Avoiding Deception

James 1:16-27

James 1:15–27 (NKJV)

15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. 18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

19 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

26 If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. 27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

1 Introduction

Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren!---- James is talking to BELIEVERS, BRETHREN!!

In this short passage of scripture James speaks of being deceived three times here in the last part of this chapter. In fact, helping his readers to avoid deception appears to be the core purpose of this entire passage.

In English you read the word “deceived” in verse 16, 22, and 26. In Greek there are actually three different words in the text. James has a rich vocabulary and he likes to be nuanced as he writes.

Verse 16 has the word “planao” which means deceived by being lead astray.

Verse 22 has the word “paralogidzomia” which means deceived by reasoning falsely, or thinking contrary to reason.

Verse 26 has the word “apatao” which means to deceive by cheating or giving a distorted impression.

James writes simple ideas but he doesn’t use simple words. It looks a lot more academic in Greek than it does in English.

With “avoiding deception” as the framework and purpose of the passage, let’s notice how the content helps us with this.

Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren!

These words follow what he says about temptation, desire and sin in the previous verses. (vs. 14-15). One of the most powerful works of the devil is deception.

From the beginning in the garden of Eden, Satan has worked deception through what? Lying words.

He lies about God, about us, about everything. Satan is not simply our accuser, he is the master of deception and lies.

2 Deceit:

Deceit is terribly prevalent and constant in this world, from the fall until today. Think of it. What are some deceiving things that you encounter on a daily basis? What lies are being whispered to you? If you hear a lie enough times it begins to sound believable, doesn’t it?

Deception defined: belief of something that is not true, involves lies

Deception is powerful, especially when the word of God is not heard carefully, accepted humbly, and lived.

By the way, those three things, are the tools the Bible here gives us by which we may avoid deception and find truth and God’s blessings.

What is written here is an echo of God’s word throughout the entire Bible. Here in concise, simple statements, James has gathered the accumulated wisdom of the Old and New Testaments to give us commands and applications that are too clear to miss and rich with promise.

Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren… How?

3 How Deception Occurs

Forgetting what God has done and not knowing the Truth of His Word!

Recognize where everything good and perfect comes from. They come from above, from God the Father. Remember that God hasn’t and won’t change. He will always be the source of everything good. He is, to be sure, the ONLY source of all things good and perfect. There is no other place to go to get good and perfect gifts. Don’t be deceived about that! You think you can get good stuff elsewhere? NOT! The deceiver and the forces of darkness and the desires of the flesh with our sin nature pursues goodness in stuff and pleasures of life but they are all lies. It looks so good from the outside but is deceit!

VS 18 God willingly gave us birth through the word of truth so that we have become a kind of first fruits of His creation.

This birth that James is talking about is the new birth in Christ that we receive when we hear the gospel and respond in obedient faith. WE RECEIVE THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH, CHRIST IN US!

When we are born again into Christ, we become new creatures in Him with new life. Now the word of God becomes our nourishment and guide for life in Him. So we need to be ready listeners to God’s word,

as he says in verse 19 swift to hear, slow to speak and slow to become angry. Our anger will not produce God’s righteousness. Neither will moral filth or other wickedness. In fact, these will lead us into deception and destruction instead of blessing and salvation.

James echoes Colossians 3, fix your mind on things above, take off all things evil, put on Christ. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly!

James says, Humbly or meekly receive the word planted in you which can save your souls. Now remember James is talking to Christian to brethren, who are saved.... so we are not looking at Spirit Salvation but rather Soul Salvation- the process of sanctification become Christ like. Past/present/future salvation for the believer Past: justification of the spirit

Present: sanctification ongoing salvation of the soul, being saved

Future: glorification- the coming salvation of the flesh, we will get a new body!!

Soul and Spirit are not the same, two different words used in the Bible in original languages and in most English translation its just OUR DECEIVED understanding that thinks they are one and the same!

Words are important as is our understanding of them look at deception in Greek:

Verse 16 has the word “planao” which means deceived by being lead astray.- the enemy will lie to us and lead us astray as will the flesh and the world, will have a beautiful idea or lie in our head that something outside of God’s will and plan is good, that it is pleasing, just like the fruit in the garden! We so easily will be led astray.

Verse 22 has the word “paralogidzomia” which means deceived by reasoning falsely, or thinking contrary to reason.

We can reason ourselves into deception- God is love, Jesus Loves me so it’s okay to slip up and give into sin, God understands and He is love so it will work out. MUST BE NEW RELATIONSHIP WITH SIN THIS IS PART OF SOUL BEING SAVED- SANCTIFICATION

Verse 26 has the word “apatao” which means to deceive by cheating or giving a distorted impression.

THIS IS WHERE THE WORLD GETS US, FROM THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN THE WORLDLY FOLKS SEEM TO HAVE IT ALL, TO BE ABLE TO ENJOY IT ALL, TO LIVE A GOOD LIFE FULL OF FUN IT’S JUST NOT FAIR- THAT IS A LIE FROM SATAN, ALL THAT IS GOOD IS FROM THE FATHER AND NOTHING ELSE. ENEMY DISTORTS OUR VISION AND OUR IMPRESSION SO WE DREAD THE THINGS OF GOD BUT ENVY AND PURSUE THE THINGS OF THE WORLD. THATS WHY WE ALWAYS NEED MORE, WHY WE ARE ALWAYS EMPTY, WHY WE ALWAYS THIRST BECAUSE OUR SOULS CAN ONLY BE SATISFIED WITH A DEEP RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST AND A FILLING OF HIS WORLD AND HIS SPIRIT. WE MUST DRINK FROM THAT TO FIND SATISFACTION, JOY, CONTENTMENT AND FULFILLMENT. THE FLESH IS TEMPORARY FULFILLMENT/PLEASURES, AS IS THE WORLD ONLY CHRIST IS SUFFICIENT! HE IS ENOUGH, NO MORE NEEDED NO LESS NEEDED CHRIST AND CHRIST ALONE.

James writes simple ideas but he doesn’t use simple words. It looks a lot more academic in Greek than it does in English.

4 How do we keep from being deceived?

know where all good things come from and know that we have received birth and salvation through the word of God and now need to rid our lives of whatever resists or distracts us from that word. We need to be quick to hear it readily. And willing to shed whatever will not produce its fruit.

What do you find yourself anxiously looking for? What do you treasure in your heart?

The deceived heart longs for the things of the flesh and not the things of the Spirit. The deceived heart hurries to get things that are carnal and temporal, but is slow to look for things eternal.

Why?

Because the deceived heart values the things of this world more than the things of God. Jeremiah 17:9-10 tells us: The heart is deceptive above all things and desperately wicked, who can know it? I the Lord search the heart and test the mind to give to each man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.

Only by the work of God through His word can we overcome our own deceptive hearts and fleshly desires.

James’ words are so needful for us. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers and sisters! The good stuff is not from here!!! The good, the perfect gifts are not found coming from this world. No! Those things a passing away! The deceived heart loves the world and all its entrapments. Create in us clean hearts O God! Renew a willing Spirit within us! OPEN OUR HEARTS LORD TO YOUR TRUTH...

Is it not true that our hearts easily believe the lies that tell us that the world satisfies us?

Do not our hearts become easily entangled in the deceptive glitter of the world’s gold and enamored and distracted by the pleasures of sin?

Is your heart affected by sin’s deception? How serious is that?

Skip with me to James 4:1-10 and see if this doesn’t begin to clear things up. Here we read of the spiritual medicine needed to help a deceived heart.

James 4:1–10 NKJV

1 Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. 4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”? 6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” 7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

How do we avoid deception?

Look up and believe that God is telling you the truth. What He offers is better than what this world offers, whither I FEEL LIKE IT OR NOT. Whether my heart likes it or not. Whether I want it or not. It takes a while for my wants and desires to line up with God’s wants and desires, and that starts to happen when I engross myself in His word. That also begins to fade when I turn my attention to the lies of the world around me.

What does James tell us to do? Get rid of wrath, get rid of excuses, get rid of moral filth, get rid of wickedness, get on your face before God and humbly receive the word planted in you which can save your souls.

Step one out of deception is listening to God’s word and letting it into my heart. Hearing it readily, receiving it humbly, while ridding my life of whatever stands in God’s way.

Step two is obeying. Practice the word. Doing the word. Live it

But look at this verse again. James 1:22 The last two words in this verse are these: “deceiving yourselves.” This describes the person who hears God’s word but does not put it into practice, does not religiously obey them. In fact, this person will forget what he or she hears very soon afterward because that is what happens to us when we don’t do it. We forget it.

We look in the mirror and then forget what we see? What is the mirror it is God’s word- let us stare into it until we clearly see what needs to change then give it to God and allow the Spirit to change us so that when we look in the mirror we are looking more and more like the image of Christ!!!

How does that strike you? Let’s be honest here. How much of what I say from the scripture will you actually remember after lunch today? Forgetful hearing is way too easy! Is it not?

How much scripture do you get on a daily basis that you remember?

Doing the word is the way to remember the word. Doing God’s word religiously reminds us of what we have been hearing! Stop doing and you will forget.

5 True Religion

Finally, James ends here: Do you think you are religious? James tells us that if you don’t control your tongue you deceive yourself and your religion is… guess what? Worthless.

Pure religion that God accepts is caring for orphans and widows (WE LIKE THIS PART IT MAKES US LOOK GOOD ) BUT LOOK AT THE REST

AND keeping myself unspotted from the world. TAKE NO PART OF DARKNESS, MEANS TAKE NO PART, HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT AND THE WAYS OF THE WORLD, (MOVIES, ENTERTAINMENT, PLEASURES, PASSIONS, ETC…) IF IT OR A PERSON DOESN’T DRAW YOU CLOSER TO GOD TAKE NO PART IN IT.

Do not be deceived, hear the word readily, receive it humbly, LIVE IT. Turn away from worldliness and turn to the righteousness of Christ.