Sermon Scripture: James 4:13-17
Sermon Title: Looking Ahead without Prideful Presumption
Sermon Outline:
- 4:13: The Extent of Presumption
- 4:14: The Problem with Presumption
- 4:15-16: The Path from Presumption
- 4:17: The Solution to Presumption
If you’re like me, you like to plan.
I would actually go so far as to say that planning is a large part of living. I suspect that many here would at least on the surface agree with that statement. That is to say, most of us appreciate planning at some level. However, my goal this morning is not so much to talk about planning, although I will, but instead to show from the book of James that if we’re not careful, we can easily slip into planning without God–something we call presumption.
My goal this morning is to help us look ahead to our future without presumption.
To do this, we’ll ask and answer three questions:
- What is presumption, and how far does it go?
- Why is presumption such a big deal, and what is the path from it?
- How do we rightly face our future free of presumption?
Repeat…
Now, to start this up, let’s look at this logically.
At a practical level, we would likely agree that planning is a good thing when done well, but when done poorly, it creates problems.
Now, what I mean by “good” is that planning done well helps us navigate a quite chaotic and confusing world. Think about navigation. Think about retirement. Yard work. Blueprints for a house. Renovation. Think about education. School and sports schedules. And so much more. So, on the one hand, planning is helpful.
Yet, we would also agree that it is possible to plan poorly. We’ve all experienced an adventure full of hope and excitement gone awry, haphazard vacation plans ending in disappointment and more than planned for expenses, camping trips coming to a close in rain-soaked sleeping bags and gear, and so much more.
The story about camping at Lake Ivey: This happened to my brothers and me one spring break. There we were, tents up, one day of fishing behind us, and then the rain hit. The wind blew our tents over on top of us, and we got soaked. A trip that began with hope ended not only with us getting soaked but also with our boat barely being saved from sinking, as it had been tied up incorrectly at the dock during the storm. Ugh.
Can y’all relate?
What do failed plans reveal about our hearts…our desires? What does planning with white-knuckles reveal? What does waiting anxiously for things to pan out reveal?
On the other hand, what about when our plans succeed? When we hit the mark. Do we assume “our gut” will guide us once again? How do you respond to plans that fail and to plans that succeed?
Do you resign yourself to fate? Do you ratchet up your grip on your future? Do you assume you know best, like last time? Or do you rest in God’s providence and do the next best thing?
What I’m asking us today is this: is it possible to make plans for our future with an expectation or assumption that oversteps our authority or power to bring those plans to fruition? To put it another way, can we presume upon our future–good or bad, success or failure–insofar as we assume the outcome before it occurs? To put it theologically, is it possible to plan without God?
That’s really the heart of our time together. You’re likely realizing by now that what I’m focusing on this morning is much deeper than planning in the temporal material domain. I want us to see, from God’s Word, an insight that reaches into our hearts and touches the nerve of our trust in God. I want us to look at our future with a mindset fixed on God’s glory. I want us to peer down our particular paths of life with an eye toward our Lord first, and not our own self-sufficiency.
However, despite how well we plan, the fact of the matter and reality is that our lives depend entirely on God. And the book of James helps us to understand this without resignation to fate on the one hand, and without presumption on the other.
Indeed, here in James 4:13-17, James helps us understand that a right perspective does not presume, but acts faithfully in the present. With the right perspectives, we’re able to be faithful.
Let’s read our text this morning: James 4:13-17…
What is the message of this letter?
James wrote his letter to Christians scattered throughout the Mediterranean and Asia Minor. This letter was not written to a single church but as a circular letter to all Christian congregations. Churches were being planted in the midst of hostile territory as they spread out from Jerusalem. The Spirit of God had been poured out in Acts 2, and the Word of God was sweeping through cities and villages, drawing people to a reconciled relationship with God. In the meantime, the governing authorities were not keen on any new religions that might threaten their grip on power in their regions. Rome was in control, and no group would undermine its rule.
Meanwhile, it was not only Rome, but persecution and threats of persecution also came from the Jewish religious leaders. Reluctant to budge from their positions of influence in Rome, Jewish leaders maintained control over their sacred synagogues and much of the social life in and around this region.
Stephen suffered first from their violence, falling at the feet of Saul of Tarsus, who would later face opposition from the same leaders for preaching Christ. Therefore, trials, persecution, hardship, and many other means to divide and conquer this fledgling new way called Christianity were swiftly devised and executed.
And so, James’s message was written to guide these Christians and us today to have the right perspective–a godly perspective in a world full of trials and in a hostile environment. Notice how he opens his letter in James 1:2-4…
Thus, having a godly perspective would enable these Christians to live righteously. In other words, James wanted to separate those who live in alignment with God and those who were merely Christians in name only. In chapter 2, James explicitly states that there are two kinds of faith: one that works and another that talks. The faith that works or is expressed in everyday life is saving faith, and the other faith that does not work itself out in life is expressed by the demonic realm. And so, the book of James is keenly interested in distinguishing between real and false faith.
Put simply, James wrote this book to equip believers in Christ to endure trials with joy. In other words, there is a direct relationship between a Christian understanding of trials and their joy. To the extent a Christian sees trials as means to mature them, that Christian will “consider” trials with joy and live a life of faith and trust. The opposite is true for those who buckle under trial, becoming prideful, bitter, and antagonistic, or even apathetic.
In chapter 3, James warns teachers and clarifies the kind of wisdom needed to rightly see trials. It’s the wisdom from above. Notice how he describes this wisdom: James 3:17-18.
This leads into James 4, where James offers the key to addressing the problem of perspective. The chapter opens by revealing the source of our troubles and then moves on to share the only biblical response: humility. Indeed, humility manifests itself in many ways, and James wants his readers to understand certain aspects of humility’s expression. It’s important to note that pride is not necessarily the opposite of humility. Instead, pride is the manifestation of atheism. Pride says, “I do it my way.” At the heart of pride is self-sufficiency. Humility, on the other hand, is one of the many attributes that flow out of saving faith. Indeed, humility is accompanied by gratitude, love, and, really, what Paul describes as the fruit of the Spirit.
Now, let me back up and restate what we’re focusing on this morning. Our aim is to look ahead to our future with trust rather than pride or presumption. As we get closer to mining how we do this, let me make one logical point that James follows throughout his letter. It would be easy to overlook this, and so I want to make this point clear.
When it comes to truth, there is no middle way. There is what is transcendent and what is temporal, imminent. There is heaven, there is hell. There is saved, there is unsaved. Scriptures do not provide a middle way. In logic, we would call this the law of the excluded middle.
Thus, in this section, James gives us two types of speech, two types of knowledge, and two types of actions or behaviors. Each set of two contains both a biblical and an unbiblical expression. One is rooted in humility and faith, and the other is rooted in self-sufficiency and pride. Pride, in this particular context, is marked by presumption. There is no partial presumption. No partial pride. Either we are trusting God, or we are not. To be sure, we’re complex in our emotions, but that offers us no justification for presuming upon God.
Now, to the first question: What is presumption, and how far does it go?
Have you ever thought about why we plan? I mean, have you ever really sat down and mapped out your need to put things down on paper? For most of us, we plan because we desire things to be a certain way, and at one level, that can’t be a bad thing, can it? Unless, of course, our plans become a priority.
Let’s look at it this way: Is it ever possible to find ourselves prioritizing our plans? Is it possible for plans to become too much of a priority? Are there ever times when our plans become the most important thing, ultimately crowding out faith and, eventually, God? Now we’re getting to the heart of this message today.
Indeed, we all face the same temptation when it comes to looking ahead–to planning for the future. Every one of us, at some level, faces the same problem regarding our future. What do I mean? While planning is part of life, there is a more profound and visceral desire in every person not only to make and implement plans for the future but also to control them. That’s it. That’s the crux of the problem. We are daily tempted with strong desires to control, are we not?
Furthermore, we don’t like waiting for the unknown. Indeed, deep down, I believe that every person desires to control and orchestrate outcomes not only of their own lives but also the lives of others, especially those we love. And, we do this because we love control. And we love control because we struggle with self-sufficiency. And the heart of self-sufficiency is pride. To put it in a word, we are prideful, and our pride causes us to presume upon our future.
How do we resolve this problem–this problem of planning with presumption? What is the solution to looking ahead with a smile, full of peace, trust, and rest in God?
Let’s start by defining presumption.
What is presumption?
We might technically define presumption as a belief or action marked by assuming (expecting) an outcome without sufficient evidence or authority. Another way to look at this is from a theological perspective. In that case, we might define presumption as planning without God. In other words, presumption has two dimensions. The first is related to an overestimation of ourselves, and the second is an underestimate of God.
Planning with assumptions and without God.
This kind of planning has lost sight of biblical wisdom. Indeed, it’s forgetting the truth, as we see it in Proverbs 16:9: “Many are the plans in the mind of man, but it is the Lord that directs his steps.” Or, “…:
I want us to see it from a higher vantage point. Notice the two types of:
- Speech: vs. 13: You who say… and vs. 15: You ought to say…
- Knowledge: vs. 14: You do not know… and vs. 17: to the one who knows…
- Actions: vs. 17: doing the right thing… and does not do the right thing… (sin of omission)
(Point 1) 4:13: The Extent of Presumption [ADD WORD STUDIES AND MORPHOLOGY]
Let’s look at the text: “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.’”
Notice how far presumption reaches. Here in verse 14, we see presumption in at least six areas:
- We presume upon Time: Today or tomorrow…
- We presume upon Others: We will go…
- We presume upon Destinations: To such and such city…
- We presume upon Duration: Spend a year there…
- We presume upon Activities: Engage in business…
- We presume upon Outcomes: Make a profit…
At face value, this verse seems to show helpful tendencies toward planning. Think about how you plan your vacations. Don’t you usually set the time, location, how long you’ll be there, what you plan to do, and whether you hope to make a profit (if it’s a business trip)?
However, it’s at close to the end of this verse that we observe the symptoms of the problem–we’re not at the core of the issue as of yet.
What do I mean? Up to the final aspect of this verse, we’re seeing a well-planned trip. But then the final phrase comes in: make a profit. What is the shift? What is revealed? Pride. James lays down the essential aspect of presumption implicitly, addressing it explicitly in verse 16.
In his book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis presents a character named Edmund who is a lot like this planner. The scene where Edmund’s pride and ultimately presumption are first revealed is when the White Witch promises to make him a king, conditioned upon his bringing his siblings back to her. Now, Lewis’ masterful work presents the heart of pride. Edmund presumed, without sufficient knowledge and understanding of Jadis’s authority. He made plans accordingly and ultimately suffered grave consequences that extended beyond even himself. Indeed, Edmund’s presumption impacted Tumnus, the beaver, and even Aslan, the great Lion.
The heart of Edmund is no different than the heart of everyone who looks ahead with presumption. However, James is just setting up the problem with a scenario. Next, he reveals why presumption is pointless. He shows us clearly the problem with presumption. Let’s take a look at our second question:
Why is presumption such a big deal, and what is the path from it?
(Point 2) 4:14: The Problem with Presumption [ADD WORD STUDIES AND MORPHOLOGY]
“Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.”
Notice how James points out at least two problems with presumption:
- Our knowledge is limited and finite.
- Our lives are momentary and fragile.
What does it mean to have limited and finite knowledge? “Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow.”
What does James mean by knowledge? The word he uses is the word that means experiential knowledge. And this word is different than the more common word for knowledge, ginōskō. One commentator put it this way: “When used in subtle contrast with γινώσκω (ginōskō), epistamai connotes having experiential knowledge of one person (e.g., Paul) while recognizing the authority of another (e.g., Jesus; Acts 19:15). Experiential knowledge may come from hardship (Acts 19:25; 22:19) or by shared circumstance (Acts 20:18; 24:10)” (Garrett, LTW).
At least two things: (1) knowledge is limited by our own capacity, and (2) by the willingness of others to be known, in a relational context.
Think about our own capacities for knowledge. It does not take much for us to realize that we have limited knowledge. Consider the grade you did not make in school, but would like to have made. What did grades show us? Limited knowledge. Consider the books you have not read. Think about the subjects, topics, matters in things like politics, science, history, philosophy, theology, and so much more.
Think also about how our relational knowledge is limited by the willingness of others to be known. In other words, we know someone, or JI Packer, in his book, Knowing God, shares this: “the quality and extent of our knowledge of other people depends more on them than on us. Our knowing them is more directly the result of their allowing us to know them than of our attempting to get to know them” (Packer, 35).
Now, we’ve just examined our limited and finite knowledge in our worldly material sphere. What about when we consider our limited knowledge of God and the mystery surrounding the celestial sphere? The sphere of angels, demons, heaven, and hell. We are baffled by simply looking at the stars. Consider the maker of the stars. Simply think about aspects of God’s nature. The mysteries of providence and His eternal and infinite nature. Ponder God’s omniscience, His omnipotence, and so much more.
It does not take long to show that our knowledge is limited by our own capacity, the willingness of others to be known, and God’s transcendence.
In the end, what is James showing us about us, relating to knowledge? That we are dependent, therefore, we ought to live that way.
Second, our lives are momentary and fragile.
What does James mean by momentary and fragile? “You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.”
The word James uses for vapor is used here and —-. It’s a word that means ____. The point could not be clearer: Our lives are short and brief, and we are easily overtaken by sickness and more.
Therefore, our human limitations and fragile lives ought to push us beyond ourselves and to God. They ought to push us from ourselves and toward God. As we’ve already seen, we are dependent entirely on God. Yet, we presume upon God. Why?
Why do we do this? Again, James gives us an explicit answer, but I want to look directly at the heart of the problem. Listen to this in Genesis 3:6a: “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise…” There it is. The issue of presumption is rooted in the pride of self-sufficiency. “The master of our fate, the captain of our ship.”
Presumption reveals our self-sufficiency. It shows at least two things: 1. That we rely too much on ourselves, and 2. We rely too little on God.
What does this reveal about us? question mark. It reveals that we say a lot. We say, We’ll do this, we say, “We’ll do that. Only revealing our self-sufficiency and our lack of faith. Instead, we ought to say, if God wills, however, it’s not just that. That’s the outward. visible, tangible, reality of an inward disposition of humility, which is always followed through with action. Action, not according to our will, but according to God’s will.
To put it another way, presumption has an inflated sense of self and a deflated sense of God. God becomes small, and we become great when we fall into presumption.
The primary focus, therefore, is to do the best with the knowledge you have and to trust God to develop that knowledge, primarily knowledge about Him. As you walk in obedience to his will, his way. This is the end of pride. This is the decimation of pride.
(Point 3) 4:15-16: The Path from Presumption [ADD WORD STUDIES AND MORPHOLOGY]
“Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.’ But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.’”
Here in verse 16, we see a redirection from presumption to submission. Instead of presumption, James puts us on the path from presumption. His guidance moves us from ourselves to God.
Notice what he says, “You ought to say…” The Bible does not give you commands with vision.
This is neither a prescription nor a guarantee.
KEY POINT: Note clearly, the difference between limited knowledge that keeps you dependent on God for the future, and sufficient knowledge that enables you to obey God faithfully in the present.
This leads to our third question:
How do we rightly face our future free of presumption?
(Point 4) 4:17: The Solution to Presumption [ADD WORD STUDIES AND MORPHOLOGY]
“Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.”
What is the solution to presumption? I don’t think there is only one biblical answer to this question. However, here, in this context, we see how James guides us. What does he say? He says, “Do the next right thing.”
James does not let us presume upon tomorrow, but he guides us, by the Holy Spirit, to do our duty in the present moment. Thus, we replace anxiety with faithfulness; fear with trust; and the spinning of the wheels of our minds with rest in God’s providence, rooted in the goodness of God. It goes something like this, “If God is the creator and sustainer, then I can trust Him with my future.”
The story about Oz Guinness is great: a great-grandmother, depressed, about to throw herself into the river. However, looking up and seeing a man working faithfully in the field, and just his work ethic, and his excellence in the present moment, welled up in the strength that inspired her, encouraged her, and recalibrated her perspective on life. In other words, her life had value, and she could do the next-best thing, as she saw the man in the field do. Never underestimate the power of faithfulness in the present.
KEY POINT: Note clearly, the difference between limited knowledge that keeps you dependent on God for the future, and sufficient knowledge that enables you to obey God faithfully in the present.
Conclusion
How do we apply this to our lives today?
- Submit to God’s will
- Seek God’s will
- By seeing Christ submitting and seeking God’s will.
In the Garden of Gethsemane, in an act of submission, Christ bowed His head in prayer to the Father, seeking that His will be done: “If it be Thine will…Thy will be done.” Why did Christ have to do this? Why couldn’t God just let us off the hook?
Christ had to submit to and seek God’s will because we never did, do, or will. Every human has presumed upon God, sought their own will, and has justly borne their consequences. No matter how good, no matter how eloquent, no matter. Everyone has gone astray.
Saying is not enough. Anyone can say, just like anyone can plan. It’s the actions. That proves the nature or the disposition, or the faith. Cross-reference James. Anyone can say your plan, what they think ought to happen, or what they think should happen. It’s always an issue of what is your responsibility? What is your responsibility? Your responsibility is to be faithful with what you have in front of you. Doesn’t mean you can’t plan, but you must be faithful with what’s around you.
Therefore, prioritizing your responsibilities, period. Application. Take some time this week. to map out your responsibilities. Your spheres of responsibility. And ask this question: Which of these are priorities? Or what are the priorities of each of these? And place them. Then, consider what faithful behavior honors God in these areas?
Conclusion on gospel appeal, Hebrews 9,27. It is given that a man wants to die and then to face judgment. God’s judgment is just. God will not look past, turn his head away, or wink at our sin. Perhaps you’re here today. Sin has become like a tamed cobra or a tamed lion. At some point. It acts out, and it ravages you, but you get it tame again, you put it back in its box, where you put it back in its cage. Satan’s devices and his ability to torment you pale in comparison to the righteous wrath that God has on all sinners. We don’t coddle our sin. We don’t control our sin. We confess, we submit. We surrender. We repent. We turn away, and we go to the cross. And only then do we find our sin dealt with.
There’s a story in John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. where lions are present, but they have a leash. Have you confessed? Have you repented? Or are you coddling sin? Are you holding a secret sin? Are you keeping it back? One day, all our words, Jesus tells us, will be exposed. before the king and his judgment, his pure judgment. There’s no partiality. And he will not relent. The only way is for you to accept the free gift of salvation. that he gives you in Jesus Christ.
How is that possible, you might ask? God poured out his unrelenting wrath on his son. God cursed His Son, so that you would receive the blessing. Christ did all your work for you, taking the penalty of your sin, so that he might give you all the blessings of his work. He took the curse of your work, and he gives you the blessing of his work. And it is grace that you see this. Your eyes are open. And you cling to him, and you receive salvation by confessing your sin. laying it at the altar, turning away from it, and giving it to Him.
— May 14, 2026