James 4

In James 4, the author continues to delve into the heart of sin and unbelief. He asks the question, "Where do wars come from?" He concludes chapter 4 with the simple statement that if we know to do good but do not do it, it is sin!

1 Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war.

6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”

17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

James 4:1-2, 6, & 17, NKJV

James 4 - Where do wars come from?

James 4 continues to enumerate what sin is and its causes in this chapter. He first asks, "Where do wars come from?"

That is a question we must continually ask, for as the earth continues and decades come and go, wars continue to plague us. Will it ever stop? Why are we not able to live peaceably with one another?

James states that wars come from the desires that plague us. With hearts full of lust, we continue to war with one another.

Where do we go for help?

James 4 - Our help is in the Lord.

Help can only come from the Lord. Psalm 121 beautifully expresses this truth.

1 I will lift up my eyes to the hills—
From whence comes my help?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.

7 The Lord shall preserve you from all evil;
He shall preserve your soul.
8 The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in
From this time forth, and even forevermore.

Psalm 121:1-2 & 7-8, NKJV

It is God who resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. It is God who preserves us.

What a comfort we find in God's Holy Word! In James we find the very root of our difficulties as well as the answer. Just as the Psalmist told us that our help comes from the Lord, he assured us that it is the Lord who preserves us from all evil; He preserves our very soul. How long? He preserves us from now until forever!

Could it be so simple? Yes!

James 4 - Sin!

James ends chapter 4 with a very simple, yet profound, statement. To him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. (James 4:17)

Let us remember that God is God and we are not! We, being creatures of sin, must continually go before God and seek His help to do good and to be obedient to His Word.

What richness we find in the book of James! As we continue to study, chapter 4, let us continue to ask the Lord to open our hearts and minds to understand and accept the truth found in His Word.

What an amazing God we serve!

God Bless You,

Linda