This verse comes James 4:1-12 which builds on the end of chapter 3. In this section, James is comparing how living according to the standards of the world is adultery, as it is “cheating” on God. He is calling for Christians to quit their friendship with the world, humble themselves, repent from their sin, and receive God’s grace. God is the Lawgiver and the Judge, not man.
This verse gives us an incredible promise. If we draw near, or move closer, to God, God will respond by moving closer to us. The God of the universe, which owes us nothing, including His closeness, will do so if we draw near to Him. What an incredible act of mercy. We see the grace of God in this verse alone for him to draw near us at all.
In the sentence immediately after this, we see the word “double-minded.” We cannot serve both ourselves and God. We cannot be in the ways of the world and following God. We need to purify our hearts and cleanse our hands. For the Jewish readers of the original text, these phrases would have brought to mind ceremonial washings, with the idea to completely turn from sin.
This is what true repentance means: to turn completely from our sin, to resolve that we will serve God (and only God), and to begin again.
