How to Resolve Conflict
Where do the conflicts and where do the quarrels among you come from? Is it not from this, from your passions that battle inside you? You desire and you do not have; you murder and envy and you cannot obtain; you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask; you ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, so you can spend it on your passions.
James 4:1-3 (NET)
Why do believers and churches often struggle with conflict?
Many Christians have been wounded because of a fight with another believer or a conflict within a church. Some have even become disillusioned with the faith or fallen away from it because of those interpersonal difficulties. Unfortunately, conflict is an often-ignored epidemic in our Christian relationships, churches, and organizations. Because of this, some even zealously declare how we need to become more like the early church, as far as walking in unity. However, a quick study of the early church shows that conflict among believers is not a modern-day invention. The early church greatly struggled with conflict. In the Jerusalem church, the first church, though they are to be commended for their sacrificial sharing of wealth with the poor (Acts 2:44-45), the distribution of that wealth was botched. The Greek Jewish widows were being neglected in favor of the Hebrew Jewish widows (Acts 6:1). Racism was in the early church, creating conflict. In fact, many of Paul’s letters addressed conflict in these early congregations: The Galatians were biting and devouring one another because of their legalist zeal (Gal 5:15). The Corinthians were getting into cliques around their favorite teachers (1 Cor 1:10-13) and even suing one another in secular courts (1 Cor 6:1-8). In Philippi, two women were fighting, and it was so distracting and controversial that Paul addressed it publicly in the final chapter of his letter to them (Phil 4:2-3). The early church was far from perfect.
Even amongst the scattered Jewish Christians that James wrote to, it is clear that all types of conflict was happening among them. There were class conflicts as the rich were being honored and the poor dishonored in the church (Jam 2:1-6). There were work conflicts as the rich were withholding wages from the poor (Jam 5:1-6). There were leadership conflicts, as people were selfishly striving for teaching positions and authority in the church (Jam 3:1). And, obviously, there were personal conflicts as people were slandering and speaking evil of each other (Jam 4:11).
Because of these issues, James addressed the conflict head-on in James 4:1-3—sharing why they were having fights and by implication how to resolve them. His advice in these verses is not comprehensive but it is important for working through conflict, especially with other believers. He will continue to address their conflict in James 4:4-12.
As we study James 4:1-3, we will consider principles about how to resolve conflicts.
Big Question: What can we learn about resolving conflict in James 4:1-3?
To Resolve Conflict, We Must Be Careful of Our Tendency to Blame Others
Where do the conflicts and where do the quarrels among you come from? Is it not from this, from your passions that battle inside you? You desire and you do not have; you murder and envy and you cannot obtain; you quarrel and fight.
James 4:1-2
James begins with the rhetorical question, “Where do the conflicts and where do the quarrels among you come from?” (v. 1). The word “conflicts” refers to prolonged disputing or combat and is often translated “war”[1], which shows how bad things had gotten in those churches. The word “quarrels” refers to a specific fight or battle.[2] Obviously, there were prolonged, violent relationships happening amongst these believers.
As James asked the rhetorical question of where their conflicts began, we can imagine the initial heart responses of those involved. They probably would reply, “It’s his fault!” or “They started it!” In fact, that’s how most of us would answer a question about how a specific conflict began—we would point to someone else’s wrongdoing. However, James doesn’t even allow them to answer the question. He simply points them to the mirror—to look at themselves. This is where we get our first principle about resolving conflicts. When James performed conflict resolution amongst these churches, he didn’t allow them to blame others and therefore minimize their personal responsibility. We must do the same when seeking to resolve our conflicts and when helping others resolve them. Many never-ending wars are happening amongst friends, family members, churches, and even nations because people simply blame the other party.
The Origin of Our Tendency to Blame
It’s no surprise that blaming is a natural, sinful tendency amongst humans, as it began with our parents in the Garden of Eden. When God asked Adam if he ate from the forbidden tree, the correct answer was simply, “Yes,” with an added, “I’m sorry.” But Adam responded, “The woman You gave me, gave me the food, and I did eat.” Adam blamed the woman and indirectly, God. It is clear that this was happening amongst these persecuted Jewish Christians. In James 4:12, they were slandering one another—probably blaming each other for certain failures. In James 1:13, James had to tell them that God would never tempt them to do evil and that God cannot be tempted. God was not to blame; he only gives good and perfect gifts (Jam 1:17). Like Adam and Eve, people have a natural tendency to blame God and others for problems and to minimize personal responsibility. People commonly blame their parents, pastors, teachers, bosses, co-workers, friends, government officials, political parties, and everyone else. And since blaming others is our default setting, many conflicts never get resolved. Many marriage counselors can never even begin to move a struggling couple towards reconciliation because both keep focusing on the other’s fault.
In this text, James implements basic conflict resolution by not allowing them to only focus on the others’ failures but, instead, helping them to see their contribution to the conflict. Certainly, there is a place for pointing out the failures of others, but we must recognize that because of our sinful nature, we tend to exaggerate the faults of others and be blind to our own. When we blame others and many times unintentionally exaggerate their faults, we often instigate conflict or stoke the fires of existing conflict. Our blindness will even at times lead us to blame others when they haven’t committed any wrongs at all. That’s how sin works. Because of this reality, Christ said before we help somebody else with their sin, we need to take the plank out of our eye, so we can see clearly to help remove the speck in another’s eye (Matt 7:3-5). Therefore, to resolve conflicts, we must be careful of blaming others. We tend to exaggerate the blame and minimize our personal responsibility. This leads to the second point.
Application Question: How have you seen or experienced this tendency in humanity to constantly blame others, even exaggerating their faults, while minimizing their personal responsibility? Why is this so common? How can we make sure we are seeing others’ faults clearly, so we can resolve conflicts?
To Resolve Conflict, We Must Battle Sin in Our Hearts
Where do the conflicts and where do the quarrels among you come from? Is it not from this, from your passions that battle inside you? You desire and you do not have; you murder and envy and you cannot obtain; you quarrel and fight.
James 4:1-2
After asking the rhetorical question of where conflicts begin, James says, “Is it not from this, from your passions that battle inside you?” (v. 1). Certainly, it’s possible to be in a conflict where only one side committed a wrong; however, that rarely happens. Often, there is sin on our part, even if that is only in how we responded to a wrong done to us or in a sinful motive. Because of this, James says our conflicts come from sinful “passions” inside of us. The word “passions” comes from the Greek word “hēdonōn,” from which we get the English words “hedonist” and “hedonism.”[3] Hedonism is the belief that the chief goal of people should be to fulfill their pleasures. James described this previously in James 3:14-16: The selfish ambition and envy among these believers was leading to disorder and every evil practice. When selfish ambition rules our hearts, conflict is inevitable because anybody who gets in the way of fulfilling our desires becomes a distraction and at worse an enemy.
Interpretation Question: Does this mean pursuing pleasure is wrong?
With that said, it must be noted that pursuing pleasure, in and of itself, is not wrong. In 1 Timothy 6:17, Paul said that God “provides us with all things for our enjoyment.” This includes food, sleep, entertainment, relationships, and even sex. Desires for these things become sinful when pursued apart from God’s will—in a way that is harmful to us and others. In considering how pleasures and passions are not sinful in themselves, in the book Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis described a senior demon training a novice demon on this reality. He said:
Never forget that when we are dealing with any pleasure in its healthy and normal and satisfying form, we are, in a sense, on the Enemy’s ground. I know we have won many a soul through pleasure. All the same, it is His invention, not ours. He made the pleasures: all our research so far has not enabled us to produce one. All we can do is to encourage the humans to take the pleasures which our Enemy has produced, at times, or in ways, or in degrees, which He has forbidden. Hence we always try to work away from the natural condition of any pleasure to that in which it is least natural. An ever increasing craving for an ever diminishing pleasure is the formula.[4]
Since God created pleasure for our enjoyment (1 Tim 6:17), believers should enjoy pleasure more than the world since. He is glorified when we enjoy his creation—including the beauty in nature, fellowship with people, and the gifts and passions he has given us. By enjoying God’s gifts properly, we are enjoying him. Some have called this concept, “Christian hedonism.” However, when we pursue pleasure before God and outside of God’s intended purpose, it leads to all types of evil, including conflict and wars, which was happening among these Jewish Christians.
After sharing how conflict really begins—with our selfish, perverted, unfulfilled desires—James describes how they lead to conflict, “You desire and you do not have; you murder and envy and you cannot obtain; you quarrel and fight” (v. 2). We want respect but don’t get it, so we fight with others to bend them to our will. We want near perfection from someone’s work but don’t get it, so we criticize them when they don’t perform as we expect. We want more money but don’t get it, so we complain and at times work with minimal effort, causing conflict in the workplace. In describing the intensity of our evil motives, James uses the word “envy,” which can also be translated “covet.” From this Greek word, we get the English word “zealot” or “zealous,” which shows how strong these inner, evil desires can be.[5] Essentially, quarreling and fighting begin when we intensely want something that we don’t have. These intense desires can even lead to murder (v. 2).
Interpretation Question: Is James referring to literal murder?
Some commentators think that James is not referring to literal murder. Throughout the book, James constantly alludes to the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5-7). Because of that, some have called the book of James a practical commentary on Christ’s sermon. In it, Christ associated being angry with murder, since anger is the beginning of murder (Matt 5:21-22). Many believe James is referring to this by the term murder—being murderously angry at someone which leads to conflict. However, there is no compelling evidence within the text to not take “murder” literally.[6] In fact, in James 5:1-6, he condemns the wealthy landowners who were taking advantage of the poor workers and even murdering some of them. In James 5:6, he says, “You have condemned and murdered the righteous person, although he does not resist you.” Since James wrote the letter to believers, these wealthy murderers were in the church. Therefore, it is likely that murder or murders had happened among these scattered believers—no doubt shaming Christ’s name amongst the world and scandalizing many believers.
This depth of evil being in the church should not surprise us. With David, his coveting of another man’s wife led him to murder one of his friends and best soldiers, a man named Uriah. With Absalom, David’s son, his coveting the kingdom led him to try to kill his father. Also, with the Pharisees, the spiritual leaders of God’s people, their desire for power and their perceived threat to it from Jesus, provoked them to kill him. There is no good reason in the text to believe that this type of evil was not happening amongst these believers, who were obviously in intense conflict. In fact, not recognizing that such evils happened amongst early believers, can potentially leave believers unprepared and unguarded by a false sense of security. Great evils await our relationships and churches if we don’t fight to maintain unity. Ephesians 4:3 says, “making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” “Make every effort” comes from a root word that means “to make haste”[7]—meaning we need to be zealous and spare no effort in keeping and restoring Christian unity.
In addition, though many have never seen or heard of an evil like murder happening in our contemporary churches, we have certainly seen it in other ways. James’ reference to murder could include things like abortion or even suicide. Unfortunately, the intense desire for comfort, an easier path in life, and secular success has caused professing believers to murder their unborn. Equally unfortunate, when a believer’s desire for success, acceptance, love, and joy are unfulfilled, it has at times resulted in suicide. Recently, there has been a wave of suicides among pastors and other spiritual leaders.[8] Yes, believers have an intense civil war happening within their sinful hearts, and when not soberly attended to, it can lead to terrible deeds, including war with others and murder. It must be remembered that those at war within themselves will always be at war with others. Therefore, we must fight our inner battle with sin first before reconciling with others.
Application Question: How can we resolve this civil war happening within ourselves, so we can resolve existing conflict (and also prevent conflict)?
1. To resolve our inner conflict (and resolve or prevent outer conflict), we must recognize wrong attitudes and repent of them.
Since our sinful attitudes lead to conflict, we must recognize them as seeds of war. This is why Christ equated anger with murder (Matt 5:21-22). He understood it as the seed of murder, which must be removed before it is unwittingly planted—causing conflict. Do we want vengeance for a wrong committed against us? We should repent. Are our motives selfish and prideful in wanting to confront this person—totally focused on our benefit instead of God’s and the person’s? Then, we should repent. Recognizing our sinful attitudes and repenting of them will help us not get into conflict and help us resolve it with others.
As a general principle, this is a mark of spiritual maturity. The spiritually mature often struggle with the same inner sins as the immature. The main difference is they deal with them on the heart level before they are ever practiced on the outside. They recognize and repent of lust, including removing themselves from anything that is creating it in them; whereas the spiritually immature unwisely cultivate it in their mind, by their TV shows, relationships, reading, and conversations before they fall into it. Likewise, we must do the same with sinful attitudes that lead to conflict—recognizing and repenting of them to prevent or reconcile a conflict.
2. To resolve our inner conflict (and resolve or prevent outer conflict), we must be filled with the Spirit.
While talking about the conflict happening amongst the Galatians, Paul said this:
However, if you continually bite and devour one another, beware that you are not consumed by one another. But I say, live by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. For the flesh has desires that are opposed to the Spirit, and the Spirit has desires that are opposed to the flesh, for these are in opposition to each other, so that you cannot do what you want.
Galatians 5:15-17
We must understand that every believer still has a sinful nature, which is prone to sin and conflict. In Galatians 5:20-21, he describes some of its evil fruits: “hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions, factions, envying, murder…” To battle these, Paul challenged believers to live by the Spirit, so they wouldn’t fall into these evil attitudes. To live in the Spirit, we must submit to God instead of our flesh on a moment by moment, day by day, basis. This includes disciplines like studying God’s Word, obeying it, praying (which James will mention in verse 3), worshiping God, and serving others. When we do this on a moment by moment basis, we will not fulfill the lusts of our flesh, including its tendency toward conflict. Instead, we will produce fruits that lead to peace, like love, patience, joy, and self-control, among others (Gal 5:22-23).
Practically, this means if we are not daily abiding in God, including starting our day with him, we will be more prone to conflict, as our flesh will be strong. Also, when in a conflict, it is helpful to take time to get alone with God before seeking to resolve it. By being alone with God first, we can better evaluate our motives, confess them, and gain wisdom on how to respond to someone we are in conflict with. By dealing with our inner conflict through the Spirit, we will be better prepared for outer conflict.
3. To resolve our inner conflict (and resolve or prevent conflict), we must choose to focus on others’ desires rather than our own.
In Philippians 2:3-4, Paul said this to a church in conflict:
Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself. Each of you should be concerned not only about your own interests, but about the interests of others as well.
Because of our sin nature, we naturally focus on ourselves and our hurts over others, which leads to conflict. Therefore, to resolve conflict, we must as a discipline think about others, including their motives. Why are they responding this way? Is it possible they misheard me? Is it possible they are reacting this way because of something unrelated to me—potentially in their past? By understanding them, we can better relate to them and prevent conflict or resolve it. It also will help resolve our own inner turmoil and bitterness, as we become sympathetic to the pain of others.
A person at war with themselves will always be at war with others. Therefore, to resolve conflict, we must focus on our inner battle with sin first.
Application Question: In what ways have you experienced or heard of toxic conflict within a church? How does church conflict negatively affect believers and unbelievers? How is God calling you to fight your inner battle with sin first, in order to resolve conflicts with others? Are there any reoccurring conflicts with others that God wants you to work on resolving, and if so, how?
To Resolve Conflict, We Must Develop a God-Centered Prayer Life
You desire and you do not have; you murder and envy and you cannot obtain; you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask; you ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, so you can spend it on your passions.
James 4:2-3
James says one of the remedies to the civil war happening inside of us and therefore war with others is having a God-centered prayer life—a prayer life rooted in God’s glory instead of self-glory. He says, “You do not have because you do not ask” (v. 2b). The word “ask” is in the present tense and has a sense of pleading, begging, imploring.[9] James was not talking about offering one quick prayer request—though that may have been all that was needed. He was talking about them lacking a focused and continual pleading with God over their desires, which led to them selfishly taking things into their own hands—leading to conflict.
It’s hard to not picture the story of Jacob when considering James’ focus on prayer in the context of conflict. In Genesis 32, Jacob had his angry, father-in-law, Laban, behind him and his brother, Esau, who previously wanted to kill him, in front. What did Jacob do in this difficult situation? He got alone—no doubt to petition God—and the Angel of the Lord appeared. In response, Jacob grabbed God and wrestled with him, continually asking for a blessing, which in the context, at the minimum, referred to protection and reconciliation with his murderous brother. Consequently, God did bless him. Jacob and his family were not killed by Esau; they left that situation safely. Likewise, we must learn to continually get alone with God to plead and beg with him about our relationships: peace at work, good communication in our marriages, and reconciliation in our churches and communities.
James addresses two deficient types of prayer-lives among believers which ultimately led to conflict or remaining it.
1. Believers must be careful of prayerlessness and insufficient prayer.
Often, when in conflict, we are active: We tell friends our side of the story, seek counsel, read books or articles, which might help, but many times, we neglect the most important thing—prayer. Again, James said this to the believers in the congregations he wrote to, “You do not have because you do not ask” (v. 2b). (1) Some of these believers were not praying at all. Most likely, they weren’t praying because they felt sufficient. They didn’t feel their need for God in their home life, their workplace, their difficult relationships, or their day to day routines. Nor did they understand what James had already taught, that every good and perfect gift came from God—including peace in relationships (Jam 1:17). Possibly, some weren’t praying because they didn’t want to pray for the people they were in conflict with. In Matthew 5:44, Christ commands us to pray for our enemies. It’s hard to be angry and pray for somebody at the same time. Those who want to hang onto their anger, commonly avoid God, who wants them to pray for their enemies and forgive them (Matt 6:14-15). (2) Some were probably praying, but not praying consistently, as the Greek word for “ask” implies (pleading, begging, etc.). Lacking prayer commonly leads to worldliness and conflict because, apart from God, we try to achieve things in our fleshly strength.
It must be remembered that the primary purpose of prayer is not getting our will done but God being glorified, and his will done. In the Lord’s Prayer, Christ started the prayer with, “Our Father in heaven, may your name be honored, may your kingdom come, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:9b-10). God is the focus of the first two petitions of the model prayer because he should be the primary focus of our prayers. Therefore, when we are continually praying, God often conforms our will to his. Sometimes that means he gives us patience to endure something difficult. Other times, he gives us wisdom to change the situation. Either way, through prayer, we become more aligned with what God is doing and not just simply what we want. Also, as mentioned, prayer is key to getting God’s will done in our situation, including the resolving of conflict. If we don’t pray, often God will not move.
Charles Spurgeon said this about our need to bring requests before God:
We might state it as a virtual spiritual law: that God does not give unless we ask. If we possess little of God and His Kingdom, almost certainly we have asked little. “Remember this text: Jehovah says to his own Son, ‘Ask of me and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.’ If the royal and divine Son of God cannot be exempted from the rule of asking that he may have, you and I cannot expect the rule to be relaxed in our favor. Why should it be?”[10]
God commanded his Son to ask for the nations; likewise, we must bring petitions before God—praying for things like patience, endurance, wisdom, healing, and reconciliation. Unity amongst believers was important to Christ. Therefore, before he went to the cross, he spent time praying for it. In John 17:20-21, Christ prayed, “that they will all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. I pray that they will be in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me.” We also should continually plead with God for unity, including reconciliation in our relationships and the church.
2. Be careful of praying selfishly.
James said of others in the church, “you ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, so you can spend it on your passions” (v. 3). Some were praying and possibly persisting in it, but their desires were selfish. Their desires might have been to stop being hassled, to be more comfortable, for God to remove someone, to have control, to be recognized, or to even have more money. At first, these desires don’t seem too bad, but when considered against the main purpose of prayer—to glorify God and build his kingdom—they are deficient. They are selfish. When James says, “so you can spend it on your passions,” the word “spend” is the same one used to describe the Prodigal Son’s wasteful spending in Luke 15:14. In that story, the father gave the son all he selfishly asked for, though it only led to the son’s demise and eventual return to the father. Sometimes God may allow us to have what we selfishly pray for, even though it might not be good for us. When God does, he allows it so we can experience the consequences of what we’re asking for—to rid us of selfish motives so we can better focus on him, as in the story of the Prodigal Son. But, most times, by God’s mercy, he just says, “No,” to our selfish and unwise requests. Again, prayer is not simply a shopping list we bring before God. The ultimate purpose of prayer is to glorify God and get his will done on earth. Therefore, when we pray with selfish motives like being comfortable, gaining wealth, or to simply stop fighting, without the greater goal of God’s glory—which includes the salvation of souls, believers being edified, and people being reconciled—we pray amiss. First Corinthians 10:31 says, “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.”
Many times, how God wants us to pray for a situation is clear from Scripture—such as he promises to forgive our sins if we ask (1 John 1:9), to save us if we confess Christ as our Lord (Rom 10:9-10, John 3:16), to provide for our needs as we seek his kingdom (Matt 6:33, Ps 23), and to give us wisdom if we ask in faith (Jam 1:5). He desires for us to live in peace and righteousness and calls for us to pray for our leaders for those purposes (1 Tim 2:1-2). However, sometimes, we don’t know exactly how to pray in a situation. Is it God’s will to heal this person? Is it God’s will for us to get a certain job? In those situations, we come to God in faith and humble reliance—knowing that he knows best and will do what is best, as we ask him. At those times, it is good to follow Christ’s example of prayer, right before going to cross, when he asked God to take the cup of suffering away from him, but also said, “Yet not my will but yours be done” (Lk 22:42). We bring our requests before God, but we should ultimately pray for God’s good and perfect will to be done, since he knows best.
When in conflict, certainly, we should pray for reconciliation, peace, and righteousness, and yet trust that God’s unrevealed will is always best. Occasionally, God will allow evil for a greater good, even as he allowed Christ’s death on the cross to lead to the salvation of many. Certainly, in those times, we must, even more so, trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding (Prov 3:5). Also, it may be God’s will for reconciliation to happen, but he chooses to allow it to tarry, so he can teach us patience, endurance, love, and faith. That’s part of the reason God-centered prayer is so important in conflict. It conforms our hearts to his will (whatever that may be), it gets rid of selfishness and impatience, and brings his power in our lives to complete his purposes. Therefore, there is no room for selfishness in prayer. Prayer is meant to be God-centered, not self-centered. In general, God only answers God-centered prayer.
Are we practicing a God-centered prayer? When Christ was on the earth, he prayed for unity amongst believers, which ultimately would convince people to believe in him (John 17:20-21). No doubt, he continues to pray for it, even in heaven (Heb 7:25). Christ also taught us to pray for God’s kingdom come (Matt 6:10). Paul taught that God’s kingdom was righteousness, peace, and joy in the Spirit (Rom 14:17). Therefore, as we faithfully pray it prepares our hearts to avoid conflict, to be agents of peace when there is conflict, and brings the God of peace into our often-disgruntled relationships.
Are we willing to be agents of peace in our commonly divided families, workplaces, churches, and nations? No doubt, God is looking for people who will bring his peace into this divided world through God-centered prayer. To resolve conflict, we must faithfully pray.
Application Question: Why do believers often struggle with prayerlessness or insufficient prayer? What are some disciplines that can help us develop a more consistent prayer life? How have you experienced God bringing reconciliation into relationships through faithful prayer? What relationships are you praying for at the moment? How is God challenging you to grow in God-centered prayer—prayer that is rooted in bringing glory to God?
Conclusion
How can we resolve conflict, especially conflict with other believers? Though the resolution of a conflict is not only up to us, according to James, we have a very important role to play.
To Resolve Conflict, We Must Be Careful of Our Tendency to Blame Others
To Resolve Conflict, We Must Battle Sin in Our Hearts
To Resolve Conflict, We Must Develop a God-Centered Prayer Life
Prayer Prompts
Pray that God would forgive us for our evil motives, which have led and contributed to personal and corporate conflict. Pray that God would also forgive our churches, communities, and nations for the divisions amongst them.
Pray for unity in our families, friendships, workplaces, and nations.
Pray that God would bring glory to himself through our lives and the communities we are members of.
>>> For more, check out: BTG James: Developing a Faith that Works.
________________________________________________________________________
[1] MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1998). James (p. 184). Chicago: Moody Press.
[2] MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1998). James (p. 184). Chicago: Moody Press.
[3] MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1998). James (pp. 186–187). Chicago: Moody Press.
[4] Hughes, R. K. (1991). James: faith that works (pp. 170–171). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.
[5] MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1998). James (p. 189). Chicago: Moody Press.
[6] Hughes, R. K. (1991). James: faith that works (p. 168). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.
[7] Hughes, R. K. (1990). Ephesians: the mystery of the body of Christ (p. 125). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books
[8] Accessed 3/28/20 from https://erlc.com/resource-library/articles/why-do-pastors-die-by-suicide
[9] MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1998). James (p. 190). Chicago: Moody Press.
[10] Guzik, D. (2013). James (Jas 4:1–3). Santa Barbara, CA: David Guzik.