James 1:12-18

Now if you have a Bible there, do you turn to James chapter 1.

James 1 · chapter mention

The last couple of weeks I've had an experience that I'm sure many of us have had many times.

The phone rings, at a time you don't really want to answer the phone, you pick it up,

and you find a distant voice from the other side of the planet,

saying they want to speak to Mr Cashman.

I'm trying to deny my existence, but the ventures have come with curiosity,

and the voice announces they're calling from TalkTalk, my internet and phone supplier,

saying they notice that my internet service has slowed down.

And of course it's very plausible, isn't it?

Because my internet service is never fast as I think it should be,

as I think I pay them that money to make it.

And so on, it starts to get interested, they've latched into a genuine desire to make things work quickly.

But then part of me remembers the truth.

A, I don't really want to be speaking to this person, I've got other things I want to do,

and B, there are fraudsters out there.

The fact bolstered by the fact that TalkTalk have had all their data left in the last couple of weeks.

So I start to ask a few questions, and pretty soon the other person hangs up,

annoyed that I'm asking them questions.

The whole experience is a reminder, isn't it, of how easy it is to be deceived.

Someone calls promising something you want,

and you need to discern the truth, don't you?

What is real, what is not.

Well, James is writing because he doesn't want his readers deceived.

Look at verse 16, the middle of the section we're looking at.

So we're looking at verses 12 to 18, right in the middle there.

Verse 16, do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.

Now it's easy to be deceived about with prank calls or hoax calls,

but that's actually not terribly dangerous.

What was the worst thing to happen?

I might lose a bit of money, I might get my computer hacked.

But these people, and we indeed as Christians, are in danger of much bigger deception.

Turn over to the end of the letter.

See, this is the whole reason James is writing.

Look at chapter 5, verses 19 to 20.

My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth,

literally in the original language, is deceived.

It's the same word used back in chapter 1, verse 16.

If anyone is deceived and someone brings him back,

let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering,

from his deception,

will save his soul from death,

and will cover a multitude of signals.

See what's at stake in this deception?

What's at stake is more than a matter of life and death.

It's a matter of heaven and hell, James says.

And rather, he's writing to people who profess to be believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.

He calls them brothers.

Though the stakes are high, he does not want them to be deceived.

Now, what could deceive them?

Well, as you have heard from the whole section that Penny read to us,

many people were undergoing trials, having hard times.

And it's easy in hard times to be deceived, isn't it?

To be deceived that maybe God doesn't really love me.

To be deceived that maybe the gospel isn't really true.

To be deceived that maybe to give in to this temptation

would be an easier way out, an easier way to comfort.

Because that's why in verse 12, James reminds his readers of a greater truth.

There is a reason for enduring.

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial.

For when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life

that God has promised to those who love him.

See, what's the hope at the end?

What's the reward for those who endure who don't give in?

It's this crown of life.

I think we hear the word crown and we think of the crown jewels, don't we?

Think of a big golden crown that a monarch would wear.

For James' reader, the usual crown they would think of

was more likely a laurel crown, a crown, a wreath

that would be placed on the victor's head after an athletic competition.

But here James said this crown isn't made of laurel wreaths.

It's made of something better.

It's made of life.

It's the crown of life.

It's the crown of real life.

The crown of eternal life.

Life in heaven with God when we die.

Life in a new creation.

When Christ comes back.

Real life.

But these trials and difficulties of life bring us temptations.

They can make us think there isn't a crown of life to inherit.

They can make us think that there are more to life now.

It's when the trial of unemployment comes

that the temptation to fill the tax returns can come, isn't it?

You might never think about that normally.

But suddenly the trial of financial hardship arises.

The temptation to just get something a little cheap,

get something a little quick.

That suddenly arises, isn't it?

James knew.

His readers were thinking like that.

They were thinking,

or maybe they were thinking that God was to blame for their trials.

Look at verse 13.

Let no one say when he is tempted,

I am being tempted by God.

For God cannot be tempted by evil,

and he himself tempts no one.

Perhaps they were considering blaming God for their temptations

because they knew that God is sovereign.

They knew the truth of Psalm 135 verse 6,

Psalms 135:6

that the Lord does whatever he pleases.

Maybe they thought,

well, God is making us suffer,

so this is his way of tempting us.

Or maybe they were remembering the Old Testament.

Remember how the Lord tested Abraham,

or tested Hezekiah,

2 Chronicles chapter 32 verse 31.

2 Chronicles 32:31

They thought the Lord is testing,

tempting us.

It's the same word in the original language.

So how could they stand firm

under these temptations and trials?

Well, James wants them to know the truth.

Whatever they're thinking,

they're in danger of being deceived.

And he wants them to receive the crown of life.

So how can they stand firm?

Well, he wants them to make sure they're not deceived,

but they know the truth.

Two aspects of the truth in particular.

He wants them to know the truth about themselves,

and the truth about God.

Let's look at the truth about themselves,

the truth about ourselves, first of all.

So we can stand firm in our trials and temptations.

Verses 13 and 14.

And the truth about ourselves is not a popular truth, is it?

If you were to ask your neighbours,

or boys and girls,

if you were to ask someone at school,

are you a good person?

How would they normally reply?

I suspect they say,

I'm not perfect,

but I'm basically a good person.

I do my best.

I try to be nice to people.

I'm a good person.

And when they do make mistakes,

they look for excuses, don't they?

We live in a culture where everyone wants someone to blame,

don't they?

But James' point here is,

we don't really have something to blame.

Look at what he says in verse 13.

When we give in to temptation,

it's never God's fault,

it's always our fault.

We are not the good people we think we are.

We're slaves to our desires.

Look at verse 13.

Let no one say when he's tempted,

I'm being tempted by God,

for God cannot be tempted with evil,

and he himself tempts no one.

But each person is tempted

when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.

Then desire,

when it is conceived,

gives birth to sin,

and sin,

when it is fully grown,

brings forth to death.

See,

James' readers

were blaming God for their temptation.

That was a symptom

of an underlying problem with them.

Back in verse 8 of chapter 1,

James had said that,

had warned them not to be a double-minded person,

who's unstable in all their ways.

Over in chapter 4,

verse 4,

verse 8 as well,

he talks about people being double-minded.

In chapter 1,

verse 18,

double-minded is about

not really believing God.

It's about praying,

but not believing he will answer.

In chapter 4,

verse 8,

it's about

claiming to want to follow God,

but really desiring wealth

and prestige

on your own way

in this world.

See,

here's what we,

what double-mindedness is.

It's kind of saying one thing,

pretending,

claiming to believe one thing,

but actually living in another way.

And that's what we see going on here

in chapter 1,

verse 13.

This is probably a double-mindedness.

It's kind of,

it's God who's tempting me,

not grasping the truth

about God

in their own minds.

So James is showing them

the problem is not with God,

the problem is with them.

And we can be double-minded too,

can't we?

Maybe we don't go as far

as explicitly blaming God

for tempting us.

But how often do I find myself

saying something like,

I'm sorry I got cross with you,

but I'm very tired.

Or do you say,

I'm sorry I did this,

I'm sorry I reacted in this way,

but I'm under a lot of pressure

at work at the moment.

I'm sorry I did that,

but you provoked me.

I'm sorry,

but I wouldn't have done it

if such and such.

I'd fairly, quite easily,

blame our sin,

blame our failings,

blame doing something wrong,

not on ourselves,

but on something

in our circumstances.

Essentially,

that's like blaming God,

isn't it?

So it's not about me,

it's about something out there.

I'm really God's in charge

of all that.

If it hadn't been like this,

I wouldn't have behaved

in this way.

It's actually a bit of

double-mindedness,

isn't it?

And that's why James says

we need to know the truth

about ourselves.

The truth is not popular,

it's not comfortable,

but it's what we need to know.

That when we are tempted,

it is because,

verse 14,

we are enticed

by our own desires.

We're tempted

by our own desires

lure us or entice us

and drag us away.

We're tempted,

we fall into temptation

when we let our feelings

run the show,

rather than our truth,

the truth,

God's truth,

dominate,

so that we think straight.

The language James uses here

is like the language

of catching a fish.

You know what it's like,

I don't have a go fishing,

I've never had any appeal to me,

but you know how it works,

don't you?

You get a bit of bait,

a fly,

or a worm,

or something,

put it on a hook,

cast your rod,

cast your line

into the river or the sea,

and the fish comes along,

and the fish is a fish.

So it sees the worm

or the fly there

and thinks,

oh,

that looks nice,

I want it.

And in its desires,

it bites on to the bait

and is hooked.

That's the language

James uses here.

We're enticed,

we see the bait,

we see the bait,

and we act on those desires

rather than submitting

to God's truth.

So for example,

boys and girls at school,

you know how this works out,

don't you?

Well,

how does it work out for you?

Think about it for a moment.

You desire to fit in

with your friends,

you desire to be popular.

And so,

someone suggests that you

stop talking to that girl

over there

because she's a bit nasty,

or whatever it is.

And so rather than letting

God's truth dictate,

it says you should love

your enemies

and pray for those

who persecute you,

you say,

you know what,

I'm going to go along with that.

So you give in

your desire,

and so you're being mean

and bullying along

with everyone else.

And we all know how

that works in our own lives,

don't we?

We all face choices daily,

whether we act on our own desires

or in line with God's truth.

So we desire

financial security.

So we hold on

to all the money we have

rather than giving

to gospel work.

Or we desire

for control.

And so we get angry,

or we manipulate

and dominate.

We desire for an easy life.

So we don't correct

a brother or sister

who's falling into sin.

So this is how

sin starts.

It begins with our desires.

It begins with how

we act on our feelings.

That's stage one.

Then look at stage two,

verse 15.

Then desire,

when it is conceived,

gives birth to sin.

In other words,

when we let our desires

control our will,

rather than God's truth

controlling our will,

then we give in

to that action,

it gives birth to sin.

We're guided by our feelings

rather than remembering

the truth.

Now,

a sin doesn't seem

that important to us,

does it?

Sin these days

is used as a kind of,

it's a marketing tool,

isn't it?

Magnum ice creams

had the seven deadly sins

flavours a few years ago.

Sin is often viewed as

eating too much sugar

or too much fat

or whatever is bad

at the moment.

James says,

don't be deceived

about that.

Sin is serious.

So stage one

is desire,

stage two

is acting on that desire

which leads to sin.

Look where that leads to,

verse 15,

the third stage.

Sin,

when it is fully grown,

brings forth death.

See,

sin is serious,

says James.

It's significant.

If this is the pattern

of our life,

that we constantly

follow our desires

and fall into sin,

and sin and sin

without ever letting

God's truth correct it.

And what's the result

when it's fully grown?

Death.

And what James says here

is mirrored by

the very first sin

in human history.

It's mirrored by

what happened

in the Garden of Eden

when Adam and Eve

fell.

It began

with forgetting

God's truth

or God's truth

being distorted

and then just acting

on their desires,

didn't it?

Remember,

God had told them,

do not eat

the fruit

from the tree

of the knowledge

of good and evil.

For in the day

you eat of it

you will surely die.

And Satan,

disguised as a snake,

creeps into the garden

and starts to

get them to doubt

God's truth,

to distort God's word.

He says,

you're not sure

they die.

And then he distorts

God's character.

He says,

hey,

God doesn't want

what's best for you,

does he?

God's trying to limit you.

He knows if you eat

that fruit

you'll be like him.

That's what,

God doesn't have

your best interest

in heart.

And Eve looks

at the fruit.

Genesis 3 verse 6

Genesis 3:6

says,

when a woman saw

the tree was good

for food

and that it was

a delight to the eyes

and that the tree

was to be desired

to make one wise,

she took its fruit

and ate

and gave some

to her husband.

Do you see?

God's truth

ignored,

the truth of God's

character denied,

desires acted upon.

That's how sin begins.

Begins with desire,

leads to sin,

ends in death.

And remember,

just as James'

readers are evidently

blaming God,

it's essentially

what Adam and Eve did.

It's a pattern

for humanity.

We always want

to make excuses,

don't we?

So when God

walked in the garden

in the cool of the evening

and said to Adam,

Adam,

what have you done?

What did Adam do?

He said,

it wasn't me,

it was this woman

you gave me.

Basically,

God,

it's your fault,

you made her.

What does Eve do?

That wasn't my fault,

it was this serpent

that you made in the garden.

It was your fault,

really God?

As the old gag has it,

Adam blamed the woman,

the woman blamed the snake

and the snake

didn't have a leg to stand on.

It's an old joke

and it's actually not true

because none of them

have a leg to stand on.

It was a sinful desire

all the way,

wasn't it?

Ignoring God's truth,

acting on our own desires,

it leads to death.

See,

James says there's no excuse

when you're tempted.

We need to know

the truth about ourselves

if we're to remain

steadfast under trial.

We need to keep

that truth about ourselves

in mind.

Our desires,

our feelings

are not reliable.

It's not that they're

unimportant,

it's that they're unreliable.

And left unrestrained,

they lead to sin

and death.

So we need to realise

how weak we are.

That's the first truth

James wants us

to get our head around.

We are weak.

That's why the Lord Jesus

teaches us to pray,

lead us not into temptation.

Not that God tempts us,

but that our desires

and the world around us,

our own natures,

can so easily entice us

and trap us.

So we need God's help

to remember his truth

and act in accordance to it

and not cave in

to our own desires.

So that's the first thing

James wants us to be clear about,

the truth about ourselves.

Our desires will lead us

to trouble.

But secondly,

if we're to stand firm

under trials

and we can resist temptation,

we need to know

the truth about God.

We need to avoid

the deception

that Adam and Eve fell into.

And there are five facts,

I'll go through them quickly,

don't worry,

there are five facts

that James wants them to know,

wants us to know

about God's truth.

The first we've already seen

in verse 13,

he does not tempt anyone

because he is pure.

God is pure

so he doesn't tempt anyone

and is not tempted.

Evil and sin in the world

is not God's fault.

He tempts no one.

But secondly,

positively,

he is the source

of all that is good.

Look at verse 17.

Every good gift

and every perfect gift

is from above,

coming down

from the Father of lights.

That means

every good gift.

What good gifts

do you have in your life?

Family,

friends,

the beauty of the autumn colours

yesterday,

stable government

to allow us to meet like this,

the enjoyment of sport

and art,

of science,

of technology.

These are all good gifts.

They all come from

one good giver.

Every good gift

comes from him.

And even,

in the context

that James is writing in,

even trials

and hard times,

even they come

from God

to make us

perfect and complete,

lacking in nothing,

as James says

back in verse 4.

Every good gift

comes from him.

So he's pure,

it doesn't tempt everyone,

he is the source

of every good thing,

and thirdly,

he's the creator

of everything.

Verse 17

is the father

of the light,

of the heavenly lights.

The father of lights.

In other words,

he's the God

who created

the stars

and the sun

and the moon.

He created this

whole universe.

He is that powerful.

And maybe James

particularly

calls him

the father of lights,

because perhaps

some people

were kind of

resorting to

blaming the stars

for their behaviour.

Oh, it wasn't my fault,

but I'm a Leo

or a Capricorn

or whatever they all are.

That's why I behave

like this.

And that's a

contemporary problem,

isn't it?

I'm sure you have friends,

I have friends,

who check their horoscopes

and seem to know

what their star sign is,

as if that excuses

anything they do

or constrains

anything they do.

James says,

no,

the stars

come and go,

the moon waxes

and wanes.

Those things shift

and change

in their orbits

around the world.

Our father does not.

Which is the fourth thing.

He does not change.

The father of lights

with whom there is

no variation

or shadow

due to change.

These people

were double-minded.

We're often

double-minded,

aren't we?

We can say one thing

on Sunday

and just live differently

at various points

of the week.

James says,

God is not like that.

He is unchanging.

He doesn't shift

and change

like the shadows.

He is single-minded

and single

in his purpose.

In fact,

earlier on,

back in chapter 1

verse 5,

James had said

that if anyone

if he lacks wisdom,

let him ask God

he gives generously

without reproach.

Now,

wisdom is another

of God's good gifts.

But that word

generously there,

the original language,

has the idea

of simply,

single-mindedly.

This is the way

God is.

He doesn't change.

There's no variation.

No alterations

with him.

He is unchangeable.

Utterly reliable.

So here are the

first four things

that he is pure.

He does not tempt anyone.

He is the source of good,

of every good thing.

He is the creator

who is in control

and he does not change.

And if God's character

never changes,

then his purposes

and intentions

for people

never change either.

And that takes us

on to the fourth truth

about God

that James wants us to know.

Look at the end

of verse 18.

Look at verse 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.

Here's the fifth thing.

God is gracious

and makes us

into new people.

He is gracious

and makes us

into new people.

There's a lot in this

verse 18.

We'll speed through it

very quickly.

What does James say

God has done?

He has brought us forth.

Do you notice

that's the same language

he used back in verse 15.

There he says

sin, when it is fully grown

it brings forth death.

Our desires ultimately

bring forth death.

What does God's will,

God's desire do?

Ultimately it brings forth life.

Makes us new people.

That's what he's done.

He's brought us forth.

It's new birth

to use the language

Jesus has given

in John 3.

We are born again

James says.

That's why God

makes believers

into new people.

That's what he's done.

Why has he done it?

What's the purpose?

Look at the end of the verse.

That we should be

a kind of firstfruits

of his creatures.

In the Old Testament

the firstfruits

were the part of the harvest

that were given to God

that were devoted to God

but they also

were kind of representative

of what was going to come.

The guarantee,

the down payment

of what was to come.

So James is saying

God has made us

the firstfruits.

He's given us new life.

He's made us Christians

in Christ.

New people.

And that means

we belong to him

firstly

but secondly

we're the beginning

we're the guarantee

the deposit

of what is going to come next.

But ultimately

God is going to make

the whole creation new.

That starts with us.

That starts with us

in Christ

that one day

everything will be made new.

Now how has he done that?

Verse 18.

He brought us forth

by the word of truth.

The word of truth.

The gospel.

That's what Paul calls it

in Colossians 1.

The gospel.

The word of truth.

This good news message

about what Jesus has done.

And do you know

just look down to verse 21

for a second.

It's not just a message

that's out there somewhere.

It's not a truth

we've had access out there.

Rather

verse 21

it is

the implanted word

James goes on to say.

It is this truth

God has planted

deep in us

to use the language

of the hymn we just sang.

As this gospel

is planted into us

as you plant a seed

into the ground

you hope it will grow

and bear fruit

and change.

So it is

as God has planted

his word

of truth in us

so it bears fruit

and changes us

from the inside out.

This word of truth

is the announcement

of what God

has done in Christ.

James calls it

the word of truth

specifically

because it's to answer

the deception

that they are otherwise

likely to believe.

That deception

is really the great lie

that Satan whispered

right back in the

garden of Eden.

The lie that God

is not good.

The lie that God

doesn't really love us.

The lie that God

doesn't really want

the best thing for us.

And that's the lie

that always trumps us up

doesn't it?

Whereas what does

the word of truth

tell us?

Oh yes it tells us

God is incredibly holy.

But it tells us

God is incredibly

compassionate.

That having seen

Adam and Eve

reject him

and walk away

God didn't then

walk away from the creation.

Didn't walk away

from us as human beings.

Rather he set

a new start.

He sent his own son

the Lord Jesus Christ

to be a new beginning

a new humanity.

When Jesus came

he didn't give in

to his own desires.

He didn't make bread

when Satan said

you're hungry

make some bread

for yourself.

You're powerful enough

to do that.

Jesus didn't do that.

Rather he lived

by his Father's word.

He brought his Father's

truth to mind.

In the garden of Gethsemane

before the night

he was betrayed

how did he pray?

Father take this cup

from me

but not my will

but your will

be done.

He resisted

his natural

human desire

to preserve his life.

He said

remember his

Father's truth

followed his

Father's way.

He died

the death

we deserve to die.

He was raised

to life again.

As a beginning

of the new creation.

So that in him

we too

can be new people.

We too

through faith

in Christ

are raised

to new life.

See when God

when Jesus

walked out that tomb

that first Easter Sunday

it wasn't just

guaranteeing

heaven one day

or the new creation

one day

as gloriously true

as those things are.

God is guaranteeing

new life for us now.

Guaranteeing

that we can

be born again.

We can be

brought forth

to new life

by the word of truth.

See naturally

as we're born

as human beings

it is impossible

for us

not to sin.

Naturally

we just cave in

to our desires

the way we are.

But when we are

born again

we no longer

need to sin.

Of course

we're not yet

perfect.

That's why

Sunday by Sunday

we confess

our sins together.

We know that.

Sunday by Sunday

the Lord forgives

in accordance

with his promises.

We do still

give in to our

wrong desires.

Yet the Holy Spirit

is working

new desires in us.

So what has God

done?

How do we see

God's goodness?

He's caused us

to be born again

to be made

into new people.

Why has he done it?

So we can be

first fruits.

Part of his

new creation.

How has he done it?

Through the word

of truth.

The gospel

of the Lord

Jesus Christ.

And finally

why did he do it?

Why did he go

to those lengths?

Why did he bother?

What does verse 18

tell us?

Of his own will.

It wasn't because

we asked him.

It wasn't because

he saw potentially

we would be good

one day.

It was of his own will.

There was one

translation puts it

by his sovereign

plan he gave us

God.

That's the truth

James wants his

readers and wants

us to be clear

on.

The truth about

God.

He is good.

So how do we

remain steadfast in

trials?

How do we remain

steadfast under

temptation?

Now we need to

know the truth

about ourselves.

On the left

of ourselves we

will not remain

steadfast.

We will cave in.

We will act on

our desires.

Our desires will

give birth to sin

and sin to death.

That's the truth

about ourselves.

We are worse

than we ever

imagined.

We are not the

nice people that

society tells us

we are.

The truth about

us is worse

than we ever

imagined.

The truth about

God is better

than we could

ever dream.

He has chosen

to make us new

people.

He has chosen

to redeem.

Chosen to rescue.

He is unchanging,

perfect in all his

ways.

He has done

everything possible

for us through

the Lord Jesus

Christ.

That should

reassure us.

I hope it

reassures you.

It reassures me.

If it is of

God's own will

to bring me

forth to make

us new people

then that gives

me courage to

face up to the

desires of my

heart.

It gives me

confidence that

God will not

let me go no

matter how I

stray.

It means that

no matter what

the trials are

he will hold us

and keep us

nothing in the

world, nothing

the world can

offer can be

as good as

that crown of

life that he

holds out to

those whom he

loves, who he

keeps.

So because the

unchanging creator

God has brought

us forth, brought

us to life by the

word of truth,

those who are

Christians will

single-mindedly

believe and

practice the truth

about ourselves

and about God.

John Newton, the

former slave

trader, as he

was dying in

December 1807

was visited by

a friend,

William J.

And he was a

very old man by

this day.

And J.

wrote these

words in his

diary about the

visit.

I saw Mr.

Newton near the

closing scene.

He was hardly

able to talk and

all I find I had

noted down upon

my leaving him

was this.

And he quotes

what Newton

had said.

My memory is

nearly gone, but

I remember two

things, that I am

a great sinner, and

that Christ is a

great saviour.

Those are the two

truths about

ourselves and about

God that James

wants us to know

too.

Let's pray.