Spiritual Adultery, Pt. 2

August 21st, 2026
by Lance Waldie

James 4:4-6 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. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: “He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”? 6 But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (NASB95)

James’ accusations against some in his audience about committing murder (4:2) and being adulteresses (v. 4) are serious accusations that no one would expect to find in a Christian church. Yet according to Christ Himself, we commit murder of the heart each time we become angry with a fellow human being (Matt. 5:21-22). So, although someone may have been guilty of that capital crime, all who were struggling with bitter jealousy and selfish ambition (3:16) within the church, those who were quarreling and at odds, were guilty of murder of the heart. Moreover, by abandoning their love for God and befriending the evil world system—being envious of others and resenting them for what they lacked and what others had, they had become spiritual adulterers. James says very plainly “that friendship with the world is hostility toward God,” and one who desires friendship with the world “makes himself and an enemy of God” (v. 4).

So in v. 5, James is not quoting a particular passage from the OT; rather, he speaks of “the Scripture” as a whole with regard to how God perceives those who depart from Him and befriend the world: “He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us” (NASB). Though variously translated in other English translations, the meaning is that God is jealous of the “spirit” of man to whom He granted life but which has gone astray from faithfulness to Him—spiritual adultery. Or, it is the “Spirit” of God who indwells believers who is jealous of the Chrisitan living in spiritual adultery. Either way, James would have been thinking of OT passages like Exodus 20:5; 34:14, Zechariah 8:2 and the prophet Hosea’s ministry—all of which speak of God’s righteous jealousy over His own people who have gone astray.

So what of those who befriend the world today and have gone astray from Christ, their first love? Through their own weaknesses, they daily succumb to their hedonisms—pornography, leisure, materialism, etc. Others struggle with God’s fairness, questioning God’s goodness after a recent cancer diagnosis, a loved one’s death, a lost job, or a treacherous friend. Can there be grace for them? Yes! But not grace unto salvation, for God’s children already possess such grace. Christians in the sin of spiritual adultery can expect “greater grace” (v. 6), grace upon grace from God. We recall Hebrews 4:16: “So, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (italics mine). And Paul’s words in Romans 5:20: “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” Likewise, John wrote, “For of His fulness we have all received, and grace upon grace” (John 1:16).

What is the avenue for receiving this “greater grace” from God when we are in the midst of spiritual adultery? James quotes Proverbs 3:34 which says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” In other words, God will welcome spiritual adulterers back into fellowship through humble repentance. Without humble repentance, no matter what a professed believer in Christ might believe, his or her actions will vindicate whether they truly love Christ.

Food For Thought
Our world has long since departed from any faithfulness to God. Even in our churches today professed Christians are living in spiritual adultery, many of them in physical adultery. We have this sinful tendency to covet what others have, becoming envious that they have what we want. Isn’t that the essence of socialism and communism—people who are jealous of those wealthier than they, believing life isn’t fair? No wonder communism is popular today, for it preys on people’s jealousies. This satanic system comes straight from the devil, for the devil himself challenged Eve in Eden that God was ripping her off (Gen. 3:1-6), keeping her from what she coveted. We must therefore recognize how wicked coveting is, the quarrels that result from it, and what it all ultimately leads to: spiritual adultery punished eternally by God. If you’ve been guilty of it, however, God’s grace is abundant for those who repent. Only for those who repent.