“Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.”
James 1:16
One of history’s most famous military invasions was the Normandy Landings in World War II, where the Allies made the largest ever amphibious invasion that led to the liberation of France. Along with being one of history’s most famous invasions, it is also one of history’s most famous deceptions. Adolf Hitler knew that the Allied invasion was coming, but he didn’t know where. Prior to the invasion, British intelligence gave false information about the landings through double agents (one named Garbo convinced the Germans that the invasion would be 100 miles from Normandy). The deception was also fueled by false radio traffic, misleading messages, actual armies of decoy tanks and trucks (some of which were blow-ups!), and, on the night before the attack, dummy paratroopers were released. Talk about deception.
As we continue along during the season of Lent, the Apostle James does not want us to be deceived, either. In verse 16, he says, “Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.” What is it that he doesn’t want us to be deceived about? What does he want to call to our attention? There are two options.
The first is what precedes the phrase. James says, “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. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.”
James makes it clear what the source of temptation is: us. It isn’t God…it is us. It is our desires that lead us away. It is our desires that tempt us to sin. God is not to blame. We are. Worse than that, James shows us a deadly pattern in these verses: desire-temptation-sin-death. James doesn’t want us to be deceived by our sinful desires! It has deadly consequences!
But there is another way to understanding these verses. James’ warning could also apply to what follows. There are no paragraph breaks in the old Greek manuscripts. It is up to the translator where to make them. It is certainly viable that his warning can apply to what comes after. “Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 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.”
James’ words here could also be understood as a warning against discounting the goodness of God, especially when we are in the midst of trials and temptations (which James has talked extensively about in chapter one). When we are tempted, hurting, sad, upset, or frustrated, we can discount God’s goodness. However, it is during those times, that we need a clear picture of the God that never changes His disposition towards us.
He is the Father of Lights Who does not change (even though we do). He is the Father of Lights Who has made us His own in Jesus Christ. He is the God that we can count and depend on. He is the God we can go to for mercy, grace, and love, and is the One we receive it from. He is the giver of every good and perfect gift, whether that is bodily blessings, or spiritual ones, like faith, salvation, and the Holy Spirit.
There is a beautiful ambiguity to James’ positioning of this phrase. As we continue on our Lenten journey, let us take both options to heart. We are not to be deceived by sin and its seriousness, nor are we to discount the amazing goodness of God Who gives us such amazing blessings and gifts in His Son!
Pastor Nick Kooi
(Originally published in Emmaus Footprints, Vol. XXII, Number 8, March 2021)