James4

James questions the source of conflicts among believers, attributing them to selfish lusts and asking amiss. He declares that friendship with the world constitutes enmity with God, urging believers to submit to God, resist the devil, and humble themselves. The chapter also condemns speaking evil of others and arrogant boasting about future plans, reminding readers of life's brevity and God's sovereignty. Finally, it states that knowing to do good and not doing it is sin.

The Source of Conflict and Strife

1
Where do wars and fightings among you come from? Don’t they come from your pleasures that war in your members? ​
2
You lust, and don’t have. You kill, covet, and can’t obtain. You fight and make war. You don’t have, because you don’t ask.
3
You ask, and don’t receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it for your pleasures. ​

Friendship with the World is Enmity with God

4
You adulterers and adulteresses, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. ​
5
Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who lives in us yearns jealously”? ​
6
But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” ​

Call to Submission and Repentance

7
Be subject therefore to God. But 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
Lament, mourn, and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to gloom. ​
10
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will exalt you.

Warning Against Judging Others

11
Don’t speak against one another, brothers. He who speaks against a brother and judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge. ​
12
Only one is the lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge another? ​

The Danger of Presumptuous Planning

13
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow let’s go into this city, and spend a year there, trade, and make a profit.” ​
14
Whereas you don’t know what your life will be like tomorrow. For what is your life? For you are a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away. ​
15
For you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will both live, and do this or that.” ​
16
But now you glory in your boasting. All such boasting is evil.

The Sin of Omission

17
To him therefore who knows to do good, and doesn’t do it, to him it is sin. ​

Study Notes for James 4

Verse 1

James identifies the true source of external conflict (wars and fightings) not in external circumstances but in internal selfish desires ('lusts') that battle within the believer.

Verse 3

To 'ask amiss' means prayer is motivated by self-gratification or self-interest, rather than seeking God’s will or glory; such prayer reveals a consumerist attitude toward God.

Verse 4

The term 'adulterers and adulteresses' is used metaphorically, drawing on Old Testament imagery where Israel’s unfaithfulness to God (the covenant husband) was called spiritual adultery. Friendship with the world means prioritizing worldly values over devotion to God.

Verse 5

This verse is a challenging allusion, likely summarizing the principle of Scripture: either that the Holy Spirit resident in us intensely desires our full devotion (a godly jealousy), or that the fallen human spirit is prone to selfish envy.

Verse 6

James quotes Proverbs 3:34 (via the Septuagint) to emphasize that while human desires lead to conflict, God responds to humility with an abundance of grace. Pride is the opposite of submission.

Verse 8

To 'draw nigh to God' requires active repentance and dedication. 'Double minded' refers to the instability (as seen in 1:8) of those who try to live simultaneously for God and the world.

Verse 9

This strong language demands genuine, visible repentance—a period of mourning over sin—as opposed to superficial confession or worldly indifference.

Verse 11

Slandering or judging a brother is equated with judging the Law itself. By condemning the person, one implies that the Law commanding love is either faulty or irrelevant, thereby stepping into the role of the Lawgiver.

Verse 12

James reinforces the exclusivity of God’s role as the supreme Lawgiver and Judge. When believers judge others, they usurp divine authority.

Verse 13

James addresses merchants or business people who make rigid, confident plans for the future without acknowledging divine sovereignty, revealing a self-sufficient attitude.

Verse 14

Life is described as 'a vapour' (or mist), a powerful image emphasizing the brevity, fragility, and uncertainty of human existence, contrasting sharply with the arrogant certainty of the planners.

Verse 15

The proper perspective requires acknowledging God's sovereignty using the phrase 'If the Lord will' (Latin: *Deo volente*). This recognizes that all success and life itself depend entirely on God’s permission.

Verse 17

This verse is a crucial summary statement defining the sin of omission: neglecting to do the known moral good is as much a sin as actively committing evil. It calls believers to ethical action based on knowledge.

Use ← → arrow keys to navigate
Settings

Reading Style

Typeface

Font Size 19px

Options