Admonition Podcast

Good evening.

Today if you don't mind, please go ahead and turn your Bibles to the book of James.

We will be studying him tonight.

Before we do that, let's have a word of prayer.

Our Lord and our Holy Father who is in heaven,

We come before thee at this time and we thank thee for the God that you are.

We thank you that you show us so much of, show us all of your will and your word that you
desire for us to do.

We thank you for the fact that you've told us what we need to know and have left the
things we don't need to know to you.

Lord, we pray that you give us wisdom as we study those things you have given to us so
that we can apply it to our lives.

have it in our hearts and move forward with lives that reflect your image.

We give this prayer in your son's holy and righteous name.

Amen.

The book of James, in all likelihood, was written not by the apostle James, not James the
son of Zebedee or James the son of Alphaeus, but James the brother of Jesus.

And the biggest reason for this is seen in the very first verse.

James chapter one, verse one.

James.

a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ to the twelve tribes which are scattered
abroad.

Greeting.

How did Paul usually start his writings?

Paul, an apostle of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And then you have Peter who did the same as well.

Now it is the case that John did not begin his epistles with this, but John also didn't
give his own name when he started his epistles.

Looking at this, James, since he does not say he is an apostle, it's very likely he is not
one.

Now why is it the apostles were willing to say it when they were not?

Why was it that the apostles said it when they were apostles?

Imagine you have a new book out, a new study, and if the person who releases the study
shows that he is a doctor, shows that he has the PhD, the credentials behind it, there's

more authority behind it.

Now we can get into debates.

about how having more degrees doesn't mean you're going to do a better work in a certain
study.

But if you're an apostle, if you're one of those who had the inspired Word of God in your
heart, if you were a walking New Testament, that was all the credentials you needed for

people to listen to what you said.

Therefore, when Paul said, an apostle of Jesus Christ, that was to get attention.

James starts differently.

We have these three different James that are seen throughout scripture that we know of.

James, the two apostles, and then we also have James, the servant, which is the brother of
Jesus most likely.

But does he call himself the brother of Jesus here?

He does not.

Even though we have the three James's and one of them being the most well known is the
brother of Jesus, he does not say it right here.

He just mentions that he is a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ to the 12 tribes
which are scattered abroad.

knowing that this is most likely the brother of Jesus.

Think about the fact that he is willing to say not James the brother of the Lord, but
James a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, a servant of God.

Instead of trying to bolster himself in the fact that he's the Lord's brother, instead of
trying to find a way to increase the way he looks, he starts as a servant.

We studied together the idea of selfishness turning to selflessness.

And what happened in John 13 through 16 where the apostles were told that the biggest
thing that they needed to know was that they needed to be servants.

And this James knows that right here.

He starts with the fact that he is a servant.

Now that is the author.

Who is it to whom he is writing?

The 12 tribes scattered abroad.

Now why is James writing to the 12 tribes scattered around?

Israel is gone, why are we even talking about the 12 tribes anymore?

God's people throughout time are represented by this idea.

We've talked about Revelation in Aaron's classes and talked about that woman and she
represented not just the Jews, not just Christians, but the people of God throughout time.

And the idea of the 12 tribes is used for the same idea.

to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad.

Additionally, we know that we are considered the children of Abraham, the twelve tribes
today, if we are following him.

If someone could read Galatians 3.29.

Galatians 3.29.

seed and heirs according to the promise.

Okay.

So, if ye be Christ's, if you have submitted to Christ, you do as he says, and you are
following his way, then you are Abraham's seed.

You're part of the twelve tribes scattered abroad.

Additionally, with this idea of the twelve tribes scattered abroad, in the book of Acts,
the reason they were scattered abroad was persecution.

So you have this idea of God's people, and then on top of that they were scattered because
of persecution.

One of the things we need to keep in mind with the book of James is the fact that there
was persecution, that persecution was the backdrop of what is set here.

Verse 2, my brethren, count at all joy when ye fall into diverse temptations.

This idea of temptations, we're going to see this word temptations and it's going to be
both the idea of the desire for sin, but also, indistinctly, trials, things that we face,

persecutions.

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into diverse temptations." How does that work?

How do you look at temptation and say, is something good.

What is the benefit that is going to come from this?

First, look at what it says about this joy.

Thankfully, this is not saying we need to feel ooey gooey over the fact that there is
going to be trial and temptation.

Now, it is the case that the apostles rejoiced in the fact that they were counted worthy
to suffer shame for Christ's name.

They were glad that they were able to suffer for the Lord.

At the same time, we don't have to have positive emotions over every single hardship that
comes.

And we see that right here because he says, my brethren, count it all joy.

We think about the word count.

Is that feel?

Is this a decision or an emotion when we think about counting something?

It's a decision.

have it in your mind that this is a joy.

And then if we look at this word joy in the Greek and in the context, it's the idea of the
source of your joy or a calm delight.

This isn't just a yippee, we get to go suffer today.

This is something that keeps you going throughout life.

This is a joy that you keep.

and that is going to help you through what you suffer, through diverse temptations.

Now, this isn't the temptations that happen specifically for the people who go scuba
diving.

These are the diverse, the many temptations that you will suffer throughout time as a
Christian.

Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

You counted all joy.

And why is it that you counted joy?

It's because of what it is going to do for you.

Because of what the outcome is going to be.

And it's going to work patience.

This word patience is hu-po-ma-ne.

It is the idea of endurance.

Now, when we think about become, endure.

How many in the military, that were in the military are here today?

Okay, so in training, did you have to learn endurance?

Did you have to go through and be pushed to the limit when it came to physical training?

We do that, and people do it in the gym or they do it preparing for the military because
they want to grow.

They want to become more.

The body says, okay, I am not going to become stronger until I need to be stronger.

that happens with our physical bodies, can happen with our faith as well.

We don't grow until there is a reason to grow.

When did the church take off in the book of Acts?

It was after the persecution came.

when they were scattered abroad because of what the Jews were doing to the Christians.

After that, they went out and the church spread rapidly outside of Jerusalem.

Now, it was already growing amazingly.

There were at least 5,000 men that were saved.

And then after that, it's described as multitudes being saved.

This persecution, this temptation, this trial, whatever it is, can help us grow.

it worketh patience, it worketh endurance.

But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting
nothing.

Okay, so we want our patients to grow.

And if we're going to let our patients grow, it's going to come through the persecutions.

Now why is it we want our patients to grow?

We let patients have her perfect work so that we can be perfect and entire.

Now we need to ask, what's this idea of perfect and entire?

Is this the idea of you need to suffer these trials so that you can be sinlessly perfect
yourself?

Now it is the case that we can live and not have to sin.

Paul wrote to the Romans saying, children, I write these things to you, that ye sin not.

We don't have to sin in our daily lives.

We don't have to sin every month or every year.

Now with that, God also gives us forgiveness when we do sin, when that does come in our
lives.

If we are willing to confess it, forsake it, walk in the light as he is in

1 John chapter 1.

This idea of perfect, rather than being sinlessly perfect, is the idea of complete.

You can follow God's word completely.

Even though in the past you have not been sinlessly perfect, you can follow God's Word
completely in how He says to be saved.

Follow His Word completely in how He says to serve Him.

And part of that completeness might just be repenting of the sin that has come and doing
that the way He has said to do it.

We can be complete in the way we serve the Lord.

knowing this, the trying of your faith worketh patience, but let patience have her perfect
work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

Wanting in this time was used for the idea of this is something that you lack.

Not just we don't want anything, but there is nothing that you don't have that you need to
have.

Speaking of that idea, wanting nothing, the next verse, if any of you lack wisdom, let him
ask of God that giveth to all men liberally and abradeth not, and it shall be given him.

So we've already started with this idea of we have persecutions here, things that the
people are facing.

And now James is giving them the opportunity of a tool before them.

If any of you lack...

wisdom, let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally." If God is going to give this
to you, what has to happen?

Okay, if they were to want wisdom, the very first thing they had to do was they had to
acknowledge that need.

He said, if any of you lack wisdom, before any of them were going to pray for wisdom, what
did they have to realize?

They needed it.

It's like a child, a father might say, son, if you want me to show you how you can do
that, I will do that for you.

The son's like, no, I'm going to figure it out.

And he stays there for six hours trying to do it.

And then he's finally like, OK, how am I supposed to do this?

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God.

Asking requires acknowledgement.

And then it requires acting on that need.

There can be plenty of times where we realize we need something and then we don't act upon
it.

We can realize we need to go to the doctor.

We can realize that we need to go take care of this family problem.

We can even acknowledge it out loud without taking care of the problem.

But if we want wisdom from God, we need to ask for it.

The Lord gives us everything that we need, but he also will not do anything for us.

We cannot do ourselves We can think about this when we have with Peter Who is in prison
and then an angel of the Lord smote him and woke him up.

He was apparently in some nice deep sleep That angel did he carry him out?

Did he say, okay, let's go, you can keep on sleeping, I'm gonna just put you in a good
king-size bed over in this other place?

No, he woke him up and he said, put your clothes and your sandals on, we're getting out of
here.

Now, Peter didn't have to open up the gate, that was something he could do, that was done
for him as well.

But everything he could do, he had to do.

Our lives, if we want wisdom, we need to ask for it.

Everything that might help us with wisdom, we might not be able to take that ourselves,
but what we can do is expected of us.

We need to acknowledge the need.

We need to act on the need.

And then we need to accept it.

When we, what, now what is this?

In that time period, if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God to give it to all men
liberally and abradeth not.

With this, they had miracles.

There were some who had miraculous wisdom, miraculous knowledge, and they could ask for
that from God if they had that gift.

Now, us today, do we have the gift of miraculous wisdom, of miraculous knowledge?

God can still give us wisdom.

We are not going to pray to God and then be like Solomon who had it all instilled into him
in that moment.

But God can still train us.

Now the way he does it, that might just be a little uncomfortable.

How do we most of the time learn wisdom?

We can do it the easy way, where we read.

We look to the word, we listen to those who have come before us that have some more age
than we do, say, okay, I want to do it this way and not that way because of the outcome

that is going to occur.

There might be other times where getting wisdom might just mean going through a trial.

It might just mean I'm going to have to go through this and learn what the best route is.

And then next time this situation occurs, I'm more prepared for it.

You have the difference between knowledge and wisdom and that's important right here as
well.

This isn't the idea of if any of you lack knowledge that you want to have.

It's the word wisdom.

Knowledge, those are the things you know.

That's the intelligence.

That's all those things that that computer has on it.

All those things you could find on Wikipedia or some source that is more reliable than
Wikipedia.

And then you have wisdom.

that says, okay, here is this knowledge, here is this data, this information, I'm now
going to apply it properly.

Now for us to be able to apply that information properly, sometimes we've had to use the
information before.

It's like that idea of a muscle we talked about earlier.

the idea of endurance.

takes working through something to increase that faith, to increase that patience rather.

And the same thing can happen with wisdom.

It grows in situations.

Take this with the idea of the greatest generation.

What made the greatest generation, those of the World War II era, the greatest generation?

You had 18-year-olds going out and they were fighting and they had to realize that they
had lives on the line based on their

decisions.

Based on the things that they were going to do, they didn't have a chance to say, nope, I
don't want to do it.

They had to get in there and do it.

And then they came home after that kind of experience.

You don't have people afraid of decisions like that.

You don't have people who aren't going to be able to tell their left from their right.

They know how to get it done when it needs to be done.

That is what we call the greatest generation.

But it took exercise.

It took strength for that to be the case.

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God.

God might just train us through things that we need to do.

Now, this is not saying we are all going to face the war so we can get more wisdom.

That's not where we're going.

But there might be things we have to face in our lives that help us grow.

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God.

And we've talked about the person who is receiving the wisdom.

what he has to do and now here is the giver.

Let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally and abradeth not and it shall be given
him.

This is a God who is going to give to all men liberally and even outside of the context of
wisdom God gives liberally and literally to all men.

God makes the sun to rise on, excuse me, both the just and the wicked.

There are those who receive the blessing of the sun coming up and the sun going down and
that time moving forward even though they are not following the Lord.

The Lord gives to all men liberally and abradeth not.

On top of that idea, is often described, abradeth not is usually described as this is
something where God is not going to, God is going to force you to use this gift in a

certain way.

We have those who give gifts in our lives.

Perhaps someone gave you a painting for Christmas.

And then you look at this painting and you're thankful for it.

And maybe it's an owl, really, really buggy eyes on a purple background.

Just think of something crazy.

And they expect it to be there every single time they come over for Christmas and
Thanksgiving.

Because the fact that they gave you a gift,

demands for you to decorate your house a certain way.

Is that a gift?

Is that a gift or is that them dictating how you're going to do something?

A proper gift is going to be, hey, I give this to you, use it the way you will.

Now it is the case we are going to be judged for the way we use God's gifts when it comes
to our riches, when it comes to opportunities before us, when it comes to the wisdom He's

given us because you can have wisdom, the ability to apply knowledge and still lack
prudence, applying your ability to apply knowledge.

But with this, God is going to give us wisdom and then he leaves it in our stewardship.

You can also look at this idea and remember that God is not going to reprimand because
you've lacked wisdom before when you're willing to come to God to ask for it.

He's not going to say, why do you need wisdom in the first place?

He's just going to give you what you need.

In verse five it says, and it shall be given him.

God can answer prayers in multiple ways.

Three ways.

He can say yes,

He can say no and he can say wait.

But when we ask for wisdom according to James here, whenever we ask for wisdom God says
yes.

If we are truly seeking this, if we could look throughout Proverbs the one who seeks
wisdom, the one who looks for that kind of treasure, it's not going to be hid from him.

He's going to seek it as a precious jewel and when you seek something like that,

In this spiritual sense, you're going to find it.

Now, you might not go find pearls, but you can find wisdom.

That is available.

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally and
abradeth not, and it shall be given him.

But let him ask how?

In faith, nothing wavering.

For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea.

driven with the wind and tossed.

This word wavering is the idea of to separate and that's going to become more important as
we go through and get to verse eight.

We are to ask for whatever we need in this context, and faith, believing that God can give
it.

We don't have to believe that God is going to give every single thing to us that we ask.

We don't have to believe He is going to make it to where we are going to be healthy again.

That's going to be expecting God to follow our will, something that is not going to always
be the case.

But what we do expect is that God always has the power to answer that prayer, to do what
is right.

And ultimately, no matter what, He's going to give us what we need.

David says,

seen the righteous forsaken or their seed begging bread.

The point we need to take from that is the fact that whatever we truly need, even if what
we truly need isn't on this side of eternity, we are going to have it.

Let him ask in faith, trusting God's power and His will, nothing wavering, not separating
in the mind.

Why is it?

For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

This idea is going to come out to be one who is double-minded.

Verse 8, a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.

Double-minded is literally die psyche.

Two different minds.

Okay, so you have someone who is saying, okay God, I am asking for this.

And then you have this other psychology in him that's saying, I don't think he can do it.

You have two different things going on in the same brain.

I don't have enough space up here for two different things to be going on at the same
time.

I don't know about you, but this needs to be a man who is not double-minded.

One who if he prays for it, he trusts that God can do it and he also trusts in God's will.

Even if he doesn't do it, God's going to do what needs done.

We cannot look to our God and be double-minded in any fashion.

We do not pray to God asking, Lord, we hope that we're saved.

and then doubt our salvation the rest of the day.

We are not double-minded in any fact of our lives because everything that needs to be sure
to us, God has made sure.

We can be sure in the answers He gives to prayer.

We can be sure in our salvation and every other aspect of life that it's necessary.

This man is not going to receive anything from the Lord.

Verse 7.

If we pray to God and we have a mindset that says, don't know if you can do it, but I'm
going to ask anyway just in case.

I don't think you have the power and I don't really trust your will with this, but I'm
going to ask you anyway, if he is just a resort plan, if he is just us saying, okay, we're

just going to do this shot in the dark, that's the way we look at God, he's not going to
answer our prayer.

It's as though a child comes to the parent,

and then the child doesn't trust the parent when he asks the question and the parent's
like, no, we're not going to do that today.

There is a lack of respect, a lack of faith that makes it to where this relationship is
not going to have the same blessings it could if there was a full trust, a

whole-mindedness.

Looking through scripture, there's the idea of simplicity, the idea of being whole.

There is the simple gospel that we preach.

The idea of simple through this is not, okay, it's just four parts, or whatever the case,
it's the fact that it's whole, it's united, it's together.

Usually something simple has few parts and the fewest parts you can have on any assembly
is one.

That is when something is the most together, the most united.

Let him ask, a double-minded man is unstable.

We are not to be unstable.

We are rather to be stable, having a single-mindedness toward God, toward what he is able
to do.

So we're talking about the context of trial, of persecution.

And there's been the fact that through this persecution we realize that, okay, there is
good that can come through this.

I can become stronger in my faith because of what is being faced here.

And then there is, okay, I'm facing this persecution.

There is this wisdom that I desire so that I can do what is right, so that I can follow
the Lord properly and also help others as much as possible.

If you lack wisdom, you ask of God, and He's going to give it to you.

That way you can go through this persecution.

Then don't ask, but ask in faith, in belief, nothing wavering.

If you go through these persecutions and you don't truly believe in God, you're not going
to be praying to the Lord properly.

He's certainly not going to listen.

And most certainly, if there's a lack of true faith in what God can do, why would you stay
faithful in the persecution in the first place?

It's not going to work out without this single mindedness.

And now in this context of trials, it looks like James shifts gears, but it's in the same
context.

degree rejoice in that he is exalted, but the rich in that he is made low." James starts
talking about riches, whether one has everything in the world or he's just trying to find

his next meal.

In both of these, they could be a trial in and of themselves.

The Proverbs writer says, give me food convenient for me.

He doesn't want to be overfilled because he doesn't want to curse and deny and say, is the
Lord, thinking he's self-sufficient.

He also doesn't want to be poor and still and take the name of his God in vain, living a
life getting by and using means beyond what God desires.

Both of these things can be difficulties, but viewed properly, they can help one in their
life for God.

Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted.

Take your lack of riches, take the suffering that you have and contrast it with how rich
you are spiritually.

Let it just be a lesson in how God has blessed you.

But the rich in that he is made low.

Let your riches contrasted

with your God, with the service that He has rendered, show you how humble you really
should be.

And now He is going to show how humble they ought to be, because as the flower of the
grass, He should pass away.

For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass.

And the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth.

The reason that these riches are something that is not to be exalted is because it's going
to perish.

Think about the Lord.

Think about his characteristics.

Is the Lord, is his glory going to pass away or is it going to stay forever?

let those of low degree rejoice and they are exalted.

They might not have anything in this temporal world, but they have an eternity ahead of
them with God.

But the rich and that he has made low, what he has in this earth, the things that he
thinks are so abundant, they are going to fade and go away in the sunlight.

Makes me think about seeing, you see recently cut hay, and first you see green.

You see green and then after you have it cut, it all dries out and it dies.

It withers.

All of that lushness that was once there, it becomes dry and then it's ready to use.

But for our illustration, it loses what it once had.

You could think about flowers.

they're pretty.

They come every year.

But they also die and they pass away from this life.

riches even though they look abundant, even though we feel like we want to exalt those who
have gathered riches.

They're only going to last for a little season.

In and of themselves they are a lesson of how temporal this world is so that we can
realize the blessing that is on the other side.

James, after describing the fact that we need to be patient, the fact that we must ask for
wisdom and then putting riches in the proper mindset, discusses the temptation, discusses

temptation itself again.

Verse 12, blessed is the man that endure temptation, for when he is tried, he shall
receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

We live in a world that says, faith only.

All you have to do is believe and then you will be saved.

Even here, we start seeing it is not that case.

Blessed is the man that endureth temptation for when he is tried he shall receive a crown
of life.

If you are being tried, then you have done something that the world doesn't like.

If you have done something that the world doesn't like, then your faith is working through
action.

It's already coming out.

The fact that there is this focus on what we have to do.

We have this focus on faith and then there's going to be the idea of religion at the end
of this chapter.

Pure religion before God and the Father is this, to visit

the fatherless and widows and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

We're to start having a contrast of faith, what you believe, the motive behind it, and
then you have religion, which is not what you believe, but what you do.

You have your faith.

what you know is the case, that you have looked at the evidence and decided, this is a God
who is here, He has given me evidence of who He is, He has given me a perfect word that

I'm going to believe, and then you have religion, what is going to be done because of it.

And without that pure religion of visiting the Fatherless and widows, of doing those
things required of God, James is also going to show that faith without works is dead.

We need to endure temptation because this life requires things of us as Christians.

But if we do it, we shall receive the crown of life which the Lord hath promised to them
that love Him.

This love here is the agape love, the love that decides that He is worth it.

This life is going to send things toward us that challenge us, that try to make it to
where we give up.

But the Lord needs to be worth it through it all.

He shall give us a crown of life.

We're already going to be in the presence of the Lord if we go through this life and serve
Him.

And then on top of that, He allows us to celebrate victory.

No, it's not a literal crown.

We are going to be in a spiritual world.

But He acknowledges the fact that we have

persisted through this world.

Not of our own boasting, of our own merit, but we have decided to stay and stick with Him.

Verse 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.

Let no man say when he's tempted, I am tempted of God.

We've talked about all this idea of persecutions, of temptation, and now we're going,
okay, we've seen all these things that you have to go through and learn, and then, okay,

God isn't doing it?

Correct.

God is not sending the temptations our way.

Now, there is a distinction here between the temptations that are the trials through which
we must go, and then the temptation, that desire toward sin.

that God does not send either our way.

That is not.

Personally, I need to do more study before making that claim right there.

God does not send anything, God does not, certainly does not send any temptation towards
sin our way.

Anything that the Lord allows, He allows to help us toward doing His will, toward
following His way.

Now as we think about this idea, 1 Corinthians 10 13, if we would turn there.

1 Corinthians 10 13.

If we could have someone read that, please.

I like that version.

says God will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able.

This starts to show this idea.

God will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able.

Okay, but what does that mean?

God will allow you to be tempted in those things you are able.

God will allow temptations that you will be able to bear.

Now the reason we are able to bear it is not because okay, there's these stronger
temptations than these weaker temptations.

It shows that God is going to make a way of escape.

There's the fact that whatever temptation comes our way, the Lord is going to make a way
out of it.

no matter how strong we are in that present moment.

But the fact is, it says, God will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able.

That means there are things He will allow us to be tempted with.

But that also shows that He allows it, He does not cause it.

We can think of Job.

The devil was the one who did it.

He did it all.

But the Lord gave permission to the devil to do it.

There's things that happen in this life that hurt.

There's things that happen that we just wonder why in the world, but it's not God's fault.

God allows things in this world, but these are things that show us this isn't what we're
living for.

And also, is these are those things that are going to work patience.

Our God is so good.

Our God is so wise and powerful that He can take the things that hurt us in this life,
allow them to happen.

toward a good purpose, toward us growing in His way and how He desires us to be so that
one day when we are in eternity, when all of this life is gone and passed away, we have

grown closer to Him and those things we suffered for a little season.

Paul showed that he wouldn't count these things as anything, this little temptation we
have on this earth compared to the joy that awaited him.

in the same to as to apply to us.

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.

God has not allowed these things, though He will chase in us, allows us to be chastened
with them.

Hebrews 12 shows that Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith, and He for the joy
set before us endured the cross, despising the shame.

And it lays all of that out clearly and then shows that...

We might be chastised for a time.

God might allow there to be things that help us learn, but it's because of His love that
He allows it.

God does not tempt us, but rather God uses those things that are here in our lives to help
us grow closer to Him.

Anything that is a temptation, anything that is designed for us to sin is not from God.

But those things that might be hard that help us grow closer to God are those things that
are allowed of Him.

This is shown further, he contrasts it beautifully, James does.

He says, every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lusts and enticed.

Then when lusts have conceived, it bringeth forth sin, and sin, when it is finished,
bringeth forth death.

The most disgusting way that I've ever heard sin described was someone had a night with
the devil and then the child was death.

Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed.

And then lust when it hath conceived bringeth forth sin.

And sin when it is finished bringeth forth death.

These things

are not from God.

Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lusts.

We're not even describing the devil yet here.

This is just saying every man is tempted when he is drawn away with what he wants to do.

Sunday we talked about the idea of selfishness and we discussed this verse.

Temptation comes from my will and the way that I want to follow and when I go after that
instead of following his way.

When I do that, instead of obeying the God who has given me His perfect Word, I've decided
to follow a way that is absolutely disgusting and is only going to lead toward death.

Now thankfully, even though sin is so wicked, so crude in and of itself, God has given a
way for us to be saved, to be delivered from that.

That's His love.

Do not err, my beloved brethren.

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.

Despite that sick nature of sin, and despite the consequence that is going to come from
it, every good gift and every perfect gift is from above.

Whatever is good in this world,

That is something He has given to us.

It comes from the Father of lights, the one who is above, the one who doesn't change, in
whom is no variable, and it's neither shadow of turning, the shadow of Him literally

moving.

You don't see any indication that He changes from who He once was.

Our God is good, and our God is always good.

And whatever He allows is for us to be able to grow closer to Him.

of his own will begat he us by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits
of his creatures, of his own will.

Okay, earlier...

Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lusts and enticed.

Sin is when I follow my way and my desires.

What was God's will?

Of his own will begat he us by the word of truth that we should be a kind of firstfruits
of his creatures.

While man decided to go into sin, to follow his own way, to follow his own lusts that led
to sin and that led to death, God was making it to where through what he planned we could

be begotten as sons of him.

um by the Word of truth.

The way we become the sons of God, John 3 describes it as, except ye be born again by
water and spirit.

Well, what did the Spirit give us?

All scripture is by inspiration of God.

It was inspired by the Spirit.

And we are begotten again, as James describes James 1, 18, by His Word, if we do what He
has said.

that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

Now because of this, because of the persecution you've had to face, because of all these
things God has done to help you face it, and then the Lord who does not tempt you and has

given you a way out of disgusting sin, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow
to wrath.

James, after showing all of these blessings from God, all of these things he was willing
to do,

He is then going to bring in some strong application for who they need to be.

They're going to have to hear the word of God, listening to what he says, and then on top
of hearing the perfect law of liberty, they must be willing to do as the Lord describes,

following what he desires, not only hearing it sitting in the pews, but going out and
applying it in life.

This idea can be summarized in verse 23.

verse uh

He will be blessed in his deed.

God approves of his actions.

Thank you for your time tonight.

We will now conclude class.