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Let's seek God again in prayer
and ask for his presence with us. Father, we come to you and we
thank you for this opportunity to sing hymns of praise to you,
to hear your word read, and now to hear your word proclaimed.
And we come as beggars, we come as sinners, we come as creatures,
we come as needy people, Some are genuine believers and disciples
of the Lord Jesus Christ, and some here are not. But we come
and ask that you would pour out your Holy Spirit upon each and
every one of us, and that you would use your truth for the
good of sinners, for the salvation of sinners, and for the good
of your people, the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. Please
use your word to this end and magnify Jesus Christ in our midst. In his name we pray, amen. Well, the Bible has much to say
about folly or foolishness. According to the Bible, folly
is tied to and rooted in moral realities. Moral realities and
sins such as sexual immorality, covetousness, idolatry, imprudence,
pride, atheism, and deception. Consider, for example, these
Bible passages. You don't need to turn there.
These Bible passages that reveal this connection between folly
and foolishness and various sins. In Genesis 34 we read that the
sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it and
the men were grieved and they were very angry because Hamor
of Shechem had wrought folly in Israel, lying with Jacob's
daughter. Or Joshua 7. And it shall be
that he that is taken, this is Joshua speaking, he that is taken
with the devoted thing, the wedge of gold, shall be burned with
fire, he and all that he has, because he has transgressed the
covenant of Jehovah, and because he has wrought folly in Israel. Or in 1 Samuel 25, Abigail speaking
to David, let not my Lord, I pray you, Regard this worthless fellow,
even Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name,
and folly is with him. Or in Psalm 14, the fool has
said in his heart, there's no God. Or Jeremiah 23, And I have
seen folly in the prophets of Samaria. They prophesied by Baal
and caused my people Israel to err. So those are just some examples
that show us that the Bible has much to say about folly, and
the Bible ties folly and foolishness to a variety of sins. And in the light of these biblical
depictions of folly, no one should regard it with indifference.
Folly is not a morally neutral matter. Instead of choosing folly
and being foolish, whether you're young or old, it does not matter.
You should choose wisdom, God's wisdom. in order to be truly
wise. And the Bible has much to say
also about this matter of true wisdom. Wisdom is explained,
illustrated, and applied in numerous passages throughout the Bible.
And we do well to pay attention to the Bible's teachings, God's
Word regarding wisdom, and acquire that wisdom. And in the passage
which we will study this morning, as we continue in our studies
in the book of James, this is exactly what the Apostle James
would have us do. Understand what true wisdom is
according to God's Word, and acquire that wisdom. So turn
now in your Bibles to James chapter 3, and we'll begin reading at
verse 13. James chapter 3, and beginning
at verse 13. James 3, verse 13. Who is wise and understanding
among you? Let him show by his good life
his works in meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy
and faction in your heart, glory not and lie not against the truth. This wisdom is not a wisdom that
comes down from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where jealousy and faction
are, there is confusion and every vile deed. But the wisdom that
is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy
to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality,
without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness
is sown in peace for them that make peace." And there we end
our reading. I'd like you to look at this
passage in James 3, verse 13 and following, and notice, first
of all, a pointed, relevant question. A pointed, relevant question.
You see it right there in verse 13. Who is wise and understanding
among you? And with this question, James,
as a pastor, was addressing all of his readers and all who had
listened to this letter being read. He was not just addressing
pastors or teachers, for all Christians should be wise and
understanding. If James had been present when
his letter was read in some congregation, would he have expected an immediate
show of hands to be raised by numerous individuals in the church
in response to that question, who is wise and understanding
among you? Would James have expected to
see a whole host of people raising their hand? Yes, I'm wise. Probably not. He probably would
not have expected that because James understood that there is
a paradox associated with true wisdom. The interesting paradox
is this. The Christian who believes that
God has given him some wisdom is usually the last person to
assert that he has any wisdom. because one who is truly wise,
according to the Bible, is also one who is truly humble and thinks
soberly about himself or herself. But James did ask this question
in order to cause his readers and all of us here this morning
to examine our hearts, our words, and our lives in order to answer
this very relevant, very vital and pointed question. By asking
this question, James did not intend to depress anyone through
such self-examination as we realize how little genuine wisdom we
do possess. He was not intending to discourage
or depress anyone with his question, and neither did James pen the
question of verse 13 with a goal of discouraging anyone from seeking
acquiring and then using biblical wisdom. No, James understood
that when each of us comes to grips with the reality that in
myself I lack true wisdom, then and only then will I seek the
wisdom that comes from God himself. In other words, Humility is absolutely
essential if anyone is to acquire genuine wisdom. Furthermore, James tells us in
verse 13 that true wisdom is manifested in one's life and
works, not primarily in his words. Now, James has been dealing extensively
in the earlier part of chapter 3, as all of you who have been
attending here know, the whole matter of the use of our tongues,
the whole matter of the use of our words. But in verse 13, James
tells us that true wisdom is manifested in one's life and
works, not primarily in his words. It is at this point that the
world around us is so completely confused and wrong in their understanding
regarding wisdom, so-called wisdom for the world. The world believes
that wisdom is found in the acquisition of knowledge, in the proclamation
of that knowledge, in a lecture hall in a university, or in writing
blogs and articles on the internet, or in speaking as an expert upon
a specific topic on a news channel. Seeking, acquiring, and speaking
knowledge of any particular subject is not a bad thing, of course.
We should be teaching our children. We should be teaching them to
study, to study many subjects, to acquire knowledge. It's good
and necessary to study specific subjects to be well informed. But having massive amounts of
knowledge about any particular matter does not make someone
wise. With an unexpected jolt to our
minds, as you read through James 13 and following, James tells
us that true wisdom is manifested in the works and deeds of a wholesome
life which is saturated with the grace of meekness. True wisdom is manifested in
the works and deeds of a wholesome life, I would say a godly life,
which is saturated with the grace of meekness. But now, perhaps,
James' words about a life of works, a life of works and good
deeds, might cause another jolt to your mind. emphasizing works,
the works and deeds of a wholesome life, was James manifesting that
he was actually a closet, works-righteous Pharisee? Was he manifesting
that he was a Judaizer who subverted the gospel of God's grace? Was
James, by emphasizing the works and deeds of a wholesome life,
was he a Roman Catholic prior to the advent of Roman Catholicism? No, no, no. James was correct in his understanding
that true wisdom, godly wisdom, Biblical wisdom is manifested
in a life of righteous works done in meekness. Think of the
words of the Lord Jesus Christ as he spoke the parable of the
Good Samaritan in Luke 10. The priest and the Levite did
not help the severely wounded man on the roadside, But the
Samaritan manifested meekness of wisdom by his work of assisting
that very, very needy man. We're told there in Luke 10 that
the Samaritan bound up his wounds, poured oil and wine on them.
You see, there was true wisdom. The oil to cleanse away the dirt
of the wounds, the wine with its alcohol to actually kill
bacteria, There was wisdom, working wisdom, you see, and then the
same Samaritan set this man on his own beast, brought him to
an end, took care of him. You see, there is a vivid picture
of wisdom. James would declare this Samaritan
man manifested by his good life, his works in meekness of wisdom. You see, what did that Samaritan
understand about himself? The passage doesn't tell us,
but bringing Bible truth together, I think it's safe to assume he
saw that wounded man as just like himself. He understood,
first of all, his position, the Samaritan did, that he was a
creature. that he was a sinner, that he
was an ignorant man in himself, that before the living God who
sees everything, he was nothing, you see, that he was not better
than or superior to this wounded man on the road. And consequently,
he humbly and wisely helped his fellow creature. So the question
comes to all of us this morning from God through the Apostle
James in verse 13. Who is wise and understanding
among you? You, the people sitting here
this morning in this building. Who is wise and understanding
among you? If you believe you are wise by
God's grace, you will show forth that wisdom Not so much by what
you say, but by how you live. And not only how you live here
in public in this church building, but especially how you live when
you're all alone. And how you live with your spouse
and your children. How you live when you're at your
place of work. You see, who is wise and understanding
among you? You must show it by a life of
good works in righteousness and meekness. You will never be able
to be that kind of a person if you are not a genuine Christian,
someone whom God has given spiritual life, cause to be born again,
someone who is turning away from his or her sins of the heart,
the mind, the life totally, disgusted by your own sins, grieved by
your own sins, hating them, turning away from them, and calling upon
the living Lord Jesus Christ for pardon, cleansing, forgiveness,
salvation, transformation, asking Him, the living, almighty Jesus
Christ, to make you a man, woman, boy or girl of true biblical
wisdom. So that's the pointed, relevant
question. But now notice, secondly, a pointed,
relevant warning. Look at verse 14 in your Bibles. James chapter 3, verse 14. A pointed, relevant warning. But if you have bitter jealousy
and faction in your heart, glory not or boast not and lie not
against the truth. James warns us in this verse
to reject and abandon and repent of all self-deception. But you
see, this is the problem. Usually, people who are self-deceived
don't realize that they're self-deceived. They actually think things are
really wonderful for them. But James still is calling all
of us, as you hear these words of verse 14, to cry out to God
and say, Lord, show me. Show me. Forget about my spouse. Forget about my children. Forget
about my friends. Show me, Lord. Am I self-deceived? Mere talk of being wise. However orthodox your words may
be, however lofty in tone your words may be, however well-meant
your words may be, mere talk of being wise proves absolutely
nothing if your life is characterized by the evil fruit which James
now identifies. Talk is cheap. Actions prove reality. But notice the evil fruit that
James speaks of here. First of all, the evil fruit
of bitter jealousy. What is he referring to? It is
a sour discontentment with your station in life when compared
to others around you. That's the meaning here. A bitter
jealousy, an envy, a bitter envy, a sour discontentment with your
station in life when compared with others around you. Your
marriage state, whether single or married, You're discontent. Your spouse, you're not happy
with your spouse, whether it's the him or the her. Your children,
their spiritual condition. You look at others around you,
and their family life seems so good and so wholesome, and you
look at your family situation, it's not so great. And instead
of dealing with the root sin issues in the family situation
with your children, you become discontent and sour and jealous
and envious of others. Or your finances, or your prominence
or lack of prominence in this world, or at the office, or in
the place of work, or in the church. If your heart, James,
wants you to understand, and your life is marked by bitter
jealousy, then do not be deceived. Do not boast that all is well
with your soul in life. Do not think that you are wise. Rather, go home and be depressed. No. Right where you are, cry
out to the living God. Say, Lord, Forgive me for my wretched sins
of bitterness and jealousy and envy and sourness and discontentment. Wash me in the blood of your
Son right now where I sit. You can do that supernatural
work of washing me in the blood of Christ right now, Lord. You have said, ask and it shall
be given you. Seek and you shall find. Knock
and it shall be opened unto you. Lord, I'm asking, I'm seeking,
I'm knocking now. I cannot undo this mess in my
heart. I cannot untangle the bitterness
and the discontentment and the sourness. I can't sort it out. I can't wash it away. I can't
do it. But you can, because you are gracious, kind, and almighty. Lord, do that for me now." Notice
the second evil fruit that James highlights. Bitter jealousy is
the first, but he highlights the evil fruit of faction. Now that word means contention,
strife, rivalry with others in your life. Whether it is strife
and contention with people in your own family, or others in
the local church, or people in your workplace, or in the world
about you, When there is arguing and strife and tension in your
human relationships, James says, don't lie to yourself. Don't say, all is well. Don't put on the happy face and
pretend all is well. No. Face up to the sad truth
about these sins. Don't be deceived. It's not a
manifestation of wisdom. Instead, again, confess such
sins of contention, strife, rivalry that's there in your heart, there
in your life to God through Christ. Ask for forgiveness, cleansing. Call upon the Lord Jesus Christ
now. But notice what James tells us
here. These evil fruits of bitter jealousy
and faction come from your heart. The heart, according to the Bible,
is the seat of everything that makes you, you. And James says that that's where
these sins reside. And therefore, in verse 14, we
must not boast. We must not be proud and deceive
ourselves. Instead, we need to remember
truths such as we find in Jeremiah chapter 9. Thus says the Lord
Jehovah, let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Neither
let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory
in his riches, but let him that glories glory in this, that he
has understanding and knows me, that I am Jehovah, who exercises
loving kindness, justice, and righteousness in the earth. So
this is what we are to do, not be self-deceived, not be boastful,
but boast in the living God. So if you have bitter jealousy,
faction in your heart, do not boast, do not lie against the
truth. Verse 14. But notice now thirdly
in James' words here in verse 15, worldly and heavenly wisdom
contrasted. Worldly and heavenly wisdom contrasted
in verse 15. This wisdom is not a wisdom that
comes down from above, this bitter jealousy, etc., but is earthly,
sensual, devilish. You see, worldly wisdom's characteristics
begin with earthliness. The world's wisdom arises from
the mind of the creature. without any reference whatsoever
to the Creator and His revelation given in creation and given especially
in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and given in His infallible Word,
the Bible. Such worldly wisdom views material
things, money and possessions, the here and now, as all important
and ultimate in this life. Eternity is not important for
the worldly wise individual, the earthly so-called wise individual,
because that individual thinks everything's going to work out
for good at the end anyway. And only the very horrible, most
wicked people of the world go to a place like hell, if there
even is such a place as hell. You know, the Hitlers of the
world. You see, that's earthly. worldly wisdom. No reference
to God. James continues, worldly wisdom
is sensual. It's natural. Worldly wisdom
asserts that human feelings and senses and reasonings, they reign
supreme in this life. not that which God tells us and
not that which is truly spiritual. Worldly wisdom does not and cannot
receive spiritual realities, but regards them as total foolishness. James continues, worldly wisdom
is demonic. At its root, This so-called wisdom
of the world is derived from the prince of the power of the
air, the devil, the spirit that now works in the sons of disobedience. And such worldly wisdom rejects
God's word, the Bible, rejects it as man's final authority for
what to believe about life and eternity, how to live in preparation
for eternity. This demonic wisdom It rejects
God's truth totally as the starting point for understanding and interpreting
everything, and even as the concluding point. With worldly wisdom, the
devil's lies are embraced, and death is the result. And James wants us to see to
understand how worthless and evil the world's wisdom is, which
produces such sins as jealousy, contention, strife, and disorder. Every vile deed, James tells
us in verse 16, every vile deed is the result. And he tells us
this so that we will turn away from worldly wisdom and turn
to the Lord's Heavenly wisdom. And we see that next in verse
17. Heavenly wisdom's characteristics,
and James gives us quite a few. He begins with what is probably
the most logical thing to begin with. Heavenly wisdom, he says,
is pure. It's rooted in God's word. It is perfectly and completely
holy. Heavenly wisdom is free from
defect because it's rooted in God's infallible Word. Heavenly wisdom is peaceable. It's not contentious. It doesn't
start quarrels. It doesn't start arguments. Christians
will not insist on peace at any price. Hear me clearly. James is not saying that there's
never a place for a Christian to stand firmly and to engage
in a debate with someone else like an unbeliever or someone
else who says he is a Christian but is teaching things that are
wrong. He's not saying that. But such folks with heavenly
wisdom will want to be peaceable and they will ask the question
prior to speaking or debating Will these words that I'm planning
to speak promote biblical truth and promote biblical peace? Heavenly
wisdom is gentle. It is willing to yield to others. Not compromising biblical truth,
not compromising biblical holiness, but heavenly wisdom shows a willingness
to yield to others. See how contrary this is to the
world's wisdom. People demand their rights. I have my rights, and I'm going
to get my rights, and I don't care about you. If I have to
walk over you to get what I want, I will do it. That is not heavenly
wisdom. As Paul said to the Corinthians,
who were fighting like cats and dogs, You're going to a court of law,
brother against brother, the court of law before unbelieving
judges. What are you doing? Why not rather
take the wrong? Isn't that very interesting,
dear brethren? There are times when you as a
Christian can righteously say, I am not going to make sure this
all gets sorted out and I am exonerated. I'm willing to take
the wrong for the sake of the glory of Jesus Christ in the
church. That's heavenly wisdom. But it
follows on, it is easily entreated Heavenly wisdom is not gullible,
but it shows deference and respect to others as long as God's truth
is not violated. It does not seek its own. It does not stand on its own
rights. It is full of mercy and good
fruits. It is compassionate and seeks
to do practical good for others whenever possible. It is without
partiality. Heavenly wisdom is applied to
all life's situations with all people without favoritism. Remembering that God's eye is
in every place, beholding the good and the evil, remembering
that God does not show favoritism. Heavenly wisdom is, lastly, sincere
or without hypocrisy. The word that James uses here
is a word that does mean a hypocrite. It's the idea of what happened
in Greek tragedies and plays. where the actors would have a
mask that they'd put up in front of their face. That mask might
be a happy mask because they're playing a happy character. But
then they put that mask aside, pick up another mask, and that
mask may have a face that's angry because they're playing a character
who's angry. You see, it's just a mask. And
what James wants us to understand is that heavenly wisdom is not
hypocritical. It's sincere. It's not acting
and playing a part. So when you as Christians come
into this church building, are you acting a part or are
you the real deal? a real Christian, a true disciple
of Jesus Christ? Are you wearing the mask of smiling
because you don't want anyone to know that actually in your
heart of hearts you have turmoil and trouble and you know you
need help but you don't want anybody to know it because you're
embarrassed that you have such trouble and turmoil. You don't
want to let the mask down and let others know, I am a sinner
who has a lot of problems and I need help. Heavenly wisdom
doesn't put up the mask. That does not mean, James does
not mean that you should just let it all out to the first person
you see in the church building on Sunday morning. He doesn't
mean you should say everything to everyone. But still, heavenly
wisdom is sincere. The Christian who uses heavenly
wisdom is never an actor playing a part on a stage wearing a mask. So what describes each of you? I want each of you here, the
youngest to the oldest. Are you manifesting heavenly
wisdom in your life? Or are you manifesting earthly
wisdom in your life? And again, where you see sin
and failure, don't go off being depressed. Cry out to Jesus Christ. Say, Lord, I need you to show
forth your power in my needy soul and life. That's what you're
to do. So we've seen a pointed, relevant
question, a pointed, relevant warning about self-deception,
and thirdly, worldly and heavenly wisdom contrasted. Let me give
some lessons now. It should be clear from what
I've already said, but whenever the gospel has a saving hold
on the mind and the heart, the gospel always, always transforms
the life from the inside out. Always. Such an individual who
has truly been saved by Jesus Christ will show by his good
life his works in meekness of wisdom. So are you sowing seeds in your
life and those around you, words and actions and reactions of
peace by speaking and living heavenly wisdom in your various
relationships, starting with your own families? Is your profession
of faith consistent with the heavenly wisdom that James describes
here? Or are you sowing seeds of bitter
jealousy, strife, selfishness, division, and confusion in your
relationships? Which are you doing? And if you're
doing that which is wrong and sinful, again, I urge you, stop
today. and call upon the Lord Jesus
Christ. And if you are living according
to heavenly wisdom, stop and bless God for his mercy and his
grace and his patience and his love that he has shown and still
shows to you. Worship your Savior for his faithful
love to you. a disciple, but still a sinner. But notice also from James' teaching,
he highlights meekness or gentleness or humility. Meekness is not weakness. Now, I'm not the one who came
up with that little phrase. I've heard it before. Meekness
is not weakness. Our president would have you
think, I think he probably would, I'm not sure, of course, I don't
know him personally, but when you listen to our president,
I don't think he would think that meekness is a good character
trait. But that's what the Bible teaches.
And that's who the Lord Jesus Christ was. That's what he is
here on earth in heaven still. He said, come unto me, all you
who labor and are heavy burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, learn
of me. Why? Because I am meek and lowly
in heart. Meekness is not weakness. Meekness
should be a grace that clothes every true disciple of Jesus
Christ. Humility, you see, is paramount
if we are to be truly wise. But now I would like you to turn
to 1 Timothy 1. 1st Timothy chapter 1, beginning at verse 12. Consider Saul of Tarsus, who
is transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ into the Apostle
Paul. 1st Timothy 1 and verse 12. I thank him that enabled me,
even Christ Jesus our Lord, for that he counted me faithful,
appointing me to his service. Though I was before a blasphemer
and a persecutor and injurious, albeit I obtained mercy because
I did it ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord abounded
exceedingly with faith and love, which is in Christ Jesus. Faithful
is the saying, and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners. Of whom I am chief, albeit for
this cause I obtained mercy, that in me as chief might Jesus
Christ show forth all his long-suffering for an
example of them that should thereafter believe on him unto eternal life. Consider Saul of Tarsus. When you read of Saul of Tarsus
and what he has revealed about himself in his testimonies of
salvation in the book of Acts as an example, you realize that
with his words he was a murderer, and with his hands he was a murderer. And he tells us that he took
delight, he actually took perverse delight in inflicting pain on
others. That's his description of himself. What a wretched man in his words. He had earthly wisdom at that
point in his life, not heavenly wisdom. and his words and his
life just proclaim very loudly pride, boasting, self-centered,
murderous Saul of Tarsus. But he tells us here in 1 Timothy
1 that God showed mercy upon him. God abounded exceedingly
with faith and love in Christ Jesus toward him. that God saved
him for many purposes, but one of them he tells us here in this
passage, that he would be an example to anyone who would afterwards
believe in Jesus Christ. You might be sitting here today
as an unconverted, lost sinner, not a disciple of Jesus Christ. And God may be showing you that
your heart is pretty ugly. Think of Saul of Tarsus, who
was saved by Jesus Christ and transformed into the Apostle
Paul. Jesus Christ can do that with
you and your heart, even now, right where you sit here in this
auditorium. But you must cry out to him and
say, Lord, have mercy upon me, the sinner. Save me. Cleanse me. Do for me what you
did for Saul of Tarsus, so that I will not be worldly wise. but be truly wise because I have
heavenly wisdom, because you have had mercy upon me. May God
do so for all of us this day. Let's close in prayer. Father, we come to you and we
thank you for your holy word. We thank you that it reveals
your gracious salvation in Jesus Christ. We thank you that you
sent your only son into this world to take on human flesh
and blood to become the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ, in order
to save sinful sinners like we are. We thank you that in him
we can indeed know the reality of heavenly wisdom in our hearts,
in our lives. We pray that you would so work
amongst your people here at Trinity Baptist Church, that we would
show forth your glory by being clothed with heavenly wisdom
in our speech, in our behavior, not only in church, but in our
homes and in our places of work, Lord, make us your people to
be bright, shining lights in this dark day in which we live. And come and save sinners. And
come, Lord, and glorify your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. We
thank you, we bless you for your love and grace in Jesus Christ,
in whose name we pray. Amen.
Show True Wisdom by Your Works
Series James
| Sermon ID | 323251629114954 |
| Duration | 47:21 |
| Date | |
| Category | Sunday - AM |
| Bible Text | James 3:13-18 |
| Language | English |
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