James 1:5-8 - Testing Sermon Builder

I. Ask God for Wisdom

Wisdom of Man vs. Wisdom of God

Wisdom defined as knowledge applied

Usages in Scripture

James’ definition of wisdom in chapter 3

The Fear of God is the beginning of all wisdom

Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise … There is no fool so great as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.

Charles Spurgeon

This is our wisdom, to be learners to the end.

John Calvin (French Reformer)

It is better to get wisdom than gold. Gold is another’s, wisdom is our own; gold is for the body and time, wisdom for the soul and eternity.

Matthew Henry (Nonconformist Biblical Exegete)

The kind of wisdom that God waits to give to those who ask him is a wisdom that will bind us to himself.

J. I. Packer

Wisdom is not the growth of human genius. It must be sought from above.

John Calvin (French Reformer)

Whether we admit it or not the stroke of death is upon us, and it will be saving wisdom for us to learn to trust not in ourselves but in Him that raiseth the dead.2

A. W. Tozer

Wisdom and goodness to the vile seem vile.

William Shakespeare

The doorstep of the palace of wisdom is a humble sense of ignorance. Barbed Arrows, Page 280

Charles Spurgeon

Surely the essence of wisdom is that before we begin to act at all, or attempt to please God, we should discover what it is that God has to say about the matter.

David Martyn Lloyd-Jones (Welsh Preacher and Writer)

The whole history of the world is discovered to be but a contest between the wisdom of God and the cunning of Satan and fallen men. The outcome of the contest is not in doubt.

A. W. Tozer

… the very power of the cross lies in the fact that it is the wisdom of God and not the wisdom of man.14

A. W. Tozer

One can have knowledge without having wisdom, but one cannot have wisdom without having knowledge.

R. C. Sproul

… the very power of the cross lies in the fact that it is the wisdom of God and not the wisdom of man.14

A. W. Tozer

Wisdom is easy to him that will understand.

Richard Sibbes

The source of knowledge is study; the source of wisdom is discernment. You get your knowledge by studying, but you do not get wisdom that way.

Great Doctrines of the Bible (1), 65

David Martyn Lloyd-Jones (Welsh Preacher and Writer)

First, a word about wisdom. What is it? We must not confuse it with knowledge. Knowledge is information; wisdom is application. Knowledge is comprehending facts; wisdom is handling life. Knowledge is theoretical; wisdom is practical.

Roger Ellsworth

James 1:5–8 ESV

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.