Introduction
James has and continues to draw a picture of God, and
how He works in the life of His children. He has
been teaching about faith, through the means of trials
and temptations. That measure of faith is the premise
upon which the Christian life is built.
Trials, we are all too
familiar with them. Temptations, there is not one of
us who escapes. Temptations touch us all.
1:16 do not err, my beloved brethren. Do
not be deceived. Do not blame God for the temptation,
for He is a Holy God who cannot be tempted and it is
not in His character to tempt anyone.
13.
Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God:
for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth
he any man: (KJV)
Nothing is more tragic
than for a person to have a wrong conception of God,
for this one great error will effect one’s thinking
and their character and at the end of the day it will
have eternal consequences.
We are not to be deceived
concerning the way sin works. Don't be deluded and led
astray. The pattern is always the same, desire, deception,
sin, and death.
Having pointed out that
God is not the source of anything that is evil, James
now proceeds to show that God is the source of everything
that is good. Do not be deceived -- serves
as a link between what has just been said and what follows.
17
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,
and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom
is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
Not all of
life is made up of trials and temptations. There
are those "good" days squeezed in between,
and James recognizes the goodness of God that works
in the trials for the building of our faith, and that
helps us overcome the tempting times of life.
One of the
Devil’s great tricks of deception is to convince
people that God is always holding something back; He
deprives and does not give.
In the Garden
of Eden, Satan deceived Eve by sowing the seeds
of doubt.
Gen
3:4 and the serpent said unto the woman, ye shall not
surely die:
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.
God is holding
back and is robbing you of that which is good. Once
we doubt God’ goodness, we are attracted to Satan’s
offers and the natural desire will reach out and take
the bait.
When Eve doubted
God’s goodness she then yielded to Temptation.
God is the source of all goodness, the giver of every
good and perfect gift, the hand behind every mercy and
blessing that we receive.
Moses warned
the Israelites, that they were not to forget the
goodness of God when they entered into the blessings
of the land of promise. This is a warning that is applicable
to the Redeemed of the Lord today, " Do not forget the goodness of God".
The
Goodness of the Gift
V17
Every good gift
We are reminded
that God gives only good gifts. Everything good in this
world comes from God. If it is not good, it is not of
God. Do you and I recognize God's giving goodness?
His
Excellent Goodness
The problem
we have of seeing the goodness of God, is that we want
to define what "goodness" is. If things
are going well, we are enjoying good health, and
the bills are paid, then God is being good to us. But
what happens in the times of testing and temptation
is that we fail to see God's goodness at work in our
lives.
There are two Greek
words used for the word "Gift" in verse 17.
The first word is "Dosis"
which means the act of giving.
The second is "Dorema"
which places the emphasis on the gift itself. What James
is saying is, when God gives, both the gift and the
act of giving are good. This is not always so with human
giving.
1.
There may not be Sincerity in our giving
Some give in order to
get. They speculate to accumulate. There is a kind of
giving that is calculated to fill the pockets rather
than to empty them. Secondly, the value of a gift can
be diminished by the way the gift is given.
For example—The
Birthday present that we feel obligated to give. The
last minute Christmas present that we rush out to buy,
because we have received an unexpected present from
someone.
We feel compelled to
give because we have received. Giving can be made to
look like generosity when it is but ingenuity.
When God gives
there is always sincerity in His giving, there are no
ulterior motives, and He gives in a loving and gracious
manner. The real good of every gift is that the
giver be in the gift--as God always is, for He is love-
When in all gifts we find Him, then in Him we
shall find all things.
Illustration. Warren Wiersbe, writes,
in his autobiography
"If life is to
have meaning, and if God's will is to be done, all of
us have to accept who we are and what we are, give it
back to God, and thank Him for the way He made us.
What I am is God's
gift to me; what I do with it is my gift to Him. In
Human giving --
1.
There may not be Sincerity in our giving
2.
There may not be Suitability in our giving
Human giving is not always
suitable. Though there may be goodness with our intentions,
we can give gifts, which are not needed by the recipient.
The Bride
to be is really pleased when she examines her presents
and gifts from her family and friends.
She then notes that she
has, six sets of knives and forks, four toasters, six
kettles, eight sets of table- mats, ten tables cloths,
but no Table or chairs.
Our heavenly
Father always gives gifts, which are suitable, His
divine wisdom is aware of exactly what we need.
3.
There may not be Sensibility in our giving
A wealthy man
may give his wife many presents, and to his son
the latest gadgets and computer games. He thinks that
they have everything, which they need to be happy, but
he deprives them of himself because he is so involved
in his business.
We cannot condemn him
for the gifts he has made. There was an element of goodness
in them, but his giving was not sensible. His gifts
were a pathetic substitute for himself.
4.
There may not be Sufficiency in our giving
We hear of an appeal
for finance to help where there has been some kind of
natural disaster; we send a gift to help. There is goodness
in this act, perhaps even sacrifice. Yet Human giving
can be helpful, useful, or beneficial and still not
be sufficient.
Giving is good but it
is limited by our humanity. It may not always be sincere
and sufficient. This brings us to the heart of what
James is saying. V 5 "God gives to all men liberally"
He gives out of His great
love. His gifts are always Sincere, Sensible, suitable
and sufficient. His gifts are free from all earthly
alloy; they are perfect in every way. The act of giving
is as important as the gift itself.
1.The Goodness
of the Gift
2. The Generosity
of the Gift
V
17 every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,
In His giving the Lord gives to us gifts, which display
His nature and character.
Perfect
-- This indicates that the gift given is
everything it should be. It is complete and lacks nothing.
Perfect is one of the Bible’s favourite words in
describing our heavenly Father.
The Work of God is Perfect. The
handiwork of men may look good on the surface; the work
of a master craftsman might look almost perfect.
But, put man’s work
under the Microscope and it will reveal flaws and failures.
The closer you examine anything that is made by man,
the more imperfect you see it to be. –
Michelangelo, said,
"A true work of art is but a shadow of divine perfection"
The more you look at God’s work the more you see
it to be perfect.
The Work of
Creation--- The Bible says over and over again "
God saw that it was good" Gen
1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and,
behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning
were the sixth day. (KJV)
God’s
work of creation is Perfect.
God
Work of Redemption is Perfect
The generosity, the liberality,
and the Perfection of God’s giving are clearly
seen in the gift of His Son.
Rom
8:32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him
up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely
give us all things? (KJV)
Every day should be a
day of thanksgiving for the child of God, for our heavenly
Father has given to us all things. His Son, His Spirit,
His Word, His very own life and he have never charged
us for one single mercy or blessing.
Naught have
I gotten but what I received
Grace hath bestowed
it since I have believed,
Boasting excluded,
pride I abase
I am only a
sinner saved by Grace.
Concerning God’s
great work of Redemption, the Prophet writes
Isa
53:11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall
be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant
justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. (KJV)
This statement
tells us, that when man’s existence on planet
earth has come to an end, the Lord will look back over
His own work of redemption and He will be satisfied.
The
Work of God is Perfect.
The
Way of God is Perfect
Psa
18:30 As for God, his way is perfect:
the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler
to all those that trust in him.
David
the Psalmist wrote these words when he had
been through a time of testing and trial. Saul, in anger
had been pursuing David. These were days of misery for
the Lord’s anointed.
Yet as he looks
back over this experience he testifies Psa 18:30 As for God, his way is perfect:
32 It is God that girdeth me with strength, and
maketh my way perfect.
I have been through the valley, through
the deep waters of testing and now I can see that these
things were for my good, as God brought me to maturity.
Through it all I have
learned to trust in God, who works out all things for
the good of His people. "As for God His way is
Perfect"
The
Will of God is Perfect
The perfect
will of God takes us beyond God’s Work and
His Ways; this takes us into the deep counsels of His
heart. God’s sovereign purpose and design is always
perfect in every detail.
The
Apostle Paul tells us this; Rom
12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed
by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what
is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will
of God.
Oh, the generosity of
the Gift of God’s perfect will to the believer.
The
Word of the Lord is Perfect.
Psa
19:7 the law of the LORD is perfect, converting
the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure,
making wise the simple.
James underscores
this statement
1:25
But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and
continueth therein, he being not a forgetful
hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed
in his deed.
How we thank God for
the generous gift of His precious Word. The Bible is
never out of date, and it is never out of touch in any
generation, because it is Perfect.
Father
of mercies in Thy Word
What
endless glories shine?
For
ever be Thy Name adored
For
these celestial lines.
A.
God’s gifts are Perfect---
B.
God’s Gifts are Persistent V
17 "and cometh down from the Father"
The term
"Cometh down"
is a present participle, (keeps coming down" God
does not give just occasionally He gives constantly
and persistently, even when we may not even recognise
His gifts.
God
is never less than generous even when we are less than
grateful!
1. The Goodness
of the Gift
2. The Generosity
of the Gift
3.
The Greatness of the Giver.
V17
every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,
and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom
is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
Here God is called
the "Father of Lights"
A.
God is the Father of Natural Light
All the great
luminaries, the sun, the moon, the stars are His
wonderful creation and His gifts to mankind which are
essential for man’s well being.
God has created these
things for our blessing and they are among His perfect
gifts.
Psalm
2 v2,3 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the
firmament showeth his handiwork.
Day
unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth
knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where
their voice is not heard.
B.
God is the Father of Spiritual Life.
He is the Light
of the world
Through
the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from
on high hath visited us, 32 A light to lighten the Gentiles,
and the glory of thy people Israel.
To
give light to them that sit in darkness and in the
shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
"In
him was life; and the life was the light of men".
The Apostle
Paul reminds the Ephesians Eph 5:8 for ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light
in the Lord: walk as children of light:
1.
God is the Father of Natural Light
2.
God is the Father of Spiritual Life.
3.
God is the Father of Unchangeable Light.
"With
whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning"
God is not unpredictable
and changeable like men. We are variable and wavering,
but God is not. God does not change.
Sunlight changes,
moonlight changes, therefore we have, dawn, high noon,
twilight, and dusk. The turning of the earth and the
sun produces shifting shadows, but God does not change
and with Him there is no shadow of turning.
Quote. A W. Pink said, " God cannot
change for the better, for He is already perfect, and
being perfect He cannot change for the worse. God Himself
had declared I am the Lord I change
not" Mal 3:6 KJV
Life has
many shadows but they are never caused by God’s
turning. His turning does not cause the shadows in the
believer’s life, for with Him there is no shadow
of turning.
If there are
shadows in our lives, they are not there because
God "the Light" has moved. They are there
because we have allowed something to come between our
God, and us, the One, who is the light and the life
of men.
If you stand
exactly under a street lamp, no shadow is cast.
Take one step away from the light and you will find
a little shadow. Take a few more steps and you will
see just how much the shadow grows.
If there are shadows
in your life, it might well be that you have changed
your position and have moved away from God’s revealed
will.
Turn back to the place
of love and light turn back to an unchanging faithful
Father and seek His forgiveness and His Grace.
God
is the author of light, and with Him there is no darkness
at all, not even a shadow.
Great
is Thy Faithfulness, O God my Father
There
is no shadow of turning with Thee
Thou
changest not, Thy compassions they fail not
As
Thou hast been, Thou for ever will be!
Light
purifies! Who has not heard of the ultraviolet ray?
Light makes growth
and life itself possible!
Light makes it possible for us to move
about in safety. It protects us, gains our attention,
and points the way.
Illustration--Among the Jews of Jerusalem,
the dawn of the Day of Atonement was eagerly awaited.
A watchman stood on the walls watching for sunrise.
When he saw the first rays he would shout,
"Light!
Light! I have seen the light!"
The Apostle
John writes 1John 1: 5 This then
is the message which we have heard of him, and declare
unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness
at all.
6
If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk
in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
7
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light,
we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of
Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
James
1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from
above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with
whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
(KJV)
The
Spirit lives in you and me, Walk in the light
His
light will shine for all to see walk in the light
Walk
in the Light, Walk in the light of the Lord.
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