Kinds of Wisdom
Notes
Transcript
Intro: Street Smart vs Book Smart
How to live at peace with God and Others
Some sermons inspire us to go to heaven, but give little help for getting along here below
We have been studying the book of James, which is very practical by nature
Our passages today share insights from heaven for good relationships on earth
So we are going to look at some different kinds of wisdom
Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of 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 is earthly, natural, demonic.
For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.
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 righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
Notice at the beginning, that the author emphasizes “Show me what you claim to have.
He asks the question “Who is wise and understanding among you?
Then he says “let him SHOW IT by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom
Let’s take a look and examine the two kinds of wisdom contrasted in these verses
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 is earthly, natural, demonic.
For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.
The Wisdom from Below Focuses on Self
The Wisdom from Below Focuses on Self
The wisdom from below has a big appetite
Worldly wisdom is all about self- me, myself, and I
It envies what others have
It has a stomach that is never full
and appetite that is never satisfied
Talking about an appetite that is never satisfied, we could look at Solomon.
Bible reading plan?
He definitely had some insight on worldly wisdom.
Seven hundred wives could not satisfy him
Rooms full of gold and silver were not enough
Great projects were useless
Pleasure brought only weariness
The best food left him empty
All that my eyes desired I did not refuse them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor and this was my reward for all my labor.
Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold all was vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun.
Worldly wisdom began in Eden.
It led Adam and Eve to listen to Satan
Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”
The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat;
but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’ ”
The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die!
“For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.
The temptation stuck because They wanted to become like God
Satan’s wisdom sounded good because it promised what they wanted
But the promise was a lie
In the end, they wished they had never tasted the forbidden fruit
They traded paradise for punishment, sorrow, and separation from God
Likewise today, the world’s banners and advertisements make sin and selfishness look attractive
Romans 1:32 (NASB95)
and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.
But many of the rich and famous commit suicide before they reach the age of 40
Let us remember that our main passage is writing to Christians
He is warning believers about the dangers of worldly wisdom,
known for envy and selfish desire
Likewise, Paul warns that those who desire to be rich pierce themselves through with many sorrows
But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.
For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
Let’s face it, alot of problems could be solved by a little bit more money.
We could get a dependable car
have a house that isn’t falling apart
new appliances
We fall into sin when the wants of our life start becoming needs in our minds
Worldly wisdom sounds wise
It pleases our human desires with pretty pictures and enticing words
The worldly wise can even quote Scripture and sound Spiritual.
But like the words of Satan, worldly wisdom deceives
James tells us that it is “earthly,” because it comes from human reason and ability
When the worldly wise speak of heavenly things, they speak with a selfish, human motive.
This wisdom is also “unspiritual”
It is sensual and seductive
appealing to the flesh
In truth, James says, worldly wisdom is “of the devil”
Demons and hell inspire and spread the wisdom from below, always emphasizing more
Let us beware of the big appetite that worldly wisdom promotes
Chronicles of Narnia- Edmund and Turkish Delight
As James warns, having envy and selfish ambition is nothing to brag about
And those with this problem should not deny it
But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth.
What should we do if we find “bitter envy” or “selfish ambition” in our hearts?
We need to recognize and confess the truth
If you find yourself full of yourself, then you must empty yourself out to God in humility.
A restored relationship with God comes through
submitting to God,
Resisting the devil
repenting of sin
and accepting God’s grace
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 righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
The wisdom from above focuses on others
The wisdom from above focuses on others
The first thing our passages today do is expose the characteristics of earthly wisdom
Then it describes the wisdom from above
Wisdom from above is known for eight characteristics
Pure
Peace-loving
Considerate
Submissive
Merciful
Fruitful
Impartial
Sincere
Sincerity is the opposite of hypocrisy
Hypocrite refers to the different masks worn by actors in Greek drama
As each actor usually played several parts, they wore different masks for each character
In time, the word was used for people who lived behind a mask
In other words, their true lives did not match their words
But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.
Our verse says those with heaven’s wisdom are “sincere”
real and honest with God and others
In contrast to those with heaven’s wisdom,James mentions those who slander later in chapter 4
to slander means “to defame, criticize, smear, smudge, tarnish, disgrace, dishonor, belittle, back bite, run down, shred, devalue, shame or judge”
The author goes out of his way to command us not to slander a brother in Christ later in chapter 4
Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it.
There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?
The laws and rules of the Bible are supernatural,
They did not come from earth
Mankind did not create the laws for the kingdom of God
Humans did not invent divine laws
such as love one another
or love your neighbor as yourself
But Rather, the Law of God came down from heaven
The purpose of God’s commands is to show us how to please Him
The book of Romans says that Jesus saved us and freed us from the power of sin
As we walk in the Spirit, and not the flesh, we please God by keeping His laws and commands
For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,
so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
God gave us the Law to enlighten each of us
As we look at God’s laws, we are to search our own hearts and submit to God’s rule and lordship
But God did not give us the Law so we can judge, criticize, or slander others
There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?
The God who gave the Law judges whether or not people obey it
Those who slander and criticize others are attempting to sit on God’s throne and judge others
In contrast, the wisdom of heaven teaches us to search our own hearts, and let God be the Judge of all flesh
Do you see the huge contrast between the eight characteristics of heaven’s wisdom and worldly wisdom
Wisdom from heaven is selfless,
like Jesus who gave His life for others
Earthly wisdom brings destruction and disorder
Heaven’s wisdom brings peace
And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
When people pursue the wisdom from above, they become “peacemakers” instead of dividers
They “sow…peace” with God and others by preaching the gospel and by living the gospel.
They raise “a harvest of righteousness” in their lives, the church, and beyond.
For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
For it is written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
And the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.”
Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.
Ushers distribute the elements
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.
“I am the bread of life.
“Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.
“This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.
“I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.”
Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?”
So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.
“He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
“For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.
“He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.
“As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me.
“This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever.”
These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.
Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?”
But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, “Does this cause you to stumble?
“What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before?
“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.
“But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him.
And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.”
As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.
Bread
The Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said,
“Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
Let us partake together
Cup
In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying,
“This cup is the new covenant in my blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.
Let us partake together
