James 4 Humble Yourselves

Prayer: With expectant hearts and minds, we seek your truth, O God. In this study, help us to be attentive as we listen, careful as we speak, and awake to your wisdom. Open our hearts to your Scripture and give us the courage to change in light of what we read. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

With your group, take turns reading the introduction and text and answering the questions in each section.

Introduction

While chapter 3 of the book of James ended with peacekeepers making peace, chapter 4 of James begins with violence.

This chapter contains the heart of James, a call to whole-hearted commitment to God above every other thing in our lives. James employs a common Old Testament illustration that describes God’s people as his wife, saying that if we prioritize other things over God it is like we are cheating on him.

The most vivid example of this image is found in the book of Hosea, where God instructs his prophet: “Go marry a prostitute who will bear illegitimate children conceived through prostitution, because the nation continually commits spiritual prostitution by turning away from the LORD” (Hosea 1:2¹). Hosea’s marriage, fraught with infidelity, becomes a vivid illustration of God’s relationship with Israel at that time.

Alongside his use of Old Testament imagery, James’ love for the book of Proverbs shines in this chapter. In verse 6, the letter quotes Proverbs 3:34 outright, and verses 13 through 15 are an extended paraphrase of Proverbs 27:1, which says, “Do not boast about tomorrow; for you do not know what a day may bring forth.”

This study will go through the entirety of James 4.

Section 1

James 4:1–3
^4:1 Where do the conflicts and where do the quarrels among you come from? Is it not from this, from your passions that battle inside you? ^4:2 You desire and you do not have; you murder and envy and you cannot obtain; you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask; ^4:3 you ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, so you can spend it on your passions.

The point: The recipients of this letter are acting with violence because they want the wrong things and do not ask for their desires in prayer.

Question 1: What are the two ways of getting what you want that are contrasted in this passage?

Question 2: When one asks God for one’s desires, what does this passage say could still be a reason for not receiving what is asked for in prayer?

Section 2

James 4:4–5
^4:4 Adulterers, do you not know that friendship with the world means hostility toward God? So whoever decides to be the world’s friend makes himself God’s enemy. ^4:5 Or do you think the scripture means nothing when it says, “The spirit that God caused to live within us has an envious yearning”?

The point: From God’s perspective, if you prioritize this temporary world over him, you are like a cheating spouse.

Question: From the context, what do you think the word “envious” means here?

Section 3

James 4:6–10
^4:6 But he gives greater grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.” ^4:7 So submit to God. But resist the devil and he will flee from you. ^4:8 Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and make your hearts pure, you double-minded. ^4:9Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter into mourning and your joy into despair. ^4:10 Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you.

The point: God has a solution to the problems listed above: humble repentance.

Question: James lists two actions that are immediately followed by God’s response. What are those two actions?

Section 4

James 4:11–12
^4:11 Do not speak against one another, brothers and sisters. He who speaks against a fellow believer or judges a fellow believer speaks against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but its judge. ^4:12 But there is only one who is lawgiver and judge—the one who is able to save and destroy. On the other hand, who are you to judge your neighbor?

The point: James urges caution against condemning others with our words, saying that when we do that we are acting as if we are God.

Question: James says that if we judge the law (through judging a fellow believer), we aren’t someone who does the law anymore. What does he say we are instead?

Section 5

James 4:13–17
^4:13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that town and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” ^4:14 You do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like? For you are a puff of smoke that appears for a short time and then vanishes. ^4:15 You ought to say instead, “If the Lord is willing, then we will live and do this or that.” ^4:16 But as it is, you boast about your arrogant plans. All such boasting is evil. ^4:17 So whoever knows what is good to do and does not do it is guilty of sin.

The point: James says that when we make plans, we should acknowledge God’s will because our lives are temporary and we don’t know the future.

Question: James asks, “What is your life like?” How does he answer this question?

Read through the text again below.²

Section 1

James 4:1–3
^4:1 Where do the conflicts and where do the quarrels among you come from? Is it not from this, from your passions that battle inside you? ^4:2 You desire and you do not have; you murder and envy and you cannot obtain; you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask; ^4:3 you ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, so you can spend it on your passions.

Section 2

James 4:4–5
^4:4 Adulterers, do you not know that friendship with the world means hostility toward God? So whoever decides to be the world’s friend makes himself God’s enemy. ^4:5 Or do you think the scripture means nothing when it says, “The spirit that God caused to live within us has an envious yearning”?

Section 3

James 4:6–10
^4:6 But he gives greater grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.” ^4:7 So submit to God. But resist the devil and he will flee from you. ^4:8 Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and make your hearts pure, you double-minded. ^4:9Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter into mourning and your joy into despair. ^4:10 Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you.

Section 4

James 4:11–12
^4:11 Do not speak against one another, brothers and sisters. He who speaks against a fellow believer or judges a fellow believer speaks against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but its judge. ^4:12 But there is only one who is lawgiver and judge—the one who is able to save and destroy. On the other hand, who are you to judge your neighbor?

Section 5

James 4:13–17
^4:13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that town and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” ^4:14 You do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like? For you are a puff of smoke that appears for a short time and then vanishes. ^4:15 You ought to say instead, “If the Lord is willing, then we will live and do this or that.” ^4:16 But as it is, you boast about your arrogant plans. All such boasting is evil. ^4:17 So whoever knows what is good to do and does not do it is guilty of sin.

Discussion and application questions

1. At the start of this chapter, James says that the recipients of his letter have jealousy, fights, and quarrels because of their “passions.” Do you think not having passions (or desires) at all is an acceptable solution to this problem?
2. Jeremiah 9:23–24 reads:

The LORD says,
“Wise people should not boast that they are wise.
Powerful people should not boast that they are powerful.
Rich people should not boast that they are rich.
If people want to boast, they should boast about this:
They should boast that they understand and know me.
They should boast that they know and understand
that I, the LORD, act out of faithfulness, fairness, and justice in the earth
and that I desire people to do these things,”
says the LORD.

How is this kind of “boasting” (or glorying in) God better than the boasting about the future James cautions against?

3. How do you think your life would be different if you thought of it as “a puff of smoke”?
4. Have you ever received an answer to prayer immediately? Did you think it was because you had asked well instead of “wrongly”? Discuss.
5. Do you know someone who is particularly humble? What are they like?

Conclusion

Challenge: As you go through your week, consider your priorities. Pray to God that he would help you to put him above everything else.

Blessing: May you align your desires to God’s will in humility and let him be the judge. May you walk in confidence as you put first the God who holds all things in his hands.

1. Scripture and/or notes quoted by permission. Quotations are from the NET Bible® copyright ©1996, 2019 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C.  All rights reserved.[↩]
2. We find that rereading the text is very helpful—please don’t skip this part of the study![↩]