Humility Cures Worldliness

Victory

It is easy to find ourselves telling God what we want Him to do and then get angry at Him if He doesn’t do it. James now gives seven  steps for victory in this warfare.

  1. Submit to God (v. 7)
  2. Resist the devil (v. 7)
  3. Draw near to God (v. 8)
  4. Clean your hands (actions v. 8)
  5. Purify your hearts (motives v. 8)
  6. Repent (v. 9)
  7. Humble yourselves (v. 10)

If we follow these instructions we will not be at war with God, ourselves or others. The key to this victory is submission to God (v. 7a). This submission involves purity of mind and purity of heart  (v.8b). However, anyone who wants to be submissive to God must of necessity resist the devil (v. 7b). The promise is that if we resist the devil, he will flee from us (v. 7b).

Application

Dr. A.W. Tozer wrote: “The more I am like God the nearer I will be to God. Suppose I am sitting in my living room with a Siamese cat on my lap and my wife is several feet away in the kitchen; yet I am nearer to my wife than the cat because the cat is not like me.” Am I more like God now than I was six months ago?

James 4:6-10 (English Standard Version)


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