SIN IS NO LAUGHING MATTER
Thursday – March 12, 2026
Video link: https://youtu.be/uTAL_gJ-oQ8
Greetings one and all! Welcome to our ongoing Bible Study of the Bible Book of James. You will recall that this book was written by James the Just a child of Joseph and Mary who grew up in the same household with Jesus. He would not denounce Jesus as the Messiah and died a martyrs death. I will be focusing on the 9th and 10th verses of our primary text today.
James 4:6-10 (KJV)
6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
We left off yesterday talking about being double minded and were reminded earlier in this same Bible Book that the double minded will receive nothing from the Lord. You will receive the worlds answer and the devils compromise but not the abundant overflow of our Heavenly Father. As we go into verse nine, we are told to not be laughing about our sin but to realize our miserable state, mourn and weep in repentance. We have all heard Christians perhaps even ourselves enumerate a sin and then laugh about it. Don’t you think that cuts right to the heart of the Father, and the Savior who went to the Cross for that sin. This joy we may have is not the joy of the Lord nor of our redeemed spirit but a false joy of the world.
But there is good news! When we humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord, not other people, He will lift us up. Humbling ourselves in the sight of the Lord, the only one who counts, is to place ourselves in full submission to the Word of God. Many of us treat the Word of God like a buffet where we pick and choose pretending, we don’t see the things we don’t like, don’t want to do. We humble ourselves, did you notice another person was not to humble us, the demons were not to humble us, even God was not the one humbling us, but we ourselves. We choose. If it is anyone other than ourselves, it is not true freewill humility but done under duress. God will never make us do something, and the demons cannot nor can other people. As we continue to study verse ten here comes the reward from God of true not feigned humility. Humility in the sight of God. When God lifts us up, exalts us, we are on a solid foundation no one but ourselves can erode. Let’s consider the following Scriptures.
Psalm 37:34 (KJV)
34 Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.
Think about what is being said here, do we believe it? It seems to me if we did, we would submit, humble ourselves entirely to the ways of the Lord immediately. Listen to the Master.
Matthew 23:12 (KJV)
12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
Are we tooting our own horn or submitting ourselves to God and letting Him toot our horn so to speak? I don’t know if anyone enjoys being abased (demeaned, belittled, humiliated). We all like being exalted or lifted up and when the Lord does it no one is taking you down. Now, let’s listen to the Apostle Peter, almost the same words as James the Just under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
1 Peter 5:5-7 (KJV)
5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
Let’s each of us seek the Lord to determine what areas of our lives are not fully submitted to the Lord and humble ourselves fully to Him, to the Word of God.
TAKE HOME:
- Sin, treating the Word of God, God Himself lightly is no laughing matter.
- Let us humbly come before our Lord asking for illumination of the things we have not surrendered to Him.
- Let us look forward to His lifting us up for that is a firm foundation that cannot fail and is not dependent upon other people.
Lord willing, I will resume right here tomorrow. Remember, we love you, the Lord loves you, and there is nothing you can do about either one.
By: Dr. David R. Wood, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
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