The Character of a Real Christian (5)

Good morning, CHURCH!

Welcome to FFM where we love God, and we love people.

Are you ready to be equipped today?

Let me see your Bibles.

Let’s pray.

Let’s go to the book of Matthew 5:9 NKJV for this week’s wisdom Vaccination.

This Week’s Wisdom Vaccination Matthew 5:9 NKJV

Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.

This verse would be understood as not only a blessing but as a call to emulate the values of God by pursuing peace.

Question

Do you pursue peace?

Peacemakers were seen as representing God on earth, embodying divine qualities of compassion, justice, and harmony.

In this way, they actively work to reflect God's intention for a well-ordered, peaceful society.

It seems like in our day and time especially in America, there are more pursuing war than peace.

This idea of pursuing peace will come full circle as I end my message today, so tuck just remember that it is a godly quality that we should all be chasing.

Today I’m continuing a series titled:

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The Character of a Real Christian

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Today’s message title is:

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Earthly Wisdom vs. Heavenly Wisdom

Today I’ll start by reading the full passage in context and then we’ll dive into it, to make sure we get an understanding of what the scriptures were saying to them.

Then we can be confident of what they are saying to us.

James 3:13-18 NKJV

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. 15 This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. 16 For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. 17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. 18 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

So that we can get the depths of the passage, let’s put on our Eastern mindset and turn off our 2024 Western culture individualistic mindset.

James 3:13 NKJV

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom.

James starts off with a rhetorical question.

Who is wise and understanding among you?

Is it the one displaying the earthly wisdom or is it the one displaying the Heavenly wisdom?

Obviously when I phrase the question like this, you’re going to choose the one displaying heavenly wisdom.

After all, we are sitting in a church service.

But the question going through your mind right now should be, what is the difference between earthly and heavenly wisdom?

I’m glad that is the question you have on your mind right now.

The first comment in this letter leads us to understand that:

Wisdom can be seen through our meekness, and it’s on display in our conduct.

Wisdom shown through meekness in our conduct reveals a person’s character and faith.

This wisdom that builds others up.

This wisdom remains humble.

This wisdom maintains peace.

This wisdom sets an example that goes beyond words.

This wisdom aligns with the heart of Jesus’ teachings.

This wisdom is where greatness is found in serving others and showing humility.

During the biblical world, wisdom was highly esteemed and often linked to moral and ethical living.

Wisdom was not just intellectual knowledge like it’s thought of today.

It involved discerning right from wrong and living in harmony with others.

We see wisdom as being about how much you know.

They saw wisdom as a gift granted from above to help humans live in harmony with creation and society.

Wisdom was practical.

Wisdom influenced ethical choices.

Wisdom influenced relationships.

James 3:14-15 NKJV

But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. 15This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic.

We know that in the East, community was essential, and they saw every action as one that impacted the group as a whole and not just individualistic.

Bitter envy and self-seeking or some translations say selfish ambition, would be seen as major disruptions to God’s order within the community.

e.g. If someone in the community gets some praise from the leaders and you feel like you should have been included in that praise, your self-seeking could lead to envy and now you feel some type of way about that person.

Next day you are exposing what you feel are faults within them that people don’t know.

You even expose the leaders saying that they should know who they are praising.

You have now just sown discord amongst the brethren.

Proverbs 6:16 NKJV

These six things the LORD hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him.

Proverbs 6:19 NKJV

A false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren.

They were expected to act in a way that built others up in alignment with the idea of (Shalom) peace.

The Hebrew scriptures associated wisdom with reverence for God, humility and compassion.

The Hebrew concept of wisdom often depicted it as humble and life-giving, not sensual or demonic.

If you’re wisdom leads you to be sensual or demonic it is on the side of folly or wickedness.

It is leading to injustice, strife or chaos which are all destructive to the individual and community.

James 3:16 NKJV

For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.

This verse warns that envy and selfish ambition lead to disorder and evil.

Let’s look into how communities in that time viewed the impact of certain behaviors on their harmony and spiritual health.

I’m about to make a statement that is going to mean so much but if I don’t prerequisite it with this statement, you might not have paid much attention to it.

These cultures generally prioritized the well-being and togetherness of the community over their individual desires.

Looking at envy.

They viewed envy as a kind of social poison, leading to rivalry, jealousy, and even violence.

Envy was seen as a dangerous force that could lead to bitter feuds and revenge cycles, destroying relationships and undermining social harmony or unity.

And let’s not undervalue James’ assertion that:

Envy and self-seeking lead not only to confusion but every evil thing.

James’ warning in verse 16 would have been understood as a call to reject divisive, self-centered behaviors that disrupt the peace of the community.

James is encouraging us to pursue humility, respect, and other cooperative qualities that maintain unity and reflect divine wisdom.

We even see this today with churches against other churches or Pastors against other Pastors.

How can we say we love God and then speak against somebody doing something for God.

James 3:17 NKJV

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.

The wisdom that is from above is of course the heavenly wisdom.

Wisdom that is pure and peaceable keeps the moral integrity that has been set up and ordered by the Lord our God.

The relationship unity over my personal advancement/gain.

What else helps with relational harmony?

Being gentle and willing to yield!

Another way to say being willing to yield is to be open to reason.

If a person exercised these characteristics they were esteemed highly as being trustworthy and respected.

Being full of mercy and good fruits, would be someone who cared for the vulnerable and acted in a way that upheld communal justice.

(Do you fight for those who can’t fight for themselves?)

This is where you see wisdom not being merely about knowledge and skill but about actions that contribute to the community in a way that God designed.

Partiality without hypocrisy was big because in there time disputes were usually settled by elders or wise men.

And fairness along with honesty would have been critical factors for the people to trust your decision making.

Last verse:

James 3:18 NKJV

Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

This verse serves as a great conclusion to the question of earthly wisdom versus heavenly wisdom.

Their communities’ highest values were seen in the display of peace and righteousness.

The responsibility of the wise and righteous leaders would be to foster harmony like a symphony within the community.

This is also what we should foster in our individual families.

This is what we should foster in our individual marriages.

This is what we should foster in our individual relationships.

If you’re watching online or here in the room, I have a very important question to ask you.

What is Holy Spirit saying to you right now?