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 …

James 4:1 KJV [1] “From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?”      James asks two questions in this verse, and he uses the word war in both of them. I think that is interesting because, in the last verse, he used the word peace twice. He expresses how God’s people can live either in peace or strife. God wants His children to get along and live in peace rather than strife and envy. Spiritual people desire to have unity.      We must consider the first question …

James 3:18 KJV [18] “And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.”      I want to consider them that make peace. The peacemaker is someone who understands the values of unity among the saints. Their goal is to bring people together instead of dividing them. They look for ways to avoid or end any trace of strife that might come up. The peacemaker lives peacefully and enjoys the good things life has to offer. When you practice spreading peace, you can live in peace.      Those who make peace are known by their words. …

James 3:17 KJV [17] “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.”     You cannot put a price tag on the wisdom that God imparts to His children. In one of our devotionals, we discussed the difference between knowledge and wisdom. Wisdom is provided by God, not learned from a book. This verse describes the many characteristics and benefits of wisdom. The things listed in this verse should provoke God’s children to seek wisdom.      We never have to …

James 3:16 KJV  [16] “For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.”     I want to invite you to Confusion Baptist Church. Allow me to describe the church to you for a moment. Confusion Baptist has the right kind of music, the right Bible, and the right standards. They believe the right doctrine and go out on weekly visitation. This church has many outreach ministries, a great mission program, and the offerings could not be better. The attendance is good, and visitors come on occasion.      However, this church appears to get along on the …

James 3:15 KJV [15] “This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.”      When we promote ourselves, we create envy and strife among others.  It will never uplift our brethren or encourage the weak, and glorifying the flesh never glorifies God. When we strive to be the most popular or number one, it is not of God.      Self-promotion is earthly, sensual, and devilish. The Devil’s goal was to be number one, and he wanted to promote himself above God’s throne. It is so wicked to magnify ourselves! That should be our attitude when it comes to …

James 3:14 KJV [14] “But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.”      James gives a direct command in this verse to “glory not”. The tongue loves to brag on the flesh. We must be careful to guard against lifting ourselves up. The pride of self-promotion has destroyed the testimony of many people. Several years ago, I  read a quote that said, “Pride and grace never dwell in the same place.”      Some people like to brag about how they have mistreated someone. They think that it makes that person …