From Whence Come Wars And Fightings Among You?

 Temple Baptist Church - 11-10-2021

James 3:16-4:3

 

Introduction: 

 

A.  Last week, we dealt with godly wisdom vs. worldly wisdom. 

 

1.  James 3:17-18.  Godly wisdom is the fruit of righteousness and is "sown in peace of them that make peace."

 

2.  James 3:14-16.  Worldly wisdom is the fruit of "bitter envying and strife in your hearts" and the author of "confusion and every evil work."

 

B.  James, chapter 4 continues within the same context.  Chapter and verse divisions are great tools but often cause confusion because we deem them the end of one thought and the beginning of another.

 

C.  James 4:1-2.  The Bible is facetiously asking a question to which the answer should be obvious.  "From whence" ties us back to the preceding chapter where the question has been answered.  "From whence" speaks of a source. 

 

1.  Do "wars and fightings among you" come from godly wisdom and righteous works?  When people live for God, forgive those who trespass against them, and endeavor to live in peace—does this make them problematic in the local church?  No!

 

2.  Do "wars and fightings among you" come from worldly wisdom which brings about bitter envying and strife in heart?  Absolutely!

 

D.  Though the answer should be obvious to the believer of godly wisdom, it may be obscured in the heart of the unrighteous man.  Thus, The Book of James both gives the question and the answer to the question.  The Holy Ghost does not leave right and wrong up to the doer.  The Holy ghost draws a distinction between them!

 

1.  There is a Condition to be Desired.  "a wise man and endued with knowledge"  "a good conversation his works with meekness and wisdom"

 

2.  There is a Condition to be Shunned.  "bitter envying and strife in your hearts. 

 

3.  There is a Culprit to be Exposed.  "This wisdom …  not from above … earthly, sensual, devilish"

 

4.  There is a Result that is Divisive.  "confusion and every evil work"

 

5.  There is a Result that is Edifying.  "pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits"

 

6.  There is a Path to Follow.  "the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace"

 

E.  The Problem Exposed.  "your lusts that war IN YOUR MEMBERS"

 

1.  Illicit Desires.  "Ye lust, and have not"  Lust – to set one's heart upon something.  In this context, to set one's heart upon something that is biblically wrong.

 

2.  Willful Destruction.  "ye kill"  The wars and fightings are not physical ones, they are spiritual ones and the tongue is normally the weapon of choice.  Life and death are still in the power of the tongue!

 

3.  Unfulfilled Life.  "desire to have, and cannot obtain.  If you desires are wrong, then God does not give to you the desires of an ungodly heart.  Psalms 84:11  For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

 

4.  Uncontrolled Emotions.  "ye fight and war"  Galatians 5:22-23  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,  (23)  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

 

5.  Prayerless Life.  "yet ye have not, because ye ask not"  When someone knows that he/she is out of Gods will, they do not pray because they understand that their sins have separated them from God.

 

6.  Unanswered Prayers.  " Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts."  When the heart is not right, then the desires are not right and the "out of God's will" prayers are not answered!  Psalms 66:18  If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:

 

Conclusion:  The most important unit on the face of the earth other than the family is the local church.  Because it is the vehicle through which God works to evangelize the world, teach the convert, and to edify and encourage the believer.  Satan hates the local assembly!

 

1.  The Greatest Enemy Of The Church Is Not Satan.  (Though he is a great enemy.)

 

2.  The Greatest Enemy Of The Church Is Not Finances. (For God is not broke.)

 

3.  The Greatest Enemy Of The Church Is Not Circumstances. (For it rains on the just and the unjust.)

 

4.  The Greatest Enemy Of The Church Is The Enemy From Within.  (The people who occupy the pulpits and sit upon the pews.)