James 1:16

'Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren'.

'Do not be deceived' -'make no mistake' (Arndt p. 665). It includes the idea of deceiving yourself. Christians are often warned against being deceived (1 Corinthians 6:9; 1 Corinthians 15:33; Galatians 6:7). 'Make no mistake about this' (Mof).

'my beloved brethren' -Notice the combination of pointed teaching, of warning and admonition, with an intense love for these people (2 Timothy 2:24).

Points To Note:

1. Verse 16 is. transition verse between James 1:13-15 and James 1:17. 'God cannot be the author of temptation, which thus leads to sin and death, because all good and perfect gifts, and these only, come from Him.' (P.P. Comm. p. 4) 2. Anyone who allows themselves to be convinced that somehow someone or something else is to blame for their sins, is walking right into. falsehood. 3. 'Only good comes from God; all good originates with God. Don't be deceived into thinking there can be anything fulfilling, anything worthwhile, anything good or proper anywhere else but with God.' (Draper p. 45) 4. But the verse infers that even Christians can be deceived. The Calvinistic idea that God makes sure that the predestined always make the right choices, runs counter to this verse. 'This command is no less valid for every modern reader. Our efforts to blame environment, poverty, bad luck, circumstances, or our humanness (which comes from God) have not enabled us to solve our sin problem. The reason is told to us by James: we have deceived ourselves by looking in the wrong direction.' (Kent p.54)