SUBMIT YOURSELF TO GOD AND RESIST THE DEVIL
JAMES 4:7-10
7Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.10Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
4: 6-7, 10 What can help us combat our selfish tendencies? Learning humility (also see Proverbs 16: 18-19; 1 Peter 5: 5-6). Pride makes us self-centered and leads us to conclude that we deserve all we can see, touch, or imagine. It creates greedy appetites for far more than we need. We can be released from our self-centered desires by humbling ourselves before God, realizing that all we really need is his approval. God not only gives us good gifts but also gives us good desires (see Philippians 2: 13). When the Holy Spirit fills us, we see this world’s seductive attractions for what they are— only cheap substitutes for what God has to offer.
4: 7-10 How can you come near to God? James gives five ways: (1) “ Submit . . . to God” (4: 7). Yield to his authority and will, commit your life to him and his control, and be willing to follow him. (2) “ Resist the devil” (4: 7). Don’t allow Satan to entice and tempt you. (3) “ Wash your hands . . . and purify your hearts” (that is, lead a pure life) (4: 8). Be cleansed from sin, replacing the desire to sin with the desire to experience God’s purity. (4) “ Grieve, mourn and wail” in sincere sorrow for your sins (4: 9). Don’t be afraid to express deep, heartfelt sorrow for what you have done. (5) “ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up” (4: 10; also see 1 Peter 5: 6). Recognize that your worth comes from God alone. To be humble involves leaning on his power and guidance and not going your own independent way. Although we do not deserve God’s favor, he wants to lift us up and give us worth and dignity, despite our human shortcomings. (For more on drawing near to God, see Hebrews 10: 19-22.)
4: 7 Although God and the devil are at war, we don’t have to wait until the end to see who will win. God has already defeated Satan (Revelation 12: 10-12), and when Christ returns, the devil and all he stands for will be eliminated forever (Revelation 20: 10-15). Satan freely influences our wills now, however, and he strives to win us over to his evil cause or, when he can’t, destroy us. But he cannot defeat the Holy Spirit. We have a choice to either follow our natural tendencies or ask the Holy Spirit to fill us. With the Holy Spirit’s power, we can resist the devil, and he will flee from us.
Tyndale. NIV Life Application Study Bible
ON THE WAY HOME WALK WITH JESUS and resist the devil, because as hard as he makes our live be in trials and temptations and general steal, kill, and destroy character of hi WE KNOW that GOD has already won the war and satan will spend his time in HELL and we will spend eternity in HEAVEN with our LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST!!
onthewayhomeministries.org by RICHARD DEAN BROOKS
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