SCRIPTURE: James 4:13-17 (ESV)
DATE: 5-24-26
As always, it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time, if you’re joining us at our North Main Campus, or are with our friends in Bucyrus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.
And for our Gateway folks, I know it’s been a while since you’ve heard me welcome our friends in Bucyrus. As you may remember, their new pastor started back in March, but he has a few family events in May — including this weekend — so they’re joining us today while he’s away.
PASTORAL PRAYER
INTRODUCTION
We’re continuing our series in the book of James this weekend. We’re learning from the younger brother of Jesus, who believed that his older brother was God. Now — in his letter — James has taken some teachings from his older brother and is showing us how to apply what Jesus taught to everyday life. Thus — when we listen to James — we’re learning what it means to be wise — for wisdom is taking God at his Word and applying it to our lives.
And if you want to talk about a practical topic, well, our topic for today is right up there in practicality. Our topic for today is arrogance. Christian or not, arrogance is something you’re familiar with. And arrogance is something that — for most of us — is quite the turn off when we see it in other people. While — at the same time — arrogance is something that’s often hard to see in ourselves.
So arrogance is the very practical topic that wisdom wants to speak to us about today from the book of James. So let’s see what wisdom has for us. We’ll be in James chapter four today. James chapter four — looking at verses thirteen through seventeen together. We’re in James chapter four — beginning in verse thirteen. There we read…
James 4:13–17 ESV
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
The reason why we’re focusing on the topic of arrogance is because of the key verse in our passage, which is verse sixteen. It says…
James 4:16 ESV
16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
Writing to Christians, James says that some of them boast in their arrogance — and he calls such boasting evil. So it’s not just that we’re arrogant — we boast in our arrogance. Boasting means to pride oneself in. It means to glory in. To speak loudly about. But where does all of this come from — the things that we pride ourselves in, and glory in, and speak loudly about — what’s the source of all of this? Our arrogance, James says.
Now, for those who follow Jesus, instead of boasting in our arrogance, we’re told to boast in other things.
Romans 5:1–5 ESV
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in (or we boast in the) hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in (or we boast in) our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
To rejoice in is the same as boasting in. And…
Romans 5:11 ESV
11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
And…
1 Corinthians 1:28–31 ESV
28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
That last phrase is repeated in another of Paul’s letters…
2 Corinthians 10:17 ESV
17 “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
Boast in the hope we have in God. Boast in our sufferings. Boast in God. Boast in the Lord. And…
2 Corinthians 11:30 ESV
30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.
Boast in our weakness, which Paul expands on later when he heard these words spoken to him…
2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV
9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
What else are we to boast in?
Galatians 6:14 ESV
14 But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
And…
Philippians 3:3 ESV
3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in (or boast) Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—
What is your life boasting in? The hope you have in God? In your sufferings? In God? In the Lord? In your weakness? In Christ and his cross? Or in your arrogance?
Though we easily see arrogance in our culture, James wants us to look in a mirror. Because arrogance isn’t just something out there — arrogance isn’t just something those people struggle with — once again, James goes straight for us. Straight for you. Straight for me. He wants us to do some honest self-examination of our own arrogance and our boasting in it. And he gives us two ways to examine our lives for arrogance, then offers a solution for overcoming it.
To examine our lives for arrogance, he’ll have us look at our view of our future and our view of our sin. He’s going to force us to ask whether we have an arrogant view of our future and of our sin, for these are two ways to examine our lives for arrogance. Then James will give us the solution for our arrogance. Let me show you.
ARROGANT ABOUT OUR FUTURE
We’ll begin with our arrogant view of our future. We’re in verse thirteen. There, James writes…
James 4:13–14 ESV
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
The question James asks is this: “How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow?” Why do you arrogantly think that tomorrow’s guaranteed?
James uses merchants for his illustration, but he’s not against those who work in sales. What James is pointing out to all of us — regardless of our vocation — is the arrogance of how we think we’re in charge of our future. The arrogance of thinking we’re in control. The way that we live life as if it’s just going to go on and on and on.
Jesus once spoke about this.
Luke 12:16–20 NLT
16 Then he told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. 17 He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ 18 Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. 19 And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ 20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’
God isn’t opposed to us making plans, but he is opposed to us making plans as if we’re the ones in charge instead of him. He’s God. Not us. Thus, our plans for the future should be made with the recognition that God’s plan is what will ultimately take place in our lives.
Additionally, James tells us that our lives are like a mist, a vapor, a puff of smoke. James’ point is pretty simple: Life is short — which is why he wants us to think biblically about the future.
Maybe James was thinking of…
Proverbs 27:1 ESV
1 Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.
Or how we’re to…
Job 7:7 ESV
7 Remember that my life is a breath…
Or…
Psalm 39:5–6 ESV
5 Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! 6 Surely a man goes about as a shadow! Surely for nothing they are in turmoil; man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!
I got quite a few comments the last time I pointed out what a handbreadth is and how it illustrates our life. This is a handbreadth. Four fingers. Each finger represents a quarter of a person’s life. We’ll round the numbers to make this easy math for all of us.
The first finger represents your first twenty years of life. The second finger is years twenty-one to forty. The third finger is forty-one to sixty. Once you pass sixty, this is it — just one finger left. And it’s on the way down. A sobering and humbling reminder of how brief our lives are.
Don’t fool yourself. Don’t try to say, “Well, I know I’m in my sixties — or older — but I’m still only on finger three.” You’re not! I’m not saying that to be mean to you. Lord willing, I’ll make it to the fourth finger someday. I tell you this because God doesn’t want you to waste your life. And the way you don’t waste your life is by recognizing how quickly it’s passing.
One day, you’re young enough to play soccer with your kindergartners, and — what seems like the next day — though it’s been nearly two decades — you’re twisting your ankle because you’re not as young as you used to be, right?
About James’ point, one author has said, “This world tells us to live like we’re going to be here forever, urging us to make our plans, acquire our possessions, and work to build our portfolio. But James tells us to submit to God. Don’t live like you’re going to be here forever. Instead, live, plan, and work as if your life is short and you don’t want to waste it. Live like you want to spend your life humbly before the sovereignty of God and ultimately for the glory of God. As the people of God, we ought to make our lives — the mist that comprises who we are for the short while we’re here — count under his sovereignty for his glory.”
ARROGANT ABOUT OUR SIN
That’s how we end up with a “boasting in our arrogance” view of our future. Now we turn to our arrogant view of our sin. We’re in verse seventeen. There we read…
James 4:17 ESV
17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
It’s common for people to think of sin as doing what God has said, “Don’t do.” Don’t commit adultery. Don’t lie. Don’t steal. And so on. Where sin, for many people, is defined as doing what God has told us not to do. And, I want to be clear, that is sin. It’s sinful to do something that God has told us not to do. But that’s only one aspect of sin. That’s what theologians have called sins of commission — where we commit sin by doing something we know we’re not supposed to do.
But there’s another aspect of sin — not doing the things we know we should do. These are sins of omission. Where God has given a command to do this or that — a command that, when ignored — or omitted — is an act of sin. James touched on this earlier in his letter when he wrote…
James 1:27 ESV
27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
To not care for orphans and widows or to not keep oneself unstained from the world — to disobey by not doing them — is to sin. Not by what you do, but are acts of sin by what you don’t do.
James also touched on this when he wrote…
James 2:8–9 ESV
8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
Showing partiality — or favoritism — is a sin of commission. Not loving your neighbor as yourself — even if you don’t show partiality — is a sin of omission.
Again, in the church culture that most of us are familiar with, sins of commission — lying, stealing, homosexuality, pornography, and so on — are the sins that have gotten the majority of our attention. But sins of omission — not loving your neighbor as yourself, not loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, not being generous and kind and merciful — these sins of omission are just as sinful in God’s sight.
And those who are arrogant don’t see this. They think, much like the Pharisees in Jesus’ day.
Matthew 15:1–9 NLT
1 Some Pharisees and teachers of religious law now arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They asked him, 2 “Why do your disciples disobey our age-old tradition? For they ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat.” 3 Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God? 4 For instance, God says, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’ 5 But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ 6 In this way, you say they don’t need to honor their parents. And so you cancel the word of God for the sake of your own tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, 8 ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 9 Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’”
“Mom and dad, I can’t help you because I’ve been so generous to God’s church” doesn’t cut it with Jesus. Just like “God, I can’t be generous to your church because I’m being so generous to my parents,” or to some other cause or organization, doesn’t work. Similarly, Jesus said…
Matthew 23:23 NLT
23 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.
Obeying one command — to tithe — doesn’t offset when we fail to obey other commands — like being just, merciful, and faithful. Only the arrogant would think that God would wink an eye at disobedience in one area of our lives because of obedience in another.
As we read elsewhere…
Luke 19:11–27 NLT
11 The crowd was listening to everything Jesus said. And because he was nearing Jerusalem, he told them a story to correct the impression that the Kingdom of God would begin right away. 12 He said, “A nobleman was called away to a distant empire to be crowned king and then return. 13 Before he left, he called together ten of his servants and divided among them ten pounds of silver, saying, ‘Invest this for me while I am gone.’ 14 But his people hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want him to be our king.’ 15 “After he was crowned king, he returned and called in the servants to whom he had given the money. He wanted to find out what their profits were. 16 The first servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made ten times the original amount!’ 17 “‘Well done!’ the king exclaimed. ‘You are a good servant. You have been faithful with the little I entrusted to you, so you will be governor of ten cities as your reward.’ 18 “The next servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made five times the original amount.’ 19 “‘Well done!’ the king said. ‘You will be governor over five cities.’ 20 “But the third servant brought back only the original amount of money and said, ‘Master, I hid your money and kept it safe. 21 I was afraid because you are a hard man to deal with, taking what isn’t yours and harvesting crops you didn’t plant.’ 22 “‘You wicked servant!’ the king roared. ‘Your own words condemn you. If you knew that I’m a hard man who takes what isn’t mine and harvests crops I didn’t plant, 23 why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’ 24 “Then, turning to the others standing nearby, the king ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one who has ten pounds.’ 25 “‘But, master,’ they said, ‘he already has ten pounds!’ 26 “‘Yes,’ the king replied, ‘and to those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. 27 And as for these enemies of mine who didn’t want me to be their king — bring them in and execute them right here in front of me.’”
The third servant was wicked — not because of what he did with the king’s money — commission — but because of what he didn’t do with it — omission.
And as Jesus warns about the final judgment, when we’ll all stand before God…
Matthew 25:31–46 NLT
31 “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left. 34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ 37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ 41 “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. 42 For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. 43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’ 44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’ 45 “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’ 46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”
CONCLUSION: OVERCOMING OUR ARROGANCE
Finally, the cure to our arrogance. Here’s how we overcome our arrogance. We’re in verse fifteen.
James 4:15 ESV
15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”
The phrase “Lord willing” has been used in various ways by God’s people. Some say it like a magical phrase that guarantees God will make your plans happen. Others say it in a way that seems to express doubt: “I’ll be married some day, Lord willing.” Others think it’s something that must be said in order to show God and others that you know he’s really in charge.
Regardless of your experience with the phrase, know that it is a biblical idea. The apostle Paul uses it.
Acts 18:21 ESV
21 But on taking leave of them he said, “I will return to you if God wills,” and he set sail from Ephesus.
To others, he said…
1 Corinthians 4:19 ESV
19 I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power.
But one thing to note is that Paul doesn’t always use the phrase when discussing his plans.
Now, neither James nor Paul want us to be fatalists. Where we’re all like, “Whatever happens will happen.” As we saw earlier, the issue isn’t that we make plans. The issue is that we think we’re in charge when we make plans. And what the phrase “If the Lord wills” makes clear is that we’re not in charge. God is.
It’s not if we say “Lord willing,” then he’ll do what we want. It’s not an expression of doubt. It’s not even about making sure God knows that we know he’s in charge — he already knows what we think. Instead, “Lord willing” is us acknowledging that God is God and we’re not. He’s in charge, we’re not. But just because God’s in charge doesn’t mean we’re free to just sit back and let whatever’s gonna happen to happen.
Think about it. If that’s what God wanted — for us to just sit back and let whatever’s gonna happen happen — why would he give us commands to obey? His commands are pointless if “whatever’s gonna happen will happen” is the motto he wants us to live by. Even James has given us plenty of commands to obey throughout his letter, so he’s probably not now saying, “I take it all back. Let whatever’s gonna happen just happen. Forget all of those commands I wrote down earlier in my letter.”
Instead, the posture of the follower of Jesus is to be one in which every breath we take, every thought we have, every plan we make, and every action we do is done while acknowledging that God’s in charge. Where we live, aware that we’re alive right now — taking this breath, having this thought, making this plan, doing this action — because God is being sovereignly gracious to me. James wants us to have that kind of mindset. A mindset that when asked…
1 Corinthians 4:7 ESV
7 What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?
We won’t boast. For we’re the people who recognize that every good gift comes from our Father in heaven. We’ll live with a mindset that could be summed up with…
Acts 17:28 ESV
28 ‘In him we live and move and have our being.’
Where, with King David, we say…
Psalm 40:8 NLT
8 I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are written on my heart.”
And where our life’s prayer is…
Psalm 143:10 NLT
10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing.
As we remember the words of Jesus, that…
Mark 3:35 NLT
35 Anyone who does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”
As we also remember him saying…
Matthew 7:21 NLT
21 “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.
Thus, Peter encourages us…
1 Peter 4:2 ESV
2 to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.
And we do so knowing that though…
1 John 2:17 ESV
17 The world is passing away along with its desires, [Christians know that] whoever does the will of God abides (or lives) forever.
The cure for our arrogance is knowing and doing God’s will. And, for those who do, the promise — which is guaranteed to them — is that they will live with their God forever.
I’m not sure what your view of your future or of your sin is. What I can guess, though, is that if God’s will isn’t yet the cure for either, you’re probably stressed, irritable, angry, short-tempered, not happy about life, your relationships are a mess, people probably talk about you behind your back (which you’re probably aware of), and you’ve not experienced any sort of lasting joy. And what I want you to know is that all of that can change. It can. If you submit yourself to the will of God, and allow your life to be a “if the Lord wills” boasting kind of life. Let’s pray.
PRAYER
Father in Heaven, thank you for your perfect will. Thank you for making your will known to us. Your will in saving a people to be your own. Your will for how you want those whom you’ve saved to live through your good commands. Your will for us to repent when we sin. And your will to forgive us when we come to you in repentance. Thank you for your good and perfect will.
Holy Spirit, remind us of your will. Help us to remember — for we are such a forgetful people. Reveal to us sins of commission — where we commit acts of disobedience against your commands. And reveal to us sins of omission — where we omit and don’t do what you’ve told us to do. Purify our hearts and cleanse us from our sin — especially the sin of arrogance.
And, Jesus, we desire pure hearts so that when we boast, our boast is in you and your cross and your great love for people. In this world of boasting — where people are known for their boasting in themselves — may we be a people who are known for our boasting in you. By the words we say and by the lives we live as we live an “if the Lord wills” kind of life for your glory.
And we pray all of this in your name. Amen.
BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available)
May you go living an “if the Lord wills” boasting kind of life. Amen.
God loves you. I love you. You are sent.