by those who make peace. May God richly bless both the reading and the hearing of his holy word. Now what we see here in chapter three and really a good portion of chapter two as well is an extension and an expansion of James' challenge that he gives in chapter two verse 17, where he makes the declaration that faith without works is dead. Faith without works is dead. We have already expounded that and shown what it does mean, but his point is this, everyone who professes genuine saving faith, that faith itself will be manifest in a series of things. Now we categorize it along three lines. And by the way, when we addressed what he means in chapter two verse 17 about faith without works is dead, we looked at that in conjunction with Paul's statement in Ephesians chapter two verse 10, where he emphasizes works or walk. So the point is that the works that James calls us to are, is the walk of faith that Paul addresses both in Ephesians chapter two as well as elsewhere in Ephesians. But I'll quote Ephesians 2 verse 10, where he says, we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God has prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. So that being the case, when Paul, when James says faith without a walk that is the result of that faith, then the claim of faith is itself dead. And so therefore I would say that his statement is that faith genuine saving faith manifests itself in a particular way. And that is the basis for the exhortations that he gives. Now I would argue also that what he addresses in chapter two at chapters two and three are three elements of faith at work in the individual. Three elements or three, three vantage points where we can see faith at work in the individual who claims saving faith. It is seen first off in our treatment and our view of fellow image bearers of God. That's his whole point in chapter two verses one through thirteen. So the walk or the work of faith is manifest in how we see and how we treat other human beings. Now it doesn't mean that we will always say the right thing, do the right thing towards our fellow image bearers. But we will see them because of our union with Christ. One of the things that work in us is to see our image bearers, the way God calls us to see our image bearers. And so therefore genuine saving faith is manifest in our view and treatment of our fellow image bearers. But also we saw in chapter three verses one through twelve that not only is genuine saving faith manifests in how we view and treat our fellow image bearers, but it is also seen in our speech. Genuine saving faith is the means by which we are to govern what we say to others, what we say about others, and even those things, it makes us mindful of the things that we should say, but we don't say. So in chapter three verses one through twelve James talks about the taming of the tongue and he basically says you can't tame the tongue because it's been seven fire by hell. So how then do we control our speech? We who are the possessors of saving faith have been empowered by the Holy Spirit to put to death the tongue, not try to douse the fire, put it to death. And as just as viewing and treating our fellow image bearers is an ongoing work of grace because we have been saved by faith or saved by grace through faith because of that likewise. God is continuously at work in us, causing us and empowering us to season all of our speech with grace. James is making the point that if for you to claim faith in Christ at our reckless in your speech, it doesn't mean that you don't have genuine faith but it does mean that you are speaking in a manner that is inconsistent with the faith that you profess. But the third angle here, the third aspect which is what we will be addressing this morning in our text. Genuine faith, when Paul, our James says that faith without works is dead and he describes that living faith in terms of how we see and how we treat our fellow image bearers and how we conduct ourselves in the area of speech. In this third area he talks about wisdom. Faith, genuine faith is seen in the wisdom by which we operate and function in this world. And that's his point in verses 13 through 18, that we demonstrate our faith through the source of wisdom by which we function in this world. Now this morning our focus obviously is on wisdom so I think it would be safe to say that wisdom in a nutshell. Wisdom is the rationale behind both our words chapter three verses one through 12 and our actions chapter two verses one through 13. So in other words there is a rationale. There is there is there is a source that prompts us there is an intellectual ascent that we give to every thought in action or every action and word that we speak. Jonathan Edwards talks says this about and I usually quoted in reference to the freedom of the will or in speaking about the will and he says that the mind is or the will is nothing more than the mind choosing. But the mind always chooses what it proceeds to be of the highest good and its perception of good is according to its nature. Now here's the reason I mention this because every action, everything that we do, everything that we say, the moment that we do it and the moment that we say it, we do so because in the moment that we speak and act we think it's good. We have rationed, we have given thought to ourselves and for whatever reason our rationale is that our words and our actions are logical and they make sense to us. What we have seen in recent weeks and months is that a lot of people would look like a good idea at the time. Once it gets viewed and seen and heard and spoken out loud, once it's out there it doesn't sound as good out there as it did in here. So what James is addressing here is the wisdom that shapes the action and that frames the speech. So the three things work together and all of them are extensions of the idea of faith without words is dead. So really this is the engine rule. The idea of wisdom is the engine room from which the words are formulated and views and opinions are shaped by about our fellow image bearers. It's in the engine room of wisdom. So let me begin with a working definition of wisdom, a working dictionary definition of wisdom. Wisdom is the soundness of an action or decision with regard to the application of experience and knowledge. It is the soundness of action or decision with regard to the application of experience and knowledge equaling good judgment. So wisdom is again it is the soundness of an action or decision and that's really just another way of saying is that wisdom is the foundation from which actions and judgments or actions and words flow. It's the foundation. Now in the end it will be determined to be sound judgment or unsound judgment but at the time at the time that we speak and at the time that we act we think we're acting in wisdom. So broadly speaking any action that we take we do so because we deem it to be the right course of action based on our experience and our knowledge. So that's a working definition of wisdom. It's the means or it's the basis upon which we determine whether or not we should act or speak and what we should how we should act and what we should say. Now here's the second thing. So that's a working dictionary definition of wisdom. Secondly according to our text here in James there are two sources or two types of wisdom. According to the text there are two sources or two types of wisdom. In verse 15 he speaks of wisdom that is from above and then he also speaks of wisdom that is earthly. So what I want to do here is delineate between wisdom from above and wisdom that is earthly and I'll begin with wisdom that is earthly. What do we mean by wisdom that is earthly? Wisdom that is earthly is the reasoning that flows from our fallen nature. Okay so it flows from us naturally. It flows from our fallen nature. James says that that wisdom which is earthly he says that it is it is unspiritual and he says that it is demonic. Now those are terms that we think we know generally. So let me just kind of flesh it out. What does he mean by unearth or earthly and demonic? There are three statements that I want to extract from the Apostle Paul that help us understand the reasoning process that James says is earthly and demonic and it's unspiritual. Three statements from the Apostle Paul. The first one is in Ephesians chapter 2. Ephesians chapter 2 verses 1 and 2. Here's what Paul says and you were dead and trespasses and sins in which you once walked following the course of this world following the prince of the power of the air the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience. So being dead and trespasses and sins he says it caused you to walk in a manner that's consistent with the prince of the power of this world speaking of the devil. That's the way James means that it's demonic but we'll see that in a little in a little later. But then he says also Paul also in Ephesians chapter 4 and verses 17 through 18. Hold in mind he's speaking to the Ephesians believers who were Gentiles meaning that they were not natural Jews. They were Gentiles. They were Gentile unbelievers and he reminds them in chapter 2 that in your natural state you were dead and trespasses and sins following the dictates of Satan. So in chapter 4 verses 17 and 18 he admonishes the Christians that are at Ephesus in this way. Now this I say and testify in the Lord that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding and alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to their hardness of heart. So notice the pattern in chapter 2 you were dead in trespasses and sins. You did follow the course of the evil one just like all of the other sons and daughters of disobedience but then we skipped over intentionally in chapter 2 verse 4 he says but God who is rich and mercy has transferred you into Christ Jesus. So therefore in chapter 4 he says now don't walk like the rest of the Gentiles walk. In other words you're not like the rest of the the Ephesian neighbors. There's a lot of things that you can have in common but your view can't be shaped by them anymore because you remember their understanding is still darkened and he says the reason their understanding is darkened is because they are alienated from the life that is in God. So that's his warning to them don't walk like them in other words you are reasoning ought not be from the same source as the rest of the Gentiles the unbelieving Ephesians. Now he takes it up a notch. In Romans chapter 5, Romans chapter 5 verses 5 through 8 this is what Paul says to his readers for those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh but those who live according to the spirit set their minds on the things of the spirit for to set the mind on the flesh is death but to set the mind on the spirit is life and peace for the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God it does not submit to God's law indeed it cannot those who are in the flesh cannot please God now that's what he says pointedly those who are in the flesh cannot please God and those who are in the flesh reason and their source a reason from themselves and their source of wisdom their source of reasoning obviously is not the word or law of God. These verses enlarge what James calls earthly wisdom and in our text he is telling he's admonishing his hearers his readers to not follow the course of earthly wisdom or earthly earthly reasoning because ultimately earthly wisdom is in resistance to and rebellion against the law of God in earthly wisdom the only thing that matters is you and everyone who agrees with you that's earthly wisdom it rules by consensus and corrupt affections so it seems good that's why you can have a good a good kid at home with his parents and he's good around everyone else with his family but when he's with a group of peers it seemed as if it was a good idea to somehow break somebody else's window and run doesn't seem like it's a good idea at the dinner table right it doesn't seem like it's a good idea and same thing young ladies they it seems like a good idea to do a certain thing when you are to speak well with people when you are around family members but when you are around a group of peers and you just fill in the blank parents who've raised children through teenage years and you get the call or you get the the notice they did what and then you sit down and you talk to him you say well what made you think that was a good idea the people they were with that connects to the nature that's in them the same thing that makes us think certain things are a good idea right like men wearing bermuda shorts and and gym socks and dress shoes something made you think that was a good idea at the time so here's what James is arguing against because ultimately and that kind of dress code goes against all of the rules of rationality but in the moment it seemed good and the fallen self at the core of it is in rebellion against the standard of God's law and what it seeks is to do its own thing and it seeks affirmation for doing its own thing and so James caused it demonic and the reason is demonic is not because you can make your hair spin around but it's demonic because the demons are in rebellion against the law of God and when we act in rebellion against the law of God then we're acting like demons it is it is it is it is called earthly because it resisted what God has made clearly known and so therefore any wisdom any body of truth any rational that is resisted to or rebellious against the standard of God anything that and and let me just look at it in the realms the two realms in which we've already addressed in which James has addressed and this is where he's going to the engine room of your view of your neighbor anything what what is it that makes it okay for to speak of a neighbor as being less than an image bear of God I don't care the country of origin I don't care the customs what is it that makes it okay as my mother would say to speak of people as being called them everything but a child of God what is it that makes that okay I'll tell you what makes it okay our fallen nature
and the people that we consciously take we are in league with that would affirm our fallen nature what is it that makes it seem okay to not only think of a certain way toward certain people groups but what makes it okay what what gives you what gives you the authority to speak and vile and vicious terms against others to take pleasure and the failures and the weaknesses of others and to put it in words what is it that makes that okay it's you it's not God's law it's not it's not God's word it's us and everyone that agrees with us and James calls both actions and the words that allows us to be abusive and that in that gives us some sort of refuge in our ill treatment of others he says that's because we are following worldly wisdom but now on the other hand James also speaks of wisdom that comes down from above now he's not saying that it comes down from above like the raindrops it doesn't fall on you like do but James speaks in the same way that he describes wisdom that is of the earth as being demonic and non spiritual he describes the wisdom that comes from above in 13 he said in verse 13 he says is meek the character of this wisdom that comes from above is meek as opposed to the arrogance that comes from the wisdom that is from the earth but then in verse 17 he says that this wisdom is pure it's peaceful it's gentile it's gentle it's open to reason it's full of mercy and good fruits it's impartial in other words we wisdom that comes from above judges individuals equally so that we see individuals equally as neighbors or as brothers and sisters neighbors can be wrong and so can brothers and sisters but we see them first impartially we don't see them according to tribe and other things but it's an impartiality so that what you dislike in this individual you ought to dislike in the other individual who looks like you it's impartial because it values merit for being meritorious and it despises vice because of vice and so therefore it's not going to celebrate in one what it condemns in the other that's what it means to be impartial that what is what is condemned over here is also condemned here I grew up with friends that I don't know how they were able to do it but my parents have a strict thing my parents were like this they they didn't you didn't steal period but they despised the thief and and so therefore anything that came into the house you needed to be able to explain it if they didn't buy it they wanted to know where you got it from they had friends that could steal and they could bring it home but my parents were this way they didn't want to be stolen from and they didn't want to give room to thieves so some both sides of it it's impartial that's the wisdom that comes from above that it's not like it's stealing over here but it's something else over there no he's it was it was a hard and fast will is impartial so wisdom that is from above he says is impartial not only is it impartial but it's sincere and so you can clearly see the contrast between the two types of wisdom it's unmistakable and it's unavoidable but the most succinct distinction of the two sources and the two types of wisdom is what James says in verse 15 where he says that the wisdom that should guide our thinking and our actions is that it comes from above in other words the wisdom that is good does not emanate from us naturally it does not flow from us naturally it is divine and it is outside of us which is to say that the wisdom that is from above is gospel wisdom which is why in chapter one James says that if anyone lacks wisdom let him ask God who generously gives to all without reproach it's important for us to know that wisdom as James describes it here the wisdom that is good the wisdom that he speaks of in positive terms does not naturally come from us but rather it is outside of us it comes down from above and it's made available to all of those who have been brought into union with Christ therefore let me just leave conclude with a third thought here that will flesh out let's therefore explore what is meant by gospel wisdom let's let's explore that a little further because James says this comes down from above and if it comes from above that means it comes from outside of us and if it comes from outside of us that means it comes from God and everything that comes from God to us is found in Christ so therefore let's explore it a little bit and we'll begin with with looking at what we read in Proverbs how can we talk about wisdom without talking about the book of Proverbs and Proverbs chapter 9 verse 10 it says fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One and in the knowledge of the Holy One is insight what a wonderful statement that that that just writes beautifully into what we see here fear of God fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge of the Holy One is itself insight now let's look at this from a few different vantage points first off fear of God what does it mean to fear God a number of things fear of God could mean terror terror and certainly fallen Christians or fallen humans have reason to be terrified of a living God so there is a sense of terror in that but fear also means reverence to revere God now maybe unregenerous sinners might have some sense of terror of God and therefore they try to you know whistle in the graveyard and pretend as if he doesn't exist because there is this this innate terror of him but only those who have been awakened by grace can actually have reverence for him so reverence for God revering him honoring him but it also means to have a sense of awe so so here here's what we can say that fear God includes reverence awe and terror and all of these are the results of the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit it is only the Holy Spirit who regenerates us to see that we are in terror I like the way Paul puts it in second Corinthians 5 he says therefore knowing that terror of God we persuade men and no one comes to Jesus for salvation unless you understand the terror of being guilty before before an omnipresent omnipotent God Jonathan Edward says that before God makes men mindful of his mercy he first makes them mindful of their misery and so the Holy Spirit awakens us to our misery and our fallen and condemned condition and then he points us to the south of the gospel in Christ so he awakens us to genuine terror so no one can have true terror no one comes to Christ unless you are terrified of the wrath of God call it archaic if you want but no one comes to the the bosom of Christ until you are aware of the wrath of Almighty God but no one comes to the mercy of God and the person of Christ without being in awe of Him we are in awe the Holy Spirit regenerates us and gives us a proper sense of awe so that we can see the glory of the Father in the face of the Son and no one comes to Christ for salvation that is not awakened to a sense of awe and reference for the Almighty God all of these things the fear of God is the is the work of the regenerating Holy Spirit therefore I would argue that the unrepentant are incapable of wisdom because they have no capacity to fear God here's the second thing in that regard the wisdom that God requires or as James eludes to here the the wisdom that is necessary to for right reasoning is itself a gift from God wisdom the wisdom that God calls his creatures to operate in is itself a gift from God James in exhorting his readers to exercise this gift is telling them to look to the gospel that's basically what he said look to the gospel because it's only in the gospel that we have the ability to reason in such a way that we can see image bearers in the way that we should it's only through the gospel that we can sanctify our speech only in the gospel look at what Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 30 and because of him you are in Christ Jesus who became to us wisdom from God and righteousness and sanctification and redemption not only is Christ our righteousness but he is our wisdom and the reason James says that if you lack wisdom then you can ask God and he will generously give it to you is because it is already built into the package that is the gospel that brings us to a final thought and that's this here's the challenge for believers brothers and sisters what James is saying is that all the wisdom that we need to function in God's world is given to us in the gospel but we have to be intentional in our pursuit of gospel wisdom in other words here's what I mean by that we have to be in be intentional in grounding our wisdom or grounding our reasoning through the insight that comes from knowing the Holy One we have to ground our worldview in what we know about God through Christ it is important we have to be intentional in this we have to be intentional in that that our conversations are guided by what we know of God through Christ and not by what we follow on our Twitter timeline brothers and sisters what it might be okay to say and we're all we're all this way there some conversations that we won't have in front of some people because we know the maturity level and and we know that we won't be viewed a particular way but as we take our let our hair down be careful be careful because every circle in which you let your hair down in you may be affirmed by those in the circle but you're always before an audience of one
and so therefore brothers and sisters it's important that we are intentional in grounding our view our words and our actions according to the reference and the all that we have about the one who saved us
and it's important that our interactions and our horizontal relationships are governed by the insight that we have from knowing the holy one because brothers and sisters when others would tell us well you know what the the holy one knowing the holy one gives us an insight that should rise above every other source that affirms our fallen nature so that when we act because remember as we said in the beginning what we do and what we say is because we think it's right wisdom is the reasoning and the rationale that makes us think it's right and there is a wisdom that that flows from our nature we call it our good instinct and some folks don't know the difference between their good instinct and what has been objectively revealed by God we go with our gut rather than go with God's grace you see here's one of the difficult parts of the wisdom that comes from above it doesn't beat its chest it doesn't do touchdown dances in the end zone it's meek it's strong but it's meek and it's overall end this piece
James is talking about those who are dealing in the church and he's warning them to not function in the covenant community with the wisdom that comes from the earth but also he's telling us as we go into the world don't operate according to the wisdom that's been sanctioned by the world let your judgments let your reasoning be shaped by that which has come down from above and anything that comes to us from God from above can't we wrap it in Christ and his points is that as we function in this world strangers and pilgrims sojourners exiles we don't have to buy into the wisdom that comes from the world we have a wisdom that has come from outside of the world and that wisdom is wrapped in Christ and James is admonishing us you're going to justify your actions there's a reason behind everything that you say and do but let your reasoning be drenched in the grace that has come to us in Christ so that our speech and that our views of others would be seasoned by grace and not fueled by the polemics and all of the other stuff that we get from other sources because you brothers and sisters have been bought with the price and you're not your own so the challenge is to consciously intentionally and consistently bring our reasoning into subjection to what God has revealed to us in his sight let's pray