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The book of James is all about practical Christianity, the Christian lifestyle, and the empowering to it, the transformation that needs to take place in you, for you have been called out of the world to be in a covenant relationship with God Almighty.
You have a God who is in a covenant relationship with you, when you become His child. It explains therefore, the strong words that James uses when he talks about being in friendship with the world, after you have become a child of God. It is akin to committing adultery, James says very forthrightly and bluntly – Adulterers and adulteresses ! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God ? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. [James 4:4]
The verse above describes the internal war that goes on in every child of God, and the external factors that contribute towards it. For very often, man is so set in his ways, that he wants what he wants at any cost, going even to the extent of murdering someone to possess it. In other words, man is very self–centered, and everything he wants is for self gratification.
But when you are a child of God, you do still live in the world. You cannot and should not run away from it. But, there is a key difference, in that, you do not live or war according to the world. And also, Christian life is all about your walk with God in a covenant relationship. This is the truth that James puts forth, in saying that friendship with the world is adultery, or enmity with God.
What is friendship with the world ?
James brings in the imagery of marriage, in describing our relationship with God. Paul does it too, as he says to the Corinthian church – I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. For, I have betrothed you to one husband; that I may present you as a chaste virgin unto Christ. [2 Corinthians 11:2]
In the Old Testament too there are many places where the imagery of marriage and covenant relationship is pictured. Genesis, the book of beginnings, begins with marriage, and the book of revelation ends with the marriage of the Lamb, and in the centre is the book of the Song of Solomon which celebrates marriage and the covenant relationship.
Hence, it is not surprising that James uses it to show the truth of God’s word. And, very literally through the life of the prophet Hosea, God displays that He remains faithful, even in the face of man’s faithlessness, for He cannot deny Himself.
Friendship & trust in covenant relationship :
The two are intertwined, and are part of God’s design, even in the human covenant relationship of marriage. It is in the words of the prophet Malachi who declares Yet she is your companion and wife by covenant. [Malachi 2:14] In the wife being a companion, friendship is highlighted. And, it is in a covenant relationship. Marriage, in God’s sight is never a contract, though the world views it so. A contract is based on convenience, while a covenant is based on conviction. And if you do not understand that there is a vast difference between the two, you will be led to become adulterous in your relationship with God, and it will reflect in your relationship with people.
When you are in a covenant relationship with God, there are three foundational qualities that are involved – friendship, fellowship and faithfulness. And all three of the above are based on your conviction and not on your convenience. You do not give up on your relationship with Him just because it is not convenient. It is true even in your human covenant relationships. And it is where you need to know the difference between like mindedness and love.
Not like mindedness but love :
Being likeminded is how clubs work. A cricket club will have as its members people who have a genuine liking for the game, and they bond together through that common ground. But a covenant relationship is built upon love. And therefore in your family, or in your church where the relationship is through covenant, you may not always like all those who are in it, but you are called to love one another.
It is a conviction and not convenience. Even if you do not always find it convenient, you are called to love the family, the church, the place where He has placed you, for only then God can fulfill His plans and purposes for your life. The choice to choose your family or your country of birth was not given to you ! So, rest in the conviction of your covenant relationship with God, knowing that the place where He has placed you is the very best for you.
1) Covenant friendship involves trust :
Abraham was a covenant friend of God. How did it come about ?
He trusted in God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness; and to validate his righteousness God made a covenant with him, whereby all that belonged to Him belonged to Abraham, and vice versa. It was a position of trust. It is what covenant friendship involves, and it is the hallmark of a true friendship. Also, a true friend will never take advantage of you; on the contrary, he will give you the advantage. The one who takes advantage of your friendship, to exploit or deceive you is a fake friend ! But What a friend you have in Jesus !!
Lord Jesus being your friend is the most advantageous for you, in all respects, and at all times. And it all works through a trust that grows deeper and deeper, as you grow in your covenant relationship with Him, experiencing various circumstances that binds you together with Him in covenant friendship. And you will experience the depth and riches of His immeasurable love for you, to be led to a place of confident trust. You will be able to declare, even as the apostle Paul was able to, that nothing can separate you from the love of God that is in you in Christ Jesus. Friendship with God therefore, involves a covenant trust, to say in the words of the apostle, ‘I know in whom I have put my trust’.
The prophet Malachi, in the word of God, describes the marriage relationship to be a covenant, where the wife is the covenant friend of the husband. It is a position of mutual trust. Thus, to understand what trust is, and also what exactly unfaithfulness to God is, you must know all that covenant friendship with God involves.
2) Covenant friendship involves fellowship :
It is what partaking of the Lord’s Table signifies, a communion or common union with the Lord. What you partake, you become part of is the statement you are making through it. And therefore, He is in you, and you are in Him. It is a covenant relationship, a friendship of deep intimacy and fellowship. There is an intimacy when you are in covenant friendship with God, a close fellowship with Him.
The levels of fellowship :
In life’s journey, there are various levels of fellowship that you and I experience. The very basic level is one that is limited to the exchanging of daily greetings, and civil pleasantries. It is the fellowship of a casual acquaintance. And then there is the fellowship that develops through proximity – the people with whom you study together as class mates, or serve together as colleagues. The years may roll on, but the memories remain, and he or she is still your classmate, even if you meet after many years ! But the ultimate fellowship, either with a loved one, or with the loving God, happens in the times of suffering that you and I go through in life, at some point of time or the other.
Fellowship in suffering :
It is in the time of suffering that you will very certainly experience the sweet communion of the Lord. ‘I desire to know Christ in the fellowship of His suffering’, is how the apostle Paul very eloquently expresses it. David Watson, a man mightily used by God, has said very beautifully in his book, ‘I fear no evil’, that more than in the times when he stood before a big audience to share God’s word, it was when he was confined to a bed of suffering, with just him and God, that he experienced the most intimate and sweet fellowship of the Lord.
It is the same even in human relationships. When you are confined, alone in a place of suffering, and a friend comes to sit with you, to hold your hand, voiceless, even as you are, and silent tears rolling down your face finds the same response of tears in the eyes of your friend too – it is then that there is a deep and intimate fellowship. You will know who your true friend is, only in your time of suffering and pain ! May God bless you with such true friends, and even more importantly, make you such a true friend in another person’s life.
Focus on the Light :
Times when you feel bereft and all alone may come, but Paul’s declaration can be yours ‘And even when none stood with me, the Lord stood with me’, he says. The Lord is always, always there with you. It is why David says in the well beloved psalm, that he is passing through the shadow of death. Do not become fearful when your path is in the shadows. For, where there is a shadow, there is always a light. Focus therefore on the light, the true Light that enlightens any man.
There is always One who will stand with you. His Name is Jesus. And it is then, that you will enjoy intimate communion with Him, in covenant friendship. Let not the world’s definition of friendship become yours, for it is extremely superficial and flawed. Learn what true friendship is from the Bible, in the Savior’s words.
‘Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends’. [John 15:13] And He died for you and I, establishing the glorious truth of His covenant friendship – one that expresses itself in faithfulness and loyalty.
3) Covenant friendship involves faithfulness :
It is not about whether the other person is faithful, or keeps his end of the bargain or not. That would make it nothing but a contractual agreement – a ‘quid pro quo’, setting conditions for the relationship to be in operation, or come to an end. God remains faithful, even when we are faithless.
Looking back, and tracking your own life’s events, you will indeed see very clearly that it is the truth. It is the sacredness of His covenant relationship with you and I, His faithfulness, pure and unsullied, that He expresses towards us, in covenant friendship.
Adultery and adulteration :
It is very strong language that James uses, when he refers to those who are in friendship with the world as ‘adulterers and adulteresses’. But, it is so with God’s word. It is brutally honest, with no cover ups ! Adultery is having illicit affairs, when you are in a covenant relationship. It is a breaking of the covenant. Even by the people of the world, adultery is not accepted, and is frowned upon.
The word ‘adulteration’ though, dilutes the truth, and has come to be accepted as ‘that is the way the world operates’. But, this toning down to suit our convenience cannot be done in the area of relationship with God. For, an adulteration in the commitment to God is a breaking of the covenant relationship with Him. And therefore, it is nothing but adultery. This is the truth that the word of God establishes, in terms that no one can misunderstand !
It is illegal to have two wives; it is also illegal to have two gods. The truth is as simple as that ! You cannot be a friend of the world, and also be a friend of God. Paul, in one particular context says, ‘We do not adulterate the truth of God’s word’. It is indeed a wise principle to follow in all situations.
Friendship with the world – the world system :
The ‘world’ in John 3:16, is all the people of the world, whom God so loved that He gave His Only begotten Son. But when God’s word cautions you not to love the world, or the things of the world [1 John 2:15] it refers to the world system that operates on lust and is driven by fear. It is man centered and devil directed. It is in contradiction to the ‘Word’ system that is God centered and operates on love and faith. The evil one gained control over Adam and Eve, by giving them the illusion of control they could be like God. And he does the same even today.
The system of the world :
Satan is called the prince of the world, the world system. He will deceive you into thinking that if you have enough money, or a high position and power, you are in control. But the sobering truth is that, when you put your trust in money, your love of money will see money becoming your master. But, when you put your trust in God and His word, and you are in His control, everything else, both big and small, will be under your control.
And also, it is when you live according to the world system, that you become unfaithful to God, an adulterer, so to speak. The dividing line can be very subtle at times, and it is only with divine discernment that you can steer clear of the wiles of the devil.
Not conformed, but transformed :
Do not be conformed to the pattern of the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove, what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. [Romans 12:2] A renewing of your mind takes place, as your reasoning process is inspired by revelation from God’s word, even as you meditate upon it continually. Illumination can come as a sudden burst of light, but more often than not, inspiration happens in the process of disciplined meditation. God continually speaks through His word. And, whoever meditates upon His word day and night, whatever he does will prosper.
‘Whoever’– it is a word so wide and all embracing ! And you can choose to be the ‘whoever’, that you may meditate on the word and prosper. Meditating on the word of God will keep you from falling back into the pattern and the system of the world. Its criteria is one that is very different, one that will make you think that you cannot make it in life, all because you do not have the right background, influence, finances etc. But through the Spirit, with a mind renewed by God’s word, you will know all that He has already prepared for you !
Know what He has freely given to you !:
Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. [2 Corinthians 2:12] You will know that you have a God who can promote you who lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes !
You will know that God has a specific plan and purpose for you and even when seemingly bad things are happening, when the world seems to be crashing all around you, He can and He will, cause all things to work together for good all because you love God, and have been called according to His purpose. You will come to a position, in the knowledge of His love for you, that if He is for you, no one, or nothing else can be against you.
Seeing through the scriptures :
It is what you and I need to learn and apply that whatever the circumstance maybe, to see it through the scriptures. You will know then that however big your problem may be, with Him it is an easy thing ! May king Jehoshaphat’s prayer be yours too ‘Lord, I do not know what to do; but my eyes are upon you’. And when your eyes are on Christ, you are looking in the right direction. It will be challenging, and the tendency to shift your focus will come. It is why faithfulness to God is of such paramount importance.
For it is your faith that overcomes the world. And, faith comes by hearing the word, the word of God. And, just one word that comes to you from the mouth of the Living God, can turn your life around, from problem to prosperity !
Faithfulness with little strength – Open door :
They are the words of the Risen and Exalted Lord to the Philadelphian church ‘I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it, for you have a little strength, have kept my word, and have not denied My Name’. [Revelation 3:8] See the open door, the Lord is saying even today, to the one who is faithful in his commitment and covenant relationship with Him. And no man can shut it, for He has opened it. Lord Jesus has declared, ‘I am the Door’; and no man can shut Him.
May you be steadfast in your loyalty to Him; He remains ever faithful to you. And since He has suffered, He is able to help you at all times, even in your suffering. It is when you experience sweet communion with Him, that you will remember always.
Just lean on Him ! :
Choose to lean on the Lord. Trust Him and be His covenant friend. He will surely lift your head. He remains faithful always. He will never leave you. He is your covenant friend.
May He fill your heart with His word, and His goodness, to lead you in a triumphal procession, spreading every where the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ, for the glory of God the Father.
In the Name of Christ Jesus Amen.
