James 3:13-18

Translation

13 Who is wise and understanding among you? He must show out of his good conduct of life his works in humble wisdom. 14 But if you hold on to bitter jealousy and rivalry in your heart, you must not boast and lie against the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom which comes down from above but is earthly, natural, demonic. 16 For where there is jealousy and rivalry, there is discord and every worthless deed. 17 But the wisdom from above is indeed first holy, then it is peaceable, gentle, obedient, full of mercy and good fruit, unwavering, without hypocrisy. 18 But fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by the ones making peace.

Outline of the Text

1. V. 13 Who is wise among you?
• He must show, from his good conduct in life, his wisdom
• That which comes from his wisdom will be meek, not aggressive or haughty
2. V. 14-16 The one claiming to be wise but not displaying it
• V14 A wrongful claim
• This person displays something other than good conduct:
• Bitter jealousy
• Selfish ambition
• This person must not boast
• He must not exalt himself over others, the opposite of the meek person
• This action opposes the truth about himself and about others
• V15 This wisdom is not from above
• It does not come down from God above
• It is earthly/worldly
• It is unspiritual/fleshly
• It is of demons/Satanic
• V16 From jealousy and selfish ambition will come things opposite that of Godly wisdom:
• Disorder
• Every vile practice
3. V. 17 Wisdom from God
• V17 What Godly wisdom is:
• Chiefly it is pure, holy
• It is peaceable, given to peace, making peace
• It is gentle
• It is open to reason, reasonable, listens to others
• It is full of mercy
• It bears good fruits
• It is impartial
• It is full of sincerity
4. V18 The result of living in Godly wisdom
• The fruit, the harvest will be righteousness reflecting the first aspect of Godly wisdom
• The fruit is sown in peace, reflecting the second aspect which summarizes all the others
• When you live out the wisdom of God, righteousness is what will ultimately result
• This is done by those who make peace
• Active in making peace, not just wanting or desiring peace

Sermon Manuscript

This is our tenth sermon through the book of James. Assuming I do not change my plans for James, and assuming God allows us to proceed, we will have six more sermons from James.

Throughout the letter from James he has displayed a concern that the believers live holy lives, displaying the truth of their faith by their works. James began his letter by calling on the people to seek wisdom from God. In today’s passage he shows the people the kind of works that should result from Godly wisdom. So let’s read together James 3:13-18.

Pray

Is there anyone wise here this morning? Anyone with understanding? If not then back up to chapter 1 and read verses 5-8. There you will find instructions for seeking Godly wisdom. It seems to be James’ expectation that Christians will either be growing in the wisdom of God or be seeking the wisdom of God. Godly wisdom is available to all believers and should be desired by all believers.

What are the effects of Godly wisdom on the Christian life? Is there any? Does Godly wisdom simply enable us to sound smart? It seems to be a common idea that wisdom allows us to say profound things at the right time. The wise person is the old man with a long flowing beard who sits in a chair waiting for people to come to him so he can give cryptic answers. The wise man is the Great Guru from the B.C. comic strips, just waiting to share his wisdom with a needy world.

But there is much more to Godly wisdom than the ability to say clever things. When we receive wisdom from God I think it will aid us in how we respond to people, in the insight we have to situations, so that we are able to give an answer that is more pertinent and helpful. But that is not the primary effect of the wisdom from God.

James offers one basic demonstration of Godly wisdom: that the person who has wisdom should display the qualities of wisdom through his good conduct. In particular James has in mind the meekness of wisdom, but we will get to that in a moment.

Let me add a brief aside for those of you looking at the King James; you might be a little confused since your translation says something like, “Let him show out of a good conversation…” This is one of the instances in which English has changed over the years, and one reason why I tend to recommend that people use more recent translations. Conversation in this context made perfect sense to people in 1611 and is a proper word to use. But the meaning has changed over the years. The word used to mean that which is seen outwardly in a person’s life, that which communicates to others about your life. Your conversation was what you told others by the way you live. Over the years the meaning of the word became more limited, referring only to that which takes place verbally, so that conversation today means what people tell each other with their lips.

So understanding that James here is talking about good conduct, let’s consider what he means. This means more than just make sure people see you doing the right thing. This refers to the entire structure of a person’s life. How do you live? What guides your life? What drives you? And yes, what can other people tell about you by the way you live your life? It isn’t enough just to do the right things, how do you do them and what is your attitude?

Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:13-16 that we are salt and light to the world, demonstrating to the world the richness of God and the light of his truth. Can people see those things in the way that you live? Is your life pointing to God or does your life point to yourself, demonstrating a selfish individual who is driven by his own interest, his own desire to life a safe and comfortable life?

If you are living according to Godly wisdom then your good conduct should reflect the glory of God. Your life should not be about you, it is about the one who made you and bought you with his own blood.

If you are living according to Godly wisdom then your life will also be about service to others. Demonstrating the glory of God and service to others is what James means by the meekness of wisdom. People today often do not like the idea of being meek. Jesus calls us to be meek, but meek is weak and we have to be assertive to survive in this life! I have to dominate my surroundings, I have to let myself be known, let myself be heard, let the world know who it is that people are dealing with! Look out for number one, look out for my own interests. After all, what good is wisdom if it does not help me to thrive in this life?

This is not wisdom from God. In verse 14 James speaks of people who make these claims. They have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in their hearts. They look around them not with the mindset of a servant, not looking for ways to help those around them, but with a sinful, grasping heart desiring things they do not possess. Their desire might be for actual physical possessions. More specifically it is a desire for status, for power, for reputation. Such people feel superior to those around them. And so they boast over others.

The word James uses here for boast is an interesting word. It is a forceful word and boast doesn’t really catch the full meaning. So to expand a little bit, James is saying that such people proclaim themselves superior to others. They may not do so with words, but with the way that they live they are demonstrating their belief that they are perhaps more significant, perhaps more important, than other people. They are not just saying, “Look at the great things I have done!” they are going so far as to say, “Look at these things I have done and how these things make me dominant over other people!” They are the opposite of the meek.

What does it mean to be meek? Well a good place to start is considering the opposite of the person we have just described. Contrary to the claims of the world the meek person is not a weak person. Far from it, the meek person has a great deal of strength. The meek person is someone who has himself under control, who does not fly off in fits of passion but is able to live with his actions in check. The person who is not meek often reacts to things going on around him. He is not able to help himself! He must assert himself in any given situation. The meek person does not have the same need to assert himself, to dominate situations. The meek Christian has the desire to honor God in everything that takes place. The person who is not meek has the desire to honor himself in everything that takes place.

Godly wisdom will manifest itself with a meek heart. If a person claims to have wisdom from God and yet he is consumed with bitter jealousy and selfish ambition, his claim is false. What’s more such a person makes great boasts about himself, placing himself in a position of superiority over others. He holds no such superiority. There is only one supreme person and that is Christ and you are not him. There is God, then there is us. Nothing is in between. No individual stands above the rest of humanity. The person making such great boasts about himself is not presenting the truth but is being false, deceptive, a liar. Who then is the father of such a person? Jesus said in John 8:44: “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

This person claims to be wise but his wisdom is not Godly wisdom. As James puts it in verse 15, this is not the wisdom that comes down from above. This wisdom is evil: it is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.

Some people try to say that James in this letter is countering many of the teachings of Paul and yet time and again we find James reinforcing Paul’s message, agreeing with Paul while drawing out some things not emphasized by Paul. Looking at verse 15 I have to wonder if James was aware of Paul’s teaching like that found in Colossians 3:1-2: “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”

Do you claim the name of Christ? Are you a Christian? Then you have been raised with Christ. Are you raised with Christ? Then set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. And yet if you pursue a wisdom not from God then you are pursuing an earthly wisdom. It is wisdom of the flesh, it is wisdom that has its source in the devil. Such “wisdom” can only have one result: death.

In verse 16 James tells us of the consequences of worldly wisdom. This wisdom, which pushes a person to bitter jealousy and selfish ambition, only leads to discord and “every vile practice”. How can it lead to anything else? Worldly wisdom is found in sayings such as, “Look out for number one!” It is a breeding ground for trouble.

How many marriages have ended due to worldly wisdom. We are told to live for ourselves, to do what feels good. Because we boast in our superiority, we feel that others owe us something. My spouse should be grateful to me! Look who she is married to! She should feel obliged to follow my every expectation. And when she does not, we go looking for someone who will. And a family is destroyed. Godly wisdom does not look at others and ask how they can help me feel good about myself. Godly wisdom looks to another person and asks, “How can I serve this person?” Godly wisdom looks to another person and asks, “How can I bring glory to God as I interact with this person?”

How much dissension is in the workplace due to worldly wisdom? How many countries are in turmoil because of the drive to do what is best for Me!

Worldly wisdom is such a destructive force. It breaks apart families. It destroys companies. It brings governments to their knees. And yet for some reason we continue to pursue the wisdom of the world. Who wants to be meek when I can make myself KNOWN to the world! I am such a clever/smart/articulate/good looking/whatever person – the world NEEDS to know who I am and I will do whatever it takes to make sure my superiority is recognized by the world. And so we set ourselves against everyone else. This leads to divorce. It leads to abuse. It leads to an Enron scandal. It leads to Watergate. It leads to Hitler wiping out the Jews. It leads to Americans committing genocide against Native Americans. It leads to horrific atrocities committed against black people throughout American history. It leads to today’s gangster culture of drugs and violence. It leads to the twin towers collapsing. And on and on it goes, creating a world of misery.

If not for the grace of God this world would have destroyed itself long ago. If not for the grace of God there would be no hope for the world. If not for a God who looks down on the world and actively imposes himself on the world, preventing so many things that could have gone wrong, we would have destroyed ourselves long ago. Worldly wisdom, look-out-for-number-one wisdom, can only lead to one final end: Hiroshima on a global scale. Destruction of the entire planet. The end of the world because of our own sin. And this is the fate of the world as the wickedness of man continues to grow and as our rebellion and defiance against God becomes more and more acute. I believe we are seeing these things take place today.

What directs your life? Are you following the wisdom of the world? Or is God himself the source of your life? If you lack wisdom, ask God who gives generously to all. If you lack wisdom, plead with God for his wisdom! And know that he will grant what you ask, when you really have faith in him. Living faith. Active faith. Faith that is willing to put you in danger because you know what God has called you to do and it is not always safe, it is not always comfortable, but it is always right.

In verse 17 James tells us what Godly wisdom looks like, letting us know what its effect will be on the Christian life.

The first thing James tells us is that Godly wisdom is pure. It is holy. This describes everything coming from God, and anything here that is good and holy must come from God. As James mentioned in 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above”. God himself is holy and calls on us to be holy as he is holy. Be pure. Be separated from the evil ways of the world. The wisdom from God is something very different from anything the world has to offer. It is unstained by the sinful desires of the world.

Godly wisdom is also peaceable. It seeks peace and not strife. People are sometimes this way, sometimes not. We have our days when we just want to fight. But the effect of Godly wisdom on the Christian life will be a life of peace, not of strife. Not that everything with us will always be peaceful, but that we will be a people who always seek to live in peace. More than that, we will be a people who try to create peace, becoming peacemakers. We will return to that with verse 18. But the world we live in is a sinful place and will not always want the peace that we want. We have an adversary who has come to steal and kill and destroy and his effect on the world is enormous.

Next, Godly wisdom is gentle. It is not harsh toward people, it is not rigid and unmoving. This gentleness leads us to display the grace of God to others. As God is not quick to punish us as our sins deserve, so we should not be quick to condemn others for their sins. Be gentle. Be patient. Obey Ephesians 4:32 which says: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” The grace that you have received from God, display it to others.

Godly wisdom is also open to reason. Again, it is not unyielding. It leads you to hear what others say. James wants his readers to be open to reason as they read his letter, to be willing to have their minds changed as James presents truth to them. Too often we are so set in our ways that we refuse to budge no matter how compelling the truth is before us. This should not be, and this is not what Godly wisdom leads us to be. If we resist correction, we plunge to disaster. God addresses his people in Zephaniah 3:7 when he says: “I said, 'Surely you will fear me; you will accept correction. Then your dwelling would not be cut off according to all that I have appointed against you.' But all the more they were eager to make all their deeds corrupt.” Through the prophets God had given instruction and correction to his people, but they refused to hear and so they were destroyed.

Godly wisdom is also full of mercy. As James mentioned in 2:13, mercy triumphs over judgment. Along with our gentleness, we are merciful. We are not creatures of wrath, looking for an opportunity to get back at others for the wrong they have done. Oh how often Christians are guilty of this thing! We seem to long for the day when the foul sinner will stand before God in judgment, looking forward to his being put in his place. Much more we should be showing mercy to them, praying for their salvation, and trying to bring them to salvation. And when we are wronged personally our goal should not be vengeance and restitution but to restore the person who committed the wrong; to forgive him, to show him the way he ought to live. There is a place for punishment, but there is a big difference between punishment and revenge.

Godly wisdom produces good fruit. As the wisdom of God is given through the work of the Holy Spirit, the fruit if the Spirit is also the fruit of Godly wisdom. When we live according to the Spirit then we will produce good things with our lives. The fruit we often look for, following worldly wisdom, is more money, more things, a better car (perhaps I shouldn’t go there), a bigger promotion, greater status in life. But the fruit of the Spirit are things that are much more humble and meek, things that produce good not just for ourselves but others as well as it can lead toward harmonious relationships, unity in the family and the church, peaceful relationships with others. Godly wisdom results in faith that is lived out in our actions and demonstrates the good things of God to the world.

Next Godly wisdom is impartial. It does not lead us to divide ourselves on the basis of race or class or education or any other irrelevant characteristic of individuals. With wisdom from God Christians will see people as people – sinners in need of the grace of God and sinners whom I have been given the opportunity to minister to. Each and every person on this planet is an opportunity for ministry and needs to know the grace of God. Godly wisdom is impartial when dealing with these people, no matter how different I may think of them. Consider what God sees when he looks down on humanity. He sees no distinction between people. Peter was right in Acts 10:34 when he spoke to the gentiles: “So Peter opened his mouth and said: ‘Truly I understand that God shows no partiality’” I like how the King James Version translates that verse: “God is no respecter of persons”. Nor should we be.

Wisdom from above is sincere. Godly wisdom is pure, it is what it is with nothing false mixed in. When we live according to Godly wisdom, the world will know what they are dealing with when they look at us, nothing is hidden and nothing is deceptive. We are pure and sound, nothing false mixed in. There is a song by the independent musician Kelley McRae in which she says, “What you get is what you see.” That is a mark of sincerity.

James closes in verse 18 by telling us that the result of living out Godly wisdom is fruit of righteousness. This verse serves as a transition to the next part of James’ letter and so we will be looking at this verse again next week, but it forms a good conclusion to this portion of the letter. Godly wisdom is pure – it is holy, it is righteous. Godly wisdom is also peaceable. In ways all of the other characteristics of Godly wisdom are summarized by these two. That which is peaceable will be gentle, open to reason, full of mercy, and so on. The purity of Godly wisdom will be produced, will be the fruit, of living at peace. James literally says that peace is sown by those who are makers of peace. More than just desiring peace, wanting peace, we are actively working to bring peace to the world. As we live in the peace of God, as we live at peace with others, the fruit will be righteousness. As mentioned before, we will not always have peace. Paul in Romans 12:18 says, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” You cannot always have peace, but if there must be dissension and discord, make sure you are not the source. And do what you can to make peace in the situation. You will reap a harvest of righteousness.

And so we have the effects of Godly wisdom on the Christian life. Effects of meekness and humility, grace and peace. Are you displaying these things or are you displaying more the effects of worldly wisdom? We live according to one or the other. One seeks to glorify the self, the other seeks to glorify God. One brings the hope and life of God to the world, the other participates in the destructive desires of Satan. One has a future, the other does not.

Do you find yourself living according to the wrong kind of wisdom? Then let me remind you once more of what James says. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God who gives generously. But you must have faith when you ask, otherwise your asking is in vain. And your faith must be a true faith, a living faith. It might be weak and small for now but continue to seek, continue to ask, continue to believe and act in ways that demonstrate your beliefs! God will give you wisdom, God will strengthen your faith, and God will guide you along the path of righteousness.

Do this for the glory of God, so that the Son of God might be glorified through you. (John 11:4)