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James 4:8b–9
“Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.”
Commenting on James 4:6–10, J.A. Motyer observes that “fellowship with God—and its consequent blessing of his fellowship with us—does not ‘just happen’; we cannot drift into it any more than we drift into holiness. It is our first obedience.” Walking with the Lord requires our purposeful action, and if we do not seek His face, the result will be disorder in the church (vv. 1–3) and a host of other errors listed in James 1–3. Unless we pursue friendship with God, we will fall into a friendship with the fallen world order and put ourselves at odds with our heavenly Father (4:4–5).
True Christians can at times live as if they were close friends with the world; thankfully, the Lord has more than sufficient grace available to solve this problem and enable us to enjoy the blessings of close friendship with God once again. This grace comes as we humble ourselves before the Lord, admit our need of His assistance, resist the devil, and draw near to God (vv. 6–8a). Certainly, this can happen only if there is a corresponding turn away from sin, and lest we think otherwise, James in today’s passage calls us to repent of our sin.
The Apostle uses Old Testament imagery in his call to repentance. Cleansing and purification were associated with the priests’ ceremonial washings and consecration of the tabernacle and temple (see Lev. 8:5–6; 2 Chron. 29:1–19). Over time, these images of cleansing and purification were used of moral renewal as well; “clean hands and a pure heart” belonged to those who have turned from sin in faith and repentance (Ps. 24:3–4). James 4:8b picks up on this language to exhort readers to incline their hearts away from evil and toward God (“purify your hearts”) and amend their deeds (“cleanse your hands”). John Calvin comments: “The true character of repentance . . . is not only an outward amendment of life, but its beginning is the cleansing of the heart. It is also necessary . . . that the fruits of inward repentance should appear in the brightness of our works.”
James 4:9 echoes texts such as Joel 2:12, which calls for a return to the Lord accompanied by mourning over sin, and it also alludes to passages such as Proverbs 10:23, which says that fools laugh at their sin. The Apostle seeks not to remove all the joy from the Christian life but to remind us that the joy of the Lord cannot be had when we are in impenitent sin. Authentic joy comes only to those who mourn their sin, turn from it unto God through Christ, and endeavor after new obedience.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
We as Christians are not immune from straying from the Lord and living as friends of the world. If we find ourselves doing this, we need to remember Jesus’ words: “Take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). We cannot renounce friendship with the world in our own strength, but as we draw near to God in repentance and submit to His will, we will find the world less attractive and our friendship with Him renewed.
For further study
- Psalm 51
- 2 Corinthians 7:10
The bible in a year
- Deuteronomy 4–5
- Mark 12:1–27
- Deuteronomy 6–11
- Mark 12:28–13:31