Testing Your Wisdom
James 3:13-18
December 14, 2014
Last week when we met we saw a pretty serious warning from James.
He was warning us about the dangers of trying to corral the tongue.
“Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.”
James warned us that those who stand and speak for God
Will in fact be judged more severely.
You simply don’t want to mess it up when you stand to speak for God.
And we might be prone to overlook this warning
Were it not for the fact that James goes on to tell us
How difficult it is to tame the tongue.
• You have this small part of your body that causes more results (both good and bad) than any other part of your body.
• Furthermore this small part is virtually impossible to control, and since Satan loves to use the tongue for his benefit, James couldn’t be more serious in his warning.
You are taking an uncontrollable and powerful tool
That Satan loves to use and trying to wield it for the glory of God
Under threat of stricter judgment.
Anyone who seeks to step into the position should exercise caution.
And James gave this warning BECAUSE
Throughout the church there were plenty of men
Who were aspiring for the office who should not have been.
1 Timothy 1:6-7 “For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.”
These men were ambitious, these men wanted to teach,
But they had no business doing so
Because they didn’t know what they were talking about.
And so James wrote his warning for men like that.
Tonight James addresses ANOTHER VERY SERIOUS MATTER
And one that I believe to be directly linked to that same argument.
“Who among you is wise and understanding?”
I studied on this passage quite a bit, and read many commentaries, and it seems that scholars are torn on exactly what James is talking about here.
There are really two options for who he is addressing.
1) He is using wisdom as a fruit of salvation and is saying, “Who among you thinks that he is genuinely saved?”
If you’ll look down to verse 18, the section concludes by saying, “And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”
That verse is difficult to translate.
In fact many of you will notice that either the word “seed” is italicized
Because it isn’t in the text, or you’ll have an alternate translation in your margin.
The literal translation is “and the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”
But because the translators saw righteousness as a fruit and not a seed,
They added the word “seed” there.
However it could very well be that when James uses the phrase
“the fruit of righteousness” he is in fact talking about wisdom.
He might be calling wisdom “the fruit of righteousness”
Implying that true wisdom only belongs to those who are truly saved.
And therefore we would be studying this passage as a sort of
“test yourself to see if you are in the faith” sort of passage.
And there is truth to that.
1 Corinthians 2:6-16 “Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; but just as it is written, “THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.” For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.”
It is true that when you are saved and declared righteous before God,
That you are given the Holy Spirit, who alone knows the mind and thoughts of God.
The result is that believers are said to “have the mind of Christ.”
Wisdom is a genuine fruit of the genuinely saved.
And so it is not wrong to say that when James speaks of those who are wise, he is talking about those who are truly redeemed.
That is one option
2) He is talking about the man who thinks he has something valuable to offer. And therefore is saying, “Who among you thinks he has wise counsel to give?”
And there is merit to that as well.
Even in verse 18 we read that the fruit of righteousness “is sown in peace by those who make peace.”
James is obviously talking about a wise person
Imparting that wisdom to others and doing it in a peaceful way.
Obviously there it is more than just wisdom within your heart,
But that which you share with others.
And so it could very well be that James is talking about
Those who think they are wise enough to give counsel to others.
And since we just finished a section on the tongue
In which James is challenging teachers,
I am inclined to think that is precisely the purpose.
James just warned those ambitious teachers
Against being so eager to jump into the pulpit
Because they might not be able to control their tongues.
I think he anticipated their response.
“I hear your warning James, but I’ve got something to say that people need to hear.”
AND SO JAMES WILL NOW ADDRESS THOSE
WHO THINK THEY HAVE WISDOM TO SHARE WITH OTHERS.
And let’s face it, this is applicable stuff.
If I know anything about our culture, it is that it is filled with counselors.
Sure there are some who are professionals, who make a living giving advice,
But for every one of those there are 100 who will give you their advice for free.
If you don’t believe me, go home tonight and pose a conundrum on Facebook and then ask for advice and see how many comments you get.
Our world loves to give advice.
Now, because of that reality, we tend to think we’ve gotten pretty good
At discerning who we should and shouldn’t listen to.
• Some will test everything by the word of God (as they should)
• Some will say, “I’m a good judge of character” (perhaps)
• Some will determine to “know them by their fruits”
But we have grown accustomed to testing those who give us advice.
But James isn’t talking about that here.
He’s not talking about you discerning what you hear.
James is asking you to test yourself
Before you deem yourself worthy to speak.
James’ question to all those eager teachers is this:
“HOW DO YOU KNOW
IF YOU REALLY HAVE WISDOM WORTH SHARING?”
• Before you jump into the pulpit…
• Before you pick up the phone…
• Before you run speak into someone else’s life…
How do you know you are wise enough to do it?
How do you know if you should even share what you have?
Well that is what we deal with tonight.
We are talking about TESTING YOUR WISDOM
And just to make sure we are crystal clear,
What we really want to know is if you have wisdom from God
Or wisdom from another source.
That’s really it.
And to answer that question, we can deduce three tests you need to apply to your self.
#1 HOW DO YOU WALK?
James 3:13
You want to know if you are wise, James says, “Well, how do you live?”
“Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.”
What a great statement!
You already know that James is a
“Put your money where your mouth is” kind of guy.
• He doesn’t want faith without endurance
• He doesn’t want compassion without sacrifice
• He doesn’t want confession without obedience
• He doesn’t want wisdom that isn’t used by the one who offers it.
So if you are interested in mailing your resume to James
To show how wise you are, James isn’t interested.
He wants to see you live.
“Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.”
Don’t say – “show”
And the reasoning for this is very sound.
Hopefully you’ll remember talking about wisdom back in chapter 1.
We actually took a minute to discuss what real wisdom is.
Don’t confuse wisdom with knowledge.
Wisdom is NOT what you know.
If you’ll remember we said:
WISDOM IS WHAT YOU DO WITH WHAT YOU KNOW.
There are a lot of smart people who are not wise.
There are a lot of educated people who are not wise.
Wise people don’t just know the truth, they act on it.
Matthew 7:24-27 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. “And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell — and great was its fall.”
Both men heard, both had knowledge, but only one was wise
The one who acted on what he heard.
There are many people who know that Jesus is the Son of God (even the demons believe)
But the wise man is the one who forsakes all other attempts
And places everything on Jesus.
Wisdom isn’t what you know, it’s what you do with what you know.
And so James’ point is very fitting.
YOU THINK THAT YOU ARE WISE?
Show me.
Wisdom isn’t demonstrated from a pulpit,
Wisdom is demonstrated on the path.
That is why when you read 1 Timothy
And Paul starts listing the qualifications for an overseer,
He really doesn’t spend much time talking about what they know.
He does say they must be “able to teach” but that is really it.
But notice all the character and attitude based requirements.
1 Timothy 3:2-7 “An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money. He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?), and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.”
What are they examining there? – His wisdom
Does he live right?
Well that is what James is saying.
You say you are wise, well, do you live right?
Do you have “good behavior”?
Do you do your “deeds in the gentleness of wisdom”?
“gentleness” is a word also translated “meekness”
It means submissive (strength under control)
(It’s like a good broke horse)
James says, “Are you submissive to the truth of God? Do you do what God says? Do you do good deeds?”
Don’t step into some “wisdom giving” role
If your life doesn’t epitomize a wise life.
So if you want to know if you have something to share,
First let me ask about how you walk.
Do you make wise decisions and live submissive to God’s truth?
How do you walk?
#2 WHY DO YOU SHARE?
James 3:14-16
And you can really feel James getting after those men
Who are itching to claim the teaching role.
He would really be focusing in on those Pharisees
Who seated themselves in the chair of Moses.
Why did those Pharisees do that? Do you remember?
Matthew 23:6-7 “They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men.”
They want the glory.
They want the honor.
They want to teach others, but it isn’t from pure motives,
And James says STOP RIGHT THERE!
“But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth.”
I certainly don’t begrudge pastors in large churches,
I am actually quite thankful that men like Adrian Rogers and John MacArthur made it as big as they did which afforded me an opportunity to hear them.
But that verse alone should serve as a staggering warning
To any preacher who is only interested in climbing the ladder
To a bigger church with more notoriety.
James says you claim to be wise, but you aren’t.
You are lying “against the truth”
You don’t have wisdom – you have “jealousy” and “ambition”
You aren’t looking to preach and apply and follow God’s truth,
You are just trying to appear wise so you can climb the ladder.
Remember these guys?
Philippians 1:15-17 “Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will; the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment.”
There were preachers who actually preached harder when Paul went to prison because they saw it as an opportunity to take his place and steal his position.
Are we really to say a man like that is wise?
NO
And James says you are “arrogant”
That is to say you are not wise, but you claim to be.
• Oh, don’t get me wrong, you may know a lot.
• You may be able to wow people with your command of the Greek language and you may oratory skills out of this world.
But the very fact that you covet a higher position
And are ambitious to get it shows you have no real wisdom.
And it is absolute arrogance to claim that you do.
1 Corinthians 3:18-20 “Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, “He is THE ONE WHO CATCHES THE WISE IN THEIR CRAFTINESS”; and again, “THE LORD KNOWS THE REASONINGS of the wise, THAT THEY ARE USELESS.”
You can see that arrogance has no place in genuine wisdom.
If you think yourself wise and deserving of more,
You obviously don’t have the wisdom from above.
Because God’s wisdom only comes to those
Who first recognize themselves as fools.
If you think yourself to be so wise, what you have didn’t come from God.
(15) “This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic.”
James says you didn’t learn your ambitious ways from God.
• That is worldly stuff – the world teaches you to climb the ladder
• Or that is purely the flesh – that is always about promoting self
• Or even worse, it is demonic – the devil was a self-promoter from way back
That is a strong indictment from James.
You may in fact have something to say, but it is not wisdom from above.
And the reality is that IT WON’T HELP ANYONE.
(16) “For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.”
James says, “Show me a man who has selfish ambition and I’ll show you a man who has every evil thing as well.”
James would say to that man
You aren’t real, and you won’t help anyone.
It reminds of the prophets in Jeremiah’s day:
Jeremiah 23:32 “Behold, I am against those who have prophesied false dreams,” declares the LORD, “and related them and led My people astray by their falsehoods and reckless boasting; yet I did not send them or command them, nor do they furnish this people the slightest benefit,” declares the LORD.”
The very notion of offering wisdom to someone
Is to help them get their life back in order,
And these people do just the opposite.
They actually push “disorder”
They are jealous and ambitious
And a wise man would never be those things.
So if you think yourself to be a wise man James has a couple of tests for you.
How do you walk? And why do you share?
#3 HOW DO YOU SHARE?
James 3:17-18
Well, if jealousy and ambition are not indicative of a truly wise man, what is?
I’m glad you asked.
“But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.”
What a list!
Now take those and apply them to yourself
When you want to speak wisdom into someone else’s life.
Are your motives “pure”?
That is to say, “Do you really only care about helping the other brother get his life back on track?
You aren’t doing it so you can go talk about it later
And use that guy as a number on report that will help pad your reputation.
Are you “peaceable”?
Some people love to confront others
Just for the sake of a good old altercation.
There are some who thrive on debates because it makes them look smart if they can humiliate their opponent.
Godly wisdom isn’t looking for a fight,
Godly wisdom is looking to help a life see the truth and live right.
Are you “gentle”?
Or are you brutal? Do you beat people up, or do you understand that the people you are trying to help are often already broken and battered?
You don’t want a paramedic arriving on the scene of a crash
And dragging people around by their ankles, you want them to be gentle.
Are you “reasonable”?
That is to say when you speak truth do you seem to understand that
Those you speak to might not look like Jesus in 30 seconds.
Are you willing to patiently wait and help and encourage?
Are you willing to wait for God to help you through, or do you need the results now?
How about “full of mercy and good fruits”?
You are not out to condemn others, but to help them.
You want to encourage them to succeed and to have victory.
You don’t put yourself above them in arrogance,
But mercifully gets into their situation with them to help them.
And can you see the “fruits” of your past labors?
It is obvious that you have helped others.
Are you “unwavering”?
Meaning that you are confident in the truth you are sharing.
You aren’t just telling people what they want to hear,
But is guiding them into the truth.
Not like that “double-minded man” back in chapter 1.
Are you “without hypocrisy”?
Meaning do you ask something of that that you don’t do yourself?
Do you tie up heavy burdens that you won’t move with so much as a finger?
That is some list.
But I must remind you that this list of wisdom isn’t unique to James.
Matthew 5:3-9 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
Those lists are pretty similar wouldn’t you agree?
James is asking you if you can see Christ in your wisdom.
• You think you are wise, well, how do you walk?
• You think you are wise, well, why do you share?
• You think you are wise, well, how do you share?
• Are you some sort of bully who thinks himself better than others and who enjoy rattling off your own ideas because it helps you climb the ladder?
• Or are you a meek and gentle person who lives what you speak and speaks what you live to genuinely try to help others find victory in their lives?
You can really feel James’ animosity
To those arrogant preachers who continually run to the front
Because they love to put their wisdom on display.
He sees plenty of that in the world.
He is looking for the man who looks like Christ.
Matthew 12:18-21 “BEHOLD, MY SERVANT WHOM IHAVE CHOSEN; MY BELOVED IN WHOM MY SOUL is WELL-PLEASED; I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT UPON HIM, AND HE SHALL PROCLAIM JUSTICE TO THE GENTILES. “HE WILL NOT QUARREL, NOR CRY OUT; NOR WILL ANYONE HEAR HIS VOICE IN THE STREETS. “A BATTERED REED HE WILL NOT BREAK OFF, AND A SMOLDERING WICK HE WILL NOT PUT OUT, UNTIL HE LEADS JUSTICE TO VICTORY. “AND IN HIS NAME THE GENTILES WILL HOPE.”
That is the guy James is looking for.
And James closes with:
(18) “And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”
I already told you that literally this verse says, “And the fruit of righteousness (wisdom) is sown in peace by those who make peace.”
In other words when those who really do have wisdom peacefully share it with others, they sow “in peace” intending to “make peace”
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
Please note it isn’t “peace keepers”, it is “peacemakers”
James is referring to people like Jesus
Who offer their wisdom that man might have peace with God.
Romans 5:1 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”
Ephesians 2:13-18 “But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.”
What James is talking about is that people who truly give wisdom
Give it so that people who listen to them find peace with God.
Those with worldly wisdom leave you in disorder,
Those who Godly wisdom leave you closer to God.
And James’ question, is which one are you?
Are you jealous and ambitious or do you practice what you preach and leave others at peace with God?
Before you jump into some teaching role
Because you think you are wise,
You had better test what kind of wisdom you have.
The tongue is too powerful a tool for you to run out there and use it
When you are not qualified to do so.
James 3:13 “Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.”
