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James 4

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From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?

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Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

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Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

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Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

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Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?

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But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

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Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

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Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

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Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

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Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

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Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.

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There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

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Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:

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Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

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For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

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But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.

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Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

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James 4:8

“Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.”

Study Summary

Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded — the call to draw near (eggizō) to God with the promise of reciprocal drawing-near establishes relationship as a matter of movement toward each other. The commands to wash hands and purify hearts invoke Old Testament cultic language (cf. Psalm 24:4) adapted to the internal life. The 'double-minded' (dipsychos, appearing again from 1:8) are those still divided in loyalty.

Community Reflections

1
Adam Smith (test user)7h ago
Trusting God's timing — James 4

God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. There's something deeply comforting about knowing that the same God who spoke these words is the same yesterday, today, and forever.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. This is one of those passages that reads differently in every season of life. God is faithful in every circumstance.. Reading the Psalms alongside this gives a fuller picture of what the author was experiencing — both the anguish and the hope.. The Hebrew word used here carries a richness that English can't fully capture. This is one of those passages that reads differently in every season of life. Faith isn't the absence of doubt — it's choosing to believe despite it.. Their context of persecution gives these words a weight we often miss.. Reading the Psalms alongside this…

Read the note →

James 4:8

“Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.”

Study Summary

Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded — the call to draw near (eggizō) to God with the promise of reciprocal drawing-near establishes relationship as a matter of movement toward each other. The commands to wash hands and purify hearts invoke Old Testament cultic language (cf. Psalm 24:4) adapted to the internal life. The 'double-minded' (dipsychos, appearing again from 1:8) are those still divided in loyalty.

Community Reflections

1
Adam Smith (test user)7h ago
Trusting God's timing — James 4

God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. There's something deeply comforting about knowing that the same God who spoke these words is the same yesterday, today, and forever.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. God is faithful in every circumstance.. This is one of those passages that reads differently in every season of life. God is faithful in every circumstance.. Reading the Psalms alongside this gives a fuller picture of what the author was experiencing — both the anguish and the hope.. The Hebrew word used here carries a richness that English can't fully capture. This is one of those passages that reads differently in every season of life. Faith isn't the absence of doubt — it's choosing to believe despite it.. Their context of persecution gives these words a weight we often miss.. Reading the Psalms alongside this…

Read the note →

James 4:8

Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded — the call to draw near (eggizō) to God with the promise of reciprocal drawing-near establishes relationship as a matter of movement toward each other. The commands to wash hands and purify hearts invoke Old Testament cultic language (cf. Psalm 24:4) adapted to the internal life. The 'double-minded' (dipsychos, appearing again from 1:8) are those still divided in loyalty.