James 1:16-18

Every Good Gift

The book of James is written to a people who loved God and yet were dispersed in the world because of trouble and trials. The trials were literal (as many of them were hauled into court) and metaphorical (as it spoke about the hardship of daily lives). James speaks about the trials, and turns us towards understand two types of grace that God brings into our lives.

• Common Grace – Common grace is seen in God’s goodness extended to all people by the gifts He gives. Food, health, our five senses, sunlight, music. It is all grace. We are told the rain falls on the righteous and the wicked, that is common grace.

• Saving Grace – Saving grace goes to our salvation. 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 1:18). Salvation is a specific gift of God to those who have trusted Him in faith.

James tells us not to be deceived or fooled by our trials and what we go through. He warns us that our flesh is going to incite us to believe that God isn’t good. At times we may wrestle with comparison and doubt; but we are not to be deceived by them…BECAUSE…everything good and perfect has come down from God the Father. One of the greatest anchors for our soul in the trials that come is the greater knowledge of the goodness and grace of God in our life.

A. W. Tozer, “The fallow [or the unplanted] field is smug, contented, protected from the shock of the plow and the agitation of the harrow [or being broken up]. Such a field, as it lies year after year, becomes a familiar landmark to the crow and the blue jay…Safe and undisturbed… But it is paying a terrible price for its tranquility: never does it see the miracle of growth…In direct opposite to this, the cultivated field has yielded itself to the adventure of living…the plow has come as plows always come, practical, cruel, business-like and in a hurry…but its rewards come hard upon its labors. The seed shoots up into the daylight its miracle of life, curious, exploring the new world above it. All over the field the hand of God is at work in the age-old and ever renewed service of creation. New things are born, to grow, mature, and consummate the grand prophecy latent in the seed when it entered the ground.”

Community Discussion

• What’s the best gift you’ve ever been given?

• List some things that are common grace in our lives.

• What is the difference between common grace and saving grace?

• How has saving grace transformed your life?

• What does His gift-giving say about God’s character?

Think of the trials you have had in your life, then answer the following:

• How were they a pathway to maturity for you?

• How did you not mature through them?

• Was there a difference in your trials (and subsequent maturity) between the times before faith in Jesus and after?

• How do you want God to continue to grow you in the future?

• How well do you acknowledge God’s grace in the everyday stuff of life?

• What is sanctification?

• How are you being sanctified during this time period of your life?

• How can you be more imaginative in how you see the world in ways God does?

• What would change in how you live and interact with others?