A Commentary on the Epistle of James, Chapter Four

In the first part of the fourth chapter of the epistle of James, the author had written about the unanswered selfish prayers of those people that primarily pray for what they want. The obvious conclusion is that truly godly people should always pray for what the Lord wants of them rather than for what they might hope to get for themselves from Him. In the second part of the fourth chapter, he had written about the importance of putting the Lord first in all things. The reasons for doing that are many. It is important to live a holy life. It is important for the saints of God to hold up each other. It is important for them to not extinguish the work of the Holy Spirit by their own works of unrighteousness. Then in the third part of the fourth chapter of his epistle, James had given his recipe for holy living. It is to simply submit oneself to the Lord and to resist the devil. Finally, he had written in the fourth part of the fourth chapter of his epistle about the importance of the saints of God NOT speaking inappropriately or harshly about one another or to one another. He then concluded the fourth chapter by telling them that it would be sin for them to NOT do those things that he had called the good works of those that are in Christ.