James 4b Commentary

James 4b Commentary

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Verse 7.

We cannot see the devil but we can see fights and quarrels. We can see slander. We can know when we have judged someone. We know when our motives are wrong. James has labored to explain the point that these are physical manifestations of earthly, unspiritual, or demonic wisdom.

You will have resisted the devil by resisting fights and quarrels. Slander can flee; we can be free from wrong motives.

Prayer becomes important. In the closet, you can ask the LORD to empower you to resist pride. Instead, let humility and love flow. They flow from the Holy Spirit within the transformed heart. At this point, you are spiritual and not unspiritual. Heaven rules. Your thoughts aren’t demonic!

Verse 5 is important. God isn’t a reluctant Father. He actively and aggressively pursues the human spirit for righteousness. You will be shocked how a pornography addiction disappears when you open your mouth and yield to the leadership of the Holy Spirit!

We do not receive because we don’t ask. Verse 3. Ask with the motive to be holy and see what the LORD does! Ask for humility and enjoy the speediest delivery ever! But see to it that the motive is pure! The devil won’t pull out in phases; he will flee!

You won’t see the devil but you will see your heart glued to the world. Verse 4. Then you know he is on the prowl! The devil isn’t as far from us as we think! But he can be far. He can be resisted; he can flee. How Jesus longs for this point!

Verse 6 is scary! It is bad enough that the devil is on the prowl, but should the LORD also turn against me? Pride makes the LORD turn against me! Pride makes you proud; God opposes the proud. Unless there is a better translation out there… But he can be resisted as the saint submits to the LORD – submits to the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Then love, joy, peace… can flow – the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5 verse 22.

The way up is through humility! Verse 10. Who applauds this method! The devil has his own way: greediness and injustice – they call it smart thinking. Ponder.

Now we know why we shouldn’t judge. Verse 12. There is only one Judge; you aren’t that Judge. Who are you to judge your neighbor?

80% of success is “showing off”. You can cook figures and be regarded as the richest! The rich will give you gifts to court your favor! Governments will give you contracts believing you won’t fail. Banks will be glad to be part of your success. You will have gone up using the wrong way. Grieve, mourn, and wail; the LORD is against you! Deception is the devil’s way! He can be in our thoughts and actions!

More resources visit http://www.lovingscripture.com