Visiting preacher Dennis Conner speaks on James 3:13-18, the sixth in our series of sermons this fall from the Book of James under the theme “Wisdom for Spiritual Maturity”.
[sermon text is found below the image]
James 3:13-18
I. God-given Wisdom Is Observable In Actions (13)
II. God-given Wisdom Is Observable In Attitudes (13)
III. God-given Wisdom Is Observable In Abundance of Fruit (17-18)
ESV
James 3:13 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
Introduction:
Over the course of nearly 25 years of ministry, more than half of that lived in the world of church planting, I’ve frequently had other pastors, church planters, and aspiring church planters ask for advice on some matter or another.
One of those many conversations stands out in my mind, now some eight years later.
A man who had spent most of his life ministry - and arguably all of it, since he was a PK - was struggling as a church planter in the West Valley of Arizona, the western suburbs outside Phoenix.
Like every other church planter I’ve known, he had encountered some challenges he didn’t expect, conditions he didn’t anticipate, and a lack of response he never considered a possibility.
He had talked to a multitude of other men, searching for “the answer:” that one event, tactic, or formula that would produce the breakthrough he needed, resulting in a rapidly growing core group that would set him on the trajectory toward the large launch he had envisioned as he and his family drove across country from NC to Peoria, AZ.
As he recounted to me the words of advice he got from dozens of people, much of it contradictory, he said, exasperated just recounting it all, “I don’t know who to listen to!”
Despite the temptation to say, “You mean you don’t know to whom you should listen,” I knew that he needed something more than correct grammar in that moment.
So my counsel was this: “You have discovered what I discovered when I first moved it Arizona to plant Crosspointe, the Church at Tartesso. In church planting, there will never be a shortage of people who are willing to tell you what you should do. So you need to determine which voices you will heed, and ignore the rest.”
Friends, most of us realize, that church planters are not the only people who have a multitude of voices clamoring in our ears.
It is true in the workplace. It is true is the classroom, in our neighborhoods, and homes.
Blogs, Facebook groups, Twitter, and countless podcasts have only multiplied the number of voices and the volume of clamor.
And it is even more true for those who hold positions of responsibility. A cacophony of those who will face no consequences of their counsel are those who give it most freely.
So what do we do?
How do we determine which voices to trust?
How do we discern which voices are worth hearing and heeding?
The text we have before from James gives us some practical insight on just how we can reliably discern which voices are trustworthy; which voices that offer us genuine, Godly counsel that comes from God-given wisdom.
Background:
James, I’ll remind you, is something of an open letter to Christians, most of them ethnically Jewish, living scattered about in various places beyond Jerusalem.
Not unlike Christians in 21st America, believers in the Roman world of the first century had many influences. There were many philosophies and belief systems clamoring for their attention.
In this portion of James’ letter he gives those 1st century believers guidance in discerning which voices offer genuine wisdom and are worth our trust.
And the same Holy Spirit who prompted him to write to those 1st century believers offers that same counsel to us this morning.
Three characteristics of God-given wisdom.
I. God-given Wisdom Is Observable In Actions (13)
James 3:13 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
Exp: Many may consider themselves wise. Those who do will typically tell us how wise they are.
In fact, James addresses this tendency of humanity with the rhetorical question, “Who is wise and understanding among you?”
A coupe of details I would call your attention to:
First, the question James poses is about those who would claim to be wise and have “understanding. “
Wisdom, of course, is the skill application of knowledge.
Ill: I think of Daniel Burnham when I think of wisdom. There were other architects in the late 19th century, many of whom may have possessed greater technical knowledge than Burnham, but Burnham demonstrated the wisdom to pull together resources and develop an organizational plan that resulted in the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
That word translated as, “understanding” comes is the word from which we get our English word: “epistemology.”
In the context of the first century, it would refer to that high level of knowledge, or conceptual understanding in a particular field.
Ill: For example we have a neighbor in our building who is a retired electrical engineer. He has a doctoral degree in engineering and led the technical aspects of AT&T’s expansion into two European counties.
My understanding of electrical currents is just enough to know not to stick a metal object in a wall socket. I learned that as a youngster in my family’s home, not in a college classroom.
This neighbor can talk far over my head in the matter of electrical engineering, because he has that specialized knowledge or what James labels, ”understanding.”
James calls on us to recognize that we can get some clear indication of the truth of a person's claim of wisdom and understanding by simply watching their actions.
“By his good conduct let him show his works.”
As James has already noted about faith that is demonstrated, he says wisdom - real wisdom, true wisdom, God-given wisdom - will also be demonstrated by actions.
App: So how do we apply this truth?
Like church planters, when we face a challenge or uncertainty in life, we will find there is no shortage of people willing to give us advice. Some can be downright insistent.
But rather than make some decision based solely on the volume or velocity of someone’s advice, let us look at their life and ask, “how have their actions demonstrated wisdom and understanding.”
And that doesn’t simply mean we look for signs of success as the world would measure it.
But how have their actions demonstrated both the understanding of biblical principles and the courage of conviction to live by them?
We need not place stock in mere academic achievements, as they may signal a capacity to write and test well in an academic environment.
We need not place our hopes in prominence or position, for those have sometimes been gained or maintained by crafty means acceptable and sometimes expected in corporate America, but incongruent with Kingdom values.
That’s not to suggest that everyone who is seen as successful has done so unethically.
However, James calls on those who purport to be wise to show evidence of that wisdom.
And his call to us is simply to observe the actions of those who purport to be wise.
For God-given wisdom is observable in actions.
II. God-given Wisdom Is Observable In Attitudes (13)
James 3:13 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
Exp: James calls the first century followers of Jesus and us to recognize that God-given wisdom is not evidenced merely by outcome, but also in attitude.
God-given wisdom does not parade itself in pride, with the chest thumping and animal-like roars that have become so commonplace among the celebrated of our current day.
No, God-given wisdom is displayed in gentleness.
John MacArthur notes: the Greek word here does “not connote weakness but rather power under control.”
He goes on to note that in the time of James, it “was often used of a wild horse that was broken and made useful to its owner.”
The image I see in my mind is that of Jesus before both Pilate & Herod: the Gospel writers tell us that when asked about the various charges from the religious authorities, He offered them no answer.
One of the reasons God-given wisdom is so recognizable in attitudes is because the humility displayed in wisdom is in such stark contrast to the unbelieving world. And it has been thus from the time of the first century.
Douglas Moo notes that in time and place that James wrote, “ “Humility, or “meekness” (Gk. prätēs) was not usually prized by the Greeks. They thought it signaled a servility unworthy of a strong and confident person.”
Arg: It should not surprise us that Paul wrote to the Galatians that this humility or meekness is a fruit observable in the lives of those walking in, controlled by, living under the direction and authority of the inkling Holy Spirit:
Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Ill: Some years ago when I was serving in a denominational role, a denominational executive told of one his team members that his affable nature was seen as a sign of weakness.
Now affable and gentleness are not necessarily synonymous, but the comment reveals how easy it is for the redeemed to take on the mindset of the fallen, unregenerate world.
App: So often people are drawn to the men and women who make headlines. It is particularly true in 21st century American life. We suffer from a celebrity obsession.
Locally, we have seen in this region in just the last couple of years, a some of those celebrity pastors who had gathered multitudes not only in their local churches, but in conferences, and events all over the globe who demonstrated no meekness James tells us is evidence of God-given wisdom, but rather the carnal ambition and selfishness that James says is earthly, even demonic.
As we endeavor to discern which voices we should hear and heed, let us:
• not listen for the long list of accomplishments and the praise of people, but let us listen for that quiet voice that says something substantial when it does speak
• not watch for the one who is surrounded by a crowd or drawn to the powerful people in the room, but the one whose attention is focused on the one who is being ignored
• let us not watch for the one whose instagram feed is filled with selfies they have taken with famous people who don’t know their names
• rather, let us watch for the one who gets to know the names of those who will never appear on anyone’s social media account.
• Let us not gush over the words of those who tout themselves as wise.
• Let us give heed to those voices that have demonstrated their humility.
My friends, in doing so, we will find that we are, indeed, different from the unbelieving world.
III. God-given Wisdom Is Observable In Abundance of Fruit (17-18)
James 3:13 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
Exp: God-given wisdom can be identified, not only by the way it behaves and the attitudes it displays, but also in the fruit that it produces.
If you have ever memorized the fruits of the Spirit something that sounds so familiar about verse 17.
Not surprisingly, the wisdom given by God through the person of the indwelling Holy Spirit, will produce fruit similar to that Spirit-controlled life about which Paul wrote.
James also points out that God-given wisdom produces “a harvest of righteousness” that has been sown in peace.
In stark contrast to the chaos or “disorder” that selfish ambition and jealousy produce, God-given wisdom results in an abundance of peace, gentleness, mercy, sincerity, and righteousness.
ill: Several years ago, a struggling church in Chicago had eroded to just 15 members.
Many blamed the drastic demographic change in the neighborhood that had taken place since the early 1970s when the church bought the property they owned.
However, like many churches in decline, they had, in recent years, descended into battles over competing personal agendas. They had called a pastor who had no previous experience. He had come out of a congregation with an authoritarian pastor. Emulating what he had known, he had walked in 10 months earlier expecting to bark commands and see the church jump as he had witnessed in his home church.
The youth pastor, a Moody student in his 20s admitted without apology or shame that he had bee actively undermining the leadership of the Pastor.
A non-denominational multi-site church had begun to exercise some influence, with the expectation that they would soon take ownership of $2 million dollars of property.
The pastor, who eventually realized he was way in over his head, resigned.
The church, on a narrow vote, common in their current state, called an experienced interim pastor.
Rather than descend into and take sides in the various battles, his primary mission when he started was to cultivate a culture of peace among the people. He called on them to remember their kinship in Christ was more important than that property and what either faction wanted to do with it.
It required consistent and persistent insistence on that. He called out members who even hinted at disparaging comments about other brothers or sisters in Christ.
It took a few months, but the culture of that small congregation eventually changed. And six months after he assumed the responsibility, the church voted unanimously to disband and give the property to a church plant of 2nd generation, English speaking Latinos - a church that reflected the community that could reach the community.
No-one could remember the last time the church had a unanimous vote on anything.
But it was only possible because the interim pastor focused on sowing peace and reaping a harvest of peace.
Exp: it may be instructive to know that the biblical concept of peace is more than just the absence of battle or hostility. It includes a sense of being safe, secure, and wholeness.
This is the fruit of God-given wisdom.
App: When uncertainty afflicts us and voices compete for our attention or attempt to influence us, if our desire is to benefit from God-given wisdom, let us observe the fruit of their counsel.
Does it produce chaos or peace?
Does their presence and influence produce strife and clamor, or a sense of wholeness and calm?
Is their counsel producing people who exhibit sinful selfishness and self-promotion?
Or do those they influence display a practical exhibited, expressed righteousness that is at the call of James to his readers?
Close:
When we hear the competing voices that clamor for our attention, let us not simply listen for the personal benefit we may gain, but let us listen with a discerning ear. Let us observe with a discerning eye, the fruit or results of their influence.
Let us observe their actions. Do they demonstrate more than mere knowledge or are they applying biblical truth to their lives?
What sort of attitudes do we observe evidenced by what they say and how they interact with other humans?
Bottom Line:
➡ God given wisdom is recognizable
➡ God given wisdom is practical
➡ God given wisdom produces fruit in our lives
Pray
