james 4 commentary easy english

A large number of the Christians had left *Jerusalem and had goneto live in other countries. James 4:4 Parallel Verses [⇓ See commentary ⇓] James 4:4, NIV: "You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God?Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God." instead of saying, “If the Lord will”. That is why the Bible says, ‘God is against those people who think that they are important. "Commentary on James 4:4". So God will give to us all that we need. It is wrong to speak like that. Do not be happy but be very upset. . You do not have, because you do not ask. Renunciation of the world, in the Christian promise, is not forsaking it when tired and clogged with its delights, but the earliest severance from it; to break this vow, or not to have made it, is to belong to the foes of God, and not merely to be out of covenant with Him. You lust and do not have. ... Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible. When you do that, you are not obeying the Law. Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807, https://www.facebook.com/BibleEasyEnglish/. .—God waiteth to be gracious (Isaiah 30:18). James 4 Commentary, One of over 110 Bible commentaries freely available, this commentary, by Charles Ellicott has been an oft consulted resource by many a preacher! (Comp. Lust, envy, strife, and murder:—like the tale of human passion in all ages, the dreadful end draws on. The forces of good and evil divide the land so sharply that there is no debatable ground, nor even halting-place between. # 4:9 Some people fight and argue. Alas! But the true brother knew “to do good,” and did it; and, returning at the end of his work, found his cell full of the radiant presence of the Lord, and heard the words of rich approval—, “Hadst thou stayed, I must have fled.”, And again, in another succession of thoughts on the text, God has no need of human knowledge; no, nor of our ignorance; “and it is a sin to shut the ears to instruction: it is a duty to get knowledge, to increase in knowledge, to abound in knowledge.” Nor must we rest therein, but (2 Peter 1:6-7) “add to knowledge temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, charity.”. He wrote to encourage them to live asChristians should, i… 2 Peter 2:14, specially the margin. We learn the converse to the evil of vainglory in life, namely, the good which may be wrought by every one. Many worthy people have much sympathy with David, in their effort to hold their tongue and keep “silence, yea even from good words;” truly it is “pain and grief” to them (Psalms 39:3). They are being like the Devil. They come from the selfish desires that make war inside you. It is written in every national epic; its elements abound in the life of each individual: the slaughter in Etzel’s halls overshadows the first lines of the Nibelungen-lied; the curse of Medea hangs like a gathering cloud around Jason and his Argonauts. ?—More correctly thus. Warning Against Worldliness. Don't You Know the Choice to Be Made? We receive God’s *grace. 1 This letter is from me, James. .—Translate, come they not hence, even from your lusts warring in your members? English Standard Version (ESV) Bible Book List. “The Devil,” says the strange old book called The Shepherd of Hermas, “can tight, but he cannot conquer; if, therefore, thou dost withstand him, he will flee from thee, beaten and ashamed.”. Song of Songs: The Beautiful Woman behind the Veil - by Sarah Ruth. . You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. The sovereignty of God is acknowledged, but with it is plainly recognised the existence of man’s free will, dependent, however, on the permission of the Most High for its fleeting duration and power. But who shall come “into the tabernacle of God, or rest upon His holy hill” (Psalms 15:1), except the man “of uncorrupt life”? But, as a correlative to this, the Apostle shows where pride may become a stimulant for good, viz., in contest with the Evil One. You just want to use these things to make yourselves happy. Part of the reason for this is that James is like Proverbs in that many of its verses really stand alone in their content. So, you fight and you quarrel with each other. Let the foolish laughter at sin, which was “as the crackling of thorns” before the avenging fire (Ecclesiastes 7:6), be turned to mourning; banish the joyous smile for the face cast down to heaviness, and so await the blessedness of those that mourn (Matt. It must, however, be noted that a slightly varied punctuation of the verse will give quite another sense to its questioning. 2 You want to have something for yourself, but you do not get what you want. But he — God, giveth more grace — To all those who, while they shun those tempers, sincerely and earnestly pray for it. Thus many understand these expressions, because God himself represented his relation to the Jews as his people under the idea of a marriage, and because the prophets, in conformity to that idea, represented the idolatry of the Jews as adultery. easyenglish.bibleBooks > EasyEnglish Bible >. You are giving yourself authority to decide what the Law says. This is a valid way to outline this section. A translation of the Bible with Commentaries and Bible Studies – all written in Easy English – to help you read, understand, and apply the Bible. We must do good things. But he has made us into his friends (Ephesians 2:13-19). All that he reproves is the setting up of our own tribunals, in which we are at once prosecutor, witness, law, lawgiver, and judge; not to say executioner as well. 11 My Christian friends, do not say bad things against each other. It should be, ye adulteresses! As a result, we will be able to do the things that … Probably both ideas are correct. . As noted in the introduction, James here included a series of blunt, power-packed exhortations, running through James 4:10. We will stay there for a year. Christians are brethren. The humble character of a living faith. James 4:4, ESV: "You adulterous people!Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Matthew 10:28.) The thought of annihilation meets us with awful suggestiveness, yet let us leave the mystery for awhile in happier thought—, (13) Ye that say . suggested apparently by those already given. The sense is familiar to us from many passages in the Old Testament, in which God speaks of Israel in a similar manner, e.g., Psalms 73:27; Isaiah 54:5; Jeremiah 2:2; Ezekiel 16 passim; Ezekiel 23:37-43; Hosea 2:2. . English Standard Version Update. Ye adulterers and adulteresses — Who have broken your faith with God, your rightful spouse. Then we can receive God’s *grace. It is interesting to notice the sharp crisp sentences, recollecting at the same time that St. James himself fell a victim to the passions he thus assails, probably at the hands of a zealot mob. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. Stop doing wrong things. God resisteth the proud . But “to take the law into one’s own hands” is to break it, and administer inequitably. (16) But now . E. Verse 5 is very ambiguous because. 4:11-17 Our lips must be governed by the law of kindness, as well as truth and justice. Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? If we say bad things about God's word or about his people, we are being like the Devil. See also Note on 2 Corinthians 12:7. Bibliography InformationEllicott, Charles John. The good reason why not is given in the graceful interjection “brothers.” Omit the conjunction in the next phrase, and read as follows:—. Your life is like a cloud which appears for a short time and then it quickly goes away. . (2, 3) Ye lust, and have not . .—A difficulty presents itself in this verse—whether the application be general, or a particular comment on the words preceding. But the apostolic condemnation is in no way meant to condone a vicious life, and leave it unalarmed and self-contented; for boldness in rebuke thereof we have the example of John the Baptist. You do not have, because you do not ask. Copyright StatementThese files are public domain.Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com. The lust of the eye and the pride of life are at the root of all the wrong-doing. And defensible or not as this translation may be, at least it escapes some of the difficulties of the foregoing. Is it not this, that your passions 1 are y at war within you? 17 So, you know the right thing that you ought to do. He has “no pleasure in the death of him that dieth” (Ezekiel 18:32). 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. ?—The tone of the Apostle is changed to one of appeal, which, perhaps (but see below), may be rendered thus: Suppose ye that the Scripture saith in vain, The (Holy) Spirit that dwelleth in us jealously regards us as His own? You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. “God,” says Thomas à Kempis, “protects the humble and delivers him; He loves and consoles him; He inclines Himself towards the humble man, He bestows on him exceeding grace, and after his humiliation He lifts him up to glory; He reveals his secrets to the humble, and sweetly draws and leads him to Himself.”, (11) Speak not evil . Jesus prepares the way for us to approach God the King. At the end of what has been considered the second portion of this Epistle, there is a last series of rebukes. Our Authorised version does not allow of this apparent reference to the Spirit of God indwelling His human temples (1 Corinthians 3:16; 1 Corinthians 6:19, et seq.) Verse 2 . Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. Ye ask; he prevents an objection; q.d. … James 4. He that speaketh evil . We have the law of God, which is a rule to all; let us not presume to set up our own notions and opinions as a rule to those about us, and let us be careful that we be not condemned … 1:1 James is the brother of Jesus, but he describes himself as a servant of Jesus Christ. Prœjudicium was a merciful provision under Roman law, and often spared the innocent a lengthier after trial; but prejudice—our word taken from it—is its most unhappy opposite. Admit you do pray for the good things you want, or, though you pray for them. Again in the New Testament: Matthew 12:39; Matthew 16:4; Mark 8:38; Revelation 2:20-22; Revelation 17:1; Revelation 17:5; Revelation 17:15, &c.; St. Paul’s description of the church (2 Corinthians 11:2), espoused “as a chaste virgin to Christ;” and comp. Then he will lift you up to a good place. Finding the new version too difficult to understand? James 4:3. 2 My brothers, 1 w show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, x the Lord of glory. “Mortals think all men mortal but themselves;” yet who does not boast himself of tomorrow (Proverbs 27:1), in spite of a thousand proverbs; and reckon on the wondrous chance of, “That untravelled world, whose margin fades, (15) For that ye ought to say . Friendship with God. .—Referring to James 4:13, in some such a continuation of reproof as this: Woe unto you that say, . 20:5. . James.). Patience Until the Lord's Coming. 1. Tweet . .—How different is the case with you, cries St. James; you actually glory and delight in your own self-confidence and presumption, and every such rejoicing is evil. 9 Be sorry about your sins and weep. Many commentators have been puzzled to say whence the words came which are quoted as authoritative by St. James. .—The Apostle would reason next with the worldly; not merely those abandoned to pleasure, but any and all absorbed in the quest of gain or advancement. You fight and war. I am a servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. You want to do bad things that you think will make you happy. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. We must do good things. .—Read, Humble yourselves therefore before the Lord, and He shall lift you up. 4:9 Some people fight and argue. James 4 Commentary, One of over 110 Bible commentaries freely available, this commentary is one of the most respected interdenominational commentaries ever written. . And to break God's commands, is to speak evil of them, and to judge them, as if they laid too great a restraint upon us. If we only want to make ourselves happy, God will not hear us. (17) Therefore . .—Excepting “God,” instead of “Lord,” this is an exact quotation from the LXX. 4 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? But you cannot get them. But you still cannot get what you want. (6) But he giveth more grace—i.e., because of this very presence of the Holy Ghost within us. . ), Able to save and to destroy.—Life and death, salvation and utter destruction, seem to be placed in intentional contrast here. So, you yourselves become enemies of God. The original is represented a little more closely, thus: Today and tomorrow we will go into this city, and spend a year there, and trade and get gain. We must listen to God. Genesis 2:7 for the inbreathing of the Spirit, with any such chapter as Deuteronomy 32 for His jealous inquisition. He wants very much to keep us for himself.’ 6 But God will be very kind to us and he will help us. 4 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? © MissionAssist 2020 (See Wordsworth.) Amplified So be subject to God. And in proof of real conversion there must be the outward lamentation, as well as the inward contrition. Commentary on James 4:1-10 (Read James 4:1-10) Since all wars and fightings come from the corruptions of our own hearts, it is right to mortify those lusts that war in the members. . . “God is the Lord and husband of every soul that is His;” and in her revolt from Him, and love for sin, her acts are those of an adulterous woman. There cannot be a passive condition to the faith of Christ: “he that is not with Me is against Me” (Matthew 12:30). version of Proverbs 3:34, which reads in our Bibles, “Surely He scorneth the scorners, but He giveth grace unto the lowly.” It is again brought forward by St. Peter (1 Peter 5:5), and seems to have been a common saying—“a maxim of the wise that had become, as it were, a law of life.”. 4 You are turning away from God, like a wife who has sex with other men. James 4:2 Parallel Verses [⇓ See commentary ⇓] James 4:2, NIV: "You desire but do not have, so you kill. In “The Beautiful Legend” there is a strife between the call of duty to give out a dole of bread to the hungry, and the temptation to linger in religious ecstasy over a vision of Christ. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. Sinful desires and affections stop prayer, and the working of our desires toward God. It were well that the unfaithful, addressed in James 4:4, should bear the general sentiment of this verse in mind, and not fancy such warnings of holy writ were uttered emptily, in vain. 1. He traces the conflict raging around him to the fount and origin of evil within. .—Better thus: Ye desire, and have not; ye kill, and envy, and cannot obtain; ye fight and make war; ye have not, because ye ask not; ye ask and receive not, because ye ask that ye may spend it on your lusts. 13 Some of you say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to a certain city. Learn how to understand almost everything you hear right now in 4 easy steps! Resist the devil and he will flee from you. ), “the reference of all the contingencies of the future to One supremely wise and loving Will, has been in all ages of Christendom the stay and strength of devout souls.”. .—Punctuate thus: He that speaketh evil of his brother, judgeth his brother; speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law. Study the bible online using commentary on James 4 and more! Heinrich Meyer's Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. We will buy and sell things, and we will become rich.’ If you say things like that, listen to me. But if you know that and you do not do the right thing, then you have done a wrong thing. James 4:10, NASB: "Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you." James 4:10, ESV: "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you." But the burden of this hateful depravity drove of old men like Lucretius to suicide rather than endurance; and its mantle of despair is on all the religions of India at the present time—matter itself being held to be evil, and eternal. But the *apostles and leaders of the church did notgo. Read commentary on this popular Bible verse and understand the real meaning behind God's Word using John Gill's Exposition of the Bible. Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You don’t get what you want because you don’t ask God. Wordly and fleshly lusts are distempers, which will not allow content or satisfaction. .—Better thus: One is the Law-giver and Judge, Who is able to save and to destroy: but thou—who art thou that judgest a neighbour? 1 You very often fight and quarrel among yourselves. Go to, To report dead links, typos, or html errors or suggestions about making these resources more useful use our convenient, Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers, Commentary Critical and Explanatory - Unabridged, Kretzmann's Popular Commentary of the Bible, Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures. The expression "ye sinners" coming right in the middle of this ( James 4:8 ) forbids referring this particular paragraph to Christians, the unmodified designation "sinners" not being an appropriate address for members of the body of Christ to whom the whole letter is written. Only he has the authority to judge whether people have done what is right. James wrote to help them. If we only want to make ourselves happy, God will not hear us. Click the link below for in depth comments on this verse. People use this word to introduce someone to a king. 4. For the word ‘receive’, Paul uses the word ‘prosagoge’, which means ‘introduction’. Used by Permission. J ames is a book that many of us know random verses from, yet we tend to not really know the book that well. . James 4:6 Quote from Prov. What does James 4:3 mean? James 4 is included in this fourth subdivision. The reply is obvious; Ye ask not in the true sense; when ye do ask ye receive not, because God is too loving, even in His anger. . Sinful desires and affections stop prayer, and the working of our desires toward God. 12 God is the one who gave his Law to people. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/ebc/james-4.html. Matthew 6:24; Luke 16:13.). Nevertheless, remember, He gave the Israelites “their desire, and sent leanness withal into their soul” (Psalms 106:15). (See Analysis of Contents.) . Email. (7) Submit yourselves therefore to God. The word for “boastings” is the same as that translated “the pride of life” in 1 John 2:16—i.e., its braggart boastfulness, not the innocent gladness of living. So God will give to us all that we need. Paul uses the … In English Version the sense is, "the (natural) spirit that hath its dwelling in us lusts with (literally, 'to,' or 'towards') envy." Is it objected (James 4:3) that prayer is made but not answered? So you kill and are jealous of others. That is because you ask for the wrong reason. Be strong against the Devil and he will run away from you. 10 Think about yourselves as small in front of the Lord God. James 4:8 so clean sin out of … You even kill other people. Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary 4:1-10 Since all wars and fightings come from the corruptions of our own hearts, it is right to mortify those lusts that war in the members. If you speak against another believer, you are really speaking against God's Law. And thus it is that omission is at times worse than commission; and more souls are in jeopardy for things left undone than for things done. Give Yourselves to God. James 4 Commentary, One of over 110 Bible commentaries freely available, this volume commentary on the Bible is highly regarded for his very prudent and judicious expositions 2. (12) There is one lawgiver . Wordly and fleshly lusts are distempers, which will not allow content or satisfaction. Occasions of well-doing lie in the abject at our doors, and the pleadings of pity in our very hearts. As a result, we will be able to do the things … You choose to be friends with people who are against God. Do you know why that happens? Surely the substance was sufficient for him, as for other inspired writers, without a slavish adherence to the form: comp. But he is kind to people who do not feel important.’ 7 So, obey God's authority. . . 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