← Back to sermon library

well good morning welcome to free grace Baptist Church a visitors out there amongst us welcome if this is your first Sunday or second Sunday you're certainly nice to have you with us and we trust we'll get to know you a little bit later welcome back to some people who have been away for a while as well a special welcome to Stefan Lindblad and his wife Joe and three children they are somewhere they've just arrived that people are all using the washroom but they're from Kirkland Reformed Baptist Church in obviously Kirkland Washington just outside of Seattle so pastor Lindblad will be preaching both this morning and this evening that he will be Pastor Butler in case you're wondering where's pastor Bell there I'm just speaking with Josh we're gonna have to readjust his paint because he are there seems to be the pulpit here and we'll have to have a discussion in the coming in the coming days with pastor brother but he's in Vernon at the at the church plant there so we can certainly remember him as well he's going to have he's be preaching both morning and evening at the very Reformed Baptist Church and having a time to discuss kind of the way forward with them as well you had some you had some bullet points that he wanted to cover in in a in a you know sit-down meeting with with the people there in Vernon so he had a number of things to cover and our involvement and what that's going to look like moving forward so we can certainly pray for wisdom for the church there in Vernon and certainly for faster brother today and pastor Porter he and his family are actually vacation in in Washington and and we hope to see to see pastor Porter and in the family back with us Lord willing next week I believe that is that is all of the announcements and so let's sit let's begin worship our call to worship let's read turn your Bibles please to Psalm 32 psalm 32 psalm 32 will will read the the entire the entire chapter blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven whose sin is covered blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity and in whose spirit there is no deceit when I kept silent my bones grew old through my groanings all day long for day and night your hand was heavy upon me my vitality was turned into the druggist summer sale ah I acknowledge my sin to you and my iniquity I have not hidden I said I will confess my transgressions to the Lord and you forgave the iniquity of my sin say lot for this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to you in a time when you may be found surely in a flood of Great Waters they shall not come near him you are my hiding place you shall preserve me from my trouble from trouble you shall surround me with songs of deliverance say 'la I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go I will guide you with my I do not be like the horse or like the mule which have no understanding which must be harnessed with a bit and bridle else they will not come near you many sorrows shall be to the wicked but he who trusts in the Lord mercy shall surround him be glad in the Lord and rejoice you righteous and shout for joy all you upright in heart amen well please turn with me for our first hymn to your red Salter your red Salter and it's a Salter number 93 93 we'll be singing it to a familiar tune and please stand with me [Music] [Music] I forgot to mention we will pray for them and trust you'll pray this week for them as well this is the last week for the butler's and the Kroll's to be with us I know we had our farewell in a sense last week for the last Sunday evening but but they will be departing the butler's on Tuesday I believe it is and the crows on Wednesday so we'll pray for if the Lord's blessing upon the upon their trip that they would have safety Butler's obviously traveling much further all the way to Ontario and the Kroll's to the church plant in Vernon at least they know there's a church there ready to go there and ready to receive them so let's go to God in prayer and ask his blessing to be upon our worship time here this morning let's pray our gracious and our loving Heavenly Father we come into your holy presence through your son the Lord Jesus Christ how grateful we are father that you are a holy God that you are a merciful God that you are a covenant-keeping god the fact Lord that we can come into your presence so freely this day through your son the Lord Jesus Christ you promised that were the people of God meet that you will be there with them that your presence will be there with them thank you that we are in covenant with you through your son the Lord Jesus Christ thank you that you lead us just as you led the people of Israel through the through the wilderness and the Old Testament father you have promised to never leave us to never forsake us and how grateful we are we pray Lord that we would lift you up this day in your holiness may we see that father you are a holy God on together all together unlike us and we pray that we might have a holy reverence for the things of God here in this place this day that we might have dealings with you father might handle the Word of God accurately they might that we might handle the Word of God with with respect that well in regards to the fact Lord that this is your word this is this comes down from from God in heaven and these are your instructions to us and how we pray Lord for your spirit to help and take these instructions and to and to screw them as truths into each and every heart and mind here this day father we pray that you would be pleased to bless your servant who has come to us as day from from Washington Lord we thank you for it for him we pray your blessing upon we pray your blessing to be upon Trinity Reformed Baptist Church back in Kirkland in his absence we pray Lord that today we would meet together this day and that they would have dealings with you and that you would be pleased to to to to work in their midst and unify them and cause them Lord to know your truth this day from the pulpit where we ask your blessing to be upon each and every one who is here this day perhaps Lord some come with with with with hurt or with sickness with pains we pray Lord that you would be pleased to to bless and and uplift we do pray Lord that you would be pleased to bless Bev this this day on her on her sickbed we pray that she would know that help and that a from on high that when we are discouraged when we are downtrodden when we are just when we have physical pain and physical limitations that father you are there to to lift us up and give to us that that that that helped from on high we pray that she would know that this day we pray the same for Dawn that Lord you would bless him and cause him to know that help and that aid from on high that you would relieve him of any pain that he might be experienced in this day may he build to enter in to worship as he as he tunes in and is able to participate in that way we thank you Lord for bringing those who have been on vacation home safely for others who are on vacation we pray Lord that you would bless them with safety again man makes his plans but father we know that it is you that brings them to pass and so we just grateful what we are grateful for your goodness your kindness your sovereignty in each one of our lives and we praise you we worship you this day Lord we pray your blessing upon the Kroll's and the butler's as they travel this week we we are sorry to see them go yet father we know that that they will be of a help and an age of the churches that they that they become a part of in their communities we pray Lord your rich blessing to be upon them that all the planning all of the all of the the desires that all these things they come to as they come to fruition that father you had blessed them in their plans bless them in their futures we pray that they would know your help and your aid and we pray that they would be that they would be found in good churches that are Bible believing and instructing them and the things of God that Lord you would bless them and these thing let's give them safety as they travel we do praying and we do pray your blessing upon them the Lord we do ask your blessing to also be upon the pastor Butler in Vernon this day we pray Lord that he would know that help and that aid is they meet and have dealings with a holy God in heaven and we pray Lord that you would come down that you'd bless their worship as we would pray for the Syria church as well we thank you for the the help and the aid and the participation that we've been able to have in these two church plants and we do pray Lord that you would bless them and and and nurture them along caused them to be to be found in truth and we pray Lord they would that they would never forsake truth and they would hold onto it tightly and the Lord you would bless them and in their pursuits and cause them to to have dealings with you and and grow in their in their in their knowledge of you bring visitors amongst them as well and we pray Lord that you would use your word to even save souls that are amongst them who know not the things of Christ Lord we pray your blessing upon the Verna church that in due time they might be blessed with an elder kind of the the church in Surrey so they might be a biblically ordered church with other office bearers Lord we we know that that you give good gifts to your church and so Lord we pray your blessing upon these churches that they would know these gifts amongst them that they Lord you would bless them they be fruitful and that that your your blessing would be there Lord we do ask your blessing upon the the church in cuba's we think further afield we were praying the last hour and mindful of were reminded of the fact of the many the many work works of God there on the island of Cuba under the under the threat of communism yet father the church has flourished there in recent years and we just look to you and thank you and praise you for your goodness and your kindness to the Perez to the to the Perez man we thank you for hot Neil we thank you for daniel and and other church church leaders and elders that may be we do not know their name yet father they're known to you we pray your blessing upon them that you would cause those young churches to grow in their knowledge of of you and there in there in the in wisdom and their understanding of what the church is we pray though that they would that they would be churches that are planted and that that they would be that they would set truth aside each and every Lord's Day and that you would bless the men who lead those churches with wisdom from on high and that they would instruct their church as well in the Lord you would be pleased to to to cause many to come to a knowledge of the Savior and be added to those churches in that Lord we would hear of many great things in the future as you continue to to nurture your churches there and in Cuba lore we think of personal persecuted churches as well around the world as we prayed in the last hour we pray in this hour as well the Lord you would bless those who who are persecuted for the Gospels sake we we we really know nothing of the kinds of persecution imprisonment that that many experienced in this world yet father we know you to be their God and we pray that you would bless them this day cause them to to to to to know that there is a God in heaven who who does aid and comfort and bless his people when they are distressed when they are buffeted by about by various trials and and temptations in this lore world we know Lord that you are a god to the to the widows as well and to those who perhaps have their husbands and fathers in prison we pray that you would bless those women and both bless those families as well we pray that their hope would be in you and the Lord you would bless bless them with with the ability to carry on the household and that father they would not give up they would not lose lose heart but rather they would be confirmed in their faith and and their trust in you and they would have just a simple trust that that the God of heaven is is there is their God and you will comfort them you will encourage them you will keep them in their in their days of difficulty and distress we pray that Lord you would in in due time release those who are imprisoned for the Gospels sake when when your will is being done we pray your blessing upon that will and that father you would that you would see them return to their families one day Lord we do ask your blessing to continue to be upon us here in this place this day we thank you Lord for your son the Lord Jesus Christ how grateful you our Father for that precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ that that truly has been our propitiation that is what is it that causes us to be in covenant with you and we praise you Father for it is your grip upon us not our grip upon you that we rejoice in this day and we pray that as we as our thoughts and our attention is drawn heavenward towards towards the god of heaven and earth and the Lord Jesus Christ we pray that he would be lifted up in the in the hymns that we sing that the the the scriptures that are read the word that is preached we pray that all these things will be done for your honor and for your glory you'd be well pleased to bless this time here and we pray these things in Jesus precious name Amen well please turn with me in your in your larger hymn book to him number 415 for 1:5 and please stand [Music] [Music] a man you may be seated please turn with me your Bibles to Luke for our New Testament reading Luke chapter 18 we're up to Luke chapter 18 will read the first 17 verses then he spoke a parable to them that men always ought to pray and not lose heart saying there was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man now there was a widow in that city and she came to him saying get justice for me from my adversary and he would not for a while but afterward he said within himself though I do not fear God nor regard man yet because this Widow troubles me I will avenge her lest by her continued coming she weary me then the Lord said hear what the unjust judge said and shall God not avenge his own elect who cry out day and night to him though he bears long with them I tell you that he will avenge them speedily never less when the Son of Man comes will he really find faith on the earth also he spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others two men went up to the temple to pray one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector the Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself God I thank you that I'm not like other men extortioners unjust adulterers or even as this tax collector I fast twice a week I give tithes of all that I possess and the tax collector standing afar off would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast saying God be merciful to me a sinner I tell you this man went down to his house justified rather than the other for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled and He Who humbles himself will be exalted then they also brought infants to him that he might touch them but when the disciples saw it they rebuked they rebuked them but Jesus called them to him and said let the little children come to me and do not forbid them for such for of such is the kingdom of God surely I say to you whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it Amen well I think really the the passage really is quite self-explanatory really hardly needs a hardly any explanation it's said very simply and may we take the heart the the importunity and in our prayer there may be some that you're that you individually are praying about and almost really giving up but I think the the the wisdom contained in this chapter is that we perhaps maybe ought to consider the opposite of of what said in in at the beginning of chapter 18 in verse 1 and ultimately if we if we don't pray then then you will give up it's in prayer that we have that sense that God is there that God will meet us in our prayer time and we ought not to ever give up in in prayer but rather just continue on and trust that God is working out his will sometimes not always with an answer immediately sometimes not always with an answer in the affirmative but nevertheless an answer God has promised to give from from this from at least certainly the first paragraph in this text of Scripture and we can always certainly pray that the self righteousness and each one of us which on 14 is it is is is is native to each of us it's part of the Adamic cast sinful human nature that we are full of self-righteousness and that we would confess that that self-righteousness to God each and every day that and that God would have dealings with with us as his people well that's uh let's let's pray and well well after we sing one more hymn will call upon pastor Lindblad to come and preach the Word of God from James this morning let's pray our gracious that our loving Heavenly Father we once again come into your holy presence because you've been us to come you've been us to pray father and we pray that you would be pleased in this in this next hour to meet with us we pray Lord that you would be pleased by your gracious Holy Spirit to come upon the preacher that he would speak with unction with health on high we pray that he would be guided and and hedged in by the word of God that he would preach truth here this evening or this morning we pray Lord your blessing to be upon the word is it's opened up the Lord we might gain and gained from it much that it would be on to salvation for those who are outside of Christ and on to edification and and being made and molded and fashioned and sanctified by your gracious Holy Spirit by this word so Lord we pray your blessing upon this time we we do confess to you Lord that we are on we are a self righteous people and solar to how we pray that you confess that to you that you would have dealings with us and cause us to see who we really are and to have dealings with you in this next in this next hour of worship as we hear the word of God opened up so Lord we pray your blessing and that you would be honored and that you'd be glorified here in this place and it's in Jesus precious name we pray amen well please turn with me you're in your hem books for the last skim before we hear the word of God and it would be to him number 293 293 I'll ask you to stand [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] would ask you to open your Bibles to James chapter three James chapter three and while you're doing that do you want to bring greetings to you from Trinity Reformed Baptist Church in Kirkland where I serve we pray for you regularly and seek the Lord's blessing upon you here and we certainly are grateful for our fellowship in the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as well as that ecclesiastical fellowship that we enjoy in the context of the Association we also want to thank you for your prayers for the work in Cuba as you know my co pastor and my father Don Lindblad regularly travels there he's in fact just returned from a trip and we are grateful for your prayers for your concern for that labor as well and I would also like to take this occasion to thank you for your prayers for the Institute of Reformed Baptist studies Theological Seminary I know that's a mouthful but thank you for your prayers nonetheless you may know that this fall I will be one of the professors there will be teaching there beginning this fall I'm not moving my family's not relocating but I will be traveling back and forth to fulfill my responsibilities there so thank you for your fellowship in Christ for your fellowship in prayer and for your fellowship in the things most dearly loved and believed among us again I've asked you to turn in your Bibles to James chapter 3 and I want to read purses 13 through 18 and this morning we want to give consideration to the subject of wisdom here now the reading of God's Word James 3 13 through 18 who is wise and understanding among you let him show by his good life his works in meekness of wisdom but if you have bitter jealousy and faction in your heart glory not and lie not against the truth this wisdom is not a wisdom that cometh down from above but is earthly sensual devilish for where jealousy and faction are there is confusion and every vile deed but the wisdom that is from above is first pure then peaceable gentle easy to be entreated full of mercy and good fruits without variance without hypocrisy and the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for them that make peace may God add his blessing to the reading of his word let's again bow before the Lord our God in prayer seeking his blessing upon his word our gracious Heavenly Father for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior by the powerful operation of the Spirit we pray that your word would be implanted within our hearts that your word would be inscribed upon our minds that your word would bear fruit in our lives to this end we pray particularly for your blessing upon the word as it is preached now may become to understand not only what wisdom is but may we come to see the vital need that we have to live our lives in wisdom to live our lives indeed in the fear of the Lord bless us we pray for Jesus sake amen wisdom wisdom is a vital concern of the teaching of Holy Scripture we find in fact that there are several books in the Old Testament that are devoted exclusively to the subject of wisdom we find as well in the New Testament several places that touch upon this vital subject and indeed the book of James is one such place one could make the case that the entire book of James is a the New Testament equivalent of the wisdom literature of the Old Testament it is New Testament wisdom literature and yet for all of the attention that wisdom gets in the Holy Scripture experientially that is in our lives as Christians we often feel perhaps that wisdom is elusive to us we talk about wisdom we talk about the need for wisdom we even pray for wisdom but perhaps as we live our lives before God we sense or at least we feel perhaps that we do not quite understand what wisdom looks like what wisdom entails how wisdom behaves well the Scriptures teach us these very things and in fact again the book of James teaches us this very thing and answers these questions for us and even particularly here in our text this morning in James chapter 3 and verses 13 through 18 we find a clear and a concise discussion or delineation of true wisdom James here is concerned to describe true wisdom especially in contrast to its counterfeit to false wisdom and in fact what we'll discover here this morning is that this instruction regarding wisdom lies at the parts of everything else that he has to say in this book as he speaks even here of patience of good works and even later in the the letter or earlier in the letter in fact as he speaks of the use of the tongue for example all of these realities all of these practical realities of the Christian life are rooted in or founded in and in fact are the form of true wisdom James tells us here that true wisdom that Christian wisdom is wisdom from above he uses that phraseology twice in fact one to tell us that a certain form of wisdom is not wisdom from above and then as he actually positively describes this wisdom true Christian wisdom is this wisdom from above it is heavenly wisdom and it is necessary it is vital for God's pilgrim people for us as we yet live in this fallen age in this sinful world waiting for the ultimate the final fulfillment and realization of God's promises to us in Christ one author puts it this way the Epistle of James is an apostolic ministry of heavenly wisdom addressed to the twelve tribes in the dispersion who suffer manifold trials in their pilgrimage to the kingdom which God has promised to those who love him and who for this reason are in need of heavenly wisdom here is an apostolic ministry a divinely appointed Ministry of heavenly wisdom addressed to the Church of Jesus Christ the church as it suffers various trials those various trials experienced along the way as it were to heaven to the ultimate realization of the kingdom and it is a ministry again that we need we need this heavenly wisdom we need wisdom from above now as James speaks to us and describes for us this wisdom he contrasts it again with its counterfeit and he does this he tells us what wisdom is not and he tells us what wisdom is ultimately to form this wisdom in us and so that then we might frame our lives in this wisdom he is concerned to teach us what wisdom is yes but he is concerned as well to see this wisdom take root in our hearts and bear fruit in our lives and as he discusses this wisdom as he delineates this wisdom in fact he teaches us the four fundamental features the four fundamental aspects of true godly heavenly wisdom and we want to notice those four things this morning first of all James teaches us that wisdom from above is a communicated wisdom that is wisdom needs to be understood in relation to its source in relation to its origin and true wisdom this wisdom from above he says finds its source finds its origin in God and not just God generically but the triune God the only true God Father Son and Holy Spirit when James uses this phrase wisdom that cometh down from above he uses that phrase in verse 15 again in contrast to an earthly or sensual or devilish wisdom which is no wisdom at all and then in verse 17 he speaks of the wisdom that is from above he is clearly indicating again the source the origin the place from which or the one from whom comes wisdom and in that sense he is clearly tying what he's saying here about wisdom to what he has already said about God and all things as they stand in relation to God remember what he says back in Chapter 1 and verse 17 every good and every perfect gift is from above coming down from the Father of lights with whom can be no variation neither shadow that is cast by turning Christian wisdom heavenly wisdom true wisdom is the gift of the triune God the immutably good god he implants wisdom in fact into the minds and into the hearts of his people we need to say several things in this regard Christian wisdom descends from the Father of lights it's origin is our Heavenly Father but we need not think that the father is somehow alone in this task the reality is again this is a gift of the triune God it comes down from the Father of lights that is the God who is the author and creator of all things including wisdom itself and it comes through his son Jesus Christ the Lord of glory by way of the Spirit that he has made to dwell within us wisdom finds its ultimate source its ultimate origin then in the triune God as the triune God operates and works as it were in our salvation further we need to understand that this wisdom is communicated to us through the word of truth through a word that is delivered by the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord and even by apostolic servants such as James who is the servant of God and the servant of the Lord Jesus Christ James 1 and verse 18 reminds us that even our salvation comes to us through the word of truth that word again which was revealed delivered by the prophets of whom James speaks in chapter 5 in verse 10 and James himself describes his calling in his labor as one who is an apostolic servant a servant of God a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ in James 1 and verse 1 so this Christian wisdom this heavenly wisdom comes from God from the triune God and it is communicated by way of the word by way of that prophetic and apostolic word that is inscripturated written in the form of the Holy Scriptures but even then we need to understand that this wisdom comes from God this wisdom is inscripturated if you will in the old and the New Testaments but it is a wisdom itself that is implanted into our hearts that is communicated from God to us by way of that powerful work of regeneration for indeed the word of truth itself the word of wisdom is implanted by God in our hearts through that powerful work of regeneration and that regeneration bears a harvest of righteousness in those who are the firstfruits of God's new creation wisdom from above is communicated it is from God through his apostolic and prophetic servants through his word of truth and it is given to us specifically as our minds are enlightened to the truth of Scripture minds once darkened and sin now enlightened by the work of the Holy Spirit it comes to us as those whose hearts have been changed from hearts of stone to hearts of flesh that comes to us as those whose wills were once enslaved in sin but have now been renewed again all as the Spirit works savingly and sovereignly in our lives all of this to say is that God is the fount of wisdom Scripture is the form of wisdom and we come to share we come to receive and participate even in that wisdom by way of the Spirit saving us or applying to us as it were the benefits of Jesus Christ one author speaks in this sense by reminding us that the god of unchangeable goodness is the fountain of every good and perfect gift in nature grace and glory he gives good gifts to all in simplicity with unmixed motives just as God fathered the heavenly lights in the first creation so he father's the Saints in the new creation by bringing them forth of his own goodwill through the word of truth again is this not what James has already told us in Chapter one of his own will who is James speaking of here speaking of the father of lights with whom there is no variation with whom there is no shadow of turning of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures the firstfruits of the new creation and in doing so God grants us wisdom God out of his own perfect his own unchanging goodness gives freely and graciously this wisdom from above and he gives it to those whom he of his own will through his word and spirit brings to life the generates wisdom then is from above it is from God it is from God first second third and last through and through God is the source the origin of the wisdom that we need indeed just as all things are of the father through the son and in and by the spirit so wisdom comes from the father through his son our Lord Jesus Christ the Lord of glory who shows no respect of persons and even by the of truth and wisdom wisdom from above then is communicated communicated from God to us his creatures indeed to us those who are new creatures in Jesus Christ secondly and we've already hinted at this but it needs to be said specifically and clearly secondly wisdom from above is a copy that is it is a copy of God's own wisdom we need to think as well or not only of the the source and the origin of wisdom but we need to think of the form of wisdom what does wisdom look like what is the wisdom that God communicates to us well James tells us here that the wisdom which the triune God communicates by his grace to the Saints of his new creation is first of all pure now what James here says in verse 17 about the purity of this wisdom from above needs to be understood in as he speaks of this wisdom in contrast to false wisdom or we might even say to folly he speaks of a form of wisdom which is earthly he speaks of a wisdom that is not a wisdom that cometh down from above but is earthly sensual devilish true wisdom in distinction is pure it is untainted untarnished by the world by the flesh and by the devil it takes its very form it as its very nature not from the things that belong to this passing evil age but it takes its form from the age to come that is it takes this very form from above it takes its very form we might even say first and foremost from God when James says that this wisdom from above is first of all pure he's not merely saying that it is first in addition to a number of other things pure but he's saying first of all in in a foundational sense in an ultimate sense he says that we cannot be said to no wisdom at all if we do not first know and understand that the very form of wisdom is pure not only is it from God but wisdom true wisdom reflects if you will God is God Himself not pure James has already told us that God is not tempted and cannot be tempted with evil in chapter 1 and verse 13 and so the wisdom which he gives the wisdom which he communicates to his believing and regenerate people is we might say a copy a shadow of his own immutable and infinite wisdom God is wise God communicates wisdom and the wisdom that he communicates to you and to me as believers is we might say simply divine wisdom a wisdom that is suited to us as creatures remember that God is infinite we are finite that's just a fancy theological way of saying that God is God and we are creatures and as creatures we are not God and as God God is not a creature and so the wisdom that God communicates is a copy of his own infinite and incomprehensible wisdom in a form that we can understand in a form that we can apprehend and in a form that we can even put into practice in our lives the wisdom that he grants the wisdom that he implants in us by the regenerating work of the Spirit is a wisdom that simply is the word of truth how do we know that well first of all we need to notice in this context that James speaks of that false wisdom that earthly sensual and devilish wisdom as a wisdom that lies against the truth verse 14 true wisdom then a wisdom that is from above does not lie against the truth even as God Himself is true moreover as James speaks of this wisdom in its practice as it takes shape in our daily lives he says that this wisdom is also verse 17 without variance without hypocrisy it's a wisdom that doesn't fluctuate and change based upon the people that are in front of us or even whether we're with people by ourselves it's not a wisdom that is hypocritical that shows the face of one thing when in reality and in truth there's something else going on in the mind and in the heart but where does James get this this idea that wisdom is without variants that it's without hypocrisy well God Himself is without variants God himself there is no variation no shadow of turning and James in chapter 2 tells us and reminds us that God is not a respecter of persons God does not show partiality because God Himself is immutably good and righteous indeed because this wisdom is a gift of the God who was unchangeably good immutably wise the wisdom he gives to us is good it is a wisdom that shows itself in a good life of works in meekness verse 13 here of our text what then is wisdom what then is this wisdom that is from above that God communicates to us I think perhaps the most helpful thing in the text is that it's found in verse 16 as James piles up this description of this earthly and sensual and devilish wisdom this counterfeit wisdom this folly he says for where jealousy and faction are there is confusion and every vile D much of what James fear has to say about true wisdom is given to us in the negative that is we're told what it is by way of what it's not false wisdom is confusion true wisdom is order true wisdom in fact is all things ordered rightly in relation to God for us to have wisdom then is to understand all things as they are ordered by God and as they are ordered in relation to God the man who is wise and who has understanding in other words is the man whose thoughts and ways whose mind and heart are ordered rightly in relation to God the wisdom from above then that is a communicated or is a communicated copy of divine wisdom it is true it is good it is without variation it shows no partiality it is pure that is it is ordered by God and it is ordered in relation to God it sees all things as they are related to God it is not an earthly wisdom it's not a sensual or animal wisdom and indeed it's not a diabolical wisdom no the wisdom that comes from above is heavenly spiritual divine just as God we might say is perfectly ordered in himself just as God has perfectly ordered all things in relation to himself in his works of creation and redemption so then the wisdom that he gives is that pure order that pure understanding of the way in which all things stand in relation to God wisdom then is communicated from God wisdom from above is a copy that is the form that it takes the shape that it takes is ordered after God himself and his own wisdom but thirdly we also want to understand from the text that wisdom from above is we might say contemplative wisdom and the activity of wisdom the use of wisdom we might say engages the intellect it engages the mind again we've already spoken to the fact that counterfeit wisdom false wisdom is rooted in a lie against the truth verse 14 it's origin James goes on to say is earthly it has its foundation in this passing evil Age this fallen world it is sensual again it's formas of the flesh of the Fallen mind it is natural we might even say as opposed to spiritual it's born of man's faulty reasoning rather than being born of the regenerating work of the Spirit of Christ and perhaps the most damning thing that can be said of this false wisdom is that it is devilish it is itself a copy of The Devil's false wisdom the devil's feigned wisdom it is a wisdom that begins in the question or with the question has God really said remember that Satan is the father of lies and the very first lie recorded in Scripture is that lie has God said true wisdom not only says that yes God has said but God has said clearly and he spoken clearly in his son the Lord Jesus Christ and the wisdom that is ours given to us by God is the wisdom that has become even incarnate in Jesus Christ but this false wisdom then this wisdom that is devilish that was this wisdom that entails a spiritual darkness that is in bondage to the devil is a wisdom or a false wisdom that is marked by confusion rather than order the same can be said of how false wisdom works or even what false wisdom looks to false wisdom this devilish wisdom that is not true wisdom at all considers or contemplates things only as they are in themselves or only as they are understood in relation to this fallen world James again is stating negatively things that need to be understood by us positively when he says that this false wisdom is earthly sensual devilish he tells us that true wisdom is the very opposite and just then as as false wisdom only looks at things through the lens of sin and as they are disordered by sin true wisdom will contemplate all things in relation to God the wisdom that is from above entails contemplating everything that is and everything that is a part of our lives as ordered by God or as they stand disordered presently in sin as we look at the world for example we look at it as God tells us to look at it as we contemplate the things that he has made we say yes God made these things but we also say that in rebellion man has ruined these things wisdom then is the believing regenerate activity of contemplating all things in relation to the triune God think of James very first word in this letter count it all joy verse 2 consider your manifold temptations consider these things and Count it as joy what James is telling us to do here in this opening exhortation is to contemplate our trials as God would have us to content like them contemplate your trials contemplate the manifold temptations that face you in relation to God in relation to the truth that God has made known don't contemplate your trials in relation to anything other than what God has said don't consider your trials in your temptations as they are only in themselves I'm being attacked for my profession of faith in Jesus Christ I'm being mocked in the workplace for a commitment to Christ I'm being mocked even for setting aside that the Lord's Day a day in its entirety to worship God this is a trial this is a temptation don't look at it only in terms of the mocking itself and only in terms of the momentary and passing trial that it is but consider it in relation to God consider how God defines that trial and consider even the end that God has in view in that trial contemplate all things in relation to God that is true wisdom true wisdom considers carefully that God is not only the author and source and origin of wisdom but that God is also the object of all heavenly wisdom as one has put it all of God's gifts his gifts of nature of grace and of glory necessitate in fact that we contemplate all things in relation to God God indeed himself has ordered all things in relation to himself and we as it were to think his thoughts after to exercise wisdom after his wisdom true wisdom then as one has put it regarding anything in our lives is gained when all things are viewed in relation to God the supreme origin and end of creatures for James - or for James also the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom wisdom is contemplative true wisdom is the spiritual capacity for knowing and perceiving the good God and all things in relation to him again wisdom itself is not confusion but order and we need to contemplate that order as God defines it we need to contemplate all things as they are ordered by God and ordered in relation to God but this activity of the regenerate soul bears fruit and James spends a lot of time in fact telling us about this fruit for which reason we need to understand that wisdom is not only communicated wisdom is not only a copy if you will of God's own good and immutable wisdom wisdom is not only contemplative that is an intellectual activity or the intellectual activity of the soul but we need to notice fourthly and finally that wisdom from above is consequential that is it is prac it bears fruit the fruit the consequence of this contemplative wisdom of considering and contemplating all things in relation to God is the spiritual capacity as one has put it for discerning the right course of action as we live between the inauguration and consummation of God's eternal Kingdom as we are pilgrims on the way living between the cross and the consummation what we need is wisdom and what we need is a wisdom that engages the totality of man's life that engages the totality of our soul this wisdom then is not only an intellectual activity but it is we might even say a vital activity an activity of the life James here tells us he asked this opening question who is wise and understanding among you who has so ordered his thoughts in the contemplation of God and in the contemplation of all things as they relate to God as God has made them and even as God has redeemed sinners and even as God will come and usher in the fullness of his new creation who is wise and understanding in that way James says let him show by his good life his works in meekness of wisdom wisdom comes from God wisdom considers God and wisdom as it were returns unto God our lives are framed and ordered by God as we live as God would have us to live as we maintain a good life that is a life that as good as God defines it by doing works in meekness good works works that conform to God's law all of this is done out of wisdom and is itself a show of wisdom moreover James goes on to tell us that this wisdom of a but from above does not bear the fruit of bitter jealousy it does not bear the fruit of factions how could it if wisdom is order rather than confusion it can't bear the fruit of confusion and the fruit of confusion is this jealousy these factions these are things that are rooted in self-centered pride rather than god-centered humility such things are earthly and sensual and devilish no true wisdom bears the fruit of humility jealousy and faction in fact all these vile deeds are the fruits they're the consequence of confusion James tells us in verse 16 what needs to be true of us as God's regenerate people is that we need to be marked by that pure wisdom which is from above again that godly wisdom that first contemplates all things in relation to the immutably good god and bears the fruit of a good life and what is that fruit it is the fruit of peace wisdom from above we're told is first pure then peaceable are you seeking peace in the context of the church is the order that God has established for the church your desire that's wisdom that's the fruit of wisdom wisdom is also gentle and merciful it's easy to be entreated what James here means is that it's open to correction it's full of mercy and good fruits it's with art without partiality indeed it is sincere without variance it is true without hypocrisy all of the vicious patterns of speech and life that James condemns in this context are the opposite of the practical wisdom that he enjoins the practical wisdom to which we're exhorted here the way that we talk to each other the way that we live with each other in the communion of the saints just is the practice of wisdom these are those virtues that contribute to and are conducive to the peace to the harmony indeed the order of the church wisdom from above then is a course of practical wisdom a course of putting wisdom into practice and it's not what the world would suggest it's certainly not what our own flesh would propose and it's not what the devil himself would endorse no it is that form of wisdom that comes from God conforms to God and again we might say conduces to God or leads us to God for not only dis practical wisdom have our life in the church in view as it does here in our text but really it has in view our friendship with God drawing from other texts in the scripture as well as other texts here in James one author puts it this way the ultimate happiness promised to the one who stands the test under trials is the crown of life which God has promised to those who loved him just as contemplative wisdom lays a foundation for practical wisdom so practical wisdom prepares pilgrim Saints for a blessing that lies beyond the Ken of its immediate agency and that according to Jesus and Paul is itself contemplative in nature blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God practical wisdom prepares us for the blessing of the beatific vision of the sight of Christ in glory the road that we are walking from as it were our regeneration unto our glorification the road that we are traveling as pilgrims on the way to heaven is a road of wisdom a road of practical wisdom of wisdom that bears fruits contemplating all things in relation to the triune God faith will bear the fruit of good works faith will bear the fruit of meekness and of peace it will bear the fruit of righteousness sown in peace for them that make peace wisdom then comes from God and wisdom in its practical nature in fact leads us to God not only as we're conformed to Jesus Christ but as we walk upon that road which will eventuate in our standing before God and hearing him say unto us well done thou good and faithful servant now all of this to be sure as a matter of grace in fact none of us can be wise apart from the regenerating work of the Spirit of Christ without the spirit any show of wisdom is just that a show the question then is are you wise that is at a foundational level have you come to understand have you come to know the wisdom of God made known in Jesus Christ have you been born again the only way you can know the answer to that question is to answer this question do you trust in Christ and in Christ alone the fruit of regeneration is faith and it is that faith which generates within us an earnest desire to walk in wisdom to live in wisdom it is the seed of eternal life that has been implanted within us that generates within us a desire to know and for our lives to be ordered in relation to the God who has brought us to life is it that true of you do you love wisdom do you seek after wisdom another way to put that is do you love God do you seek after God and do you seek to know and understand and live your life always in relation to God in that order which God Himself has established that order which God Himself has created in you do you desire wisdom seek it from above seek it from God and practice that wisdom as you contemplate God all things in relation to God seek after peace one with another be gentle one towards another be open to correction one towards another be full of mercy towards one another bear good fruit toward one another do not show partiality in your midst but live in truth and in sincerity with one another bear the fruit of righteousness that is sown in the soil of peace make peace with one another knowing this that God has made peace with us in Christ and that we will enjoy an eternity of peace in the eternal contemplation of our triune God would you know wisdom it may be found from above it may form your life indeed it may form your mind and your very steps may God grant us such wisdom and may he grant that we would live in such wisdom let's pray our gracious God and Heavenly Father show mercy to us and grant us that wisdom which is from above leave us not to our own devices for all we have is but sin grant grace unto us that we might live in wisdom and we might walk in wisdom that we might bear the fruit of wisdom here in the context of the church as well as in the context of our lives bearing witness to your grace Lord be gracious to us bless us smile upon us treat us not as our sins deserve but grant us true wisdom we pray before Jesus sake amen our God dismisses us with this word of blessing please stand for the benediction the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all amen