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James 3:13-16, Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. 15 This wisdom is not that which comes down from above but is earthly, natural, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.
James has no time for sham, fake religion. He’s been working to root it out of our spiritual lives from the very beginning of his epistle. He urged us to count it all joy when we encounter all kinds of trials. When you are tempted, admit it’s your fault; don’t blame God. He said we’re deceiving ourselves if we think hearing the word is enough. You’ve got to be a doer of it. If you don’t put a bridle on your tongue your religion is worthless. Don’t roll out the red carpet for rich people and ignore the poor. Don’t even think you can have a faith that doesn’t change your life; it’s worth no more than a demon’s faith. And what about that tongue? James says it’s a restless evil and full of deadly poison. By the grace of God get control of it.
That brings us to this great little portion on developing godly wisdom. James, along with the entire Bible, puts a premium on wisdom. Every believer in Christ must make wisdom the pursuit of his or her life. And James is going to explain what that means.
PURSUE GODLY WISDOM
Proverbs 4 calls us to prize, embrace, treasure, and put a premium on godly wisdom.
Proverbs 4:7-9, “The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom; And with all your acquiring, get understanding. 8 “Prize her, and she will exalt you; She will honor you if you embrace her. 9 “She will place on your head a garland of grace; She will present you with a crown of beauty.”
Proverbs 2 tells us how to get it.
Proverbs 2:1-6, My son, if you will receive my words And treasure my commandments within you, 2 Make your ear attentive to wisdom, Incline your heart to understanding; 3 For if you cry for discernment, Lift your voice for understanding; 4 If you seek her as silver And search for her as for hidden treasures; 5 Then you will discern the fear of the LORD And discover the knowledge of God. 6 For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
What is wisdom? Wisdom is the God-given skill for living life in a way that pleases God. Godly wisdom doesn’t mean God gives you special insight into all His secret providences. It doesn’t mean you can read the reason for every trial and circumstance infallibly. Joseph didn’t know why his brothers sold him to Egypt, but he wisely lived for God while he was there. Job didn’t know why his children and property were swept away in one day but he had the wisdom to say, “The Lord gives, the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.” Paul didn’t know why God gave him that thorn in the flesh, but he had the wisdom to learn that Christ’s power was made perfect in his weakness. Godly wisdom learns how to take the “what” of Scripture and turn it into the “how” of applying it to your life.
Before we get into James’ text, let’s look at nine conditions for developing godly wisdom.
#1 You can’t have wisdom without God. Proverbs 2:6 says, “The Lord gives wisdom.” If you don’t know the God of the Bible, you may be an Einstein but you don’t have godly wisdom. Marx, Darwin, and Freud were all clever, but they were really clever devils.
#2 You can’t have wisdom without the fear of the Lord. Job asked, “Where can wisdom be found?” God answered in Job 28:28, “Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom.”
#3 You can’t have wisdom without personal faith in Jesus Christ. Colossians 2:3 says, “In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Political conservatism is good, but conservatism without Christ is not wisdom.
#4 You can’t have wisdom without the Word of God. Colossians 3:16, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another.”
#5 You can’t have wisdom without diligently searching for it. Proverbs 2 says treasure and cry and seek and search for wisdom and discernment. Proverbs 2:10 promises, “then wisdom will enter your heart.”
#6 You can’t have wisdom without the inner ministry of the Spirit. In Acts 6 the church selected leaders who were full of the Spirit and of wisdom. Stephen spoke powerfully with wisdom and the Spirit.
#7 You can’t have wisdom without believing prayer. James 1:5, “If you lack wisdom, let him ask in faith.” Psalm 90:12, “Teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom.”
#8 You can’t have wisdom unless you are willing to be a doer of the Word and not merely a hearer. (Matthew 7:24-25)
#9 You can’t have wisdom unless you value God’s wisdom above all earthly treasures. Proverbs 3:13-14, “How blessed is the man who finds wisdom And the man who gains understanding. 14 For her profit is better than the profit of silver And her gain better than fine gold.”
Now, back to the book of James where he tells us about this quest for godly wisdom. He throws out this challenge: “Who among you is wise and understanding?” Many people think they have an inside scoop on what God is doing. But James says, “Ok, if you are wise, you will prove it in your life.” He gives both sides: those who have godly wisdom, and those who are fakes or only have worldly wisdom.
James gives three directions for godly wisdom.
First, godly wisdom comes from a growing practical knowledge of God’s Word.
James 3:13a, Who among you is wise and understanding?
Wisdom is more than knowledge, but you’ve got to have some degree of knowledge to have godly wisdom. A wise person learns how to apply God’s truth to life, how to respond to the trials and difficulties in a way that pleases God. He knows God is sovereign and in control. Wisdom is really the mind of Christ. That’s why we need to grow in wisdom. We are growing in becoming like Christ.
It’s exciting to be part of a church where there is a hunger for God’s Word, where people are learning how to think and act biblically, and how to apply God’s Word to life. We want to have a high view of God, believe in the sufficiency of grace, learn to live out Romans 8:28, and love the gospel of Jesus Christ. God is growing wisdom in our church. We have over 20 people in the Newcomers Class, a good group in Sunday School learning about discipleship, ladies studying 1 John on Thursday mornings, small groups during the week feeding on 1 Corinthians, Galatians, 1-2 Timothy, men walking through Acts on Thursday mornings, plus others involved in personal discipling and counseling. Let’s pray that God would continually develop in our hearts an ever growing hunger for His wisdom and understanding.
Second, Godly wisdom is always demonstrated in an attitude of gentleness.
James 3:13, Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.
Godly wisdom is never nasty or harsh or mean-spirited, arrogant or self-promoting. There is a humility, a submissiveness, a teachable spirit to this wisdom. James told us in James 1:21, “in humility receive the word implanted.” In 2 Timothy 2:24 Paul told Timothy not to be quarrelsome, but kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition. Proverbs 11:2, “When pride comes, then comes dishonor, But with the humble is wisdom.”
The gentleness of wisdom knows how to speak the truth in love. You don’t blow people away with hell-fire missiles of truth. Galatians 6:1 says we are to restore an erring brother “in a spirit of gentleness.” Moses wasn’t a wimp, but he was the meekest of men because he feared and loved God. Jesus described Himself in Matthew 11:29 as “gentle and humble in heart.”
Third, Godly wisdom is proven by practical deeds.
James 3:13b, “Let him show by his good behavior his deeds….”
“By his good behavior” means a way of living day by day that is attractive, Christ-honoring, winsome. The word good, “kalos”, has the idea of beautiful, valuable, virtuous and behavior means your way of life, as you make your way through each day of your life.
Godly wisdom is based on knowledge of God’s Word that flows from a gentle attitude, but is shown best by practical deeds of Christ-like service. These practical deeds mean serving others at home – a spiritually wise husband is quick to help his wife with the children or serve her in other ways. 1 Peter 3:1-2 says a spiritually wise woman seeks to win her unsaved husband, not by preaching at him, but by her winsome way of living day by day. Practical deeds include serving in the church, in the community, everywhere God gives you opportunities to be like Christ, who came not to be served but to serve. You aren’t two people, selfish at home and a servant at church. Deacons are to be tested first, then let them serve as deacons – they have a track record of serving. You demonstrate wisdom not by how much you know, but by your good behavior. You don’t put men into the eldership who aren’t already involved to some degree with people, concerned about helping them grow and change. This is godly wisdom – knowledge, gentleness, and practical, serving deeds. Now James describes what worldly wisdom looks like, the exact opposite of godly wisdom.
REJECT WORLDLY WISDOM
Two Heart Monsters of Worldly Wisdom
James 3:14, But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth.
As beautiful and winsome as godly wisdom is, worldly wisdom is just as ugly in the opposite direction. If you claim to be a wise Christian but have these nasty attitudes clawing your heart and controlling your life, you are far from godly. Your wisdom is of this world, natural, even demonic. It is the opposite of being Christ-like. Worldly wisdom turns Philippians 2:3-5 on its head, and is too common even among professing believers.
God’s wisdom: Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility consider one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.
Worldly wisdom: Do everything to please yourself and make others think you’re important. Be proud of yourself and regard yourself as the most important person in your life. Only be concerned about your own personal interests and not for the interests of others. Let this way of thinking be in you which was also in Satan.
Bitter Jealousy and Selfish Ambition.
James cuts deeply into the heart of a person with worldly wisdom and uncovers these two monster attitudes. In a nutshell, he or she is intensely self-centered rather than God-centered. James starts with “If you have…” and the idea is, if and you do. There are professing believers who are hiding these ugly attitudes in their hearts.
Bitter jealousy or envy can’t handle it when someone else is honored above you. Someone else gets the applause and it irks you to no end. You even resent the good that comes to someone else, especially to someone you don’t like. Saul was full of this ugly monster eating away in his soul. He saw David more highly praised, more highly loved and appreciated and it drove him crazy to the point where he tried to pin David to the wall with his spear. Saul chased David all over the wilderness to kill him. Bitter jealousy is an ugly, ugly tormenting sinful heart evil.
Selfish ambition goes right along with bitter jealousy: “I’m going to get what I want no matter the cost. I want my own way or someone is going to get hurt.” These people have way too high an opinion of themselves. It’s the very opposite of a humble, selfless, serving, loving, obedient child of God.
You may remember the two award winning figure skaters back in 1994, Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan. Tonya was bent on winning the championship. On the day before the event her ex-husband hired Shane Stant to take a 21-inch steel baton and whack Nancy Kerrigan behind her right knee severely enough to cause Kerrigan to pull out of the national championship the following night. This was a radical display of bitter jealousy and selfish ambition.
James says if you are consumed with these ungodly heart attitudes, don’t be arrogant and lie against the truth. A professing Christian who has these monsters controlling his heart is a total misrepresentation of Christ and the gospel. A truly gracious soul is free of bitter jealousy and rejoices when others succeed.
The Godless Roots of Worldly Wisdom
James 3:15, This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic.
First, it comes from the earth. It’s not from God but from man. This kind of so-called wisdom is spun out of a godless, self-centered heart that is purely of this world. Be careful to whom you are listening. A. W. Tozer wrote:
Listen to no man who refuses to listen to God…. No man has any right to offer advice who has not first heard God speak. No man has any right to counsel others who is not ready to hear and follow the counsel of the Lord.
Second, it is natural or of the sinful flesh. There is nothing gracious, redeeming, spiritual, of God in it. Romans 1:22, “Professing to be wise, they became fools!” I looked up the ten smartest men in history. One was Darwin. Another was Hitler! The Critical Theory that has exploded in our culture pitting groups against each other is surely worldly and natural, plus it is demonic.
Third, it is demonic, either directly motivated by demons or demonic is its nature, rebellious and hateful of God. Demons love to cheer on professing Christians who are full of selfishness and self-importance. One author wrote, “Just as there is a faith which a man may share with demons and a tongue set on fire by hell, so there is a wisdom which is demonical in its source and in its activity.” Then James gives us verse 16.
The Godless Fruit of Worldly Wisdom
James 3:16, For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.
What is the result of these demonic attitudes? Disorder and every evil thing. James is trying to safeguard God’s people from letting worldly, selfish wisdom tear them up. Disorder and every evil thing speak of relationships gone bad, gone sour. People reacting in bitterness and refusing to look at each other or can’t talk without getting angry reveal that godly relationships have fallen apart and godly wisdom is absent.
Disorder carries the idea of spiritual chaos, anarchy, tumults, confusion. We certainly see this in our godless, man-centered, demonic culture as Marxist education nurtures hatred between groups of people, whether ethnic or gender or economic differences. Have you ever see a “pride” parade on TV? Disorder and every evil thing. Remember the BLM riots in 2020? Disorder and every evil thing. That’s what sin does. It creates hatred and chaos. Worldly wisdom lacks the fear of God, truth, love, trust, peace and God’s true justice.
SO WHAT?
James wants us to see the strong contrast between godly wisdom and worldly wisdom: from knowledge of God’s word, gentle attitudes, and practical loving service to jealousy, selfish ambition and disorder and every evil thing. We need godly wisdom. We need the fear of the Lord. We need the wisdom only Christ can give. We need the wisdom from God’s word. Remember, godly wisdom is the most important thing. Seek wisdom with all your heart – pray for it, dig for it, seek and search for it, cry out for it. As Solomon counseled fathers, “Teach your children the wisdom of God.”
What does a heart ruled by godly wisdom look like? Or a home where wisdom rules? God will be honored. God’s Word is read. People treat each other with love and respect. Godly wisdom is like a beautiful landscape with gardens and beautiful trees and lakes and mountains in the background.
What is the landscape of your soul? Is it more like a beautiful garden full of grace and truth and peace, or does it look like the bombed out cities we see every day right now in the Ukraine? What’s the condition of your soul?
What do you do if those ugly attitudes of bitter jealousy and selfish ambition are shaking the cage of your heart? Admit they are there and confront them with the cross of Jesus Christ. “Lord, deliver me from my selfishness. I have been crucified with Christ. I am no longer an earthly, natural, demonic person. I am a new creation in Christ.” By the power of the Spirit refuse to let them live. Starve those ugly attitudes. Hack them to pieces. Pray for God’s help and confess you want your heart ruled by Jesus Christ. Treasure godly wisdom and be a blessing to other people.