It's very important to know why we are like this. Why am I doing this particular thing? Otherwise, we are trying to fix things at the wrong places. If you think it is because God allowed this situation to happen in my life, or it's because of this scenario that I am in that has come to me, we are never going to actually address the real issue. We are never going to address the root that causes us to sin. And James is going to give us some very important principles. It not only applies to trials, but also everywhere in everyone’s life? He said we have to remember and apply, because James says in verse 14, what is the real source of the temptation? He says each man is tempted. So it happens that each man, everyone—there are no exceptions at all here—every man who is a man, every human being here is included in that statement, is what? Is tempted. So there is no exception at all. We are all in that nature; we are all in that human fallen nature of being tempted.

How? When he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. So the usage there is really like bait language. If you are familiar with fishing, you know how fishing works—that there is a bait. Not the net, like how we fish in nets, but if you are standing there and sitting at a place and holding a bait. That is the picture here. There is indeed somebody who is sitting there with a bait. But why is the fish going to be caught in that bait? It's entirely the fish's nature. That's what the fish is like: it sees the bait, and it cannot resist itself. It is coming from within. The problem here is not the bait, nor the person who is holding the bait, but the fish itself—the one who goes and gets caught in that bait. The two words are being drawn away and also being enticed. "Enticed" is that word which I just now explained, which is really like having us holding a bait and the fish coming and catching on, holding on to that bait.

"Drawn away" is like to give a picture—you have seen on National Geographic and other channels how animals are attacked. In a herd, you may see one of them just drawing away or just going away slightly. And you see the predators just waiting or looking out for that one which would just be drawn away. Why does he get drawn away? Again, of himself. He is the one choosing to just be away from the protection of the herd, which then comes to put himself in a situation where the predators attack. The source here, James wants to tell us, is his own lust. The lust is that strong desire, and it's coming from where? From my own, his own lust. Often we, if not God, would blame the devil, would blame the world, would blame so-and-so person. We would blame so many other things, but this passage actually tells us it's nobody else to blame.

It's not even Satan to be blamed; it's not even the world system to be blamed. They are all, as I said, just the bait being held before you. We don't have to go get caught on it. The real issue is us. The real issue, James says, is our own lust. It's each one's lust—each one's specific lust—that causes them to go hold on to that bait. So we see here, James is laying it out very clearly. It's not at all coming from God. God has absolutely nothing to do with it, just like you would say in Him is no darkness. So we can say God cannot be tempted with evil, nor does He tempt anyone with evil. But rather, temptation happens because of us. It is our fallen nature; it's that law which is in our flesh which causes us to go and be enticed by it.

And James chooses to give a very vivid image of how this whole process works. He says, when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin. There is an object for the lust to hold on to. And it's our lust which goes after, which conceives, which goes after that particular object which is spelled out before us, and it gives birth to what is called sin. So there are certainly—if you look around in the world—you will always find the world presenting before us many such objects to desire. And the same usage is seen in John's writings, where John would conclude everything in the world as part of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. It does not, John says, come from the Father, it is of the world. Everything that the world has to offer, none of it, nothing of it, is of the Father.

It can all be categorized into these three groups: the lust of the flesh, what our flesh desires to have; the lust of the eyes, what our eyes desire to have; and the pride of life, which also is a kind of lust to have a desire towards oneself—it is selfish ambition. It is ambition and desire for one's own self. The whole thing is put into this phrase of having lust. And that is exactly what the world system today does. It does offer every believer a chance to be hooked onto, to be grabbing that, to be headed onto that particular object that it offers. And what does it do? It will have a result, it will have a bringing forth, a giving birth, and that would be sin. The object itself is not a sin. The object itself is not a temptation. Rather, it is us, our lust, which goes and holds on to that object, which becomes his work to sin.

And James says let's not stop there, but as that sin matures, as that sin grows into perfection, it brings forth death. In the first chapter, we were looking at how when our faith is tried, let patience have a perfect work. There is a working of patience resulting in something for us. Here is what will happen when we let our lust work out: when we let our lust loose, it will bring forth sin. It will ultimately lead to death. What does that sin result in? It results in death. You may think of how it applies to us—not only in the time of testing and trial, but even generally, it's very clearly a principle that James puts here about human nature. It's also about God that he tells us. And we have to wonder how careful we are when it comes to not allowing, not giving a position for our flesh.

Paul was very particular to say, "There is no good thing that dwells in my flesh." And that is why, when we look—I want to read a few verses—in the New Testament, there is so much focus on this aspect of where do we set our minds. Because it is an already clearly understood fact that in the world, there are a hundred million objects for our lust, and therefore it is necessary that we have different desires. Lust is in itself a desire towards that wrong thing. Instead, we are to have developed good desires, godly desires. And that cannot start without us being born again—that's also very clear, you know. It cannot be for the natural man; it is for the one who is born again that a new desire must come. But it does not stop there. We must not think that because we are born again, because we are believers, we are immune to any harm from the world.

Rather, we are more in the target because we are believers. We have to be very careful about how we allow ourselves to be influenced by what is there in the world. And so there is so much focus as we look at the New Testament. As I looked at that particular word itself, I'm just going to read out the verses that are there. Look at Romans 8 verse 5: "For those who live according to the things of the flesh set their mind on the things of the flesh." It's a battle for the mind; it's a battle for our thoughts. It's a battle for what we allow into our life, because that is really what will change our lust or our desires—it will continue to foster it, or it will help us to overcome those evil desires. There are those who will set their minds on the things of the flesh, but there are also those who live according to the Spirit who will set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

Philippians 2 verse 5: "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." In chapter 3 verse 19, Paul says about the other side: "Whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their mind on earthly things." It is really a setting—setting of our mind on what we choose to put our attention toward, what we choose to allow into our life. Colossians 3 verse 2: "Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth." So, things of the Spirit, the mind of Christ, things above—this is what we have to set our minds on. What will happen if we don't? Yes, with the warfare going on, if we think that what we consume does not affect us, we are most deceived. If we think that what we watch on our mobiles does not affect us, we are really deceived.

If we think that what conversations and things we lend our ears to will not affect us, we are really deceived, because that is exactly what shapes who we are. It shapes what we think, and it shapes also the devotions or the desires of our heart. What we allow in our mind is also what will foster the desire in our heart. And Paul in Romans very clearly portrays that battle between good and evil. There is a law of the flesh which is continuing to be with us. This does not go away because we are a believer. There is also very clearly the Spirit of God now in us, who is also giving us the godly desire, the desires that are according to God's Spirit. And it is now up to us. It is now up to us how we will set our minds. Will we set it on earthly things?

Will we be careless enough to let the world have an open entrance into our mind, or will we be particular about how we allow our mind to be influenced? Because as the Scripture says, our mind and heart have a very intrinsic relationship. What we think of is what our heart grows to desire. And we have to really be careful about what we are consuming, because that's exactly what we start desiring, and the other will quickly become overpowered. So if we give to the flesh, if we sow to the flesh, we will reap corruption. But if we sow to the Spirit, we will reap eternal life. That's the principle there that the Scriptures very clearly show to us. So James says here very clearly, giving us an important warning: when we go through trials, be aware that it can quickly transition not just as a time for our faith to be approved, but it can very quickly become an occasion for our temptation.

It can very quickly translate into the time when we are tempted because of our own lust to do something against the will of God. Testing and temptation in that way—in the way James is continuing with that doctrine—seems to be very clear on that part. There is, of course, the other kind of temptation which we have already now seen how we ought to protect ourselves from having that. Now, this always can result in some questions when we look at this verse. And I think that's clearer when you look at the fact that the Greek word is the same for testing and temptation, because people can ask about Abraham's testing. So God is the one who indeed tested Abraham, but that's not temptation. God did not tempt Abraham to go commit a sin, but rather his faith was being tested.

God does do that. God does let us endure trials in order to show us approved, in order to show us exactly what He thought or what He knows of us. That's the case in point for Job. So God knows who Job is; God knows how faithful Job is. The purpose of the trial is to show that this is exactly who Job is. And that's what is the outcome of every trial for a true believer. His inward reality is to be made visible, to be made approved for everyone. We have the case, of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, He is the One who was driven by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tested. So in some translations, it is "tempted by the tempter" or "of the devil." But there again, it is emphasizing the testing that He had to endure from the devil.

And these two combined actually give us a very solid foundation for what we consider as the impeccability of the Lord Jesus Christ—the impeccability of the Lord Jesus Christ. The word "impeccability" might not be very familiar because it has its origin in Latin. In simple English, it means sinlessness. That the Lord had not only what was written about Him in that He should know no sin—that is the external aspect; not only that He knew no sin, but to go further, in Him was no sin. So as He would say Himself in John chapter 14 verse 30, "The prince of the world comes, but he will find nothing—he has nothing in Me." There is absolutely nothing in Me that will cause Him to stumble, cause Him to sin. So there are two important statements here that James made, though he is not stressing on the impeccability of Christ.

It raises a very important foundation, apart from the other things that we have in Scripture. Firstly, that God cannot be tempted. Our Lord is God; God cannot be tempted. That itself is one important aspect. Secondly, how is temptation happening? It is one's own lust. It's one's own desire that leads one to sin, that leads one to be tempted. And we know clearly of the Lord that in Him was no sin. There is no other will in Him but to do what our Father desires. He will say that He is the right one to execute judgment because He seeks not His own will, but the will of Him who sent Him. That's the only will that He has. There is no other will in Him, and therefore there is no other lust in Him, no other desire apart from the will of the Father.

And so from this other principle also, which is very applicable for everyone—each one of us who has been born into the world—we see that cannot be true for our Lord because in Him there was no other lust, there was no other desire. And that clearly proves the sinlessness of Christ, not only in external actions and thoughts, but in the very fact that He could not sin. He would not be able to sin for this very reason. We may then ask another question: What about Him being our High Priest? Let's read that portion also—Hebrews 4:18: For in that He Himself has suffered being tempted, He's able to succor them that are tempted. You have to know what this "tempted" is here. It's again not the temptation to sin. It's not about this lust which results in one sinning, but rather it is about the testing. He has been tested to the extreme most possible limits that Satan could offer Him. We have seen that in forty days He was in the wilderness; He was in a place uninhabited, in a place of wild beasts, fasting and without water and food. And we see that at the end of it all—so that forty days itself is a great ordeal of trial—but at the end of it all, He was again tried by the tempter or the adversary on those three aspects, if we can clearly see it, about lust itself. It is to desire something else than what God has appointed for Him, whether it be the type of deliverance, the way of deliverance, or how He is to manifest Himself as the Messiah, as the Savior—to have a different desire than what is from God Himself.

Hebrews 4:15: "For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin." And that clearly shows us in these passages in which way He is our High Priest, in which way He is able to know our infirmities and is able to help us today. Let's come back to the portion here in James. So we have seen what is not true of God. Now James is going to give us a very important understanding of who God really is. How are we to look at God during the time of trial? James says, "Do not be deceived, do not be mistaken about this very important thing, my beloved brethren. Temptation is not from God; it is you, this heart." Be careful about that temptation. Know the root so that you can avoid it.

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." This is how we have to look at God in the midst of trials. It's very easily said, but to practice it is the whole challenge, isn't it? Look at Job. When he is going through all the suffering, we see him struggling in his mind to reconcile this truth. He knows this is who God is; this is what God tells of Himself. And then he has to look at himself. He has to look at all the suffering he's going through, and he has to reconcile this still. He has to still cling everything he has onto this fact of who God is. Now James is saying here, with every good gift, the giving—the act of giving—the way God gives is good, and the thing He gives is perfect.

There's nothing lacking in it; that's how we have to see everything that we receive from God. One of the things is the wisdom that He can give us—that the way He will give us, as you have seen here the last time, the way He gives wisdom itself is good. We noted He gives liberally. We noted He does not reproach; He does not keep an account of how often we keep coming to Him to ask for wisdom. It is good gift-giving, and the gift that He gives is perfect. There is nothing that we lack if we get the gift from Him. And He is defining here as the: "Father of lights," which simply means the Creator, the One who created all the lights, the One through whom all the lights are positioned. He is the Father of lights.

And James is drawing this comparison to impress on our hearts that lights change. The sun is in the day, not visible during the night. the moon is in the night, not in the day. Even when the moon is there, there are these reflections, there are these effects, there are these variableness, there are these shadows. It's not constant; it's not steady. We have known that physically; we have seen it. But contrast that with who the Father is, with who He is. He is unchanging. He’s never changing, whether it be your time of prosperity or your time of persecution. He is unchanging. The whole creation may change, may fade away, but He will remain the same. How difficult it is, but we have to believe this and we have to hold on to this very truth: that our circumstances don't change who He is, and our circumstances also don't change His relationship with us.

We read in verse 12 that the crown is promised to them that love Him, because He Himself loves those who are suffering like this. Again case in point is Job when he is suffering: the world looks at him, his friends look at him and say, "You must have committed some sin. This is the Lord's displeasure on you that is causing you this." But this is what we have to hold on to, because that is not at all the case. Instead, it is precisely His love that has caused that kind of a situation in Job's life. That's persecution he should lead because of his faith, his clinging on, his fear of who God is. And we must not forget that James says, in times of trials, in times of difficulties, God has never changed. God will never change. Even the creation lights will change; even creation itself will change. But here is one Creator who will remain unchanging.

It's not only about His character, but if you just look at a few points about what He has done for us: in the first section that we were looking at, we have seen a general testimony about who God is, about God's character. Like John would say, God is light. So we are seeing a general testimony about who God is. But now, in verses 17 onwards, James is particularly telling what He has done for you, what He has done for us. He has been a Father of lights for us. He has not only been that; He has of His own will begotten us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. So He has not remained far away in that way; He has not remained unattached to us. But rather, He has begotten us; He has given birth to us through His word, which is called here the word of truth.

He has already done something for us toward all believers. That is our beginning. Our birth is from the word of truth because of His own will. You may contrast this with the previous verse that we saw—lust bringing forth sin, and that result is caused due to a wrong notion of who God is. It is not a word of truth, but it is deception, it is distortion, it is all kinds of deception that we see here which results in sin. On the other hand, here is the Father who, through the word of truth, is begetting us, has begotten us, and brought us forth through His word. That's what He has given us in the past, and He has done that with an objective. In our case, we see it turns out that we should be called the firstfruits of His creatures.

There is a clear objective that God desires, a purpose that He has already determined for every believer. Everyone who is begotten of Him, everyone who is born of God—here in James, we already see what is the purpose, the end that He wants us to have. In different portions of Scripture, we see it said differently. It is to be conformed to the image of His Son; it is to be as He is, where we shall see Him as He is. Here we see we have to be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. What do we understand from the word "firstfruits"? It is the first fruit, which means it is evidence or it points to the source, to the tree. A vine tree cannot bring forth grapes; a fig tree will not bring forth olives. It is the tree which will show forth its fruit. So the firstfruit of His creation—we have been called fruits—is showing the source, showing that this creature, this creation, is from God, is from the Father, is born of God. Firstly, that is what we can see here.

Secondly, look at the word "firstfruits," which means it is something that will still follow. It's not the only fruit, but it is the firstfruit, which means there are others, other things that are going to follow after this. And it is then also, thirdly, a sample of what is to come. If you look at the firstfruit, if you examine the firstfruit, you are going to see what everything else that is to follow is going to look like. If you have the firstfruit of a particular harvest, you can already see how the rest is going to come. So fruit shows the source, firstfruits show that there is still more to come, and firstfruits also show what everything else that is to come is going to look like. If you have the firstfruit of a harvest, you can see how the rest will come. So that is God's great objective for everyone that He begets, everyone who is born of God: when the world looks at us, they are to see what is to come.

And what better occasion than a trial? What better display of who we are, of what our source is, than when these people go through a trial and they see how this fits together with what James is telling? The whole world will readily forsake such a God. Those who are not of God, those who are not born of God, those who have not believed or not understood the love of God—basically, they would deny such a God. They want a God who will benefit them, who will give them prosperity here today, who will prosper them in their own selfish ambitions and desires. But here, when we have understood who God is, as I've been trying to focus on that point—that in the trial, the whole point is of our faith, of what we know of God, which really results in us loving Him. And that is what is going to be tried here, and I strive there.

That as we go through this trial, yet these believers, yet these people are enduring it. They're still not denying their Savior. They're still continuing to do good, overcoming evil with good, turning the other cheek where they are beaten on the side. And this has been amazingly the testimony of the Church. We are not talking only about today, but go back to the time the Church was formed on this earth, was started here on this earth. Since then, it has never really stopped. Apart from a few years of peace that we enjoyed as the Church, the history of the Church continuously has been that of being persecuted—whether it be during the Dark Ages, whether it be during the initial ages of the Roman Empire persecuting, or whether it be now that we see it continues to be persecuted by that which is of the world.

The darkness will hate this light, and the darkness will continue to persecute. But yet, it is never able to overcome this light. Yet, it is never able to fully destroy those who cling to this God, who have known this God, who have known this love displayed to them on the cross in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and they continue yet to take up any cross. I've been reading this book about the martyrs who were martyred for their faith—how tremendous was their faith in just going to be burnt, to be burnt upon sticks, to be thrown unto the wild animals, to be eaten in that way, to be made a sport in front of an audience, to endure such great persecution for their belief in the word of God and their belief in who God is according to this word of God.

Such is our heritage. And such is what the Scripture comes to define us as: these are the first fruits of a creation to come, showing the glory of God, showing who God is to me. And it is a hope that will be fulfilled at the coming of the Lord, thereafter when He continues in His purposes for the earth, how He will fully renew everything. It's not only our souls that have been redeemed; our bodies are going to be redeemed. Nor will it stop with our bodies—the whole creation is at a time to be redeemed. Before that, a millennial reign will be there which will bring about a tide of absolute peace because it is planted on righteousness. We are a firstfruit of His creation, and that is the great privilege that God gives us even when we are in trials, that we may show forth this of our God, of who He is and how He has loved us. May God help us with these words.