James 1:13-27 "The Source of Goodness"

Supporting Verse: Ephesian 5:6-10 - “(6) Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. (7) Therefore do not be partakers with them; (8) for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (9) (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), (10) trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.

Open Prayer

Opening/Review: Last Sunday, we began a study on James chapter 1 and worked through verses 1 through 12. We established it is reasonable to believe the author, James was the leader of the Jerusalem church which became heavily persecuted shortly after Christ’s resurrection. And also too that he was a half-brother to Jesus.

He was writing to “the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad”. These were Jewish Christians scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria due to intense persecution according to Acts 8:1.

James encouraged the recipients to “Consider it all joy” when they find themselves in the midst of difficult circumstances. And to accomplish such a seemingly impossible task, they would need to place the source of joy on their trust in God and his promises. If they were to consider trying times as reasons for joy, rather than not, they would be able to endure them, which is an expression of our love and faith in the Lord. It is in perseverance we learn patience, which strengthens our faith, which matures our character, making us more Christ-like.

As a transition from last Sunday to this Sunday’s study, we would do well to remember Ephesians 2:8-10:

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; (9) not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. (10) For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

Read James 1:12-27…

We looked at verse 12 in detail last week, so let’s dive in to verse 13.

“Temptation is of ourselves, not God”

V.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 does not tempt anyone.

The believer should be careful who they ascribe their temptation to.

God has no desire to commit evil deeds, or see evil done, it’s impossible for that to occur, it “cannot” happen

God does not tempt

Then where do temptations come from?

V.14 “But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.”

Here James points out that temptation occurs when one is contemplating pursuing their own lustful ideas!

One’s own wicked thoughts, are tempting to pursue, to “carry them away”. There is a desire, or passionate longing to pursue whatever wrongful idea may be present in their mind. This is the front line of temptation.

Remember, this moment of contemplation, the enticing idea, is not from God, but from the individual's own self.

It is here that James wants the reader to understand, they have a choice, to pursue the temptation, or deny it.

And when it is pursued?

V.15 - 16 “Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. (16) Do not be deceived my beloved brethren.”

When sin is pursued, James reminds the audience what the results of sinful living can be through an illustration.

He walks us through a logical pattern:

Lust, or, a passionate desire begets sin

Then sin, when committed, begets death

This idea is echoed in the teachings of Paul, Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death…”

The believer, while gifted eternal life in Christ, will still lose physical life at some point while here. Sinful living can shorten the physical life of the believer. James will encourage rightful living though, in order to have a joyful and hopefully long life while here.

“do not be deceived” temptation comes from within sinful man, not from a sinless God.

The first half of chapter one discussed trials and testings. These trials were times in which the believers “faith” or trust in God were tested. James changes his discussion from trials, which intend to mature us, or prove our character to temptations which have the opposite intention. The result of temptation is to see the tempted fail, not succeed. God does not wish to see His children fail, but see their trust in Him strengthened. Hence, God does not tempt, however, He will test.

In Matthew 4:1-11, Jesus was tempted by Satan. Satan was trying to tempt Jesus so He would fail in His mission. How did Jesus respond to the temptation? By quoting God’s word from Deuteronomy. There is trust in God’s word.

If temptation does not come from God, what does?

V.17 “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”

“Every good thing given and every perfect gift” all things that are good or beneficial comes from God. We can always expect Him to give beneficial gifts, not worthless things.

We can expect this because of His character. James gives a vivid illustration of God’s fatherly character, in order to help the reader think about God correctly.

He is the “father of lights” which gives the idea that he is the founder, producer, the author of lights. Imagine the reader of the times perception of light, or even our own perception. If God is the author, or producer of this light, imagine how much purer He is. James says He is pure light, “with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”

There is no variation, no fickleness or change in His purity. Nor is there the slightest inclination of a shadow or obscurity in His light. If there was variation and obscurity in His light, then we would not be able to trust the purity of His gifts, or the goodness of His motives. Thankfully we can banish those thoughts, for God is pure.

Compare the character traits now of sinful man and sinless God.

Sinful man contemplates his own selfish desires, and struggles with deciding to live rightly or wrongly. He is full of variations and shifting shadows. According to verse 8 they can be “double-minded, unstable in all his ways”. He must be aware of his own lustfulness and passionate desires which seek to carry him away and shorten his life.

But sinless God, is the father of beautiful, heavenly lights, pure and unwavering, not a shadow or variation exists within Him. All good that is given, is a gift from Him. In verse 12, He promises rewards to those who love Him, and gifts eternal life to those who trust in Him. He seeks to mature those who chase after him.

And what does God do with man?

V.18 “In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.”

First, it was His own free will that reached out to His creation and drew them to Him. He desired to make His creation His.

The truth of God is shared throughout scripture, it attests to the gospel of Christ, and that sinful man can have eternal life by trusting in Jesus Christ for his salvation. The word of truth, is God’s word. Trust God.

Those who hear this “word of truth” are His and through their lives, they become fruit amongst the living, or a light to the world? For the Jewish Christian, they were the first to know the truth in Christ, so they are the first fruits of God’s new creation in Christ.

James points out in this verse, that believers are now witnesses of the truth about God to the world around them. They are bearers of His true character, thus the importance of maturing, becoming more Christ-like.

He continues in verse 19 explaining what this means for the believer, to be a fruit of God’s work to their environment.

V.19 - 20 “But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; (20) for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.”

James lists three characteristics of God that the believer should work towards:

Quick to hear

Slow to speak

Slow to anger

James notes that the “anger of man” is not the same as the righteousness of God. It is better for the individual and those around for the believer to be patient, and trust God will see justice through.

In Luke 9:51-55 a story is shared about James and John, the sons of thunder:

(51) When the days were approaching for His [Jesus] ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem; (52) and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him. (53) But they did not receive Him, because He was traveling toward Jerusalem. (54) When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” (55) But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; (56) for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went on to another village.

Man’s anger usually accomplishes the opposite of God’s righteousness. So what is the believer to do?

V.21 - 22 “Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. (22) But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.

The word of truth has been “implanted” or written on the heart. The believer is encouraged to flee from any filth and wickedness that may remain, and instead of being carried away by the temptation that comes from those things, accept the word of truth, it’s what saves the life, both spiritually and physically.

Trusting sin leads to death, trusting God leads to life. Flee from death, run towards life.

If the believer has the word of truth, written on the heart, James’ encouragement is for them to prove it! Not to God, but to those who will see their witness.

Consider Paul’s idea of the implanted truth as light. 2 Corinthians 4:6-7 “For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. (7) But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;

Consider Jesus’ teaching from the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; (15) nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. (16) “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

Trust in God’s word changes the one trusting, and it testifies to the world around. For those who hear God’s word, yet never take it for their own, never trust it. They are deluding themselves if they claim it as theirs, yet don’t live like it’s theirs.

V. 23 “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.”

James provides his own illustration to help the reader understand his points. The ridiculousness of the imagery he paints is obvious.

To help imagine the builder out of Matthew, who was taught to build his house on stone so it will withstand storms and flooding, then turns around and builds it on sand. Then on top of that might even be upset when the storms hit, and the house washes away.

In order to not look foolish to the world, the believer would be wise to accept God’s word, which is written on the heart, prove they trust it by acting on it so those watching will believe that God is truth.

V.25 “But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.”

James continues revealing more about the implanted word. He describes it here as the perfect law, or the law of liberty. Last week we James used the word perfect in the sense of Christian maturity, but here it is more the sense of complete, even flawless.

If a believer wishes to be fulfilled in what they do. If they seek to be happy, or blessed in their actions, they should look intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty. Here are a few verses to help understand the “law of liberty” or the “law of freedom”.

James 2:12 “So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty.”

1 Peter 2:16 “Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God.”

Freedom from sin has come to the believer, as well as freedom to serve God. Choose to serve God and you will be blessed, being a forgetful hearer and reverting back to selfish fulfillment will leave one lacking, not complete.

V.26 - 27 “If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless. (27) Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”

James wraps up chapter one with an illustration of a worthless religion and a worthwhile religion.He briefly mentions man’s inability to control his tongue, but in chapter 3 he devotes two-thirds of the chapter to the recklessness and great sin that comes when it is unbridled.

In 3:6 he states “And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell.”

In James opinion, if a man’s religion does not start with controlling one’s speech, it is worthless.

Next he describes the character of a faith that saves, or the religion of the pure and good God and Father. There is compassion for those who have a reason to feel they were left behind. The orphan and widow, are forgotten by the religion of the world. But God has not forgotten them, His character cares for them, as will those who trust in Him.

There is also a concern for the relationship between the believer and worldly desires. James recommends the believer to “keep oneself unstained by the world.” It is better for them to flee worldly ways and run towards Godly ways.

His disdain for the worldly systems and their effects on individuals is clear in chapter 4:4, “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility towards God?”

Trust in God, obedience to His ways, are not a waste of time.

Conclusion: Blessed is the one who abides by God’s perfect law of liberty. A rich and fulfilled life is to be had by the believer willing to trust in God and invest their gifted freedom in obedience to the good works that were planned for them, instead of the filthiness and wickedness that remains.