James 4:13–17 focuses on the arrogance of planning for our own success without acknowledging that we are dependent on God. It is foolish to ignore the fact that we can't see the future. Our lives are short and fragile. This doesn't mean never making plans.
Full Answer
What does James 4 13 mean in the Bible?
What does James 4:13 mean? James 4:13, NIV: "Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.'" James 4:13, NASB: "Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.'"
What about tomorrow (James 4 13-17)?
What About Tomorrow? (James 4:13-17) – West Palm Beach church of Christ What About Tomorrow? (James 4:13-17) Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring.
What is the theme of James 4 4 and 5?
James is beginning a new section, but the connecting theme through chapters 4 and 5 is humility. True faith judges pride by humbling oneself before God. In 4:1-12, James hit the need for humility to resolve conflicts and have harmonious relationships. Now he turns to the subject of humility with regard to the future.
What is the meaning of verse 17 in the Bible?
At first glance, verse 17 seems somewhat disjointed from the preceding context. It may refer to all that James has said up to this point. But, “therefore,” seems to connect it to what James has just said: “Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.”
What is the meaning of James 4 17?
James presupposes in verse 17 that we not only believe and trust the Word of God, but know to apply its truth. It echoes all of James' earlier exhortation that faith without works is dead, because our works testify to the truth of God's Word alive in our hearts.
What does it mean to live by faith and not by sight?
So, walking by faith and not by sight means that we live today according to God's promises, even though we cannot see them, and not according to the temporary, arbitrary things that our eyes often focus on here on earth.
What does it mean that life is a vapor?
For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” (James 4:14). Living knowing that your life is a vapor is different than just living. Things here are passing away. You've got to hold on to what will stand.
What does it mean to be light and salt of the world?
To 'be salt' means to deliberately seek to influence the people in one's life by showing them the unconditional love of Christ through good deeds. Light is a symbol used to mean awareness, knowledge, and understanding.
How do you live and walk by faith?
If you want to walk by faith, you need to release your fear to God and accept the path He leads you down. This is easier said than done, of course. You may not be able to become completely fearless, but you can be courageous and learn to act according to God's will even when you are afraid of what lies ahead.
What does alignment with God mean?
What does it mean to be in alignment with God? It is when our hearts are right with God, where our spirits, souls, and bodies work together in peace and harmony. We are three-part beings; spirit, soul, and body. When we are aligned with God, the spirit rules the soul and body. Our spirits are born-again.
What does Fog represent in the Bible?
Fog illustrates obscurity, indistinction; in the Bible, it is an image preceding great revelations. It is the "GRAY zone" between reality and unreality, and uncertainty about the future and beyond. According to Browning it can represent approaching death. Isolation.
What is your life you are a mist?
What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." As it is, you boast and brag.
What is the meaning of James 4?
James is talking about being humble before God, and being humble means avoiding presumptuous behavior. In his illustration, James portrays a traveling merchant planning out their travel for future markets. There is nothing wrong with planning, but James warns against presuming our futures.
What does salt mean spiritually?
The Bible contains numerous references to salt. In various contexts, it is used metaphorically to signify permanence, loyalty, durability, fidelity, usefulness, value, and purification.
What does salt symbolize?
Because of its characteristic qualities and usage in pre-medieval life and customs, salt has for centuries been a symbol of taste, purity, preservation, fidelity, luxury, and welcome. Salt, however, is also associated with bad connotations namely chastisement, contamination, bad thoughts, and sometimes death.
How do you become salt of the earth?
Good for nothing: Salt that loses its savor becomes good for nothing. We are the salt of the earth when we “stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that [we] may be in” (Mosiah 18:9).
What does James 4:1-12 mean?
In 4:1-12, James hit the need for humility to resolve conflicts and have harmonious relationships. Now he turns to the subject of humility with regard to the future. He is confronting an arrogant spirit that he had observed among the churches.
What does James mean by "to fail now to do it"?
To fail now to do it, James wants to make clear, is sin.”. Of course, this verse applies to all areas of the Christian life pertaining to what are called “sins of omission.”. We all tend to focus on sins where we have violated some direct command of God.
What does the Bible say about arrogance?
Verse 13 reeks with arrogance: “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” There is a lot of mention of what we will do, but there isn’t any mention of God! In 4:16, James directly confronts the sinful attitude behind the comments of 4:13: “But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.” “Arrogance” (4:16) was originally used of wandering hucksters who were full of empty and boastful claims about their cures and other feats that they could accomplish (R. C. Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament [Eerdmans], p. 98). It came to apply to any braggart. It is used in 1 John 2:15, “the boastful pride of life.” It refers to the arrogant self-sufficiency of the world apart from God.
Why is life a vapor?
Because life is a vapor we should humble ourselves before God and obey His will. James is beginning a new section, but the connecting theme through chapters 4 and 5 is humility. True faith judges pride by humbling oneself before God. In 4:1-12, James hit the need for humility to resolve conflicts and have harmonious relationships.
What does the Bible say about financial planning?
Planning is commended to us in Scripture ( Luke 14:28-32; Rom. 15:20-28 ). Financial planning is good stewardship if it is done in dependence on God and with regard for biblical priorities. It is wise to have a will or living trust. It is wise to have some savings to cover possible future expenses or the potential loss of a job. The Bible commends hard work and being rewarded financially for it.
Do you die in your sins if you don't repent?
When you hear about disasters, whether human-caused, such as 9/11, or due to natural causes, such as hurricanes, make sure that you have repented of your sins, because if you do not , you will die in your sins and you will perish.
What does James mean by "if God wills"?
Rather, he means that in our hearts we must never fail to recognize that the future depends on God.
What does James say about breaking the law?
James shows that a man who breaks the law by speaking against a brother is doubly guilty. First, he is guilty of acting contrary to the law, and second, by casting the law aside, he is guilty of holding the law in contempt. In essence, he is denying that God has a right to define his behavior as sin. Thus, by judging God’s law, he is placing ...
What does James say about sin?
He says, "To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin" (v. 17). Many other texts build important conclusions on the same principle, although without making it explicit (Luke 12:47; John 9:41; 2 Pet. 2:21). ...
What does James say about falling short of doing every good thing?
To fall short of doing every good thing we can imagine is therefore sin, as James reminds us. In context, the good that James is urging upon his readers is to heed his instruction in verse 15, where he told them to add, "If the Lord will," whenever they spoke of their plans.
What is James's lesson in the parable of the two sons?
James’s formulation may be a lesson that he drew from Jesus’ parable of the two sons (Matt. 21:28-32). Their father directed them to go work in the vineyard. One refused, but later changed his mind and obeyed. The other agreed to go, but stayed away. His failure to do right was sin.
What does James say about God's power?
James points out that God has ultimate power , even over life and death , whereas we are nothing. His power to destroy us if we fail to obey Him should give us, if we have any common sense, a healthy respect for His law. The next verses continue the comparison between man’s weakness and God’s strength.
What is the main objective of James?
A major objective of James throughout his epistle is to stop evil speaking. In his crusade against it, he winds through many arguments and illustrations until he comes to the fundamental issue: a man’s attitude toward the law of God (Jas. 4:11). James shows that a man who breaks the law by speaking against a brother is doubly guilty.
What does Jesus say about the man who lays up treasure for himself?
His riches outlived him. Jesus concludes by saying that the man had been a fool and "So is the man who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.". (Luke 12:13-21). That we will awake to see another tomorrow is only an assumption, and the day will come when it will be the wrong assumption.
What does the Bible say about being thankful?
We are here to serve and glorify Him. Concerning the things with which He has blessed us, we are thankful; "For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.". (1 Timothy 4:4,5).
What does the Bible say about being rich?
The Scriptures say, "Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to become conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God...". (1 Timothy 6:17). At the same time, we are instructed not to allow ourselves and others to lead an undisciplined life of not working.
Where do you not lay up for yourselves treasures?
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal.". (Matthew 6:19,20).
What is the right thing to do?
Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do, and does not do it, to him it is sin.". (James 4:15, 17). The right thing to do is to always keep God's purpose and will in our hearts.
What is James saying about business?
He’s saying that we can have all the plans in the world, to make money, to do whatever, but none of us knows what tomorrow will bring.
What is James contrasting with?
James is contrasting the behavior that he just recommended with what is actually happening with his readers. Instead of doing what the Lord wills, they are boasting in their own arrogant plans. Instead of submitting to the Lord, they are trusting in themselves. That’s the heart of the problem. That’s why it’s arrogant.
What is the sin of omission?
The sin of omission is leaving out something that you are told to do. This would be when you omit something. For instance, when the Scripture says to love our neighbor, and we don’t, that’s a sin of omission. When we are told to be ambassadors for Christ and we are not, that’s a sin of omission.
Is James against making plans?
To be clear, James is not against making plans. We’ll see in verses 15-17 that the bigger problem is that the people that James is speaking to are boasting in their plans to make money and be successful all on their own. They have great plans about making great money, but they don’t include the Lord. (pause)
Is one cent spent outside of God's control?
Not one cent is spent outside of God’s control! Not one baby is born, not one human dies, not one diagnosis is made outside of God’s providential hand! He has a will that is far beyond our own and He has the wisdom, justice, power, love, understanding, authority, and awareness to see that His will comes to pass.
Is it evil to depend on our own plans?
It is evil to depend on our own plans and boast in what we can do by our own strength, power, and plans. We should not boast in our accomplishments, but we should humbly trust the Lord and live a life of obedience to Him. James describes this obedience in verse 17, which is powerful.
What does James say about God willing?
You have probably even heard this in public prayer. But the point is not that we would continue thinking how we think and acting how we act but just tack on the phrase, “If it is the Lord’s will.” That is not the point James is making at all. “God willing” is not to be a slogan . It is not just something we say. God wants us to believe these words. We see the apostle Paul regularly saying, “If it is God’s will” (cf. Acts 18:21; 1 Corinthians 4:19; Romans 1:10; 1 Corinthians 16:7; Philippians 2:19,24; Hebrews 6:3). We see Jesus saying this with the intensity of his prayer just before he is going to be arrested. Jesus said, “Yet not as I will but as you will” (Matthew 26:39). “If it is the Lord’s will” is not just a phrase, but is to be the constant way of thinking for the Christian. The Christian understands that everything in life is by the will of God and by the power of God. Look carefully at what James says.
What does Jesus say about "if it is the Lord's will"?
Jesus said, “Yet not as I will but as you will” (Matthew 26:39). “If it is the Lord’s will” is not just a phrase, but is to be the constant way of thinking for the Christian. The Christian understands that everything in life is by the will of God and by the power of God. Look carefully at what James says.
Who said "If it is God's will"?
We see the apostle Paul regularly saying, “If it is God’s will” (cf. Acts 18:21; 1 Corinthians 4:19; Romans 1:10; 1 Corinthians 16:7; Philippians 2:19,24; Hebrews 6:3). We see Jesus saying this with the intensity of his prayer just before he is going to be arrested.
What does it mean to do right today?
This means you need to do right today because you do not know that you will have the opportunity to do right tomorrow. We must live righteously before God today because we do not know that we will have tomorrow to do so.
Why can't we do things?
Whether we recognize it or not, we can only do the things we do because God wills it. If something is not included in God's sovereign will, no amount of willing or planning on our part can ever force it to happen. We can do anything that we want to do, only as far as God's will allows it.
Who said "I must by all means keep this feast that comesth in Jerusalem"?
We know for instance, that the apostle Paul was a firm believer in making plans. At the end of his second missionary trip, when he was about to leave Ephesus for Jerusalem, he told the believers there, 'I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return again unto you, if God will.'.
Why did Jews travel?
The Jews, especially, traveled widely for business purposes. Of course, travel was very much slower and more dangerous then, as people sailed in ships and took weeks or months to travel. But despite the risks involved many were still engaged in traveling on business, to buy and sell.
Which empire ruled the world before Christ?
One of the most memorable wars ever fought in ancient history was the attempted conquest of Greece by the Persian Empire, which took place about 480 years before Christ. King Xerxes was then ruler of the most powerful empire in the world, which spanned from Egypt, all the way to India.
What does James 4:13-17 mean?
James 4:13–17 focuses on the arrogance of planning for our own success without acknowledging that we are dependent on God. It is foolish to ignore the fact that we can't see the future. Our lives are short and fragile. This doesn't mean never making plans.
What does James say about living in adultery?
James says that to live that way is adultery, but God gives grace. Christians should repent and move close to God again.