Everyone seems to have an enemy. Someone who just doesn’t like them and will do whatever they can to discredit them. They seek to destroy their character with lies. They may seek to destroy their enemy by deception, acting as if they were friends, but stabbing them in the back when the opportunity arises. We’ve all seen them and probably experienced someone who truly disliked us or even hated us. However, these are not the enemies that can destroy us. Our greatest enemy usually lies within ourselves, and those are fueled by our enemy the Devil. These enemies, if we let them, will influence us to be at war with God.
In James 4:4-6 we will look at three enemies that want to turn us away from God. Enemies that creep in so subtlety they infect us like a bad cold, one sneeze at a time. Those three enemies are the world, the flesh, and the Devil.
James starts out by comparing our lack of faithfulness to God, to those who commit adultery. In other words, we have gone after other things and allowed them to take preeminence in our life. The idea is that we neglect our duty to God, and yield to our own indulgences. We feed our passions and lusts. Our desire is to yield to what feels good. When we live our lives to please ourselves, we are rebelling against God. Thus, we are waging war. Intentional or not, the battle has begun! Whether it is internal or external, God sees both and identifies them as sins. In I John 3:4 we see that any sin is a transgression of the law, and it is rebellion against God. To transgress is an act that goes against a law, rule, or code of conduct. So how are we as believers transgressing to the point of being at war with God? We become friends with God’s enemies!
James 4:4 “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.”
The World: The human society apart from God. The world has never been a friend to the Christian. Satan himself is called the prince of the air in Ephesians 2:2. It is no wonder that Christian values are trampled under and mocked. As Christians, we should expect this. Those making laws hate God because his laws convict them. So, if we understand that the world is against God, and his people, why do we fall in line with them like good soldiers?
This is where the great deceiver comes in. It happens gradually. We become friendly with the world. Sometimes it happens because we intend to have a positive influence on them. We become friends, and because they are likable, and show concern for us, we let our guard down. Suddenly, what they are doing doesn’t seem so bad. At this point, we are “spotted” by the world. Our life is now met with the approval of the world. However, James 1:27 tells us we are to keep ourselves “unspotted from the world.” We are now friends, and as time goes on, we begin to love the world.
I John 2:15 “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
Our friendship slowly takes the natural progression to the next step, and that is to love the world and the things of the world. The affection that once burned in our hearts toward God now is down to a smoldering flame. The bride of Christ has turned to another love, the world.
The Flesh: This represents the old nature that we inherited from Adam. Understand that “the flesh” is not the body. Our body is not sinful; it is neutral. The Spirit can use the body to glorify God, or the flesh may use the body to serve sin. When we are saved, we have a new master and a new nature. Yet, the old one doesn’t go away. It will grow or decrease depending on how you treat it. The growth of these two natures depends on when, what, and which one you feed. If we feed the flesh, it will grow, and we will begin to make decisions based on the flesh, not the spirit. Now, we are grieving the Holy Spirit. We are now becoming God’s enemy. We are becoming carnally minded
The Devil: The World conflicts with the Father; the Flesh fights against the Holy Spirit, and the Devil opposes the Son of God. Pride was Satan’s great sin, and it is one of his chief weapons in his warfare against the Saint and the Saviour. God wants us to depend on His grace (“But He giveth more grace”), while the devil wants us to depend on ourselves. Pride continues to be a major problem within the church. Often Christians are so caught up in self-glory, there is very little room left for God’s glory.
James 4:5 -6 “Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”
The real culprit of our sin is ourselves. Self, pumped up by pride, that is against God. Pride causes us to do many things. Things that we fool ourselves into believing are all for his glory. We allow pride and flattery to influence how we feel, what we say, and what we do.
If we ever intend to stay away from these enemies and be what God wants us to be, then we must do a heart check-up on a regular basis. Are you humble or proud? Are you slowly crossing enemy lines, and silently approaching the enemy? Do they call you a friend?
