“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.’ Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.’ But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:13-17).
The passage above is often cited to emphasize the uncertainty and brevity of life. It also teaches us the importance of remembering our dependence upon God (“If the Lord wills…”). In this article, we are going to consider four lessons from this passage. Forgetting these lessons will always lead us into sin. We will notice how that happens.
Mindfulness – “If the Lord wills”
We must always be conscious of God. Paul told the brethren in Philippi, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4). At all times and forevermore we should be able to rejoice in the Lord. This necessitates a mindfulness of Him. How can we keep God in our consciousness?
- Recognize how God has blessed us – James wrote, “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow” (James 1:17). Every good thing we have in this life is a blessing from God. The Creation itself is a witness to Him (Romans 1:20).
- Regularly read, study, and meditate upon His word – Paul told Timothy, “Give attention to…reading of Scripture” (1 Timothy 4:13). We need to have God’s word “treasured in [our] heart” (Psalm 119:11).
- Regularly pray to God – Paul told the Romans that they were to be “continuing steadfastly in prayer” (Romans 12:12, NKJV). We are to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17), regularly making our “requests…known to God” (Philippians 4:6-7).
Failing to keep God in our consciousness leads to sin. Paul explained that this was the reason why the Gentiles multiplied their sin: “And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper” (Romans 1:28). Why does this lead to more and more sin? When we forget God, we forget the consequences for disobeying God. As a result, we will sin (cf. Romans 3:10-18).
Humility – “You boast in your arrogance”
We need to recognize our place in life. David properly understood this: “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have ordained; what is man that You take thought of him, and the son of man that You care for him?” (Psalm 8:3-4). Some have an inflated sense of self-esteem – which is really just self-centeredness. They “think more highly of [themselves] than [they] ought to think” (Romans 12:3).
We should remember that we have been created by God: “It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves” (Psalm 100:3). Furthermore, He created us for a purpose – to “fear God and keep His commandments” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). Humbly recognizing our place in God’s creation and our purpose in life will lead to obedience. We are to “take up [our] cross daily and follow [Him]” (Luke 9:23).
Failing to remain humble – and instead becoming arrogant – will result in sin. The wise man said, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling” (Proverbs 16:18). Why does arrogance lead to sin? It is because we come to think that we need nothing from God – including forgiveness. This was the problem with the church in Laodicea. They thought they had “need of nothing” when in fact they were “wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked” and needed to “repent” (Revelation 3:15-19).
Mortality – “You are just a vapor…”
We must understand that death could come at any time for us. Similar to what James wrote, the psalmist said, “Man is like a mere breath; his days are like a passing shadow” (Psalm 144:4). Death is a consequence of sin being introduced into the world. “In Adam all die” (1 Corinthians 15:22) because when he sinned, access to the tree of life was lost (Genesis 3:22-24).
No one is immune to death. Solomon wrote, “I again saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift and the battle is not to the warriors…for time and chance overtake them all” (Ecclesiastes 9:11). In other words, even those who seem to be the strongest and most able to survive are still mortal. However, it is not just that we will die, we will be judged after death for how we have lived our lives here. “It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). This judgment will be based upon “what [we have] done, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10).
Failing to recognize that our life is a vapor will lead to sin. Why does this happen? Without acknowledging our own mortality and the fact that death could come at any time, we will have no sense of urgency to get our lives right with God. We will be like the rich man in Jesus’ parable who thought he could put off caring for his soul in order to focus on earthly matters in the moment (Luke 12:19-21). Not only could our death come at any time, but the Lord could return at any time as well. Peter wrote, “The day of the Lord will come like a thief” (2 Peter 3:10). Therefore, we must always be ready for our appointment before the judgment seat of Christ.
Submission – “If the Lord wills, we will…do this or that”
We must seek to do God’s will in all things. Paul wrote, “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Colossians 3:17). We often apply this passage to what we do collectively as a church. It certainly applies since the church has been given the role of being “the pillar and support of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15). Therefore, we must “retain the standard of sound words” (2 Timothy 1:13). However, this is not limited to congregational action.
We must submit to the Lord’s will in our individual lives. Peter wrote, “But like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’ If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth” (1 Peter 1:15-17). The Lord will judge “each one’s work.” Therefore, we must “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). We do this by serving Him exclusively, as Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other” (Matthew 6:24).
Failing to submit to God’s will in all things means we sin. John wrote, “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4). Sin is defined as lawlessness – acting without regard to the law of God. The reason why a failure to submit to God results in sin is because we will always submit to someone or something. Paul explained, “When you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey; either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness” (Romans 6:16). If we are not serving God, then we are serving sin.
Conclusion
James concluded: “To one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:17).
- If we know what is right but ignore God, we will see no reason or motivation to do what is right.
- If we know what is right but lack humility, we will see no reason to deny self in order to do what is right.
- If we know what is right but ignore the brevity of life, we will see no reason to give up sin right now.
- If we know what is right but have no desire to submit to God’s will, we will serve another master (sin).
These reasons are why James said we must say, “If the Lord will, we will live and also do this or that” (James 4:15). We must always be conscious of God, remain humble, recognize the brevity of life, and submit to Him.
