Study 10: James 4:1-10: Trent Evans

The study of James 4:1-10 reveals that conflict, both internal and external, stems from misplaced desires. James confronts believers, urging them to recognize that their quarrels and struggles originate within their hearts—a battle between earthly passions and godly submission. He warns against friendship with the world, which makes one an enemy of God, and calls for deep repentance, humility, and submission. The passage emphasizes that true peace and spiritual victory come not by pursuing self-serving desires, but by surrendering fully to God’s authority. The key to overcoming sin and strife is humility—choosing to “go low” in submission so that God may lift us up. Through this study, believers are challenged to examine their motives, desires, and allegiances, ultimately leading them to embrace God’s grace and resist the enemy through full dependence on Christ.

Sermon Outline

1. Introduction: The Source of Conflict (00:07 - 06:23)

• Key Scripture: James 4:1 – “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?”

• James identifies the root of conflict as an internal struggle rather than external circumstances.

• Key Question: Are your struggles with others actually a reflection of your own desires and ambitions?

• Context: James is continuing his teaching from chapter 3, contrasting earthly wisdom vs. godly wisdom.

  
  

2. Internal Desires Lead to External Struggles (06:23 - 10:01)

• Key Scripture: James 4:2 – “You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight.”

• Greek Word Study: Hedone (ἡδονή) – Self-indulgent pleasure (root of "hedonism").

• Illustration: The idea of hedonism—when our own desires become our highest pursuit, leading to chaos.

• Key Point: Unchecked selfish ambition leads to relational and spiritual destruction.

  
  

3. The Spiritual Cost of Selfish Prayers (10:01 - 14:03)

• Key Scripture: James 4:3 – “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”

• Key Point: Prayer isn’t a tool for selfish gain, but for aligning our hearts with God’s will.

• Illustration: Treating God like a spiritual ATM—praying for our desires rather than His purposes.

  
  

4. Friendship with the World = Opposition to God (14:03 - 19:38)

• Key Scripture: James 4:4 – “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God?”

• James compares divided loyalties to spiritual adultery.

• Illustration: A bride who loves another man—the church flirting with the world instead of being faithful to Christ.

• Key Point: We cannot love both the world’s values and God’s truth at the same time.

  
  

5. The Choice to Submit or Resist (19:38 - 25:06)

• Key Scripture: James 4:7 – “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

• Greek Word Study: Hupotassō (ὑποτάσσω) – Military term meaning “to fall in rank, to submit under authority.”

• Key Point: True spiritual resistance starts with submission to God.

• Illustration: Many quote "Resist the devil and he will flee"—but without submission, resistance is powerless.

  
  

6. The Call to Draw Near to God (25:06 - 29:46)

• Key Scripture: James 4:8 – “Come near to God and he will come near to you.”

• Key Point: The closer we walk with God, the more victory we experience over sin and temptation.

• Illustration: A child running to their father for protection—drawing near to God means living under His covering.

  
  

7. Cleansing Through True Repentance (29:46 - 33:32)

• Key Scripture: James 4:8 – “Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

• Greek Word Study: Dipsuchos (δίψυχος) – Double-minded, wavering in loyalty.

• Key Point: Spiritual cleansing requires genuine repentance, not just religious routine.

• Illustration: A divided heart—vacillating between obedience and self-indulgence.

  
  

8. The Attitude of Brokenness Before God (33:32 - 37:19)

• Key Scripture: Psalm 51:17 – “My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.”

• Key Point: True humility is not just feeling guilty—it’s bringing our brokenness to God for healing.

• Illustration: Humility as a posture of the heart, not just external actions.

  
  

9. The Promise of Being Lifted Up (37:19 - 42:43)

• Key Scripture: James 4:10 – “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”

• Key Point: God exalts those who submit to Him, rather than those who elevate themselves.

• Illustration: A seed must go into the ground before it can grow. The way up is down in God’s kingdom.

  
  

10. The Call to Go Low (42:43 - End)

• Final Challenge:

  1. Examine your heart—are your desires aligned with God’s?

  2. Submit fully to God—no more divided loyalties.

  3. Resist the devil—through the power of submission, not self-effort.

  4. Go low so that God can lift you up.

• Illustration: A bodybuilder explaining that the deeper you squat, the stronger you become—the lower we go in humility, the higher God can lift us.

  
  

Final Reflection & Prayer (53:42 - End)

• Prayer Focus: Asking God to help us submit fully to Him, resist temptation, and walk humbly in His grace.

• Challenge: This week, actively choose submission over self-will, and watch how God transforms your heart and circumstances.

Scripture References

Word Study