Drawing Near in James 4
The ten commands in James 4 are one unified call to repentance, and the heart of it is verse 8, where God promises to meet us the moment we reconnect with Him.
Citizen Writers Fighting Censorship by Helping Americans Understand Issues Affecting the Republic.
The ten commands in James 4 are one unified call to repentance, and the heart of it is verse 8, where God promises to meet us the moment we reconnect with Him.
Genesis draws a sharp line between inside Eden (God’s dwelling) and outside Eden (the rest of earth). Humanity’s command to “fill the earth and subdue it” (Gen. 1:28) implies the world outside Eden was wild, undeveloped, and awaiting humanity’s rule. The Hebrew kavash (“subdue”) means to bring under order. You don’t “subdue” paradise. You subdue wilderness. The world outside Eden was not evil—just unfinished.
God’s Word tells us, in Proverbs Chapter 6, that there are seven things the Lord hates. In fact, Scripture uses not only the word “hate” but also “abomination.”
If Thomas Aquinas, the 13th-century Catholic theologian and philosopher, were to analyze the cultural landscape of the United States in 2025, he would likely conclude that society is trapped in an ancient cycle of temptation and sin, just as it has been throughout history.