Be Not Deceived
- Rev. Christopher Brademeyer
- 5 days ago
- 7 min read
Be Not Deceived
Cantate – 5/3/2026
James 1:16-21
Rev. Dr. Christopher W. Brademeyer
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
That portion of God’s holy Word for consideration this morning is our Epistle lesson from the Epistle of St. James in the first chapter with special emphasis on verses sixteen through eighteen which read as follows:
“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.”[1]
Thus far the Scriptures.
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
St. James give us a sharp and necessary warning: “Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.” James assumes something about our condition here in this world. That is to say, he not only assumes that we will have the possibility of deception, but that it is likely. You, dear Christian, can be misled. Deception comes from the father of lies, the devil and all his demons. It comes from the world, which seeks to lead astray. Worst of all, we deceive ourselves.
This deception is not directed to any and all knowledge, ultimately speaking. No, focuses on misleading about Christ, how we live as Christians, and how we relate to the Word of God. These eternal things are so important that they go beyond the sum total of all this universe. So James speaks to us plainly: do not be deceived. He wants us to be able to identify deception and to correct it by the very Word of God.
Do Not Be Deceived
James immediately directs your attention to God as giver: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.” This is a comprehensive statement. All good gifts ultimately come from God. Generally speaking, we can divide God’s great blessings and gifts to us into two camps: daily bread and salvation.
Everything that supports this body and life—food and drink, home and family, work and income, peace and order are not accidents of circumstance or merely the result of human effort. They come “from above.” God gives you everything you need both to survive each day and to even enjoy your life in this world. He gives the smallest of pleasures and the most basic of sustenance and everything in between.
And this is precisely where deception creeps in. We have a tendency to attribute these things to ourselves. We see our blessings in this life and chalk them up to our planning, our labor, our decisions, or our resources. The deception works because God uses these things as means to provide for us each day. And if we forget the giver of the means, we will lose proper gratitude. And when we forget that these come from the perfect Giver, we also risk being thrown into anxiety. An antidote for anxiousness that comes when daily bread is lacking is faith in God. Not having faith in Him and His generous care each day leads to the worry that our efforts will not be enough to sustain us going forward.
James reorients you: God is the giver. And He is not a fickle one. He is the “Father of
lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” That is, He does not shift. He does not fluctuate. He does not give one day and withdraw the next on a whim. His giving is consistent with His nature. The gifts do not depend on us earning or deserving them, they come because of His nature as the good and loving God.
Even more than these daily treasures in the greatest gift of all. “Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth.” That is to say, He gives you eternal, everlasting, limitless riches, that is, your salvation. Notice the direction of the action in these spiritual matters: you do not ascend towards God, He comes to you. Salvation is “of His own will,” not from yours. That is, it is not the result of your choice or desire even though Christians certainly desire these things. God Himself brings you forth from death to life, from sin to forgiveness, from sorrow to everlasting peace. This is your salvation.
Being brought forth is the new birth language, a new creation. You were not merely improved, shined up, or patched over. No, in Christ you were made new. And how did God accomplish this? “By the word of truth” that comes through the proclamation of the Gospel. God gives it through the external Word that delivers Christ to you. In other words, your faith does not rest on internal experience or personal resolve. It rests on what God has spoken and done.
James continues: “that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.”In the Old Testament, the firstfruits were set apart. They were dedicated to God and belonged to Him in a special way. To put it another way, they were not common, they were consecrated. It is the same with you. You are not simply part of the world as it is. You belong to the new creation that God is bringing about in Christ Jesus. Your life is marked by His Word. Your identity is given as a new creation is given to you, it is not self-constructed.
But again, deception presses in. The world tells you that identity is self-defined. Culture teaches that meaning is self-generated. Many around us claim that you belong ultimately to yourself. James says otherwise: you have been brought forth by God, and you belong to Him.
James does not stop with doctrine. He presses into practice. These two things always go together. That is, what we believe naturally affects what we do. And, if we are not careful, what we do will change what we think. James advises us Christians, “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.” Why? Because your natural inclination runs the other way. Too often, we are quick to speak. Quick to assert. Quick to react. Quick to become angry. This is especially true when things do not align with your expectations.
But James gives a reason for restraining ourselves: “the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” Your anger often feels justified. It feels productive. It feels necessary.
But it does not produce what you think it does. It does not create righteousness. It does not accomplish God’s purposes. It does not bring about what is good and true. It often doesn’t even bring about a good solution in the moment.
This is another point of deception: we assume that our internal reactions are reliable guides. That our instincts are trustworthy. But Scripture exposes that assumption as false. Our feelings can, and often do, lead us astray.
James calls you to something else: “Put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness.” He names sin for what it is; it is neither weakness, nor imperfection, but corruption. Consequently, this admonishment to put away these things is also a call to repentance. Turn away from filthy, evil deeds and turn toward Christ in His Word.
Here is where James directs you positively: “and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” The center of St. James’s advice to us, and, indeed, the whole of the Christian religion is here. Our whole lives, this whole enterprise, are built on the salvation of Christ Jesus. As such, we do not correct deception by introspection. You do not overcome sin by sheer effort. You do not generate righteousness from within. Instead, you simply receive from God the solution to the deception of the world.
The Word is “implanted.” It has been placed into you through preaching, through absolution, through the ongoing work of the Spirit. And it is “able to save your souls.” God’s Word does not merely inform you. It does not merely guide you. It saves you by giving you Christ right into your ears.
Notice how it is to be received: “with meekness.” That is, with humility. With a willingness to be corrected. With a posture that does not argue against the Word but submits to it. This cuts directly against both our tendency to pride and defensiveness. Because the Word does two things at once when we hear it: it will expose your sin and it will give you Christ. It will show you where you have been deceived, and it will ground you again in the truth. So to cling to Christ is to remain under His Word. To hear it. To receive it. To be shaped by it. Do not only heed the Word selectively or when it affirms you. Instead, be grateful when it confronts you. It is by the Word that God preserves you for everlasting life.
Conclusion
Do not be deceived. Every good gift is from God: your daily bread, your new birth, your identity as His firstfruits. Your own instincts will mislead you. The world will reinforce that deception. It will encourage you to trust yourself, to define yourself, to justify yourself. But that way does not lead to righteousness. It does not lead to life.
Instead, receive what God gives. Be quick to hear His Word. Slow to speak apart from it. Slow to anger when it exposes to you your sin. Put away what is corrupt. Turn from what is false.
And, most of all, receive, again and again, the implanted Word, the Gospel of Christ, who alone has borne your sin, who alone gives you life, who alone secures your salvation. Your hope is not in your clarity, your discipline, or your consistency. Your hope is in the God who gives without variation.In the Christ given to this world to redeem you. In the Word that has brought you forth and continues to sustain you. Do not be deceived. Remain in the Word.
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
In the holy Name of + Jesus. Amen
The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
[1] James 1:16-18 English Standard Version. All further quotations from the Holy Scriptures are from the ESV.
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