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The Goodness of God in Salvation James 1:18 September 28, 2003
Introduction As you read the Bible, you may have noticed a very strange thing. As you read the Bible you may have noticed that God has put texts in the Bible that are full of theology and very hard to understand. And you may read the Bible and wonder: Why did God put these kinds of theological texts in His book? Why James 1:18, which is so intensely theological, and some would say, very impractical? The letter of James is perhaps the most application-oriented book in the Bible, but this verse, what is it doing here? Or better yet, why didn’t God just give us a list of ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’? Why didn’t God just have given us a 10 or 11 page Bible with a checklist. Here’s what you must to do. Here’s what you must not do. Now, go out there and do the dos and don’t do the don’ts, so we can get done what needs to be done. Why not that kind of Bible? Why these texts that have to do with God giving us salvation and first fruits and the word of truth and all of this theology? The reason that God has done this, the reason we have a Bible with stories, and history, and prophecy, and poetry, and theology is because Christianity is not about external doing. Christianity is, in its essence, knowing God through Jesus Christ and loving Him. Christianity is not so much about what you do as it is about who you know and love and treasure. The fact that God didn’t give us a Bible with a long list of dos and don’ts, but that He gave us a Bible that tells us a lot about Himself and His Son tells us that God isn’t as interested in our doing as He is in our knowing and loving Him. As we have seen in 1 John, Christianity is true, authentic fellowship with God through His Son, Jesus. Christianity is not about doing something; it is about fellowship, and so God has taken great pains to tell us much about Himself in His Word so that we will know Him, and therefore love Him. We, as Americans, are task-oriented, consumer-driven people. We live our lives going through the checklists. So we think in terms of, “Ok, God, tell me what to do, and I’ll do it, and then I’ll move on to the next task.” And then we read verses like James 1:18, and we think to ourselves, “What am I supposed to do with that? Just tell me what I need to do.” We have to get past that mindset. We need to always be thinking in terms of relationship, not in terms of external behavior. James 1:18, and verses like it, are in the Bible to help us know the God who has given us salvation in His Son, Jesus. God wants us to delight in Him and in His glory. In Acts 17 we read that God is not served by human hands because He needs anything. God doesn’t need us to fill out a checklist for Him. He wants us to delight in Him. And so, to get you to delight in Him, He put texts like James 1:18 in the Bible. So, what’s going on in this text that helps us to know God more deeply and thus to love Him more intensely? Let me explain the context of this verse. James is dealing with people who are in various trials. They are suffering for their faith, and they are being tempted in many ways. They are, in all likelihood, being taken advantage of by wealthier classes of society, and these early Christians were uncertain how to understand all of these things. James teaches us some very important truths in reference to these things in his letter. In verse 12 he tells us that if we are enduring trials we are blessed. Rather than thinking we are failing or being punished by God, we ought to realize that God is actually blessing us if we are in the midst of trials. But at this point we must realize that God is not responsible for evil. Our temptations that come upon us and the difficulties we face in this world are not put in front of us directly by God. God is not responsible for evil. He doesn’t tempt anyone, nor is He tempted. If we think that God tempts us, we are deceived. And James does not want us to be deceived. What this means is that God never entices us to fall. God may allow the devil and demons to tempt us, but God Himself never tries to get us to do evil things. Our sin is never God’s fault. Even though God is sovereign and ordains all that comes to pass, we are responsible for our own sin. How can this be? Only God knows, for now. But just because we don’t understand it, we must not be deceived into thinking that it’s not true. Don’t think that you can comprehend the mind of God. You’re not God, and I’m not God, and we cannot fully understand how these things can be. But we are to believe them because God has told us that they are true. So we know that God has a plan, that we are responsible for our sin and for all the wars, murder, crime, and hatred around the world, and then we know from verse 17 that God is responsible for everything that is good in our world. Every good thing we have and receive we have and receive from God, who is called the Father of lights. The Father always and only gives us good things. In Luke 11:11-13 Jesus illustrated this truth, saying, Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him? Jesus makes a comparison here. If earthly fathers, who are evil and sinful, give good things to their children, will not God, who is good and holy, give infinitely better things to His children? Yes, He will. God gives only good gifts to His children. God is in the business of doing good. And He only does good. In verse 17, that is what we see: God does good and only good all the time and that never has and never will change. God is good, only good, always good, without change and without fail. Back in Luke 11:13, then, Jesus’ ultimate proof of the goodness of God is that God gives His Holy Spirit to those who ask Him. That is salvation. For Jesus, the ultimate proof that God gives good things to those who ask is the gift of salvation to all who call upon the name of the Lord. For James, in James 1:18, the same truth is found. The goodness of God is seen in salvation. Salvation is the greatest demonstration of the goodness of God. How does salvation demonstrate God’s goodness? This verse shows us the goodness of God in salvation by showing us the work and purpose of God in salvation. When we properly understand what God did, how He did it, and why He did it, we will clearly understand this simple truth: God is good. To unpack this truth about salvation and see God’s goodness in it, you have to understand what God did, how He did it, and why He did it. Lead-in #1 – To start with, then, let’s look at what God did in salvation. I. What did God do in salvation? A. God planned salvation 1. The phrase that begins this verse, In the exercise of His will or of His own will shows that it was God who planned salvation. 2. This was a deliberate choice on God’s part. Man did not come up with the plan of salvation. Man did not will for salvation to happen. 3. Salvation is all by God and not at all by us.
a. John
1:12-13 – John makes clear that salvation was by God’s will, and not by our
will. He writes, As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to
become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born,
not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
b. Romans 9:16 – Paul also makes this clear when he writes, So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. 4. This is the glorious truth of the Bible. Our salvation, while received by us, is only received by us because God planned it. And God planned it not because He had to or was indebted to us or owed it to us, but because He is good and because He loves us. So God planned our salvation. This is the ultimate proof of God’s goodness. He planned to save us. From all eternity past God had a plan to forgive us of our sins and give us eternal life. 5. What a thrilling, amazing thought! God loves us so much that He planned our salvation of His own will, even while we were His enemies and sinners, and even before we were even born. What more could be said of the goodness of God than that He would save us! 6. So the first thing God did in salvation is plan it. He purposed to save us by His own will. It was God’s plan and will that we should be saved and had nothing to do with our plans or our wills. B. God brought about salvation 1. When James says He brought us forth, it is clear that God is the one who brought about our salvation. God gave birth to us. He brought us forth. We are His children. 2. It is evident that when it says that God brought us forth that we did not bring ourselves forth. God is responsible for bringing us forth into salvation, and we are not responsible for our salvation. 3. If we were responsible we would have something boast about, but since it is all of the mercy and grace of God, we have nothing to boast of. 4. Objection answered: Someone might say, “Well, it was my faith. I chose to believe, so in a sense I brought about my own salvation.” Yet Paul says in Ephesians 2:8-9 that even our faith is a gift of God! Even the faith that we have has been given to us graciously and mercifully by God. We cannot claim anything in our salvation. God is wholly responsible for our salvation.
C. Conclusion –
So God did two things in salvation. First, He planned it from eternity past.
He purposed and willed and decided to save sinful human beings. Then, at some
point in their lives, He brought them forth; He gave them the gift of faith.
God planned it, and God made it happen. Lead-in #2 – The question is, then, how did He do it? How did God bring about this salvation? II. How did God do it? A. He did it simply by the word of truth. B. The word of truth is the Bible, the Scriptures, the word of God. C. In 1 Peter 1:23 Peter tells us that God caused us to be born again by the word of God. It is the Scripture that brings about salvation. D. No one is saved apart from the Word of God. It is by the word of truth that we are saved. The Scripture is so important. It is God’s tool for salvation. In our lives we are often prone to downplay the importance of the Bible, but we should never do that. Anytime a church begins to shrink away from the Bible, or a church begins to neglect the preaching and teaching of God’s Word, that church gives up the tool God uses to save people. E. Be a Bible-saturated people. It is because of my love and care and affection for you in Christ that I teach the Bible constantly to you. It is because I think of you as my beloved brothers and sisters in Christ that I open up God’s Word, and even sometimes go a little long in teaching it. Because of my love for you I teach this Word because I know it is God’s tool of choice to bring about salvation in your hearts and lives. Lead-in #3 – Third, then, we must ask of this verse, Why did God do all this? Why would God plan to save us, give us the gift of faith, and give us His Word to accomplish this salvation? Why did God decide to do all of that? The Bible gives us several reasons why God did that, and in this text we have one of those reasons. III. Why did God do it? – To make us first fruits A. What are first fruits? 1. First fruits were the first and best crops harvested, and usually indicated what the harvest would be like. 2. The first fruits were a promise of the harvest to come. 3. The first fruits were, in a sense, a guarantee of the rest of the harvest. When the first fruits came, the farmer would know what kind of harvest he would have. 4. So first fruits, then, are a down-payment, so to speak, on the rest of the harvest. 5. We are the first fruits as Christians. This is why God saved us, to make us the first fruits. 6. This means that God saved us for the purpose of making us a down-payment on the harvest to come. We are the promise of future harvest. But what is that harvest? B. What is the harvest? 1. We are first fruits of God’s creatures, or creation. Why are we that? Why are we the down-payment, or the promise, on the rest of creation? 2. Turn to Romans 8. Romans 8:19. Paul writes, Read Rom 8:19-25. There are several keys to help us understand James 1:18 in this passage: a. Creation has been subjected futility; it has been placed under the curse. b. Creation is longing to be redeemed. The heavens and the earth are, as it were, waiting for the day they will be re-created in glory. c. Creation is a slave to corruption. But we are the first fruits of the Spirit. d. Even though we have the Spirit, we still await a future glory, a glory when all of creation will be redeemed and set free from the curse. e. So what is Paul saying that helps us understand James? Here’s what Paul is saying: All of creation, meaning the heavens and the earth – nature, will be redeemed and “born again.” There is a harvest coming! Not only will we be redeemed, but God will make a new heaven and a new earth for all His redeemed people and lift the curse from creation! f. So this is the harvest – the ultimate re-creation of the heavens and the earth. And Paul tells us that we are waiting eagerly for it. That is what Paul tells us. 3. How does it fit with James? a. James tells us that we are the down-payment, the guarantee, of the redemption of all of creation. b. Creation is under the curse, but we know the curse will be lifted because God has taken it upon Himself to save us and cause us to be born again now! 4. We, as Christians, are God’s witness to the world of what He will do in the future. a. Why would God leave His people here in this cursed, fallen creation? Why not just take us out? b. Why doesn’t God just take a person who gets saved immediately to heaven? Conversion, then BOOM! Instant rapture. Why doesn’t it work like that? c. Because God has left us here to be His promise, His guarantee of His future work. No one will ever have an excuse before God. God has left His people on earth as a witness to Himself. We are the promise of future redemption, and we are God’s witness of His plan and promise that He will fulfill. C. Conclusion – This is big. Why has God saved us? One reason God has given us salvation is to guarantee to us that He will finish the work He planned before all time! What an amazing thought that the gift of salvation not only sets us free from the curse of the Law, but it also guarantees our part in the new creation of God in the future! Conclusion Many times people say that as Christians we should be witnesses. The fact of the matter is that we are witnesses and evidence that God is going to bring about restoration and salvation for creation. God’s saving you is His promise to you and to everyone who comes into contact with you that there is a future hope. You need to understand this. When God saved you, He did it to display His glorious grace in you, and He did it as a promise to you that He will finish what He started. In Philippians 1:6 Paul said, For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. How could he be so confident? He could be so confident because their present salvation was the guarantee! How’s your faith this morning? Do you know in your heart that God’s work in your life is not only your salvation now, but His promise of what He will do for you in the future? God planned your salvation in eternity past, He saved you when He gave you the gift of faith, and He will finish the work. You can be sure of that, because your salvation is His pledge, His promise, to finish the work. When you leave here today, go home and meditate on this fact. We need to go home and just glory and revel and delight in the fact that God has promised us future glory by saving us now. We need to draw near to God with our hearts because of His amazing grace and great love. What a good God we have! How amazing is His grace and infinite is His goodness toward us! If you have been born again, God planned your salvation in eternity past, He gave you faith, and that salvation is God’s promise of future eternal glory that awaits you. May we say, looking at our great God and Savior, “God is good!” Let’s pray. [Home page] [ ]
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