Grace to the Humble

James 4:6-8

The book of James is written to the Jew. We learn this from the outset, when he greets, “the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad” (James 1:1). It is important to remember this when you read James, for many things will sound strange to the ear of someone who is coming off of the Apostle Paul’s writings. Paul addresses the church and his writings are the complete message of grace that was given to him by the Lord Jesus (Galatians 1:12).

Some have pitted James’ writing in direct contrast to Paul’s, stating that Paul and James were having a verbal spat about what true faith was. This is patently incorrect as neither Romans nor Galatians (Paul’s essential documents on grace) were yet written. James’ theme is “religion”, or the service of religion on the outside. He doesn’t claim that works are greater than faith, but that faith should always be identified by the works that it produces.

For the ear tempered to the soft tones of Paul’s gospel of grace, the 4th chapter of James booms with judgment. Remember that James is preaching to the scattered Jews, and many of them have never come into the knowledge of grace. Most are still working the works of the law in order to achieve righteousness, and of course, they are falling woefully short. James accuses them of having lust in their hearts; of being adulterers and adulteresses and friends of the world. Paul would say none of these things in his letters. Again, we are dealing with two different audiences.

Suddenly, in verse 6, James uses “grace” for the first time. The English word “grace” is used in 1:11, but it is a different Greek word meaning “beauty”. The “grace” of James 4:6 is Paul’s “grace”, often translated “favor”. James is just now getting around to telling the reader of God’s grace. Without Paul’s powerful revelation of God’s grace, James can only understand this wonderful gift in small segments. Even he, without that revelation realizes that God’s gifts must transcend our ability to receive them. In spite of all of the bad that the reader is doing, James says that God has “more grace”. Paul would confirm this when he would write, “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Romans 5:20).

James now adds that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. For James, this is not an original thought, but is pulled from his memory of Old Testament scripture. Proverbs 3:34 says, “Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace to the lowly”. James is making the only connection that he knows to get someone into the grace of God. It is Paul who will reveal that it is justification by faith, but James says something that is not at all contradictory to that doctrine, “Submit yourselves therefore to God” (James 4:7). The “therefore” shows us that in light of the fact that God’s grace moves on us when we are humble, James concludes that in order to walk in God’s grace you must submit yourself to God. When submitted, you can resist the devil and he will flee and then you can draw near to God and he can draw near to you.

Only those who have humbled themselves can ever walk in God’s abundant grace and favor. It is pride that thinks that sanctification can be achieved by removing things from one’s life, or by consecrating more. For every rich, young ruler that turns away saddened by the demands of the law, there is a Zacchaeus who is rejoicing in grace. Which one are you?

Grace to the Humble

1 Peter 5:5-7

Peter tells us to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, using “therefore” as his way into this statement. “Therefore” what? “For God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5). Because God resists pride but offers grace to the humble, it makes sense that believers would strive for humility and not pride, knowing that we will be exalted when God sees fit (verse 6).

The sixth verse ends with a colon, meaning that the seventh verse is going to tell us how to humble ourselves: “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you” (1 Peter 5:7). When we cast our cares onto Christ, we are humbling ourselves by admitting that we cannot take care of our own issues. Pride causes us to hang on to things that we should let go of, but the casting off of those things onto the finished work of Jesus is a true act of humility.

There is no pride busting message like the message of God’s grace. Pride tries to keep the law to overcome failure; offering religion as a way to defeat sin and vice. The individuals that live this way are mean when they are right and miserable when they are wrong. Only true, radical grace, where a man knows that he cannot save himself and desperately needs the never-ending flow of God’s love and forgiveness, can ever break that wicked pride.

Retaining your cares; thinking that one more day of worrying and working will help you to figure things out, is an insult to the work that Jesus accomplished for you at the cross. When you labor under your own works, you are saying, “I can do this! I don’t need any help; not from man and not from God”. How dare us!

We must humble ourselves, and this does not entail self-beatings and denying ourselves things to curtail the flesh. Humbling ourselves involves giving in to God’s glorious grace; understanding our own hopelessness and uplifting His victory on the cross. As we concentrate more and more on His finished work, we will naturally concentrate less and less on our inabilities and failures. By trusting in Him and His love for us, we are becoming less self dependent and more Christ-dependent. He becomes our everything, with true humility being the result.

He WILL NOT humble you into receiving His gift of grace. You must decide that you will live by His grace and favor. Any other decision is a leaning to our pride and self-sufficiency. Remember that abundant grace is a gift to be received (Romans 5:17). You are humbled naturally when you lift your eyes from you and onto Him and His loveliness.

Grace to the Humble

James 4:6-8

The book of James is written to the Jew. We learn this from the outset, when he greets, “the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad” (James 1:1). It is important to remember this when you read James, for many things will sound strange to the ear of someone who is coming off of the Apostle Paul’s writings. Paul addresses the church and his writings are the complete message of grace that was given to him by the Lord Jesus (Galatians 1:12).

Some have pitted James’ writing in direct contrast to Paul’s, stating that Paul and James were having a verbal spat about what true faith was. This is patently incorrect as neither Romans nor Galatians (Paul’s essential documents on grace) were yet written. James’ theme is “religion”, or the service of religion on the outside. He doesn’t claim that works are greater than faith, but that faith should always be identified by the works that it produces.

For the ear tempered to the soft tones of Paul’s gospel of grace, the 4th chapter of James booms with judgment. Remember that James is preaching to the scattered Jews, and many of them have never come into the knowledge of grace. Most are still working the works of the law in order to achieve righteousness, and of course, they are falling woefully short. James accuses them of having lust in their hearts; of being adulterers and adulteresses and friends of the world. Paul would say none of these things in his letters. Again, we are dealing with two different audiences.

Suddenly, in verse 6, James uses “grace” for the first time. The English word “grace” is used in 1:11, but it is a different Greek word meaning “beauty”. The “grace” of James 4:6 is Paul’s “grace”, often translated “favor”. James is just now getting around to telling the reader of God’s grace. Without Paul’s powerful revelation of God’s grace, James can only understand this wonderful gift in small segments. Even he, without that revelation realizes that God’s gifts must transcend our ability to receive them. In spite of all of the bad that the reader is doing, James says that God has “more grace”. Paul would confirm this when he would write, “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Romans 5:20).

James now adds that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. For James, this is not an original thought, but is pulled from his memory of Old Testament scripture. Proverbs 3:34 says, “Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace to the lowly”. James is making the only connection that he knows to get someone into the grace of God. It is Paul who will reveal that it is justification by faith, but James says something that is not at all contradictory to that doctrine, “Submit yourselves therefore to God” (James 4:7). The “therefore” shows us that in light of the fact that God’s grace moves on us when we are humble, James concludes that in order to walk in God’s grace you must submit yourself to God. When submitted, you can resist the devil and he will flee and then you can draw near to God and he can draw near to you.

Only those who have humbled themselves can ever walk in God’s abundant grace and favor. It is pride that thinks that sanctification can be achieved by removing things from one’s life, or by consecrating more. For every rich, young ruler that turns away saddened by the demands of the law, there is a Zacchaeus who is rejoicing in grace. Which one are you?

Grace to the Humble

1 Peter 5:5-7

Peter tells us to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, using “therefore” as his way into this statement. “Therefore” what? “For God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5). Because God resists pride but offers grace to the humble, it makes sense that believers would strive for humility and not pride, knowing that we will be exalted when God sees fit (verse 6).

The sixth verse ends with a colon, meaning that the seventh verse is going to tell us how to humble ourselves: “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you” (1 Peter 5:7). When we cast our cares onto Christ, we are humbling ourselves by admitting that we cannot take care of our own issues. Pride causes us to hang on to things that we should let go of, but the casting off of those things onto the finished work of Jesus is a true act of humility.

There is no pride busting message like the message of God’s grace. Pride tries to keep the law to overcome failure; offering religion as a way to defeat sin and vice. The individuals that live this way are mean when they are right and miserable when they are wrong. Only true, radical grace, where a man knows that he cannot save himself and desperately needs the never-ending flow of God’s love and forgiveness, can ever break that wicked pride.

Retaining your cares; thinking that one more day of worrying and working will help you to figure things out, is an insult to the work that Jesus accomplished for you at the cross. When you labor under your own works, you are saying, “I can do this! I don’t need any help; not from man and not from God”. How dare us!

We must humble ourselves, and this does not entail self-beatings and denying ourselves things to curtail the flesh. Humbling ourselves involves giving in to God’s glorious grace; understanding our own hopelessness and uplifting His victory on the cross. As we concentrate more and more on His finished work, we will naturally concentrate less and less on our inabilities and failures. By trusting in Him and His love for us, we are becoming less self dependent and more Christ-dependent. He becomes our everything, with true humility being the result.

He WILL NOT humble you into receiving His gift of grace. You must decide that you will live by His grace and favor. Any other decision is a leaning to our pride and self-sufficiency. Remember that abundant grace is a gift to be received (Romans 5:17). You are humbled naturally when you lift your eyes from you and onto Him and His loveliness.

Grace to the Humble

James 4:6-8

The book of James is written to the Jew. We learn this from the outset, when he greets, “the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad” (James 1:1). It is important to remember this when you read James, for many things will sound strange to the ear of someone who is coming off of the Apostle Paul’s writings. Paul addresses the church and his writings are the complete message of grace that was given to him by the Lord Jesus (Galatians 1:12).

Some have pitted James’ writing in direct contrast to Paul’s, stating that Paul and James were having a verbal spat about what true faith was. This is patently incorrect as neither Romans nor Galatians (Paul’s essential documents on grace) were yet written. James’ theme is “religion”, or the service of religion on the outside. He doesn’t claim that works are greater than faith, but that faith should always be identified by the works that it produces.

For the ear tempered to the soft tones of Paul’s gospel of grace, the 4th chapter of James booms with judgment. Remember that James is preaching to the scattered Jews, and many of them have never come into the knowledge of grace. Most are still working the works of the law in order to achieve righteousness, and of course, they are falling woefully short. James accuses them of having lust in their hearts; of being adulterers and adulteresses and friends of the world. Paul would say none of these things in his letters. Again, we are dealing with two different audiences.

Suddenly, in verse 6, James uses “grace” for the first time. The English word “grace” is used in 1:11, but it is a different Greek word meaning “beauty”. The “grace” of James 4:6 is Paul’s “grace”, often translated “favor”. James is just now getting around to telling the reader of God’s grace. Without Paul’s powerful revelation of God’s grace, James can only understand this wonderful gift in small segments. Even he, without that revelation realizes that God’s gifts must transcend our ability to receive them. In spite of all of the bad that the reader is doing, James says that God has “more grace”. Paul would confirm this when he would write, “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Romans 5:20).

James now adds that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. For James, this is not an original thought, but is pulled from his memory of Old Testament scripture. Proverbs 3:34 says, “Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace to the lowly”. James is making the only connection that he knows to get someone into the grace of God. It is Paul who will reveal that it is justification by faith, but James says something that is not at all contradictory to that doctrine, “Submit yourselves therefore to God” (James 4:7). The “therefore” shows us that in light of the fact that God’s grace moves on us when we are humble, James concludes that in order to walk in God’s grace you must submit yourself to God. When submitted, you can resist the devil and he will flee and then you can draw near to God and he can draw near to you.

Only those who have humbled themselves can ever walk in God’s abundant grace and favor. It is pride that thinks that sanctification can be achieved by removing things from one’s life, or by consecrating more. For every rich, young ruler that turns away saddened by the demands of the law, there is a Zacchaeus who is rejoicing in grace. Which one are you?