DATE: 5-24-26

As always, it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time, if you’re joining us at our North Main Campus, or are with our friends in Bucyrus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.

And for our Gateway folks, I know it’s been a while since you’ve heard me welcome our friends in Bucyrus. As you may remember, their new pastor started back in March, but he has a few family events in May — including this weekend — so they’re joining us today while he’s away.

PASTORAL PRAYER

INTRODUCTION

We’re continuing our series in the book of James this weekend. We’re learning from the younger brother of Jesus, who believed that his older brother was God. Now — in his letter — James has taken some teachings from his older brother and is showing us how to apply what Jesus taught to everyday life. Thus — when we listen to James — we’re learning what it means to be wise — for wisdom is taking God at his Word and applying it to our lives.

And if you want to talk about a practical topic, well, our topic for today is right up there in practicality. Our topic for today is arrogance. Christian or not, arrogance is something you’re familiar with. And arrogance is something that — for most of us — is quite the turn off when we see it in other people. While — at the same time — arrogance is something that’s often hard to see in ourselves.

So arrogance is the very practical topic that wisdom wants to speak to us about today from the book of James. So let’s see what wisdom has for us. We’ll be in James chapter four today. James chapter four — looking at verses thirteen through seventeen together. We’re in James chapter four — beginning in verse thirteen. There we read…

James 4:13–17 ESV

13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

The reason why we’re focusing on the topic of arrogance is because of the key verse in our passage, which is verse sixteen. It says…

James 4:16 ESV

16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

Writing to Christians, James says that some of them boast in their arrogance — and he calls such boasting evil. So it’s not just that we’re arrogant — we boast in our arrogance. Boasting means to pride oneself in. It means to glory in. To speak loudly about. But where does all of this come from — the things that we pride ourselves in, and glory in, and speak loudly about — what’s the source of all of this? Our arrogance, James says.

Now, for those who follow Jesus, instead of boasting in our arrogance, we’re told to boast in other things.

Romans 5:1–5 ESV

1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in (or we boast in the) hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in (or we boast in) our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

To rejoice in is the same as boasting in. And…

Romans 5:11 ESV

11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

And…

1 Corinthians 1:28–31 ESV

28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

That last phrase is repeated in another of Paul’s letters…

2 Corinthians 10:17 ESV

17 “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Boast in the hope we have in God. Boast in our sufferings. Boast in God. Boast in the Lord. And…

2 Corinthians 11:30 ESV

30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

Boast in our weakness, which Paul expands on later when he heard these words spoken to him…

2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV

9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

What else are we to boast in?

Galatians 6:14 ESV

14 But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

And…

Philippians 3:3 ESV

3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in (or boast) Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—

What is your life boasting in? The hope you have in God? In your sufferings? In God? In the Lord? In your weakness? In Christ and his cross? Or in your arrogance?

Though we easily see arrogance in our culture, James wants us to look in a mirror. Because arrogance isn’t just something out there — arrogance isn’t just something those people struggle with — once again, James goes straight for us. Straight for you. Straight for me. He wants us to do some honest self-examination of our own arrogance and our boasting in it. And he gives us two ways to examine our lives for arrogance, then offers a solution for overcoming it.

To examine our lives for arrogance, he’ll have us look at our view of our future and our view of our sin. He’s going to force us to ask whether we have an arrogant view of our future and of our sin, for these are two ways to examine our lives for arrogance. Then James will give us the solution for our arrogance. Let me show you.

ARROGANT ABOUT OUR FUTURE

We’ll begin with our arrogant view of our future. We’re in verse thirteen. There, James writes…

James 4:13–14 ESV

13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

The question James asks is this: “How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow?” Why do you arrogantly think that tomorrow’s guaranteed?

James uses merchants for his illustration, but he’s not against those who work in sales. What James is pointing out to all of us — regardless of our vocation — is the arrogance of how we think we’re in charge of our future. The arrogance of thinking we’re in control. The way that we live life as if it’s just going to go on and on and on.

Jesus once spoke about this.

Luke 12:16–20 NLT

16 Then he told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. 17 He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ 18 Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. 19 And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ 20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’

God isn’t opposed to us making plans, but he is opposed to us making plans as if we’re the ones in charge instead of him. He’s God. Not us. Thus, our plans for the future should be made with the recognition that God’s plan is what will ultimately take place in our lives.

Additionally, James tells us that our lives are like a mist, a vapor, a puff of smoke. James’ point is pretty simple: Life is short — which is why he wants us to think biblically about the future. 

Maybe James was thinking of…

Proverbs 27:1 ESV

1 Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.

Or how we’re to…

Job 7:7 ESV

7 Remember that my life is a breath…

Or…

Psalm 39:5–6 ESV

5 Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! 6 Surely a man goes about as a shadow! Surely for nothing they are in turmoil; man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!

I got quite a few comments the last time I pointed out what a handbreadth is and how it illustrates our life. This is a handbreadth. Four fingers. Each finger represents a quarter of a person’s life. We’ll round the numbers to make this easy math for all of us.

The first finger represents your first twenty years of life. The second finger is years twenty-one to forty. The third finger is forty-one to sixty. Once you pass sixty, this is it — just one finger left. And it’s on the way down. A sobering and humbling reminder of how brief our lives are. 

Don’t fool yourself. Don’t try to say, “Well, I know I’m in my sixties — or older — but I’m still only on finger three.” You’re not! I’m not saying that to be mean to you. Lord willing, I’ll make it to the fourth finger someday. I tell you this because God doesn’t want you to waste your life. And the way you don’t waste your life is by recognizing how quickly it’s passing.

One day, you’re young enough to play soccer with your kindergartners, and — what seems like the next day — though it’s been nearly two decades — you’re twisting your ankle because you’re not as young as you used to be, right? 

About James’ point, one author has said, “This world tells us to live like we’re going to be here forever, urging us to make our plans, acquire our possessions, and work to build our portfolio. But James tells us to submit to God. Don’t live like you’re going to be here forever. Instead, live, plan, and work as if your life is short and you don’t want to waste it. Live like you want to spend your life humbly before the sovereignty of God and ultimately for the glory of God. As the people of God, we ought to make our lives — the mist that comprises who we are for the short while we’re here — count under his sovereignty for his glory.”

ARROGANT ABOUT OUR SIN

That’s how we end up with a “boasting in our arrogance” view of our future. Now we turn to our arrogant view of our sin. We’re in verse seventeen. There we read…

James 4:17 ESV

17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

It’s common for people to think of sin as doing what God has said, “Don’t do.” Don’t commit adultery. Don’t lie. Don’t steal. And so on. Where sin, for many people, is defined as doing what God has told us not to do. And, I want to be clear, that is sin. It’s sinful to do something that God has told us not to do. But that’s only one aspect of sin. That’s what theologians have called sins of commission — where we commit sin by doing something we know we’re not supposed to do.

But there’s another aspect of sin — not doing the things we know we should do. These are sins of omission. Where God has given a command to do this or that — a command that, when ignored — or omitted — is an act of sin. James touched on this earlier in his letter when he wrote…

James 1:27 ESV

27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

To not care for orphans and widows or to not keep oneself unstained from the world — to disobey by not doing them — is to sin. Not by what you do, but are acts of sin by what you don’t do.

James also touched on this when he wrote…

James 2:8–9 ESV

8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

Showing partiality — or favoritism — is a sin of commission. Not loving your neighbor as yourself — even if you don’t show partiality — is a sin of omission. 

Again, in the church culture that most of us are familiar with, sins of commission — lying, stealing, homosexuality, pornography, and so on — are the sins that have gotten the majority of our attention. But sins of omission — not loving your neighbor as yourself, not loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, not being generous and kind and merciful — these sins of omission are just as sinful in God’s sight.

And those who are arrogant don’t see this. They think, much like the Pharisees in Jesus’ day.

Matthew 15:1–9 NLT

1 Some Pharisees and teachers of religious law now arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They asked him, 2 “Why do your disciples disobey our age-old tradition? For they ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat.” 3 Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God? 4 For instance, God says, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’ 5 But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ 6 In this way, you say they don’t need to honor their parents. And so you cancel the word of God for the sake of your own tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, 8 ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 9 Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’”

“Mom and dad, I can’t help you because I’ve been so generous to God’s church” doesn’t cut it with Jesus. Just like “God, I can’t be generous to your church because I’m being so generous to my parents,” or to some other cause or organization, doesn’t work. Similarly, Jesus said…

Matthew 23:23 NLT

23 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.

Obeying one command — to tithe — doesn’t offset when we fail to obey other commands — like being just, merciful, and faithful. Only the arrogant would think that God would wink an eye at disobedience in one area of our lives because of obedience in another.

As we read elsewhere…

Luke 19:11–27 NLT

11 The crowd was listening to everything Jesus said. And because he was nearing Jerusalem, he told them a story to correct the impression that the Kingdom of God would begin right away. 12 He said, “A nobleman was called away to a distant empire to be crowned king and then return. 13 Before he left, he called together ten of his servants and divided among them ten pounds of silver, saying, ‘Invest this for me while I am gone.’ 14 But his people hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want him to be our king.’ 15 “After he was crowned king, he returned and called in the servants to whom he had given the money. He wanted to find out what their profits were. 16 The first servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made ten times the original amount!’ 17 “‘Well done!’ the king exclaimed. ‘You are a good servant. You have been faithful with the little I entrusted to you, so you will be governor of ten cities as your reward.’ 18 “The next servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made five times the original amount.’ 19 “‘Well done!’ the king said. ‘You will be governor over five cities.’ 20 “But the third servant brought back only the original amount of money and said, ‘Master, I hid your money and kept it safe. 21 I was afraid because you are a hard man to deal with, taking what isn’t yours and harvesting crops you didn’t plant.’ 22 “‘You wicked servant!’ the king roared. ‘Your own words condemn you. If you knew that I’m a hard man who takes what isn’t mine and harvests crops I didn’t plant, 23 why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’ 24 “Then, turning to the others standing nearby, the king ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one who has ten pounds.’ 25 “‘But, master,’ they said, ‘he already has ten pounds!’ 26 “‘Yes,’ the king replied, ‘and to those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. 27 And as for these enemies of mine who didn’t want me to be their king — bring them in and execute them right here in front of me.’”

The third servant was wicked — not because of what he did with the king’s money — commission — but because of what he didn’t do with it — omission.

And as Jesus warns about the final judgment, when we’ll all stand before God…

Matthew 25:31–46 NLT

31 “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left. 34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ 37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ 41 “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. 42 For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. 43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’ 44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’ 45 “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’ 46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”

CONCLUSION: OVERCOMING OUR ARROGANCE

Finally, the cure to our arrogance. Here’s how we overcome our arrogance. We’re in verse fifteen.

James 4:15 ESV

15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”

The phrase “Lord willing” has been used in various ways by God’s people. Some say it like a magical phrase that guarantees God will make your plans happen. Others say it in a way that seems to express doubt: “I’ll be married some day, Lord willing.” Others think it’s something that must be said in order to show God and others that you know he’s really in charge.

Regardless of your experience with the phrase, know that it is a biblical idea. The apostle Paul uses it.

Acts 18:21 ESV

21 But on taking leave of them he said, “I will return to you if God wills,” and he set sail from Ephesus.

To others, he said…

1 Corinthians 4:19 ESV

19 I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power.

But one thing to note is that Paul doesn’t always use the phrase when discussing his plans. 

Now, neither James nor Paul want us to be fatalists. Where we’re all like, “Whatever happens will happen.” As we saw earlier, the issue isn’t that we make plans. The issue is that we think we’re in charge when we make plans. And what the phrase “If the Lord wills” makes clear is that we’re not in charge. God is. 

It’s not if we say “Lord willing,” then he’ll do what we want. It’s not an expression of doubt. It’s not even about making sure God knows that we know he’s in charge — he already knows what we think. Instead, “Lord willing” is us acknowledging that God is God and we’re not. He’s in charge, we’re not. But just because God’s in charge doesn’t mean we’re free to just sit back and let whatever’s gonna happen to happen. 

Think about it. If that’s what God wanted — for us to just sit back and let whatever’s gonna happen happen — why would he give us commands to obey? His commands are pointless if “whatever’s gonna happen will happen” is the motto he wants us to live by. Even James has given us plenty of commands to obey throughout his letter, so he’s probably not now saying, “I take it all back. Let whatever’s gonna happen just happen. Forget all of those commands I wrote down earlier in my letter.”

Instead, the posture of the follower of Jesus is to be one in which every breath we take, every thought we have, every plan we make, and every action we do is done while acknowledging that God’s in charge. Where we live, aware that we’re alive right now — taking this breath, having this thought, making this plan, doing this action — because God is being sovereignly gracious to me. James wants us to have that kind of mindset. A mindset that when asked…

1 Corinthians 4:7 ESV

7 What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?

We won’t boast. For we’re the people who recognize that every good gift comes from our Father in heaven. We’ll live with a mindset that could be summed up with…

Acts 17:28 ESV

28 ‘In him we live and move and have our being.’

Where, with King David, we say…

Psalm 40:8 NLT

8 I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are written on my heart.”

And where our life’s prayer is…

Psalm 143:10 NLT

10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing.

As we remember the words of Jesus, that…

Mark 3:35 NLT

35 Anyone who does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

As we also remember him saying…

Matthew 7:21 NLT

21 “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.

Thus, Peter encourages us…

1 Peter 4:2 ESV

2 to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.

And we do so knowing that though…

1 John 2:17 ESV

17 The world is passing away along with its desires, [Christians know that] whoever does the will of God abides (or lives) forever.

The cure for our arrogance is knowing and doing God’s will. And, for those who do, the promise — which is guaranteed to them — is that they will live with their God forever.

I’m not sure what your view of your future or of your sin is. What I can guess, though, is that if God’s will isn’t yet the cure for either, you’re probably stressed, irritable, angry, short-tempered, not happy about life, your relationships are a mess, people probably talk about you behind your back (which you’re probably aware of), and you’ve not experienced any sort of lasting joy. And what I want you to know is that all of that can change. It can. If you submit yourself to the will of God, and allow your life to be a “if the Lord wills” boasting kind of life. Let’s pray.

PRAYER

Father in Heaven, thank you for your perfect will. Thank you for making your will known to us. Your will in saving a people to be your own. Your will for how you want those whom you’ve saved to live through your good commands. Your will for us to repent when we sin. And your will to forgive us when we come to you in repentance. Thank you for your good and perfect will.

Holy Spirit, remind us of your will. Help us to remember — for we are such a forgetful people. Reveal to us sins of commission — where we commit acts of disobedience against your commands. And reveal to us sins of omission — where we omit and don’t do what you’ve told us to do. Purify our hearts and cleanse us from our sin — especially the sin of arrogance.

And, Jesus, we desire pure hearts so that when we boast, our boast is in you and your cross and your great love for people. In this world of boasting — where people are known for their boasting in themselves — may we be a people who are known for our boasting in you. By the words we say and by the lives we live as we live an “if the Lord wills” kind of life for your glory.

And we pray all of this in your name. Amen.

BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available)

May you go living an “if the Lord wills” boasting kind of life. Amen.

God loves you. I love you. You are sent.

DATE: 5-17-26

As always, it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time or if you’re joining us at our North Main Campus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.

PASTORAL PRAYER

INTRODUCTION

We’re continuing our series in the book of James this weekend as we learn from the younger brother of Jesus, who believed that his older brother was God. And — in his letter — James has taken some teachings from his older brother and is showing us how to apply what Jesus taught to everyday life. Thus — when we listen to James — we’re learning what it means to be wise — for wisdom is taking God at his Word and applying it to our lives.

And in our verses for today, James is returning to two themes we’ve already encountered in his letter. Speech — meaning our words — and God’s law.

About the words we speak, James has said…

James 1:13 ESV

13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.

And…

James 1:19 ESV

19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;

And…

James 2:14–16 ESV

14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?

And…

James 3:1–2 ESV

1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.

And…

James 3:5–6 ESV

5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.

And…

James 3:8–10 ESV

8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.

And…

James 3:14 ESV

14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.

And…

James 4:2–3 ESV

2 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. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

James has already said much about the words we speak. And about the royal — or the perfect law — James has said…

James 1:25 ESV

25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

And…

James 2:8–13 ESV

8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. 11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

So James has already written much about our speech — the words we say — as well as the royal or perfect law — meaning the Law of God.

Now, before we get to our verses for today, I want to ask you a question. What part of God’s law do you think doesn’t apply to you? What part of God’s law do you think doesn’t apply to you?

If you’re a Christian, my guess is you may have responded with, “Well, all of it applies to me. Sure, there are some ceremonial laws in the Old Testament that don’t apply to us today, but the law that James is referring to — as we’ve already seen — is the royal law — the big Ten — the Great Commandment — whatever you want to call it — and it applies to Christians today.” Hold on to that thought for a moment.

Now, if you’re here — and you wouldn’t call yourself a Christian — my guess is you probably responded to my question with, “I’m not sure.” There are probably parts of the law that you do think apply to people today, like “Don’t murder,” but there are other parts you’re just not sure about — or you’re sure that some parts of the law definitely don’t apply to you — like those pesky parts of the law that tell us who and who not to have sex with.

Now James’ goal is to teach us how to be wise. And, by wise, he means not just taking God at his Word, but applying God’s Word to life. Thus, we know we’re being wise or foolish — for example, when it comes to the law — not by simply saying, “All of the law applies to me today” — but we’re being wise when we take that truth — that all of God’s law applies to me today — and live accordingly. Being wise means we don’t say “This is what I believe about God’s law” and then go on to live as if we’re above God’s law.

We’ll see how all of this works itself out in a moment — but first, we need to turn to our verses for today. We’ll be in James chapter four today. James chapter four — looking at verses eleven and twelve. We’re in James chapter four — beginning in verse eleven. There we read…

James 4:11–12 ESV

11 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?

Christians, don’t speak evil against one another. That’s the command — the only command — in our verses. Don’t speak evil against one another, brothers. 

A few observations.

First, the word brothers is James’ way of referring to the Christians he’s writing to. And the only reason he’d need to command a group of Christians not to speak evil against one another is because — guess what they were probably doing? Speaking evil against each other!

Can you imagine? Christians speaking evil about other Christians? Unbelievable. Oh, wait, pretty believable.

Our second observation is that the kind of speech James is referring to is slander. He uses a similar phrase three times in verse eleven — speak evil, speaks against, and speaks evil. This is when we speak degradingly or defamingly of a fellow believer. It’s where we make malicious charges against someone else, attacking their good name and reputation. And, obviously, this is something Christians can do to other Christians as well as to non-Christians. This is also something that non-Christians can do to Christians. Slander is a sin that doesn’t care whose mouth it comes out of. Thus, God’s people are warned not to be slanderers — and not just here in James.

About those who serve in the church, we’re told…

1 Timothy 3:10–11 ESV

10 And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. 11 Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things.

Just as…

Titus 2:3–5 ESV

3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4 and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.

Christians are not to be slanderers. However, we’re to anticipate being slandered. This is why the apostle Peter writes…

1 Peter 2:12 ESV

12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you (or when they slander you…) as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

And…

1 Peter 3:14–16 ESV

14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.

And the reason why Christians are not to slander others, while expecting to be slandered, is because our enemy — Satan, who’s also known as the Devil — his name in the Greek language means “slanderer” and “false accuser.” Thus, to be a slanderer of others is to imitate the Devil, for his name means “the slanderer.”

Slander is the opposite of godly speech — words of love and blessing. In fact, slander destroys fellowship among God’s people because slander is devilish speech. Thus, James wants us to know how to be wise in our speech so that we don’t follow Satan’s lead by speaking evil against one another. And the way of wisdom — the way of not speaking evil against one another — begins by, one, thinking biblically about each other, two, thinking biblically about God’s law, three, thinking biblically about God, and — finally — thinking biblically about ourselves. 

So let’s learn how not to slander one another by thinking biblically about each other, thinking biblically about God’s law, thinking biblically about God, and thinking biblically about ourselves.

THINK BIBLICALLY ABOUT EACH OTHER

First, thinking biblically about each other. We’re in verse eleven where James writes…

James 4:11 ESV

11 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother…

As one person has said, when “fellow believers are viewed as those chosen by God before the foundation of the world, for whom Christ died, who are loved and honored by God, and with whom we will spend eternity in heaven, we will seek to honor, love, and protect them. [Thus] the first step in avoiding the sin of slander is not keeping one’s lips sealed, but keeping one’s thoughts about others right.” 

Biting one’s tongue isn’t the solution to the sin of slander; having a biblical view of each other is the solution to slander.

I wonder what your view is of those who are in the room with you right now? There are probably a lot of people in the room you don’t know. What do you think about them? Do you think biblically about them? How we think about one another — biblically or not — shapes what we say about one another.

Now, James, as you probably saw, also highlights judging one another. He doesn’t stop with slander — he also mentions judging, which is another topic he brought up earlier when he wrote…

James 2:4 ESV

4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

In both this verse and our verse for today, James isn’t making a universal statement about judging — there are plenty of places in Scripture where we’re told to judge one another. What James is saying is that we’re not to use God’s law to make judgments that result in us slandering others.

THINK BIBLICALLY ABOUT GOD’S LAW

Which leads us to the law and how we’re to think about it biblically. We’re back in verse eleven again.

James 4:11 ESV

11 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.

As we’ve seen, by law, James wants us to remember what Jesus taught about the law. And — as we saw in a previous sermon — in knowing what Jesus taught about the law, James has told us that the fulfillment of the law is summed up by the command to love others. And here’s what that means. 

The law — all of the commands and rules — is love codified. The law tells us how to love. Thus, to disregard, ignore, or disobey the law is to be an unloving person. 

One Bible scholar explains…

“An examination of the Ten Commandments reveals them to be ten features of love verbalized. [We don’t have time to look at all ten, but a few will suffice.] The first commandment, “You shall have no other gods before me”, shows that love is not fickle, but single-minded, devoted, loyal…The third command, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain”…reveals love to be respectful toward its object…The fifth commandment, “Honor your father and your mother”, reveals love to be submissive to authority…The sixth commandment, “You shall not murder”, expresses the value love places on others… The seventh commandment, “You shall not commit adultery”, shows love to be pure and [that] love would never defile another person. The eighth commandment, “You shall not steal”, manifests the unselfish nature of love. Love seeks to give, not to take.”

God’s law shows us how to love him and each other. Back to one of the first questions I asked today: I wonder what part of God’s law you’re disregarding, making you less loving than God has created you to be? Where — in disregarding God’s law — you’re not a doer of the law, but its judge.

THINK BIBLICALLY ABOUT GOD

But there is only one who is judge — and to him we turn, as we think biblically about God. We’re in verse twelve.

James 4:12 ESV

12 There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy.

When we slander others, we put ourselves above God’s law and attempt to put ourselves above God. Do you know who else tried to put himself above God? The one whose name means slanderer. But there’s only one lawgiver and judge — the God of Heaven above. The one who is able to save and to destroy.

God is the only one able to save. Meaning, God is the only one who can deliver us from sin and save us from evil. This is why Jesus, God in the flesh, came to earth.

Luke 19:10 ESV

10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

For…

Titus 3:4–7 ESV

4 when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

And in response to this news…

James 1:21 ESV

21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

God is the only one who can save — and — he can destroy.

The word destroy means “to utterly destroy.” It has a sense of spiritual destruction. This destruction is the eternal judgment and condemnation that those — who don’t believe in Christ — will experience for all eternity. As Jesus said…

Matthew 10:28 ESV

28 Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

And as the apostle Paul says about the return of Christ…

2 Thessalonians 1:6–10 NLT

6 In his (God’s) justice he will pay back those who persecute you. 7 And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with his mighty angels, 8 in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don’t know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power. 10 When he comes on that day, he will receive glory from his holy people — praise from all who believe. And this includes you, for you believed what we told you about him.

Think biblically about God. For he is the one who gave us the royal law. He alone is the perfect judge. And he is the only one who is able to save and to destroy.

THINK BIBLICALLY ABOUT YOURSELF

And, finally, think biblically about yourself. We’re in the last half of verse twelve, which says…

James 4:12 ESV

12 But who are you to judge your neighbor?

James essentially asks, “Just who do you think you are? I mean, who in the world do you think you are that you’re perfectly comfortable with slandering others?” 

Whoever you think you are — and this is true for me too — when we slander others, we’re not thinking biblically about ourselves.

Who are you?

2 Corinthians 4:7 NLT

We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

We’re fragile clay jars through whom the light of Christ shines forth in a world that’s clothed in darkness.

Who are you?

Luke 17:10 NLT

In the same way, when you obey me you should say, ‘We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty.’”

Even when we’ve obeyed God’s commands — maybe even receive an award for doing so — we’re unworthy of his grace.

Who are you?

2 Corinthians 5:16–17 ESV

From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Having believed in Jesus, you’re a new creation.

Who are you?

Galatians 2:20 NLT

My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

If you believe in Jesus, he lives in you.

Who are you?

1 John 3:1 NLT

See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him.

You are a beloved child of God.

Who are you?

Ephesians 1:3–5 NLT

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.

You are chosen. Blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms. United with Christ. Adopted into God’s family. Holy and without fault in his eyes.

Who are you?

Romans 5:8 NLT

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

You are someone for whom Christ died.

Who are you?

Romans 8:38–39 ESV

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

You are someone who will never be separated from the love of God.

Who are you?

1 Peter 2:9–10 ESV

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Who are you?

Ephesians 2:8–9 ESV

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Who are you? 

Jesus says to you…

John 5:24 NLT

“I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.

Who are you? 

Having believed in Jesus, you are someone for whom…

Romans 8:1–2 NLT

There is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.

CONCLUSION

All that you’ve just heard can be true for you, regardless of what you thought about Jesus, or the law, or if slandering other people was something you excelled at before you came here today — all that you just heard — and more — can be yours, if you listen to the advice of the wisdom that’s from heaven above. 

And if you listen and respond to God’s wisdom, you will be loved by God, saved by God, cherished by God, eternally secured by God, and will be forever changed by God. Including the words you say about others — as words of slander become words of your past — and words of blessing are now the words of your present and future. For God’s Word — his Word of his love for you — will change you down to the very words that you say about others. Let’s pray.

PRAYER

Father in Heaven, thank you for your Word to us today. What words of blessing, even as we tackled the topic of slander. 

Holy Spirit, continue to sanctify us, to perfect our words, to radically transform them from words of cursing to words of blessing, from words of slander to words of grace and truth. 

And, Jesus, we pray all of this because our desire is that our whole being — down to every word we speak — would be a life that brings you glory and honor. For you gave your whole life for us — and in recognizing how you’ve loved us — we want to give our whole lives back to you.

Father, Son, and Spirit — for any who hear my voice who came here today without the new life that only you can give — may you open their eyes, give them ears to hear, and hearts that long for the peace, joy, hope, and love that’s found only through faith in you. And we pray all of this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available)

Having heard and responded to God’s wisdom, may you go speaking words that honor him and others. Amen.

God loves you. I love you. You are sent.

DATE: 4-26-26

As always, it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time or if you’re joining us at our North Main Campus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.

PASTORAL PRAYER

INTRODUCTION

And we’re continuing our series in the book of James this weekend. We’re learning from the younger brother of Jesus, who believed that his older brother was God. So — if you’re here today and you’re not sure about the validity of the Christian faith — take what I just said into account. Jesus’ younger brother — someone who grew up with Jesus — believed he was God. That’s quite an argument in favor of the truthfulness of Christianity. 

Now — in his letter — James has taken some teachings from his older brother and is showing us how to apply what Jesus taught to everyday life. Thus — when we listen to James — we’re learning what it means to be wise — for wisdom is taking God at his Word and applying it to our lives. And wisdom is actually the topic James has for us today. And if you caught the title for this sermon — Godly Wisdom, Demonic Wisdom — you can probably tell that this is not only going to be a sermon about wisdom — but we’re going to discover a truth that doesn’t just lend itself to writing provocative sermon titles — but is a truth that’s going to open our eyes and minds to seeing the world in a whole new light.

So — if you have your Bible — please turn with me to James chapter three. We’ll be in James chapter three, looking at verses thirteen through eighteen today. We’re in James chapter three — beginning in verse thirteen. There we read…

James 3:13–18 ESV

¹³ Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. ¹⁴ But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. ¹⁵ This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. ¹⁶ For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. ¹⁷ But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. ¹⁸ And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

Godly wisdom and demonic wisdom. These are the two categories — or types — of wisdom that James puts before us. Before we get to them, I want us to remember something we saw months ago in one of our first sermons from this book. In the fifth verse of the first chapter, James writes…

James 1:5 ESV

⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

In that sermon, one of the first things I did was give us a definition of wisdom because — if wisdom is what we lack — then we need to know what wisdom is. And in that sermon, I mentioned that there are two definitions of wisdom commonly used today. The first definition is something like “applying knowledge to a situation,” which doesn’t sound all that bad. And — it’s not — except for one significant aspect. Often — with this definition — morality and theology are not taken into consideration. For this view of wisdom is human-centric — it puts the power and responsibility for determining what is wise in our hands.

Then I pointed us to a second definition of wisdom, which is nearly identical to the first — but with one significant change. If definition one is “applying knowledge to a situation,” the second definition of wisdom is “applying biblical and theological knowledge to a situation.” And this tells us that wisdom — foundationally — is theological. And theology has to do with God. Thus, wisdom is understanding our proper place in relationship to God and — here’s the application part — responding to that relationship accordingly.

Another way of thinking of these two definitions is this: Wisdom — under definition number one — asks, “What works?” Wisdom — under definition number two — asks, “What honors God and reflects his character?” In that sermon from months ago, I went on to say, “Even in the church, the wisdom of ‘what works’ continues to dominate — at least in the church in the US. We’re such pragmatic people that the wisdom of ‘what works’ — and the success it often brings — in relationships, in business, in politics, even in the church — really excites us. But the wisdom of what works will not produce righteousness, which is the goal of biblical wisdom.  And — righteousness — as you may know — means to be right with God. And there are many people who call themselves Christians today — and many organizations that call themselves churches — who are very successful and yet are not right with God. 

Many have discovered what works — again, in relationships, in business, in politics, even in the church — and they think this makes them right with God. But our works — what we do — have never made us right with God — even works that bring about great success — and those who are biblically wise understand this. For it’s not our works — but the works of the One who’s called the Wisdom of God — that make us righteous. Which is why, according to God, wisdom means not just understanding what works, because what works and what pleases God are not always the same thing. And we who claim to follow Jesus need to be very careful of which definition of wisdom we allow to influence the decisions we make, because God will not bless the wisdom of ‘what works’ when it does not bring him honor and glory.”

And — now — two chapters later — James returns to the topic of wisdom. And he’s going to show us another reason why the wisdom we choose — ‘what works’ or ‘what glorifies God’ matters. For James tells us that one is a wisdom that is godly — or from God — while the other is demonic — or from the devil.

DEMONIC WISDOM

We’ll begin with demonic wisdom and end with godly wisdom. We’re in verse fourteen. There, James writes…

James 3:14–16 ESV

¹⁴ But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. ¹⁵ This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. ¹⁶ For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.

James begins by describing the evidence of demonic wisdom: Bitter jealousy and selfish ambition. But he warns — by way of a command — the only command in our verses, by the way — when he writes, “Don’t boast and be false to the truth.” Another Bible translation says, “Don’t cover up the truth — that you’re bitterly jealous and have selfish ambition — with boasting and lying.” Another says, “Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn’t wisdom.”

So, there’s evidence of demonically inspired wisdom. And one piece of evidence is bitter jealousy. A harsh, cruel, hostile rivalry towards others. Where you’re greedy and longing for something that others have, which causes you to be harsh and cruel towards them. This is bitter jealousy.

James used the word bitter earlier in this chapter, when he wrote…

James 3:11 ESV

¹¹ Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water?

Salt water is bitter water. Fresh water has no bitterness to it. Godly wisdom — which we’ll get to in a moment — has no bitterness to it. But demonic wisdom — well — it produces bitter jealousy in those who follow its lead. Just like it produces…

Romans 13:13 ESV

¹³ orgies and drunkenness…sexual immorality and sensuality…quarreling and jealousy.

This kind of wisdom entices our flesh — our sinful desires — to give into all kinds of bitter and ungodly behaviors. As Paul writes to the Christians in Corinth…

1 Corinthians 3:2–3 ESV

² And even now you are not yet ready, ³ for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?

And to the Galatians he writes…

Galatians 5:19–21 ESV

¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, ²¹ envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Fruit of the flesh, which are in opposition to the fruit of the Spirit that Paul goes on to list, is evidence as to which wisdom a person is following.

Unfortunately, bitter jealousy is just one piece of evidence of demonic wisdom. The second is selfish ambition. Selfish ambition means to be self-seeking. It’s a strong drive for personal success without any moral guardrails. This is the person who will do whatever it takes to be successful — as they define success — and rarely is God glorified in our lives when personal success is our ultimate goal. In fact, God can’t be glorified in a person’s life when personal success is their ultimate goal. Because either personal success or God’s glory will be ultimate in your life and — whichever is ultimate — will lead to the wisdom you follow.

In contrast to selfish ambition, we’re told to…

Philippians 2:3 ESV

³ Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

Why? Because we’re to…

Philippians 2:5–11 NLT

⁵ …have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. ⁶ Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. ⁷ Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, ⁸ he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. ⁹ Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Christ — in being your Savior, if you believe in him — is also your example. And the reason why he’s your Savior is because — instead of acting out of selfish ambition — he selflessly gave his life on the cross for you. And in being loved this way — when you taste and see the love Jesus has for you — you follow his example of what it means to be wise by living selflessly instead of selfishly.

So that’s the positive reason not to practice selfish ambition. The negative reason — the warning — is this.

Romans 2:6–8 NLT

⁶ He (God) will judge everyone according to what they have done. ⁷ He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers. ⁸ But he will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and instead live lives of wickedness.

Those who live for themselves are those who live with selfish ambition — it’s the same phrase in the original language. And those who listen to the demonic wisdom of our enemy will display a selfish ambition in their life. Which — Paul warns — will result in them experiencing God’s anger and wrath for all eternity.

And what does this bitter jealousy and selfish ambition produce? In verse sixteen, James writes…

James 3:16 ESV

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

Disorder and every vile practice are the outcome of demonic wisdom in one’s life. Disorder’s an interesting word. It has the sense of an insurrection — think of a violent group causing a disturbance. It’s a word often used to describe what life will be like in the end times. For example, Jesus said…

Luke 21:9 NLT

⁹ And when you hear of wars and insurrections, don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place first, but the end won’t follow immediately.”

But James is saying that this is an insurrection — not out there — but that jealousy and selfish ambition cause an insurrection within you. Sure, this will have consequences to your relationships, your health, potentially your finances — those may be a result of the vile or evil practices you end up doing — but all of this is self-inflicted because of the wisdom you’re following. An inner war — an internal insurrection — a disorder in one’s life.

Let’s return to how James describes this demonic wisdom. In verse fifteen, we read…

James 3:15 ESV

¹⁵ This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.

So he describes this wisdom not solely as demonic — he also calls it earthly and unspiritual. It’s a wisdom — not characterized as coming down from heaven — but as coming from here on earth. It’s unspiritual — as opposed to spiritual. And all of this is James’s way of saying that this is wisdom that comes from our fallen world.

Earthly versus heavenly are contrasted in a variety of places. For example, Paul says…

1 Corinthians 15:40 ESV

⁴⁰ There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another.

Our earthly bodies — these bodies subject to disease, decay, and death are different than the heavenly bodies God’s people will experience for all eternity.

But earthly versus heavenly isn’t just a contrast of physical material. It also includes philosophies, thoughts, and motivations that drive us. For example, Paul also writes…

Philippians 3:18–19 NLT

¹⁸ For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. ¹⁹ They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth.

The desires of those who oppose Christ are earthly, not heavenly. Resulting in them only thinking about their life now — here on earth — and not the life that is to come.

Paul also writes…

1 Corinthians 2:14 ESV

¹⁴ The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

The opposition of earthly and heavenly — of the natural versus the spiritual — goes so far that those who are “natural” — meaning those who don’t have spiritual life — can’t accept the things of the Spirit of God. They need spiritual life given to them first — in order to discern and accept spiritual — or heavenly — truths.

There’s much more that God’s Word says about the earthly versus the heavenly — the natural versus the spiritual — but I think you get the point. This wisdom — wisdom that is earthly, unspiritual, and demonic is not from God and doesn’t please him. Instead, it leads to ruin and destruction. It leads to evil thoughts and actions. It leads to misery and — ultimately — to one’s eternal death.

So — don’t lie to yourself. That’s James warning to all of us. Do an honest evaluation of the wisdom you’re following.

GODLY WISDOM

Which leads us to godly wisdom. This is wisdom from above — wisdom from our Father in Heaven. And — I’ll remind us of this later — but keep in mind that James is trying to help us apply what his older brother — Jesus — taught. So see if you can think of what Jesus said that James may have been thinking of with these words. I’ll get us all there — but see if anything comes to mind. We’re in verse thirteen. There, James writes…

James 3:13 ESV

¹³ Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.

And skipping to verse seventeen, we read…

James 3:17–18 ESV

¹⁷ But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. ¹⁸ And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

James begins by telling us that the wisdom from above — that is, wisdom from God — displays itself in one’s life as good conduct. Meaning — being wise leads to good works — a topic James has already touched on in his letter. 

So if you think you’re wise, what good works do you have to show for it? And — to be wise — in the present — would mean to have good works — and these are good works according to God — that are also in the present. Meaning past good works may validate past godly wisdom, but present godly wisdom in your life will be accompanied with present good works.

But — as I said — we’ve already touched on faith and good works in a previous sermon, so let’s focus on the characteristics of godly wisdom. We spent quite a bit of time on demonically inspired wisdom — let’s spend some time on godly inspired wisdom. James says…

James 3:17–18 ESV

¹⁷ But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. ¹⁸ And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

What are the characteristics or qualities of godly wisdom? Godly wisdom is…

• Pure
• Peaceable
• Gentle
• Open to reason
• Full of mercy
• Full of good fruits
• Impartial
• Sincere
• And godly wisdom results in a harvest of righteousness — or right living — that’s sown in peace by those who listen to it.

Godly wisdom is pure — meaning — it’s holy. It has no faults. For the God who gives this wisdom is pure and holy himself.

Godly wisdom is peaceable. It promotes a state of wholeness, well-being, and happiness. It’s free from a quarrelsome attitude.

Godly wisdom is gentle. It’s kind, tolerant, fair, and fitting. It’s lenient and merciful towards differences of opinion. It’s thoughtful and respectful of other people’s feelings.

One of my favorite sections of the Bible highlights the importance of gentleness in the life of those who follow godly wisdom. The apostle Peter writes…

1 Peter 3:14–16 NLT

¹⁴ But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. ¹⁵ Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. ¹⁶ But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.

Even when you experience suffering, for following Jesus and his wisdom from heaven, be ready to explain why you’re willing to suffer to those who oppose you and do so in a gentle and respectful way. Of all the characteristics of godly wisdom we can display to the world, this one — gentleness — may be the biggest opportunity to distinguish godly wisdom from the natural, unspiritual, and demonic wisdom that runs rampant in our culture today.

Godly wisdom is also open to reason. As Christians, we believe in objective truth. Yet, godly wisdom — in being open to reason — reminds us that we’re not all-knowing — only God is. And we may have faults in our reasoning — though God doesn’t — thus we need to be open to reason. We need to be open to being wrong. Open to adopting or changing our position or belief about something, given sufficient reason or evidence. Instead of quickly responding with the “wrong meme,” which is the way of our culture, godly wisdom is open to reason. To say it another way, those who follow godly wisdom know that they’re not right about everything. And being a “know-it-all” is an indicator that one is not following godly wisdom.

Godly wisdom is full of mercy — it’s compassionate. As Jesus said to his religious opponents…

Matthew 23:23 NLT

²³ “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.

Or as James previously told us…

James 2:13 NLT

¹³ There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you.

Godly wisdom is made evident by the mercy it shows to others.

Just as godly wisdom is also full of good fruits. Good fruits are the consequences of the wisdom from heaven. Whereas disorder and every evil practice are the consequences of demonic wisdom, godly wisdom produces godly results. And as James earlier told us…

James 1:18 NIV

¹⁸ He (God) chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

Our lives are to be the firstfruits of God’s saving and restoring work to his creation. And — in following his wisdom — more good fruits will be produced in our lives.

Godly wisdom is impartial — it’s nonjudgmental. Where demonic wisdom causes division, godly wisdom produces unity. Godly wisdom fights against our natural, unspiritual tendency to divide.

Additionally, godly wisdom is sincere. It’s without hypocrisy. It’s genuine.

And godly wisdom leads to a harvest of righteous living — resulting in peacemaking being a characteristic of those who follow God’s wisdom.

CONCLUSION: JESUS ON GODLY WISDOM

And it’s this final result — this harvest of righteous living — that leads us to the teaching of Jesus that James may have been thinking of. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said…

Matthew 5:3–12 ESV

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. ⁵ “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. ⁶ “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. ⁷ “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. ⁸ “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. ⁹ “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. ¹⁰ “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ¹¹ “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Though James doesn’t address everything Jesus says here, did you notice quite a bit of thematic overlap?

• Godly wisdom is pure. And Jesus said, “God blesses those whose hearts are pure.”
• Godly wisdom is peaceable. And Jesus said, “God blesses those who work for peace.”
• Godly wisdom is gentle. And Jesus said, “God blesses those who are meek” — another word for gentle.
• Godly wisdom is full of mercy. And Jesus said, “God blesses those who are merciful.”

I’m sure we could find even more connections — but that’s enough to show us that the godly wisdom that James speaks of — will lead to the godly living that Jesus taught in his Sermon on the Mount. For — remember — James wants us to apply wisdom to life — for just knowing the wise thing to do isn’t enough. Wisdom leads to action. And we’re all guided by some wisdom that leads to the actions we choose. The question — that James is forcing us to ask — is this: Does the evidence in your life show godly wisdom or demonic wisdom to be your guide? And if you’re not satisfied with the evidence in your life, which wisdom do you need to start listening to and following?

As I prepared for this sermon, I came across some words that I thought would help us all take what we’ve heard and begin applying it to our lives.

One author said, “These characteristics [of godly wisdom]…are hard to acquire and hard to maintain. They can only be sustained at great personal cost. They only appear where there has been a steady habit of prayer and self-discipline; even then, they may take a while to show themselves. It would be worth spending the time to work through the words in [James’s] list one by one. Do it slowly. Review your life in the light of them. You might want to make a note of the times, the places, and particularly the people, that make it hard for you to live in this way — and then pray for strength, and for this wisdom from above, to hold firm when the challenge comes round once more. Some of the people you meet every day are people who follow godly wisdom, and others are people who follow demonic wisdom. Which one would you rather see coming towards you down the street? Which one would you rather have as a neighbor? [Which would you rather work with or be married to?] The question answers itself. The challenge is to become that person yourself. Someone who listens to, submits to, and follows the wisdom that comes from above.”

May we all be committed to listening to the wisdom that’s from above. The wisdom that is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. For then — and only then — will a harvest of righteousness be sown in peace through our lives — as individuals — and as a church. Let’s pray.

PRAYER

Father in Heaven, by wisdom you founded the earth; by understanding you created the heavens. O Lord, what a variety of things you have made! In wisdom you have made them all. True wisdom and power are found in you; counsel and understanding are yours. Only you can tell you the future before it happens. Everything you plan will come to pass, for you do whatever you wish.

Spirit of God, when it comes to grasping all of this — of truly understanding what we’ve heard today — we admit that our minds seem so incapable. We say with the psalmist, “How great is our Lord! His power is absolute! His understanding is beyond comprehension!” We confess that “Your thoughts are nothing like our thoughts. And your ways are far beyond anything we can imagine.” So help us, we pray. Help us to trust that you will use the wisdom from above to change our lives.

And, Jesus, all of this is possible because you not only lived a life full of godly wisdom, but are the wisdom of God come in the flesh. The evidence in your life is clear. All that you do or say is pure and peaceable. You are gentle and full of mercy. You’re sincere, and a harvest of righteousness is being produced in the lives of your people because of your transforming love.

For your glory — Father, Son, and Spirit — we commit to following your wisdom. And we pray all of this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available)

As you go, may you commit yourselves to listening to and following the wisdom from above. Amen.

God loves you. I love you. You are sent.

DATE: 4-19-26

As always, it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time or if you’re joining us at our North Main Campus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.

PASTORAL PRAYER

INTRODUCTION

We’re continuing our series in the book of James this weekend. In his letter, James has taken some teachings from his older brother and is showing us how to apply what Jesus taught to everyday life. Thus — when we listen to James — we’re learning what it means to be wise — for wisdom is taking God at his Word and applying his Word to our lives. So let’s see what James has for us today.

If you have your Bible, please turn with me to James chapter three. We’ll be in James chapter three — looking at verses one through twelve together today. We’re in James chapter three — beginning in verse one. There we read…

James 3:1–12 ESV

1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. 3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 4 Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

Years ago, someone said, “Direction, not intention, determines your destination.” What the person was pointing out is that — often — we give our intentions way more credit than they deserve. 

• We may intend to improve our health. 
• We may intend to have a loving marriage. 
• We may intend to raise our children to know and love Jesus. 

There are lots of things that we intend — or have the intent to do — but direction, not intention, ultimately determines our destination.

Our intention is to improve our health, but for many, our direction is towards an inactive lifestyle and foods that are full of sugar and other highly processed ingredients that aren’t great for us. And, our direction determines our destination — not being as healthy as we intend to be.

Our intention is to have a loving marriage, but our direction — working extra late hours to impress our boss, coming home and gluing ourselves to screens, not praying together as husband and wife — leads to a marriage that resembles having a roommate rather than a spouse.

Our intention is to raise our children to know and love Jesus, but our direction — not having family devotional times, not regularly attending church, allowing sports and other activities to control our calendars — leads to children who are disinterested in Jesus.

Direction, not intention, determines your destination.

But what determines our direction? What causes us to go this way instead of that — to make this decision instead of that one? If direction, not intention, determines our destination — what determines our direction? James is going to tell us that it’s our words. The words we say out loud and the words we say to ourselves in our heads, are what determine our direction in life. And — to make this personal — your words are determining the direction of your life.

Earlier in James, we read…

James 1:19 ESV

19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;

James also told us…

James 1:26 ESV

26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.

So the tongue and our words aren’t a new topic for James. He’s just going to show us a bit more about this very practical topic — the power of our words.

But there’s one more question for us. If direction, not intention, determines our destination. And our words are what determine our direction — what determines our words? I mean, if our words are this important — if they determine our direction, which leads to the destination our lives are headed to — what determines our words? This is the question we’ll let Jesus answer.

But before we get to his answer, let’s return to our verses, where we find a warning about our words. Then we’ll look at both words of cursing and words of blessing, before we turn to Jesus’ answer to our final question.

A WARNING TO TEACHERS (AND TO ALL OF US)

So, first, a warning. We’re in verse one.

James 3:1 ESV

1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

So James starts with a warning directed at teachers. And, to be clear, he means teachers of God’s Word. And his point is this: Those of us who teach God’s Word use words to do so. And, because we use words, we’re going to be judged with greater strictness because the words we say — one — usually have a much bigger audience than what most people experience — and two — when one teaches God’s Word, you are saying words of eternal importance. 

Now, with this warning, James isn’t trying to get Bible teachers to quit. He doesn’t want to stop people from becoming Bible teachers. He’s just warning us that the more words you speak, and teachers speak more words than most, the more evaluation God is doing of what you say. And, unfortunately, the more you speak, the more you can become careless with the words you say — especially when we fail to heed the warning James gave earlier about being quick to listen and slow to speak. 

On Tuesday, I was at BGSU to do a Q&A session with students. I’ve been doing this for a few years now. And college ministries always start past my bedtime. We spent over an hour on questions and answers, with follow-up questions sent in response to something I said in my answer to a previous question — it was a great time, and I love seeing how eager the next generation is to understand how the Christian faith applies to life. 

This is just one example of how teachers of God’s Word are often asked to give their opinion on something or answer an individual’s question, meaning they speak, speak, speak into all kinds of situations. And more words usually — not always — but usually more words mean more errors — especially when it’s past your bedtime. Thus, those who teach — and not just preach on a big stage like this — but those who take on any form of teaching the Bible to others — are warned: Be careful with your words.

But James’s warning isn’t solely for those of us who teach. In fact, his warning to teachers is meant to grab our attention — so that we hear his general warning that’s for all of us. James continues in verse two with…

James 3:2 ESV

2 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.

Notice that he doesn’t say that teachers stumble in many ways. Nor does he say that “only teachers” stumble in many ways. The verse says, “We all stumble in many ways.” And “we” is inclusive. It includes teachers and non-teachers. It includes men and women. Young and old. Christians and non-Christians. His point is simple: All of us have stumbled when it comes to the words we’ve said.

The word “stumble” means to be defeated. Defeated by what? Sin. This is the word James used in the previous chapter when he wrote…

James 2:10 ESV

10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.

“Fails” is the same word as “stumble.” Remember, when it comes to being right with God by the law, the standard is perfection. You must obey all of the law, or you’ve failed. And now — in our chapter — James acknowledges that we’ve all failed — or stumbled — in many ways when it comes to the words that come out of our mouths. For if you hadn’t stumbled — or failed — with your words, you’d be a perfect man or woman. You’d be able to control your entire being when it comes to sin and its temptations. He explains it this way.

James 3:3–8 ESV

3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 4 Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

By way of illustration, James shows us the power of our words. Though we’ve got some folks in our church with farms and animals, horses and bits aren’t used by as many of us as in James’s day. The same goes for rudders of a ship. If we were to use a twenty-first-century illustration, we’d say the tongue is like the steering wheel in your car. The steering wheel is a small part of the car, but it determines the direction the car is headed. And that’s what your words are like.

In contrast to our tongues, James first brings up animals. And he reminds us of how we’ve tamed all kinds of animals and creatures. We can go to a zoo, see all kinds of dangerous animals behind glass, and be amazed by their beauty without fearing their power. That’s what the word tame means in our verses. It means to subdue or make something your subject. And, what James is saying, is that though we’ve tamed and made subject all kinds of beasts and animals — this little part of our body — the tongue, representing our words, can’t be tamed. We can’t subdue it, we can’t break it in, we can’t make it our subject. Even those of us who “bite our tongues” still say some awful things to other people or to ourselves.

James goes so far as to say that the tongue is set on fire by hell, and the tongue sets our lives on fire. I wonder if you’ve experienced this? 

You don’t have to live very long to be burned by the fire of hell coming out of the mouth of someone else, do you? Just like it doesn’t take long in life to see how your words can cause destruction and pain, not only to others, but to your own life. 

• Our lives can be suddenly on fire because of some words that came out of our mouths. 
• Relationships are no more because words of fire came out of your mouth. 
• Unemployment because words of fire came out of your mouth. 
• Self-hatred because of words of fire that — even if they’ve never been spoken out loud — are on repeat in your mind constantly — setting your life on fire. And not a holy refining fire — but the destructive fire that comes from hell.

James — being familiar with the Old Testament — probably had passages in mind like…

Proverbs 16:27 NLT

27 Scoundrels create trouble; their words are a destructive blaze.

He may have been thinking of…

Proverbs 26:21 NLT

21 A quarrelsome person starts fights as easily as hot embers light charcoal or fire lights wood.

People who like to quarrel and fight use their words like hot embers, igniting a fire. And though fire isn’t mentioned, James could’ve been thinking of these words of King David.

Psalm 140:1–3 NLT

1 O Lord, rescue me from evil people. Protect me from those who are violent, 2 those who plot evil in their hearts and stir up trouble all day long. 3 Their tongues sting like a snake; the venom of a viper drips from their lips.

Which is quoted by Paul when he writes…

Romans 3:10–14 NLT

10 As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous — not even one. 11 No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. 12 All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.” 13 “Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Their tongues are filled with lies.” “Snake venom drips from their lips.” 14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”

• Foul talk — words that have a stench to them like decaying flesh. We once had a mouse die in the wall of our home. The stench — from such a small creature — was awful. 
• Our tongues are filled with lies — like venom dripping from our lips. We put labels on bottles to make sure we avoid ingesting poison. If only we had labels to warn people that poison was about to be spewed at them from our mouths.
• And our mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. 

What an indictment about our words — about your words — about my words. 

I wonder how you’re responding to what God’s Word is saying to you about your words? 

• Are you dismissing what you’re hearing — “none of this is true of me.” 
• Are you pointing the finger — “So and so needs to hear this.”
• Are you ashamed — “Man, I’ve said some horrible things.” 
• Or are you hoping for an answer — “What am I supposed to do about this?” 

How are you responding to what God is saying to you about the words you speak?

Something important for all of us to see is what James says in verse eight. He says…

James 3:8 ESV

8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

About this verse, Augustine — who lived in the fourth century — said, “James does not say ‘no one came tame the tongue’, but ‘[no human being],’ so that, when it is tamed, we admit that it was done by the mercy of God, the assistance of God, the grace of God.” 

So, first, know that it’s impossible for you to tame your tongue. That’s the bad news. Now, the good news. Though it’s impossible for any human to tame their tongue, it’s not impossible for God. In fact, God’s power over our tongues is seen in an incredible moment in the early life of the church. Forty days after Jesus’ resurrection…

Acts 2:1–4 NLT

1 On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. 2 Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. 3 Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. 4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.

These tongues of ours — which can spew fire from hell that burns others and sets destruction to our lives — God — as we just saw — is able to use for his own purpose. He can set his people’s tongues ablaze with a message of holy fire — the gospel — the news of what Jesus has done in his life, death, and resurrection. And when God’s people submit their words to God’s authority, the gospel message will go forth like a fire setting a forest ablaze. 

And the question for each of us is this: Which fire will come out of our mouths? Words that come from the fire of hell or words that come from the fire of Heaven?

WORDS OF CURSING AND BLESSING

Which leads us to words of cursing and words of blessing. Let’s briefly look at the difference between the words from hell and the words of Heaven. We’re in verse nine. There, James writes…

James 3:9–12 ESV

9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

In the beginning God spoke, and he said, “Let there be light” — and there was light. God speaks, and blessings follow. Whether it be life to all that exists or a wife for Adam, who was alone in the Garden. God speaks, and blessings follow. 

And a truth that James emphasizes is how all people are made in the likeness of God. Part of our being made in God’s likeness — or image — is that God created us to use our words in a way that images — or reflects — or is like the way he uses words. And how are we to reflect — or imitate — how God uses words? By speaking words of blessing.

But — after God speaks — we come to Genesis chapter three, where Satan speaks. And do you know what Satan got Adam and Eve to doubt? God’s word of blessing to them.

Genesis 3:1–4 NLT

1 The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” 2 “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. 3 “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’ ” 4 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman.

Now the woman spoke back to Satan with information that wasn’t accurate. And Satan both uses her inaccurate words — and twists God’s words — resulting in the man and the woman disobeying God, leading to sin entering God’s creation and us all living under a curse. The snake of hell spoke words from hell to deceive the man and woman into inviting hell into God’s perfect creation. And ever since, we’ve all used our words to curse each other.

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never”…how does it go? That’s right. “But words will never hurt me.” What a lie. One person has said, “It’s a terrible thing that children have gotten hold of this nursery poem. Let me tell you what the poem should say. [It should say…} ‘Sticks and stones can only break my bones, but words can pollute and distort and destroy my very soul.’ [But that] doesn’t rhyme.”

With our words, we curse people who are made in the likeness — or image — of God. And, we do so, as Christians. We curse people with our words while we use our words to bless our God in Heaven. And, about this reality, James says…

James 3:10 NLT

10 Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!

Though a freshwater spring does what God created it to do — it produces fresh water. And though a fig tree produces figs, as God created it to do. And an olive tree produces olives, and a vine produces grapes, and an apple tree produces apples, and so on — though all of these creations do what God made them to do — our tongues don’t. Our tongues are like a banana tree producing apples. Yet our tongues — which were created to produce words of blessing — which demonstrate our being made in God’s image — instead produce words of cursing in the image of our Enemy. So, yes, James. This isn’t right!

CONCLUSION: JESUS THE TEACHER TO LISTEN TO

Which leads us to our only hope. His name is Jesus. And Jesus said quite a bit about our words. To some religious leaders, he said…

Matthew 12:34–37 NLT

34 You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. 35 A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. 36 And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. 37 The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.”

Another time he said…

Mark 7:20–23 NLT

20 And then he added, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. 21 For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. 23 All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.”

Ultimately, the words of cursing that we speak — whether to ourselves or to others — reveal something about the condition of our hearts. It reveals to us the curse we all live under because of Adam and Eve’s rebellion against God’s words of blessing to them. And we’re incapable of changing the condition of our hearts. Thus, we need a word spoken to us by Someone whose words can change us — and our hearts — forever. 

As someone has said, “We need words. Words are powerful. We don’t have a self without words. You can say all you want, ‘All that matters is how I feel about myself.’ No. Somebody from the outside has to tell you you’re valuable. Somebody from the outside has to tell you you’re great. Somebody from the outside has to tell you you’re acceptable, or you won’t believe it. The Bible tells us God said to his Son, “You are my beloved Son in whom I’m well pleased.” The Bible tells us that if we believe in Jesus, the Father loves us in the same way as he loves his own Son. Until you hear over and over and over in your own heart through prayer, through reading the Word of God, through a variety of ways, unless you hear God saying to you, “You are my beloved child in whom I’m well pleased”…Until you hear a word from the outside that tells you who you are, you’re going to be trying desperately, through all kinds of duplicity and all kinds of deception, to create a self by getting people to tell you how great you are…[You see,] underneath it all, we know we’re unacceptable until [a] word from the outside [says…] “This is my beloved child in whom I’m well pleased.” That’ll heal your tongue. It’ll set your tongue on fire with a different kind of fire, the fire that came down at Pentecost, [a fire] not from hell but from heaven.”

I wonder if, even right now, you’re hearing that life-changing word from Someone else? A word from the God who created you. A word from Jesus, who came to live and die for you because he loves you. A word from the Spirit of God who is saying right now, “Receive my word: You are loved. You are forgiven. You are set free from the curse. You are mine.” I wonder whose word you’re listening to right now? The word of the Serpent, who wants to keep you enslaved under his curse, or the word of the God who is in Heaven, who created you, and who wants to set you free?

Later this year, my friend and fellow pastor, Alan Wright, will be with us. Alan has written many books, including The Power to Bless: How to Speak Life and Empower the People You Love. I was so impacted by Alan’s book that I bought all the staff and elders a copy for Christmas last year and invited Alan to come speak on the topic so we can all learn to use our words to be better blessers of others. 

So if you want to be someone who uses your words to bless God and others — and even yourself — grab a copy of Alan’s book — again, it’s titled The Power to Bless. There’s a QR code at your campus’s Resource Center if you forget the title. If your Life Group is looking for something to study, it’d be a great option. And be sure to block off your calendar for the weekend of October 18th when Alan will be with us. He’s going to teach a Saturday seminar on blessing others with our words and preach for us during our worship services that weekend. Let’s pray.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, thank you for being a God who speaks. Who speaks words of blessing over your people and creation. As Creator, you have made each of us in your image — creating us to use our words to mirror your words — which are words of blessing.

Spirit, we confess that because of the curse and our own sinful choices, we’ve often used our words to curse others instead of blessing them. We’ve even used our words to curse ourselves. We confess this, ask for forgiveness, and Spirit, we ask you to lead us in a new direction with our words. Teach us how to bless. Guide us in what we say. All so that we reflect our God who blesses others with his words as we bless a world full of people who are desperate to hear some good news.

And, Jesus, you are God’s Word in flesh. The perfect Word of blessing to your people. And you continue to speak words of blessing to us. May we have ears to hear, so that our hearts and lives are forever changed, so that we head in a new direction. A direction of blessing others — for that is who you have called, created, and saved us to be. Thank you for this purpose. And we pray all of this in your name. Amen.

BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available / Resource Center for QR to book)

May you go imitating the God who had created you in his image by using your words to bless others. Amen.

God loves you. I love you. You are sent.

DATE: 3-8-26

As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time or if you’re joining us at our North Main Campus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.

PASTORAL PRAYER

Each week — during our worship services — we set aside some time to pray for people, circumstances, and situations going on in our congregation, community, country, and world.

Today we’ll be praying for our church elders — those who lead us here at Gateway. We’ll pray for our local police officers and a Bible study recently started for them. And we’ll pray for the wars going on around the world.

Please join me in prayer.

Heavenly Father, in your Word to us — you show us the kind of men you call to lead your people. 

1 Timothy 3:2-7 NLT

A church leader must be a man whose life is above reproach. He must be faithful to his wife. He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must be able to teach. 3 He must not be a heavy drinker or be violent. He must be gentle, not quarrelsome, and not love money. 4 He must manage his own family well, having children who respect and obey him. 5 For if a man cannot manage his own household, how can he take care of God’s church? 6 A church leader must not be a new believer, because he might become proud, and the devil would cause him to fall. 7 Also, people outside the church must speak well of him so that he will not be disgraced and fall into the devil’s trap.

And you give them this mandate:

1 Peter 5:2-4 NLT 

Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. 3 Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example. 4 And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor.

Father, we thank you for the men who serve us as your shepherds. For Matt Buttermore, Dana Fought, Ed Grable, Matt Heft, Terry Jolliff, Scott Sharpe, Kevin Snyder, Justin Stiles, and Jim Tomlinson. Thank you for their faithfulness to you and to the call you have on their life as elders of your people. Thank you for their care for your people. Thank you for their eagerness to serve you and your people here at Gateway. Thank you for their leadership — and for leading by a good example. Remind them of the crown of never-ending glory and honor that will be theirs.

As we turn our attention to our local law enforcement — we want to pray specifically for the Bible study that’s recently been started in our community specifically for them. Thank you for the many officers and staff who have shown up to learn about you through your Word. Thank you for their openness and curiosity about who you are. Spirit, lead, guide, and direct more officers to come to the Bible study so that more of the men and women who serve our community in this way would be people who know the one and only living God. Thank you for the hope that your Word gives — may your Word give the officers the eternal hope that’s found only in Jesus Christ.

And as we pray for our world — Father — we can’t help but think of the warring going on halfway around the world. Pakistan and Afghanistan. Israel, Iran, and our nation — and many others getting involved or experiencing attacks. War was never your intention for your creation. Peace was — and is — your intention for your creation. Yet we are a people who war with one another. Father, forgive us. Jesus — our Prince of Peace — bring peace to our world. Holy Spirit, change our hearts — from hearts that desire rebellion, death, and destruction to hearts that — because of faith in Christ — desire and live for faithfulness, and life, and restoration, and reconciliation. This work — that only you can do — is a work for people of all nations — including those in Pakistan and Afghanistan — in Iran and Israel — as well as the hearts of people here in the US.

Father may you be glorified as the message of Jesus Christ continues to go forth to all people by the power of the Holy Spirit. And may we be found to be faithful goers and sharers of your News until Jesus returns. And we pray all of this in his name. Amen. 

SERIES INTRO

We’re continuing our series in James this weekend. Learning from the wisdom section of the New Testament. And boy do we have something to learn from wisdom today. What’s that — you may wonder — what does wisdom want to teach us today? That simply hearing God’s Word is insufficient — for we must do God’s Word.

But don’t take my word for it — here’s what we find in our verses from today. We’re in James chapter one — beginning in verse twenty-one. There we read…

James 1:21–25 ESV

21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

Here’s where we’re headed today. We’re going to see what it means to be a doer of God’s Word by looking at what a life of repentance and faith looks like. Then we’ll see what a life of self-deception looks like. Then we’ll see what a life of true faith looks like. And — I know — “Josh, the first and third points sound the same.” Yes, they both include faith — but you’ll see that faith has two aspects to it which James highlights in our verses.

The life of repentance and faith. The life of self-deception. And a life of true faith. Together — these will show us the difference between being someone who merely hears God’s Word versus someone who hears and does the Word of God. And — as I said a moment ago — hearing God’s Word is insufficient — we must be people who do God’s Word.

A LIFE OF REPENTANCE AND FAITH

So let’s begin by looking at a life of repentance and faith. We’re back in verse twenty-one. There we read…

James 1:21 ESV

21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

Our verses for today build on what’s come before — that’s what the word “therefore” tells us. Anytime you find a “therefore” in Scripture — pause and ask yourself, “What’s the therefore, there for?” 

Therefore is a connecting word. It connects what comes after it with what comes before it. So what comes just before our verse? These words from James that Joe Sherrieb had us look at last week.

James 1:19–20 ESV

19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

Which leads to our verse…

James 1:21 ESV

21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

Here’s another way of seeing the relationship between these verses. Ask the question “why”. Here’s what I mean. Our verse again is…

James 1:21 ESV

21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

And our question is, “Why, James? Why are we to put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and so on…?”

Because — that’s another way of saying “therefore” — because…

James 1:20 ESV

20 The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

To which we ask another question — “Where — one of those famous W’s we’re taught to use in English class — where does the anger of man come from James?”

This kind of ungodly anger comes from within — and it shows up when we’re not…

James 1:19 ESV

19 quick to hear, slow to speak, [and] slow to anger;

I hope that’s helpful — me showing you how to ask questions and not just simply droning on while reading the Bible. For we’ll never be doers of God’s Word if we don’t understand it. And understanding — often comes when we slow down and ask questions.

So — back verse twenty-one. What is James telling us? He’s telling us — in his own words — to repent and believe. For a life of repentance and faith is the first step away from a life that doesn’t produce the righteousness of God. And it’s also the first step towards the life that does produce the righteousness of God.

Repentance means to turn away from — and faith — is what we turn towards. What do we repent of — or turn away from — according to James? All filthiness and rampant wickedness. “Put it away,” James says.

Filthiness — in the original language — is a word that means moral impurity. Wickedness — again, in the original language — means evil or depravity. And — to wickedness — James adds the word “rampant” — which means an overabundance of wickedness — or an excessive amount of evil and depravity.

The word translated as “filthiness” is only found here in the New Testament — but the word translated as “wickedness” is used quite often in the New Testament. And — when it’s used — we find it used similarly as in our passage — where wickedness is something to put away or put off or to turn away from. Here are some examples.

Ephesians 4:31 ESV

31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

And…

Colossians 3:8 ESV

8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.

In these examples the word “malice” is the same word translated as wickedness.

1 Peter 2:1 ESV

1 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.

And…

1 Peter 2:16 ESV

16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.

Evil’s the same word as wickedness.

Finally — and in about as clear of a statement as we could ask for — in showing how repentance is turning away from wickedness — in the book of Acts — Peter says…

Acts 8:22 ESV

22 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.

We’re to repent — or turn away from — filthiness and rampant wickedness. And that’s all of us. Christian or not. Remember — James is writing to followers of Jesus — he’s not writing to those who don’t believe — but repentance is for everyone — Christian or not. And James is reminding his readers to keep turning away from filthiness and rampant wickedness. And why does he do this?

Because — unfortunately — following Jesus doesn’t rid us from choosing to do such God dishonoring activities. And we shouldn’t pretend otherwise. For those who pretend — or deny that they’re capable of making such filthy and wicked sinful decisions — are those who usually destroy their lives — or the lives of others. Or they’re the proudest and most obnoxious people you know. Often they’re the most intolerable people to be around. Not only do they forget that…

Titus 3:3 ESV

3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.

They act as if this was never the case for them — much less the case for them presently. And they do all of this while claiming to follow Jesus — giving Christ — and his followers — a terrible reputation. We’ll get to these folks a bit more in a moment.

Now — if you’re not a Christian — you may be all like, “That’s right Josh. Get ‘em. Those people are the worst!” But I want to take your eyes off of them — and ask you to do some self-reflection. You see, the first step in following wisdom — which we saw weeks ago — is repentance. For the God who created everyone and everything — including you — has spoken. And he’s given his Word on what is good and what is wicked. He’s told us what is pure and what’s filthy. And wisdom is asking you, “Will you take God at his Word?”

But here’s something both counterintuitive and incredible: Us taking God at his Word is a work of God. This is how gracious and good and kind God is to us — to you. For he knows that none of us will take him at his Word if left on our own — so God does a work in us — so that — we’re awakened to the truthfulness and reliability of his Word. James tells us this in the last half of our verse when he writes…

James 1:21 ESV

21 and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

Here James tells us wonderful news: The Word of God has been implanted in our hearts. And who put God’s Word in our heart? The Spirit of God did. For the Spirit implants God’s Word in the hearts of God’s people. And the implanted Word will do its work — the work’s guaranteed to happen. What work? The work of salvation. Where the Spirit of God takes the message of the Word of God — the gospel — and through the gospel gives new life. Meaning a spiritual resurrection takes place — this is a death to life experience — when the Spirit uses the Word to awaken us to the truth.

At this point — a great question for us to ask is, “What is the gospel?” The gospel is this: In the beginning God created everything. And it was good — meaning — it was whole, perfect, without the pains and sorrows we now experience — like cancer and war, the heartache of relational turmoil and the death of those we love. 

The cause of these pains and sorrows is found all the way back to a decision that our first parents — Adam and Eve — made when they distrusted God and believed the lies of our Enemy. As a result — sin — which means “missing the mark” — entered God’s creation. Adam and Eve missed the mark — they did not trust God — they didn’t take him at his Word much less do his Word. And ever since — all humans have sinned — missed the mark — and have distrusted God — not taking him at his Word — not doing his Word. This includes you — and this includes me.

Sin resulted in our relationship with God being destroyed. For God — who is holy and pure — cannot be in the presence of the unholy and impure — or in the presence of filth and wickedness. So we were cast from his presence — kicked out of the Garden — and sent out into the wilderness as our punishment. And — not only that — but death entered creation. Physical death — and all of the aging, and disease, and illnesses, and stresses, that comes with it — and spiritual death — separation from God. Spiritual death is probably the best way to describe our natural relationship with God. For he is Spirit and Life and — because of our sin — our spiritual life was killed.

But God…two of my favorite words in all of the Bible, by the way.

Ephesians 2:4–10 NLT

4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) 6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. 7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. 8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

God — in love for his people — sent his Son, Jesus Christ — to seek and save those who were lost. Jesus came to save sinners. And the way he ensured our salvation was by giving his life — on a cross — in our place — for our sins — for the wages of sin is death.  Yet during his life — Jesus lived perfectly. He always trusted God the Father — he always took God at his Word — he always did what God’s Word required. And on the cross — though sinless — he took the punishment we deserve for our sin — the punishment of death. And in his resurrection — he defeated Satan, sin, death, and Hell and promised a new and abundant life — he guaranteed a resurrection empowered life to all who turn to him in faith — this is a guarantee to all who take Jesus at his Word.

That’s the Good News — that’s the gospel — that’s the message all need to hear. Whether it be your neighbor — or your coworker — or your child — or your spouse — or a group of people halfway around the world who’ve never heard the name Jesus before. The gospel is the only message that saves — for Jesus is the only Savior.

A LIFE OF SELF-DECEPTION

Returning to our verses — next James says…

James 1:22–24 ESV

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.

And — at this point — I can’t help but wonder if James had one of his older brother’s parables in mind. I say this because — what James just wrote is basically a very short parable. A parable — if you’re unfamiliar with the term — is a short story that’s meant to teach a lesson. Here’s a parable that Jesus once used to teach some folks.

Luke 8:4–15 NLT

4 One day Jesus told a story in the form of a parable to a large crowd that had gathered from many towns to hear him: 5 “A farmer went out to plant his seed. As he scattered it across his field, some seed fell on a footpath, where it was stepped on, and the birds ate it. 6 Other seed fell among rocks. It began to grow, but the plant soon wilted and died for lack of moisture. 7 Other seed fell among thorns that grew up with it and choked out the tender plants. 8 Still other seed fell on fertile soil. This seed grew and produced a crop that was a hundred times as much as had been planted!” When he had said this, he called out, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.” 9 His disciples asked him what this parable meant. 10 He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables to teach the others so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled: ‘When they look, they won’t really see. When they hear, they won’t understand.’ 11 “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is God’s word. 12 The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved. 13 The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation. 14 The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity. 15 And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest.

What kind of soil is your heart like? Those whose hearts are like the good soil — are hearts that are gentle towards God’s Word. If you’re here today — and you wouldn’t call yourself a Christian — what’s your attitude towards the Bible? Is it gentle or hostile? Are you open to learning or are you closed-minded? Can the Bible critique you or are you the only one allowed to be the critic?

Though we can’t do anything to save ourselves — salvation is in God’s hands — there’s much we can do when it comes to the receptivity and sensitivity of our heart. Often it takes a crisis in life to soften our hearts — maybe that’s why you’re here today and are more open to hearing from God and his Word. But I pray that — even if you’re not in a crisis — that you’d pause and consider the attitude that you’ve brought with you today. And that you’d be open — that’s all — just open to what God is saying to you through his Word.

But for those of us who say we’re a Christian — who claim to be a follower of Jesus — this is where James is really challenging the status quo Christianity that’s prevalent in our country. You see — James is calling out the group of people who call themselves Christians in the US — yet whose lives and behaviors make it clear that they’re not taking Jesus at his Word.

Now hear me out: We need to be very careful in making behaviors — of any sort — the litmus test of proving whether or not a person’s faith is genuine. Right now — my concern isn’t for those who are spiritually proud and full of themselves — my concern is for those who are genuine believers in Jesus and have very sensitive spirits. Who are prone to beating themselves up or tearing themselves down — who view God as if he’s not pleased with them because they’re all too aware of their ongoing sin and shortcomings. And — for these folks — I want you to know that God loves you. If you believe in Jesus — as difficult as this may be to believe — I want you to know that God is delighted in you. He can’t think any more highly of you because — when he thinks of you — he thinks of you with all of the Fatherly affection that he has for Jesus.

I hope that’ll cause you to marvel, and be in awe, and to rejoice, and to be happy — for the God of Heaven sees you — and you give him joy.

Now — with that caveat — a way to test the genuineness of your faith — not a foolproof test, but a test that’s a tool to measure yourself against — and to examine where self-deception may’ve ensnared you — is our discipleship process here at Gateway. Think of this as the mirror that James mentions — a mirror you agreed to when you became a member of Gateway. And I especially want to speak to those of us who are members of Gateway because — as a member — you’ve given your word that you’d be committed to growing in obedience as a follower of Jesus. And our discipleship process is our mirror. It’s how we spiritually grow together as a church. For we’re members of a local church — not solo Christians doing our own thing.

So let’s all take a look in this mirror and see if we’ve forgotten what we look like — what we committed to — when we became members of this church.

Worship is the first step in our discipleship process. And — by worship — we mean regular worship with your faith family. And — I’ll just say it — weekly is best. Where you have a weekly event on your calendar to gather with your faith family to worship God. Some questions that may reveal self-deception or encourage your obedience are…

• How regularly are you worshipping with your faith family?
• Is worship a priority for you and your family?
• What other activities easily keep you from gathering with us for worship?
• What would happen if the rest of us imitated your worship attendance? Would we be attending more or less than we already are?

Our nature — right now — is to have a lot of justification going on in our heads. “Here’s why I’m not here weekly and it’s all very justifiable, Josh, thank you very much.” I’m not asking you to defend yourself to me — I’m asking you to take a look in the mirror of what you committed to and have a talk with the person whose reflection is staring back at you.

The second step in our discipleship process is connect. And we connect with one another in Life Groups. Life Groups are where we apply the Bible to life and care for one another. Yes, there are many great opportunities to learn, study, and discuss the Bible outside of Life Group — but as members of this church — we make it a priority to do this with our faith family — just like we want to care for our fellow church members. Some questions that may reveal self-deception or encourage your obedience — as you look in the mirror — are…

• Am I in a Life Group? If not, why not?
• If you are, how often are you attending?
• Are you coming prepared?
• How are you caring for your fellow group members? Life Groups aren’t the only way care happens around here — but they are the primary place where care takes place in our church. So how are you caring for your faith family members — and how are you allowing your church to care for you through our Life Group ministry?

The next step in our discipleship process is serve. And — by serve — we mean serving those in our faith family. Some questions that may reveal self-deception or encourage your obedience are…

• Are you serving your fellow church members?
• If so, how often?
• If not, why not?
• Since I liked this question so much I’m going to reuse it: What would happen if the rest of us imitated your serving? Would we be serving each other more or less than we already are?

Finally — we go — go is the final step in our discipleship process. Where we go to proclaim the gospel — both here in our local community — as well as in our country and around the world. Some questions to reveal self-deception or encourage your obedience — as you look in the mirror — are…

• How are you going?
• If you’re physically unable to go — how are you supporting those who are going?
• If overseas missions isn’t your thing, how are you serving with our local partners here in Findlay or our national partners? If you don’t know who they are, go to our website — gatewayepc.org/ministry-partners for more information.

And — remember — “and” is the key word. It’s not worship or connect or serve or go. Not “or” but “and.” Just like it’s not going locally or going globally — it’s “and”. And I get it — you may be thinking, “Well this sure seems like a lot! It sure seems like a sacrifice. It sure seems like somebody else is in charge of my life because I’ve got all kinds of reasons to not do all of this.” And you’re absolutely right — Somebody else is in charge. For you are not your own — but have been bought at a high price. 

CONCLUSION: A LIFE OF TRUE FAITH

Now — worshiping, connecting, serving, and going are no guarantee that you’re not living a life of self-deception — but I’ve found it to be a principle that most people can only keep up appearances for so long before they give into whatever their heart really desires — which leads us to the life of true faith. We’re in verse twenty-five.

James 1:25 ESV

25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

Here James says that when we look into the perfect law — a law of liberty — a law of freedom — which is James’ way of saying “the gospel” — James says when we believe the gospel we’ll persevere as someone who does the Word of God. What he’s saying is that those who look to the perfect law won’t forget the message. They’re no mere hearers of the Word — but are the people who live in response to the gospel — who do the Word. And these are the men, women, and children who will be blessed. For — what they do — in response to what they believe — pleases God. And they do the Word because the soil of their heart is producing a huge harvest of righteousness — an abundant harvest of obedience and of joy in Jesus and of hope — because they-re looking to — and not forgetting — the One who died so the seed of the gospel would be planted within them.

This is the life of true faith. It’s not a perfect life. It’s often a life of tripping and stumbling and full of reasons for much repentance. But it’s a life with a holy stubbornness to it. A stubbornness that refuses to forget — that refuses to turn from the mirror — it’s the life that keeps looking to Jesus. For he’s the mirror to which our eyes are to be fixed — and when we look to him — we will be doers of his Word. Let’s pray.

PRAYER

Father, thank you for your Word. Thank you for not leaving us dead in our sins. Thank you for your plan to rescue and save your people — to set us free — to raise us up from the dead.

Spirit, may you — right now — take the gospel and implant it into the hearts of those who hear my voice. May you soften their hearts so that — like good soil — a harvest of righteousness will be the result. 

And — Jesus — the hope we have is because you did for us what we can’t do for ourselves. You were no mere hearer of the Word — but a doer. And you obeyed — never wavering or distrusting your Father — on our behalf. And you gave your life of perfect obedience on a cross — so that we might be given life. 

So as we look into the mirror — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — help us not to forget what you’ve done for us so that we live for you — as doers of your Word. And we pray all of this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available / Faith in Jesus = Resource Center)

May you go with your eyes fixed on Jesus — for then — what you do — will be in obedience to his Word. Amen.

God loves you. I love you. You are sent.

DATE: 2-22-26

As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time — if you’re joining us at our North Main Campus or are with our friends in Bucyrus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.

PASTORAL PRAYER

A few weeks ago, we reintroduced an ancient practice to our worship services — a time of pastoral prayer. Where — each week — we’re being more intentional about praying for people, circumstances, and situations going on in our congregation, community, country, and world. 

Today we’ll be praying for our friends in Bucyrus. This is their last Sunday with us — as their new pastor begins next week. We’ll pray for those who serve our community as emergency medical responders. We’ll pray for those who serve in the military. And we’ll pray for our Christian witness around the world as this is the first Sunday of Lent. 

Please join me in prayer.

Heavenly Father, what a gracious God you are. For every good and perfect gift comes from you — including the gift of fellowship with our friends in Bucyrus. And how thankful we are that they’ve found a pastor to lead them. May you bless them in the weeks and months ahead as they and their new pastor get to know each other. May you forge a sweet relationship between him and the elders. Spirit, may you unite the congregation together in a common purpose — and that purpose isn’t finished now that a pastor has been called — for the purpose you’ve called your church to — wherever she is found — is to go and make disciples of all nations. So may the arrival of their new pastor be the beginning of a new and fruitful season of making disciples of Jesus Christ. 

As we turn our attention to our local community, we lift up to you those who serve as emergency medical responders. Spirit of God, give them quick thinking, wisdom, and steady hands as they help those in need of their service. And we ask you to help them to not only live trying to save the lives of others — but may you help them to live life themselves. To live the abundant life that’s only possible through faith in Jesus Christ.

For our nation’s military — first — we thank you that they’re willing to serve us by protecting our freedom as a nation. As someone who’s served — the further I’m removed from my time in the military — the more I see how precious a thing it is to have others who are willing to give their life so that we can experience the freedoms we have in our country. Even the freedom to disagree with the decisions our military makes is a freedom they’ve secured on our behalf. May you protect them. May you give those in leadership wisdom from on high. And may all of us — no matter our political views — be grateful for those who protect the freedoms we have.

And — finally — as many Christians around the world participate in the season of Lent — the forty days between now and Easter symbolizing the forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness before being tempted by Satan — may those who participate — and even those who don’t — recognize and respond to what Jesus accomplished on our behalf during those forty days. Jesus, thank you for denying yourself and overcoming the temptations you faced. The times that we’ve done the opposite are countless — and it’s only by your grace that we find forgiveness when we come to you in repentance and faith. 

May all of us — who believe in Christ — recognize what a gift it is to repent of our sins. What a gift it is to believe in Jesus Christ. What a good and perfect gift salvation is — and may we show the world what wonderful gifts these are — during Lent — and throughout the entire year.

And we pray all of this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

INTRODUCTION

We’re continuing our series in the book of James this weekend. Learning from the younger brother of Jesus who believed that his older brother was the Son of God. And James seems to have taken Jesus at his word — for much of what we read in James — appears to be mini-sermons — explaining, illustrating, and applying what Jesus had taught. So there’s much wisdom for us to gain from what we find in this book — including what James has for us today.

So — if you have your Bible — please turn with me to James chapter one — we’ll be looking at verses sixteen through eighteen together today. We’re in James chapter one — beginning in verse sixteen. There we read…

James 1:16–18 ESV

16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

This is going to be a very theological sermon. But the goal isn’t for this to just be a sermon for our minds — the goal is for this to be a sermon that penetrates our hearts. For what we’re going to discover today — about God and salvation — is meant to stir not only our minds — but is to excite our hearts as well. Let me explain what I mean.

If you were here with us last week — when we saw God’s purpose in the trials we experience in life — we uncovered a truth about where temptation comes from — and it was a sobering truth. For temptation — we saw — comes from within us — from what’s called our sin nature. In and of ourselves we’re not pure — we’re tainted by sin. It’s the condition we’re born in because of Adam and Eve’s rebellion against God in the Garden.

Yet we also saw how — one of the habits of our sinful hearts — is to find someone else to blame for the temptation we give into — for we stubbornly refuse to acknowledge that temptation comes from within us — so we look outside ourselves. And it’s quite common to throw blame right at God. But James told us that — not only is God not tempted by evil — he also doesn’t tempt us with evil. Meaning — the temptations we face don’t come from God.

We also learned that temptation — when given into — leads to sin. And sin always takes from us — ultimately taking away life — for sin — James tells us — leads to death. And — death — is the ultimate taking away from.

So — in arguing against the belief that God’s the one tempting us and — instead — arguing that temptation comes from within us — James now says…

James 1:16 ESV

16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.

Don’t be deceived. That’s the only command in our verses. So — if you want to know what you’re to do today — this is it: Don’t be deceived. Don’t be misled from having a true and proper belief about where temptation comes from.

The Bible gives us many warnings about being deceived. For instance, why are we deceived? According to Jesus…

Matthew 22:29 NET

29 “You are deceived, because you don’t know the scriptures or the power of God.

While others will be deceived by…

Matthew 24:24 NLT

24 False messiahs and false prophets [who] will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones.

Or — in a quite memorable way — Paul warns…

1 Corinthians 15:33 ESV

33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”

And the consequences for being deceived are severe.

1 Corinthians 6:9–10 ESV

9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

And none of us are above being deceived. In fact — especially those of us who believe in Jesus should remember how…

Titus 3:3 NIV

3 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.

So…don’t be deceived! Don’t be fooled! Don’t blame God for tempting you to do evil when what’s to blame is the sin within you.

ON GOD

That’s the command James uses to transition us from last week’s text to our verses for today. And — now — he’ll show us how great God is. We’re in verse seventeen.

James 1:17 ESV

17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

In this verse we find incredible truths about God. We find that he’s generous, unchanging, and is light.

First, God is abundantly generous to us. James tells us this in saying that “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.” 

Now — when I read this verse — the question that came to my mind was, “What’s the difference between a good gift and a perfect gift?” And I don’t know that I discovered any great difference other than what’s pretty obvious: a good gift is something with positive qualities whereas a perfect gift — is just that — perfect — complete — without any deficiency.

Good gifts are something we humans can give. As Jesus says…

Matthew 7:11 ESV

11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

Obviously Jesus is helping us to question something we so often doubt — something James is reiterating to us: Is God good? Will he be good towards me? 

What Jesus and James are saying is that — because our Father in Heaven is good — he only gives good gifts to his children. To stress his point — Jesus mentions how we humans — as imperfect as we are — have managed to figure out how to give good gifts to our children. And then he says — how much more so does your perfect God know how to give good gifts to his children?

Now the perfect gift — that James refers to — is something we’ll come back to. But our first truth about God is that he is gracious.

Second, God is unchanging. About God — James says — “There’s no variation or shadow due to change.”

Variation is a word that means “mutation or a change of position” — and change means a “turning around or reversing course.” So what great news! God doesn’t change. As Scripture tells us…

Malachi 3:6 ESV

6 “For I the Lord do not change…

And…

Hebrews 13:8 ESV

8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

God doesn’t change — which means — when you read of God — in the Bible — you’re reading about who God is today — and who he’ll always be. God doesn’t waver in who he is — like we do. Who he is isn’t a response to anyone or anything else. 

• He’s not loving because we’re worthy of his love. He’s loving because he is love. 
• He’s kind because he’s kind. 
• He’s merciful because he’s merciful. 
• He’s just because he’s just. 
• He’s good because he’s good.

With God you get exactly who he says he is — every single time. That’s why we must take him at his word — which means you have to know his word. Let him tell you who he is — to do anything else — is the ultimate act of foolishness.

God is gracious. And God doesn’t change. And — third — he’s the Father of lights. As the apostle John also tells us…

1 John 1:5 ESV

5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

God is light and in him is no darkness — which is why he’s the Father of lights. Light represents purity — holiness — being completely separate and untainted by evil. And God’s purifying light is so bright and powerful and holy that nothing can block — or interfere with — his light. Nothing stands between God’s light and where he wants it to shine — which is why his light never casts a shadow. For a shadow is what happens when something interrupts light — but nothing can stop God’s light from shining wherever he wants it to shine.

In his gospel — John begins his words about Jesus this way.

John 1:1–5 NLT

1 In the beginning the Word (that’s Jesus) already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He existed in the beginning with God. 3 God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. 4 The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

John goes on to say…

John 1:9–14 NLT

9 The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. 12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 13 They are reborn — not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. 14 So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

The Father of lights sent his Son — who is the light of the world — to shine the message of salvation — so that a world clothed in darkness might have hope.

God is gracious. God doesn’t change. And God is light.

ON SALVATION

But there’s one more truth about God that we discover in the next verse — verse eighteen — which is also where we’ll discover the perfect gift that God gives to his children.

James 1:18 ESV

18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

Here James focuses on the topic of salvation. But — before we get to salvation — let me explain what’s about to happen. A few weeks ago — I had some guys in my office — and I was showing them how I prepare my sermons — how I take a few verses — like our three verses for today — and end up with a sermon. 

Quite often — a lot of the work that I do in sermon preparation — is actually in my sermon — if you know what to listen for. But I’m going to make it even more clear for you all today as we talk about salvation. So imagine — if you will — that I’ve invited you into my office to show you how I prepare a sermon.

When I’m preparing a sermon — and this can apply to any time you read the Bible — but preparing a sermon is a time when I slow things way down. And while I’m reading the Bible passage — I’m constantly asking questions about the text. And when I tell you the questions I ask you’re going to think, “There’s no way it’s that simple.” I promise — it’s really as simple as what I’m about to tell you. Of course there’s an anointing by the Holy Spirit that makes what one person does — with this process — and spiritually multiplies it to be used for others through preaching — but any follower of Jesus can look at a text, ask the questions that I’m about to share with you, and better understand the Bible.

So here are the secret, mysterious, “got you on the edge of your seat” questions that I ask when I’m preparing a sermon. Are you ready? Got your pen and paper — or your notes app open? Here they are:

• Who?
• What?
• When?
• Where?
• Why?
• And how?

Anybody’s mind blown right now?

That’s right — who, what, when, where, why, and how — questions you learned to ask back in elementary school! Some of you can’t believe that what I’m saying is true — so let me show you.

Here’s our verse again — and then we’ll ask it some questions. About salvation — James writes…

James 1:18 ESV

18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

So let’s ask a question: Who? Who’s will is James referring to? Who’s will is it for people to be saved? James writes…

James 1:18 ESV

18 Of his own will…

Who does the word “his” refer to? God the Father. How do we know? Because the Father is the last “who” referred to in our verses.

So look at what James is telling us: God is the one doing the action in our salvation. This is one way to describe God’s sovereignty in our salvation. God’s sovereignty means that God’s in control of all things. And what James is telling us is that — the act of salvation — is an act done to us — it’s not something we do. And — to prove his point — James uses a phrase that’s meant to bring to mind an illustration.

James 1:18 ESV

18 Of his own will he brought us forth…

The phrase “brought us forth” is the same phrase he used in verse fifteen when he said…

James 1:15 ESV

15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

So what does “brings forth” mean — what is James describing? He’s describing what theologians have called regeneration — or the new birth — or being born again. This is the moment where the Spirit of God gives life to our spiritually dead and stone-like hearts — awakening us to the truth of who Jesus is — leading to our repentance and faith. And — remember — this is of God’s own will and he’s the one bringing us forth — this is an act of God.

Now — I did say that — regeneration does lead to repentance and faith. Repentance is our turning away from sin and rebellion against God — and faith is our turning to Jesus — trusting in him alone for our salvation. Repentance and faith are our choice — we make the decision to repent and believe — this is what is called conversion. But prior to our repentance and faith is a work of God — where he transforms the condition of our heart — so that we can repent and believe in Jesus.

Here’s what Jesus had to say on this topic when he spoke to a man named Nicodemus.

John 3:1–8 NLT

1 There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. 2 After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.” 3 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” 4 “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?” 5 Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. 6 Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. 7 So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”

“You must be born again,” Jesus says. “And humans can’t do this — only the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.” For — just as sin “brings forth death” — God is the one who “brings forth spiritual life.”

Often — at this point — many people — including many Christians — have a strong reaction against the idea that God — according to his own will — is the one who brings forth new life in those who believe. This is why the illustration of giving birth is so helpful — because — in the illustration that Jesus gives — we’re the baby being born. 

The mom gives birth — the baby is born. No one says, “The baby gave birth to itself” — the mom gives birth. And James and Jesus both say that God is the one who gives spiritual birth to his people. We don’t spiritually birth ourselves — we can’t. But we do respond to the spiritual birth that God gives. And — just like a baby in the womb — there’s nothing that baby can do to stop itself from being born. It may fight. It may fuss. It may even turn itself around and force the doctors to do a C-section — but — it’s gonna be born. So too when it comes to God giving new life to his children.

OK. So God the Father is the “who” — and “what” he’s doing is giving us spiritual birth — but “how” — “how” does this new birth take place? Back to our verse again?

James 1:18 ESV

18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth…

God the Father gives us new life by the word of truth. And what’s the word of truth? The word of truth is the Word that is truth. As the apostle Peter says…

1 Peter 1:23 NLT

23 For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.

Notice how Peter uses the same born again language. And how being born again leads to a new and eternal life. And this new life is eternal because it comes from where? It comes from the eternal, living word of God. And what is the word of God?

That’s a bit of a trick question. For we learn in the Bible that the word of God is both Jesus — as we saw in the gospel of John — and Scripture. But — here — James is referring to the Bible — the written word of God. 

The Bible is God’s Word and it is both true and truth. And the message of salvation — what’s called the gospel — is found in this book. Yes — the gospel can be shared to a friend over lunch without a Bible present — but the message being shared comes from the Bible. And the message of the Bible is the means by which God brings forth new life and saves his people.

As you heard me say in a sermon a few weeks ago — God’s Word to us is his generosity on display — it’s one of his good gifts to us. And it’s a gift — not only to those who believe — but to those who’ve yet to believe.

Hebrews 4:12 NLT

12 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.

And what’s the result of the word of God being alive and powerful? One result is that…

2 Timothy 3:16–17 NLT

16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

And one way that God’s word accomplishes this purpose is when pastors…

2 Timothy 2:15 ESV

15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

And pastors are to rightly handle the word of truth because they’re called to…

2 Timothy 4:2 NLT

2 Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.

And — through the preached Word — God calls people out of spiritual death and darkness — and into new life that’s found in his marvelous and saving light.

So God the Father uses the word of truth — the gospel — to give us new life. But why does God do this? Back to our verse one last time.

James 1:18 ESV

18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

Why does God save us? So that we’d be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. So what does that mean?

If you’re thinking, “OK, Josh. We get it. You’re laying all of the who, what, where, when, why, and how on pretty thick right now” — I’d encourage you to take note of how often you hear them in future sermons — or go listen to some past sermons if you’re up for it. For — not only am I preaching a sermon — I’m modeling for you how to read the Bible so that you get the most out of it when you do. And the sermons you hear should make you a better interpreter of the Bible when you read it — which is why I’m taking time to show you how to understand God’s Word when you read it.

So back to us being firstfruits of God’s creatures — what does James mean by that? It means that we’re God’s choice offering — meaning — God considers us the first of all of his creation. 

Paul uses the term this way in writing to Christians in Thessalonica.

2 Thessalonians 2:13 ESV

13 But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.

Notice — again — who’s doing the act of salvation here? God is. “God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved,” Paul says. The Bible’s quite consistent and clear when it comes to salvation. Yet I think firstfruits — in addition to meaning God’s choice offering — gets a bit clearer in its meaning — in another of Paul’s letters. In a section where he also writes about our salvation.

Ephesians 2:1–10 NLT

1 Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil — the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. 4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) 6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. 7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. 8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Though we were once spiritually dead because of our sins — living just like the rest of the unbelieving world as children of the devil — following the desires of our sin nature — subject to God’s wrath and just judgment like everyone else — “but God,” Paul says. There’s God in action once again. “But God” — this God who is abundantly generous, who never changes, and who’s sovereign — “but God, who’s rich in mercy and love, gave us life” — and he raised us up from the dead by the power of Christ’s resurrection. And this is all by grace — it’s undeserved — it can’t be earned — it’s a total and completely free gift from God to his people.

And now we get to the firstfruits part: Why did God do all of this? So that he can show the rest of his creation how gracious and kind he is towards his people. So that he can show all of his creation what he’s done — through Christ — for his beloved children. That’s what it means for his people to be his firstfruits. This is what it means for you — if you believe in Jesus. 

It means that God is lavishing his grace and kindness and favor and mercy and power and love on you — so that the world may know how generous he is — and will always be — to his people — for he is the unchanging God. To be God’s firstfruits means that you’re his masterpiece — and it means he has a specific plan for you — a life to live — a mission to accomplish — so that the world may know of his great and never-ending love for his people.

CONCLUSION

Friends, do you see where James has taken us today? As one person has said, “Far from enticing [us] to evil, God is the source of every good gift, one of the greatest of which is the new birth.”

When you hear me say, “God loves you” — know that this is what I mean by those three words. May you rest in God’s generous, unchanging, and saving love towards you. May you soak it in. May you embrace his love. May you enjoy him and his love for you. May you respond to his love. May you have hope because of his love. And may you show the world what it means to be loved by the God who saves. For he’s the giver of every good and perfect gift — and he is lavishing gifts on you so that the world may know how generous he is to his children. Let’s pray.

PRAYER

Gracious and generous Father, we marvel at who you are. We’re in awe. We feel the holy weight of your love towards us right now — and it feels good.

Holy Spirit, may you take your word preached — and use it to give new life to some who are listening. And may you do so at this very moment. For that woman who came here today feeling hopeless — give her eternal hope. For that man who came here today feeling dead inside — may you raise him from the grave and give him new life. For that college student who’s been overwhelmed — may you draw them to the Prince of peace. Spirit, whoever they are — those who — according to God’s own will today is the day of salvation — may you give them life.

And — Jesus — this new life is only possible because you gave your life on the cross for our sins. The good and perfect gift of salvation is ours because you gave the good and perfect gift of your life on our behalf because of your eternal love for us. Thank you for loving us — and for proving your love for us on the cross. We pray all of this in your name. Amen.

BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available / If you’ve responded, please stop by the Resource Center)

Whoever you are — Christian or not — may you respond to God’s generous, unchanging, and saving love towards you. Amen.

God loves you. I love you. You are sent.

DATE: 2-15-26

As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time — if you’re joining us at our North Main Campus or are with our friends in Bucyrus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.

PASTORAL PRAYER

Last week we reintroduced an ancient practice in our worship service — a time of pastoral prayer. Where — each week — we’ll be more intentional about praying for people, circumstances, and situations going on in our congregation, community, country, and world. 

Today we’ll be praying for the marriages in our congregation, for Findlay High School students — as they grieve due to one of their classmates taking his life this past week — for president Trump, and for Muslims around the world as Ramadan begins this week. 

So — with that — please join me in prayer.

Heavenly Father, what a faithful God you are. When we are faithless — you remain faithful — for faithful is who you are. 

Faithful is something you call us to be in our relationships as husbands and wives. You tell us to, “Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.” (Heb 13:4 NLT) You command husbands to, “love your wives, just as Christ loved the church.” (Eph. 5:25b) And wives are to “respect her husband.” (Eph. 5:33b NLT)

Holy Spirit, empower the husbands and wives among us so that we are faithful to our spouses demonstrating our faithfulness to you. For one cannot claim faithfulness to God while being unfaithful to our spouse. Thank you for these commands and your vision of what our marriages are to be. And thank you for empowering and equipping us to fulfill your vision for marriage.

For our community — we lift up Findlay High School, the students who attend, the teachers and staff, and especially the family of the student who took his life this past week. Father, Son, and Spirit, may you lead, guide, and direct pastor Chris as he ministers to this family in their time of deep grief. For the students who are in shock, confused, perhaps feeling hopeless — may the staff, teachers, coaches, and others who follow Jesus — be used by you to give comfort, hope, and peace in the days ahead. 

Tomorrow our nation celebrates president’s day. So it seems fitting to lift up our nation’s president to you today. Father, may you draw President Trump closer to you. I have no idea the condition of his heart or his faith in you — I don’t personally know the man — so I ask that you do the work in his heart that will bring you the most glory. Help him to recognize the potential he has to point people to Christ and may he use the influence you’ve given him to do so. 

And for our world, we pray for the billions of Muslims as this week begins Ramadan for them. During the weeks ahead — as they seek our spiritual truth — Jesus may you awaken their hearts to you — the one who is the way, the truth, and the life. Spirit, give them eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to receive the truth about who Jesus is so they believe in him and find everlasting life. 

We pray all of this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

INTRODUCTION

We’re continuing our series in James this weekend. We’ve been learning what it means to be wise from the younger brother of Jesus on a variety of topics. And today’s topic — like the ones we’ve previously looked at — is practical for all of us — Christian or not. So let’s see what wisdom wants to teach us today.

If you have your Bible, please turn with me to James chapter one. We’ll be in James chapter one — beginning in verse twelve. There we read…

James 1:12–15 ESV

12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

We’re going to do something different today — and that is — we’re going to start at the end of our verses and work our way back to the beginning. We’re doing so because this will lead us to James’ point — which he states in verse twelve. And I don’t want us to forget his point — so we’ll save it until the end.

So this backwards journey of ours will begin by looking at where temptation comes from. Then we’ll see a way that God is not like us. And — finally — we’ll discover God’s purpose in our trials.

Where temptation comes from. How God is not like us. And God’s purpose in our trials.

WHERE TEMPTATION COMES FROM

So — first — where does temptation come from? We’re in verse fourteen.

James 1:14–15 ESV

14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

Now — to me — these two verses are like a bad version — or a bizzaro world version — of one of Jesus’ parables. If you don’t know — a parable is a short story that teaches a moral truth — and Jesus loved to use parables to teach his listeners. And — the parable I’m thinking of — is the parable of the soils.

We’ll look at this parable in a few weeks but — for now — know that it’s a story where Jesus compares our hearts to different kinds of soil. And Jesus’ point is that when the message of hope — what’s called the gospel — the news of what Jesus has accomplished in his life, death, and resurrection — when the gospel is heard — it’s similar to a farmer throwing seed out onto a field. The seeds that are thrown are all the same — what matters is the condition of the soil on which the seed lands. And Jesus’ point for his listeners — and us — is for us to each examine the condition of our hearts and our receptivity to the gospel message.

Now here — in James —we have a similar opportunity — an opportunity to examine our hearts. For our heart is either soil that produces a gospel harvest — a harvest of life — or — as James is making clear — our heart is soil that produces death. Because James says that those who — when tempted — give into the lure and enticement of their desires — James says that these people create the right conditions for the seed of those desires to give birth to sin — which — when matured — leads to death. Jesus talks about a seed that produces life — while James talks about a seed — or a desire of our heart — that produces death. 

Something interesting to be aware of is that the word James uses — that we translate as “desire” — is a neutral word. Meaning — though we may read into his statement “sinful desires” — that’s not what James meant. He simply means “desires” — and desires can be good, neutral, or sinful. But by using this neutral word for “desire” — what James is saying is that — even non-sinful desires — can lead to death. For even good desires can lead to sinful decisions when — instead of trusting God and his timing — we do whatever we can to get what we want.

This is the individual who desires to be married — a good desire — and — instead of waiting for God’s timing — takes things into his own hands and finds himself married to someone who does not love Jesus. And — inevitably — the person who doesn’t love Jesus influences the person who does more than the other way around. As a pastor — I’m telling you — this is just how it works. Thus — this non-sinful desire — to be married — results in a life that seems more like death. Why? Because sin controls the marriage you’re in.

That’s just one example that shows how our desires can entice us. Now the word “entice” means “to be baited.” This is where the desire we have — again — not necessarily a sinful desire — but this is where a desire we have is like a worm on a hook baiting us to take a bite.

“Wait. Josh, are you saying we’re the fish?”

In what James is describing to us — yes — that’s exactly what I’m saying. We’re the fish — not the one fishing.

Now the Bible does give us some examples of what the fishermen are like — those who are trying to entice — or bait us — by our desires. The apostle Peter tells us…

2 Peter 2:12–14 NET

12 But these men, like irrational animals — creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed — do not understand whom they are insulting, and consequently in their destruction they will be destroyed,13 suffering harm as the wages for their harmful ways. By considering it a pleasure to carouse in broad daylight, they are stains and blemishes, indulging in their deceitful pleasures when they feast together with you. 14 Their eyes, full of adultery, never stop sinning; they entice unstable people. They have trained their hearts for greed, these cursed children!

“They entice unstable people” — which reminds me of all of the “tossing to and fro by the winds and waves” imagery that James used earlier in his letter.

Peter goes on to say…

2 Peter 2:18–19 NET

18 For by speaking high-sounding but empty words they are able to entice, with fleshly desires and with debauchery, people who have just escaped from those who reside in error.19 Although these false teachers promise such people freedom, they themselves are enslaved to immorality. For whatever a person succumbs to, to that he is enslaved.

So these false teachers lure people — even God’s people! — into sin and corruption by getting us to bite down on the hook so they can reel us into death. But notice how they hook us. They appeal to our desires and promise us that freedom will be the result of us getting what we want — only to enslave us all over again to the sin we were freed from.

Again — James warns us…

James 1:14 ESV

14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.

We’ve looked at the words “desire” and “entice” — now the word “lured.” The word that James uses — that’s translated as “lured” — is only used here in the New Testament. And the word means “to be dragged away.”

So — back to our fishing illustration. Our desires — sinful or not — bait us like a worm on a hook to a fish. And — once we’ve taken the bait — we’re then dragged off in a direction we do not want to go — towards death — just like a fish on the end of a line.

Friends — my concern right now is that some of us think we’re above being dragged off — against our will — in the direction towards death. We think such things may happen to others, but not to me. And such thinking is exactly what false teachers — used by our enemy, Satan — use to get us hooked on their lines of deceit and lies.

• It’s the husband who thinks that a little porn is OK. You’re on the line being dragged to death.
• It’s the student who thinks a little cheating is OK. You’re on the line being dragged to death.
• It’s that extra glass of wine to numb you to the pain you don’t want to face. 
• Making the time to scroll on social media while never finding time to be in God’s Word.

This isn’t meant to make you fearful of the desires you have — but is meant to make sure that all of your desires are submitted to God and his authority over your life. Because — the answer to our question — where does temptation come from — is: It comes from within us — from within you. That’s what James is telling us.

Though outside factors may play a role — ultimately — we’re responsible for the decisions we make — you’re responsible for whether or not you give into your desires — for whether or not you take the bait and get dragged off in a direction you never intended to head in.

GOD IS NOT LIKE US

But there’s someone who tends to get more of the blame than others — when it comes to us taking the bait. And — unfortunately — it’s not the false teachers that we just learned of. It’s not even Satan. And it’s definitely not ourselves. No — usually at the top of mankind’s go to for casting blame — is God. So let’s see what James has to say about God and our temptations. We’re in verse thirteen.

James 1:13 ESV

13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.

Here — James pushes against what many people believe. Because it’s our nature — in not wanting to be responsible for giving into our desires — to look for someone else to blame. And many people have no issue in blaming God. 

“If God’s really in control of everything — as you Christians say you believe — then he shouldn’t have put that drink in my hand, or that porn on the internet, or that opportunity to cheat on my spouse in my life.”

Yet James say’s, “God does not tempt us with evil” — which is another way of saying that God doesn’t tempt us to sin. James also gives us a profound truth about God — for he tells us that God also can’t be tempted with evil.

You see — God is holy — which means he’s completely pure and without sin. Thus he has no inclination to sin or to be tempted by it. God is also righteous — which means he only does what is right — and — he does what is right all the time — in every situation — including every situation in your life — Christian or not.

So the question then becomes, “If God can’t be tempted with evil — and if he doesn’t tempt us with evil — then what’s his purpose in the trials — or temptations — that we face? Because he doesn’t stop them. And — if he doesn’t stop them — then what’s his purpose in them?” For as Scripture tells us…

Romans 8:28 NLT

28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

And “everything” means “everything.” Nothing is excluded. So what’s God’s purpose — or his goal — in us facing temptation?

We find our answer in two Old Testament accounts that would’ve been familiar to James and his original readers. One is from the book of Job — and the life of the man for whom the book of Job is named. And the other is from the book of Genesis — from the life of Abraham.

First — Job’s story. Job’s story begins this way.

Job 1:1–5 NLT

1 There once was a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz. He was blameless — a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil. 2 He had seven sons and three daughters. 3 He owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 teams of oxen, and 500 female donkeys. He also had many servants. He was, in fact, the richest person in that entire area. 4 Job’s sons would take turns preparing feasts in their homes, and they would also invite their three sisters to celebrate with them. 5 When these celebrations ended — sometimes after several days — Job would purify his children. He would get up early in the morning and offer a burnt offering for each of them. For Job said to himself, “Perhaps my children have sinned and have cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular practice.

Here we learn that Job is blameless, a man of integrity, he feared God, and he avoided evil. We learn about his family and his wealth. And we even learn that he offered sacrifices to God on behalf of his children — just in case they had sinned. If ever there was a man devoted to God — it was Job.

But — after these opening words — quite possibly one of the strangest events in all of the Bible takes place. We’re taken to the heavenly court — where angels are present before God— and Satan’s there too! And here’s what happens.

Job 1:7–12 NLT

7 “Where have you come from?” the Lord asked Satan. Satan answered the Lord, “I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that’s going on.” 8 Then the Lord asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless — a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil.” 9 Satan replied to the Lord, “Yes, but Job has good reason to fear God. 10 You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property. You have made him prosper in everything he does. Look how rich he is! 11 But reach out and take away everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face!” 12 “All right, you may test him,” the Lord said to Satan. “Do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don’t harm him physically.” So Satan left the Lord’s presence.

Now what comes next is a shock. We learn that Satan takes everything away from Job: his animals, his wealth, and even his children — they’re all killed. It’s one blow after another after another. And how does Job respond to all of this tragedy?

Job 1:20–22 NLT

20 Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship. 21 He said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!” 22 In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God.

As you can imagine — Job’s response did not please Satan. So we’re taken back to the heavenly courts and God asks Satan how things are going with Job. And…

Job 2:4–6 NLT

4 Satan replied to the Lord, “Skin for skin! A man will give up everything he has to save his life. 5 But reach out and take away his health, and he will surely curse you to your face!” 6 “All right, do with him as you please,” the Lord said to Satan. “But spare his life.”

And we’re told that Satan strikes Job with a disease on his skin that covers him from head to toe. The pain was so unbearable that Job took broken pottery to scrape at his skin. And…

Job 2:9–10 NLT

9 His wife said to him, “Are you still trying to maintain your integrity? Curse God and die.” 10 But Job replied, “You talk like a foolish woman. Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” So in all this, Job said nothing wrong.

The book of Job — which is part of the wisdom literature of the Old Testament, by the way — goes on to record the back and forth conversation Job has with some of his friends. And — in the end — though Job is an imperfect man — he did receive correction from God — he’s proven faithful.

And that was God’s purpose in allowing Job to experience this trial in life — along with all of the temptations that came with his suffering. God proved to Satan that Job was a man who — with integrity — meant it when he said, “The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord!” 

A question you must wrestle with is this: Is your God this sovereign? Can he use temptation, suffering, trials, persecution, and even extreme hardship in your life to prove to Satan that you are a man or woman of integrity when it comes to your faith in Jesus? Does God have that kind of authority over your life — or — would that be him taking things a bit too far?

Now we turn to Abraham. At this point in Abraham’s life, God has promised to him that one day he would be the father of many nations. It was an incredible promise for many reasons — one of which was that Abraham — and his wife, Sarah — we’re old. And — I mean — old, old. We’ve got a few ladies among us in their nineties and I don’t think any of them are eager to have a child at their age — but that’s the age bracket Abraham and Sarah were in when Isaac was born.

Now Isaac is the promised child — the child through whom God’s promise to Abraham would be fulfilled — the son through whom descendants would come numbering like sand on a seashore — like the stars in the sky. Yet here’s what happened.

Genesis 22:1–19 NLT

1 Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called. “Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.” 2 “Take your son, your only son — yes, Isaac, whom you love so much — and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.” 3 The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants. “The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.” 6 So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together, 7 Isaac turned to Abraham and said, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” 8 “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together. 9 When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. 10 And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice. 11 At that moment the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!” 12 “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.” 13 Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. 14 Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the Lord will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” 15 Then the angel of the Lord called again to Abraham from heaven. 16 “This is what the Lord says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that 17 I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. 18 And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed — all because you have obeyed me.” 19 Then they returned to the servants and traveled back to Beersheba, where Abraham continued to live.

A different kind of test than what Job faced. So what was God’s purpose in this test in Abraham’s life? God’s purpose was for Abraham to learn that his God will provide for his every need. And as we learn in the New Testament…

Hebrews 11:17–19NLT

17 It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, 18 even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.” 19 Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead.

God’s purpose was never for Abraham to kill Isaac — God’s plan was always to provide the ram as a substitute. But Abraham would never have known this was God’s purpose without first going up the mountain in complete trust that — somehow, someway — Isaac would survive — even if it meant God raising his son from the dead.

CONCLUSION: GOD’S PURPOSE IN OUR TRIALS

And both of these biblical examples lead us to our final point: God’s purpose in our trials. We’re in verse twelve.

James 1:12 ESV

12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

Notice how — though the English word “tempt” is used throughout our verses — here the word “trial” is used. There’s a reason for that. James uses a different word in the original language here. It’s a word that often can mean “temptation” — but here — the word has a different sense to it. Instead of “temptation” the word means “examination.”

So James is saying, “Blessed is the man — or woman — who remains steadfast under examination.” And this helps us to understand God’s purpose in our trials — or examinations — that often include us being tempted. For God’s purpose — just like with Job and Abraham — God’s purpose for the trials in your life is not to see you fail and give in and take the bait — his purpose is that you will remain steadfast during the examination.

James goes on to say, “For when he has stood the test” — “stood the test” means to be approved or to be accepted. Approved by whom — accepted by whom? Like Job, approved by God. Like Abraham, accepted by God.

Friends, what greater reason do we have to remain steadfast under trial — to stand firm when tested — to remain faithful to God when we’re being examined by circumstances in life — than to know that this is an opportunity to please our Father in Heaven — to be approved by him — to be accepted by him?

We see this in children, don’t we? They want the approval of their mom and dad. They desire to be accepted by those in authority over them — like a teacher. In fact — I find it quite common for us to never grow out of this desire to be approved and accepted by others. And — here — James tells us how we can please the God who created everyone and everything.

How awesome is that? What a different way to view the current trial you may be in the thick of right now? To see it as an opportunity to be approved by your God as you remain steadfast and faithful to him while in this trial. To see it as an opportunity to be accepted by the God who loves you and sent his Son to rescue you. To see it as an opportunity to experience your God providing for your every need.

• This is what God did for Abraham after he stood the test on the mountain. A ram was provided to be the substitute for Issac.
• This is what God did for Job — when he restored everything that Job had lost.
• And this is what God has promised to you — if you believe in his Son. For Jesus is One who substituted himself in your place — as he stood firm during the test on the mountain — when he gave his life — in love — for you.
• And — in doing so — he guaranteed an eternal inheritance for those who believe in him. For he’s promised his people the riches of Heaven which are his. For those who give up the desires of this world for him — will be blessed beyond what they can imagine.

And Jesus has done this — because — he knew that we’d never pass the test on our own — he knew that we’d all fail the exam of life — he knew that none of us would remain steadfast and would — instead — bite on hook after hook after hook — being dragged off towards sin and death to the delight of the one who — just like with Job — wants to destroy our lives. 

So Jesus did for us what we couldn’t do for ourselves: He passed the test. He earned for us his Father’s approval and acceptance by living the perfect life of faith on our behalf, and gave his life as the payment for our sins, rising from the grave, defeating the power of sin and death — so that — we’ll be giving a crown of life — which God has promised to those who love him.

May these sweet words of truth ignite in your soul a great love for — and a desire to live faithfully for — the God who uses trials in your life to remind you of his great love for you. Let’s pray.

PRAYER

Father, what love you have for us. That even the trials we face are meant to remind us of your great love for us. For your purpose — in us facing these trials — is not our failure and demise — but for our victory.

Holy Spirit, when we’re in a trial it can be hard to remember your purpose. So remind those who are in the midst of pain, suffering, hardship, disappointment, grief, uncertainty — and whatever form of trial they may be facing — remind them — right now — of your purpose. For them to remain steadfast. To pass the test. To prove to them your power and love. 

And — Jesus — the only hope we have in prayers like these being true — is what you’ve done — in love — for us. You not only stood the test — like Job — but are the truly innocent sufferer. You gave up everything for our sake — and did so willingly. You not only climbed up the mountain — like Abraham — but you didn’t receive a substitute sacrifice — you were the substitute sacrifice — in our place — for our sins. 

You remained steadfast. You passed the test. And — because you did so on our behalf — through our faith in you — we can now do so. For your Spirit in us — and your love for us — are more powerful than any trial or temptation we may face. Help us to believe this wonderful truth. To believe it more. And to believe it even more. We pray all of this in your name. Amen.

BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available)

No matter what you may be facing in life — may you know that God’s purpose is that even this moment is meant to remind you of his great love for you. Amen.

God loves you. I love you. You are sent.

DATE: 2-8-26

As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time — if you’re joining us at our North Main Campus or are with our friends in Bucyrus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.

PASTORAL PRAYER

Today we’re going to start something new — a time of pastoral prayer. It’s actually not really new — just an old practice that we’re going to renew in our worship time together. Where — each week — we’ll be more intentional about praying for people, circumstances, and situations going on in our congregation, community, country, and the world. One critique of the contemporary church in the US is how prayer is often just a time of transition — a time for the worship team to get on or off the stage. Yet prayer — historically — has been a sacred practice by God’s gathered people. So we’re going to take time each week to develop this sacred practice even more than what has been our practice around here. 

Feel free to take these prayers — or the topics prayed for — and use them throughout the week. For — when God’s people unite together in prayer — quite often — amazing things happen. So — with that — please join me in prayer.

Gracious Father, we begin by praising you for being a God who is full of generosity towards your creation and especially your people. You are the God who meets our every need according to your glorious riches in Christ Jesus. And you have called us to be a generous people. 

Holy Spirit, thank you for teaching us what it means to be generous. We ask you to inspire in us an ever increasing spirit of generosity as a congregation. Thank you for the faithful giving of your people in this local church — and stretch us towards even greater generosity.

For our local community, Father, Son, and Spirit, I want to bring before you other local pastors in our city — friends of mine — my co-laborers in ministry. For pastor Blair at Living Hope, pastor Mike at First Naz, pastor Chris at Cedar Creek, pastor Travis at Bible Methodist, pastor Kirk at College First, and pastor Ken at the Upper Room — may you speak through them in a mighty way this morning. Change lives for all eternity as your Word is preached through these men. May they trust in the power of the Holy Spirit to speak through them to awaken many to new life in Christ.

As we turn our attention to our nation — tonight is a night when many will be gathered to enjoy a football game. Enjoyment of such things are good gifts from you. So my prayer for our nation is that this evening — for many people — hundreds of thousands of people even — that the joy they find in watching the Super Bowl would point them to the infinitely greater joy that’s found in Jesus. For football games come and go — even Super Bowl victories for our team are nothing more than fleeting moments — but Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And the joy that’s found in him endures forever.

Finally — as we now pray for the world — we lift up to you the Arora people group. Nearly four point one million people who — today — don’t believe in Jesus because they haven’t heard about him. Your Word tells us that “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork” — may men, women, and children of the Arora people group look up to the sky, recognize that you exist, and see their need to be in right relationship with you. And Father we ask that — at the very moment when they recognize their need — may someone you’ve called and anointed for this very purpose bring them the Good News of Jesus Christ. Though this may seem impossible to us — nothing is impossible for you. For you are the God who is orchestrating all things for the good of the people that Jesus came to seek and save.

Thank you for hearing our prayers. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

INTRODUCTION

We’re continuing our series in the book of James this weekend. We’ll be in James chapter one today. James chapter one — looking at verses nine through eleven. There we read…

James 1:9–11 ESV

9 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, 10 and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

This is the first of a few warnings that James will give to the rich. And — immediately — our thought is, “Well, I’m glad he’s not speaking to me. I’m not rich!” Be careful with that thought. Most of us are rich in James’ estimation. Either way — the principle James is teaching applies to the rich and the humble — interestingly — that’s the two categories of people James uses in our verses. The rich and the humble.

But — today — we’re going to — first — explore an echo of the Bible — I’ll explain what I mean by that in a moment. Then we’ll briefly look at two false gospels. Then we’ll face the fact that life is fading away. But we’ll end on a high note of being amazed by Christ.

An echo of the Bible. Two false gospels. Life is fading. And Christ — that’s where we’re headed.

THE BIBLE’S ECHO

First — the Bible has an echo to it. By that — I mean — when you get to know the Bible better — you’ll find repeated themes — or echoes — throughout it. Where something said early on in the Bible is echoed later in another part of the Bible. And then it echoes again. And again. And again.

James — if you recall — is writing to Christians of Jewish background. And — for the most part — the Jews knew their Bibles — what we call the Old Testament — really well. And they would’ve immediately recognized the passage that James is echoing in our verses.

Maybe you recognized the echo as well. It’s in his words about the rich when he writes…

James 1:10–11 ESV

10 because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes.

The Old Testament passage that James is referring to — or echoing — is from the prophet Isaiah. For some context — the people of God have been living in exile. They’re being punished for abandoning God who had graciously warned them to come back to him or face the consequence of their sin. They refused to do so and their punishment was being conquered by another nation.

Now — you can imagine how demoralizing, depressing, and disheartening it must have been to experience being defeated by another nation. And it’s in the midst of this situation that the prophet — on behalf of God — says…

Isaiah 40 NLT

1 “Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God. 2 “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem. Tell her that her sad days are gone and her sins are pardoned. Yes, the Lord has punished her twice over for all her sins.” 3 Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way through the wilderness for the Lord! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God! 4 Fill in the valleys, and level the mountains and hills. Straighten the curves, and smooth out the rough places. 5 Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. The Lord has spoken!” 6 A voice said, “Shout!” I asked, “What should I shout?” “Shout that people are like the grass. Their beauty fades as quickly as the flowers in a field. 7 The grass withers and the flowers fade beneath the breath of the Lord. And so it is with people. 8 The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.” 9 O Zion, messenger of good news, shout from the mountaintops! Shout it louder, O Jerusalem. Shout, and do not be afraid. Tell the towns of Judah, “Your God is coming!” 10 Yes, the Sovereign Lord is coming in power. He will rule with a powerful arm. See, he brings his reward with him as he comes. 11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young. 12 Who else has held the oceans in his hand? Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers? Who else knows the weight of the earth or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale? 13 Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord? Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him? 14 Has the Lord ever needed anyone’s advice? Does he need instruction about what is good? Did someone teach him what is right or show him the path of justice? 15 No, for all the nations of the world are but a drop in the bucket. They are nothing more than dust on the scales. He picks up the whole earth as though it were a grain of sand. 16 All the wood in Lebanon’s forests and all Lebanon’s animals would not be enough to make a burnt offering worthy of our God. 17 The nations of the world are worth nothing to him. In his eyes they count for less than nothing — mere emptiness and froth. 18 To whom can you compare God? What image can you find to resemble him? 19 Can he be compared to an idol formed in a mold, overlaid with gold, and decorated with silver chains? 20 Or if people are too poor for that, they might at least choose wood that won’t decay and a skilled craftsman to carve an image that won’t fall down! 21 Haven’t you heard? Don’t you understand? Are you deaf to the words of God — the words he gave before the world began? Are you so ignorant? 22 God sits above the circle of the earth. The people below seem like grasshoppers to him! He spreads out the heavens like a curtain and makes his tent from them. 23 He judges the great people of the world and brings them all to nothing. 24 They hardly get started, barely taking root, when he blows on them and they wither. The wind carries them off like chaff. 25 “To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One. 26 Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing. 27 O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles? O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights? 28 Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. 29 He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. 30 Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. 31 But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.

Even though the people are presently in exile — experiencing the punishment for their sins against God — God speaks words of comfort and hope and of power to them. He tells his people that their sad days are over. Their sins have been forgiven. A path will be made which will lead them back to God — back to the Promised Land — back from the wilderness to their home.

I can’t help but think that some among us need to know that God’s words still echo to his people today. That your sad days are coming to an end. Your sins have been forgiven. God has made the path for you to walk on which is leading you to an eternal Promised Land — heaven — for this wilderness of a world is not your home.

Now for the people in Isaiah’s day — this is all an echo of an earlier part of their history. For — just like when they wandered in the wilderness during the Exodus — some of the people in Isaiah’s day will fade away — they will die before the promise is fulfilled when God’s people return to the Promised Land. But what will never fade away is the Word of God — it stands forever. 

The Word of God which declares — and tells us to shout from the mountaintops, “Our God is coming to rule! He’s coming in power and is bringing his reward with him. He will feed his people like a shepherd — and he’ll carry them in his arms. He’ll hold them close to his heart and will lead them gently back to him.” Words of comfort for his people. Words that I hope give you comfort today — if you believe in Jesus.

And the Word of God — which will never fade — says some amazing truths about God. For example…

• He holds the oceans in his hands.
• And has measured the heavens.
• And knows the weight of the world.
• And he is all-knowing and needs no one to instruct him on anything.
• He knows what is good.
• He knows what is just.
• And all people — along with all of creation — are mere dust compared to him.

Isaiah goes on and on and then concludes by asking, “What compares to God?” The answer? No one and nothing — that’s what. But oh how easy it is to get excited about — and distracted by — and give our lives to things — like money — that don’t even come close to the awesomeness that is our God.

This is the passage James is echoing in our verses. For he wants his original readers — who were living in exile — dispersed from Jerusalem because of persecution — and us — his people living in exile as we await the return of our King — to remember — and have great confidence in — who our God is so that our lives become more and more committed to living for him alone. And — by the way — the benefits of living this way are countless.

For example — if you’re feeling weak right now — remember — your God is the God who gives strength. If you’re feeling powerless — remember — your God gives power to his people. For — as Isaiah says — those who trust in him will find new strength. They will soar like eagles. They’ll run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.

If you’ve been with us during our journey in James — which we’re just a few weeks into — me mentioning that I memorize books of the Bible a few weeks ago may have made you think that I’m pretty weird — and if you talk to folks who know me — they’ll tell you that I’m weird. One of my other weird habits is that I have a list of life resolutions. These are statements of who God says I am in Christ that I know I’m prone to forgetting — so I’ve collected them as a list and read them regularly to remember who I am and who God’s called me to be.

Resolution number twenty-seven is based on the passage from Isaiah that we just read — in fact — it’s based on the last verse. My resolution number twenty-seven is this: To be thankful during soaring seasons. Faithful in running seasons. And to persevere in walking seasons.

And the way you and I can be thankful, and faithful, and even demonstrate perseverance — when life is soaring or when it’s soul-crushing — is by remembering who our great and mighty and powerful and saving God is as he’s told us in his never-fading Word.

TWO FALSE GOSPELS

Which leads us to two false gospels I want to point out to us. But — first — our verses again. This time in a different translation.

James 1:9–11 NLT

9 Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. 10 And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field. 11 The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements.

There are two false gospels that are a constant source of division in the church: the prosperity gospel and the poverty gospel. The prosperity gospel is the false teaching that God rewards our faith with health and wealth and that Christians should expect God to bless them with health and wealth in an ever increasing way. The poverty gospel — on the other hand — is the false teaching that God requires poverty — or denying oneself of material goods — as a sign that your faith is genuine.

Obviously, our verses in James would be correcting those who believe the prosperity gospel — as the rich — in our verses — are given a warning. And the prosperity gospel — if nothing else — is about being rich. Yet our verses have the potential to be used to justify the poverty gospel — which again — like the prosperity gospel — is false. It’s a lie. And it’s to be rejected.

The Bible has much to say about the poor — but never is being economically poor a way to judge the spiritual state or maturity of a person. Maybe the person was foolish with their money. Or maybe they were called by God to exercise the spiritual gift of generosity in a way that few have been called to. Their bank accounts may have the same amount in them — but for very different reasons. And — generally speaking — we’re all pretty terrible at judging people’s motives.

I bring these false gospels up to warn you to be careful with what you consume in books, podcasts, and sermons. There are many prosperity gospel preachers and teachers in our country today. They sell a message that entices our sinful desire to be rich. And these false teachers cause many people to be disappointed in God when he doesn’t live up to the lies they’ve been sold — which is why you must know who God says he is on his own terms in his unfading Word.

And though not as popular — poverty gospel false teachers are also out there. And — ironically — they make quite a bit of money selling a false message — telling their readers and listeners to denounce wealth and give everything away as a sign of spiritual maturity. Both the prosperity and poverty gospels can be quite lucrative for the false teachers selling such lies.

So — remember — God calls his people to — one — love him and not money — because you can’t love both according to Jesus. Two — God calls us to be generous with our money — really, I should say — be generous with his money because it’s not our money anyway. Which is why generosity is one of the values we hope to see in all who follow Jesus here at Gateway — and I’m continually blown away by your generosity. And — three — we must remember…

2 Corinthians 8:9 NLT

9 The generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.

We’ll reflect more on this truth in a moment. 

LIFE IS FADING

But — before we get to Jesus — let’s face the fact that life is fading for all of us. James tells us this a few times in our verses.

James 1:9–11 ESV

9 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, 10 and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

Passing away. Withering. Falling. Perishing. Fading away — they all mean the same thing: The rich — and the poor — the proud and the humble — all of us are experiencing the fading away of our lives. I recently heard someone say, “I’ve got a lot of good years behind me.” That’s not how we expect that sentence to go, is it? Most of the time we talk about good years that are ahead of us — and often people talk as if the years are never gonna run out.

But — according to James — life is like grass in a field. The sun rises and dries out the grass — and it withers and dies. The flowers wilt and the petals fall off and the flower’s beauty is gone forever. Later James will say…

James 4:14 NLT

14 How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog — it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.

The morning fog is something we’re all familiar with living in Northwest Ohio. Growing up in Florida — I didn’t have fog delays when I was a student. But — here — we occasionally get a fog delay or cancellation. And — inevitably — when school’s cancelled — the sun comes out — warms everything up — and the fog burns off leaving a beautiful day for the students to enjoy. Our life — James says — is like that — fog. It’s here in the morning and gone in a few hours.

In the Old Testament our lives are described as a handbreadth.

Psalm 39:5 ESV

5 Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah

A handbreadth — if you don’t know — is this — four fingers. Essentially each finger represents a quarter of a person’s life. Some of us are under twenty years old. So this first finger — though not all the way up — hasn’t completely closed. Some of us are between twenty and forty. The first finger is down — and the second is on its way down — but you’ve still got two full fingers of life left ahead of you. Some of us have passed forty — which is middle age by the way — not sixty — we’re not living to a hundred and twenty these days. Once you pass forty — the third finger is starting to creep its way down. And when you pass the sixty year old mark — you’re on the last finger — and it’s started its way down.

And — in response to this truth — the psalmist says, “Selah.” Which means — pause, reflect, meditate on the reality of how brief your life is — for this is the only way to not waste your life — but to live it to the full.

Our culture wants us to not think about such things. Ignore your mortality. Ignore the wrinkles — botox them away even. We idolize youthfulness and despair when there’s nothing more we can do to cover up the fact that our life is fading away.

If you saw a picture of me from my twenties — you’d recognize it’s me — but you’d probably think, “What happened?” A few years ago — during a sermon I quoted from a television show I watched growing up and someone said to me, “When you said that, I realized I never imagined that you were a kid. I just always think of you as being this age.” I remember hearing a pastor lament because he was already up there in age when recording sermons on video became a thing. He said something like, “People will always think of me as an old preacher even though I’ve been doing this for decades.”

But age happens. Gravity’s been pulling on my body for nearly five decades. I don’t dye my hair — so gray is happening. My life is passing away.

I’ve had to give up on many pursuits I once dreamed of accomplishing — there’s just not enough life left to pursue everything — which is good — because now what matters makes it to the top of my priorities — at least I hope it is. Life has a great way — if you allow it — to prioritize things for you.

And — to what should be the biggest priority — for those who follow Jesus — we now turn.

CONCLUSION: CHRIST’S HUMILIATION AND EXALTATION

In our verses — two words kept sticking out to me over and over again. Humiliation and exaltation. The lowly — or the humble — are exalted. And the rich are humiliated. And here’s where my mind kept going.

A few weeks ago I read our Essentials of the Faith. Think of them as the standard of beliefs that Christians have always held regardless of denomination, church affiliation, and so on. They unite us together with other local churches in Findlay — like Living Hope, Cedar Creek, First Naz, College First, Bible Methodist, the Upper Room, and so on. Churches in town whose pastors I’m friends with and meet with on a monthly basis.

Yet — in our church tradition — we’re part of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church if you’re newer to Gateway — in our church tradition we also hold to the Westminster Confession of Faith and its catechisms. Catechisms are a list of questions and answers — which are very helpful as they cover many of the questions people have about the Christian faith.

What does any of that have to do with humiliation and exaltation? Well when the two words kept sticking out to me — where my mind went to was the Larger Catechism. It’s called “larger” because it has more questions than the shorter catechism. And the forty-sixth question in the larger catechism is this.

Q. 46. How was Christ humiliated?

The answer.

A. For our sakes, Christ emptied himself of his own glory and took on the form of a servant, and so was humiliated in all the poor circumstances involving his conception and birth, life on earth, death, and after his death until he was resurrected.

Paul speaks of this when he writes…

Philippians 2:6–8 ESV

6 [Jesus], though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

The next few questions are…

Q. 47. How did Christ humble himself in his conception and birth?

And…

Q. 48. How did Christ humble himself in his life?

And…

Q. 49. How did Christ humble himself in his death?

And…

Q. 50. How was Christ humiliated after his death?

And what the answers to these questions reveal — and I’d encourage you to go read them for yourself — the answers reveal that Jesus — the Rich Man of Heaven — left his infinite riches and humbled himself — in love — for our sake. What love displayed for you and me. What compassion towards us who are spiritually poor. The Rich Man gave up everything for us — he gave up everything for you. Christ humbled himself in love for you.

Yet that’s not all. Remember — there were two words that stuck out to me: humiliation and exaltation. The last question we just read — on Christ’s humiliation — was number fifty. The next question asks this.

Q. 51. How was Christ exalted?

A. Christ’s exaltation includes his resurrection, ascension, sitting at the right hand of the Father, and coming again to judge the world.

The catechism goes on to ask.

Q. 52. How was Christ exalted in his resurrection?

And…

Q. 53. How was Christ exalted in his ascension?

And…

Q. 54. How is Christ exalted by sitting at the right hand of God?

And what the answers to these questions reveal is that — the Rich Man became poor for your sake. And — just like James tells us — the humble man — Jesus Christ — is now exalted to the heavenly places. And because of all that he’s done in love — for you and for me — we’re to exalt the name of Jesus together. Meaning — we’re to lift up the name of Jesus in song and praise — and we’re to honor him in how we live as we show the world that — though the flower fades and its beauty perishes — not so with Jesus Christ. 

Though you and I age and get old, and bare the physical scars of medical procedures and surgeries to help fight off sickness and diseases and decay — the Word of the Lord — the Bible — will never fade away — just as the Word of the Lord — Jesus Christ — though he still has the scars in his hands and feet from the cross — he will never fade away. For he considered his humiliation a small price to pay to save his people from their sin — and to rescue them from the wilderness — so that they might experience being lifted up to Heaven where they’ll be with their exalted Savior for all eternity.

Wisdom has been speaking to us today. Wisdom’s told us much about who God is, who we are, and what Jesus has done for us. How will you respond to what wisdom has said to you today? May you receive the advice that wisdom has graciously taught you today and turn to the humble — and now — exalted Savior, Jesus Christ. Let’s pray.

PRAYER

Father in Heaven, your ways are not our ways. If anything — we’ve learned that today.

Spirit of God, may you take the truth of your Word — which is never-fading — and apply it deep into our hearts at this very moment. Maybe it’s the truth of how awesome God is, or how fading our lives are, or how beautiful Jesus is, or the love that is ours because of what Christ has done. 

And — Jesus — the Rich Man of heaven, our humble and exalted Savior — we now prepare our hearts to join together in praising your awesome and mighty name. May you receive our praise. If it’s praise from those who are soaring like eagles. If it’s praise from those who are running. And especially if it’s the praise coming from those whose lives are in a season of walking. May our praise bring you honor and joy. In your name we pray. Amen.

BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available)

In love — Christ humbled himself for your sake. Therefore — in love — may you go and exalt his name by living for him. Amen

God loves you. I love you. You are sent.

DATE: 1-18-25

As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time — if you’re joining us at our North Main Campus or are with our friends in Bucyrus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.

INTRODUCTION

We’re continuing our series in the book of James this weekend. As we learned two weeks ago — James — our author — is the younger brother of Jesus — and he was also a key leader in the early church. And James — the book — is essentially a collection of mini-sermons — or teachings — on a variety of topics. The book is considered by many to be the wisdom literature of the New Testament — sort of like the book of Proverbs in the Old Testament — as it contains many short statements that show us how life generally works.

Last week’s topic was on the purpose of the trials we experience in life. Those unexpected — and often — unwanted moments — those experiences in life that are trying and hard and exhausting do have a purpose. Again — that’s what we saw last week. And — today — we’re on to a new — but somewhat related — topic. Here’s what James has for us today. We’re in James chapter one — beginning in verse five. There we read…

James 1:5–8 ESV

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

Christian or not — here’s a topic that’s relevant and practical for all of us. For — inevitably — we come to moments in life when we don’t know what to do — where we lack wisdom — and James is going to tell us what to do in these moments. And — spoiler alert — his advice isn’t to turn to Google or to ChatGPT. No — James is going to tell us to turn somewhere else — or — I should say — to Someone else — when we find ourselves in need of wisdom.

But before we get to our destination — here’s how we’re going to get there. We’re going to first answer the question, “What is wisdom?” Then we’ll look at the generosity of God which — believe it or not — has everything to do with where wisdom is found. And — finally — we’ll look at how we receive — or find — wisdom.

What is wisdom? The generosity of God. And how we receive wisdom. That’s where we’re headed today.

WHAT IS WISDOM?

We’ll begin with our question, “What is wisdom?” As James says in verse five…

James 1:5 ESV

5 If any of you lacks wisdom…

If wisdom is what we lack — we need to make sure we’re in agreement with what we mean by wisdom. I say this because there are two very different meanings of the word wisdom that are used by people today. 

The first definition is something like this: Wisdom is applying knowledge to a situation. 

Now — that doesn’t sound all that bad. And — it’s not — except for one significant aspect. Often — with this definition of wisdom — morality and theology are not taken into consideration. And that’s because this view of wisdom is human-centric — meaning — it puts the power and responsibility of determining what is wise in the hands of us humans.

The second definition of wisdom is nearly identical to the first — but with a significant change. If definition one is “applying knowledge to a situation” our second definition of wisdom is “applying biblical and theological knowledge to a situation.” 

This second definition emphasizes that wisdom — foundationally — is biblical and theological. And — theology — if you’re unfamiliar with the word — has to do with God. Thus, wisdom is understanding our — humanity’s — proper place in relationship to God as found in the Bible. Which means — to live wisely means we must live according to what the Bible tells us about God, ourselves, and our relationship with him.

Here’s another way to show the difference in these two definitions of wisdom. Wisdom — under definition number one — asks, “What works?” Wisdom — under definition number two — asks, “What honors God and reflects his character?” 

And we live in a “what works” world created by a God who is more concerned with “what honors him.”

For example,listen to what the Bible has to say about wisdom and notice its relationship to God.

Proverbs 1:7 ESV

7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

And…

Proverbs 9:10 ESV

10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

And…

Psalm 111:10 ESV

10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding.

And…

Job 28:28 ESV

28 And he said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”

Fear — in these verses — means to revere — to hold in admiration — to have a profound respect for someone or something. And in these verses we learn that wisdom’s birthplace is in having fear of — or a profound respect for — the Lord. 

Now fear is a word we quickly associate with something scary. So let me try and help us all out. To fear the Lord means that — in knowing who God is — for example — in knowing that God is holy — that he’s pure and without sin — and that he’s righteous — meaning God always does what’s right — and that he’s just — meaning God doesn’t play favorites or take bribes — and that he’s loving and kind and good and merciful and wrathful — that last one means that God hates wickedness, sin, and will punish those who do such things — in knowing who God is — on his terms and in his own words — we then fear him — are in awe of him — have great respect for him — and live accordingly. 

So there’s a theological aspect of wisdom — it’s God-focused. Yet there’s also a moral aspect of wisdom. We saw this in the verse from Job which mentioned “turning away from evil.” Turning away from evil is a statement of morality. It supposes that there’s a definition of good and evil and that — to be wise — means you turn away from evil and turn to God who is good.

Having said all of that — even in the church — the wisdom of “what works” continues to dominate — at least in the church in the US — I won’t speak of churches around the world. Here in the US — we’re such pragmatic people — that the wisdom of “what works” — and the success it often brings — in relationships, in business, in politics, even in the church — the wisdom of “what works” excites us. 

But the wisdom of “what works” will not produce righteousness — which is the goal of biblical wisdom. And — righteousness — as you may know — when it comes to us humans means to be right with God. And there are many people who call themselves Christians today — and many organizations that call themselves churches — who are very successful — they’ve figured out “what works” — and yet — they are not right with God. 

Many people have discovered “what works” — again — in relationships, in business, in politics, even in the church — and they think this makes them right with God. But our works — what we do — have never made us right with God — even works that bring about great success. And those who are biblically wise understand this. For it’s not our works — that makes us righteous — but the work of the One who’s called the Wisdom of God. We’ll get to him in a moment.

So wisdom — according to God — means more than just “what works” — for many sinful decisions may bring about success. Dictators — who have their opponents killed — win elections — a shocking example, I know — but when wisdom is solely about “what works” — people will go to extremes. 

But “what works” and what honors and pleases God are not always the same thing. And we who claim to follow Jesus need to be very careful of which definition of wisdom we allow to influence the decisions we make. We who follow Jesus need to be careful about which definition of wisdom we expect and tolerate those in leadership to use. Because God will not bless the wisdom of “what works” when it does not bring him honor and glory. And — many people — after doing nothing other than “what works” — then try to spin their decision as if honoring God was always their goal. But God is no fool.

Interestingly, provocatively, and — what’s quite possibly one of the most shocking statements in his entire letter — James will later say this about wisdom. In chapter three he writes…

James 3:13–18 NLT

13 If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying. 15 For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. 16 For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. 17 But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. 18 And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.

We’ll get to these verses in a later sermon, but — for now — I want you to notice what James says about wisdom in verses fifteen and sixteen. I’ll read them to you again.

James 3:15–16 NLT

15 For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. 16 For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.

What’s often called wisdom — the pragmatic kind that “gets the job done” and is “what works” — is often wisdom clothed in jealousy, selfish ambition, disorder, and evil of every kind. And James says that this kind of wisdom is earthly, unspiritual, and — wait for it — demonic. And — friends — this is why we need to be so very careful about giving into the spirit of our age in which getting things done — and “what works” — matters more than whether or not something is demonic.

THE GENEROSITY OF GOD

A moment ago I said, “God is no fool” — but he is generous. Which leads us to some extremely great news about wisdom found in our verses. We’re in verse five again.

James 1:5 ESV

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

James — being a good Jewish man — may’ve been thinking of a verse like this one from the book of Proverbs when he wrote these words. In Proverbs we read…

Proverbs 2:6 ESV

6 For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

God has, is, and will always be the source of true wisdom. And though it may seem overwhelming — especially when thinking that something may work and bring about success and still be grounded in something like the demonic — though it may seem impossible to know where to begin — “How do I even know what’s biblical wisdom or just something that works” — James points us directly to step one — which will never lead you astray. For James essentially says, “Do you lack wisdom? Here’s step one: Ask God.” 

Ask God.

Yet how many of us make decisions — and not just small or insignificant ones — but even really huge decisions — without ever asking God, “Hey God, I’m about to make a decision about — marriage or a promotion or switching careers or having a hard conversation with a friend — and I need some help here. What’s the wise thing to do?” And — my goal — is to encourage all of us — myself included — to do more asking. Let’s ask God more and more for wisdom.

“OK. But how will I know what he’s telling me?” Great question! Did you know that there are many ways that God responds to us when we ask him for wisdom?

In his cleverly titled book, God Told Me: Who to Marry, Where to Work, Which Car to Buy…And I’m Pretty Sure I’m Not Crazy, author Jim Samra lists twelve different ways that God speaks to us. His list includes the Bible, the preached Word, individual prayer and fasting, corporate prayer and fasting, the inner prompting of the Spirit, spiritual direction from others, to name a few.

We’ll look at just two ways that God answers us when we ask him for wisdom: 1) God’s Word — the Bible — and 2) Prayer. His Word and prayer.

By far — prayer is perceived as the less demanding of these two. You can pray whenever and wherever — but reading the Bible — well that’s a lot more work. But here’s something I’ve found to be a principle of following Jesus: The better we know his Word — the Bible — the better we’ll know his answers to us in prayer. Meaning — God’s answers to us in the Bible are clear. Yes, this is a big book with lots of words — but — instead of viewing that as an insurmountable obstacle — I wonder what would happen if we viewed the bigness of this book — and the vast amount of words in it — as God’s gracious way of making sure we know how to be wise. And — again — the principle I’ve found is that the better I know what he’s said in the Bible — the better I know what he’s saying to me in prayer.

A recent survey by the Barna Group found a hopeful trend regarding Bible reading in our country. Forty-two percent of adults in the US say they read their Bible weekly — up from thirty percent in 2024. That’s forty-two percent of all US adults — Christian or not. Can you believe that? Nearly half of all adults in our country say they read the Bible weekly. That’s pretty encouraging to me!

So what about those of us who claim to follow Jesus? If forty-two percent is the national average — surely we Christians are tipping the scales, right? Not so fast. In that same survey, just fifty percent of self-identified Christians report reading their Bible weekly. 

Though I’m thankful that both numbers have seen an increase — I see such an opportunity for Christians to engage more and more with God’s Word — so that — we’ll be people who grow in wisdom and influence our nation for the better. 

Here at Gateway we describe this as our desire for us to be Word and Spirit Christians. Where — as followers of Jesus — we live under the authority of the Word of God and by the power of the Spirit of God. And — to do this — we must be people who know this book.

That same Barna survey revealed another piece of data about Bible reading. This data focused on what’s going on generationally in our country in regards to Bible reading. Though Bible reading has grown among Boomers, Gen-Xers, Millennials, and Gen Z — one of these groups is lagging behind the others in their weekly Bible reading. Any guesses as to which generation in our country is falling behind the others? 

Who thinks it’s Gen Z — the youngest generation surveyed? They’re just on video games and social media, right? I bet they’re not reading their Bible.

What about the Millennials — who thinks it’s them? They’re all depressed because we’ve moved on from talking about their generation and now it’s all about Gen Z, right? I bet it’s them — they’re probably the ones not reading their Bibles.

Who thinks it’s the Gen Xers? Nobody does — because everyone forgets about my generation.

Well — it’s not Gen Z. It’s not the Millennials. And it’s not Gen X. The generation falling behind the others — when it comes to Bible reading in our country — are the Boomers. 

Forty-nine percent of Gen-Z, fifty percent of Millennials, and forty-one percent of Gen-Xers read the Bible weekly — but only thirty-one percent of Boomers do. So — to the Boomers among us — first, I love you. And I see this data as an opportunity for you to lead your generation. You have an opportunity to be an example to your peers when it comes to the practice of reading God’s Word and living by his wisdom.

God answers us in his Word and in prayer. 

But I want to take this a step further — because we need to push back against our individualistic view of the Christian faith. How many of us make decisions without ever asking a fellow Christian, “What do you think God would say is the wise thing to do here?” I bring this up — because often — for those of us who do read our Bible and pray about our decisions — God’s leading often ends up being the choice we wanted to make anyway.

You know. I know it. And God knows it. 

Whether it’s a relationship decision, a business decision, a church decision, and so on. And we know if we clothe our decision with “God’s leading me” or some other spiritual sounding statement — we know that no one can question our decision. Even if it’s just a “what works” decision or a decision that’s nothing more than selfish ambition on our part. 

I mean who does God think he is that he can use someone else to tell me what to do? Or have someone point out a verse in Scripture that should cause me to pause in the decision I’m about to make. Or have the preacher say something that — even though he has no idea of what choice I’m thinking about making — well that preacher said something in his sermon that’s clearly a direct warning to me to stop in my tracks.

Will we be people who desire biblical wisdom — wisdom whose primary purpose is to make our God look glorious in all of our decisions — and not just be people who make decisions that work? If so, then we must ask God for wisdom — knowing that he’s generous and has given us the Bible, prayer, sermons, our fellow Christians, and much more to give us his wisdom.

RECEIVING GOD’S WISDOM

Which leads to our final thought for today — receiving God’s wisdom. We’re in verse six. There James writes…

James 1:6–8 ESV

6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

The way we receive God’s wisdom is by asking him in faith — with no doubting. James then goes on to describe what he means by using the illustration of waves of the seas being tossed around by the wind — an illustration we looked at last week. But — now — James goes on to call the person who doubts a double-minded individual who’s unstable. And this tells us something very important about what James means when he says we must ask in faith without doubting: He’s describing our posture towards God. 

And — when we remember our two definitions of wisdom — one based on “what works” — the other based on “what honors God” — this shows us that James is definitely meaning the second definition of wisdom.

The apostle Paul says something similar to the Christians in Ephesus in a passage we looked at last week as well. Though he doesn’t specifically use the word wisdom — notice the similar illustration he uses to describe why we — together as a church — need to mature in faith. He writes…

Ephesians 4:11–16 ESV

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Here Paul warns about doctrinal instability causing us — as a church — to be tossed around by the deceitfulness of false teachers and their lies that lead us away from faith in Christ. James is warning about the personal instability that comes from this kind of doctrinal instability. 

And this all becomes clear when we understand that the word ‘doubt’ — in verse six — doesn’t mean a moment of uncertainty — but rather having a divided mind or being double-minded. The word means to have a discrimination against God — where our default setting is to take God out of the picture when it comes to our decision making and what we think is the wise thing to do. Whereas faith — and this will not surprise you — means to have a commitment to God — a wholehearted commitment, in fact. Where you keep God — not just in the picture — but in the center of your life — where your desire is for your decisions to honor him.

Or — to say it another way — it means to…

Proverbs 3:5–6 ESV

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on — or trust only in — your own understanding — even if it’s “what works.” Thus — to receive God’s wisdom — requires a humble and teachable spirit. Humble — because — we recognize our limitations in what we know and understand. Teachable — because — even what we do know and understand will need some correction. And then you can add to that — how all of us have a lot of unlearning we need to do as well — especially when it comes to believing that the wisdom of “what works” is what matters most.

But — ultimately — the key to receiving God’s wisdom — is to know the One who is the Wisdom of God — which is where we turn to as we end our time together.

CONCLUSION: TO KNOW WISDOM IS TO KNOW JESUS

For quite a few years — we did a series here at Gateway that was called Finding Jesus. In that series I preached one sermon on every book in the Old Testament. For the sermon on the book of Proverbs — which is part of the wisdom literature of the Old Testament — and a book I’ve quoted quite a bit from today — I helped us find Jesus by looking at verses from Proverbs chapter eight. Specifically these words that wisdom speaks…

Proverbs 8:35–36 ESV

35 For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord, 36 but he who fails to find me injures himself; all who hate me love death.”

Throughout Proverbs chapter eight — wisdom is personified as if it — wisdom — is a person. And there’s a reason for this — the wisdom of God is a person. The apostle Paul tells us so.

1 Corinthians 1:24 NLT

24 But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.

Jesus is the wisdom of God. 

And wisdom — whether in Proverbs chapter eight or in James chapter one — or in all of Scripture, for that matter — wisdom is pointing us to Jesus. In fact, true wisdom will always point you to Jesus because Jesus is true wisdom. And all who find Jesus — who believe that he is who he says he is and has done what he says he’s done — all who find Jesus find life and favor from the Lord. And all who fail to find him — all who reject him instead of believing in him — whether they realize it or not — love death. For eternal death — separation from the wisdom of God for all eternity — is what’s in store for them.

You see, in obedience to his Father’s will — and in love for you — Jesus went to the cross. He did so accomplishing the wisest plan ever made — the salvation of the people of God. And — in finding Jesus — the wisdom of God tells us that we must take the step of repentance. For — as one person has said, “The most basic act of wisdom is repentance.” 

What is repentance? Repentance is turning from the direction you’re headed in and turning to the Wisdom of God — Jesus Christ. It’s the “turning away from evil” that we saw in the passage from Job. We repent — and turn away from evil — as we turn to Jesus in faith. And faith is more than just knowing that Jesus lived, or knowing that he was crucified, or knowing that he rose from the grave — faith means you act on the knowledge of his life, death, and resurrection. That you live accordingly — in response to now realizing that he — Jesus — is God in flesh. 

For — as Paul — just before telling us that Christ is the wisdom of God — writes…

1 Corinthians 1:18–24 NLT

18 The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. 19 As the Scriptures say, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.” 20 So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. 21 Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. 22 It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. 23 So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense. 24 But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.

Jesus is the wisdom of God. And the message of what he accomplished on the cross is foolishness to the world. And — though the world may find it foolish — it’s the news all people need to hear. For it’s the news that must be received in order to be saved. It’s not a message that makes the most sense — it’s not the obvious “what works” — yet Jesus and his cross is the wisest plan ever to have been made. And — not only that — it’s the wisest plan ever to be accomplished. And — not only that — it’s the most loving act in all of history. 

So — now — having heard of God’s wise plan — let me ask you: What’s the wise thing to do in response to the news about Jesus that you’ve just heard? Let’s pray.

PRAYER

Father, we begin by being struck in awe with who you are: wise, good, kind, righteous, holy, all-knowing, all-powerful, just, wrathful, the God who saves, and the one who is in control of all things. You are awesome.

Holy Spirit, help us to fight against the lure of “what works” wisdom — and instead — commit ourselves to “what honors God” wisdom. And help us to search our hearts and desires — especially in those decisions of life where we’re prone to deceiving others and ourselves into thinking our desire is to honor God when — in reality — we’re selfishly doing nothing more than “what works.” 

Jesus — to you the Wisdom of God — as we turn ourselves to you — we turn ourselves from our sinful ways. We thank you for loving us. Thank you for your commitment to us. Thank you for showing us what it means to be wise. And may we honor you as we follow in your footsteps. And we pray all of this in your name. Amen.

BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available)

May you go asking God for the wisdom you need. And may you remember that he is always generous in giving his wisdom to those who ask. Amen.

God loves you. I love you. You are sent.

DATE: 1-11-26

As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time — if you’re joining us at our North Main Campus or are with our friends in Bucyrus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.

SERIES INTRO

We’re continuing our series in the book of James this weekend. And — as I mentioned last week — I have a personal fondness for this book because it was the first book of the Bible that I memorized from beginning to end. And James is a great first book to memorize because it’s essentially a book of mini-sermons. It focuses on one topic — then goes on to another topic — then another — and so on. Our brains — or at least my brain — appreciated the kind of focus James offered me in my first attempt at memorizing an entire book of the Bible.

So give it a go — I dare you to try and memorize James. You’ll be doing yourself a favor — and all of us, too — because I can’t think of a downside of more of us putting God’s Word to memory.

INTRODUCTION

Last week was an overview of the book and its author and — today — we’re going to dive into the text itself. So — if you have your Bible — please turn with me to James chapter one. We’ll be in James chapter one today — looking at verses two through four. Here’s what we read in James chapter one — beginning in verse two.

James 1:2–4 ESV

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

In these verses we find a call to joy, an explanation of the trials we face, and we learn the purpose of the trials we experience. A call to joy. An explanation of what trials are. And the purpose of the trials we experience in life.

A CALL TO JOY

We’ll begin with a call to joy. We’re in verse two.

James 1:2 ESV

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,

James begins by calling us to joy in our trials — and this is a command. We’ll get to the specific kinds of trials we face in a moment — but know that most trials include some form of suffering. James knows this — and yet — he begins his letter by calling his readers — and us — to joy.

So right away — we’re faced with a seemingly impossible scenario — at least impossible if you’re a mere mortal like me: For the scenario we’re called to is one of joy in the midst of suffering. So how is that possible? How is it possible to have joy while facing trials in life? That’s the question we’ll be answering in this sermon.

But — before we get to our answer — I want to ask you: When you suffer — or if you’re in the midst of suffering right now — how’s your joy? James isn’t saying don’t grieve. He’s not saying don’t pretend as if you’re not experiencing sorrow — he’s not negating those kinds of emotions. But he is saying that — for the person who follows Jesus — in the midst of trials, sorrow, and suffering — there will be joy.

So — I’ll ask again: How’s your joy?

Now — if you’re not a Christian — I can imagine the idea of joy in the midst of trials and suffering seeming absurd to you. Trials are something to avoid — at least that’s what we’re told by culture — so who’d expect to have joy?

And — for those of us who believe in God — James is challenging the false idea that God never wants you to face trials, or moments of discomfort, or challenges, and so on. But — remember — James is Jesus’ younger brother. And James is well aware of what his older brother went through. And if Jesus experienced trials and sufferings in life — why would we think that we won’t?

And — even more than this — instead of just accepting that we’ll face trials and suffering — James takes us a step even further — a step that’s in the footsteps of Jesus our Savior. For we…

Hebrews 12:2 ESV

2 look to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

And — in looking to him — the One who looked at and past the cross — to the joy that was set before him — the eternal love and pleasure of his Heavenly Father — in looking to Jesus we’re able to — imperfectly, yes — but we’re able to look past the trials and sufferings we face in this life to the joy that’s set before us — the eternal love and pleasure of the One who created us and who died for us. Thus we can count it all joy when we face trials in this life.

THE TRIALS WE FACE

But what kinds of trials is James referring to? We’re back in verse two.

James 1:2–3 ESV

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith…

A great question to begin with is: What would James have meant by the world “trials”? The word that James uses — which we translate as “trial” in English — has the sense of “being examined” in our verses. Where something — or in this case, someone — is “examined closely for potential flaws or mistakes or opportunities for growth.” The specific opportunities for growth — that James may’ve been thinking of — would fit the broad category of trials and suffering due to persecution that his readers would’ve experienced.

In history — the experience of persecution has had a variety of effects on Christians. Some Christians — due to persecution — find themselves faced with strong temptations. Some denied Christ in order to not experience physical pain. Others gave in to the temptation to not speak out against something that went against God’s Word in order to keep their job. Often these Christians will live the rest of their life with a guilt that they can’t shake. 

But there’s another response to persecution that results in a different kind of trial. One that John records for the church in Smyrna.

Revelation 2:10–11 NLT

10 Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The devil will throw some of you into prison to test you. You will suffer for ten days. But if you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life. 11 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. Whoever is victorious will not be harmed by the second death.

Instead of giving in to the trial — there’s the man or woman who doesn’t deny Christ and is killed for his or her faith. He experiences the trial of facing death head on — while his wife and children experience the trial of no longer having a husband and father. There’s the follower of Jesus who chooses to speak up for truth and experiences the trial of losing her job for not giving in to the expectations of her employer or co-workers. She then may face a testing of her faith — because — there’s no guarantee that God will make sure she gets another job just because she stood faithfully for him.

What are some of the kinds — or categories — of trials we face today?

We experience relational trials — whether it be parenting, in our marriages, a friendship at work or in the church. But as James will later warn us…

James 4:1–3 ESV

1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 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. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

And what’s our response? We want to say to James, “Well that’s not true when I’m the one in the conflict! I’m standing for the truth. I’m standing for what’s right. I’m, I’m, I’m…” It’s amazing how — though quarrels and fights are abundant in our world today — no one seems to take James at his word: That quarrels and fights among people in the church — by the way — come from passions and desires that are at war within us. We murder to get what we want — James says. We covet and fight with one another. 

We face physical trials. For many — these are medical situations. The number of people on my prayer list who are facing physical trials usually hovers just over twenty — and those are just the situations I’m aware of. And physical trials can’t help but influence our walk with God. Waking up in pain every day — is painful! Yet some of the most joyful and joy-filled people among us face physical trials every day. Deb Oman and Lyn Loewen come to mind.

For others of us — it’s the physical trials of those we love. Where you long for news like what Paul wrote to the Christians in Philippi about their friend who was ill.

Philippians 2:25–30 ESV

25 I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need, 26 for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. 27 Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. 28 I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. 29 So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men, 30 for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.

Oh what joy — did you see it — joy! — when someone we love finds healing from the physical trial they’ve been facing. Yet there’s joy to be experienced in and during the trial as well.

There are emotional trials. The violence we see in the news — the comparison trap of social media that we’re all strangely addicted to. We love to be outraged — to be shocked — to be angry. And every now and then we need a break and just need something pretty stupid to laugh at — my personal favorite has anything to do with people tripping and falling.

And both the news and social media have figured out how to control us all like puppets on a string. I know — you’re the exception to the rule. “The algo hasn’t gotten its claws in you,” the pastor said facetiously.

And there are trials of temptation. As the apostle Paul writes…

1 Timothy 6:9 ESV

9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.

There’s a temptation — the same word translated as trial in James — when one’s desire to be rich ensnares them: It leads to ruin and destruction. Of course — the danger of this kind of trial is that we never think we’ll be ensnared by it, right? Only “those” kinds of people get trapped by it — not people — well — like me. I’m above being trapped by money, or porn, or power, or alcohol, or — fill in the blank. This kind of thinking is the first step in the direction of the “senseless and harmful desires” that lead people to ruin and destruction.

The age of information in which we live and consume ideas — is an age of good ideas and bad ideas — of godly ideas and ungodly ideas — it’s an age with teaching that honors Christ and teaching that’s promoted as Christianity but dishonors Christ. It may not seem like a trial but every day people are — instead of having their faith tested — are having their faith destroyed by lies that seem so clever that they sound like the truth. Paul warns us of this when explaining the importance of being part of a local church when he writes…

Ephesians 4:11–16 NLT

11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

In the midst of this world that’s like waves of the ocean — that keep going back and forth — into the shore, back out to the ocean — instead of getting tossed around by the winds and waves of culture — we’re to be steady — anchored — built on a firm foundation that’s a solid rock. And this steadiness only comes by rooting oneself deeply in one’s faith. Knowing what you believe, why you believe, and — most importantly — living as if you actually believe it.

For some of us it would be a big step to start focusing on what you should believe as someone who follows Jesus. If you don’t know where to begin — I’d suggest starting with the Essentials of our Faith statement. You can find it on our church website — gatewayepc.org — on the “who we are” page.

But I’ll do you a favor and read them to you now — it’s always good for us to be reminded of the Essentials of our Faith.

All Scripture is self-attesting and being Truth, requires our unreserved submission in all areas of life. The infallible Word of God, the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, is a complete and unified witness to God’s redemptive acts culminating in the incarnation of the Living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible, uniquely and fully inspired by the Holy Spirit, is the supreme and final authority on all matters on which it speaks. On this sure foundation, we affirm these additional Essentials of our faith: 

1. We believe in one God, the sovereign Creator and Sustainer of all things, infinitely perfect and eternally existing in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To him be all honor, glory and praise forever! 

2. Jesus Christ, the living Word, became flesh through his miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit and his virgin birth. He who is true God became true man united in one Person forever. He died on the cross, a sacrifice for our sins according to the Scriptures. On the third day, he arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven, where, at the right hand of the Majesty on High, He now is our High Priest and Mediator. 

3. The Holy Spirit has come to glorify Christ and to apply the saving work of Christ to our hearts. He convicts us of sin and draws us to the Savior. Indwelling our hearts, he gives new life to us, empowers and imparts gifts to us for service. He instructs and guides us into all truth, and seals us for the day of redemption. 

4. Being estranged from God and condemned by our sinfulness, our salvation is wholly dependent upon the work of God’s free grace. God credits his righteousness to those who put their faith in Christ alone for their salvation, thereby justifying them in his sight. Only such as are born of the Holy Spirit and receive Jesus Christ become children of God and heirs of eternal life. 

5. The true Church is composed of all persons who through saving faith in Jesus Christ and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit are united together in the body of Christ. The Church finds her visible, yet imperfect, expression in local congregations where the Word of God is preached in its purity and the sacraments are administered in their integrity; where scriptural discipline is practiced, and where loving fellowship is maintained. For her perfecting, she awaits the return of her Lord. 

6. Jesus Christ will come again to the earth-personally, visibly, and bodily-to judge the living and the dead, and to consummate history and the eternal plan of God. “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” (Rev. 22:20) 

7. The Lord Jesus Christ commands all believers to proclaim the Gospel throughout the world and to make disciples of all nations. Obedience to the Great Commission requires total commitment to “Him who loved us and gave Himself for us.” He calls us to a life of self-denying love and service. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Eph. 2:10)

If you have any questions about the Essentials — please stop by the Resource Center before you leave. Someone will be available to either answer your question or take down your info so someone can follow up with you this week.

If you’ve got the Essentials down and want to dive deeper into what you believe — I’d suggest studying the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Catechisms — also available on our “who we are” page. If it interests you — we did a whole series on the Westminster Confession of Faith on our church podcast.

Know what you believe and know why you believe it. For it’s not enough to know the “Bible answer” as if you’re studying for a test — you’ve got to know why you believe there’s only one God or why only those who put their faith in Christ alone are saved or why we’re to proclaim the gospel until Christ returns.

And — finally — we must live like we believe what we say we believe. Think about it — when it comes to politics — what you believe dictates how you behave. You vote for a certain candidate — don’t vote for the other candidate — or don’t vote altogether — because of something you believe about politics. What you believe leads to how you behave.

If you’re a parent — your belief about education — public school, private school, or home school — influences what your family does.

If you believe that Pepsi tastes better than Coke — or vice versa — you probably prefer to drink the one you think is better. Just like if you believe that Nike makes a better shoe than Reebok. What you believe affects what you do.

And then we come to the beliefs of the Christian faith. For example, to be a Christian means you believe that faith in Jesus Christ is the only way a person will spend eternity in Heaven — and that those who die without faith in Jesus will spend eternity in Hell. And — that means — you can’t be a Christian and be apathetic about sharing the gospel. For sure — you may not be the next Billy Graham — but neither can you ignore Christ’s command to go and make disciples of all nations. But according to a recent study by the Barna Group — more and more Christians in the US aren’t sharing the gospel. We say we believe these things about salvation, heaven, and hell — and yet — sharing the faith is increasingly becoming optional to Christians in the US. Why?

Because we’re giving in to trials instead of allowing their purpose to be fulfilled in our lives.

THE PURPOSE OF TRIALS

Which leads to the purpose of trials. Now — if we’re honest — most of us wish this wasn’t in the Bible. Trials are never fun — but that doesn’t mean they’re not for our good. And that’s what James is telling us. We’ll start in verse two one last time.

James 1:2–4 ESV

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

I want to read our verses in another Bible translation to help us better see what James is saying.

James 1:2–4 NLT

2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

So trials — or troubles of any kind — come into our lives so that our faith is tested — remember — James is specifically speaking to those of us who follow Jesus. And — when our faith is tested — its ability to endure has an opportunity to grow. Like muscles — which only grow and get stronger through the enduring activity of regular exercise — so too our faith must be tested so that it grows stronger and stronger in its ability to endure the trials of life. And this continues throughout our life until our faith reaches its God intended goal: perfection and completion — which doesn’t happen in this life — but in the life that’s to come.

So some not so great news: Throughout this life here on earth you’ll continually experience trials. But — in knowing this — you can now view them as growth opportunities for your faith. For the only other alternative — which many people unfortunately choose to take — is to allow trials in this life to destroy your faith instead of strengthen it.

Now — you should know that James isn’t the only one who tells us that this is the purpose of trials. Notice how similar Paul’s words are on this topic. Paul writes…

Romans 5:3–5 NLT

3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

Like James — Paul says, “Have joy when you find yourself facing problems and trials in life — for they help you develop endurance.” Paul then goes on to say, “And endurance develops your character. And character strengthens the hope of your salvation, which will never lead to disappointment because you will know that God loves you” and — as Paul says elsewhere — “is working out everything for the good of those who know God and are called according to his purpose.”

So the goal of these trials — their purpose — is to lead us on the path whose destination is our perfection. And here’s some encouragement from God’s Word that — I hope — will ignite an even greater desire in your heart to endure whatever trials you are — or may face. Elsewhere in the Bible we read…

Philippians 1:6 ESV

6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

The good work that God began in you — a good work that began the moment you responded to the gospel by believing in Jesus Christ — God has guaranteed that he will bring his good work to completion — or perfection — in your life. And what is that good work? Your eternal salvation. Which means — for those who believe in Jesus Christ — you will endure this trial and every trial. You will pass the test — for God has guaranteed your success with the blood of his Son.

CONCLUSION

In the book of Genesis — we find the story of Joseph. He’s his dad’s favorite — and his brothers hate him for it. In fact — they hate him so much that they want to kill him. But — instead of killing him — they sell him into slavery to a group of people headed to the faraway land of Egypt. And for years Joseph experiences trial, after trial, after trial. And betrayals. And false accusations. And imprisonment. Nothing good. Nothing fun. Nothing pleasurable.

But God — being sovereign — which means he’s in control of all things — God was orchestrating all of these events in Joseph’s life to prepare him to be the one who would save Egypt — and many neighboring nations — from starvation during a devastating famine. By enduring trial after trial after trial — Joseph rises to become second-in-command in Egypt. And this former slave and prisoner — because his faith was strengthened through enduring all of those trials — was now ready for the responsibility he would be entrusted with.

Some of the people he saved were his family members — his father, his brothers, and their children. And at the end — here’s how Joseph summarized his many years of enduring trials. He said…

Genesis 50:20 NLT

20 You (his brothers) intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.

What his brothers meant to cause him harm — God used for Joseph’s good — all of those trials only strengthened his faith in his God. Similarly — but on a grander scale — what was meant to harm Christ — the cross and all of its evil and brutality — God intended for good. For he brought his Son to the cross — the trial of all trials — so that Jesus would be the one who saved the lives of many people for all eternity. And — as we saw earlier — Jesus endured the cross with joy.

Early on in this sermon I told you that I’d answer the question of how it’s possible to have joy in the midst of trials and suffering — the answer is this: By believing that God is sovereign — that he really is in control of all things — for that’s the truth we hold fast to — which leads to our endurance — which will lead us to our perfection and completion. For only a sovereign and in-control-of-all-things God can take what is meant for our demise and use it to lead us to our perfection in his eternal presence. 

And believing that your God is sovereign — when you know in the depth of your soul that the God you believe in is in control of all things — can’t help but give you joy. For no matter what is set before you — you are looking to your Savior who loves you and endured the cross so that he might be your joy in all things. Let’s pray.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, may you fix all of our eyes on your Son right now. And may Jesus be our joy.

Holy Spirit, comfort those who are suffering. For those who are lonely — may they have a sense of your presence. For those who feel unloveable — may they know your love. For the hopeless — give hope. To the joyless — give joy. Spirit, we ask these things not because we deserve them — but because we know it delights you to give them.

And — Jesus — for the joy set before you — you endured the cross. The joy you saw was eternity with your Father and with us — your people whom you love. Jesus — I don’t know who it is — but I know someone right now needs to know that you love them — that they were part of what you saw that gave you joy — would you tell them right now, “It was you — you gave me joy.” And may we have ears to hear and receive your sweet love for us.

We pray all of this in your name. Amen.

BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available)

No matter the trials you are facing — or will face — may you endure them with joy — knowing that your loving God has guaranteed your eternity with him. Amen.

God loves you. I love you. You are sent.