Hurricane in the Church

I almost feel the need to reintroduce
myself. I’m assuming that you’ll glance
down and figure out who I am. But I also feel like I may need
to remind you that we are studying the book of James. We have been
on a bit of a hiatus for the last three or four weeks. And
so if God’s people would turn once again to James’s epistle,
we have been in Chapter 3. And in order to just refresh
your memory I wanted to do a kind of review of what we have considered
thus far. James is issuing forth a series
of tests and what he wants to do is not disprove the believers
faith but allow believers to have an insight and understanding
into what real genuine faith looks like. so that as we look
at our own lives, we can assess our lives and determine whether
or not we are currently in Christ, and if so, rejoice, and if not,
go back to the throne of grace, fall back on our knees, go again
to repentance, and cry out for God to do a work in our lives. In chapter three, he turns to
one of the most uncomfortable tests of all. that of a discussion
of the use of our tongue. He introduces the subject in
verse one of chapter three when he says, let not many of you
become teachers. It’s an occupational hazard to
speak. Let not many of you become teachers,
my brethren, knowing that as such, we shall incur a stricter
judgment. For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in
what he says, he is a perfect man able to bridle the whole
body as well. He’s not perfect in the human
sense of the word, but he is mature. He has been enabled by
God’s grace to grow and to come to such a place where what he
says is well-crafted and carefully wrought, but it also comes from
a heart of integrity. And then he issues six principles,
and we reviewed these. This is review. He issues six
principled illustrations, each one with a very particular significance,
each one with its own particular lesson. Here’s the first look
at verse three. If we put bits into the horse’s
mouth so that they may obey us, we direct their entire body as
well. The first lesson is that just
like a mighty horse can be directed by a tiny little bit. So also
our mouths should be, by God’s grace, under complete control. Second principled illustration
is the rudder in the ship. Behold, the ships also, verse
four, though they are so great and driven by strong winds. And what he’s doing is he’s building
the illustration. Great ships, strong winds, and
still directed by a very small rudder. Wherever the inclination
of the pilot desires, so also the tongue is a small part of
the body, and yet it boasts of great things. The second principle
woven throughout that illustration is that just as a huge ship is
steered by a very small rudder, our tiny little tongue should
maintain a purposed course in our lives. If we say that we’re
Christians, then there isn’t an occasion for us to talk like
we’re not Christians. The third principle illustration
which is so appropriate living here in dry as a bone Colorado. Behold how great a forest is
set aflame by such a small fire. We all know this to be true.
And the tongue is a fire the very world of iniquity. The tongue
is set among our members is that which defiles the entire body
and sets on fire the course of our life and is set on fire by
hell. These are some of the strongest
words in scripture especially Some of the strongest words in
scripture about the use of the human tongue. It’s a fire and
it sets on fire everything around it. Try to retrieve a piece of
gossip sometime. It’s impossible. One of the most alarming things
that James says in all of his epistle is that the tongue, the
fire, is set on fire by hell itself. We are agents of the
devil when we misuse this God-given gift. The principle is simple. Just like a tiny spark can set
a massive forest ablaze, our careless words can be devastating. There’s a fourth illustration.
Look at verse 7. For every species of beasts and birds, reptiles
and creatures of the sea is tamed and has been tamed by the human
race, but no one can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil
and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and
Father, and with it we curse men who have been made in the
likeness of God. From the same mouth come both
blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought
not to be this way. And the simple illustration is
there for the taking, just as even the wildest creatures can
be tamed. You think of the African lion
and the great elephant and Shamu himself. Our mouths must likewise
be brought into a happy obedience. That’s what training, that’s
what taming is. The animal has an innate desire to please and
all we’ve got to do is find the right bait, find the right benefit
in order to train the creature. Well, the mouth needs to learn
as well. James says, fifth principled
illustration is in verse 11. Does a fountain send out from
the same opening both fresh and bitter water? And now he takes
us to a spring. And he says that this spring
issuing forth from the side of a mountain can’t alternatively
turn on fresh water at one moment and then by the end of the day
turn salty or bitter. Just as we can expect drinkable
water from a fountain, our conversation must be pure and beneficial. God has a right to expect pure
water from the fountains of our mouths. And the final illustration
there at the beginning of this great chapter, verse 12, can
a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs?
Neither can salt water produce fresh. And the principle there,
by now, we’ve become skilled at understanding these illustrations.
And the principle is simple. If we can expect the appropriate
fruit, from a particular tree, then our talk as believers must
be the fruit of God’s grace in our lives. But James, he glides
almost effortlessly into the story behind the story. We know
that there are principles to put in place to affect and to
control our speaking. Sometimes people will count to
10 before responding or say the alphabet if things are really
out of hand. But what is it? What is the mechanism
that controls even the tongue? And James wants to tell us the
mechanism that controls even the tongue is wisdom. Look, if you would, at verse
13. Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior,
his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter
jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant
and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which
comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish
ambition exists, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is
first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy, good
fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy, and the seed whose fruit is righteousness
is sown in peace by those who make peace. What James does here
is give us the clue, he opens to us the understanding of how
our speech can be controlled, how it can be guided, how we
can glorify God in our speech. In order to do that, he says,
we need wisdom. It’s yet another line of reasoning
that he has been providing throughout this entire epistle. And in line with the subject
at hand, talking to teachers, or at least would-be teachers,
he says that the right use of our tongues is crucial. The right
use of wisdom is absolutely crucial if we are going to be used by
God in the course of teaching. This is no different a test than
he has issued throughout this entire book. He issued the test
of trials, how we handle trials in chapter one, verse two through
eight. He issued the test of temptation. How do we handle
temptation? Not just trial, but now outright
temptation in chapter one, verse 12. Are we a doer of the word
or just merely a talker in chapter one, verse 22 and following?
And there are social implications to our Christian walk as well. Are we impartial? Chapter 2,
verses 1 through 13. What do our works testify? Chapter
2, verses 14 through 26. And then as we just reviewed,
what about the tongue? These are all ways, he says,
that God uses to test or really to prove our faith. That he is
at work. He is changing us from the inside
out. He is making us after Christ
and he does desire to use us for his glory. But it’s a process. And as we come across to any
one of these where grace is needed, we go again to God for grace. Today, he begins by talking about
wisdom and really what he provides right at the outset is an examination,
a practical admonition to wisdom. Look at verse 13 once again.
Who among you is wise and understanding? It’s very possible that James,
having issued this little exhortation at the outset of his epistle,
he probably had even those sitting on the edge of their seat who
were maybe even thinking that this didn’t apply to them, that
they were ready. He had issued this little statement
at the outset of his epistle. If any of you lacks wisdom, like
a vending machine, it almost comes off to our mind. If anybody
needs some, just go to God. Let him ask of God who gives
to all men generously and without reproach. And there are probably
some sitting in the congregation that said, yep, been there, done
that, got it. I’m ready to teach. This idea of wisdom, is so crucial,
not just for teaching, but really for the Christian life. And oftentimes
throughout the course of history, men, particularly the Puritans,
have used word to describe this wisdom, practical wisdom, day-to-day
living. Sometimes they use words that
no longer have meaning to us, but they’re good words. Deportment. When was the last time you used
that word? Deportment. But deportment means just the
way that you carry yourselves, the way the way that you conduct
yourself, the way that you operate. Another word that they frequently
used was carriage. Or even communication. And they weren’t necessarily
talking only about speech, but they were talking about the way
that you conduct yourselves, the way that you go about in
life. We would use more common words,
attitude. What is your attitude of life?
How do you carry yourself in the day-to-day operation of life?
What is your, if you will, demeanor? Do you trust God? Do you walk like you trust? Do
you live like you really trust God? We might even, if you bear
with me, we might even refer to this practical wisdom as our
operating system. Do you have the latest software?
Has it been updated? Have you refreshed it? Do you
know how to use it? Is it functioning well or is
it full of viruses in your life? We’ve spoken in weeks past about
the tongue and the need to keep the tongue on a leash. under
control. Wisdom is the means to do that.
It’s our operating system. It’s our demeanor. Wisdom is that which actually
controls the tongue. And it isn’t as if James here
is speaking only to teachers. He’s certainly speaking to teachers,
but he’s speaking to all who would be teachers. But this there’s
nothing in this that doesn’t specifically and particularly
apply to every believer. The use of the tongue. We can’t
get through even a few moments without speaking. Certainly not
an entire day. The tongue. The tongue is the
instrument where our heart is revealed. The tongue is the instrument
where our wisdom is betrayed. The tongue shows us who we are. The use of the tongue is part
of every believer’s daily life. And so every believer is called
to attend to the need of this particular wisdom. What is wisdom? We’ve touched on it before. We
touched on it in chapter one, verse five through eight. We’ve
touched on it in other portions of scripture. And so briefly,
by way of review, according to scripture, wisdom is the knowledge,
as one said, the knowledge and fear of God, especially enlightening
the mind which flows from the word and the spirit of Christ.
In other words, it is God interfacing with the individual. touching their heart in life
and changing their course for his good. One described it more fully.
Wisdom, he said, is that beautiful conception which had sprung up
among the Jews after return from Babylon, in which is embodied
chiefly in the books of wisdom, Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, and Job,
by the contrasted earthly wisdom Roman philosophy and the like is contrasted with not only that,
but the wisdom of the zealots. You see, James, remember, is
operating in a particular sphere. He’s there in Jerusalem. He was
probably head over a number of churches, but not the least of
which was Jerusalem, which was also the hotbed for the anti-Christian
hostilities that were brought on by the Jews, the Zealots,
who really believed that they were doing God a favor. Remember
Paul’s conversion? They believed they were doing
God a favor in their zeal for what they believed were the things
of God. Zeal isn’t bad. We’ll come back to that in a
moment. Proverbs 13, or Proverbs 3 rather, verse 13 says, How
blessed is a man who finds wisdom. We want wisdom. We need wisdom. It’s a good and wholesome thing. but we can’t let wisdom go unchecked. We can’t operate in the world
without wisdom or it does go to an ungodly zeal. I love the way one Puritan, Richard
Flavel, described the beauty of wisdom. He said this attribute
may be fitly called the council chamber of heaven. You’ve seen
people wear the rubber bracelets right. What would Jesus do. This
is a day by day moment by moment appeal a looking up to God to
see what would God have me do in this situation or better yet
informed by the scriptures principled life issuing forth touching every
sphere of life. That’s wisdom. Stephen Sharnock
said it very plainly when he said, ordinarily, we count a
wise man when he conducts his affairs with discretion. He’s
a careful man. There goes a wise man, we would
say. Governs his passions with moderation,
carries himself with a due proportion, and harmony with all his concerns.
If he’s just quiet, if we don’t know what he’s doing, we tend
to think of that man as a wise man. But Sharnock goes on to say that
wisdom is acting for a right and fixed. And this is a man
who is moving with a purpose. This is a man who knows exactly
who he is desiring to please and how. Moving, acting for a
right end in choosing a fit means everything about him moves to
please almighty God. Well, that’s wisdom. And he adds
to that this understanding, wisdom and understanding, they go hand
in hand. It is a way of looking at life
that understands what it is that God desires, what God desires
of him, what God is like in his being, what pleases him. And those two things go hand
in hand, wisdom and understanding. And that’s why I refer to it
as our operating system. It’s, if you will, it’s our worldview.
It’s what drives us. It’s what moves us. Paul knew
this when he said to the Ephesian believers in chapter five, verse
15, therefore be careful how you walk. Not as unwise men,
but as wise. Be careful. Make sure that you’re
operating as God would have you operate in this world. It’s our
worldview. Over the past several years,
I’ve had the privilege to teach our eighth grade worldview class
at Olive Tree. And over the course of time,
we crafted a definition of worldview. And this fits with this idea
of operating in wisdom and understanding. Listen carefully. Worldview. It is an understanding of life.
which provides a filter for interpreting events and trends and from which
responses and actions are formed. And so if terrorists knock down
a couple of tall buildings full of people and hundreds and thousands
are killed, We operate in a worldview that gives us perspective to
that, that lets us know that God is sovereign, that God is
still on his throne, that while God did not will this, he did
ordain it. He did allow it. And it allows
us to rejoice in the God that we know and to operate in this
world undeterred that we will glorify God. We will seek to
please him. We will not turn our backs on
him. We will not give up on him. And ultimately, our life will issue
forth with deeds that testify the genuineness of our faith.
Because it gives us a grid It gives us a way of understanding
the course and the events of life, and our responses flow
from that. That’s why James even says wisdom
isn’t just something sitting up in an ivory tower. It’s something
that does something. It’s something that moves us.
It changes the way that we behave. Look again at the verse. No sooner
does he ask the question, he gives the answer. Who among you
is wise and understanding? And he probably even had people
in his midst that began to shoot a hand forward. I’m wise. James says, great. Let him show. This wisdom should do something.
Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of
wisdom. Wisdom, godly wisdom, should
change us. It should move us. It should
make us to be different people in this fallen world in which
we live. We can’t be unchanged. We can’t be untouched by the
grace of God. This word is fascinating to this
word for behavior. It’s a it’s a turning back. It’s
a changing course. It was used of a horse, if you’re
riding a horse. Remember, for those who ride
horses who put that bit into their gooey mouth, it was used
of wheeling that horse around, turning it on a dime. And he
says that that should be. the mark of a believer. It should
be a life that has been turned, turned for God and for good.
Paul, in writing to the Ephesians, uses this word as well in Ephesians
4.22 in reference to turn the horse on a dime, your former
manner of life. It should be different. Paul
uses it in speaking to Timothy, young Timothy in 1 Timothy chapter
4. Let no one look down on your
youthfulness, but rather in speech, in conduct, turn it on a dime. God, having poured his grace
into you, should see a different product on the field. It should
see a different person at work. It should have a different character
than it did before. The writer of the Hebrews uses
it as well. Remember those who led you, who spoke of the word
of God to you, Hebrews 13, 7, and consider the result of their
conduct that God took feeble people, God took sinners, and
he turned them on a dime for his good. Robert Johnstone, certainly he
was my hero before, but now he’s really, really my hero, one of
my favorite authors. He said this talk of orthodoxy
and Christian experience however fluent animated and clever. And
you’ve met some of these people haven’t you. You’ve met them
at conferences you’ve met them sometimes even at church you’ve
met them out in the community. They talk of Christian experience
fluently and animatedly and cleverly. But Johnstone says talk does
not of itself prove wisdom. It is the really wise man will
show his works. And what Johnstone goes on to
point out is this really is just another in a long steady stream
of proofs. Where God is proving our faith. God is showing us that he is
actively at work in our heart and life. And if he isn’t, If
we don’t see these tests, we plead again for God’s grace.
We go again to Christ. We plead again for forgiveness.
We plead again for God to do a work in our lives. And he rounds
out with this thought. These works of the separate acts
of holiness, godly earnestness, patience, which constitute the
noble life And such an act, when we know it. Consistent with the
whole life is to be regarded as new fruit and evidence of
wisdom. In other words, he says, look
at your life. If you see God in the process
of changing it, rejoice. God is at work. You’re under
construction. And there’s progress. And he says this to close Christian
wisdom will at all events every course of our life Christian
wisdom will at all events in all cases find expression through
giving spiritual loveliness to the whole daily life. Every part
of our life we touched by God. Here he just says that our life
will be touched and what will be manifest is what he calls
the gentleness of wisdom. Because true wisdom, he says,
there is a godly gentleness to it. It’s not rough. It’s not
arrogant. We’ll go on to see what it is.
But here he just gives a snippet that it’s not. It’s not an out
of control, bullish wisdom. One described it as that lowly
attitude of heart which is full of gentleness and mildness toward
others, the opposite of arrogant self-assertion, ruthless domination. That’s not wisdom. It’s apart from the idea of a
wrathful course, a revenge-minded man. And so Paul, James here
has begun down this course of a discussion of wisdom, and he’s
told us how important it is. And he’s essentially suggested
by his opening question that every single one of us needs
this wisdom, that it’s indispensable. And if we possess it, it will
begin to touch everything we are and everything that we do
and everything that we say. Remember, that’s the context.
The unfortunate thing, and I say unfortunate because we find it
to be so true, is that there is a false wisdom. There is a
kind of wisdom, a kind of knowledge. There is a kind of deportment. There is a kind of an attitude
that is very prevalent in the church. that carries itself in
such a way where people have a tendency to suggest or assume
that this individual is right and truly wise. But James says
it’s a false wisdom. And he walks us through a series
of examination points on this wisdom. And he says not all wisdom,
quote unquote, is right and true and good and genuine. And so he wants to talk, first
of all, about this false wisdom. We’ll get to the true next Lord’s
Day, Lord willing. First, we’ve got to get through
the false wisdom. Let’s look at this. The character of false
wisdom. The character of false wisdom.
But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your
heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. That’s
false wisdom. That’s the character, the nature
of false wisdom. And so, let’s look at the first
mark of this false wisdom, what he identifies as bitter jealousy. This is, remember, in contrast
with what he had already introduced, the gentleness of wisdom, and
now we have the bitterness of jealousy. What he goes on to point out
is that our lives are supposed to be established and, and grounded
on a humility that really issues forth in wisdom. It’s a reminder
that we’re not so sharp. We’re not, we didn’t have so
much to offer God in the first place, but the God and his abundant
mercy has reached down and touched us and begun a work of renewal
and rebuilding and, and a complete makeover in our lives. that we
see day in and day out. It’s God at work in our lives,
issuing forth in new deeds, a new way of living. It’s a personal
relationship that we have with the Lord Jesus Christ and everything
within us is growing into concert with
him. But he talks about this gentleness
of wisdom. this contrast that he had first
mentioned earlier in this epistle, this wisdom that we are supposed
to seek. And in James chapter one, he
mentions this very brief comment that every good gift comes down
from God. And there’s at least a question
that fills our mind, is this one of those gifts? Well, it stands in contrast with
what the world so often presents as wisdom. This passionate zeal that we
had talked about just briefly. What he calls here bitter jealousy. There’s nothing wrong with zeal.
In fact, the scriptures often commend zeal and speak commendably
about those who have zeal for the things of God. Second Kings
1931 out of out of Jerusalem will go forth a remnant out of
Mount Zion survivors. The zeal of the Lord will accomplish
this. So zeal, if zeal can be spoken
of in a positive thing about God, It was also spoken of as a positive
aspect of the Lord Jesus Christ. His disciples, John, chapter
two, verse 17, his disciples remembered that it was written,
the zeal for your house will consume me, Jesus Christ going
in and driving out the money changers in the temple. Jesus
Christ was zealous. God himself is zealous. There’s
nothing wrong with the concept of zeal. There’s nothing wrong
if it is in check with zeal. It’s not a bad thing, necessarily.
The problem is that here, James adds a little word, pichron. You can almost hear it, you know. We have this idea of people being
piqued, irritated. This pichron means bitter. And this is what gives us the
bad sense of this zeal This picron was used of undrinkable water. I mean, how bad does water have
to be if you’re really super thirsty? How bad does it have
to be if you can’t even you couldn’t even bring yourself to drink
it? Offensive, unpalatable. And in time, the word transitioned
very naturally to be associated with contention and strife Bitter
jealousy that saw itself out in the course of churches. It’s
zeal, if you will, that issues forth in strife. Paul talks about
it in Romans 13 and again in 1 Corinthians 3. Harsh, resentful,
bitter, irritable, angry, resentful people that go around carrying
themselves about in the church. James Hebert or rather Edmund
Hebert said this religious zeal or enthusiasm for God and truth
is a commendable attitude. He starts the same way that I
did. But the subtleties of sinful human nature can readily pervert
it. Into bitter antagonism against
those who do not express their adherence to God and his truth
in the same way that we do. This is a problem. It’s a problem
in the church. It’s overzealousness. And so we need to watch for it
in our own heart and life. It can be reduced, as one characterized
it, to a simple look. A scrutinizing look or an unkind
word. Still another described it when
he said that this religion may be, in religion there may be
a very irreligious zeal and by that he means a bad, the bad
kind of zeal. The controversy always involves
a very serious spiritual hazard, and that wherever love fails,
a spirit of bitterness enters in. There is sin. Now he’s begun
to point out that this isn’t just a passing difficulty that
most churches can get through in time. This is a serious problem
that now has developed, this bitter jealousy that we find. Another Puritan drives home the
point very pointedly when he says it this way. A depraved
affection or passion of the mind disposing a man to hate or malign
another for some good or excellency belonging to him which the envious
person judges him unworthy of and which for the most part he
wants for himself. Now you have a picture of what
this bitter jealousy is and how it functions even in the church. Somebody wants something, somebody
desires something that is not their own. They see someone else
flourishing, the Lord blessing them. No wonder That little saying
envy is the mother mother of strife paul saw it in rome paul
saw it in corinth paul saw it in galatia paul saw it almost
everywhere he went this bitter jealousy You’ve heard that saying a man
is known by the company he keeps you’ve heard that Here’s the
company the jealousy keeps. Here’s the company that envy
keeps. Paul talks about it in Ephesians 4 31. Let all bitterness
and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from
you, along with all malice. They’re friends, these attributes
are. Still, one other pastor described
the horrific unfolding turmoil that originates with what we
would call envy, jealousy, and we would downplay it. Not a godly man. A godly man
sees this as a real danger in the church. He says, it originates
in bitter feelings, not in attachment to truth, but in opposition to
persons, in selfish ambitions, crooked designs. Its root is
evil. It appears in bitter actings,
venting itself in speeches fitted to wound, alienate, and exasperate. It scatters firebrands, reckless
feelings, and consequences. and it issues in bitter results
causing conflicts, separations, and manifold evils.” That ought
to scare the daylights out of each one of us. That a little
bit of bitterness, a little bit of envy, now allowed to breed
causes division in the very Church of Christ. That’s only one mark
of false wisdom. Look at the second. James is
moving right along and he says, but if you have bitter jealousy
and selfish ambition. Selfish ambition, it seems to
go hand in hand with bitter jealousy, selfish ambition. Well, what
is it? The original word here referred to those who work for
hire, they work for pay. What’s in it for me? And that’s essentially what you
get when you typically, when you hire an employee, You get
somebody who is desiring to make money for himself. But it went
on. This word went on to talk about
those who serve in a position for their own selfish purposes. They’re in it for themselves.
And that as a result, everything that they do is out of what we
would call a party spirit or what is better known as a faction. Everything becomes about them
and their own interest, their own club. They are a team unto
themselves. They’re only concerned about
themselves. They’re only concerned about
what they can make, what they can accomplish. And where it
was usually originally used to speak of a day laborer, Ultimately,
it came to refer to those who were the utmost danger in the
church. A person who would come in and
out of a desire for his own personal advantage would begin to promote
his own agenda and who would use unworthy and
divisive methods and means to get what he wanted. We refer
to it a lot of times as a party spirit or dissension or factiousness. Probably one of the mildest ways
that we can reference this type of behavior is we’ll call it
political. He’s political. He’s making a
political issue of this, and here’s how it functions. He’s
got an idea. He wants to promote this idea,
and perhaps the idea isn’t holding sway with the leadership of the
church, and so it starts small. It starts at lunch, and it starts
with a conversation. And the next thing you know,
the conversation at lunch turns into conversations with two or
three or more. Aristotle, when he was describing
the use of this word, he used it, you know, this wise Greek
philosopher looked out on the landscape of everything that
was going on in Greek life. And he used it to describe those
who were seeking pursuit of a political office by unfair means. Now in
our day and age you’ve heard of candidates going and taking
the signs out of yards. But there are also all kinds
of really dastardly things that are done in the name of politics.
That’s what Aristotle said the ungodly were doing in the political
arena. How much worse. This must be
to have this kind of a thing active in the New Testament Church
of Christ. Politicizing of issues. Backbiting,
bitterness, and selfish ambition. And the idea of impure motives
is behind it all. Self-seeking, factiousness, It’s
an ego that will not be stilled. Several pastors gave it the idea
of a mercenary spirit that he just signs up. He doesn’t really
have a dog in the hunt. He really could care less about
the cause, but he’s getting paid to be a soldier. And by all means,
he will do whatever. You see this all the time on
the street corners, right? Do you really think that that
knucklehead with headphones stuck, glued into his ears, spinning
a sign around all day for two or three or six or eight hours
a day. Do you really think that he cares
who does your taxes? He’s a mercenary. And the sad thing is there are
those in the church that function the same way. Charles Hodge described
him as those who are contentious. Originally used of a hireling
to work for hire, selfishness, ambition, party spirit, malice. It is not envy or rivalry, but
malicious opposition to God. Malicious opposition to God.
When I was a brand new pastor a long time ago, somebody gave
me a book. And the book, the title of the
book alone frightened me. The book was titled Well-Intentioned
Dragons. Do you see where he’s going?
There are those people that really believe that their cause is so
just that their position, the principle they’re arguing for
is so good that any means can be used to justify what they
do. They are well-intentioned dragons. They want in their zeal what
they believe to be good and right. So the end justifies the means,
regardless of how ungodly. And note that both of these Characteristics,
bitter jealousy, and selfish ambition, they reside in the
heart. It’ll come out in the tongue.
It’ll come out in the behavior. It’ll come out in their speech
and the way they carry themselves, but it resides deep within. It
resides in the heart. Proverbs 4.23 says, watch your
heart with all diligence for from it flow the issues of life.
That’s where your deportment is grounded. That’s where your
wisdom is built. Jesus said it the same exact
way in Matthew 15. Out of the heart come evil thoughts,
murders, adulteries, fornication, thefts, false witness, slanders. And so Paul, James here issues
forth a correction. Look at the passage. Verse 14. If you have bitter
jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, and really what
he does is he asks every believer to go back and review your behavior.
Go back and review the way that you carry yourself. Go back and
review. Is your zeal unchecked? If so, do not be arrogant and
so lie against the truth. Don’t lie against the gospel.
Don’t lie against the work of God. This isn’t the work of God,
he says. The way you’re behaving, the
way you’re carrying yourself, it is not right. And so then he wants to point
us finally to the origin of this false wisdom. Where did this
idea come from? Where did this way of behaving
come from? How could I have gotten this?
Look at verse 15. This wisdom, this so-called wisdom,
I think if quotes had been, quote marks had been invented, air
quotes, he would have put them in here. This so-called wisdom
is not that which comes down from above. James 117, James had spoken so
gloriously, every good thing given and every perfect gift
is from above coming down from the father of lights with whom
there is no variation or shifting shadow. But if you have this
kind of wisdom, it didn’t come from heaven. It didn’t come from
God. This wisdom is not that which
comes down from above. If it doesn’t have meekness,
if it’s characterized by this bitter jealousy, self-seeking,
selfish ambition, it didn’t come from God. Where did it come from? It’s earthly. It has an earthly origin. It’s
bound by earthly parameters. It’s of no good. Spiritually
speaking, it is grounded only in the mundane elements of life. Paul differentiates between these
two wisdoms in 1 Corinthians, doesn’t he? There’s a wisdom
of the world. There’s a wisdom of God. And
the two things are as different as night and day. Not only is
it earthly, that which Paul spoke about in Romans 1, professing
to be wise, they became fools. The world’s wisdom is foolishness.
Not only is it earthly, it’s natural. It’s just the way we’ve
always done it. It’s the way we’ve always operated.
It’s what the world is doing. It’s what it’s according to our
regular principles of conduct. It’s the best that an ungodly
man can think up. But not only is it earthly and
natural, James goes on to say it’s demonic. As one Puritan described it,
the fire of this zeal is from the bottomless pit. In a sense that like the demons
who believe and shudder, they know the truth, but they’re unchanged
by it. This so-called kind of wisdom
sadly leaves a man completely unchanged. vain wisdom, empty
wisdom, worthless wisdom. What is the fruit? Look at verse
16, where we have the character of false wisdom, the origin of
false wisdom. Now look at the fruit of false
wisdom. Where there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there is
disorder and every evil thing. This disorder, Paul used this
word a lot. tumult, a riot. It’s unsettling. It’s being tossed
to and fro. But riots and disturbances were
so much a part of the Apostle Paul’s life that he saw this
as the logical end of these dreadful people in the church. The chaotic effects of wisdom. Well, I’ve entitled this sermon, A
Hurricane in the Church. And I’m sure 45 minutes ago when
you looked at the title, you might have had a curiosity and
45 minutes later you’ve likely forgotten all about the title.
And you think that maybe I just started off on one course and
ended up down another. There’s a hurricane in the church.
That’s exactly James’ concern. He sees it. He sees the destruction. And in a number of places in
scripture, we see these types of, if you will, spiritual weather
events. I want to take you on a very
brief tour in closing. Turn to Philippians. Philippians chapter 1 I Would call this Tropical storm
Phil Or Phyllis or Philippi Tropical storm Phil because this one really
doesn’t I It really doesn’t do much in the way of destruction.
Paul himself downplayed it, but he uses two words that we will
see over and over again in the course of these spiritual weather
events. Look at verse 15, chapter 1,
verse 15. Some, Paul says, to be sure,
are preaching Christ even from envy and strife. That’s one of
our destructive words. And yet Paul said, this is no
big deal. We can weather this one. The destruction will not
be so severe. We can get through this. It’s
a tropical storm. Look at verse 16. The latter
do it out of love, knowing that I’m appointed for the defense
of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of, and there’s our
word, selfish ambitions. They’re self-seeking. They’re
mercenaries. They’re in it for their own good.
Paul says, that’s all right. Let him be. They’re preaching
Christ. I think these were believers
preaching in Paul’s midst. Paul said, this is no big deal.
Their methods are not our methods. God’s big enough. He can handle
this one. Turn, if you would, to Titus. In Titus, we really only see
one really ugly word. It’s ugly and it reveal its head again and again
in the scriptures, but for this reason, I would call this a category
to Cretan. We’ll call him Cretan, this storm. Titus chapter three, look at
verse nine. Avoid foolish controversies and
genealogies and strife, there’s our recurring word, and disputes
about the law. Why? For they are unprofitable
and worthless. Reject a factious man after a
first and second warning. Paul saw approaching this little
island of Crete where Titus was the only living elder at the
moment, he saw a storm brewing that was going to bring trouble. Category two, wouldn’t wipe the
island clean. It wouldn’t probably even take
lives, but it was going to be a problem for young Titus to
deal with. Turn to second Corinthians chapter
12. And this was, this is a bad one. In fact, the radar indicates
that this is a category five, but it is only forecasted. It hasn’t hit yet. Paul has been
defending himself for almost three chapters now, and Paul
looks out on the landscape and he sees a spiritual hurricane
brewing that is going to hit Corinth, the likes of which they’ve
never seen. It’s a bad one. The worst ever. And we’ll call this category
5, a forecasted category 5, Hurricane Macedonia. Look at verse 20 of
chapter 12. Paul was afraid to go back to
this church that he loved. Absolutely fearful for I’m afraid
that perhaps when I come and may find you not to be what I
wish and may be found by you not to be what you wish that
perhaps there will be strife. There’s one of our words. Jealousy,
there’s another of our words. Bitter jealousy, angry tempers,
disputes, exactly what James forecasted. Slanders, gossip,
arrogance, disturbances, tumult. Exactly what James forecasted.
Paul looked and he said, if this goes unchecked, if these people
have their way, they will destroy the church in Corinth. Do you
have time for one more? Sure we do. Turn, if you would,
to Galatians. One book to the right. Chapter
5. Because now you see the origins.
And I believe that what Paul’s doing here is not forecasting. He’s looking back on the destruction
that he has seen in real life. He’s seen it. It has destroyed
lives. It’s destroyed ministries. It’s
destroyed churches. It’s destroyed people. It’s from
the devil himself. I’d call this a review of Category
5, Asia. Hurricane Asia, Galatians 5.20. Now the deeds of the flesh are
evident, which are immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry,
sorcery, enmities. Here we go. Strife. There’s one
of our words. Jealousy. There’s another. Outbursts
of anger. Another. Disputes, dissensions,
factions. Paul says that these things will
destroy a church. And we need to root them out. And so when James says, if you
have bitter jealousy or selfish ambition in your heart, do not
lie against the truth. Don’t say that this came from
God. Don’t blame it on him. This wisdom is not that which
comes down from above. but is earthly, natural, and
demonic. Matthew Henry said it like this
in closing. Those who live in malice, envy,
and contention live in confusion and are liable to be provoked
and hurried into any evil work. Such disorders raise many temptations,
strengthen temptations, and involve men in a great deal of guilt.
One sin begets another, and it cannot be imagined how much mischief
is produced. God, spare us from the devastating
effects of spiritual hurricanes in our little church. Let’s pray. Lord God. Each one of us, as
we looked at these. Perhaps didn’t even see anything
wrong. With a little bit of jealousy, a little bit of envy. A little
bit of ambition. But unchecked, Lord, those are
the very means of destruction of a local church. Lord, we know
that Paul saw it as a very serious thing. And likewise, our brother
James, who was watching out not just for the church in Jerusalem,
but even for our little work. And we pray that you would grant
us the grace to examine our hearts, each one of us. That we would see what kind of
wisdom we are of. Is it a wisdom from above? Or
is it this kind of false wisdom, a sham wisdom? The wisdom that
ultimately will issue forth in destruction. Lord, we know that we we can
have no wisdom apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. And so if
for those who need the Lord Jesus, he is available, having already
paid for sinners sin. For those of us, though, who
walk with Christ, who know Christ. Give us the grace to examine
our hearts. that we might know our operating system and might
be turned for your kingdom’s sake. We thank you and we praise
you in Jesus’ name. Amen.