Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
Full Answer
What does the verse James 4 4 mean?
Explanation and Commentary of James 4:4 This he calls “friendship with the world,” and this friendship he considers adultery. We make ourselves enemies with God when we choose what is antithetical to God and his ways. James takes his language from God himself through the prophets and Christ himself.
What is the meaning of James Chapter 4?
In this section, James says his readers are guilty of behaving from fundamentally wrong motives. They are acting toward each other in bad faith. He says they seek both to fulfill their evil desires and to have friendship with the world, thereby rejecting their spiritual yearning for God.
What does it mean that friendship with the world is enmity with God?
Those who want to be friends with the world make themselves the enemies of God. This Scripture does not say that our family members, colleagues and friends who are not believers are to be avoided like a plague. Timi David. Those who want to be friends with the world make themselves the enemies of God.
What does the word enmity mean biblically?
Enmity and its synonyms "hostility," animosity, and animus all indicate deep-seated dislike or ill will. Enmity (which derives from an Anglo-French word meaning "enemy") suggests true hatred, either overt or concealed.
Who was James addressing in James 4?
James the Apostle, abbreviation James, New Testament writing addressed to the early Christian churches (“to the twelve tribes in the dispersion”) and attributed to James, a Christian Jew, whose identity is disputed.
What does being double-minded mean?
Definition of double-minded 1 : wavering in mind : undecided, vacillating a double-minded man unstable in all his ways — James 1:8 (Revised Standard Version) 2 : marked by hypocrisy : insincere.
Where in the world but not of the world?
“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. “And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” (1 Jn. 2:15–17.)
How can two walk together?
After seven years of being married the verse in the Bible from Amos 3:3 “How can two walk together unless they are agreed?” rings more true than ever. Who wants to walk through life together miserably? And a marriage where two walk separately is not marriage like God intended.
Do not conform to the ways of the world?
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Can you put enmity between you and the woman?
Greek: And I will set enmity between you and between the woman and between your offspring and her offspring; he will watch out for your head, and you will watch out for his heel." Old Latin: And I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed.
What does bruise your heel mean?
A bruised heel is an injury to the fat pad that protects the heel bone. It's also known as policeman's heel. You can get a bruised heel from the repeated force of your foot striking the ground, like if you run or jump a lot. It can also happen from a single injury, such as jumping from a big height onto your heel.
What is the meaning of the seed of the serpent?
The doctrine of the serpent seed, also known as the dual-seed or the two-seedline doctrine, is a controversial and fringe Christian religious belief which explains the biblical account of the fall of man by stating that the Serpent mated with Eve in the Garden of Eden, and the offspring of their union was Cain.
What does James seem to be bothered by?
i. “James seems to be bothered more by the selfish spirit and bitterness of the quarrels than by the rights and wrongs of the various viewpoints.” (Moo) ii. Almost all who have such a critical and contentious attitude claim they are prompted and supported by the Spirit of God.
What does James ask us to consider?
It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away: James asked us to consider the fragility of human life, and the fact that we live and move only at the permission of God. James does not discourage us from planning and doing, only from planning and doing apart from reliance on God. i.
Who said God resists the proud?
i. James used a powerful word in the phrase, resists the proud: “Sets himself in battle array against him.” (Clarke) “God resisteth the proud, ‘setteth himself in battle-array against such,’ above all other sorts of sinner, as invaders of his territories, and foragers or plunderers of his chief treasures.” (Trapp) c.
What does the Bible say about uncertainty?
The uncertainty of life should make us ready to recognize what is good and then do it. “This uncertainty of life is not a cause either for fear or inaction. It is always a reason for realizing our complete dependence on God.” (Moffatt) b. To him it is sin: Jesus told a story with much the same point in Luke 12:41-48.