1. Roots of test-passing wisdom (17a)
2. Attributes of test-passing wisdom (17b)
3. Fruits of test-passing wisdom (18)
JAMES 3:13
Who is a wise man? What is wisdom? It’s interesting that two people who are known for their wisdom asked that very same question. Solomon did. In Ecclesiastes 8:1 he asked, “Who is as the wise man and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing?” Another person who asked that question is the great Greek philosopher Socrates. Socrates was the teacher of Plato who was the teacher of Aristotle, who are known as the greatest philosophers of the western world. Socrates spent his whole life on a quest for wisdom. His quest looked a lot like Solomon’s, but unlike Solomon, Socrates died without finding it. At the end of Ecclesiastes, Solomon found true wisdom in the only place it can be found—in the Word of God. Socrates didn’t acknowledge the Word of God, so he never found what he spent his whole life looking for. But that didn’t stop people from coming to him looking for wisdom. A story is told of an arrogant young man who came to Socrates looking for wisdom. Socrates took him out to the sea and led him chest-deep into the water. Then he asked him, “What do you want?” The young man said, “Wisdom, oh wise Socrates.” So, Socrates proceeded to push him under the water. After about 30 seconds, he let the boy up and asked him again, “What do you want?” The young man sputtered, “Wisdom oh great and wise Socrates.” Socrates pushed him under water again. 30 seconds passed, 35, 40. Then he let him up. “What do you want?” This time the boy was gasping and choking. But between breaths, he managed to get out, “Wisdom, oh great and…” This time he didn’t even finish his sentence before Socrates dunked him. 30, 40, 50, 55, one full minute later, Socrates finally let him up. “What do you want?” “Air! I need air!” That was the lesson. Socrates told him, “When you desire wisdom as much as you just desired air, then you will have it.” Think about that for a second. Air is something you don’t pay a whole lot of attention to until you don’t have it. But when you don’t have it, it is the only thing you can think about. If you’ve ever gotten hit in the stomach and gotten the wind knocked out of you, you know what I’m talking about. This morning, we’re continuing what we started last week. We’re looking at James’ fifth test to determine whether our faith is real or not. This fifth test is the wisdom test. Last week when we looked at verses 14-16, we saw what test-failing wisdom looks like. We saw the roots, attributes and fruits of test-failing wisdom. That’s not the kind of wisdom we want, is it? We want the kind of wisdom that passes the test of faith. The kind of wisdom that demonstrates true belief in Jesus Christ. The kind of wisdom that shows the world what saving faith really looks like. That’s the kind of wisdom I want each of us to have this morning. I don’t want any one to leave this place without real, test-passing wisdom. In order to do that, we’re going to see what real test-passing wisdom looks like. We’re going to look at the roots, attributes and fruits of test-passing wisdom. First let’s look at the roots. Look with me at the first part of verse 17:
JAMES 3:17a
The roots of test-passing wisdom is a pure heart. If you were here last week, you remember that we talked about the heart being the root of wisdom. Just like we can’t see tree roots, we can’t see the heart. But if the heart is full of bitter envying, selfish ambition, and self-glorying, it is going to be evident. That’s the kind of heart that produces test-failing wisdom. Test-failing wisdom that is earthly, sensual and of the devil. Test-failing wisdom that can only result in evil works and confusion. But just like a heart full of bitter envying, selfish ambition and self-glorying is the root of test-failing wisdom… a heart that is first pure is the root of test-passing wisdom. So what does it mean for you to have a pure heart? A pure heart is the kind of heart that’s going to see God. Remember back to the Sermon on the Mount? In what we have come to call the sixth Beatitude, our Lord said, “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” Isn’t that wonderful! People with pure hearts get to see God. But how does that work? How pure is Jesus talking about here? Is he talking Ivory soap pure? You remember the old Ivory Soap commercials that talked about it being 99 44/100% pure? Still, if you think about it, that allows for over a half percent of yucky stuff. I don’t believe that I’d want to drink a glass of water that contained over a half-percent raw sewage in it, would you? Will God let that much impurity into His presence? Well, maybe he’s talking about gold bullion pure. The standard purity for gold bullion is 99.9% pure. That might be enough to get you into Fort Knox, but it’s still not pure enough to get you into God’s presence. 1/10 of 1% will surely be enough to keep you out. What about Canadian Gold Maple Leaf pure? That is the purest form of gold in the world. It is minted to 99.999% purity. Surely, if I could get my heart that pure, God would let me into His presence, wouldn’t He? Jesus addressed that a little further on in the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5:48, He said, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Not really good. Not hard-working. Not super nice. Not even close to perfect. Perfect. That’s the standard. Why? Because God is perfect. And if He allows Himself to be joined in relationship with imperfect beings, He will no longer be perfect. He will be tainted—corrupted—defiled. And that can’t happen to God, or He will no longer be God. So, that sounds like an impossible standard, doesn’t it? Where does that kind of perfectly pure heart come from? Where does the kind of perfectly pure heart that is the only root of test-passing wisdom come from? James says that it comes from above. Because of our fallen, sin-marred condition, we are all born with a corrupt heart. And in and of ourselves, there’s nothing that we can do to change that. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” No one can except Christ. The One who gave up His place in Heaven as part of the eternal Godhead. The One who took on human flesh. The One who took on a heart like yours and mine, except that His was free from sin. He is the only One who can know your desperately wicked heart. Because He had a heart of flesh just like yours. He was tempted in every way that you are, except He didn’t sin. And because He had a heart of flesh like yours. And because He didn’t sin. He is able to take away your desperately wicked heart and give you a new one. A heart that’s pure. A heart that’s perfect. Not with your perfection, but with His. A heart that will see God. A heart from above. A heart that is the roots of test-passing wisdom. A pure heart is the roots of test-passing wisdom. Not only does test-passing wisdom have roots, it also has attributes. Look with me at the rest of verse 17:
JAMES 3:17b
Test-passing wisdom has the attributes of being empty, being full and being absent. First, it is empty of self. If I had to pick the foremost message of our age, it would be the message of self-esteem. It seems that everywhere you look, the message is the same. The problem with people today is that they don’t have enough self-esteem. Well, let’s just look at that word for a second. Of course we know what self is. But what does it mean to esteem one’s self? Esteem means “the condition of being honored,” “an attitude of admiration”, “to regard highly”, “to think much of.” Frankly, I don’t see that as much of a problem at all. As a matter of fact, our problem is that we’re too full of ourselves—we esteem ourselves too highly. What’s going to make me look good. What’s going to make me feel good. What’s going to make me the best me I can be. Even when it comes at the expense of how I treat you. The new Golden Rule is, “Do unto others whatever will make it best for you.” Self-esteem isn’t the problem. As a matter of fact, self-esteem is just another kind of the earthly, sensual wisdom that comes from the devil. Esteeming yourself—being full of yourself—is an attribute of test-failing wisdom. James says that test-passing wisdom is empty of self. It is peaceable. It is gentle. It is agreeable. You see, I can’t be peaceable if I always insist on having my own way. I can’t be gentle if I’m always defending my rights. I can’t be agreeable if I insist that everybody always agree with me. You can’t be peaceable, gentle and agreeable if you are esteeming yourself. Why? Because you can’t be those things if you’re full of yourself. You can only be peaceable, gentle and agreeable if you’re full of the Holy Spirit. And that’s the second attribute of test-passing wisdom. You can’t just tell yourself to be empty of yourself. That’s like trying to empty this room of all its air. It can’t be done. You can’t empty this room of air, but you can replace the air that’s in it. You can replace it with nitrogen or hydrogen. You can even replace it with water. See, you can recognize the need to empty yourself of yourself. But you simply can’t do it. It’s impossible. You can only replace it. If your heart is filled up with your self—if you are esteeming yourself… The only way to empty your heart of your self is to replace it. Replace the one you’re esteeming. Instead of esteeming yourself, esteem Christ. And when you esteem Christ, you will be filled with the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit fills you, he brings some things along with Him. James says He brings along mercy and good fruits. If you’re empty of yourself because you’re full of the Spirit, you’ll have the third attribute of test-passing wisdom. You’ll be absent of insincerity. You won’t show the kind of favoritism that we talked about a couple of weeks ago. And you won’t show the kind of hypocrisy that plagues our churches today. Are you full of yourself this morning? Whether you like yourself or not doesn’t really matter. Some of the most self-absorbed people I know don’t really like themselves. The question is, are you full of yourself? Or are you full of the Spirit? Are you willing for people to offend you? To trample on your rights? To mock you? To ridicule you? Christ was. Why? Because Philippians 2 says He emptied Himself and became an obedient slave—even to the point that He suffered a brutal death on the cross. That’s the mind of Christ. And Philippians 2:5 says that’s the kind of mind we’re supposed to have. Test-passing wisdom has the attributes of being empty. Empty of yourself. Being full. Being full of the Holy Spirit. And being absent. Absent of insincerity. Test-passing wisdom has roots, it has attributes and it has fruits. Look with me in verse 18:
JAMES 3:18
Test-passing wisdom has fruits. What fruits? The fruit of righteousness. Last week we went to Galatians 5 to see the evil fruit that comes from test-failing wisdom. This morning we’re going to go back to Galatians 5 to see what the fruit of righteousness looks like. You’ll find it in Galatians 5:22-23:
GALATIANS 5:22-23
That is what the fruit of righteousness looks like. And I want you to notice something that doesn’t come across real well in English. In the original, the word fruit is singular. So get the picture that you can have the fruit of love without having the fruit of longsuffering or joy or gentleness. The fruit of the Spirit is one fruit that manifests itself in all those different ways. Notice also in that list in Galatians that righteousness isn’t listed. It isn’t listed because the fruit of righteousness that James talks about is the same as the fruit of the Spirit that Paul talks about in Galatians. It’s also the same fruit that Jesus says we are to hunger for in His Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5:6, He said, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” Are you hungering and thirsting for the fruit of righteousness this morning? If you are, Jesus said you will be filled. And here’s the wonderful thing that happens when you’re filled. James likens it to your fruit being planted. Who ever heard of planting fruit? By no stretch of the imagination am I a farmer. And even I know that you plant seeds—not fruit. But look at the picture that James paints here in verse 18. When you bear that fruit of righteousness that is the fruit of test-passing wisdom. James pictures it not just hanging on the vine. He pictures it not just being devoured. But he pictures it being planted. Planted in fields of peace. And what does that do? Instead of it just benefiting the few who look at it or eat it. It benefits multitudes. Righteous fruit is planted in fields of peace which causes it to grow and bear even more righteous fruit. Then that fruit is planted and bears more and more and more and more. Do you see the picture? James is saying that the fruit of one truly wise person can be the seed for an entire harvest of wisdom. One person with a pure heart. One person who is empty of themselves because they are full of the Spirit. One person whose fruit of righteousness is sown in peace can change those around them. Can change their family. Can change this church. Can change this neighborhood. Can change Mercer County. Can change the world. You don’t think you can do much for the kingdom of God? Try Him. Hunger and thirst for righteousness. Seek God’s wisdom from above like a drowning man seeks air. How do you do that? First you have to have a pure heart. And the only way to have a pure heart is for Jesus to give you a new one. Give Him your old and sinful heart this morning. Turn away from it and take the new heart He died to give you. You have to have a pure heart and you have to have a Spirit-filled heart. Your heart can’t be full of yourself and the Holy Spirit at the same time. Are you full of yourself or full of the Spirit this morning? Jesus wants you to be empty of yourself and will fill you with His Spirit this morning if you ask Him. You have to have a pure heart, you have to be full of the Holy Spirit and you have to sow the righteous fruit He gives you. Are you sowing your fruit in fields of peace this morning? Are you investing the fruit that God has given you in other people? Or are you letting it hang on your vine? Are you just letting a couple of people who are close to you devour it? God has given you that fruit for the benefit of the whole field. The whole body. The whole church. He wants you to plant it in order that there might be a rich and bountiful harvest. What are you doing with it? Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? If it’s not you, it can be today.
