James chapter 4 verses 1 to 12.
What causes fights and quarrels among you?
Don't they come from your desires that battle within you?
You desire but do not have, so you kill.
You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight.
You do not have because you do not ask God.
When you ask, you do not receive because you ask with wrong motives,
that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God?
Therefore anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
Or do you think scripture says, without reason,
that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us.
But he gives us more grace.
That is why scripture says,
God opposes the pride 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.
Grieve, mourn and wail.
Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to bloom.
Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will lift you up.
Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another.
Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it.
When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it.
There is only one lawgiver and judge, the one who is able to save and destroy.
But you, who are you to judge your neighbour?
Let's pray.
Father, we ask, do your work in our lives.
We pray this for your honour.
Amen.
Well, I wonder, have you ever been to a perfect church?
I'm not talking about Carygilline Baptist.
Have you ever been to a perfect church?
Well, if ever you find one, please don't go, because you'll ruin it.
Recently, I was talking to a pastor who told me very proudly that the name of his church was Perfect Church.
I asked him, does anybody go to your church?
But I think the irony was lost on him.
The fact is, as soon as we put people together, conflict is not far behind.
And while that's sad, and it always is sad, we should never be surprised that there can be fights in the church.
You see, there is no such thing as a perfect church.
Because, well, let's admit it, none of us are perfect people.
But it doesn't have to be like that.
Fights might be normal for day-to-day life.
Disagreements might happen in your work with your colleagues, with your boss.
Arguments may be part of your family experience.
But they should never be part of the church.
Look at verse 11.
Brothers and sisters.
So here he's addressing the church family.
Christians.
Followers of Jesus.
Brothers and sisters.
Do not slander one another.
So through this text, James is showing us how we can prevent fights from breaking out.
And instead build loving relationships.
How we can prevent fights from breaking out.
And how we can build loving relationships.
First, fights and quarrels.
James wants us to face up to the fact that, well, disagreements,
and fallouts do happen.
This fight happens in different ways.
First, we fight with each other.
Look at verse 1.
What causes fights and quarrels among you?
Now, I don't think James is saying that punches are being thrown during the sermon.
Or that we should expect a wrestling match to be happening down the back there.
Remember what James has been talking about.
Go back to chapter 3, verse 6.
James chapter 3, verse 6.
He tells us there that the tongue also is a fire.
That's the tongue in our mouth.
Is a fire.
A world of evil among the parts of the body.
It corrupts the whole body.
Look at verse 8 of chapter 3.
No human being can tame the tongue.
It is a restless evil full of deadly poison.
So the fight studies talking about are not physical.
They are verbal.
We can't seem to control our tongues.
As soon as we open our mouth,
out comes this destructive fire,
a deadly poison that can break and destroy relationships.
Instead of using our words to build and make peace,
out of our words,
we start a fight.
So we fight with each other.
But James wants us to go a little bit deeper.
Second, we fight with ourself.
Look what it says in verse 1.
What causes fights and quarrels among you?
That's the issue.
He's saying, look, there are fights and quarrels.
But here's the issue.
What causes these fights and quarrels?
Well, the cause of every disagreement
is always the other person, right?
If they hadn't said,
well, then I wouldn't have said.
If they had just kept their mouth shut,
everything would be fine.
It's not my fault.
It's their fault.
They always want to have the last word.
The cause for every argument and quarrel
is the other person, right?
Wrong.
Look what it says in verse 1.
What causes fights and quarrels among you?
Answer.
Don't they come from your desires
that battle within you?
The cause of every fight and quarrel
is in here, in our hearts.
You see, the real fight
is with our sinful, selfish desires.
Verse 2.
You desire, but you do not have.
So you kill.
Of course, arguments don't always turn violent
or end in someone being killed.
It can happen.
Even on the news this week,
in Mitchellstown,
there was a man who was killed
sitting with his mate in the pub.
They start having an argument.
Just words.
But it turns violent.
It can happen.
Look at the rest of verse 2.
You covet,
but you cannot get what you want,
so you quarrel and fight.
The point is,
we're not to blame others
and start pointing fingers at others.
We're to look at ourselves.
I fight and I quarrel
because I want to be right.
James has already talked about this.
If you go back to chapter 1, verse 14.
James chapter 1, verse 14.
Each person is tempted
when they are dragged away
by their own evil desire
and enticed.
It's our own evil desires
that drag us away
and cause us to fight and quarrel.
A very helpful,
but yet a tragic example of this
is the account of Cain and Abel.
Let's have a look at that.
If you keep your finger
in James chapter 4,
go back to Genesis,
which is the very first book of the Bible.
Genesis chapter 4.
The context here,
Cain and Abel
were the first two sons
of Adam and Eve.
And Cain and Abel
have both made offerings to God.
Abel's offering was accepted,
Cain's wasn't.
And Cain has now become jealous,
angry with his brother Abel.
And we pick it up in chapter 4, verse 6.
Then the Lord said to Cain,
Why are you angry?
Why is your face downcast?
If you do what is right,
will you not be accepted?
But if you do not do what is right,
sin is crouching at your door.
It desires to have you,
but you must rule over it.
Do you see what God was saying to Cain?
Sin desires to have you.
It's controlling you.
It's at your door.
It's knocking.
It's wanting to rule over you
because you want to be right.
And sadly,
Cain didn't deal with that sin, did he?
And it did end in murder,
the loss of his brother's life.
Let's go back to James chapter 4.
You see, this same fight
is happening within each one of us
all of the time.
Our desire for self
rules our hearts.
We always want to be right,
never wrong.
The battle rages inside of us.
Our desires take over.
We want to get even.
We want the other person
to know how we feel
and so we tell them.
We want them to know
how wrong they've been.
We want to set the record straight
and it all comes out
in fighting and quarrelling.
Don't look at other people
for the reason.
James is saying,
look at the desires within you.
But the fight goes even deeper
than with each other
and with ourself.
It's actually a fight with God.
Look at verse 3.
When you ask,
when you pray to God,
when you talk to him,
you do not receive
because you ask
with the wrong motives
that you may spend
what you get
on your pleasures.
Now this kind of prayer
that he's talking about here
reflects a hostile relationship
with God.
It's a selfish relationship.
He says you're asking
with the wrong motives.
You're not interested
in what pleases God
or what God wants,
but what you want
and what will satisfy you.
Look at the end of verse 3.
That you may spend
what you get
on your pleasures.
And that same word,
pleasures,
is the same word
for desires
in verse 1.
You desire something.
You want something
for yourself.
And so you're asking
just to please
your own desires.
It's all about me,
what I want.
Now such a prayer
is a sign of a relationship
that's in conflict
with God.
Somebody who's actually
fighting with God.
Look how James describes it
in very strong language.
Verse 4.
You adulterous people.
Imagine a husband
who's been married
to his wife
for a number of years
and one day
he discovers that
through the marriage
she's been committing adultery.
Her visits to family,
weekends away with friends,
were actually secret affairs
with other people.
Well look at verse 4.
This is how James
is describing
our relationship with God.
He says,
you're adulterous people.
Don't you know
that friendship
with the world
means enmity?
That means hostility
against God.
He's saying
when our sinful desires
control us,
it's like walking out
on our marriage relationship
with God.
it's a spiritual adultery.
Instead of being loyal
and faithful to God
who loves us
and who's given
his all for us,
we walk away
and we build
friendships with the world.
We have an affair
with the world.
Now just as a husband
would be rightfully
angry with his wife
if she had an affair
or vice versa,
if the husband
had an affair,
the wife would be
right to be angry.
So God is rightfully
angry with us
when we choose
friendship with him
over friendship
with the world.
Walking out on God
puts us in conflict
with God.
Look at the end
of verse 4.
Therefore,
anyone who chooses
to be a friend
of the world
becomes an enemy
of God.
So when I begin
to follow my own desires,
I become God's enemy.
When I pursue
what I want
rather than
what God wants,
I'm starting
a fight with God.
It's hostility.
It's enmity.
So let's understand
the seriousness
of arguments
and disagreements.
The causes
of fights
and quarrels
is not out there.
It's actually
in here,
in my heart,
in your heart.
And it reflects
a much more
serious fight
that we're having,
a fight with God
about who
has control
of our life.
is it your desires
or is it
God's desires?
So what's going
to stop
or prevent
this kind
of fighting?
How are we going
to build
loving relationships
instead of
fighting and quarreling?
Well,
second,
we need grace
and humility.
Let's see
how God
responds
to us.
First,
jealous grace.
Look at verse 5.
Read it carefully.
It's a little bit
difficult,
but we'll
work our way
through it.
Verse 5.
Or do you think
Scripture says
without reason
that he,
that's God,
jealously
longs
for the
spirit
he has
caused
to dwell
in us.
But he
gives us
more grace.
Let me try
and unpack
that for you
a little bit.
A husband
who loves
his wife,
even though
she has had
an affair,
will not
give up on her.
He will
pursue her.
He will
long for her
return.
And that
kind of love
is a jealous
love.
He will
not be
satisfied
until she
is at home
with him.
Now that's
a beautiful
description
and picture
of God's
love towards
people like
us.
Remember in
verse 4 he
says you are
an adulterous
people.
We've
left God.
We've
moved away
from him.
And look
how God
responds in
verse 5,
the end of
verse 5.
He
jealously
longs for
the spirit
he has
caused
to dwell
in us.
Now,
if you
can bear
with me,
you may
see that
little
sentence.
There's a
letter at
the end
of it and
it has a
little note
at the
bottom of
your page
and it
can be
translated
or read
like this.
Or that
the spirit
he calls
to dwell
in us
envies
intensely.
Or the
spirit he
calls to
dwell in us
longs
jealously.
So God
by his
spirit that
is within
us,
his spirit
longs.
It's an
intense
love,
a jealous
love that
we would
not drift
from him
but that
we would
come back
to him.
And whenever
we sense
or are
aware of
the spirit
convicting
us or
challenging
us,
this is a
sign of
God's
jealous
love at
work in
our
hearts,
longing for
his people
to return,
pursuing
us,
calling us,
stop
fighting with
me,
stop resisting
me,
open your
hearts to
my love.
And when
we open
our hearts
to his
love,
we find
mercy,
we find
forgiveness.
Look what
it says
at the
beginning
of verse
6,
but he
gives
us
more
grace.
You see,
a wife
whose
husband
has had
an affair
has every
right to
reject him,
to refuse
him.
And God
has every
right to
refuse us.
But here's
the beautiful
picture.
He doesn't.
instead of
rejection,
there is a
rich welcome.
Instead of
anger,
there is this
beautiful,
warm embrace.
Look at
verse 6,
but he
gives us
more grace.
There's an
overflow of
grace that
floods and
overwhelms the
sinful,
selfish desires
of our
hearts.
grace.
That is the
abundance and
the amazing
response of
God towards
people like
you and
me.
This is the
grace of
God.
That intense
jealousy,
jealousness,
longing for us
to come back
to him,
longing that we
would stop
fighting with
him,
stop rejecting
his advances,
but welcoming
him and
trusting him
afresh.
How beautiful
it would be to
experience and
to know that
grace in our
lives.
And the good
news is we
can.
To experience
God's jealous
grace,
we must come
in humble
repentance.
Look at
verse 6
again.
He gives us
more grace,
grace.
So no matter
the depth
or greatness
of our sin,
no matter
how bad
it may
appear,
or what
people might
say,
God gives
us more
grace to
cover it
all.
That is
why scripture
says,
God opposes
the proud,
but shows
favour to
the humble.
humble.
He opposes
the proud,
but shows
favour.
That word
favour is
the same
word for
grace.
He shows
grace to
the humble.
You see,
there's a
condition.
If we are
to receive
and experience
God's amazing
grace,
there must
be humble
repentance.
Look at
verse 10.
He says,
humble yourselves
before the
Lord and
he will lift
you up.
we will
experience
the depths
of God's
mercy and
grace towards
us.
You see,
if we
continually
blame others
and point
fingers at
one another,
if we
persist on
wanting to
be right
and never
at fault,
if we
say,
it's them,
it's not
me,
then we'll
never know
God's
grace.
what will
remain is
a fighting,
critical,
judgmental
spirit and
we will
never be
lifted up
from those
depths.
But if we
humble
ourselves,
how rich
a welcome
we will
receive,
how beautiful
it will be
to know
the depth
of his
grace.
well,
what does
humble
repentance
look like?
Well,
if you've
got your
notes on
your sheet,
there's a
place there
for you to
write down
three things.
Let's look
at verses
seven to
nine,
because that
shows us
what humble
repentance
looks like.
First,
we submit
to God.
We submit
to God.
Verse seven,
submit yourselves
then to
God.
Resist the
devil and
he will
flee from
you.
To submit
is simply
to surrender.
It's actually
to give up
the fight.
It's to
hoist up
our white
flag and
say,
I've put
down my
weapons.
I no
longer want
to fight
or kick
against God.
Our sinful
desires no
longer want
to be in
control.
I want
God to be
in control
of my
life.
It's not
about my
desires,
but what
does God
desire of
me?
What does
his word
say is
right and
best for
me?
And as
we hoist
up our
white flag
and lay
down our
weapons,
as we
submit and
surrender
ourselves
to God,
look what
happens,
verse seven.
Resist the
devil and
he will
flee from
you.
The devil
is real.
He's not
a joke
or somebody
who's a
pretend
character.
He's
active and
he's out
to use
us to
cause these
fights and
quarrels,
to build
our hostility
against God.
But as we
surrender to
him,
so our
desires begin
to change
within our
life.
We begin
to want
what God
wants.
surrender.
And when
such a
person begins
to submit
and surrender,
their desires
change and
the devil has
no interest in
such a person.
He wants
willing partners.
He wants
people who
will kick
against God.
So as we
submit, in a
sense the
devil flees
from us and
our relationship
with God
deepens and
strengthens and
those desires
become central
to our
life.
So what
does humble
repentance look
like?
Well first we
submit to God,
we lay down
our weapons.
Second, there
should be
sincere repentance.
Sincere
repentance,
verse 8.
Come near
to God
and he
will come
near to
you.
Again, what a
beautiful picture
that is.
We do not
need to fear
coming to
God.
Why?
Well because
in Christ,
Christ has
taken the
condemnation
that we
deserve.
That has
been removed
completely at
the cross.
So we
can come
near to
God and
he will
come near
to you.
If we
come to
him sincerely,
he's going
to welcome
us, not
push us
away.
He's longing
for us to
return.
Look at the
rest of
verse 8.
Wash your
hands, you
sinners.
Purify your
hearts, you
double-minded.
Now we've
got to
remember,
repentance is
not just
simply coming
along and
saying to
God, sorry,
and then
just kind of
toddle on
our way.
True
repentance
longs for
change and
transformation.
Any one of
us can say
sorry.
We do
it all
the
time.
We say
sorry, but
we want to
stay as
we are.
We want
to stay
in control
of our
lives.
Whereas
sincere
repentance
says, I
want to
change my
actions.
That's why
it says in
verse 8,
wash your
hands.
It's about
action.
Lord, change
my actions.
And Lord,
change my
attitudes.
purify my
heart.
Or purify
my heart.
It's asking
God to
change us
so that we
are fully
devoted and
loyal to
him.
Not just
sorry, but
Lord, change
me completely
so that I
will not be
double-minded.
Running to
build friendships
with the
world instead
of building
my relationship
with God.
So we
submit, we
surrender, we
lay down our
weapons, we
come in
sincere repentance
wanting true
change and
transformation.
And third,
we are to
take sin
seriously.
Take sin
seriously,
verse 9.
Grieve,
mourn,
and wail.
change your
laughter to
mourning and
your joy to
gloom.
Now it
sounds awfully
depressing,
doesn't it?
Mourn,
wail,
gloom.
But it's
helping us to
see how we
should think
about our
sin.
We should
take it
seriously.
It's not
just to be
brushed under
the carpet
and go,
oh, it
doesn't matter,
that's just
the way I
am.
it does
matter.
It matters
deeply.
I found
this very
helpful, a
quote that I
came across
written by
Sam
Albury, who
has a very
helpful little
book on
James.
And this
is what he
says in
relation to
verse 9.
Just listen
to it.
It's very
helpful.
we are
not just
to regret
our sin,
but to
grieve over
it.
If we are
not more
emotional over
our sin
than we are
over our
sports team
success or
failures,
or our
children's
achievements or
disappointments,
then there is
something wrong.
And that
something is
that we do
not appreciate
what our
sin is.
and what it
cost our
saviour to
rescue us
from it.
Sin is
not cheap.
If I
want to
know how
serious my
sin is,
I need to
look at the
cross.
We all
need to
look at the
cross and
see Christ
who suffered
there, who
suffered hell
for us,
who saw
the depths
of what we
had done,
but yet
stood in
our place
and took
the blame
for our
sin, who
suffered hell
so that we
could be
forgiven.
And it's
only as I
look at the
cross, I
see the
seriousness of
my sin.
And as I
see how
serious it
is, I
can only
begin to
appreciate how
glorious my
salvation is,
how wonderful
God's grace is
that he
would do
that for
me.
And the
more I
see how
ugly my
sin is and
how rotten
I am to
the core,
then I
can only
begin to
see how
beautiful
Christ is,
how attractive
he is,
what grace
and mercy
flows from
him to
me.
You see,
if we
want to
know God's
grace,
well then
we must
repent
humbly,
repent of
our selfish
desires,
and receive
his grace.
So,
fights and
quarrels,
grace and
humility,
and then
third,
love and
obedience.
love and
obedience.
The evidence,
if you like,
the proof that
we have
humbly
repented,
that we've
laid down
our weapons,
we've hoisted
the white
flag,
we've been
sincere in
our repentance
and we've
taken our
sins seriously,
the evidence
that this is
effective in
our life is
or will be
seen in how
we treat
each other.
Look at
verse 11.
brothers and
sisters,
do not
slander
one another.
Do not
speak evil.
Don't use
your tongues
to crush
and break
one another.
Instead,
use your tongues
to build
each other
up and
be peacemakers.
Look at the
rest of
verse 11.
anyone who
speaks against
a brother
or sister
or judges
them,
speaks against
the law
and judges
it.
Well,
what does
the law
say?
What does it
mean that we
speak against
the law and
we judge
the law?
Well,
go back to
chapter 2
and verse 8
because here
James has
already reminded
us what the
law is about.
In fact,
he summarises
the whole
law in
this simple
statement.
James
chapter 2
verse 8.
He says,
if you really
keep the
royal law
found in
scripture,
that is,
love your
neighbour as
yourself,
you are
doing right.
The royal
law,
the king's
law for
subjects,
for people
like us,
is love.
love your
neighbour as
yourself.
In this
context,
we are one
another's
neighbours.
Chapter 4
verse 12,
the end of
verse 12,
but you,
who are you
to judge
your neighbour?
He's talking
about the
church family.
We are to
love one
another.
Here's how
it works
out.
This is
what verse
11 is
getting at.
If I
cause a
fight or
quarrel
with my
words,
what I'm
doing is
I'm
sitting in
superiority
to the
law.
Rather than
obeying the
law which
says love
your neighbour
as yourself,
I judge
it.
I stand
over the
law.
The law
says love,
but I
say I
know better
than what
the law
says.
I know
I should
love,
but they
must be
put in
their
place.
I
know I
should
love,
but they
need to
know how
much it
hurt me.
I
know I
should
love,
but they
need to
know that
they're
wrong,
and I'm
going to
tell them.
Love your
neighbour does
not apply
right now.
Do you
see?
That's what's
happening in
verse 11.
Look at the
rest of
verse 11.
when you
judge the
law,
you are
not keeping
it,
but sitting
in judgment
on it.
We're
disobeying
God's
law,
and we're
following out
our own
desires.
We're
saying,
I know
better than
God.
In fact,
I want
to be
God,
and I'm
going to
make up
my own
laws,
and loving
my neighbour
as myself
is not
one of
them.
But when
we humbly
repent,
when we
receive of
God's
rich,
amazing
grace to
us,
well then
our lives
begin to
be changed
and transformed,
and we
begin to
obey God's
law,
and we
love each
other as
our neighbour,
as our
self.
Rather than
cause fights
and quarrels,
we begin to
build each
other up,
our words
become words
of peacemaking,
rather than
quarrels and
infighting.
Here's the
heart of the
matter,
verse 12.
There is
only one
lawgiver and
judge,
that's God,
the one
who is
able to
save and
destroy.
You see,
if I
slander and
speak harshly
against another
person,
if I
speak
judgmentally
against
someone,
well in
fact what
I'm
pronouncing
is my
own
judgment
upon
myself,
because I'm
standing in
defiance of
God's law,
and God's
will will be
done.
He will
judge me,
and I
will be
destroyed,
as it says
in verse 12.
I will
not stand
against his
judgment.
But yet,
if I
obey God's
command,
if I'm
speaking in
love and
seeking to
build others
up, if I've
received his
grace,
well I can be
confident that
God who has
given me
grace,
verse 12,
will save
me,
rather than
destroy me.
So have
you
repented?
Have we
humbled
ourselves
before God
and received
his grace?
Remember the
question we
asked at the
very beginning,
as we
started our
time this
morning?
We asked
this question,
what are you
like at
asking for
help?
I'm fine,
I can do
it, I
don't need
help, I
can go it
alone.
Look what it
says in
verse 6,
but he
gives us
more grace.
That is why
scripture says
God opposes
the proud,
but shows
grace to
the humble.
You see,
we're not a
perfect church
and we're not
perfect people.
And to some
extent, that's
okay, because
that's what we
are to admit
to God.
I'm not
perfect.
And I
need your
grace.
I need your
favour in my
life, so
that I can
begin to live
as you call
me to live.
And God
will give us
more grace,
more grace
than we could
ever think of
or imagine,
to love one
another well.
God.
What a
great God
we have.
Let's pray.