But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 

                                                                                                                   James 4:6-8 

We have already seen that God desires an intimate, personal relationship with us that creates within us a desire to live in a different manner than the rest of the world. Instead of being unfaithful to God, as believers, we are to desire Him and His ways more than anything else. The idea behind being a follower of Jesus Christ is that of submission.

Submission is not a very popular word these days rather it seems to have been replaced with the cries of “self-rule”, “my rights”, and “what I want.” To submit would be to place ourselves under the authority of another, in this case, under the authority of God. But to do so means that we relinquish the idea of “self-rule.” We no longer focus on ourselves rather on the needs of others. And placing ourselves under the authority of God means that we desire to please Him and want what He wants, not what we do.

We seem to live in a culture that does not embrace submission, even if it is to the One who loves us, created us, and died on our behalf. This rejection of the authority of God leads to social problems as well. Rejection of God’s authority leads to a refusal to recognize any authority. No respect for parents, teachers, law enforcement officers, and such is what comes from a heart rejecting the idea of submission. And as a result, we live in a world full of selfish, spoiled, and hateful people desiring nothing more than to satisfy their own pleasures and desires.

But James gives us a different way of living. Understanding that God opposes all such sinful pride and that He gives grace to the humble, as believers, we gladly submit ourselves to His authority understanding that His ways are higher than ours and that the love, grace, and mercy that He offers is better than all of the treasure in the world.

To place our faith in Jesus is just that…it is to fully trust Him in every aspect of our lives. But as God instructs us through the power of His Spirit and His Word, we must be prepared to act on what we learn from Him. God is not withholding His best from us neither will He lead us down a destructive path. His desire is to see us have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10). He desires for us to enjoy His favor and to know Him intimately (Matthew 11:28-30). This is what it means to “submit ourselves to God.”

But in addition to that, James gives us some other handy advice. When it comes to the enemy, believers in Jesus have the authority and ability to flee from him and his attempt to influence our lives. “Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” I believe that these two instructions go hand-in-hand. When we are tempted to think, say, or act in a way that is destructive, either to ourselves or to others, we can resist the enemy and the promise of scripture is that “he will flee from us.” But I believe that the very next statement is to be used in tandem with the first. As we flee the enemy, we are to “draw near to God.” The enemy has absolutely no authority or place in the life of a believer and staying in the presence of God is the best way to guarantee that his attempts to derail us will have no effect.

So we understand that God’s grace is reserved for those who humble themselves and submit to His authority. We know that we can resist the enemy and that staying in the very presence of God is the best way to spiritually protect ourselves. But there is still one more instruction from James. “Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” I believe that this statement goes back to the idea of someone being an adulteress, meaning someone who is being unfaithful to God (James 4:4). James is now taking us into the very power that it is ours when our behavior and lifestyle is consistent with our faith in Jesus.

To “cleanse our hands” is to say, “We should live in such a way as to please God.” But our actions, attitudes, and words flow from our hearts therefore James adds, “Purify your hearts.” There is a passage that Peter gives us regarding our efforts to evangelize the world. He says:

…but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence…

                                                                                                                   1 Peter 3:15 

In this passage, Peter instructs us to always be ready to tell others about what Jesus has done for us. He tells us to do so with gentleness and respect for the one listening. But this all begins when we “sanctify Christ as Lord in our hearts.” Without this positioning of Jesus on the throne of our lives, our efforts to evangelize will fall short.

I believe that this is what James is saying. In order for our actions to be “cleansed,” our hearts have to be “purified.” By doing so, we are demonstrating that we have indeed submitted to the authority of God, that we are the recipients of His grace, and that we will not be counted among those who are “double-minded.” Our confession of faith, our lifestyle, and our treatment of others will then be consistent, giving us the power to affect the world with the good news of Jesus!