If we are honest, the church can be a source of great joy, and it can be a source of great pain. Perhaps in your own life, you’ve known each of these. You may be able to think about days when going to church was like taking a scab off a fresh wound and exposing yourself to pain anew. It was a place of quarreling and fighting and maybe even the kind of bitter contentions that it’s rare to see in the world. It is oftentimes what people have seen in the church that makes individuals want to distance themselves from the faith. Cities are filled with multiple churches sometimes not to reflect some church-planting atmosphere but simply because there have been church splits. This group couldn’t get along with that group, and so they just went and did their own thing.
There are pastors who feel like the congregation is out to get them, and they are right. And there are congregations that feel that the pastor delights in holding legalistic demands over them, that he longs to be exalted, and cares more for his image than the sheep, and there are examples where this is right as well. Perhaps this is why the reports citing the average stay of a pastor at a church in the Southern Baptist Convention ranges only from one and a half to four years. The parting of ways becomes the desire of the people and the pastor.
Yet, the church can also be a source of one of our greatest joys. I hope you’ve known this as well. In fact, I hope that the members of this church think this very thing about this church right now. The church can be a community of people that you love, long to see, and couldn’t imagine your life without. They are those whom you are not content merely to see on Sundays or Wednesdays but spend others days with as well. They are not simply your fellow church members but the people with whom you live your life, your friends, those whom you love, and those with whom you gladly link arms as we walk toward the Celestial City. And I want you to know that this is my thought about you all. I have never known community like this. When praying for you all, it is not like an employee fulfilling his job requirements but it is driven by love.
I met with an accountant a few years ago and asked him, “Do I report as income if a church member just wanted to give me a gift?” He asked me, “Well, ask yourself if this is a member who is a close friend or simply someone whom you pastor.” And, I said, “But they’re all my friends. I would gladly invite them into my home to eat just as you would your friends. But I also get to labor as their pastor. So I really have trouble with the distinction here.” And I’m not saying that so that you might think much of me. That’s not how it works, is it? If someone says they like you, that is not them making much of themselves but much of you. That’s why when you tell another that you really like someone they don’t say, “Well, aren’t you great.” They usually say something good about that person, right? Well, in my hopes to speak well of you, I want you all to know my delight in you and affection for you. If I weren’t a pastor here, I would still want to be a member of this church. I would be a hard person to be rid of.
And, I may be deceived, but I don’t think this feeling of strong affection is unique with me. I think I feel for you what each member feels for this community of saints. I know it is true of a number of you because you’ve told me about how much you love these people. You miss a Sunday because you’re sick or out of town and you talk about how you feel like you’ve been away from your family, miss them, and desperately long to see them again. Last summer, as we could not meet on Wednesday nights, a number of you talked about how it felt like forever until you got to see your brothers and sisters again. What a blessing we’ve known by God’s grace as he has drawn us so close together!
But just as I want us to celebrate this and thank God for this, so I want us to realize that we are more fragile than we think we are. We can become like that picture of the church that we began describing this morning, which is more of a reminder of pain than joy. And it won’t happen because one of the pastors moves away and the stability of the church crumbles. This church is not so dependent on any man or men that you couldn’t send them away for two years and prosper – hypothetically speaking, of course! It won’t happen, necessarily, because we grab on to some heretical teaching, though that could no doubt wreak havoc in the church. According to James, that which produces disorder, division, and destruction in the church is a people who allow their lives to be shaped by a wisdom from below which is earthly, spiritual, and demonic, instead of a wisdom which is from God. That is, there is a so-called “wisdom” that can shape how we think and live that can turn this church into a place of bitterness, division, and pain, and destroy us. It is a threat to every single one of us. Therefore, just as last week, this is a text that addresses all of us. It is a text to which every one of us will no doubt respond by acknowledging that we’ve been that way or perhaps are now.
So, to paint a picture this morning of what I hope will happen, I hope each of us will open our hearts to the Lord’s wounding and shaping. Some of this text is painful when we realize that some of the thoughts of our hearts are nothing short of demonic and a threat to the peace and health of this community of believers. But some of this text holds up for us a beautiful picture of heavenly wisdom that will provide for us a portrait of what each of us so desperately wants to be. So, let’s expose our hearts to the text this morning, even as it wounds us and as it entices us through a beautiful picture of godliness. James provides for us in this text a picture of wisdom from below and a picture of wisdom from above, or, we might say the kind of wisdom that will make the church disgusting and destroy it and the kind of wisdom that will create and nurture the health of the church, making it a community that we deeply treasure and love.
James starts out by setting their minds to consider what wisdom looks like by asking, “Who is wise and understanding among you?” (v. 1a). Now, my guess is that a great number would have answered, “I am.” That seems to be one of the issues that James is confronting in this congregation. So, James charges them along the same lines as he did concerning genuine faith earlier. That is, he charges them to prove that they have wisdom by the way they live, writing, “By his good conduct, let him show his good works in the meekness of wisdom” (v. 1b). So, I want to come back to this note of good works in the meekness or humility of wisdom, but I first want to consider this picture of wisdom from below that James provides for us in verses 14-16 and then in 4:1-2. So, first, let’s consider how worldly wisdom manifests itself. Let’s look at a portrait of worldly wisdom.
After mentioning the humility or meekness of wisdom in verse 13, James writes, “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth” (v. 14). James wants them to know that worldly wisdom is driven by bitter jealousy and selfish ambition.
Now, there is truth to the fact that everyone would no doubt love to be considered wise. I would think one of the highest compliments that we could give someone or be given by someone is to be considered wise. It is something that we should long for. If we were a church full of wise people, it would be for our good. But, not everyone who claims to be wise is truly wise and not everything the world points to as wisdom is truly wisdom. So, how do we know what wisdom really looks like? James tells us, “Look at how someone lives.” True wisdom manifests itself in one’s character, how he or she lives.
So, he tells us that if someone claims to be wise and yet is driven by bitter jealousy and selfish ambition, they are actually lying about the truth. James tells that person, “Do not boast.” That is, don’t draw attention to yourself, for you are lying about the truth.
This is why, for example, it is so damaging to the Christian witness when someone who claims to be a believer walks in unrepentant sin. So, for example, the lady who decides she’s going to leave her family for another man so that her husband and children are left behind and yet wants to continue to claim Christ does great damage. Besides the pain she causes her husband and children, she spreads a false message. She, as James says, “is false to the truth.” And it’s only compounded when the church sits silent and does not confront her.
Imagine, for example, a young girl who knows the children of such a family. Perhaps they are members of the same church together. They see this lady leave her family, say something like, “I believe God wants me to be happy,” and the church sits idly by. If nothing is said to that little girl, then she observes this and may eventually conclude, “I want nothing to do with the Christian faith because the church may talk about love for God and neighbor and holiness, but it’s all a sham.” And if you come to that girl after she’s grown up and try to share the gospel with her, she might respond, “I don’t want to hear it. I know it. I grew among people who proclaimed this, and it’s a joke. So leave me alone.”
What’s happened in that case is that she was given a picture that was false to the truth. And we’ve all known people like this, haven’t we? It’s devastating. Well, James tells us that true wisdom is not driven by bitter jealousy and selfish ambition. If we want to point to someone who is wise, we need to make sure that we’re not pointing to someone driven by envy and selfish ambition. And isn’t this message painful?
It pains me to consider this epitaph on my life, “Yeah, he did a number of things in his ministry, but he is no example of wisdom because what drove him was jealousy and selfish ambition. He worked hard to preach well but it’s because he wanted people to be impressed with him. He spent much of his time looking around and envying those who had success around him. Even his care for people was driven by a desire that they might think well of him.” Doesn’t that thought make you want to go home and pray, “God, whatever it takes, kill any bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in my heart.”
James says that the kind of wisdom that is driven by bitter jealousy and selfish ambition is not that wisdom which comes from God. He writes, “This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic” (v. 15). If a man is exalted for his wisdom and yet is driven by jealousy and selfish ambition, we’ve actually exalted a wisdom that is of this world, that is not spiritual, and that is demonic in its nature. This is the same kind of wisdom that is seen in the world that exalts itself against God. And where this kind of wisdom runs rampant, there will be all kinds of disorder and evil in the church. James writes, “For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice” (16).
Men in positions of leadership have destroyed churches because they only have a wisdom from below. But how did they get in those positions of leadership, then? Perhaps it’s because the church perceived wisdom in them, but it wasn’t the wisdom from above but a wisdom that is earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. It was the kind of wisdom that inevitably wreaks havoc in the church, leading to disorder and every vile practice. The end of this kind of wisdom is fights and quarrels that if left unchecked would result in murder.
James notes in 4:1-2a, “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel.” When earthly, unspiritual, demonic wisdom becomes the norm in the church, it leads to fights and quarrels.
So, this should be terrifying to us. Our reaction should be, “God forbid.” My prayer should be, “God, if I would ever lead your people while being full of worldly wisdom driven by bitter jealousy and false ambition, then remove me before I would ever destroy your church.” I’ve often thought, “I need people in my life who’ll tell me when my mind stops working as well. After all, that’s most likely going to happen in my life. But more than that, is the threat of being gripped by selfish ambition and envy that leads to me modeling a worldly wisdom when all seems fine. And if I model that in my life, there will be disorder and every vile practice in this church. If we model that, it will result in unrighteousness all around. That is frightening, and each of us needs to battle that.
But, if that has left us all wounded, and longing to ask God to remove any of that from us, I want to end with a more positive picture. As if the first picture of worldly wisdom kind of tore into us, let’s let this last picture of godly wisdom provide a beautiful picture that we can long for and be shaped by.
James doesn’t just describe worldly wisdom, but he goes on to describe wisdom from above, or godly wisdom. He writes, “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere” (v. 17). James says that true wisdom is also shown in one’s character. So, if we want true wisdom, here’s what it looks like. It is first pure, meaning that there is a moral holiness. True wisdom means that we do not involve ourselves in immorality. True wisdom is also peaceable. The person who has true wisdom loves peace. He’s not always trying to stir up but trying to make peace. Third, this person is gentle, considerate of others.
It’s easier to see these things in our children, isn’t it? There have been numerous times when I’ve asked my kids questions only to think, “That’s a good question for me.” Why are you more willing to speak to your brother or sister in an ugly way than you are to willing to be gentle with them and considerate of them? Well, if we’re driven by selfish ambition and jealousy, we’re not so much concerned about others, are we? We’re concerned about ourselves. We want ourselves to look good and succeed and get want we want. But the person who is driven by the meekness or humility of true wisdom is able to be gentle and considerate.
And, though we’ve only gone through three qualities – purity, peaceable, and gentle – aren’t you already drawn to this person? Have you met people like this that you say, “I really want good for them.” They don’t provoke in you jealousy or bitterness, but you actually long for their success and their good. Those kinds of people are characterized by purity, they are peacemakers, and they are gentle. And not only does it draw you to love them and exalt them, their character effectively begins shaping you. Could you imagine a church full of people like this? But we’re only halfway through the list.
Godly wisdom is also open to reason, that is literally easy to persuade, submissive, or teachable. This is the kind of person who is not combative or untrusting. Should you tell them a story, their first response is not going to be, “That’s not true.” When they are taught, they are not programmed to try to find something wrong and pounce on it. They are submissive and teachable, easy to persuade. It does not mean they are gullible, for godly wisdom is willing to take a hard stand on truth, but their first response is to trust their brothers, and they are teachable. Again, this is the kind of person you want to exalt, isn’t it?
Godly wisdom is also full of mercy and good fruits. Now, James has already told us that true mercy is manifested in action of love. So, this person is quick to see a need, want to meet it, and act on it. This is the kind of person who finds it difficult to turn a blind eye to his neighbor. He delights in forgiving and lavishing grace on others. And, finally, godly wisdom is impartial and sincere, that is, they’re not hypocritical but real, and not looking to play favorites. With one who has godly wisdom, what you see is real. They’re not playing a part. They don’t act one way to you just because they want something from you. They are impartial and sincere.
I remember Russ Moore telling a story about a man who was growing impatient with his wife as they were getting ready to leave their hotel. Finally, he saw feet walking down the stairs and yelled at her, “It’s about time …” and was read to say degrading things when he saw it was actually another woman. Therefore, he changed his tone and said, “Pardon me, Madam, I hope you have a lovely day” (or something to that effect). That is insincerity. He is merely playing a part. Godly wisdom is sincere.
And this kind of person is who we all need to be. It is what I pray for. I want to hold up that person in my mind and say, “God make me like that.” I want to hold up Christ in my mind and say, “God conform me to his character.” Because you know the result of that? James says that this person will produce a harvest of righteousness. He writes in verse 18, “And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” That is, these kinds of people who live this way and are characterized by godly wisdom will produce an atmosphere where works of godliness and conduct that is honoring to our Lord grows and flourishes.
That is attractive to me. I want my life to be the kind of life that reflects godly wisdom and leads to a harvest of righteousness. I want all of us to be that way. I want our children to come to faith in Christ and treasure him because they see godly wisdom all around. And when the world pulls at them, they cannot pull their hearts away from the attractive picture they’ve seen in our lives.
So, this morning, let’s repent and pray that God will keep us from ungodly wisdom and will shape us according to godly wisdom. Let us keep these characteristics at the front of our minds and meditate on them so that we may be shaped by them.
But there’s one final thing I want to note. God delights in giving to us godly wisdom if we ask him.
James ends our section, writing, “You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions” (2b-3). There is a warning here, if you ask God to give you wisdom because you are full of envy and selfish ambition and want people to exalt you, then God will withhold it from you. James tells them that they ask and do not receive because they want to spend it on their own passions. But right before that, he told them that they do not have wisdom because they do not ask for it.
Now, what that means is this: God is willing to give us wisdom. Isn’t this what James already told us in chapter 1? In 1:5, James wrote, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” You see, God is more concerned about the holiness of his church than we are. God wants this church to produce a harvest of righteousness more than we do. In fact, in order to bring about his church and her holiness, God sent his Son into the world to live perfectly, die for our sins, and be raised from the dead so that we might be redeemed and live holy lives. And, Paul reminds us that if God was not even willing to spare his Son for our redemption that he will surely give us all things to accomplish his ultimate purposes in our lives.
So, God is not today saying, “I bet you do want godly wisdom don’t you? Well, we’ll see.” God is willing to give it generously. He does not reproach us for asking for it, but gives it generously. The question we must ask ourselves is if we want the wisdom that the world honors or the wisdom that God honors. Do we want the wisdom from above or the wisdom from below? Because the person who is morally pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere is not necessarily the kind of person exalted in everyday life. But, he is the kind of person whose life sows seeds that produces a harvest of righteousness. So, let us corporately this morning ask repent of our ungodly wisdom and ask God to give us wisdom from above so that this church might grow in being a community of righteousness where the world knows we are Christ’s because of our love for one another. Amen.