Living the Good Life: James 3:13-18
Notes
Transcript
MAIN POINT
MAIN POINT
To live the good life, we must grow in godly wisdom.
To live the good life, we must grow in godly wisdom.
INTRODUCTION
What is the best advice you have been given? How has this advice helped you?
If you were looking for wisdom or advice, where would you look?
Studies show that human knowledge is expanding at an unprecedented rate. By some estimates, we double what we know about the world every 13 months. Smart phones have put all of this knowledge at our fingertips. Need to know of a good restaurant? Ask your friends on Facebook. Having weird medical symptoms? Check WebMD. Are you lost? Pull out Google Maps. With all this information readily available to us, it is easy to believe we have it all figured out. Some have dubbed this “infobesity.” The problem is that information alone isn’t enough—we need the wisdom to apply it. True wisdom can only be found when we search for it from above.
UNDERSTANDING
UNDERSTANDING
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.
What is the difference between wisdom and knowledge? What is an example of each? How do we confuse these two?
Are all sources of wisdom equally valid? Why or why not? How do you determine what wisdom to follow?
Knowledge is the accumulation of facts, but wisdom is the God-given ability to apply those facts to our everyday lives. In an information age, it is easy to get these two confused, but wisdom is much harder to come by than knowledge. Likewise, all wisdom is not created equally. All wisdom falls into one of two categories: earthly or heavenly. James wrote that we need to develop the spiritual discernment to recognize the source of the wisdom we have found.
14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.
What examples of worldly wisdom can you think of off the top of your head?
How often have you consulted these sources over the last month?
Read:
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,
Compare the state of our hearts in our sin to the way James described worldly wisdom.
What parallels do you see?
What does this teach you about the nature of worldly wisdom?
Worldly wisdom is fixated on the here and now, and it is the most readily available source of wisdom. It can be found by watching the news, checking social media, or by asking any person you meet on the street. The problem with this wisdom is that it is tainted by sin, which is the default condition of the world. Ephesians 2:1-4 lays out in stark terms the natural disposition of every human heart. So when we are getting wisdom from darkened hearts, we are getting worldly wisdom. Yet even followers of Jesus seek this wisdom regularly. All are susceptible to its pull. What Ephesians 2 goes on to teach is that we need to be made new, and that includes our wisdom.
People search for wisdom in one of the following places:
Senses-What I feel;
Self-What I think;
Society-What others think; or
Scripture-What God thinks.
Which of these sources do you depend on the most?
If you said something other than Scripture, then how is it worldly in the way that James describes?
Earthly wisdom is sensual and demonic.
Have you ever thought about it this way?
What do these words mean?
How does this help us recognize worldly wisdom?
The problem with worldly wisdom is that it comes from inside of us, which means it proceeds from sin. All the places we search for wisdom outside of God are ultimately flawed.
James gave several helpful parameters for recognizing worldly wisdom.
First it is sensual, which means that it arouses the gratification of our senses. Such wisdom is found in 1 Corinthians 6, where the Corinthians believed that sexuality was simply an appetite like hunger that needed to be satisfied. Sensual wisdom is what feels good or seems good to us. The problem with this is that according to
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
Essentially, our senses can lie to us. They are affected by sin, so they are not a pure source of wisdom.
Earthly wisdom is also demonic, which means that it comes from evil. Much of this seems harmless to us at first, but when we see things that seem wise to us or even people who seem wise, we need to probe below the surface to see what informs this wisdom. Much of earthly wisdom comes from a place that seems genuine, but leads away from Jesus and to our own gratification and pleasure.
What is an example of sensual or demonic wisdom that you have encountered recently?
17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
What differentiates the traits of heavenly wisdom from earthly wisdom?
In these verses, James lists eight traits of heavenly wisdom. Identify and define them together as a group.
Let’s look briefly at each of James’s eight traits of godly wisdom.
The first trait encompasses all of the other seven.
“Purity” is the first. People with true wisdom are pure in that they have put aside the vices of a self-seeking nature and factionalism. This trait provides the secure foundation for all that follows.The following five traits show the attitude of true wisdom toward other people:
“Peace-loving” means it demonstrates a desire to promote peace between struggling factions.
“Considerate” refers to being reasonable in the demands it makes on others.
“Submissive” indicates a willingness to learn from others by being open to reason.
“Full of mercy” is revealed by offering compassion to those in distress.
“Full of good fruit” is shown by kind actions and helpful deeds to others.The final two traits describe the essential nature of true wisdom in itself:
“Impartial” means without prejudice and unwavering in its commitments.
“Sincere” means genuine and open in its approaches to others.
How could you use these traits to test wisdom that you receive from others?
Why should we meditate upon or memorize a list like this?
APPLICATION
APPLICATION
Where are you looking for wisdom in a place that you ultimately cannot find it? Explain.
What can you do to acquire godly wisdom?
Read:
1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. 4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; 6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
Will you commit to reading the Word for a little bit each day this week?
Read:
18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” 20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
Why is the cross of Christ the apex of wisdom?
When people seek you out for wisdom, how could you point them back to the cross?
PRAYER
PRAYER
Thank God for being the source and object of our wisdom. Praise Him for the wisdom in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Ask Him for wisdom where it is needed, and pray that you would always search for wisdom where it can be found—in God’s Word.