Virtue Signaling: BTS Of Criticism

October 31st, 2021: Riverside & Lookout

We’re glad you’re here. I hope you were able to meet some new people, grab a cup of coffee, and had an easy time dropping your kids off with our kids programming. If you didn’t get a chance to meet somebody new then I hope you stay after and linger and get connected here.

No matter how you came in, (Slow down) we have a life giving message of hope for you today.

Virtue Signaling Vs. Virtue Reflecting

See my good deeds and glorify myself

See my good deeds and glorify my Father in heaven

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” - Matthew 5:16

Intro: I want to spend our time together talking about two different types of attributes that we have all experienced at some point in our lives, pride and humility. Now some of you here today would say right out of the gate “I struggle with pride. That’s me! Spare me the lecture, I know I’m proud and that’s just who I am.” Pride is a common identity that all too often creeps into our lives and begins to shape both our actions and our attitude. (Pause)

In contrast, I want to propose that the abundant life that God offers is not found in pride and arrogance, but in humility and submission to God.

Big Idea: A proud spirit leads to destruction, but a humble spirit leads to an abundant life.

Passage: James 4:1-12 CSB

What is the source of wars and fights among you? Don’t they come from your passions that wage war within you? 2 You desire and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and wage war. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and don’t receive because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. 4 You adulterous people! Don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the friend of the world becomes the enemy of God. 5 Or do you think it’s without reason that the Scripture says: The spirit he made to dwell in us envies intensely?

6 But he gives greater 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, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be miserable and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. 11 Don’t criticize one another, brothers and sisters. Anyone who defames or judges a fellow believer defames and judges the law. If you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?

Background: James is writing this letter to first century Christians with the intention to expose wrong behavior and to point people to Jesus and a better way to live. I love the book of James. It’s so practical and straightforward. The purpose of the book is to expose hypocritical practices and teach right Christian behavior. The author is James, the brother of Jesus.

One of the most prominent passages in the book is when James says “Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” (2:18) He was not only a man of faith, but he was a faithful man. He believed that genuine faith will produce good works and a changed life. In this text, James is also teaching us on the destructive results of a prideful spirit and how we are to live with a spirit of humility.

Main Points:

1. There is a passionate war within us that often seeks our pleasures over God’s purpose. (1-5)

   1. Conflict arises when we seek our own pleasure over the needs of others. Can I get a witness from any of the married people in the house?
   2. War and fights are indicators that pride has creeped into your life and now you are the center of the universe. Your status, your money, your wants, you, you, you...
   3. Question: Do you know anyone that always seems to be at odds with other people? Or how about this… think of the times that you’ve been most hostile in your life? Were you living with others in mind or were you more focused on yourself?

   4. Illust: I like to fight. Fight or flight.

      1. This has not always worked out so well for me. The times in my life where I’ve been the most hostile is when pride has taken over my life. If I’m on a mission then you better get out of my way or I’m running right through you!
      2. Fighting is not always a bad thing if you’re fighting for the right reasons.
      3. Oftentimes we find ourselves in the middle of a battle that we have caused, not a cause worth battling.
      4. Question: Are your fights for others and the glory of God?

      5. A fight worth fighting is when it’s something bigger than you. When it has no chance of benefiting you. When you can’t receive glory from winning.

         5. The greek word for “pride” is used 5 times in the New Testament and it refers to haughty or arrogance in relation to people.

      6. We show our pride by refusing to submit to God and His authority over our lives.

      7. Consequently God resists or opposes the proud that act arrogantly towards the body of Christ.
      8. “All of you clothe yourself with humility toward one another, because God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 1 Peter 5:5

      9. Pride manifests itself in the belittling and demeaning of others. This is destructive behavior that never leads to life, joy, and peace.

         6. James points out 3 problems with the believer’s prayer life:

      10. 1. Not asking. 2. Asking for the wrong things. 3. Asking with the wrong motive.

      11. Question: How do you talk to God? If you do talk to God, what are you asking for? Finally, what are your motives behind your requests?
      12. When you pray, are you only asking for things that make your life “better”?

      13. A prayer that emulates humility is found in Psalm 139:24 that says “Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” This is a prayer of humility and submission to God.

          7. In verse 4 he refers to the proud and arrogant as “You adulterous people!” Adulterous people are referring to the believers' unfaithful behavior towards God. They had become self centered and therefore hostile and in direct opposition to God. They were so focused on their own desires that they forgot about their marriage.

      14. Proverbs 16:18-19 “Pride comes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall. Better to be lowly of spirit with the humble than to divide plunder with the proud.”

      15. When we pursue the desires of our hearts apart from God and seek fulfillment in stuff, career, status, and fortune, then we are left empty, never really finding true fulfillment and joy, but when we realize that God is all that we need and His grace is sufficient then we find value, identity, purpose, and joy in whatever season of life we are in.
      16. Being a friend of the world is to seek pleasure at the expense of others and the expense of obeying God.
      17. Define “World”
      18. Practical: What happens when you have pursued your dream job, you’ve climbed the ladder to the top at whatever the cost, then one day you go to work only to find out that you’ve been replaced? Or when your marriage didn’t turn out quite the way you had planned and now you’re asking yourself “How did I end up here?”
      19. 2 Corinthians 12:9 “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.”
      20. Question: Have you ever said “I don’t need anyone’s help! I’ll do it myself!” That’s pride. And that’s the problem. Can I submit to you today, that you need God’s grace.

2. There’s a better way (V6)

   1. 6 But he gives greater grace. Therefore he says: God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.
   2. Grace is God’s unfailing, unconditional, relentless love poured out on your life through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

   3. There’s a better way. When we exchange our pleasures for God’s gift of grace, freedom is the result. We find hope, purpose, and the opportunity to live a rich and satisfying life.

      1. John 10:10 says “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.”

      2. 1 Peter 5:8 says “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”

         4. Without God’s grace over our lives we don’t stand a chance against the enemy and the desires of the flesh.

      3. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit and drawing near to God, then we realize that our pursuit of our pleasures are only cheap substitutes for the abundant life God wants to provide in our lives.

      4. Pride says “I got this! I got myself in this mess and I’m going to get myself out!” YOU WILL NEVER GET YOURSELF OUT IN YOUR OWN EFFORT! AND THE ENEMY KNOWS THIS!

      5. You cannot fight a supernatural battle with natural weapons.

         5. There is Good News

      6. Ephesians 2:8-9

      7. Hebrews 4:16 “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.”

         6. His Grace is greater!

      8. His grace is greater than your circumstances, fears, and problems. His grace is greater than your ability to fix things on your own. His grace is greater!

      9. Romans 8:31 “If God is for us, who can be against us?”
      10. 1 Corinthians 15:57 “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
      11. In Jesus name you have victory in Christ, whatever the circumstance!

3. 5 ways to draw near to God (V7-10)

   1. “Submit to God” Yield to His authority over your life. Release control and trust in His plan for your life. (V7)
   2. “Resist the devil” Run from temptation and don’t give satan space in your world. (V7)
   3. “Cleanse your hands… purify your hearts” Pursue holiness over happiness. Replace your desires for sin with a desire to know and experience God’s grace in your life. (V8)
   4. “Mourn and weep” with genuine sorrow for the sin in your life. (V9)
   5. “Humble yourself before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” When God builds your platform man cannot tear it down! Humble yourself, stay faithful and watch God take you to places you couldn’t possibly imagine. (V10)
   6. “As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down you cannot see something that is above you.” - C.S. Lewis
   7. 1 Peter 5:5-7 “All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourself, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your cares on him, because he cares for you.
   8. “True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” - Rick Warren
   9. BTS of Criticism

   10. The more you know about people's stories, the harder it is to condemn their lives

       1. Someone should have it more together
       2. You would have done it better

       3. Someone doesn’t live to your standard

          2. Peer to peer is so critical.

       4. Mom to mom

       5. Dad to dad
       6. Husband to husband

       7. Preacher to preacher

          3. You find your insecurity in others and tend to talk about it in order to make yourself look better

       8. Insecurity - lack of taking a pause to see people for who they are and truly understand their story. It’s hard to criticize someone when you know their full story. But we’re often too obsessed with ourselves to even learn the greater story.

       9. What Sue says about Sally, says more about Sue than Sally.

       10. Instead of choosing to criticize, what if we chose to empathize. Humility leads to empathy because their story is not about me.

           4. Remember where you came from? Remember what you were rescued from?

       11. Remember the grace of God on your life.

       12. When you remember the start then you can’t help but speak life.
       13. “You’re not too far gone!”
       14. “It’s impossible to be too far gone, do I have a testimony for you.”
       15. “You may be down, but you can’t stay down through the power of the Gospel”
       16. I think it’s time on this reformation Sunday that you cannot work to earn your salvation and you can’t lose that which has been redeemed! You are secure, you are alive, you are a new creation!
       17. Deuteronomy 4:9-12
       18. Application: Take a moment and write down the beginning of your story.