James 1C. Chapter 1 of James moves forward into the fourth point on facing trials. Trials, doubts, temptations, lust, inaction, favoritism

Transcription

1 James 1C Chapter 1 f James mves frward int the furth pint n facing trials The letter f James never fails t strike a chrd with Bible students I ve received a lt f mail already n the bk f James, and it seems the Hly Spirit is active in prvking fresh thinking and plenty f cnvictin t spread arund He speaks in such clear and pwerful terms n issues we each knw s well Trials, dubts, temptatins, lust, inactin, favritism There s smething fr everyne here, isn t there? In fact, n average, there is 1 imperative statement fr every 2 verses in the bk Tday as we pick back up in Chapter 1, James is mving away frm his third pint n trials - the way t remain steadfast in facing external trials And int his furth pint: hw t face inward trials, which he calls temptatins And we can all identify with tday s teaching, since we all have ur wn ways f suffering temptatin A man walked int the kitchen ne day nt t lng ag t find my wife stalking arund with a fly swatter. "What are yu ding?" I asked. "Hunting Flies" she replied. "Oh... Killing any?" I asked, after pausing t watch her make several runds arund the kitchen table. "Yep, 3 males and 2 females", she replied. "Hw can yu tell?" I asked, quite intrigued. "3 were n the refrigeratr and 2 were n the phne." Let s cnsider James wrds beginning in vs James 1:13 Let n ne say when he is tempted, I am being tempted by Gd ; fr Gd cannt be tempted by evil, and He Himself des nt tempt anyne. James 1:14 But each ne is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his wn lust. James 1:15 Then when lust has cnceived, it gives birth t sin; and when sin is accmplished, it brings frth death Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

2 James 1C! 2 Up t this pint, James had been fcused n hw a man r wman f faith shuld address trials r tests And James attributed the surce f these trials t the Lrd, in the sense that we knw He is in cntrl f ur life circumstances And He brings tests as a way t reveal r expse ur degree f spiritual maturity S as we are taught f the Lrd by His Spirit living and wrking in us Similarly, we are tested by the Lrd at times t help us shw that wrk t urselves and thers, s that Gd may be glrified A glry that is revealed when Christ s wrk is revealed in us Gal. 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is n lnger I wh live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I nw live in the flesh I live by faith in the Sn f Gd, wh lved me and gave Himself up fr me. But at this pint in the letter James needs t make an imprtant distinctin between these external tests brught by Gd fr ur benefit And inward tests r temptatins that are nt the result f Gd s design They are natural prducts f ur sinful nature Yet they are still a reality, and we must face them And like external tests, we face them best when we understand them with gdly wisdm and respnd t them accrding t that wisdm In v.13, James begins with the simple cnditinal statement, Let n ne say when he is tempted... James desn t say if he is tempted By using the when, James emphasizes the simply reality f temptatins They are a universal experience...we all have temptatins This isn t sme academic discussin, r a theretical pssibility 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

3 James 1C! 3 This is a certainty...we all face temptatins And the way we respnd t them has eternal cnsequences, just like any test r trial Nw when we experience temptatins, we culd be cnfused abut their surce Earlier, James taught that trials are tests brught by Gd, s nw we might think incrrectly that temptatins t sin are als Gdrdained tests as well S James crrects us in v.13...when we face a temptatin, we cannt say Gd is placing this temptatins befre us as a test Temptatins d nt riginate with Gd And James gives us an imprtant principle r pattern t understand why we can knw this First, Gd Himself is nt tempted by evil The Greek wrd is apeirats, which is untemptable Anther way t say it is Gd has n experience with evil, nt relatinship with it Evil is a freign, unknwn thing t Gd When he says Gd is nt tempted by evil, James means in the sense f succumbing t it Gd des nt give int evil and participate in it This is imprtant distinctin because we knw Hebrews teaches that Jesus was tempted, and we need t appreciate the distinctin Heb. 4:15 Fr we d nt have a high priest wh cannt sympathize with ur weaknesses, but One wh has been tempted in all things as we are, yet withut sin. In James, the issue is whether Gd has ever cme t knw and experience evil by succumbing t temptatin...he hasn t In Hebrews, the issue is whether Gd in Christ had pprtunity t give in t temptatins...he did, but He never tk the pprtunity S ur Gd is nt tempted by evil, and therefre He desn t tempt us 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

4 James 1C! 4 Gd is never in the business f tempting us t sin Yu may wnder abut the prayer Jesus taught His disciples, when it says Father, lead us nt int temptatin When we studied this in Luke, we learned that the phrase in Greek is a figure f speech, a littes It means expressing a psitive idea by negating the cntrary The prper way t translate it int English wuld be Father help us stay away frm temptatin Gd desn t tempt because He s nt experienced in sin, which leads us t an imprtant principle We must have experience smething fr urselves befre we share it with thers And when it cmes t sin, we will share what we knw Sin mves frm persn t persn, flesh t flesh After wman was deceived by Satan and disbeyed Gd in the Garden, what was the very next thing she chse t d? She shared her sin with her husband Having been tempted by sin, she nw became a surce f temptatin fr anther If we give int evil temptatins, making it a part f wh we are, we may becme an instrument fr the enemy t pass it n t thers If we are prne t deceptin, we may give rise t deceptin in thers If we gssip, thers may fllw If we judge thers, thers will judge us If we are undisciplined, unrestrained, uncntrlled, we becme the seed fr similar behavir in thers 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

5 James 1C! 5 But if we refrain frm giving int temptatins, by the Spirit s pwer wrking in us, we mve away frm that familiarity and becme less likely t share it S since Gd isn t the surce f ur temptatins, where d these internal tests, these temptatins t sin cme frm? In v.14 James says they cme frm ur wn lust And in fact, James lines ut a sequence r prcess by which temptatins take hld and cause us t sin The prcess has three steps, and James uses the analgy f childbirth t explain the prcess First, the starting pint is a lust that draws us away and entices us Accrding t Thmas Cnstable, lust is the desire t d r have r be smething apart frm the will f Gd It takes many frms We ften use the wrd lust t narrwing, as in a sexual cntext r in describing appetites f the flesh But James is speaking f it very bradly...all manner f desires utside Gd s will These desires draw us away and entice us The wrds in Greek mean t lure with bait The bait is smething utside urselves But smething inside us is attracted t that bait, even thugh Gd s will is nt met by that attractin But when yu think abut it, when we use bait t fish, we are lying t the fish The fish thinks the bait is smething gd, a mrsel f fd that will strengthen the fish and make it grw But in reality, the bait is a danger t the fish despite the fact that it lks attractive James message is the same here 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

6 James 1C! 6 Our lust is drawn by the attractiveness f sme kind f bait, but in the end the attractin is built n a lie The lie is part f what makes ur drawing away turn t sin Because we are chsing t accept the lie rather than Gd s wisdm and truth...his will fr us S, step ne f the temptatin prcess is giving int a lust fr smething that appears desirable, but in fact is dangerus and unhealthy T use the childbirth analgy, we culd say that the giving int lustful desires is like becming pregnant It begins a prcess that has an inevitable cnclusin But the effects f that prcess aren t necessarily visible fr a while But ver time the effect grws and becmes mre visible As we give int ur lusts and enjy the bait, it may seem gd fr a while...but the seed f sin is just grwing Secndly, after lust has cnceived, James says in v.15 that it will give birth t sin Interestingly, James is teaching that the true sin f ur lives is fund in ur respnse t lust, nt in the temptatin itself I can be tempted t lustful thughts as I lk at a wman But I dn t sin until I give int that desire and entertain thse thughts Then I have been carried away by a desire and it has cnceived sin in me I had a chice t rely n the Spirit and turn away frm the desire and the temptatin But if I take the bait, I enter int sin James cmpares this mment t the birth prcess Giving int lustful desires cnceives the birth f sin Finally, when sin is accmplished (birthed), it brings frth death 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

7 James 1C! 7 Once sin is brn, it takes n its wn life and develpment, like a child But just like human life has death waiting at the end f its curse Likewise, a curse f sin brings an end f death What is the death James is talking abut? First we must cntinually remember this is a letter f exhrtatin written t believers abut gdly living It s a letter f sanctificatin, nt f salvatin S the death must be a statement f cnsequence fr the believer It can t be speaking abut the eternal death that cmes upn an unbeliever...that s simply nt the cntext f James pint in this chapter S what kinds f death are pssible utcmes fr the believer wh gives int lust and pursues a curse f sin? One bvius answer is physical death It s a Biblical principle that when Gd s peple chse a life f sin ver ne f bedience, they are testing Gd s patience And in sme cases, Gd will visit physical death upn believers wh cntinue in a life f disbedience Cnsider the wrds f the writer f Hebrews Heb. 10:28 Anyne wh has set aside the Law f Mses dies withut mercy n the testimny f tw r three witnesses. Heb. 10:29 Hw much severer punishment d yu think he will deserve wh has trampled under ft the Sn f Gd, and has regarded as unclean the bld f the cvenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit f grace? Heb. 10:30 Fr we knw Him wh said, VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY. And again, THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE. The writer admnishes thse wh might cntinue t fllw the Jewish system f sacrifice after having cme t knw Christ as the One True Sacrifice 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

8 James 1C! 8 If Gd was willing t punish His peple fr their failings under the Old Cvenant, hw much mre will He act against thse under the New? Lk at the final statement in v.30: the Lrd will judge His peple We re talking abut a cnsequence fr the believer that begins with premature physical death brught by Gd as a cnsequence fr willful sin The secnd way in which a believer may suffer death is in the sense f hw James used life earlier in v.12 In the earlier verse, James ffered as a reward fr successfully facing trials the crwn f life I believe his use f the wrd death here is an intentinal cntrast t the life f that crwn Remember, the crwn isn t a reward fr salvatin, but fr persevering thrugh trials S if we fail the test f inward trials, f temptatins, that sin will cnceive a death in us in the sense that it risks us lsing the crwn f life, ur reward Cnsider Paul s wrds when speaking abut the cnsequences fr a member f the Crinthian church wh was giving int lust and willfully sinning In this case, the brther was engaged in a sexual relatinship with his father s wife S t that persn, Paul used his apstlic authrity t bring the fllwing cnsequence accrding t Gd s will: 1Cr. 5:3 Fr I, n my part, thugh absent in bdy but present in spirit, have already judged him wh has s cmmitted this, as thugh I were present. 1Cr. 5:4 In the name f ur Lrd Jesus, when yu are assembled, and I with yu in spirit, with the pwer f ur Lrd Jesus, 1Cr. 5:5 I have decided t deliver such a ne t Satan fr the destructin f his flesh, s that his spirit may be saved in the day f the Lrd Jesus. As Paul says, we knw this believer s place in heaven was secure, because it was gained by faith and nt wrks Gd wrks dn t earn ur salvatin, and similarly evil wrks (i.e., sin) can t frfeit ur salvatin 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

9 James 1C! 9 But Paul says this man must suffer the destructin f his flesh (likely sme kind f untimely death), fr the prtectin f the church and the saving f his spirit I think f it like a ftball team, where the team is the Bdy f Christ We are all in the game f life playing a part fr Christ, Wh is leading us and training us and calling the plays and evaluating ur perfrmances And the team is striving t mve in a cmmn directin under the Lrd s directin And ur rle is just t listen t the cach and d as He directs But if smene n the team is stubbrning refusing t fllwing the Lrd s directin, that player begins t hurt the team And eventually, the Lrd has n chice but t bench that player They are always a member f the team, but they may be taken ut f the game t ensure the success f the team And t prevent the individual frm ding any mre harm t himself and thers arund him I think that s Paul s purpse in the wrds he wrte t the Crinthian church And I think that s James emphasis as well when he warns us that when sin is accmplished (aptele = brught t an end), it leads t a death f srts Nw James ffers encuragement and a path away frm this curse f sin and death James 1:16 D nt be deceived, my belved brethren. James 1:17 Every gd thing given and every perfect gift is frm abve, cming dwn frm the Father f lights, with whm there is n variatin r shifting shadw. James 1:18 In the exercise f His will He brught us frth by the wrd f truth, s that we wuld be a kind f first fruits amng His creatures. James transitins with d nt be deceived 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

10 James 1C! 10 Dn t take the bait, the deceptin that ur lusts lead t gd things and can t hurt us That s a lie Dn t accept that lie, but knw the truth The gd things f life can t be fund in this wrld The wrld is full f bait, but the gd gifts are frm abve James says every gd thing given and every perfect gift is frm abve The English just desn t d this phrase justice In Greek, the wrds fr given and gift are different The first emphasizes the prcess f delivering gd things The secnd emphasizes the result, a gift received S a better way t say this in English might be, The giving f gd things always riginates in Heaven, and the gd things yu receive have all cme Heaven. Simply put, anything that is truly gd is f Gd and must riginate with Him and be given by Him Nthing utside Gd s will and purpse is cnsidered gd S, dn t be deceived by things that dn t cme frm Gd Lk t Gd fr what is gd in yur life Have eyes fr eternity and set yur mind n things abve James refers t Gd as the Father f lights, a term fund nwhere else in the BIble, but present in ther Jewish writings like the Dead Sea Scrlls Lights is a reference t the heavenly bdies S James is reminding us that Gd creating everything in the universe, especially the Light that represents His gdness And there is n variatin in His nature, such that He culd never shift frm being light t being shadw (i.e., darkness) 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

11 James 1C! 11 1Jhn 1:5 This is the message we have heard frm Him and annunce t yu, that Gd is Light, and in Him there is n darkness at all. We can trust Gd t be ur surce f gd and knw that if smething is evil r tempting us t sin, it isn t f Gd As we cnclude, let s review what James has taught this mrning James clarified that the surce f ur inward trials, ur temptatins t sin is nt Gd Himself but ur wn lusts S the wisdm we need t face this inward trial successfully is first t recgnize its curse: ur flesh is a surce f evil Secndly, we must understand that Gd is a surce fr the gd and perfect (i.e., cmplete) wrks that we seek t d instead f succumbing t temptatins Praying fr the wisdm t face temptatins will be answered as James said earlier with gd gifts t vercme these trials Gifts in the frm f the mind and attitude f Christ Wh dwells in us But ur active participatin in this prcess is an imperative James places upn the believer Then finally in v.18 James, prves Gd s willingness t step int ur sinful lives and transfrm us int a new persn James says it was the exercise f Gd s will that brught us frth The term brught frth in Greek is a plite way f saying childbirth James is describing ur new birth, the way we were brn again It happened as a result f Gd s will He purpsed ur rebirth and brught it abut And it happened as a prduct f the wrd f truth (the Gspel r the wrd f Gd mre generally) S that we are the first fruits f His plan t eventually rebirth all creatin int a new Heavens and Earth 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

12 James 1C! 12 Cnsider what that means If Gd stepped int ur sinful lives and brught us t an awareness f Him even befre we knew Him, then desn t that say smething abut Gd s intent? Paul says in Phil 1:6: Phil. 1:6 Fr I am cnfident f this very thing, that He wh began a gd wrk in yu will perfect it until the day f Christ Jesus. James encuragement t us is t trust that if Gd started smething in us, then He must be prepared t cntinue that wrk We can take hpe and encuragement by that, and seek His wisdm and interventin in times f temptatins trusting He will answer thse prayers t bring us ut f that mment But ur willful respnse t Him is a part f the prcess as well Which is why in Rmans 8:30 Paul leaves sanctificatin ut f his prgressive list f milestnes in a believer s life We were all chsen by Gd, justified by Gd and will all be glrified But whether we reach spiritual maturity is a pen questin And it depends n ur willingness t yield t the Spirit s directin 2010 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.