Christians spend a lot of time trying to discover the will of God.
“God, what do You want me to do?”
“Should I take this job?”
“Should we move?”
“Is this the right relationship?”
“What is Your plan for my future?”
Those are legitimate questions and we should seek God's direction.
But James 4:13–17 ends in an unexpected place. He begins with people making plans for tomorrow without God. He reminds them that life is uncertain and that their plans must remain submitted to God's will.
Then he finishes with this: Knowing what is right creates a responsibility to do it (James 4:17).
That's an interesting conclusion.
James moves the conversation from “What are you going to do tomorrow?” to “What are you failing to do today?”
Maybe one of our greatest spiritual problems isn't that we don't know God's will. Maybe we already know more of God's will than we're obeying.
We Want Specific Direction While Ignoring Clear Direction
Imagine someone praying: “God, show me Your will for my life.” Meanwhile, there is someone they refuse to forgive.
- Praying about their purpose while refusing to serve.
- Asking God for financial direction while refusing to practice generosity.
- Asking God to use them while remaining silent about Christ everywhere they go.
We sometimes want new instructions when we haven't followed the instructions we've already received.
That's where James 4:17 gets uncomfortable. The question isn't simply “What has God told me not to do?” It is also: “What has God told me to do that I keep leaving undone?”
There Are Two Ways to Disobey
Most of us were taught to think about sin primarily in terms of things we shouldn't do. We shouldn’t lie, steal, hate, gossip, be sexually immoral, get drunk or cheat.
But James adds another category.
There are sins we commit, and there is good we omit.
The priest and Levite in Jesus' story of the Good Samaritan are powerful examples (Luke 10:25–37). They didn’t attacked the wounded man, or rob him or even beat him. They simply walked past him.
Their failure wasn't primarily something they did. It was something they didn't do.
Jesus' description of the final judgment in Matthew 25 contains the same disturbing idea (Matthew 25:31–46).
The hungry weren't fed. The thirsty weren't given something to drink.
The stranger wasn't welcomed. The naked weren't clothed.
The sick and imprisoned weren't visited.
Again, the indictment focuses heavily on what was left undone.
That should expand the way we examine our lives.
“I Didn't Do Anything Wrong” Isn't the Highest Christian Standard
Sometimes our defense is: “I didn't do anything.”
Christian maturity cannot simply be measured by how many bad things we've successfully avoided.
Jesus described discipleship as a life that actually produces something (John 15:1–8).
Paul described believers as God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works (Ephesians 2:10).
James has been saying essentially the same thing throughout his letter.
Faith acts (James 2:14–26).
Chaos Doesn't Always Make You Do Something Bad
This connects to the larger theme we've been talking about: clarity versus chaos.
We usually imagine chaos tempting us to make terrible decisions. But chaos has another strategy. It can simply keep us too distracted to do anything that matters.
Meanwhile, today's opportunity to do good quietly passes us by.
That's why Ephesians tells us to make the most of our opportunities because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:15–17). Chaos doesn't necessarily have to convince you to abandon God. Sometimes it only needs to keep you occupied enough that you never do what God put you here to do.
The Opportunity in Front of You May Be the Will of God You're Looking For
We sometimes imagine God's will as one enormous hidden plan that we have to discover.
But much of God's will has already been revealed.
- Love God (Matthew 22:37–38).
- Love your neighbor (Matthew 22:39).
- Forgive (Colossians 3:13).
- Serve (Galatians 5:13).
- Give (2 Corinthians 9:7).
- Encourage (1 Thessalonians 5:11).
- Pray (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
- Care for people in need (James 1:27).
- Make disciples (Matthew 28:19–20).
- Walk by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16).
- Use your gifts (Romans 12:6–8).
You don't need a special revelation to begin doing any of those things. And perhaps that's why James ends this passage where he does.
Yes, submit tomorrow to God.
Yes, say, “If the Lord wills.”
Yes, recognize that your life is brief.
But then do something with the life God has given you.
The Question Isn't Only “What's God's Plan for My Life?”
Maybe that's too big a question for this morning. Try a smaller one. What good do I already know I should do today? Who needs encouragement?
Who needs forgiveness? Who needs help? What responsibility have I been avoiding? What gift has God given me that I'm not using? What conversation have I been postponing? Where have I been saying, “Someone ought to do something about that,” when perhaps God has given me the ability to be that someone?
You may not know exactly what God wants you doing five years from now.
That's okay.
James says you don't even know what tomorrow will bring (James 4:14). But there is something you can know. You can know the good God has put in front of you today.
And James doesn't tell us to think about it. He tells us that once we know the good we ought to do, we become responsible for our response (James 4:17).
Maybe clarity isn't always discovering some mysterious next step.
Sometimes clarity is recognizing: I already know what obedience looks like.
Now I need to do it.
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