Going Deeper – James 4:1-10

Title and Text: “Submissive Faith” – James 4:1-10

Connect:

• Respond to the poll below.  If in a group discuss your responses:

Cultivate:

• James identifies the root of conflict in the church as “passions” (Eugene Peterson rightly expresses the gist of the Greek word in The Message: “You want your own way”).  What selfish desires commonly lead to church conflict and division?  Which, if any, of these is most likely to manifest through you?
• What negative effects does selfish striving have upon the rest of church?—upon the individual who expresses this selfish drive? (See vv 2-3).
• James labels this selfish, divisive behavior as worldly (v 4).  How is the problem described in vv 1-3 indicative of worldly values?  What other ways might those in the church be in danger of acting like those in the world?
• James gives a string of imperatives in vv 7-10:
  • Submit…to God (v 7)
  • Resist the devil (v 7)
  • Draw near to God (v 8)
  • Cleanse your hands…Purify your hearts (v 8)
  • Be wretched and mourn and week (v 9)
  • Humble yourselves before the Lord (v 10)

What relationship do you discern among these instructions?  How do the first and last (submit and humble yourselves) function in relation to the interior commands?  What is the main point of this section (vv 7-10)?

Commission:

• Like it or not the Christian life is shared in community.  In what ways are you presently withdrawing from or undermining community-building in your church?  In what ways can you contribute to the sense of unity, fellowship, and love within your church?

Advertisement