James 3, we'll be looking at verses 13 to 18, the end portion of the chapter, but I thought it would be good to read the whole chapter, just to remind us of the context. We'll begin with James 3, 1. Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For we all stumble in many ways, and if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his own body. If we put bits in the mouths of horses, so that they obey us, and regard their whole bodies as well, look at the ships also, though they are so large, and are driven by strong winds. They are guided by a very small rudder, wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staying the whole body. setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature can be tamed, and has been tamed by mankind. But no human being can tame his tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it, we bless our Lord and Father, And with it we curse people who have been made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening, both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives? Are grapevines produced figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water. Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct, let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfless ambition exist, there will be disorder in every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits. impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is shown in peace by those who make peace. Life is full of choices. I think of that in terms of maybe going to a restaurant and I'm not sure how many of you know, the original McDonald's had seven items on their menu. There was a hamburger, cheeseburger, fries, and then four drinks. That was it. You didn't have many choices. But nowadays, you go into a typical restaurant and say, what do they have? Well, they have maybe a menu that has several different pages, and you look over, and you have to make a choice. Do you want to have chicken, and there are all sorts of chickens, and salad, and pasta, and steak, and fish? What do you want? And for most of us, we choose one. And if we choose the chicken, we're not choosing the fish. You choose one, and you're rejecting all the rest. Now that's pretty mundane, but there are areas of life where those choices are much more important, that they really have moral consequences. When a young man chooses a young woman or a young woman chooses a young man to be a marriage partner, part of the vows is you promise to forsake all others. You're choosing that one person And you're rejecting everyone else. And that should be in your thinking, when you do so. And it has implications on how you live. If you've chosen a certain woman as your wife, or a certain man as your husband, everyone else is now off limits to you. We could go on and add areas of how you invest. As you think about the future and what you're going to have at the end of your life when you retire. How do you invest your money? How do you respond when someone criticizes you? Maybe they criticize you unjustly or maybe justly. What's your response? What's your choice in that situation? Do you think about cheating on your taxes? What if you're confident you can get away with it? The government will never know. Or you're in an argument with your spouse. Do you insist upon getting your own way? For many of these questions, the choice we make is according to wisdom that we have. The wisdom that guides us. And what we need to see is the two types of wisdom that are being portrayed in these verses. And the question is, which wisdom is guiding you? And those moral choices you face. Is it the wisdom of this world? Or the wisdom that's from above? Because we need to be very aware that the wisdom of the world is all around us. and often directs our thinking without even thinking about it. A wisdom that is contrary to the wisdom of God. And so in fact, you know, the wisdom of the world says, it's crazy to be committed that wholeheartedly to one person in marriage. You need to pursue your own happiness. And if that involves another person, your self-fulfillment needs to find some expression with someone else. So be it. This earthly wisdom says the most important thing about investing is what is the rate of return? And you don't need to be worried about what stocks are in the mutual funds, whether they're Thoughts that involve abortion, or alcohol, or tobacco, or such things. A wisdom that says when somebody criticizes you, what you need to do is get even. Just look for a way to get your revenge. Or in an argument, you need to really insist you get your own way. Otherwise, you're just rolling over and allowing the other person to walk over you. You need to stand up for yourselves. Keep in mind, as we've begun this study of James, James is addressing believers and what it means to be mature believers of Christ. So he's not talking about how you converted, but as you've been converted, as you have that word implanted in you that changed you from the inside out, how do you live? And one of the key things is, what wisdom are you following? When you make your choices, is it wisdom from above, or wisdom from below? Are you following the world's wisdom, or are you following God's wisdom? And so the first point we need to see is that there is a false wisdom, a worldly or earthly wisdom, what's often described as a conventional wisdom, what is seen in the sight of many as being the right thing to do. It's a wisdom that's all around us. We'll start by noticing in nature, verse 15, it's described as, this is not the wisdom that comes down from above. It's saying there's a wisdom that's out there that's not from heaven, that does not have a divine origin. And so it does not reflect the divine will, God's mind, God's purposes. And it goes on in verse 15, it continues, but it is earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. Far from being the will of God and understanding of God's mind, It's completely opposite. And each one of those adjectives as you read it paints a bleak picture of this type of wisdom. What it is in actuality. It's earthly. Now that word earthly can be used in a neutral sense and is found that way sometimes in the New Testament. But it's most often used to describe something in a negative way. Something that is transitory. that's weak, that's imperfect, that's related to this life, that has no transcendence about it. There's nothing knowable or uplifting, nothing glorious. It's earthbound, and that's as high as it gets. Thus it's very weak and ineffective. It's also called unspiritual. In the Greek, we get the word psychosis from this word, which I think has some implications. It's really dealing with that part of man where human feeling and human reasoning reigns supreme. Where it's all about me. It's all about my thinking. It's all about what is best for me. And every time it's used in the New Testaments, it's used contrary in a contrasting way to spiritual. It's a type of thinking that has no Holy Spirit involvement. It's a wisdom that's not guided in any way by the Holy Spirit. Lastly, it's called demonic, or we could say devilish. It's the only place where it's used in the New Testament. But it's really pointing out, if your wisdom is not from above, what's the only alternative? It's from below. If it's not from God, it has to be devilish in nature. And as you think about those things, we have the world, the flesh, and the devil basically being mentioned. as associated with this type of wisdom. It's the direct opposite of the second wisdom that we're going to look at in a few moments. Well, the question that should be in our minds is how can we know whether we are following that wisdom? Because I expect we fall into it without thinking about it at times. Well, we can tell by its fruits, by its results. And that would be our second sub-point. What is the fruit that is bearing in a person's life? And it's very clear as you look at verse 14. Some of the fruit that shows some of the results is bitter jealousy and selfish ambition. And it goes on to say that it's false to the truth. It isn't in line with what the truth says. And in verse 16, It results in disorder in every vile practice. That word jealousy in English is the word zeal. It can be used of a righteous zeal, a righteous zealacy. But often it refers more often to a burning a zeal that is wrong. that is maybe selfishly motivated, that is harsh, that is sometimes violent, that is demanding, that often shows in terms of a zeal that is envious of others or criticizes others. Another fruit is selfish ambition, that desire to put yourself forward, to promote yourself, and to brag on what you've done and what you've accomplished. The ethics that says I must get what I want, no matter what. I think of a government official quite a number of years ago, decided to interview that he'd run over his own grandmother if it would get Nixon elected president. And he's maybe a little bit more frank than everybody else. But how many people would do almost anything to accomplish their purposes, to get their will done? disorder, discord, strife, and every vile practice, which is a whole lot of things would fall into that category, from slander, to thievery, to adultery, to vandalism, whatever it is, results from this kind of wisdom. Such wisdom will lead to conflict, will lead to deeds of darkness. And so it results in broken hearts and broken homes, broken relationships, strife among people, rather than harmony. I think a discussion I had recently with a married couple, And they had gotten in an argument. A pretty severe argument. They went for a time not talking to each other and being angry with each other. And it was all concerned with taking the dog for a ride in the car. And as we talked, the husband was convinced that he had the logic and he had the facts on his side. And he was right on insisting and she was not being very submissive and wanting to take the dog along. He was right in saying that they shouldn't. And I asked him a question. In what three ways did you sit against your wife in saying what you did to her. And he thought, and it didn't take him for very long to mention three different sins that he had done toward her. Of course, I had three more that he didn't mention, which I think were even worse than what he thought of. But how could I be sure that there was some sin that he had done. Well, I could see the effect. I could see the discord that had been sown in their relationship. She had said something in innocence, and he had responded in a wrong way. Heavenly wisdom does not result in that type of discord, in that type of disorder. It's worldly. That's a good question when we see that going on. Husbands and wives, when you see that taking place, where's that wisdom? Is that earthly wisdom showing itself to cause a problem? It doesn't always have to be that there's, you know, on my side that there is some sort of worldly thinking. I think of a property dispute going on between a Christian family and a neighbor, and the neighbor is showing this type of unearthly wisdom, or earthly wisdom in what he is doing and his responses, and so it's hard to get along with him. But most times, When you see this disorder and discord, the question should be, what am I doing? How have I gotten off track in my thinking? What would have been the wise response, a heavenly wisdom type of response? I suspect if we see these things in our lives, we can begin to see there are ways that we went wrong. Well, the second point is that the contrast is the true wisdom. And notice its nature. Verse 17, it's the wisdom from above. And it reminds us back of chapter 1, verse 16, every good gift and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights. So it's from above. It's from God. And that has two very important implications. that this wisdom in its nature is divine. There's something heavenly about it. It's not like the typical wisdom of this age. It transcends this age. It transcends this life. There's something glorious about it. It lifts us out of the commonplace into an otherworldly type of thinking. Too often the wisdom of this world is dealing with the here and now. It doesn't go beyond that. The second implication is that this wisdom must be given to us. It says that from God, we need to seek God's help in attaining this wisdom. You just don't go out and pick it up. It's not something that comes to you automatically just because you're older. Or because you're maybe more intelligent and somehow it's granted to you? No, it's something that we need to seek God. And that's in chapter 1, why are we told to ask for wisdom? Because God is the one who bestows this wisdom upon us, and so we're asking God for His heavenly wisdom. Notice that in verse 17, the list of characteristics of this true wisdom. It's first of all pure. That's the starting point, is to understand that this wisdom is completely undiluted. There's completely no harmful effects in it. And Peter talks about the pure milk of the Word. Now I would have the idea that the Word has no contaminants in it. This wisdom has no contaminants in it. There's nothing unsound or unhealthy. If you follow God's wisdom, it's good for you. Completely. Let me give you an example. To give your tithes and your gifts, the world would say, that's crazy. You're cutting back on what you could use for yourself and indulge in yourself to give to the church? It makes no sense at all. But when we understand this is God's wisdom and a reflection of the wisdom of God, when we give, we're going to give joyfully, cheerful as we're instructed to. God enriches us many times fold. Not that we sow a seed and then get a hundred fold, but gives us benefits of being his children in ways that we don't even begin to imagine. Well after that, he lists it, it's peaceable. It's never going to start a quarrel or argument, strife or dissension. Turbulence. As far as you're able, you're going to live at peace and seek peace. And some people are disagreeable and they won't live at peace, like the neighbor in the dispute. But you'll be seeking that peace. You'll often be able to find that. It's gentle or considerate. You know, there's a meekness, a gentleness, a patience, along suffering with others. We bear with them and their weaknesses, realizing that's the way in which God bears with us. It's open to reason. Or we could translate it, easy to be entreated. That this wisdom understands that I don't have all the knowledge there is and all the understanding that there is. There are others around me that have learned, maybe in a particular area, much more than I ever will. And so as you hear arguments and hear reasons, there's a humility that accepts what others have. And it doesn't imply you become a pushover, but you're eager to hear. what God has communicated to others. Full of mercy. Look at the very nature of God as being full of mercy. He's merciful. And as you receive that mercy, you'd extend that. Not in small measure, but you're full of mercy and full of good fruits. Essentially, it should be tasty to those around you. Think of a good fruit as it tastes good. That as you live your life, you're showing fruit in all sorts of areas. People like to be around you because of who you are and what you're doing. It's impartial. I've already seen James talk about showing partiality, how wrong it is whether you show partiality based on appearance or social status or anything else. Wisdom causes a person to be impartial and then to be sincere. A complete lack of hypocrisy, completely open and unpretentious. That is what is involved in this wisdom, the wisdom from God. Well, second, B, we can notice the results. What's the fruit when this wisdom... How can we tell that we have this type of wisdom? Well, verse 13 goes back and says, it will show itself in terms of good conduct. which is an indication of meekness and wisdom. It shows in having true faith, a faith that is gentle and meek and humble. And the point is, when you have this wisdom, it shows in a transformed life. It's God's Word calling you to Himself. You don't stay the same. You change and it's obvious by what you do. You're living according to a different standard. You're living, not just once or twice, but as a habit of life, showing good works in what you do. And it goes back to what are the choices? You know, when you reviled, when you criticized, when someone is getting down on you, do you imitate Christ, who did not respond back with reviling, did not respond back with a sinful response? When you see physical suffering, do you imitate the Apostle Paul, who collected An offering for the poor saints in Jerusalem, and took at great cost themselves that offering for those ones that were needy. When you're wrong, do you pray as Christ prayed for the forgiven? The Heavenly Fathers forgive them, for they know not what they do. that wisdom will show in choices that imitate Christ, that imitate those who are saints, mature saints. Well, secondly, this wisdom in verse 18 makes peace. Think about it. Peace is really the opposite of bitter jealousy and selfish ambition. Those things are striving and demanding, seeking your own way. But when we sow peace, we're living a different way. We're seeking harmony rather than strife. peace rather than discord. So it should be that the Christians would be known as peacemakers. We call to that in the Sermon on the Mount. As far as we are able, the product of our lives should be peace around us. The third point is that true wisdom will show in verse 18 in the harvest of righteousness. There'll be righteousness. Righteous actions. Now again, this is contrary to the world, a world that seeks to gain an advantage, to get one's way, to promote oneself, that boasts and brags of what I have and what I've done. There's gain in this wisdom, but it's a gain in terms of righteousness. Righteousness is being produced. And our world doesn't value righteousness, but how we should. And part of that is a growing righteousness within each one of us. That process of sanctification becoming more and more holy, more and more like Christ. Conforming more to the will of the Father, to the image of Christ. to the pattern that we see in Jesus Christ. When you have this wisdom, it will show in your life. It will show also in terms of relationships, of righteousness, in terms of relationship with others. And ultimately, it shows in terms of having righteousness before God. A righteousness that comes from Christ. Because He's worked in your life. He's transformed you. So now you have Christ's righteousness given to you. And you live according to that. For application, I'd have you consider which type of wisdom characterizes your life. Is it the earthly or the heavenly? And the test is very simple. What do you see? Do you see jealousy and selfish ambition? Disorder in every vile practice? Or do you see good deeds? Do you see a beautiful lifestyle? You see peace surrounding you. It will be an indication of what kind of wisdom you have. In those times when you see discord, it's maybe an indication you've gotten off that peace which is from God and find a worldly wisdom. instead of a heavenly one. I might just mention, first here I mentioned I'd be available to talk with people. Let me just mention that's true. I don't often mention that at the end of a sermon, but if there's something you want to talk about, something in a sermon, I'm always available. Don't be afraid to ask. Wisdom shown in this situation seems to be producing discord. What might be a wise way to respond? And I'll be happy to try to answer it as best I can. Heavenly Father, we pray for the wisdom that comes from You. It's not a wisdom that's automatic, that we get by age, or by intellect, or by thinking through, and reasoning. But it's a wisdom that comes as a gift from you. So I pray that you would give each one that wisdom, from the smallest child to the oldest adult. That we would see peace. and good works surrounding our lives as we see that wisdom being worked out in specific situations of how we relate on the job, or in the family, or in the community. Give us that wisdom in overflowing measure. So we might show that transformed life and what it means. We pray these things in Christ's name. Amen.