________________________________________________________________________

In our last lesson we covered the first 8 verses of this chapter where James addressed the dangers of an uncontrolled tongue. We talked about three main points: First, no man can tame the tongue by himself. Second, the tongue only speaks what overflows from the heart or the desire and will of man. Third, when man submits to Him, God can control the tongue!

Some of these early Christians were blessing God with one breath and cursing men and women with the next! James pointed out that it was hypocritical to bless God and then curse men who were made in the similitude of God. These Christians were Jews and would be well acquainted with the fact that man was created in the image of God.

Man was created in the image of God. Now we know from scripture that God has no human body except for the body that was born to Mary. Hebrews 1:3 teaches us that Jesus Christ's body was the "express image" of God's person. We know that God cannot be a trinity or any other plurality, for if God is a trinity of three persons, then where are my other two? I'm made in the image of God! I can however, being one person fufill many roles and take on many titles, but I only have one name and I am only one person and I only have one body. How come I'm that way? I was created in the image of God.

Adam was created in the image of Jesus Christ before Jesus Christ was ever born! Because men are created in the image of God, God hates violence. For when you raise your fist to strike someone, you are hitting the image of God. When you slap someone across the cheek, you just slapped a cheek that was formed in the image of Jesus' cheek. When you lash out someone verbally and "give them a piece of your mind," or curse them, you are cursing and attacking the very image of God! They may be sinful and unrepentant, but they were still made after His image. You should love people and not curse them or strike them for no other reason than your love for the God in whose likeness they were created! And that includes your husband and wife, your brother and sister, your mother and father, your boss and your enemy. If they are a human being, they were created in the image of God!

There are four analogies here:

1. Can a fountain send forth sweet water and bitter water at the same time?

The answer is, of course, no, for the bitterness will cause the sweet water to taste bitter as well.

2,3. Can a fig tree bear olives? Can a grape vine bear figs?

The answer is no. Nature obeys the Word of God that created it and it's obedience is evident by the fact that every plant in the world only produces it's own fruit! If you are bitter, then you will produce bitter fruit. It is true that we reproduce what we are. The people that you win to God will face the same struggles that you face, which is why we must continually allow God to work on us! When you obey God's Word completely, you can't help grow good fruit! When you have the nature of Jesus Christ controlling your life, it will try to be evident in every area of your life!

4. Can a fountain have both salt water and fresh?

No. For the salt water will corrupt the fresh. This goes along with Jesus' teaching that a little leaven (yeast) leaventh the whole lump. In our times we say that one bad apple destroys the barrel. If you have a heart that is not in submission to God's Word and will, then the good that you say will always be tainted with bad. The encouraging words that you say will always be taken wrong. Once people have tasted salty or bitter water, it takes a lot to prove to them that there is now fresh water flowing! But Jesus gives living water, that is pure, sweet and life giving! What man cannot change, Jesus can, but you must be willing to surrender your heart, your tongue, your everything to Him!

James then moves on to the biggest problem that the church was having in not controlling their tongue:

Obviously the biggest tongue problems that the early church was facing were people who were not controlling their tongue under the guise of trying to correct other people. This is still the biggest problem in the church. "Well, it's not gossip, it's the truth." Gossip can be truth but as long as it is speech that is detrimental to someone else, it's gossip! No matter what gift that God uses you in, and no matter how much you think you are justified in your actions, it's not your job to shepherd people, that's why God gave the church pastors. By doing so you are taking the place of a pastor. Unfortunately many Christians think that they have "wisdom" and therefore they must straighten everybody out!

Joseph. Moses. Paul. All are called wise in scripture and all were meek. When Pharaoh asked Joseph if he could interpret dreams, Joseph responded:

Moses asked God "how can I speak?" Moses was trained by the best orators in Egypt. Moses had the best education that a person could obtain in those days. Yet, his attitude in the presence of God was one of meekness!

Paul was the greatest theologian that ever lived. He was a Pharisee. He probably spoke at least three languages. He had learned at the feet of Gamaliel the most renown teacher of that time. He wrote one third of the New Testament and founded more churches than any other Apostle. Yet he considered himself a love slave to Jesus Christ. He considered himself unworthy to be praised. He sought to preach only Christ. He selflessly poured himself into people. Paul had more than knowledge but had heavenly wisdom!

Remember that Solomon was not the wisest man that ever lived. He was the wisest man of his time. He was blessed more than any other earthly king will ever be blessed, but the Bible never says that he was the wisest man that ever lived. The men I just mentioned were much more wiser than Solomon. Solomon lost out with God. Solomon got prideful. Solomon didn't obey all of God's Word!

Jesus said that He was greater than Solomon. Jesus also said that the greatest of the prophets was John the Baptist, therefore it follows that he was the wisest prophet. John the Baptist is characterized by his famous words when asked what he thought about Jesus Christ becoming more popular than him.

John the Baptist wasn't jealous! Think about it! He had every right to be, because his anointed ministry only made it 6 months before Jesus became more popular. John the Baptist may have been born of earth, but he had heavenly wisdom! People with true heavenly wisdom will be meek and exalt God in their deeds.

The old English of the KJV sort of obscures the meaning of verse 14 to us. Here it is in The Living Bible:

Many of the Jews of James day were bragging about how "wise" they were yet they were very jealous of one another and very selfish. A person who has true, God-sent wisdom, is not jealous. Some people claim to be wise in certain areas and they use their "wisdom" to criticize other people and tear down their efforts. They don't have true wisdom, they have earthly knowledge which they are using for their selfish gain, for if you tear down someone else, you are trying to build yourself up, and that's pride! We all know what God thinks about pride. Before you criticize somebody, think about that! People always criticize what they personally have a problem with (Judas Iscariot example). People who always use their knowledge to be condescending usually have major insecurities which has resulted in bitterness. People who are always bitter don't have heavenly wisdom but wisdom from below. You don't shoot holes in a boat that you are onboard!

Characteristics of Wisdom from below.

Earthly - relating to the earth. Just as the earth was defiled by sin, so is wisdom from below. You can tell whether or not a person has Godly wisdom or Earthly wisdom by whether or not they are quick to justify sin, or view things from a sinful point of view (i.e.. the perspective of sin). When a person thinks the demands of God’s Word are ludicrous, that is usually a sign that they are thinking like a sinner. While being born-again takes care of the past sins, it does not take care of the past sinful nature! We’ve been healed of the leprosy of sin, but we still think like a leper! That’s why we need a steady diet of the Word of God to change the way we think. Remember that the reason the children of Israel were so quick to worship a golden calf that was not alive and able to answer prayer was because it also made no demands! A god that does not require something of you is a dead god!

Sensual - Actually the Greek word here means "animal-like nature." Animals have a built-in "survival mode." Trap a wild raccoon in a wild corner and you better look out! They are constantly trying to survive. It's all about me. Everything is viewed through the narrow perspective of what is best for me. People with Earthly wisdom always make decisions based upon what they think is best for them even if it means breaking God's Word or being immoral or deceitful. A person with Godly Wisdom will learn to view things through God's Word and make decisions with an eternal viewpoint in mind. People who claim to have wisdom but have the earthly kind, usually have "I" trouble, and have trouble with submission to God's Word and the counsel of God-given authority.

Devilish - Because this wisdom promotes ones self it is actually devilish. We learn that Lucifer's problem was that he was so absorbed in his own beauty and abilities, that he was completely absorbed in himself. His pride resulted in rebellion. This may surprise you, but there are people that sit on Pentecostal pews that are much more accomplished worshippers of Satan than those who hold seances or study Wicca!

When King Saul was drifting from God, one day he was about to go into battle and he was waiting for the man of God in his life, Samuel, to show up and give the pre-battle sacrifice. Saul looked out over the enemy and saw the enemy in a vulnerable position and to his wisdom it looked like the time to attack. Because Samuel was late, Saul decided to perform the sacrifice himself. After all, it made perfect logical sense. Samuel showed up just as Saul was finishing and asked him what he was doing. Saul justified himself with earthly wisdom and Samuel prophesied that Saul would be removed from the throne and his sons would not reign over Israel, because he did not obey the voice of God!

Think about that! Saul got antsy because the man of God didn't do what he thought the man of God should do when he thought that he should do it. When he took matters in his own hands, Saul had his legacy wiped out.

I've known many people that claimed to have "wisdom" and thus felt like they needed to correct other people, even the pastor. Unfortunately, when they do that they forever lose their children because their children forever associate the church with strife and criticism and when the pastor does have to correct them, they respond just as they have seen their mother and father respond, by lashing out. The worse thing that you can do is to leave church and go have a saint or the pastor for dinner that night in front of your family. God will curse your legacy. You'll never win your kids.

{Use parents' growing up analogy about how you never heard a bad word about it while a kid.}

Why did I say that there are some Pentecostals that are more avid Satan worshippers than black magic? Because later on Saul went to war with the Amalekites and God spoke to him through the prophet Samuel and told him to kill every living thing. He was to totally wipe out the Amalekites, he was to kill every man, woman, boy, girl, cow, sheep, dog and cat. God wanted the wicked Amalekites destroyed! When Saul came back, he saved the Amalekite king and paraded him around showing him off. They also saved all the best oxen, cattle, sheep, and goats. When Saul got back, Samuel confronted him and spoke:

Samuel then uttered powerful words from God, and people of God today, learn them well:

To obey is better than to sacrifice! Many people with earthly wisdom thank that as long as they do good occasionally and are kind hearted and do good deeds and make a personal sacrifice in one area that it causes it to be okay to disobey God's Word in another area! But OBEDIENCE is better than SACRIFICE! Your sacrifice in one area of your life means nothing to God if you are not obeying ALL of God's Word!

Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft! That is why I made the bold statements earlier. If a person has rebellion to the Word of God or the man of God in their heart, then God considers them as a witch or warlock! The most powerful form of Satanism is not voodoo and pentagrams, but pride and rebellion. Witchcraft is not the worship of Satan but the worship of self! Satan doesn't care if you don't directly worship him as long as you worship yourself more than you worship the true, living God! The number one rule of Christianity according to the words of Jesus is that there is ONE God and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, mind, and strength! The second is to love thy neighbor as thy self. The number one rule of Satanism is to love yourself more than God or anybody else. Do what will make you happy and benefit you regardless of whether it obeys God's Word or not. A rebellious statement is "I don't feel like obeying God's Word." That is Devil worship in disguise!

This is a powerful scripture! When you let envying and strife come into your life, you open the door for every evil work to come into your family and your walk with God! How does a person go from loving God to being a blatant homosexual? Well, it started somewhere with envy and murmuring against a fellow brother or sister! How do people get from loving God and living a Godly life to walking away from God and His Word? How do people justify fornication, adultery, lying, stealing or embezzlement? It all started with them being in a conversation where they criticized someone and were jealous of someone. When you see a horrible sin become manifest in someone's life, you know that it started with jealousy and envying! It makes sense then, if that opens the door to every evil work then we should guard ourselves closely against envying and strife! Don't hang around gossips or bitter people! It's contagious and it opens the door to every other disease of sin!

Here are the characteristics of true, heavenly Wisdom. This is the kind we want.

Pure - in the Greek, this means “clean” and “innocent.” When Adam and Eve were in the garden, Satan told them that if they ate the fruit they would become wise! When they sinned, they gained the wisdom from below and the first thing that happened was that they lost their innocence and they knew they were naked. Sin causes people to live with no shame and immodestly. Sin causes people to not blink when someone utters a curse word or watch any immoral act and not think twice about it. Sin makes people lose the innocence that God intended for us to live in. But God can restore innocence. But it takes heavenly wisdom. You don’t have to commit every sin to know that it’s wrong or has detrimental effects. Earthly wisdom says I can tell you what will happen to you because I’ve done it. Heavenly wisdom is pure and says I can tell what will happen to you from God’s Word and never want to do it. When you are “born again,” the Holy Ghost wants to restore the lost innocence and you can regain it by ceasing to continue in sin!

Peaceable - We’ve already discussed this when we talked about meekness. But a person who’s “wisdom” always produces strife, has the wrong kind. Godly wisdom, if accepted, will produce peace. Remember Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace!

Gentle - This means “fair, mild, and moderate.” Earthly wisdom says to cover for your kids when the teachers or schools try to discipline them. Heavenly wisdom says to allow the schools to discipline them and teach them to respect authority. Earthly wisdom says get revenge while you can. Heavenly wisdom says to let God fight your battles and pray for those who spitefully use you.

Easy to be intreated - In the Greek this means "easily obeying" or "teachable" Notice the following scriptures in Proverbs about the difference between a wise man with the right kind of wisdom and a person who has the wrong kind:

Full of mercy - A wise man realizes that it is but by the grace of God that he is making it, and therefore is kind to those who fall into sin but are repentant. Hate the sin but love the sinner. God does! And remember, they may be a sinner, but they are made in God’s image! You can rebuke the sin without making it personal against the sinner.

Full of good fruits - A person with Godly wisdom will have all 9 fruits of the Spirit living within them.

Without partiality - Earthly wisdom says to be prejudiced towards those who are of a different culture, color, or nation. Godly wisdom realizes that God has created of “one blood all men.” Godly wisdom is not racial.

Without hypocrisy - Earthly wisdom gets sidelined by hypocrisy but Godly wisdom can see through it, and live a holy life in spite of it.

Probably the most famous wise people were the wise men who came from the east to worship Jesus. There are many lessons to be learned from this story but I’d like you to notice a couple of things about them. Why were they called wise? Because they had been reading the scriptures. They had found a prophecy of the false prophet Balaam where the Spirit of the Lord had come upon him when he was hired to curse the children of Israel and God had caused him to bless them instead. In the prophecy, Balaam said that he saw a star arise out of Judah. That is the only mention of a star associated with the birth of Jesus Christ. It was made by a false prophet who did not serve God with a Godly lifestyle, did not understand the ways of God or the truth, and was in ministry only for the money and wealth that could be had. Yet even though the only teaching they had was from a false prophet, the Wise men were still able to get to Jesus!

Think about it! God was able to use a false prophet to cause some men in the east to begin a journey of getting closer to Jesus! And that’s why you are here today. Most of you did not come from backgrounds with a preacher preaching you the truth. Most of you have had men of God in your life that taught false doctrine, but God was able to use them to get you started on a journey that would lead you closer to Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the truth. Just because for a few minutes, God used Balaam to speak truth does not mean that Balaam was saved, it does not mean that God blessed all of Balaam’s ministry or all of Balaam’s teachings. Earthly wisdom says, “well, if God blesses part of a man’s teaching then God must approve of ALL he does.” Earthly wisdom says, “well their are miracles and the Spirit of God moved in the services therefore they must have the truth.” But heavenly wisdom realizes that God moves through immoral people and preachers that teach false doctrines to touch people and get them on a journey to find truth. Godly wisdom from above is not floored by hypocrisy and does not justify hypocrites but realizes that you can learn truth from any situation. Sometime you learn what to believe and sometime you learn what NOT to believe. Sometimes you learn what to do, and sometimes what NOT to do! No matter who God uses, the Word of God is the final authority of truth!

Again we tend to miss the meaning because of the sentence structure. Here is the verse in modern English:

In other words, this is a promise that those who will strive for heavenly wisdom from above will reap a harvest of good things! You will see the effects of Godly wisdom even in your everyday life here on earth! You won’t have to wait to get to heaven to reap the benefits! Remember our other text:

Wisdom is the primary, foremost thing that we need! But there are two kinds of wisdom, a wisdom from below and a wisdom from above. I want the Godly wisdom from above!