“Wisdom's Peacemaker”
Rev. Dustin A. Largent
6/15/2025

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I hope that your faith is ready. I hope that you're ready to persevere in trials. That's what we've been talking about as we've gone through the book of James, chapter 1. Now we're into the third chapter. We started out by talking about how we go through trials. And those trials—how we deal with them—show us, give us the evidence as to whether we're really Christians or not, whether we really have faith or not. You can say you've got faith—that doesn't mean anything. You can even think you have faith. That doesn't mean anything unless you are persevering in your trials. Or you're tempted and you start blaming God for your temptation: “Well, it's not my fault. God tempted me.” No, that's not the proper response. A Christian with true faith doesn't respond that way. A Christian with true faith says, “You know what? I am responsible, and I'm going to repent of that sin. I'm not going to allow it to have a stronghold and be a part of who I am.”
 

We went on a little bit further and saw that when we get into God's Word—when we're studying God's Word—the true Christian, the one with faith, doesn't just listen to it and then leave like they immediately forgot everything they heard. They actually put it into practice. They live what they hear. They put into practice the Word of God. We found out that true Christians aren't showing favoritism. They're not saying, “Oh, you're rich. You look really nice. Let's sit you in the front seat.” And, “Oh, you kind of smell. We'll put you back in the back.” That's not how we roll when we're believers. And if that's the case, that's an indication that maybe you don't have true faith.

Last time you were here—and it's great now that we've got people in the church that can come up and preach when I'm gone, because then I don't have to worry about it—I can just go and feel at peace about everything. Randy talked to you about the tongue. That your tongue—what comes out of your mouth—is a reflection of what's in your heart. If your heart is truly converted, if you truly have faith and you love God in your heart, you're not going to be speaking and putting out of your mouth all kinds of stuff that's contrary to Jesus.

What we're going to talk about this morning is wisdom. And wisdom is a lot like faith. One of the things we said about faith is that faith is invisible. Like, if I go up to you and you say, “Oh, I have faith,” well, I can't say you have faith or don't have faith because I can't see your faith. It's an invisible thing. But I can see the result of your faith. I can say you have faith because I can see the evidence of your faith.
Wisdom is the same way. You can tell me you're wise, right? And I've met a lot of folks—you've met a lot of folks—that come up and say, “Oh, I'm really wise. I'm really smart.” You're like, “Okay, prove to me that you're wise. I'm not going to just take your word for it because you said so. Why should I listen to you?” “Well, because I said I'm wise.” Prove it. Prove that you're wise. What's the evidence that you're wise?
 

So, since we're talking about wisdom, let's look at what the word here—when it says “wise”—actually means. That word is a Greek word. The New Testament was written in Greek, and this particular word for “wise” is sophos. The sister word to it would be sophia, which means “wisdom.” So, if you know someone named Sophia, her name literally means wisdom. Now, think about the word “philosophy.” It comes from two Greek words: philo (love) and sophos (wisdom). So, philosophy means “the love of wisdom.” You get these Greek guys in togas talking about how they love wisdom—that’s what we’re talking about here. But how is wisdom different from knowledge?

Some of you are like me—I wasn’t a great student in school. I didn’t make the honor roll. I didn’t make the second honor roll. I just kind of passed. Praise God, I passed! But there were kids in my class who were brilliant. I didn’t even know you could get more than a 4.0 GPA, and suddenly someone’s got a 4.3. Brilliant. Knew everything. I had friends—brilliant guys. But when it came to wisdom, it was like, “I don’t know how you brush your teeth.” You know people like this. How are you so smart and so dumb at the same time? You have all this knowledge, but you don’t have wisdom. You make all these really dumb mistakes in your life. The way you live doesn’t match all the knowledge you have. That’s because wisdom is the ability to take knowledge and apply it in your life in a very practical way that benefits you. Wisdom is when you take even the limited knowledge you’ve got and apply it practically to make really good decisions.

So, it’s not about whether you graduated at the top of your class. Do you have wisdom? If you’re a Christian and you’re in need of wisdom—if you’re saying, “I just don’t know what to do in this situation”—don’t go to the person with the 4.0 GPA and assume they know. Go to someone whose life shows that they have great wisdom. Someone who made the right decisions when it came to family, who was careful and thoughtful. That’s true wisdom. Wisdom shows up in your behavior. That’s the difference between knowledge and wisdom. Wisdom shows up in how you live.

You might say, “Alright, Dustin, I appreciate that. But what kind of behavior are you talking about?” Well, it depends on what kind of wisdom you’re talking about. Are you talking about earthly wisdom or heavenly wisdom?
Because if you’re talking about earthly wisdom, you’re going to get a whole different set of behaviors than if you have heavenly wisdom. And what James is going to talk about here is heavenly wisdom. And what I want you to understand is that when you became a believer—whether you use it or not—God put this wisdom in you. You have access to the wisdom of God. You say, “Why would I have that wisdom?” Because God is within you in the person of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. It is also the Spirit of Christ. God is one—whether He’s in the Holy Spirit or in you that way.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.” — John 1:1–4
That word “Word” in Greek is Logos. That’s where we get our word “logic.” It’s also the root of words like “biology” (bio = life, logy = study of) and “theology” (theos = God, logy = study of). So, if you’ve received the Holy Spirit, then the Spirit of the Logos is in you—and that’s how you get this wisdom.

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.” — James 3:13

So, the evidence of having godly wisdom—of being truly wise—is good deeds done in humility. That word for humility is sometimes translated as “meekness” or “gentleness.” Now, don’t get confused and think that gentleness or meekness means weakness. Gentleness is not weakness. Meekness is not weakness. God is filled with meekness and gentleness—and He is not weak. Jesus is not weak. Jesus has more power than any person in the history of the world. According to John 1:1, Jesus created the earth. He has unlimited power. But that’s the beauty of God—all of this power, in total control, and yet able to be gentle. Think of a huge guy—eight feet tall, 800 pounds, super strong—picking up a little puppy and being gentle with it. That’s beautiful. That’s God. All this power, but gentle and meek.

“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” — Matthew 11:29
Jesus is gentle. Jesus is humble. And that’s the characteristic you should look for in a person who is wise. The world thinks wise people are the ones who run over everybody. But that’s not wisdom according to God. According to God, wisdom is gentle.

“But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.” — James 3:14
Now James is getting into what false wisdom looks like—what worldly wisdom looks like. If you're denying the truth, you obviously aren't wise. You're not looking at the truth right in front of you, the truth within you, and acknowledging it. These people are harboring bitterness and anger. It's all about self. And they think they have great faith and great wisdom. But James is saying, “You're lying to yourself.” Why do those who lack wisdom harbor bitterness, envy, and selfish ambition? Because they're trying to satisfy their own selfish egos by denying the truth about who they really are. You know these people. Maybe you’ve been one of these people. You deny the truth about who you are to protect your ego. And because you're not who you're claiming to be, you pretend to be someone else. You create a facade—a better but untrue version of yourself—for everyone to see. And James is saying: that’s not wise. That’s not reality.

So, if someone else has more than me, or a better job, or is more talented, instead of being happy for them, I get bitter. I wish they didn’t have that success. I wish I had what they have. But when you don’t have that selfish desire—when you’re happy for your brother or sister who succeeds—that leads to peace. If someone in this church has something wonderful happen to them, and I’m truly happy for them, that leads to peace. I’m with you. I want what you want. I’m excited. Let’s rejoice. Let’s high-five. Let’s enjoy it. We are at peace with each other. But if in my heart I’m saying, “He didn’t deserve that. I deserve that. I hope he loses that job,” that’s not peace. That’s war. That’s strife.
A lot of the strife we have in churches—sadly—is because of jealousy. People get jealous. “Why is that person on the board?” “Why is that person doing this?” “Why don’t I have what they have?” And without the wisdom of God, without acknowledging it and living according to it, we end up doing and saying things that cause division and hurt ourselves.

“Such ‘wisdom’ does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.” — James 3:15 James puts “wisdom” in quotes because it’s not really wisdom. That kind of thinking—that kind of living—is:
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Earthly: It’s all about here and now. It’s about what I can get on earth. It’s about fleshly things—what I deserve, what I want.
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Unspiritual: It has nothing to do with God. It denies the blessings God has given. It’s opposed to the spiritual.
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Demonic: Its propaganda authored by the father of lies—the devil. It produces lies in you. “I deserve this.” “They don’t.” That’s demonic.
And you certainly don’t want that kind of wisdom in your church.

So that’s what false wisdom looks like. False wisdom is selfish. Earthly wisdom is all about the flesh. If you’re asking, “Do I have real wisdom?” but you’re all concerned about the here and now—how much money you have, how much praise you get—that’s not godly wisdom. That’s earthly. So, what does godly wisdom look like?
“But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.” — James 3:17
We see where true wisdom comes from—it comes from heaven. And look at the characteristics:
• Pure: Not just sexually pure, but pure from sinful attitudes and motives. Your motives are clean. You’re not hiding a false agenda.
• Peace-loving: God, as King, has every reason to punish us, but He seeks peace. He wants peace with us so much that He died on the cross for our sins. That’s how much He desires peace.
• Considerate: Matthew Arnold called this “sweet reasonableness.” It means knowing when not to apply the strict letter of the law. Just because you can bring down justice doesn’t mean you should. Sometimes mercy is better.
• Submissive: Some versions say, “willing to yield.” It’s not about being weak—it’s about not being stubborn. It’s about being open to discussion, willing to listen, and not throwing away relationships just to be right. Think back to COVID. People were so dead set on being right that they threw out friendships and family. Were they right? Maybe. But true wisdom isn’t stubborn like that. It’s willing to yield, to talk, to listen.
Have you noticed that in America today, there’s not a lot of wisdom?
• Full of mercy and good fruit: You not only show mercy, but your life bears visible fruit. People can see it. You’re making wise decisions. You’re helping others. You’re being blessed by it. “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” — Matthew 5:5
• Impartial and sincere: You’re not showing favoritism. You’re not being a hypocrite. You’re not pretending to be someone you’re not.

“Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.” — James 3:18

When someone’s life is characterized by selfish envy and strife, that’s a sign they lack wisdom—and that reflects a problem in their relationship with God. If you have peace with God, you’ll begin to have peace with others. But if you live a life of peace with those around you—doing good because you have a pure desire to serve God and a humble view of yourself—that’s evidence of genuine faith and true wisdom from God. Let me read you a quote from my man Stephen Cole. I read a lot of his stuff—he’s good. He put it this way:
“If you see a church or a home where there is peace, it is because the members have worked to cultivate peace. They have listened to one another, respected one another, judged their own selfishness and pride, and sought to live in accordance with godly wisdom, not worldly wisdom.” See, the key to peace is wisdom.

Let me close with this story.
In 1955, there was a guy named Sir Hugh Beaver. He was hunting in Ireland. I can’t do a good Irish accent—I can only do Scottish—but he’s out hunting with his buddies. He’s got a whole crew of people. He’s loaded, got a lot of money, and they’re out hunting these birds called the golden plover. Well, he tries to shoot one and misses. So they go back to camp, and they start arguing. There’s no peace. They’re arguing over whether the golden plover is the fastest bird in all of Europe. I’m assuming Sir Beaver is the one who missed and is now claiming, “Well, it’s the fastest bird—that’s why I missed!” But here’s the problem: there was no Google. So, how do you know what the fastest bird is? They just argued back and forth.
 

What I didn’t tell you is that Sir Hugh Beaver was the managing director of the Guinness Brewery in Dublin. And as you can imagine, there were arguments in all these Irish pubs. A lot of alcohol, a lot of disagreements. And they were never resolved because there was no book to settle them. So, Mr. Beaver had an idea. He commissioned people to create a book with all these facts—what’s the fastest bird, the strongest animal, and so on. They decided to send it to all the pubs in Ireland to help resolve arguments and bring peace. That book became the Guinness Book of World Records. It was inspired by disagreements and created to bring peace through knowledge. Wisdom would bring peace. But there’s another book that does that even better than the Guinness Book of World Records. I’m not sure if you’ve read it, but it’s the best-seller. I’ve got a copy right here; The Bible. This book produces all kinds of peace and all kinds of wisdom. And I encourage you to get into it. That’s how we know we have true wisdom: Is there peace in your life? Or is it chaos? Are you at war with everyone? Are you sincere?

Closing Prayer:
God, I thank you for your Word. We have absolutely no time to do a last song, but we do have time to praise You and worship You—to thank You for Your Word. God, I pray right now that You would fill us with wisdom that only comes from You. That the Logos would enter into us, fill our hearts, and as a result, we would behave the way people with true wisdom behave. Let us see evidence of it in our lives—peace in our lives, and all the different ways You manifest it: in purity, in consideration, in submission, in fruitfulness, in mercy, in impartiality, in sincerity. God, show us those areas in our lives where we can be Your people and represent You well. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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