Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of James 1:16
Do not err, my beloved brethren.
16 18. God and His perfect gifts
16. Do not err ] The absolute goodness of God had been presented so far on its negative side as excluding all origination of evil. But the writer feels that that is but a partial view. It has a brighter aspect, more full of hope and blessing, and the error against which he protests is chiefly hurtful as excluding that aspect from its due influence on faith and conduct.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Do not err, my beloved brethren – This is said as if there were great danger of error in the point under consideration. The point on which he would guard them, seems to have been in respect to the opinion that God was the author of sin, and that the evils in the world are to be traced to him. There was great danger that they would embrace that opinion, for experience has shown that it is a danger into which men are always prone to fall. Some of the sources of this danger have been already alluded to. Notes, Jam 1:13. To meet the danger he says that, so far is it from being true that God is the source of evil, he is in fact the author of all that is good: every good gift, and every perfect gift Jam 1:17, is from him, Jam 1:18.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Jam 1:16
Do not err
A caution against error
I.
WE ARE LIABLE TO ERR.
1. From the weakness of our understandings, and the limited operation of the human faculties.
2. From the awfully mysterious subjects to which our attention is directed.
3. From the impositions and cheats practised upon us.
II. IT IS NOT NECESSARY. If error were involuntary, it would be unnecessary to guard us against it. We need not err–
1. Because we have a comprehensive and an all-sufficient directory.
2. Because we have a perfect Pattern and Exemplar.
3. Because we have an infallible Guide to conduct us into all truth.
III. WE SHOULD RE ON OUR GUARD AGAINST ERROR.
1. Because error is discreditable.
2. Because error is uncomfortable.
3. Because error is unsafe. (Sketches of Sermons.)
Error
1. It is not good to brand things with the name of error till we have proved them to be so. After he had disputed the matter with them, he saith, Err not. General invectives make but superficial impressions; show what is an error, and then call it so. Truly that was the way in ancient times. Loose discourses lose their profit. Blunt iron, that toucheth many points at once, doth not enter, but make a bruise; but a needle, that toucheth but one point, entereth to the quick.
2. We should as carefully avoid errors as vices; a blind eye is worse than a lame foot, yea, a blind eye will cause it; he that hath not light is apt to stumble (Rom 1:26); first they were given up to a vain mind, and then to vile affections. Many, I am persuaded, dally with opinions, because they do not know the dangerous result of them: all false principles have a secret but pestilent influence on the life and conversation.
3. Do not err; that is, do not mistake in this matter, because it is a hard thing to conceive how God concurreth to the act, and not to the evil of the act; bow He should be the author of all things, and not the author of sin; therefore he saith, however it be difficult to conceive, yet Do not err.
(1) You see, then, what need you have to pray for gifts of interpretation, and a door of utterance for your ministers, and a knowing heart for yourselves, that you may not be discouraged by the difficulties that fence up the way of truth. Chrysostom observeth that the saints do not pray, Lord, make a plainer law, but, Lord, open my eyes, that I may see the wonders of Thy law; as David doth.
(2) It showeth how much they are to blame that darken truth, and make the things of God the more obscure.
4. Again, from that Do not err. Take in the weightiness of the matter. Ah! would you err in a business that doth so deeply intrench upon the honour of God? The mistake being so dangerous, he is the more earnest. Oh! do not err. There is nothing more natural to us than to have ill thoughts of God, and nothing more dangerous; all practice dependeth upon it, to keep the glory of God unstained in your apprehensions.
5. From that my beloved brethren. Gentle dealing will best become dissuasives from error. Certainly we bad need to use much tenderness to persons that differ from us, speak to them in silken words. Where the matter is like to displease, the matter should not be bitter: pills must be sugared, that they may go down the better: many a man hath been lost through violence: you engage them to the other party. (T. Manton.)
On self-deception
I. MEN ERR BY ATTACHING GREATER IMPORTANCE TO THE AFFAIRS OF THIS LIFE, THAN TO THOSE OF ETERNITY. HOW many and great privations and dangers will the warrior pass through to gain the honour of a victory I Yet to conquer himself, to win a kingdom that cannot be moved–this never engaged his serious thoughts, never excited his desire,
II. MEN DECEIVE THEMSELVES BY THE HOPE OF A DEATH-BED REPENTANCE. IS it not highly presuming on the patience of God when we expect that God will grant us repentance unto life eternal, in the day of sickness, after we have spent our best days in the service of sin?
III. MEN ERR IN THEIR VIEW OF THE NATURE, THE EVIL, AND THE CONSEQUENCE OF SIN. Every sin, how small or insignificant soever it may seem to us, is an act of black ingratitude for multiplied mercies. It is a provoking of the wrath of God. Again, every sin, however secretly committed, will be brought to light in the day of judgment. The sins of omission as well as the sins of commission; the sins of the heart as well as the sins of the life; all will then be brought forward against every impenitent sinner, and exhibited to an assembled world. The pleasures of sin for a season are purchased at too dear a rate. What are the luxuries of life which drown the soul in perdition, when contrasted with their reward–an eternity of anguish!
IV. MEN ERR IN THEIR VIEW OF THE DIVINE LAW THAT IS, THE MORAL LAW. They are not aware that the law of God is spiritual; that it extends to the secret chambers of the heart; that it condemns everything that the sinner does, says, or thinks, because it is not done, said, or thought, as the law requires. Multitudes erroneously imagine that the law is of no force, or, at least, that its exactions are greatly relaxed, since the death of Christ. This is a fundamental. The law of God, being a transcript of His own unchangeable holiness, is itself unchangeable. It will be the standard by which the righteous Judge will at the last day critically try all actions, words, and affections of men.
V. MEN ERR AND DECEIVE THEMSELVES IN THE VIEW OF THEIR OWN CHARACTER. They imagine that though they are not what they ought to be, yet they are not so bad as others, and have a good heart, and mean well. If they are wrong, what must become of thousands? Some conclude that their state is good, because they are born of Christian parents, educated in a Christian land, admitted to Christian ordinances (Rev 3:17).
VI. MEN ERR IN THEIR APPREHENSION OF THE CHARACTER OF GOD. They think Him to be altogether such an one as themselves. They venture upon sin, and presumptuously flatter themselves that God is not so rigid as to notice everything they do amiss. They foolishly conclude that because the Lord delayeth the execution of His threatenings, He will not pour out His fury on the ungodly. Application:
1. To those who may be under the influence of self-deception. If you are deceived, you neither will seek safety nor apprehend any danger: and if you are not undeceived before you die, you will be awfully convinced, but too late, of your fatal error.
2. To those who feel the vast importance of their souls concerns, and are anxious to be preserved from error. Do you abandon the vain refuge of lies in which you once sought shelter? If it be so, we may pronounce your case a hopeful one. Yet rest not in present attainments; but press forward to the mark. Examine yourselves. Adopt the prayer of the Psalmist (Psa 139:23-24). (E. Edwards.)
Errors concerning God to be avoided
This verse emphasises the importance of having correct views of God. In regard to other things, wander into the forests of falsehood so far as one may, the man who holds the truth as to God can never be finally lost. And yet how few seem to appreciate that. Any philosophy of physical science is unsound and untrustworthy in proportion to its holding unsound relations to the truth as to God. The same is true in civil life: heresies in doctrine, errors in morals, and wrongs in life are to be traced almost invariably to some mistake of the truth as to God. Let a man be right here, and he has formed a hasp on which he may bang the first link of any chain of thought or action or life which he may be able to forge in time and in eternity. Do not wander from the great central truth as to God. (C. F. Deems, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 16. Do not err] By supposing that God is the author of sin, or that he impels any man to commit it.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Viz. in imputing your sins to God, and saying, that when you are tempted you are tempted of him.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
16. Do not err in attributing toGod temptation to evil; nay (as he proceeds to show), “everygood,” all that is good on earth, comes from God.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Do not err, my beloved brethren. For to make God the author of sin, or to charge him with being concerned in temptation to sin, is a very great error, a fundamental one, which strikes at the nature and being of God, and at the perfection of his holiness: it is a denying of him, and is one of those damnable errors and heresies, which bring upon men swift destruction; and therefore to be guarded against, rejected, and abhorred by all that profess any regard unto him, his name and glory.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Be not deceived ( ). Prohibition with and the present passive imperative of , common verb to lead astray. This is the way of sin to deceive and to kill (Ro 7:7-14). The devil is a pastmaster at blinding men’s eyes about sin (2Cor 4:4; Rom 1:27; Eph 4:14; etc.).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) James warns the dearly beloved brethren to avoid being allured, led away, or led astray. He would have them aware that evil deeds come from an evil nature and the evil nature stays with a saved person as long as he lives.
2) But he is admonished to subdue it, to keep it under control, while serving the Lord by faith Rom 12:1-2; Col 3:5-14.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
16 Do not err. This is an argument from what is opposite; for as God is the author of all good, it is absurd to suppose him to be the author of evil. To do good is what properly belongs to him, and according to his nature; and from him all good things come to us. Then, whatever evil he does, is not agreeable to his nature. But as it sometimes happens, that he who quits himself well through life, yet in some things fails, he meets this doubt by denying that God is mutable like men. But if God is in all things and always like himself, it hence follows that well-doing is his perpetual work.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES
Jas. 1:17. Father of lights.The luminaries of heaven; as symbols of all kinds of lights, natural, intellectual, spiritual. Shadow of turning.Or shadow that is cast by turning. The terms variableness and shadow of turning distinctly refer to the movements of the heavenly bodies, and decide the idea of James in speaking of God as Father of lights.
Jas. 1:18. Begat.More lit. brought He us forth. Word of truth.Not here the personal Logos, but the revealed word, the medium of the Divine sanctifying. Firstfruits.See Lev. 23:10; Deu. 26:2.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Jas. 1:16-18
The Helpfulness of cherishing Right Thoughts of God.The tone of every life is given by the idea that is entertained of God. This is abundantly illustrated by comparing the moral life of Pagans and heathen with the gods whom they acknowledge. But it may be also illustrated by the philosophical misrepresentations, and the ignorant caricatures, of the God of Christianity. In whatever sense men make their own gods, they that made them are like unto them. The moral conduct never can rise higher than the moral conception of the deity worshipped. Then how much is done for humanity when the revelation is made of a holy God! How much is done when that holiness is seen to be a human possibility, because realised in the Divine Man, the Lord Jesus.
I. God is good, and the ultimate Source of all good.The apprehension of this is the foundation of morality. We start with the affirmation of goodness in God. None is good save one, that is God.
1. Everything that is good in the world has the God-stamp upon it. Every good gift, and every perfect boon, is from above.
2. Everything in the world that is good has the permanent stamp upon it. Evil is in its nature temporary. It needs to be changed into good. Good is in its nature permanent, for it does not need to be changed into anything.
3. Everything in the world that is good is an active force, working at the removal of evil. The highest good that the good God works is making typically good people.
(1) God is the source of good.
(2) God is always the source of good.
(3) But He is the source only of perfect good. That perfect good may be within our power of estimating, or it may be beyond it, and then we are thrown back on our primary conviction of His essential goodness. If God is good, what He does must be good, though it may not seem good.
II. God is the Father of lights, who casts not shadows.With whom there can be no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning. St. James has in mind the movements, and changing appearances, and uncertain shining of sun and moon and stars. There are sun shadows cast by the varying relative positions of earth and sun and moon. God is thought of as Father of lights, Originator of all lights, eternal Light, who abides, never moves to cast a shadow. His agents may cast shadows; He never does. For ever and for ever shine forth from Him unqualified benedictions. Men may turn those benedictions into curses, but that can never alter the fact that they are benedictions. Earthly atmospheres may dim and defile the rays of the sun, but only by adding some evil to them; the rays are still pure, life-giving rays.
1. God Himself is light.
2. God is the Father (Author) of lights, all lights. Everything that is good, pure, true, right, is in sonship to God. And over everything that is good He has a fatherly care and concern. Whensoever we stand to the good, we stand with God. Whensoever we suffer for the good, we suffer with God. If anything in life is perplexing, and we scarcely know whether to call it evil or good, there is always this sufficing test to apply to itdoes it prefer the shadow or the light? Everything that loves the light is of God.
III. God is the Author of the new life in man, and that life is light like Himself.Illustrate from the voice, Let there be light, which broke up the chaos of the material earth. That voice speaks life to dead souls, light to bring order into the chaos of fallen human nature. We are made light in the Lord. And some are so made that they might become light-bearers, holding forth the word of life. Or to use the figure of Jas. 1:18, to be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.
Learn
1. That there is peril of deception in regard to God.
2. That peril is great when we only look around us.
3. That peril is great when we take up only mans view of God.
4. That peril is great if, without help from Divine revelation, we try to read human history.
5. That peril is relieved when we follow the teachings of the inspired word.
6. That peril is for ever removed when we come into those personal relations with the Father of lights, which He graciously permits.
SUGGESTIVE NOTES AND SERMON SKETCHES
Jas. 1:16. The Peril of Deception.Be not deceived, my beloved brethren. The particular peril St. James has in mind is the peril of being deceived as to the character of God. Right thoughts of God are at the basis of right living. Wrong thoughts of God make possible lives of self-indulgence and sin. Therefore, from the time of the first temptation in Eden, the policy of the evil one has been to suggest wrong thoughts of God, to deceive with regard to the character and requirements of God.
I. There is peril of deception from one-sided, and therefore imperfect, teachings about God. They may exaggerate His holy severities, or they may exaggerate His loving-kindnesses.
II. There is peril of deception when man makes himself the standard of God.This reproach is given, Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself. Man must rise from himself to conceive of God; but he must never match God by himself, or limit God to what he knows of himself. He is not altogether such an one as we are. In the image of God was man created, on purpose that he might rise from the knowledge of himself to the knowledge of God.
III. There is peril of deception when man trusts to what nature can teach, and refuses the help of revelation. It is not that nature witnesses incorrectly; it does witness imperfectly. It is true as far as it goes; it is unsatisfactory because it cannot go far enough.
IV. There is peril of deception when undue reliance is placed on the teachings of man.It is not merely that there are false teachers; there are also sectarian teachers, who force on attention particular views of God as the foundation of their exclusive views. Safeguard amid the perils of being deceived concerning the being and character of God is obtained through maintaining
1. Personal relations with God;
2. Simple-minded confidence in Gods revelations of Himself in and through His inspired word. No man needs to be deceived. Any man will be easily deceived who wishes to be deceived, or allows himself to be put off his guard.
Jas. 1:16-17. God the Only Source of All Good.There is much evil in the world. Why does God permit this? We are called to feel and maintain that He does all things well, that however He may permit He does not do evil; but that, on the contrary, all good, and nothing but good, is to be ascribed to Him. We need to have just views of this matter, since for want of them we greatly err.
I. The true character of the Deity.He is declared to be the only and the unchanging source of all good.
1. He is the only source of all good. All light proceeds from the sun. So there is no good and perfect gift but proceeds from God
(1) in nature;
(2) in providence;
(3) in grace. All works for the benefit, the welfare, of His people.
2. He is the unchanging source of all good. The sun has its changes, annual and diurnal; but Jehovah, the Father of all heavenly lights, changes not. His light may be intercepted by a cloud, but He Himself remains the same.
II. The errors we run into for want of duly adverting to it.We err exceedingly
1. In a way of self-vindication. Let no man say, when he is tempted, I am tempted of God. Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. James adds, Do not err. Evil is from ourselves, and good is from God.
2. In a way of self-dependence. We are prone to look for some good in ourselves, instead of seeking all good from God alone. Satan himself may as well look for these things in himself as we. All our springs are in God.
3. In a way of self-applause. We are no less prone to take to ourselves credit from what is good than to shift off from ourselves blame in what is evil. If there is any good in us, it is from Christ that we have received it. If we have attained to anything more than ordinary, we must say, He that hath wrought us for the self-same thing is God. Even if we equalled the apostle Paul we must say, By the grace of God; and in reference to every individual act, Not I, but the grace of God.
Application.Do not err. Be aware of your tendencies; correct them. If you arrogate anything to yourselves, you will rob God; and in robbing Him, you will eventually, and to your utter ruin, rob yourselves.Charles Simeon, M.A.
Jas. 1:17. Father of Lights.God is the Father of all lightsthe light of the natural world, the sun, the moon, and stars, shining in the heavens; the light of reason and conscience; the light of His law; the light of prophecy, shining in a dark place; the light of the gospel shining throughout the world; the light of apostles, confessors, martyrs, bishops, and priests, preaching that gospel to all nations; the light of the Holy Ghost shining in our hearts; the light of the heavenly city: God is the Father of them all. He is the everlasting Father of the everlasting Son, who is the Light of the world.Bishop Words-worth.
Light is God.To the turning of our planet from the sun we owe our knowledge of the universe. In the symbolism of its darkness and light we have our sublimest revelation of God. Light, which is called God, and is God, issues for ever from the infinite bosom of His darkness. Darkness and light are both alike to Him; for He is as much one as the other. The Son of God, the only begotten Light, reveals the Father of lights, as suns reveal the ether. God presents Himself in the Light, but also conceals Himself, as we both present and hide ourselves in our garments. Thou coverest Thyself with light as with a garment. As the infinite ether is hidden by the daylight, even so is God hidden by the light of the angelic heavens, which reveals Him. Therefore all those who dwell in the eternal light worship the unseen God, and live as seeing the invisible. They know that light is but His effluence. They worship the Light, as God, and again, with silent ineffable adoration, they worship what is behind the Light.John Pulsford.
Sun and Cloud.As the sun is the same in its nature and influences, though the earth and clouds, oft interposing, make-it seem to us as varying by its rising and setting, and by its different appearances, or entire withdrawment, when the change is not in it, so God is unchangeable, and our changes and shadows are not from any mutability or shadowy alterations in Him, but from ourselves.Baxter.
Shadow of Turning.With Him is nothing analogous to those optical delusions, those periodical obscurations, those vicissitudes of seasons, which attend the annual and diurnal course of the sun. St. James incidentally controverts that doctrine of fatalism in the Pharisees, which ascribed the conditions of men to the influence of the heavenly bodies.
Jas. 1:18. Pain and Death in Nature.The very struggles which all animated beings make against pain and death show that pain and death are not a part of the proper laws of their nature, but rather a bondage imposed on them from without; thus every groan and fear is an unconscious prophecy of liberation from the power of evil.Dean Howson.
Firstfruits of the Creatures.
I. Firstfruits to show the possibility of harvest.Suppose that never before this year had the fields of earth waved with the golden grain; that now, for the first time, with measured step and waving hand, the husbandman moved to and fro over his fields, scattering the precious seeds. How intently he would watch those fields in the after-weeks! One or two blades force their way through the soil; they grow quickly in one warm, moist corner. The ears form and bud, and swell, and ripen early there; and the husbandman carries home those firstfruits as the assurance that there can be a harvest from his sowing.
II. Firstfruits assure us of the character of the harvest.Examine carefully those quickly ripened first-fruits. You can judge from them what will be the quality and the extent of the harvest. The same blights have swept over the field as have smitten those firstfruits. There has been the same soil, the same culture, the same dew and rain and sunshine. You can tell from the handful of firstfruits whether the barns will be loaded and the yield will be enriching. Do these firstfruits stand well? Are they strong in the stalk, full in the ear, free from mildew and rust? Then soon you shall see the whole valley waving in the summer breeze, and reflecting the golden glory of the summer sky. You shall hear the sharp cutting of the reapers, as they gather in the precious grain. Are those firstfruits thin and speckled, and small, and unsteady on the stalk? Then there is a wail of despair in the soul, for the harvest will scarcely repay the cost of ingathering. St. James calls the first Jewish Christians the firstfruits of his creatures. There is a promise for the race in every unusually good man; then what promise there must be in Christ!
Firstfruits of the Human Harvest.There are always some favourable situations in a country where the harvest ripens quickly. This is especially the case in Palestine, parts of which are tropical or sub-tropical. The interest of firstfruits lies in their implying after-fruits. But to a Jew, with the feelings and associations of Mosaism, a peculiar interest attached to firstfruits, and by the term a special thing was understood. The fruit of all manner of trees, for the first three years, was not to be eaten, nor any profit made of it; in the fourth year it was to be holy, and used only to praise the Lord, being either given to the priests, or solemnly eaten by the owners before the Lord in Jerusalem; in the fifth year it might be eaten, and made use of for profit, and thenceforward every year. Explain mans harvest of the earth and harvest of the sea. He only reaps and gathers in what God provides for him. Then it is most befitting that he should make first acknowledgment to God. From Cain and Abel show the natural impulse which leads man to make his thank-offering. A portion of the very blessing God has given us is the best thank-offering. Explain Gods harvest of the earth. He would have all men to be saved. The Redeemer shall see of the travail of His soul, and be satisfied. Early Church a kind of firstfruits. First seals to a ministry. First converts in a revival. First decided ones in a family. Firstfruits are an assurancethe harvest is coming. First-fruits are an evidenceof what the harvest will be. Firstfruits are an inspirationto keep on working for the larger and fuller return. Close with the argument of the apostleFor this cause I obtained mercy, that in me a chief might Jesus Christ shew forth all His long-suffering, for an ensample of them which should hereafter believe on Him unto eternal life (1Ti. 1:16). Work out the answers to these questions: Who are the first saved ones among us? What ought they to be to God, to themselves, and to others? They should be proofs and patterns.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
THE SOURCE OF ALL GOOD THINGS
Text 1:1618
16.
Be not deceived, my beloved brethren.
17.
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning.
18.
Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
Queries
48.
How can Jas. 1:16 refer to Jas. 1:17? (It is easy to see how we could be deceived by sin, but how could we be deceived about the Father?)
49.
Could it be possible that there are good gifts that do not come from the Father? (Be careful . . . think this one through!)
50.
What word in Jas. 1:17 seems to be parallel to perfect?
51.
Perfect usually means complete, or finished, in the New Testament. Here it may have an additional connotation. What is it?
52.
In what ways can it be said that God is the Father of lights?
53.
The no variation of the Father may be contrasted highly with another figure in the earlier part of the chapter. Who or what is it?
54.
How can something cast a shadow by turning?
55.
How does this lack of a shadow by turning illustrate God?
56.
Why mention the will of God?
57.
What is the word of truth. . . . i.e., where would you look to find it?
58.
To whom does the word firstfruits refer?
59.
Firstfruits borrows what significance from the Old Testament?
Paraphrases
A. 16.
Dont let anyone fool you about the sources of good and evil.
17.
All good giving and every complete gift does not come from this earth, but from the Father who is the source of all light. He is always constant and doesnt change to day and night like this turning earth.
18.
It was His desire to give us a new birth by the gospel; that, like the firstfruits, we should be those given over to Him of all mankind.
B.* 17.
But whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God, the Creator of all light, and He shines forever without change or shadow.
18.
And it was a happy day for Him when he gave us our new lives, through the truth of His Word, and we became, as it were, the first children of His new family.
Summary
Unlike the man with the fickle, wavering faith, God is the constant source of all good gifts. His quality never flickers nor changes, and this is evident by His will for us: That we could be born again into a new family, a family that totally belongs to Him.
Comment
Be not deceived, neither about sin nor about righteousness. In 1Co. 6:9 Paul warns not to be deceived about who shall enter into the kingdom of God. He names a number of present tense sinners (i.e., sinners who continue in their sin and will not repent) who shall not inherit the kingdom. In like manner, Jas. 1:16 refers back to the way of temptation and sin that went before. But the warning also refers to the way of righteousness to follow. Man is so easily deceived about the true source of good. False reasoning, vain philosophies, poor logic, and inadequate science all lead man to think he has found the source of good in something other than the Father of lights. Thus, parents will encourage their children to prepare themselves to make money, as if money were the source of that which is good for the children. The children themselves will train themselves in the sciences of man, as if mans poor observations of things created will equip man to prepare for himself that which is good for him. In this science (mans limited observations) the children are often deceived into thinking they can find the answer to eternal questions, to the nature of God, to the beginning of the world, to the end of man, to the process of life and growth, to the source of light, to peace and understanding for man, to joy unspeakable, to glory, to hope, and to eternal life. Then in a few short years the fading body and inevitable death reveal the futility of science to answer the really important questions of life. With a wasted life, empty of good things, the disillusioned children come to the close of life empty handed of anything of permanent value. Success in accumulation of money, in politics and in social graces equally fades. How much better to receive the wisdom of God, to heed Gods warning about riches, and to know for sure by His revelation the source of all good things and all goodness.
Like a two-edged sword, Be not deceived points both ways. One edge cutting the deception of false teachers and theologians regarding the nature of God and the source of good things; another edge cutting the deception and allurement of lust and sin. So Paul uses the expression: Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Then note the two-edged warning against being deceived.) For he that soweth unto his own flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth unto the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap eternal life. (Gal. 6:7-8)
Deception is in the heart and mind, not just in the deed. Deception may result in action, but deception is itself within. The emphasis of James is upon right thinking. Wrong ideas will soon lead a man in wrong paths. Right thinking is the only basis of right living. Knowing God is not a guarantee against deception. James is here speaking to my beloved brethren. We must continually be on our guard against anything that would lead us away from implicit confidence in God. The elect of God are the subject of continual and subtle influences that would lead them astray, and many of Gods children have been devoured of the devil because they consented to be deceived for a time. To embrace, even in our hearts, the things of this world as if they were the first love, is to walk the road of deception, No wonder God warns us that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, No wonder that God warns us against seeking after the things of this world. No wonder we are warned to seek our wisdom from God.
That God is the source of every good and perfect gift is sometimes disputed. Some translation here prefer only, or nothing but for every. Every is not only the preferred translation, but is also harmonious with other Scripture regarding the goodness of God. Some may argue that science can often be the source of good things for man. If science were absolutely true and accurate, it would be nothing more than a description and application of that which God created, and then God looked upon it and said: It is good. That which is good, though it may appear to come from science, from earthly parents, from government; or from whatever source, is really from God. There is no good source except it be from God and ordained of God. To think otherwise is to be deceived.
The word perfect means complete, not sinless. The sinless nature of Gods gifts is included in the expression good gift. The completeness of Gods gift is then accentuated by the expression perfect gift. Some may point out the possibility of the perfect here being a repetition of the good gift just before, and thus perfect would seem to mean excluding sin. Of course, the thought is not objectionable, and is in complete harmony with all that God tells us about Himself. If perfect here means sinless, then this would be the one exception for the meaning of the word in the New Testament. Although the thought of sinless gift is not objectionable, it would seem the better exegesis to the Scriptural usage of the word: perfect gift=complete gift.
Father of lights is a beautiful and revealing expression concerning God. First, God can be said to be the Father of lights because he created light, and created the heavenly bodies that give light in this universe. (Genesis 1; Psa. 136:7) God is thereby the source of physical warmth, and food, and life. God is thereby the sustainer as well as the creator, for the heavenly bodies were not only created, but they continue in existence and in giving light. Second, God is the Father of lights in that He is the source of spiritual light and blessing. This is the most important light, and seems to be the significance of references to God as the light of the world. (see Psa. 36:9; Joh. 1:1; Joh. 8:12; Psa. 27:1). Third, God is the Father of lights in that He is the effulgent source of light. Light may show through the Word of God, light may be reflected in the life of the Christian, and physical light may come from the stars; but all these simply reflect the light of God, the true source. (1Jn. 1:5; Heb. 1:3).
The constancy of the Father of lights is also doubly emphasized. With whom can be no variation is in contrast with the unstable man described earlier. It may also be put in contrast with the mistaken sources of light men sometimes follow. Specifically, the noun variation refers to astronomical changes. Unlike the rising and setting of the sun (as we think of it), and unlike the waning and waxing of the moon, and possibly unlike the twinkling appearing and disappearing stars, God does not vary. His light is constant. His gifts are consistent.
The thought is further brought out in the expression neither shadow that is cast by turning. Certainly this expression is an amplification of the former. Ropes suggest that the two phrases are a single expression, as neither variation which consists of turning shadow. Either way, the thought is not altered. The moon, in its orbit about the earth, varies its light because of its turning shadow. With God, there is no such variation. Likewise, the sun is dim at sunrise, bright during the day, dim at sunset, and dark at night, because of the shadow of the turning earth. With God, this is not so. Gods omnipresent light never fails, unlike the seasons, the length of days on the earth, and the changing planets.
Educators and students alike despair in their search for that which is constant and unchanging. The shortest distance between two points is now determined not always to be a straight line, and the most stable of mathematical and scientific axioms are found to be relative and unstable. The Teddy boys of England and the Beatnics of New York are a living testimony of the lack of a solid rock on which they can build their lives and their philosophies. The search for stability is fruitless in philosophy, in mathematics, in science, in politics, and in education. But he who will build his life upon Christ Jesus; he who will put his confidence in God, this one has a solid rock on which to build. In God one finds the Ultimate, and the only ultimate. God is the answer, and the only answer. Unshaking stability, unvarying light, unchanging personality, the same yesterday, today, and forever; this is God. From His throne flows peace like a river, and there is no other source. From His heart flows the purest agape love, and there is no other source. He is the rock of ages from whom comes the truth, and there is no other source. Praises be to Him, the author of every good gift and every perfect gift.
The thought of an unchanging God who does not fluctuate in His goodness towards man is further reinforced by pointing to the greatest blessing of all that flows from Him. Man is brought forth from sin and condemnation by the Word of Truth. Man can be begotten anew, born again with a fresh, sinless start and a new living heart. In contrast to the birth of sin (Jas. 1:15), here we see the birth of life. To be brought forth implies two states: (1) that from which one comes. . . . from sin, fruitlessness, disappointment, condemnation and despair; and (2) that to which one comes . . . to life everlasting, to joy unspeakable and full of glory, to peace that passes all understanding. The Word of Truth is the gospel of Gods revelation through the instrumentality of the Holy Spirit, and through which God has ordained the world of men to be regenerated in Christ Jesus. No theory of the new birth is scriptural and accurate that does not involve the revelation of God in His word. How can they possibly be born again except they hear? To be born again by direct operation of the Holy Spirit, or by direct revelation from God, is not a Biblical idea. The Word of Truth is part of the unchanging scheme of redemption that originated with our God, who is unchanging Himself.
Further, we note that this born again scheme that offers complete goodness to man is of the will of God. The plan is His, and came from His hearts desire. Our salvation is the result of the deliberate choice of God. This plan He foreordained before the foundation of the world; and there is none other that can take a single ounce of credit for Gods wonderful plan. All that is good comes from Him, and nothing that is evil comes from Him. For this reason those who choose God on His own terms become the choicest part of the harvest, kind of like the firstfruits of the Old Testament. (See Deu. 18:4; Num. 18:12; Exo. 13:11-16) Hence of all Gods creatures, (probably referring only to man-creatures) the ones who are born again become the perfect living sacrifice offered up to God, and also become an earnest of more fruit to follow, as they testify of Christ before the world of lost men.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
CHAPTER III
RECEIVING FROM GOD
Jas. 1:16-27
Introduction
After fourteen verses of showing the Way of the Wise, James has concluded that our trials are good for us, producing steadfastnessthat true wisdom is not produced of man, but comes from God. Since this wisdom comes from God, we should listen to Gods warnings about the end of the rich man and the results of both temptation and endurance.
With this true wisdom coming from God we must know how to receive it from God. To hear what God has to say seems to be an art in itself. It is an artful expression of complete submission to His will. Receiving from God is the natural result of faith, the natural culmination of hope, and the producing of Gods kind of love in us. Whether or not we are willing to receive knowledge, instruction, and wisdom from God will make the difference in vain religion and pure religion.
All too common among people who claim Christ is the practice of examining God and telling God what to do. Men often act as if they were the judges of God, and far from receiving wisdom from God, they seem better satisfied to give of their wisdom to God. How often we have heard the expression: God could not be logical and reasonable in His action if He required man to do anything for the receiving of His grace. (Who are we to tell God what is logical and reasonable?) Or again, A loving God could not permit anyone to go to hell! (Telling God what He can or cannot do!) Or, Im as good as those old hypocrites in the church. If they are allowed into heaven, God will allow me in also! (As if we were the one who worked out the scheme of redemption from before the foundation of the world! As if we were the one who went up into heaven and brought Jesus down to be born of a woman! As if we were the one who went beyond death and brought Jesus back from the grave! Oh, how far from God man can get with his own vain philosophical reasoning. How futile are the best answers man can devise. Truly, the wisdom of man is foolishness with God; and the really wise man will receive his wisdom from God.
Outline
God the Great Giver, gives many things, and they are all good. Therefore we should listen and heed. This will result in both active service and pure religion on our part.
THE SOURCE OF ALL GOOD THINGS Jas. 1:16-18
TO LISTEN IS BETTER THAN TO SPEAK Jas. 1:19-21
LISTENING IS POINTLESS WITHOUT DOING Jas. 1:22-25
VAIN AND PURE RELIGION CONTRASTED Jas. 1:26-27
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(16) Do not err, my beloved brethren.Thus far James the Wise has declared what God is not, what qualities are alien to Him; but this is only a negative aspect of the truth, and he now would show the positivenamely, that God is the Author of all and every good. And this lesson he introduces with a caution to his brethren beloved, not to err. He is most earnest and emphatic. Be not ye deceived, however much the world may wander in delusive paths. A marked change from the dreadful tenor of the last verse is here made to bright reflections on the gifts of God; and a new incentive to endurance is found in the happy thoughts of His goodness.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
16. Do not err A solemn warning against the current doctrine of errorists, that God is the evil source of evil. Our apostle declares that God is the invariable author of good.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Be not deceived, my beloved brothers.’
He is concerned that his readers as ‘my beloved brothers’ are not ‘deceived’. The expression of deep affection stresses the importance of what he is saying. It is something that he really wants them to appreciate. He wants them to recognise that while riches are but temporary and fleeting (Jas 1:11), God’s gifts are what are truly true and permanent. And apart from wisdom as described in Jas 1:5, and the crown of life in Jas 1:12, this includes His begetting of His own people through the word of truth, which is a personal ‘begetting’ by the Father of the glorious created lights, something which contrasts powerfully with the temptations ‘born of’ Madame Desire, and the sin ‘born of’ Madame Temptation (Jas 1:15).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
All Things Come To Men Through The Unchanging Creator Including Our Begetting Through The Word of Truth. Thus Men Should Be Silent Before Him And, Rather Than Speaking Angrily And Unbefittingly, Receive The Implanted Word With Meekness. ( Jas 1:16-18 ).
But while temptation may not come from God (Jas 1:13), all good giving and every perfect gift certainly do so, something which they must not be deceived about. And this in context includes the gift of wisdom (Jas 1:5). And it also includes the gift of His word through which He has begotten us (Jas 1:18), and the gift of the sun which causes the flower of the grass to wither (Jas 1:11), and shines on the righteous and the unrighteous (Mat 5:45), for He is the Father of lights. In the light of this we should be silent before Him, listening rather than speaking, and eschewing anger which is not consonant with His working, receiving meekly His implanted word which is able to save our souls.
Analysis.
a A
b B Coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning (Jas 1:17 b).
c C Of his own will he begat us (‘brought us forth’) by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures (Jas 1:18).
c A or a You know this, my beloved brothers. And let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger, for the anger of man does not work the righteousness of God (Jas 1:19-20).
b B For which reason, putting away all filthiness and overflowing of wickedness, (Jas 1:21 a).
a C Receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls (Jas 1:21 b).
We may see this either as a chiasmus or as comparative successive verses. Treating it as a chiasmus we see that in ‘a’ all good giving and every perfect gift comes from above, and in the parallel that they are to be received meekly to the saving of the soul. In ‘b’ God is the benevolent and unchanging Father in His splendour and glory, and therefore in the parallel all that is unworthy of Him must be put away. In ‘c’ He has acted sovereignly to beget us through His word of truth, and in the parallel we should therefore listen in awe rather than mouthing off and displaying human temper, neither of which assist the word of truth.
If we see it as comparative successive verses we have references to his beloved brothers in each A together with a warning to take heed because His perfect gifts sit ill with our sinfulness. In B God is the benevolent and unchanging Father in His splendour and glory, and therefore in the parallel all that is unworthy of Him must be put away. In C He has begotten us sovereignly through His word of truth, and in the parallel we are meekly to receive that implanted word to the saving of our souls.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
God’s Fatherhood and the Obligations of Sonship.
God’s fatherhood and the acceptance of His Word:
v. 16. Do not err, my beloved brethren.
v. 17. 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.
v. 18. Of His own will begat He us with the Word of Truth, that we should be a kind of first-fruits of His creatures.
v. 19. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;
v. 20. for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
v. 21. Wherefore, lay a part all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted Word, which is able to save your souls. The first sentence serves as a transition between the two paragraphs: Make no mistake about this, my beloved brethren. It is a solemn and touching appeal which the apostle makes, since so much depends upon the proper understanding of these facts. To think that God can in any way be made responsible for sin is a thought which so strongly savors of blasphemy that all Christians must flee the very suggestion. Man alone is responsible for the evil which is found in his heart and which comes forth in the various transgressions of the divine will.
So far as God is concerned, we must always maintain: Every good gift and every perfect endowment is ever coming down from the Father of Lights, with whom there is not existing a change, nor shadow-casting of a turning. God is the Source, the Father of Lights; everything that is truly light and brings light comes from Him. There is no spiritual enlightenment nor anything that has value in a spiritual manner possible without His almighty power. The continual bestowing of good things, the ceaseless shower of spiritual endowments and blessings wherewith He blesses the hearts of men, comes down from Him. Thus He is the Author of all that is excellent and perfect. He can, therefore, not deny Himself; He cannot change His essence and properties; in His case the peculiar entering into part-shadow or loss of brilliancy as it takes place in some of the heavenly bodies is out of the question. The moon may have her phases and the sun his eclipses, but our God shines upon His spiritual children in undimmed glory, 1Jn 1:5. God’s merciful countenance is never hidden from His children, without change and interruption He causes His face to shine upon us.
Of the many splendid gifts of God the apostle names that which is highest and best: Because He willed it, He begot us through the Word of Truth, to be a kind of first-fruits among His creatures. God’s good and gracious will, according to which He wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth, we Christians have experienced. He begot us, we became His children through the Word of Truth, the Gospel, 1Pe 1:23. When the Gospel was proclaimed to us, the merciful will of God, through this means of grace, took us out of our natural, sinful life, and placed us into a new, divine life. By faith we have been regenerated, born anew, become the children of God. And one of God’s purposes in working this change in us was to have us be a kind of first-fruits among His creatures. Just as the first-fruits of every harvest in Judea were consecrated to the Lord, thus we Christians have been set apart from the sinful world to be creatures of God, in whom the image of God is being renewed, through whom God is truly honored. We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, Eph 2:10.
In view of this grace, however, of which we have become partakers, the apostle admonishes: You know that, my beloved brethren; but let every man be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of man does not promote the righteousness of God. The facts which the apostle had just laid before them were truths with which the Jewish Christians were familiar, and of whose soundness they should always assure themselves again, since upon this knowledge and understanding rested their whole Christianity. The fruit of such knowledge would be sure to follow, for a person realizing what he owes to the Word of Truth would certainly always be ready and eager to hear the Word, finding it impossible to learn too much of its glorious message. Just the opposite behavior, however, is expected of a Christian, so far as his neighbor is concerned. He should be reluctant to speak, he should hold back from saying anything in wrath. If he finds that anger is arising in his heart, he should control himself, lest his wrath get the better of his new spiritual nature and cause him to sin. For while there is a righteous indignation over sin which will cause persons in positions of authority to rebuke every form of trespass with all holy severity, it remains true of every form of wrath that it does not work and promote the righteousness of God; its outbursts do not meet with the approval of God, but rather with His condemnation, since they cannot be made to agree with His holy and righteous will.
Knowing the danger of unwarranted anger, the apostle adds the general warning: Wherefore, laying aside all foulness and excess of malice, receive in gentleness the implanted Word, which is able to save your souls. As new creatures, as children of God, the Christians have a continual battle with their old evil nature, which insists upon rearing its head and endeavoring to lead them into every form of uncleanness and sin. But foulness of every kind and manifold wickedness is incompatible with that condition of heart and mind which God expects from His children, just as is all anger and violence. The disposition of the believers rather is this, that they daily and ever again receive the implanted Word, accept anew the message of their salvation and sanctification as it is brought to them in the Gospel. The seed which has sprouted in their hearts is supposed to grow into a strong, healthy plant, and therefore it is necessary that they hear and learn the Word, which alone is able to save their souls, day after day, never growing weary of its wonderful truths. This action on the part of the believers requires meekness, gentleness, humility, because the pride of man’s heart, his self-righteousness, and his general disinclination to the way of salvation will always insist upon standing in his way. But the prize held out to the believers, the everlasting bliss in the presence of God, is of a nature to inspire them with ever new thoughts of their home above and thus to enable them to combat the attacks of their carnal nature successfully.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Jam 1:16. Do not err, &c. Or, Be not deceived.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Jas 1:16 introduces the statement which follows as one particularly important. Not only the exhortation: , but also the added address: , shows how important this observation appeared to the author. A new line of thought, unconnected with the preceding, does not indeed begin with this verse; must not therefore be considered, with Hornejus, Gebser, and others, only as the concluding formula to what goes before. Theile correctly observes: ubi antecedentia respicit, nunquam finit cohortationem, sed ita interpositum est, ut continuet ac firmet, nunc illustrando, nunc cavendo. The same formula is found in 1Co 6:9 ; 1Co 15:33 ; Gal 6:7 (similarly 1Jn 3:7 ); in all those places it precedes a thought certain to the Christian conscience, by which a preceding expression is confirmed in opposition to a false opinion: this is also the case here. Grotius inserts an entirely foreign reference when he says: hoc vult: ne putate vestrum studium sufficere sine precibus; see Luk 18:1 . There is here no reference whatever to prayer.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
DISCOURSE: 2358
GOD THE ONLY SOURCE OF ALL GOOD
Jam 1:16-17. Do not err, my beloved brethren. 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.
THERE is much evil in the world. But people are little aware from whence it proceeds. We forget that at the first creation there was no such thing as evil, either natural or moral, in the whole universe. God, it is true, could have prevented the existence of it: and so he could have prevented the existence of the world itself, which only came into being through the operation of his sovereign will and of his almighty power. It is not for us to inquire, why he permitted evil to exist. Doubtless he will ultimately be glorified in all that he has done, yea and, on the whole, in all that he has permitted, though we cannot exactly say how that glory shall accrue to him. All that we, in our present state, are called to, is, to feel and to maintain that he does all things well: that, however he may permit, he does not do evil; but that, on the contrary, all good, and nothing but good, is to be ascribed to him.
Now it is of great importance that we should, at least as far as regards ourselves, have just views of this matter, since for want of them we greatly err. So the Apostle evidently intimates in the words which we have read: from whence I will take occasion to shew,
I.
The true character of the Deity
He is here declared to be the only, and the unchanging source of all good
1.
He is the only source of all good
[The sun in the material world may properly be called the father of lights, because there is no light but what proceeds from him. The moon and stars only reflect the light which they receive from him. Thus is God to the whole creation the only source of light and life. There is no good and perfect gift, but proceeds from him. In nature, all the worlds were framed by him, and every thing in them was fitted for its peculiar use, and for the benefit of the whole. In providence, every thing is ordered with unerring wisdom to sub-serve the designs of God, and to accomplish his holy will, yea, and ultimately to further the welfare of all his chosen people In grace this appears in a still more striking point of view. Every good disposition is formed by him in the heart of man, which, without the agency of his Spirit, would continue one entire and unaltered mass of corruption through all eternity. If we either will or do any thing that is good, it is in consequence of his electing love and sovereign grace [Note: Php 2:12-13.] ]
2.
He is the unchanging source of all good
[If in the communication of good he in some respects resembles the sun, he in other respects differs widely from it. The sun, though the fittest emblem that we have of immutability in dispensing good, has yet its changes, both annual and diurnal, and at different seasons of the day and year, casts its shadows in a widely different form, according to the quarter in which it shines, and to its position in our hemisphere, as more vertical or horizontal. But not so Jehovah, the Father of all heavenly lights. There are no changes with him [Note: Mal 3:6.]. With him is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. To his believing people he is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever [Note: Heb 13:5; Heb 13:8.]. True, his light may be intercepted by a cloud: but he himself remains the same: and let only the cloud be dispelled, and he will shine as bright as ever on the believing soul ]
Now that you may see how important this view of the Deity is, I beg you to notice,
II.
The errors we run into for want of duly adverting to it
We err exceedingly,
1.
In a way of self-vindication
[This is the precise point to which St. James directs our attention. After saying, Let no man say, when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil; neither tempteth he any man: but every man, when he is tempted, is drawn away of his own lust and enticed; he adds, Do not err, my beloved brethren. 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: Evil is from yourselves, and from yourselves alone: good, and only good, is from God.
Now you cannot but know, that, like our first parents, we are ever ready to exculpate ourselves, and to cast the blame of our sins, either on the tempters that led us to them, or on the propensities which God himself has implanted in us. But in both of these cases we do, in fact, cast the blame on God, as either immediately or remotely the cause of the evils we commit. But beware of all excuses, be they what they may. The fault is all your own, and nothing but humiliation and contrition will become you to the latest hour of your lives If ever you perish, you will have none but yourselves to blame.]
2.
In a way of self-dependence
[We are ever prone to look for some good in ourselves, instead of seeking all good from God alone. But it is in vain to rely on any wisdom of our own to guide us, or strength of our own to support us, or righteousness of our own to justify us. Satan himself may as well look for these things in himself as we: and it is on this account that God has been pleased to treasure up in his dear Son a fulness of them, that we may receive them all from him from day to day, and from hour to hour. Know ye this, that in yourselves ye are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked; and from Christ alone can ye ever receive raiment to cover you, or gold to enrich you, or the eye-salve that shall administer healing to your organs of vision. All your fresh springs must be in God, even in God alone ]
3.
In a way of self-applause
[We are no less prone to take to ourselves credit from what is good, than to shift off from ourselves blame in what is evil. But if we differ from others or from our former selves, who is it that has made us to differ? or what have we that we have not received from God himself? As well might the earth boast of its fertility independently of the sun, whose genial rays have called it forth, as we arrogate to ourselves honour on account of any good that we have ever done. If you would see what the earth would be independent of the sun, go to the polar regions in the depth of winter. And, if you would see what you yourselves would be independent of God, go down to that place where God never comes by the operations of his grace, and where the damned spirits are left without controul. If there be any good in you, it is from Christ that you have received it: for without him you could do nothing. If you have attained to any thing more than ordinary, you must say, He that hath wrought me to the self-same thing is God. Even if you equalled the Apostle Paul in holiness, you must say, By the grace of God I am what I am; and in reference to every individual act, It was not I, but the grace of God that was with me [Note: 1Co 15:10.].]
Application
Do not err then, my beloved brethren
[Be aware of your tendencies; and remember how to correct them. You never can err in taking shame to yourselves: nor can you ever err in giving glory to God. But if you arrogate any thing to yourselves, you will rob God: and, in robbing him, you will eventually, and to your utter ruin, rob yourselves.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Do not err, my beloved brethren. (17) 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. (18) Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. (19) Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: (20) For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. (21) Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
That Christ is the good and perfect gift here spoken of that cometh from above, and from the Father of lights, is evident; because He is himself, all that is good and perfect, and Comprehends in his Person as God-Man, every other. Having Christ, we have with him, his gifts and graces. Nevertheless, it is not the gifts and graces, but Christ, which is the one good and perfect gift; yea, everyone included in Him, which cometh from above. And how sweet and precious is the thought, that He is in himself, without variableness or shadow of turning. Both the Giver, and the Gift, and He who gives the people grace, richly to enjoy all. Reader! pause at this place. I ask the question, but do not decide. Is not Christ, as Christ the Father’s gift? Joh 3:16 . And hath he not given this gift to the Church, to have, and to hold forever? Isa 54:10 . Is not Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever? Heb 13:8 . And who is it, that by His own will, begat the Church to be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures, but God the Holy Ghost, when by regeneration the Lord first brings the child of God, by the new birth, to the knowledge of his high privilege of this good and perfect gift, Christ? 2Pe 1:3-4 ; Eph 1:9 . What can more blessedly manifest, the love and grace, of the Holy Three in One, towards the highly favoured objects of the chosen in Christ, than such demonstrations, of the personal and distinct acts towards them? If it be the Spirit’s own will, in begetting the Church from the Adam-nature of the fall; is not the Lord the Spirit, the first predisposing cause, in bringing from death to life, the chosen, and the redeemed of the Lord, to the knowledge and enjoyment of their privileges? Surely He is the efficient cause, and his will his good pleasure. And the very object intended from it, namely, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures; the sweet and blessed design, of the new birth in regeneration.
I see no reason to dwell in the use of arguments, to enforce the blessed consequences, which the Apostle hath so persuasively added; as the immediate result of having been so begotten. Where the Spirit dwells, and the work of regeneration is wrought; divine teaching, and divine influences, will be sure to accompany that teaching. Swiftness to hear the Lord’s words; slowness to speak our own; receiving with meekness the engrafted word, with all the gracious accompaniments, will follow. It may be said of the Lord’s redeemed ones now, as it was taught the Baptist of old, the way by which he should know Christ; in humble comparison to the same standard, upon whom the Spirit descends and remains; the same is he that is born of God, Joh 1:33 . God’s work is a sure work. And God, in the new birth, forms the new creature, after the image of him that created him, Col 3:10 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
16 Do not err, my beloved brethren.
Ver. 16. Do not err ] Wander not, as wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever, Jdg 1:13 , by seeking to father your faults upon God, as Adam did, Gen 3:12 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
16 18 .] The idea that God tempts to sin has been as yet only negatively contradicted. But so far is it from this being so, that He is the Author of all good .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
16 .] Do not err (some have ended the paragraph with these words: some have begun a new one. But Theile (in Huther) rightly remarks of this formula, “Ubi antecedentia respicit, nunquam finit cohortationem, sed ita interpositum est, ut continuet et firmet, nunc illustrando, nunc cavendo.” It occurs in reff.: see also 1Jn 3:7 ( ). Still we must not take Theile’s further exposition, “Nolite in alterum errorem abstrahi, ut nempe bona quoque a summo numine abjudicetis:” for this does not lie in the context), my beloved brethren (both this earnest address, and the caution, shew how important the Writer feels this to be, which he is about to enunciate):
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Do not err = Be not deceived.
beloved. App-135.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
16-18.] The idea that God tempts to sin has been as yet only negatively contradicted. But so far is it from this being so, that He is the Author of all good.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Jam 1:16. [10] , do not err) It is a great error to attribute to God the evils which we receive, and not the goods. It is the part of love, to lead us away from this error. A faithful admonition. Comp. ch. Jam 5:19.
[10] is the reading of the Alexandr. and the Lat. Vers. This one example will show that I do not attribute too much weight to the agreement of these two, when unsupported by other evidence; for I have not wished to indicate this various reading in the margin of the text.
Vulg. has Nolite itaque errare.-E.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Jas 1:16-17
GOD THE SOURCE OF ALL GOOD
Jas 1:16-17
16 Be not deceived, my beloved brethren.-The words of this verse are closely related in thought, and should be considered with the section immediately preceding. Those to whom James wrote, identified here as his “beloved brethren,” are not to allow themselves to be deceived into thinking that God originates temptation and sin in them and thus separation from him. To subscribe to such a view is to be deceived, (planasthe, literally, to wander about, to stray from the right course). Figuratively used in this instance, it is an injunction designed to keep the brethren from allowing their minds to be led away from the truth and into a sphere of thinking which would blame God for their conduct! The words, “be not deceived,” are of frequent occurrence in the New Testament. (1Co 6:9; 1Co 15:33; Gal 6:7.) Satan labors diligently to deceive the saints about sin, and he seeks to accomplish his purpose by inducing them to abandon the stable principles of the Word of Truth anchored in their minds, and to wander away from them. (2Co 4:4; Rom 1:27; Eph 4:4; Col 3:5.) Satan successfully seduces people when he prompts them to abandon the principles of Christianity for the philosophies of men ; and many an unwary soul has been lost to the cause of Christ under the pretext of a search for truth. Ve should, of course, be ever ready to accept truth wherever found ; but we should never forget that any philosophy which is opposed to the teaching of the Scriptures is vicious and false and will, if accepted, plunge its dupes into destruction and perdition. Paul declared that all of “the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” are hidden in Christ, and he warns us not to be deluded with “persuasiveness of speech” originating in the wisdom, philosophy and tradition of men. (Col 2:1-9.)
The warning issued by James is to his “beloved brethren.” The mere fact that one is in Christ does not create immunity to deception and delusion. Were Satan able to convince the saints that God is the author of sin in them, his work would thenceforth be easy and multitudes would slide unsuspectingly into his snare. There are more than twenty-five hundred ‘Warnings to the saints of the possibility of apostasy in the Scriptures. One can scarcely open the pages of the Bible without having the eyes fall upon some such injunction as the following: “Take heed, brethren, lest haply there shall be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief in falling away from the living God : but exhort one another day by day, so long as it is called Today; lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” (Heb 3:12-13.) Satan deceived and deluded Eve through his subtlety, and thus thrust the human family into speakable misery (2Co 11:2); and he has, through the ages, continued this device to entrap the saints (2Co 2:11).
James regarded those to whom he wrote as “beloved brethren,” (adelphoi, from “a” copulative, and “delphos,” from the same womb). Here, the term denotes fellow-believers united to others by a bond of affection, of Christians constituting a single family. (Thayer.) From its literal significance of male members of the same family and with a common parentage, it has come to mean, metaphorically, those with the same ancestry spiritually, and is thus descriptive of all those who are with us in Christ, whatever their national and racial origins. It is a term of affection, denoting that close relationship which obtains between those of the same family. With God as our Father, and Christ as our elder brother, all who have obeyed the gospel sustain this relationship. Being brothers, we should conduct ourselves accordingly, bearing one another’s burdens and so fulfilling the law of Christ. (Gal 6:2.) Wholly foreign to this relationship is that disposition of mind and heart which prompts brethren to bite and devour one another (Gal 5:13-15.) “If we live by the Spirit, by the Spirit let us also walk. Let us not become vainglorious, provoking one another, envying one another.” (Gal 5:25-26.) “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer ; and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.” (1Jn 3:14-15.)
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,—It will be observed that the noun gift occurs twice in this clause; and though both of the Greek words thus translated derive from the same original verb (didomi, to give), they differ in form, in spelling, and in meaning. In the phrase, “every good gift,” the word is dosis, signifying the act of giving; in the phrase, “every perfect gift,” the word is dorema, indicating the result of the act of giving, that is, the gift itself. The word “good,” modifying gift, in the first part of the clause, is predicative in nature, and points to the fact that all giving is good; and the adjective “perfect” modifying gift in the second instance, (every perfect gift), emphasizes the fullness, the completeness of that which is given. Of course, the two ideas are closely related. The gift is complete because of the goodness of the giver. The motive which prompts liberality, on the part of men, may be good, but there must be lacking, in the nature of the case, the wholeness, the completeness and the thoroughness of the gift which God bestows.
Such giving and gifts as are those described above, come “from above,” that is, from heaven. (Jas 3:15; Joh 3:31; Joh 19:11.) What is meant is that the motive which prompts such giving, as well as the gifts themselves, originate, not with men who can never approach such high ideals in giving, but with God who is in heaven. The Greek word translated “from above,” in our text, is the same as that occurring in Joh 3:3, where Jesus told Nicodemus that he must be born “anew,” (anothen, margin, “from above”). All that is good ultimately derives from God, the inexhaustible source of all blessing. For this fact we should ever be grateful; and we should express and exhibit our gratitude in word and in deed daily. Many people never pause to express thanks for the bounties which they regularly receive from God’s hand. Like pigs, they eat their food, never lifting their eyes to the tree from which the acorns fall I A father, in the presence of his family, boasted that he offered thanks for their food every Christmas day. It is for them quite fortunate that God does not forget to feed them except on “Christmas day!”
The words, “every good gift and every perfect gift,” of our text, translate a phrase which, in Greek, forms a hexameter line with a short syllable lengthened, and this has led to the supposition that this is a brief quotation from some ancient poem or early song. Brief quotations from such sources are not unknown in the New Testament. (Tit 1:2; 1Co 15:33 ; Act 17:28.) No original source can be cited for the line which appears here, and it may simply be accidental that this particular cadence occurs. Whether it is a quotation from some ancient source not now known to us, or is an accidental metrical line is not important. In either instance, the Holy Spirit selected the words (1Co 2:13), when penned by James, and they thus became a part of the inspired deposit of truth, whatever their former usage.
coming down from the Father of lights,—This statement is to be construed with the word anothen (from above), which it explains and expands. Good giving and good gifts that are complete and perfect are from above ; they come down to us from their divine source. Again, emphasis is given to the fact that the truly valuable things available to men are not of the earth; they do not find their origin on earth, but descend (katabaino) from him who is in heaven. Inasmuch as all good things from him come down, surely simple gratitude suggests that we send up our thanks.
Him from whom they issue is described as “the Father of lights.” “Lights,” in the text, refers to the heavenly bodies-the sun, the moon and the stars-which provide light for us. God is styled the Father of these heavenly bodies because he is the ultimate source of them. The word “father,” in the sense of creator, is by no means unknown in the sacred writings. (Job 38:24; 2Co 1:3; Eph 1:17.) While it appears that the best exegesis regards this statement (the Father of lights) as literal, the lesson intended goes beyond the reference to literal lights in the skies and embraces all light, light both literal and figurative. God is of course, the originator of lights and light. As he produced the heavenly bodies by a wave of his omnipotent hand, so he also originates and freely bestows upon his children every perfect gift. From whatever source blessing may appear, it must ultimately be traced to him.
“Back of the loaf is the snowy flour
And back of the flour is the mill ;
And back of the mill is the wheat and the shower,
And the sun and the Father’s will.”
God is light and in him “there is no darkness at all.” (1Jn 1:5.) Because God, whom man cannot see, made the lights and men can see them, some yield to the temptation to forget God and reverence the creation instead of the Creator. Through the centuries men have often paid homage to the handiwork of God in the heavens rather than to him. They have worshipped nature rather than the Creator of nature. This is sinful in the highest degree. “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2Co 4:18.) The things which abide are not those material matters of the earth which may be seen with the natural eye; such matters perish with the using, and must eventually suffer the dissolution which awaits all worldly things. Our interests should be centered in the things which cannot be shaken and which will remain intact amid the crash of dissolving worlds at the last day.
with whom can be no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning.-Continuing his illustration of the “lights” of which God is Father (creator), Jam es asserts that ( 1) there is no variation nor (2) shadow cast by turning with God, as appears to be characteristic of these “lights” (heavenly bodies). In this respect, God differs greatly from them. With him, there is no “variation” ( parallage, a word signifying the change, in position, from hour to hour, through which the sun appears to pass in its relationship to the earth). God does not reflect such variations in his dealing with us. Though the celestial bodies alter their relation to the earth, and the changes appear from day to day and from season to season, no such variation in God is noted ; he is ever constant and unvarying in his attitude toward us, and in his bestowal of good gifts upon us. “For I, Jehovah, change not. … ” (Mal 3:6.)
Nor is there “shadow that is cast by turning” with him. The word translated “turning” here, is used in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint Version), in Job 38:33 and Deu 33:14, for the changes which appear in the relative positions of the heavenly bodies. It is as if James were saying: The phenomena of nature are, of necessity, changeable; the phenoniena of God are unchangeable. All material things are mutable; God is immutable. Though the lights of the heavens change with the hours and the seasons, he who created them changes not. It must therefore follow that only that which is good can originate with him, and he can never be the occasion of placing temptation and sin in the path of his creatures. (Verses 13-15.)
Two wonderful truths are thus affirmed of God in this section : ( 1) There is no admixture of evil in the goodness which he bestows; (2) no obscuring shadow ever falls over him, hiding his goodness. He is ever at the zenith ; he occupies the position of the sun at high noon in the steadying and unvarying light with which he shines so benignly upon the race. It is therefore beyond belief that such a one as thus described could ever lead those who are in his image astray.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Do: Mat 22:29, Mar 12:24, Mar 12:27, Gal 6:7, Col 2:4, Col 2:8, 2Ti 2:18
my: Jam 1:19, Jam 2:5, Phi 2:12, Phi 4:1, Heb 13:1
Reciprocal: Exo 31:6 – wise hearted Exo 35:34 – he hath 2Ch 9:23 – God Ezr 1:5 – whose spirit Neh 2:12 – my God Neh 7:5 – put into mine Psa 10:17 – thou wilt prepare Pro 16:1 – preparations Jer 31:18 – turn Mat 13:11 – Because Mar 4:11 – Unto you Luk 8:15 – in an Luk 15:17 – when Joh 6:65 – that no Act 11:18 – granted Act 16:14 – whose Act 18:27 – believed Rom 3:12 – there is none Eph 2:8 – that Phi 1:6 – begun Phi 2:13 – God Col 2:12 – the faith 1Th 1:5 – but 2Th 2:10 – they received 2Th 3:5 – the Lord
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jas 1:16. In the preceding two verses the writer draws an illustration from the natural process of reproduction. In this and the following verse he makes one out of the motions of the heavenly bodies. Err is from the Greek word PLANAO, and it is the verb form of a noun in the same class which is “planet,” coming from the Greek word PLANATE% which Jud 1:13 uses where he speaks of “wandering stars.” Since these planets or stars were believed to wander from side to side, their action was adopted into language to describe men who stray from the straight path. The verse means that Christians should not imitate the action of those planets here translated by the word err.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jas 1:16. Do not erra common Pauline expression, elsewhere always translated, Be not deceived. Here it refers rather to what precedes than to what follows. Be not deceived in this matter, in supposing that temptation to evil comes from God.
my beloved brethren, strengthening the exhortation.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
As if he had said, “Be not deceived about the causes of good and evil; sin and death are certainly from ourselves. Let us therefore never ascribe either our sins or our temptations unto God: but every good and perfecting gift is of God’s free donation and grace, even from above, from the Father of lights, (both of the light of nature, and the light of grace), with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning from good to evil; he is unchangeable in his nature and being, and in his attributes and properties.”
Learn hence, 1. That we are very prone to err in our notions and apprehensions, as touching the authors of good and evil; too ready to conclude either God or Satan to be the author of the sin we commit, and ourselves the authors of the good we do: Do not err my beloved brethren, in this matter.
Learn, 2. That as sin, which is nothing but evil and imperfection, is not from God, but wholly from ourselves, and our own corrupt hearts; so whatever is good, perfect, or praiseworthy, is wholly from God, and not from ourselves; we are neither by nature inclined to that which is good, nor are we able of ourselves to perform it; both inclination and ability are from God, who is the fountain of goodness and perfection, and can never cease to be so, for with him is no variableness, nor shadow of turning.
Learn, 3. That God being the infinite Father of lights, he hath no eclipses or decreases, no shadows or mixtures of darkness, but always shines with a settled and constant brightness, always is, and was, and to all eternity will be, immutably the same, and never undergo the least change, either of his essence and being, or of his properties and perfections: With whom is no variableness, nor shadow of turning.
As nothing argues greater imperfection than inconstancy and change, so the greater and more glorious the divine perfections are, the greater blemish and imperfection would mutability be; were God changeable, it would darken all his other perfections, and raise the foundation of all religion; for who could either fear or love, trust or serve that being who is fickle and inconstant! What security could there be in his promises? And who would regard the terror of his threatenings, were he not invariable, and without shadow of changing.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
God Is The Source Of Good
Our own lust yields temptation which gives birth to sin and death. God causes men to be born of the truth ( Jas 1:18 ). Rather than being the source of temptation, God is the one who has begotten us unto a living hope ( 1Pe 1:3 ). The new birth is spoken of repeatedly in the New Testament ( Joh 1:12-13 ; Joh 3:1-8 ; 1Co 4:14 ; Tit 2:5 ; 1Pe 1:23 ; 1Jn 2:29 ; 1Jn 3:9 ; 1Jn 4:7-8 ; 1Jn 5:1 ; 1Jn 5:4 ). It does not come about because of good works we do to merit an entrance into heaven. Instead, it is produced by the washing of the new birth, as Paul told Titus.
James describes Christians as being brought forth, like a baby being born, by the word of truth, or the gospel. “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise” ( Eph 1:13 ; Col 1:5-6 ). The very fact that these first century brethren were born to be “firstfruits” indicates that God expected many more to follow ( Lev 23:10 ; Deu 26:2 ). The sacrifice of the firstfruits was made in expectation of a good harvest to follow. It was a means of consecrating all of the harvest ( Rom 11:16 ).
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
Jas 1:16-17. Do not err, &c. By supposing that God is the author of sin, or that any thing which is sinful in the heart or conduct of man can, with truth, be ascribed to him: as well might darkness and coldness be attributed to the sun. It is indeed a grievous error to ascribe the evil, and not the good, which we receive, to God. No evil, but every good gift Of every kind: whatever is beautiful, excellent, and good in any creature in the universe; all the members and senses of our bodies, and all our temporal blessings; and every perfect gift Every gift of truth and grace, whatever tends to holiness and happiness here or hereafter; is from above From heaven, not from earth, much less from hell; and cometh down from the Father of lights Whether material or spiritual, in the kingdom of grace and glory; the author of all truth, knowledge, wisdom, holiness, and happiness. The appellation of Father is here used with peculiar propriety. It follows in the next verse, he begat us. With whom is no variableness In his understanding; or shadow of turning In his will; but he is immutably wise and good, holy and happy. He infallibly discerns all good and evil, and invariably loves the one and hates the other. There is in both the Greek words here used a metaphor taken from the heavenly bodies, particularly proper, where the Father of lights is mentioned; both words are applicable to any celestial body which has a daily vicissitude of day and night, and sometimes longer days, sometimes longer nights. In God is nothing of this kind. He is mere light. If there be any such vicissitude in us, it is from ourselves, not from him. Will he give us holy desires at one time, and evil inclinations at another? No: he always gives us what is good, and nothing but good. It is blasphemous, therefore, as well as absurd, to suppose that God either tempts or constrains men to sin, on purpose that he may have a pretence for making them miserable. Some are of opinion that in the word , translated variableness, there is an allusion to the parallaxes of the heavenly bodies. But as these were not known to the common people, the apostle, in a letter addressed to them, would hardly introduce a reference to such things. Macknight.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
ARGUMENT 3
PARALLAX
16, 17. Here the Apostle warns us against deceivers who oppose the truth he here reveals in the two works of grace, regeneration for the sinner, and sanctification for the Christian. He here certifies that two gifts come down from God out of heaven, i.e., the good, regeneration, and the perfect, sanctification. With whom there is no parallax nor shadow of change. Parallax is the angle which a planet makes with the sun. The argument here is that we should have no parallax with the glorious Sun of Righteousness. You all know that your shadow lengthens as you advance from the equator to the poles. It is significantly true in the spiritual as well as in the physical world. North pole churches are the blight of Christianity in the present age of secular ecclesiasticism. God wants us all to live under the equator, where we cast no shadow; as your shadow is simply the measure of your distance from God. O, the long shadows, cast by the popular churches. They rival each other with the high steeple, whose long shadow is the measure of their own condemnation. In equatorial latitudes flowers never fade, fruits never fail, winter never comes and summer ever lasts. So long as you cast any shadow with God, you are not ready to meet Him. Complete consecration puts you in line with God, and forever obliterates your shadow. Sanctification comes spontaneously, responsive to simple faith, when you are entirely consecrated. While out on the college campus on a beautiful, moonless, starlit night, observing the heavenly bodies with a telescope, responsive to my request to see the planet Jupiter, the professor continued to move the telescope hither and thither, exploring the celestial vaults, when suddenly a flood of light sweeps down. Behold, that beautiful and majestic planet, fourteen hundred times as large as this world, encircled with majestic belts, and traversed by brilliant satellites, suddenly burst upon an enraptured vision. Even so, the moment you get in line with God His light shines through you, dissipating forever all your doubt about the witness of the Spirit.
18… That we should become first fruit of His creatures. Throughout the Bible the millennium is contemplated as the heavenly harvest. Satans long, dark night followed the eclipse of Edens bright day, destined in due time to be superseded by the glorious millennium Sabbath. Rom 13:12. During this dreary, dark night of Satans reign and hells harvest, the saved have been few. Luk 13:23. The millennium will be earths glorious, heavenly harvest, of which the few who are plucked as brands from the burning, during these dark centuries, are but the first fruits.
19. James is a wonderfully practical preacher, elucidating every ramification of domestic as well as public life. Empty talk has been a snare to millions. Many people fall into idle gossip, and soon talk their religion all away. We should all do more infinitely more thinking than talking. Ten minutes five in prayer and five in religious conversation is ample time for a pastoral visit. Many preachers backslide, and cause their members to backslide, by unprofitable conversation.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 16
Do not err; in supposing that you can shield yourselves from responsibility for sin, by pleading the power of outward temptations.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
Mr. D’s Notes on James
Jam 1:16-20
Do not err, my beloved brethren.
Do not err is a passive indicating that some outside influence is causing the person to err. This influence would be the effects of the sin mentioned in the previous context.
James shows his great love for the brethren as well as his concern for their safety in truth. The love of James for these that he probably did not know all that well is of interest. What an example we have for ourselves in our own society.
I think this short verse actually relates to the last lesson, where we spoke of the mind taking us into sin. He does not want the believers to wander off into sin. The term translated err is the idea of wander or going astray. This added to the passive would indicate he didn’t want the folks to fall into sin and wander away from the Lord, due to its appealing effects and appearance.
The term used for beloved is a form of the self-sacrificing love, agape. James has a real love for the brothers in Christ. It is not a phony, surface love that wishes them a good day, but a love that moves him to concern for their safety and well being.
Don’t hold your breath for this sort of love in your church. If you find it among the brethren, see to it that you encourage them in it and don’t let it falter. If you do not, maybe you are the seed that God has planted in that barren wasteland – you need to begin to grow and mature, go to seed and spread.
When I was a very new Christian sprouting my interpretive wings, I did a study on “outer darkness” and came to some grand conclusions all on my own. I mentioned them to our pastor and he turned red in the face and said, “Oh, that is just Catholicism!” and stormed off.
I mentioned this to an older man in our church and he suggested that we go over to his house and look at one of his commentaries. We went over and he let me read a couple paragraphs from the commentary which opened my foggy eyes to the fact that there was much more to consider than the few passages I had studied. While there, we had coffee, and a snack. Over time this couple became very dear to us in our spiritual lives as well as good friends.
This is the type of love that we need among the brethren, not the lack of love that the pastor showed to me. In the pastor’s defense I must admit he was a great teacher, and he was one of the most consistent men that I have met in my spiritual walk with the Lord.
Fuente: Mr. D’s Notes on Selected New Testament Books by Stanley Derickson
1:16 {13} Do not err, my beloved brethren.
(13) Another reason taken from opposites: God is the author of all goodness, and so, since he is always like himself; how then can he be thought to be the author of evil?
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
4. The goodness of God 1:16-18
James now defended God before those who doubted His goodness or reliability or who had given up hope in a time of testing and had concluded that this was their "fate." [Note: Martin, p. 39.] The theological term for a vindication of God’s character is "theodicy."
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
James wanted his readers to have no doubt about God’s purposes and methods in dealing with them, His children. The same "Do not be deceived" expression occurs in 1Co 6:9; 1Co 15:33; Gal 6:7; and 1Jn 3:7. God definitely is not the author of temptation.
When God commanded Abraham to offer Isaac as a human sacrifice (Gen 22:2), it only appeared to Abraham that God was tempting him to commit murder. God prevented him from slaying his son (Gen 22:12). This was a test of Abraham’s obedience, not a solicitation to sin.
James clarified God’s purposes and methods in the following two verses (cf. Gal 4:7). Jas 1:15 warns against yielding to temptation by reminding us of the judgment of God, and Jas 1:17 warns us by reminding us of the goodness of God.