And please turn in your Bibles to the book of James, chapter 1. We're going to be looking at verses 16 to 18, but again, to kind of set the context, we'll begin at verse 1 and go on down to verse 18. James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes in the dispersion, greetings. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds. For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting. For the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass, he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass. Its flower falls. and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when he is tempted, I am being tempted by God. For God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. The desire, when it is conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully grown, brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of Lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of His own will, He brought us forth by the Word of Truth, that we should be the kind of firstfruits of His creatures." Well, the Christmas season is upon us. It's a time of year when there's much emphasis on gift-giving. You can see it all around you, whether you go in the store or watch the ads. Even the economic forecasts are dealing with, well, how much are the sales? How good was Black Friday in terms of retail sales? As you think about this whole thing of gift-giving, I'd have you take a moment and think about Maybe what you like to receive is a gift, or maybe more particularly, what's the best gift you've ever received? Is there one gift that kind of sticks out in your mind? Why was it? Perhaps it was something you wanted for years, and you finally received it. Or maybe something you thought would be good, but it was even better than you even imagined. And as you think about that, how did you feel? How did you feel when you received that gift? And how did you feel for that person who gave you that gift? Just think about that. Verses are pointing out to really the perfect gift. The one who is a perfect gift giver, but the greatest gift of all. As we think about gifts and receiving gifts, and I hope some of you children may be looking forward to Christmas and some gifts. Think about how great that is. There's something even better. something much superior to the best gift you've ever received, whatever it is. And if you are thankful for a parent or somebody else who gave you a good gift, something you had wanted maybe for several years, how much more should you be thankful for the best gift of all if you receive it? How much should heartfelt thanks to be a part of your life. And so that will be our focus this morning. And so the first point is that God calls us to think carefully. It's really about Himself and about His relationship to evil and to good. You know, what relationship does God have with evil and what relationship does He have to things that are good? And so, as you look at verse 16a, the first thing is, there's a strong exhortation here. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. And notice those two words, the phrase deceived and beloved brethren. Because they really present a balance. As James is addressing an important issue, He really wants to stress two things. First is the importance of not being deceived, of being carried away, being led astray by some wrong teaching. And so he says it in a very stark way, you know, don't be deceived. Strong words. But he also adds those words, my beloved brother, So they're not words of rebuke. They're words of warning from one who warmly cares about the people to whom he writes. And so he speaks with both clarity and gentleness as he desires them to know God's truth. In the Bloomington newspaper, there's been a whole series of letters talking about the idea of good. And specifically now it's moved down to the idea, you know, is God, is the God of the Bible good? And there's been a series of letters that basically said, you know, God isn't good. Not the God of the Bible, you know, He's the one that ordered the Jews to go in and conquer. the promised land and the slaughtered inhabitants, to have the destruction of Ammonites, and a whole bunch of other things they list. A God who commands those things can't be good. In yesterday's paper, there was a woman pastor. Reacting to those same signs on the buses that said you can't be good, you can be good without God, but you can't go to heaven without Jesus. Saying such speech is hate speech. It's hateful. It's outdated. It's unworthy of a Christian to think about it in that way, to think that there's only one way to God, that you can't be Buddhist, or Jewish, or Muslim, and not be on your way to God. Well, such thinking is deceived. Such thinking is being led astray. People who think that way, even though she's a pastor, she's been led astray. And so, James is saying, don't be deceived. Don't be led astray in your thinking. You need to understand what right and wrong is, what truth and error is, what good and evil are, and what God's relationship is to good and evil. And more and more, people around us are not understanding. And even it seems some in the church don't understand God's relationship to good and evil. Think of it in terms of, to give a warning to somebody that the path that they're on is a path to destruction is a loving thing. To say that you need Jesus Christ to be saved, it's a loving thing, it's not a hateful thing. Now, which one of us, if we saw somebody walking toward a cliff and there's a thousand foot prop, would just say, oh well, they're on their path and I'm on mine, and it doesn't matter what path they're on. Because you know the end. As they walk over that cliff, unthinkingly, destruction looms ahead. And so, the right thing is to speak up. And that is what James is doing here, frankly, yet with a tenderness and a warmth. They're not to be deceived about who God is, and especially His relationship to evil. And thinking back to the previous verses, James has already told us what God's relationship with evil is. There is none. He doesn't tempt us. To do wrong? He cannot be tempted to do wrong himself. And it's easy for us to begin to think, well, maybe God has placed me in this position where I can't withstand the pressure to do wrong. I'm helpless against sin. Or to begin to think, well, you know, is that so bad? You know, God has given me these desires. Is it wrong for me to be thinking this way? Maybe to be acting upon what I'm thinking? And we can begin to downplay sin. To not see it as serious before God. And unless we see that God has absolutely no relationship to sin, He's not tempted by it, He does not tempt us to sin, we're deceived about God. We're deceived about sin. And in seriousness, we're deceived by temptation. Well, see, the positive side of verse 17 is we understand the relationship of God to that which is good. And that God is the source of all that is good. And so verse 17 says, every good gift and every perfect gift is from above. I.e. it's from God. Coming down from the Father of lights in whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. And as you look at that verse, really all those phrases are important. First is that every, that's used two times. Every good thing is from God. What are the good things that you enjoy right now? Well, one thing is you're all alive. So you have love. Where does it come from? It's from God. Health. The ability to work. The ability to be productive. comes from God. A mind that's able to think, to do studies, to be in school, is from God. Family and relationships, friendships, are from God. Living in a land where we don't have war taking place is from God. And then we can begin to say that what are the spiritual things that we have, the spiritual blessings? new life, adoption in God's family, forgiveness of sins. Where do these things come from? Whatever the gift, it's from God. Every gift, every good thing comes from God. And so we understand that God is the author of every single benefit received. The second thing is it talks about a good gift and a perfect gift, and it almost seems repetition, and it's hard to really distinguish the meaning in English, but we try to distinguish. It sort of says the act of giving and the thing given are both good, are perfect. Both the gift and the giving express God's character. expresses goodness to us. When God gives, He gives lovingly, and He gives wonderful gifts. Because we can come short in one or the other areas. And we might give with a good attitude, but not know what the right gift is. Or we might give the right gift, but we can give with a horrible attitude. And I think about that back in my college days, when a friend and I were going to a wedding, the first time we had to buy a wedding gift, and he and I went in on it, and what should we buy? Well, we'll buy a toaster. I hope nobody else buys a toaster, but we'll buy a toaster. I didn't really have any good idea what to buy. Well, we get to the reception and there are a number of presents that are unwrapped and there's a great shiny new toaster there. Much nicer than the one we bought. Hearts are right. We just didn't know what a good gift was, what a perfect gift would be. It's never that way with God. He never gives grudgingly or something that's less than what is needed. or what would be good for the situation, or something that's not perfect. And so God's relationship to that which is good is the source of it all. He's the source of all the good things that we receive. Third, it mentions how He's a Father. And that speaks of a special relationship, a closeness that we have to God. It implies that God knows you well. Just as a good earthly father would know the children, would know what they're capable of, how to encourage, how to build them up, so our Heavenly Father, even more, knows what's best for you and for me. And sometimes He doesn't give us what we think would be good, because He knows it would be good. In the past I've been trying to think it would be great to be Tiger Woods. To have that sort of golfing ability, to have his intelligence that goes to Stanford, to have his charm that pleases everybody. But recent events show that it can be a trap. You know, it's easy to think, well, wouldn't it be nice to be spending all your time outdoors, traveling around, going from one fancy place to another fancy place, enjoying fame and money? Well, no, there's a snare. And God has cut me from that. My golfing ability is nowhere near what His is. He knows what's good for us, what's perfect for us. and what might be a snare. The fourth thing it mentions is that he's the god of light. And the idea here is that God is the source of all light. And we know that that would be physically true, that he created the sun, moon, and the stars. But he's also the source of spiritual light. And it's an unchanging light. And there's a contrast in this verse, talking really about the sun, moon, and stars. They're all subject to variation. There's morning and evening. There's clouds or no clouds. There's new moon and full moon. And so the light of the sun or the moon can change from day to day and even during the day. It's not like that with God's light. God's light does not change. What God does, does not change. And so, God gives good gifts. And it's impossible for Him to give anything but good gifts. And even when we fall into temptation, God knows our weakness. And God doesn't change His love for us. And if we become liable for judgment, James later on writes that mercy triumphs over judgment. And so we can count on God's merciful nature who called us originally out of darkness into His light. And we'll continue to work. And so we can depend upon God's unchangeableness He gives good gifts to his children. Well, that brings us then to our second point, and that's in verse 18. It points us to the best, the greatest gift of all. God gives us many good gifts, but what's the best gift of all? It's a new birth. It's becoming a Christian. Again, we can notice four different things as we look at the verse. First is God, we're told, brought us forth. It was used earlier, but that process of sin, bringing forth death. And it has the idea of birth. God has brought us forth. It's one way in the scriptures of many of pointing to a new start that we have. In Jeremiah 31, it was talking in terms of having a new heart. Our heart of stone is taken away and we're given a heart of flesh. In John 3, Jesus talks about being born again. Born from above. A second birth. A restart. Paul in 2 Corinthians 5.17 and Ephesians 4.22-24 talks about being a new creature, a new creation. The old has passed away. Titus 3.5 talks about the regeneration, renewing of the Holy Spirit. All of which are pointing to the same thing, that radical transformation that happens when a person truly believes in God and believes in Christ. You go from death to life. You go from being an enemy of God to be one of His own dear children. You go from being a vessel of wrath to a vessel of mercy. And as we would think about it rightly, this is the greatest possible gift of all. Because what else? We might think about health, or wealth, or fame, or a long life, or a family, or whatever it is. All pales by comparison to what God does when He causes a person to be born again. To become one of His children. And notice, secondly, it's of His own will. that this being born a second time is due to the will of God. And there's a sense, as you read that phrase, that God took counsel within Himself. As He thought about our situation, He determined to act in order to save some. To save His people. And it really points to the teaching of election. We didn't choose God. God chose us before the foundation of the world. He chose us so that we could be saved, could become part of His family, so that we could experience that new birth. We're saved because God desired that it would be that way. And just think about what a gift is. It always implies being given by someone. It's not something that's earned. Boy Scouts earn merit badges. They do something to get those badges. They're never given them. The Scoutmaster just doesn't go around one day and say, well, here, you take one, you take one, you take one. That's what God does. He gives out according to His own will. eternal life, this verse into that. So salvation is a gift from God, given to us by God. Third, we can see the reference to the word of truth, which is the means by which the The new birth takes place. So how does God accomplish the new birth? Well, it's by that word of truth, which is really the gospel. So you look at that term as it's used in the New Testament. It says we hear and respond to the gospel that we're born again. And we have that message recorded in the Bible and especially in the New Testament. A message of God being the holy and righteous Creator, who made mankind in His image in order to have fellowship with Him. That after mankind fell into sin, God determined that He would send a Redeemer into the world. And that Redeemer is His own Son, Jesus Christ, who came to earth to die on a cross, to ransom the elect. You're saved as you understand this truth and embrace it. As you understand it's not what you learn, it's not what you do, it's not your good works, but as you rely upon the works of Jesus Christ on your behalf. New life comes as you hear the message and as you respond to it. It's a word of truth. It's God's Word of truth for you. And finally, it talks about how Christians are a kind of first roots of His creatures. Now, first roots would have been a term very familiar to those who understood the Old Testament, that knew the sacrificial system. that if the Jews were to come and give their offerings, it was to be the firstfruits, whether it be the animal or the produce of the ground. And if you read through, there's really three main ideas that are associated with those firstfruits. First is to understand that all the produce that one has comes from God. If you look at Psalm 24-1, The Lord is in all His fullness, everything. But there's a special way in the first fruits are dedicated to God. They're His. They're not to be used for our own purposes. The rest we can use. But that first portion is a constant reminder that it all belongs to God. The second thing you see is that the first fruits have to be the best. It couldn't be an animal with a spot or a blemish. He needed to be the best. And the third thing is that 1 Cor. is really an annual confession that God has supplied my need for this year, and I look forward to Him supplying my need in the future. That I'm actively trusting in God to be faithful to His promises year by year. And so when James is saying that God's people, they're Christians, that you and I are God's first fruits. He's saying all those things. He's saying we're the first and the best of what God is producing on the earth. And the implication is that God will then be faithful to take care of you year by year, even as He took care of Israel in the wilderness. That He's going to be faithful even when we sin. If we fail, our failure teaches us to turn to God for mercy as it's offered in the Gospel. And as we persevere in our love toward Him, come what may, we will receive the crown of life that Christ has reserved, that the Father has reserved for those who love Him. What promises? What do we find here to live by? Well, if you think about application, it only points to the idea of thankfulness. If you received a very special present, something maybe that you'd wanted for years and you finally got it, I trust your heart was filled with joy. And you were filled with thanksgiving to the One who gave that to you. Well, God has given the greatest gift of all. And how a heart should be filled with love and thanksgiving toward Him. And how does it show? Well, in simple ways. In terms of our prayers. A prayer shouldn't be simply asking for things, but outflowing of thanksgiving. For the many blessings that God gives. In terms of our attendance at the worship, if we're thankful, we'll come to God's worship and one, rejoice and be with God's people as they rejoice. In terms of our giving, that we rejoice in what God has given and we give back part of it, thankful for all that we enjoy. And so, thankfulness. And sharing the good news with others, wanting others to hear. Thankfulness is very much a part of our lives. If we understand the greatness that God has given to us. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we are indeed thankful. Thankful for who you are. The One who created us, create us to have fellowship with You. The One who has redeemed us when we fell into sin. And thank You for Your Son, Jesus Christ, who is willing to be that Redeemer. That One who purchased us with His own precious blood. We give thanks for how You continue to hold on to us, even when we sin. Even when we turn our backs on you, that you continue to be steadfast. That you are unchangeable. That as you set your love upon us, that love does not fade away or cease because of our unfaithfulness to you. Thank you for the fact that we are firstfruits. It's hard to imagine. why we should be, but we are. And so we give thanks for that, that we can look forward to all that you have in store for us. The new life, here on earth and then up in heaven. The new heavens and the new earth, that I will earn broken fellowship with you, that comes That's part of that greatest gift of all, the new life that we have in Christ. Father, if there is anyone here who does not know that greatest gift, we pray that you would hear as I might pray, and they would follow along. Father, I want that gift. Help me to trust Not in myself, but in Jesus Christ. And thank you for the promise. As I desire to have Christ come into my life, He promises to do that. And to change me from the inside out. Greatest in Christ's name, Amen.