James 3:13-18

Hey, hey, good morning, good morning. Welcome to Coffee and Devotions. This morning we are at James chapter 3, verses 14 through the end of the chapter. We're going to be talking about wisdom that is demonic. What type of wisdom is demonic? What has James got for us? What's the Holy Spirit going to teach us this morning?
Let's have some coffee. We'll pray. We'll get into God's Word. Let's pray. Father, we pray that you would please help us as we read your word this morning, that your Holy Spirit would indeed open our eyes to seeing what's natural to us. Turn us away from the earthly paths that we would desire, and let us walk in your ways. In Jesus' name, Amen. All right, here we go. James 3, beginning at verse 13. We're going to go through verse 18. James 3, 13-18.
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits. without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace." Well, we need to ask ourselves our three questions.
A. What is this about?
B. What's the best verse to summarize this in? C. What are we called to do in response to these words?
A. What's this about? Well, we've just gotten through this section where James is talking about this, our tongue and how unwieldy it is, and those who teach are going to be held to a more strict judgment. And now, as he's gotten through this whole part about the tongue needing to be tamed, Those who would be teaching are trying to impart some type of knowledge, some type of wisdom. And here he says, he who is wise, who is wise and understanding among you, let him show by good conduct his works in meekness of wisdom. It's Jesus who's meek, Jesus who has strength, and yet restrains himself. And so when James is talking here, he's saying, hold on, hold on. If you're really wise, if you really have understanding, you should be walking like our Lord Jesus Christ. We should see it in your works, in the meekness of wisdom. And there's something opposite of the meekness of wisdom. What does he say?
Bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts. a bitter envy, looking at someone else, not just saying, oh, I want what they have, but I do. I am mad and I'm willing to sin because of that. This is twisting. Of taking covetousness and and turning it into something crooked and ugly and serving yourself. He says, that's evil. That's self-seeking.
Do not boast and lie against the truth, right? You can't say you're wise, you can't say you have understanding if what really goes on in your heart is bitter envy and self-seeking. That wisdom, that type of thing that parades around as wisdom and understanding, he says it's earthly, sensual, demonic. It's dealing with the here, it's dealing with the now, it's acting as if you're a materialist and it's all about you and your ways and your wants and your desires, and that's not wisdom. Because Jesus is the wisdom of God made manifest, and that is not how our Lord taught us. That's not what faith looks like.
For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and evil things are there. Man, when people are envious, bitterly envious at each other and self-seeking, companies are ruined. I mean, we see this even in churches, right? When people get like wrapped up in what they want and because of what they want and their priorities and their prerogatives and their comforts, that will rip apart churches.
Because they're wanting to seek themselves, seek their own desires rather than being yielding, being peacemakers. That's not the way of Christ. He says, there's confusion and evil are there, 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. Did you understand? Let's lay this out. What is the wisdom that comes from above? What does that wisdom look like?
First, that wisdom is pure.
It's not filthy, it's not sensual, it's not earthly, but it's heavenly. Secondly, it's peaceable. It's not seeking to stir up strife and make people fight with one another and turn friends into enemies. It's looking to the peace of God that He's given us and showing that peace to others. Then it's gentle. Now gentle does not mean effeminate. It doesn't mean giving away your spine. It doesn't mean that you're somehow without principles. Being gentle looks like having strength and using that strength, yielding that strength for the good of somebody who's weaker than you.
Jesus says he is gentle and lowly. Jesus, the Omnipotent One, the commander of legions of angels, could be gentle with even little children. Wisdom that's from above is pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield. Pure, peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, right?
Wisdom is not digging your heels and demanding that you are right all the time. No, James says that's earthly, that's sensual, that's demonic type wisdom. but a wisdom that's more out for preserving peace, loving the other brother, caring for those, being gentle. That's godly wisdom. So yielding. Yielding isn't weakness. Yielding is actually self-control, self-denial, saying, I love you more than I love my own self-seeking desires. So I'm willing to yield to you. and that strength, that's wise.
So, pure, peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits. Full of mercy and good fruits. Full of mercy. I love the old way to remember mercy versus grace. Grace is getting something you don't deserve. Mercy is not getting what you do deserve. When I was a kid, I might be a bad kid and my parents might be merciful and they might withhold the whooping I deserved.
They were merciful to me. Now they could show grace on top of that, right? I should go to bed without dinner, but instead they give me dinner. They give me favor. They actually let me have a birthday party, right? That would be grace, but merciful. It's showing good fruits. It's showing that love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, that long suffering with others. The bearing with one another, the building each other up with words. I think that's what James is getting at here.
So what is this wisdom from above, this heavenly wisdom, pure, peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits without partiality and without hypocrisy? Without partiality is what he was talking about before, giving favoritism to the wealthy. Right now, yielding to those who are just more powerful so you can get something better. No, no, no. That's not the wisdom from above. The wisdom from above doesn't show partiality. It doesn't look at people's socioeconomic status and judge differently. It's looking at people made in the image of God and being gentle to them. But it's also without hypocrisy. It's also acting consistently.
Not having two measures of judgments or two different ways in which you might operate. One way in the public and one way behind closed doors. One way at church and one way at home. No, there's no putting on a public face and a private face. That's hypocrisy, right? It's two masks. It's one actor, right? The hypocrites in Greek plays would have two masks. Put on one mask and play one character. Take it off and put on another mask and play the second character. That's not true wisdom. No, we have one persona. That's this idea of this wisdom that comes from above.
Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. Blessed are the peacemakers. Blessed are those who are not self-seeking, not envious, not going after their own, not just using their tongues to tear other people down to get their own ways, but who are seeking to be gentle, yielding, peaceable, loving.
That's what James is getting at here. So what's the best verse to summarize this? Well, you might underline verse 15 and 16. To be honest with you, I got verse 18 double underlined, but maybe somebody else would underline something else. Maybe somebody would underline 13. Let me know down in the comments if there's something else that you would underline. The last seat calling, what are you called to do?
Maybe we need to check our motives. Are we being self-seeking and bitter? Are we desiring our own as life about us? Are we being unyielding? Are we being cruel? Are we being bitter? Are we being fighters constantly? What is our life characterized by? Do we look like Christ? Or do we look like the world?
Let's pray. Father, we lack wisdom. Lord, not the type of wisdom that would come earthy. We confess we're sensual people. And we're often bitter. That's demonic, Lord. Forgive us. Give us your Holy Spirit. Work in us a sense of true wisdom. Because we lack it, Lord, so we come to you asking you, pleading with you to give us wisdom. Give us the knowledge of what is good. And by your Holy Spirit, give us the power to actually put it into play.
We need you, O Lord. Please help us in Jesus's name. Amen. May the Lord bless you. May you be one. who is pure, peaceable, gentle, yielding, not partial or hypocritical, but truly loving, because Christ has loved you. May the Lord bless you, and I'll see you next time. Bye.