Why are Christians always arguing?

(Vv. 1-3). The Apostle has spoken of disorder and strife amongst the professing people of God. Now he asks, “From whence come wars and fightings among you?” He traces the wars amongst the people of God to the lusts of the heart finding expression in the members of the body. To gratify lust the flesh is prepared to kill and fight. In a literal sense this is true of the world and its wars. In a moral sense, if we are bent on carrying out our own wills, the flesh will ruthlessly belittle and override everyone that hinders the fulfilment of our desires.

If our desires are legitimate, there is no need to fight amongst ourselves to obtain them; we can ask of God. It is true, however, that we may not obtain an answer to our prayers, because we may ask with the wrong motive of gratifying some lust.

There was much strife and contention amongst them. Whence come wars and fightings? Certainly not from the wisdom which is above, which is first pure and then peaceable. But wars and fightings are the fruits of the old nature, the flesh. They come from the pleasures which war in the members. The gratification of the lusts of the natural man produces fightings and not the new nature, that which is from above; this includes all forms of lusts, not only those of the flesh, but the lust for power, the lust for preeminence and leadership, the lusts of the mind. "Ye lust and have not"; there is nothing that can satisfy the heart of man; any kind of lust will end in disappointment and remorse. "Ye kill and covet and cannot obtain." This is the way of the world in sin and away from God; it shows that James speaks to the unbelieving of the twelve tribes, and pictures their condition. "Ye fight and war. Ye have not because ye ask not. Ye ask and receive not because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it in your pleasures." The natural man is also religious and as such prays. But their prayers sprang from the old nature, the desires of the flesh; they received not because they asked amiss. They prayed for selfish things, incited by selfish motives, so that they might gratify their sinful natures. Even true believers often ask and receive not, because they ask amiss, out of selfish reasons, to minister to their own pleasures and gratification. If the Lord would answer such prayers He would minister to that which is evil.

Having commended the spirit of peace in the Christian's ways, James now asks, "From whence come wars and fightings among you." But here we must inquire what is meant by "among you." It is not necessarily among Christians. Meekness of wisdom, wisdom that is gentle and easy to be entreated, became them. But, as we have seen, they found themselves still in the midst of the twelve tribes, who are, I doubt not, included in this "among you." And the Christians might find themselves implicated in these disputes, so that the exhortation is addressed to them also. These fightings came from their pleasures; the will was unbroken, lust distracted their hearts; they desired to have what they did not possess; conscience was silent, overpowered by lust, and the desires (unchecked by the will) gave the rein to the passions: "Ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain; ye fight and war, and yet ye have not."

(V. 16). If envy and strife in the heart lead to boastful and lying words in the endeavour to excuse and cover the envy, the boastful and hypocritical words will produce scenes of disorder and confusion, which open the door to “every evil work”. Here, then, in plain and searching words we have laid bare the root cause of every scene of disorder that occurs amongst the people of God. Bitter envy and strife in the heart, finding expression in boastful and deceitful words, lead to “disorder and every evil thing” (N.Tn.).

Nothing is more distressing to the heart, and enfeebling to testimony, than the differences of judgment that exist among the true people of God. In the second chapter of the Epistle the Apostle traces all envy and strife to this one root — "Vainglory" (Phil. 2:3). Even in the very presence of the Lord, there was a strife among the Apostles because each wanted to be accounted the greatest (Luke 22:24). So, in the Apostle's day, there was strife, as the result of the vainglory of some who wanted to be great. And in our day, all the division and strife that has come in among the people of God can be traced to this one root — someone wanted to be great.

The vainglorious man will ever be an envious man — jealous of every one that is more spiritual or more gifted than himself. And jealousy expresses itself in malice, and malice ends in strife (James 3:14-16).

The Apostle convicts them of their carnality by calling attention to the conditions that existed amongst them. He says, “There is among you envying, and strife”. In their practical ways they walked as natural men. Instead of serving one another in love, as becomes saints, they were envious of one another and seeking to equal, or excel, one another in knowledge and the exercise of gifts, even as men of the world. Envy was thus at the root of all their strife. Perhaps there is no greater power for evil in the world than envy. Envy led to the first murder in the world, when Cain rose up against his brother and slew him; and envy led to the greatest murder in the world, when the Jews killed the Prince of life, for we read that Pilate “knew that for envy they had delivered Him” (Matthew 27:18). Will it not be found that envy has been the main cause of all the strifes amongst the people of God? The Apostle Peter warns us that envy knows no pity. It leads to “malice” and “evil speakings”, and the malice leads to “guile” by which a man attempts to cover up what he is, and “hypocrisies” by which a man pretends to be what he is not (1 Peter 2:1).

Such disputes of words, instead of strengthening piety, only give occasion for the manifestation of the works of the flesh. The pride that seeks to exalt self by these endless questions must inevitably lead to “envy”, for the proud man can brook no rival. Naturally the flesh will strive against the one of whom it is envious. Thus envy leads to strife, and striving against another will lead to “injurious words” about him. The knowledge that “injurious words” are being uttered will raise “evil suspicions” and “constant quarrellings”. Such is the evil crop that arises from envy. There is no greater power for evil among the saints of God than the allowance of envy in the heart. “Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but”, says the preacher, “who is able to stand before envy?” It was envy that led to the first murder in this world; and it was envy that led to the greatest murder in this world. Pilate “knew that for envy they had delivered Him” (Matthew 27:18).

(V. 3). Having touched upon the lack of unity in their midst, the Apostle, in one short sentence, exposes the root of the trouble. He says, “Let nothing be done through strife or vain-glory.” Strife is the endeavour to belittle others; vainglory is the attempt to exalt self in the eyes of others. Anything that is said or done simply in opposition to someone else, or with the object of exalting self, will tend to destroy unity and raise discord. Thus the Apostle traces all discord among the people of God to the vainglory that has self, and self-exaltation in view. Even if we escape the gross folly of seeking to exalt self by boasting in birth, social position, earthly riches, or intellectual abilities, we may easily fall into the snare of spiritual pretension that seeks to exalt self amongst the people of God by means of spiritual gifts.

The two great hindrances to "minding the one thing" (which we considered in Verse 2) are, Dr. Lightfoot points out, "the exaltation of party and the exaltation of self. Both these are condemned here." The first is condemned in "party-spirit", the second in "vain-glory." The Scripture says: "Only by pride cometh contention," and this is just what we see here: pride of party, (Yet I think it includes personal rivalry or ambition) or, pride of person. And, Beloved, let us not forget how very prone we all are to these things, and how very easily they creep into our lives, and into our meetings. Pride is so terribly natural to us all! "Human nature is always disposed to say 'we' if it cannot say 'I'." (J.N.D.) Even though we may profess to belong to no party, but to the Church of God alone, we so easily become proud of that, — and we make ourselves into the very party we deny. And need I say how easily and how often, by thought, by word, by deed, we are governed by "vain-glory", personal vanity, in plain words: self conceit. "I am, — " rich, or wise, or holy — "Thus, and thus am I;" For "I am," men live and labour, For "I am," they die. (H. Suso)

These Corinthians were saved by the one gospel; they were called into the one fellowship; they were united by the one Spirit to the one glorious Head in heaven, our Lord Jesus Christ; and they were in consequence formed into one body. Surely such should have been of one mind and lived in peace with one another, but instead, there were contentions and strifes and divisions among them, and this seems to have been the Apostle's chiefest complaint against them, for this condition of things was utterly contrary to God's thought for them. Yet so blinded were they in their own conceits that they imagined that these divisions and debates were a sign of their wisdom and spirituality, when in reality they did but trumpet aloud their carnality and folly; yes, in the presence of men, angels, and devils they trumpeted their carnality and folly. They gloried in their shame, for their souls were out of tune with God, and that which was discord in His ear was music in theirs. We have to talk softly about them, while the red blood of shame mantles our cheeks, for we see our own sad ways mirrored in theirs, and as was the flesh in them, so is the flesh in us.