Scoffers of Christ Part-II

Scoffers and Mockers of Christ

On the 24^th February there came a news in most of the major news papers of our country that captured my eyes, heart and mind: “Jesus was a Tamil Brahmin.” The news further said that Jesus was born in a Tamil Vishwakarma Barhmin family; the Christian religion which he established is an offshoot of Hinduism. Jesus took Samadhi in Kashmir.

Basically, all these baseless claims were made by Ganesh Savarkar in his book named “The Hinduism of Christ.” Ganesh Savarkar, who was also called as Babarao, was the eldest brother of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. Both of them have been among the five founders of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

In his controversial book Babarao wrote that the real name of Jesus Christ was Keshav Krushna. His colour was dark black; and according to the Brahmin tradition Jesus underwent the ritual of ‘Munja.’ Jesus lived in Palestine and Arabia which were then the parts of Indian territories. Jesus had then come to India to learn Yoga and Spirituality. When Jesus was crucified He remained alive because of the practice of Yoga and spiritual exercises. His wounds were healed by applying the medicinal plants in Himalayas because of which Jesus regained His strength and health. Then Jesus took Samadhi in Kashmir.

When we listen to these baseless claims we certainly get disturbed, our spirit within us stirres up and retaliates. But that’s not enough, we need to defend the Scriptures; and we need to defend the Christ of the Scriptures.

And that is why I have chosen this passage for our meditation. I don’t want to keep you all in dark; you need to know what’s happening around us. So that as Peter says, you may be wise like a serpent and harmless like a dove.

In vs. 3 Peter gives the first warning to the believers in general; that the Scoffers will come.

In vs. 1 Peter explains the purpose why he has written both of his letters. He says that, “This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder,” in other words Peter wrote these 2 epistles in order to stir his reader’s sincere mind.

The Greek word for ‘stir’ is ‘diegeiro’ the meaning of the word is ‘to awake fully.’ I don’t think that the Peter’s readers were spiritually asleep when he wrote these 2 epistles. But they were certainly familiar with Christ and the Sacred Scriptures.

Why is he awaking them by way of reminder? It’s because Peter did not want them to be ignorant about the objections of the false teachers/scoffers. They should passionately and diligently respond to their objections.

The first reason why Peter was doing this is because the false teachers were raising doubts about Jesus’ second coming. Vs. 4 explains us that.

Secondly, Peter has an urgency of stirring their minds to the truth, because he had his own death in his view. Because in chapter 1:13, 14 Peter writes this, “I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, 14 since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me.”

This means Jesus had reveled it to Peter that he soon was going to be martyred for what he believed. And with this urgency and passion Peter is stirring his reader’s heart and mind towards the Lord Jesus Christ.

The objections of scoffers were against the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the destruction of Earth by fire and that there will be a new heaven and a new earth vs. 5-7.

Then in vs. 2 and 3 Peter offers them the AK 57 Riffle to answer the scoffer’s objections. He says, “That you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires.”

In other words Peter is first of all opening their eyes that they should not treat the coming of the scoffers as a news. Because these scoffers have been there ever since the Old Testament times.

E. g. in Jude in his letter repeated the words of Peter. He called his readers to persevere in the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ. The people whom he was writing his epistle were also facing the severe trial of the false teachers. Vs. 17-19, “But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, "In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions." It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit.”

Finally Peter in vs. 3 Peter says that they scoff the Name of Christ in order to fulfill their own sinful desires.

2 Peter 2:10 characterizes these scoffers as the despisers of authority, indulgers in defiling passions, they are bold, willful, and the ones who do not tremble while blaspheming the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

As I said that Peter didn’t want his readers to treat the coming of the scoffers as a news; because such people were there in the Old Testament times.

Because vs. 4 says, “They will say, "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation."

Their saying is in order to create doubts in the minds of the faithful followers of Christ.

In Isaiah 5:18-19 God pronounced His woe to those who took Him for granted He said, “Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, who draw sin as with cart ropes, Who say: "Let him be quick, let him speed his work that we may see it; let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near, and let it come, that we may know it!"

Jeremiah 17:15, “Behold, they say to me, "Where is the word of the Lord? Let it come!"

Ezekiel 11:2-3 And he said to me, "Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and who give wicked counsel in this city; who say, 'The time is not near to build houses. This city is the cauldron, and we are the meat. '

Ezekiel 12:27 "Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, 'The vision that he sees is for many days from now, and he prophesies of times far off.”

Malachi 2:17, “You have wearied the Lord with your words. But you say, "How have we wearied him?" By saying, "Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them." Or by asking, "Where is the God of justice?"

If we think that the founders of RSS have not read the Bible then we will be wrong. I am sure they all have read the Bible from back to front. But they hate what they have read. They believe that Jesus is the Lord and Savior and shudder like the demons do.

There have always been attacks on the Deity of Christ. They were there in the past and they are there today, it’s nothing new. But the point is: the reason why Christ’s Deity is under attack is because nobody can confess Jesus and sit on the fence. In other words if you confess Jesus you must submit to Him. That is exactly what these scoffers of Christ don’t want to do. There is no doubt that Babarao Savarkar is a mocker/scoffer of Christ. He has scoffed Jesus in order to follow his own sinful desires. Can scoffers of Christ be forgiven, of course yes! But Babarao Savarkar cannot be forgiven because he is dead and gone.

So, the scoffers will come and create doubts among the believers and then secondly;

In vs. 5 Peter says that they not only overlook the Truth but they deliberately overlook the Truth. The word ‘deliberate’ in Greek is, ‘ethelo’ it means they ‘wished’ to overlook the Truth.

The word ‘overlook’ in Greek is ‘lanthano’ it has the idea in it of ‘lieing’ or to ‘hide’ the truth.

So Peter says that they chose to ‘lie’; or they chose to ‘hide’ the facts about God’s act of Creation and the Means of God’s Creation. It means God used His Word (The Lord Jesus Christ). It also means that the scoffers hide these Biblical Truths in order to perpetrate their own ideas.

Secondly, they hide the fact that God created the entire universe with His Word vs. 5. Then the scoffers of Christ deliberately overlook the Truth that the world was deluged through that same Word and the world was destroyed by the water vs. 6. And finally they overlook the Truth that God has kept this world reserved to be destroyed by fire and they are kept until the judgment by that same Word of God vs. 7.

We can see that everything that God has done Jesus Christ is very much active in it. It means you cannot ignore Jesus Christ and claim to have attained God. If you want to know God you must come to Christ.

This is exactly what Babarao Savarkar has not done: he has completely overlooked the Biblical data about the Lord Jesus Christ. He has come up with his own Jesus who has no basis at all. Paul describes such a person in Galatian 1:8, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be ACCURSED.”

The Scoffers of Christ

This morning I read a news that talked something about the origin of Jesus Christ.

Babarao Savarkar wrote entitled: "The Hinduism of Christ." This book is being reprinted and republished this week. In this book he claims that Jesus Christ was a Tamil Brahmin. Mr. Babarao Savarkar is the brother of freedom fighter Savarkar.

According to Babarao Savarkar Jesus was born in a Vishwakarma Tamil Brahmin family. What's alarming is Babarao's claim that: Christian religion which Jesus Christ established is an offshoot of Hindu religion. He claims that Jesus' real name was Keshav Krushna, his color was  brown, His father's name was Joseph who was a 'sheshaph' (it's a common name used in Tamil language). In order to keep up with the Brahmin Tradition Jesus underwent the Ritual of  'Munja' in which the head is shaved except the center point is left unshaved. Babarao further claimed that Jesus went to the then Hindu countries of Palestine and Arabia and came back to India to learn 'Yoga'.

The absurdity of Babarao's thinking reaches to its peak when he says that Jesus was crucified for
'Yoga and Spirituality'. Further on Jesus Christ though crucified did not die, He regained His health and strength because of applying the Himalayan herbs. And then Jesus took 'Samadhi' (died) in Kashmir.

The publisher of this book is Ranjeet Savarkar who is the grandson of Babarao Savarkar claims that: the reprinting and republishing of Babarao Savarkar's book is not aimed at creating any controversy; Babarao Savarkar's books have become rare and that is why we have decided to reprint them and republish them.

My simple question to the author and the publisher of this book is: What is the basis of your claim?
If you want to know about Rama you go to Ramayana, if you want to know about Krishna and Arjuna you go to Mahabharata, similarly when you want to know about Mohammad you go to Quran. They give you ample information about the respective people. Likewise if you want to know about Jesus Christ you must go to the Bible. Does any verse in the Bible tells us what Babarao Savarkar in his book has claimed? It doesn't. And I am sure "The Hinduism of Christ" is not written after having read the Bible. I assume that Mr. Babarao Savarkar might have read the Bible and if he has; then he has misunderstood it. I hope he had quoted any Bible verse even once?

Even though the Bible doesn't tell us anything about what Mr. Babarao Savarkar has said in his book about Jesus, but the Bible does tell us about people like Babarao Savarkar: in 2 Peter 3:3, "Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts," 

I have no qualms in claiming that Babarao Savarkar's book "The Hinduism of Christ" is an attempt to scoff the Lord Jesus Christ and to strip Him of His Deity. It's an attempt to prove that Jesus Christ was a mere human being and thus it's an attack on His divinity. History is evident that there have always been attacks on Christ's divinity He has always been attempted to strip off His Deity.
Why is this the case? The answer is: if you confess His divinity it's demanding. You cannot merely agree that Jesus is God and sit on the fence, you have to follow Him. That is exactly what these scoffers don't want to do. Therefore they strip off Jesus of His Deity.

Jesus is an eternal rest to the soul that comes to Him. He said in Matthew 11:28, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." 

The condition is to come to Him and coming to Him involves recognizing your spiritual bankruptcy springing from your religious works. No amount of religious works can save you only Jesus's sacrifice on the Cross can save you. Only He can give you that rest because He is God. The Bible is absolutely clear that Jesus is God.

Jesus said: "I Am the Way the Truth and the Life, no one can go to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6).

Instead of following people who told us to follow the path of Truth; why not follow the Truth Himself? Jesus Christ is that Truth, HE DIED ON THE CROSS TO PAY THE PRICE OF YOUR SINS, NOT FOR YOGA OR SPIRITUALITY.

God commands you to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ because He has appointed a day when He is going to judge the world. Turn from your sin of denying Jesus and from scoffing Him and He will save you.

  

Kolhapur Bible Church - Camp 2015

Kolhapur Bible Church - Camp 2015

Prayer in Times of Trials Part-III

 Introduction:

God has been gracious to us in all these days. We have been blessed by God with this life; this is my constant thought in my life. It’s a short life we live in. we don’t know when the Lord will call us home. But as much as life He has given us; we ought to make the most of our life for His glory.

So, with that in mind I greet you in the Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As we are going on and on from the book of James; I believe you are finding much instruction to follow from this great epistle. Just in order to end all curiosity; I have decided to take on the Book of Acts after we have finished preaching from this epistle.

Let’s open our Bibles to James 5:13-18.

(Scripture Reading & Prayer)

Dr. Thomas M. Carter, an ex-convict, tells a thrilling story of his mother who constantly followed him with her prayers.  On one occasion while he was in prison, she received a telegram stating that he was dead and asking what she wanted done with his body.  Stunned by the news, she opened her Bible and laid the message beside it.  "Oh, God," she said, "I have steadfastly believed that You are a rewarder of them who diligently seek You. I felt sure that I would live to see Tom saved and preaching the Gospel; and now this wire says he is dead. Lord, which is true, this telegram or Your promises to me?"  When she rose from her knees, having won the victory, she sent this note to the prison: "You must be wrong.  My boy is not dead!"  And there had been a mistake -- Tom Carter was alive!  He was later converted and lived to preach!

The point of this illustration is that God answers prayers and He answers prayers of the spiritually strong as well as spiritually weak people also. Now, Thomas Carters’ mother must have been like each of us but still God honored her prayers.

So, before we get into the message let me ask a question to you. Do you pray everyday? Do you read God’s Word everyday? These are the most important questions to us as we listen to God’s word.  

In this message I want to challenge you for prayer; fervent prayer. I want to ask you to dare to pray like Elijah prayed. Not because Elijah was somebody great but the Bible tells us that he was a man like you and me.

So, here is the title for the message this morning.

Prayer in Times of Trials: Part-III

1.      The Human Nature of Elijah: vs. 17a

2.      The Fervent Prayer of Elijah: vs. 17b-18

1.      The Human Nature of Elijah: vs. 17a

Last Sunday we learnt from vs. 16. In this one verse we dealt with 2 points. The command for prayer and the purpose of prayer. I am sure you must have been spiritually benefitted from this message. The important thing in this message was the fact that James was writing to the similar group of people, but perhaps they had offended one another. Therefore in vs. 16 he asked his readers to confess their sins to one another. The purpose of such an action was so that they will be restored to one another and they will be restored to God.

Then in vs. 17 & 18 James is continuing with the same subject in his mind. In fact in these 2 verses he is going one step further and giving his readers Elijah as the example of prayer.

Notice vs. 17, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth.”

Now, first of all we can see Elijah’s human nature was like ours. James mentions Elijah’s human nature for a purpose. He is actually connecting vs. 16 to vs. 17. In verse 16 he had said that, “…the prayer of a righteous man avails much.” And in vs. 17 James is giving the example of that truth.

And in this verse James is giving the example of Elijah; a righteous man. At the same time he is also giving the example of how much is availed in the prayer of such a man. So much so that he prayed and God stopped the rains for three and a half years, which we will look into the next point.

But we don’t know what specific nature of Elijah James had in his mind. We read the account of Elijah’s life in 1 Kings 17, 18 & 19.

In chapter 17 & 18 we have Elijah the prophet of God confronting King Ahab. What is so amazing about Elijah is that he appears on the pages of Old Testament from nowhere. We do not know the origin of Elijah. We do not have any history of his family. Elijah just appears out of the blue in 1 Kings 17:1. But he appears at a time when the nation of Israel was facing a spiritual darkness. That means the children of God were engaged in worshipping Idols; when they should have been engaged in the worship of Yahweh.

In vs. 1 of chapter 17, Elijah is confronting King Ahab. Notice vs. 1 he says, “Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” I want you to notice this verse carefully. In it Elijah boldly says, “…“As the Lord God of Israel lives before whom I stand…”

Why would Elijah mention that it is the Lord God of Israel before whom I stand; even when he was actually standing before King Ahab? The reason is even when Elijah was standing before King Ahab, Elijah was not afraid of him. Elijah did not lose sight of the fact that he fears God more; and he does not fear the king. Elijah had such great boldness when he confronted King Ahab.

You might say, what is the big deal about being bold in the presence of a King? It is a big deal because 1 Kings 16:3 & 33 give us the introduction of King Ahab. “And Ahab son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him.”

Vs. 33, “And Ahab made an Asherah. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.”

The point of those 2 verses is; it is one thing to be bold in the presence of a King who is good. And it’s absolutely another thing to be bold in the presence of a wicked king. Many people say that King Ahab had a habit of making people tremble in his presence. But Elijah stood bold in the presence of a wicked King. He not only did it once but he did it for once more, in 1 King 18: 17-19.

 It’s because he was always mindful of God and His majesty. Elijah always believed that His God is powerful and Almighty.

E.g . Serena Williams the great Tennis player said this, “You have to win twice in order to prove that the previous one was not a chance.”

And this saying fits Elijah. Purely because he always had his eyes fixed upon His God.

Even though Elijah’s boldness was one side of his nature; there was another aspect of his nature. After Elijah called fire from heaven, and after God heard his prayers and sent rain on Israel. In chapter 19, we see another side of Elijah’s nature. When Jezebel (Ahab’s queen) heard that Elijah had killed all her prophets. She was angry. In 19:2, 3, “Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow. Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. Then vs. 4 tells us, “But he himself went a day’s journey into wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”

That means Elijah was so afraid of Queen Jezebel that he went as far as possible from her. At one time Elijah was exceedingly bold at another he was absolutely afraid.

Application:

Both of these are two sides of human nature. Sometimes we are bold, sometimes we are afraid. But the point that I want to drive home to you is; God can still use you with your fear and with your boldness. Are you willing to be used by God with your fears and boldness?

Are you willing to conquer your fear with faith in Jesus? If you are bold; do you fear Jesus? I read a caption on a T-Shirt, “Real Men fear Jesus.” In fact I would add to that, men who fear Jesus are the bold ones. Do you know where can you find boldness? It’s on your knees. When you kneel before the all powerful King you will be bold before anybody. The Bible says, we have the boldness to approach to the Throne of Grace through Jesus Christ. Brothers and sisters this is a great assurance for us that our prayers are heard by an Almighty God. He not only hears them but He answers them as well. Do you have that assurance in your life? But first of all let me ask you: Do you pray? Do you pray? There are two reasons why we feel prayerlessness; it’s because we think our sins are too heavy for God to deal with. If you think this way, then you are sinning brother and sister. Because the Bible tells us that there is not sin that a person can commit which cannot be forgiven. That means all sins can be forgiven. God forgave David’s sin of adultery; he surely can forgive your sins.

The second reason why we feel prayerless is because we don’t feel the need of prayer because of a lot of knowledge. Because of a lot of knowledge people lose the logic in prayer.

If you are going through this let me warn you to turn away from your sin of prayerlessness. Turn to Jesus Christ and confess your sin to Him.

2.      The Fervent Prayer of Elijah: vs. 17b-18

If you read 1 Kings 17, 18 or 19 we do not find any mention that Elijah prayed fervently. But then why is James saying that Elijah prayed fervently? In total there are only 3 mentions of Elijah’s prayer in those 3 chapters of 1 Kings. In chapter 17:21 Elijah is praying for the life of that widow’s dead son. He is asking God to raise her son from his death. Secondly, in chapter 18:36-37, here  he is praying so that the Lord would consume the offering on the Altar. In chapter 19:4, Elijah is praying to God to take away his life.

Apart from these 3 references we don’t see him praying fervently. But then why is James saying that Elijah was a man of prayer? I struggled with it and Phil Johnson’s book, “Prophet of Fire,” helped me in it. He says, “The prophets of God have to be understood as men of prayer. Whatever revelation or prophesy they gave to the people of Israel; they gave it as a fruit of their prayer.” And I fully agree with his statement. Because we cannot imagine the prophets of God without prayer. Whenever we read the book of any Prophets one common aspect we will find in them, and that is of prayer.

We must understand here that Elijah’s prayer did open heavens and closed the heavens as a fruit of his prayers. Because Elijah prayed according to God’s will.

The spiritual principle that comes out of this is; if we pray according to God’s will God will answer our prayers, just as He answered Elijah’s prayers.

Application:

I have heard many people say that, you have to hear God speak to you in prayer. And I don’t think it’s true. Simply because God has spoken whatever He wants to speak through His Word. Hebrews 1:1, 2,“ Hebrews 1:1-2  God, having in the past spoken to the fathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, has at the end of these days spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds.”

The question is: do you obey His Word which he has reveled in the Bible? Or do you still seek dreams and visions and completely disregard what God has reveled in His Word? Do you know God’s most important will for your life is that you should be saved? If you are not saved and still claim to have revelations; you might be true. But that revelation is not from God; it’s from the devil. So, first of all ask yourself this question, am I saved? Do I want to be saved? If yes believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and He you will be saved.

Greed in Times of Trials-Part-II

Introduction:

Once again, a warm welcome to all of you. As we go through the epistle of James I believe that they are reforming our day to day lives.

Just to remind you that we are going through the Epistle of James. Last Sunday, we dealt with vs. 1-3 of James chapter 5. This morning we will take on vs. 4-6.

Last week we learned about the greed in times of trials. What was phenomenal about that was; greed does not produce happiness. Greed always produces misery. it does not give a bundle of joy; It gives us a bundle of anxieties. If you are a believer today, and think that you are not vulnerable to greed. I think you are in the most dangerous place. The point is, we all are vulnerable to it and because of that we need to protect ourselves from this decease of greed by the medicine of the Word of God.

So, may I invite you to open your Bibles to James 5:1-6?

(Scripture Reading & Prayer)

The folly of human nature is neatly summed up by the case of the middle-aged school teacher who invested her life savings in a business enterprise which had been elaborately explained to her by a swindler.

When her investment disappeared and the wonderful dream was shattered, she went to the office of the Better Business Bureau. "Why on earth," they asked, "didn't you come to us first?  Didn't you know about the Better Business Bureau?"

"Oh, yes," said the lady sadly, "I've always known about you. But I didn't come because I was afraid you'd tell me not to do it."

So, once again the title for the sermon this morning is:

“Greed in Times of Trials.” Part-II

In this message we will look into 3 points.

1.      The Consequence of Greed: Vs. 4

2.      The Indulgence of Greed: vs. 5

3.      The Sinfulness of Greed: vs. 6

1.      The Impact of Greed: vs. 4

In the 2 points that we dealt with last Sunday; we looked into the warning against greed and the futility of Greed. In vs. 1 James warned his rich readers of their greed. And the warning was about the judgment of God that was going to fall upon them because of their greed.

Then in vs. 2 & 3 he showed them the futility of their greed. In other words whatever they had so far accumulated through ungodly means was being wasted away. In both of these verses James exposes their greed of accumulating things for themselves. Perhaps they had become so blind in their greed that they must have forgotten about the things they had accumulated. Because James mentions that their riches had corrupted and their garments were moth-eaten.

Then in vs. 3 James again exposes his reader’s blindness towards their greed. Not only their garments were affected by their greed, but their ornaments were also affected by it; for the fact that they were corroded. Both of the above verses suggest to us that James’ readers had accumulated a lot of wealth but they had never put that wealth in its proper usage. And eventually these things were wasted away uselessly. Because it was not being beneficial to anybody else.  In both of those points we saw that these rich people’s greed did not remain limited to themselves.

Then in vs. 4-6 James explains that these rich people’s greed had affected those who came in their contact. And these people were their laborers.  

Notice vs. 4, “Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.”

If we look closely in the first part of the verse we notice that these rich people possessed a great amount of farming land. What comes out of this part of the verse is: these rich oppressors had put people to work, but they had not paid their labor charges. Not that they were not able to but because they were not willing to pay it. They wanted their lands to be mowed free of cost.

It’s quite ironical that the people whom James was writing this letter to, were the descendents of those whom God delivered through Moses. Those people were treated as slaves in Egypt; they were given a hard labor. Their affliction was terrible and God called Moses to redeem those people from that slavery.

But the point is: when God brought them to the Promised Land; apart from all the other laws, He also gave them instructions about paying the laborers.

God had strictly forbidden the defrauding of labor. Leviticus 19:13, "'You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you all night until the morning.”

In Leviticus God commands His children not to oppress the laborers. But in Deuteronomy 24:14-15 He gives the reason why they were not supposed to oppress these laborers.

Deuteronomy 24:14-15, “You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he be of your brothers, or of your foreigners who are in your land within your gates: in his day you shall give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down on it; for he is poor, and sets his heart on it: lest he cry against you to Yahweh, and it be sin to you.”

The conclusion that comes out of the above 2 verses is this: “Your oppression today, is not a guarantee that you will not oppress somebody else tomorrow.” The point is: every single person has the potential to oppress. There is no place for the saying: “Oh he or she is not that kind of a person. I know that they will never oppress anybody like that.”

Secondly, in the second part of the verse James is opening the blind eyes of his rich reader’s; that those whom you have oppressed are crying out. The phrase ‘crying out’ means: ‘to call out loud.’ Now, what James is warning his rich readers is that; the people whom you have oppressed are calling out loud to God. That’s what James is saying in the next sentence. “…and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.”

When we closely notice this sentence we notice that James is borrowing his language from the book of Exodus.

Exodus 2:23, “Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage.”

Exodus 3:7, “And the Lord said, “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.”

Exodus 3:9, “Now behold the cry of the children of Israel has come up to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.”

And the reason why James is borrowing that language is because, he wanted his rich readers to know that, the kind of oppression their ancestors faced, and kind of oppression they were inflicting upon their laborers was the same.

Application:

As a faithful leader James was warning his rich readers about the impact of their greed. Greed has not only affected you but it has affected the people that are in association with you. Greed not only affects us but it affects the people who are close to us. It always affects those who are in our family and those who are in our neighborhood. We cannot say that my greed is hidden from everybody; therefore it’s alright to have that greed. Your greed will be exposed one day. The question is not whether you have any kind of greed or not. We all have some or the other kind of greed. But the question we need to ask ourselves is: are we bringing our greed before the Throne of Grace everyday of our lives? Are we praying about our areas of selfishness? Are we honestly exposing our weaknesses before God in prayer? 

Matthew chapter 18 gives us an example of unforgiving debtor.

The King in this story released the debtor who was not able to pay his debt. But the same debtor after going from the King caught hold of one of his own debtor and vs. 28, “But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarius; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat by saying, “Pay me what you owe.” Vs. 29, “So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him.

2.      The Indulgence of Greed: vs. 5

Vs. 4 makes it clear to us that; James’ rich readers had oppressed the poor laborers and had accumulated a lot of wealth.

Then in vs. 5 James says that, “You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter.”

Now, before we go any further let’s understand that pleasure and luxury in and of itself are not wrong.

The Greek word for ‘pleasure’ is ‘truphao’ it means ‘debaucherous pleasure.’ It has the idea in itself the pleasure drawn from unethical or immoral practices. The word ‘Luxury’ in Greek is ‘spatalao’ it means ‘wanton’ that again means luxury drawn from harming somebody. And the meaning of those words really fit the description of the rich oppressors.

This shows us that life of immoral pleasure and luxury soon becomes out of control.

And this was true of James’ readers. They oppressed their laborers and robbed them of their wages in order to have pleasure and luxury. They were busy in the indulgence of greed.

But in the next half of the verse James again warns them. “…you have fattened yourself in the day of slaughter.”

What James has in his mind is, an animal that is well fed before it is slaughtered.

And truly speaking every animal that is meant to be slaughtered is first of all well fed; so that it would give a good quantity of meat. But the kind of slaughtering James has in his mind is the judgment of God. James’s rich audience had fed themselves with pleasure and luxury. They had become rich with ungodly means and used their riches to indulge in immoral pleasure and luxury paid with the unjust gain.

King Solomon at the end of his life wrote the book of Ecclesiastes. When his eyes are opened he understood one truth, Ecclesiastes 11:9, “Rejoice, young man, in your youth, And let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth, And walk in the ways of your heart, And in the sight of your eyes; But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.”

The same was the picture in other churches of the New Testament. Paul also cautioned Timothy about such people in the Church.

2 Timothy 3:1-4, “But know this, that in the last days, grievous times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, no lovers of good, traitors, headstrong, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God;

3.      The Sinfulness of Greed: vs. 6

James 5:6, “You have condemned, you have murdered the righteous one. He doesn't resist you.”

In this verse we can see the progression of these greedy people. First of all they hoarded things; that led to fraud that again led to indulging in sinful pleasure and luxury. And finally they became murderous. Their indulgence had become so sinful that in order to maintain their lifestyle they were willing to go to any degree.

The word ‘condemned’ means ‘sentencing somebody.’ That suggests to us that these greedy people had fraudulently used the courts to sentence these poor people. That is what James says in, James 2:6, “But you have dishonored the poor man. Don't the rich oppress you, and personally drag you before the courts?”

Application:

When we think of the progression of sin we can’t help but think of King David. Let’s go to 2 Samuel 11.

In 2 Samuel 11:1 we are told that, “It happened, at the return of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem.”

We can easily see that because of major victories in King David’s life he became lazy. His laziness led him to adultery in vs. 2-5. He lusted after Bathsheba.

His lust progressed into adultery and finally that adultery turned into murder.

The point I want to drive home is this: David knew God. The Bible tells us that he was a man after God’s own heart.

Perhaps you might not be living in a gross sin. Perhaps you might be secretly indulging in some sin that is not so serious. But pay heed that a little spark in the forest begins a wild fire. Therefore protect yourself by the power of God’s Word.

It all begins with the gospel. If you know the gospel have you believed it? If you have believed it, have treasured it?

Worldliness in Times of Trials

This was the message I preached in our Church yesterday. James 4:1-10 gives us 4 points; out them I was only able to expound 2 points. May God give you grace as you go through it.

Some things that came in my mind right while I was preaching are unfortunately not mentioned in this message. It’s my prayer that Jesus would be exalted above all things.

Thanks for your prayers while I was preaching.

Introduction:

Monkey trappers in North Africa have a clever method of catching their prey. A number of gourds are filled with nuts and firmly fastened to a branch of a tree.  Each has a hole just large enough for the unwary monkey to stick his forepaw into it. When the hungry animal discovers this, he quickly grasps a handful of nuts, but the hole is too small for him to withdraw his clenched fist.  And he doesn't have enough sense to open up his hand and let go in order to escape, so he is easily taken captive.

This is a picture of many Christians. The devil with his crafty devices tries to trap them.  He appeals to the appetites of the flesh which can lead to their spiritual downfall.  As long as they hold on to worldly bait, they cannot escape from Satan's trap.  But he keeps on urging, "Don't let go! Enjoy the pleasure of your sin just a little bit longer!"  So, listening to the tempter's alluring voice, they continue in their evil way. Now we all have hunger and it’s not bad to have hunger. But very frequently the way we satisfy our hunger is wrong. So I want to ask you before we go any further. Are you caught up in sinful practices that are destroying your testimony and preventing you from growing in God’s grace? Stop and think about it.  Get out of Satan's trap now while you can.

This is exactly what concerned James for the worldliness of the people whom he was writing.

So, here is the title of the sermon this morning.

“Worldliness in Times of Trials.”

1.      The Origin of Worldliness: vs. 1

2.      The Description of Worldliness: vs. 2-4

1.      The Origin of Worldliness: vs. 1

In chapter 4 James begins a new topic. And the topic is worldliness; though it’s a new topic it’s closely linked with chapter 3. And similar is the case with every chapter James begins; they are closely linked with one another.

Because at the end of chapter 3 James dealt with 2 types of wisdoms. The worldly wisdom and heavenly wisdom. And chapter 4 is closely linked with chapter 3 because worldliness comes from the worldly wisdom.

Notice vs. 1, “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this that your passions are at war within you?”

Notice how James begins the 4^th chapter. He begins it by a question. “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you...?” When we look at this verse we can observe that there were quarrels and fights among the Christian believers. It seems very clear that they were fighting and quarreling with one another. Perhaps, at the same time some of them were wondering about the reason why are there is so much of quarreling or fighting? And through this statement James is opening their eyes to the reason why there is fighting against one another? Definitely the reason was not outwards it was right in front of them or more simply it was within them. And that’s what James opens his readers’ eyes in the next part of the verse.

Notice the next part of the verse James says, “…is it not this that your passions are at war within you?” by this statement James makes it clear that the origin of their fighting against one another was their heart. And James points out a particular aspect of their heart. James said the same thing in chapter 3:14, “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.” Therefore we can conclude that it is in the heart the passions and born. It is not something that comes in from outside but from inside out. And that is what James is pointing out.

The word ‘passions’ in many other translations is called as lusts. The Greek word for lusts is ‘hedone.’ From this word you get the English word ‘hedonism’.  Hedonism means, a belief that, pleasure is the most important thing in life. And hedonist is a person who believes that pleasure is the most important thing in life.

But here we are concerned about the word ‘hedone.’ And the word ‘hedone’ has got many meanings. Such as, sensual delight, desire, lust, pleasure. Since the word ‘hedone’ means many different things; it tells us that the members in the Church were battling among themselves to fulfill their lustful desires. It’s clear that they were fighting against one another for not being able to fulfill their desires.

That’s why they were having a lot of things as their adversity. In 3:14-16 James mentioned about the worldly 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, and demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.”

Through these verses we can understand that James makes the heart of a man the origin of all the evil. This is exactly what our Lord said when He was on this earth. Matthew 15:18-19, “But the things which proceed out of the mouth come out of the heart, and they defile the man. For out of the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual sins, thefts, false testimony, and blasphemies.”

Application:

From all of this we can understand that the problem was not outside of James’ readers. It was inside of them; it was within their hearts. Everything boils down to obedience. These people were not obedient to God even though they were going through suffering. We all have seen people who live in gross sin and then they wonder about the problems that are there in their lives. They say, “Why is there so much of trouble in my life?” the answer is right in their heart. They are not obedience to God’s word. Perhaps you might have heard this story before. Many years back Ps. Gareth was discipling a man. This boy was in an affair with a Muslim girl. She was not a believer but still this boy wanted to marry her. Ps. Gareth told him the dangers of this marriage. But this boy was on cloud nine. He insisted to get married with her and finally he married her. Many months went by, his wife gave birth to a boy. And since she has given birth to this boy she has not returned to his home. He goes on and off her house but of no use, she is not willing to come to his house. Many years back he attended our church for sometimes. But all his time in our Church we tried to teach him discipleship but he was not willing to obey God’s word. He would come to Church one Sunday, particularly on the Communion Sunday and the rest of the 4 Sundays he would vanish. On the other hand he would keep wondering why are problems in his life? The problems were in his life because he would not obey God’s Word. There will always be problems in your lives if you do not obey God’s Word. Because, many are the sorrows of the wicked.

The point I want to make here is: perhaps you might be living in utter disobedience to God’s word and may be wondering about problems in your lives. Examine your life: Am I living in obedience to God’s Word? The only remedy to this malady is to turn to Christ and repent of your disobedience and ask for forgiveness of your disobedience and turn from disobedience and obey God’s Word.

2.      The Description of Worldliness: vs. 2-4

Notice vs. 2-4, “You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God: therefore whoever wishes to be a fried with the world is enmity with God” therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

In these verses James describes various attitudes of the similar people. He says, they desired and they did not have therefore they murdered. They coveted and could not obtain so they fought and quarreled. They did not have because they did not ask. Because they asked in a wrong way; in order to spend on their passions. What comes out of these verses is that these people who called themselves believers were actually putting their eyes on the things of the world to satisfy them. They looked at the things of the world to satisfy their lives. It is obvious that they were running after the things of the world to satisfy their deepest longings.

E.g. One day Timi was asking me to get an I-Pad for him. I asked him, “Why do you need it? He said he needs it because somebody else has it. I had to sit with him and tell him that first of all you are too small to have those things. And secondly and importantly you should not look at these things for your satisfaction. You don’t need those things to satisfy you. Only Jesus can satisfy you.

And it’s so true that these people were no more looking at Jesus for their ultimate satisfaction. They were running after the things of the world.

This is exactly what James is saying here. In vs. 2 he says, “You desire and do not have, so you murder…” this simply means that his readers desired to have things that did not belong to them. And in order to get those things they murdered.

The last part of vs. 2  and the full of vs. 3 are to be treated one verse. In this James says, “…You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”

In these verses we find that James’ readers were praying for things but they did not receive what they were asking for. And the reason is they were not praying in a right attitude. They were asking God for things that would satisfy their greed not their need.

And finally, in vs. 4 James calls these people as: Adulterous. What he also calls them is  as: the enemy of God.

The word Adulterous is frequently used in the Bible to describe Israel’s unfaithfulness as a nation. And it is used to describe individual people who forsake God and are faithless towards God.

E.g. Hosea 3:1, “Yahweh said to me, "Go again, love a woman loved by another, and an adulteress, even as Yahweh loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods, and love cakes of raisins."  

Isaiah, 57:3, “But draw near here, you sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the prostitute.”

The reason why James calls his readers as adulterous is because they were showing that kind of a lifestyle.

James describes his readers in two ways. A. Adulterous people. B. Enemy of God.

Application:

As I draw this point to a close. I must say that we will be very quick to judge these people. But we need to look at ourselves first. Somebody has rightly said that if you point one finger at others 3 are pointing towards you. My question to you is: what satisfies you the most? Do the things of the world satisfy you or the things of God satisfy you most?

A story is told about how an Eskimo kills the wolf. The account is grisly, yet it offers fresh insight into the consuming, self-destructive nature of sin.

"First the Eskimo coats his knife blade with animal blood and allows it to freeze.  Then he adds another layer of blood, and another, until the blade is completely concealed by frozen blood."

"Next, the hunter fixes his knife in the ground with the blade up. When a wolf follows his sensitive nose to the source of the scent and discovers the bait he licks it, tasting the fresh, frozen blood.  He begins to lick faster, more and more vigorously, lapping the blade until the keen edge is bare.  Feverishly now, harder and harder the wolf licks the blade in the Arctic night. So great becomes his craving for blood that the wolf doesn't notice the razor sharp sting of the naked blade on his tongue nor does he recognize the instant at which his insatiable thirst is being satisfied by his own warm blood. His carnivorous appetite just craves more -- until the dawn finds him dead in the snow!"

Wisdom in Times of Trials

Recently I read a news in the Newspaper. The news was about a school teacher who raped his student after which he was beaten by the community and then was handed over to the police for further investigation. When we read such type of things we certainly get angry about them, and it’s natural. But upon a deep thought what should alarm us that where do these tendencies come from? They certainly are from the worldly teaching. The worldly teaching believes if your teaching does not influence your own character that is fine.

If this phenomenon was limited to the world it was fine. But it has crept into the Churches. I remember that in a church one elder had two wives. Now I don’t just say this to get your attention. But I want to draw your attention to the spiritual bankruptcy of that Church. 

several years I was getting trained for the

This is exactly what James is writing here. Because whatever he has so far wrote it’s about teaching. Because the wisdom James is speaking about is to be taught. That’s why he poses a question to his reader’s consideration. 3:13, “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by his good conduct that his deeds are done in gentleness of wisdom.”

So, here is the title of the message this morning:

“Wisdom in Times of Trials.”

1.       The Worldly Wisdom: vs. 13-16

·         Characteristics of Worldly Wisdom: vs. 14-16

2.       The Heavenly Wisdom: vs. 17-18

·         Characteristics of Heavenly Wisdom: vs. 17

1.       The Worldly Wisdom: vs. 13-16

A couple of weeks back we looked at the evils of tongue. We looked at the fact that how if we use our tongue in a wrong way can destroy people. And specifically we saw the positive and negative illustrations James gave in the preceding passage.

So, once again I wish to remind you that; whatever James writes in vs. 13 onwards is closely linked to vs. 1-12.

We can find the background of vs. 13-18 in 3:1ff. In those verses James warned his readers against becoming teachers. The immediate truth comes out that; there were many of his readers who were willing to become teachers, without understanding the impact of the teaching. But what comes out of these verses is that: mere teaching doesn’t do any good if the life of the teacher is not matching up with his teaching. The reason why he warned his readers that way is so that, they will not treat the high calling of teaching lightly.    

So, when we come down to vs. 13, James is giving a test; it’s a test to discern the teacher. And notice what he asks in this verse, “Who is wise and understanding among you?” The Greek word for wise is [‘sophos’] that’s where you get the word Sophia from. But the answer to this question is not that the person who is using his tongue skillfully, or it’s not the one who is able to speak many languages fluently is wise. Let’s understand that James’ emphasis in this verse is not on the skill of speech. In the context James is not saying that the person who is able to use his tongue skillfully is able to become a good teacher. His emphasis is upon the character of the teacher. That’s why he says in the next part of the verse, “…By his conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.” The point of this verse is; “You can have a good speaking ability and a bad character.” In other words, “You can be a good teacher and a bad example.” That’s the reason why the Biblical Leadership does not give too much importance to skillful speaking. But it gives utmost importance to the character or the conduct of the teacher/leader.

We can find its example in the Old Testament. When God chose Moses for His purpose, Moses was a stammerer. But the Bible also calls Moses as the most humble man living on the face of the earth.

Exodus 4:10-12, “Moses said to Yahweh, "Oh, Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before now, nor since you have spoken to your servant; for I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue." Yahweh said to him, "Who made man's mouth? Or who makes one mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Isn't it I, Yahweh? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth, and teach you what you shall speak."

And that’s the reason why when Paul gave the charge to Timothy he also admonished him to look for the character of the person who aspires to be the teacher of God’s Word.

Look at 1 Timothy 3:1-7, “This is a faithful saying: if a man seeks the office of an overseer he desires a good work. The overseer therefore must be without reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sensible, modest, hospitable, good at teaching; not a drinker, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; one who rules his own house well, having children in subjection with all reverence; (but if a man doesn't know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the assembly of God?) not a new convert, lest being puffed up he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover he must have good testimony from those who are outside, to avoid falling into reproach and the snare of the devil.”

If we notice those verses carefully we can observe that Paul gave the ability to teach the 7^th rank. But he highlighted the teacher’s (overseer’s) character above anything else. “He must be without “reproach.” However, the overseer’s teaching ability is important but that is not the most important. On the other hand the teacher’s character is non-negotiable aspect of the teaching ministry.

E.g. I remember a pastor who lives in the area of Miraj. He marries people in his Church for money. On the top of that he is a drunkard. The problem is of course with the man. But the problem is also with the people who ordained him to be the pastor of that Church. Those who ordain him don’t see any problem with that pastor. It only shows us the blindness those people are in. 

Secondly, vs. 14 & 15 gives us the motivation as well as the origin of worldly wisdom. Notice vs. 14, 15, “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 and demonic.” 

Notice what James says in vs. 14, “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts…” that’s the key. Heart is the origin of bitter jealousy and selfish ambition. It’s interesting that James speaks of the heart of the teacher.

And he does so because the heart is the instrument of the teacher. Because whatever will come out from the tongue is ultimately from the heart. Therefore, James is warning the upcoming teachers that; if you claim that you have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ yet you indulge in bitter jealousy and selfish ambition you show that you don’t have place for Truth in your heart.

It’s amazing that the New Testament speaks of heart for almost 106 times. Out of that 44 times Jesus used this word in His earthly ministry. We shall just look at 3 references.

Matthew 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.”

Matthew 12:34-35, “You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. The good man out of his good treasure brings out good things, and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings out evil things.  

In vs. 16 James gives the result of the worldly wisdom.

Let me bring this point to conclusion through this verse. Because this verse is about the application.

Application:

Notice vs. 16, “For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.”

This verse gives us the picture of what happens where God’s Truth is not regarded as the highest thing. Any Church that does not regard God’s Word as the most important thing in her life cannot be called as the Church. Because if a Church doesn’t have an understanding of Truth she doesn’t have understanding of a proper direction. If the Church doesn’t have her doctrine based upon the Bible; if a person does not have his life based upon the Bible; that Church or that person will eventually become like the Titanic Ship. Perhaps those Churches might have tall and flashy buildings but the inner life of the Church will be filled with disorder and every vile practice.

Perhaps I have given this illustration to you before. I am not trying to boast myself, but this is the cry of most of the big Churches. Their problem is not that they are big. Their problem is that; they are not driven by Truth.

Many Churches have left the Biblical Truth because it’s too demanding. Today’s churches don’t believe in preaching about sin and salvation. They are concerned about getting as many crowds as possible so that their offering will increase. In the process people sitting in the pews are inheriting the kingdom of darkness.   

My question to you this morning is: are you a gospel driven person? Are you living your life for the sake of the gospel? Are you sharing the gospel with people? Many times we don’t preach the gospel because we think it’s below our dignity. What will people say if I open my mouth about Jesus? Are you ashamed of the gospel? If you are; you need to really examine your life if you really are saved.  

2.       The Heavenly Wisdom: vs. 17-18

Notice vs. 17-18, “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”

First of all James gives the origin of this wisdom. It’s from above. It means that this wisdom is from God. In fact if we remove God from wisdom it ceases to be wisdom it becomes information. This wisdom is a part of those people who have trusted in His Son Jesus Christ. Centuries before King Solomon said in Proverbs 1:7, “The fear of God is the beginning of the knowledge.”

Secondly, in this verse James gives the characteristics of such wisdom. It’s first of all pure. That means; this wisdom is holy. Then it’s peaceable; that means it makes peace as opposed to discord. That means this wisdom seeks to establish peace. We remember our Lord said in Matthew 5:9, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the sons of God.” Then further on this wisdom is gentle; it means this wisdom is courteous. Shows respect to others. It is willing to be humbled. Again James is referring back to our Lord’s words in Matthew 5:5, “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.”

Again, this wisdom is, open to reason. That means that if a person is blessed by heavenly wisdom he is willing to listen to what other person has to say. It other words this wisdom is willing to be taught. It’s willing to learn; on the other hand this wisdom will not claim to know everything. A person who has such type of wisdom will accept his or her frailties.

Then it’s full of mercy, it means this person is willing to show mercy. Because this type of a person is grateful to the mercy that he/she has received from God through Jesus Christ. Then this wisdom is full of good fruits. It means this type of a person has a good character. Then this wisdom is impartial and sincere. That means a person having such wisdom does not do distinction. It is honest, it does not seek its own.

All this characteristics put together we can see that James is echoing Peter’s words. 2 Peter 1:4  “…by which he has granted to us his precious and exceedingly great promises; that through these you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world by lust.”

When we come down to vs. 18 James is telling to his readers about the function of this wisdom. Notice vs. 18, “And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” I looked in the John MacArthur Commentary for searching the meaning of this verse and he says, “Godly wisdom produces a continuing cycle of righteousness, which is planted and harvested in a peaceful, harmonious relationship between God and His people. And simultaneously it is enjoyed by the faithful people themselves.”

That means, if righteousness is sown the fruit of it is peace.

Application:

A couple of weeks back we had a Annual General meeting. I was very much blessed by that meeting. I am not boasting about how great we are. But I was so glad that all of us we were willing to listen to each other’s grievances. Brethren, I come from a background where people use such types of meetings to pull one another down. Such meetings are used in order to disrespect one another and speak badly about one another. I have seen such meetings where there has been much trouble, where there has been much heat than light.

My question to you is this: Do we behave like we do when everybody is watching us? Does Christ’s righteousness come out of our mouth when somebody disrespects us?

The question boils down to one point: Are we peace makers? Are we busy in making peace between God and man? That means are we taking the gospel to those who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ? Are we showing the righteousness of Christ through our actions?