“He Gives More Grace”

by Pastor Mark
May 02, 2024

The truth about the grace of God

As believers, we are not without problems in life and ministry. As the Apostle James sought to deal with problems that his brethren were faced with, he recognised the vital need for the grace of God. He wrote about the truth of the grace of God. Grace is a gift from God, “But He gives more grace.” (James 4:6) A simple understanding of grace is that it is the unmerited favour of God and we are not worthy of it. Grace is given in different ways…in salvation, in giving strength, in the use of spiritual gifts and in facing suffering. James wrote that the Lord gives more grace for the brethren to live more godly and not have conflicts with each other.

The giving of grace

  1. No grace to the proud…“Therefore He says: “God resists the proud,”” (James 4:6)
    1. One possible reference that James was citing is Proverb 3:34: “Surely He scorns the scornful, but gives grace to the humble.”
    2. James’ understanding of grace was based on the Scriptures.
    3. The proud tend to scorn others and despise them.
    4. God would resist them…oppose the proud, scorn the scornful.
    5. The proud tend not to depend on God…on His grace.
    6. God would never give His grace to the proud.
  2. Grace to the humble … “But gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6)
    1. Only the humble would be given God’s grace.
    2. The humble recognises his human limitations and weaknesses.
    3. He realises his need of grace to help him deal with the problem of sin.
    4. God would readily extend His grace to those who are humble and in need of His help.

Dealing with the problems of life

These were some of the problems that James had to address:

  1. Submission to God…“Therefore submit to God.” (James 4:7)
    1. When the brethren were caught up with themselves, they would not submit to God.
    2. It takes grace and humility to submit to Him.
  2. Resist the devil…“Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7)
    1. The brethren gave in to Satan through the temptations and pleasures of the world.
    2. The challenge is to find greater strength to resist him through the grace of God.
  3. Draw near to God…“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” (James 4:8)
    1. Sin had caused the brethren to be drawn away from God.
    2. Through His grace, we can return to God with a repentant and cleansed heart.
    3. Only when we deal with our sins that the Lord will reciprocate and draw near to us.
  4. Deal with our sins through full cleansing
    1. Cleansing of both the external body and the internal heart, mind and spirit (James 4:8).
    2. Sorrowful repentance…mourning for our sins and friendship with the world (James 4:9).

The challenge to be humble

“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” (James 4:10)

God has given His grace to help us deal with all our problems in life. With all the sins in our lives, we have nothing to be proud of as we stand before the Lord. We recognise our need to be cleansed and repent before Him. Through God’s grace, we can deal with and overcome our sins. Let us be challenged to be truly and fully humble before the Lord and be encouraged that, through His abundant grace, He will uplift us in time.

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