Gaining Ground in Grace Part Two

James 4:6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble."

Obviously no matter what type of grace it is we need it will not be realized without our knowing it is God we need to turn to for our help.

Are there any examples of practical indications of walking in humility before God?

James 4
1 Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?
2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.
3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
5 Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, "The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously"?
6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Here we discover there are people walking in a way that demonstrates the opposite of humility before God. Pride in mankind is a primary source of all kinds of problems. Pride is the opposite of humility.

Here humility is expressed when someone is not a friend of the world. We cannot recognize how little the world has to offer us without humility of heart. It is humility that causes us to look to God for answers and wisdom. His ways and knowledge is often contrary to what the world offers.

Here humility is expressed when someone is not looking to please themselves but are free to do for others. Being others minded and willing to serve without thinking you now owed for it is a clear expression of humility.

Here humility is expressed when someone resists the devil and turns to God for help. It leads us to the source of our strength in battle.

Here humility is expressed in a desire to draw near to God. It recognizes the importance of relationship with God and leads us to desire Him even more.

According to the Holy Ghost people with this type of attitude will experience the reality of closeness with God and a greater grace!

In speaking to a people who were suffering and struggling, the Apostle Peter moved by the Holy Ghost said things to the church he was writing to that sound very much like what James was saying to a completely different group of believers. I want us to look at it because it also addresses the entitlement attitude and speaks of the benefit of humility in a slightly different way.

Peter begins by addressing the elders of the church.

1Peter 5
1 The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed:
2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly;
3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock;
4 and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.

In addressing the elders he is saying they need to have an attitude of humility that enables them to serve the body of Christ for the right reasons. This kind of service is what Christ desires for His church. But then Peter goes on to address the younger people in the church and the church as a whole. He is dealing with how they need to relate one to another as a community of believers.

1Peter 5
5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble."

It might be that if you are experiencing resistance in your life that it is not all the devil’s work. It may be due to your own lack of humility that much of the resistance is being felt. If you are ignoring the counsel elders give you and treat them with contempt, if you dishonor parents, and if you disregard the ones God has placed in your life you should not expect God to open doors for you. Instead you should expect God to be shutting them. You may mistakenly say it is the devil when it is quite possibly God resisting you.

God wants us to be dependent upon Him and He desires that we come to Him with anything and everything that troubles us. It is also His desire that we appreciate and respect the people He has placed in our lives to help us grow spiritually and live effectively.



Tim Atchley

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