family devotions: James 1.13-18

~ A Word on Temptation ~

James 1.13-15

No one who is being tempted should say, 'I am being tempted by God,' for God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each one is tempted when he is dragged away and enticed by his own desires. Then desire, after it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is brought to completion, gives birth to death.

James advises Christians on the nature of temptation and sin. When we are in the midst of trials and difficulties, when we are suffering or stretched thin or at the end of our rope, we're more inclined to turn to things that will harm us rather than help us in our effort to cope. It is easier to obey God and withstand temptation when things are going our way; it's fitting, then, that after writing about how we ought to endure trials, James talks about temptations. I've noticed in my own life that when things are hard, my desires for wrong things seem to magnify.

Sin is the transgression (or breaking) of God's will in thought, word, or deed. When we're physically born, we inherit from Adam a sinful nature with a propensity to sin. The one word that best characterizes sin--the flesh, our human nature--is selfishness. The sin of Adam centered on setting his own will and interests against God's; and that's been the center of sin ever since. In Mark 7.20-23, Jesus makes it clear that our basic problem isn't what's outside us but what's inside us; in other words, sin isn't just something we do, it's something we are. This is why the Apostle Paul can say in Romans 7 that, outside Christ, we are 'enslaved to sin'; even if we desire to do good, we're unable to do so. The best of our deeds are stained and spoiled by the selfishness and sinfulness that runs like sap through the marrow of our bones. Jesus' death on the cross attacked sin in two primary ways: first, through his death we are forgiven of the guilt we've acquired by our sin; and second, when we participate in his death and resurrection in baptism, our enslavement to sin is broken, and we're given the Holy Spirit. We are reborn spiritually and given a new heart, but that doesn't mean we won't have evil desires. It means that, over time, God works in our hearts so that we desire sin less and less, and he enables us, through the empowering presence of the Spirit, to resist sin and obey God. 

Temptation is not evil desire; it is what happens when evil desire meets opportunity. We are tempted when we have the opportunity to satisfy a sinful desire. When that desire begins to bubble up inside us, we need to kill it then and there. We must turn to God in prayer and remove ourselves from the opportunity to sin if we can. If we linger on the desire, and tease ourselves with it, the end result, almost always, is that we give in to those desires. When we give in to those desires, we sin, and the consequence of this, according to James, is death. Sin is harmful, sowing death and decay, and it does this in three particular ways:

First, it is because of sin that we suffer physical death, as we see in the narrative of mankind's fall from the glory of God in Genesis 3. 

Second, it is because of sin that we suffer spiritual death: sin separates us from the holy Creator. When we become Christians, the guilt of sin is forgiven and its enslaving power is broken, so that our relationship with God is restored; however, if we as Christians persist in sin, we will experience an anemic relationship with him. We cannot expect God's peace and joy and abundant work in our lives if we persist in sin. 

This leads to the third type of death: it affects our quality of life. Sin naturally sows death and destruction; it steals our peace and joy, it brings all sorts of problems into our lives, and it strains our relationships. Truly, obeying God isn't just good for our souls; it's good for our lives, as well. 

~ God Provides ~

James 1.16-17

Do not be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good good and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of change. 

In our family we thank God for our food at every meal. Lately this traditional practice has come under attack by non-Christians who say we shouldn't be thanking God for our food; we should be thanking the farmers. What these critics fail to see if that the food on our plate is indeed from God, even if God delivers it through farmers. We believe this because God sustains the universe and keeps everything going. Hebrews 1.3 tells us that God upholds the universe by the word of his power; thus everything from galaxies to microbes, and the ecosystems on which the 'circle of life' depends, is sustained by the Creator. If he were to step back, to remove his sustaining hand, everything would fall apart. One theologian puts it this way: 

"As human beings, we take the predictability of the created order for granted. When we go to bed, none of us expects that the sun might not rise the next morning. We plan for the future and expect the future to be there when it is time to act. We take steps and never think that we will disintegrate into millions of whirling atoms and fly off into space when our feet hit the ground. Everyone expects the world to hold together today, tomorrow, and throughout the rest of their lives. Despite its claim of scientific infallibility, naturalistic materialism ([the idea that] the physical universe is all that there is) provides no basis for any of these assumptions. If everything arose by chance, everything could fall apart tomorrow by chance. One random atom or 'maverick molecule,' as Dr. R.C. Sproul has said, could throw everything back into chaos. Naturalistic materialists who rely on the continuing existence and regularity of the natural order for their study and experiments betray an awareness of God that they are suppressing (Rom. 1:18-32). Only the Lord's sustaining hand gives us reason to depend on the regularity of the natural order."

The food on our plate, the air in our lungs, the water in our cup, all of these are good and perfect gifts from God--and they are gifts not only to his children, but also to those who disbelieve him, those who mock him, even those who hate him. This just goes to show God's great love even towards those who would sooner see God eradicated than worship him. In Matthew 5.45 Jesus says that God 'causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust.' Jesus is speaking of what theologians call 'common grace': God provides the things people need without them having to earn it. This showcases God's love and mercy now, and on the day of judgment it will make the judgment of those who have rejected God all the more severe, for they bite at the hand that feeds them. Even those who don't believe in God, even those who have set themselves against him tooth and nail, live and breathe and have their being in him. Because of our sin, God would be just in refusing us rain or sun or the necessities of life; thus when he provides even for those who loathe him, it's an act of grace.

~ We are the First Fruits ~

James 1.18

By his will [God] gave birth to us through the message of truth, so that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

James says that Christians--those who are born again in Christ--are a kind of first fruits of God's creatures. His meaning needs a lot of unpacking, and the first step is to jump back into the Old Testament. Israel was divided into twelve tribes, and one of these tribes, the Levites, were tasked with being the priests of God's covenant. They were the ones who served in the Jerusalem Temple and in the outlying towns and villages. They didn't work run-of-the-mill jobs, so they needed to be supported by their fellow Israelites. In order to accomplish this, God ordered the Israelites to give the 'cream of the crop' to the Levitical priests. Their best products - the 'first fruits' - were to be given to the Levites so that they could be sustained as they operated as God's priests. When we come to the New Testament, the phrase is picked up in light of what Jesus has done on the cross.

Jesus' death isn't just about forgiving sins. He didn't die simply so that we could go to heaven when we die, though that's a huge bonus and the climax of it all. Jesus died and rose again to inaugurate the 'New Creation.' When God created the world, it was good and free of sin. When sin entered the world, creation was subject to decay. When Jesus died, he defeated the very evil that subjects creation to futility; when he rose again, he showed that not only had evil been defeated, but new creation had begun. God's ultimate goal isn't to scrap the physical world; it's to renew it. In this vein, when we are regenerated, or born again, we become part of the coming renewed world. We ourselves are renewed, and we are tasked with bringing new creation into every sphere of our lives. God's mission is to recover and restore all that was lost in the Fall, and it begins with us.

A question must be asked: "To what, exactly, are we restored?" The answer is found in the first chapters of Genesis. When God created mankind, he created us to be his image-bearers. An image-bearer, in the ancient near eastern world, was one who was tasked with another's identity and power. For example, when the King of Assyria sent messengers out to his provinces to speak his words and do his bidding, they were his image-bearers. In the same way, God has created us to be his image-bearers: we are the ones tasked with speaking his words and doing his bidding. In Genesis, Adam and Eve are tasked with carrying the Garden into the wider, wild world. As Christians, our mission as God's image-bearers is to proclaim the gospel and live 'new creation' lives. The Christian code-of-ethics isn't just a list of do's and don'ts; it isn't about following arbitrary rules; it's about how to live the life of the new creation in the here-and-now, and when we live a life of obedience to God, we are showcasing what genuine human living looks like, and we are acting as signposts to the new world order that has been steadily advancing through our world since Jesus' resurrection.

As first fruits, evangelism and the Christian life take on a more vibrant meaning. Evangelism is telling people about Jesus, summoning them to faith and repentance so that they can be part of God's new creation. The Christian life is a signpost to God's future, a testament and declaration that God's kingdom is alive and well and moving forward. It is also a word of judgment on those who still live in the throes of the world and the defeated evil one.

"How does this tie into what James has already written?" James has talked about trials and temptations; specifically, how God uses trials to work in our hearts and lives, and how temptation must be resisted. We are the first fruits of God's creation; as such, trials are one of the main 'sharpening tools' God uses to fashion us into the image-bearers he created us to be, and as first fruits, we are to resist the temptation to sin and pursue obedience to God. We are to recognize who we really are in Jesus and live like it.