James 4:4

"You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be. friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God."You adulteresses" -"Unfaithful people!" (TCNT). Unfaithfulness to God is viewed as spiritual adultery, spiritual fornication (Ezekiel 2:15; Ezekiel 2:43). In both the O.T. and N.T., the people of God are pictured as God's bride (Jeremiah 2:14; Jeremiah 2:20; Jeremiah 2:32). Christians need to remember that we are married to Christ! (Romans 7:4; 2 Corinthians 11:2 "for. betrothed you to one husband"). See the following passages (Jeremiah 2:1; Jeremiah 2:8; Ezekiel 2:4; Hosea 2:1; Matthew 12:39; Mark 8:38; Matthew 16:4; Revelation 2:22). Unfaithfulness is breaking your marriage vow to God.

Points To Note:

1. How we downplay and excuse our own sins! "You are like an unfaithful wife who loves her husband's enemies….we are not just sinning against law, but against love. It is one thing to break the law and another thing to break the heart of someone who loves you….How do you suppose God feels when we, who have been redeemed by his love, treat him with rebellion and ingratitude?" (p. 118). 2. How would you feel if your husband or wife had an affair with someone who was clearly your enemy? This is exactly what we are doing when we become unfaithful. "do you not know" -The audience addressed did know better, but how often do we live far below what we know and believe?"friendship with the world is hostility toward God?" -Our unfaithfulness and sins are not violations of some abstract or impersonal law. God takes our sins very personally! "Thus James is viewing worldliness not just as the violation of. list of taboos but as an attitude of unfaithfulness to God" (Kent p. 145). Notice the word "hostility", to love the attitudes and ways of. society which is in rebellion to God, is automatically hatred towards the attitudes and ways of God. You just can't claim to love God and participate in sin at the same time (Matthew 6:24; 1 John 2:15). It's like you can't be having an affair and yet claim to love your mate at the same time.

Point To Note:

But we are tempted to think that "friendship with the world" only happens when we are living just as sinfully as the world. Friendship with the world also involves simply giving our consent to what the world is doing (Romans 1:32). "We may not necessarily do the things of the world, but we accept what they do and have become comfortable with it" (Draper p. 119). Friendship with the world also involves simply becoming so comfortable with the world that we are no longer offended by worldly attitudes, speech, dress or actions."therefore whoever" -This applies to everyone. James didn't have the attitude that. faithful Christian could never fall (1 Corinthians 10:12)."wishes to be" -People don't accidentally end up in sin. And Christians just don't fall away by accident. Friendship with the world demands. deliberate will and wish (1 Timothy 6:9 "those who want to get rich"). Once again we see that sin begins with. selfish and unhealthy desire (James 1:14).. start envying people in the world,. start thinking that true happiness is found in the world,. start convincing myself that people in the world are much happier than Christians, and so on. And then there are members, who will not openly rebel against God, and they will keep on coming week after week to services, but who inwardly wish that they could do what people in the world are doing. God knows the heart! (Hebrews 4:12)."makes himself" -People are not predestined to be the enemies of God. Rather, the person who chooses the world instead of God has established himself as God's enemy."an enemy of God" -one who is hateful towards God, one of God's adversaries. Friendship with the world places you in the alliance which includes the devil (Matthew 13:39). And this is. battle that you can't win. We already know the final score for this battle (Revelation 20:10).

Point To Note:

What. tragedy for one created in the image of God to become God's enemy! What. waste! What. failure! Draper notes, "Many of us know what Simon Peter went through when he cursed and said, 'I don't know Christ'. Too few of us know what he went through when he went out and wept bitterly and repented" (p. 120).