He’s Coming
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you doubleminded. James 4:8
Draw Near – Today we would never imagine that this Greek word was filled with expectant mystery and terrifying holiness for the early Christian church. Today we don’t recognize its explosive connection to the Old Testament prophet Isaiah. Today we think this is just another devotionally stimulating exhortation. Get close to God! Come into His presence! Join the praise and worship band in order to excite your spiritual sensitivity! Twenty centuries later we have forgotten what this means.
In the first century, this Greek word, engidzo, was a sacred word, a harbinger of God’s coming eschaton, a word of power and awe and mystery that pointed us toward the horizon, toward the day of judgment. In those days, “to draw near” was not so much about our need for a devotional experience. It was a declaration of the coming of the King! James, the head of the Jewish Christian church in Jerusalem, certainly had this in mind. God is drawing near – whether we like it or not. He is coming to reclaim His world. We have two options: to run expectantly toward His arrival or to flee for our lives. James suggests the first. All the world clamors for the second.
Now that you know that this word is filled with terrifying power, you can appreciate James’ context. Cleanse! Purify! Why? Because the end is rushing toward you with inexorable fury. Wake up! Don’t you see that God is approaching? How can you be complacent? How can you tolerate the sin in your midst? Don’t you know that God comes this time in wrath? What’s the matter with you? Have you forgotten that the God who forgives is still the God who is the Judge of all the earth?
Only with this context in mind can we fully appreciate James’ command. There was never any hope of drawing near to the Judge until our guilt was cast off by His Son. Now this word, brimming with Old Testament fire, can become a word of comfort. Now we can draw near without fear of the flame. And the closer we come to the God who is holy, the more we will need to cleanse our hands and purify our hearts. It is a lifetime of repentance that leads to salvation in the middle of the furnace.
Are you ready for God to draw near?
