James 4:15-17‏

15. "You ought instead to say, If the Lord is willing, we shall live and we shall do this or that [thing]."

If we're to live life the way God intended us to, then we must put Him at the center of all our plans. The true believer is the one who seeks divine counsel and the one who has a heart to obey the counsel he seeks. There may be times of disobedience, may be times of disregard and even defiance against God's will, but deep in our hearts is that longing to do what His will dictates... the leading of the Holy Spirit as we study God's Word.

Submission to divine authority, divine will, and divine providence is basic to the life of a believer. We simply accept the lordship of Christ over all our own plans.

16. "But as it is, you boast [falsely] in your presumption and your self-conceit. All such boasting is wrong."

Those who set their life in motion and defy with their plans the will of God... they make themselves out to be sovereign. Notice James says at the end of verse 16, "All such boasting is wicked," poneria, all such arrogance is wicked. The word "wicked" is used of Satan who is "ha poneros", the wicked one, the original sinner who sought to replace God, who said, "I will be like the Most High God, I will ascend into the heights, the one who sought to usurp the throne of God", he was the original poneros, the original wicked one. But when we exalt our will over God's will, then we are like him, poneria, wicked. That's what God thinks of our boasting.

17. "So any person who knows what is right to do but does not do it, to him it is sin."

Do we desire to do the will of God? If the answer is yes, then we belong to Him. Or, if the answer is yes and we've never been saved, then our heart is reaching out in faith to Him. But the desire to do the will of God is the mark of a transformed life. James says take a look at ourselves. Do I live constantly defying God's will? Ignoring God's will? Disobeying God's will? There's reason to wonder if the delight to do His will is not there. Furthermore, since it is the Spirit working in us His will, if it's not being done then maybe the Spirit isn't there. "And if any man have not the Spirit of Christ," Romans 8 says, "he's not His."

Let's pick up with James verse 5:1 next time.

I love you.