James: New Creation
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Read the Passage From Bible***
The Lion King - Hamlet
O Brother where are thou? Homer’s Oddyssey
There is a Russian proverb:
learning lessons from others, James wants us to learn from Adam and eve, learning from other people’s mistakes.
The wise man learns from someone else’s mistakes, the smart man learns from his own, and the stupid one never learns.
The wise learn from other peoples mistakes.
Jamie and I were talking this morning about how stories influence us both for good and for bad.
we learn self-awareness and social awareness through stories
Retellings?
We learn bravery and cowardice through stories
Solomon says, “ A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.”
We learn good habits and poor habits through stories.
The Lion King - Hamlet
O Brother where are thou? Homer’s Oddyssey
We want to be wise, we want our children to be wise, and therefore we must learn from other people’s mistakes.
So how do we learn wisdom? How do we learn from others mistakes? by telling stories.
We Learn Through Stories
We Learn Through Stories
Often times, when we want our kids to grow in wisdom we tell them stories that illustrate wisdom
The boy who cried wolf.
The book “wise words” by Peter Leithart
The Book of Virtues
We learn through stories, we learn by associating our lives with the lives of others.
Jesus was masterful at this
The Good Samaritan
The Prodigal Son
The Parable of the Tenants
Jesus told stories where the characters of the story would represent people in real life. And hearer is forced to decide what sort of character their going to be.
I tell my kids this often, You are in God’s great story, now what sort of character are you going to be?
Now, James is likewise a great story teller
And what James does in our passage this morning is he takes the readers minds back to the creation story in .
He recalls God’s power in creation and then ties it in with the redeeming work of Christ, which is the new creation.
He also instructs the reader to live faithfully before God by retelling the story of Adam and Eve without actually mentioning their names.
So before we get to James’ retelling of the story of Adam and Eve I want us to see how he ties the original creation into the redeeming work of Christ to bring about the new creation.
So look with me at James 1.17-18
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 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.
James wants his readers to remember that through the resurrection of Jesus God has started a whole new work in creation.
Throughout the New Testament we see that Jesus is the beginning of the new creation, he is the first born of the new creation, and through him we are being made new.
Paul says, if you are in Christ, than you are a new creation.
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
This is a powerful truth, if you are in Christ, you are part of God’s new creation.
5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
Notice, God is not saying I HAVE made all things new, nor does he say “I WILL make all things new” he says, “I am MAKING all things new”
1 cor 5 17
The new creation is an ongoing process. God began this work in Christ, and now he works through his people making them new...
And as the people of God are made new we see families, communities, towns, states, governments, systems, education, ethics, law, ALL THINGS made new.
This is our new vocation, as the body of Christ, we join him in recreating the world. He is making all things new, and we are his hands and feet joining him in the work of recreation.
And James wants to remind his readers of this powerful recreating work of God through his people.
In verses 17 and 18 he uses creation language to explain how we are part of this new creation in Christ.
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 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.
16
Every good and perfect gift is from above,
In the same way God deems each of his creative acts good in , so now in the new creation everything that comes from above is good.
And all good and perfect gifts come from the Father of lights,
Here James is calling us back to God’s creative work in day 4 of creation when he creates the sun, moon and stars.
In verse 18 he says that he brought us (all believers) forth by the word of truth.
In the same way God brought creation forth in Genesis one by his word, so he is bringing forth his new creation by the word of truth.
And those brought forth by the word of truth are a kind of firstfruits of his creatures
Jesus was the firstborn of the new creation, but those first century Christians were firstfruits of the new creation.
Adam was considered the firstborn of the old creation, and Eve was the firstfruit.
So Jesus is the firstborn of the new creation, and those early Christians James is writing to were the firstfruits of the new creation.
As Eve was the bride of Adam taken from his side, so the church is the bride of Christ taken from his side.
And Adam and Eve were to take dominion of the whole earth, they were to take the boarders of the garden and advance the garden to the point where it covered the whole world.
And likewise, every good and perfect gift comes down from above.
What James is saying is that everything that comes from God is totally, unconditionally, completely good.
he knows that when Jesus was raised from the dead, it was the beginning of the new creation!
So Now, followers of Christ, these firstfruits, the bride of Christ, the church is to take the boarders of the new creation and push them back into the darkness until all things are made new through the power of the gospel.
Nothing would ever be the same.
James wants to encourage his readers that they are no longer part of the old, but part of the new.
And, as Adam was the first born of the old creation, so Jesus is the firstborn of the new creation.
Jesus is the second Adam
And as the firstfruits of the new creation he wants to give them some marching orders. He wants to call them to faithful and wise living before God.
And to help them understand this call, he uses Adam and Eve as examples of what not to do. He wants them to be wise by learning from someone eases mistake.
So in verses 12-16 we see James giving his readers some marching orders by recalling the story of Adam and Eve.
And those early believers, like James and those he’s writing too, are the firstfruits of the new creation.
So what are these marching orders?
1. Remain Steadfast Under Trial
2. Do Not Blame God When You Are Tempted
3. Know Your Own Heart (Desires)
4. Do Not Be Deceived
Ok, the first one...
Remain Steadfast Under Trial
Remain Steadfast Under Trial
Remain Steadfast Under Trials
Remain Steadfast Under Trials
This young Church is currently going through a trial, dispersed from their homes, they are facing trials they maybe never expected to face.
So James wants to encourage them to remain steadfast, faithful, secure.
Look with me at 1:12
12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
James says, blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial.
For James to say, “blessed is the man” he is recalling Jesus’ words in Matthew Chapter 5 when Jesus lists the beatitudes.
Matthew 5:3-5
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
English Standard Version Chapter 5
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
favored, blessed, fortunate, happy, privileged, fr
So James is saying, that the man who is steadfast in trials is a blessed man.
James is calling these young believers to be steadfast, secure, unmoving, and unwavering in the face of trials.
To Live according to the Wisdom of God
To think, feel and act like God when trials are upon you.
Its having your feet planted firmly in the word, like a tree planted by the waters.
To maintain your witness
Its when men act like men and not like little boys when times get tough.
Its when men act like men and not like little boys when times get tough.
And for Women to act like women with confidence in God laughing at the days to come.
To be steadfast under trail is to follow Jesus’ example in the dessert when he was temped by Satan.
Satan is not all that creative, he uses the same sort of tactics over and over again. Satan likes to tempt people in three areas, The desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes and the pride of life.
First trial, Satan offered Jesus some forbidden food.
3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”
He knew Jesus was hungry and he tempted Jesus with food that would satisfy his hunger. (desire of his flesh.)
Yet Jesus, the better Adam remained steadfast
Satan goes after the desire of the flesh, Jesus was hungry, so Jesus
Second trial, Satan tested Jesus by taking him to the top of the temple and basically told Jesus to prove that he is the Son of God by throwing himself down, for if he did this, the angles would save him and he would prove that he was the Son of God. (pride of life)
Biblical Horizons
1989 – 2007
The Person Tempted
1. The lust of the flesh. Eve saw that the tree was good for food. Jesus was tempted to restore old, worldly bread, not to bring new bread.
2. The lust of the eye. The tree Eve saw was the Tree of Knowledge, which would give wisdom, and wisdom is for world-rule (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, etc.) -- law is for sanctuary-rule (Leviticus). She and Adam were, in essence, seeking to move from Garden-law (eat not, or die) to Kingdom-wisdom (in the outer world). When Jesus is made to see the whole world, and offered it, He is being offered the lust of the eye.
3. The pride of life. The Serpent told Adam and Eve that they need not get life from God by eating first of the offered Tree of Life. He clearly was arguing that they had life in themselves, so they would not die if they sinned. This is the bottom- line of pride: self-sufficiency. When the Devil tempted Jesus to move out from under God's wings, the second of the Matthean and the last of the Lukan temptations, He was tempting Him the same way. He was tempting Him to leave the Temple on His own and test God, rather than wait to be driven from the Temple in God's time.
Jesus
2. The lust of the eye. The tree Eve saw was the Tree of Knowledge, which would give wisdom, and wisdom is for world-rule (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, etc.) -- law is for sanctuary-rule (Leviticus). She and Adam were, in essence, seeking to move from Garden-law (eat not, or die) to Kingdom-wisdom (in the outer world). When Jesus is made to see the whole world, and offered it, He is being offered the lust of the eye.
3. The pride of life. The Serpent told Adam and Eve that they need not get life from God by eating first of the offered Tree of Life. He clearly was arguing that they had life in themselves, so they would not die if they sinned. This is the bottom- line of pride: self-sufficiency. When the Devil tempted Jesus to move out from under God's wings, the second of the Matthean and the last of the Lukan temptations, He was tempting Him the same way. He was tempting Him to leave the Temple on His own and test God, rather than wait to be driven from the Temple in God's time.
Lust of the eyes
Lust of the flesh
Pride of LIfe
God’s word must be in our heads, and on our hearts.
What does it look like to not be steadfast under trail?
Adam’s example
He does not want them to be double-minded, which is a man who is unstable, rather, he wants them to be steadfast.
Yet Jesus, the better Adam remained steadfast
Third trial, Satan took Jesus to the top of a mountain, and showed him (Desire of the eyes) all the kingdoms of the world, and offered these kingdoms to Jesus if he would bow down and worship Satan.
He offered Jesus the Crown without the cross.
Yet Jesus, the better Adam remained steadfast
You see, Jesus didn’t come to earth just to save sinners and bring them to heaven. Jesus came to earth to defeat sin and set up his kingdom.
Jesus came not to bring man to heaven, but to bring heaven to man.
And the only way for Jesus to do this, was to go to the cross and defeat the powers of Darkness, he had to redeem his people from sin and bring them into his kingdom.
So Satan offered Jesus the rule and reign of the earth without having to go to the cross.
Jesus is the perfect example of remaining steadfast under trials.
Jesus responded to Satan by quoting scripture.
Paul says the scriptures are like a sword, they are an offensive weapon we must lean to wield if we are to remain steadfast during trials.
James knows that Jesus is our example of remaining steadfast under trial, he also knows that Adam and Eve are the example of what it looks like to not remain steadfast under trial.
As Satan offered Jesus forbidden food, so he offered Adam and Eve forbidden food. And instead of remaining steadfast, they were unstable and reached out for the food God commanded them not to eat. (The desires of the flesh)
As Satan tested Jesus by saying, “you will not surely die” if you cast yourself down from the temple. So he told Adam and Eve, “you will not surely die” if you eat the food, instead you will be like God. (The Pride of Life)
And as Satan tempted Jesus by showing him all the kingdoms of the world, he tempted Adam and Eve by showing them how good the fruit looked and told them all it had to offer them. (The desires of the eye)
Adam and Eve failed to remain steadfast, And because of their failure they were removed from the Garden, they were removed from the tree of life.
Yet James tells us, that anyone who remain steadfast, those who remain faithful and persevere even in the face of trials, will receive the crown of life.
And this crown of life, this eternal reward, is promised to those who love God.
You see, your love for God is often put on full display when you are faced with trials.
To remain steadfast is to trust God, to have faith that he is good, and to seek his wisdom in the midst of struggle.
Often times in the midsts of trials:
rather than resting in God, we doubt him
rather than running to God, we run away from him
rather than trusting in his sovereignty, we blame God for our trials.
God I wouldn’t be greedy if you gave me a better Job
God I wouldn’t be so self-concious if you made me better looking
God I wouldn’t be so stressed if you didn’t make life so difficult.
God, I would be able to love my kids better, if you gave me more free time.
Our hearts are always wanting to blame others for our troubles… and so often whether we realize it or not, we blame God.
And James does not want these young Christians blaming God when trials come. He does not want them following Adam’s example.
Look with me at
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.
And this brings us to the second marching order...
Do Not Blame God When You Are Tempted
Do Not Blame God When You Are Tempted
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.
James
Oh it so easy for us to blame others for our troubles
Don’t Blame God When You Are Tempted
Blaming others is not something we need to learn, for we see in our children an inherent mastery of blaming others for our problems.
before breakfast I can experience...
Karis blaming Owen, Owen blaming Piper, and Piper blaming the dog.
I then turn on the TV and hear
Trump blaming Obama, Obama blaming Bush, and Bush blaming Clinton.
Parents blaming teachers, and teachers blaming parents
Players blaming coaches and coaches blaming management.
Blame, blame, blame… its like a second language for us.
Why is it that blaming comes so natural?
It’s because we don’t want the guilt and shame of a failure on our record, so we blame others.
James knows this, and warns us not to blame our spiritual failers on God.
For this is exactly what Adam did in the garden.
Look with me at .11-12
11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”
12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”
Adam says, “The woman whom YOU GAVE TO BE WITH ME...
You did this God, you’re the one who gave me the women, she’s the one who gave me the fruit of the tree, and then I ate it.
Gen 3
Adam is saying God, this temptation is your fault. If you did not give me the women, I never would have eaten the fruit.
Rather than confessing his sins, rather than repenting, rather than asking for forgiveness, Adam blames God
Aside from the repulsive cowardice of Adam in bringing Eve into the crosshairs, Adam actually put the blame and responsibility of his sin on God.
So James, not wanting us to be like our father Adam, makes it clear that God is not to be blamed for sin.
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.
Temping people is antithetical to the character of God.
God is holy righteous and pure, for there is no one who can tempt God. And he himself temps no one.
So James is saying, don’t be like Adam, don’t blame God for your temptations, for your trials, for your shortcomings.
Well, if we can’t blame God, maybe we could be like Eve and blame satan for tempting us.
The devil made me do it seems a lot more acceptable than saying God made me do it.
But James doesn’t want us or his readers to blame the devil for their failures either.
James wants us to know our own hearts.
And this is James’ third marching order, we must know our own hearts/desires
Know Your Own Heart (Desires)
Know Your Own Heart (Desires)
So often we view ourselves as being morally righteous and ethical… and when we do fall into temptation it must be because of some outside source.
It can’t be my fault. I would never do something like that on purpose… We play the role of the self-righteous pharisee so often.
James wants nothing to do with that sort of thinking. James knows well the wickedness of mans heart. And likewise the need we have for the grace of God.
For the better we understand our own depravity, the better we understand the grace of God.
Look what James says about your heart and your desires.
14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
We are tempted when OUR OWN sinful desires are lured and enticed.
We do not envy others because they have nice things, we envy others because we have envious hearts.
We do not become angry because someone makes us angry, we become angry because we have angry hearts.
This is so important to understand. There is nothing outside of us that is responsible for our sinful actions. It is our own hearts and our own desires that lead us into temptation.
Why did Adam sin?
It was not because of God, it was not because of the Eve, it was not because of the serpent, and it was not because of the fruit.
Adam and Eve sinned because their own desires were enticed and lured away from God’s perfect word.
They wanted to be like God knowing good and evil. It was their own desires that lead them to disobey God’s command.
And what Happened when Adam and Eve ate the fruit?
The desire of their hearts to be like God lead them to disobey God, and when they disobeyed sin was born.
and their sin grew within them until, as God warned, it led them to the grave.
And this is what James Says in verse 15...
15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
James’ imagery is powerful here
Our own desires are lured and enticed by that which we should not do. (this is temptation)
The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Letter of James E. While God Tests His People, He Never Tempts Them to Sin (1:13–18)
James shifts metaphors to describe the havoc that desire can wreak in the spiritual life. Aided by the fact that the underlying Greek word is feminine, James pictures desire as conceiving and giving birth to sin. And sin, once in existence, if it becomes full-grown, produces death. James does not tell us how it is that desire might conceive and give birth. But he undoubtedly has in mind the active response of a person who is tempted. Temptation, James has said, involves the innate desire toward evil as it is enticed by the superficial attractiveness of sin. If a person should welcome rather than resist that temptation, desire conceives; and if not turned away immediately, it produces sin. James implies that temptation, in and of itself, is not sinful. Only when desire “conceives”—is allowed to produce offspring—does sin come into being. The
And when we give into this luring and enticement, our desires conceive and give birth to sin.
His imagery is amplified by the fact that the Greek word is feminine, James pictures desire as conceiving and giving birth to sin.
And when sin is fully grown, it turns back on its parents, which is the hearts of men and women, and brings them to death.
And sin, once in born, if it becomes full-grown, produces death.
How it is that desire might conceive and give birth to Sin?
Whether or not desire is conceived has to do with the active response of the person who is tempted.
James tells us that temptation involves the innate desire toward evil as it is enticed by the superficial attractiveness of sin.
If a person should welcome rather than resist that temptation, desire conceives and gives birth to sin.
James implies that temptation, in and of itself, is not sinful. Only when desire “conceives”— or is allowed to produce offspring—does sin come into being.
And sin, if not put to death will itself seek to destroy everything in your life.
John Owen once said, “Be killing sin or sin will be killing you.”
This is why James starts with saying the man who remains steadfast in the face of temptation and trials is blessed.
He is blessed because by the power of the God he has not allowed his desires to conceive and give birth to sin, and he has not allowed sin to grow up and bring death.
How often we think that the little sins are no big deal.
We think:
a little gossip never hurt anyone
Or we think, this won’t hurt anyone...
Or we think because we can get away with it that it doesn’t matter.
I’m sure Adam and Eve might have thought,
white lies or embellishing stories is what makes me interesting
Its just a piece of fruit..
No one will find out what you do when you are all alone.
We have such a small view of sin, we really don’t think its that big of a deal.
However, If we view any sin differently than the way God views it, we are deceived.
If you think raising your kids differently than the way God has called you to raise them, you are deceived
If you view marriage any other way than the way God views it, a covenant bond between a man and a women, than you are deceived.
If you think about your sin and say
All guys do. Or, All girls do it.... therefore its not a big deal, you are deceived.
And James does not want you to be deceived! And this is his final marching order.
Do Not Be Deceived
Do Not Be Deceived
Satan is not all that creative with his strategy, but he is a master at deceiving us.
Unlike God, who does not deceive, there is no shifting shadows with the Father of lights.
We live in a world that is constently looking to deceive us.
The enemy does not want us to think straight about sin. For if we did things would change.
You know, we look around the culture these days and think, man these folks are deceived.
They don’t know the difference between a living baby and a ball of tissue.
They don’t know the difference between a man and a women.
We sit back and judge, forgetting that the culture always follows the church. Its not the other way around.
The church doesn’t follow the culture, the culture follows the church.
If the culture is deceived, its because the church is deceived.
The church must open her eyes to the schemes of the evil one.
We must be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves.
However, we so often fall prey to the schemes of the evil one just like Eve did in the garden.
Satan deceived Eve.
Eve, the first fruit of creation was led astray. She was tricked by the serpent thinking that something was good when it wasn’t.
Eve did not know what she was doing.
Church, we must not be deceived.
We must be wise, steadfast, knowing the word of God as it exposes the lies and deception of the dark forces.
We must cling to the better Adam, the one who did not allow his bride to fall in the hands of death. But rather saved her by dying in her place.
He is the very word of truth, let us follow him, follow the father of lights, keeping our eyes on Christ.
For only when we are steadfast, wise, and not deceived, can we join Christ in making all things new.
Lets pray.
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 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.
He starts by saying, “do not be deceived”
Again, he picks up the creation theme from Genesis where Eve was deceived by the serpent and her desires were lured into sin.
Its interesting how often we think the curse of Sin was Eves fault. However that is not what the bible says.
Paul says that Eve was deceived, but it was Adam who knew what was going on.
Eve sinned passively, she didn’t know what she was doing.
Adam sinned actively, he knew what he was doing and actively sinned against God.
This is why the curse of sin is attributed to Adam and not Eve.
Sorry guys, no more blaming women because of Eve.
So when James says, “do not be deceived” he is saying, don’t be like Eve, do not allow yourselves to be deceived.
So James is saying, don’t be like Eve, do not be deceived.
Be wise, be faithful, be steadfast in your walk with God.
Trust that he is not trying to trick you, he does not tempt you, but rather what comes from the father is good
Trust that God is the source of all goodness and wisdom, and that he is not withholding anything good from his children.
Trust that he is not trying to trick you, he does not tempt you, but rather what comes from the father is good
This is how Satan deceived Eve, he told her that God was withholding something good.
Rather, James says...
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
James wants us to understand that every good gift we receive in our lives is from God.
He does not temp us toward evil, rather everything that comes form the Father’s hand is for our good.
And James has already told us what this great gift is, and that is wisdom.
Do not be deceived
God is our Father
God is bringing about a new creation
V.13 Adam blamed God for falling into temptation “the woman you gave me”
V. 14 Adam’s desire was to be like God knowing good and evil
V.15 Adams desire birthed sin which brings forth death
V.16-17 Do not be deceived (like Eve) every good and perfect gift comes from the father of lights, the father of creation (day four).
V.18 God is now, in Christ, bringing about a new creation.
