James 1:12-18 - The Goodness of God

James 1:12-18
12 Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. 15 Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good thing given 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 the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.

Message: The Goodness of God

Time: James is thought to be the brother of Jesus. He did not follow Jesus while he was on the earth, but became a follower and leader of the church at Jerusalem after Jesus' resurrection. It is written about AD 45-48. It is practical application of living a holy life. Faith produces a real change in a person.

What the Lord is Saying:

Our creator is incapable of doing evil. Instead God can only do good. Trials or difficult times are a part of the live that we live on earth. James points out that Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. So the person who perseveres under a trial is blessed. I've often personally said that trials are times of being mad, sad, and then glad. The calling card though of being human is experiencing trials. Jesus after being baptized immediately experienced trials for 40 days.

In the realm of trials James wants to clarify that God is not tempting us. God is never the agent in moving us away from righteousness.  Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. While God doesn't tempt us from righteousness He is a God that carries out His justice. He is good and just. Divine justice serves God's goodness to his creation.

Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above. James is remarking that people were often putting God's goodness to trial.

God is good toward his people, working out all things for the good of His people (Romans 8:28). He manifests goodness in punishing our sins. God still loves what is good but as a judge of evil His believers are judged in Christ. God disciplines us for our own good. He has mercy toward us.

While God is good and he never has anything to do with tempting us, He does discipline us. Discipline may produces a trial in our lives. But, trials that are a result of sin are nothing that God directly does to us.

Promise: Let us proclaim all aspects of God's goodness and call people to repent so that they will receive God's goodness and mercy.

Prayer: Lord, there are a lot of truths here that you are expressing to me. You are a good God and yet you discipline me because you do not want to see your people stray from truth. You don't tempt people an cause them in any way to do evil. Thank you for the trials in my life that are there for you teaching me and thank you for using all things in my life to work together for good. Help me to keep my focus on You at all times and lean on You and trust You. I thank you for mornings for when I am sharp and focused on You.

Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am a little behind and working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines with January being about the doctrine of God.