Passions and Quarrels: When Faith Is Absent (James 4)

[Sung Psalm: 119:73-80}

[We apologize that there is no recording for this sermon. Please read the attached transcript}

Have you ever had to boil your water in order to drink it? I served as a missionary intern for a summer in Ghinda, Eritrea – in East Africa. I spent a month as the chaplain at the OPC hospital in Ghinda. I had to get my drinking water from a cistern.

I never forgot to boil my drinking water! Because every time I went to the cistern, and pulled a bucket of water up, there were always frogs – living or dead – floating in the water! Somehow, when you have dead frogs floating in your drinking water, you don’t forget to boil it!!

If you don’t boil your water in such a place, you'll wind up with giardia, dysentery, and a whole host of intestinal bugs!

James says, in effect, that we need to boil our desires. "Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded!" Your heart is contaminated. Your cistern is full of frogs! If you think that you can just carry on and ignore it – you will destroy your whole community!