Lesson 4: Faith’s understanding of truth
 James 1:13-18
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.

One of the most basic truths of our Christian life is the truth of who we still are while we are here on earth in our earthly bodies. Too many times we want to believe that if we are just good enough or faithful enough or pray enough then everything in our life will be good. Too many times we believe that victory here means we can sit back and enjoy life without struggles.

 The truth, however, is that this life here on earth will always be one of struggle and trial and tribulation. Jesus told us this in John 16:33, which we have heard many times in reference to some bad situation. Here we will always struggle with things in our life which are not “like Him” – see such verses as Proverbs 4:24; Ephesians 4:22, 25, 31; 1 Peter 2:1 and more. We will also always struggle with positive things He wants in our lives – see such verses as Romans 6:12; 1 Corinthians 3:18; 1 Corinthians 13; Galatians 6:9; Philippians 3:16; and 1 Thessalonians 5:6-8 (just to give you a few out of hundreds of verses).


By faith we accept the truth that God is never responsible for our problems – we are, because we live in imperfect bodies in a sinful world. Our falling to temptation is never because God isn’t strong or loving enough to keep us out of it. No, it is because the tendency to “want” is still a part of our human nature. From our desire comes the temptation or the opportunity for temptation. Jesus’ promise, in 1 Corinthians 10:13, is that He has already made a way for us to escape the temptation, but it is our choice, our responsibility to seek out that escape route and follow it.

By faith we also believe that every gift God gives us is good and perfect. We often will not recognize this truth at the time something happens, but it is our responsibility to believe. As we believe, our eyes will be opened to be able to see that perfection and goodness when it is revealed.

Memorize James 1:17-18 - 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. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.