Time to Get Serious, James 4:7-12

Hello all:

For those who were unaware, I teach an Adult Bible Community at Thomas Road Baptist Church. Our group is the G.A.P. (for Graduates and Professionals), and each week I post the outlines and discussion questions from my lessons on the G.A.P. page on Facebook. I thought it might be a good thing to share these on the blog too so as to keep it a bit more active. So, with that introduction, here is the outline and questions for our meeting on September 27. The lesson is on James 4:7-12. If you have any questions or would like to add a comment or two, that would be great!

Time to Get Serious
James 4:7-12

Introduction
When I was a child, I learned that if you made people laugh they would remember you
I tended to do silly things to get attention
My favorite part of Veggie Tales is still “Silly Songs with Larry”

However, I soon learned that there was a time for fun and a time to be serious
1. Coaches rarely appreciate humor during the big game
2. Bosses tend to want serious workers instead of office clowns
3. Baggage check personnel don’t like jokes about explosives
4. Generals want soldiers who are serious about duty and honor

“Three eternal truths: things are not what they seem, the world is at war, and each of us has a crucial role to play.” John Eldredge

When it comes to our walk with God, the letter of James reminds us that it is time to get serious

Get Serious with God, Part 1
James 4:7-10

Ten Commands are found in these verses
1. Submit to God
“If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for him.” C. T. Studd

2. Resist the devil
If we are properly submitted to God, Satan will not be able to stand because we use God’s armor to resist him (Ephesians 6)

3. Draw near to God
A command with a promise: “And he will draw near to you.”
Coming to God provides an opportunity for him to work in you, but such drawing near requires the next two commands

4. Cleanse your hands
Be careful what you do
We cannot draw near to God and hang on to sin at the same time
The two are mutually exclusive

5. Purify your heart
Be careful what you think (Phil. 4:8-9)
We cannot think the thoughts of God if we are still working on the enemy’s side

6-9. Be miserable, mourn, weep + Laughter to mourning (joy to gloom) = Repentance (cf. Jer. 31:13-14)
To repent means to reverse direction
“God has promised forgiveness to your repentance, but he has not promised tomorrow to your procrastination.” Augustine

10. Humble yourselves (another command with a promise)
"It is no great thing to be humble when you are brought low; but to be humble when you are praised is a great and rare attainment." Bernard of Clairvaux
Phil. 2:5-8

Get Serious about Each Other
James 4:11-12

Jesus’ two great commands (Matt. 22:36-40)
Love God
Love your neighbor

James’ view of loving your neighbor is represented in the negative
Treating fellow Christ followers with disrespect
Gossip, speaking ill of one another, misrepresenting another’s position or word

Note the connection
To speak against your fellow believer is to speak against God’s Word/Law
Why? To some degree we are the “word” of God to each other and the world
We must be doers of God’s Word, not judges of it
Servant evangelism involves living God’s Word in our daily lives

Application
This word of God has been properly applied if it leads to repentance in personal relationships. This repentance will include several components:

1. Self-examination. We must cut through self-justifying claims and accepted patterns to look beneath the surface. We must scrutinize the way we relate to others. How are our relationships functioning? What are our underlying attitudes and motives toward each other? We need to learn to talk to each other, not about each other.

2. Evaluation by God's standards. We need to seriously evaluate our lives according to God’s standards of holiness. What in our lives measure up to God’s expectations?

3. Change. If we don’t measure up to God’s standard, then we need to pursue genuine repentance. Repentance should lead to change. There should be an increasing evidence of God’s standards in the way we treat each other and in the way we live.

4. Grace-reliance. We need to learn to rely on God. We need to move from self-reliance to complete abandonment to God and his ways. Remember, God gives grace to the humble. We must learn to humble ourselves and build up others. If we rely on God, we will not rely only on our own abilities.

Discussion Questions
Where do we need to get serious with God? Are we living intentionally submissive to God’s Spirit? What does it look like to submit to God?

Where do we need to resist the devil? Where do we need help in our resistance? How do you feel when you think of Satan fleeing?

Why and how does someone “move away” from God? Is there a part of your life out of which you have pushed God? Perhaps, in your singleness, relationships, parents, work or education? Are you serious with God in all those aspects, or do you just “say it”?

Describe a time when you drew near to God and/or when God drew near to you.
James tells us our hearts need to be purified. What got in our hearts that made them unclean? Think about a time something crept into your heart and analyze how that affected your life, decisions and relationships.

What would the church look like if we took serious the command to cleanse our hands and purify our hearts? What kind of impact would it have on our neighborhoods?

How is repentance a form of humility? What would happen if every Christ follower was as humble as Jesus?

Where do we need less judgment and more living of God’s word? Will you be the one to do it? Who could benefit from your acceptance?

Thanks for reading!