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Post by Admin on Oct 7, 2018 19:42:04 GMT -6
Study Begins: October 7, 2018
Discussion Begins: October 14, 2018
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1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore 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 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. English Standard Version (ESV) |
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elacey
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Dedicated TruthSeeker
Posts: 121
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Post by elacey on Oct 11, 2018 7:13:00 GMT -6
You're tired because you have been quarreling and fighting with people who are focused on worldly desires.
Depressed and unhappy because of the battle raging within yourself.
This is all fueled by your own desire.
You're never satisfied with what you have because you keep looking always at what others have.
Have you ever considered that maybe God does not trust you with money?
What would happen if you won the lottery tomorrow? Can God trust you to stay humble, serve only the kingdom? Or would you spend it all on pleasure for yourself?
If you continue to befriend the world you will gradually become an enemy to God.
You must choose between God and money.
* Submit yourself to God.
*Resist the Devil.
*and he will flee from you.
Come near to God and He will come near to you.
Be serious. Take your life in this world seriously... you represent the Lord.
Humble yourself to the Lord and He will lift you up out of your suffering.
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John R
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Dedicated TruthSeeker
Posts: 182
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Gender: Male
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Post by John R on Oct 12, 2018 21:33:06 GMT -6
Just wrote a long post and it inadvertently was deleted. Bottom line, if we fail to walk with God desiring to be in his presence, we fall victim to our own sin nature. Our natural man is always pulling us. The Father makes provision and gives us seven steps to keep us from falling prey to our former self.
1. Submit yourselves therefore to God.
2. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
3. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
4. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
5. Be wretched and mourn and weep.
6. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
7. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
We are not alone and if we truly love the Lord we will draw nigh to Him daily.
Blessings, John
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JB
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Dedicated TruthSeeker
Posts: 308
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Gender: Male
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Post by JB on Oct 14, 2018 19:56:22 GMT -6
Study Begins: October 7, 2018
Discussion Begins: October 14, 2018
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1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore 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 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
English Standard Version (ESV)James continues to investigate the effect of worldly wisdom that was (and today still is) prevailing in the church. As a recap, He has been discussing how wisdom and anger are incompatible forces. They cannot go together. If you want to be angry, don’t think you are wise. If you want to be wise, don’t be angry. In 3:1-12 he emphasized the power of our tongues. - Like a ship’s rudder or a horse’s bit your tongue is small, but it controls your whole body.
- Like a spark of fire in a forest, it is small but can set your whole life on fire – even bringing you to the fire of Hell.
- We can use the same tongue to praise God and to curse men, but these don’t fit together any more than a single spring can flow with both fresh water and salt water.
In 3:13-18 James contrasted Godly wisdom – which is demonstrated by a humble life and good deeds, with worldly wisdom – which is selfish, envious, and ultimately bitter.
- Selfishness and bitterness (worldly wisdom) is characterized by disorder and evil.
- Humility and good deeds (Godly wisdom) is characterized by purity, peace, being considerate, submission, mercy, good fruit, impartiality, and sincerity.
4:1 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. 4 You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? 6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." 7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
Verses 1-2
In chapter 4, James moves from these effects to the root cause and finally to the solution. He begins with that question: “What causes fights and quarrels among you?” What does James say cause them? Desires battling inside us. Lustfulness, Discontent. Desiring things so strongly that we will do anything (even kill and covet) in order to get them. NOTE: I have tried every way I can to find a way to translate “kill” in v.2 differently. I can’t. James plainly said here that due to unfulfilled desires, some in the church murdered others in order to get that they wanted. There’s no other way to read the text. Verses 2-3
So we are inclined to do these horrible things because we do not have what we want. Why don’t we? James says it’s because we haven’t asked God. Is your experience like mine? When I am about to ask God for something I want, He either gives me better than I even thought to ask for or else shows me how human, misguided, and sinful my desires are. Verse 4
Discussion Question: James says these believers are “adulterous.” How are they committing adultery? Discussion Question: How is friendship with the world hatred toward God? Discussion Question: Does James say here that it is possible for a Christian to be God’s enemy? Discussion Question: What would friendship with the world look like? What are some examples of how Christians could befriend the world? Verse 5 is a little challenging. The way the NIV and others render it, James appears to quote something from the scriptures that says “the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely,” but nothing like that appears in the entire Bible. The Greek text behind this verse is very difficult to translate. A responsible alternate translation would be “Or do you think the Scripture’s words are in vain (or empty, or without a purpose)? The spirit He caused to live in us envies intensely.” With that translation, James is saying that if Christians become friends of the world, they are acting as if the scriptures are useless and empty. Discussion Question: What is meant in v.5 (in context) that “the spirit God caused to live in us envies intensely?” Verse 6
Discussion Question: What does it mean to have “more grace, and how do we receive more grace?” Discussion Question: What is the way out? How can we live contrary to our natural selves? How can we overcome the “desires that battle within” us as he mentioned in v. 1? Discussion Question: What will this look like in our lives, according to this text? Let’s not overlook the fact that Christians here are called “adulteresses,” “sinners,” and “double-minded.” We cannot be quick to judge a person’s salvation or the reality of a person’s relationship with God based on these attitudes. All through this section, James is addressing Christians and telling them they are living contrary to what God re-created them to be. Three enemies of a righteous life are listed here in James: 1. Our fallen nature (vv. 1, 2, and possibly 5) 2. The world’s system (v. 4) 3. The devil (v. 7) These three enemies also appear in Ephesians 2:2-3 |
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