Gtcotr/ss101517
James 3 NKJV
13 Who is wise and
understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are
done in the meekness of wisdom.
13 If you are wise and
understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works
with the humility that comes from wisdom. (NLT)
·
Prove
it!
·
The
person who is secure in his wisdom does not feel the need to speak first, speak
loud or speak often.
·
James
1:19 Be swift to listen; slow to speak
and slow to get angry.
14 But if you have bitter
envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth.
·
Self-seeking
= selfish ambition = contention = self-promotion
·
Comes
from the root word in the Greek which means “day-laborer”, or one who works for
the moment and only for self-interests.
·
The
online Greek Lexicon renders the transliteration as “Electioneering” or as
Aristotle references point: A self-seeking pursuit of political office by
unfair means.
15 This wisdom does not
descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic.
·
Earthly
– Born of this world … based on worldly knowledge … limited to the earthbound
experiences and void of any Spiritual perspective.
·
Sensual
– Appeals to the natural emotional aspects of man without God’s influence.
·
Demonic
– Directed by the demons who oppose both God and man.
The
wisdom which moves a person to seek selfish promotion in life above that which
God has given them is at best earthly and at worst demonic.
16 For where envy and
self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.
·
Wherever
we find jealous hearts, selfish motives and campaigns based on lies, there we
will also find confusion and every evil thing.
17 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.
The
wisdom of God is:
1.
Pure
– Holy
2.
Peaceable
– safe; secure; without rage
3.
Gentle
= fair; mild; moderate
4.
Willing
to yield – willing to listen to reason and be reasonable
5.
Full
of mercy – kind and desirous of helping those who are troubled and/or less
fortunate
6.
Without
partiality = without ambiguity or uncertainty
7.
Without
hypocrisy – undisguised; without deception; sincere
18 Now the fruit of
righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
·
Sown
in peace – Seeds are not best sown during storms and chaos rather they are best
sown in peace by those who are not stomping through the fields in anger or resentment.
James 3:13 If you are wise
and understand God’s ways, prove it
by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from
wisdom. (NLT)
Conclusion: Each one of us is
a witness for Christ. We have an opportunity to sow seeds of God’s love in the
lives of others we know and meet. The wisdom which comes from God encourages us
to be pure; peaceable; gentle; willing to listen; full of mercy; honest, clear,
and sincere. This is honorable and the one way we prove we are doing God’s work
and not promoting our own doctrines. If you are wise … prove it!
