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James: A Faith that Works • Sermon • Submitted
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Introduction (40 - 5min)
Introduction (40 - 5min)
Do you know there is a difference between being smart and being wise?
Being smart is knowing your wife’s hair style isn’t as good as her last one. Being wise is knowing enough to keep your mouth shut.
Definition of wisdom
“Wisdom” = the quality of being wise.
Knowledge and wisdom are NOT the same thing
ILLUST - ‘smart but not wise’
Knowledge is static - Wisdom is active
Wisdom is knowledge applied to life
The Bible talks a lot about wisdom:
Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Job
Proverbs is a book devoted to the application of truth to the way of life - a very practical book
Wisdom in OT was a way of life.
I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the paths of uprightness.
What James will show us today:
There is a contrast of wisdoms that creates a conflict within us that can only be solved with a clear choice.
(13-14) Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.
(13 - 14) - If anyone claims to be wise it will be evident
There is a contrast of wisdoms that creates a conflict within us that can only be solved with a clear choice.
Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
Contrast of wisdoms (3:13-18) (35 - 10min)
Contrast of wisdoms (3:13-18) (35 - 10min)
(13-14) Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.
(13 - 14) - If anyone claims to be wise it will be evident
(14) But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.
(15) This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.
2 Sources of Wisdom
Wisdom from above / earthly
Earthly wisdom has as its source pragmatism.
Sources:
Self-help books, etc.
There is no shortage of people who will claim to be an expert about something and offer a way to apply their knowledge to a situation of life.
Wisdom from above has as it’s source the fact that GOD CREATED YOU AND THEREFORE KNOWS THE BEST WAY TO BRING ABOUT YOUR FLOURISHING.
**(The only reason we wouldn’t follow God then, if we understand this, is that we believe he doesn’t know or he doesn’t care) Doesn’t know - He’s Creator / Doesn’t care - look at the cross.
ILLUST - the Creator knows the truth and the application of the truth to our lives is not meant as rules and restrictions but to flourish us.
Sometimes, my children think the rules I give are to be restrictive, but they are to flourish them.
? - Fear of Lord beginning of wisdom
This does not mean that an unbeliever cannot act in wisdom, but when they do, they are borrowing from Christianity and acting in a way unnatural to who they are.
IF God is THE source of all wisdom (for life):
**Do you really know what the truth of God says about:
Marriage
Dating
How much to save for retirement
What to do with your retirement
How to respond when a family member invites you to their wedding with a partner of the same gender
How to vote or respond to others about particular social issues - immigration, abortion, etc
*What feeds your decision-making process for these things? Where does your wisdom for these things come from?
Downstream efffects are the result of the upstream source
*Can you trace your decision-making back to a place where you included God in the process?
2 Results of Wisdom
Earthly Wisdom: The results of earthly wisdom is marked by:
Unspiritual - no mention of God - glory given elsewhere
Demonic - will actually lead away from the truth of God
Disorder - how can it be orderly if it does not trace back to the Creator?
Jealousy
Every Vile Practice - catch-all for everything else.
Wisdom from Above: The results of a life that applies wisdom from above to the situation of life are marked by:
Pure, Gentle, Reasonable, Merciful, Good, Peaceful
*How is your life marked? Perhaps the reason why you feel your life is in such disorder and full of anxiety has less to do with the events and issues happening in your life and more to do with your application of wisdom to your life.
ILLUST - my kids when they mention that ___________ hurts when I touch it. Don’t touch it.
In the church:
Some of the teachers (and others) who were having arguments in the churches James knew, however, were quite different from [the person who displays his wisdom with meekness and good works.] They were characterized by bitter envy and selfish ambition. They probably called their envy ‘zeal’, as Phinehas was zealous (), but while zeal is good, this zeal was not really from God’s spirit, for it was not characterized by meekness. This was disguised envy. What James describes as selfish ambition they may have called ‘standing for the truth’ or ‘keeping our group pure’. The term James uses for it could also be translated ‘party spirit’, for they were forming groups or parties rather than standing for the unity of the whole church. To call these attitudes ‘God’s wisdom’ and thus to boast about them is to deny reality, the truth of God. This was not how Jesus acted.
Peter H. Davids, “James,” in New Bible Commentary:
Conflict of affections (4:1-5) (25 - 10min)
Conflict of affections (4:1-5) (25 - 10min)
(1) What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you?
What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? (ESV)
James is asking the question how in the world could there be conflict in the church if those in the church we’re walking in the wisdom that is from above
As he continues, his conclusion is the problem is deeper than any one issue of the church. The source of the conflict in the church is really the conflict of affections of each individual heart
Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?
I’m convinced that the reason people see the same quarrels and fights in the church as they do outside the church is because the people inside the church are operating with the same source of wisdom (good life) as those outside the church.
Individualism
consumerism
“my” church, go TO church, how did YOU like worship
Alan Wolf, a leading sociologist and the director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life, has concluded that, "In the United States culture has transformed Christ, as well as all other religions found within these shores. In every aspect of the religious life, American faith has met American culture - and American culture has triumphed."
To validate Wolf's belief one need only look at religious traditions more recently introduced to popular consumer culture. Last month The New York Times ran an article about the first Indian megatemple (the Hindu equivalent of the American megachurch). The enormous building is designed to attract and entertain the un-templed with a large-format movie screen, an indoor boat ride, and even a hall of animatronic characters. The temple's public relation's director proudly admits, "There is no doubt about it - we have taken the concept from Disneyland."
Christian atheism
God is functionally absent
(4-5)
You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”?
When God’s people pursue the good life (wisdom) (flourishing) power, protection, provision, pleasure apart from the wisdom of God, it is as serious as a husband seeking purpose or pleasure with someone other than his wife.
Every time I walk not in wisdom from above but follow the world’s wisdom, my own desires, I am cheating on God.
If I am a believer, I am in a covenant relationship with Jesus, every time I make a decision and
Idolatry = adultery
We were made to be in relationship with God.
Ever since man has broken the relationship with God in the Garden of Eden God has been at work pursuing, redeeming, and restoring the relationship with man through covenants
God made covenant with Abraham (Israel)
They were unfaithful and broke the covenant
We belong to Christ ()
‘I’m not that bad’ I include Jesus in the major areas of my life.
There is no spectrum here - friendship with world = enemy of God
ILLUST - There is no ‘I’m faithful to my wife most of the time’ or ‘I don’t cheat on my wife in the big areas of our marriage’
You are either fully committed or you are not.
You are either Jesus-first in that area of your life or you are not.
Just like a good marriage is one where I make decisions in every area of my life based on the fact that I am a husband, a fully committed follower of Jesus makes decisions in EVERY area of life based on the wisdom from above.
There is no spectrum - There is no both / and
So, in _________ is it Jesus-first or friend of the world
Like an adulterous relationship, friendship with the world happens subtely.
. . .
(2-3) You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. (ESV)
- allow a desire to grow - to planning - to neglect of relationship (of God) - to justification / deception
We come to believe that this good life is owed to us even though the choices we’ve made in our lives are based on earthly wisdom and not God’s wisdom
how many times have you called out to God why does your life isn’t peaceable filled with disorder you’re not getting what you think you deserve but if you’re honest you never included God in the process
The conflict isn’t arising because everyone wants God‘s desire for the church, the conflict arises each one wants their own desire for the church.
instead of seeking wisdom from above they were applying earthly wisdom from other sources like the world the flesh and the devil.
Oh, that we would have the affections for Jesus.
Clear path for life. (4:6-12) (15 - 10 min)
Clear path for life. (4:6-12) (15 - 10 min)
Not sure how you are doing after that self-evaluation. Those in the church who originally received this letter may have been feeling the same way as they first read the letter from the brother of Jesus. So James writes next,
(6a) BUT HE GIVES MORE GRACE.
Fewer words are as great as these in all of Scripture.
Whatever it is you bring - if your thought life can be described as ‘demonic’ - he gives MORE grace.
How do we access that kind of grace?
(6b) Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
‘There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end leads to death.’ The path to life is found in humility. But that is hard, so what we typically do is attempt to short-circuit humility with false piety.
(11-12)
Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor? (ESV)
We point out others faults as a way to distract (and in our minds) diminish our own.
Pointing out how others may not be fully committed to Jesus does not make me more committed to following Jesus
As a matter of fact, I only end up making myself worse by breaking the law.
ILLUST - when we talk about how others should _______(he shouldn’t have, I would have, did you know he. . . ) we are judging them - Why do we do it? Do you really hope that person might overhear what you say and be encouraged to life more like Jesus? Or are we attempting to promote our own desires, are we pointing out faults with others to cover our own?
In judging others we point to ourselves as judges. James reminds us there is only one Lawgiver - one Judge.
To criticize our brothers and sisters apart from something that is clearly in God’s Word makes us the application of God’s Word and effectively destroys God’s Words
You want to help someone? Connect them to Jesus. Pray for them bring them to Jesus.
(7-10) -
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. (ESV)
Submit yourself (all of you)
For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him.
Acknowledge and allow Jesus to be Lord of your life.
Resist the devil (Recognize and reject the influence of worldly wisdom in the different areas of your life)
purposeful and prepared opposition to Satan
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
Cleanse hands, purify hearts (Repent) with seriousness
the act of cleansing through repentance
Purify - do what is necessary to be clean.
Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
Humble yourself before the Lord.
The way back to God is the same path we take to come to initially come to him as he comes to us - HUMILITY.
Many of you have done this - please hear the next promise - HE WILL EXALT YOU.
Conclusion (5 - 3min)
Conclusion (5 - 3min)
Couple of questions God would have us deal with today:
Where is your source of wisdom?
Where do you find how to do life?
Are you listening to earthly wisdom,
Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.
is 30:
And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.
Is 40
How are your affections for Christ?
Is there a conflict within?
Is there an area of your life where you are slipping into a friendship with the world - an adultery with God?
What area of your life are you not fully committed?
Repent. Return.
For some life is a mess - Jame’s description of the earthly life sounds a lot like yours - jealousy, selfishness, unspiritual, disorder, actions that are clearly not following what God would want. There is no peace, no gentleness, no mercy.
And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.
(4:6) But he gives more grace.
Grace - forgiveness for the sin that is tangling your life. - A way to connect to God and access the wisdom from above.
more grace than your mess.
he gives - you don’t need to earn. Simply pray an accept.
**PRAY** (2 - 2min)
You can’t come to God if you are unwilling to make the move he is calling you to make.
ILLUST - me in the hay maze - Kerwin needed to lead me out - he knew the way - he made it.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.