Evening Service, 4 October 2009
Like the rest of James, chapter 3 has proved to be a very challenging chapter.
Who among us does not have trouble with the tongue? Who among us has not been affected by the wisdom of our age so that we find ourselves sometimes expressing a ‘wisdom’ that is not from above?
It is a chapter that looks deeply at our motives, and one which calls us to respond to the grace and love of God in a more consistent godly manner. James has been calling us to ‘Make your choice!’
This week we come to what James sees as the key to wisdom’s effectiveness. James is saying that you can know you have wisdom by the way in which you use it. That key is “peace”.
James introduces this to us under a gardening metaphor, where the soil is peace “sown in peace”; the green-fingered gardeners are those who “make peace”; and the resultant fruit is “the fruit of righteousness” – which in itself lies at the heart of peace.
Now “peace” is something people in this world continually seek.
Gustav Valbert in his day (early 19th Century) could report that ‘From the year 1496 B.C. to A.D. 1861 in 3358 years there were 227 years of peace with 3,130 years of war, or 13 years of war to every year of peace”. He also added that in the same period “more than 8,000 treaties of peace, meant to remain in force forever, were concluded. The average time they remained in force was two years.’ And that’s on the basis of limited information covering no doubts much more limited areas of the globe compared to what we would have access to today. One thing we can say is that things have not changed much since then! Conflicts and skirmishes between and within nations continue as a present and ugly curse on humanity.
Could we not go further and draw parallels in the areas of the work-place, community activity, home-life and family relationships, yet alone of the inner-man? There seems to be no sphere where man is and there is not some longing for peace or for clearer and consistent peace?
James sees “peace” as the centre-piece of Wisdom’s effectiveness. But what is “peace”?
It is usually used to mean the absence of fear, conflict or passion.
But in the Bible “peace” has a much fuller and richer meaning, as can be seen by its use in Josh 6:31 (“an altar of whole stones, over which no man has lift up any iron” – the word “whole”, indicating that these stones were unbroken, complete is basically “peace”. In Neh 6:15 we note “so the wall was finished”, and here again “finished” is from the basic word “peace”, and means complete.
So when we see “peace” used in this fuller biblical sense it has the idea of being whole, complete. Is not merely the absence of hostility but the enjoyment of restoration, of wholeness.
Now let us see how James in a very practical way works the relationship of peace here – and in so doing I want to use the 3 points suggested by John Blanchard as he for analysis looks at this verse in the reverse order of its ideas: The Christian’s Approach, Attitude, and Aim
1. The Christians Approach – those “who make peace”
1. Peace has to be ‘made’.
Immediately we see here that peace is something someone has to take responsibility for. It just doesn’t happen; in other words, it is not something natural in a fallen world.
2. Every Christian knows this from personal experience.
They have peace with God, but how did this come to be? It didn’t happen naturally, nor did it come from man who is described as being “at enmity with God” (Rom 8:7). No, it came because God worked it through His Son Jesus Christ.
Therefore it should not surprise us that James says on the one hand we must have the approach to life of labouring for peace if there is going to be any peace, and on the other hand says that this comes naturally to the Christian.
It is significant that Jesus in describing the citizens of His Kingdom in Matt 5:9 says they are “peacemakers”, that our lives go out to produce peace, and in so doing prove to be the children of God by exhibiting something of His approach to this world.
3. So our approach to Christians and others is that of “peace”
We are to pursue it: “Depart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it” (Psalm 34:14); “Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another” (Rom 14:19).
We are also to preserve it: “with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”(Eph 4:2-3); “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord” (Heb 12:14) .
It is our very ministry: “Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God” (2 Cor 5:18-20).
When we see disruption in the fellowship, in families, etc, our heart aches and we are driven to find ways of establishing peace. Where we find peace we remain watchful and vigilant, ever alert to maintaining that which we delight in.
Is this not what wisdom is? So acting, guiding, advising, and so correcting that peace, that completeness between us may be restored and maintained. Even our evangelism is to be undertaken not as getting people in pews or scalps on belts, but to see people at peace with God and so with others. Indeed evangelism is called “preaching peace by Jesus Christ” in Acts 10:36.
When we see conflict in the church we need to remember that we are both saved – that my Saviour loves us equally. Am I ready to say that my Lord is wrong to love him? Those who are comfortable with unresolved conflicts in the past need to ask God to soften their heart, to make them more Christ-like.
May God give us grace that this will obviously be our approach to life, to those about us, to any circumstance we find ourselves in. The Church and the world would be a more blessed place if this were so.
2. The Christians Attitude – “sown in peace”
1. Here James again calls us to question our motives
It is not sufficient to labour for peace, the way that we do so should demonstrate the same peace consuming us. That not only are you doing something for peace, but that you are doing it in a peace-loving way. Not only working for peace, but peaceful in your working.
2. It is possible to address issues of conflict in a self-destructive way, in a militant, bitter and critical way – or to appear to.
Two ministers were having a conversation ‘What did you preach on last Sunday? l preached on “The wicked shall be turned into hell”.’ ‘Did you preach it tenderly?’ he was asked. It is said of Robert Murray McCheyne that when he preached on hell he could not help but weep. That is a good policy, even more it is an echoing of Christ’s heart who wept over Jerusalem even though it rejected Hi and was about to call for His crucifixion.
How many people have reacted against the approaches of others for peace because of the attitude of judgementalism or sanctimoniousness that they perceived in the hopeful ‘peacemaker’?
Some of the most eager to pursue righteousness, in doing the right thing, in calling for discipline, sadly show an aggressiveness and hostility in what they do – and as a result undermine the very thing they seek to do. Let me ask you, Will such encourage a sister or brother to take seriously your efforts at reconciliation? Let us beware, for while what at times may be appropriately thundered from a pulpit must be spoken tenderly face to face.
3. The question we are forced to ask of ourselves here is, How am I being perceived as I make my appeals? What attitudes do I betray?
To that end we need to be courteous; we need to be sensitive; tenderness and concern controlling the tones as well as the words.
In our love of righteousness and hatred of sin let us be careful for we may be tempted to secretly detest and despise someone. We need to remind ourselves of our own numerous faults and wonder about how others put up with us. We need to seek God’s forgiveness for our faults of attitude as well as of action, seeking also to get things in proportion, remembering all the ways of the offender which demand respect. This will cause us to really and transparently mean our approach of peace.
This is why Paul said in Gal 6:1 pointed out that those who are to work in resolving the difficulties of sin in the lives of others must be “spiritual” and must function with “gentleness” – “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.”
3. The Christians Aim – “the fruit of righteousness”
1. Righteousness is the harvest among the wise.
James is talking about the exercise of wisdom, and here shows that its fruit is righteousness.
You will remember we described wisdom is living rightly, is walking with God, is living God’s way. At its essence then righteousness and wisdom go hand in hand. Last week we noted that you must look at the effect of the wisdom to see if it is from above or from below. Here James asserts that when you put biblical wisdom to a similar test it always has the effect of righteousness. This must be our aim – righteousness, right living before God.
2. Yet wisdom never separates peace and righteousness.
There can be no peace without righteousness; nor righteousness without peace. The Psalmist look forward to the coming day when “righteousness and peace have kissed” each other (Psa 85:10). That day has come in Christ, and will reach its fullest expression in the coming Day of Christ. Jesus Christ had to die for sinners that they might know peace and righteousness together. Let us be careful, then, in separating what God has joined together.
It is true that Scripture tells us that there is a place for holding our “peace” over some things we see in others. In Prov.10:12, quoted by 1 Peter 4:8, we read, “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers a multitude of sins”. That is, love does not expose sin unnecessarily, and certainly not to cause pain or to get an advantage over another. Love is peaceable and peace-loving; it is helpful; not destructive and vindictive. Indeed it does what it can to remove the cause of disruptions by seeking to deal with the sin in another – the word cover also carrying the idea of atonement.
Clearly this is essential for the harmony of the church. This realisation that as God is taking time with us, and that in the same way we need to be patient with others and not lose perspective. There is a godly tolerance.
But when it comes to serious offences of the kind which require church discipline there has been a tendency to also say that this person’s offence should be ignored. That is a sinful tolerance.
Our aim is not just peace, and certainly not ‘peace at any price’. As Thomas Manton said, ‘Peace without righteousness is but a sordid compliance; righteousness without peace but a rough austerity.’
And so, even in formal church discipline it must still be with an approach of seeking peace through reconciliation and restoration in righteousness, and must be approached with an attitude marked by peace.
Only thus, in the pursuit of peace with peace can we expect to see righteousness as the glorious fruit of wisdom.
“If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men” (Rom 12:18); “…the kingdom of God is … righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom 14:17). May God cause such fruit to blossom amongst us, that we would be known as “peacemakers” and “seekers after righteousness”!