Let's review again the steps to gaining God's grace in our lives which we've been covering in light of James 4:7-10:
1) "Submit yourselves therefore to God."
2) "Resist the devil and he will flee from you."
3) "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you."
4) "Cleanse your hands, ye sinners."
5) "Purify your hearts, ye double minded."
6) "Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep."
7) "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift
you up."
As I was just reading over these steps, I thought to myself how good and
right it would be to post this powerful list in the halls of all the schools
across our nation! One of the outstanding character qualities of young
folks today seems to be the lack of remorse they display for the corrupt
things they do, or say, or even wear. It clearly shows how depraved we
as a people can become when God is left out of our life - which brings
me to today's lesson! We will be looking at step 6 listed above in light
of James 4:9, which in it's entirety says:
Be afflicted and mourn and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
This may seem like a strange verse to you, but what does it actually mean? In order to understand it, we must not isolate it, but look at it in the context of the chapter in which it has been placed. The theme of James 4 is basically how to overcome evil lusts and gain God's grace. So then, how does verse 9 fit into the plan of things, to what exactly is it referring? The idea is that all sin must be wept over, here, in godly sorrow, or, hereafter, in eternal misery. Yet, how much better it is to do our mourning on this side of eternity, before it is too late…
Eccles. 3:4 (KJV)
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance...
Ladies, the Lord will not refuse to comfort the person who deeply mourns for sin, or to exalt the person who humbles himself before Him. In other words, verse 9 describes perfectly the picture of repentance. As we have progressed through step 4 in cleansing our hands (our lives), and step 5 in purifying our hearts, one can certainly see how weeping and mourning would follow! Do you weep and mourn over your sin, dear lady, or just shrug your shoulders, maybe even snicker at your behavior? Does it deeply grieve you, or are you so toughened that you can't feel anything anymore? Our heavenly Father wants us to be sorry after our sin with a godly sorrow, a sorrow that reaches right down into the core of our soul and breaks our heart. A worldly sorrow simply touches our understanding but doesn’t produce any bereavement. Grief and mourning are distinctive emotions expressed when a tragedy has occurred. Would God not consider sin a tragedy? Something that sends people to hell surely seems the greatest of tragedies to me! Hence, true repentance precedes a change of behavior. Are you truly ready to change your ways?
Matthew 5:4 (KJV)
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
How will you ever truly appreciate God's grace once gained, if you haven't ever mourned and wept over your sin?? How else will God's grace taste wonderfully sweet to you if your sin doesn't first leave a terribly bad taste in your mouth? Have you come to that place in your life where your sinful ways bring you to your knees in sorrow and shame, begging God for forgiveness? Or do you only mechanically and without feeling tell God you are sorry - again, for your sinful choices? I've known several Christians who desperately miss their old life, who talk of it often with a warped fondness rather than regret. Being afflicted means to suffer grief or distress after the sinful act has been committed. It is an important step prior to receiving God's grace! How do you usually feel after you sin? Unmoved? Unresponsive? No big deal at all to you? Have you convinced yourself you're a victim so you can excuse yourself from the penalty? Take a moment and think about the thought process you go through after sinning. Does any remorse show up on the scene?
Psalm 38:18 (KJV)
For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin.
Ladies, God wants you to feel something - He wants you to grieve over your sin! He wants you to mourn over your sin! Do you realize what mourning means? It means to express that grief or sorrow through either weeping or audible sounds, sobs, sighs, or silent inward grief. Does your sin leave you behaving this way? Yes, God wants us to weep over our sin! Weeping means to lament, to bewail, to express sorrow, grief or anguish by outcry; the shedding of tears. When is the last time you witnessed a Christian (including yourself!) in such condition at the altar in church?? I'm speaking to myself here, too... We Christians piously make our way down the aisle to the altar, bend ever so properly at the knee, then lower our heads slightly and close our eyes to whisper a short, concise prayer asking forgiveness so as not to appear to be at the altar too awful long, giving others the mistaken impression we are deep in sin. We then quietly get up, smooth out any wrinkles that may have been created in our attire, and make sure that no sign of tears are showing on our face as we walk back to our place in the pew and feel quite satisfied within ourselves that we have “done business with God.” If I might say so - YUCK!! Why bother?? We might as well stay in our seats and stay in our sin because we don't really have any intention to turn from it! We aren't sorry a bit! The problem is we can't get past what others think of us to even come to the place where we consider what God thinks of our sin!! Want to start a revival in your church? Start with weeping and mourning over your sin the way God intended us to, and watch it spread! Nobody is remorseful because nobody else is remorseful! Sin is no big deal in this world... Yet God is still grieved by it even if we aren't. What kind of an example are you of true Biblical repentance???
Job 42:6 (KJV)
Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
Perhaps you might be thinking - "Does God really want us to put on a big theatrical production every time we sin?" Ladies, being afflicted, weeping and mourning over our sin is not for the purpose of a show, but rather keeps us tender and prepares the soil of our hearts for the seeds of grace to be planted. Can you imagine feeling no shame over your sin and being thankful for God's grace at the same time?? It won't happen! You'll end up taking His grace for granted… The greater your sin appears to you, the greater God's grace will appear to you!! God's grace is not something to be received lightly; it is something we should hold in high esteem. Grace keeps us from having to go to hell!!!! Think about God's grace next time you plan on dirtying your hands with your sinful ways and it will keep you on the right track! Think about God's grace the next time you are tempted to give way to your secret faults and it will give you the strength to overcome. By the way, what kind of a steward have you been of God's grace in your life since salvation?
1 Peter 4:10 (KJV)
As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to
another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
2 Cor. 6:1 (KJV)
We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive
not the grace of God in vain.
In closing, I hope you've each come to realize we have grace available to us that is greater than all our sin! Will you see grace that way the closer you get to it? Or will you just shrug your shoulders and walk away from it? Repentance is the key... Be afflicted, and mourn and weep - don't make light of your sin anymore; see it as God sees it, feel its affects as God feels it, and turn from your sins in full earnestness. Then you'll be prepared to value His grace when God gives it to you!
God Bless,
Pam
Isaiah 60:1&2
Copyright 2000 Pamela A. Iannello
Revised 2004
