Draw near to God

“Drawing nearer, going deeper”

James 4:7-12

Introduction:  Hunting season is something a lot of folks look forward to. I recently had a contact from a friend of mine that I haven’t seen in years and learned that he was in Maine recently and got his first bear. Encountering something as big as a bear is not something I’d be anxious to do. I’ve heard that if you have a surprise encounter with a bear in the woods and it notices you and begins acting aggressively in some way, its best not to turn and run, but to “make yourself big”. I don’t know. I would probably turn and run and you would be reading about it in the paper. Bear 1, Steve 0. Those who know better say “make yourself big” and the bear might back away. In life, that is what many people try to do with other humans. They try to make themselves look as “big” as possible to the people around them. Sometimes even, as the next verses indicate, they try to make themselves look big by making others look small. James will show us that is not God’s plan for Christ followers. One of the great misconceptions of the world about Christians is the misconception that we are prideful bunch of religious people who live by a strict set of rules. I think that if our exploration of the Bible together over the last few years has shown anything, it is that the Christian life is not primarily about rules, but about relationship. At its heart is our love relationship with God based wholly on His grace.  If we embrace that truth, that will change us, and it will change how we see others.  James is almost shocking in the way he makes his point that the key to victory in the Christian Life is surrender. Submitting to God and His authority in our lives means acknowledging that He is Sovereign, and that we approach only because of His mercy and grace. Context is always important in interpretation. In the previous context James was asking his readers, “Why are you acting this way, don’t you know that being a friend of the world makes you are an enemy of God?” I don’t think the point is that James is necessarily questioning the salvation of his readers (though he may have suspected there were some among them that were not truly saved). He was saying that living in such a superficial way as they were looked like the world, they were acting like they were God’s enemies instead of His children. He is calling them to draw near to God, to go deeper in their relationship with Him, to experience the victorious, abundant life for which they were created.

The Big Idea: If we see ourselves rightly in the light of who God is, we will thank Him for grace, and we will be more gracious toward others.

I. Our Relationship with God (4:7-8a). The first element of understanding grace is that we will desire a deepened relationship with God. We will give Him the throne of our heart.

       James begins verse 7 with the admonition, “Submit yourselves therefore to God…” The word “submit” is frequently used with respect to our response to those who have authority over us (see for example I Peter 2:13,18; 3:1,5,22; 5:5). This however is not talking about our submission to any human authority, but to the Lord Himself. There is an axiom of Bible Study that says when you see a “therefore,” you should ask what it is “there for.”  The admonition to submit is based on the statements in the preceding context. In light of the grace of God described in v.6 and the call to an appropriate humility, recognizing who God is and His authority of us, we should submit ourselves to Him, affirm and embrace His absolute authority over our lives.  He is your Maker and Savior. That means He is the boss. Period.

       The parallel action we must take is stated next:  “…resist the devil and he will flee from you…” James reminds us that we have an enemy who will do all he can to destroy our relationship with God. Notice this statement is put in between two positive admonitions concern our relationship with God. Because the Lord is on our side we have what we need to resist Satan’s attacks. The Enemy is an expert in human weaknesses and will hit us where we are most vulnerable. But greater is He who is in you, than he who is in the world! We need to consciously submit ourselves to the Lordship of Christ and resist the enemy who would lead us away from God.

       The next statement is an amazing invitation in the Jewish context of the first century: “…come near to God and He will come near to you…” In the Old Testament only the priest had the privilege of approaching God in the Holy of Holies. We see an amazing development in the context of the Gospel story. Matthew records it in Matthew 27:50-51,  

^“And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.  ⁵¹ Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom…”

That was a literal, historical event, but it also had tremendous spiritual significance. Because of Jesus, the veil has been torn, and we can come with boldness into His presence. He is waiting, calling, inviting us to come. Does it sometimes feel like God is far away? James says “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” A thousand years earlier the psalmist wrote in Psalm 145:18, “The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” He created us and redeemed us so that we could experience intimate fellowship with Him.  Because of Jesus He counts us as righteous, because of Jesus He calls us His children! What grace!  If we see ourselves rightly in the light of who God is, we will thank Him for grace, and be more gracious toward others.

II. Our Attitude toward sin (4:8b-10).  The second element of our response to grace is to detest our sin, to turn from it as we turn to Him.  Because you love Him, you’ll want to turn from those things that grieve Him. Paul asked the question at the beginning of Romans 6, “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” (Rom 6:1b-2).

Here James says “…wash your hands… purify your hearts…” There is a worship chorus that pleads, “Give us clean hands O God, give us pure hearts…”  That is a good word in that it reminds us that we are dependent upon God: He is our strength and help against the world, the flesh, and the Devil. By praying to Him like that chorus says we are submitting to his authority and sovereignty and asking His help to do what James here implores his readers to do.

o        “Wash your hands…” - “Clean hands” seems to look toward our actions, what we do. If we are going to cleanse our hands it means that we are choosing to repent of and turn away from those choices in life that we know run counter to the Word and will of God. When we confess our sins, implicit is the idea that we will repent, turn from them as we turn to God.

o        “Purify your hearts…” - “Pure hearts” goes even further, since we look not only at our actions, but our attitudes. This is what Jesus was getting at in the sermon on the Mount: “You have heard it said… but I say to you…” He was saying yes, these kinds of outward activities are deplorable to God, they are sin and can’t be tolerated among the people of God. But even further, God knows our hearts, and it grieves Him when our heart and mind entertains and even enjoys the kinds of things that we know would displease Him.

·          “…grieve, mourn, wail…” These phrases speak to our hatred of our sin, genuine heart felt repentance. This signals a kind of brokenness that seems to recognize what we deserve. If we confess our sin, as I John 1:9 suggests, we call it what it is, not simply “a mistake” or “a weakness” but rebellion against God and exaltation of self. I was speaking with someone this week who had been in a conversation with a friend about sin. The friend was getting excited, “I hate my sin. I HATE my sin! I HATE MY SIN! DO YOU HATE YOUR SIN???” The guy was so taken aback by the passion of his friend and said, “I, I think so, but apparently not as much as you do!” Do you hate your sin? Think of the reaction of Isaiah when he had the vision of the heavenly throne, with the Seraphim surrounding the presence of God worshipping Him in His holiness: “Woe unto me, I am undone, for I am a man of unclean lips…”  He saw his sin in the light of the holiness of God, and he was devastated, undone, left empty handed and naked before His Majesty, the King of the Universe. If we haven’t grieved over our sin it’s probably because we haven’t gotten a good sense of the holiness and perfection of King Jesus.

·          “…Humble yourselves before the Lord and He will lift you up…”

 Making yourself look big might be a good idea if you find yourself being threatened by a bear, but when it comes to relating to our fellow humans and especially when it comes to approaching God, that is not the way of the Lord: “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.” I don’t think that means to make yourself look small, it means to be honest about who you are, and before God we are all very, very, small. Speaking of the scribes and Pharisees Jesus said in Matthew 23:6-12,

"They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues,  ⁷ greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, 'Rabbi, Rabbi.'  ⁸ But you, do not be called 'Rabbi'; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren.  ⁹ Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.  ¹⁰ "And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ.  ¹¹ But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.  ¹² And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Look, we would all be lost if not for the grace of God. In ourselves we deserve judgment because we are all sinners by birth and by choice. If we’ve been saved by grace, by definition it is all of Him. At best we are one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread. If we see ourselves rightly in the light of who God is, we will be genuinely thankful for His grace, and also be more gracious toward others.

III. Our Speech concerning others (4:11-12).  James at this time gets specific, he comes back to one specific sin, a sin of the tongue, which he knew his readers could relate to: speaking badly of a fellow Christian. Instead we should choose to let our speech reflect our love for our brothers and sisters:  “Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.  ¹² There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?”

        Our speech will reveal our heart, it will show what we really think about others. NB. to make matters worse, James says “one another” and repeats the word “brothers” three times. He is talking about our relationships in the church (see also Matt 7:1-5).  It is important to recognize that this is not saying we ignore sin, or that we don’t confront a brother or sister that is falling away or acting in a way that brings disrepute on the church (Matthew 18 gives clear instruction on a biblical procedure that is motivated by love and works toward restoration). But we do reject destructive sins of the tongue that target another. Gossip and slander that aims to hurt someone or embarrass them, and even to expose them not with a view to their restoration, but so that we might look just a little better. We make ourselves big by making them look small.

         Notice in v.11b that to speak against a brother is to speak against the Law! Remember Jesus said that loving God and loving our neighbor is the summary of the whole Law. If our speech reveals judgment and hatred toward a brother we are saying somehow God’s word is untrue or doesn’t apply to this life.

         Judging our neighbor and speaking against a brother also is putting ourselves in the place of God according to James. James 4:12  says “There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy.” If He gave the Law, its His Word, period. He is the Judge and the Savior.

         “But who are you to judge your neighbor?” See others rightly, being gracious toward one another, starts with seeing God rightly, and taking a hard, honest look at ourselves as well. We are only sinners saved by grace. We didn’t deserve it or earn it. If we are speaking badly about someone we are acting as if we are in the place of God, who alone is our judge. At best we can be one beggar showing another beggar where to find bread.

What is God saying to me in this passage? If we see ourselves rightly in the light of who God is, we will thank Him for grace, and we will be more gracious toward others.

What would God have me to do in response to this passage? Have you responded to the grace God has extended toward you? This week we celebrate the Lord’s Table together. It is an opportunity to examine yourself, to remember His grace, and as James says, “Submit yourself to God…” Recognize His authority, His Lordship, and voluntarily acknowledge that He is Lord. Resist the Devil, he has no power over you. Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. We are more than conquerors through Christ. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you… You remember the story of the husband and wife driving along, on opposite ends of the bench seat of their old sedan. “Why don’t we sit together like we used to?” His reply from behind the steering wheel, “I haven’t gone anywhere!” James says Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you! He wants to have a living, intimate relationship with you. I was at home sick when twenty of you had a great Saturday a couple of weeks back at the “Disciples making Disciples” seminar. From the feedback we got at our small group, one of the encouragements that was offered was that a disciple needs to develop his relationship with Christ at several levels. One is through public worship. Do you know He is here, right now? We need to come together, expectantly, with excitement, knowing that Jesus is here with us. As we sing, as we study the word, as we gather around this table in remembrance, He is here as surely as He was with His disciples in the upper room.  A second avenue for drawing nearer is our personal devotional time. That means getting alone in a quiet place, picking up your Bible and reading it. Praying to him, and sometimes simply sitting quietly in His presence. Do you have a daily quiet time with Him? How did you do this week? Were you in the Word? Another setting that we need is to be part of a small group. A small group setting can be important, it can be a place where we can discover our gifts, and “provoke one another to love and good works.” We all need it. Do you have it? A little more risky is to develop a one on one relationship with another believer who will meet with you and hold you accountable and encourage you toward love and good works.

            Loving God is always connected with loving one another. It means that as a recipient of grace we should be gracious toward others, rather than judging, forgiving, encouraging, doing what we can to point others to Jesus. As we pray, and prepare our hearts to celebrate His amazing grace in this ordinance, allow the Spirit to reveal to you exactly where you need to humble yourself, where you need to resist the enemy, how you can draw near to God more effectively, how you can speak words that edify others and bring glory to God.  Think about that.  AMEN.