Pastor Bob preached a message on Godly wisdom as compared to worldly wisdom. The two paths of Godly wisdom and worldly wisdom diverge leading us to two different worlds. One leads to bitter envy, self-ambition, disorder and every evil practice, while Godly wisdom leads to purity, submission, sincerity, and mercy etc.
Part 10 “A Word To The Wise”
James 3:13-18
Intro – welcome back to our series in the book of James… …please open your Bibles to the last part of chapter 3:13-18…
-thank Shawn Miller for last week’s message…
Chapter 3, verse 13 starts with a good question: “who is wise and understanding among you?” Who here would answer yes, “I am…wise and understanding?”
After all, wisdom is a good thing: most of us want to be considered wise; we want to actually be wise. But what is wisdom exactly? According to God’s word, are we truly wise in the way that God understands wisdom?
I play racquetball with a group of guys on my day off. None of them are church goers as far as I know, but they are great guys that I really enjoy being with. We were having a conversation recently about turning 60…the topic of CPP…about collecting the government pension…and when I should do that…one of the guys advised me, “take it now…listen, enjoy life…have fun…do something for yourself…”
Now, was that wise advice? Does that fit in the category of godly wisdom?
Let’s read God’s word to get some answers about wisdom, but more importantly, let’s read God’s word in order to gain godly wisdom.
Prayer…read James 3:13-18…
Clearly, James is contrasting earthly wisdom with heavenly wisdom…human, natural wisdom with godly, supernatural wisdom…and his whole point is, if you are truly wise according to God’s wisdom then that will show itself by the kind of good life that you live…
Biblical Definition of Wisdom
Let’s start by discovering a biblical definition of wisdom…because wisdom can mean a lot of things to different people. There’s a lot of self-proclaimed wise-guys around, isn’t there…who think they’re wise and clever and understand a lot of things…
Isaiah has some strong words for people like that:
Is. 5:21:Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.
Even the book of Proverbs addresses this: Pr. 28:11 Do you see a person wise in their own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for them.
So we want God’s kind of wisdom, not our own…not earthly wisdom…but the kind that God provides. And here it is:
Wisdom is applied knowledge. It is not just knowing things, being smart…it is behavioral, knowing how to apply what you know to life. Pr. 4:11 I instruct you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths.
To the Jewish understanding, wisdom is skill in living righteously…
And that’s what James is teaching here in ch. 3. That godly wisdom is evident through a godly life…true, biblical wisdom will show itself by the good life we live.
Just like in ch. 2 where James talked about faith without works being dead and useless, here he continues that same thought by saying that wisdom without good deeds is dead and useless, earthly and false. In short, are you wise? then show it!
I Contrast Between Earthly and Heavenly Wisdom
To help us learn more about what godly wisdom is, James returns to his contrast format, (a feature he has used a few times already, a favorite with him…) where he shows us the difference between false wisdom and true wisdom…
A. False Wisdom vv.14-16 -evident by the following behaviors:
• bitter envy
• selfish ambition
• disorder
• every evil practice
James points out the source of false wisdom in v.15
• earthly – informed by the values of this world
• unspiritual – isolated from the spiritual truths taught by God in the Bible
-eg for those of us church ministry, leadership positions, beware of doing God’s work in human wisdom, with the best business practices, best secular ideas, most popular practices… if it’s prayer-less, isolated from God and His Spirit…then it’s likely to be unspiritual, human-centered…
• demonic – the ultimate source of false wisdom, Satanic, the Father of all lies, deceptive in nature…
B. True Wisdom vv. 13, 17 -evident by the following behaviors:
• good life
• humble deeds
• pure
• peace-loving
• considerate
• submissive
• full of mercy
• full of good fruit
• impartial
• sincere
The point of all this is, do you want to know what true wisdom is? what godly wisdom looks like? do want to know who is wise and who is not? Then look for these behaviors, these qualities, for that kind of life…that’s how practical James wants wisdom to be in your life and mine…Are you wise, then show it!
So, in light of that, how about the advice given to me? “enjoy life…have fun…do something for yourself…”
-pass the smell test?
James again points out the source of true wisdom in v.17
• heaven
• the Triune God
a. Father - Ecc. 2:26 To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom…
b. Son – 1 Cor. 1:30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God…
c. Holy Spirit – Exodus 31:3 (Bezalel, building the tabernacle) I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge…
Now in light of God being the source of true wisdom, does James 1: 5 make a bit more sense? If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
-true wisdom comes directly from God…that’s why every true child of God can be wise in they way they live…it’s available to each of us…if we ask in faith…
How To Gain Godly Wisdom
But I want to wrap this up by asking the most important question, that is, how do I gain this kind of godly wisdom?
1. desire it and ask God for it – Jm 1:5
-with unswerving faith in God’ willingness to give it to you generously…
2. rediscover the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom – Pr. 9:10
-to have the “fear of the LORD” is to have an awed respect of who God is and a reverential trust in His Word and His character, and to live accordingly.
When one is walking in the fear of the Lord, he or she is relying on God’s wisdom in the matters of everyday life and aligning their lives with that wisdom…making whatever changes need to be made in light of God’s Word.
3. meditate on the Bible and pray – 2 Tim. 3:15
…and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
-fill your mind and heart with the Bible, with God’s wisdom…meditate on it…mediation is the key to assimilation…growth, transformation…pondering, chewing on
-prayer plays a huge role in becoming wise, because prayer gives us discernment…listening to God’s voice in prayer…
eg. book of Proverbs, 31 chapters, one chapter of wisdom for each day of the month…
4. keep company with wise, godly people – Pr. 2:20
(the benefits of wisdom) Thus you will walk in the ways of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous.
-seek to be around people who are wise, obedient, all-in followers of Jesus…
Conclusion
Close with prayer for God to expose false wisdom and teach us to recognize and respond to true wisdom…
1 Cor 1 and 2…