Warning Against Worldly Indulgences: Part 3 - James 4:2b-3

Warning Against Worldly Indulgences: Part 3 - James 4:2b-3
Written by LaRosa Johnson
Friday, 16 May 2008

In our previous study, we took a look at the first two sentences of James 4:2 to get a more precise look at what James is accusing these Jewish believers of. We saw that they were lusting and fighting with one another because they could not get it, which eventually ended in murder in some cases. This is a very tragic situation for James to have to deal with; yet, we know that under divine inspiration and guidance, he knew how to handle this situation. Today's study takes us to the remainder of verse 2 and the entirety of verse 3 where James gives reason for their lack. Let us open our Bibles to read this passage and begin our study.

Quote :

James 4:2b-3 (NASB) - You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.

This is an interesting passage to deal with because it unveils a great deal of truth concerning how God answers prayer, especially the prayers of those who are not following after the ways of the Lord. Another thing worth noting is that at first glance this passage appears to be contradictory. In the latter half of verse 2 we see James telling his readers that they don't have because they don't ask. He then immediately follows this up in verse 3 by telling them that they do ask and don't receive because of how they asked. So did they ask, or didn't they?! Again, until you dig deeper, this is going to seem like two contradicting statements, but this is absolutely not so. This is where we are going to spend the bulk of our study, showing how these are not two conflicting statements and what they meant for the original readers and for present day believers.

Let us deal first with the remaining portion of James 4:2 and get an understanding of that text. As we have already established, in this passage, James is stating that these believers do not have because they fail to ask. What does this mean? What does it mean to not ask? This can be looked at in a few ways, but there is one overarching message that is being stated here: there is a lack of prayer and relationship with the Father in heaven1. When there is a lack of relationship and intimacy with the Lord, there is quite obviously a lack of prayer; and, when there is a lack of prayer, we do not come to God with our requests. When a believer is not coming to the Lord with his requests, he is essentially putting faith in himself, thinking that he can get what he desires in his own might, without the help of the Lord. This is so far from how the Lord would have a believer to live their life in relation to Him. In this sense, we could see this as James reminding them of their Master's words in Matthew 7:7 where He tells them, "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you (NASB)." James is reminding his readers that they are supposed to come to the Lord with their requests, as opposed to relying upon their own strength. Yet, since they are trying to do things in their own strength, they neglect the fact that they should even ask the Lord for anything. They could also be assuming that the Lord knows what they have need of already (Matthew 6:, so they do not feel that there is a need to pray, which is false, as we just aw in Matthew 7:7. As a bit of stretch, you could say that James is telling to to pray regardless of whether they are praying for the right things or not (but this is, of course, cleared up in verse 3). What is so important about this sentence is that even in the midst of a rebuke, it shares with us the importance and place of prayer in the believers life; we should always be before the Lord in prayer and making all of our requests known to Him, instead of trusting in our own strength to make things happen.

Now, in verse 2, James was dealing with the believers who chose not to pray, but in verse 3, he is speaking to those who are taking their requests to the Lord. What are his words to them? "You ask and do not receive..." are the words that he gives to them. Very simply put, without going into exorbitant detail, James is addressing those who are in fact taking their requests to the Lord in prayer and telling them that they are not receiving positive answers to their prayers. One thing to point out in this is the word "ask," which, in the Greek, is in the middle voice and can be interpreted as "ask for yourself;" in other words, these are selfish prayers (as was already pointed out in the beginning of the chapter) with selfish motives. Another thing worth pointing out is the Greek word itself, which is aiteo (Strong's #G154) and carries with it the idea of begging, pleading, and imploring. Putting it back into this context, these believers are really begging and seeking the Lord so that they might receive an answer to their prayers. Apparently, though, something is amiss because we are told that they do not receive what they are praying for. The remainder of the verse serves as the purpose clause which is meant to further clarify why they are not receiving answers, or at least positive answers, to their prayers. What is the reason? James says, "because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures." This is a very important principle for us to get and to take to heart. James is very pointedly teaching that there is a right and a wrong way to pray, and the wrong way is to pray with the wrong motive. The wrong motive is praying so that you can fulfill your own fleshly lusts, as opposed to praying with the purpose of growing in holiness and bringing glory to God's holy name. John MacArthur puts it this way: "They do not ask for things in order for God's goodness and grace to be magnified or for the sake of His glory and honor. They do not ask in order to be able to fulfill His perfect and divine will but to fulfill their own sinful and selfish wills."2 Therefore, we must keep in mind that our prayers should line up with the Word of God and His perfect will, and then He will be pleased to answer such prayers. We have already seen in James' epistle that God is willing to give to those who are in need if they would just ask Him for it (James 1:5-6). In this context wisdom is spoken of, but the principle applies because it is something that lines up with God's will and desires for us. It's worth pointing out that the word for "ask" in James 1:5-6 is the exact same word used in our passage here. The Apostle John also echoes such sentiments in his first epistle (1 John 5:14) when he states, "This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us." 1 John 3:22 is also another passage that bears this truth.

In summation, it's an interesting picture that James is painting here. These believers have passions and lusts for the things of this world (sinful things or things that are not of God) and they are fighting with one another because they cannot get it. There are some that even go so far as to commit murder to get their hands on what they want. And with that, you have those who are attempting to fulfill their lusts in their own might, while you have, on the other hand, those who are begging God in their prayers to give them what they want just so they can live in a life of selfish pleasure and sin, as if He is going to answer such heinous prayers. If you ask me, that's a pretty nasty picture right there; and looking at these Christians in this state, you would have a difficult time believing that they were indeed followers of Christ; you would think they were heathens! And for what? Just to fulfill the lusts of the flesh, which is supposed to have been crucified with Christ (Romans 6). This is not how Christians are supposed to living and James is about ready to point this out to them. We start to get a glimpse of his harsh rebuke in verse 4, which we will take a look at next time. Until then, remain in prayer to the Lord, always praying with the right motives.

1 Gordon Keddie, Welwyn Commentary Series – The Practical Christian: James simply explained, (Auburn, MA: Evangelical Press, 1989), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 147.
2 John MacArthur, MacArthur New Testament Commentary – James, (Chicago: Moody Press, 1998), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 182.

devotion courtesy of Trailblazin Ministries
http://www.trailblazinministries.com/daily-devotions/05-16-2008.php