The Book of James – Chapter 4:9-17

Verse 9

This verse describes an out of fellowship, reversionistic believer, and they are going to be miserable and mourn until they Rebound and resume their spiritual lives. The Greek word for mourn is “pentheo,” meaning sorrow for personal sin. The Greek word for weep is “klaio,” meaning to express grief. A reversionist has placed themselves under slavery to the details of life and is no longer pursuing the only thing that will make them truly happy: knowledge and application of God’s Word. Reversionism is the status of self-induced misery and divine discipline. A reversionist may enjoy a bit of laughter and emotional happiness, but it soon turns to mourning and gloom, without the doctrinal resources to handle the ups and downs of the reversionistic lifestyle.

Verse 10

Humble is the Greek word “tapeinoo,” which refers to a believer oriented to grace, positive toward Bible doctrine, submitting themselves to the principles of the Word of God. In the presence of the Lord means that all we do as believers is observed by God. So, when we humble ourselves before God, by being teachable, He exalts us. The Greek word for exalt is “hupsoo,” meaning to lift up. When a believer is teachable, God the Holy Spirit can raise them up to a higher level of spiritual maturity through the knowledge and application of accurate Bible doctrine.

Verse 11

Speak against is two Greek words, “laleo” meaning to communicate and “kata” meaning down or against. Put the two words together and it comes to mean to slander, to defame, or to speak against someone by maligning or by gossiping. This, of course, is a sign of reversionism. Reversionism is a constant series of mental attitude sins, often resulting in sins of the tongue. This is what some people use in their frantic search for happiness. Some people are never happy unless they are downgrading, ridiculing, gossiping, maligning, using character assassination of others.

The meaning of the Greek word for law is “nomos,” referring to the law of freedom. The meaning of a word in the Bible is determined by its first usage in context, and the first usage of “nomos” in context takes us back to James 1:25 and James 2:12. At the end of James 2:12, we have the phrase “the law of freedom.” The law of freedom in James 2:12 is Bible doctrine providing capacity for freedom, capacity for life, and capacity for love.

A principle of the Christian life for an advancing believer is freedom: freedom to love God, freedom to serve God, freedom to appreciate life with God. This freedom is based on doctrine, according to James 1:25. Bible doctrine is the perfect law of freedom. Slander is maligning or judging the law of freedom.

Like mental attitude sins which often result in sins of the tongue, the sins of the tongue are an attack upon the Christian life. When you malign and judge other people you are in effect attacking the principle of spiritual freedom inside God’s power system.

A doer of the law is a person living in God’s power system under the filling of the Holy Spirit. So, if you are not a doer of Bible doctrine (nomos), you are then a judge of Bible doctrine, which means a critic in Greek. The Greek word for judges is “krino,” which means to condemn or to call into question. A reversionist knowingly rejects God’s law for their own.

Verse 12

God the Father is the Lawgiver and Judge, which is a reference to the fact that He has provided His Word as the standard of law for the human race, and He has turned over all judgment to Jesus Christ. All believers are eternally saved, but all believers will stand before Jesus Christ and give an account of their spiritual lives.

If a believer persists in reversionism, they will not be delivered (save) from the destruction (destroy) of their spiritual life and the loss of eternal rewards. In this context, continuing in the maligning and slandering should be a red flag to a believer that they are in jeopardy of entering into a state of reversionism. The other concept here is that if a believer persists in ignoring God’s warnings, then they face divine discipline. Unbelievers will also be judged, but their judgment will be the Lake of Fire for all eternity (destroy).

Since there is only one Lawgiver and Judge, it should be obvious that we are not to set ourselves up as judges and usurp the authority of God. He gave the law and He is the only One qualified or authorized to judge anyone by it. As mature believers, we are authorized to judge the message, but not the messenger. The Scriptures calls it discernment based on accurate Bible doctrine.

Verse 13

Today or tomorrow introduces to us a reversionistic believer occupied with making money to the exclusion of everything else. In other words, they are preoccupied with making money instead of God. Today or tomorrow presents the beginning of a wrong attitude. This person is a slave to the details of life. The phrase, we will buy and sell for a year, is used as an analogy of a believer who is seeking material possessions to the exclusion of God and His Word.

It is okay to make money, but this analogy is not about a legitimate money-maker, this is about a reversionist looking to get rich. So, the reversionist enters into selfish planning, which totally excludes God and His Word. Making money is a legitimate function, if it is secondary to living a spiritual life. A spiritually mature believer does not depend on money or wealth for their security or happiness. Instead, they depend on God and His Word for their security and happiness.

Verse 14

Still talking about the reversionist, James tells us that a person in reversionism does not consider the fact that life is short and the only thing that has lasting value is a relationship with God through the Bible doctrine in your soul. Every believer’s job is to advance to spiritual maturity and glorify Jesus Christ. James compares our lives to a vapor which is visible only for a moment and then disappears. This is the case with our lives on earth. We are citizens of Heaven and the time spent here on earth is nothing compared to all eternity. What James is teaching is living our Christian lives in light of eternity and storing up for ourselves treasure in Heaven, not on earth. (Matthew 6:19-21)

Verse 15

Verse 15 is a reference to the sovereignty of God the Father related to His decrees. It refers to eternity past when God the Father set up a plan for your life. In eternity past, God knew every need we would ever have, and He provided for it in grace. He provided for us in grace before we existed. A spiritually mature believer understands the doctrines which are involved. A reversionist, on the other hand, does not consider God’s will when planning their life. Instead, they rely on their ability and intelligence to acquire material possessions. And it is arrogance to ignore the will of God as a believer. His plan for your life is infinitely greater than yours!

Verse 16-17

Boasting in your arrogance is a reversionistic believer bragging about what they are going to accomplish or have accomplished on their own. But all of a believer’s boasting is to be about Jesus Christ. Our boasting is to be about what Christ has accomplished and will accomplish for us as we live inside God’s power system. Any other form of boasting is evil, because it excludes God and His will.

The one who knows the right thing to do is a believer in reversionism. Any believer, regardless of spiritual status, is susceptible to losing their focus on God and His Word and being distracted by the details of life to the point of falling into reversionism. Therefore, we see the importance of the consistent study and application of Bible doctrine, keeping short accounts when we sin, staying focused on our role in the Angelic Conflict, and glorifying our Savior Jesus Christ.