Faith Works - In Strife

James 4:1-12 NIV 

[1] What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? [2] You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. [3] When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. [4] You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. [5] Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? [6] But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” [7] Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. [8] Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. [9] Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. [10] Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. [11] Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. [12] There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor? 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jas.4.1-12.NIV)

The Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post recently reported on something of an epic meltdown. A child was visiting a Chinese influencer's apartment. The influencer had a jewellery adorned Labubu doll – a highly fashionable plush toy. The child wanted to have it. The influencer refused. The child threw an epic tantrum, grabbed a nearby TV remote control device, threw it, smashed a chandelier and caused USD 56,000 worth of damage. 

Here is where many of us wonder how such a thing could happen. We may even cast aspersions on the parents for having a child who behaves like that. 

But the reality is that entitlement is an epidemic in our society. We have raised our children to be confident and forthright – nothing wrong with that. Ally this to the natural arrogance of youth and social media ‘fame’ and you have a toxic mixture. Influencers the world over have become notorious for poor attitudes and behaviour.

We shouldn’t think this is confined only to the ‘would-be, pseudo-famous’. I recently heard an advert that played over and over again on a streaming service which began ‘I used to be humble when I booked hotels...’, as if being humble was a negative trait! 

Look around the world. Just look. All over the world, unreasonable and unwarranted territorial claims are causing wars and conflicts. Populations live in fear because nations battle over their entitlement. 

It’s not okay. It’s really not. 

In these verses, James dealt with the unwelcome sense of entitlement that has snuck into the early church. He provided an antidote – one which was neither fashionable, desirable or popular, but which worked. This antidote settles down the battles within our churches and restores peace. 

Do you want to know what it is? 

Keep reading! 

We’ll look firstly, then at The Cause of Strife. 

The Cause of Strife 

James 4:1-3 NIV 

[1] What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? [2] You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. [3] When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jas.4.1-3.NIV)

James, once again, does not fail to hit the mark. 

A number of years ago, the cohesion of my team at work was at risk because the higher ups set in place a bonus system that would pit team members against each other. It was not a good idea. People suddenly became jealous of each other. They complained about each other behind their bosses. They tried to run each other down. 

The irony is that the bonuses looked good, but by the time they hit our pay packets and deductions were taken off, they weren’t actually worth that much. 

It was all a bit of a waste of time and effort. 

I talked to a doctor once who had treated a number of people from a certain company’s sales team for stress. The reason why was downright odious. The sales team had a small basic pay packet, but could augment it by hitting certain targets in return for bonuses. The only thing is that when the sales targets were reached, the company didn’t actually pay the bonuses at all, they simply moved the target out a bit more. 

In both cases, people were driven to get what they want. The only problem is that when they got it, what they wanted was not worth the effort. 

James exposes here the folly of people using that kind of go-getter mentality in the church (remember: this letter was written to the Jewish Christian church across the known world). They had set themselves targets. They had strived to get what they want. They had prayed earnestly to get what they want. 

But they hadn’t got it. And their disappointment was likely causing them to turn on other people in the church. 

James outlines why their cunning plan didn’t work in four absolutely devastating phrases: 

‘You desire, but you don’t have, so you kill’. This ought to be shocking. James is accusing his fellow believers of breaking the sixth commandment (Exodus 20:13; Deuteronomy 5:17).  

Now, it could be that James meant this literally. Or it could be that he was referring to this teaching from Jesus: 

Matthew 5:21-22 NIV 

[21]  “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ [22] But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/mat.5.21-22.NIV)

Either way, his point remains the same. In their unreasoned lust (which is an alternate translation of the word translated ‘desire’ in the NIV), they have turned aside from love to murderous hatred for their fellow believer.  

It’s shocking. It ought to be shocking. But it is true. 

‘You covet, but you cannot get, so you quarrel and fight’. Now James moves from the sixth commandment to the tenth (Exodus 20:17; Deuteronomy 5:21). Let me explain here the difference between jealousy and covetousness. Jealousy seeks to hang on to something it already has; covetousness seeks to take something someone else has. This is a driven desire to have the power, position, influence, wealth or opportunities that someone else has, often at any cost, and a sheer frustration that it isn’t happening. 

What we are talking about here is the absolute antithesis of faith. Faith trusts that all good gifts come from God (James 1:17). Faith believes that God works every situation for the good (Romans 8:28). Faith does not want for anything because it has made the Lord its shepherd (Psalm 23:1). 

And so it is utterly unthinkable for someone with faith to covet what another person has or is. It is even more unthinkable for them to translate that covetousness into rumour, innuendo, gossip, backbiting, casting aspersions, making up false allegations or provoking quarrels and fights. 

Every part of this – every single part – is the direct result of a fleshly and worldly viewpoint.

The only way someone could possible covet anything someone else has is if they perceive themselves to be on the ladder of souls and they perceive someone else to be at least one rung ahead of them.  

But God says this is wrong. 

Do you see it? 

We should not compare ourselves to other people. We should not measure ourselves against other people. If we seek to be like, or to be better than, other people, then we are following them, not Jesus. 

Covetousness is the spirit of this age. Influencer culture and advertising are one hundred percent built on the idea of covetousness. Their idea is to make you covet something you don’t have, but they do, so that you will part with your hard-earned cash. 

It is nothing short of a tragedy when this culture enters into the church. That is why covetousness and envy are absolutely out of the question for any Christian: 

1 Peter 2:1 NIV 

[1] Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/1pe.2.1.NIV)

Galatians 5:19-21 NIV 

[19] The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; [20] idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions [21] and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/gal.5.19-21.NIV)

Understand this and understand it clearly: envy and covetousness are enemies of your soul, enemies of your peace, enemies of your well-being. They have to go. End of. 

‘You do not have because you do not ask God’. In other words, such people follow the lead of Abraham and Sarah, who had no child, but connived to have one of their own (Genesis 16). That did not end well.  

These people also take matters into their own hands. That is why they kill, they quarrel, they fight. It does not enter their minds to ask God for the thing they feel they lack. And the reason why is in the next phrase: 

‘When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures’. 

What an indictment! 

And what did James mean by ‘pleasures’? The Greek word here is ‘hedoné’, from where we derive the English word ‘hedonism’.  

In other words, these people don’t receive what they want from God because they are going to spend it on sensual pleasures: on building their kingdom, not God’s; on pleasing themselves, not God; on worshipping themselves, not God. 

And God will not be mocked (Galatians 6:7). 

Do you honestly think that God would bankroll a life lived in utter disobedience to Him? It stands to reason that eventually the provision will stop. 

So are we saying? 

Strife within the Body of Christ is almost never due to theological differences. These can be worked out, if we are reasonable. 

No, are due to sinful, self-centred desires for power and position and influence and wealth.

None of which has anything to do with following Jesus. None of it. 

This is true at a confessional or denominational level. It is also true at an individual level. 

If we have been a part of this, then we absolutely must repent. 

So we see, then, the cause of strife. And it isn’t pretty. 

But who are The Contenders in Strife? 

The Contenders in Strife 

James 4:4-11 NIV 

[4] You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. [5] Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? [6] But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” [7] Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. [8] Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. [9] Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. [10] Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. [11] Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jas.4.4-11.NIV)

I know how sensitive this subject is. I live in the west of Scotland, not far from a memorial to the Covenanters, who are frequently eulogised for standing up and resisting the intention to dominate the Presbyterian church in Scotland with Catholic-leaning High Anglicans. They did so violently. 

European history in particular is riven with violent battles between different churches and denominations. Wars at a national scale have taken place on several occasions over doctrinal minutiae. Battles are still commemorated. Kings and leaders are often venerated. 

But while victors may well revel in their victories and losers mourn their defeat, one aspect of this has long been forgotten:  

The biggest loser on this civilised continent has been the Gospel. There can be little doubt about that. 

I see no reason to commemorate with joy battles and wars that have turned people away from the Gospel in their millions. 

James saw this happening on a small scale, and he does not hold back in his utter condemnation of those who have participated in it. He absolutely does not see them as valiant heroes. Instead, they are clearly villains. He passed six verdicts on these people – each one as hard as the last.  

Now, as we go through these verdicts, you may well find them offensive. Please note that I am only quoting from James and explaining it. If you feel uncomfortable about it, please take that issue to God in prayer. 

He called them adulterers. 

Right away, that is a startling accusation to make.  

It has its roots in covenantal and relational unfaithfulness, as the prophet Hosea modelled when God asked him to marry an unfaithful woman (Hosea 1:2, 3:1). The point in this is stark: the Jews had an exclusive relationship with God; they were violating this with idolatry. 

But how could this be happening in the church? 

To answer that question, we must understand the call we all have to seek the Kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33). If we are fighting to get what we want above all else, we are building our little fiefdom, our kingdom, not God’s. 

Worse, the division we cause shows that we care little God’s glory, and are instead seeking our own. 

When we do these things, we dethrone God and become our own idol.  

So yes, we have become spiritually adulterous. 

Secondly, James called them enemies. But not of James or each other – of God! 

Why? 

Because they had become friends with the world. They were following the world’s agenda.

At the time, the Romans and the Jews were attacking the church from the outside. But those who imported division into the church were doing their work for them and destroying the church from the inside. So yes, they were doing the world’s work. 

Thirdly, he called them proud. I have lived through multiple church divisions, and I can tell you that this is always the case. James is spot on here. Divisions are always caused by proud people who are utterly convinced that they are right, even if, by causing division, they automatically make themselves wrong. 

Fourthly, he called them sinners. This, again, is quite an accusation. But look at what they are doing in verses 1 to 4! How could this be anything but sin? 

Fifthly, he calls them double-minded. 

This has two senses. It has the senses of a divided loyalty, between God and worldly, fleshly divisiveness. That much is clear. 

But it also has the sense of doubt: of doubting God will provide what you want, and so you set out to get what you want by any means necessary, even if that means dismembering the Body of Christ and trashing His church. 

Quite the accusation, again. 

Sixthly, he called them slanderers. In Biblical terms, and in legal terms, we slander someone when we accuse them of wrongdoing without any basis in fact. We do it not because it’s true, but to weaken their position and strengthen ours.

Let me tell you, from the church divisions I have seen, this is very, very real. When parties develop in a church, or indeed any other way, they quickly become amplifiers and echo chambers. They are like a fairground hall of mirrors for the truth. Everything becomes warped and distorted. Before you know it, serious and inaccurate accusations are hurled at the opposite side. 

This is a terrible situation to be in. Jesus is the truth (John 14:6). The devil is the father of lies (John 8:44). Whenever you spread things that are not true to get your way, regardless of the cause, you are not doing God’s will – you are doing satan’s bidding. Which is why James doesn’t bother debating the ‘justification’ for slander, he just tells the first century believers to stop it. 

These behaviours are nothing short of appalling. They are straight out of the playbook of the works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21). Remember Paul’s stern warning to the Galatians: 

Galatians 5:21 NIV 

[21]  I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/gal.5.21.NIV)

There is no sense anywhere in the Bible of the ends ever justifying the means. On the authority of the Word of God, I need to tell you that if you are involved in any kind of divisive activity in your church, or anywhere else for that matter, you must stop and you must repent.

Apart from the cause of strife and contenders in strife, we also see The Cure for Strife. 

The Cure for Strife 

James 4:6-10 NIV 

[6] But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” [7] Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. [8] Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. [9] Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. [10] Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jas.4.6-10.NIV)

In some of the wilder areas around Scotland, you will often find stinging nettles. Or rather, if you are walking around the wilder areas of Scotland, sometimes the stinging nettles will find you. And when they do, you will know all about it. They produce a hot, itchy rash-like wound which is profoundly irritating, although not dangerous. 

The traditional cure for this itch is something unusual. Pretty much always, close to areas where nettles grow you will find green-leafed plants called dock leaves. Rubbing these leaves against the wound is supposed to take away the itch, although there is little scientific evidence that it actually works.

Traditional remedies abound. Some work and have some scientific. Others have a placebo effect. Some are ineffective. Some are even harmful. 

Here we see a remedy for strife within any relationship, but especially within the church.

Now, if you’re caught up in a divisive argument, you will baulk at this, because at no point in these verses does it say that the cure for strife is for you to be proven right and the other party to be proven wrong. It’s very important for me to say that. 

You’ll find out why as we go through these verses. 

But this cure, like dock leaves, is one that may else be questioned and disputed. 

The cure is one simple word: humility. 

The word means ‘to lower; to take the lowest place’.  

That might be the last thing you think of when it comes to solving strife. However, when we roll back to the cause of strife, it makes sense. 

Remember, strife comes when we view ourselves as being on a ladder of souls: we kick out at others below us to keep them beneath us; we grasp and grapple at those above us so that we can climb over them. Life becomes one long ‘keeping up with the Jones’s’ type struggle. All our days, we are constantly fighting to be better than other people. 

But, as we saw earlier, that is absolutely not, in any way, shape or form, the Christian viewpoint. There is only one metric we should measure ourselves against, and that is the glory of God. How do we measure up against it? 

Romans 3:22-24 NIV 

[22] This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, [23] for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, [24] and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/rom.3.22-24.NIV)

We fail. We all fail. Until Jesus justified and redeemed us on the cross. 

Because of this, we have no grounds for boasting (1 Corinthians 1:26-31; Galatians 6:14). We have no grounds for believing that we are any better than anyone else – because we are not.  

And so in humility, we have to recognise who we are: nothing more than redeemed sinners, saved by grace, and not by out own works. 

Because of this, as Paul told the church at Philippi, we should act with humility towards our fellow Christians, even those with whom we disagree: 

Philippians 2:1-4 NIV 

[1] Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, [2] then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. [3] Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, [4] not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/php.2.1-4.NIV)

And why should we have this humble attitude that raises others up instead of pulling them down? Because that is what Jesus did for us (Philippians 2:5-11). 

That is why, in the midst of legal disputes with their fellow believers that had gotten well out of hand (1 Corinthians 6:1-11), Paul asked them this hard rhetorical question:

1 Corinthians 6:7 NIV 

[7]  Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/1co.6.7.NIV)

We are told that we should fix our eyes on eternal things (2 Corinthians 4:18), not temporal things. When we scrap hard for temporal things that, in the grand scheme of things, don’t matter, we prove to ourselves and to others that we are more concerned with our glory than we are the glory of God, and that is a truly shameful thing to admit. 

But when we stop grasping and grabbing, when we repent of our meaningless battles and submit to God and to each other (Ephesians 5:21), when we seek to be cleansed of our sin, then we draw near to God, He draws near to us, and He lifts us up. 

Trust me: those whom God raises up, no man can ever pull down. 

The path of humility rubs against every fleshly bone in our body. But isn’t that rather the point? 

We are saved by grace through faith: by God’s work, not our work, to work. By work, we mean to obey God. God commands us to love.

Can we really then act in hatred or contempt towards another person? 

I would hope the answer is plainly obvious. 

We have seen the cause of strife, contenders in strife and the cure for strife. We will examine lastly at The Prevention of Strife. 

The Prevention of Strife 

James 4:11-12 NIV 

[11] Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. [12] There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor? 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jas.4.11-12.NIV)

I don’t think there has ever been a greater need to understand these verses than now.

For decades now, politicians have played a heinous game in order to obtain and retain power. They have used a tactic so utterly evil that it has to be called out. 

They have sought to divide us to win popularity and votes.  

They have deliberately and determinedly sought to polarise society so that they can encourage enough voters to vote for them so they can win elections.  

This ‘win at all costs’ tactic has damaged our nations’ cohesion and stability. 

It has actually worsened of late. World leaders have deliberately demonised the other side and spread awful, unfounded rumours about them to hold on to their support base. They are quite prepared to spread flagrant untruths to inflame their voters and ensure that they will not stray. The truth has become a stranger. The cost of this grossly underhand tactic for their nation means nothing at all to them. 

We in the church cannot support this and cannot tolerate it. We absolutely cannot allow this behaviour in our churches. 

It is sinful. It is ‘anti-Christ’. 

James stated that the way we stop such divisions happening in our church is simple: we stop judging each other. 

Now, we might think that we don’t do that. Judges in the UK wear a fancy white wig and ermine fringed robes and bang a gavel on their desk. That’s something very few of us do. 

But that doesn’t match with the New Testament concept of judging. 

You see, it’s not just about finding someone guilty of an offence. The Greek word for judging implied dividing: grouping people into boxes and then declaring your dislike of them. It also implied expressing a preference for one and a disregard for the other. There is also a sense of reaching a judgement and declaring it out loud. 

We have already seen that favouritism for a Christian is banned (James 2:1-13). Now James is reiterating his point: we are not justified in judging and looking down on our fellow believer.

The inclusion of slander here means that gossip, particularly when it’s distorted, exaggerated and downright untrue, is also out. 

James' reasoning is sound, but no less challenging. 

He begins by talking about the Law – which is summed up in the Royal Law to love God, our neighbours and ourselves (James 2:8, c.f. Matthew 22:34-40).  

When we breach that law by judging others (which Jesus clearly taught that we should not do – Matthew 7:1-5), we judge the Law. 

Why?  

Because we are saying, in effect, that the law us wrong and we are right.  In fact, we actually disagreeing with God, because He gave the law. How arrogant is that? 

Secondly, we don’t obey the Law. That much should be clear. The law says to love, we don’t love, therefore we are disobeying, and disobedience is sin. 

Thirdly, we forget who we are. We have no business judging our neighbours because, like them, we are hopeless recipients of grace. 

And so we reach the same conclusion as Paul reached in Galatians: 

Galatians 3:28 NIV 

[28] There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/gal.3.28.NIV)

And again, in Colossians: 

Colossians 3:11 NIV 

[11] Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/col.3.11.NIV)

And what does this mean for us? 

Colossians 3:12-14 NIV 

[12] Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. [13] Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. [14] And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/col.3.12-14.NIV)

In Christ we are equal and we are one. Strife is always wrong, even when the cause is right. 

God has placed us together in the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-31). We have no right to dismember it. 

Particularly if we’re doing it just to feed our own ego. 

Conclusion 

James 4:10 NIV 

[10] Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jas.4.10.NIV)

I am acutely aware that this post will be very controversial. I have experienced churches that have split with a great deal of acrimony over some rather banal issues, such as Bible versions used or song book choices or decor. Even many years ago, it was clear that these reasons were quite frankly idiotic and the people involved were behaving very immaturely. I'm sorry if you have strong opinions on these matters, but there really is no theological reason why any church should split because of them. 

Paul has some excellent advice on what we should do in these situations in Romans 14: 

Romans 14:1, 4, 10, 13, 19, 22 NIV 

[1] Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters.  

[4] Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand. 

[10] You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.  

[13] Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.  

[19] Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.  

[22] So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/rom.14.1-22.NIV)

Do you see the point? These are fringe issues. They are disputable matters. It is simply not worth splitting a church or causing a commotion just because you didn’t like a song or the preacher wore jeans or the walls were the wrong colour or shade. 

These issues do not matter at all! 

But what if there really is something very wrong with the church? 

Jesus gave us a procedure for dealing with this, and one we will do well to follow: 

Matthew 18:15-18 NIV 

[15]  “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. [16] But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ [17] If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector. [18]  “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/mat.18.15-18.NIV)

But what if the church is the problem? What if they are doing something you really cannot agree with? 

My advice is firstly, to ask yourself if it really is that bad. No church is perfect. There will be good people there. There will be less good people there. A church is a public place. You have to learn to get along with people who are not like you. That’s part of being in the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-26). 

If really is that bad, then I suggest you do the following: 

Find another church. 

Don’t make a fuss. Don’t make a scene. Absolutely do not start a faction to overturn the leadership. 

Just leave. Quietly. Respectfully. Calmly. Look for another church that suits you better. 

However, and this is a huge caveat, if you are leaving because something illegal happened, report it to the authorities. Give the authorities the respect they are due. Take action to prevent someone else being hurt the way you were. And then leave. 

If there are irregularities, for example, with accounting or charity law or healthy and safety or safeguarding, it is your duty as a responsible person to raise these with the church leadership. If they fail to listen, report them to the relevant authorities and then leave. 

These may seem radical, but it is crucially important that people can come to a church and feel fairly and justly treated and safe. We must take this step to ensure that these issues are dealt with appropriately. 

But what if you end up jumping from church to church like a hyperactive grasshopper and never quite find your home? 

Then it’s time to look in the mirror and ask if you are the problem. 

This study has covered some seriously unsavoury behaviour in the ancient church. We would be fools if we thought for one second that it isn’t happening now or that it can’t affect us: it is and it can. 

James was utterly uncompromising in his views of people who created a massive problem in our churches and seek to mould them in their image, not God’s.  

He highlighted the cause of strife, which is always sin. He told about the contenders in strife – note that he did not have one single nice word to say about them, not even that they were well-intentioned but misguided. In James' eyes, the very fact that they were involved at all in strife in church meant that they were wrong, even if their intentions or opinions were right.

He also talked about the cure for strife, which is humility, and the prevention of strife, which is to dispense with the party politics and stop judging other people. 

Let me state that I do not believe church should be a one-man band or a spiritualised dictatorship. There were arguments and disputes in the early church. We studied one when we looked at Galatians 2:11-21. These argument mostly occurred at inflexion points, when the church leadership needed to take decisions that would change the nature of the church. For example, we have the issue with the Greek widows in Acts 6:1-7, or the Council at Jerusalem in Acts 15:1-29. In both cases there was an issue, it was dealt with sensitively and respectfully (not at all dictatorially), a solution was found, it was set in place, and the church grew. They found a ‘win-win'. 

Acts, however, is not a whitewashed picture of the early church. It contains a fallout which was not at all handled well – the dispute between Paul and Barnabas in Acts 15:36-39. Paul later seems to have had a change if heart about the main issue in this disagreement (2 Timothy 4:11). It’s encouraging that even after such a heated argument, the issue would eventually be settled, even if after several years. 

James takes the issue of strife very seriously. And not without good reason: it’s a stain on the reputation of the church, a hindrance to the spread of the Gospel and does quite the opposite of bringing glory to God. Since pride is the cause of such strife, it stands to reason that humility is the cure. 

It doesn’t matter if you are convinced you are right or not, it's time to seek reconciliation.

After all, that’s what the Gospel is about and does (2 Corinthians 5:16-21). 

On the night when He was arrested, Jesus prayed for us: 

John 17:20-23 NIV 

[20]  “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, [21] that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. [22] I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— [23] I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jhn.17.20-23.NIV)

For us to do our job as a church and communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we must be united, otherwise we will fail. 

For us to live a life of obedience to God, we must love each other, otherwise we fail. 

The question is: are we succeeding or failing? Are we part of the solution or the problem? 

That’s something every one of us has to answer. 

Prayer 

Lord Jesus, I am challenged to the core by these verses. I repent right now of anything I've said or done that divided Your Body. I want to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. Show me how to truly love Your people. I will obey You. Amen. 

Questions for Contemplation

1. What does James say about those who are argumentative and divisive in church? 

2. Why is James so against their behaviour? 

3. What can you do to strengthen the unity of your church?