B. The demonstration of a living faith in the presence of wisdom
1. (James 3:13) Wisdom shows us how to do good works
Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.
James moves his focus to those in the church who try to show their "wisdom" and spiritual maturity simply with impressive words. These are the people who like to make big speeches and talk about wisdom. Yet, when it comes to their action, they are lacking any evidence of spiritual maturity and wisdom.
Demonstrating wisdom through impressive oratory was the common style for both Greek and Jew "wise" men. They equated wisdom with the ability to to expound on weighty matters for hours on end. They engaged in rhetorical arguments and debated with great skill. They twisted the meaning of words and turned them to their advantage. The "wisdom" shown I would equate to a lawyer or politician. They can talk a great talk, but their actions are usually lacking.
Joke Time
There was an old miser who had no friends except his doctor, his pastor and his lawyer. Just before the miser died, he asked these men to gather around him at his bedside. "I have always heard that you cannot take anything with you into the afterlife. But I want to disprove this theory," he said. "I have $90,000 under my mattress, and when I die, just before they throw the dirt on my grave, I want each of you to toss in an envelope with $30,000 into my grave."
The three attended the funeral, and each threw in his envelope in the grave. On the way back from the cemetery, the pastor said, "I must confess. I needed $10,000 for my new church. So, I only threw in $20,000."
The doctor then said, "I must confess too. I needed $20,000 for a new hospital I was opening up. So, I only threw in $10,000." The lawyer looked at them both and shook his head. He then said, "Gentlemen, I am surprised, shocked and ashamed of you. I do not see how you could dare go against this man's final wish. I will have you know that I threw in my personal check for the full amount!"
Who among you is wise and understanding: James asks the church a simple question. One which should be easy to answer.
Reflecting back to how James opened the chapter, he said we should not press ourselves into a teaching role. When we do, we risk a harsh judgment if our tongue convicts us in the course of leading and teaching wrongly. A teacher's role is ultimately one of conveying godly wisdom through words, and then backing up those words through godly living. We must be able to live up to both standards. What we say must be godly and how we live our lives must also be godly in nature.
The Greek words for wise and understanding are important to understanding the meaning of James's words. The word for wise means to have moral insight or to discern issues of moral conduct. It is to know right from wrong and to make judgments about what God considers proper. Understanding means having an expertise in something such as having an intellectual knowledge.
Rewording the opening of verse 13, James is asking, "You think you can be a teacher or leader and speak for what God says concerning right and wrong? You think you are an expert in righteousness and godliness?"
To this question, James provides the challenge.
Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom: There are two parts to James's command. First, you do not practice wisdom and understanding through words alone. You cannot just talk the talk. You must show your behavior through your action. It is the same theme again. Wisdom (like faith) is not a concept; it is a way of life. It requires action.
The Christians during James's life were still trapped in the Pharisaical pattern of giving others the lectures on holiness; however, they failed to practice it themselves.
"Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying, 'The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore, all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them.'" (Matthew 23:1-3)
So, James says talking about matters of righteousness and godliness is not the same as being godly or righteous. If we think we are wise in these matters, but we cannot bring ourselves to actually living righteously and producing good deeds and behaviors, then we are fooling ourselves. We become just like the Pharisees.
Secondly, James commandment requires that we perform these deeds in gentleness and wisdom. The term in Greek means humility with a sense of submitting to God, Who is the source of all godly wisdom. Here again, true godly wisdom lived out is never prideful or arrogant. It is not self-serving, rude or critical. It is gentle, loving and humble. It reflects the fact that our godliness was not a product of ourselves. we did not figure anything out or create anything ourselves. We arrived at our station in life by God's grace.
We are saved by God's grace and sanctified by His grace. In obedience, we must submit to His Spirit and demonstrate wisdom through submission to His will.
This opening verse sets the positive example for wisdom. James uses the rest of the chapter to explore the opposite problem.
2. (James 3:14-16) The character of earthly wisdom
But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but it earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.
But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart: In the early church, the leadership had been seeking for teaching and leadership positions out of selfish ambition. Of course, this kind of thing is also present in churches today. When people seek for leadership and/or teaching positions out of selfish ambition, they inevitably become competitors in a race for recognition. This leads to bitter jealousies. It leads to alliances and various kinds of evil. James alludes to this kind of rancor and disunity in the second part of verse 14.
Do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth: Arrogance is the inevitable result of selfish ambition and jealousies. We can easily imagine various men and perhaps even women seeking positions for themselves in the church leadership.
(Biblical leadership always includes the expectation that the leaders are also teachers of God's Word.
"For the overseer must be above reproach as God's steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain, but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, just, devout, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sounds doctrine and to refute those who contradict" (Titus 1:7-9).)
These ambitious people began to compete with one another for who was the wisest in their knowledge of Scripture. They engaged in rhetorical debates probably concerning Torah or prophecies concerning Jesus. As one might gain an advantage over another, bitter jealousies developed. Men harbored anger and hatred against one another. Factions and divisions developed, one against another, each supporting their own leadership candidate or teacher.
For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing: The source of this ungodly degeneration within the church began with ungodly speech, driven by selfish ambition and arrogance. It leads eventually to the disintegration of the church body.
James points out that this kind of wisdom is not from above. He uses the word wisdom in an ironic sense. It is the kind of thinking that has a demonic source. James is not suggesting that we are supposed to blame Satan directly for all these behaviors. It is not "The devil made me do it!" Rather, this kind of discord and evil traces back to the sin of Satan in the Throne Room and flows through the sin of Adam in the Garden of Eden to us today. We are acting in the way which finds its origins in the sin of Satan's pride.
When we say we want to serve God through a teaching role, and then we seek that role out of selfish ambition and arrogance, we are not acting in a godly way. We are actually acting in a satanic way, in that we are acting in sin. We lie against the truth.
How do we lie against the truth? We may be speaking the truth with our mouths (the truth of the Gospel), but by our sinful arrogance and selfishness, we tear down the Gospel by our actions. We are talking correctly, but our actions reveal we are not acting according to the Gospel.
This has great determent to unbelievers. They hear our words, and then they see our sinful actions. They make the obvious conclusion. Christians are merely hearers of the words but not doers of the word. The unbeliever may fail to believe our message because our actions declare it to be a lie.
3. (James 3:17-18) The character of heavenly wisdom
But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteous is sown in peace by those who make peace.
But the wisdom from above: James states that true godly wisdom, which comes from above, yields a different set of behaviors.
Pure: First, godly wisdom is uncontaminated by fleshly, sinful desires and ambitions. If we feel a calling to teach God's people and lead in that capacity, we can know it is a godly calling by testing our ambitions. Are we excited to teach a class of three and a class of three hundred? Are we fulfilled by understanding God's truth accurately and sharing it with one person? Do we need a large crowd to feel important? Do we feel jealousy when another teacher finds something in Scripture we did not find ourselves? Are we ever tempted to claim another's teaching as our own? Can we change our mind about what we believe when God brings us a better interpretation through another teacher? Do we have a teachable heart as we strive to teach others?
Godly wisdom from above will always come with a purity of spirit that removes our personal ambition and makes God's glory and His Word the focus.
Peaceable, gentle, reasonable: Our speech as we teach should not be pushy; it should not be arrogant, defensive, angry or confrontational. Rather, it should be full of mercy and good fruits. A teacher who speaks with the wisdom from above speaks from a perspective of God's mercy and grace. The fruit of his teaching will be the ultimate measure of where his wisdom originates from.
To discover where a teacher's wisdom comes from, one must examine the following:
Look first at the life of the teacher. Has the teacher lead a godly life in his own walk? Is the teacher the kind of man he calls others to be based on Scripture? Is his home life a godly, peaceful home? Are his children respectful and obedient?
The Bible gives us these tests because they tell us whether a man's teaching is rooted in the wisdom given from above or a false wisdom that originates from a selfish, fleshly source.
I have met many people who aspire to teach the Bible and want their time in the spotlight. In many cases, they have a strong knowledge of Scripture. But, they are not operating in the Spirit. They display a kind of prideful, ambitiousness that speaks louder than their words. It is reflected in the personal life and personality.
Unwavering: James says a teacher operating with wisdom from above will remain unwavering in the presentation of the truth. Unwavering refers to teaching without prejudice or partiality. The teacher does not waver in his presentation of the truth simply because his audience is different and may not like what Scripture says.
Unwavering is different than being unteachable. I can be unwavering and yet remain teachable so long as my changing views are informed from Scripture and are not an external viewpoint, trend or fad. So long as my motive remains speaking the truth and not pleasing my audience, I remain unwavering.
It takes a strong, mature Christian to admit that they have been wrong in understanding an area of Scripture he previously felt was settled as fact. It also requires a strong, mature teacher to present the honest truth in the face of a hostile audience. This is especially hard for a teacher that looks to an audience for his financial support such as a pastor. A teacher cannot be approved by the world of the carnal members of his audience; otherwise, he will begin to waver.
The seed whose fruit is sown in peace: James then says to look at the fruit of the teacher's ministry as a whole. When they teach, are lives changed? Are men and women brought to faith? Are families and marriages restored? Are hearts strengthened to serve the LORD? Or does the teaching bring discord, factions, disputes or hostility?
James continues his idea in the first part of Chapter 4, where James raises concern over how our faith is tested by our temptation to seek the world's acceptance.
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