Do not be deceived
So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession. James 1:16-18 NLT
God wanted that His character be developed in His children because of their faith in Him. But there are times that what God desires to develop in us does not happen because we still continue to insist on our ways. This is why instead of blaming God when temptations come to our lives that lead us to sin, James says “So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters.” God is not connected to the temptations that come our way. God is responsible to “whatever is good and perfect” gift that comes to us. He is responsible to all the good things that happen to us because He “created all the lights in the heavens.” There is no shade of impurity in God for this is in opposition to His nature of holiness, goodness and truth. God is consistently good and pure in His character for “He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.” It is by His Word, the gospel that we experience new birth. “So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ” (Romans 10:17). Because of our relationship with God, He provides us all the resources that we need so we can stand against the deception of sin and live godly lives. “By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence” (2 Peter 1:3). Having the new life in Christ and being new creatures does not mean we are beyond the possibility of sin. That can only happen when we come in eternal glory! But what James is telling us from the text is that in Christ the grip of sin is broken to the point that it no longer dominates our lives. Be grateful to God when you see the evidences of His working as you win the battle over sin. Let us ask Him to continue to provide us His grace and wisdom so that we will not be deceived in committing sin.
Blessings,
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