Henry Krabbendam - James - World Evangelical Alliance

dividual and personal (Zodhiates, II, 259-260). Submission represents “a voluntary
act of placing oneself under the authority of someone else to show him
respect and obedience” (Kistemaker, 139). Since God is the Creator and man
is a creature, he owes his total allegiance and humble worship to the Almighty
(Dan. 4:34). When the Lord entered into a covenant with Abraham
(Gen. 17:1-14), the very fact that God is God, necessitated Abraham to walk
before Him in perfection (Gen. 17:1). Since God is the Lawgiver, man must
listen to the Divine will and obey it, cheerfully and willingly. Since God is a
Father to his children and seeks their good (Rom. 8:28), they must also submit
to His providential dealings with them, including chastisements (1 Cor.
11:32; Heb. 12:5-14), and trials (Rom. 5:3-5; Heb. 10:32-34; Jam. 1:2). In
short, for us to submit to God is “sincerely, freely, faithfully” (Manton, 358)
and cheerfully “to place ourselves under his Lordship” with all that this implies
(Moo, 1985, 192). In doing so the believer enters as a soldier into cosmic
warfare on God’s side in every sphere and structure of life, regardless the
cost.
The rebel does not want the “good” the Lord has in view (Rom. 8:28).
According to Romans 8:29, this “good” consists of conformity to the image
of the Lord Jesus Christ and is nothing else than holiness of life. The child of
God, who has received a new heart in his rebirth, and consequently possesses
a thirst for holiness, experiences the pain of chastisement, but will nevertheless
rejoice. He knows only of “one circumstance,” and that circumstance is
God who loves him. He desires only one goal, that is, to be pleasing to his
God. Once again, the costs are completely unimportant.
The wrath of God drives man to total submission. The mercy of God
draws man to total submission. Therefore, it is essential that men acknowledge
the standard of the Law of God, confess their sins, agree that the penalty
of eternal death is deserved, confess that the salvation of wretches like them,
is totally in the hands of God, and turn to Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen
Savior, as the only way to forgiveness and peace with God, as well as the way
to holiness and fellowship with God. 333
One commentator holds that James aims at the conversion of his readers.
However, this may be a fundamental misunderstanding of both the text and
its context. James does not write an evangelistic treatise to unbelievers who
are in need of regeneration or justification. He writes an edificational letter to
believers who are in need of Gospel holiness! As is shown below, this is
analogous to Jesus’ Letter to the Laodiceans (Rev. 3:14-22). Of course, if in
the process the Spirit of God would do his regenerating work, it would be an
333
For the necessity of submission, see also Job 4:9; Ps. 80:16; Ezek. 22:14; Rom. 14:11; 1
Cor. 10:22; 1 Pet. 5:6.
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