Two Kinds of Wisdom (Part 1)

Do you consider yourself to be a wise person?

That's how I began the message last week.

And it's important that we consider that again today.

Because that's the question that James begins this section of Scripture,

chapter 3, verse 13.

He's asking the question,

Who is wise and understanding among you?

But he's not looking for an answer in words.

He is looking for us to respond by pointing to our life,

pointing to our works.

Look at it.

James chapter 3, verse 13.

James 3:13

Who is wise and understanding among you?

By his good conduct, let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.

Look on the screen and notice that in the NIV translation.

Who is wise and understanding among you?

Let them show it by their good life,

by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.

You hear what James is saying.

The truly wise person,

as God would consider wise,

is the person whose life is characterized by

good works

done in humility.

Now I think it's always important

in a setting like this,

in a Sunday school class,

in a sermon,

when you talk about good works,

to explain,

because so many people think

the way you're right with God,

the way that you go to heaven when you die,

is by doing certain things,

doing good works.

And if you do enough good works

to outweigh the bad works,

then you'll be right with God now and forevermore.

Well, that's not true.

That is our just

faulty human logic

and wisdom thinking that way.

We have already studied

in the book of James

how he strongly

stresses

that real Christian faith,

real saving faith,

is not just something we profess,

but it's something that we live out.

Here's how he said it in chapter 1, verse 22.

But be doers of the word

and not hearers only,

deceiving yourselves.

See, if you think

exposing yourself to the word of God

in a place like this,

in a service like this,

or even in your own Bible reading,

just knowing it,

hearing it,

but not with God's help

obeying it

because you want to obey it,

you're deceiving yourself.

He goes on in chapter 2

to talk about the importance of

real faith will be seen in our works,

and he completes that

section in chapter 2, verse 26.

He says,

For as the body apart from the spirit

is dead,

so also faith apart from works

is dead.

So I want you just to be clear about that.

As now James is pointing out,

that Christians who have a God-given wisdom

will show it

by the humble way they go about

doing things that serve other people,

that please God.

True Christian good works.

Now, he goes on in verses 14 through 18

to point out there's actually

two kinds of wisdom

at work in people's lives.

He's contrasting

what we're going to call

earthly wisdom

versus heavenly wisdom,

or you can refer to it as

human wisdom

versus God-given wisdom.

Look at how he describes this.

Verse 14.

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 selfish ambition exist,

there will be disorder

and every vile

or evil practice.

But the wisdom from above

is first pure,

then peaceable,

gentle,

open to reason,

full of mercy

and good fruits,

impartial

and sincere.

And a harvest of righteousness

is sown in peace

by those who make peace.

after reading that,

which kind of wisdom

do you demonstrate

most of the time?

Now sometimes we just operate

according to this human wisdom,

just our own best thinking,

and it comes out

in some selfishness.

It comes out

in causing problems

with people

maybe in our home

or at work.

But just overall,

as you live your life,

in light of what James says,

do you live according

to just earthly human wisdom?

Or do you demonstrate

that God has given you

His wisdom

and you really seek

to be obedient to Him

in the way you deal

with people

and situations

most of the time?

Well, to help us really

be able to answer that,

let's look closely

at what James says.

Let's look first today

at earthly wisdom.

We're going to come back

next week

and look at

the heavenly wisdom.

First,

earthly wisdom,

we're going to define it

this way,

is man's ability

to discern

and judge correctly

as to what he thinks

is true or right.

Now I'm taking that

from the dictionary definition

I gave you last week

of wisdom.

Wisdom, last week we saw,

is the power of discerning

and judging correctly

as to what is true

or right.

Now think about it.

The world,

in general,

as seen in a dictionary,

thinks of wisdom

as being able to judge,

being able to discern

about what's true or right.

But in the world's way

of looking at things,

God's not a part

of that equation.

And so that's why

we can define

earthly wisdom

as our ability,

human ability,

man's ability

to discern

and judge correctly

as to what he thinks

is true

or right.

Now we looked last week

at earthly wisdom

or human wisdom,

you can call it either one,

in great detail.

I want to quickly review.

We saw that human wisdom

is possible

in a positive sense

because we are created

in the image of God.

It's a part of our

God-given abilities,

being like him,

to have a certain degree

of wisdom.

It's also a part

of God's common grace.

God's common grace

is the undeserved favor

that he shows to everybody.

He just chooses to do that.

Jesus described it like this.

God chooses to send rain

on the good

as well as the evil.

The good farmers,

the faithful,

God-fearing farmers,

as well as the atheist farmers,

they benefit from God's

good weather.

It's part of his common grace,

Jesus said.

Human wisdom is possible,

but human wisdom

is limited

because we do not know

nor can we fully understand

all the facts

in a given situation,

but God can.

God has perfect knowledge

and understanding

of all things

and we lack that knowledge

because we're not God.

So human wisdom is possible,

but it's limited.

But there's more bad news

about it.

Human wisdom

is defective

because of the fall.

Adam and Eve's sin,

it resulted in the corruption

of every aspect of creation.

Our God-given abilities

as a result of being created

in his image,

they were not abolished

by the fall,

they were certainly corrupted.

We, we, we, we,

our wisdom today,

we're using this

as our, our, our point.

Our wisdom today

is defective

because of the fall.

I want you to think

about it like this.

Since Adam and Eve sinned,

every person

comes into this world,

born into this world

with a sinful nature

that makes us

naturally focus

on doing our will

instead of God's will.

The way we're born

with this sinful nature,

we're more concerned

about doing what I want to do

really than what anybody else

wants us to do.

And you see it

in little children

all the way up.

We see it in our own lives.

Left alone,

we will use

our God-given qualities

like wisdom

in basically selfish,

worldly,

and even ungodly ways.

We're going to come to that

in a little bit.

That's because

earthly human wisdom

seeks its knowledge

and understanding

from every source

you can find in this world

except God

and His Word.

That's what James

wants us to understand.

Earthly wisdom,

that which is not from above.

Human wisdom.

There's a certain amount

of it that's,

a certain way to look at it

that's good,

that's positive.

But the problem

with human wisdom

is that

we take

what we can learn,

we take

our experience,

and we just figure things out

based on that,

and we don't even consider

what God's Word says.

We don't seek

His help

in trying to understand

something.

Let me give you an example.

Before we look at all

the negative things

James has to say

about earthly wisdom,

remember last week

that because of God's

common grace,

there are benefits

to human wisdom.

We all benefit

from natural human wisdom

that God has given

to people.

That's how cars

got invented

that we drove here today.

That's why we're in

a climate-controlled building.

Somebody was able

to figure all this out.

So we are all

beneficiaries

of God's common grace

and God's common wisdom.

I want to give you

an example

of the problem.

Many non-Christians

are wise financial managers.

I mean,

they know how to live

within their means.

They know that it's good

to avoid debt

and save money.

There are many

unbelievers,

atheists even,

who can provide

wise counsel

for how you

can manage your money

in the best possible way.

But someone like this

who only has

earthly wisdom,

human wisdom,

they're not going

to lead us

or teach us

to acknowledge

all that we have

comes from God.

God gives us

the ability

to work and make money.

God gives us

the opportunity

to do that.

And they certainly

won't teach us

to give tithes

and offerings

to God

or to seek

to honor God

in what we do

with all of our resources.

People with only

earthly wisdom,

they'll tell you,

you just take care

of your stuff,

manage your resources

well,

take care of yourself,

take care of your

immediate family,

and just do what you

want to do

with your money.

earthly wisdom.

It can be very

helpful at times.

But here's the whole

point of what James

is trying to get us

to understand.

Earthly wisdom

is not sufficient

to show us

how to live

in a way

that honors God,

that will serve

His purpose.

Earthly wisdom

is not even going

to tell us

how to live

and help

and serve

people around us

that God wants us

to help

and serve.

Now,

if we're Christians,

we are more

concerned

about things

than just what

works best for me.

Aren't we?

I mean,

if we really are

Christians,

that God has

put His Spirit

in us,

we have a desire

to really

and truly

know what

pleases Him

and do what

pleases Him.

See,

Paul talks about it

in the second

chapter of Philippians

that God works

in all of His

people,

all of His children

to cause us

to will

and to work

for His good pleasure.

And the only way

we're going to know

how to work

and will

and work

to His good pleasure

is if we have

His

God-given

wisdom.

So,

now,

let's look at

what James says,

how he explains

the problems

with just

earthly wisdom.

Number one,

the self-centeredness

of earthly wisdom.

That's in verse 14.

Look back at it again.

But if you have

bitter jealousy

and selfish ambition

in your hearts,

do not boast

and be false

and be false

to the truth.

One way to spot

someone who

lives by earthly

wisdom

is by something

like bitter jealousy

in them,

selfish ambition.

Bitter jealousy

describes someone

who cannot see

someone else

in a place

of influence

or in a better

place

than them.

A person with

bitter jealousy

resents

when another person

has something

they think

they should have.

Selfish ambition

describes someone

who is determined

to get what they want

no matter what

or who gets hurt.

Now in this context,

James is most likely

describing church members

who are jealous

of teachers

and leaders

in the church

and what they're

thinking is,

I should have been

that teacher.

I should have been

that leader.

They resent

who's there.

Now the reason

we get that idea

is what James says

in chapter 3

verses 1 through 12.

The verses above

where we're reading now.

James has addressed

the issue

not many of you

should become teachers.

Teachers are going

to incur

a stricter judgment

and you better

watch what you say.

You better guard

your tongue.

There's problems

in the church

that come out

throughout this letter

and there's people

in churches

that he's writing to

that they're just

they're bitter,

they're jealous.

All they're concerned

about is themselves.

getting what they want,

what they think

they deserve

and they totally

resent

those who have

somehow or another

got what they want

or been put in a place

that they think

should be theirs.

Now evidently

some of these people

that James is addressing

thought they were right

in their attitude,

in their actions

and so that's why

James says what he did

in the rest of verse 14.

He says,

do not boast

and be false

to the truth.

Some people were

proudly opposing

the teachers

and leaders.

Well James wants them

to know that

their very actions

are a denial

about what the Bible

teaches about

godly wisdom

and Christian character.

By their selfish

and jealous behavior

they're demonstrating

God's not

guiding them.

Their so-called wisdom

doesn't come from him.

Now,

let's think about

this personally.

Do you ever

have a problem

with jealousy

or selfish ambition?

One way to test yourself

is to think about

how you respond

to somebody at work

or somebody at school

or somebody on your team

or in some organization.

How do you respond

to someone

who is recognized

or promoted

or honored

and you aren't?

Can you honestly,

sincerely

congratulate them?

Can you be happy

when somebody

gets a promotion

that you think

I should have got it?

Can you be happy

with somebody

who gets more playing time

on your team

but you think

you should be

playing ahead of them?

You see,

James is not talking

about what's right

or wrong here

in terms of what

you ought to get

or shouldn't get.

He's talking about

how you respond

to what is.

Are you able

to congratulate?

Are you able

to be happy

with people,

for people,

sincerely?

who have

what you wished

you had?

Or are you jealous?

Are you envious?

Are you so mad

and bitter

because you got passed over,

you got overlooked,

but you just can't treat

those other people

the right way?

worldly wisdom

thinking that kind

of way.

It'll make us

self-centered.

That's understandable

when you look next

at the nature

of earthly wisdom.

Let's look at

the ungodly nature

of earthly wisdom

in verse 15.

He says,

this is not the wisdom

that comes down

from above,

but is earthly,

unspiritual,

demonic.

Let's think about

what he's talking about.

Earthly wisdom,

human wisdom.

It is earthly.

He's talking about

a mindset

that refuses

to consider

anything heavenly.

In other words,

it ignores God.

He's talking about

someone

operates from

a wisdom

that just

considers the ways

of the world

and leaves God

out of it.

He says it's also

unspiritual.

He's talking about

natural wisdom

without any of

the supernatural wisdom

that God gives us

through His Spirit.

James is describing

someone

whose wisdom

comes from

just how

he thinks,

just how

she feels

based on what

they read,

based on what

they're told,

based on what

they're experienced.

It's unspiritual.

It's all about

how I think

and feel

with no regard

to what God

might be doing.

And then third

and worst,

it's demonic.

Earthly wisdom

comes from demons

whose leader

is Satan.

Now,

I want you to think

with me.

We can trace

that all the way

back to the fall

in the Garden of Eden.

when all of God's

attributes

that He has given

to human beings,

when all of the

God-given

human qualities

were corrupted

and became

defective.

That's where

human wisdom

became defective,

back in the Garden.

That's the kind

of wisdom

we inherit

naturally

from our parents.

Now,

in thinking about

this worldly wisdom,

it's earthly,

it's unspiritual,

it's demonic,

what would that

actually look like

in a person?

It may be surprising.

It can be found

in our lives

as Christians

just like it is

found in the leader

of the disciples,

Peter.

I want you to look

with me,

think with me.

In Matthew

Matthew 16 · chapter mention

chapter 16,

Jesus asked

His disciples,

who do people

say that I am?

And they

said several things

and finally,

Peter,

speaking on behalf

of all the 12,

he said,

you are the Christ,

you are the Son of God

and Jesus commended him.

God has shown you this.

You hadn't figured it out.

God's revealed this to you.

It was an affirming time

and Jesus,

on that occasion,

the Scripture says,

began to teach

those disciples

about why

He really came

into the world

which was going

to be to die

on the cross.

Now when Peter

heard that,

he just said,

you are the Son of God,

you are the Christ.

And Jesus said,

you are right,

that is true,

but I am going

to die.

I am going

to be crucified.

In Peter's mind,

that just couldn't be.

So here is how

he responded.

Peter took him,

that is Jesus,

aside,

and began

to rebuke him.

Never,

Lord,

he said,

this shall never

happen to you.

Now,

before you think,

how could Peter

rebuke,

correct,

reprimand Jesus,

and say,

you don't know

what you are talking about.

He can't be this way.

In Peter's mind,

what Jesus said

just did not make sense.

How could the Son of God,

the Christ,

the Messiah,

be crucified?

Peter just thought,

this must be a long day.

Jesus is confused,

and so he is going

to correct Jesus.

This shall never

happen to you,

he said.

But Jesus took this

very hard.

Look how he responded

to Peter.

He said,

get behind me,

Satan.

You are a hindrance

to me.

For you are not

setting your mind

on the things of God,

but on the things

of man.

Peter was so strongly

rebuked by Jesus

because Peter was

just thinking

naturally.

He was just thinking

and said

just what came

naturally.

He wanted to protect

Jesus and protect

himself.

He was thinking

about surviving.

That's earthly,

unspiritual,

demonic wisdom

in action.

See,

Peter was only

thinking about

what's going

to affect me

and my Lord

and my future.

Peter was not

thinking about

what is God's

plan in all this.

Peter really

wasn't thinking

what is the

Son of God

up to.

He just

naturally

thought Jesus

is wrong.

Earthly

wisdom,

it is

ungodly

in nature.

And then

thirdly,

why don't you

look at the

harmful effects

of earthly

wisdom in

verse 16.

He says,

for where

jealousy and

selfish ambition

exist,

there will be

disorder and

every vile

practice.

The world's

wisdom,

if that's all

there is,

people are

just doing

the best they

can do.

according to

the way they

think and

feel and

their own

personal

experiences.

The world's

wisdom will

lead to

chaos and

opens the

door to

all kinds

of evil.

The jealousy

and selfish

ambition of

some church

members that

James is

writing to

is causing

all kinds of

church conflict

that James

describes in

chapter 4

verses 1

through 5

and strongly

condemns them

for.

Here's what

I want you

to think.

We see

evidence of

such earthly

wisdom just

about everywhere

you turn

today.

Look at

Congress,

the leaders

of our

country.

Congress is

a picture of

disorder,

of conflict,

and

ineffectiveness.

can you

argue against

that?

Look at the

Supreme Court.

It is

legalizing every

kind of evil

practice today,

especially

sexual

perversion.

Look at

racial problems

in this

country.

Many of

those so-called

leaders who are

in the spotlight,

like Jesse

Jackson and

Al Sharpton,

they are

men who

operate

obviously

according to

earthly wisdom

because

everywhere they

go,

they cause

more disorder

and deeper

division

than existed

before they

arrived.

But I

want you

to

don't dwell

on Congress

and Supreme

Court

and these

other things.

Let's

bring it

closer.

Let's make

it personal.

What's the

environment?

What's

happening

in the

places where

you are

actively

involved?

Like your

home,

your school,

your team,

your workplace?

Think with

me.

Are good

things

happening?

And when I

use the word

good here,

I'm talking

about things

that would

actually please

God,

His definition

of goodness.

Are people

demonstrating

humility?

Are people

who call

themselves

Christians

actually living

like it?

You see

Christian

character

being displayed

in their

life.

Well,

if that's

true,

then somebody

is leading

the way

by the way

they exercise

godly

wisdom.

And if

that's the

case,

you need

to support

them.

You need

to encourage

them.

They may

not be doing

everything you

wish they

would do,

but something

good is

happening and

you need to

be one who

helps that

along.

If you're the

leader of all

that,

continue it,

there'll be

a lot of

opposition to

that.

If you truly

exercise godly

wisdom,

everybody's not

going to like

it.

But God

will be

faithful to

you.

You just

be faithful

to Him.

But if in

those places I

just described,

where you are,

if they're

characterized by

disorder and

evil practices,

people are

showing signs

of bitter

jealousy and

selfish ambition,

you need to

understand that

those people

who are in

charge are

not exercising

godly wisdom.

That's just

human wisdom

in action.

They may be

smart people.

They may be

doing a lot of

good things for

the company or

for themselves,

but if the

climate, the

environment is

one of a

lack of order,

a lack of

unity,

lack of

character,

something's

wrong.

And James

would tell us

there may be

many things

wrong, but

one of the

problems is

people who are

actually exerting

the most

influence,

they're not

using

godly wisdom.

And if that's

the case,

where you are

in that

environment,

something needs

to change.

Now, if you're

the leader,

the place to

begin is with

you.

What you need

to do is

confess to

God that

you've just

left Him out

of the whole

process.

You've been

exercising your

best effort

with your

human wisdom,

you've not

been seeking

His help.

His will.

You've not

been looking

to His

word.

And you

need to

confess that,

repent of it,

and ask God

to give you

wisdom, which

James in

chapter 1,

verse 5 says

God's ready,

willing, and

able to give

it to all who

ask Him in

faith.

Now, if you're

not the leader

in that

environment,

you need to

pray and ask

God to work

in your

situation to

somehow raise

up people who

will exert

godly wisdom

and pray that

somehow or

another God

will turn

things around.

Don't give

up.

James wants us

to understand

it's dangerous

to live in this

world and just

try to do the

best we can.

just do the

best we can

in the way

that we think,

things that we

read, things

that we feel,

go by our gut.

James is saying

it's not wise.

That's worldly

wisdom.

That's human

wisdom.

That's earthly

wisdom.

Specifically, he

says, that will

not work in the

church.

That cannot be the

mentality of

leaders, teachers,

or church

members.

It'll lead to

all kinds of

disunity and

problems.

God will not

bless.

But we need to

understand it

doesn't work

anywhere.

If you have any

doubts, just look

around.

It is not an

exaggeration to

say that most

homes,

communities,

governments,

and organizations

are not

characterized by

the things

James says

will happen

when there's

earthly wisdom,

when there's

godly wisdom

being exercised.

Things like

humility, peace,

purity, and

other qualities.

We're going to

look at that in

detail next week.

There's just too

much evidence

around about us,

in our

neighborhoods,

in our various

organizations,

of bitter

jealousy,

selfish ambition,

of selfish

ambition,

disorder,

and all kinds

of evil

practices.

That's why we,

not other

people, but

why we as

God's people,

we've got to

stop trying to

just do our

best and rely

on our own

good,

worldly,

human wisdom.

It won't work

because we are

leaving out the

true source of

wisdom, the

Lord Jesus

Christ.

We're leaving

out God and

His will.

No matter what

you do,

no matter where

you live,

who you live

with,

you need

God's wisdom.

And in the

weeks to come,

as we finish up

here in James

and move into

the book of

Proverbs,

we're going to

look at how

to acquire

godly wisdom.

We're going to

look at more

detail about what

it looks like,

how it will

benefit us and

other people.

But right now,

understand this,

godly wisdom

comes from living

in close

fellowship with

Him.

and learning

to look at

all of life

through the

lens of

Scripture.

That includes

the way you

live at home

with your

husband, your

wife, your

children, your

parents.

It means the

way you do

your job, the

attitude you

have, the

way you do

whatever you

do.

Are you a

wise person?

Don't tell

me.

Don't answer

with words.

Just look at

your life and

your influence.

That's where

you'll see if

you mainly

function according

to earthly

wisdom or

God's wisdom.

Let's pray.

Father,

Father, you've

made it clear

the contrast

between earthly

human wisdom,

our best

efforts,

and your

true,

life-changing,

purifying,

peaceful

wisdom.

help us, dear

God, to see

how we should

respond to you

this morning.

Help us to

desire and to

seek your

wisdom, to

know how we

should fulfill

all of our

responsibilities in

this world.

world.

In an attitude of

prayer, you

listen to the

Lord and you

respond to

him.

This is

something that

will make a

difference in

your life and

the life of

people around

you, living

according to

God's wisdom

and refusing to

just do what

comes natural,

live by human

wisdom.

So listen to the

Lord and respond to

him.

Let's pray

together.

If I can pray

with you, I'll be

here at the

front.