James Expounds on Faith Volume 43

 The Warning Against Worldliness Part 5

James 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. KJV Note: NKJV=New King James Version

The Apostle James in this very next verse wanted to emphasize to those then Jewish converts to our Lord Jesus Christ and wants to emphasize to those of us today and of every era and generation who have been born of His Spirit that it is not enough for us to just resist the devil 👿, but we must immediately and continually after doing so do this as he declares with these words, "Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded." (James 4:8) (KJV). The first thing he tells us to do after resisting the devil 👿 is to then 'draw nigh' to God and this little English phrase is translated by the Greek word eggizō meaning to make near, that is, (reflexively) approach: - approach, be at hand, come near, come nigh. The way we most effectively draw nigh to God is when we entreat (request earnestly) Him in prayer for His presence, purpose, and power to be manifested in us and through us as we are sojourning here on the earth that He may be glorified through our lives, as so saith the Psalmist Asaph with these words, "But it is good for me to draw near to God. I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, That I may declare all Your works." (Psalms 73:28)(NKJV) and as it is written by the hand of the writer of the Book of Hebrews with these two (2) passages of Scripture, "Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water." (Hebrews 10:19-22) (NKJV) and also, "Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:14-16) (NKJV). When the Apostle James writes, 'cleanse your hands, ye sinners', he means that we are to cease from our known sins repenting of them and turning from them to our Heavenly Father so that our sin does not hinder our prayers to Him, as Job described, decreed, and declared with these words, "If you would prepare your heart, And stretch out your hands toward Him; If iniquity were in your hand, and you put it far away, And would not let wickedness dwell in your tents; Then surely you could lift up your face without spot; Yes, you could be steadfast, and not fear; Because you would forget your misery, And remember it as waters that have passed away, And your life would be brighter than noonday. Though you were dark, you would be like the morning. And you would be secure, because there is hope; Yes, you would dig around you, and take your rest in safety." (Job 11:13-18) (NKJV). Lastly, when the Apostle James writes, 'purify your hearts, ye double minded, we get our understanding from what he means that the 'double minded' are because it is an English phrase translated by the Greek word dipsuchos meaning two spirited, that is, vacillating or wavering between conflicting positions or courses of action (in opinion or purpose): - double minded. In other words, when we purify our souls from allowing our indwelling sin to be manifested in our outward lives, then we will be clothed with the majesty, magnificence, and mighty power of our Great God and King Jesus Christ, as Jacob discovered when he obeyed the Lord God, as it is written here, "Then God said to Jacob, 'Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.' And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, 'Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments. Then let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I have gone.' So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and the earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree which was by Shechem. And they journeyed, and the terror of God was upon the cities that were all around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. So Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. And he built an altar there and called the place El Bethel, because there God appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother." (Genesis 35:1-7) (NKJV). We purify ourselves and change our garments when we put off our 'old man 👨' or 'old woman 👩' and put on the 'new man 👨' and 'new woman 👩', as it is written with these words by the Apostle Paul, "But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness." (Ephesians 4:20-24) (NKJV). This act of obedience by us will cause our Father in Heaven to draw nigh to us as we are drawing nigh to Him. Amen!!!

Here is what Albert Barnes had to say of James 4:8, "This declaration contains a great and important principle in religion. If we wish the favor of God, we must come to Him; nor can we hope for His mercy, unless we approach Him and ask Him for it. We cannot come literally any nearer to God than we always are, for He is always round about us; but we may come nearer in a spiritual sense. We may address Him directly in prayer; we may approach Him by meditation on His character; we may draw near to Him in the ordinances of religion. We can never hope for His favor while we prefer to remain at a distance from Him; none who in fact draw near to Him will find Him unwilling to bestow on them the blessings which they need. There may possibly be an allusion here to Isaiah 1:15-16; 'Your hands are full of blood; wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil.' The heart is the seat of motives and intentions - that by which we devise anything; the hands, the instruments by which we execute our purposes. The hands here are represented as defiled by blood, or by acts of iniquity. To wash or cleanse the hands was, therefore, emblematic of putting away transgression, Matthew 27:24. Compare Deuteronomy 21:6; Psalms 26:6. The heathen and the Jews were accustomed to wash their hands before they engaged in public worship. The particular idea here is, that in order to obtain the favor of God, it is necessary to put away our sins; to approach Him with a desire to be pure and holy. The mere washing of the hands, in itself, could not recommend us to His favor; but that of which the washing of the hands would be an emblem, would be acceptable in his sight. It may be inferred from what is said here that no one can hope for the favor of God who does not abandon his transgressions. The design of the Apostle is, evidently, to state one of the conditions on which we can make an acceptable approach to God. It is indispensable that we come with a purpose and desire to wash ourselves from all iniquity, to put away from us all our transgressions. So David said, 'I will wash my hands in innocency; so will I compass thine altar. O Lord,' Psalms 26:6. 'To obtain the favor of God, it is necessary to put away our sins' - is somewhat unguarded phraseology. If the favor of God were not obtained but on this condition, none ever would obtain it. The passage is a strong injunction to holiness and singleness of heart: it does not say, however, that by these we obtain acceptance with God. Of His favor, holiness is the fruit, the effect, and not the cause. The sinner must not think of getting quit of his sins to prepare him for going to God by Jesus; but he must first go to Jesus to prepare for laying aside his sins. Yet in every approach to God, it is true there must be a desire to be free from sin; and this doubtless is the view of the commentary; indeed it is so expressed, though some words are objectionable. That is, do not rest satisfied with a mere external reformation; with putting away your outward transgressions. There must be a deeper work than that; a work which shall reach to the heart, and which shall purify the affections. This agrees with all the requisitions of the Bible, and is in accordance with what must be the nature of religion. If the heart is wrong, nothing can be right. If, while we seek an external reformation, we still give indulgence to the secret corruptions of the heart, it is clear that we can have no true religion. The Apostle here seems to have had his eye on those who were vacillating in their purposes; whose hearts were not decidedly fixed, but who were halting between good and evil. The heart was not right in such persons. It was not settled and determined in favor of religion, but vibrated between that and the world. The proper business of such persons, therefore, was to cleanse the heart from disturbing influences, that it might settle down in unwavering attachment to that which is good." Here is what Adam Clarke had to say of James 4:8, "Approach Him, in the name of Jesus, by faith and prayer, and He will draw nigh to you - He will meet you at your coming. When a soul sets out to seek God, God sets out to meet that soul; so that while we are drawing near to Him, He is drawing near to us. The delicacy and beauty of these expressions are, I think, but seldom noted. This I think to be the beginning of a new address, and to different persons; and should have formed the commencement of a new verse. Let your whole conduct be changed; cease to do evil learn to do well. Washing or cleansing the hands was a token of innocence and purity. Separate yourselves from the world, and consecrate yourselves to God: this is the true notion of sanctification. We have often seen that to sanctify signifies to separate a thing or person from profane or common use, and consecrate it or him to God. This is the true notion of קדש kadash, in Hebrew, and ἁγιαζω in Greek. The person or thing thus consecrated or separated is considered to be holy, and to be God’s property; and then God hallows it to Himself. There are, therefore, two things implied in a man’s sanctification: 1. That he separates himself from evil ways and evil companions, and devotes himself to God. 2. That God separates guilt from his conscience, and sin from his soul, and thus makes him internally and externally holy. This double sanctification is well expressed on the words, be ye holy, for I the Lord am holy: a man sanctifies himself on the earth, and then he is sanctified from heaven. As a man is a sinner, he must have his hands cleansed from wicked works; as he is double-minded, he must have his heart sanctified. Sanctification belongs to the heart, because of pollution of mind; cleansing belongs to the hands, because of sinful acts."

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…