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.
Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth,
that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. James 1:16-18 KJV
James has just given a verbal picture of the invariable operation of human desire that, in the realm of sin and death, leads to personal sin and the formation of demons (James 1:13-15). Why, then, does he interject the words of verse 16?…”Do not let yourselves be led astray, beloved brothers of mine.” The obvious answer comes from the contrast of verses 17-18. The invariable blessing of light from the Father is sharply contrasted with the invariable operation of human desire and the deadly results of human sin. Fatherly light begets firstfruits of goodness, even in the realm of sin and death. Human darkness begets sin and full grown sin begets demons. Bad leads to worse.
The begetting operation of Fatherly light is not done by Gnostic pre-destination of pre-existing beings that are actualized in time (injected with “saving faith” in the terminology of stupid, non-biblical, calvinism). The operation of Fatherly light is accomplished in time, in the midst of the formation of human evil. Again, it is accomplished in time by the perfect work of Jesus Christ (Jesus is God) who perfectly obeys the will of the Father as a human son (Hebrews 5:8-9). Since all other humans are on a level playing field in that all of us who are old enough to sin are sinners, then the only way to get in on the begetting operation of God is to receive the gift of blood-bought forgiveness from Jesus.
The message that is Good News for all of us as humans is that Jesus made the gift of salvation and forgiveness a real gift. Beware of the wolves who preach that salvation belongs to the earnest and well adjusted seeker who will well integrate himself into church life and the demands of the clergy. Salvation is a gift that is received by wretched sinners who trust the Father who has no hidden agenda, no shadows of darkened reprobation…no pulling the rug out from under them. Jesus will be the judge of who is saved and who is not – He needs no human help in keeping His book of life up to date.
Jesus Christ makes an earnest offer of salvation to all who need Him. He accomplished the ground breaking work of new creation in time. The old creation has nothing to offer but sin and demons, death and hell. The door to the newness of life is open at the cross, nowhere and no-when else.
Come to Jesus.
Come to the Cross.
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.
Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth,
that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. James 1:16-18 KJV
James has just given a verbal picture of the invariable operation of human desire that, in the realm of sin and death, leads to personal sin and the formation of demons (James 1:13-15). Why, then, does he interject the words of verse 16?…”Do not let yourselves be led astray, beloved brothers of mine.” The obvious answer comes from the contrast of verses 17-18. The invariable blessing of light from the Father is sharply contrasted with the invariable operation of human desire and the deadly results of human sin. Fatherly light begets firstfruits of goodness, even in the realm of sin and death. Human darkness begets sin and full grown sin begets demons. Bad leads to worse.
The begetting operation of Fatherly light is not done by Gnostic pre-destination of pre-existing beings that are actualized in time (injected with “saving faith” in the terminology of stupid, non-biblical, calvinism). The operation of Fatherly light is accomplished in time, in the midst of the formation of human evil. Again, it is accomplished in time by the perfect work of Jesus Christ (Jesus is God) who perfectly obeys the will of the Father as a human son (Hebrews 5:8-9). Since all other humans are on a level playing field in that all of us who are old enough to sin are sinners, then the only way to get in on the begetting operation of God is to receive the gift of blood-bought forgiveness from Jesus.
The message that is Good News for all of us as humans is that Jesus made the gift of salvation and forgiveness a real gift. Beware of the wolves who preach that salvation belongs to the earnest and well adjusted seeker who will well integrate himself into church life and the demands of the clergy. Salvation is a gift that is received by wretched sinners who trust the Father who has no hidden agenda, no shadows of darkened reprobation…no pulling the rug out from under them. Jesus will be the judge of who is saved and who is not – He needs no human help in keeping His book of life up to date.
Jesus Christ makes an earnest offer of salvation to all who need Him. He accomplished the ground breaking work of new creation in time. The old creation has nothing to offer but sin and demons, death and hell. The door to the newness of life is open at the cross, nowhere and no-when else.
Come to Jesus.
Come to the Cross.
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