Daily Bible Nugget #301, James 1:18

The Nugget:

James 1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

My Comment:

The fifth proof of the Perspicuity of Scripture is found in James 1:18, which states we have been born again, born of God, with the word of truth in the Bible.

I saw an interesting discussion on a new website devoted to discussing Bible questions and theology. The discussion thread that caught my attention immediately was about prevenient grace, a Bible subject sometimes advanced by Arminian theologians in opposition or in contrast to irresistible grace, a theological subject often advanced by Calvinistic theologians. You will find neither term (“prevenient,” or “irresistible”) in the Bible itself. The concept behind “prevenient grace” is most clearly seen at Philippians 2:12, 13 and here at James 1:18 with James 4:8. The idea is that as anyone draws near to God, God will draw near to that person in grace, with the Holy Spirit at work to prepare and open the heart (Acts 16:14) when the Word of God in the Bible is heard or read (James 1:18).

Well, I didn’t enter the discussion I saw. I could see that too many presuppositions based upon Calvinism and a lack of information available to the participants would make the discussion of the subject difficult to advance in line with what the Bible itself teaches. The biggest and likely fatal mistake made by the Calvinists is the failure to carefully observe the grammar underlying the proof texts Calvinists use to support their position.

But in any case, there is nothing in the Bible, rightly interpreted in accordance with the underlying grammar, that would support the idea of irresistible grace. God’s grace and God’s love may indeed be resisted and is resisted by anyone who refuses to come to the light (John 3:19; John 5:40; Acts 7:51). It is a matter of the personal will and personal choice to believe the provision for our salvation that God has declared in the Gospel. To be saved, we must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31). It is a command to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (1 John 3:23).

Grammatically speaking, commands are given in the imperative mood. Thus by the imperative mood God is appealing to the will of man to obey to receive the benefit obedience brings. God’s provision of salvation has been made for all (2 Corinthians 5:14, 15; 1 Timothy 2:6; Hebrews 2:9; 1 John 2:2). The benefits of that provision are reserved for those who meet and fulfill the stipulated conditions (John 3:16; John 5:24; John 10:27). Jesus made it very plain that “narrow is the way,” and “few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:14).

The perspicuity of Scripture–the understandability of Scripture–is proven by the fact that God uses His written Word in the Bible to bring us to saving faith in our Lord Jesus Christ (James 1:18).

For those who desire to DIG DEEPER into this subject:

(1) Consult the cross references given in Nelson’s Cross Reference Guide to the Bible on page 1447 for James 1:18.

(2) Consult the cross references given in The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge on pages 1465-1466 or in Logos 5 Bible software for James 1:18.

(3) Lacking access to those two resources, consult the cross references for this passage as I have developed them as given below:

James 1:18. Of his own will. or, Having willed. Gr. boulemai (S#1014g, Mt 1:19). Je 31:3. Da 11:3. Mt 20:15. **Jn 1:12, 13. **Jn 3:3-5. Ro 4:17. +*Ro 8:29-31. 9:15-18. 12:2. +1 Cor 12:11. Ep 1:5, 19. 2:4, 5. Phil 1:29. Col 1:20, 21. 1 Th 4:3. *2 Th 2:13, 14. Titus 3:5. He 6:17. 8:10. *1 P 1:3, 23. 4:2. 1 J 4:10. begat. Gr. apokueō (S#616g, ver. James 1:15). T#1114. Nu 11:12. Dt 32:18. Ps 7:14. 22:9. 80:18. 87:4-6. 89:26, 27. +*Ps 119:50. Mt 13:38. Mk 4:8. Ro 8:14. 1 Cor 4:15. Ga 4:19. *Titus 2:14. *Titus 3:5, 6. *1 P 1:3, 23. 2 P 1:4. 1 J 2:29. 3:9. 5:1, 18. with. ver. +*James 1:21. *Is 55:11. 1 Cor 4:15. Ep 1:12. **1 Th 2:13. +*2 Tim 3:15. **1 P 1:23. *1 J 3:9. the word of truth. ver. James 1:21, 22, 23. 1 S 9:27. Ps 17:4. 19:7. +*Ps 119:43, 160. *Ec 12:10. Da 10:21. Mt 4:4. Jn 6:63. 17:7, 8, 17. **Ro 10:17. 2 Cor 6:7. Ep 1:13. 5:26. Phil 2:16. **Col 1:5. 2 Tim 2:15. *He 4:12. 10:26. 1 P 1:23, 25. that we. Ep 1:12. +*Ep 2:12. firstfruits. Ex 4:22. 22:29. 34:26. +*Le 23:10, 17. 27:26. Nu 15:20. 18:12. 28:26. Dt 18:4. 26:2, 10. 2 Ch 31:5. Ne 10:35. Je 2:3. Ezk 20:40. 44:30. Am 6:1mg. Ro 8:19-23. 11:16. 16:5. 1 Cor 15:20, 23. 16:15. *He 12:23. *Re 14:4. of his creatures. Nu 8:17. Ps 8:5, 6. Ro 8:16-21. 1 Cor 6:2, 3. 1 Tim 4:4.