Title: “Humble Peacemakers” Part 1

Text: James 4:1-5

FCF: We often struggle keeping peace with others.

Prop: Because our differing, worldly, and unmet desires produce conflict, we must be humble peacemakers.

Scripture Intro:

[Slide 1] Turn in your bible to James chapter 4.

The connection between last week’s message and this week’s could be obscured if you lean heavily on chapter divisions. But as you will soon see, the connection is fairly obvious.

We have a whole lot to get to today so I want to be careful with time in this intro. Let’s get right to the reading of the text.

I’ll start in verse 1 of chapter 4. I am reading from the NET which you can follow in the pew bible starting on page 1362 or whatever version you prefer.

Transition:

Have you ever had a fight with a spouse, sibling or friend and by the time the fight ends no one can remember how it started or why? With all these lacks, especially the lack of pursuing humility and peace – I’m sure that tensions in are on the rise in these churches to which James writes. But I’m also sure that James’ audience has no idea where its coming from or why. James is going to clue them in.

I.) Differing unmet desires produce conflict in the church, we must be humble peacemakers (1-2)

a. [Slide 2] 1 - Where do the conflicts and where do the quarrels among you come from?

i. If those who are peace-makers are the ones who will reap the harvest of righteousness…

ii. If those who have wisdom from God produce the works of humble kindness that come from that wisdom…

iii. Then James’ next question is one to which every one of his readers should already know the answer.

iv. Or at least they should know what isn’t the right answer.

v. It isn’t from God. He only gives good and perfect gifts.

vi. We’ve seen faith from demons, tongues from hell, and wisdom that is demonic… perhaps these quarrels and fights come from demons too?

vii. I have no doubt they do – but we cannot forget from where we are tempted. Are we not lured and enticed by our own desires?

viii. So where do quarrels and conflicts among us come from?

b. [Slide 3] Is it not from this, from your passions that battle inside you?

i. While we would certainly be in error to claim that the Devil and his servants never oppress, hunt, and seek to destroy us – we would be equally in error to claim that they have power over God’s people to make them disobey the Lord.

ii. No, the weapons of the enemy are not compared to giant spears or catastrophic battering rams – but rather to fiery… darts. Their devastation does not come from their power but rather from their precision.

iii. The demons are only successful because they have so much to work with in us.

iv. They know exactly where to strike and how.

v. And the unprepared, the unarmored, the boastful and the selfish – well they are easy prey for these hunters.

vi. [Slide 4] Instead of saying “inside you” as the NET translates this text – the Greek actually says “among your members”

vii. Most translations make the interpretational decision for you, but since he still has the backdrop of discouraging many of his readers from becoming teachers of the Word of God because they are unqualified and would cause disorder in the church – we could see this still in reference to the church.

viii. So rather than quarrels and fights coming from passions that battle within a person – there are quarrels and fights because there are passions that battle within a congregation.

ix. This interpretation makes much more logical sense in that warring passions inside a single individual would more logically lead to confusion or inconsistency, whereas warring passions in a congregation would certainly lead to conflict.

x. However, the first interpretation proves it is also valid as James continues.

xi. Conflict and quarrelling are not problems that exist exclusively outside the body of Christ or even outside of an individual Christian. The battle rages in the church and in each member of the church.

xii. But James desires to drive this point forward.

c. [Slide 5] 2 – You desire and you do not have

i. James restates the problem. Our passions are warring within us and/or within our gatherings.

ii. Those passions and desires are not realized. They are not met. This is when conflict occurs.

iii. Are these passions evil? Are these desires wrong?

1. I think from the context we can see that James may not primarily be talking about evil desires.

2. But how can we have righteous desires that lead to conflict?

a. When my youngest daughter knocks over and breaks apart my eldest’s Legos – my eldest does what? Of course! She screams, yells and possibly hits her sister. This is certainly… conflict, yes?