Question about James 4:4

[Godislove94]

I came across this verse the other day and it has me worried. Does this scripture basically mean that we have to have everyone in the world hate us for God to accept us?

 

[greentwiga]

I came across this verse the other day and it has me worried. Does this scripture basically mean that we have to have everyone in the world hate us for God to accept us?

No, it means that if you compromise your Christianity because you value non-Christians more, you are in trouble. I find that I can respect non-Christians and do things with them (go fishing, etc) and maintain a solid witness. They know that I won't do certain things, and at times, I will bring Jesus into the conversation. There are ways to intrigue them into wanting to continue the religious converasation.

 

[A New Day]

- James 4:4 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.

the adulterous people is used figuratively, like when someone cheats on the husband or on the wife to go after another person, the adultrerous people in that verse is the person that his heart becomes associated with other things than the Lord, it is the spiritual adultery.

and James 4:4 means that the person that no longer abides in Jesus, that the things in the world becomes the goal for him then he becomes an enemy of God that is like:

Luke 16:13 No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

- James 4:4

is more explained in

1 John 2:15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

That is in a relation with enter through the narrow gate, read about it in http://www.christianforums.com/t7788484/

 

[ViaCrucis]

I came across this verse the other day and it has me worried. Does this scripture basically mean that we have to have everyone in the world hate us for God to accept us?

No.

It's not talking about people, but being part and participant in the system of this world--this present age dominated and ruled by death, sin, suffering, violence, arrogance (etc). This world--all this death, all this sin, all this suffering, all this disease, all this violence--is antithetical to what God desires for creation, and that's why He has, is, and will save creation. That's why He sent Christ, it's why He has placed us into Christ to secure us and save us, and will raise us up on the Last Day at the Judgment, and when God makes all things new--the renewal and redemption of all creation.

Look at what St. Paul the Apostle writes in Colossians,

"He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the Church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent. For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross.

And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, He has now reconciled in His body of flesh by His death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before Him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the Gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a servant." - Colossians 1:13-23

We are, in our sin, enemies of God; and it is here that God found us, and God took us, and placed us in Christ, and in Him, have been reconciled to God. Because in our sin, we have no friendship with Him; which is why you and I cannot, by our power and strength and will come to Him, love Him or obey Him. Which is why He saves us. By Christ, who became flesh, who took us into Himself, in death; raising us up together in and with Him which is the reality preached to us in the Gospel which preaches faith to us and creates faith in us, by which all of this is effectual. That is, the Gospel makes happen what it preaches, namely forgiveness of sin, pardon, reconciliation with God, and our being saved.

If we are friends with the world--that is all this corrupt, broken, failing, falling, dying, decaying, wretched death, evil, and wrongness--which is where we are in our sin and our own mortality then we are not friends with God, we are hostile to God, because in our sin we hate God. And we prove our own hatred toward God by our sinning; recall what St. John wrote, "Whoever says they love God but hates their brother is a liar." and also St. James, "For whoever keeps the whole law, and yet stumbles in one point, has become guilty of all."

Which is why God has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His Son, He has placed us into Christ, He has "seated us in heavenly places with Christ Jesus", making us sons and daughters--heirs. No longer enemies, but children.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[spirit1st]

GOD just does not want us hanging around with evil people ! Our minds record everything and we will get all those evil thoughts in our flesh minds ! We are too LOVE all mankind !But hate the sins !

2Co_6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

Rom_12:10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;

We are to LOVE All our Brothers and Sisters in the LORD equally !
1Ti_5:21 I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality.

 

[football5680]

No. The world prefers people to be sinful and anybody who calls them out for the sinful ways will be despised. To be a Christian means you must abandon these worldly desires and if you do this and call the world out for what it is then everybody will hate you.

When it says world it does not mean the literal world. It means worldly ways, things and desires.

 

[lutherangerman]

James uses the term "world" here as synonymous with the "world of sin", or the "world of evil" not the Cosmos or World or Earth, and not society either. For example, being positive about a good country or the UNO or climate protection programs is not the same as being a "friend of the world". Apparently in James day, among the people that James spoke to, adultery was so common that he had to see it as "the ways of the world". But this isn't the case always. For example, ancient historicians made the remark once that the ancient germanic lands were very faithful in their marriages and denounced fornication too. But in the ancient Greece of James' time this was not the case and many married men had concubines and there was temple prostitution and much fornication. So he had to say that it seemed like the whole world was evil back then, which is how he came to denounce friendship with the world, as that would have meant agreement with adultery. But James was not saying he was an enemy of the world as we understand it now. Actually, contributing to building up a good world and making a better place for all is an act of love and charity and not against christian rules.

 

[RDKirk]

I came across this verse the other day and it has me worried. Does this scripture basically mean that we have to have everyone in the world hate us for God to accept us?

No. ViaCrucis says some relevant and important things here, but 1 Peter is also an important part of understanding what the Church is in the world.

1 Peter is the field manual of how to be citizens of Heaven assigned as ambassadors to the world. But an ambassador must always remember he is a "alien, pilgrim, and sojourner" wherever he is assigned. He is there to perform a mission of limited duration, then he's going home. He should never "go native."

To be "friends with the world" means to "go native"--to forget where your true hhome is and to join into the native culture.

The world is xenophobic. If we behave according to our Heavenly culture, the world will naturally distrust us, even despise us.

Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you: -- 1 Peter 4

 

[shnarkle]

I came across this verse the other day and it has me worried. Does this scripture basically mean that we have to have everyone in the world hate us for God to accept us?

shnarkle: What kind of reactions are you getting when you preach the gospel??? When you tell them that Christ died to save them from their wretched, wicked, sinful depraved lives, how do they react? The sinful world doesn't see itself as all that sinful to begin with so why would they think that what you are saying is good news? Only those who God has chosen to receive the gift of repentance are going to see what you're saying as truly good news.

 

[com7fy8]

As A New Day has quoted Luke 16:13 to say, we will learn to despise how this world would be our master. So, not only are we not friendly with Satan's kingdom and his ways of doing things, but we despise him and his ways.

Paul says, "Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world," (in Philippians 2:14-16)

Arguing . . . "disputing" . . . can be what worldly people use to get what they want. So, by not arguing we are refusing to be friends of this world. And as we refuse to argue, this can make us stronger in God's love against howsoever this evil world would effect us.

So, not being friendly with this world includes being strong in God's love so we are immune to sin-sick stuff like frustration and arguing and bitterness and unforgiveness and various other things that have us mainly concerned about our own selves.

So, we are all-loving, and this makes us not friendly with this world of people who can pick and choose who they want to love and who is worth their attention. Jesus cares about all of us; He loves us and so He so suffered and died for all (1 John 2:2), on Calvary. But this was not in order to be friendly with this world, but meant to love this world by destroying the evil works of Satan in this world (1 John 3:8, Hebrews 2:14-15).

 

[butterflyAway]

I came across this verse the other day and it has me worried. Does this scripture basically mean that we have to have everyone in the world hate us for God to accept us?

Please, never think anything like this again brother! As a Christian there is only one thing you absolutley must know for certain, just ONE thing...

You need to know and understand completely that you are made right with God and accepted by God by your faith in Jesus Christ and nothing else. Nothing else will condem you and you have nothing else to fear as long as your faith rests in Jesus Christ, the Son of God

So if you have the faith and It sounds like you do then I want you to stop worrying about Gods acceptance and stop thinking God might be unpleased with you, if you believe than you are as perfect as Jesus himself. So take it easy man! God doesn't want you to worry about this type of stuff.

Satan did the same thing to me... He had me worry about ever possible thing I was doing wrong and God ALLOWED it! God let it go on until I realized that I was saved by my faith and made right with God by faith, not deeds then I was able to just relax.

 

[Adrianmaddox]

No, not at all. It simply means that as Jesus and also Paul were persecuted for preaching the gospel we will also have to suffer persecution as a Christian as we also come out from the world.
Read the scripture below:
John 15:17-19

King James Version (KJV)

17 These things I command you, that ye love one another.
18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

 

[Godislove94]

Thinking about this again lately: so basically if all non believers aren't constantly harassing me or ready to hurt/kill me, then I'm not a real Christian? And if I happen to get along with a non believer that God is angry with me? This makes me depressed beyond anything and it's almost more than I can take.

 

[RDKirk]

Thinking about this again lately: so basically if all non believers aren't constantly harassing me or ready to hurt/kill me, then I'm not a real Christian? And if I happen to get along with a non believer that God is angry with me? This makes me depressed beyond anything and it's almost more than I can take.

No, unless you're always that melodramatic about it.

 

[hagios24]

I came across this verse the other day and it has me worried. Does this scripture basically mean that we have to have everyone in the world hate us for God to accept us?

Yes and no, we must all keep a balance on SCRIPTURE.

But, yes, to answer very simply, sister, it's not a yellow brick road. We ministers of CHRIST, you know. They hated him, big time, not just the jews. Even the romans. Everyone hated HIM. It's serious stuff. Not like we want to be hated, but we should not be phased by it, but rather rejoice, sister, because we coming from the world, ourselves, as well. From darkness. JESUS translates us over to the kingdom. Yes, we shouldn't worry about the world hating us. It hated HIM. Big time, it killed HIM. But we are commanded to show our neighbor love. We are commanded to hate the works of the world, but to love even our enemy. Show them love. Pray for them. GOD is the one in control. Not us. Not even our leaders. Our leaders don't even know what is going on half of the time.

Also, one thing that is true is just how people that come with an outward appearance you know nice clothes, nice eyes, nice body language. They seem to have all the bases covered, tend to be silver-tongued devils, really. I'm not saying all, but CHRIST commanded them to clean the inside of the cup. People like to entertain doubt. One thing that has always happened in GOD'S plan is HE has chosen the youngest and the weakest, and the least likely candidates according to men's standards. You know in the vatican they choose these old demon-like serpent-like men that just look god awful TBH, in the world's standards though they love him and think that he is god, he is just a man and a devil's child (he even worships satan openly during the easter vigil mass), but in the Kingdom GOD appoints with HIS wisdom, not our own. This world is geared towards making us fear even our own brethren. We supposed to love one another in faithfulness and truth, not fear each other, and worship one another, and be so destrought to speak the truth, bowing down, it's all idolatry, the fear of man. And setting up of idols in our temples, idolatry. And together in unity we fear the MOST HIGH GOD.

And the worst thing of course is how the kingdom of darkness only envies our king, and wants to copy cat HIM. So it makes things complicated, because people are so deceptive and liars. Who to trust? The point is that we are only supposed to trust in GOD, and in HIM and follow HIM, not the world, which is great part of the church. Read revelations what happens to the church. It gets destroyed. GOD destroyed his own temple twice. He removed the tabernacle. Then we have this new system since like JESUS... and GOD is going to destroy us again BUT NOT ALL OF US remember that. He saves HIS remnant. Fear GOD, not man. It's the same now as it was then.

If you read 2 Samuel, you will read about Babylon coming to destroy Israel and Judah (the house of David was only given Judah, that's why Jesus came for the house of Judah not all the tribes but then house of Abraham is the twelve tribes..... the point is that only 144 000 come out of the twelve tribes, not all get save, and further more, after the Hebrews, come the new covenant which is all of us even Hebrews, because the old covenant was then, now we in the new, and many more are added to 144 000 old covenant brethren, as there are 24 elders in heaven, 12 for the old and 12 for the new covenant). This is highlighted to make people understand that the outward appearance, I am this, I am that (bla bla) is nothing. You may be a catholic, or a jew, or this or that, or whatever, a distant relative of this, or your religion is this spectacular and so on and on, but that is all meaningless to GOD. GOD destroys HIS own house. Fact. And HE is going to destroy the church, lay it completely waste with HIS own hand, but save only a remnant.

The point I am making sister is that we must all fear GOD, not man. And the church is deceived, but not the whole church. GOD loves the church, and protects us from strange teachings like the queen of heaven, whom HE hates.

GOD actually says that HE hates the queen of heaven. Imagine that. Blind. The church has been so blinded.

But if that was not to add insult to injury there are all sorts of idols all over the church. So do not fear the teachings of men, but rather the instruction and commandments of GOD THE FATHER and HIS SON JESUS.