http://bible.com/events/48836948
James and Unfriending the World
Choose your friends wisely.
James 4:4-6
You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”
-James says this: choosing friendship with the world is cheating. We commit adultery.
-The closer we move toward “the world,” the further we move away from God.
Two critical questions we must ask in response to this text:
1. What does it mean to be a friend of the world?
2. What do I do in response?
What does it mean to be a friend of the world?
-It means our loyalty is ultimately to the things of this world. They are the priority. They are the focus, They are the foundation upon which our life is built.
-The root of sin is ultimately a desire for ‘self’ above all. Sin comes down to a desire for ‘self’ over God’s best.
-So a friend of the world is one who is loyal to the desires of ‘self’ above anything else.
Matthew 10:32-33
“Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.
What do I do in response? What do I do if my loyalty is divided?
-James provides good news in the midst of difficult words: “Be He gives more grace” (James 4:6).
-Grace is available even when we have been disloyal and unfaithful.
-And this grace from God is offered to those who are willing to humble themselves. This is why James references Proverbs 3:34.
-If friendship with the world is a loyalty to ‘self’, then perhaps the closer we are to true humility, the further we are from the world.
The bottom line:
Choose your friends wisely.
Other verses for further study/reflection:
James 4:4-6
You’re cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and his way. And do you suppose God doesn’t care? The proverb has it that “he’s a fiercely jealous lover.” And what he gives in love is far better than anything else you’ll find. It’s common knowledge that “God goes against the willful proud; God gives grace to the willing humble.”
Matthew 10:32-39
“Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven. “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn “ ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
Other verses:
Exodus 34:14
1 John 2:15-18
John 15:18
Romans 12:2
John 18:36
James in 8 Minutes
This overview video on the book of James breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In this book, James combines the wisdom of his brother Jesus with the book of Proverbs in his own challenging call to live a life wholly devoted to God.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qn-hLHWwRYY