James 4
4
Friendship With the World
1#Ro 7:23; 1Pe 2:11Where do wars and fights among you come from? Do they not come from your lusts that war in your body? 2You lust and do not have, so you kill. You desire to have and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have, because you do not ask. 3#1Jn 5:14; 3:22You ask, and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your passions.
4#Jn 15:19; Ro 8:7You adulterers and adulteresses, do you not know that the friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. 5Do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “He yearns jealously for the spirit that lives in us”#The source of this quotation is uncertain.? 6#Pr 3:34; 1Pe 5:5But He gives more grace. For this reason it says:
“God resists the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.”#Pr 3:34.
7#Eph 4:27; 1Pe 5:8–9Therefore submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8#2Ch 15:2; Jas 1:8Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9#Lk 6:25; Pr 14:13Grieve and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to dejection. 10#Mt 23:12Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
Judging a Brother
11#1Pe 2:1; Jas 5:9Do not speak evil of one another, brothers. He who speaks evil of his brother and judges his brother speaks evil of the law and judges the law. If you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge. 12#Mt 10:28; Ro 14:4; Isa 33:22There is one Lawgiver who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?
Warning Against Boasting
13#Pr 27:1; Jas 5:1Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into this city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit,” 14#Ps 102:3; 39:5whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? It is just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. 15#Ac 18:21Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” 16#1Co 5:6But now you are rejoicing in your boastings. All such rejoicing is evil. 17#Jn 9:41; Lk 12:47–48Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, it is sin.
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James 4: MEV
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Military Bible Association
James 4
4
Stop Fighting with Each Other
1What causes fights and quarrels among you? Aren’t they caused by the selfish desires that fight to control you? 2You want what you don’t have, so you commit murder. You’re determined to have things, but you can’t get what you want. You quarrel and fight. You don’t have the things you want, because you don’t pray for them. 3When you pray for things, you don’t get them because you want them for the wrong reason—for your own pleasure.
4You unfaithful people! Don’t you know that love for this ⌞evil⌟ world is hatred toward God? Whoever wants to be a friend of this world is an enemy of God. 5Do you think this passage means nothing? It says, “The Spirit that lives in us wants us to be his own.”
6But God shows us even more kindness.#4:6 Or “grace.” Scripture says,
“God opposes arrogant people,
but he is kind to humble people.”
7So place yourselves under God’s authority. Resist the devil, and he will run away from you. 8Come close to God, and he will come close to you. Clean up your lives, you sinners, and clear your minds, you doubters. 9Be miserable, mourn, and cry. Turn your laughter into mourning and your joy into gloom. 10Humble yourselves in the Lord’s presence. Then he will give you a high position.
Stop Slandering Each Other
11Brothers and sisters, stop slandering each other. Those who slander and judge other believers slander and judge God’s laws. If you judge God’s teachings, you are no longer following them. Instead, you are judging them. 12There is only one who creates laws and judges on the basis of them. He is able to save or destroy you. So who are you to judge your neighbor?
Don’t Brag about Your Plans for the Future
13Pay attention to this! You’re saying, “Today or tomorrow we will go into some city, stay there a year, conduct business, and make money.” 14You don’t know what will happen tomorrow. What is life? You are a mist that is seen for a moment and then disappears. 15Instead, you should say, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and carry out our plans.” 16However, you brag because you’re arrogant. All such bragging is evil.
17Whoever knows what is right but doesn’t do it is sinning.
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