The nature of sin has virtually been lost in our day. The nature of human beings has been virtually lost in our day. The nature and character of God has virtually been lost in our day. These three things fit together as well. The very nature of a sinner, as described by Ephesians 2:1-3, is that s/he is dead in its sins and trespasses and by nature is a child of wrath. In this we see that a person by nature is a sinner. In other words, as has been said many times in history, a man is not a sinner because he sins but sins because he is a sinner. The nature that all human beings are born with is that of sin. What is sin? I John 3:4 defines sin for us as lawlessness. But what is lawlessness? Jesus taught us in the Great Commandments that the law is only kept by love. What we see, then, is that human beings are born dead in sin and live in sins and trespasses (violating the law of God). By definition sin is that which is not love and the Greatest Commandment is love for God. What is a human being doing if s/he does not love God?
Here is an important point. Sinners do not just do things that are bad, but they are bad. The reason they are bad is that they do not have the love of God in them and are by nature sinners against God. But if they do not have the love of God in them, they are actually haters of Him. This is not a pleasant teaching and it will not tickle the ears of those who read or hear it. However, it is biblical. Human beings are divided into two camps. It has been said many times that all human beings are either saints or aints. That is true, but even more all human beings either love God or they hate Him. It is hard for people to hear that their nice relative who is very religious and does good things might actually hate the true God. But that is exactly what Scripture teaches.
The Pharisees were very religious and claimed to love God. But when the perfect love of God came to earth in human flesh, they hated Him. When Jesus Christ raised Lazarus from the dead, they hated Him for that and wanted to kill Jesus and Lazarus. When Jesus did miracles and the people followed Him, the Pharisees hated Jesus. They began to fear that they would lose their positions of power and influence and so they tried even harder to kill Jesus. The same thing would be true today. If Jesus came back in bodily form it would be demonstrated to all that man hate God. When the true God is preached in the glory of His sovereignty and grace people hate that God. Men and women who are dead in the sin of love for themselves and their own sufficiency hate the command of God to love Him with all of their being and to die to self and trust in His sufficiency.
James 4:4 gives us some of this teaching that is so unpleasant to the natural man: “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” This text does not mince words and beat around the bush in order to hide the things that pierce the heart. It tells us without equivocation that a simple friendship with the world, not to mention to love the world as John teaches in I John, is an act of spiritual adultery and is hostility toward God. These are not easy words and we must try to understand them rather than explain them away. Before James 4:4 he gives us a basic idea of what worldliness is like: “What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures” (James 4:1-3).
Notice that James is writing to religious people and those within the professing Church. In verses 1-3 he does not speak of committing physical adultery, but instead as lusting for things that led to their quarreling. The reason these people had so many conflicts is that they sought their pleasures and even prayed for them (apparently) at the expense of others. A mere friendship with the world is defined in this context as seeking for certain pleasures. This is what God terms to us as spiritual adultery. Spiritual adultery is when a soul is unfaithful to its Creator. Spiritual adultery is when a soul chooses worldly things for its pleasures rather than God. Spiritual adultery is when the soul prays for its pleasures rather than prays to seek God. Spiritual adultery is when there are quarrels and conflicts in a church because some are seeking worldly pleasures rather than the love of God. This friendship with the world is hostility toward God and makes self an enemy of God. We must not think that this only speaks to really evil things, but it speaks to all that desire the pleasures and things of the world even if they are in the name of religion. Our religion itself can be a seeking of our own pleasure and a hating of God. All religious people also either hate God or love Him. All liberals either hate God or love Him. All conservatives either hate God or love Him. All Arminians either hate God or love Him. All Reformed people either hate God or love Him. All unbelievers hate God and all true believers love Him. It is one or the other as there is no middle ground at all.
God Loves... Himself 
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