The book of God is full of things
that to those who have the mind of Christ are so obvious, so
clear, that they're utterly without controversy, matters about which
there's no question, things that just don't need any proof, not
to people who know God. There are some things that lie
so deep within us being born of God and taught of God, that
they are in the very foundation of our hope and of our faith. And when others call them into
question, we're shocked by their presumption, or we laugh at their
folly, or we're saddened by their ignorance. Let me call your attention
to just a few things I'm talking about. In the beginning, God
created the heavens and the earth. That presents no problem to anybody
who believes God. And anything other than that,
anything contrary to that, is laughably silly. Laughably silly. For God so loved the world that
he gave his only begotten that whosoever believeth in him should
not perish, but have everlasting life." What a wonder. What grace. What love. We know,
we know. Every child of God knows. Every
person taught of God knows. Everyone born of God knows. We
know. We know that all things work
together for good to them that love God. to them who are the
called according to his purpose. These are things about which
we have no question. We may not be able to explain
them, but we really don't care. We may not be able to cause others
to understand our confidence in them, but that really doesn't
matter. We may not be able to defend them against the onslaughts
of infidels, but that's insignificant. These are things that lie in
the very depths of the foundation of our souls. We know these things. Without controversy, without
controversy, there's no question about the matter. There's just
no question about the matter. Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh,
justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the
Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. That's just basic, plain, biblical
truth. And we know that. We know that.
Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh. We know that He
who is God manifest in the flesh, when He bore our sins in His
body on the tree, died under the wrath of God, and bear our
sins in His body under the curse of God, and when He was raised
from the dead, He was justified from our sins by the Spirit of
God and received up into glory. This is He whom we preach in
all the world. Now turn to James chapter 1.
I'll show you another one of these things. It's just obvious.
It's just obvious. James chapter 1, verse 16. The
title of my message tonight is Good Gifts, Perfect Gifts, and
the Giver. Good Gifts, Perfect Gifts, and
the Giver. James 1, verse 16. Do not err,
my beloved brethren. Now James has been talking to
us about evil things. lust, temptations, and sin. He's told us that those things
come not from God, but from us. They come not down from God,
but up from our corrupt and depraved hearts. He tells us that these
things are not things that God does, but things that men do.
Then in verses 16 and 17, he tells us that all good comes
from God. only from God, and that only
good comes from God. 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." There's
nothing but good in God. Nothing but good done by God. And there is nothing that comes
from God except that which is good. There's no good in you,
and no good in me, and no good in the world. No good comes from
anything except God who is good. There's no good in fallen humanity. No good done by humanity. But
James says more. Nothing but good comes from God.
To make God the author of sin. or to suggest that God tempts
us to evil is repugnant. It's an assault against the character
and the holiness of God. It is one of those things, as
John Gill put it, one of those damnable errors and heresies
which bring upon men swift destruction. Wicked, unbelieving, self-righteous
men will do everything they can to cover themselves. To find
a cloak for their sin, to find an excuse for their ungodliness.
Wicked, unbelieving, self-righteous, reprobate people do everything
they can to find a covering for the evil that's in them and the
evil they do. I mean by that while professing
to confess their sin, they will find an excuse for it. If they
can't find an excuse or a covering anywhere else, they will, like
Adam, turn on God and say, the woman thou gavest me, it's your
fault. It's your fault. I couldn't help
it. This was predestined. I couldn't
help it. This was God's purpose. I couldn't
help it. God, this is your fault. It's not my fault. Believers,
men and women born of God and taught of God, never seek to
excuse themselves before God. and never seek to justify themselves
to God. Rather, they confess their sin.
They open their hearts and acknowledge what they are, like David. David
said, when I kept silent, my bones were sore, and I ate, and
my soul roared within me. When I confessed my sin, I found
peace. And we confess our sins to God. Believers, men and women who
know God, acknowledge what they are, knowing themselves evil,
and make no effort to cover what they are. And all who confess
their sins, all who confess their sins are born of God, taught
of God, and forgiven of God. If we confess our sins, if we
confess our sins, He is faithful and just to cleanse us of our
sin. Forgive us of our sin and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Sometime back, Brother Todd Nyberg
wrote a very brief article that's worth repeating and remembering. Listen carefully. He said, sin
is a noun. It's what I am. Sin is a verb. It's what I do. Sin is an adjective. It describes me. Sin is an adverb. It describes what I do. That's
a pretty broad, full definition, isn't it? Sin is a noun. It's what I am. Sin is a verb. It's what I do. Sin is an adjective. It describes me. Sin is an adverb. It describes what I do. But then
Brother Nibert wrote, Thank God for the promise of the gospel.
Thou shalt call his name Jesus. for he shall save his people
from their sins. Oh, blessed good news. Jesus
Christ came into the world to save sinners of whom I am sheep.
Now, let's look at verse 17, 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." First,
James speaks of every good gift. He says, every good gift is from
above. Every good gift comes down from
God. Only good comes from God. All good comes from God. And
all good comes only from God. Every gift of creation is the
good gift of God and comes down from heaven. God created all
things. Back in the office, Merle read
the eighth psalm. When I consider the heavens,
thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the work of thy fingers,
After he finished reading, Brother Larry made a comment. I didn't
get it for just a second. He said, he said, finger work,
you can do while you're sitting down. Finger work doesn't require
any effort. Finger work doesn't require any
strain. The work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which
thou hast ordained. What is man? Oh, God. Creator. all things. What is man that thou art mindful
of him? What are we that thou visitest
him? God's mindful of us, eternally,
relentlessly mindful of us, visiting us day by day with his grace,
visiting us day by day with his mercy. Every gift of creation,
all The vast creation, this is God's, and this is God's gift
to us. I don't know any limit to this. I don't know any limit to this.
God said to Adam, you see this world that I've made? It's all yours. It's all yours. God made it all
for you, his people. All of it. Everything in the
creation, God made it. God's good gift. Even that mar
of sin upon creation will not destroy God's good gift. Brother
Mahan and I were driving to a meeting one time, driving through the
mountains just in the fall of the year. spectacular colors. We stopped, standing on the side
of the road, smoking our pipes, chatting for a little bit. He
said, he said, you know, there's not much wrong with this world
except sin. There's not much wrong with this world except
sin. That's exactly right. When God makes all things new,
all his good creation, he gives to his people in Christ the Lord.
More than that, all the gifts of God's providence, every gift
of providence is the good gift of God and comes down from heaven. I've been praying for my children,
my grandchildren, and yours, and yours. that God will be pleased
to select for them and give them companions with whom to worship
and serve Him and give them a heart to do so. Good wife, she's God's
gift. She's God's gift. A good husband,
oh, what a gift of God. What a gift of God. Children,
family, what gifts, what treasures, what treasures. Years ago, Faith came in one day and she
asked me, she said, Daddy, why does so-and-so act like she does? Why is she so mean? Why is she
so contrary? She's just a little girl. It
was a long time ago. I said, Honey, it's going to
be hard for you to understand for a while, but you have absolutely
no idea what that girl has to deal with every day when she
goes home. She doesn't have a clue what she's going to run into.
You don't know what it is walking in the house, not knowing if
your mom or daddy are going to hit you or hug you, whether they're going
to cuss you or feed you. Oh, the blessedness of a peaceful,
happy home where God's honored. The ministry of the gospel, to
have in our midst a gospel church, A church family. What a privilege. Our daily bread. These are good gifts of God's
providence. The list could just go on and
on. Every good thing comes from God, but that's not all. That's
not all. This is the part that we have
a little difficulty with. God makes everything good to
his elect. God makes everything good to
his elect. This is what the wise man said
in Ecclesiastes 3. Everything is beautiful in his
time. Everything. Everything. No, God
doesn't tempt men to evil. God can't be tempted with evil.
God doesn't cause men to commit sin. God doesn't entice men to
evil. But God is God. That means God
rules evil and God rules sin according to His absolute purpose,
working all things after the counsel of His own will to do
good to His elect for the glory of His name. Everything is beautiful
in his time. God, perform your will on the
earth just like you do in heaven. That's what our Lord taught us
to pray. Blessed are those who pray in such a way. Thy will
be done on earth as it is in heaven. How blessed we are with
good things of God in creation, in providence, this church family,
your house, your family. Oh, how blessed is that family
where the name, this honor above all names, is the name of Christ,
where the name, this love above all names, is the name of our
Redeemer, and how blessed we are in God's good providence
in everyday affairs of life. Every good gift of grace comes
from above as well, from God our Father. 1 Peter chapter 5,
the apostle Peter says, he is the God of all grace. What a name for God. The God
of all grace. Who can grasp this fact? All the riches of grace belong
to our God. He stored up all the riches of
His grace in Christ, our Mediator. And He gives all the riches of
His grace to every sinner who trusts His side. He heaps upon
us, Bill, all the riches of His grace. He's done so from everlasting,
and He continually gives us all the riches of His grace in Christ.
Eternal grace. electing grace, adopting grace,
forgiving grace, redeeming grace, sanctifying grace, justifying
grace, regenerating grace, preserving grace, restoring grace, everlasting
grace, all hours in Christ Jesus. For in him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, and you are complete in him. And the
God of all grace, who has called us to eternal glory by Christ
Jesus, bids us come to Him, to His throne of grace, for mercy and grace every time
we need it. It's so strange to me that we
hear that, Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace,
that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in every time
of need. And when we most need His grace,
we're most disinclined to seek His grace. When we most need His mercy,
we're most disinclined to seek His mercy. He bids us come. That tells us the welcome mat
is out. Come as often as you need mercy, as often as you need
grace, mercy to uphold and sustain and strengthen you, grace to
uphold, sustain and strengthen you, mercy to restore you, grace
to restore you, mercy to revive, grace to revive. But the more
we need it, the more disinclined we are to seek it. Oh God of
all grace, turn us then and we shall be turned. Draw us and
we shall run after thee. But look at the next line of
our text. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above. James speaks here by divine inspiration
of good gifts and perfect gifts. Not so much that he's desirous
that we should draw a line of distinction between that which
is good and that which is perfect. But it clearly speaks of both
good gifts and perfect gifts. Without question, Christ is the
good and perfect gift of God that comes from above. He is
himself all that is good and all that's perfect. Having Christ,
we have all. Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable
gift. Whenever we think of our Lord, all who know Him are compelled
to employ the words of the Apostle when he said, Thanks be unto
God for His unspeakable gift. He is the gift of God, given
to us in the covenant of grace before the world was. Given to
us when he came into this world in our room instead in humanity
Given to us when he died in our place at Calvary Given to us
when he comes to us in saving grace in the new birth and in
giving us Christ God gives us everything as the gift of God
our glorious Savior is unspeakable Who can speak forth His praise? Who can describe His person or
His work? Alan was talking before service
about fellows that like to delve into what they consider deep,
deep mysteries. And as I hear fellows and sometimes
read the stuff they send and write, I'm reminded of an incident
that happened when I was in college. Long time ago. We came back from
chapel one day, and the fellow had blubbered on about something.
I don't know what he was saying, just yakking. Nothing important,
nothing significant, but he seemed so intellectual, so profound. And one of the classmates, one
of the fellows walking across the street with me, he said, boy, that was
deep, wasn't it? I said, it's obvious that you
haven't spent much time in the country. He said, what do you
mean? I said, every country boy knows there's a big difference
between deep and muddy. Just because something's not
clear doesn't mean it's deep. Oh no, just muddy the water with
your brilliance. God's people worship the Savior
and adore Him, recognizing that He is beyond comprehension, beyond
explaining, beyond defending. He is God. Thanks be unto God
for His unspeakable gift. The things Christ has done for
us. What man can explain that? What man can explain that? God
is Spirit without parts or members, without a body. But in order
for us to get some idea of who He is, God speaks of His hands,
and His hearts, and His eyes, and His ears, and His throat.
In order for us to get some idea of who He is, He speaks of His
power, His might, and His dominion. But God is infinite, infinite
beyond us. Who can understand? Who can declare? Who can declare how God stepped
into humanity. How God stepped into humanity. God, the Word, was made flesh. I don't merely mean God stepped
into time. I mean, Merle Hart, God stepped
into a body just like the one you're sitting in. God stepped
into humanity. God became one of us. Never ceased
to be God, but God became one of us. And this one who is God,
this one who is God, the eternal God, fulfilled all righteousness
on our behalf as a man, dying in our stead at Calvary when
he was made sin for us who knew no sin. God, who cannot die,
died. Oh no, I can't even enter into
comprehending that in thought, let alone declaring it to you.
Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift. God rose from the dead,
took His seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high, and yonder
He sits in a body of human flesh. God. Overall, blessed forever. Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable
gift. But there are other gifts of
perfection that God gives. The Scriptures speak of Christ,
the unspeakable gift of God. But James says here, every good
and every perfect gift, every perfect gift, is from above,
and cometh down from the Father of lights." Obviously then, there's
more than one. God has given us His perfect
Word. The law of the Lord is perfect,
converting the soul. When that which is perfect is
come, Paul described it in 1 Corinthians 13, then that which is in part
shall be done away. You have in your hand The Word of God. I don't mean
by that you have a book that contains the Word of God. I mean
you have in your hand the Word of God. Perfect. The law of the Lord is perfect
converting the soul. Turn to Philippians chapter 3.
Philippians chapter 3. I want you to see this. The God of all grace has given
us Perfection in His Son. He made us perfect. He put away
our sin, made us perfectly righteous. Philippians chapter 3 verse 12.
Paul says, I want to know Christ. I want to be like Christ. Then
verse 12 he says, Not as though I had already attained, either
were already perfect. But I follow after, if that I
may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ. Now look at verse 15. Let us,
therefore, as many as be perfect." Well, wait a minute, Paul. You
just got through saying you hadn't got it yet. And now you say you've
got it. Which is it? That's what it is.
We continually seek after absolute perfection in our beings, knowing
that we have absolute perfection in our Savior. And soon we shall
drop this robe of flesh in the perfect likeness of Christ our
Lord. Our beauty, our Lord tells us
in Ezekiel 16, 14, our beauty is perfect through His comeliness
that He's put upon us. Listen to this. Listen to how
the Savior speaks of us. Thou art all fair, my love. There is no spot in thee. Thou hast ravished my heart,
my sister, my spouse, thou hast ravished my heart with one of
thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck." And John tells us that the Lord
God has given us His perfect love to cast out all fear. Perfect love casteth out all
fear. Now, what can we know about that? Herein is our love made perfect. Actually, this is what John is
saying. God's love is hereby, in the
sweet experience of His grace, made perfect in us, brought to
perfection. Having loved his own which were
in the world, he loved them to the end. I have loved thee with
everlasting love, God said. Loved us from eternity and loved us to the completion,
the perfect end of his love, giving us life and salvation
in Christ his Son. causing Christ to live in us
and us to live in Christ. Now, with that love made perfect
in us, brought to perfection in us, there's no fear in love. But perfect love casteth out
all fear. If God loves me, everything's
all right. If God loves me, everything's
all right. You see, God alone loves perfectly. That means God's love alone should
be without suspicion or fear of any kind. If God's given me
faith in Christ, if God's planted His grace in me, I have no reason
ever to suspect that He will do me harm. Now just in case
I may have missed something, hear this and rejoice. The Lord will perfect that which
concerneth me. The Lord will perfect that which
concerneth me. That means Thy mercy, O Lord,
Endureth forever, forsake not the work of thine own hands. All right, turn back to James
chapter 1. Let's look at the next line. We've seen the gifts, let's look
at the giver. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from
above and cometh down from the Father of lights. James describes
God. this great giver of every good
and perfect gift as the father of lights. He who is our God
is light, and he who is light is the father of lights. All
light comes from God. All natural, physical light,
sun, the moon, the stars, all rational, moral light, all understanding
in your mind. comes from God. If you have light
and understanding to comprehend things, God gives you that. God
gives you that. He gives to each one as seems
him good. He gives to each one as seems
him good. God gives light, natural and
mental, emotional, moral, rational light. God gives it. God gives
it. If you have a sound mind, God
gave it to you. God gave it to you. Only God. How we ought to recognize that
and bow before God acknowledging that. If you have brilliance
in any area of life, in any science, in any ability, God gave you
that brilliance. God gave it to you. Most of you
men have lots of talents, lots of abilities. You can build houses,
you can do mechanic work, you can put things together, you
understand the way things work. Those hands, I'm more and more
convinced they weren't made for anything. I remember years ago,
years ago, once in a while I'd go out and try to help Brother
Hubert. You might remember this, Bobby, when he was in the hospital. out of consciousness for a while,
and he'd come to every now and then. I went to see him one day,
and Judy said to him, she said, Daddy, Brother Fortner's here.
That day, he was putting up fences. He was in the bed, but he was
setting fence posts. And he said, well, he ain't no
help. And he was exactly right. I said,
that's right, Brother Hubert. I can't do a thing. I can't do
a thing. He ain't no help. I couldn't do a thing. God Almighty,
gives you whatever abilities you have. Not your skill, not
your talents, not your labor, not your industry. God gives
it to you. The same is true of spiritual
light. God says, ìLet there be light,î
and there is light. God says, ìLet there be light,î
and there is light. It doesnít matter whether itís
a child or a teenager or an adult, young adult, older adult, or
an old man. Nobody sees until God gives light. Nobody understands until God
gives light. And when God gives light, people
see. He who is the light of the world
is our light, and He gives light as He will. One more thing, look
at our text again. This one who is the giver of
light, from whom every good and perfect gift comes, is that one
with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." Why does James say that here? Why did God the Holy Spirit inspire
James to write that here? He who is our God, the great
giver of every good and perfect gift, the Father of lights, is
immutable. He doesn't change, and He can't
be changed in His person, in His purpose, in His grace, in
his will, in his works. He is that God with whom is no
variableness, neither shadow of turning. The sun, the great
light of the heavens, has great variableness. It rises and sets
every day. It has its eclipses, and wherever
the sun shines, you find shadow. a little darkness here and a
little darkness there. Sometimes scary shadows, fearful
shadows. The same can be said of the lesser
lights, the moon and the stars, but not of Christ who is light
and not of God who gives us light. He never changes. Therefore, you and I are safe
in His hands, under His care, and we may safely trust in Him. I am the Lord. I change not. Therefore, you sons of Jacob
are not consumed. He who is God our Savior is Jesus
Christ the same yesterday and today and forever. Oh, God teach us to trust You
for Christ's sake. Amen. Number 275 in your hymn