“Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” James 4:4.

  1. They that are in their spiritual adultery have shifted their love from God to idolatry.
  2. They have demonstrated a shift from loyalty to God to the world.
  • These adulterers and adulteresses, males and females, have forsaken God to have a reunion with Satan, they have packed hurriedly from the house of God to the house of Satan to marry him because of the glamorous things of the world.
  1. These adulterers and adulteresses have demonstrated unfaithfulness, deceitfulness disloyalty to God, to show their great love to the world,
  2. These adulterers and adulteresses have deserted and forsaken God to show their love and loyalty to the world, to the criminal evils of the world,
  3. These adulterers and their female counterparts hate God, hate the gospel of Christ and cherish more and more the things of this world.
  • They indeed set their evil desires upon the throne of God in their minds, in their hearts.
  • These enemies of God have so much made friendship of the world that they kill, steal, kidnap in order to have more and more of their worldly gains.
  1. These adulterers and adulteresses once tasted of the love of God but have now abandoned Him because of the deceit of the world.
  2. These adulterers and adulteresses forget the goodness of God who gave us his only begotten Son to die for our sins; rather they are in tight friendship with the wicked world.
  3. The bitterness and anger of God was seen among these adulterers and adulteresses in the time of prophet Ezekiel: “And they that escape of you shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captives, because I am broken with their whorish (adulterous) heart, which hath departed from me, and with their idols…” 6:9

In the time of Ezekiel the nation of Israel had deserted God to be serving idols. They consequently suffered from sword, famine and pestilence.

In the time of prophet Hosea the people of God started to sacrifice to idols: “They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains and burn incense upon the hills…” Hosea 4:13

Today people are still burning incense in their place of worship.

Questions:
  1. Are they helping God and Jesus Christ to drive away evil spirits from the altar?
  2. Are they also offering God a sacrifice of sweet smelling savor from the incense burnt?
  • Is such sacrifice more effective than the blood of Jesus Christ already sacrificed on the cross?
  1. Can such burning of incense provide salvation for the sinner?

The Lord looks down upon the adulterous ones who have deserted him to take delight in serving other gods.

It is not possible to be serving God and idols together. It is an abomination to God.

  1. In Athens those who were seen serving idols, ignorantly assumed and indicated: “For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription TO THE UNKNOWN GOD whom therefore ye ignorantly worship him declare I unto you.” It is true that some are still serving their idols with devotions; they are devoted in their drumming, in their dancing round their idols that cannot talk, see or move.

Most of our communities in this nation have great inclinations for worshipping of idols, although you still find them in their places of worship or in the house of prayers.

The Bible’s stand is clear: “Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils, ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s Table, and of the table of devils.” 1Cor.10:21. Those who do such are still adulterous.

So, that is calling for faithfulness to God, the maker of heaven and earth and his only begotten Son: “Believe in God believe also in me” John 14:2. We do not remember that because of God’s deep love for us, he gave his only begotten Son who suffered death on the cross for our sins, himself without sins.
  1. “Know ye not that friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” James 4:4.

It is disheartening to notice that the scope of friendship with the contemporary world is astronomically widening. Not as wide as it was in the time of the early Apostles. Today apart from the embarrassing desires for idol worshipping on our land, many fanciful things, life styles, inventions, glamorously enticing things, worldly attraction, love of money for quick wealth and desire for power and positions have covered the whole land. Crimes have increased tremendously. Indeed, no leader on our land cares for the poor students whose universities have shut down for too long while the rich parents can afford the school fees in the private universities within or outside our nation.

Friendship with the world has made people join secret societies to acquire power. Friendship with the world has made bribery and corruption thrive on our land and in our nation, it is said that money is being distributed in polling units to voters during elections. I do not know.

Now if you are still making friendship with the world and making enmity with God, doing what displeases God, come to Christ and confess your sins to God, and turn away completely from them. Why not make friendship with God with Jesus Christ and let the world be your enemy and let the world hate you for righteousness sake.

Remember: “For God shall bring every work to judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” Ecc. 12:14 “He that is just… be just still…that is filthy… be filthy still… that is righteous, be righteous still, that is holy, be holy still… I come quickly… to give every man according as his work shall be.” Rev. 22: 11-12.