Category: Tested Faith: A Study of James

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

James 1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

David Wells in his book “God in the Whirlwind” makes an interesting point when it says the Love of God comes “from above”

The most important point to grasp here is this: God’s kind of love comes from above, not from below.  We could not make our way back to him, so he made his way to us; we could not make our way up to him, so he made his way down to us.

His point is that this love comes from God’s initiative (He sends it down to us) instead of our own working our way up to earn that love.  James in 1:17 makes the same point by saying every gift or blessing we need to live spiritually comes from God the Father who on His own chose to save us (1:18) Editors note-I don’t believe the word choose in 1:18 refers to the doctrine of election, but God’s willingness to save us before we ever deserved it because we could never deserve it.

This is incredibly important for us to remember while in suffering (the context of James 1:1-18) because it’s in those moments that Satan loves to tell us two of his favorite lies.

1. God doesn’t really love you
2. And you could do a better of being God than God

He (satan) will begin by focusing on the part of our life that seems unfair, and plant a seed of doubt in our minds about the love of God.  His first question to Eve in Genesis 3:1 can be phrased, “seriously?  God doesn’t allow you to eat from every tree?  You have got to be kidding me!”  This seed of doubt will eventually make us believe that we can make decisions better than God.

There is just one problem with that

Any attempt to take the place of God completely removes our hope of Salvation

Well’s in his book points out the idea of God coming down to us (through Christ) is the only thing that truly separates Christianity from all other religions that are focused on love that comes “from below” (our works).  If you want to get technical about things the suffering and sin of the world come from below (our hearts) instead of God’s blessing (James 1:14-15)

Even if the temptation of Satan doesn’t come to us (and it usually does) we must continually remind ourselves that the blessing of God comes “from above” because our sin nature wants to take care of things on it’s own.

Don’t worry God I got this

Or “okay Lord you take care of 75% of the problem and I take care of 25% deal?”

And “don’t worry Lord when it gets too hard for me I will let you know”

And so we go on living as if spiritual maturity comes from below.

May God never stop reminding us that our only hope of Salvation and growth in life is by waiting patiently on Him

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

James 1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

David Wells in his book “God in the Whirlwind” makes an interesting point when it says the Love of God comes “from above”

The most important point to grasp here is this: God’s kind of love comes from above, not from below.  We could not make our way back to him, so he made his way to us; we could not make our way up to him, so he made his way down to us.

His point is that this love comes from God’s initiative (He sends it down to us) instead of our own working our way up to earn that love.  James in 1:17 makes the same point by saying every gift or blessing we need to live spiritually comes from God the Father who on His own chose to save us (1:18) Editors note-I don’t believe the word choose in 1:18 refers to the doctrine of election, but God’s willingness to save us before we ever deserved it because we could never deserve it.

This is incredibly important for us to remember while in suffering (the context of James 1:1-18) because it’s in those moments that Satan loves to tell us two of his favorite lies.

1. God doesn’t really love you
2. And you could do a better of being God than God

He (satan) will begin by focusing on the part of our life that seems unfair, and plant a seed of doubt in our minds about the love of God.  His first question to Eve in Genesis 3:1 can be phrased, “seriously?  God doesn’t allow you to eat from every tree?  You have got to be kidding me!”  This seed of doubt will eventually make us believe that we can make decisions better than God.

There is just one problem with that

Any attempt to take the place of God completely removes our hope of Salvation

Well’s in his book points out the idea of God coming down to us (through Christ) is the only thing that truly separates Christianity from all other religions that are focused on love that comes “from below” (our works).  If you want to get technical about things the suffering and sin of the world come from below (our hearts) instead of God’s blessing (James 1:14-15)

Even if the temptation of Satan doesn’t come to us (and it usually does) we must continually remind ourselves that the blessing of God comes “from above” because our sin nature wants to take care of things on it’s own.

Don’t worry God I got this

Or “okay Lord you take care of 75% of the problem and I take care of 25% deal?”

And “don’t worry Lord when it gets too hard for me I will let you know”

And so we go on living as if spiritual maturity comes from below.

May God never stop reminding us that our only hope of Salvation and growth in life is by waiting patiently on Him

James 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 1:15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. 

James in chapter one is writing to a group of Christians who are experiencing a test or trial from God.  He begins by encouraging them to rejoice because their suffering is developing greater Faith (1:2-4), God will give wisdom if they ask in Faith (1:5-8), and justice will come from the Lord (1:9-11). 

Following this encouragement James gives a warning about blaming God for the temptation or trial because God’s perfect, and cannot sin (1:13).  Then in 1:14-15 he sheds some light on the true source of our temptation….and it’s not pretty. 

• Step One:  We are lured draw away from God’s path by our sin nature 
• Step Two:  We are lied to by our sin nature-this usually involves questioning the goodness or love of God
• Step Three:  Our actions create a habit of sinfulness 
• Step Four:  Habitual sin ends in death (both physical and spiritual)

While James 1:15 shares the end result of our sinful actions, 1:14 to me is more dangerous because it shows how our rebellion begins using the words “drawn away” and “enticed.”

The words “drawn away” (lured in other translations) comes from the Greek word ἐξέλκω giving the idea of drawing or dragging something out.  James here is using the illustration of a fisherman dragging a fish out of the water with his line.  Enticed comes from the Greek word δελεάζω  which gives the idea of trapping something, or drawing it into a trap.  Obviously in the fishing illustration our sin nature puts out the “bait” that eventually draws us away from God’s path.

I absolutely love the illustration James gives here of fishing, but I’ve found one that illustrates my own struggle with a sin nature..it’s the curse of 59 cent donuts.

It goes something like this

1. I am hungry so drive to the local grocery store or Walmart for a snack
2. Knowing that I need to lose weight my plan is to eat a healthy fruit or vegetable…but then see the large display of 59 cent donuts right beside the fruit section editors note-I am using Walmart as an illustration here but you will find cheap junk food near the “healthy food” in pretty much any store
3. I decide it won’t really hurt anything to go over and look at the kind of donuts they are selling (do you see how the donuts have drawn me away from the healthy food?)
4. Of course after walking over to the donut case my mind immediately starts rationalizing things (Enticed)

Hey it’s just 59 cents!

Look at how expensive the healthy stuff is!

You know you did run three miles yesterday

And before you know it your mouth is devouring crème filled goodness 🙂

Now I could sue Walmart for selling cheap donuts beside the expensive healthy food but of course their response would be something along the lines of “well we didn’t make you buy it.”   Yes they made junk food incredibly tempting, but nobody MADE ME eat the donut…I did it all on my own.

Taking my donut illustration a step farther James is saying that Satan surrounds us with 59 cent donuts every day

• A temptation to take the easy way out instead of obeying God
• Choosing to be selfish and demand control in our relationship with others
• Believing that God doesn’t love us because we don’t receive what we want
• Closely related to this a belief that God isn’t fair

In the midst of these temptations Satan won’t ask us to completely reject God,  all he asks is we take a step in that direction (drawing us away from God’s path) because he knows we can’t resist what’s offered.

Just one step away from the apples towards the donuts

That’s all Satan needs

Because it’s not long after that moment of crème filled glory that we are reeled into the boat.

James 1:13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.

In James 1:2 Christians experiencing suffering (trial in ESV, temptation in King James) are encouraged to be happy instead of sad. He proceeds to explain this suffering gives them stronger endurance (1:2–4), stronger faith (1:5–8), and stronger confidence in God’s justice (1:9–11).

James here is explaining a Biblical view of suffering…God brings these situations into our lives for His Glory, and our benefit

This is followed up with a command not to say during these situations the person is being tempted by God which is strange since both words “trial” (1:2) and “temptation” (1:13) come from the same Greek Word (πειράζω) peirázō;

Spiro Zodhiates in The Complete Word Study Dictionary gives two very different definitions for the word

1. Generally and in a good sense in order to ascertain the character, views, or feelings of someone (Matt. 22:35 cf. Mark 12:28, 34; John 6:6; Rev. 2:2 (); Sept.: 1 Kgs. 10:1; Ps. 17:3).
2. In a bad sense, with ill intent (Mark 8:11; 10:2; 12:15; Luke 11:16; 20:23; John 8:6)

In other words, a “temptation” would be a trial that’s meant to only make the person fail; you have no chance of passing it at all. The trial that comes from God however is only for our good.

This may seem like a small difference but trust me it makes a HUGE difference in the way that we view suffering of trials in life.

In my running group that I’m a part of, all courses that we train on are created by a head coach who makes sure to add plenty of hills so on race day we will be strong…this is a trial since the painful experience is for our benefit.

This would become a temptation if

1. She made us run every hill in town
2. Every single run was at the same pace or speed [1]
3. There were no water stops along the way
4. There were no rest days during the week (we have two)
5. Every day is the same distance
6. And there is no taper [2]

Now I know in my heart the head coach is creating these courses for my benefit (to make me stronger) but there are days when my mind begins to view that trial as a temptation (something done just to make me fail).

In the same way Satan loves to come near when we experience a trial and whisper into our ear “you know if God really loved you He wouldn’t allow this to happen (Genesis 3:1–6). And if we aren’t careful before long that lie will find it’s way in our hearts. At that point we become bitter toward God…The one who is trying to make us stronger, and is always good.

The truly frightening thing for me is how easy it is for my mind to change from viewing suffering as a trial to viewing it as a temptation.

So what can we do about this?

Remember that God is good.

Not just good…but perfect (he cannot be tempted with sin)

And because in Love He will only give things that help us grow

Then most importantly remind ourselves where the sin in life comes from…

Us (James 1:14-15)

---

 

[1]: she makes us all run a much slower pace on the longer runs

[2]: purposely slowing down on speed and cutting back on distance a week before the race

James 1:9   Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation,

Unfortunately for Believers, we live in a broken world, this means among other things that life sometimes isn’t fair. In fact Christians who are truly committed to Christ will face persecution or injustice because of their beliefs on a regular basis.

James in 1:9 gives an encouraging word to those brothers who have experienced persecution (brought low) by promising an exaltation (raising) would come from God. In fact James goes a step farther telling them to boast (have confidence in persecution) because God would raise them up.

In other words James is telling them not to worry because God would bring Justice.

I’m sure this verse was incredibly encouraging to these Believers and helped them rejoice in suffering (James 1:2) while allowing suffering to make them stronger (James 1:3–4) and exhibit faith in God (James 1:5–6). But it reminds me of a very important truth.

My definition of justice is going to be very different from God’s definition.

My definition of justice usually goes something like this:

1. God’s going to remove all of my suffering right away
2. Give me everything that I want (make me rich)
3. And give blessing in a way that focuses the eyes of everyone on me

God’s view of justice looks like this:

1. Injustice will be used to convict of sin, and continue the work of Sanctification
2. God will give me exactly what I need to survive my suffering
3. The final justice (removal of suffering) won’t take place till I live for eternity in Heaven

My point is this promise doesn’t mean God’s going to make you rich. instead it looks towards the future blessing in Heaven.

The word that James uses for “exaltated” in this verse (Greek Word hupsos) has two different meanings.

1. The figurative meaning is “elevation or dignity”
2. The abstract meaning is skies or altitude

Dignity here gives the idea of encouraging someone instead of pouring out every blessing they could possibly want. This is backed up because James 1:9 says the rich should glory in their humbling experience [1].

God’s judgment on the unsaved (rich) in James 1:9–10 does highlight the fact that God’s justice is focused on eternity (what happens after death) instead of this world [2].

So God’s justice doesn’t fit with my view of what justice should look like [3] but instead encourages me to boast in my “future justice” after death.

At first this seems unfair till we really think about it…

What is one lifetime of suffering (let’s say 90 years) compared with eternity in the presence of God.

In a place that has no brokenness (suffering, pain, death, injustice)

Where every day will be filled with worship or my Savior Jesus

The truth is my definition of justice is very “self-centered” and definitely shallow. For a moment of glory on the earth is nothing compared with millions and millions of years in perfection.

This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t cry out to God for justice. But we need to remember the true deliverance won’t come until we are with Him in Glory.

---

 

[1]: being brought low or discouraged

[2]: Notice that after the first phrase in 1:9, the rest of God’s judgment deals with death of the unsaved, and their losing all of their blessings for eternity.

[3]: judgment of others in spectacular fashion and massive blessings on me