Turn back to James chapter 1. In verse 12, James says, Blessed
is the man that endureth temptation. That is, when he's tried, he
stays faithful and he endures the trial like Job did. all the
way to the end. He says here, that man is blessed.
When he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life. Not because
he endured, but it's evident. It's evident he's one of the
Lord's. It's evident God has done something for him and in
him and enabled him to endure. He's going to receive the crown
of life, eternal life. This man has eternal life, which
the Lord has promised to them that love him. Now James clears
something up here. He gives a difference between
trials. James has been speaking here
about trials, the trying of your faith, the work of patience.
He gives a difference here between trials and temptations. He says in verse 13, Now let
no man say when he is tempted I am tempted of God, for God
cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempted he any man."
The word tempted in this verse and the word temptation over
here in verse 2, my brother, count it all joy when you fall
into divers temptations. They do not mean the same thing.
Not the same thing. Here, in verse 13, it means tempted
to sin. Let no man say when he is tempted
to sin, I am tempted of God. In verse 2, it's when he's tempted
by trials. That is trials. That word is
trials. God tempted Abraham when he offered
up to offer up his son. That tried Abraham. But that's
what he's saying. There's a difference now between
these two words. God never tempts any man to sin. Never tempts any man to sin.
We are tempted when we are drawn away of our own lust. And it's our lust. It's our sin. It's that indwelling sin. And
we're drawn away, tempted when we're drawn away with that lust.
The trials that are of God, that James speaks of in verse 2, are
a blessing. It may not look like it, but
they are a blessing because they lead to spiritual growth. They
run us to Christ, and they wean us from the vanities of this
world, the nothingness of this world. But the second leads to
sin, this other word here that James is speaking of. It leads
to sin and shame, and that's never of God. Anything that leads
you to sin is never of God. That's what James is telling
his brethren here, and us. That's not of God. Don't say
God tempted me to sin. That came from us. Sin comes
from us. Let me give you an example over
here in Genesis chapter 3. Look over here in Genesis chapter
3. And the Lord, in verse 9, And
the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art
thou? And he said, Adam said, I heard thy voice in the garden,
and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself. And
he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of
the tree whereof I commanded thee, that thou shouldest not
eat? And the man, Adam, said, The
woman, listen, the woman thou gavest He's charging God with
sin here. He's charging God with the problem.
I sin, Lord, because the woman you gave me, the woman whom thou
gavest me to be with me, she gave me of the tree. And the
Lord God said unto the woman, what is this that thou hast done?
And the woman said, the serpent. She blamed him. They just blame
this one and blame that one. No sin is right here. We never
blame God for our sin. That's what James is saying.
God is holy. The Scriptures teach us God is
holy. He is of pure eyes and to behold,
iniquity. So we don't blame God for our
sin. That's what James is teaching
here. You don't blame God. When you're tempted, you're tempted
when you're drawn away from your own lust. Don't say that God
tempted you to sin. Don't blame God for it. Don't
blame God for your sin. Your fault? No, not at all. Here in verse 14 now. Here's
the pattern of a fall. James gives us the pattern of
a fall. But every man is tempted when
he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. Every man is tempted
to sin when his own lust, born with it, when his own lust overrules
his judgment, overrules what he's been taught. It overrules
His judgment. We were born in sin and shaped
and molded by nature in iniquity. And we are prone, prone to sin,
prone to sin. Now this word lust, what is it? And we know today we use it,
it's mostly used in sexual terms. But it's a principle of our nature.
It's anything and everything that's fleshly. There are people
who lust after power. People who lust after glory.
It's everything that's fleshly and not of God. Not of God. That's what lust is. It's desiring
anything that's of this flesh. And we're drawn away, James says,
of our own lust. Now let me show you the pattern
of the fall. Over here in Joshua. Joshua chapter
20. I mentioned this to you Sunday.
Joshua chapter 7 verse 20. Now you know the story. They were told not to take anything
of Jericho. They believed in Jericho.
But listen here in verse 20. And Achan answered Joshua. And
he said to Joshua, Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of
Israel, and thus and thus have I done. Now verse 21, this is
the pattern of a fault. When I saw, that's his first
problem, among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, he saw a
beautiful garment, a piece of clothing, and two hundred shekels
of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight. I coveted them, I desired them,
and took them, and behold they are hid in the earth in the midst
of my tent and the silver under it." Here's the pattern. I saw,
I saw it, I looked and looked. I coveted it, I desired it, What
happens when you keep looking? He kept looking at it. Kept thinking
about it. Kept meditating upon it. I coveted
it. And then I took it. When sin
is conceived, it brings forth death. And they burned him up
and his family. Stoned him. Then they burned
up everything he had. When sin is conceived, it brings
forth death. Look back over in Genesis. Genesis
chapter 3 again. Let's go back over here in Genesis
chapter 3. In Genesis chapter 3, in verse 6, here's the pattern
of a fall. In verse 6, and when the woman
saw that the tree, what did she do? She saw. She stood there
and looked at it. Listen to the serpent. Stood
there and looked at it. And she saw that the tree was
good for food and that it was pleasant to the eyes. And a tree
to be desired, coveted after what she could get out of eating
that tree. He said, it'll make you wise,
you'll be like God. You'll become as God's. A tree to be desired to make
one wise, and then what? She took. Boy, that's the pattern
of the fall. He said, I saw, same as Eve,
I coveted it, And don't blame that on God. That's what James
said. Don't blame that on God. That's
our nature. That comes from us. That doesn't
come from God. God doesn't tempt us to sin. God did not tempt Eve to do that.
Nor Achan to do that. That came right out of his own
sinful heart. And when lust hath conceived,
it brings forth death. Instead of running away, instead
of running away from it, here's what happens. The person considers
it, looks at it, justifies it, and then does it. That's the
pattern of it. Now he says, do not err, my beloved
brethren. Don't err in blaming God for
your sin. I've heard men, I've talked to
men over the years, I've talked to men that blame God for their
troubles and their heartaches and things that I know that they've
brought themselves into because of their sinfulness. And they
blame God for it. They blame God for it. Do not
err, my beloved brethren. Don't blame God for your sin.
Don't shift the blame on God trying to justify yourself. David
said this, against thee and thee only have I sinned and done this
evil in thy sight. It's my problem. I did it. I
did it. Do not err in judgment or spirit
against God. Do not charge God with folly.
If it's wrong, I've hit it. If it's good, I can guarantee
you this, God did it. If it's good, it's of God. If it's evil,
it's of me. The Scripture says, if we confess
our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and
to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We confess them, we don't blame
somebody else. Wouldn't it have been something
if Adam would have fell down and said, Lord, have mercy on
me. Lord, have mercy on me. Or Eve would have said, Lord,
have mercy on me. Instead, they're looking for somebody to blame. When God saves a man, a woman,
They really quit blaming everybody else but themselves. They recognize
the man in the mirror and blame him. We blame ourselves, we don't
blame God. That's what James is teaching. Here's what, listen
here in verse 17. He's saying all grace, anything
that's good is God-given. Everything that's evil is of
us. That's what he's saying. You're tempted, you're drawn
away from your own lusts. But now listen, 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. Every good gift, I believe he's
saying here, every good gift in grace, the grace of faith,
love, kindness, gentleness, meekness, that's of God. That is all of
God 100%. That's all of God. Every good
gift in nature, every good gift that we receive in providence,
anything truly good comes our way. That's of God. It's of God. And he calls it
here, and every perfect gift. Perfect because it's of God.
You know, if it is of God, it's perfect. You can count it as
perfect. If it's of God, it's perfect.
There's no blemish in it. If it's of God. And every perfect
gift. It comes down from the Father
of lights. And that perfect gift has to
be Christ Himself. Because everything that we have
in Christ, we have perfectly. Perfectly. We have a perfect
righteousness in Him. We have a perfect pardon and
forgiveness, atonement. Everything perfect we have in
Christ. And He came down from above.
He is that perfect gift. He is that gift. And it cometh
down, it says here, from the Father of life. Cometh down from
the Father of life. And I believe he's speaking here
of the light of truth. The light to see God, to understand
the gospel. The light of holiness. The light
to live, to walk after godliness. God is the source of this light.
It cometh down from the Father of lights. If you have any light
in your understanding, God gave it to you. God gave it to you. It came down from the Father
of lights. And it cometh down. It's not of this world. You didn't
get this in some school or college or seminary. It cometh down from
the Father of lights. An understanding of the gospel.
A love for the gospel. A love for the brethren came
from God. He said it came from God, the
Father of Light. With whom is no variableness,
no shadow of turning. He'll not change his mind. Aren't
you glad of that? Isn't that a blessing? If God has given you light, He's
given you understanding, He's given you life, Righteousness,
pardon, and forgiveness. If He's given you these things,
you'll never take them back. You'll never lose them. Because
when He gives, there is no variableness or no shadow eternal. Not at all. Our Lord said this,
I am the Lord, I change not. That's why you sons of Jacob,
you sons of election, That's why you are not consumed. It's
not because I straightened up. It's because God does not change. If He has loved me, He will always
love me, and it will never change. His love has never changed toward
His children, any one of His children, in the least degree. Not even a shadow of a degree
has it ever changed. It's the same fervent, hot, righteous,
Pure love. We can't even begin to comprehend
the love of God. Look what He did when He sent
His Son. What kind of love is that? How
can you describe that kind of love that God would send His
Son to the world and put Him into literal hell? He takes literal
torment that God would put on the wicked because He loved. Can't comprehend that. That's
beyond it. And he says, I change not. There's no variableness or shadow
of turning with him. Now here's the highest example
of this perfect kid. In verse 18. Of his own will,
of his own sovereign will, beget he us with the word of truth. that we should be a kind of first
fruits of his creatures, of his creation. It says here, of his
own will. Our sonship, and you know this,
you've been well taught, but our sonship, our regeneration,
is absolutely owing to the sovereign will of God. That's it. is not a cooperative effort on
my part and his part, totally owing to the sovereign will of
God Almighty. It's not of him that willeth,
nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. We
are children of God by God's will. That's very comforting
to me. Because I know how one day I'm
up and one day I'm down. I know I can will something one
day and not will it the next day. But God's will never changes. Never changes. I find great comfort
in that. And by His own sovereign will,
He began us, listen, with the Word of Truth. This is the seed, this Word right
here. This Word is the seed that God
used to give you a new birth, to make you His children. He
used His Word. He used the Word. He says, here,
Word of truth, no lie. No lie. He wasn't conned into it. No,
you told the truth. God took the Word of truth and
gave you birth. Birthed you. That's what He did.
He birthed you. Well, the power of this Word
in the hands of the Holy Spirit is just something else, something
else. And James says, and we are a
kind of firstfruits, which means this. And I think James speaking
of himself, the apostles and the early church there, it means
this. We're the firstfruits and are
a lot more behind it. There's a lot more to come. A
lot more that's going to be just like it. We're just the first
prince. Just the first prince. There's a lot more to come. Now,
seeing that He beget us with the word of truth, of His own
will, sovereign will, beget He us with the word of truth, wherefore,
my beloved brethren, let every man, every man, every man who
believes God, let every man be swift to hear. Slow to speak
and slow to wrath. Because He begat us with the
Word of Truth, then be swift to hear it. Did we come here swift to hear
the Word of God tonight? He said be anxious. Be ready. Lean up on your seats and be
ready to hear the Word of God. He begat us with it. He begat us with it. If the Word has that kind of
power, be swift to hear it. Be swift to hear it. Every time
it's read, every time it's preached, be swift to hear it. Give great
attention. great attention to the Word when
it is read, when it is preached. Give great attention to it. He
said be swift. Swift means fast. Fast. Fast to hear. And slow to speak. Swift to hear what God has to
say. And slow to speak means meditate on it. Just sit down
and go home. Go home and sit down Meditate
on what you heard. Read back over it again. See
what God has to say. Be slow to speak. Give a lot
of thought to it. Be slow to speak. Now here's
what He's saying. Be slow to speak against the Word. Be swift
to hear the Word. Be slow to speak against the
Word. Sometimes, you know, the Word
rebukes us. Reprove, rebuke, exhort. He said, be slow. Think about it. If the word pricks
my heart, don't be swift to say something about it. Cast it off. But think about it. Take it in. Meditate on it. You ever see
a cow laying out in the field, what they call chewing the cud?
They just chew it and then they swallow it and it comes back
and they just keep chewing it. Keep chewing it. Keep getting
that nutrients out of it. Be swift to hear and slow to
speak. Slow to speak against the Word
of God. Slow to sit in judgment on God's Word. That's what he's
saying. And I think a great sign of wisdom is to know when to
speak and when not to speak. And to hear. Listen. and shut up. God said, be still
and know that I'm God. Be still and know that I'm God. Be ready, ready to hear the Word. Look over in Acts chapter 10. Ready to hear the Word of God.
God speaks through His Word. In Acts chapter 10, look in verse 31. This is when
Cornelius sent for Peter. And he said, let me go to verse
30. And Cornelius said, four days
ago I was fasting until this hour. And at the ninth hour I
prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright
clothing, and said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine
alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God. Send, therefore,
to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter. He is
lodged in the house of one Simon, a tanner by the seaside, who,
when he cometh, shall speak unto thee. Immediately, therefore,
I sent to thee. And thou hast well done that
thou art come. Now, therefore, are we all here
present. He gathered his whole family.
Cornelius got his whole family together. Relatives and all that
he could get to come and hear Peter. And he said, Now, therefore,
are we all here present before God, listen, to hear all things
that are commanded thee of God. Speak the word. Oh, he said,
they were anxious. Swift to hear. We are ready to
hear what you have to say, Peter. Tell us what God has to say.
Give us the word of God. Swift to hear. Swift to hear. Slow to speak. And he says here
in verse 20, this is why we're slow to speak. For the wrath
of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Slow to oppose the gospel. Don't be quick to be angry with
the Word. And I tell you this, and this
is something I've had to learn. Don't be quick to be angry with
those who don't understand what you're talking about. Remember,
they're dead. Spiritually dead. And we have to learn, especially
in preaching, Not to get angry at those who can't grasp what's
being said. That's why he says, slow to speak,
slow to get angry. If the word rebukes a person,
that person needs to be slow to get angry. Just listen. Listen. Listen to what God has to say.
He says here, anger does not promote the glory of God. And
wherefore, Lay apart all filthiness and all superfluity, excess of
naughtiness, and receive with meekness," because he's still
talking here about the Word, the engrafted Word, which is
able to save your, the Word, he said the engrafted Word is
able to save your soul. He's still talking here about
the Word of God and preaching and teaching. He said, lay aside,
lay aside all suggestive, Don't be engaged in the naughtiness
which the world, in the foolish talk which the world delights
in. He says don't get caught up in
that. That's what James is telling his brethren. Don't get caught
up in that. Don't feed that old nature with such foolish talk.
Don't do it. Not at all. Rather do this. Do this. With meekness, that
is with true humility, Receive the engrafted Word of God. Receive
the Word of God, which is able to save your soul. And be ye doers of the Word,
and not hearers only. Not hearers only. Deceiving your
own selves. Be ye doers of the Word. Do what
I've just said. Do what I've just said. That's
what James said. Just do what I've just given you. Do what
I've said. When we are instructed out of
the Word, we have been going through Matthew. We looked at
Matthew chapter 5 and the Lord giving us those Beatitudes down
through there. Do it. He says do it. He says what He's
saying here is be instructed out of the Word and do it. Our
Lord said, He that keeps my Word is my disciple indeed. He's my
disciple. A person who is a hearer only
And that's all he is. He's no different. When he comes
in, when he goes out, he's no different. It's had no effect
on him. It's just like what they used
to say, water off a duck's back. It's just a hero. He comes in,
listens, half listens, and then he leaves. And he forgets it.
Forgets what he heard. Talked about God's glory. Talked
about Jesus Christ. Talked about judgment. And he
goes out the door, totally forgets what he heard. And the Word that's
able to save your soul, the engrafted Word that's able, he just forgets
it. It's not worth anything to him. He doesn't see any worth
in it at all. Not at all. James said here, don't deceive
yourself by an empty profession. No, he said receive that engrafted
Word. For if any be a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he's
like a man beholding his natural face in a glass. That's all he's
like. It's like a man who looks in the mirror. He gets up and
he looks in the mirror. He sees himself. He sees himself
growing older. He sees himself losing his hair
and getting gray. He sees himself dying. I don't look the same that I looked
30 years ago. I look like my dad now. Older. I look like I could be my dad.
Somebody told me the other day, he said, well, you just look
just like your dad now that you've gotten older. Well, I can see
why. This man looks in the mirror
and he has blemishes. He's gotten older. But he leaves
that mirror and he forgets. He absolutely forgets the man
he saw. He forgets that he saw an aging man. He forgets that
he saw gray hair. He forgets that he saw the blemishes.
He forgets the man that he saw. This man is dying, and judgment
is coming, and he forgets this man. He forgets him. Listen in verse 24. For he beholdeth
himself. He looks at himself. And in the
mirror, he looks. You know, I am getting older.
I am starting to get some wrinkles and some gray. I am starting
to... And then he goes away. and goeth his way. And straightway
forgets what manner of man he was. Here's his first problem.
He goeth his way. He's going his way. That's his
first problem. His way. And he forgets what
manner of man he was. Sinful by nature. He forgets
that. His enemy of God. Dying. Judgment coming. He forgets all
of this and he goes his way. Just goes about his daily business.
Goes on. And never thinks of it again. Never thinks of it. Until he comes in, he hears the
word priest, and then he goes out that door and he forgets
it, and there he goes again. He forgets the man in the mirror.
That's what he does. He forgets him. But, whoso looketh unto the perfect
law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful
hearer, but a doer of the work." This man should be blessed in
his deed, his doing. This man, he looketh. You know, that's continual. That's
not just a one-time look or glance. That is a continual looking into
the perfect law of liberty. That's the gospel. It is a continual
looking into the gospel. To continually look into the
gospel is to continually look into the face of Jesus Christ.
He is the gospel. He is the gospel. And that's
what he does. This man looketh into the perfect
law of liberty. The gospel of liberty. And in
it he sees this. You know what he sees? The man
in the mirror sees an old man. He sees an aging man. He sees
blemishes. But the man who looks into the
perfect law of liberty, he sees the blood, he sees the perfect
righteousness of Christ, he sees a perfect atonement, he sees
a perfect substitute, he sees a perfect sacrifice, he sees
the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. That's what
he sees. When he looks into the perfect
law of liberty, not a mirror, but the gospel. And it's called
here a perfect law of liberty. And it's called this because
of this. It perfectly sets men free. If
the Son has set you free, you are free indeed. You're free. No claims on you. No one can come after you and
drag you back. You're free. You're free. When the Son sets free, free
indeed. And this man, listen, he says, he continueth therein.
You see, the man in the mirror doesn't continue looking in.
No, he just leaves. He goes his way. He goes his
way. But this man, he continues in
it. He doesn't go his way because now Christ is his way. Christ
is the way. And he goes after him. He follows
him. Our Lord says, come and follow
me. And he follows him. And he continues to follow Christ
all the days of his life until he follows it right into glory. And this man, this man who looks
into this perfect law of liberty shall be blessed in his doing. You know what Satan charged God
with about Job? He said, You've blessed the work
of His hands. You're blessed in His doing. This man shall
be blessed in His doing. God's favor be on him. God's
favor's with him. God's favor's with him. Now, if any man, he says here
in verse 26, and I'll wind this up. If any man among you seem
to be religious, he's made a profession, he uses Bible terminology, He
seems to be religious. But now, if he bridles not his
tongue, he deceives his own heart. This man's religion is vain.
It's empty. There's nothing to it. Absolutely, he says nothing
to it. Seem to be religious. A lot of impostors out there. A lot of impostors. But one way
to tell one is by their unbridled tongue. James said this person
bridled, talked, gossiped, backbiting, causing division. He said that
man's religion is in vain. It's in vain. It's empty. Empty. Pure religion and undefiled
before God. And the Father is this, to visit
the fatherless. and widows in their affliction,
and to keep himself unspotted from the world. There is a pure
religion. There is. It's of God. It's of
God. And it is exemplified by love
and works of faith. Those who believe God And here's
what I believe he's saying here. Those who believe God are swift
to hear the Word of God, slow to speak, they won't be careful
what comes out of their mouth. And they're gracious. Gracious. And they're gracious without
recognizing it. Gracious without recognizing
it. Turn over to Matthew 25. You see, pure religion, undefiled,
is all grace. It's a grace. In Matthew 25,
look at verse 31. When the Son of Man shall come
in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He
sit upon the throne of His glory, And before him shall be gathered
all nations, and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd
divided his sheep from the goats. And he shall set the sheep on
his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the king
say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the world. For I was hungry, and you gave
me meat. I was thirsty, and you gave me
drink. I was a stranger and you took
me in, naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited
me. I was in prison and you came
to me. Then shall the righteous say,
those who have been made righteous in him, those who are born of
God, then shall the righteous answer and say, Lord, when saw
we thee hungry? and fed thee, or thirsty, and
gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger,
and took thee in, or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we
thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the king
shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch
as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren,
ye have done it to me." Pure religion, undefiled, is
one that's all of grace. It's a hall of grace. And this
man, he says, here in the closing, and he keeps himself unspotted
from the world. This religious world, false religion,
he keeps himself at a distance from it. He doesn't mix and mingle
with it. He keeps himself from it. He keeps himself from anything,
anything, that would lead to sin. Anything that would cause
sin, he flees from it. He wants to keep himself unspotted
from the world. Here's what James has taught
us. There is a difference between trials that are of God and temptations. He has taught us that everything
good, everything good comes from God. If it's good, I'm telling
you, it's of God. If it's good. And everything
evil and sinful comes from men. And then he tells us how we are
to hear the Word of God. Swift to hear it. Anxious. Ready. Ready to hear it. And that we are to be doers of
the Word. And not just hearers only. But doers of the work,
he says. Doers of the work. Our Lord said, I must be about
my Father's business. And we're still about it. The
church is still about it. He's redeemed us by His blood.
He's finished it. Salvation's finished. But we're
about our Father's business, too, in preaching the gospel.
Okay, Mike.