles in the Christian’s life, but the
battles belong in the prayer closet.
I know that some of you have developed a “prayer closet” like Miss
Clara.
For me – my prayer closet is a list on my phone – and when I walk in the morning I am bringing these things to the Lord.
Keep in mind who is writing all of this.
James had a nickname – “old camel-knees” because of the calluses on his
knees from praying.
This Thursday we are going to have a prayer and worship night. Why not come out and seek the Lord with us?
:3 you ask amiss
Sometimes we are asking, but in the wrong way, with the wrong motives.
“Amiss” refers to the way we ask. (it’s an adverb, modifying the verb
“ask”)
The verb “ask” here is in the middle voice,
meaning “you ask for the sake of yourselves”, and you are doing it simply for
the sake of pleasure (hedone)
It’s like asking God for a raise, telling Him you’re going to give more to
the church, when your real goal is to get that super cool car so everyone will
think you’re pretty special.
How about praying for your spouse to be saved?
That’s a good thing to pray for, but you might be praying for it in the
wrong way.
Some would pray for salvation so they would have someone to sit with in
church. Others would pray so people
would stop asking, “Where’s your spouse?”
David wrote,
(Psalm 139:23–24
NLT) —23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious
thoughts. 24 Point out anything in me that offends
you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
Sometimes we don’t need to change what we’re asking, but
change the way we ask it.
: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.
adulterers – moichos – an
adulterer; metaph. one who is faithless toward God, ungodly
James is talking to the church in spiritual terms. As believers, we are in a type of marriage with
God, a love relationship. When we get
too “friendly” with the ways of the world, it’s like we’re committing spiritual
adultery.
adulteresses – moichalis – an
adulteress; as the intimate alliance of God with the people of Israel was
likened to a marriage, those who relapse into idolatry are said to commit
adultery or play the harlot; fig. equiv. to faithless to God, unclean, apostate
friendship – philia –
friendship
world – kosmos – an apt and harmonious arrangement or
constitution, order, government; the world, the universe; the whole circle of
earthly goods, endowments riches, advantages, pleasures, etc,
which although hollow and frail and fleeting, stir desire, seduce from God and
are obstacles to the cause of Christ
enmity – echthra – enmity; cause of enmity
wants – boulomai – to will deliberately, have a purpose,
be minded; of willing as an affection, to desire
aorist passive subjunctive
To purposely choose to be a friend of the world.
friend – philos – friend,
to be friendly to one, wish him well; a friend; an associate; he who associates
familiarly with one, a companion
enemy – echthros – hated, odious, hateful; hostile,
hating, and opposing another
makes – kathistemi – to set, place, put; to set down as,
constitute, to declare, show to be; to constitute, to render, make, cause to
be; to show or exhibit one’s self
present passive indicative
:4 Adulterers and adulteresses!
The believer’s relationship with God is often described in terms of a
marriage.
We are the “bride” of Christ, and He is our “groom”.
Ladies, how would it make you feel if your husband were to become closer
friends to another woman than he is to you?
Men, how would it make you feel if your wife were to become closer friends
to another man than to you?
I’m not even talking about a spouse getting involved sexually with another
person – the word used here is “friend”.
I’m not saying it’s wrong for a spouse to have friends of the opposite sex,
but the friendship should never come close to what the marriage is supposed to
be about.
There’s a line in the standard wedding vows, “forsaking all others, and
cleaving only unto him/her”.
Lesson
What do you want?
The point is, whose friendship do you want?
The Notebook is that romantic movie about a young couple who struggle.
I want to play this clip as if it’s a parable. Pretend that Ryan Gosling is playing the role
of God, and Rachel McAdams is playing those of you who struggle with being a
little too friendly with the world…
Video: The Notebook – What Do You
Want?
Many believers have some notion of wanting God, but they’re too close to
the world and they don’t want to give it up.
Is that you? What do you want?
The word “wants” (v.4) (boulomai) speaks
of deliberately choosing something.
wants – boulomai – to will deliberately, have a purpose,
be minded; of willing as an affection, to desire
The word “makes” (kathistemi) carries the
idea of “show to be”.
makes – kathistemi – to set, place, put; to set down as,
constitute, to declare, show to be; to constitute, to render, make, cause to
be; to show or exhibit one’s self
When you reach the point where you have deliberately chosen to be a friend
of the world, then you show yourself be nothing other than an enemy of God.
God doesn’t have to declare you His enemy, you’ve chosen to that for
yourself.
It is as if you have cheated on your spouse, because you have cheated on
God – adulterers and adulteresses.
(1 John 2:15–16
NLT) —15 Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you
love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. 16 For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a
craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions.
These are not from the Father, but are from this
world.
:5 Or do you think that
the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?
think – dokeo – to be of opinion, think, suppose; to
seem, to be accounted, reputed
vain – kenos – vainly, in
vain
jealously – phthonos – envy; for envy, i.e. prompted by envy
yearns – epipotheo – to long for, desire; to pursue with
love, to long after; to lust, harbour forbidden
desire
present active indicative
dwells – katoikeo – to dwell, settle; metaph. divine
powers, influences, etc., are said to dwell in his soul, to pervade, prompt,
govern it; to dwell in, inhabit; God is said to dwell in the temple, i.e. to be
always present for worshippers
aorist active indicative
:5 The Spirit who dwells in us
I like the way the NLT handles this:
(James 4:5 NLT) Do you think the Scriptures have no meaning? They say that God is
passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him.
There doesn’t seem to be a single reference that James is quoting, but more
an idea that is repeated throughout the Old Testament.
Like God speaking about other “gods”:
(Exodus 20:5 NKJV) you shall
not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God…
Or even:
(Leviticus
19:2 NKJV) …‘You shall be
holy, for I the Lord your God am
holy.
The idea is this – God has placed His Holy Spirit in us, and one of the
things the Holy Spirit does is to remind us that God cares about us, that God
is “jealous” over us, that God longs for us to be more like Him – “holy”.
The Spirit is called the “Holy” Spirit.
When Paul is encouraging the Thessalonians to live lives of sexual purity,
he wrote,
(1 Thessalonians 4:7–8
NLT) —7 God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives. 8 Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not
disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy
Spirit to you.
Because the Holy Spirit is in us, He wants to be at work
to make us like He is, “holy”, pure.
(1 Corinthians 6:19
NKJV) Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who
is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
(Galatians 5:17
NLT) The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of
what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of
what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each
other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.
An old Eskimo proverb says that there are two dogs fighting inside of you.
The dog you feed is the dog that wins.
If you live your life feeding that old sin nature with the things of this
world, you will struggle even greater when it comes to temptation.
If you are building up your spiritual life by learning disciplines like
prayer, Bible reading, and fellowship, you will find the struggle a bit easier.
Sometimes it’s hard to know which idea is from God and which idea is from
my flesh?
God’s Word can help us know the difference.
(Hebrews
4:12 NKJV) For the word of God is living and
powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division
of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the
thoughts and intents of the heart.
:6 But He gives more
grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”
more – megas (here in the comparative) – great;
splendid, prepared on a grand scale, stately; great things
gives – didomi – to give; to give something to someone
grace – charis – grace; that
which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness: grace of
speech; good will, loving-kindness, favour
proud – huperephanos –
showing one’s self above others, overtopping, conspicuous above others,
pre-eminent; with an overweening estimate of one’s means or merits, despising
others or even treating them with contempt, haughty
resists – antitassomai (“against”
+ “ordain or arrange”) – to range in battle against; to oppose one’s self,
resist
humble – tapeinos – not
rising far from the ground; metaph. as a condition, lowly, of low degree;
brought low with grief, depressed; lowly in spirit, humble
:6 He gives more grace
The greater our need, the greater the help available.
(Romans 5:20b NKJV)
…But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more
When we find ourselves struggling against temptation, there is help
available from God.
:6 gives grace to the humble
We see this idea in several Old Testament passages, such as:
(Psalm 138:6 NKJV) Though the Lord is
on high, Yet He regards
the lowly; But the
proud He knows from afar.
(Proverbs
3:34 NKJV) Surely He scorns
the scornful, But gives
grace to the humble.
Do you want God “resisting” you, or giving you help?
Lesson
Help from humility
The choice is ours, and the key is in humility.
I’m not going to completely unpack this concept of humility (I’ll leave
that to next week’s study), but let me simply say this:
Humility starts with me learning to yield myself to God.
It comes from me learning to bow my knee to Him and
letting Him rule over my life as He wants.
I am of the opinion that humility is not a
destination that you reach with a single step.
Humility is something that needs to be cultivated with constant attention.
Paul said (Phil. 2) that the best example for us to follow of humility was
Jesus, who laid aside His glory and took on human flesh.
He did this so He could die as a sacrifice for us, dying in our place to
pay for our sins.
A good example of Jesus’ humility took place at the Last Supper, when Jesus
served His disciples by doing what they had neglected to do – washing their
feet.
Jesus did this as an example, that we would learn the humility of serving one
another.
When I learn to cultivate humility, to serve others, I will find that God
will give me “grace”.
I will find that He’s on my side, even when others aren’t.