Do we believe all of what God's Word says- heeding every warning and every scripture passage…? Do we really tremble at His Word? Or do we live our lives based on a lie (‘darkness’)? What is a Christian? What does it mean to be Born Again? Do we really love ‘the Truth’? It seems that these terms have a different meaning today…. We must humble ourselves and repent to the point…
Very moving Bruce. I think it hit home for the Christian church in America. The lulling of the lazy and the wool being pulled over their eyes. Just like the analogy of the frog being brought to a boil in a pot. Complacency is an action of validation. We must stand up and stand for Truth! I am not at all surprised that our country is suffering this blight of debauchery.
We as Christians must guard our hearts and minds. The things we allow around us serve to numb and lull us sleep. Don't be like the maidens with no oil in their lamps. If only Christians would care more for what God thinks than what the world thinks. The bible speaks of the great apostasy that must happen. I believe this is a factor of that taking place.
"You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." – James 4:4
I think you explained that very good sir. Because in the previous verses, James has been blunt: His readers have been living according to worldly wisdom. The wisdom of the world says that to be successful, we must do whatever it takes to get what we want out of life. We must provide for ourselves; nobody else is going to. We must be willing to fight for what we want.
The wisdom of heaven calls us to a far different approach: Christians should trust God to provide all the good we need. That's what He does (James 1:17). And because we trust His love and goodness and power to provide, we don't have to abuse each other to get what we want. Instead, we are free to obey Him. This means serving each other. It means meeting each other's needs.
Because James's readers were unwilling to trust God in this way, He now calls them adulteresses. He equates their choice to continue following the wisdom of world with the sin of a wife who sleeps with another man. Spiritually speaking, these Christians are cheating on God with the world.
James says something which should be obvious to us, but it's not: We can't be friends both with the world and with God. Worse, anyone who continues to be friends with the world is living as God's enemy. It's important to understand what James is not saying here: He is not saying Christians should never be friends with non-Christians. Nor is he saying that Christians should never engage their culture, or with the people they meet. That's not what this passage is about.
James is clear: Christians who choose to continue to live according to the wisdom of the world, driven by envy and ambition, seeking what they want above all else, are not living as friends of God. They are living in adultery as God's enemies. Thank you, I will be waiting for pt 2
News: James 4:4. pt-1
Do we believe all of what God's Word says- heeding every warning and every scripture passage…? Do we really tremble at His Word? Or do we live our lives based on a lie (‘darkness’)? What is a Christian? What does it mean to be Born Again? Do we really love ‘the Truth’? It seems that these terms have a different meaning today…. We must humble ourselves and repent to the point…
We as Christians must guard our hearts and minds. The things we allow around us serve to numb and lull us sleep. Don't be like the maidens with no oil in their lamps. If only Christians would care more for what God thinks than what the world thinks. The bible speaks of the great apostasy that must happen. I believe this is a factor of that taking place.
"You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God."
– James 4:4
Because in the previous verses, James has been blunt: His readers have been living according to worldly wisdom. The wisdom of the world says that to be successful, we must do whatever it takes to get what we want out of life. We must provide for ourselves; nobody else is going to. We must be willing to fight for what we want.
The wisdom of heaven calls us to a far different approach: Christians should trust God to provide all the good we need. That's what He does (James 1:17). And because we trust His love and goodness and power to provide, we don't have to abuse each other to get what we want. Instead, we are free to obey Him. This means serving each other. It means meeting each other's needs.
Because James's readers were unwilling to trust God in this way, He now calls them adulteresses. He equates their choice to continue following the wisdom of world with the sin of a wife who sleeps with another man. Spiritually speaking, these Christians are cheating on God with the world.
James says something which should be obvious to us, but it's not: We can't be friends both with the world and with God. Worse, anyone who continues to be friends with the world is living as God's enemy. It's important to understand what James is not saying here: He is not saying Christians should never be friends with non-Christians. Nor is he saying that Christians should never engage their culture, or with the people they meet. That's not what this passage is about.
James is clear: Christians who choose to continue to live according to the wisdom of the world, driven by envy and ambition, seeking what they want above all else, are not living as friends of God. They are living in adultery as God's enemies.
Thank you, I will be waiting for pt 2
Karen "KC"