ChristiansUnite Forums

"But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren" (James 1:14-16).



BEWARE OF SERPENTS THAT TALK



As we noted in our last lesson, James was concerned that his countrymen not take sin lightly. "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust." The matter of temptation is not a question of if you will be tempted to sin, but when. Interestingly, the formula of temptation that Satan originally used in Eden hasn't changed even after all these centuries. It's the promise of something that is forbidden. We should bear in mind that being exposed to temptation is not a sin. The Lord was exposed to it three times in the wilderness, yet we know He "knew no sin." It is when you yield to the temptation that a sin is committed.



If we carefully compare the first temptation recorded in Genesis 3 with what the Apostle James teaches here in James 1, we witness firsthand the progression of the inducement to sin against God. In Eden our first parents were permitted to eat of every tree of the garden, except for the tree of knowledge of good and evil. It was not necessary for God to explain all the ramifications in the event they did partake, simply because if they heeded the warning not to eat they would never experience the consequences. Here the tempter seized the moment by calling God and His Word into question.



"Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden - ...For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil."



The nature of Satan's temptation was to cause our first parents to doubt God. He implied that God had withheld something profitable from them that they rightfully deserved. Next he began to draw them away through enticement. This particular word that James used is a fishing term. It has the idea to lure by bait. When you go fishing you do your best to conceal the hook with the worm and even leave part of the tail dangling off the end to attract the fish. You methodically move the line a little which basically says to the fish, come and get it; it's all yours! Once he takes the bait, it's fillet-o-fish for dinner!



In the case of Adam and Eve the bait was power, absolute power, or so they thought. After all, they would be as gods, knowing good and evil. Satan didn't need to say another word because the next step of the temptation was already in motion. He merely left them to their own devices. Eve's desire drew her away when she saw the tree was good for food, and pleasant to look upon, and a tree that could make them wise. She innocently thought that the serpent's words made a lot of sense. As a homemaker, Eve probably reasoned that this would add another fruit to the dinner menu, not to mention that it was pleasant to the eye. Why it's the perfect centerpiece!



While Eve was totally deceived, Adam knew full well what the serpent was offering. He was drawn away by his desire to be like God. He wanted to know the difference between good and evil, something he would live to regret. James goes on to say, "Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." Adam's lust for power gave birth to sin. In pride he rebelled against God and defiantly ate of the forbidden fruit.



By one man's disobedience sin entered the human race. Sin is missing the mark. When our daughter was a baby my wife called me upstairs one afternoon to the nursery where she pointed out the biggest wasp on the wall I've ever seen. I took the flyswatter and swung and missed him by about three inches. I missed the mark! And missing it has consequences. This particular wasp had backup, so I grabbed our daughter out of the crib and my wife and I fled down the stairs, with the wasps in hot pursuit!



The mark that Adam missed when he sinned was God's holiness. Since that fateful day, all who are born of the woman, with the exception of Christ, have come short of the glory of God. The treacherous path of yielding to temptation ends in sin. As Adam quickly learned sin had terrible consequences:



As the serpent deceitfully promised, they would "be as gods." Indeed, gods to themselves - serving every fleshly appetite of the sin nature. James adds "and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." The wages of sin is death (separation). "The eyes of them both were opened" to the consequences of their actions. In a moment of time, our first parents were spiritually separated from God. They immediately sensed an emptiness in their soul that they weren't right with their Creator, which explains why they hid themselves in the midst of the trees of the garden. Mankind has been running and hiding from God ever since.
_______________________________________

The Shekinah glory of God that clothed Adam and Eve before the fall had now departed from them, for God cannot dwell in the presence of sin; therefore, "they knew that they were naked." As shame and guilt consumed them they sought to cover themselves with fig leaves, which was their feeble attempt to make themselves acceptable to God. This gave birth to man-made religion, which remains with us until this very day. Sadly 930 years later Adam died physically and death has been stalking each of us ever since (Gen. 5:5).



Living in inhospitable countries, James knew his hearers could well find themselves tempted to steal or retaliate against their enemies. This would be the natural response of the sin nature that they inherited from Adam. As believers in Christ, however, they did not need to yield to the temptation as Adam did. Now regenerated, as we will see, if they would simply resist the devil he would flee from them. The statement: "Do not err, my beloved brethren" (James 1:16) was a reminder that God would never tempt them to do evil. It is an error to even entertain the thought for according to the Scriptures He cannot be tempted, nor would He ever tempt anyone to do wrong. God always has the well-being of the believer in mind.



THE GOODNESS OF GOD



God is sovereign! Everything that is good comes from His hand. We believe that all mankind in general benefits from the "good gifts" that God has bestowed upon His creation. In His providence, He has provided the warm sunlight and the rains that produce the harvest which sustains life upon the earth. Surely the goodness of God should lead all men to repentance. But all too often man's response to the goodness of God is denial, which one day will bring the judgment of God. As Paul says regarding the rejection of God's goodness: "But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God" (Rom. 2:5). The "perfect gifts" of God pertain to spiritual things with which He has blessed His people, such as the gift of His Word, regeneration, eternal life, etc. (James 1:12,18 ). James is going to further develop these particular gifts as he continues the epistle.



The reference to God being the "Father of lights" has to do with the fact that He is the Creator of every source of light, whether it is physical or spiritual. In the beginning God merely spoke and light was supernaturally brought into existence - from the light of a candle to a laser beam! On the fourth day of creation He created the sun, the moon, and sprinkled the heavens with stars, which are so numerous astronomers cannot even number them. God also made His angelic host, "spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire." Thus, light often accompanied the appearance of an angel of the Lord (Acts 12:7). Concerning the Word of God, it, too, is light. The Psalmist says, "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path" (Psa. 119:105).



While physical light many times varies in degree of intensity, James wanted his hearers to understand that there is no variation with God or shadow of turning with Him. He is unchangeable! The nature of God never changes, He is "the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Heb. 13:8 ). His holiness, for example, is constant and absolute. God is pure and cannot allow sin to dwell in His presence, as noted in Eden; therefore, those who abide in His presence must be perfect. They must be holy as He is holy, which is only attainable by being in Christ redemptively.



A surgeon who selects a scalpel in the operating room rejects a scalpel with a minute spot of defilement on it as readily as one that is severely defiled, because even the smallest spot means the scalpel is defiled and cannot be used in surgery. The degree of defilement is inconsequential. The fact of defilement is what matters to the surgeon. A thing is sterile or defiled, clean or unclean. A person is holy or unholy. God is not concerned with degrees, only with the absolute.



While the essence of God is unchangeable, He has changed His dealings with mankind through the ages according to His eternal purpose. The hearers of James were perhaps better acquainted with this than most. They had lived to see the withdrawal of the offer of the kingdom, and the raising up of the Apostle Paul who was sent to the Gentiles. The salvation of God that had been rejected by Israel was gladly being received by the Gentiles (Acts 13:46-48 ). This was an unprophesied event that these kingdom saints were still seeking to comprehend.
__________________________________

THE NECESSITY OF BEING BORN AGAIN



"Of His own will begat He us with the Word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of His creatures" (James 1:18 ).



During the turbulent times through which these saints were passing, James sought to encourage them with the fact that they had the unique honor of being a type of first fruits of God's creation. It was according to God's will that they had responded to the gospel of the kingdom and were "begat" or born again by the Word of truth. In this, the apostle makes a direct connection with the earthly ministry of Christ. You will recall when Nicodemus came to Jesus under the cover of darkness, how he acknowledged that Jesus had to be sent from God due to the miracles He performed. While Nicodemus was fascinated by these miraculous manifestations, the Lord immediately turned the conversation to the Pharisee's need to be born again.



"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (John 3:3-5).



It is obvious from the dialogue between the Lord and Nicodemus that they were not on the same wavelength. When the Lord spoke of the need to be born again spiritually.



There were two things necessary for Nicodemus to be born again. First, he had to "born of the water." Since under the kingdom gospel water baptism was an expression of faith, it is clear the Lord isn't speaking of a water ceremony. In this context the "water" is a reference to the Word of God (See John 15:3; Eph. 5:26). No sinner is imparted spiritual life apart from the Scriptures. Every time regeneration is spoken of in the prophetic Scriptures it is in relation to the Word of truth (I Pet. 1:23 cf. James 1:18 ). Of course, Nicodemus was ministered to by the Word Himself. Second, it is the Spirit who convicts the sinner of his sins and regenerates him (John 16:8,9 cf. Titus 3:5). When the Word of the Lord, in conjunction with the conviction of the Spirit, pierced through the darkness of Nicodemus' heart he responded in faith and was wonderfully saved!



This was also true of those to whom James was writing, which in their case gave them the privilege of being called the "first fruits of God's creation." We believe that these saints are called so by the Spirit simply because Israel was being cut off nationally. Therefore, those who were saved at Pentecost and shortly thereafter were the first fruits of the great harvest of the future Tribulation period. They had the honor of being the forerunners of the multitude known as the children of the kingdom (Matt. 13:36-42 cf. Rev. 7:4-17). In the coming Day of the Lord, God will pick up where He left off at Pentecost. This means that the epistle of James will play an important role in the lives of the future Tribulation saints, seeing that the epistle comprises their marching orders.



"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted Word, which is able to save your souls" (James 1:19-21).



James admonishes these brethren that they were to put away all wrath, moral defilements and wickedness. As citizens of the kingdom who were now walking in the light, they were to yield themselves to the implanted Word. Not only were they saved by the Word of God, they were to make an application of it in their lives. As David said: "Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee" (Psa. 119:11). It alone was able to deliver.



"Jesus said unto him [the Pharisaic lawyer], Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets" (Matt. 22:37-40).



In the story of the Good Samaritan, a certain man fell into the hands of thieves and was beaten within an inch of his life. A priest first passed by but when he saw the injured man lying there he crossed the road and walked down the other side. He was followed by a Levite who did the same. A short time later a Samaritan came by and when he saw the man he had compassion on him and tended to his wounds. He then placed the man on his beast of burden and took him to a safe place. At the inn he gave money to the innkeeper to tend to the man and promised that upon his return he'd repay him if there were any additional charges.



Both the priest and the Levite were ministers of the law, but when they failed to have compassion on their neighbor they were merely hearers of it. But the Good Samaritan was not only a hearer of the law, he was a doer of it. James wanted his hearers to be Good Samaritans - "doers of the law!"



Endnote



1. 1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching, Edited by Michael P. Green, Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI, page 189.