James Chapter Four, Pride Goeth...

 

James 4:6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” [7] Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

 

Verse 5 asked the recipients of the letter if they believed that God spoke in vain throughout the Old Testament about yearning jealously for the people of His name. In other words, was He speaking to no avail or pointlessly? God’s word never returns to Him void. Where sin abounds through the excess of our carnality, grace abounds much more, because what we have done cannot compare to the glory of what Christ has done for us, and desires to do within us, Romans 5:20. Even for those who love the world; they are not too far-gone and it is our responsibility when we see a fellow saint err so grossly to help them back. I believe this is the essence of James 5:20, when he writes, “he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death.”

God resists the proud. Pride is defined by Oxford, among other ways, as, “an excessively high opinion of yourself.” When we sin we are declaring war on God; sin is enmity, or hostility toward God. Sin is our way of telling God I am more important to me than He is. We are, in effect, declaring our intent to replace Him in the throne of our hearts. The proud person enthrones their reason as god; and we always have one. Until we acknowledge our wrong and are led back to the right path humanity is endlessly creative in justifying our sinful choices, degrading the nature of sin, and ignoring God’s verdict about it, and its impact on our lives. Pride invites sin, because pride suffers no god before us. “He beholds every high thing; he is king over all the children of pride,” Job 41:34. This verse references an ancient sea creature God named Leviathan, and remains the subject of much debate. What we can learn from him is that this beast is a very self-satisfied animal. It is strong, and because it recognizes this much, employs what we would humanly term swaggering self-confidence. Confidence in self is a good starting point for pride. Our confidence is never to be in man, even if that man is us. “He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man. The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy,” Psalm 147:10, 11.

 

God gives grace to the humble. But what is grace? Something graceful is innately beautiful in how it conducts itself. A ballet dancer is graceful; her fluid forms and movements are mesmerizing to watch; she is graceful. We are told that Jesus Christ is “full of grace and truth,” John 1:14. That is why Paul could say, “God is able to make all grace abound toward you,” 2 Corinthians 9:8. Several verses later we are reminded that the grace that stirs us to good works and a loving interest in the saints is “the exceeding grace of God,” 2 Corinthians 9:14. It is not humanly manufactured, but divinely ordained for the purpose of enabling us as His children to function to the capacity He desires of us. The humble can receive what the proud will not. Why? For one, the proud would not want God’s grace. Secondly, God will not grant it to them, but instead resists them.

 

When we are humble we stake very little on our self. To phrase it differently, our opinion of ourselves is low by our estimation. The humble are empty, willing to be filled with the grace God desires to give His children. The proud are already full; they are full of self and until they are willing to jettison that baggage God will not mingle His gifts with their sin.

 

Two commands follow. Submit to God. I speak from experience, and I believe any fellow Christian that is zealous to obey will agree that this is easier said than done. Nonetheless, it is commanded of us. God wants our submission to Him. If we genuinely trust Him then we will grant it. If we truly want Him in our lives, transforming our lives, we will surrender. Second, resist the devil. Where did this line of logic emanate in James’s writing? The chapter begins with believers awash in worldly living. They’ve thrown off God’s yoke and struck hands in a pledge with the “god of this age,” 2 Corinthians 4:4; see also Ephesians 6:12. James is prescribing the remedy while practicing what he preaches in James 5:19, 20. The cure to worldliness is submission to God, so that “[God’s] will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” Matthew 6:10. Our desire ought to be aligned with God’s purpose for mankind and the redemption of the creation. Being yoke mates with Christ (Matthew 11:29) would certainly enable the believer to resist the devil and his manifold temptations, Ephesians 6:13-17. Yoked oxen were paired; they always went the same direction, put to the same task. The idea, then, is agreement: that we agree with God that His way is good: good for us as His children and good for the salvation of souls. “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?” Amos 3:3.

 

James 4:8a Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

 

There is a cause and effect with God. God is not free, so to speak, in the same sense we are. Whereas humanity is free to sin, capable of failure and practices infidelity by an act of defiant will, God cannot. Being perfect, He is incapable of acting in a way incongruent with His revealed nature. “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent,” Numbers 23:19. “[Jesus] was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin,” Hebrews 4:15. “And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin,” 1 John 3:5. Leviticus chapter 26 is entirely devoted to the conditions that surround God’s blessing when His people obey, and God’s curse when they rebel. Though the chapter involves Israel and the nature of their covenant with Yahweh, it also provides brilliant illumination for us as to how God acts and responds to the condition of His children. “For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged,” 1 Corinthians 11:31. The first use of the word “judge” in this verse is the Greek “diakrino” and means “to separate thoroughly or withdraw from.” The second time the seemingly same word appears it is simply “krino” and means “to condemn or punish.” When we hear the voice of correction in whatever form it takes, we should take pains to heed Him, and humble ourselves so that He does not need to.