BOOK OF JAMES
STUDY PART 18 - NEAR TO GOD
James 4:8-12 (8) Come near to God and he will come near to you. (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. (11) Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. (12) There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you-who are you to judge your neighbor.
Intro- Prayer is one of the most blessed and sacred privileges that we enjoy as children of God. James has had much to say about prayer and its practices in our previous lessons. In Chapter 1:6, we saw James setting forth the necessity of Faith in prayer. Prayer without accompanying faith receives nothing from God our father. In Chapter 4:3, our focus was on having the right motives in prayer. To pray with self-satisfaction in mind will result in the displeasure of God and receiving nothing. God loves us and will withhold that which would harm our lives. If we will come putting His will first, He willingly and lovingly hears and answers. In this passage of Chapter 4:8, the right condition of life is set forth as necessary to an effective prayer life. May the Holy Spirit speak to each of us on this passage.
I) “Coming To God” (vs.8) (8) Come near to God and he will come near to you. –Here James shows us the way of victory over Satan which he suggests in vs. 7. Nearness of God will bring comfort and strength and courage. A sinner can draw nigh/near to God (Eph 2:13). Because of the shedding of Christ’s blood on the cross, the vilest of sinners can draw near to God through Christ. One must first confess our sins and recognize we are sinners (Rom 3:23). A person must believe God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die in your place for your sins (Rom 5:8). Then in prayer we confess our sins and receive Christ by Faith as our Lord and Savior (Rom 10:9,10). A saint should draw near to God (Heb. 7:19). Fellowship between a Father and his children is parenthood. David said, “It is good for me to draw near to God”- Ps. 73:28. In His presence there is joy and peace (Heb 10:22). How must a Christian draw near to God? The answer is in the second part of vs. 8. Here, the Bible calls for practical holiness. Today as never before, we need to be cleansed and draw nigh unto God (Isa. 59:1,2). CLEANSE YOUR HANDS. Reference is made here to the cleansing of our outward lives. This is a call for right living (Ps. 24:3,4). True communion with God, comes only by yielding of ourselves to God (Rom 12:1) (I Tim 2:8). God cannot use those who insist on living for Satan. PURIFY YOUR HEARTS, this speaks of an inward cleansing. Sin in your hearts will cut off prayer, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me-Ps. 66:18. An unclean heart will produce unclean actions. The Old Testament tabernacle speaks to us of this same progression of cleansing. The outer court with the Brazen alter speak of our flesh. The holy place which speaks of our soul. The holy of holy which speaks of our Spirit. In II Chron. 29, we find revival under King Hezekian and in the 5th verse He orders the filth to be carried out of the holy place. II Corith 7:1 states “Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthness.” If we are to see revival in our hearts and in our church, we must carry out the filth out of the holy place. David cried out “Against thee, thee only have I sinned”-Ps 51:4-7.
II) “Result of Recognizing our Need (vs. 9) (9) Grieve, mourn, and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.- These 3 words grieve, mourn and wail (weep) are closely related and all speak of sorrow for sin. These words call for true repentance (Luke 18:13). When a man sees his own sinful heart, he could hardly shout for joy (Rom 7:24). Paul cried “O wretched man that I am”. Jesus said “Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted” -Matt 5:4. The Bible is the most joyful book in the world and Christianity the most joyful relationship. But this deep joy comes only after a deep repentance and sorrow for sin. Then comes the deep joy and peace that mankind is looking for (Phil 4:4).
III) “Humbleness Leads to Usefulness” (Vs. 10) (10) Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.-This humbleness is in the sight of the Lord. Some try and act humble before men, to be seen of men and this profits no one for “Thou understandeth my thoughts afar off”.-Ps. 139:2. He shall lift you up. “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time”-I Peter 5:6. We must remember that He will exalt us (Matt 23:12). Jesus becomes our example of humbling one’s self (John 12:32,33). On calvary, He humbled himself to the Cross and then was exalted by the Father (Phil 2:8,9)
IV) “Speak evil of no man” (vs. 11) (11) Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. - James returns to his main topic, sins of the tongue in this verse. In Chapter 1:19, James urges his readers to be “slow to speak”. In Chapter 1:26, he speaks of bridling the tongue. In Chapter 3, he dwells on the right and wrong use of the tongue. Now in Chapter 4, he takes up a sin, which seems to be common among saints, speaking evil of others. He speaks to the Brethern so there is no doubt who he is speaking to –us as fellow believers in Christ. Many times we listen to the Word and apply it to our neighbor, when all along it was for us. In vs. 11, evil speaking is disobedience. (II Corith. 12:20). God gives us a direct command for all members of His family to abstain from this habit (Luke 19:16). Evil speaking breaks the royal law which James brought to our attention in Chapter 2:8.(Ex 20:16)(John 8:44). A spirit of criticism and fault finding is condemned by the royal law of love (John 13:34,35)(I Peter 4:8). Evil speaking comes from a person who places himself on the plane of Judge with Christ. If we recall, satan tried to usurp God’s authority and was cut down. We must use great care lest we fall into the same error (Col 3:9).
V) V) “There is One Lawgiver” (vs. 12) (12) There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you-who are you to judge your neighbor. The one lawgiver is Jesus Christ. He gave all laws to govern. He gave us the physical world (sun, moon, stars, mankind). He is able to save and destroy. In spite of our law breaking, He is able to save us for on Calvary the judge stepped down and took upon himself the penalty of our sin. Know through His blood we may have forgiveness of all our sins. “He spared not His one son, but delivered him up for us all “-Rom 8:32. He who is able to save is also able to destroy. Those who refuse to receive His Son will be sent to hell. Last part of vs 12, “who are you to judge your neighbor?” If we will draw near to God and His holiness, we shall not be so quick to pass judgment on others. (Rom 14:4)(Rom 14:10-13). So rather than judge others, let us correct ourselves.
Conclusion: As we close this passage, let’s focus on this point. If we draw near to God and let Him by the Word search our souls, He will reveal to us our sin that we might confess it to God and be forgiven and cleansed-I John 1:9. In doing this, we will be too busy to worry about others and their faults. May God help us to see the importance of walking a totally surrendered pathway to only Him. So, who are you judging today? If it’s anyone, stop, ask forgiveness and He will draw near to you.