“Remember this text: Jehovah says to his own Son, ‘Ask of me and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.’ If the royal and divine Son of God cannot be exempted from the rule of asking that he may have, you and I cannot expect the rule to be relaxed in our favor. If we possess little of God and His Kingdom, almost certainly we have asked little. We might state it as a virtual spiritual law: that God does not give unless we ask. James reminds us here of the great power of prayer, and why one may live unnecessarily as a spiritual pauper, simply because they do not pray, or do not ask when they pray. Yet you do not have because you do not ask : The reason these destructive desires exist among Christians is because they do not seek God for their needs ( you do not ask ). Why not accept your lack of such satisfaction now, instead of after much painful and harmful sin?Į. You are tempted to fulfill a sinful desire because you think (or hope) that it may be satisfied, but it will never be satisfied.
This helps us to rationally understand the folly of living life after the lusts of the world and our animal appetites. This fundamental dissatisfaction is not because of a lack of effort: “If the lusters fail, it is not because they did not set to work to gain their ends for according to their nature they used the most practical means within their reach, and used them eagerly, too.” (Spurgeon) This is the tragic irony of the life lived after worldly and fleshly desires it never reaches the goal it gives everything for. “The whole history of mankind shows the failure of evil lustings to obtain their object.” (Spurgeon) Not only is it a life of conflict, but it is also a fundamentally unsatisfied life. Yet you do not have : This points to the futility of this life lived for the desires for pleasure. “The word kill is startling and meant to startle James sought to force his readers to realize the depth of the evil in their bitter hatred toward others.” (Hiebert)ĭ. Again James looked back to the Sermon on the Mount when Jesus also used murder to express more than actual killing, but also as an inward condition of heart, shown outwardly by anger (Matthew 5:21-22). Anger and animosity lead to hatred and conflict ( murder ). Covetousness leads to conflict ( you lust and do not have ). Your desires for pleasure that war in your members : The types of desires that lead to conflict are described. “It is self-evident that the Spirit of God does not create desire which issues in envying.” (Morgan)Ĭ.
James makes it clear that this contentious manner comes from your desires. Almost all who have such a critical and contentious attitude claim they are prompted and supported by the Spirit of God. “James seems to be bothered more by the selfish spirit and bitterness of the quarrels than by the rights and wrongs of the various viewpoints.” (Moo) No two believers who are both walking in the Spirit of God towards each other can live with wars and fights among themselves. There is some root of carnality, an internal war within the believer regarding the lusts of the flesh. Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? The source of wars and fights among Christians is always the same. “He does not mean that they war within a man – although that is also true – but that they set men warring against each other.” (Barclay)ī. Often the battles that happen among Christians are bitter and severe. Where do wars and fights come from among you? James accurately described strife among Christians with the terms wars and fights. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.Ī. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have.
(1-3) Reasons for strife in the Christian community. James 4 – The Humble Dependence of a True Faith A.