The Test of True Humility: Part 1 - James Lesson 22

 Let’s return to the book of James again this morning. We will be looking at chapter 4 again. Let’s read James 4:1-10.

 The one who teaches the Scriptures has a huge responsibility. We are to rightly divide the word of truth. We are to accurately handle the word of God. We will give an account for what we teach. James made it clear in the first part of Chapter 3 that teachers will incur a stricter judgment. We will give an account to God for what we teach. When we say, “Thus says the Lord” we better be accurately speaking what the Lord has said.

 One of the most important aspects of that responsibility is following the flow of thought of the original author. Original intent is important in interpretation of Scripture. We need to understand the overall objective of the author and see how the pieces of his writing fit together to accomplish the objective. The Apostle Paul makes this easy. In most of his writings he starts with doctrine and follows with duty. James does not make it quite so easy. Just because it isn’t easy to follow doesn’t mean it isn’t important to figure out his intent and follow the flow of thought. James isn’t just randomly moving from the subject of controlling the tongue to wisdom to sources of conflict and quarrels among you to greater grace and humility.

 The expositor has a responsibility to follow the flow of thoughts and reasoning of the original author. James is not as easy to follow as Paul, but we need to connect the dots in order to understand what James is trying to accomplish in this letter. Overall we see that James has been giving us a series of tests of genuine faith. He has been instructing us on how to demonstrate authentic saving faith by how we respond to trials, temptations, the word of God, impartiality, good works, control of the tongue and the wisdom that we embrace.

 James has been called by some “the wisdom book of the New Testament.” James is showing us what it means to walk wisely as a follower of Christ. Right in the middle, in the heart of this letter, in the last part of chapter 3, is this description of wisdom and the contrast between the wisdom from below and the wisdom from above. James also makes it clear that we will be able to tell which source of wisdom we have embraced. The evidence will be clear. We can answer the question of chapter 3:13 “Who among you is wise and understanding?” It will show in the behaviors and deeds and attitudes of each of us. If there is selfishness producing disorder and evil things, we have embraced the wisdom from below which is earthly, natural and demonic. If we have embraced the wisdom from above, we will be first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, and without hypocrisy. The things that characterize God’s wisdom will characterize us.

 Then we came to chapter 4. We know James didn’t put the chapter division in the text. I am convinced that James did not randomly switch gears and start talking about a completely different subject. He follows his discussion of the two sources and manifestations of wisdom with a challenge that we called “the test of honest self-examination.” When we come to chapter 4 we see the wisdom test applied to us practically and personally.

 The test of honest self-examination was brutal. It is convicting. James hits us with hard reality. James does not hesitate anywhere in this letter to bring out the hammer and use it. He exposes us to the harsh reality that though we are the children of God, though we are the beneficiaries of a wonderful redemption in Christ, we still have issues with some ugly stuff. We still have conflict and quarrels. We still deal with pleasures that wage war against the soul. We envy others who have things we want but cannot obtain. We still do not have because we do not ask, believing ourselves to be self-sufficient, self-confident, and self-reliant. When we do ask we do so that we may have our own way. We are still too attached to this world making us guilty of spiritual adultery. We still, too often live as those who are the enemies of God. We don’t always listen to the Holy Spirit who resides in us to convict us and convince us of righteousness and judgment.

 What did we have to conclude from this honest self-examination? We found ourselves lacking. We found ourselves as those in whom much of the garbage described in verses 1-4 still resides. We had to acknowledge that, at least on occasion, we are still embracing a wisdom that is earthly, natural, and demonic. 

What marks us as true Christians is the fact that these things are still real, but we don’t want them to be. They are still present much to our dismay and dislike. If we are truly regenerate, these things though still present, are hated. Though they may still be evident, they are despised. Our desire is to be like the wisdom from above. The reality just doesn’t measure up to the desire. What we find is that there is something we still very much need.

 What James has done is to prepare us for the precious and powerful truth of verses 6-10. Look at the first word of verse 6. It is the word “but.” You know, if you have been here very long, that this is my favorite word in the New Testament. I love this word because it turns us around. It signals a change in direction. It takes us from despair to hope. My very favorite place it is found is in Ephesians 2. That is why I chose Ephesians 2 for our Scriptural call to worship. 

 Most of the time the Bible handles the use of this word differently from the way we use it. It means the same thing but we arrange things differently on the two sides of the word. For example, we are told that when we have to address a problem or confront a situation with someone, we are told to lead with a compliment, or start with something a person is doing well. You might say to your child, “I appreciate that you went and took a shower without being told. You did well and I’m proud of you for doing that. But, you left a big mess of water in the floor and your wet towel does not belong in the middle of your bed.” In that case, the child hates to hear the word “but.” They know the hammer is about to drop.

 Often, when the Bible uses the word “but” we have been confronted with the problem first, then we find the word “but” and on the other side we are offered the solution, or the remedy. For example, Proverbs 1:32-33 says, “For the waywardness of the naïve will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them. But he who listens to me shall live securely and will be at ease from the dread of evil.” We see this pattern in the “But God” passage in Ephesians 2:4. And we see it here in James 4.

 The Bible reveals to us the way God deals with us. James understands how God deals with us. Following the word “but” James provides us with encouragement, comfort, hope, and promise. “He gives a greater grace.” On the front side of the word “but” James paints the picture of the ugly reality of the sin and garbage. By the time we are finished with the honest self-examination we are ready for the good news. When we come across this beautiful transition word, we know that relief is on the way.

 This is how the gospel works. The gospel is good news. Too many are trying to preach a gospel that leaves out the bad news. When Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom He began with being poor in spirit. He didn’t begin with how important we are and how much God loves us and how God has a wonderful plan for our lives. Jesus began with our need to recognize our spiritual bankruptcy, which causes us to mourn over our helpless and hopeless condition separated from God by our sin. This causes us to humble ourselves before Him, recognizing our lack of resources or hope to ever stand before Him. This is what makes us hunger and thirst for the righteousness that will make us acceptable before God. Jesus began with the bad news. He pointed to the reality of our sinfulness and lostness and hopelessness and helplessness. The one who needs to be saved is the one who recognizes his need to be saved.

 The potential cure of chemotherapy and radiation treatment only sounds good to the one who has been told he has cancer. The prospect of open heart surgery sounds good only to the one who can see the results of the tests which show he has major blockage in several arteries and he will suffer a fatal heart attack. If a cardiologist were to say to you “I have bad news. You have several arteries from your heart that are blocked at 90% and one day soon one of those is going to cause a heart attack that will kill you…” you would be ready to hear the “but, we can go in and do surgery and you will feel much better and have the prospect of many more years of productive life.”

 This is the pattern consistent with the way God deals with us. God’s wisdom is on display in this passage. How? James has shown us our need for the greater grace. James has given us the diagnosis that shows us the problem and he has prepared our hearts for the wonderful news that God gives a greater grace. Who needs this greater grace? Everyone who is described by the garbage on the front side of the word “but.” I think we came away last week acknowledging that this was us.

 What is this greater grace? Let’s begin with the word “greater.” The KJV translates this “more.” The Greek word is “meizon.” (My-zone) It means more than “more.” Listen to a few other places where the word is used and you will get a sense for the meaning. 1 John 4:4 says, “Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” Who is He who is in You? It is God the Holy Spirit. Who is he who is in the world? John is talking about the spirits of antichrist. Those all come from Satan. “He who is in the world” is the spirit of antichrist which comes from Satan. How much greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world? In what ways is He greater who is in you than he who is in the world?

 1 John 5:5 says, “the testimony of God is greater than the testimony of man.” In what way is the testimony of God greater than the testimony of man? God’s testimony is true, always true. The testimony of man is flawed. The testimony of God comes from infinite wisdom. The testimony of man comes from a mind that is corrupt.

 Hebrews 11:26 says, “Moses considered the reproaches of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt.” Even the reproaches of Christ constitute far greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, or anything else the world has to offer.

 Greater grace is a far exceeding grace. Greater grace is a prevailing grace. Greater grace is preeminent grace. It is greater in quantity, and it is greater qualitatively. James is encouraging us with the truth that God’s grace is greater than the power of sin, greater than the corruption of our fallen condition, greater than the world or the ruler of this world. James wants us to know that this grace is more than sufficient to cover the garbage that verses 1-5 revealed. God’s grace is given in greater measure than can be exceeded by our sin.

 I love that the word God used to describe the supply of His grace to the Apostle Paul in 2 Cor. 12 is “sufficient.” This is because God’s grace is always sufficient. It is always adequate. It is never not enough. It is always given in measure which is more than enough for the need. It is sufficient. It is never lacking or in short supply.

 What is this grace? The Greek word “charis” describes a favor done without the expectation of anything in return; the absolutely free expression of the loving kindness of God to man, finding its only motive in the bounty and benevolence of the Giver. It is unearned and unmerited favor.

 Grace is a force. It is operative in and upon the life of the one upon whom it is bestowed. The working of grace, (and it does work) transforms man and causes him to love and seek after the righteousness of God. Grace is initially regeneration, the work of the Holy Spirit in which spiritual life is given to man and by which man’s nature is brought under the dominion of the Holy Spirit and righteousness. The maintenance of this condition requires an unbroken and immense supply of grace.

 Grace remains constant in, and basic to, a believer’s fight against the devil, and his struggles within against sin. Renewal is stimulated and impelled by God illuminating and strengthening of the soul, and will continue and increase as long as the soul perseveres. God’s grace insures that those who have been truly regenerated will persevere to the end of life.

 Grace produces our regeneration. Grace empowers our transformation. Grace brings about our sanctification. This is the power of God bringing about the work whereby we are renewed into the whole man and are enabled more and more to die to sin and live unto righteousness.

 We could make the case that our need for mercy is exceeded only by our need for grace. We know the difference between mercy and grace. In mercy God does not give us what we deserve. Our sin deserves the punishment of hell. If God only gives us mercy and withholds the punishment we deserve, we only get to exist in a state free from condemnation. Grace is God’s conferring of that which is undeserved. His gift is the righteousness we cannot achieve on our own. Unless God extends grace on top of His mercy, we would not receive the free gift of the righteousness of His Son. This is what grace provides. Grace clothes us in the perfection of Christ and we are blessed as He is blessed.

 It is no wonder we sing of Amazing Grace. We sang of grace that is greater than all our sin. There is no greater gift than the grace of God. There is no greater need that the sinner or the saint has than the need for saving grace for the sinner and the greater sanctifying grace for the saved.

 However, we are immediately presented with a paradox. There is a seeming contradiction presented to us. James quotes the Septuagint version of Proverbs 3:34. He says, “Therefore it says, ‘God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” If grace is a favor done without the expectation of anything in return, and undeserved and unmerited favor, then why is the prerequisite added that it is only given to the humble? By the way, James and Peter preach from the same passage. 1 Peter 5:5 says, “…all of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

 The answer to our question will become apparent as we work through this verse. What does it mean that God is opposed to the proud? The word “opposed” is “antitasso” in the Greek. It is a military term meaning to arrange in battle order. It is used metaphorically here to describe God’s setting Himself against and resisting the one who is proud. A good way to understand this is with the term “stiff arm.” A good running back playing football learns the art of a good stiff arm. He is able to fend off a defensive tackler with a good stiff arm. God stiff arms the proud. God resists the proud.

 “Proud” is from a compound word in the Greek that uses the word “over” or “above” and the word “to shine or show.” “Huperephanos” (huper-ay-phanos) The word is used in Romans 1:30 to describe those who did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer. Listen to the other words used to describe them… “filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice, gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful…” “Arrogant” falls in the middle of that disgusting laundry list. It is the same word used by James in our verse but is translated “proud.” 

 In Second Timothy 3:2 Paul uses the same word in describing what men will be like in the last days. Men will be “lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving,…” it goes on. In most instances where this word is used it is associated with the rejection of God, the rejection of His commandments, principles, and precepts. It describes one who lifts himself above God. God resists the one who asserts his or her own will above His will.

 This pride has only one source. It is from the wisdom which comes from below. It is the manifestation of a wisdom that is earthly, natural, and demonic. It is consistent with Satan, whose own pride resulted in his fall. It was his temptation of Eve to pride that brought about mankind’s fall into sin. Listen to this quote from my favorite author writing on the issue of humility. He is Andrew Murray. This is from his book entitled, “Humility, the Beauty of Holiness.”

 “When the Old Serpent, he who had been cast out from heaven for his pride, whose whole nature as devil was pride, spoke his words of temptation into the ear of Eve, these words carried with them the very poison of hell. And when she listened, and yielded her desire and her will to the prospect of being as God, knowing good and evil, the poison entered into her soul and blood and life, destroying forever that blessed humility and dependence upon God which would have been our everlasting happiness. And instead of this, her life and the life of the race that sprang from her became corrupted to its very root with that most terrible of all sins and all curses, the poison of Satan’s own pride. All the wretchedness of which this world has been the scene, all its wars and bloodshed among the nations, all its selfishness and suffering, all its ambitions and jealousies, all its broken hearts and embittered lives, with all its daily unhappiness, have their origin in what this cursed, hellish pride, either our own, or that of others, has brought us. It is pride that made redemption needful; it is from our pride we need above everything to be redeemed. And our insight into the need of redemption will largely depend upon our knowledge of the terrible nature of the power that has entered our being.”

The proud are not those who do not receive grace because God is unwilling to give it. The proud are those who do not receive grace because they do not want it. They love themselves. They love their sin. They desire a life separated from God and His righteous standards. They are characterized by everything that is the exact opposite of the wisdom from above. These are those whom God resists.

 Who then are the humble? What does it mean to be humble? Humility is an attitude. It is a condition of the heart and mind that sees oneself for who he or she really is, particularly in regards to one’s relationship to God. To be humble is to recognize and understand and to live under the reality that He alone is God, and I am not. He alone is the absolute sovereign authority with complete rights of rule, control, and authority over all His creation. To be humble is to live, assuming our rightful place in loving, joyful, and complete submission to Him.

 Humility is the absolute, joyful surrender to the will of God for my life. Humility is the unwavering confidence in the truth God has given by which I am to live my life. Humility is the joyful acceptance of all that God brings to my life which He employs to conform me to the image of His Son. Humility is the understanding that we exist for the glory of God and His glory alone. To be humble is to be like Jesus. Jesus was able to say, “I only do the will of Him who sent Me.”

 We will be further examining the issue of humility because in verses 7-10 we are going to find ten imperatives. I will cover them next week. These imperatives spell out for us the attitudes and the actions of the humble. You will want to understand how to walk in humility because you need grace. The greater grace is given to the one who is humble.

 None who are proud walk in wisdom from above. To walk in wisdom is to walk the path of humility. So let me ask you a question in closing. Have you set your heart on understanding humility and walking in it? We will not practice what we do not understand. We will not understand what we are not taught. We need to be taught the walk of humility.

 I will close with this quote from Andrew Murray which emphasizes the need to pursue an understanding of this rare trait among God’s children. “Is it any wonder that the Christian life is so often feeble and fruitless, when the very root of the Christ life is neglected, is unknown? Is it any wonder that the joy of salvation is so little felt, when that in which Christ found it and brings it, is so little sought? Until a humility which will rest in nothing less than the end and death of self; which gives up all the honor of men as Jesus did, to seek the honor that comes from God alone; which absolutely makes and counts itself nothing, that God may be all, that the Lord alone may be exalted,-until such a humility be what we seek in Christ above our chief joy, and welcome at any price, there is very little hope of a religion that will conquer the world.”

 Where quarrels and conflicts exist, humility does not. When we are yielding to the pleasures that wage war against our members, humility is not working. When we are angry because we do not get what we want, humility is on a leave of absence. When we envy, fight and quarrel, humility is dead. When we are self-sufficient and don’t ask for help when we need it, pride is in control, not humility. Humility is the antidote to the sinful issues addressed in the first part of Chapter 4.

 I hope you want to know humility, not just for the sake of knowledge, but so that you become a humble vessel into whom God pours greater grace.  

Let’s pray.