Study No. 4
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As we get into this next section of the book of James, I want to begin by reading from the beginning, all the way to verse 18.
1 ¶ JAMES, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, sends greeting to the twelve dispersed tribes.
2 ¶ When all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives, my brothers, don’t resent them as intruders, but welcome them as friends!
3 Realise that they come to test your faith and to produce in you the quality of endurance.
4 But let the process go on until that endurance is fully developed, and you will find you have become men of mature character, men of integrity with no weak spots.
5 And if, in the process, any of you does not know how to meet any particular problem he has only to ask God — who gives generously to all men without making them feel guilty — and he may he quite sure that the necessary wisdom will be given him.
6 But he must ask in sincere faith without secret doubts. For the man who doubts is like a wave of the sea, carried forward by the wind one moment and driven back the next.
7 That sort of man cannot hope to receive anything from the Lord,
8 and the life of a man of divided loyalty will reveal instability at every turn.
9 The brother who is poor may be proud because God has raised him to the true riches.
10 The rich may be proud that God has shown him his spiritual poverty. For the rich man will wither away like summer flowers.
11 One day the sunrise brings a scorching wind; the grass withers at once and so do all the flowers — all that lovely sight is destroyed. Just as surely will the rich man and all his ways fall into the blight of decay.
12 The man who patiently endures the temptations and trials that come to him is the truly happy man. For once his testing is complete he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to all who love him.
13 ¶ A man must not say when he is tempted, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, and does not himself tempt anyone.
14 No, a man’s temptation is due to the pull of his own inward desires, which greatly attract him.
15 It is his own desire which conceives and gives birth to sin. And sin when fully grown produces death —
16 make no mistake about that, brothers of mine!
17 But every good endowment and every complete gift must come from above, from the Father of all lights, with whom there is never the slightest variation or shadow of inconsistency.
18 By his own wish he made us his own sons through the Word of truth, that we might be, so to speak, the first specimens of his new creation.
As James addresses this mix of scattered believers, he gives them some very valuable words about trials, problems, and persecutions that come into our lives. He has said When all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives, my brothers, don’t resent them as intruders, but welcome them as friends!
The trials we go through, the tests that come our way ... and if we successfully pass them, are so helpful to produce maturity in our lives. And that is what God is aiming for in every one of His children.
But now James has to clear something up. I talked a bit about this earlier. Suppose a huge test comes into your life. And in the middle of it you realize you have choices to make - choices that will affect the outcome of this test. One of the choices is not a biblical choice. It is not the best, ethically either. As a matter of fact it may be a bit sinful. But it is tempting. This is like a test within a test. Regarding this test within a test James says,
James 1:13 When tempted, no-one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 No, a man’s temptation is due to the pull of his own inward desires, which greatly attract him.
To this point we have discovered that:
God is not the source of evil.
God can be the author of a test placed into your life, but He has never been the author of ‘temptation to sin’ or, in other words, a temptation to opt for a non-biblical, sinful choice.
He put a tree in the Garden of Eden that Adam and Eve were not to eat of. That was a test of obedience.
He did not place the temptation to sin in their lives. Eve (and perhaps Adam as well), for whatever reason, was lingering too long in the area of the tree. We could say … “Well, how unwise was that!”, and we would be right. Eve being new and inexperienced did not seem to know that she needed to be in control of her desires and curiosity. But she WAS fully aware of the command of God to refrain from eating of that tree. Wisdom … that free gift that James recommends … would have told her to stay far away from the tree.
So, having been controlled by her own desires and curiosity, and lacking wisdom, she finds herself in the vicinity of the tree. She, however, did not have the depraved sin nature that we all have inherited. She may never have taken the fruit. She might have simply gazed at it for hours on end.
Enter Satan …
One of his other names is the Tempter. (see Matthew 4:3 and I Thessalonians 3:5)
We are familiar with the rest of the story. Just using his own logic, Satan deceived her and she ate the fruit and then offered it to Adam.
James explains the process that leads to a bitter end.
James 1:15 It is his own desire which conceives and gives birth to sin. And sin when fully grown produces death —
16 make no mistake about that, brothers of mine!
Eve went the whole route. She desired. She took, she ate … she died.
The Apostle Paul said words to the Christians in the Church at Rome that also are fitting for us.
Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. (ESV) Romans 16:19
A young boy lingers by a chocolate cake that is waiting to be served to all the family and friends at a special event. He resists for quite a while. After he can stand it no longer, his finger quickly takes a good size swab of rich icing. … To be ‘innocent about what is evil’ we need to stay away from it.
This is not only about the young boy lingering by the chocolate cake. Jesus said, If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. Matthew 5:29
Why do we do the things we do? Why do we do the foolish and sinful things?
James 1:14 … but each person is tempted when (ESV), … James is about to give the reason.
He puts forward this thought:
James 1:14 but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.
We learned at a young age to shift the blame from ourselves to someone else. Perhaps we inherited this trait. Can we remember reading in Genesis, “The woman that you gave me, she … made me do it”.
Adam shifts his blame both to the woman and to God Himself. (“that YOU gave me.”) Wait a minute. Now I’m shifting the blame! Instead of saying I am responsible, I am blaming Adam!
Someone once approached me after a church meeting and suggested that our church was really missing the mark by not having regular 'Deliverance Services'. This person suggested that most of us are plagued with demons which cause us to do so much evil. (Some have gone so far as to say there is a demon of fornication, a demon of drink, a demon of smoking addiction etc. etc.) How convenient. I am not so bad after all. A demon made me do it.
Even though there is a tempter and he does tempt us through his demons, according to James our descent into sin starts before that. It starts with our own desires being misdirected and uncontrolled. We cannot blame our sin on the Devil.
Neither can we blame our sin on God. He did not make me sin. I am not a robot … I have a free will.
James says in the very next verse that God is not only not the author of sinful choices in our lives, on the contrary, He is the author and source of all good. He writes,
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. (ESV)
God’s intervention into our lives is characterized – not by temptations to sin – but by good gifts from heaven. And God is consistently good, all the time!
God may allow persecution … and even prescribe it, for our good, but for the most part we suffer needlessly because we give in to poor choices. God gives good gifts and now James now mentions the greatest gift of all
18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. (ESV)
God’s choice to provide salvation for us is His greatest gift of all toward us!
As He was creating this world and universe, at the end of each day of creation He said, “It is good”.
When He created man He said, It is very good. But when He created us anew … through the new birth, we are called the firstfruits. We are His new creation. We are the capstone, the ultimate beauty of His creation. We are in His image.
So He has expectations of us in the matter of our behaviour. So James goes on,
19 ¶ Knowing this, then, dear brothers, let every man be quick to listen but slow to use his tongue, and slow to lose his temper.
20 For man’s temper is never the means of achieving God’s true goodness.
21 Have done, then, with impurity and every other evil which overflows into the lives of others, and humbly accept the message that God has planted in your hearts, and which can save your souls.
We remember that James is speaking to a mixed group of Jewish believers who, in the face of persecution have had to resettle in a Gentile area. For him to give advice like we have just read in the previous verses gives us a little insight into their lives. In spite of their situation they don’t sound all that different from us. It sounds as though there were those who were slow to listen, quick to speak and quick to get angry. It sounds as though some were in need of getting rid of moral filth. What does James prescribe?
Humbly … accepting the Word … which is already implanted in us … and is able to save us.
James goes into greater detail in the coming verses but we will reserve that for the next chapter. For now let’s make sure we are getting this verse:
He says the Word is already in us – We can look at this in two ways.
is choked by thorns?
b. Is it a fruit–bearing real believer? If so, we call this ‘saved’1.
-or he means,
Personally I believe James is referring to number 2. To repeat, the word has been planted in us. If we let it, it will grow to the point that not only will our spirit experience salvation from hell, but our lives, rather than being wasted, will be saved as well.
So why did I do that? No blame shifting is allowed! You alone are responsible for what you did. You can change your behaviour in the future by having a humble acceptance of the Word of God. Respect its ultimate and complete authority over you. Believe what James says … it IS ABLE TO SAVE YOU COMPLETELY.
Earlier James told us that, in the midst of a test, and options appear and we don't know what to do … ask for wisdom and God will give it. Do not take a choice that is not biblical. And how do we know whether the option is Biblical or not? The answer has to do with being grounded in His word.
We just need to believe it and trust it and obey it.
So, once again, why did I do that?!
I may have failed to ask for wisdom. I may be missing some very basic and essential principles from God's word.
So now we know why we do what we do. Now we can drastically reduce the poor choices, the unwise choices, the downright sinful choices as we stay in His word and pray for wisdom.
1 Eph 1:13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.
1 ¶ JAMES, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, sends greeting to the twelve dispersed tribes.
2 ¶ When all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives, my brothers, don’t resent them as intruders, but welcome them as friends!
3 Realise that they come to test your faith and to produce in you the quality of endurance.
4 But let the process go on until that endurance is fully developed, and you will find you have become men of mature character, men of integrity with no weak spots.
5 And if, in the process, any of you does not know how to meet any particular problem he has only to ask God — who gives generously to all men without making them feel guilty — and he may he quite sure that the necessary wisdom will be given him.
6 But he must ask in sincere faith without secret doubts. For the man who doubts is like a wave of the sea, carried forward by the wind one moment and driven back the next.
7 That sort of man cannot hope to receive anything from the Lord,
8 and the life of a man of divided loyalty will reveal instability at every turn.
9 The brother who is poor may be proud because God has raised him to the true riches.
10 The rich may be proud that God has shown him his spiritual poverty. For the rich man will wither away like summer flowers.
11 One day the sunrise brings a scorching wind; the grass withers at once and so do all the flowers — all that lovely sight is destroyed. Just as surely will the rich man and all his ways fall into the blight of decay.
12 The man who patiently endures the temptations and trials that come to him is the truly happy man. For once his testing is complete he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to all who love him.
13 ¶ A man must not say when he is tempted, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, and does not himself tempt anyone.
14 No, a man’s temptation is due to the pull of his own inward desires, which greatly attract him.
15 It is his own desire which conceives and gives birth to sin. And sin when fully grown produces death —
16 make no mistake about that, brothers of mine!
17 But every good endowment and every complete gift must come from above, from the Father of all lights, with whom there is never the slightest variation or shadow of inconsistency.
18 By his own wish he made us his own sons through the Word of truth, that we might be, so to speak, the first specimens of his new creation.
As James addresses this mix of scattered believers, he gives them some very valuable words about trials, problems, and persecutions that come into our lives. He has said When all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives, my brothers, don’t resent them as intruders, but welcome them as friends!
The trials we go through, the tests that come our way ... and if we successfully pass them, are so helpful to produce maturity in our lives. And that is what God is aiming for in every one of His children.
But now James has to clear something up. I talked a bit about this earlier. Suppose a huge test comes into your life. And in the middle of it you realize you have choices to make - choices that will affect the outcome of this test. One of the choices is not a biblical choice. It is not the best, ethically either. As a matter of fact it may be a bit sinful. But it is tempting. This is like a test within a test. Regarding this test within a test James says,
James 1:13 When tempted, no-one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 No, a man’s temptation is due to the pull of his own inward desires, which greatly attract him.
To this point we have discovered that:
- Trials come into each believers life. (These scattered believers could certainly attest to that!)
- Trials can and should be faced joyfully, because the victory we experience having come through it
is an indicator of our spiritual growth.
- Wisdom during a trial is essential to achieving victory in the trial, so that we can be sure to take the Godly options.
God is not the source of evil.
God can be the author of a test placed into your life, but He has never been the author of ‘temptation to sin’ or, in other words, a temptation to opt for a non-biblical, sinful choice.
He put a tree in the Garden of Eden that Adam and Eve were not to eat of. That was a test of obedience.
He did not place the temptation to sin in their lives. Eve (and perhaps Adam as well), for whatever reason, was lingering too long in the area of the tree. We could say … “Well, how unwise was that!”, and we would be right. Eve being new and inexperienced did not seem to know that she needed to be in control of her desires and curiosity. But she WAS fully aware of the command of God to refrain from eating of that tree. Wisdom … that free gift that James recommends … would have told her to stay far away from the tree.
So, having been controlled by her own desires and curiosity, and lacking wisdom, she finds herself in the vicinity of the tree. She, however, did not have the depraved sin nature that we all have inherited. She may never have taken the fruit. She might have simply gazed at it for hours on end.
Enter Satan …
One of his other names is the Tempter. (see Matthew 4:3 and I Thessalonians 3:5)
We are familiar with the rest of the story. Just using his own logic, Satan deceived her and she ate the fruit and then offered it to Adam.
James explains the process that leads to a bitter end.
James 1:15 It is his own desire which conceives and gives birth to sin. And sin when fully grown produces death —
16 make no mistake about that, brothers of mine!
Eve went the whole route. She desired. She took, she ate … she died.
The Apostle Paul said words to the Christians in the Church at Rome that also are fitting for us.
Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. (ESV) Romans 16:19
A young boy lingers by a chocolate cake that is waiting to be served to all the family and friends at a special event. He resists for quite a while. After he can stand it no longer, his finger quickly takes a good size swab of rich icing. … To be ‘innocent about what is evil’ we need to stay away from it.
This is not only about the young boy lingering by the chocolate cake. Jesus said, If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. Matthew 5:29
Why do we do the things we do? Why do we do the foolish and sinful things?
James 1:14 … but each person is tempted when (ESV), … James is about to give the reason.
He puts forward this thought:
James 1:14 but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.
We learned at a young age to shift the blame from ourselves to someone else. Perhaps we inherited this trait. Can we remember reading in Genesis, “The woman that you gave me, she … made me do it”.
Adam shifts his blame both to the woman and to God Himself. (“that YOU gave me.”) Wait a minute. Now I’m shifting the blame! Instead of saying I am responsible, I am blaming Adam!
Someone once approached me after a church meeting and suggested that our church was really missing the mark by not having regular 'Deliverance Services'. This person suggested that most of us are plagued with demons which cause us to do so much evil. (Some have gone so far as to say there is a demon of fornication, a demon of drink, a demon of smoking addiction etc. etc.) How convenient. I am not so bad after all. A demon made me do it.
Even though there is a tempter and he does tempt us through his demons, according to James our descent into sin starts before that. It starts with our own desires being misdirected and uncontrolled. We cannot blame our sin on the Devil.
Neither can we blame our sin on God. He did not make me sin. I am not a robot … I have a free will.
James says in the very next verse that God is not only not the author of sinful choices in our lives, on the contrary, He is the author and source of all good. He writes,
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. (ESV)
God’s intervention into our lives is characterized – not by temptations to sin – but by good gifts from heaven. And God is consistently good, all the time!
God may allow persecution … and even prescribe it, for our good, but for the most part we suffer needlessly because we give in to poor choices. God gives good gifts and now James now mentions the greatest gift of all
18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. (ESV)
God’s choice to provide salvation for us is His greatest gift of all toward us!
As He was creating this world and universe, at the end of each day of creation He said, “It is good”.
When He created man He said, It is very good. But when He created us anew … through the new birth, we are called the firstfruits. We are His new creation. We are the capstone, the ultimate beauty of His creation. We are in His image.
So He has expectations of us in the matter of our behaviour. So James goes on,
19 ¶ Knowing this, then, dear brothers, let every man be quick to listen but slow to use his tongue, and slow to lose his temper.
20 For man’s temper is never the means of achieving God’s true goodness.
21 Have done, then, with impurity and every other evil which overflows into the lives of others, and humbly accept the message that God has planted in your hearts, and which can save your souls.
We remember that James is speaking to a mixed group of Jewish believers who, in the face of persecution have had to resettle in a Gentile area. For him to give advice like we have just read in the previous verses gives us a little insight into their lives. In spite of their situation they don’t sound all that different from us. It sounds as though there were those who were slow to listen, quick to speak and quick to get angry. It sounds as though some were in need of getting rid of moral filth. What does James prescribe?
Humbly … accepting the Word … which is already implanted in us … and is able to save us.
James goes into greater detail in the coming verses but we will reserve that for the next chapter. For now let’s make sure we are getting this verse:
He says the Word is already in us – We can look at this in two ways.
- The seed is in us (think of the Sower and the Seed parable - Matt. 13)
is choked by thorns?
b. Is it a fruit–bearing real believer? If so, we call this ‘saved’1.
-or he means,
- The seed is in us --- we are saved spiritually --- but the Word is able to save also our daily lives as well. The writer of Hebrews alludes to this: This means that he can save fully and completely those who approach God through him, for he is always living to intercede on their behalf. Heb 7:25
Personally I believe James is referring to number 2. To repeat, the word has been planted in us. If we let it, it will grow to the point that not only will our spirit experience salvation from hell, but our lives, rather than being wasted, will be saved as well.
So why did I do that? No blame shifting is allowed! You alone are responsible for what you did. You can change your behaviour in the future by having a humble acceptance of the Word of God. Respect its ultimate and complete authority over you. Believe what James says … it IS ABLE TO SAVE YOU COMPLETELY.
Earlier James told us that, in the midst of a test, and options appear and we don't know what to do … ask for wisdom and God will give it. Do not take a choice that is not biblical. And how do we know whether the option is Biblical or not? The answer has to do with being grounded in His word.
We just need to believe it and trust it and obey it.
So, once again, why did I do that?!
I may have failed to ask for wisdom. I may be missing some very basic and essential principles from God's word.
So now we know why we do what we do. Now we can drastically reduce the poor choices, the unwise choices, the downright sinful choices as we stay in His word and pray for wisdom.
1 Eph 1:13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.