"A SIMPLE CHOICE" (An Article by Christian Henry) ~ 1/13/26

“Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” (James 4:4)

The book of James is a New Testament letter by James. He wasn’t one of the twelve Apostles, instead he was one of Jesus' half-brothers, a child of Joseph and Mary (Acts 1:14; Gal. 1:19). He served as leader of the Jerusalem church and penned this letter around AD 45-49 to Jewish Christians scattered abroad who were facing persecution and division in the world at the time. He aims to encourage, emphasizing that genuine faith must be proven through actions, wisdom, and obedience to the Lord. He offers practical guidance on enduring life's trials and urges believers to tread a transformed path.

At the beginning of the fourth chapter of his book, James tells his readers that the worldly, unspiritual road is the very one they have been following. This is what causes fights and quarrels among them. He asks his readers, “Are you following the wisdom of the world, while claiming to be a Christian believer?” Those who do essentially cheat on God with this world’s idea of serving yourself first at all costs. You can't do both. If you make yourself a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.

The wisdom of the world says that to be successful, we must do whatever it takes to get what we want out of life; self-provision is the cornerstone of this philosophy. Conversely, the wisdom of heaven has a different idea at heart: Christians should trust God to provide all they need. That's what our Father does, and since we trust this provision, we don't have to abuse each other to get what we want. Instead, we are free to obey Him. This means serving each other. It means meeting each other's needs.

Because James's readers were unwilling to trust God in this way, He now calls them "adulterers and adulteresses." He equates their choice to continue following worldly wisdom with a cheating spouse. They continue to flirt with secular ideas while being tied to another. We can't be friends with both the world and with God. Worse, anyone who continues to be friends with the world is living as God's enemy. It's essential to understand what James is not saying here: He is not saying Christians should never be friends with non-Christians. Nor is he saying that Christians should never engage their culture, or with the people they meet. That's not what this passage is about. James is clear: Christians who choose to continue to live according to the wisdom of the world, driven by envy and ambition, seeking what they want above all else, are not living as friends of God. They are living in adultery as God's enemies.