James 4:11 KJV [11] “Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.”      James has a lot to say in this epistle about the tongue. He condemns the sins of backbiting, gossiping, and a judgmental attitude. It is shocking that God’s children would even need such a rebuke. You would expect the world to bite and devour each other but never the bride of …

James 4:10 KJV [10] “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.”      We cannot say enough about the subject of humility. It is something that we all must be mindful of daily. God expects us to practice humility in every aspect of life. He wants us to be careful that we don’t think highly of ourselves. That is a great temptation in the world we live in today because it is so easy to build a platform for yourself. Many get caught up in self-promotion, and it is acceptable in society. There will …

James 4:9 KJV [9] “Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.”      The Lord wants our lives to be full of joy and laughter. However, there is a time to mourn and a time to weep. We must weep over sin. There should always be an affliction of the soul when we stray from God. That is what James is telling us in this verse. To experience the joy of the Lord, we must repent of our sins.      When I read this verse, it reminds me of the …

James 4:8 KJV [8] “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.”      The devil wants us to think that we cannot be close to God. He wants us to believe that it is difficult to have fellowship with Him. The devil is a liar, and we must not listen to his lies. We must trust what God says rather than what Satan tries to put in our minds.      Here we have a clear invitation to draw closer to God. It is such a …

James 4:7 KJV [7] “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”      It is never appropriate to brag on the devil. I have heard people testify in church about how the devil had been on their back, yet they said very little about God. God never gets glory when we magnify Satan. However, we must be aware of two things about the enemy. First, we have to remember that he is a defeated foe! God kicked him out of heaven, cursed him in the garden, and then crushed his head at Calvary! One …

James 4:6 KJV  [6] “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”      Our verse today contains three truths about the grace of God. The first truth we see is grace promised. God has not only promised to give us grace but to give us more grace. That means that no matter what we face in this life, God has promised to provide the grace to see us through. As believers, we can rest in the knowledge that this grace will be there to help us in times of need, …

James 4:5 KJV [5] “Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?”      In the last verse, James places emphasis on the world. In this verse, he emphasizes the flesh. The flesh cannot be tamed, trusted, or tolerated. The Bible teaches us about the depravity of the flesh. James asks a profound question when he says, Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain,…? The answer is, No, never!      The Bible paints a clear picture of the flesh. That does not mean the actual body itself. There is …

James 4:4 KJV [4] “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”      The Devil is the number one enemy of God. The world is the number two enemy of God. Believers should feel the same way about making friends with the world as they would making friends with the Devil. It’s strange how many believers today will take a firm stand against Satan while flirting with the world.      God calls this friendship spiritual adultery. We …

James 4:3 KJV [3] “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”     The crowd in our text is full of wars, fighting, lust, murder, and in the next verse, accused of spiritual adultery. However, they are people who pray. It is strange how people can be so evil yet still bow their heads and go through the formality of prayer, believing that God will hear them through their selfish pride.          In verse two, he told us that they failed to pray personally, but in this verse, he tells us …

James 4:2 KJV  [2] “Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.”      I remember in school that some students just liked to fight. It seemed like they never got along with anyone. They were always trying to start an argument or pick a fight with someone. Those students had as much conflict inside as they created around them. There are people in our churches that are just the same. We all know of people who have been members of more churches than …