Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren!
These are the opening words of today’s text in James chapter 1:16. As I worked through this text over and over this week both to memorize it and to understand it, I realized that James speaks of being deceived three times here in the last part of this chapter. In fact, helping his readers to avoid deception appears to be the core purpose of this entire passage.
Last week James told us how to handle trials and temptations. This week we see how to avoid being deceived.
Let me share just a quick technical note here. In English you read the word “deceived” in verse 16, 22, and 26. In Greek there are actually three different words in the text. James has a rich vocabulary and he likes to be nuanced as he writes.
Verse 16 has the word “planao” which means deceived by being lead astray.
Verse 22 has the word “paralogidzomia” which means deceived by reasoning falsely, or thinking contrary to reason.
Verse 26 has the word “apatao” which means to deceive by cheating or giving a distorted impression.
James writes simple ideas but he doesn’t use simple words. It looks a lot more academic in Greek than it does in English.
With “avoiding deception” as the framework and purpose of the passage, let’s notice how the content helps us with this.
Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren!
These words follow on the heels of what he says about temptation, desire and sin. (vs. 14-15). One of the most powerful works of the devil is deception. From the beginning in the garden of Eden, Satan has worked deception through what? Lying words. He lies about God, about us, about everything. Satan is not simply our accuser, he is the master of deception and lies. Hebrews 3:13 commands us to encourage one another daily so that we will not be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
Deceit is terribly prevalent and constant in this world, from the fall until today. Think of it. What are some deceiving things that you encounter on a daily basis? What lies are being whispered to you? If you hear a lie enough times it begins to sound believable, doesn’t it? Look at so called “same sex marriage” today and just think about all the obstacles that it had to overcome to become law in places like Alabama. And how did that happen? Through persistant deception, false reasoning and cheating by giving a distorted impression. All the things James warns against right here in this section of his letter.
Listen, deception is powerful, especially when the word of God is not heard carefully, accepted humbly, and practiced religiously. By the way, those three things, are the tools the Bible here gives us by which we may avoid deception and find truth and God’s blessings.
(Quote verses 16-27) Do try this at home!
Those are twelve potent verses of scripture! Amen?
What is written here is an echo of God’s word throughout the entire Bible. Here in concise, simple statements, James has gathered the accumulated wisdom of the Old and New Testaments to give us commands and applications that are too clear to miss and rich with promise.
Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren… How?
First, look up! Recognize where everything good and perfect comes from. They come from above, from God the Father. Remember that God hasn’t and won’t change. He will always be the source of everything good. He is, to be sure, the ONLY source of all things good and perfect. There is no other place to go to get good and perfect gifts. Don’t be deceived about that! You think you can get good stuff elsewhere? NOT! Then verse 18 is a bit more complex. God willingly gave us birth through the word of truth so that we have become a kind of first fruits of His creation.
To help us understand this statement, turn to 1 Peter 1:22-2:3. Peter gives us an explanation using the same kind of language. This birth that James is talking about is the new birth in Christ that we receive when we hear the gospel and respond in obedient faith. In John 3 Jesus describes a new birth of water and the Spirit that ushers us into the kingdom of God. Jesus also speaks of the sower who sows the seed which is the word of God and when it falls into good soil it grows up to produce fruit. Paul says in Romans 1:16 “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God for salvation to all who believe, to the Jew first and also the Greek.” This word of truth is the word of God.
When we are born again into Christ, we become new creatures in Him with new life. Now the word of God becomes our nourishment and guide for life in Him. So we need to be ready listeners to God’s word, as he says in verse 19 swift to hear, slow to speak and slow to become angry. Our anger will not produce God’s righteousness. Neither will moral filth or other wickedness. In fact, these will lead us into deception and destruction instead of blessing and salvation.
James echoes Colossians 3, fix your mind on things above, take off all things evil, put on Christ. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly! James says, Humbly or meekly receive the word planted in you which can save your souls.
How do we avoid deception? Know where all good things come from and know that we have received birth and salvation through the word of God and now need to rid our lives of whatever resists or distracts us from that word. We need to be quick to hear it readily. And willing to shed whatever will not produce its fruit.
Think of this with me. What do you find yourself anxiously looking for? What do you treasure in your heart?
Listen. The deceived heart longs for the things of the flesh and not the things of the Spirit. The deceived heart hurries to get things that are carnal and temporal, but is slow to look for things eternal. Why? Because the deceived heart values the things of this world more than the things of God. Jeremiah 17:9-10 tells us: The heart is deceptive above all things and desperately wicked, who can know it? I the Lord search the heart and test the mind to give to each man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.
Only by the work of God through His word can we overcome our own deceptive hearts and fleshly desires.
James’ words are so needful for us. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers and sisters! The good stuff is not from here!!! The good, the perfect gifts are not found coming from this world. No! Those things a passing away! The deceived heart loves the world and all its entrapments. Create in us clean hearts O God! Renew a willing Spirit within us!
Is it not true that our hearts easily believe the lies that tell us that the world satisfies us? Do not our hearts become easily entangled in the deceptive glitter of the world’s gold and enamored and distracted by the pleasures of sin? Is your heart affected by sin’s deception? How serious is that?
Skip with me to James 4:1-10 and see if this doesn’t begin to clear things up. Here we read of the spiritual medicine needed to help a deceived heart.
(read). Is that helpful?
How do we avoid deception? Look up and believe that God is telling you the truth. What He offers is better than what this world offers, whither I FEEL LIKE IT OR NOT. Whether my heart likes it or not. Whether I want it or not. It takes a while for my wants and desires to line up with God’s wants and desires, and that starts to happen when I engross myself in His word. That also begins to fade when I turn my attention to the lies of the world around me.
What does James tell us to do? Get rid of wrath, get rid of excuses, get rid of moral filth, get rid of wickedness, get on your face before God and humbly receive the word planted in you which can save your souls.
Step one out of deception is listening to God’s word and letting it into my heart. Hearing it readily, receiving it humbly, while ridding my life of whatever stands in God’s way.
Step two is obeying religiously. Practice the word. Doing the word. Here I say obeying religiously because pure religion is where James ends this chapter.
Verse 22 the word for doer is the word “poiatas.” We get our word poet from it. A poet of the word here is not one that changes the words but one that lives them out in obedient action as God speaks them.
But look at this verse again. The last two words in this verse are these: “deceiving yourselves.” This describes the person who hears God’s word but does not put it into practice, does not religiously obey them. In fact, this person will forget what he or she hears very soon afterward because that is what happens to us when we don’t do it. We forget it.
How does that strike you? Let’s be honest here. How much of what I say from the scripture will you actually remember after lunch today? Forgetful hearing is way too easy! Is it not?
How much scripture do you get on a daily basis that you remember? One of the reasons I want to challenge us to memorize James together is so we can do step one: hear the word readily and receive it humbly. But I know that step two is what will really drive it all home and make it stick! Obeying religiously! When you do it, you will remember it.
I hear, I forget. I hear and I do, and I remember. Doing the word is the way to remember the word. Doing God’s word religiously reminds us of what we have been hearing! Stop doing and you will forget. It is a kind of poetizing God’s word.
By the way, you “poetize” the word through your confession as well as your actions. Colossians 3 helps us here. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, How? As you speak and admonish one another. Whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
Finally, James ends here: Do you think you are religious? James tells us that if you don’t control your tongue you deceive yourself and your religion is… guess what? Worthless. How much worth? Nada. Yeah, poetizing is also speaking it and doing it. Pure religion that God accepts is caring for orphans and widows in their afflictions AND keeping myself unspotted from the world.
Doing the word is gathering shoes for orphans in Africa. Doing the word is bringing food to members who are dealing with sickness or death. Doing the word is confessing the name of Jesus Christ to one another and to those who are lost.
Do not be deceived, hear the word readily, receive it humbly, do it religiously. Turn away from worldliness and turn to the righteousness of Christ.
