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In our previous lesson we discussed how that God is NEVER a source of temptation to sin, but men sin because they feed the lusts of their flesh. When lust joins with the human will, sin is conceived and eventually birthed. God does allow trials and situations to come to test us and make us stronger, but He does not tempt us with evil.

Everything that is good comes from God. If someone walks up and hands you a hundred dollar bill, then that is a blessing. The skeptic would say, "don't thank God, He didn't have anything to do with it, that person gave it to you." But they missed the point. It's alright to say "praise the Lord" because if it is a blessing, it came from God and because God wanted to give it to you. Just because the money did not come floating down from the sky doesn't mean that God was not involved. When we as Christians get blessed, we should thank God for it. When I pull into Walmart and I get the closest possible parking place, I say "Thank you Jesus," and mean it. Close parking places are a good thing, therefore they come from God. I am only using such a trivial example to point out that Christians tend to overlook many blessings from God. All things that are good come from God.

Conversely, all things that come from God are good. At first you may not see the difference between our last statement, but ALL things that come from God are good for us! If God brings judgment upon a part of our life that is sinful, then that is good because it may cause us to realize the error of our ways and change that sinful behavior. That trial that He placed in your life may be what causes you to pray and learn more about God and develop the relationship with Him that will end in eternal life! That Word that was preached that hit a little too close to home is trying to get you to heaven. Even though some of the things that God does in our life, we may not understand, they are good if they come from Him. That's why Paul said in Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."

To reemphasize his point, James calls God a unique name "Father of lights." I've heard some people try to say that this is Satan, but Satan is an "angel of light" and there's a big difference between the two. Calling God the Father of lights refers to the creation of the stars, sun, and planets by God. As mighty and as powerful as the sun is, as potent as an exploding star is, as much energy that the comet has, they all are moving and turning and variable in their existence. But God is not like a star or the sun, He created those things, and there is no changing with God. God is the same forever, He is perfect in all His ways and He will never fade away or waver. James said the gifts were "coming down" from the Father of Lights. The word for "coming down" in the Greek is katabainon which refers to something CONTINUALLY coming down. God continually and constantly gives good gifts. He never wavers. God is good, all the time because He can't help himself. That is why He is a God of judgment as well as mercy. If God did not judge sin, then He would be wavering and therefore not be Good. But Hebrews 13:8 states that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever!

The greatest gift that God gives is the New Birth experience. "Begat" means to give birth to. James is talking about the same experience that Jesus talked to Nicodemus about in John chapter 3: being "born again." The New Birth is made possible only by believers hearing the Word of God. Peter said that the Word was used to preach the Gospel to the church. James said that God begat us with the word of truth. If you preach and teach the New Birth, then people will experience the New Birth experience.

What was the New Birth experience? What does it mean to be born again? {Briefly adlib John 3 and the New Birth experience}

The new birth experience happens when people hear the Gospel message and respond in faith. Peter, in describing the Gentiles' conversion to the Jewish leaders, made this very clear:

The controversy of Gentiles being saved had started with Cornelius' household in Acts 10. They received the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in heavenly tongues and THEN were baptized in the name of Jesus. Why did Peter command them to be baptized in the name of Jesus? Because he knew that they must be born of the WATER AND the SPIRIT!!! Water in John chapter 3 cannot refer to a physical birth, for Cornelius' household already had the Holy Ghost, but still had to be baptized in water.

Remember that James is writing to the Early Church while it is still primarily Jewish and there have not been too many conversions of Gentiles yet. These readers had already had the new birth experience, they had already been "begotten." Then James says that "we" (including himself with them) should be kind of like the "firstfruits." The Jewish leaders would understand his terminology. "Firstfruits" is mentioned in scripture over 25 times. It refers to the first of the crops at harvestime and was the part from which the tithe came. It was celebrated because it meant a time of harvest was to follow. Paul used the term to describe that the Spirit-filled believers in the current churches were to be the first of many more to come. John described the 144,000 Jews that were saved in the endtime as the "firstfruits" of the Jewish people, meaning that many more Jews would be saved. When James called the Early Church believers "firstfruits" he was using terminology that they would understand to teach them that they were not the only people who would be born again, but were merely the first of a long harvest season of people to receive this New Birth experience! Today, we are still in harvest season, and God is still pouring out His Spirit on to whosoever will!

James uses the term "beloved brethren" three times in this short letter. The first is in 1:16 when he was warning them not to err or to be deceived. This time he is using it to remind them that they really already know what he is saying, but they are just not implementing it. The third time comes in 2:5 after he has rebuked them for partiality and judgment. James is reminding them the reason that he is correcting their action is love.

James then spends the rest of the chapter outlining the duties of the born again believer. After a person is born again, then what are they to work on? What would God have them do, and what would God have them to not do. James begins to expound on some duties that a begotten Son of God has. If you are born again or even thinking about being born again, then this section applies to you.

James starts out by pointing out things that a born-again believer should avoid. The first is that a believer should avoid excessive chatter that causes them to be unable to hear. To hear means much more than to just hear the sound of a voice, but means to comprehend. I've met many Christians who wanted to tell you about their troubles and talk about them but did not want to listen to what God's Word said about it!

We must be slow to wrath. "Wrath" here means to give to violent passion. It means anger with an attitude of vengeance. You can be angry and not sin (Ephesians 4:26), but where it turns to sin is when it causes you to attack a person, whether physically or verbally or allow it to drag on and on and build. By combining the commands to be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath, James is telling us that a born again believer should have a change of attitude. Before you were born again, you were quick to judge, dull of hearing and responding to truth, and quick to anger. Now we should be very much the other way. A born again believer has a duty to learn to control their tongue, attention, and attitude!

The wrath of God does not work in harmony with God. Usually when someone gets mad to the point of becoming revengeful, then they are taking matters in their own hands and not allowing God to work out the situation. I've found that when I take my attitude out of it, God is usually able to work with much more freedom! Paul similarly wrote:

It works! When we allow God to take vengeance on sinful behaviour He does a much better job than we would have been able to. Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:44) that we should do good to those who spitefully use us and hate us, do good things for our enemies, bless them who curse us, and pray for those who abuse us! Why? Because we are then overcoming evil with good! We are heaping coals of fire upon their head, because they are in God's hands now and God will always do what is right!

The first duty of the begotten believer is to control their tongue and have a Godly attitude. The second is avoid wickedness. Obviously the New Testament church had the same problems that you and I face! In the Greek it states to literally "lay aside all filthiness that would stain our garments." When we were born again, we received a new spiritual garment. We must then lay aside the sin and weights that would stain our new man and therefore make unfit for the marriage supper of the lamb.

Notice James does not just tell them to stop sinful actions, but rather tells them to stop doing sinful actions and replace them with something else! We are to lay aside the filthiness and receive the pure Word of God! God never asks you to do something and not give you something else to do in it's place. Put away the alcohol, but sip from the new wine. Give up the temporary high and fly high in the Spirit! Stop gossiping and lying and begin to speak truth and God's Word! If you quit the old habit but do not replace it with a Godly one, then you will soon go back!

These believers had already received the word of truth when they were born again, but to avoid the danger of becoming filthy again, they must continue to hear and accept the word of truth. They have been "born again" but their salvation is not complete, for they must now learn to live the new life according to God's Word! Notice James addressed the Attitude of the person before the issues. If a person's attitude toward God's Word is right, then not much will offend them. If a person's attitude is wrong, then not much will NOT offend them. The Psalmist said:

Show me someone who is offended and I'll show you a believer that is not performing his duty of keeping their tongue and attitude under control! The believers to whom James was writing had already been "born again" but still needed the Word to be saved!

James then goes on to outline the positive things that Christians are to do. The Law of Moses had 613 commandments; 365 were negative and 248 were positive. The Law of Moses was overly negative because it held up a perfect standard but did not give a means by which man could reach that standard. But Grace is different! God has provided a way for us to be "born again." We can be a new creature in Christ Jesus. We can rid ourselves of the "old man." We are empowered to follow the Spirit of God! With God's help we can achieve the standard of the Word of God! Here's how:

Hearing God's Word is not enough and actually does no good unless the hearer becomes a doer of the Word of God! Many people think that simply hearing the Word of God is enough but they are only deceiving themselves, for they must do more than hear, they must be doers of the Word. That is why I emphasize the altar call at the end of service and I think that everyone should participated, for the Word of God that has just gone forth does no good unless the hearer becomes a participant in it! This just underlines the importance of faith in our relationship with God. Without faith, no man will be a doer of the Word of God, but a sign of true faith and true belief is when a person DOES what the Word of God is saying.

The Word of God is like a mirror that a man looks into. If someone hears and understands the Word of God, and do what the Word is commanding them to do, they are just like a man who has seen himself in a mirror and sees things that he needs to correct;; but goes on and forgets what he looks like. The Word of God causes forgetfulness in people more than any other cause of memory loss! I'm surprised how quick people can forget about something that they don't want to obey!

There is an analogy here to the law. When Moses built the tabernacle, the ladies gave all of their mirrors for the building of the brazen laver (Exodus 38:8). The laver was used by the priests for washing themselves before they entered into the tabernacle building. If they failed to wash EVERY time they went into or out of the Holy Place, then they would be killed by God. This laver was covered with mirrors and every time the priests would wash themselves, they would see their own reflection and their garments and be reminded of their duties to God. We know of course, that the water in the laver was a type of water baptism, and when the priest plunged his bloody hands into that water, blood and water were present, just like at the natural birth and the New Birth! There is more meaning to the laver however. Paul talked about the sanctifying and cleansing of the church "with the washing of the water of the Word (Ephesians 5:26)." To cleanse means to remove the dirt and filth and refers to a one time cleaning. That is what Water Baptism does, when we obey the scriptural mode of being baptized in Jesus' name by being completely immersed in water, it cleanses us from all the accumulated filth of our past sins. "Sanctifying" means to make holy and refers to a continual process. You aren't just PRESTO, made holy. But it is a continual process of cleansing and that happens through obedience to the Word! When the Priest looked into that laver and washed himself, he saw his reflection and saw exactly what he needed to correct. The mirrors were on the laver because it was the brazen laver that was right before the entrance into the Holy Place where the priests served God! After we are baptized, we must continually return for a cleansing as we serve God. We do this by allowing the Word of God to be a mirror and show us what we need to change. It is just as vital to salvation as water baptism. If we ever get to the place that we will not allow the Word of God to reveal exactly where we are and we are not doers of the Word, then we will die spiritually and the New Birth will have been to no avail.

James calls the Word of God the "law of liberty." Moses' law was the law of death and bondage until Jesus Christ fulfilled it and introduced Grace! Now we are under the "law of liberty! When God's Word corrects something in our life, it is trying to bring life! It is trying to create a blessing in that area! If God is dealing with something in your life, it is because He wants to bless it! But we must not be a "forgetful hearer," but must be a Doer of the work. THEN we will be blessed, God has promised! There is a liberty in obedience. You simply cannot obey God's Word and not be blessed!

The word "seem" here means to have a form of but not be really. It means that it is possible to seem to be a Christian but really not be sold out. It means that it is possible to appear to have faith, but really to not be walking by faith. The evidence of what a person really is comes by listening to the words that they speak! Jesus said that we would be judged by the words that we use. The Bible clearly teaches that "out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh." You can tell much about a person by what they say. Is a person always talking about pleasing God and His Word, or are they always running down the preacher or the saints? Do they seem to be religious but have a problem with swearing or gossip? Do they constantly question whether or not God's Word is true? Then they may seem to be religious, and may even be born again, but their religion is in vain! It has done them no good, because they will not perform their first duty as a born again believer: control their tongue and attitude!

Pure religion is not just formal actions but must be from the heart. James sums up what true religion should be.

1. We should have concern for the fatherless and widows. This of course is completely true in it's exact meaning, we should comfort and help and have genuine concern for those who have had a bad hand dealt from life. By the way, this does not mean that the church should financially support every person who is broke. In fact, there are specific guidelines to whom the church should support financially. They are found in I Timothy chapter 5. A widow that was to be financially supported by the church must be at least 60 years old, have been married to only one man once, have a good report and be active in the work of the church, have brought up her children, quick to wash saint's feet at footwashing, given to good fruits and not given to gossip. That is why I am very careful to give people money. Too many people equate money with compassion. Don't give homeless people money. Offer to buy them a meal, offer them a job or something, but don't just give them money, it's very unscriptural.

True religion does have compassion and is willing to try to help those who are afflicted. There is also a spiritual meaning to this passage. People who have not been born again, are spiritually fatherless, and backsliders who have once lived for God and separated themselves from the Bride of Christ are now spiritual widows. We must love them, reach out to them, and try to reach them. I live by this statement: Before you criticize someone, ask yourself, "what am I doing to change them and reach them or teach them what God's Word says about it?" If the answer is nothing, then keep your mouth shut!

2. The second element of true religion is to keep themselves from moral pollution. The words "to keep" means to keep on keeping in the Greek. We must continue to strive to keep ourselves untainted and clean from the world.

If a religion, or church or belief system does not cause a person to strive to bridle their tongue and attitude, cause a person to have compassion on other people, particularly non-believers, and cause a person to constantly strive for moral purity and separation from the world, the it is not true, genuine, God-given religion! If the church is no different from the world, then how are we to reach them with a better way!?! That' why their are duties of the begotten believer!