atpollard
Well-Known Member
James 1:12-25 [ESV]
12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 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.
19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
It is no wonder that James was such a controversial book that it was almost excluded from the Bible. There was a recent discussion about “faith” and “repentance” being “gifts”. By the time I had something to say, the “6-hour warning” had been given, so I thought I would make the observation from James here.
Notice how James affirms that “Every good gift and perfect gift is from above” … clearly James would agree with the statement that “Repentance and faith are gifts from God” since few would argue that “repentance and faith” are not indeed “good” and “perfect”. What is more interesting is when we examine the context of James 1, James seems to come down on BOTH SIDES of the “DRAW vs FREE WILL” debate (indicated by the verses that I underlined).
My thought on the subject is “what sort of GIFT is faith” and “what sort of GIFT is repentance”?
A. Is it like the gift of adoption into the family of God that no man can deserve and clearly indicates an extraordinary GRACE from God?
B. Is it more like the gift of sending the sun and the rain on the just and the unjust alike … a GENERAL grace like granting another day of life when immediate punishment for our sins of today would be more JUST?
Few would argue against James and advocate that MAN is the source of good things, so the real question is not “Is God the source of “FAITH and REPENTANCE” but is God generous or selective with His gift of Faith and Repentance?
Placing the question back into another context, how many of the soils in the Parable of the Sower were ever “saved”? They all received the same seed, so was the “gift” just the “seed“ or was the “good soil” also a gift?
12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 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.
19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
It is no wonder that James was such a controversial book that it was almost excluded from the Bible. There was a recent discussion about “faith” and “repentance” being “gifts”. By the time I had something to say, the “6-hour warning” had been given, so I thought I would make the observation from James here.
Notice how James affirms that “Every good gift and perfect gift is from above” … clearly James would agree with the statement that “Repentance and faith are gifts from God” since few would argue that “repentance and faith” are not indeed “good” and “perfect”. What is more interesting is when we examine the context of James 1, James seems to come down on BOTH SIDES of the “DRAW vs FREE WILL” debate (indicated by the verses that I underlined).
My thought on the subject is “what sort of GIFT is faith” and “what sort of GIFT is repentance”?
A. Is it like the gift of adoption into the family of God that no man can deserve and clearly indicates an extraordinary GRACE from God?
B. Is it more like the gift of sending the sun and the rain on the just and the unjust alike … a GENERAL grace like granting another day of life when immediate punishment for our sins of today would be more JUST?
Few would argue against James and advocate that MAN is the source of good things, so the real question is not “Is God the source of “FAITH and REPENTANCE” but is God generous or selective with His gift of Faith and Repentance?
Placing the question back into another context, how many of the soils in the Parable of the Sower were ever “saved”? They all received the same seed, so was the “gift” just the “seed“ or was the “good soil” also a gift?