The book of James chapter 3 Now in the book of James chapter 3 James has been exhorting us regarding the control and use of our tongues and from that subject he has expanded into a discussion of of wisdom, and he, in verse 13 through 18, discusses that subject, and it is to that passage that we want to give our attention this evening. So follow along with me, if you will, as we read together James chapter 3, verses 13 through 18. Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him show out of a good conduct his works with meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descends not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. Now, in our study together last week, we considered the characteristics of a wise man that are recorded for us in verses 13 through 16. We saw that a wise man is revealed by two things, by his good conduct and by his humble attitudes. And so, if we are attempting to discern who is a wise man, we can say, well, how does he apply his knowledge to his personal life choices? And if that application of that knowledge to his personal life choices shows good conduct in his works, And, if he possesses and displays an attitude of meekness and humility with reference to the employment of that wisdom, then we can be confident that this is a wise man. On the other hand, we saw that one who is full of envy, and therefore engages in strife, is someone who is not wise. And so, therefore, in order to discern who the wise are, we need only look at their conduct and at their attitudes in order to make an accurate assessment as to whether or not they are wise people. Now, having considered together than last time the characteristics of a wise man, James now goes on in verses 17 through 18 to describe the characteristics of wisdom itself. He's just got done talking about what is a wise man. Now he's going to talk about what is wisdom. And so in answer to the question, what is wisdom? How would I recognize it? James gives us some guidelines by which to make those kind of assessments. And so when you hear the statements that people make and view the actions they take, how do you know if they are wise or not? Well, James gives us a standard by which we can measure the words, the actions, the attitudes of both ourselves and other people in order to assess whether what is being expressed is wisdom or whether it is something else. And so what we want to do then is turn our attention and focus on verses 17 and 18 and consider together the characteristics of wisdom. In the first place this evening, let us consider together the origin of true wisdom, the origin of true wisdom. Now, in verse 17, it says, but the wisdom that is from above, And so the first thing James identifies for us is the origin or the source of true wisdom. And he says that it comes from above. Now, this phrase from above has been employed by James back in chapter one in verse 17, when he says every good gift and every perfect gift is from above. Well, what does that mean? Well, it means that it comes down from the father. with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." So, when he uses this phrase that something comes from above, what he means by that, simply, is that it comes from God. Now, this is the second time in this book that he mentions God as the source of wisdom. You remember back in chapter 1, in verse 5, he says, If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men liberally and it shall be given to him. And so we see that if someone needs wisdom, he simply goes to the source of wisdom, who is God. And now in this passage in verse 15, he talks about the wisdom that is not from above. And then in verse 17, he talks about the wisdom that is from above. Now, the significance of all of this is that the source of wisdom determines its characteristics. If wisdom is from beneath, then it produces envy, strife, confusion, and evil works, as we saw in our previous study. And why is this? Because these are the characteristics of Satan. But if wisdom is from above, then it will reflect the character of God. And really, verse 17 is really just a list of some of the attributes of God. The devil's wisdom is like the devil. It is jealous. It is destructive. It is confused, and it is evil. God's wisdom is like God. It is pure. It is peaceful. It is gentle. It is reasonable. It is merciful. It is fair, and it is consistent. And those words describe God himself, and of course, therefore, they describe the wisdom that comes from him. Now, it is obvious which wisdom is desirable and which is to be avoided, and it does not take a great deal of brilliance to discern between them or determine the desirability of their various outcomes. But it is amazing how people, in the heat of controversy, forget to apply these simple tests. How easy it is to become caught up in the passion of rapidly unfolding events, abandon reflective thought, and find ourselves promoting the wisdom that is from beneath, engaging in strife and envy and confusion and evil works in our conflicts with people. Instead of engaging in a pattern of behavior that produces purity and peace and manifest gentleness and reasonableness and mercy and good fruits. And so, what James does then, having expressed the origin of this wisdom, he then gives us a rather extended list of the characteristics of wisdom. So, in the second place this evening, let us consider together the characteristics of wisdom. Now, he lists here a number of characteristics of wisdom. And notice, first of all, godly wisdom is pure. Godly wisdom is pure. He says, the wisdom that is from above is first pure. That is, it promotes purity, and it conducts itself with purity. And so, before we ask ourselves anything else, the first thing we should ask is this. Is the wisdom that I am hearing or practicing that which promotes and permits sin, or is it that which promotes and pursues holiness? Godly wisdom always moves people towards greater godliness and towards greater purity. It does not move people towards greater ungodliness and immorality. In other words, it promotes purity of heart in the inner man, it promotes purity of life in the outer man. Godly wisdom will not move one to defile the mind, nor will it ever move one to corrupt the conduct. Godly wisdom, when it is being expressed and when it is followed, leaves us with a clear conscience. It leaves us with confidence before God that all is well between God and our souls. So then, that which would lead us into a closer conformity to God's law is true wisdom, while that which would lead us to violate God's law is not the wisdom that is from above. So when someone is giving counsel and you're trying to say, now, is this counsel wise or not? Ask yourself, does this counsel move me towards greater purity, greater conformity to God's law, greater departure from sin? If so, then we may conclude that it is godly wisdom. The second thing that marks or characterizes godly wisdom is that godly wisdom is not only pure, but godly wisdom is also peaceable. That is, it is that which promotes and encourages peace between people. Ungodly wisdom, the wisdom that is from beneath that has been spoken of in our context, is that which engenders strife and envy between people. In 2 Thessalonians 3, in verse 16, God is called the God of peace, and we would expect that the wisdom that comes from God would produce peace between people. And so, first of all, true wisdom from God will strive to keep peace. It will strive to keep it. That is, godly wisdom handles matters in such a way as to not disturb the peace that currently exists between people. And this is why, for example, someone like a tailbearer who goes around gendering strife between people is not someone who is being wise or expressing wisdom in that type of conduct. Ephesians 4 and verse 3 says that we are to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. That is, people who are saved naturally have a peace between themselves, and that peace needs to be preserved and not disturbed. And so, godly wisdom seeks to eliminate unnecessary offense in the words that it uses, in the tone it conveys, in the methods it employs, it will strive not to disturb the peace and unity of the brethren or of the church. But secondly, true wisdom from God will not only strive to keep peace, true wisdom from God will strive to restore peace. When wisdom has been pardon me, when sin has broken peace between people, godly wisdom seeks a remedy to restore it Godly wisdom does not counsel resentment or revenge or ongoing alienation, but rather it emphasizes restoration and reconciliation. Matthew five in verse eight, it says, Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God and the children of God make peace by the proper use of the wisdom of God. However, godly wisdom never pursues peace at the expense of truth. Oftentimes, people say, well, the wise course of action here is to make peace. But it is the peace that is accomplished at the expense of truth and godly principle. And so you will find people who are exhorted to, for example, engage in forgiveness and just make peace with those who have offended them, when in fact there has never been any confession of sin, there has never been any repentance, there has never been any effort to deal with the matters that caused the breach of peace in the first place. That kind of peace, the peace of compromise, is not the peace that the wisdom of God produces. Godly wisdom never pursues peace at the expense of truth. Rather, godly wisdom pursues peace by the employment of truth. And if we must sacrifice truth to maintain an external peace, then that kind of peace, the peace of compromise, is not the peace that the wisdom of God produces. Even the wisest people cannot always keep peace. In Romans 12 and verse 18, it says, if it be possible, as much as lies in you, live peaceably with all men. But unfortunately, it is not always possible, because all men will not always abandon sin, which is the cause of the breach of peace. But nevertheless, it is the nature of godly wisdom that it always seeks to restore peace through the use of biblical methods and means to deal with, in a responsible fashion, the sin that has caused a breach in the peace. So godly wisdom is peaceable. It strives to keep peace, and it strives to restore peace. The third characteristic of godly wisdom is that it is gentle. Godly wisdom is gentle. And what this means is that someone who is truly wise will not only be pursuing purity, they will not only be pursuing peace, but they will do so in a way that is not harsh, demanding or insensitive to other people. Rather, it will be considerate, it will be forbearing, and it will be moderate. because godly wisdom is gentle. A wise person makes allowances for the ignorance and the weaknesses of other people, and he does not demand more of them than they are capable of. He gives them the benefit of the doubt. He considers mitigating circumstances when he is dealing with the sins of other people. And an excessive severity in the name of justice is not compatible with the gentleness of wisdom in dealing with offenses. And we need to be gentle not only in dealing with the defects that are in people, but also in dealing with the controversies that are between people, especially when it comes to doctrinal disputes. Unnecessary personal attack Provocative language, hostile attitude and an adversarial tone all are contrary to the wisdom of gentleness. Employing personal attack, provocative language, hostile attitudes or an adversarial tone may overwhelm our opponent, but it will certainly never win our opponent. And so godly wisdom is gentle. It is gentle in dealing with people. It is gentle in dealing with conflicts. Now, this doesn't mean that it is compromised, but it does mean the tone and the attitude with which it is set forth is one of considerateness, patience, and moderation. The fourth aspect of godly wisdom is that it is easily entreated. Godly wisdom is easily entreated. Now, our text says it is easy to be entreated, and that doesn't mean that godly wisdom is easy to get other people to receive. But rather, what it means is that godly wisdom is easy for other people to entreat. And what I mean is that godly wisdom is willing to give a full, fair and attentive hearing to other people. A wise person is a person who can be entreated by others. He allows others to fully explain their thoughts and their positions without cutting them off without mischaracterizing what they are saying, without evil surmising about their motives. A wise person is not only willing to listen to others and allow them to fully explain their thoughts, but he's also willing to learn from others. He listens to new ideas and to opposing points of view with an anticipation as to what might be learned that he did not know before. This is especially true regarding pleas for justice from those that he has authority over. All of us, in one way or another, are in a position of authority. And because we are in a position of authority, if we are wise, when those who come, who are under our authority, come to us, they will find us, those who are open and willing to listen to their concerns and their complaints. And so whether we have authority over children or whether we have authority over wives or whether we have authority over church members, or whether we have authority over coworkers or whether we have authority over citizens. The mark of wisdom is that it thoughtfully and open mindedly listens to those who appeal for an understanding of their case. Those who are under the authority of a wise man can say, you know, I can go to that person and I can lay out my case before them. They're willing to be entreated. They're willing to listen. They're willing to give me an honest, open and fair hearing, and they're willing to entertain new ideas and concepts that I present to them without hostility and without shutting me off. Godly wisdom is easily entreated. That is, it is willing to give a full, fair and attentive hearing to others, but also It is willing not only to give a full, fair and attentive hearing to others, it is willing upon suitable evidence to change its position. Godly wisdom is willing upon suitable evidence to change its position. Proud men think it a disgrace to change their mind and are therefore headstrong, stubborn, intractable and obstinate. But there is no greater mark of a fool than one who will not yield to irrefutable evidence and reason. Wisdom is marked by the ease with which it can be persuaded by scriptural information, proven facts, and sound reason. And a wise man is someone who should be easily persuaded by scriptural information, proven facts and sound reason. He has the humility to admit when he is wrong and the flexibility to embrace a more accurate and godly stance or behavior regarding an issue when it becomes clear that he should do so, because he's easily entreated. Now, this does not mean that he's wishy-washy. changing at every suggestion that happens to come along from whoever happens to offer it. But it does mean that he's willing to change when scriptural principle and facts and sound reason make it clear that that is the only responsible course to take irrespective of whatever positions he may have held before, or the consequences of those changes. The fifth characteristic of godly wisdom is that godly wisdom is full of mercy. It is full of mercy. That is, it is marked by a determination to relieve the distresses of other people. Godly wisdom is employed to relieve the distresses of other people. If that distress, for example, is one of guilt, then godly wisdom leads one to forgive that person. If that distress is a result of conflict, godly wisdom counsels reconciliation with that person. If that distress is one of need, then godly wisdom moves one to give to that need. If that distress is one of sorrow, then godly wisdom guides one to comfort that person. The point of this is that a person who is wise is neither cold-hearted nor are they hard-hearted. Whenever they see someone in distress, They immediately employ whatever means are available to them to relieve that distress. He knows that he has often received mercy himself, and he is glad to extend it to others. And so godly wisdom always employs itself about finding biblical methods to relieve the distress of various situations that it becomes aware of. Sixthly, godly wisdom is full of good fruits. In other words, godly wisdom is constantly looking for opportunities to do good to other people. Wisdom does not passively sit in an ivory tower somewhere, pondering the deep mysteries of life in complete isolation from human needs. We often think of the wise as those who somehow withdraw from society and just sit and think all day. Wrong. The wise person is the one who immerses himself in people's needs and an opportunity to do people good. Wisdom is actively involved in going about doing good to other people as it has opportunity. Peter says in Acts 10.38, of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the way, happened to be the wisest person who ever walked on the face of this earth, that he went about doing good. And if we want to know if we are a wise person or if we want to know if someone is a wise person and they possess godly wisdom, ask yourself, how much good do they do? It says of the wicked in Psalm 36 in verse three, he has left off to be wise and to do good. Now, isn't that an interesting association? As soon as one abandons wisdom, he also abandons doing that which is good. And the reason why is because wisdom and goodness are inseparable. Our text says that a wise person is full of good fruits. There is not simply an occasional good work, but there are abundant good works towards other people. He is full of mercy. He is full of good fruits. Now we come to two negative characteristics, and the seventh characteristic is that godly wisdom is without partiality. It is without partiality. Now, he has just got done telling us what it does have, and now he tells us what it doesn't have. And he says that godly wisdom is without partiality. That is, it does not recognize differences between people based on non moral issues. Now, you'll recall when we preached in Chapter two, we spent a lot of time talking about discrimination and how that some discrimination is wicked and immoral. And on the other hand, some discrimination is required and it is godly. And we said the difference between legitimate discrimination, which is required of us, and illegitimate discrimination, which is forbidden to us, is the basis upon which the discrimination is carried out. And if it's carried out on the basis of moral issues, then it is entirely appropriate and it is required of us. But if it is carried out on the basis of non-moral issues, then it is sinful and it is wicked. And so, godly wisdom is not guilty of this latter kind of partiality. It does not recognize differences between people based on non-moral issues. And so, things like outward appearance class, wealth, clothing and similar such matters do not sway his attitude towards people or his treatment of people. Fools are very much impressed with outward show and non material distinctions, but wisdom does not give any weight to such matters. It does not value people on the basis of style or dress or fashion or beauty To do so is, as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5.16, to know people after the flesh. That is, to know them after mere outward appearance. But rather, godly wisdom evaluates character, godly wisdom evaluates conduct, and recognizes the differences between people based on those criteria. And non-moral issues are non-consequential issues to the wise man. It's not a moral issue as to the color of your skin. But it is a moral issue as to whether you lie or not. And so we discriminate against liars. We don't discriminate against people of different skin color. One, you see, is a moral issue, and the other is a non-moral issue. Now we ought to have partiality with reference to moral issues. It is required of us that we distinguish between good and evil, and give preference to the one, and that we punish the other. But on non-moral issues, wisdom makes no distinction, shows no partiality. The eighth and final characteristic of wisdom Godly wisdom is without hypocrisy. Godly wisdom is without hypocrisy. In true wisdom, there is no deceit, and there are no double standards. True godly wisdom does not teach one thing and then practice something else. A wise man is a transparent man. That is, He really is what he appears to others to be. He is not a phony. He is not a hypocrite. Notice, if you will, Second Corinthians chapter one and verse twelve. Paul is describing his own situation in relationship to the work of the ministry in Second Corinthians one and verse twelve. He says, For our rejoicing is this. the testimony of our conscience that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our manner of life in the world and more abundantly towards you. In other words, what he's saying is that when one lives with simplicity and with sincerity, That is, he is what he seems to be. It is living in an opposite manner to fleshly wisdom. Fleshly wisdom says you want to present the best possible picture of yourself to other people, even if it isn't true. And you see, the fool tries to convince other people that he's something he's really not. And so he's forever going around, putting on a show, trying to convey an image that is contrary to reality. And the foolish thing about it is that he doesn't really ever fool anybody, because the man's sins always find him out. And those who cover their sins don't prosper, but those who confess them and forsake them, they are the ones who obtain mercy. And so fleshly wisdom counsels hypocrisy. But godly wisdom counsels simplicity, transparency, and sincerity. And you know, those who are honest about their sins, and thus expose them, are esteemed far more highly by people than those who go around trying to act like they don't have any. And yet everybody knows the reality. And so Paul was honest, he was sincere, he was consistent in how he lived in relationship to what he taught. And he never had to worry about somebody finding out the truth about what he was really like. Wisdom recognizes that deceit never accomplishes a godly outcome. And so he does not even attempt to convey a picture of himself to others that is not the truth. Well, these then are the characteristics of wisdom. We have seen the origin of wisdom, that it is from above. We have seen the characteristics of wisdom, that it is pure and that it is peaceable and gentle and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits without partiality, without hypocrisy. Now, in the third place this evening, let us consider together the outcome of wisdom. The origin of wisdom, the characteristics of wisdom, now the outcome of wisdom, and that is contained in verse 18 when it says in the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. Now, in our previous studies, we have seen that the wisdom that is earthly, sensual and devilish has an outcome. And that outcome was stated for us in verse 16, that there would be confusion and every evil work. That's the outcome of wisdom that is from beneath. Well, the wisdom that is from above also has an outcome. And the outcome of the wisdom which is from above is the fruit of righteousness. Or we could say the fruit which consists in righteousness. In other words, verse 18 is describing righteousness as the fruit of true wisdom. First of all, then notice that true wisdom moves people to righteous behavior. true wisdom moves people to righteous behavior. Now notice the previous description of wisdom's characteristics is really a description of righteous behavior. If you ran into someone who was morally pure, who was peaceable and gentle and reasonable and merciful and good and fair and honest Would you say that that was a righteous person? Sure, you would. And who wouldn't want to be around a person like that? Who wouldn't enjoy the company of such a person? And you see, it is precisely these characteristics that make a marriage work. When wisdom is present in a marriage, When people treat each other with purity and with peace and with gentleness and with reasonableness and mercy and goodness, and they are fair and they are honest, man, that makes for marvelous relationships. And if there is strife and envy and evil works going on in your marriage relationship, it's because somewhere, somehow wisdom is broken down and you're functioning on devilish principles. When you follow biblical wisdom, it moves you to righteous behavior. And secondly, it brings to pass righteous results. When this kind of wisdom is employed, the outcomes it produces are always godly, just, proper and peaceful. Notice it says the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. Isaiah 32 and verse 17 says in the work of righteousness shall be peace and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever. When you have peace in relationships and quietness and assurance in relationships, it's because you've got righteousness in relationships. And righteousness is achieved by nothing more than exercising biblical wisdom in the way in which you treat the people that are in those relationships. And so you need to ask yourself, how am I treating my fellow church member? How am I treating my wife? How am I treating my husband? Am I treating them in a way that is congruent with these characteristics? or am I treating them in a way that is contrary to them? You see, those who are wise have peaceable intentions, and they sow their wisdom in peace, not in strife. And their goal is to make peace through the use of godly wisdom, not to make conflict, not to make confusion, not to make evil works. but rather to produce righteousness and peace, because that's what godly wisdom produces, righteousness and peace, not envy and strife. And so I think there are two things that we need to consider by way of closing. First of all, let us seek wisdom from God. The Bible says, if any man lacks wisdom, and the clear implication is that every man lacks wisdom, James 1.5, let him ask of God, who gives to all men liberally, and upbraids not, and it shall be given to him. And we spent a whole sermon on that one passage. Perhaps it might be well to get a copy of it and to re-listen to the method and means for the acquisition of wisdom. Certainly, prayer is involved, but we also have to employ the means of grace that I spoke of in that message. But the point is, Proverbs 2, 6 says, The Lord gives wisdom, and out of His mouth proceeds knowledge and understanding. If we're ever going to have wisdom, we've got to get it from above. These characteristics that we have talked about in this passage are not normal to us. They are things that do not come naturally. They're things we have to work at. And you might just take one of them and say, you know, am I being gentle in the way in which I deal with the people that are in my relationship circle? Am I someone who is merciful? Do I strive to make peace on the basis of biblical principle? Well, we need to seek wisdom from God, and then we need to examine our words and actions as to whether they are wise. Ask yourself. Are my words and actions pure? Are they peaceable? Are they gentle? Are they reasonable? Are they merciful? Are they good? Are they fair? Are they honest? And you know how to figure out the answer to that? You know, a self-righteous person might say, Oh, yeah, sure. I'm all that stuff. Well, is there righteousness and peace in your relationships? It's kind of like the man who said, Lord, what must I do to obtain eternal life? And Jesus said, you know, the commandments, you know, honor your mother and father. Don't steal, don't kill, don't commit adultery. He says, all these I kept for my youth. I suppose he had. I suppose he was a little self-deceived there. Jesus says, well, just take this one test. Sell everything you've got. Give it to the poor. Come and follow me. And suddenly the lights come on and this guy realized he hasn't obeyed half the commandments. Not the least of which is that he had some God before the Lord, his God, which was his money. And it was more important to him than obeying God and following God. Well, there's not peace there and not just any old peace. But a godly peace. You see, a lot of people say, well, I've got peace in my home, and the reason why is because they just shut up, clam up, never deal with issues, and so there's no controversy. That's not biblical peace. Biblical peace is achieved by dealing with issues, and it is achieved by resolving them biblically with proper attitudes. That's true peace. Well, where there is sin and strife, there is an absence of wisdom. And if that situation obtains, then we need to be examining ourselves with reference to these characteristics, these eight characteristics that James has set before us and see where it is. Maybe we're maybe we're being pure and maybe we're trying to be peaceable, but we're not being very gentle. And maybe that's the breakdown. You see, you violate any one of these and it kind of wrecks the other seven. So we have to take a comprehensive test and strive for comprehensive obedience and put each one of them into practice. Well, let us pray. Father, thank you so much that you are the only wise God and as the only wise God, You are all of these things that we have spoken of tonight. Father, there is no hypocrisy with you, nor is there any partiality. Father, you abundantly do good and you show vast amounts of mercy and you are easy to be entreated. Even as we talk to you now, we understand and know that you are listening and you are willing to hear what we have to say. And you are not cold hearted and hard hearted towards the pleas of those who are under your authority. And father, how gentle you have been with us and how you have pursued dealing kindly and softly with us when we certainly deserve much harsher treatment. And father, you have been peaceable. You have sent your son to make peace. And Father, we are grateful for that. And Father, you are pure. You are morally just and righteous in your dealings with us. Father, thank you that you are the wise God. Help us then to be the wise people, to be the people in whom wisdom is found, and therefore who pursue righteous behavior and achieve righteous outcomes, especially in the area of being at a biblical peace with one another. Father, may these things increase and abound in our marriages and in our church and in our relationships, in our families and at our work. Father, I pray that we might remember these checkpoints and test ourselves against them and grow in further conformity to them. Father, we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.