Our text is James 4:5-6. James starts this passage with a question, “Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy”?. The scripture says this but you can’t find the verse that’s being quoted anywhere else in the Bible. The scripture is saying it right here.
The answer is “no”, the scripture doesn’t say this in vain. But “yes” the spirit that dwelleth in us does lust to envy. See Prov 23:17, “Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long”.
Envy is painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another, accompanied by a desire to possess the same advantage.
The spirit in us lusts until it becomes envy, and this drives many Christians into the sin that’s in the world (Jas 4;4). This lust can be so powerful that you fail in temptation and give in to sin. This is the condition of the church today. Christians just don’t have the strength to fight it so they let it into their lives and into the church. And they think that God is okay with it.
To counter this condition in our spirit, “he giveth more grace”. The grace is greater than our sin. It’s greater than the lust and envy.
Consider the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia, 2 Cor 8:1-2. It was greater than their trial of affliction and their deep poverty. The grace God was sufficient for Paul’s thorn, as well, 2 Cor 12:7-10.
In 1930, Annie Johnson Flint wrote a hymn based on this verse titled He Giveth More Grace.
He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater;
He sendeth more strength when the labors increase.
To added affliction He addeth His mercy;
to multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.
Refrain:
His love hath no limit; His grace hath no measure.
His pow’r hath no boundary known unto men.
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again!
But there is a condition to receiving his grace. James wrote, “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble”. Our pride is evidenced by:
- A tendency to justify sinful behavior.
- A desire to get your way, despite what God’s stated will is.
- An unwillingness to change in an area that God wants changed.
- A disregard for preaching and Bible passages that address the sin that’s gotcha.
- An addictive cycle of behavior, involving the repentance of the world, 2 Cor 7:9-10 rather than a godly sorrow.
- A failure to see the real underlying cause of the sin.
- An independence from God in other areas of your life.
The trouble with this is that God resisteth the proud. Not only do you not get the grace but you get his resistance.
You must humble yourself. Discover and admit the real underlying cause of the sin. Admit you can’t get over this without the grace of God. Live continually dependent upon God throughout the day. Take instruction from God in the scripture and through the Holy Spirit to stop everything contributing to the sin (make not provision for the flesh).
God gives his grace to the humble and his grace is more than the lust. He giveth more grace.