James starts these 17 verses with an exposition of the reasons for quarreling, as well as for sin itself. It is worldliness. James says that our passions are at war within us. It is the passion of desire and covetousness at war with what we know to be right. He sums it up in the last verse: “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”  Friendship with the world, he says is enmity with God. This friendship is the passion for those things of the world that take us farther away from being God’s children, and closer to the way the rest of the world lives. They are those things that corrupt the heart and consume our desires.

2 Peter 3:14 (Photo credit: [Share the Word])

Verse 5 says “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us.” God made us in His image, and he desires all of us to be saved (2 Peter 3:9, 1 Timothy 2:4), and that is why He has made His grace freely available to those who are humble ( 2 Peter 5:5). The advice he gives to all who struggle with temptation is “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” We draw near to God by earnest prayer and by reading His word daily.

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy

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some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.