James 4:13-17
Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow
we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make
a profit"—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life?
For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead
you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or
that." As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
Men want to be like God – knowing the end from the
beginning. Have you heard politicians speak? They exude such a brazen
confidence about how they will win the elections this year. They take it for granted
that they would be alive, or healthy, or financially stable to be able to carry
out successful campaigns. They don’t think that God may raise a more powerful
contender. They assume that the Lord Jesus is not coming back before then.
For example, listen to the Deputy President speaking –
he is not thinking about 2017, he is on 2022 elections! For him 2017 is already
concluded! With all due respect for his person, position, and profession of
faith, he does not speak like a believer for he does not say, ‘If the Lord
wills’.
This is what Dr. John Blanchard calls ‘practical
atheism’. Pastor James is concerned for those who live and speak in a proud
manner that is without faith in God.
This is the
character of a person blinded by the god of this world (vv. 13-14):
- Forgets God’s
providence
a)
Plans – “Today
or tomorrow we will go …”
b)
Places – “…to
such a town…”
c)
Period – “…spend
a year there…”
d)
Purposes – “…and
trade…”
- Loves earthly
profits – “…and make profit.”
- Forgets the
brevity of life
a)
You are
ignorant of the future – “..yet
you do not know what tomorrow will bring.” (v.14)
b)
Your Life
is short – “What is your life?
For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”
Life is short – it is compared to “the flowers of the field” (Isa.
40:6-7); to the wind (Job 7:7); a leaf before the wind (Job 13:25); and a
shadow (Job 14:2).
There is a heap of similes in Job 9:25-26. The Word uses all sorts of
similes to remind us of our own mortality and brevity. This is order to check
those proud human desires. At the heart of this presumption is faithlessness.
Alec Motyer puts it this way:
What is this presumptuousness of which
James speaks?
1.
It first touches
life: “…today…tomorrow… a year.” (v.13).
It is the presumption that we can continue alive at will.
2.
It touches
choice: “…today or tomorrow we will
go…spend a year… trade…” I tis the presumption that we are masters of our
own life, so that we need to do no more than decide and lo and behold, it will
happen like that.
3.
It touches
ability: “… and trade and get profit.” Of course we shall succeed if we want! We can
do it![1]
This is the character
commended (vv. 15-17)
a)
Denounce worldliness – “Instead you ought to say…”
Blatant arrogance and brazen bravado is
denounced while holy reverence is commended. Pure lips produced holy forms of
speech from a pure heart and conscience is encouraged.
b)
Faith & dependence on God – “If the Lord wills we will live and do this or
that.”
The children depend on the Lord for the next
heartbeat. So Paul puts it this way:
·
But I will come to you soon, if the Lord
wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their
power. 1Co 4:19.
·
For I do not want to see you now just in
passing. I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. 1Co 16:7.
·
always in my prayers, asking that somehow by
God's will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. Rom
1:10.
·
I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to
you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. Php
2:19.
·
Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God
will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread
to eat and clothing to wear,
·
Gen 28:20.
·
And this we will do if God permits. Heb 6:3.
It is a vain thing to promise ourselves
great things without the permission of providence. How can we do this?
·
Undertakings without prayer
·
Confidence in the future without God’s permission – like Benhadad (1
Kings 20:10-11).
·
Procrastination on repentance
c)
Denounce all boasting – “All such boasting is evil!”
In boasting people assume that they are better
and wiser. Yet we are to count others more significant than ourselves. When you
put your hope on worldly pursuits and hopes, or you put your stake on human
predictions or projections of success, then be sure to fall into this trap.
All boasting is evil because it is worldly
complacency. Boasting is evil in its nature, since it defies God. It is evil in
its effect because it hinders you from obtaining every good gift and every
perfect gifts that comes from the Father of lights. It is evil because it brings
God’s judgement for He resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.
Fallen man not only commits sin, he also
glories in it. Man is so fallen that he is turned up-side down – his love is
where is hate should be – loving sin. His hatred is where is love should be –
hating God and His blessings instead of loving God with his whole soul, heart,
mind and strength.
This arrogance is spoken about in 1 John 2:16 as the ‘pride of life’
d)
Willing obedience (v.17)
Some people may have objected to James’ teaching saying that they know
that life is short and that God’s providence rules everything. So he deals with
this thinking by telling them that since they know, all the more why they
should submit to the Lord. In this James reveals the nature and effects of sin
(C.f. John 9:41, 15:22):
1)
Sins of ignorance
are sins, though more forgivable (1 Tim. 1:13) and not punished so hard (Lk
12:47).
2)
Affected
ignorance renders us highly culpable (2 Pet. 3:5) – that is, when people shut
the windows and resist the light, for then they could know but choose not to.
·
It is not enough
to know what is good – we must willingly obey.
·
Sins of knowledge
are the most terrible. They have more malice and contempt for God, His mercy
and grace and His revealed word and law.
·
Sins of omission
are aggravated by knowledge, as are sins of commission.
