This morning I want us to look at how easy it can be for us to be deceived.
James mentions three areas where deception can cause us to have a less than biblical understanding of how God works in the world and how we perceive God.
Last week we looked at the source of sin in our lives…for those who would like to place the blame on someone other than themselves. That’s why James mentions how deceiving sin can be.
Because of deception most people associate sin with either God or Satan.
The word deceived is used 39 times in the New Testament…the word used here is in the imperative voice meaning it’s a command…God is saying do not be deceived…it will cause you to have the wrong idea about sin.
It’s easy to blame Satan or God as being responsible for temptations and sin…but notice in [13] James removes God as the source of temptation.
13 Let one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”
For those who would like to place the blame on Satan…James doesn’t even mention him so he’s also excluded as the source of sin.
Since God cannot be responsible for making me sin…and Satan is not even mentioned…James reveals the origin of evil and temptations… the only one left on the list for being responsible for sin is us: [14] it’s our own hearts.
14 Each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.
Here’s the key…16 Do not be deceived (πλανάω)…deception is just one in many areas where Satan can easily trick you…that’s why James is specifically drawing attention to the cause of sin…sin is the result of a specific process.
The Four “D’s” of deception
DESIRE – sin begins as an emotion, a subconscious longing for something.
DECEPTION – We think about a desired object and we begin to rationalize or justify getting it. Our desire to have it discounts the possible danger or harm in getting it.
DESIGN – When plans start to be made to fulfill the desire to have it…it involves our will, our conscious decision to pursue it until we have it.
DISOBEDIENCE – If we allow the process to continue, it inevitably produces disobedience and “gives birth to sin.”
Desire leads to deception…deception to design…design to disobedience which leads to sin…as a result James says…, ‘Do not be deceived’.
If you notice James has sandwiched this warning in between two verses that might cause us to be deceived.
Just mentioned one…our propensity to sin…it’s the sin nature in man that makes us rebel against God…we have a natural inclination to sin…sin is deliberate and determined independence from God.
The second area in which we can be deceived…is an area that has caused great confusion in the church for years…God’s giving and His gifts.
17 Every good act of giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. 18 In His predetermined intention He gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind
of first fruits among His creatures.
There are 3 points about God’s giving in this verse.
…FIRST…God gives only good gifts
…SECONDLY…God only gives perfect gifts
…THIRDLY…Good and perfect gifts come from only one source…God
The word rendered ‘gift’…every perfect gift…in the Greek is not the same as what we think when we hear the word ‘gift’ in English.
They are closely related but not identical…one signifies the act of giving …every good act of giving…and the other is what is given…perfect gifts.
The English translation ‘Every good gift and every perfect gift’ is incorrectly translated…because it fails to reveal two different meanings as seen in the Greek.
In the phrase ‘every good thing given’ refers to the manner of giving… suggests the act of giving as a donation…everything we touch…feel…see…or hear is a gift God gives of His own free will.
Whereas the phrase ‘every perfect gift’ refers to what is given…a gift we did not make…or buy…or deserve.
Combining them together… ‘every good gift given and every perfect gift’ is revealing that ‘every good thing given’ is a donation given as a result of unconditional love…and His gifts are always perfect in nature.
BUT hold it…been talking for three weeks about trials…troubles…temptations those are the things given by God…and they don’t at times seem to be so good.
It ties back to [2] and how we are to receive what has been given…even if they don’t seem to be good we are to ‘Consider it all joy when you encounter various trials’.
The act of giving is the trials God gives us…what is given when we persevere is the spiritual maturity that is produced in us.
What James says next has caused confusion…church splits…and even possibly contributed to the reformation:
18 In His predetermined intention He gave us birth.
Have you ever thought about how you’re saved…ever thought about how that process is accomplished?…for hundreds of years that has been debated in the church with complete mystification…and bewilderment.
It’s something we don’t think about…we just take it for granted…God loves me and so therefore I’m saved…seems pretty simple.
It’s like when looking at nature…in the spring flowers bloom…leaves come out on the trees…grass turns green…it just naturally happens…well kinda.
Science tells us…Chlorophyll is the pigment that makes leaves green and allows trees to convert sunlight, water and CO2 into food (and oxygen)….not realizing that what it is actually revealing is the existence of God who makes all that possible…it’s not by accident.
It’s the same thing with Christianity…every real Christian has been born twice… exactly what Jesus told Nicodemus…first we are born naturally…that birth is how we calculate our age…in the second birth we are born spiritually and became a new person.
I don’t want to turn this into a classroom lecture on how we’re saved but it’s important to know how God works in the life of every person who has made a commitment to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, so you won’t be deceived.
Five views of salvation…limited atonement…unlimited atonement… Prevenient grace… universalism and Pluralism…and the danger in not knowing the difference.
Limited atonement or Unconditional grace was devised by John Calvin in the 1600’s…Baptists tend to accept this concept…I don’t.
Limited atonement says God chose people to salvation based on God’s own sovereign choice…nothing you did caused God to choose you…God chose you because He wanted to and you couldn’t do anything about it…WRONG. https://redeeminggod.com/acts-13_48-unconditional-election/
Pluralism is the teaching that there is more than one way to get to heaven …that all roads…all religions…and all beliefs lead to heaven…that all people eventually will end up in heaven…WRONG…[ John 14:6] I AM the way.
Universalism is opposed to John Calvin’s idea that only some are saved… universalism is actually at the other end of the spectrum…John Calvin believed that only a certain number of people are saved whereas universalism teaches that everyone goes to heaven.
They believe it’s impossible that a loving God would elect only a portion of all humankind to salvation and doom the rest to eternal punishment…that’s true… God doesn’t…but their reasoning that He doesn’t because God just loves everybody…is WRONG.
God’s love for everyone does not mean that everyone will be saved [Matt. 25:26] …God will not ignore sin nor will sin go unpunished forever [Rom. 3:25].
The love of God that justifies sinners and brings people into intimacy with God is only extended to those who have faith in Jesus [Rom. 5:1].
To ignore God’s merciful love and reject or deny Jesus as Savior is to subject oneself to God’s wrath for eternity [Rom. 1:18]…not His love.
Unlimited atonement is also opposed to John Calvin’s idea of limited atonement because Jesus Himself gave a parable that illustrates that everyone has the opportunity to receive Jesus and be saved [Matt 22].
Unlimited atonement says Jesus died for all people…even for those who would never believe in Him…that’s Scriptural…BUT you have to do something… salvation is only given to those who believe that Jesus is God’s Son [Rom. 10:9].
if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
There are 100 Bible verses about the necessity of believing in Jesus…so to reject Christ…and deny Jesus as Savior and to just assume everybody goes to
heaven is WRONG.
Prevenient grace is also opposed to John Calvin’s idea of limited atonement… that ‘some are chosen to be saved and some are doomed to be lost’…and you don’t really have to do anything to be saved…WRONG.
John Wesley was opposed to the idea that you don’t have to do anything to be saved…because you do have to do something to be saved.
This goes against Baptist teaching concerning salvation because we have always been told that salvation is unconditional…you don’t have to do anything…WRONG.
The idea that God chooses some for salvation without us having to do anything is not Biblical…the Bible says, ‘we are saved through faith’ [Eph 2:8]…well doesn’t that mean we don’t have to do anything?…NO.
On the surface that sounds like we do nothing…but faith is something we have to acknowledge…you have to do something.
Here’s how this works…I can give you a gift…wrap it up and put a bow on it BUT unless you unwrap the gift it’s worthless…it’s useless.
Salvation is like that…humans are incapable of responding to God without God first empowering them to have faith…it draws us to God…then you have to do something…the rest of that verse says that faith is a ‘gift from God.’ BUT…
unless I make the effort to accept that gift it’s useless.
Prevenient Grace doesn’t save us but rather it comes before anything we do because it draws us to God making us WANT to come to Him…all humans receive it regardless of their having heard of Jesus or not.
We then must act upon that faith and accept Jesus as our Savior…see…you do have to do something…BUT…it does not guarantee that all will actually do so. That’s why no one on that day can say… ‘well Jesus you didn’t choose me’ as John Calvin suggests…but rather Jesus will say…it was you who didn’t choose Me.
This goes back to James’s warning…Do not be deceived…that’s why it’s critical for people to study…research…examine and read the Bible.
When people fail to read the Bible…fail to understand God’s plan of salvation … refuse to grasp the complexity in the question ‘what must I do to be saved?’ [Acts 16:30] it leads to the acceptance of unbiblical ideas.
The answer Paul gave …‘believe in the Lord Jesus’…[Acts 16:31] on the surface that sounds pretty easy…and that is exactly what must be done…you have to make the conscious decision to do something.
Why Universalism that teaches everyone goes to heaven is WRONG,
Why Pluralism that there’s more than one way to get to heaven is WRONG.
Why limited atonement that says only certain people go to heaven is WRONG.
To believe in the Lord Jesus is more than just knowing about Jesus…it’s the result of acting on the faith that God gives every person…in the case of the jailer he had remorse but remorse is not repentance…he had fear but fear is not faith.
Salvation encompasses more than just knowing about Jesus…it must be combined with faith…that also includes repentance…a sincere willingness to want to change your behavior by being obedient to Christ…you have to do something.
Stop blaming other people…your circumstances…God…or Satan for your temptation and sins…the excuse that the dog ate my homework won’t cut it.
The third area in which we can be deceived is that in God there ‘is no variation or shifting shadow.’
Here James is presenting the third test of a true believer – how we respond to the immutability of God.
Malachi 3:6 – “I am the Lord, I change not.”
Hebrews 13:8 – “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, and forever.”
To say that God is immutable—that He does not change—is to declare that He is the Almighty…the Possessor of all power in heaven and earth…that none can defeat…thwart…or resist His will.
Simply put God is sovereign…He does as He pleases…only as He pleases… always as He pleases…that He is unchanging in His character…that whatever takes place in time is the outworking of what He decreed from eternity. I AM THAT I AM – that He is the Supreme and Sovereign Being of the universe.
Here’s the importance in that…FIRST…if anything changes it must do so in some chronological order meaning…there must be a point before the change and a point in time after the change…BUT…God is eternal therefore He exists outside of time.
Secondly…if anything changes it must change for the better or the worse because a change that makes no difference is not a change…but because God is perfect He does not need to change.
Thirdly…God knows everything…there’s a word for that—omniscience—if it were possible for God to learn something new that means God could change His mind about something.
If God was affected by anything outside Himself He wouldn’t be the all-knowing all-seeing God of the universe.
In the opening 17 verses James has presented three tests of a true believer …more to follow…on how we should approach sin and temptation…how God works in the giving of His perfect gifts including salvation…and the dangers of being deceived.
As we continue on in James this book is an encouragement for us as God’s people to act like God’s people by how they conduct themselves…if those who call themselves God’s people truly belong to Jesus their lives will produce the results of a life lived like a Christian.
The question for us this morning as Christians is do we apply what James has revealed…do we accept them as truth or buy into Satan’s great strategy and lie of ‘Go ahead and live as you like’ …which is to convince us that God is less than who He says He is…a lie Satan’s been repeating ever since he told Eve… ‘You will not surely die.’