Ye sinners, cleanse ye the hands, and ye double in soul, purge ye the hearts. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Clarke's James 4:8 Bible Commentary Draw nigh to God - Approach Him, in the name of Jesus, by faith and prayer, and he will draw nigh to you - he will meet you at your coming. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.” Today we look at a verse in the Word of God, which we’ve seen once before. We may not be in the fallen state those rebuked were in, but these three things are not reserved for apostates and reprobates. But as God would have it, let’s be reminded! The concept of self-denial is at the heart of Paul's teaching on submission to God: We have died with Christ and must sacrifice our lives for Him. Submit yourselves therefore to God. James 4:8-10 Drawing Near to God, Pt. If you've committed sin, confess it, get rid of it, and put it under the blood of Jesus (in other words, keep a short sin account). James 4:8 (WYC) Approach ye to God, and he shall approach to you. James then gives us the formula for drawing near. When a soul sets out to seek God, God sets out to meet that soul; so that while we are drawing near to him, he is drawing near to us. The idea that our life was a vapor or shadow was a frequent figure of speech in the Old Testament (Psalm 102:11; Job 8:9; 1 Chronicles 29:15). James 4:7-10. [+Nigh ye to God, and he shall nigh to you. 2 - John MacArthur; James now calls for his readers to carry out a thorough moral/ethical personal cleansing, for they had become stained with worldliness (cp Jas 1:27, Jas 4:1-4) and only those pure in hand and heart would be allowed to enter into the presence of God's holiness. David asks… Many subjects are handled quickly and succinctly in the book. In the course of this rebuke, James offers three things for those sinners to do, so as to revolutionize their lives and mend their relationship with God. James delivers these three concise instructions straight from the Lord Jesus, each one crafted to equip us for living a successful Christian life this very day, and every day that we choose to employ them. (James 4:8-9). He described this earthly, unspiritual, demonic philosophy as the source of disorder and all sorts of evil in the world (James 3:15–16). Here, in chapter 4, James says to these very readers that a worldly, unspiritual road is the very one they have been following. In James 4 there is a logical progression throughout the chapter, while still allowing some verses to cover individual topics. In Titus 2:12, Paul writes of the grace of God training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, that is, to deny what the self desires.Self-denial requires genuine humility in submission, or it is merely a counterfeit. Ye sinners, cleanse the hands, and ye double of will, purge the hearts.] i. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.–James 4:7-8. 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