Are you still an enemy of God?


Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©


You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
(James 4:4 (NIV))


Perhaps this is better understood in other words. Consider Matthew 6:24.

No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
(Matthew 6:24 (NIV))

Money represents what the world has to offer: sin and death. God represents salvation, grace and mercy. You cannot follow both paths. They are mutually exclusive of each other.

This is a common teaching in the Bible, especially in the New Testament. It is a common teaching method to repeat what is important so that the student will realize and remember what is being repeated. Perhaps we should pay more attention to what is being told to us in these passages, after all, Jesus thought enough of the teaching to tell us more than once.

With this in mind, let's use the repetition method ourselves and stress what God is telling us. In this teaching, we must also remember that Satan is the ruler of this world since we allowed him in through our disobedience.

Now, if we love the world, who do we love?

This gives us insight into God's reason for these passages.

Are you still an enemy of God?


Copyright 1998 - 2024 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
https://www.dailylivingministries.org