James 3:13-16

I'll please open up James chapter 3, because that's where we'll be this morning.

James 3 · chapter mention

You know sometimes when you go to the doctor for a checkup, he says, stick out your tongue.

! Let me have a look at your tongue. You maybe think to yourself, my mouth's fine, I don't

know what you're worried about my tongue for. But of course, he looks at the tongue because

the tongue reveals something about what's going on at a deeper level. There are things

on the tongue that point to something else going on elsewhere. It's an indicator of things

that are otherwise hidden. Well, last week James showed us what was on our tongues. And

this week he follows what he sees there to the deeper problem, to the deeper issues. The

Lord Jesus has told us that out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. So issues with

the tongue reveal issues with our hearts. And this morning James shows how our hearts operate

according to what we love and what we think is wise. What we love, our desires, and what

we think is wise. What is a prudent way to live our lives in the world. Our hearts are captivated

by those things. Our hearts lead in those, are led in those directions. And our tongue

is simply an indicator of that. But do you notice there, James verse 13 asks, who is wise and

understanding among you? He's shown us what was on our tongues and he's going now to the

deeper issue. And remember, when James talks about wisdom, he isn't merely talking about knowledge,

about things that you might know. He is talking about something practical. He's talking about

an approach to life that you take. And what we see this morning is that he distinguishes between

two types of wisdom. One, verse 15, that he says is from above, the good stuff that comes from God,

or the alternative, verse 16, that is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. James' way of saying it's

from the world, the flesh, the tongue is an indicator that reveals which one of these approaches to life

that someone takes. In fact, it's not simply the tongue. It's not just our words. It's not just our

speech. But James connects this to what he's already said in the letter about how someone's whole life

reveals their heart and the kind of wisdom that shapes their life. Do you see that? Verse 13 again,

by his good conduct, let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. Verse 16, where jealousy and

selfish ambition exist, those are conditions of the heart, jealousy, selfish ambition, there will be

a life that flows from that, and the life is one of disorder and every vile practice, James says.

So, this morning, what's happening is we're being invited to go beyond our tongues and look at our

lives and see what they tell us about the kind of wisdom we're allowing to shape and form us. The wisdom

that is informing the way that we live our lives. And James describes these two approaches to life, and as

he does so, I want to suggest that each one of them reveals, I want to suggest what each one of them

reveals about how we view God and how we view the world. You see, you can look at the approach to life

that you take, and it reveals something about how you view God and how you see the world around you.

And that's what I want to do. So, here's our first point this morning. Let's look at earthly wisdom.

This is a mindset. This comes from a mindset that says, God is there, and life is a contest.

God is there, and life is a contest. Verses 14 to 16. 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 practice. So, this person's heart is captivated by bitter

jealousy, envy, and selfish ambition, which creates in turn disorder, conflict, and what James describes

as every vile practice, which I take to be the behavior that we've heard James expose and rebuke in

the letter up to now. So, anger and division and political manipulation and cozying up to influential

people in the church, hoping that you might benefit, ignoring the needy. That's what he means by every

vile practice. This person's heart, and therefore their lives, are like this because while they might

think that God is there, they haven't rejected God completely. They think that he is there. They don't like

where he has put them. Of course, this group are scattered, and they're persecuted, and life is

difficult, and many of them have lost everything, and they are bitter about that. They've lost confidence

in the fact that God is meaningfully engaged in this situation, and he is so for their good.

So, when you lose sight of God in that way, life becomes a contest. It has to. You have to push ahead.

You have to do better than other people. God helps those who help themselves after all.

So, we do what we can to get ahead and to be in control, and they use their tongues, verse 10,

to tear other people down. They curse rather than bless. It's also possible in the context here,

chapter 3, verse 1, that this group, or people that are like this, are ambitious to lead this

scattered church. They would do a much better job in these difficult circumstances than this

bunch of jokers. So, they're pushing themselves forward. God is there, but life's a contest.

You think about it, there's a logic to this, and I guess that's why James calls it a kind of wisdom.

And, of course, it's certainly seen in the way, in this way in our culture today, isn't it? Don't we

celebrate those who go and get it? You deserve the best. Make it happen. No one's going to hand it to

you. You've got to tough it up and get on and make life for yourself. And when things get tough,

we're told, well, you've got to go and fight for what you want. But look at what that does to your

character. Look what that approach to life does to your character. Jealousy, envy, it's such a toxic

thing. When you see others succeed, when they get the promotion or the pay rise or the thing that you

want, and that thing that you want, it could actually be anything. When that happens, it eats you up.

You can't enjoy their success. Of course you can't. You can't even think of their name without your body

heating up with anger. You actually hate them, and you want them to suffer.

Look at what that does to you internally. There are people around you who, when you see them,

your heart is so taken up with envy that they steal your joy. There's an old story about two men.

One was envious. The other was covetous. And they're both granted a wish with the proviso that the one

who chose first would get exactly what he asked for, while the other man would get twice what the first

man had asked for himself. The envious man was told to choose first. Well, that's going to cause him

great stress, isn't it? Because he wants to ask for something great for himself, but he realizes that

this would lead to the other man getting more. He thought for a while, and he asked to have one of his

eyes poked out. That's exactly what envy does to us. We would rather suffer than have someone else thrive.

This is why selfish ambition comes up here as well. We push ourselves forward in order to beat others,

in order to win. We've got to win all the time. Well, if that's the way you live your life,

inevitably it leads to disorder, conflict with others. As long as those kinds of people don't

get what they want or think they deserve, there is a nastiness that grows. That competitive spirit

will do anything to get ahead. So they treat people badly, especially those that they particularly envy.

Jealousy, envy expresses itself in a host of really unpleasant ways. A driveness to succeed,

boasting when you're winning, criticizing when you're not winning, complete misery when things don't go

well, joy at others' failure, and just a profound sadness when things don't go exactly as you want

them to. That sadness can sometimes work its way out in anger. We see it in our culture all the time

now. When other people don't have what you want, we insist that the state should do something to

give us what they have so that we can have what they have.

When you see life as a contest or like a zero-sum game, that is, for someone else to have more

inevitably means less for you, you can't but be jealous.

And that is why James identifies the source as earthly, unspiritual, demonic.

James is saying here again in his characteristic direct style, he's saying,

if your heart is captivated by envy in this way, the roots of that come straight from the demons of hell.

Because the reason for this approach is born out of a failure to see God as he really is.

It adopts an approach to life that fails to grasp how God really treats us.

Of course, there is a better way, isn't there?

Earthly wisdom, God is there, life is a contest.

A much better way, secondly, is that we live according to heavenly wisdom,

which sees God is good and life is gift.

God is good, life is gift.

Look at verse 17,

Describing this wisdom, it's a beautiful picture, isn't it?

Qualities that we hear them read out and we think,

I just wish there was more of that in my heart.

But when we discover that this wisdom is from above,

it's very obvious that it's then not something we can work up ourselves.

We can try and create in our own strength.

It is given by God.

It is another one of the good and perfect gifts that come down to us.

Chapter 1, verse 17, from the Father of lights.

Every good gift comes to us from His hand.

And we receive wisdom by acknowledging that God is God.

And we humble ourselves to ask for it.

This beautiful list of qualities in verse 17 mark the life of the wise person

because fundamentally they know that this is God's world

and they trust their lives to Him in faith.

They see that they don't have any claim on God.

He can do what He wants.

That is completely up to Him.

We have no claim on Him.

We don't, He doesn't owe us anything.

We can't twist His arm up His back to get things from Him.

These people don't assert any sense of rights.

Rather, they're grateful.

People who live according to heavenly wisdom are grateful that we get to be here.

We get to play in the game of life.

Of the billions of people who could have been born but weren't,

we get to go on the roller coaster.

We get to go up and we get to go down.

We get to scream in terror and we get to cheer with delight.

We get to play.

Life is a gift.

When you know that God is good and He gives it all as gift,

your life displays this good conduct.

Verse 13.

What this looks like then is fleshed out.

Verse 17.

The wisdom from above is first pure.

Pure.

Heavenly wisdom creates a moral purity in our lives.

Those who have been cleansed by Christ's blood

have received His purity and live lives of purity as a result.

I think that James is more interested here in the devotional purity

that flows from heavenly wisdom.

Remember, this is one of the big targets in the letter,

the double-mindedness in these Christians.

And he's reminding them that heavenly wisdom is single-minded

about the things of God.

We don't bow the knee to God

and then bow the knee to other things as well.

We don't gather today and worship God

and then leave and give ourselves

to the invented gods all around us.

We don't come to church and lift our voices

to the living, one true and living God

and then leave here Monday morning,

get back into it with the gods of status

and cultural acceptance

and the gods that allow you to be yourself

and free yourself and express yourself.

No, our religion, our devotion, our worship

is pure.

And why wouldn't it be?

If God is good and life is gift,

there's no need to look anywhere else for the good life.

Why would we give ourselves to those other things

hoping that they will deliver

what the seedier corners of our heart want

when in actual fact,

we're giving ourselves to the God who is good

and who gives us all that we have

from His hand as a gift.

Peaceable.

Peaceable.

When you've received peace with Christ

as a gift,

again, not because you've earned it,

you have all the resources that you need

to live out the peace of Christ towards others.

If you believe that God is good

and that He holds you in His hands,

if you believe that He is trustworthy,

you don't need to make sure

that everything goes your way.

You don't need to be in the contest

to get ahead of that other person.

The thing that causes so much of our conflict

is a need to have things our way

and to be better than other people.

A need to prove yourself as the winner.

Being peaceable doesn't mean

that you don't stand up for what is right.

Caring for the weak in society

will involve a fight.

Pursuing justice where clear wrongs

have been committed the same.

We get our hands dirty

and we go into battle, as it were,

in those cases.

But at a personal level,

heavenly wisdom releases you

from the things that cause conflict.

To verse 18,

be a peacemaker.

Make peace with others where possible.

Remember, again,

what Jesus taught us.

Remember the words

that James is simply drawing

his hearer's attention back to.

Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called sons of God.

It is peacemakers, verse 18,

that sow in peace

and reap a harvest of righteousness.

I'll say more on that in a minute.

Amen.

Peaceable.

This then also works out

in gentleness or verse 13,

meekness.

When you know the Lord Jesus,

the one who is gentle

and lowly of heart

and that he has met you in your sin

and that he has redeemed you

from that sin.

And by the way,

you know that he doesn't

just do this once.

The Lord Jesus doesn't just meet you

in your sin once.

We can think that he was gentle

and gracious to us

when we first came to Christ.

We can talk about it in the past

and say, yes,

the Lord was merciful to me.

I was a sinner running away from him.

I was living my life on my terms

and he met me in my sin

and he saved me.

He was gracious to me.

He forgave my sin.

But we think now,

when we sin,

Jesus shakes his head.

Up in heaven,

he's shaking his head

and he's kind of sucking his teeth.

Not again.

He's in heaven taking deep breaths.

I think lots of us think about

the Lord Jesus like that.

We think that,

we think that,

yes, he saved us

by his grace that first time,

but he's kind of really fed up

with us now.

And because he keeps his promise,

that promise that he made

that he would never leave us

or forsake us,

he's keeping his word

through gritted teeth,

if not at all.

The Lord Jesus meets our repentance

with gentleness and grace

every single time.

When that reality hits your heart,

when the magnitude of this gift

actually lands with you,

when you feel it in the depths

of who you are,

you treat others the same way.

You can't but be kind

and make allowances for people.

You make allowances

for their weaknesses,

for their failings,

for their stupidity.

You say,

oh, that doesn't sound very nice.

That's not very kind.

No, let's be honest.

People can do stupid things.

Being kind isn't about

pretending that stupidity

isn't stupid.

But it means that you overlook it.

It means that you forgive it.

It means that you move on

without resentment.

You are gentle

rather than harsh.

Gentleness.

Open to reason

is next in there.

Heavenly wisdom is seen

in the person

who is open to reason.

They're teachable.

Literally, it is

they are persuadable.

The person who will admit it

when they're wrong.

They know that they're not God

and so they can change their mind.

They can admit fault.

They can say sorry.

They can be okay

when they're not right.

In their marriage,

with their children,

in church life,

in their relationships.

I'm sorry.

I was wrong.

Oh, I hadn't seen that before.

I didn't understand that.

You're right.

Let me ask you.

How hard do you find it

to change your mind?

Or to have your mind

changed by someone else?

How hard do you find this

as a measure

of how heavenly wise you are?

If God is good

and life is gift,

you recognize

that he puts other people

in the world

to teach you

and to correct you

and even give you

more wisdom

than you have today.

An openness

to your own finitude

and your own weakness

is essential

if you're going to discover

or grow in the wisdom

that God gives

because it requires you

being open

to having your mind

changed about him

and how he wants you to live.

Can God's word

correct you?

I ask you,

even those of you

who have been Christians

for a long time,

will you let the Bible

change how you think

and act?

Persuadable

and then full of mercy

and good fruit.

Those who have received mercy

are merciful to others.

A good way to think

of this quality

is that mercy

is compassion

in action.

Compassion in action.

It sees a need,

it feels sympathy

or pity

and it acts on it.

Mercy moves towards

those in need

like widows and orphans,

127.

Those who have no protection

under law,

those who suffer

and no one seems to care.

Heavenly wisdom

is seen when you move

towards people like that.

God is good.

And in doing so then,

it expresses the impartiality

that James mentions next.

Wisdom from heaven

is consistent

in the way that it treats people.

Rich and poor,

just the same,

completely impartial

because heavenly wisdom

recognizes

that we're all equal

at the foot of the cross.

In the life of the church,

we are all equal

at the foot of the cross

and that is why

we can be impartial.

God is good.

Life is gift.

It's not a contest.

And then finally,

James says,

wisdom from above

is sincere.

It's genuine.

What you see

is what you get.

You're the same person

behind closed doors

as when you're with others.

You're the same person

online

as you are

in the real world.

Your social media

reflects who you really are

and shows what you

actually look like.

Sincere.

Heavenly wisdom

has no hint

of hypocrisy.

It demands

the sincerity

and the consistency

of Christ.

And in the context

of this letter,

it is the antidote

to the problems

that James has been addressing.

Who is really wise

and understanding

among you?

He's asking this group

and he's saying,

I've looked at your tongue.

These are the problems

I see underlying your tongue

and I've seen it

in your behavior.

And what you need

is heavenly wisdom.

When you boil it down,

the wisdom from above

looks like,

chapter 1,

verse 19,

a bridled tongue.

It looks like

care for the poor

and needy

brothers and sisters

who are suffering,

127.

It looks like

refusing to show

partiality,

hoping that you will

benefit in some way,

2, 1 to 7.

It is seen in courageous

and costly decisions

for the sake of obedience

to God,

2, 24.

And it sounds like

using your words

to bless

and encourage

and build up

and not curse

even when things

are tough,

3, verse 10.

Here's the thing.

James closes out

this chapter

with a reference

to sowing

and to harvest.

Do you see that,

verse 18?

And a harvest

of righteousness

is sown

in peace

by those who make peace.

And he's saying,

if you sow

into the ground

the sort of life

that he describes here

as marked

by heavenly wisdom,

you can look forward

to a harvest

of righteousness.

Do you know

that your life

could really count

for something?

You have the ability

to change things

for the better,

to leave this place

in a better state

than you found it,

to live a life

that makes a difference.

Is this on YouTube?

I could get sponsors

for this kind of message.

This kind of message sells.

You know

that your life

could really count

for something.

Click here.

But it's true.

Your life

can leave

a legacy for good

in the world.

That's what James

is saying.

That surprises us.

We know that there are

a few special people

out there in the world,

don't we?

Like that chap

Nicholas Winton,

the subject of the

recent Anthony Hopkins

film,

One Life.

A remarkable man

who rescued

more than 600 children

from the Nazis.

We know that there are

a few of those

out there.

amazing people

who do amazing things

and leave a legacy.

But we ask ourselves,

is that possible

for ordinary folk,

just regular people

like you and me?

Can I do that?

Look at verse 18.

James talks about

the life that produces

a harvest of righteousness.

That is a life

that leaves behind

a legacy of goodness

and truth and beauty.

A life that when

it's effected

or gathered up

has made a difference

to the people around whom

and the place in which

it was lived.

But for a harvest

to be reaped,

there first needs

to be a sowing.

Something needs

to be planted

if there's going

to be fruit.

So,

we sow

in peace,

James says,

this life

of heavenly wisdom.

And if we do that,

we can look forward

to the harvest.

harvest.

And of course,

we do this in hope

because,

like any harvest,

the bit at the beginning

and the middle

doesn't often look

like very much.

while life marked

by this wisdom

and these qualities

doesn't always appear

to have much impact

on the world around you,

James assures us here

that while for a long time

there might not be much

to see,

one day then

something sprouts

and then grows

and then comes

the harvest.

And of course,

this is all resting

on the promise

of Jesus

that He will make

all things right.

So,

we must live

by faith.

Wait patiently

while there's little

or nothing to see.

The influence

of our lives

marked by heavenly wisdom

on those around us

and the place

that we live.

But we rely

on the Spirit

to work

rather than take matters

into our own hands.

Rather than to decide

on a different way

of viewing God

and viewing

how we get on in life

and we look forward

to the day

when our peacemaking

will vindicate us

as sons and daughters

of God.

A day when our meekness

will bring in

our inheritance.

A day when our mercy

will return mercy to us.

And when our daily fight

for purity of heart

will open the door

for us

to see God.

So,

this morning

I want to encourage you

to sow the life

of heavenly wisdom

wherever the Lord

has placed you.

And the first step

in that

is making sure

that you think

rightly about God

so you see Him

as a loving Father.

He is good.

He is a loving Father

who has saved you

from your sin

and reconciled you

to Himself

and who looks on you

chapter 1 verse 18

as His first

and His best.

You're His first fruits.

And you see Him

as a generous Father.

A generous Father

who gives you

everything you have.

All of life

is gift.

And He is working

the circumstances

of your life

even the hard bits

for good.

When you see God

this way

He is good

and He is generous.

It will change

how you live

because it will

change your heart.

And you'll choose

the wisdom from above

that shapes

a beautiful life.

So go to God

who is loving

and generous.

Yoke yourself

to Jesus

whose life gave us

the example to follow.

And the harvest

will follow.

Let's pray together.