Submit Your Desires to God.

Spiritual infidelity is in view here (cf. Matt. 6:24; 1 John 2:15). As Martin says:

It is very likely that the text has the OT idea in view that God is married to his people and that this bride has proven unfaithful. The covenant relationship between Israel and Yahweh is frequently portrayed in terms of a marital imagery (Isa. 54:1-6; Jer. 2:2). The nation's unfaithfulness is condemned by the prophets (Jer. 3:7-10, 20; 13:27; Isa. 1:21; 50:1; 54:1-6; 57:3; Ezek. 16:23-26, 38; 23:45), especially so in Hosea (Hos. 1-3; 9:1). Jesus compared Israel to an "adulterous generation" (Matt 12:39; 16:4; Mark 8:38) and Paul employed the imagery of bride-bridegroom in his pastoral thinking (Rom. 7:3-4; 2 Cor. 11:1-2; cf. Eph 5:22-23)

Authors occasionally cite references whose origins are not fully known to us (i.e. Matt. 2:23; John 7:38; 1 Cor. 2:9; Eph. 5:14). The text James had in mind is not known, although he may have been referring specifically to Deuteronomy 6:15 or, more generally, to Scripture in a broader sense (e.g., Exod. 20:3, 5; 34:14; Deut. 32:21; Josh. 24:19; Nah. 1:2). Packer says:

Note, from the fact that these precise words are found nowhere, that Scripture says whatever may be inferred from the whole of it and from what follows from it. Immediate inferences are as valid as express words. Christ proves the Resurrection not by direct testimony but by argument (Matthew 22:32). What the Scripture implies, therefore, should be received as if it were expressed.

The WCF 1.6 says in part, "The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for His own glory, man's salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture." When God's Spirit takes up residence in believers they are joined with him in deepest intimacy. God therefore will not tolerate loyalties that are divided between him and the world. God's Spirit is righteously jealous (Exod. 20:4-5; 1 Kings 19:14; Psa. 78:58; Ezek. 39:25; 1 Cor. 10:22).

God’s Spirit is jealous for the covenant loyalty of his people (1 Cor. 6:19; 2 Cor. 6:16). Several passages in Scripture mention God’s jealousy for his people and his own glory (Ex. 20:5; 34:14; Deut. 4:24; Josh 24:19; Joel 2:18; Nah. 1:2). The Spirit’s work is to convict God’s people of sin, and to guide their judgment in the ways of righteousness (see notes on John 16:8-11). This grace is at work in their hearts and between them to sanctify them for the Lord and his purposes. Citing Prov. 3:34 (cf. Ps 138:6), James encourages his readers to respond to this grace by remembering that God opposes the proud but gives continuous grace to the humble.

Kistemaker says:

Sixteenth-century German theologian Zacharias Ursinus considered whether he was able to comply with what God required of him. He concluded, "No. I have a natural tendency to hate God and my neighbor." The spirit of man longs for the pleasures of this world and perversely seeks its friendship.

Is there no hope, then? Certainly! Note the contrast with the adversative but in the next sentence (Jas 4:6). "But [God] gives us more grace." God comes to us in the redeeming love of his Son, who is full of grace. "From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another," writes John in the prologue of his Gospel (John 1:16).

Christians are those saved by grace alone (Jas. 1:18; cf. Eph. 2:8-10), that know the giver of grace (Eph. 4:7), and their continual need of grace (Rom. 6:14; cf. Rom. 6:1), and that live by grace (1 Pet. 4:11). Anything God calls and enables us to do is by his power (Phil. 2:12-13; cf. 2 Chron. 16:9; Psa. 127:1; Isa. 64:4; Acts 17:25; 1 Cor. 15:10) and for his glory (1 Cor. 10:31) is fueled by his grace. While a proper understanding of God's grace increases humility, God's gift of sustaining grace is enjoyed only by those enabled to be willing to admit their need and accept the gift. The proud meet only resistance from God (cf. Psa. 18:27; 34:18; 51:17; 72:4; 138:6; Isa. 61:1; Zeph. 3:11-12). See Proverbs 3:34.

James used Old Testament language of worship to describe how believers may gain divine wisdom and avoid quarrels and envy by submitting to God in faith and repentance, aligning themselves with God and refusing to give allegiance to Satan. James also offered assurance of forgiveness to those who honestly seek it (cf. Zech. 1:3; Mal. 3:7).

Satan, a fallen angel, is not equal in power or authority with God. Although Satan remains powerful, he is not invincible. Christians are to resist the devil by relying on God to protect them. As God comes near to believers, the devil flees. See "Satan: Did the Devil Make Me Do It?" below. See WLC 104.

To submit their selfish desires to God, James’ readers must resist the devil, the ultimate source of earthly wisdom (see note on 3:15). Because of the Spirit’s grace (1 Pet. 5:8-9; Eph. 4:27; 6:11), the devil will flee when a Christian resists him. James assures his readers that when they come close to God, he will receive them. God promises his people that if they truly repent, he will forgive their sins and restore their fellowship.

Paul says, "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death" (2 Cor 7:10). Genuine repentance - not the sorrow of the world - includes God's enablement to demonstrate contrition (cf. 2 Tim. 2:24-26; cf. Psa. 6:6; Luke 6:25; Rom. 7:24-25; Rev. 11:3-6). James' command to humble ourselves is relevant as saints are new creatures (2 Cor. 5:17) capable of true humility (cf. Rom. 8:5-8; 1 Cor. 2:14). The Old Testament the Church (see below) was called to repentance by having them grieve over their sins and sit in sackcloth and ashes (cf. Gen. 37:34; 2 Sam. 3:31; Esther 4:1; Jonah 3:3-8; Matt. 11:20-21). Kistemaker states:

We experience grief when someone who is near and dear to us dies. That is one aspect of the concept grief. The other aspect of grief is spiritual. Scripture teaches us that repentance and grief go together. In his epistles, Paul states that those who belong to Jesus put to death their sinful nature when they repent of their sins (Rom. 6:6; Gal. 2:20; 5:24; 6:14). Repentance, then, means that a death has occurred in our own lives. We grieve because of sins we have committed against God and our fellow man.

Slander is an evil of evils. It is an attack of God himself. See "Human Beings in God's Image: Who Am I?" below. In the strictest sense, slander is reporting falsehoods about another for the purpose of damaging that person's reputation. Slander usually flows out of envy and always reflects the work of Satan. Slandering a fellow believer destroys Christian fellowship and breaks the royal law of love (Jas. 2:8-9). See WLC 145. Hughes gives an illustration:

Walter Wangerin, in his collection of short stories Ragman and Other Cries of Faith, begins one of his stories with what seems to be a lesson in entomology, the study of insects (specifically spiders). But he surprisingly turns it into an unforgettable metaphor of spiritual truth. He explains that a female spider is often a widow for embarrassing reasons - she regularly eats those who come her way. Lonely suitors and visitors alike quickly become corpses so that her dining room is a morgue. A visiting fly, having become captive, will be granted the illusion of wholeness, but she will have drunk his insides so that he has become his own hollow casket. Not a pleasant thought, especially if you have a touch of arachnaphobia, as I do!

The reason for this macabre procedure is that she has no stomach and so is incapable of digesting anything within her. Through tiny punctures she injects her digestive juices into a fly so that his insides are broken down and turned into a warm soup. "This soup she swills," says Wangerin as he makes the point, "even as most of us swill souls of one another after having cooked them in various enzymes: guilt, humiliations, subjectives, cruel love - there are a number of fine, acidic mixes. And some among us are so skilled with the hypodermic word that our dear ones continue to sit up and to smile, quite as though they were still alive."

This is a gruesome but effective metaphor to describe the destructive power of evilly intended words. Words do not dissolve mere organs and nerves but souls! This world is populated by walking caskets because countless lives have been dissolved and sucked empty by another's words.

James concludes his comments about the desires and practices which cause conflict in the community by returning to the subject of speech (see notes on 3:1-12). His warning against slander is rooted in God’s Law (cf. Ex 20:16), which rules out “bearing false witness against your neighbor.” The one who speaks against his fellow church member or neighbor judges them and God’s Law (cf. Prov. 10:18; 11:13; 20:19; Matt. 15:19; Eph. 4:31) by picking which portion of the law shows them in a more favorable light in contrast to their neighbor. This harmful speech violates James’ warnings about boasting (3:15) and jealousy (4:14, 16) as well as his summary of “the royal law” in 2:8.

Christians are called to "love one another" (Jas. 2:8; cf. Lev. 19:18; Matt. 22:39; Rom. 13:9; Gal. 5:14), not condemn one another. While there are some valid forms of judging (we can make godly judgments - discernments and decisions, see below) in this context, the word "judge" denotes slanderous condemnation (Jas. 4:11). See WCF 20.2. Richardson says:

Because self-deceived Christians are so prone to sinful rivalries and conflict, they must realize that such inevitably leads to a judgmental disposition. Those who are judging are often indifferent to the abysmal condition of their own faith. Like their boasting and bragging (Jas 4:16), these believers have set themselves up as "judges with evil thoughts" (Jas 2:4), whose speech has become filled with language no better than cursing (Jas 3:10). Is it any wonder that James warned them against presuming to be teachers (Jas 3:1) when they had already presumed to usurp God's role as judge? The juxtaposition of this section, which warns against the presumption and pride of setting oneself up as a judge, and the previous section, which exhorts the believer to humility, could not be more poignant.