James 4:8, “Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.”
The Bible instructs the Christian believer who wants to draw close to God to
clean their hands of sin, have a pure heart instead of a double-mind, be
afflicted, mourn, weep and have a burdened heart. This all describes how God
feels about the wickedness and unbelief of the world today. God does not
laugh and mock
as the world does about sin. God hates evil, pride and arrogancy
(Proverb 8:13). God is sad and mourns over the death of the wicked (Ezekiel
33:11). God is not willing for anyone to perish in Hellfire (2nd Peter 3:9).
To be close to God, one must carry God's burden for lost sinners (Daniel
12:3; Luke 8:15; John 15:1-5; Romans 10:15; 2nd Corinthians 5:10-11). The
Bible teaches soul-winning (Proverb 11:30).
Sadly, the average born-again believer is either too spiritually immature or backslidden to mourn over sin and lost souls. As we abide in Jesus Christ and His Words abide in us, the Holy Spirit of God will cause us to have a burden over personal sin, over the wickedness of the world, and over the imminent eternal damnation of billions of lost souls in hellfire. When we draw nigh unto God, we start caring, because God cares (1st Peter 5:7). People who don't care are distant from God.
Most believers are selfish and don't care. They are “saved; yet so as by fire” (1st Corinthians 3:15). Many believers will not receive any rewards in Heaven. God wants every Christian to win souls by sharing the Gospel. Romans 10:14, “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?” If we don't warn lost sinners, then who will?
The average believer is consumed with money. They are covetous—choked by the cares, riches and pleasures of this earthly life (Luke 8:14). Jesus told us to “lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven...” (Matthew 6:20). Most believers only lay up treasures for themselves here on earth. They will be very regretful in Heaven. They are selfish toward God; never witnessing to anyone, straddling the fence and having a double-mind. The Bible teaches that a person cannot love God and money (Matthew 6:24). It's one or the other. You will either serve money or God. So many people have sold their soul to Satan for money, committing wickedness and corrupting society further. SIN CITY is all about money. 1st Timothy 6:10 teaches that the love (fondness) of money is the root of all evil. Those who love money cannot draw nigh unto God, for God will not draw nigh unto the proud (James 4:6).
Certainly God is not happy that billions of souls are bound for the Lake of Fire in their unbelief. God created Hell for the Devil and his angels, not for humanity (Matthew 25:41). Yet, God has promised to punish Christ-rejecting souls in flaming fire forever. That is exactly what God said (2nd Thessalonians 1:8-9). Something is wrong with a professed “Christian” who has no burden for the lost souls of men. The world is going to Hell, literally. Doesn't that affect you? How many people have you witnessed to lately concerning the Gospel (i.e., good news) of Christ crucified, buried and risen? Religion is a road to Hell, which most people are traveling. It is our duty to warn them that they are headed for doom.
The Bible tells us that if we want to draw nigh unto God—to have a burden over the lost, to have a heavy heart over the wickedness of society today, to weep and be afflicted, to have a pure heart concerning the truth and righteousness, to cleanse our hands of sin—and to have the mind of the Lord (Philippians 2:5).
God does not take the matter of sin lightly as so many people do today. Television is absolutely saturated with all sorts of Godless filth and wickedness. One cannot be close to God while viewing the filthy TV. The presence of God's holy Spirit and knowledge of His holy Word ought to cause us to become greatly upset over the filth on TV. I don't watch TV, it's just too evil nowadays. I want to be close to God, and the TV is rotten to the core. I don't want to be a part of America's idolatrous, child-murdering, wife-swapping, God-cursing, money-grabbing, celebrity-worshipping, party-going, booze-drinking, homo-hugging, nude, lewd and crude society. The world has become a large insane asylum. Jesus take me away!
The word “afflicted” means “to be wretched, i.e. realize one's own misery.” This is in drastic contrast to the sinful world's arrogance and pride. The Godless world rejects the term “sin” entirely, for “sin” is a Biblical term. God tells us that if we want to be close to Him, to realize our own wretchedness. The Apostle Paul knew this... Romans 7:24, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” Paul desired to live for God, yet battled with the flesh (Romans 7:14-25). Romans 7:15,18-21, “For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I ... For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.”
There are two types of believers: those who try to live right, and those who do not. Paul tried and failed, but he got back up and kept trying. To draw nigh unto God, He expects His children to try to live righteously, with the Holy Spirit's help, as Paul did. Proverb 24:16, “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.” There are no perfect people. Only Jesus is without sin (2nd Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15). Drawing nigh unto God means putting forth the effort to live for God, for God knows everyone's heart. The Bible tells us to have a pure heart. Luke 8:15 says that the believer who has “an honest and good heart” will keep God's commandments and be a soul-winner.
God tells us to turn our laughter into mourning, and our joy into weeping, and our rejoicing into heaviness, over the wickedness of the world and concerning lost sinners bound for Hell in their sins. It is the love for sin that prevents people from coming to Jesus Christ for salvation (John 3:20; 1st John 2:15-17). The thought of most people burning in Hell in eternity is very sad (Matthew 7:13-15). It's hard to truly be happy in this world knowing that most of the people I've met throughout life are going to suffer in the Lake of Fire forever (Revelation 20:11-15). Their blood won't be on my hands. I tried to warn them, but they wouldn't listen. Thankfully, some have listened and they became born-again believers, which Jesus said is the ONLY way to go to Heaven (John 3:1-7). All the religion in the world won't save you. Ye must be born-again! One cannot draw nigh unto God unless that person is saved, i.e., born-again.
As believers, James 4:7 tells us to submit unto God, resist the Devil, and Satan will flee from us.
James 4:10 tells us to humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift us up. God has His own time, which is often not according to our time. In fact, there is no time with God, for He lives in eternity.
James 4:11 forbids speaking evil one of another if we sincerely desire to walk with God. Those who slander and speak evil of others are distant from God. This is very different from exposing works of darkness as commanded in Ephesians 5:11. It is Biblical to expose those who publicly parade wickedness and attempt to justify evil. However, it is sinful to condemn anyone for their sins. God is the divine Lawgiver and Judge. The newsmedia are the rot of America. Tiger Woods has been attacked by everyone it seems. The man openly admitted he sinned, using that term, and is sorry to everyone. Despite his repentance, his career is likely finished, because everyone wants his money.
James 4:13-16 tells us that it is evil to make future plans without considering that our life is entirely in God's hands. Every plan we make should be preceded by the words “Lord willing.” Lord willing we will do this, or that, or go here, or there. If we desire to draw nigh unto God, this is the attitude God wants us to have. We must realize that God has the final say in everything in our life. God is the only Judge and we ought not condemn others for their sins (James 4:12).
