The Goodness of Wisdom • James 3:13-18
Notes
Your Heavenly Father wants to raise you to live rightly and wisely.
Before God became the Creator, He is the Father of His Son, Jesus Christ. And He is your Father if you have received Jesus and trusted Him to save you from your sins.
No parent wants to see their children live foolishly, make bad decisions, not be able to see potential dangers and snares. So our Father in heaven is going to teach us to be wise.
This is challenging because we are all born, thinking and living foolishly. James shows us this morning that that is calculated by the devil himself to destroy us completely. If we live according to the devil’s wisdom, we will be completely destroyed.
So God is going to teach us to think and live wisely, and live fruitful lives.
I’m reading in James 3 from verse 13.
1. James begins this section with a question designed to get us to think.
A. Who among you is wise and understanding?
1. Wisdom means being skilled in living, being able to discern between right and wrong so that you can make good choices and live rightly.
2. Understanding is a word that means “expert”. This word you would call a scientist. He is an expert in his field, with study, depth, and experience. He knows what he is talking about. Expert in life, how to live rightly and not wind up a failure, a mess.
B. You would like to be able to say, “Me! I’m wise!” A bit of an expert, anyway, I’ve been around the block a few times. I’ve learned some things. But anybody can say they are wise. How would you prove that you are wise and you are an expert?
2. James says, wisdom is visible, gentle, and does good.
A. He says, “Let him show.” Wisdom is clearly evident.
1. We saw in James 2:18 that faith is visible through what faith does. If there is no response to the word of God, to do the word of God, then there is no faith.
2. Wisdom is similar to faith. It’s behaviour that can be seen through deeds.
3. That means wisdom is more than talk, more than winning arguments and debates. Wisdom is doing and living right.
B. Because wisdom is good conduct towards others.
1. The word “good” can be translated “beautiful, fine, excellent, high, honest, sound.”
2. A person’s wisdom is shown in goodness towards others. When you are wise you will treat others beautifully, honestly, excellently.
C. Wisdom is meek and gentle.
1. “Meek” to many people is the same as “weak”. You are lacking in spirit and courage, therefore I will wipe my feet on you like you are a doormat.
2. Jesus is meek and gentle, and He is no weakling, no lack of spirit and courage, at all. He existed in the form of God, and He voluntarily limited Himself and was born as a human being. All that power and glory and deity was under control, submitted to the Father.
3. Jesus was meek and gentle as He was being crucified for our sins. He was taunted, He saved others, He cannot save Himself. Let the Christ come down off the cross and we will believe. All that power was under control for our benefit. If Jesus proves Himself, comes off the cross, there is no redemption. We all die under the condemnation of God. It’s a very good thing for all our sakes that Jesus is meek, power under control. That is the wisdom of God in visible action.
D. So if we are wise and expert in this church, then we will show our wisdom by controlling our power and living beautifully and excellently towards each other and all men. Like Jesus we will live our lives for the Father and for others. Do you see that?
3. Here’s the difficulty: James knows we don’t think that way. He knows that we have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in our hearts.
A. Notice in verse 14 James says, “But if you have selfish ambition and bitter jealousy in your hearts” He means if, and the expectation is that you do!
B. So jealousy is looking at others and saying, “You have an advantage that I resent you for having, and I wish I had it for myself.”
C. Selfish ambition means to boast against. You boast in yourself in competition against others. I’m not just saying I’m better, I’m better than you.
D. When we are jealous and boast against others, James says we lie against the truth.
1. Jesus once asked the disciples what they were talking about while they were on the road. They all shut up, because they had been talking about which of them were the greatest.
2. That discussion made sense while it was just the disciples on the road. But it became embarrassing in the room because there is Jesus in the room. And it’s ludicrous to try and figure out who is the greatest when Jesus is right there.
3. When we think about envying others for their gifts, for boasting ourselves against others, we are saying Jesus isn’t in the room. We are not focusing on Jesus who is the most important person, we are boasting ourselves against Jesus. We are lying against the truth.
D. This kind of wisdom is not from above, where God is, but below, from the devil.
1. Earthly means in contrast to heaven, where God is. It’s only concerned with life on earth without considering God.
2. Sensual means literally “soulish”, having to do with the life of man without the Spirit of God giving light and love.
3. Demonic, because the devil envies God for His attributes and glory, and boasts himself against God. He competes against God.
E. This putting oneself first in all things is absolutely destructive. Wherever you have this so-called wisdom, you have disorder and every evil thing.
1. That word evil has these ideas in it: vile, evil, wicked, corrupt, good-for-nothing, depraved, worthless, mediocre, unimportant, morally despicable, abhorrent, unacceptable.
2. All that results in disorder. You cannot live when your body is in disorder. Nothing functions in order, it all fails. All your systems in your body have to function as one or you die. That holds true for mental health, for families, for marriages, for businesses, any set of relationships possible.
3. But most especially, the church. Because the church is to relate and function as the body of Christ. He is the Head, every other member is connected to the Head and then to each other.
1 Corinthians 12:12 For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.
1 Corinthians 12:24-27 But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.
4. There’s only one wisdom, the true wisdom from above, from the Father in heaven.
A. Wisdom is pure, not mixed with self-seeking, but focused on what God wants.
B. Wisdom is peaceable, because you don’t fight against the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God.
C. Wisdom is gentle, because Christ is gentle and meek, power that could utterly destroy us, used instead to save us.
D. Wisdom is reasonable, easy to persuade, willing to yield to the authority of God and His will first. Not looking to fight, willing to listen.
E. Wisdom is full of mercy and good fruits because that is the result when the Holy Spirit rules in your life. It comes from Him, therefore you receive these good things and then pass them on to others. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. They already received mercy, they will receive more!
F. Wisdom is without hypocrisy, not pretending to be good to deceive and to cover evil. Wisdom is true, and doesn’t change because God is true and doesn’t change.
G. Wisdom is good, because wisdom is from God. If it isn’t good, then it isn’t wisdom. There is no other wisdom. Proverbs 21:30 There is no wisdom and no understanding and no counsel against the LORD.
5. This good wisdom from God teaches us to love others, to think about others and to show them God’s goodness.
A. Although James doesn’t use the word “wisdom” in verse 18 he is referring to the greatest wisdom we can do, and that’s evangelise.
B. We plant the seed of the gospel in peace. That’s because Jesus made peace by the blood of His cross. When a person trusts in Jesus it results in real peace and acceptance with God. So when we tell people about Jesus in peace we are showing that very wisdom of love of God. Any harsh way or threatening or competitive way to share Jesus is disordered and brings disorder. That does not show forth the nature of God.
C. Those who make peace are wise. Those who evangelise are wise. This is all through the Bible.
1. Proverbs 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who is wise wins souls.
2. Daniel 12:3 Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.
3. John 4:34-38 Jesus *said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work. Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this case the saying is true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor.”
4. Think about what Jesus is saying. We look at the fields and say, “Nobody wants Jesus.” He says the fields are white for the harvest. The difference is wisdom. He approached the woman at the well with wisdom, goodness, gentleness, He was interested in her best interest, He engaged the woman’s curiosity. Jesus is wise, and Jesus wins souls.
6. So what? Think and live wisely, like God.
A. The devil plays what is called a zero-sum game. There is only one winner. He thinks, “If I win, you lose. If you win, I lose.” So with bitter jealousy and selfish ambition he competes to win and to make everyone else lose. If we think that way in this church we are dead, because when everyone competes against one another there is disorder and every evil thing. It turns into dog eat dog, biting and devouring one another. You can’t prosper in disorder.
B. The opposite of competition is peace. The wisdom of God makes peace and thinks about others. He says, “I’m doing fine, I’m all set. But how about you? Are you going to make it in the judgment? I will do everything in My power so that you receive salvation and live forever. When you succeed, then I succeed. When you are glorified, then I am glorified.” When you are not competing there are no losers. Everyone wins. That is how we are going to think and live in this church.
C. So receive the wisdom of God. If you haven’t received Jesus, then receive Him today. He doesn’t want to take from you, He wants to give you eternal life. It is wise to know Him and be pardoned and redeemed and cleansed.
D. Then we want to be wise. We think about others and benefit them with God’s goodness. We want to become skilled in the gospel.
1. One thing you can do is pray, “Heavenly Father, You teach me to tell people about Jesus.” Your Father in heaven will show you what to say.
2. One way to open a door with people is to be interested in them. When people get that you are kind towards them, that you are interested and that you love them, they become open to you. You can do this with people on a plane, in a store, on Facebook Messenger that you are trying to sell to or buy from! You can do this at Boots! You can do this on the phone! Love everyone and be open to saying something about Jesus to them.
3. If somebody doesn’t want your peace, then you did everything you could. Move on, talk to someone else. Do not be discouraged. God is even going to cover your mistakes. But you are never going to make a mistake when you love someone, because love does no wrong to a neighbour, love therefore is the fulfilment of the law.
E. The one thing that people are afraid of is losing out after helping others. “What about me? What if I help everyone else but no one helps me? What is going to happen to me?” Don’t you worry about that! It is more blessed to give than it is to receive! You can’t outgive God!
Proverbs 11:25 The generous man will be prosperous, and he who waters will himself be watered.
Let’s pray.