There’s a great deal of talk about pronouns these days. The pronoun problem begins with the pronoun “me.” We have become such a self-centered people that our national anthem should be changed to “I Wanna Talk About Me.” James speaks to this problem in the first few verses of the 4th Chapter.
It affects our overall attitudes, our relationships, our work, our health, and our lives in general. It even affects our prayer life. James says that we don’t get what we ask God for because we ask with selfish motives. Only in humility can we know the peace of God that comes from letting go of the control of our lives. Even when James tells us to resist the devil and he will flee from us it is to be done in a spirit of humility.
Finally, he concludes this section with some straight talk about judging others. He tells us not to talk trash about our fellow Christians. When we do this we are saying that God – the One Who established the law and right and wrong – may have missed missed something and that He needs us to step in and point out what he hasn’t. Then we’re on thin ice because we have moved from a position of obeying God to thinking we can handle God’s job. Definitely this is not a good place to be.
God gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6)
This Bible study was presented to the Agape Life Bible Study Class of the First Baptist Church in Brenham, Texas, on Sunday, October 8, 2023. It is part of a series in a Bible study curriculum called Connect 360, published by the GC2 Press of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. The overall title of the current set of lessons is The Making of Authentic Faith. You can find printed and digital versions of this series online at:
gc2press.org/the-making-of-authentic-faith-james-study-guide/ .
Handouts with slide content can be requested at: fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com . Handouts are also available at: fromthebackporch.org .
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