Sermon Tone Analysis

Scripture Reading Psalm 100

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We are starting the 4th chapter of James today.

James has been getting more and more direct in his dialog with the church.

As we have seen he is writing to a church that has some quite important issues.

There are people in the membership of the church that are not believers.

There are people that are deceived and following false ideas.

There are others that are there for the wrong motives and there are others that have not to come to saving faith yet but are participating in the life of the church.

James has been giving a series of contrasts on what a true believer looks like.

He has been dialing down to literally the heart of the issue.

He has been going through a series of tests that reveal the truth of a believers words.

Even in James time they could not trust the words of the people around them.

This issue has not improved over the 2000 years since his time.

What would a world look like where you could take people at face value.

Where yo could walk up and ask a question and you would get an honest answer.

No games, no lies, no exaggeration, no manipulation, no hidden meaning.

What would it look like to turn on a tv and not have to worry about news stations controlling the narrative.

Politicians hiding the truth.

Bosses that mean what they say and say what they mean.

Wouldn’t it be nice?

Unfortunately sin is a constant element of man until Jesus returns.

But until that time there will be people in the church who will have the right words and even may have many of the right actions but is comes down to the heart of a person.

In chapter 2 we saw that good works reveal the faith of a Christian.

In chapter 3 it was the tongue or speech of a person that reveals their heart and last week we looked the wisdom of a person.

The behaviors that come from applying the truths that a person receives.

The behaviors are driven by the application of the truth from above or the application of the false truth from below.

When bitter envy and selfish ambition are in the heart of a person, then disorder and evil practices are born.

But when the wisdom of God comes out of a true believer, then a person’s behavior is pure, peace-loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without pretense.

This is were we pick up today, stand with me as we read chapter 4:1-12

James 4:1–12 (CSB)

1 What is the source of wars and fights among you?

Don’t they come from your passions that wage war within you? 2 You desire and do not have.

You murder and covet and cannot obtain.

You fight and wage war.

You do not have because you do not ask.

3 You ask and don’t receive because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.

4 You adulterous people!

Don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God?

So whoever wants to be the friend of the world becomes the enemy of God. 5 Or do you think it’s without reason that the Scripture says: The spirit he made to dwell in us envies intensely?

6 But he gives greater grace.

Therefore he says:

God resists the proud

but gives grace to the humble.

7 Therefore, submit to God.

Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

9 Be miserable and mourn and weep.

Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.

10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

11 Don’t criticize one another, brothers and sisters.

Anyone who defames or judges a fellow believer defames and judges the law.

If you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.

12 There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy.

But who are you to judge your neighbor?

James is picking up from chapter 3 and is going to address one of the issues in the church.

After talking in generalities he will not hit this on the head.

We can see that there were members of the church that were in conflict with one another.

James 4:1 (CSB)

1 What is the source of wars and fights among you?

Don’t they come from your passions that wage war within you?

James does not tell us what the conflict is or who was doing it.

He presupposes that the readers of this letter will know what he is talking about or us we don’t need to know the specifics of the situation just the teaching that goes with the correction.

Your bible may have quarrels and conflict.

The word for quarrels or war is this long fight that continues to burn in the church and conflicts or fights refers to specific battles in a conflict.

How do we know this is in the church?

He says these are among you.

or in the members of the church.

These were long continuing fights and battles that should not be there in the church.

We were already taught that peace and gentleness is a characteristic of true believers that are following God.

Not conflict and strife.

Conflict is not part of God’s design for the church.

John 17:21 (CSB)

21 May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I am in you.

May they also be in us, so that the world may believe you sent me.

As Jesus prayed for the disciples in the upper room and for all disciples to come after him he prayed that those that follow him would be one, as the Father and Son are one.

As the Father is in the Son and the Son is in the Father.

We are to be in Christ as he is in us.

We are to abide in him and his Spirit is to indwell in us.

And for what purpose, that the world may believe that God sent Jesus.

That the gospel is true.

That the claims of Jesus are truth.

Conflict within the church does not bring the outside world closer to this belief.

This just isn’t the way we should behave.

John 13:34–35 (CSB)

34 “I give you a new command: Love one another.

Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another.

35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

We are to love one another.

Just as how… We are to love the way Jesus loved.

Paul said imitate him and he imitates Christ.

The world with know we are followers of Jesus by how we love.

1 Corinthians 1:10 (CSB)

10 Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, that there be no divisions among you, and that you be united with the same understanding and the same conviction.

This week is Thanksgiving and we have so much to be thankful for but for many Thanksgiving is a time of stress, conflict, and discomfort.

I won’t ask but there are many who would rather to just stay home or not be in the same room as another person.

Why is family so hard sometimes?