“1 ¶ From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? 2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. 3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” (James 4:1-3 AVRLE)
85. The arguments and fights that occur among the fellowship of the faithful, spring from the lusts of individual members that do not have what they want. These members fail to ask the LORD GOD for their desires, because they will not submit to His Will. Often they ask Him with the wrong heart to gratify their lusts, rather than advance His Will and Word, and their desires for pleasure are never met. As a result of their desire and need for sensual pleasures never being fulfilled, they become bitter and angry and filled with strife, creating situations where arguments and fights can begin among the brothers and sisters in Christ.
“4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. 5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?” (James 4:4-5 AVRLE)
85. Christian men and women who hold a friendship with the world are apostates, and unfaithful enemies to the Word of God
86. The spirit of your nature is such that you have lust that occurs naturally within your being. This lust causes envy to be present, which then leads a Christian to become a friend of the world, to fulfill these desires that are ever present.
There is no other place in Scripture where the exact quote “The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy” is written precisely. James usually is so precise in his writings, yet he even has left out a pronoun in this sentence that would make interpretation more clear to us. This is important…Just because the exact rendering of the sentence is not searchable in God’s Word, the concept of a natural lustful spirit in man that causes worldliness and separation of him from the Things of the LORD GOD, is valid and supported throughout Scripture.
“But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” (James 4:6 AVRLE)
87. When you are humble and accept the fact that your very nature is lustful and desires the things of the world, the LORD GOD will give you more grace to enable you to resist these cravings.
88. If you are proud of who you are and not ashamed of these lustful cravings, the LORD GOD will do nothing to help you overcome them, and will in fact resist you and oppose your doings.
“7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” (James 4:7-10 AVRLE)
89. If you want the LORD GOD to give you more grace to help you overcome your human nature of lust, then you must submit yourself to Him.
90. You must resist the devil, and this will cause him to flee from you.
91. You must draw close to the LORD GOD, and He will draw close to you.
92. You must cleanse your hands if you are sinning. This means that you stop sinning and repent in accordance with Jesus Christ’s Will for the forgiveness of sin.
93. You must purify your hearts, and quit being double-minded, by having one part of your desire focused toward the worldly natural life of man, and one part of your desire focused toward the righteous spiritual life of your Lord Jesus Christ.
94. Toil heavily (work hard) to keep yourself in the spiritual life to the point of affliction.
95. Cry and grieve for the things of your human nature that attempt to separate you from your LORD GOD. Silence the laughter of your fulfilled lusts in the world, and let it be turned into mourning for your inability to fulfill; to do this will bring you a wonderful joy in the midst of your heaviness.
96. Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up, away from the human nature of lust, and to the state of renewed righteousness and holiness!
Consideration for a Brother
“11 ¶ Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. 12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?” (James 4:11-12 AVRLE)
97. Brothers and sisters in Christ should not speak evil about each other.
98. If you speak evil about them and judge them, then you are speaking evil of the law and are judging the law.
99. If you judge the law, then you are not a doer of the law but a judge.
100. There is only one lawgiver and one Judge, our Lord Jesus Christ who is able to save and destroy. What right do you have to judge another?
“13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: 14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. 15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.” (James 4:13-15 AVRLE)
101. Don’t plan your spiritual and natural walks for tomorrow. You may not be alive tomorrow. Instead, let your attitude be that if the Lord Wills, you will do and live in the present and accomplish His Works and Will.
“16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. 17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” (James 4:16-17 AVRLE)
102. Rejoicing in your self confidence and pride in your works is evil.
103. If you know to do good, and do not do it, it is a sin.
Footnotes:
adulterers – 3432. moicov moicov moichos moy-khos’; perhaps a primary word; a (male) paramour; figuratively, apostate:— adulterer. 1) an adulterer 2) metaph. one who is faithless toward God, ungodly (Strong’s Greek Lexicon)
resist – 498. antitassomai antitassomai an-tee-tas’-som-ahee; from 473 and the middle voice of 5021; to range oneself against, i.e. oppose:— oppose themselves, resist.
Worksheet for Lesson 7
141. Where do the arguments and fights among the fellowship of the Faithful originate from? James 4:1-3 (85)
A. Satan
B. Demons
C. A lack of Faith
D. From the lusts of members who do not have what they want
142. Why do these members fail to ask the LORD GOD for their desires? James 4:1-3 (85)
(May be more than one answer)
A. Because they know He will not give them what they want
B. Because they are too busy with their spiritual lives to keep track of their needs
C. Because they do not want to bend to the Will of the LORD GOD
D. Because they are too busy working hard to provide it themselves
E. Because they ask Him with the wrong heart to gratify their lusts rather than advance His Will and Word
143. What happens to these Faithful members when their desires for pleasure are never met? James 4:1-3 (85)
A. They leave the church
B. They repent of their sins
C. They become bitter, angry and cause arguments and fights among their Christian brothers and sisters
D. They become leaders and teachers of the Word of God
144. What are Christian men and women who hold a friendship with the world called? James 4:4-5 (85)
A. Apostates
B. Unfaithful enemies to the Word of God
C. Adulterers and adulteresses
D. All of the above
145. How does lust enter into a person? James 4:4-5 (85)
A. Through the doings of devils
B. It is in your nature naturally
C. Through the temptations of evil
D. All of the above
146. What does lust create? James 4:4-5 (86)
A. Envy
B. Conscience
C. Opportunity
D. All of the above
147. What does the envy lead to? James 4:4-5 (86)
A. A Christian becoming a friend of the world
B. Higher spiritual growth
C. Study of the Word of God
D. All of the above
148. What must you do to receive more grace from the LORD GOD to enable you to resist the cravings of lust? James 4:6 (87)
(May be more than one answer)
A. Struggle to be a better person
B. Avoid the places in the world that exploit your weakness and cause loss of control
C. Humble yourself
D. Accept the fact that your very nature is lustful
149. What will the LORD GOD do if you are not ashamed of your lustful cravings? James 4:6 (88)
(May be more than one answer)
A. He will do nothing to help you overcome them
B. He will resist and oppose your doings
C. He will have compassion and mercy on you
D. He will expose you to more spiritual things to remove you from your cravings
150. Let’s Talk
What struggles with lust for worldly things have you overcome through the Grace of the LORD GOD?
What struggles for the sensual and pleasurable things of the world continue to chase after you and your weaknesses?
How does a True Christian deal with the lusts of sexuality that are normally present in the body, when exposed repeatedly to the immoralities and sexually explicit materials that are constantly on view by the world?
How does a True Christian understand the difference between lusts of his sexuality, and normal, God-given expressions of sexuality that are good and right to experience?
How does a True Christian come to grips with the success and riches of a world full of people, who have every toy that they lust after, money that they desire, and every success they work for, when the Christian must often fight and work hard for every morsel received?
What experience can you share where you have witnessed definite wicked forces trying to destroy the Christian reputation by taking advantage of the lusts of the Faithful?
What types of lusts are being drawn out repeatedly through the use of the Internet, and what damage is being done to a Christian as a result?
What measures can Christian Brothers and Sisters take to uphold and protect each other from succumbing to their lusts?
151. What must you do to have the LORD GOD give you more grace to help you overcome your human nature of lust? James 4:7-10 (89)
A. Submit yourself to Him
B. Make promises that you can’t keep
C. Try to resolve the temptations of lust by yourself
D. All of the above
152. How do you cause the devil to flee from you? James 4:7-10 (90)
A. Hold up a silver cross
B. Ignore him
C. Resist him
D. Fear him
153. How do you have a relationship with the LORD GOD that He draws close to you, and lifts you up and away from the human natures of lust, and to the state of renewed righteousness and holiness? James 4:7-10 (91-96)
(May be more than one answer)
A. You must draw close to Him
B. You must cleanse your hands if your are sinning
C. You must purify your hearts
D. You must focus on the Kingdom of God, and not on the world
E. You must work hard to stay in the spiritual life, to the point of affliction
F. Cry and grieve to the LORD GOD for the things in your nature that separate you from Him
G. Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord
154. What are you guilty of if you speak evil about a Christian Brother or Sister? James 4:11-12 (97-100)
(May be more than one answer)
A. Gossip
B. Malice
C. Speaking evil of the law
D. Judging the law
155. How should a Christian plan for and prepare the works of tomorrow? James 4:13-15 (101)
A. A Christian should not plan for tomorrow, for he may not even be alive
B. A Christian’s attitude should always seek the Will of God
C. A Christian should always do and live in the present and accomplish His Works and Will as they are revealed
D. All of the above
156. (Personal Contemplation) Why is rejoicing in your self- confidence and having pride in your works evil? Why is knowing to do good and not doing it a sin? James 4:16-17 102-103)
