Most of us probably know some people whose lives always seem to be in chaos and disorder. It seems like they are always just moving from one crisis to the next. And we also know other people who face equally difficult circumstances and yet have lives that are peaceful.
As we continue our study in the book of James, James is going to help us understand these two ways of life and help us understand how to live a life of peace regardless of our circumstances. So go ahead and open your Bibles to James chapter 3 and follow along as I read beginning in verse 13:
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.
(James 3:13-18 ESV)
Obviously the key word in this passage is wisdom. The words “wise” and “wisdom” are used four times. So it seems like a logical place for us to begin this morning is to define what James means by wisdom.
Let’s define wisdom
Let’s begin with a dictionary definition of wisdom, since that is probably how most of us think of wisdom. This week I went to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary where I found these definitions of wisdom:
• accumulated philosophic or scientific learning
• ability to discern inner qualities and relationships
• good sense
• generally accepted belief
Those definitions actually come pretty close to the way the Greek word for wisdom – sophia – was used in classical Greek literature. The Greeks used that word to describe speculative knowledge, theory and philosophy.
However, since James is a Jew, writing to a Jewish audience, there is little doubt that his understanding of wisdom was based much more on the Hebrew concept of wisdom. The Hebrew word for wisdom is often translated “skill”, especially in Exodus when describing the workmen who would construct the tabernacle and all its furnishings. So wisdom for the Hebrew involved skill in applying God’s principles to daily life.
That is certainly borne out by our passage where James links wisdom with conduct. This is another in a series of tests that James gives to help us determine whether or faith is genuine and mature. Since we’re a little over halfway through his letter, this seems like a good time to take a moment to review the previous tests that James has set forth:
• The first test is how we handle trials. A mature Christ follower finds joy in the midst of trials, knowing that God is using those trials to help him or her mature in their walk with Him
• The second test is how we handle temptation. The mature believer understands the process of temptation and sin and takes action to short circuit that process as early as possible.
• The third test is what we do with God’s Word. The mature believer welcomes God’s Word into his or her life and attempts to put it into practice.
• The fourth test is how we treat others who might be different than us. A mature disciple of Jesus looks at others through the lens of the gospel and puts their interests ahead of his own.
• The fifth test is whether our actions are consistent with the faith that we proclaim with our words.
• The sixth test is what we do with our words. The mature believer consistently speaks words of life that build others up.
Here in this seventh test, James begins by pointing out that there is an unbreakable link between the kind of wisdom we possess and our conduct. He begins with a question:
Who is wise and understanding among you?
And my guess is that every single person who read that question immediately answered “I am.” After all, who doesn’t want to think that that they are wise and understanding? But then in the very next sentence he says that a person’s conduct will demonstrate what kind of wisdom is operating in his or her life. So we can accurately conclude that in terms of the way James uses the term in this passage…
• Wisdom = lifestyle
In Biblical terms, wisdom is much more than just intellectual knowledge. It is how we put what we know into practice. So in effect, wisdom is synonymous with our lifestyle. With that background in mind, we are now ready to examine…
Two types of wisdom
James draws a stark contrast here between two kinds of wisdom that are reflected in two distinctly different lifestyles. Let’s take a few minutes to summarize the differences between those two types of wisdom and then we’ll conclude by spending most of our time focusing on how we can develop the kind of wisdom that God desires for His children.
It is clear here that there are only two kinds of wisdom and thus there are only two ways to live our lives. There are no other options. We are either mature believers who have godly wisdom or we are not. There is no gray area here and there are no other options. Since the Bible also refers to wisdom that is not godly as “foolishness”, we’ll use the terms wisdom and foolishness as we summarize the differences between the two. These differences can be broken down into three categories:
Contrast in origin:
• Wisdom originates in God
Godly wisdom, by definition, originates with God. James describes it here as “from above”. The book of Proverbs, which is a book that focuses on wisdom, consistently reveals that true wisdom comes only from God. For time’s sake, let’s look at just one passage that makes this quite clear:
For the LORD gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
guarding the paths of justice
and watching over the way of his saints.
(Proverbs 2:6-8 ESV)
Foolishness, however, does not come from God. James reveals that it actually comes from three sources.
• Foolishness originates in:
o Human reason
First of all, foolishness is earthly. In 1 Corinthians 1, Paul refers to it as the “wisdom of the world” and he describes it as the kind of wisdom that is based on human reason. According to that human reason, the entire gospel and the idea that God would send His Son to die on a cross in order to reconcile man to God is foolishness. As we saw earlier this morning, it’s that “scandal of grace”. But from God’s perspective, those who depend on that kind of human reason are actually the ones who are foolish.
o Human desire
Secondly, James points out that foolishness is “unspiritual”. That word could literally be translated “soulish”. It is a word that is used elsewhere in the New Testament to describe that which pertains to our old sinful nature. So foolishness is a result of our sinful, human desires.
o Arrogance
James concludes this thought by pointing out that foolishness is demonic – it originates with Satan. If there is one attribute that we could use to describe Satan, it would be arrogance. He thought that he could ascend to the heavens and make himself like God.
That is certainly the epitome of foolishness. Whenever we reject God and His ways, what we are ultimately doing is being arrogant enough to put ourselves in the place of God.
Contrast in operation:
• Wisdom is focused on God and on others
James answers his own question with which he begins this section like this:
By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.
The key word there is meekness. Unfortunately in English that word often carries the idea of weakness, but the Greek word James uses here doesn’t convey that idea at all. It does describe someone who is gracious and tender toward others. In fact, Jesus used that word to describe Himself in this familiar passage:
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
(Matthew 11:29 ESV)
The word “gentle” in this verse is the same word that is translated “meekness” in our passage in James. Probably the best definition I have heard for this word is “power under control”. That is why the Greeks used it to describe a horse that had been broken. And that certainly would describe Jesus during His time here on earth. From His example we can see that a person who is meek is primarily focused on being obedient to God and serving the needs of others.
• Foolishness is focused on self
Twice in this passage, James indicates that the life of a foolish person is characterized by jealousy and selfish ambition. The word translated “selfish ambition” is a Greek word that had come to describe someone who would do whatever it took to get what he or she wanted. It was applied to politicians who manipulated the public in order to gain power. Some concepts are certainly timeless aren’t they?
Contrast in outcomes:
• Wisdom results in peace
Although James uses a number of adjectives to describe the life of the wise person, the main idea is that person will experience a life of peace. And not only that, they will reap a harvest of righteousness when that peace is sown in the lives of others.
Once again, when James uses the word peace, he is thinking of the Hebrew concept of peace, which many of you probably know is conveyed by the Hebrew word “shalom”. That kind of peace is much more than just the absence of conflict, but rather it pictures wholeness, abundance and fulfillment.
This is certainly consistent with the idea that we keep coming back to over and over again – that the process of living our lives according to the wisdom of God brings blessing.
• Foolishness results in chaos
According to James, living according to foolishness produces disorder and every vile practice. This is a picture of a life that is completely out of control – one that is full of instability, confusion and chaos.
The contrast between the two ways of life - wisdom and foolishness -could not be more extreme. They are completely different in their origin, their operation, and their outcomes. And I’m confident that all of us in this room want to have the peace that comes from living a life that is characterized by wisdom.
Since, as we have seen, wisdom originates with God, only those who have a personal relationship with God through faith in His Son, Jesus, have access to it. However, at the same time, wisdom is not something that just magically occurs in our lives the moment we commit our lives to Jesus, either. The very concept that wisdom is related to skill indicates that wisdom is something that requires us to work on in order to develop it in our lives. So let’s close our time by seeing what James teaches us about…
How to develop wisdom
As we’ve noted previously, James employs a consistent structure in each section of his letter in which the main point in each section is determined by a command that has a particular grammatical structure in Greek. Here in this section, that command is found at the end of verse 14:
…do not boast and be false to the truth
Although James structures that command as a negative – there are two things we are commanded not to do – let’s turn it around into two positive actions that we can take that will help us to develop wisdom:
• Have a humble heart
The verb translated “boast” is a very strong compound word in Greek. I think the NASB and some other English translations actually convey the essence better when they translate the first part of this verse “do not be arrogant”. We’ve already seen that the demonic origin of foolishness reveals that it is based on arrogance.
But wisdom takes just the opposite approach. Genuine wisdom requires humility. Although humility and meekness are not completely synonymous, the two concepts are certainly very closely related. As we’ve already seen this morning, the wise person has a meek, humble heart that is focused on being obedient to God and on meeting the needs of others. Let’s see what that looks like and how we can develop that kind of heart.
We’ll begin with humility toward God. Since God is the source of all genuine wisdom, then if we want wisdom, we have to begin with the right heart toward Him. This familiar Proverb clearly reveals the essence of a heart that is humble before God:
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
(Proverbs 9:10 ESV)
Without the right kind of reverent awe and fear of God, we will never develop wisdom in our lives. As we’ve discussed before, whenever the Bible refers to the fear of God, perhaps the best way to think of that is in terms of being so taken with the awesomeness of God that He takes our breath away.
A humble heart toward God means that I acknowledge that He is omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent, and I am not. It means that I acknowledge that He alone knows what is best for me, so therefore I am not going to try and play God and usurp His purposes, plans and ways for my life. It means not being arrogant enough to try to live life on my terms rather than His.
How about humility toward others? In verse 17, James describes the characteristics of genuine wisdom like this:
But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.
We don’t have time to explore each of those descriptions in detail, but taken as a whole they certainly picture humility toward other people. In Philippians chapter 2, Paul exhorts Christ followers to consider the example of Jesus when it comes to humility toward others:
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
(Philippians 2:3-4 ESV)
When I put that command into practice and I count others more significant than myself and I look to the interests of others, then I’m going to be peaceable and as a result I will treat others with gentleness, I’ll be open to reason, I’ll be full of mercy and good fruits and I’ll be impartial and sincere.
I can honestly say that over the years whenever I have observed a life that was in chaos, it has always been accompanied by arrogance against God and/or other people. So whenever we find that our life seems to be spinning out of control the first thing we need to do is to check our hearts and make sure that we are exercising humility.
The second principle that we’ll look at this morning flows directly out of having a humble heart toward God…
• Love the truth
James points out that when we are arrogant we actually turn God’s truth into a lie. A 2009 poll taken by the Barna Group, certainly demonstrates how we’ve done that as a culture. In that poll, only 34% of the adults surveyed agreed with the statement that “moral truth is absolute and unaffected by circumstances.” What is even more troubling is that less than one-half of the people who identified themselves as born again Christians said they believe in absolute truth.
But frankly, the only surprise with those findings is that even that many people still believe in absolute truth in a postmodern world whose mantra is “there is no absolute truth” and where everyone is urged to find his or her own truth. In a world with that mindset, faith that is dependent on claims which are based on historical fact is no longer considered valid because even the idea of historical fact is not accepted. So faith merely becomes a matter of personal preference and opinion rather than a judgment made on the basis of facts and truth. And Biblical Christianity becomes just one of many valid options.
As we’ve already discovered, this whole mindset is really just a symptom of an arrogant heart. When everyone is free to determine their own truth what we’re really doing is being arrogant enough to tell God that we know more than He does.
But there is indeed absolute truth and that truth is found in God’s Word. Earlier in his letter, in the only other place in his letter he uses the word “meekness”, James has already made the connection between wisdom and the truth that is found in the Word of God:
Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
(James 1:21 ESV)
As we saw when we looked at that verse several weeks ago, the idea of receiving God’s Word means that we welcome the Bible into our life by accepting it as absolute truth and putting it into practice in our lives.
Genuine wisdom requires that we use God’s Word as the only objective basis for evaluating our lives. The Bible is the only 100% accurate tool that we can use to evaluate our hearts and our conduct. Anything else is merely a subjective tool that is subject to our own flawed human thinking. Jesus emphasized that as He prayed for His followers shortly before going to the cross:
Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
(John 17:17 ESV)
Although it is not a direct synonym, the concept of sanctification is certainly closely related to the idea of godly wisdom. Sanctification is the process of being set apart for God's work and being conformed to the image of Christ. And wisdom, as we have seen, is a lifestyle in which we live according to God’s purposes, plans and ways. And the means that God uses to both sanctify us and impart wisdom is the absolute truth of His Word.
So if I want to have wisdom, I must first be spending consistent time in God’s Word so that I can know the truth that is contained there. But I can’t stop there. As James pointed out back in chapter 1 I have to take the Bible and hold it up as a mirror that I use to evaluate my life. But I’m still not finished. If I want to have wisdom, I have to act based on what I see in that mirror. Then, and only then, do I really love the truth and get to experience God’s wisdom in my life.
There are only two ways to live life. We can live according to the foolishness of the world that has its origins in human reason, human desires and arrogance, a life that is characterized by focus only on self and which leads to chaos and disorder.
Or we can live according to the wisdom that has its origin in God, a life that is characterized by humility toward God and others, a life that is characterized by blessing and peace.
Which one will you choose?
