Peaceable Wisdom - Part 1 of 3

Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing, my great Redeemer's praise, The worries of my God and King, the triumphs of his grace.

This is O. S. Bradley, Jr., welcoming you to another broadcast of the Baptist Bible Hour. Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart, Not be all else to me, save that thou art, Thou my best heart, by day or by night, Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light. Be thou my wisdom, and thou my true word, I ever with thee, and thou with me, Lord, Thou my great Father, by thy true Son, Thou in me dwelling, and I with thee one. High King of Heaven, my victory won, May I reach Heaven's joys, bright Heaven's sun, Heart of my own heart, whatever befall, Still be my vision, O ruler of all. I'm glad that you've joined us today. I pray that the message will be a blessing to you. We'd certainly like to hear from you and know that you've been listening.

Our address is the Baptist Bible Hour, Box 17037, Cincinnati, Ohio 45217. Wisdom is something that is spoken of frequently in the Scriptures. It would certainly be our desire to have wisdom. And of course it's necessary to understand what true wisdom really is. If we're going to recognize it, if we're going to seek after it, if we're going to use it, we've got to be able to distinguish true wisdom, the wisdom which is of God from the wisdom of the world.

In the book of James chapter 1 verse 5, it says, If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him. This indicates that wisdom is desirable. Wisdom is to be sought after. Wisdom can be obtained.

We're to ask for it. The book of Proverbs chapter 1 verse 7 says, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. True wisdom certainly connected to the fear of God. It doesn't matter how wise a person may profess to be, if there is no fear of God before their eyes, they have no true wisdom. Proverbs chapter 2 verse 1, My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee, so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding, yea, if thou Christ after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding, if thou seekest her as silver, and searches for her as for hid treasures, then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. Once more, it is made clear that we are to cry after knowledge, that we are to search for knowledge and wisdom, that it is of great benefit. Proverbs chapter 9 verse 9, Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser.

Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. Now we read in the book of Romans chapter 1 of those who profess themselves to be wise, but in the process we're seeking to suppress the knowledge of God, and it says in Romans 1-22, professing themselves to be wise they became fools.

Surely there are multitudes that fit that category in our society today. They have resorted to the wisdom of the world. They profess themselves to be wise. They have left God out, and in many cases are actively seeking to suppress the knowledge of God, the truth about God, and in the process they have become fools.

They may be highly esteemed by men, they may have positions of prestige and influence, but as far as God is concerned, they're fools because there's no fear of God before their eyes. And in all of their pursuit of worldly wisdom, they have missed that which is the wisdom from above. Now with those introductory remarks, I want us to turn to the book of James chapter 3. My subject is peaceable wisdom. We begin in the 13th verse of James chapter 3. Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you?

Let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not and lie not against the truth. For this wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.

For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, and good fruits without partiality and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. Several qualities are attributed to the wisdom that is from above, but special emphasis on the fact that this wisdom is a peaceable wisdom is made in this portion of scripture. It tells us that not only is this wisdom peaceable and gentle, but the conclusion of it all is that the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

They are peacemakers. First thing we see in this passage concerning this wisdom is a test. The question is asked, who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? How would you determine if there is someone of your acquaintance, someone among this congregation who has wisdom and knowledge?

How will the test be made? It's not necessarily going to be on the basis that somebody makes a great claim to wisdom. We all probably have had contact with people who felt like they do a lot more than they did. Or even if they had a lot of knowledge, they didn't have the wisdom as to how they were to use it.

So how are we going to make the test? Well, the first thing he says when the question is asked, who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness and wisdom. Now that word conversation refers to behavior, to a way of life.

We use the word conversation just when there is an exchange of words between us. We're talking one to another. But that's not the limited form in which it is used here. It's talking about your whole way of life. So it indicates that a test as to whether one truly is endued with knowledge and is wise is that what they profess must make a difference in their life.

It must be lived out. It must be seen in their conduct. Now James probably has a reason and of course we know he writes under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and so all the reasons that would be incorporated in his writing come ultimately from the direction of the Spirit of God. But there is a reason in the way in which this subject matter unfolds in that he does not make a list here of specific matters regarding conduct about which he is concerned. Which would indicate that this is a broader scope involving all of the details of our life.

Yet when we take it in its context we do see some specifics that preceded this. And it might be well to look at a couple of those and then understand that it's far greater in its outreach and in the scope of godly conduct that would be incorporated. First of all in chapter 2, James chapter 2 verse 14. What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith and have not works, can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled notwithstanding, ye give them not those things which are needful to the body, what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead being alone. Now what kind of faith is dead faith? It really is no faith, isn't it? Faith is the gift of God. And when God gives somebody faith it's not dead. It's living faith. So a person may claim, I have faith, but if it's not proven by their works, it says that faith is dead. Here then is the opportunity for one to demonstrate that he has true faith. It says it's not enough just to say that a man has faith and he claims to have faith.

If he has faith, it's going to be manifest in his works. So he's going to be willing to share with those that have need. If there's somebody that is in need and all he says is, Depart in peace, be ye warmed, go find your clothes somewhere else, go find your food, some other place, I'm not concerned about you. You know it's very easy to become self-righteous, decide that anybody that's poor is in that condition because of failure to work hard enough or poor management. And yet there can be a lot of issues that impact one's life to bring them to that point. And even if they are there because of their own failure, it doesn't mean that you are to turn your head and say, well, too bad.

You got yourself in this plight, so I'm not going to help you. God's Word has a lot to say about the poor and the last thing you want to do is oppose the poor. God loves them.

God's interested in their welfare and God's children ought to be. So he's telling us that we need to prove our faith. Then in chapter 3 verse 6 gives us another way that we're going to live out a godly conversation.

Our daily walk is going to be an evidence of the change that's been brought in us by divine grace. And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. So is the tongue among our members that it defileth the whole body and seteth on fire the course of nature and is set on fire of hell. Language couldn't be much stronger than that. It's a tendency to think, well, you know, a little thing like gossip, a little thing about talking about people behind their back.

That's not all that significant. Sounds pretty serious here. It says it sets on fire the course of nature and is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beast and of birds and of serpents and of things in the sea is tamed and hath been tamed of mankind but the tongue can no man tame. It is an unruly evil full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father, and therewith curse we men which are made after the similitude of God. Man being made after the similitude of God is never to be cursed. There's never justification to slander someone, to try to harm someone verbally.

There is a place for warning, exhortation, rebuke, but all within a context of a godly concern for the benefit of the individual and for the glory of Christ. But all how much damage can be done by the tongue, by speaking when one should be silent, by accepting something as being a fact when there's no proof and grounds for it just because this is what somebody said. If I heard this, it must be so. And so if I heard it, I must be at liberty to circulate it. It absolutely amazes me as to how some people will start something to which there is absolutely no connection with fact at all. Now you can kind of understand a situation where maybe it has been exaggerated or maybe there was a sincere misunderstanding or somebody slanted a little bit in one direction. But when professed Christians start something where there is absolutely no foundation to it at all and circulate a blatant lie, that's pretty serious.

That's what this text indicates. So if we're going to prove that we have knowledge and wisdom, it needs to be not only by what we say, it's not just a matter of how much we know, it's how much that knowledge influences our conduct. Have we learned with the grace of God to control our tongue? You say, well I just read here that you can't control it and that's the way it is in mind.

I can't control mine. No, it means certainly you're not going to control it as far as human nature is concerned, but with the grace of God you can. You can overcome the weakness of the flesh in that regard. Now looking at 1 Peter chapter 2, this of course not in the writings of James, but it's a part of the inspired record and it gives us an indication of what kind of a life God's people are to be living in general. 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 11 says, Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims abstain from fleshly lust, which war against the soul, having your conversation honest among the Gentiles, that whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. I've heard people talk about good works as though they must all be done in such a secretive manner that nobody would ever know it had happened. Now Jesus did condemn the Pharisees who prayed on the street corner for recognition and when they made their contribution they wanted everybody to observe it. And anything done in that spirit obviously is wrong, but the idea that good works must all be done in secret is just not a biblical concept.

He says you're like a city set on a hill, a light that cannot be hid. He says while they speak of you as evildoers, they are to behold your good works and therefore glorify God in the day of visitation. So the first thing that is a test as to whether or not a person has true knowledge and wisdom is the kind of life they live. Their conduct, their behavior, for the wisdom of God is pure. Let him show out of a good conversation, a good way of life, his works and secondly, his attitude with meekness of wisdom. Not only is it to be a matter of conduct as to how the person lives, a person might be living to a very high moral standard and yet their attitude be rotten. You could have a critical attitude, you could have a complaining attitude, you could be very cynical, very quick to make a brother an offender for a word.

The attitude must be right. Now we have the best possible example in this matter of having a meek spirit, a gentle spirit such as is stipulated in this passage. Jesus Christ himself being the perfect example in all things. We read of him in Matthew chapter 11 verse 28, coming to me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am what? Meek and lowly in heart and ye shall find rest for your souls.

Jesus Christ the conquering king of glory says I am meek and lowly in heart. And then the Apostle Paul, the greatest servant of New Testament times and maybe of all ages as far as mortals are concerned. Says in the book of 1 Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 7, but we were gentle among you even as a nurse cherishes her children. How did the Apostle labor with this church?

How did he minister to those that came under his watch gear? He was gentle even as a nurse cherishes her children. There was none of this haughty arrogant attitude. None of this harsh overbearing spirit. Never trying to drive the flock but to lead them.

To lead them. Gentle. And then of course while we have these two great examples, we have numerous admonitions in scripture and declarations that this meek, gentle, quiet spirit becomes those who are subjects of God's grace. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus says in Matthew 5, 5, blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth. Some people are prone to immediately reject the whole concept of meekness because they equate it with weakness.

But they're not the same. Meekness as somebody has said is power under control. We're under the control of the Spirit of God, not giving way to the impulses of the flesh, to the human responses that might be found in the world around us to be antagonistic, to be bitter, to be resentful, to be given to criticism and slander and trying to harm others. Galatians chapter 5 describes the fruit of the Spirit. Verses 22 and 23, but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance against such there is no law. Two words in that list particularly apply to what we're talking about, gentleness and meekness. It is the fruit of the Spirit. If you're walking with another spirit, then you know it's not the fruit of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit of God.

It's the fruit of your human nature and of yielding to Satan's temptations. A plain admonition is given to us in the book of Titus chapter 3. Verse 2 says, To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers but gentle, showing all meekness unto all men.

Now it's one thing to show meekness to those who are meek. It's one thing to be gentle when a person is gentle in return. Don't you find it a little more difficult when somebody is harsh? When somebody speaks unkindly to you? When somebody is discourteous, abrupt, antagonistic? You can be very calm and let somebody tear into you for whatever reason. Boy, have you ever noticed how quickly the old flesh can rare up? You can find out you had some stuff in you you didn't even know was in there.

You didn't know that you could be irritated so easily and so quickly. But this says, To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers but gentle, showing all meekness unto all men. There's a test.

Good behavior and good attitude. Sometimes people get the mistaken idea that if they're really standing for what is right, that they're justified to become rather harsh in their approach in dealing with those that disagree with them. But we see from scripture that the wisdom that is from above is peaceable. May we pray that God will bless us always to display that wisdom to his glory. I encourage you to write and let us know that you've listened to the program today. Our address is the Baptist Bible Hour, Box 17037, Cincinnati, Ohio 45217. May we greet you next time.

This is LaSara Bradley, Jr. bidding you goodbye and may God bless you. I am blessed, watching and waiting, looking above, to live this goodness lost in his love. This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long. This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior, praising my Savior, praising my Savior all the day long.