Breaking Up Is Hard To Do (Part 1) 
James 4:4 - Introduction to series and reading of James 


I believe that this verse, James 4:4, is the core theme of James’ letter. Listen to the verse again. “You adulterous 
people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend 
of the world becomes an enemy of God.” There is a confusion that develops when we try to live in two worlds. 
As James is outlining it in his letter, confusion and ultimately a divided heart and divided loyalty arises in our 
lives when we as Christians fail to make a decisive and clear break in our relationship with the world around us. 
James makes it very clear. When we respond in faith to the call to become a Christian disciple of Jesus Christ, 
but continue to maintain some kind of relationship with the world, we will ultimately be an enemy of God, that 
is we will ultimately stand in active, hostile opposition to God and his call for obedience from our lives. 


In high school I dated the same girl for 3 years. Near the end of our Senior year we broke up. For the first few 
weeks afterward, things were ok. Being near the end of the school year, there were lots of things to distract us 
from one another and the pain of the loss of our relationship. Then came prom. 


Neither of us wanted to go with anyone else, but now going with each other seemed a bit strange. We had only 
been broken up for about a month, but you know it’s senior prom, and I still cared about this person, and well, 
what’s the harm - I know her, I can easily be comfortable around her, this really won’t be a big deal. We talked 
about it and decided that for that night, we could put aside our struggles, and be the couple that we had been 
before - just for that night. 


I totally own that I was the one who could not do that. All of the awkwardness, all of the strangeness, it was all 
me. Do I hold her hand or not? Do I put my arm around her or not? Do we take pictures together or not? Do we 
slow dance with arms around each other, should we even dance at all? What if she wants to kiss me? What if I 
want to kiss her? Needless to say, I created a disaster of a night. Why? 


Because behavior and actions that were once natural, welcomed, and appreciated had now become self-
conscious, unwelcomed, and strange. This wasn’t because we found each other gross, but the nature of our 
relationship had changed. We were no longer dating, but I wanted to pretend that we were. And the only person 
I was fooling was me. 


When James says that friendship with the world is hatred toward God, he is calling out to Christian disciples to 
repent of their sin and make a clear break with their former way of life, to make a true break with the sinful 
behavior that has for so long characterized their lives. I have a secret to let you in on - this is much easier said 
than done. Am I alone in this? Isn’t it much easier to say that I have broken up with the world than to actually 
do it. Can I get a witness? 


James, like Jesus is calling Christian disciples to make a clean, clear, and unequivocal break with sin. This is the 
same call to discipleship that Jesus also made. Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself 
and take up his cross and follow me.” Jesus also talked about breaking up with the world when he said, “If 
anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters— 
yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. 27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me 
cannot be my disciple.” 

James is calling Christian disciples to far more than intellectual ascent to a set of beliefs. He is calling us to 
reflect in our behaviors and actions, in all our behaviors and actions - those easily seen and the others often 


hidden, to break-up with the world, to stop dating the world and dating God, and behave, act, and live in the 
relationship with God that we claim to profess fidelity to. 

I have the privilege over the next four weeks of speaking to you from God’s word. We will spend our time in 
James exploring a few of the areas of our lives that often draw us back into friendship and relationship with the 
world, and therefore, position us to be an enemy of God, to be actively hostile and opposed to his rule in our 
lives as his disciples. 

This morning I want to try something different. To begin this short series, by way of introduction I want James 
to speak for himself. In the first century church, it was common for letters, also called epistles, to be written to a 
group of people or a geographical region of people and the letter read in its entirety to the people gathered. The 
letter was read, given time for thought, and then dissected in order to both understand and implement the 
authors instructions, teachings, and pleadings. 

This morning as James speaks for himself I encourage you to listen to him build towards the theme of 
friendship with the world making us an enemy of God. There is no evidence from James’ letter that the original 
audience were overtly disclaiming God and consciously deciding to follow the world instead. But their tendency 
to imitate the world was the problem, and it is largely our problem today as well. So listen careful to James’ 
words now. 

(Read the letter from James)