James 3:13-18 part one - Who Among You Is Wise And Understanding?

This week the college students at UWSP have made it half way through the 2024/2025 school year and now they are taking their finals before they go home to celebrate Christmas. I would assume that as they are studying for these finals there may be some of them who are saying, “What do any of these things that I am being forced to learn have to do with my life?”

In a similar way Community Church has been studying the Letter of James for quite some time and now we have made it to the middle section of this letter. I hope that you can testify that this letter has already had a dramatic impact on your life. It would be unfortunate if we came to this point and said, “None of this applies to my life.” Or if we were to say, “I feel like I know all these things but I wonder if I will ever have success in these areas. If I am honest, I feel like I am failing at this Christian life.” {I was talking with an individual recently who expressed this very frustration and discouragement.}

Every college student will be glad when they complete these tests next week. We have learned from James, however, that the life of a believer is in some way a continual test of our faith. I bet that the thought of this probably does not bring our hearts much encouragement and peace.

James, however, has taught us that these tests will inevitably produce good things in God’s people. James said in James 1:2-4, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials (& tests) of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” Then a few verses later James writes, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast (in the faith) under trial (and tests), for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” (12)

Paul teaches something similar when he says in Romans 5:3-5, “...we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

If you are like me, you may wonder if what Paul says is true for us. My trials have not always produced endurance, character, and hope. It is critical, however, to see that the context of what Paul is teaching has to do with the grace of saving faith. Saving faith is what produces these things in the life of a believer during times of trials and testing's.

In Romans 5:1-2 Paul speaks about saving faith and how it is what produces endurance, character, and hope during trials and testings. Paul says, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

{LBC 14.3- This saving faith may exist in varying degrees so that it may be either weak or strong. Yet even in its weakest form, it is different in kind or nature (like all other saving graces) from the faith and common grace of temporary believers. Therefore, faith may often be attacked and weakened, but it gains the victory. It matures in many to the point that they attain full assurance through Christ, who is both the founder and perfecter of our faith.}

James knows that a believer’s faith will encounter many tests in this life. Some of these tests may come and go very quickly. Other tests will last a long time and be difficult to endure. However, James and Paul encourage Christians to persevere and remain steadfast in the faith because we will most assuredly receive God’s promise and obtain the hope for which we are looking- we will receive the crown of eternal life!

This morning our text begins with a question, “Who is wise and understanding among you?” This is not the first question that James has asked us and it won’t be the last. This is an important question for us to consider.

Illustration: I remember one time when Mindy and I had to meet with a Presbyter and five other pastors and they had a couple of hours to ask us any question that they felt necessary to determine if I was a worthy candidate to become a minister. To be honest, I was disappointed when it was over and they did not ask me one difficult or uncomfortable question. As we left I lamented to Mindy that so few people had ever asked me really important questions.

God heard my lament that day and He has responded in two ways.

• First, I have come to realize that even if no one asks us important questions the Bible will. In the Scriptures we are asked questions by Jesus and all the writers of Scripture!

• Secondly, the Lord has since put quite a few people in my life who will ask me important questions.

Illustration: Most of you know Buck and Jenny White who have attended Community Church for a couple of years now. Both of them have begun to serve this congregation in many ways. Over that time I have listened to Buck teach our kids in Sunday School and at Veritas Christi Classical School and I have noticed that one of the things that makes him a good teacher is that he asks good questions. Buck asks these questions for a particular purpose to poke, prod, persuade, and prompt his pupils to grow in wisdom and understanding.

Buck often uses the same teaching method that James has been using in this letter. This letter contains 25 questions and James uses each of them purposefully to poke, prod, persuade, and to prompt us to think wisely and to understand and respond rightly.

James has made godly wisdom and understanding an important focus of this letter. You will recall that in the opening verses of this Letter James wrote, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let Him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (1:5-8)

Even now as we come to the middle of this letter James once again highlights the importance of biblical wisdom and understanding when he asks, “Who is wise and understanding among you?” James expects that every Christian would desire wisdom, pray for it, study God’s word, and apply this wisdom and understanding in every area of our lives.

Wouldn’t it be easy for us to read this question and then continue reading without stopping to think about what James has asked and how we might respond? Who are the wise and understanding people among us?

If James stood before us this morning behind this pulpit I think he would pause for a moment after asking, “Who is wise and understanding among you?”. Then he would let us give our answers. Some of us would stand up and declare ourselves to be those who are wise and understanding. And others would begin to nominate other people in this church who they believe to be wise and understanding. We should ask, ‘On what basis would we determine that someone is wise and understanding?’

• Is a wise and understanding person the one who knows their bible and theology really well?

• Is a wise and understanding person the one who is a good leader and visionary?

• Is the wise and understanding person the one who has the right diplomas from the right schools with many titles after their name?

• Is the wise and understanding person the individual who is good at business and has become very well to do as a result of this?

• Is the wise and understanding person the one who has been a professing Christian for so many years and so it is just assumed that by this time they are wise and understanding?

• Are the elders, deacons, and missionaries in the church wise and understanding because they hold these positions in the church?

• Is the wise and understanding person the one who...

We have spent a year in the book of James and I wonder if our answer would be the same as James in James 3:14-18 when he writes, “By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”

Let’s take some time to consider what we have learned in this letter and follow James’ train of thought as he sat down to write this letter.

Chapter 1 Overview: If we were to read this letter we would find that James asks 25 questions from beginning to end. However, James does not ask a single question in James 1. I believe that this means that in that chapter James busies himself with teaching, exhorting, encouraging, and instructing his readers in biblical truth and how to apply it to their everyday life. In doing this James lays a strong biblical foundation regarding everything else he will address in this letter.

• James taught us the same Gospel that all the other apostles taught. A Christian is saved by grace through faith when the effectual calling of God comes through the preaching of His Word.

• James also taught that when we become new creations in Christ believers are given grace to be sanctified in every area of life. Therefore, we are to hear the Word, believe the Word, seek to understand the Word, and obey the Word of God. Therefore, a Christian is to grow in wisdom and understanding.

Chapter 2 Overview: In chapter 2 James begins to apply these biblical truths to the hearts and the consciences of the readers. One of the ways that he does this is to ask 10 questions that the readers have to think about these questions and respond rightly.

For example, in James 2:1-4 James addresses a terrible sin that was happening in these congregations- the sin of partiality. James exposes this sin and then he confronts the hardness of their consciences by asking them questions that are to take seriously and not ignore. These 10 questions are a means to test these believers to see if they are a wise and understanding people.

James confronts this sin and exposes their evil thoughts when he writes, “My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, ‘You sit here in a good place,’ while you say to the poor man, ‘You stand over there,’ or ‘sit at my feet,’ have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?”

Then James asks a question that will confront them with the fact that this sin is contrary to the will of God and the Gospel. James asks in verse 5, “Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs in the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love Him?”

Finally, James shows that when they commit this sin they align themselves with wicked, faithless, and godless men who are oppressing God’s people. James asks in verses 6&7, “But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?”

Observation: This sinful behavior is an example within this congregation of the very things that James will discuss in 3:13-18. This sin shows that there are some in this congregation who are not wise and understanding in biblical things; rather, they are displaying a worldly wisdom which is expressed through bitter jealousy and selfish ambition which produces every vile practice. (3:13,16)

James continues to address this sin by asking 6 more questions. The first four questions confront the folly of professing that you have a saving faith in Christ if there are no righteous works and gracious fruitfulness that provides the evidence that such saving faith and sanctifying grace is present in a person's life. (v.14, 16, 20)

• V.14- “What good is it my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?”

• V.15-16- “If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?”

• V18-20- “But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe- and shudder!” Then James asks, “Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?” Notice that

Important Observation: Notice that James speaks very boldly to these people who would try to defend their dead faith when he refers to them as a ‘foolish person’. (20) These foolish people are the opposite of the ‘wise and understanding’ people that James has in mind when he asks his question in James 3:13. These ‘foolish people’ boast about things that are contrary to the truth of scripture and to the wisdom that is from above. Instead, they boast in a wisdom that is earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. (15) The faith of these ‘foolish people’ cannot save (14), it is a dead faith (17), and it is a useless faith (20).

Next James uses two more questions to focus the reader's attention on two saints in the Old Testament who illustrate what true saving and sanctifying faith looks like. It is a faith that works, it is a faith that is alive, and it is a faith that is profitable. The two saints that James speaks about are Abraham and Rahab. In James 2 these ten questions have been used by James to poke, prod, persuade, and prompt a wise and understanding response from these believers.

Chapter 3 Overview: With these ten questions James gave those who profess to have faith in Jesus Christ a test. This is of more consequence than a quiz. This test had real consequences. James examined the results of this test and begins chapter 3 with these words, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers…”. (1)

The test was given and it gauged the maturity of these believers in wisdom and understanding. James discovered that most of these believers were not consistently applying God’s Word to every area of their lives. Therefore, they should do two things as a congregation.

• First, they should dedicate themselves as a congregation to bridle their tongues and listen and learn the Word of God and put it into practice!

• Secondly, they should take more seriously who they put forward as teachers and learn how to discern who is wise and understanding among them.

James understood that only the wise and understanding among them should become teachers and should be listened to by the congregation. Paul gives voice to the importance of these things when he wrote to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:16, “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.” Ministers should lead by example by being men who are wise and understanding.

After saying this James uses the next 10 verses to speak about the importance of bridling the tongue and using it only in the promotion of wisdom and understanding.

• Imagine the blessing it would be if the pastor, elders, deacons, and the whole congregation were dedicated to speaking and growing in wisdom and understanding!

• On the other hand, imagine the tragedy it is when these things are not happening in a congregation. Oh, let us all obey James 1:5 and pray for wisdom. We ought to do this first for ourselves and then for others.

Sanctification in these things can only be achieved when a person is saved, receives the Holy Spirit, given a new heart, and are made a new creation. James refers to this in James 3:11-12 when he says, “Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevide produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.” James knows that God’s grace which has so powerfully saved a person will also be working in them to sanctify God’s people.

Important Fact: The means through which this sanctification takes place in a believer's life is through wisdom and understanding. As a believer grows in wisdom and understanding they will simultaneously be growing in sanctification.

A believer once had a heart that was characterized by bitter jealousy and selfish ambition. From this inclination of their heart came forth a desire for worldly wisdom which promoted every vile thing. However, when a person is born-again and they receive a new nature that begins to live wisely and in an understanding way. As they grow in this wisdom and understanding their lives are characterized more and more by virtues which are ‘pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.’

I wonder if you still remember that when we started studying James I often spoke about the radical renewal and restoration that has taken place in the life of a believer?

When God first made mankind we were created in the image of God. (Genesis 1:27) What did this mean?

• God designed us to know and understand God’s wisdom and truth.

• God made our wills with the ability to submit to and obey God.

• God designed us to experience our greatest joy and fulfillment of our affections when we obeyed God in this way.

When Adam sinned everything was reversed.

• Instead of God’s truth and understanding guiding mankind his own sinful passions and desires were now in the driver’s seat.

• Instead of the will submitting to God’s wisdom it was now used by the sinner to justify sin or excuse it.

• And instead of finding our joy and the fulfillment of our affections in obeying the LORD we now attempted to find joy and pleasure by disobeying God and obeying Satan, this world, and ourselves.

Good News! Immediately after this happened God declared that He would send His a Savior to restore what had been destroyed by the Fall. Through Christ God makes a believer into a new creation (1:18) and restores him to what God had intended us to be. When a person is born-again they…

• They are made to accept and understand God’s wisdom and inclined to lived it out.

• Our wills are no longer enslaved to our sinful passions and pleasures; rather they are inclined to obey God and His Word.

• And our affections are restored to once again to find our greatest pleasure, delight, and joy in obeying God.

Oh how great was our former darkness but Christ has come to set us free. At Christmas we celebrate these things. The prophet Isaih said, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.” (9:2) We once walked in darkness, deep darkness, but God has shone forth a great light.

We were powerless to save ourselves from this darkness but Isaiah makes it clear that it was the LORD who has acted in a mighty and decisive way to intervene when he says, “You have multiplied the nation; You have increased its joy; they rejoice before You as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil. For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, You have have broken as in the day of Midian.” (9:3-4)

How did the LORD do these things? Isaiah 96-7 shows us that God has done this in Christ, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over His Kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will do this.”

There is a reason for all men to celebrate Christ’s coming. But only those who have been made to see the light and respond can truly celebrate Christmas. May our hearts increase in joy as we rejoice in what the LORD has done for us this Christmas season.