Lesson for August 5, 2026 | The Book of James

The Book of James

Chapter 1:17-18

Verse 17

Stop being deceived from the previous verse joins two thoughts; 1) you can share the happiness of God in the midst of adversity or prosperity 2) capacity for life as a believer comes from the grace of God. The Greek word for good is “agathos,” which means good of lasting value. This is the word that is used for divine good. As an advancing member of the family of God, God is going to give you a certain number of blessings. The only way to be prepared for it is to have capacity, and capacity comes from Bible doctrine. Capacity for life and the capacity to appreciate and enjoy things in life comes from Bible doctrine in your soul. So, the more you take in doctrine, the sooner you will be prepared for prosperity when it comes. Without doctrine you are going to fail the prosperity test.

God does not stop giving things because you have failed Him. God gives on the basis of His essence, His character, and His sovereignty. God does not give on the basis of your character. If you are going to stop deceiving yourself, you have to understand that God never gave you anything on the basis of your character, on the basis of who you are. Self-deceit is failure to understand God’s grace. Good gifts are what God gives us according to His sovereignty, whether it is spiritual or material, social, or whatever it is. Why? Because God gives on the basis of Who He is. God is going to provide for you even if you are the world’s worst “sinner.” You are His child. Perfect gift is everything that you have in life as a result of your relationship with Jesus Christ. God keeps on giving to all categories of believers; out-of-fellowship believers, spiritual believers, immature believers, and mature believers. All of us desire blessings from God, but He will only give us blessings that we can handle. Remember, basic logistical grace blessings are given to all believers!!!

At the point of salvation, we receive the greatest of all gifts, Jesus Christ. Then we receive good gifts. The food you eat, the air you breathe, the clothes you wear, the friends you have, the shelter you have, your safety, your health, your life, everything you have comes from God. As believers in Jesus Christ, we cannot say, “I have this because of who I am.” Grace orientation keeps you from believing that everything you have or ever will have is based on who you are or on your human effort. God is your Father and He gives on the basis of His character, which has no variation or shifting.

Coming down from the Father of lights. The word “lights” refers to enlightenment. Psalm 119:130, “The entrance of thy word gives light.” We get enlightened from hearing the Word of God. So, light is synonymous with learning Bible doctrine.

God the Father is the source of light. Between you and your heavenly Father is a “bridge.” That bridge is Bible doctrine. He has not left you in the dark. He is the “Father of lights,” plural. He is the source of light in your soul so that your soul is enlightened and not in darkness. An enlightened soul is able to handle all circumstances in life, prosperity and adversity.

There is no change, variation or shifting in God’s faithfulness. God’s faithfulness is directly declared in several passages: 1) I John 1:9, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins 2) I Corinthians 10:13, God is faithful Who will not allow you to be tested above what you are able to bear 3) I Thessalonians 5:24, God is faithful to provide our needs 4) II Thessalonians 3:3, God is faithful to protect us 5) II Timothy 2:13, God is faithful even when we are faithless 6) Hebrews 10:23, God is faithful in keeping His promises 7) 1 Corinthians 1:9, God is faithful to present believers blameless who follow His plan.

Verse 18

If we are going to walk across the bridge between us and the Father in time, if we are ever going to be enlightened about who and what God is and what His plan is, how He has provided for us in every circumstance of life, how we can share His perfect happiness and blessing, and face every situation in life, then we must be consistent in the intake and application of Bible doctrine.

He brought us forth by the word of truth is a reference to our spiritual birth. After salvation, God has a plan for your life. God’s plan is learned progressively, step by step, doctrine by doctrine, line upon line and precept upon precept. God has a plan for you, but you also have free will and He will not override your volition. You have to choose His plan daily and build up a storehouse of accurate Bible doctrine for the time of disaster or prosperity. God actually does have a plan for your life! If you choose your plan over God’s, it is just like saying that you are smarter than God. If you choose God and His plan, it must come from your volition. God does not coerce you. It is imperative that you understand that your free will is involved in anything that is worthwhile. You must be willing to present yourself as a living sacrifice to God. (Romans 12:1-2)

So that we might be, as it were, the first fruits among His creatures. First fruit means first in rank, the fruit that is ripe and ready to be picked. It is an analogy of a person who has believed in Jesus Christ for salvation and chooses to advance in the spiritual life. Those who reject God’s plan for their lives are not fit to be picked, by analogy in this verse.

God not only created us, He also predesigned a plan specifically for each one of us in eternity past. This plan is a perfect plan because it was designed by a perfect Person (God). God’s plan for you is revealed in a logical and sensible way and He also provides the means for His plan to be carried out in your life. (II Peter 3:18)

God has a personalized plan for everyone. God was actually thinking of you in eternity past when He designed your plan. This is one of the reasons you are here on earth: to learn and fulfill God’s plan for your life. Failure to discover His plan and obey its instructions will lead to a life of misery and guilt. On the other hand, if we discover God’s plan and fulfill it (regardless of how long it takes to do either), we will experience an amazing life of peace, joy, fulfillment, and happiness beyond compare. (John 10:10; Romans 12:1-3)

Unlike religion, God’s plan is based on God’s grace, not human works. The word religion itself comes from two Latin words, “re,” meaning “back” and “ligio,” meaning “to bind.” Religion is man’s attempt to bind himself back to God by his own efforts. Christianity teaches that it is Jesus Christ Who binds us back to God by means of our faith in Christ’s payment for our sin. It was therefore God’s plan to provide for mankind something that they could not provide for themselves. (II Corinthians 5:17-21)

It is God’s will for every person to enter into His plan by faith in Jesus Christ as personal Savior. The issue is not our sinfulness or our past failures, because Jesus Christ paid the penalty for all sin on the Cross. Therefore, the issue is whether or not a person will accept the free gift of eternal life by faith. Faith, belief, and trust are synonymous terms, which mean that a person is relying on Christ for their salvation and not on themselves or their good deeds. According to the Bible, faith is the only requirement for eternal life. (II Peter 3:9; John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8-9)

Contrary to popular belief, personal sins do not condemn a person. When a baby is born, they are born with Adam’s original sin, which condemns them to spiritual death (separation from God). All categories of sin were dealt with at the Cross, when Jesus was judged by God the Father for the sins of the entire human race (past, present and future). (Romans 5:12, 6:6, 7:5, 18)

After salvation, the sin nature continues to reside in the body and seeks to control a believer’s thoughts and actions. Everyone has an area of weakness and an area of strength with regard to sin. The area of weakness produces mental attitude sins (jealousy, hatred, etc.), sins of the tongue (gossip, maligning, etc.) and overt sins (murder, stealing, etc.). The area of strength produces human good (good deeds, acts of kindness, etc.).

When human good is substituted for divine production, it fails to meet God’s standard. (Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 3:5) It is often the bad behavior of a believer that makes them think they have somehow lost their salvation and no longer have a relationship with God. Personal sin after salvation does “cut off” our fellowship with God, but no amount of bad behavior can cause a believer to lose their salvation. The reason that this is true is that keeping your salvation does not depend on you, it depends on God. (John 10:29)

When a believer does fail and commits a sin, they lose their fellowship with God and the filling of God the Holy Spirit. However, by admitting our sin to God we are forgiven and restored to fellowship with Him. We are also, once again, filled with the Holy Spirit. This is God’s system for recovery when we fail, but He has also provided a system that helps us resist the temptation to sin. This system is learning, believing, and applying the teachings of God’s Word. Spiritual growth is the key to understanding God’s plan for us. (II Peter 3:18; I John 1:5-10)