Every perfect gift is from above
James 1:16-18 · Bob Eckel · Mar 5, 2023
James, No. 08
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/49261930293847

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

So we're going to read down from verse 12 down through verse, I think, 18 today. No, I think we're going to read through 20 actually. And because I think what we're going through today leads into a little bit of what follows here in James. So let's begin with verse 12.

Blessed is the man who endures temptation. For when he's been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised of those who love him. Let no one say when he's tempted or tested. We'll come back to that. I am tempted by God. I think we in the sin nature are tempted by God, because we can respond to the flesh. But God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he's drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it's full grown, brings forth death.

Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. That's where we begin today, verse 16. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of his own will, he brought us forth by the word of truth that we might be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to rap, For the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. So, you know, James is just full of good stuff.

And we're taking on this epistle because I think it does have a lot of practicality in terms of our day-to-day existence here. All right. So let's repeat the verses that we're going to learn more detail today. I have to get a side note of my glasses should be on or off. Do not be deceived by beloved brethren. every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth that we might be a kind of first fruit of his creatures. So as we've been pretty routinely doing let's review last week and I'm gonna kind of review this with question marks after each so We can discuss them further, but I think we covered this last week. But I think the question marks really relate to questions we each individually ask ourselves about what we've learned from the previous text. So the question in context, how should we interpret the Greek word periazo?

Is it being tempted or tested? And I think what we said is the Lord Jesus Christ can't be tempted. He has no sin nature. So the Lord Jesus Christ in his experience in the wilderness, in the entire earthly existence, was being tested to prove who the brother was. And my thoughts about that for the believer is that maybe rather than thinking our sin nature, which we all have, gets tempted, which it does, maybe God is using these temptations to prove who we really are in our new traditions in Christ Jesus. So that was the emphasis I tried to place last week. Okay, what's throwing us away? Is it Satan? Is it the world system? and or is it our own sin nature? Which wins here? I don't think we have to choose. This is really an aside but I'll go there briefly.

We've learned to ask questions for the American Board of Internal Medicine when I was writing review questions for endocrinology metabolism. You never ask a question of all of the above. You never, never do that. So we're going to ask the question. All of the above is correct here.

So the question is wrong in terms of asking a good question. So we'll leave it at that. So how do we respond when drawn away? How do we respond? We abide in Christ. All right. Good positional truth, right? Well, also, we recognize that we're out of fellowship. And so then we... Well, that's one thing, you know, you haven't been crying out that you haven't shown it. It's a beautiful one. I'm not going to show it again.

You know, but be tempted is not sin. No. It's like giving in to the temptation. Taking the bait. Taking the bait. And again, I've tried to say last week, you know, we need to be thinking positionally that we're made righteousness in Christ. And that's not an intellectual ascent. That's really a faith belief system. I'm a new creator in Christ Jesus.

Let this temptation pass. And sometimes it doesn't. That sin nature never changes, does it? I mean, we give in sometimes. So anyway, that's last week's lesson. Let's continue. Verse 16. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. So, very interesting and easy question. Who's this being addressed to? Believers. And there are many believers. There are a lot of believers. We're all beloved in the Lord, are we not?

So this text is written to us, and even though it was written quite a while ago, it still is to us today. Do not be deceived is in the present tense, and it's passive and imperative. So how do we interpret that? Passive. Do not be deceived. Are we internally deceived?

These various Issues leading to sin and death are really the world system. Satan himself is the ruler of this earthly kingdom and our own sin nature. So, you know, don't be a cedars right now in this present tense, but the deception comes from outside to work within. And if you think a certain face of the world where these people go into isolation, they avoid the world system, is Satan still not there? And is the sin nature not still there? So don't be deceived by thinking in some way by physically removing ourselves from all these temptations around us that we're going to have victory there. So don't be deceived. And that's imperative. That means it's very, very important not to be deceived. And I think we have to have an antenna, don't we, in terms of day in, day out existence of not being deceived by all these factors that relate to it. Yeah. You know, being passive, it doesn't require any action on our part.

The deception's there around all of us, all the time. It's just not something we do, it's something that just happens to us. You could say also the deception is resonant in our sin nature, too. As we hang out with that, we're going down the wrong path. And, you know, the fact that Satan is the ruler of the world system, I mean, those two work together through that. I mean, we don't have to really divide this. The deception's there from all over, and our sin nature is capable of being deceived.

So, what James is saying here, and the Holy Spirit is saying through James, is don't let these things deceive you. That's a passive process, but we can respond actively to that deception by sinning, which leads to death. We can also respond to that situation by actively not sinning, and by actively rejecting it. That's an act of the Holy Spirit, is it not? It's abiding. It's abiding in the Lord. And when we're abiding, then sin becomes evident. I mean, all of that becomes so evident. As we look to Jesus, we can see the evil.

But, you know, what about the self-righteous man or woman? How do they perceive all this? I mean, we have a lot of believers who, in fact, are not really ingrained in positional truth and ultimately living under more of a legal system. Then it's that deception is still there. They're being deceived. They kind of take credit for themselves. I'm doing better now. And ultimately it's the self-righteous crown they put on. I mean, I'm glad they're avoiding the deception, but yet Where's the strength to avoid it? Pride comes before a fall, you know. They can say that. I was tripping and falling a couple of times. And I'm having trouble standing straight these days. Anyway, all that aside, so why this line, do you think?

Do you think this verse here relates to what preceded it? Or does it perhaps relate to what followed it? Remember, I read briefly what followed it. So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, or slow to rap. for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Do you think this verse in terms of this warning relates to what occurred before or after?

There's no right answer here. Or is this simply a reminder of New Testament doctrine we find everywhere else? So let's look at a couple of verses. I know everything I do. I like a scriptural basis for it. Do not be deceived, 1 Corinthians 15, 33 says, Evil company corrupts good habits. How about that for a translation? Habits? It kind of relates to the one nature. I mean, some people preach one nature. We don't really sin. We just have bad habits. We need to correct these bad habits.

The guy named Strong took that for some period of time. Anyway, don't over-interpret that. Of course, I'm proud to share that. Don't be deceived. Relations. Do not be deceived. God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. Another warning about being deceived. Paul also wrote, be cautious, beware, lest anyone cheat you, for the philosophy of empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. And just finally, there are multiple examples in scripture.

1 John 3.7, which we studied last year, little children, let no one deceive you.

He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. How about that for positional truth? He that practices righteousness is righteous, just as He, the Lord Jesus Christ, is righteous. Positional truth. And we can't practice righteousness unless we are abiding in Him, walking with Him, in fellowship with Him. And it all begins with us being made the righteousness of God in Him.

2 Corinthians 5.21. I know you're trying to hear me say that, but boy, I rest in that truth. He had made him who knew no sin, and he made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Incredibly important truth that positions us in the Lord Jesus Christ.

All right, perhaps this best relates to the verses that precede this, and I'm going to say that I think it relates to both, that the devil is a master of blinding our eyes to sin. And I think the verses that preceded this really related to all the mechanisms by which the Lord allows for us to be deceived.

Ephesians 4.14, that we should no longer be children. By the way, this section of Ephesians relates to the body of Christ that's gone south. And that means that there's a lot of sin going on in these Ephesian believers.

This verse is so informative. It says, don't be deceived by anyone. tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of dauphin, by the trickery of men and the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting." You know what the conclusion of this section was?

Because you, verse 22 in Ephesians 4, you have not learned Christ, was the conclusion of this whole section of believers that have gone astray. and been deceived repeatedly and fallen into sin. You have not learned Christ. I mean, again, that positional truth in terms of how important it is in terms of our condition being molded to our position. Second Corinthians 4, 3 through 4, but even if our gospel's veiled, it's veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the God of this age has blinded, who do not believe lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.

And then finally, Ephesians 2, 1 and 2. And you, he hath made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins. You once walked according to the course of this world, being deceived, according to the prince of the power of the air, Satan's involvement, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience.

And just as a caution, we're not perishing once. I mean, ultimately our salvation is when we were saved or being saved and we will be saved. But this is a warning to the church in terms of it's falling back into the ways that perishing ones were experiencing. So enough about that. I think we can leave that for where it's at right now. All right, let's go on to verse 17.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation. or a shadow of time. So what comes to mind when you think about every good gift and every perfect gift? Christ. The Lord Jesus. Right. What makes that right? The Lord Jesus. Okay, so He is the only good gift and the only perfect gift. Is that correct? We don't need to think about items or things. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. That's Bob. All right, well, let's see how Paul deals with this when he addresses Timothy.

Perfect enlarges upon good, so the idea of this is even better than good, of bringing out more distinctly the moral quality of the gift. And again, I think that's all wrapped up in the Lord Jesus Christ. And Paul addresses that in 1 Timothy 6-17 where he says, Command those who are rich in the present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God who gives us richly all things to enjoy." So everything that we ultimately put in terms of spiritual quality comes from the Lord. And it's all wrapped up in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Brother Bob's comments here. And of course, this is from above and the Father of lights and does not include temptations. So putting that in perspective, and it comes from above. I thought Constable kind of outlined this pretty interestingly. Constable said, from above is the translation of the same Greek word, anothen, which Jesus used in John 3-7 when he told Nicodemus that he must be born again. There, the new birth is the good gift from God that is in view. So it's interesting that this verb was used in the same context that Christ approached Nicodemus in terms of him being born again.

I think we can say possibly that since Christ is a good and perfect gift from above, anything associated, because we have his life in us, all that we access of him is part of that perfect gift. So how do we interpret that in terms of the New Day existence then? He's our life, right? Every aspect of Christ that we count upon, His death, His burial, His resurrection, His fellowship, all the attributes of Christ that we have in Him. So, in my mind, that's the totality of the perfect gift. Well, but the perfect gift ultimately does what?

I mean, if Hal were here, I'd understand. I'm not saying guess what I'm thinking, but I am kind of saying that. No, to the glory of God, right? The gift brings glory to the Heavenly Father. And we can take a tangent and really study the glory, our existence here bringing glory to our Heavenly Father in our faith. And again, as usual, I have some verses to share with you. A couple of verses, one from the Old Testament. I'm going to have more of those.

He that made Pleiades and Orion, he turns the shadow of death into mourning and makes the day dark at night. He calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the face of the earth. The Lord is his name. So this idea, you know, darkness and light, I mean, he ultimately changes that. He's light completely. There's no darkness at all in him. John 3, 31.

He who comes from above is above all. Remember, from above is the emphasis here. And he who is of the earth is earthly. and speaks of the earth. He that comes from heaven is above all. So from above, I think in context, really relates to the power of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And in contrast to sin. And James reminds us of this a little later on. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, and demonic. This sin is a contrast to ultimately the power of the Lord. creating every good and every perfect gift.

So a little bit more about this Father of Lights. Why is God called the Father of Lights? I have alluded to that before. Well, He created light. He was the only light, right? Visually. When the sun came, the Lord Jesus Christ provided that light in Genesis. And Roger? Then in 1 John we learn that in Him is light. He is the source of light. a sense of purity and holiness. And there's always a relationship with darkness and sin.

I like that. You know, and so if he's the father of lights, then we want to be in the light. Right. Okay. So my colleague, I think, helps us here a little bit. The word lights is used of the heavenly bodies, such as stars, planets, and constellations.

This gives reason for the title, the heavenly bodies exist in lavish abundance. We have yet to discover their number. So with God, his goodnesses are without number. Linked to this fact is the truth that such a lavish gift never changes. So that's my colleagues' view about this. And by the way, this light is ultimately not variable or doesn't turn.

So as we look at that in a little bit more detail, Romans 9.14, what shall we then say? Is there unrighteousness with God? The idea that the perfect glory and gift is everything involved in God and there's no unrighteousness in them. So the contrast to sin is clearly stated in the scripture. And the question to the group is could this relate to variation of light versus dark as the earth turns around the sun? Well, Bob, I have a little geeky thing about variation. It's the word, if I remember correctly, it's the English word for parallax.

Which, to make a simple illustration, if you look at your speedometer, if you look straight on, you'll see you're going 60. If you look from the side, you might say 62. It depends on your perspective, but just keep in mind that God is straight on. There's no variation. Because a man can look at it and get a different reading if he looks different directions.

I don't know if that's a part of your pathogen. Or a pathogen would say you're going too fast, you're going too slow. That happens. He drives slower than I do. I felt like I was driving too slow, actually. Margaret did have to say it this morning, but it was clear that we brought food for the meal. It was going down the hill a little bit.

So you can say there's no parallax with God. You alluded to it. It's the only New Testament use of this term. Variation or shatter of turning is the only New Testament use of this term. It made me kind of think a little bit about the solemnity of God. There's no kind of earthly dimension that He exists within. He's the power of light and is not turning.

So I promise, yes. There's a verse in Revelation too that's really clear about being the light. Okay. It's 21.3 talking about the city. And the city has no need of the sun or the moon. to shine upon it, for the glory of God has illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb." And, you know, isn't it interesting at the beginning of the Bible, He's the light of the world before the sun was created, and then in eternity, ultimately, the light is sufficient because of His glory. I mean, it boggles your mind, doesn't it, when you think about this.

So, I turn to a couple of Old Testament verses here, too. God is not a man that He should lie. nor a son of man that he should repent. Has he said, and will he not do? Or has he spoken, and will he not make good? That kind of relates to his sovereignty. For I am the Lord, I don't change.

Malachi. And then in the New Testament, probably find many verses. First John 1, this is the message, which we've heard from him and declared to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. And John, I think, represents the light of the Lord Jesus Christ better than any other apostle that writes to us today in the Scriptures.

In a sense, the perfect gift and good gift, or whatever, we think ultimately of things, don't we? But that gets us distracted from the source. It's wrapped up in a person, our Savior. And we all pray selfishly, don't we, for things to happen in a way that looks like a gift from God to our great being blessed. But anyway, that doesn't mean we shouldn't pray.

Well, just, you know, just the whole aspect of Christ and that we have, we have his life and all that entails with, you know, all those attributes we have and all the riches of God's grace that we go through, that Schaeffer has documented, the 33 riches of God's grace. In my mind, that's the totality of his, of his riches and blessings. That's Christ. And then we have all of him. I mean, it's amazing. We have all of that. You think, wow, one or two of those would seem to be enough. We could have all of them.

Without variation of shadow of time. But the idea of the planet rotating around the sun and ultimately darkness and light as we currently perceive it, there's none of that with him. I mean, in a sense, that's where the the shadow of turning might relate to the earthly existence of turning around the sun. So anyway, neat.

All right, verse 18. By his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth. I love the term truth, we all should. There's none greater in us than ultimately the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, but we're brought to the truth and the truth is in him. So I think truth is such an incredibly important word to think about scripturally. So anyway, of his own will, he brought us forth by the word of truth that we might be a kind of first fruits of this creature. So I was a little bit puzzled by some of this first. So let's see if we can dissect this down. Of his own will is one word. It's below my. I may not pronounce that correctly. But anyway, it was one word of his own will. So below my. And there is the best knowledge, which translates best in terms of the strong definition of to will deliberately have a purpose or being so minded.

So this is really a creative act of his God's greatest will, of his own will. He brought us forth by the word of truth. I mean, that's a strong, strong word of his will. So in John 1, 12, and 13, but as many as received him, each one of us, to them he gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, not of the will of man, but of God. So that, in a sense, is his will to call each and every one of us to salvage. I mean, that's a strong, strong word. And that makes you feel kind of special, doesn't it? That that will was directed towards Jim. or to Maryland, or to Margaret. I mean, it's incredible that that relates to us being born again.

All right, he brought us forth, aorist, active, indicative. I'm spelling out indicative, sorry about that. By the word of truth. So how do we interpret the verb tense here? He brought us forth, aorist, active, indicative. Indicative means what? It's a fact. Fact, it's a fact, okay. Active? The work of God, right? He's done it to us. And Eris, how do we interpret that? Well, I like my colleagues. He's helped me on that. Eris, it's an event. It's an event. So you could say that when we trusted Christ, that event in our life, He brought us by the word truth. So that's a point in time. A point in time or an event.

Now, either the word truth really is related to How should we interpret the word locus, which is the word of truth? Is this a written word, do you think? And, or is this a living word? How about both? Sorry, we're getting all these bugs today, Bob. This is not a good question. Yes.

Second Corinthians 4-6, this is God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, which is kind of interesting in terms of our discussion, who is shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ. So again, the light and the truth being manifested. And Colossians 1-15, because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of truth of the gospel. So the word of truth is all wrapped up in the Lord Jesus Christ, but manifested in the written word that we all use the Holy Spirit to interpret.

All right. And James, by the way, continues to hint. If you read the verses, which I read 19 and 20, but on through 27, he continues to mention the word of truth. So this has been important not only to John and to Paul, but now James is really reiterating how important truth is. And that word of truth is both the Lord Jesus Christ and the written How do we interpret the being first fruits of his creatures? I was thinking about the principle that it said the grain of wheat fall into the ground and die.

The Lord was the first fruit. and we're a kind of that first fruit. All right, so that's the life of allergy spreads being lived out as being a fruitful experience in terms of the plant world. Is that your analogy here, metaphor? Yeah, yeah. What are your thoughts about first fruits? Well, because I wasn't sure I needed to turn to somebody else.

So it's possible that first fruits probably refer to all Christians who persevere in spite of trials. All believers will bring glory to God's name. That's our purpose. But believers who remain faithful to Christ will please him greatly as the firstfruits in Israel were a special offering to God. The Greek word translated firstfruits, apache, refers to what is first in order as well as to what is first in order.

Now this last statement I bolded because I thought it might be worth a conversation. The biblical writers used it of persons superior in excellence to others of the same class. Let's just think out loud here a little bit. When we look at one another in their walk of the Lord, I think there are certain people whose walk really is exemplary of what Scripture represents more than somebody else. But God sees all as righteous. I mean, this is not our position to really do that, right? We can say, I'm sorry, I'm blabbing off today. I apologize.

But anyway, like we see, I think our brother Hal, he was such an encouragement to many of us. His life, his life living, you know, with the Lord was such an encouragement to so many. So was he, did he get exceptional honor. I mean, it's kind of like those exceptional honors. We're all in Christ. We're all his children. We all have, you know, there's this idea of crowns possibly, but beyond that, and that's just an ability to glorify him.

So, I don't know. We have to be careful here, I would say. No, I'm just sharing what Constable Peters said. You know, I think that a first fruit of the Lord would be one who exemplifies the walk of the Lord Jesus Christ, and which is biblically consistent and morally sound. I mean, you know, Calvin didn't walk on water. No, he didn't. But Paul, you remember what Paul said? We all look at Paul as a great example. He said, Paul said, be ye imitators of me as I also am of Christ. And he's talking about the exchange of life. And we look at Paul, and he said near death and second death, I'm the greatest among all sinners.

So this humility and the walk in the Lord Jesus Christ does allow more, God gets to be the judge, but more glory being brought to him in a life that looks like a first fruit. So we can argue with what Constables interpret, but let's see what somebody else says. This is Vincent. It kind of indicates the figurative nature of the term. time figure is taken from the requirement of the Jewish law that the first born of the men and cattle and the first growth of fruits and grains should be consecrated to the Lord, the point of the illustration that Christians, like first fruits, should be consecrated to God. So, a similar but not quite that bold statement that Constable made at the end.

But you see what I'm saying? I'm thinking that when we see the human existence in that new walk that we view Not that we want to be, I mean, how to just exemplify that, and how to be the person that he was the greatest among sinners. We all have to feel that way about ourselves.

Well, he walked through us. He works through us. So if Christ wants to work more through you than through me, then why do you say no? Well, where's the barriers there? It exists in each one of us individually, but I don't judge you, Jim, based on your walk. No. I mean, we all kind of look at people who walk in the Lord and say, gee, you know, that's really me.

God's really getting glory through that life. Yeah. Not through me, but through others. And we're not giving glory to that person. We're giving glory to Christ. But, you know, Vincent more globally interprets it as all Christians are God's first fruits. Yeah, right.

We are at the beginning of a new creation. Maybe one of your thoughts here? I was just thinking that this doesn't relate to me as much about rewards as it does to the fact that there were no creations like us until the death of Christ and after that we were created in Christ as a new type of creation and we're the first fruits of that. That was what I was thinking.

Another possibility would be the early church was the first fruits because of the newborn Christians who are now spreading the gospel. and living a life that brings glory to God. Anyway, we're all part of the first fruits to the extent that we bring glory to God in our walk. And if Constable has a point to make, maybe some of us live by faith and exemplify that better than others. But we're not to compare one to another. We're all taught to walk by faith. Well, Bob? Yes, sir.

Hey, well, Paul in 1 Corinthians calls Christ the first fruit from among the dead in his resurrection. And I think we just follow in that mold as we are. It's positional. We come from him, the first fruit of the resurrection. So, it's... Okay, well, you know, along that line, Andrew, you're reading ahead, but that's okay. I have a verse from Revelation. Likewise, greet the church that is in their house. Greet my beloved... Hephaestus, who is the first fruits of Asia to Christ. But here's that verse you alluded to, Andrew.

That each one of us, in his own order, Christ the first fruits, afterwards those who are Christed is coming. So, I mean, you shared that perfectly. So, I'm glad. All right, we need to keep moving and wrap up here. Are we really creatures? Perhaps best interpreted as true Christians as created and renewed by regeneration. They're new creations. What's a better word? Did you look at the Greek word at all? I don't recall that I did. I don't know what it is. I'm pretty sure it should be called New York. We're not one of those.

I'm speaking science. Science, obviously. scientific directorate that covers all sciences, on a plane coming back from Florida. And a new species has been found, something between Neanderthal and humans, which is, anyway, so you have to take a picture. This new creature was identified. But I think Darby, and this is the last thing we're going to show today, I think Darby puts this section really in a very heavenly perspective. So it's long, but let's look at it.

By the Lord of Truth He has begotten us to be the first and most excellent witnesses of that power of good which will shine forth hereafter in the new creation of which we are the firstfruits. This is the opposite of being the source of corrupt desires. The Lord of Truth is the good seed of life. Self-will is the cradle of our lust. Its energy can never produce the fruits of divine nature. nor the wrath of man the righteousness of God.

Therefore we're called to be docile, be ready to hear, slow to speak, slow to rant, to lay aside all filthiness of the flesh, all energy of iniquity, and to receive the word with meekness. A word which, while it is the word of God, identifies itself with the new nature that is in us, it is planted in us. while forming and developing it according to its own perfection, because this nature itself has its origin from God through the Word. It is not as a law which is outside us, in which being opposed to our sinful nature condemns us. This Word saves the soul in its living and quickening, and it works livingly in a nature that flows from it, in which it forms and enlightens."

Isn't that great? So I think all we've tried to do here is to set the section of Scripture, and I think Darby has done extremely well. Don't you? Yes. Yes. Amen. All right. Well, let's close in prayer. Jan, would you close us in prayer, please? Father, we thank you for the creations that you've made us. We thank you for the way you work in us. Not that we should judge each other, but that we should judge you, judge you as righteous. We thank you for your word, and we thank you for the study of your word. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen.