The Anatomy of Conflict (Part 3)
James 4:6
Preached by Pastor Tony Miano
Pico Canyon Community Church
June 17, 2001
Introduction: This is our third and final week in our study of the anatomy of conflict. We’ve looked at how conflict with others makes up part of that anatomy. We’ve looked at how conflict within ourselves. And last week we began to look at how conflict with God makes up the most significant part of that anatomy—the anatomy of conflict.
In looking at man’s conflict with God, we considered two of the three characteristics we find in James 4:4-6. In our study of verse four, we saw how friendliness with the world causes conflict with God. In verse five, we saw how man’s ignorance of the Scriptures contributes to this worst kind of conflict. Today, as we look at the third characteristic of conflict with God, we’re going to see if we can’t answer the question, “Are we too proud for grace?” Since it’s Father’s Day, a day in which we honor the fathers in our lives, those men that give so much of themselves to their families, it seems very appropriate to honor our heavenly Father, with a spirit of thankfulness as we look at what He gives to His children—grace.
Let’s begin by reading James 4:1-6 again.
As we look at man’s pride and the way it contributes to his conflict with God, we are going to also look at the antithesis of pride—grace. In verse six we are going to see that God’s grace is great, limited, and free. We will also see that man’s pride seeks to minimize the greatness of God’s grace, rationalize away the finiteness of God’s grace, and trivialize the pricelessness of God’s grace.
James begins verse six with “But He gives a greater grace.” I think I mentioned last week that there always seems to be a “but” attached to James’ teaching. James uses this word because he frequently makes contrasts between what his readers were doing and what they should or should not be doing. Here are some examples.
In chapter one, James tells us that we should ask for wisdom, but we should ask without doubting. He tells us that we should receive the Word of God implanted in our hearts, but we should be doers of what the Word says, not just hearers. When we look in the mirror, we shouldn’t walk away and forget what kind of person we are, but we should look intently at the law of liberty and effectually do what it teachers.
In chapter two, James teaches us that we should love our neighbor as ourselves, but instead we show partiality. James points out that there are many in the church that profess faith in Jesus Christ, but they fail to realize that a faith that does not produce fruit is worthless.
In chapter three, James teaches that we are able to bring into submission every other kind of created thing, but we can’t control our own tongues. He tells us that we should show ourselves wise through our good behavior, but our arrogance and bitter jealousy shows us to be living by earthly wisdom. He tells us that to live in such a way is to live a life of disorder and chaos, but we can be peacemakers in the church and bear the good fruit of righteousness if we submit to the wisdom from above, which is pure, peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits.
We find another one of James’ great contrasts in verse six, of chapter four. From what we’ve learned so far in chapter four, we can understand the contrast being presented here as this. Man’s sinful inclination is to please himself and focus on his own lusts and desires, but God’s grace is such that it is greater than the most grievous forms of man’s sinfulness.
Man’s Pride Minimizes the Greatness of God’s Grace
But how does this great truth wash in the light of man’s pride? What we see is that man’s pride, when left to its own devices will seek to minimize the greatness of God’s grace. What does that look like? How can man minimize the greatness of God’s grace? Well, first of all, he can’t. Man can in no way actually minimize the greatness of grace. He can only do so in his own sinful and limited mind. That he does well.
His pride convinces him that the desires he longs for is more important than grace, or he convinces himself that the hold that sin has on him is more powerful than God’s grace. Either way, because of his pride, man seeks to minimize the greatness of grace.
Pride has a way of disguising itself in other, more palatable forms. For instance, pride can appear as guilt. There are those, inside and outside of the Christian church that try to convince themselves, as well as others, that God could not possibly forgive the sins they either have committed or are committing. They say that they feel guilty for what they do; yet they turn to other sources, other than God, for emotional and spiritual healing. They turn to the latest self-help books for wisdom, or they turn to secular groups and counseling and form an unhealthy dependence. Is it any wonder why Dr. Laura, who from time to time has, on a human level, some very insightful things to say, finds her books as best-sellers in Christian book stores?
People who do the things I just mentioned will say that they do them out of a sense of guilt. I’ve met many people like this. In fact, I’m sure I’ve done this a time or two. But I always know when a person that professes a sense of guilt is really just masking their pride if their answer to the following question is, “No.” And the question I will ask them is this. “Have you repented? Have you asked God for forgiveness?”
Those who express a level, any level, of guilt for their sin, yet refuse to repent, minimize in their minds and by their actions the greatness of God’s grace. There is only one way to determine if the remorse you feel for the wrong that you do is genuine. Does it lead to repentance?
It is not a deep-seeded feeling of remorse or guilt that keeps a person from turning to God and repenting. It is pride in the fact, whether they want to admit it to themselves or not, that they think, in part, their sin is greater than the sovereign grace of God—not greater as in better, but greater in the sense that their sin is more important to them than the merciful grace of God.
Let’s spend a few minutes looking at the characteristics of genuine repentance. Go ahead and turn to II Cor. 7:8-10. During Paul’s second missionary journey, he spent eighteen months in the city of Corinth, evangelizing the lost and ministering to believers. After Paul left the city, he got wind of the gross immorality that was taking place within the church. Paul decided to write the Corinthians a letter, which has since been lost, to confront the sin issues in the church.
While Paul was in Ephesus, he received additional reports about ongoing sin within the church. He also received a letter from leaders in the Corinthian church asking for him to further explain some of his teaching. Paul’s response is found in what we now have today—the New Testament book, First Corinthians. Paul was extremely concerned about the health of the church, so he sent Timothy to check things out.
Timothy’s report to Paul was less than encouraging. Not only was immorality still a problem, but now there were men within the church falsely claiming to be apostles. These false apostles went as far as to publicly insult Paul and question his authority and integrity. Paul decided to leave Ephesus and go to Corinth to deal with the problems in the church directly. It did not go well. Paul found himself not unlike a lone voice crying in the wilderness. He did not receive the support from the church body that he expected.
“Paul returned to Ephesus. From Ephesus, Paul wrote what is known as the ‘severe letter (2:4) and sent it with Titus to Corinth (7:15-16)” (MacArthur, MSB, p. 1761). Paul met up with Titus again in the city of Troas. Titus’ report was encouraging. Many of the people in the church repented of their sins and were back on track. But Paul, being a good leader, wanted to make sure that the sin issues that had plagued the church did not rear their ugly heads again. So he wrote the letter we know as Second Corinthians.
And this brings us to the verses I want to look at. Paul writes, “For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it—for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while—I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us.”
“For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.”
There are several important things we can glean from what Paul writes here. First of all, Paul’s joy in what he saw happening in the lives of the Corinthian believers brought them to the point of repentance. The purpose of repentance is to restore a right relationship with God, not to simply feel better about ourselves.
Second, the genuine repentance seen in the Corinthians was brought about by the will of God. Genuine repentance does not come as a result of man’s goodness, but the Holy Spirit brings it about. When writing to Timothy, Paul said, “The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, [now listen] if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth” (II Tim. 2:24-25). If repentance is genuine, it is only because of the greatness of God’s sovereign grace. God not only grants forgiveness, but He also, through the power of the Holy Spirit, produces repentance in the heart of believers, which leads to forgiveness.
Third, the repentance that Paul saw in the Corinthians was genuine because it was expressed without regret. When my girls get into an argument, and I won’t mention any names since two of them are here right now, I will go into the other room, send them to their respective corners, and find out what happened. When I get to the bottom of things, I will tell one to apologize to the other.
Those of you who have been parents for a while know what happens next. The offending child will look down at the ground and give a half-hearted, “I’m sorry.” They regret having to say the words because that means they lost the fight. The only reason they apologized is because the repercussions for not doing it would be worse, not because they were genuinely sorry.
Fourth, there can be no salvation in Christ without repentance. If you simply say, “I believe in Jesus,” or “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so,” but you do not repent of your sin, you are as lost as if you said that you didn’t believe in Jesus.
And Fifth, when Paul says, “the sorrow of the world produces death,” he is saying that hollow human sorrow does not lead to eternal life. “It is nothing more than the wounded pride of getting caught in a sin and having one’s lusts [and desires] go unfulfilled. That kind of sorrow leads only to guilt, shame, despair, depression, self-pity, and hopelessness” (MacArthur, MSB, p. 1175).
Man’s pride never leads to repentance and minimizes the greatness of God’s grace. But James says that God gives a greater grace. The word here translated as “greater” can also be translated as “more.” James is also writing in the present tense here. What he is saying is that God’s grace flows continually.
R. K. Hughes, an author I’ve quoted before, wrote this about the “more grace” James is talking about. “An artist once submitted a painting of Niagara Falls for an exhibition, but neglected to give it a title. The gallery, faced with the need to supply one, came up with these words: ‘more to follow.’ Old Niagara Falls, spilling over billions of gallons per year for thousands of years, has more than met the needs of those below and is a fit emblem of the flood of God’s grace. There is always more to follow . . . Whatever our condition or situation, he always ‘gives us more grace’” (Hughes, p. 179).
The apostle Paul, when writing to the Romans said, “But where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” (Romans 5:20b). Paul uses an interesting word here. You see—the word abounded is probably not the best translation of the Greek word Paul uses.
Paul uses a Greek word that is actually a combination of two words—perisseuo, which means, “abundant,” and huper, which means, “over, above, and beyond.” So, the word Paul uses can most literally be translated as “beyond abundant” or “superabundant.” “Paul can never be accused of minimizing the seriousness of sin, but he does not lose an opportunity of stressing the victory of grace. Grace is so much more effective than [the sin in our lives]” (Morris, p. 242).
Likewise, James has proven to us that he is not afraid to get in the face of his readers and confront them about hypocrisy or sin issues in their lives. And in verse six he shows us that he has no intention of minimizing the greatness of God’s grace. God’s grace is more than able to accomplish whatever He wants to accomplish in His creation. There has not been a sin ever committed that cannot or has not been overcome by the greatness of God’s grace. The sin that may have a hold of you, whatever it may be, can never overpower, never defeat, and never master the greatness of God’s matchless grace.
How encouraging this should be to all of us! If you sense a need to seek God’s forgiveness, to repent of your sin, it is because of the greatness of His grace and the power of the Holy Spirit, which is drawing you to the heavenly Father. Maybe you’re here this morning and have never done this, have never, with genuine repentance, sought the Lord’s forgiveness. If the Lord is working on your heart this morning, stop trying to minimize the greatness of God’s grace. Set aside the sin of human pride. Repent and receive eternal life through Jesus Christ.
Man’s Pride Rationalizes the Finiteness of God’s Grace
Not only does mankind try to minimize the greatness of God’s grace, but mankind also rationalizes the finiteness of God’s grace. What does that mean? Well, this mindset includes all of those people who think themselves good enough to receive God’s grace. They rationalize in their own minds that since God is a loving God, grace will be waiting for them in the end, whether or not they ever lived by genuine faith in Christ, while on earth.
People with this mindset look at God like a soft and indecisive parent who threatens discipline, but in the end, lets His kids off the hook. That’s not what God’s Word teaches in James’ letter. Look at the next part of verse six. James writes, “Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
Unlike verse five where we find James quoting a general theme found in the Old Testament Scriptures, in verse six James is quoting an actual verse, Proverbs 3:34. I want you to turn in your Bibles to Proverbs 3:34. We’re going to see something interesting.
In fact, let’s do this. Paul, you’re reading the NASB, right? Read the Old Testament quote in James 4:6, then read Proverbs 3:34. Okay. Who’s reading from the NIV this morning? All right—do the same thing. Read the quote in James 4:6, then read Proverbs 3:34. Wait a minute. They’re not the same. Skeptics love to point this out as a contradiction in the Bible. They argue that if James can misquote a verse, the whole Bible is suspect.
If you ever find yourself in a conversation with someone who challenges the authenticity of the Bible and they use James 4:6 to make their case, here’s how you should answer them. James is quoting the Old Testament. He is quoting Proverbs 3:34. His quotation is accurate. What we see here is James quoting what’s known as the Septuagint. The Septuagint is an early, Greek translation of the Old Testament. With English translations of the Bible, the New Testament is translated from existing Greek manuscripts.
The Old Testament is translated from ancient Hebrew manuscripts. James, however, in 4:6, is quoting the Greek translation of the Hebrew text, not the original Hebrew. That’s why it appears that James is misquoting the verse in our English Bibles.
With that problem out of the way, let’s tackle the issue. If we believe, on one hand, that God’s grace is infinitely great, how can we say that it is, in some way, limited? R. C. Sproul, noted theologian and author, explains it this way. “God’s grace is not infinite. God is infinite and God is gracious. We experience the grace of an infinite God, but grace is not infinite. God sets limits to His patience and forbearance. He warns us over and over again that someday the ax will fall and His judgment will be poured out” (Hughes, p. 189). Sproul’s words are consistent with what James tells us in the first half of his quote. “God is opposed to the proud.”
The Greek word translated in this verse as “opposed” is an interesting one. The word was originally used as a military term. It represented troops that were arranged and poised for battle. It’s an aggressive word. James is not saying that God simply disapproves of those who are proud. He is saying that God is actively engaged against those who are proud, those who are friends of the world. James is keeping with his teaching that to be a friend of the world, to be proud in your own estimation, is to be an enemy of God. Soldiers poised for battle do so with determined readiness, to meet the enemy on the field and defeat him, not to run the other way and hope the enemy changes his mind.
God is not passively opposed to the proud. He is actively engaged against them. Let’s take a look at this word “proud.” I’m sure we all have a general idea of what the negative meaning of this word is. But let’s get specific. Paul and I were chatting online the other night and he asked me what I thought of theologian William Barclay’s work. Well, I like the specific definition he gives for “proud” in his commentary on James. Barclay writes:
“This word literally means one who shows himself above other people . . . Pride shuts itself off from God for three reasons. (i) It does not know its own need . . . It walks in proud self-sufficiency. (ii) It cherishes its own independence. It will be beholden to no man; it will not even be beholden to God . . . (iii) It does not recognize its own sin . . . A pride like that cannot receive help, because it does not know that it needs help, and, therefore, it cannot ask. It loves, not God, but itself” (Barclay, p. 124).
By using the present tense here, James is saying that God’s opposition to the sinful pride of man is constant. His opposition is always true. There is no condition in which God does not oppose man’s sinful pride. Remember what James wrote in chapter one. With God, there are no variations and there are no shifting shadows (cf. 1:17).
The word “pride” can also be translated as “haughty.” To be haughty is to think more highly of one’s self than they should. God has always opposed the proud—the haughty—and He will always oppose those who live this way. If this were not true why would Solomon write in the Book of Proverbs, “There are six things which the Lord hates, yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, a false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers” (Prov. 6:16-19).
God through His Word not only lists pride among deceit and murder—he lists it first! As we will see in more detail, in just a moment, “God’s gift of sustaining grace is enjoyed only by those willing, [by the convicting and prompting of the Holy Spirit], to admit their need and accept the gift. The proud, on the other hand, [as we see in verse six] meet only resistance from God” (Moo, p. 191).
The proud, those who rationalize the finiteness of God’s grace in such a way that they delude themselves into thinking that their self-perception about their goodness guarantees they will one day receive God’s grace, will find, when eternity calls, that they are alone and separated from God. But, as we see in the last phrase of verse six, that’s not the end of the story.
Man’s Pride Trivializes the Pricelessness of God’s Grace
James ends verse six by telling his readers, and us, that God “gives grace to the humble.” Here we see another one of James’ contrasts, but this time, instead of going from good to bad, this one goes from bad to good.
I know that it is difficult for the unbeliever, maybe even a new or immature believer, to see beyond the harsh tone of James’ words and see the great hope and peace God’s Word, through James’ pen, offers. One reason for this is that man’s pride trivializes the pricelessness of God’s grace. Because of his pride, man cheapens the grace of God and, sadly for many, cares not if he receives it.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer in The Cost of Discipleship had this to say about cheap grace. “Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate. “Costly grace...is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble, it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him” (Christianity Today, February 7, 1994, p. 39).
The word “humble,” as it’s used in verse six, is not only a reference to an attitude, but to a position as well. God gives His grace to those who recognize their lowly position in the presence of a holy and righteous God. There are those who would argue, even within Christian circles, that in order to draw closer to God, one has to think higher of themselves. This is the self-esteem gospel, which is a different gospel from the one taught in the Bible.
In order to truly come before the Lord with biblical humility, a person must recognize not how worthy they are, but how unworthy. They must realize their “lack of power and esteem” (Richardson, p. 182). Unlike the prideful person who is full of him or herself, the humble person is like an empty vessel before God. He or she comes to realize through the convicting, regenerating power of the Holy Spirit that they have nothing to offer God in order to merit His grace in return, and they repent. “Grace is everything for nothing to those who don’t deserve anything” (Our Daily Bread, Sept.-Nov. 1997, page for October 31).
James’ wording here again speaks of continual action. God has always and will forever continue to give grace to those who humble themselves before the Lord and acknowledge Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
As I’ve said on several occasions, there is nothing any of us can do to earn the grace of God and, again, we certainly don’t deserve it.
“When Billy Graham was driving through a small southern town, he was stopped by a policeman and charged with speeding. Graham admitted his quilt, but was told by the officer that he would have to appear in court. The judge asked, ‘Guilty, or not guilty?’ When Graham pleaded guilty, the judge replied, ‘That’ll be ten dollars—a dollar for every mile you went over the limit.’”
“Suddenly the judge recognized the famous minister. ‘You have violated the law,’ he said. ‘The fine must be paid—but I am going to pay it for you.’ He took a ten-dollar bill from his own wallet, attached it to the ticket, and then took Graham out and bought him a steak dinner! ‘That,’ said Billy Graham, ‘is how God treats repentant sinners’” (Progress Magazine, December 14, 1992)!
Now, certainly the judge could have paid Billy Graham’s fine because he rarely saw a famous person in his court and he was simply enamored by Graham’s presence. But the story does illustrate an aspect of the grace of God. It is a free gift. It is given not as a result of what we’ve done, but in spite of what we’ve done.
Let’s spend the time we have remaining putting the pride of man in its place by seeing what the Scriptures say about the pricelessness of God’s grace. The pricelessness of God’s grace is seen in the fact that we, as sinful people, can never pay the price required to attain His grace. We can’t buy it and we will never be able to work hard enough to earn it. In Ephesians 2:8-9 we read, “For by grace you have been saved through faith [intentional misquote], it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
I’m sure a couple of you caught something different about the way I read these verses. I purposefully misquoted verse eight. For those of you that are familiar with these verses, can one of you tell me what important phrase I left out of verse eight? That’s right. I read the verse this way, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; it is the gift of God.” The verse actually says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.”
“And that not of yourselves”—In order to see the true pricelessness of God’s grace you need to see that it has absolutely nothing to do with you. You do not receive the grace of God because of who you are. If you receive the gift of God’s grace it is because of who He is. The pricelessness of God’s grace is not seen in the fact that you chose to receive it, but in the fact that He chose to give it to you. Man’s pride would argue that it’s the other way around. In Romans 9:16 we read, “It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.”
Man’s pride convinces him that nothing is for free. Man’s pride convinces him that a gift is charity. Man’s pride convinces him that he has to work for everything he has. Man’s pride convinces him that he has to get his act together, that he has to clean himself up before he is worthy of a gift, before he can earn the right to have it.
The truth is that you will never be worthy of the gift. If you were worthy of it, it would no longer be a gift. It would simply be wages earned. That’s not grace. That’s a salary.
Again, in verse 2:9 of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he tells us that the gift of God’s grace, the gift of salvation, is not “a result of works.” The reason is simple—“so that no one may boast.” If receiving salvation through Jesus Christ was a result of your own goodness or if you could work for it in any way, because of the sin nature you and everyone else on the planet has been born with, you would inevitably boast about the grace you’ve earned. God’s grace is given to save you from your sins, not as an encouragement to sin more by boasting about what you’ve received.
I’m going to illustrate my point in what may seem to be an unusual way [Hand Guillermo the keys to the Escort]. What I’ve done is I’ve just given Guillermo and Elizabeth one of my cars. Guillermo is not receiving my car because he earned it. Guillermo will never owe me anything for the car. Guillermo does not have to return the favor. It is a gift to him and his family. It is a free gift—just as the gift of salvation is a free gift. Romans 6:23 tells us, “the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.”
What I just did for Guillermo and Elizabeth was anything but priceless. The car I just gave them is going to need to have the battery charged just to get it out of our parking space. It’s an old car that needs a considerable amount of work. And the gift I gave him was not a sacrifice for me.
As many of you know, Mahria and I have been extremely blessed this last week. Mahria’s parents have given us the money to pay off our van. Considering what the next few months may hold for us financially, the idea of not having a car payment for the first time in our marriage is a great blessing. Although the gift I give to the Nunez’s is freely given, it was neither priceless, nor did it come at a great cost to me.
And this is where we see what distinguishes the perfect gift of God’s unmerited grace from all others. The gift of His grace is sacrificial. When writing his second letter to Timothy, the apostle Paul wrote these words. [The power of God] “Has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in [Who?] Christ Jesus from all eternity” (II Timothy 1:9).
The pricelessness of God’s grace is seen in the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ. As we read last week in the letter to the Philippians, we’re reminded again today, that Jesus Christ “emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:7-8).
Jesus Christ, in His perfect sacrifice, modeled the obedience and humility with which we should all turn to God. And it is only through His sacrifice that we can come to know the Father and live with Him for all eternity. There is no other way.
For man to ignore this great truth, for man to trivialize this great truth, shows not man’s great intelligence. It doesn’t show his independence or self-reliance. It doesn’t bolster his self-esteem. All it shows, all it proves is that man is prideful. If you are unwilling to set aside your pride then no matter how you may dress it up, you are not truly looking for a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ.
Where do you find yourself today in our discussion, in our study of the Scriptures? Are you minimizing the greatness of God’s grace by holding onto the sin in your life or convincing yourself that your wants and needs are more important than the grace of God? Or are you trying to rationalize away the finiteness of God’s grace by assuming it is there for the taking whether or not you repent and turn to Him?
Maybe you are trivializing the pricelessness of God’s grace because you think you can get to heaven on your own. Maybe you think that a day’s pay for a day’s work applies to salvation the same way it applies to your job. Where are you today? Is your pride keeping you from sensing the Spirit of God working in your heart? How long has that been happening? How long will you hold on to your pride? Is it worth being separated from God for all eternity?
Before I came to faith in Christ, I didn’t care either. But by His grace freely given to me, not because I’m worthy, but because He is gracious, I asked his forgiveness for years of denying the great, finite, and priceless grace of an infinite God.
If you’re here today and have not swallowed your pride, how will you justify holding on to it another day after hearing the truths of God’s Word? If you’re going to continue to hold on to your pride and remain in conflict with God, then be honest about it. If this describes you and you’re here this morning with a friend or with family, take them by the hand, look them in the eye, and say, “I don’t need God’s grace. I don’t care if I spend eternity separated from God. My wants, my desires, my pride is all that really matters to me.” Because, you see—if you continue to hold on to your pride, this is what your life reflects, whether or not you ever say these words.
And Christian, don’t stretch your neck trying to find the unbeliever in the room that this teaching applies to. As James so often encourages with his writing, take another look in the mirror. What does the present state of your walk with Christ say about your conflict with others, conflict within yourself, and most importantly, conflict with God? Is your life reflecting an unhealthy friendliness with the world, a lack of understanding of the truth of God’s Word, or a pride that can only bring distance between you and the Savior who humbled Himself on the cross so you can live?
Be honest before the Lord. You’re not going to surprise Him. Live every day with the knowledge that God’s grace is amazing. Replace your conflict with God, on whatever level it may be found, with a refreshed appreciation of how great, priceless, and undeserved is the gift of grace He has given you. And may your life be a constant reminder that God’s grace is real and necessary.
