James You Adulterous People

 

James

You Adulterous People

Imagine being the groom who laid down your life for your bride to be

And went off to prepare a place where you would spend life together

During the preparations, fought battles for your bride 

And when the bridegroom comes back before the marriage supper

Comes to destroy the polluted world and rescue her

Can you imagine how angry you would be

If you came back after all your preparations and found the one

You gave your life for and made great preparations for

Did not take the marriage seriously

Would you want to spend eternity with a haughty and proud person

Who does not receive what was done for her as a gift of great love, but as a right

Lack of love for God and flirting with the world is hatred toward God James 4:4    

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' Mark 12:30

The Bridegroom is coming

Get excited and tell your friends, invite them, this is part of the preparation

The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."  Mark 12:31

 

 

You Adulterous People

 

Why would James use these strong words?...

 

You adulterous people

 

James wants to remind us that

we have been espoused to Christ.

 

The New Testament calls Christ the

Bridegroom and the Church His Bride.

  

The proposal in the ancient Jewish culture took place

as a man initiated the process of getting married

by pledging his life to his prospective bride on

the condition that she will accept his offer and

reciprocate his love and pledge.

 

While we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

 

The marriage is entered into only when

the prospective bride accepts the invitation.

 

All most all convents in the Bible

began with a public ceremony.
 

This is true of the betrothal or we call it the engagement.

 

This is the role of Water Baptism in the believer’s life.

 

In baptism an individual publicly declares their faith in

Christ and pledges to live as a faithful covenant partner.

 

The betrothal period was around one or

more years before the wedding ceremony

and consummation of the marriage.

  

This was a time of preparation.

 

Christ the Bridegroom left to prepare a place for us.

 John 14:2-3

 

Christ also gave a gift to seal the betrothal,

this gift is the Holy Spirit to help the Bride

make herself ready for the life together with the Groom.

 

Jesus knew that while He was gone, strong, resistance

and temptation would come upon His betrothed Bride.

 

Revelation 19 tells us there will be a great

prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries.

 Revelation19:2

 

Remember adultery is unfaithfulness

to the one you are espoused to.

 

Remember the 10 virgins…

 

 5 made themselves ready and 5 did not.

 Matthew 25

 

Revelation 19:7-8 says…

 

Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!

For the wedding of the Lamb has come,

 and his bride has made herself ready.

 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear."

 (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)

 

Jesus describes this in John 16 and promises

the Gift of the Holy Spirit to comfort us.

 John 16:7

 

We also see the deposit guarantee in Ephesians 1:14.

 

There is only one thing the Bible

tells us Jesus is coming back for…

 

To present her to himself as a radiant church,

without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish,

but holy and blameless.

Ephesians 5:27

 

This is centered in Paul’s instructions

to husbands and wives.

 

James tells us in James 4:5 that…

 

 The Spirit He caused to live in us envies intensely.

 

The words envies intensely are also

interpreted as the Spirit longs jealously.

 

James is warning us that many will not

make themselves ready because they

are making friends with the world.

 

There will be many wanting to spend

eternity with Christ but…

 

 Until He comes, they play with the world instead

of preparation for the wedding day.

 

It is interesting how James sums this up in James 4:6…

 

But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:

"God opposes the proud

but gives grace to the humble." 

 

Those who are proud living out this life for all it

will give them, God resists because they are proud,

unwilling to dedicate their life to Christ the Bridegroom.

 

But for those who have one focus, their

Groom, who works in preparation, He gives grace.

 

God sees the dedicated humble heart

and for all the weaknesses and mistakes

God’s favor is on the humble.

 

Imagine being the groom who laid down

your life for your bride to be and went off to

prepare a place where you would spend life together.

 

During the preparations, fought battles for His bride.

 

And when the bridegroom comes

back before the marriage supper…

 

Comes to destroy the polluted world and rescue her.

 

Can you imagine how angry you

would be if you came back after all your

preparations and found the one you gave your

life for and made great preparations for

did not take the marriage seriously.

 

Would you want to spend eternity

with a haughty and proud person.

 

Who does not receive what was done for

her as a gift of great love, but as a right.

 

Lack of love for God and flirting

with the world is hatred toward God.

 James 4:4     

 

Love the Lord your God with all your heart

 and with all your soul

and with all your mind

and with all your strength.'

Mark 12:30

 

The Bride Groom is coming.

 

Get excited and tell your friends, invite

them, this is part of the preparation.

 

The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'

There is no commandment greater than these." 
Mark 12:31

 

 

 

Scripture Reading

 

James 4:4-6 NIV

 

4 You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely?   6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:

 

"God opposes the proud

but gives grace to the humble."