1. Introduction (13)
2. Roots of test-failing wisdom (14)
3. Attributes of test-failing wisdom (15)
4. Fruits of test-failing wisdom (16)
JAMES 3:13
Have you ever flown on one of those little puddle-jumper airplanes? I have and let me tell you, they’re not very much fun. If you’re in one of those and you hit turbulence, it will do wonders for your prayer life. A story is told about four people who were the only people on board one of those small planes. There was the pilot, a pastor, a Boy Scout, and the smartest man in the world. All of a sudden, the pilot came back to the cabin and informed everybody that the plane was going down. Then he let them know that there were only three parachutes on board. He said, “I’ve got a wife and three kids at home.” So he grabbed a parachute and jumped out. The rest of them looked at each other until the genius stood up and grabbed one. He said, “I’m the smartest man in the world. Everybody needs my awesome brain power.” Then before they could say anything, he jumped out. Then the pastor smiled at the boy and said, “Son, you’re young and I’m prepared to meet the Lord. You take the last parachute and I’ll go down with the plane.” The Boy Scout just laughed and said, “Chill out, preacher. The smartest man in the world just jumped out of the plane with my backpack on.” Sometimes there’s a difference between book-smarts and wisdom, isn’t there? As a matter of fact, there are even differences in wisdom. This morning and next week, we’ll be looking at what James has to tell us about wisdom. In verses 13-18 he describes two kinds of wisdom. He calls them worldly wisdom and wisdom from above. Man’s wisdom and the kind of wisdom that only comes from God. So far, James has given us four tests to see whether or not our faith is genuine faith. He’s given us the Bible test, the preference test, the works test, and the tongue test. Now, he’s giving us the wisdom test. Does that mean you have to be smart to have faith? Of course not. What it means is that if your faith is real, you will be wise. Not necessarily wise in the world’s eyes, but you will have the wisdom from above—real wisdom. You will have test-passing wisdom. I want each of us to truly be wise—not in the eyes of the world. But I want each of us to pass the wisdom test by being wise in the eyes of God. It’ll take us a couple of weeks to do that, because we’ve got to look at both kinds of wisdom. The kind that fails the faith test and the kind that passes it. This week, we’re going to look at the kind of wisdom that fails the faith test. Next week we’ll see the kind of wisdom that passes the faith test. Each kind of wisdom has three characteristics—roots, attributes and fruits. This morning we’re going to look at the kind of wisdom we don’t want. We’re going to look at three characteristics of test-failing wisdom. The first characteristic of test-failing wisdom is its roots. Look with me in verse 14.
JAMES 3:14
Did you know that tree roots can extend out till they cover an area up to three times the height of the tree? You might never realize that until one of those roots pokes its way into your sewer line. Or one begins to grow into your house foundation. We’ve all seen people pour concrete next to trees without even thinking about it. Then the next thing you know, the tree roots have cracked and heaved it to the point it’s almost destroyed. Why do people do that? Because you can’t see the tree roots. They’re hidden away from where people can see them. They exist quietly beneath the surface. But every part of the tree exists because of what is carried to it by those hidden roots. If the roots are diseased, the tree will be diseased. The leaves will be diseased. The fruit will be diseased. Isn’t that the way the heart is? Of course, I’m not talking about the organ in our chest that pumps our blood. I’m talking about our innermost self. Our innermost being. Who we really are. The part that’s hidden away, deep down inside of us. James tells us that the root of test-failing wisdom is the heart. But what kind of a heart is it? It is a heart that is full of bitter envying. Bitter envying is harsh, sharp, cutting, divisive jealousy. Have you ever gotten caught in a briar bush? You know how you pull off one branch just to get caught up in another. Sometimes the more you struggle to get out, the deeper you get stuck. That’s the picture that the original word for bitter paints. Bitter envying is envious jealousy that clings to your insides like a briar bush. It tears, it clings, it shreds. The root of test-failing wisdom is a heart that is full of bitter envying. But not only is it full of bitter envying, it is full of strife. The original word for strife that James talks about carries the meaning of intense rivalry brought on by extreme selfishness. Some other translations use the words selfish ambition. That captures the idea pretty well. In and of itself, ambition isn’t a bad thing. But this kind of selfish ambition is. It’s the kind of ambition that is only interested in being number 1. The kind that has the attitude that second place is the first loser. The kind that is focused only on being the top dog—always in competition. I’m not talking about friendly competition. I’m talking about the kind of competition that seeks to elevate you above everybody else in everything you do. If you want to know what this kind of selfish ambition and strife is all about, watch TV commercials for a while. That’s what they all feed. They tell us it’s all about us. Our feelings, our desires, our pleasures, our happiness, our achievement, our prosperity, our health, our fun. Another place you can look to see what this kind of selfish ambition and strife is all about is on the religious channel. The fact is that most of the so-called TV preachers preach solely to your felt needs. They do the same things that the TV commercials do. They focus on your feelings, your happiness, your achievement, your prosperity, your health. And then they blaspheme God by making Him out to be some sort of a genie whose only purpose is to feed hearts that are full of strife and selfish ambition. The root of test-failing wisdom is a heart that is full of bitter envying and strife. It is also full of self-glorying. A self-glorying heart is one that is arrogant. One that boasts and brags and always says “look at me”. We love to get awards, don’t we? We love trophies and plaques and certificates. Why? Because they show people how important we are. They let people know how good we are. They point the spotlight right where we think it ought to be—right at us. Put me up on stage and let everybody clap for me—I deserve it. That is arrogant. That is self-glorifying. And a heart that is full of that, is the root of test-failing wisdom. Bitter envying, full of strife, self-glorifying. That kind of heart is the root of the wrong kind of wisdom. The kind of wisdom that the world glorifies. Is your heart caught up in the briars of envy and jealousy? Does it selfishly elevate you above others? Is it arrogant and self-glorifying? James says, the kind of wisdom that comes from a heart like that is completely incompatible with being a Christian. As a matter of fact, he says that if you call yourself a Christian and have a heart like that, you’re lying against the truth. Why? Because a bitter, contentious, arrogant, self-centered heart is the very root of worldly wisdom. And worldly wisdom is test-failing wisdom. The first characteristic of test failing wisdom is its roots. The second characteristic is its attributes. Look at verse 15:
JAMES 3:15
The attributes of test-failing wisdom is that it is earthly, sensual, devilish. Throughout history, man has only come up with two ways to know things. One way is, he can know about something by what he learns through his senses. If I pick up a stick, I can know certain things about it by the way that it feels. By the way that it looks. By the way that it smells. If I listen real close, by the way that it sounds. And if I’m real brave or stupid, by the way that it tastes. By using my senses, I can know certain things. By the use of my physical experiences, I can know. But there’s a limit to what my senses and physical experience can tell me, isn’t there? I mean, I can use things like microscopes to help me see really tiny things like cells and molecules. But there’s even a limit to that, isn’t there? My senses and experience will only take me so far. So, does that mean that if I can’t experience it, I can’t know anything about it? No—so man has to have another way of knowing things. He has to be able to use his reason. I can’t see, smell, taste, touch or hear a number. I can’t experience a number. But I can use my reason to know that 1 + 1 = 2. Reason is how we think we know about things like atoms and electrons and gravity and black holes. But there is even a limit to our reason, isn’t there? You can take every geometry class in the world and still not be able to explain a point or a line. You can never use your reason to even explain something as simple as zero. Much less as mind-boggling as infinity. Now, where am I going with all this? Stick with me and I’ll show you. If you use only your senses to obtain wisdom, you will quickly reach a point where your senses will fail you. If you then try to obtain wisdom by adding your ability to reason, you will quickly reach a point where even your ability to reason will fail you. See, that is the point philosophers have gotten to. They have gotten to the point where they say you can’t really know anything. There’s nothing new under the sun, is there? That’s what Solomon said. You remember Solomon, the wisest man in the world? God gave him wisdom. But Solomon turned from God’s wisdom and turned to man’s wisdom. He turned from the wisdom from above to the wisdom that was earthly, sensual, and devilish. Earthly—that’s experiential knowledge. The attempt to use your senses to know. Solomon tried that. In Ecclesiastes 2:10-11, he wrote, “And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.” Those words, “vexation of spirit” literally mean, “grasping at the wind.” What does wind feel like when you pick it up? Nothing—because in his attempt at gaining wisdom by what James calls earthly means, all Solomon gained was vanity. He reached a place where his experience failed him. But he also reached a place where his reason failed him. The next four verses in Ecclesiastes tell about Solomon’s attempt at gaining wisdom by relying on his reason. “And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been already done. Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness. The wise man’s eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all. Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity.” James called that kind of reasoning sensual wisdom. The original word is the same one we get the word psychology from. Psychological wisdom. Wisdom that comes only from within our own little, finite, fallen minds. All of the great questions of life. All of the deep things to think about led Solomon to the same place. Vanity. When Solomon turned away from God as the source of his wisdom and began to seek his own wisdom, where did he end up? Vanity. When he tried to obtain what James calls earthly wisdom—vanity. When he tried to obtain what James calls sensual wisdom—vanity. Vanity, vanity, all is vanity. Modern philosophers call that nihilism—the belief that nothing really matters because everything is really nothing. A purposeless product of time and chance. Vanity and vexation of spirit. That kind of wisdom is what James calls devilish. It is of the devil himself. It is straight out of the pits of Hell. Wisdom that has the attributes of being earthly, and sensual is devilish and is borne from the roots of a bitter, contentious, arrogant, self-centered heart. Test-failing wisdom has roots, it has attributes and it has fruits. Look with me at verse 16:
JAMES 3:16
The fruits of test-failing wisdom are evil works and confusion. Have you ever read any of the Left Behind books? It’s very important to remember that those are fiction books. There was one thing in them that I thought was just plain silly. For some reason, they said that during the tribulation, whenever somebody got saved, a mark would appear on their foreheads that only other Christians could see. How silly is that? The fact is, when Jesus saves us, we shouldn’t need some type of secret mark to identify us to other Christians. On more than one occasion, Jesus said that we will be known by our fruit. We will be known by how we act—by the things that we do. We can’t see those tree roots that we were talking about earlier. But we sure can see the acorns all over the ground. And I can look at those acorns or apples or whatever kind of fruit and tell how healthy the tree roots are. A tree with diseased roots is going to do one of two things. It either won’t produce any fruit at all. Or it will produce shriveled, diseased fruit. The difference between trees and people is that all people produce fruit. No matter how sick, selfish and diseased the heart is, the person will produce fruit. Wisdom that has the attributes of being earthly, and sensual is devilish and is borne from the roots of a bitter, contentious, arrogant, self-centered heart. And that kind of wisdom that comes from that kind of heart produces wretched fruit. It produces the wretched fruit of evil works. So what kind of fruit is that? Turn with me to Galatians 5:19-21.
GALATIANS 5:19-21
Did you see the whole list? Or just the ones you don’t have a problem with? What about variance? That means being contentious. What about emulations? That’s that bitter envying we talked about. What about strife? That means those same selfish ambitions we talked about. What about seditions? That means being a trouble-maker, disrupting the harmony. What about envyings? That is a list of some ugly, shriveled, diseased fruit. James calls it every evil work. And what is the only thing it can lead to? Confusion. Disorder. Chaos. If every place that you go, there is a pattern of confusion and disorder and chaos, you need to check your heart. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. If the fruit of confusion is laying on the ground, you can rest assured there is a tree with the roots of a bitter, contentious, arrogant, self-centered heart. Look around you. Is that the fruit that’s laying at your feet? Are you surrounded with confusion and those evil works listed in Galatians? If you are, you have failed the wisdom test. So what’s the solution? Is there a way to make it right? Yes there is. But you’re going to have to have a heart transplant. You’ve got to kill the roots. Kill the roots of the sinful heart by trusting Jesus today. Ephesians 2:4-10 says: “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” If you have looked around your feet and seen the fruit of confusion and evil works, I’m going to ask you to kill the roots today. Turn to Jesus today. Bury that old heart with Him today. And be raised to walk a new life with Him today. Today is the day of salvation. As the invitation sounds, you come today.
