Sermon Tone Analysis

“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.”[1]

One of the saddest events I ever witnessed in a church setting occurred because an elder permitted rejected godly wisdom, instead, embracing wisdom from another source.

The man had only been appointed to eldership when his wife began to repeatedly clash with congregational leaders.

When confronted about her repeated conflicts, she became enraged and resigned from membership and withdrew from all positions within the congregation.

Of course, this placed the elder in the untenable position of attempting to provide spiritual leadership for the church when he was unable to exercise a modicum of leadership within his own home.

Pressed to withdraw from eldership, he complained bitterly that he was forced out.

Within any congregation that is pursuing God, there will be individuals who are disappointed and discontented at any given time.

This former elder sought out such people and for over eighteen months conducted a corrosive campaign maligning the pastor and fomenting rebellion among such disgruntled individuals.

Finally, the discontent broke out in open rebellion, eventually leading to the triumph of wickedness within the congregation and the withdrawal of the pastor.

Witnessing the fury that this erstwhile elder had stirred up, an impartial observer would have questioned whether these individuals could have even been Christians.

Suppose that congregation had called a meeting to ask James for advice.

What do you suppose the brother of our Lord would have said to that church?

They would have found James to be a tough realist, confronting the urge to destroy that lies within the heart of each individual.

We like to imagine ourselves wise, and we are each quick to establish our position as the right one in any conflict.

We are masters at justifying our own attitudes and statements, but James will not let any of us justify ourselves.

However, James compels us to look to a perfect standard that is established by the Living God.

 

*An Appeal for Wise People* — As he begins this section of the letter, James asks a rhetorical question that is at once designed to expose those possessing false wisdom and to challenge those possessing godly wisdom to step forward.

“Who is wise and understanding among you?”

This is the only time in the New Testament that the two concepts appear in concert, although they are commonly found together in the Old Testament.[2]

The first wisdom James describes will ultimately be identified as demonic wisdom.

Because he is contrasting wisdom that the world esteems as the wisdom that God provides his instruction is of immense relevance among the churches today.

Worldly “wisdom” tells us that positive thinking, self-promotion, and tapping into hidden internal resources will bring happiness, excellence, and success.

Such thinking is not just “out there” in the world; it is taken for granted in the church.

Like the original readers of James, we have yet to exchange worldly views of power and importance for God’s viewpoint.

James then speaks of another type of wisdom, a heavenly common sense that is in direct opposition to the thinking of this age.

This divine wisdom seeks peace, not success.

It desires purity, not happiness.

It shows itself in willingness to yield to others, a sharp contrast to ambitious self-promotion.

We will consider this godly wisdom in a future message.

For now, however, we need to focus attention on what passes as wisdom in this age.

When thinking about wisdom we need to establish that wisdom is demonstrated through what is done rather than through what is said.

Wisdom, in James’ estimate, spoke of possessing moral insight; and understanding spoke of knowledge possessed by one who was expert in use of that knowledge.

Wisdom dealt with practical, moral insight based upon the knowledge of God and His Word.

It had to do with practical advice on practical issues of conduct.

James is using wisdom in its Jewish concept not in its Greek concept that spoke of the mere accumulation of abstract knowledge.

In other words, James is saying that it will be obvious who is “wise and understanding” through what is done rather than through what is said.

Those who are “wise and understanding” within the congregation are enjoined to show their works through their good conduct, or good behaviour.

Moreover, this good conduct must be exercised with meekness that reflects the wisdom possessed.

Hold this thought in mind—*/works, not words, is the test of wisdom/*.

Wisdom is not merely something I possess in my head; if I am wise at all, I will demonstrate wisdom through my conduct.

Like the Word that is powerful to save which is implanted by God in the heart of the believer [*James 1:21*], the wisdom from above [*James 1:17*] gives birth to deeds and to a way of life that grows in understanding.

A good life is one typified by “deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.”[3]

Noted theologian J. I. Packer shows how many go wrong when thinking about wisdom with an illustration provided by a British railway station.

He says that if you stand at the end of a platform you will readily observe the constant movement of trains in and out, but you will only be able to form a general idea of the overall plan of what is going on, catching only glimmers of the subtle minute-by-minute alterations that are part and parcel of a smooth-running station.

However, if you are privileged to be taken into the signal box room, you will see on a long wall a detailed diagram of all the tracks for five miles around the station, with little “glow-worm lights” indicating the position of every engine on the track—some moving slowly or swiftly, some stationary.

In a glance you will be able to survey the entire situation through the eyes of those in control.

You will see why one engine is signalled to a halt, and why another has been diverted, and why another sits unmoving on a siding.

The reasoning for all the movements will become perfectly plain once you see the great diagram and its glowing dots.

Says Dr. Packer: “The mistake that is commonly made is to suppose that this is an illustration of what God does when He bestows wisdom: to suppose, in other words, that the gift of wisdom consists in a deepened insight into the meaning and purpose of events going on around us, an ability to see why God has done what He has done in a particular case, and what He is going to do next.”[4]

People who think this is what wisdom is imagine that if they walk close enough to God, they will be in God’s signal box and will understand everything that happens.

Such people are always analyzing the events of life: why this or that happened, whether specific happenings are signs to stop, park on a siding, or go ahead.

When they are confused, they suppose themselves to have a spiritual problem.

It is true that God sometimes uses unusual signs to confirm the way we should go, but this is very different from getting a message from every unusual thing that comes our way.

Dr. Packer explains that the experience of God’s wisdom is like learning to drive a car.

When driving it is important to make appropriate responses to the constantly changing scene, to exercise soundness of judgment regarding speed, distance and braking.

If you are going to drive well, you must not fret over the highway engineer’s reasoning for an S curve, the philosophy which produced red, green, and yellow traffic lights, or why the lady in front of you is accelerating while her foot is on the brake.

Rather, “You simply try to see and do the right thing in the actual situation that presents itself.

The effect of divine wisdom is to enable you and me to do just that in the actual situations of life.”[5]

In order to drive well, you need to keep your eyes wide open to what is before you and use your head.

In a similar manner, if you will live wisely, you must be clear-eyed about people and life, seeing life as it is, and then responding with a mind that is dependent on the wisdom of God.

Being wise does not mean we understand everything that is going on because of our superior knowledge; rather it means that we do the right thing as life comes along.

Some drivers may have immense knowledge about everything, but they cannot drive well at all.

Other drivers who are less knowledgeable consistently do the right thing as they wisely drive through life.

James does not merely call for good conduct, but he informs us that humility is the character trait underlying the behaviour anticipated in the wise.

The Bible I am using translates the Greek as “meekness,” which is unfortunate.

Meek, in contemporary English thought, conveys the concept of weakness or passivity.

However, the term spoke of humility; it presented a concept of strength under control.

A horse is so much more powerful than a man; but many of those strong horses are said to be well trained and gentle.

Their strength is under control.

This “meekness” (*/prautēs/*) is one of the fruits of the Spirit [*Galatians 5:23*, “gentleness”].

It is expected of all Christians in their walk before the Lord [*Ephesians 4:2*; *Colossians 3:12*].

Jesus identifies Himself as gentle [*Matthew 11:29*] and presented Himself to the Jews as the “humble” King [*Matthew 21:5*].

Humility, or meekness, is a Christian virtue modelled after Christ’s own life in which He served others, sacrificed Himself and sought the Father’s will.

Humility is a central theme concerning all that James expects of those to whom he writes.

Christians are first enjoined to received the implanted Word with humility [*James 1:21*].

As we have seen through our studies in James to this point, humbly accepting the Word means doing the Word.

Thus, humility describes a submissive readiness to do what the Word says, with “works [done] in … meekness” [*verse 13*].

In the passage before us, James says that as we exercise humility before God, we become willing to live in peace with one another.

The opposite of humility is unwillingness to learn and a refusal to yield.

The result of such absence of humility is bitter jealousy and selfish ambition resulting in chaos.

According to James, meekness is yielding to a teachable spirit and immediate responsiveness to God’s Word, which results in a good and selfless life with other people who share the Faith.

James began this chapter by cautioning, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness” [*James 3:1*].

The problem of teachers spreading the error of false doctrine is not under scrutiny (as was often the case when Paul wrote), but it is arrogance that is in view.

Even one teaching correct doctrine can have an attitude of arrogance.

I can be correct in my doctrine down to the most esoteric details; I can attain a consistency in my orthodoxy which surpasses others; I can gain a reputation for my thorough grasp of theology and be regarded as a protector of the faith; and my teaching may still be “earthly, unspiritual, demonic/,”/ resulting in “disorder and every vile practise” by stirring up suspicion, slander, distrust and contention within the Christian community.

Godly teachers are wise teachers who not only provide sound instruction, but live as humble servants of the True and Living God.

It is not easy to be genuinely humble, and it cannot be faked.

It is real, or it quickly becomes apparent that it is contrived.

Few Christians face the perils of those who teach; teachers become used to people accepting what they say.

It is in no small measure that because of my fear that I may slip into arrogance that I ask those who hear me speak to open the Word and see if the things I say are in accord with what is written therein.

There are always some who dissent from what is presented, and I encourage dissent, provided that those dissenting have a basis for their disagreement other than their own particular feelings.

Base your conclusions upon the Word of God and you will always rest on a firm foundation.

Base your conclusions upon your feelings, or upon how others may perceive you, and you build on shifting sand.

The Word will never cause you to stumble, but it will confront any tendency to promote yourself.

Are you wise and understanding?

You will not need to promote yourself among the people of God; your life will reveal whether you are truly wise and understanding, and those who are following hard after Christ will recognise you as such.

*False Wisdom Described* — How would we recognise the false wisdom James that confronts among the people of God?  James gives more of a description than a definition, which is fine since most of us will readily extrapolate from the description to form a general understanding of what is implied.

In order to understand fully the will of God for us, it will be beneficial for us to explore this description James provides.