In coming to an end of the fourth chapter, James dealt directly with a common problem among Christians—“playing God.” Having just exposed our tendency to be self-assertive and quarrelsome (4:1-10), he went a step further and showed a couple of the more familiar ways we assert an arrogant spirit. The first has to do with the way we often view others . . . and the second has to do with the way we often view ourselves. In the first section (4:11-12) James dealt with our tendency to take the place of God in others' lives as we judge or criticize them. In the second section (4:13-16), he dealt with our tendency to take the place of God in our own lives as we presume or boast in ourselves.
The Peril of Playing God
Message 11
Pastor Chuck Swindoll • James 4:11–17
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James: Hands-On Christianity
A Case for Practical Christianity
Pastor Chuck Swindoll • James 1:1–12
Although Martin Luther saw James as merely an epistle of straw, it stands to this day as one of the most practical and penetrating books in all the Bible. Don't be fooled by its size! It may be brief, but it's strong. It refuses to let the reader hide behind a mask of theory or within the wall of an intellectual faith. True faith produces authenticity. “No authenticity . . . no faith” is James' analysis of the matter. It may make us squirm, but it gets us off the fence.
When Troubles Won't Go Away
Pastor Chuck Swindoll • James 1:1–12
Much of life's music is played in a minor key. Hurts, heartaches, pain, problems, disappointments, discouragements, sickness, suffering, disease, and death pile upon us—and won't go away. This creates within us questions regarding God's justice and life's purpose. Philosophers have attempted to interpret this heavy scene but have failed to bring any measure of relief to man's misery. Entertainment may temporarily dull the edge but offers no permanent answers. Education, travel, occupation, and even overt acts of kindness provide little help when we are overwhelmed by troubles. Let's face this issue directly and find comfort as well as answers regarding the knotty problem of persistent, unending troubles.
Plain Talk about Temptation
Pastor Chuck Swindoll • James 1:13–18
In his profound work, "Temptation," Dietrich Bonhoeffer vividly portrays with his pen the battleground of our experience. We can all identify with this scene: "In our members there is a slumbering inclination towards desire which is both sudden and fierce. With irresistible power, desire seizes mastery over the flesh. All at once a secret, smouldering fire is kindled. The flesh burns and is in flames. It makes no difference whether it is sexual desire or ambition or vanity or desire for revenge or love of fame and power or greed for money . . . At this moment God is quite unreal to us. He loses all reality, and only desire for the creature is real . . . The powers of clear discrimination and of decision are taken from us." In this message, we face the problem Bonhoeffer describes and, hopefully, we'll discover some workable techniques that will enable us to walk in victory in spite of the enticements to yield.