James Expounds on Faith Volume 39

 The Warning Against Worldliness Part 1

James 4:1-3 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? 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. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. KJV Note: NKJV=New King James Version

Despite the reality of our being born again of incorruptible seed (1 Peter 1:23) and being sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise (Ephesians 1:13) there remains within our inner man 👨 our old 🧓 nature which we have the responsibility to put off , that is, to hold back and avoid fulfilling the desires of our old man 👨 because of what Christ has done for us on the Cross as the Apostle Paul declared to us with these words in his letter ✉ to the Roman believers, "Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin." (Romans 6:6) (NKJV) and also these words, "Likewise you also, reckon (consider, calculate, and count) yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:11) (NKJV), however, when we do not believe ourselves to indeed be dead to sin then we can and will allow or relinquish control of our inner man or woman away from the Holy Spirits control back to our old man 👨 still within us. Only when we walk in the spirit (Galatians 5:16), that is, our new man 👨 who has been created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:24) can we be pleasing to our Father in Heaven and do His will while we sojourn here on the earth 🌎, for we have the responsibility to yield to God the Holy Spirit because He will never force us to do so. Having said all of this, the Apostle James was well aware of the internal war in our inner man 👨 and inner woman 👩, so he wrote these words to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad (scattered Jewish converts to Christ) and to we believers today and of every era and generation, "From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? 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. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts." (James 4:1-3) (KJV). Let us remember that James is writing these words to believers, therefore, what I detailed above is and has been and will always be vital to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man/woman, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13), that is, where there is not yielding constantly to the Holy Spirit in any individual believer or group of believers, then various wars, fightings and conflicts will occur and divide, dissolve, and decimate unity and maturity in the faith and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Apostle James is in attack mode with his language here because he wants his point to be clear and without misunderstanding. Worldliness equals the concern with worldly affairs to the neglect of spiritual needs. We must still live in the world 🗺 because we are not yet in heaven with our Lord Jesus Christ, however, we must never allow ourselves to love this world and the things in it (above our love for Christ Jesus our Lord and what His will for us is), for when we lust for the temporary things that are passing away we forfeit the spiritual blessings that are ours right now even in our pilgrimage down here (Ephesians 1:3), remember what the Apostle John said, "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever." (1 John 2:15-17) (NKJV). The build up of envy and jealousy within a body of believers or the desire to have the position or status of another believer in the body causes these wars to be fought and it fosters hatred for one another that is murder in the heart. The lust for things and for authority and power will drive away unity of the faith and replace it with strife leading to confusion which will kill any desire for, duty for, and declartion for evangelism, which is the number one thing our Lord Jesus Christ commanded the early Apostles to do (Matthew 28:18-20). Even the prayers of the envious and jealous soul are not granted because our Lord Jesus knows that they are from a wrong motive not to use for His Glory, but to satisfy the fleshy and worldy lust of the petitioner. Actual words prayed by such a believer to God, "Lord bless me with the success of this conference or gathering by filling the offering plates to overflowing that we may do more for You Lord. Amen". Here is what the real prayer should sound like from such believers as James speaks of, "God bless me with more money so I can get more temporary stuff to make myself feel big and important and build my earthly kingdom larger and larger for my glory. Amen".

Here is what Matthew Henry had to say of James 4:1-3, "The Jews were a very seditious people, and had therefore frequent wars with the Romans; and they were a very quarrelsome divided people, often fighting among themselves; and many of those corrupt Christians against whose errors and vices this epistle was written seem to have fallen in with the common quarrels. Hereupon, our apostle informs them that the origin of their wars and fightings was not (as they pretended) a true zeal for their country, and for the honour of God, but that their prevailing lusts were the cause of all. Observe hence, What is sheltered and shrouded under a specious pretence of zeal for God and religion often comes from men's pride, malice, covetousness, ambition, and revenge. The Jews had many struggles with the Roman power before they ere entirely destroyed. They often unnecessarily embroiled themselves, and then fell into parties and factions about the different methods of managing their wars with their common enemies; and hence it came to pass that, when their cause might be supposed good, yet their engaging in it and their management of it came from a bad principle. Their worldly and fleshly lusts raised and managed their wars and fightings; but one would think here is enough said to subdue those lusts; for, 1. They make a war within as well as fightings without. Impetuous passions and desires first war in their members, and then raise feuds in their nation. There is war between conscience and corruption, and there is war also between one corruption and another, and from these contentions in themselves arose their quarrels with each other. Apply this to private cases, and may we not then say of fightings and strifes among relations and neighbours they come from those lusts which war in the members? From lust of power and dominion, lust of pleasure, or lust of riches, from some one or more of these lusts arise all the broils and contentions that are in the world; and, since all wars and fightings come from the corruptions of our own hearts, it is therefore the right method for the cure of contention to lay the axe to the root, and mortify those lusts that war in the members. It should kill these lusts to think of their disappointment: 'You lust, and have not; you kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain, James 4:2. You covet great things for yourselves, and you think to obtain them by your victories over the Romans or by suppressing this and the other party among yourselves. You think you shall secure great pleasures and happiness to yourselves, by overthrowing every thing which thwarts your eager wishes; but, alas! you are losing your labour and your blood, while you kill one another with such views as these.' Inordinate desires are either totally disappointed, or they are not to be appeased and satisfied by obtaining the things desired. The words here rendered cannot obtain signify cannot gain the happiness sought after. Note hence, Worldly and fleshly lusts are the distemper which will not allow of contentment or satisfaction in the mind. 3. Sinful desires and affections generally exclude prayer, and the working of our desires towards God: 'You fight and war, yet you have not, because you ask not. You fight, and do not succeed, because you do not pray you do not consult God in your undertakings, whether he will allow of them or not; and you do not commit your way to him, and make known your requests to him, but follow your own corrupt views and inclinations: therefore you meet with continual disappointments;' or else. 4. 'Your lusts spoil your prayers, and make them an abomination to God, whenever you put them up to Him, v. 3. You ask, and receive not, because you ask amiss, that you may consume it upon your lusts.' As if it had been said, 'Though perhaps you may sometimes pray for success against your enemies, yet it is not your aim to improve the advantages you gain, so as to promote true piety and religion either in yourselves or others; but pride, vanity, luxury, and sensuality, are what you would serve by your successes, and by your very prayers. You want to live in great power and plenty, in voluptuousness and a sensual prosperity; and thus you disgrace devotion and dishonour God by such gross and base ends; and therefore your prayers are rejected.' Let us learn hence, in the management of all our worldly affairs, and in our prayers to God for success in them, to see that our ends be right. When men follow their worldly business (suppose them tradesmen or husbandmen), and ask of God prosperity, but do not receive what they ask for, it is because they ask with wrong aims and intentions. They ask God to give them success in their callings or undertakings; not that they may glorify their heavenly Father and do good with what they have, but that they may consume it upon their lusts - that they may be enabled to eat better meat, and drink better drink, and wear better clothes, and so gratify their pride, vanity, and voluptuousness. But, if we thus seek the things of this world, it is just in God to deny them; whereas, if we seek any thing that we may serve God with it, we may expect he will either give us what we seek or give us hearts to be content without it, and give opportunities of serving and glorifying him some other way. Let us remember this, that when we speed not in our prayers it is because we ask amiss; either we do not ask for right ends or not in a right manner, not with faith or not with fervency: unbelieving and cold desires beg denials; and this we may be sure of, that, when our prayers are rather the language of our lusts than of our graces, they will return empty."

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.


Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…