TRUE WISDOM IS GENTLE — James 3:17 (continued)

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Are you a “gentle” person? In our culture and society, that is not a word that is often used to describe people, is it? The adjective “gentle” is often used in the following phrases: a gentle breeze, a gentle rain, a gentle animal, a gentle push, a gentle voice, a gentle massage, a gentle grip, a gentle detergent, a gentle reminder, gentle to the skin. Most of the time we use the word to refer to things rather than people.

I searched the internet for pictures that described or captured the meaning of the word “gentle” and found some precious pictures. There was a picture of a newborn baby’s tiny hand grasping the thumb of its mother. There was a picture of a young child hugging a horse’s face. There were pictures of powerful and ferocious animals playing with their young.

The Greek word translated “gentle” is the word epieikes, and it is a different word from the one translated “gentle” in James 3:13. The term was often used in the ancient world to describe a finely aged wine. It was not harsh or bitter, but mellow, fragrant, and very pleasing to the taste buds. The apostle James uses this word here in verse 17 as part of his description of wisdom from above. In contrast to the harsh, critical, strict, and self-centered wisdom of the world, this wisdom was kind, willing to yield, thoughtful, considerate, and patient with others. The words “chill out” and “mellow out” are often said to people who are easily irritated and often judgmental of others. You would never have a reason to say these words to a gentle person.

The following definition is so true and always brings a smile to my face: “Gentleness is the oil that reduces the friction in life”. Warren Wiersbe said: “A gentle person does not deliberately cause fights, but neither does he compromise the truth in order to keep the peace.” Carl Sandburg described Abraham Lincoln as a man of “velvet steel”. That’s a good description of gentleness! In II Corinthians 10:1 the apostle Paul says, “Now I, Paul, myself urge you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ . . .” The Lord Jesus Christ is the perfect example of gentleness.

In the “One Year Book of Hymns”, I found the following story:

The story is told of a little girl named Becca who lived in an institution for troubled children. She had never spoken, and her behavior was quite violent. She terrorized the other children, hitting them and stomping on their toys.

This was in the 1800s when treatment for emotional problems was still quite primitive. But there was a nurse who showed love to this little girl. And slowly Becca calmed down. She began to show affection for the nurse, and she would even sit quietly with the other children as they learned to sing. Still, she wouldn’t speak. One summer evening, the nurse put Becca to bed early. The sun had just gone down, and some birds were singing outside. Then the nurse heard another voice along with the birds. It was Becca. Alone in her room, she was singing a song she had heard the other children sing: “Gentle Jesus, meek and mild, look upon a little child; pity my simplicity; suffer me to come to Thee.”

Let me ask the question again: Are you a gentle person?

Charles Wesley wrote that hymn, and the last stanza goes like this:

Loving Jesus, gentle Lamb, In Thy gracious hands I am;
Make me, Savior what Thou art,
Live Thyself within my heart.

MAN’S WISDOM VERSUS GOD’S WISDOM – I Corinthians 1:18-25

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INTRODUCTION:

Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” Proverbs 16:25 says the exact same thing. Is that significant? How can something that seems so right be so wrong and have such terrible consequences?

The passage of Scripture I’m sharing today, I Corinthians 1:18-25, gives us an instance in which the reverse principle is also true: “There is a way that seems wrong to a man, but its end is the way of life.” In I Corinthians 1:10-17 we read that the Corinthian church was being divided because of quarrels between groups in the Church. Today we will see that the problem was a reliance on human wisdom. There is one area where human wisdom plays absolutely no part, and that is the salvation of one’s soul.

I. THE SUPERIORITY OF GOD’S WISDOM (verse 18)

When man focuses on and glories in his own wisdom, he automatically tries to lower God’s wisdom, which seems like foolishness because it disagrees with his own thinking. In verse 18, “the word of the cross” includes the whole gospel message and Christ’s saving work. The thought of God becoming a human being and dying on a piece of wood on a small hill in a remote part of the world, and that this would determine the eternal destiny of every person who has ever lived, sounds foolish or stupid to the natural man. It leaves no room for man’s wisdom, man’s achievements, and man’s pride.

A Christian was made fun of by an atheist because of his faith in God. “The idea that the blood of Christ can wash away sin is foolishness”, said the atheist. “I don’t understand it or believe it.” The Christian, a student of the Bible, answered, “I think you’re telling the truth. In fact, you and the apostle Paul agree exactly on one thing.” “What do you mean?”, asked the atheist. The believer read I Corinthians 1:18 which says, “For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness”. Then he witnessed to him and told him that Christ could change his life. But the atheist walked away unmoved. He was not willing to accept the Lord. The next time you share the Gospel with someone and the person responds by saying, “that’s ridiculous”, you might show that person I Corinthians 1:18 and say, “that’s just how God said you would respond!”

On the other hand, verse 18 goes on to say, “but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” Another story illustrates the truth that those who believe the Gospel will experience the Lord’s saving power. A missionary told the story that he went to a western town to pastor a small church. He didn’t know that many of its members were antagonistic to “old-fashioned preaching”, and that some were practically atheists. As he spoke about sin and the atoning work of Christ, the irritation of his audience became obvious. In a few weeks, the attendance had dwindled to 10. But the faithful preacher continued to give out the Word and the Holy Spirit brought sinners under conviction. At one service three entire families received the Lord, and the downward trend was reversed. The Gospel is indeed the power of God!

There’s a Chinese tale about a young man who captured a tiger cub, brought it home, and raised it in a cage. When it was full-grown, the man loved to brag about how ferocious and powerful it was. “That tiger isn’t wild anymore,” scoffed his friends. “He’s as tame as an old house cat!” This went on until a wise old man overheard them and said, “There’s only one way to know whether this tiger is ferocious or not. Open the cage!” The young man smiled, placed his hand on the latch, and challenged his friends, “Want to try out my tiger?” There was a moment of silence, and then one of the friends said, “We’ll believe you! Just don’t open that latch!”

A tiger’s strength, of course, is destructive and can bring death, but the power of the Gospel leads to life and freedom. It destroys guilt and breaks the stranglehold of sinful habits. If we have experienced this power ourselves, let’s challenge others to “try out our tiger!”

II. THE PERMANENCE OF GOD’S WISDOM (verses 19-20)

In verse 19, Paul quotes from Isaiah 29:14. It reads: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.” Paul’s purpose is to point out that the wisdom of men will be destroyed. The background of this verse is important to the understanding of it. In chapter 8 of Isaiah, God tells the people of Judah that Assyria is going to invade them. Instead of asking the Lord what they should do, they went to witches and sorcerers, and in Isaiah 30, following their advice, they make a treaty with Egypt, thinking that will protect them. But that treaty gets them into even more trouble! Their plans fail, but God shows them that He has a better plan. Judah would be saved completely by God’s power, with no human help. In Isaiah 37:36 God destroyed 185,000 men of the Assyrian army with just one angel! The complete account of this is given in II Kings 17. I encourage you to read it.

The apostle Paul teaches here in verse 20 that human wisdom is not only unreliable, it is also not permanent. Paul asks several questions. Each question is asking, “Where are all the smart people today that have all the answers?” How much closer to peace, in the world and in the heart, is man today than he was a hundred years ago, or a thousand years ago?

Paul asks: “Where is the wise man?” He is paraphrasing Isaiah’s words, and the prophet Isaiah was referring to the wise men of Egypt – the sorcerers and magicians who made promises but gave bad advice that led Egypt astray. “Where are the scribes?” Paul is probably referring to the Assyrian scribes who went along with the soldiers to record the plunder that was taken in battle. But God saw to it, in this case, that they had nothing to record, and nothing to count or to weigh. What was left of the Assyrian army ran away empty-handed.

“Where is the debater of this age?” Paul is probably referring to the Greek philosophers of his day who spent most of their time arguing with each other! Throughout history, human wisdom has never solved the basic problems of man. And nothing has really changed over the years, has it? Life has the same problems. People have the same struggles.

III. THE POWER OF GOD’S WISDOM (verses 21-25)

Verse 21 says that God planned it that way. Man cannot come to know Him by the wisdom of the world. In Acts 17, when Paul came to Athens, he noticed a shrine on which were written these words: “To an unknown God.” With all their learning and philosophies they made for themselves many gods, but the God who had made them, they did not know.

God does not expect people to come to Him through their own wisdom. He knows they cannot. But they can come to Him through His wisdom. And that wisdom has been given to us in the simple message of the Gospel. It is not through philosophy or human wisdom that salvation comes, but through believing God’s Word and His plan of salvation. God saves only those who believe. People cannot figure out salvation, they can only accept it in faith.

Unbelief is always the basic reason for not accepting God’s will and God’s way, but unbelief can be expressed in various ways. In verses 22 and 23, the Jews wanted supernatural signs before they would believe the Gospel. The Gentiles, represented by the Greeks, wanted proof through human wisdom, through ideas they could consider and debate over.

These two groups that Paul mentions here, the Jews and Greeks, are representative of all unbelieving mankind. Whether, like the typical Jew, they demand proof by a supernatural sign, or like the typical Greek, they want proof by natural wisdom, unbelievers will find an excuse for rejecting the Gospel. But God has called out a people for Himself from among the Jews and the Gentiles. These will believe and find that Jesus Christ is both the power of God and the wisdom of God.

Paul closes this portion of his letter by saying that, even if God could possess any sort of foolishness, it would be wiser than man’s greatest wisdom. And if God were able to have any weakness, it would be stronger than the greatest strength that man could muster. Jesus may have appeared to be foolish and weak as one imagines Him hanging on a Roman cross, suffering and dying. But by doing so, Jesus paid the penalty for the sins of the world and opened the gates of heaven for all who would believe in Him. Christ’s death and His resurrection were actually the greatest demonstrations of His infinite wisdom and power.

CONCLUSION:

I would like to give two different applications of what Paul has taught us in this passage of Scripture. First, God’s wisdom is opposed to man’s wisdom. We Christians make a great mistake when we water down the Gospel message to make it acceptable to people, and reasonable to them. The Gospel isn’t an argument, but an announcement. And this announcement is meant by God to be proclaimed clearly and accurately.

Secondly, if you still have your own personal philosophy about God and about life, and it doesn’t agree with the Bible, the wisest and most needful statement I can make to you is that Jesus Christ, God’s Son, died on the cross for your sins in your place, and shed His blood so that you could be acceptable to a holy God. And the wisest decision you could ever make in your life would be to believe that announcement, repent of your sins, and accept Jesus Christ into your life and your personal Savior and Lord. If God is calling you to make that decision, don’t delay or look for excuses, but respond to His call by receiving Him into your life; and let other Christians know what you have done so that they can rejoice with you and help you grow in your knowledge of Him.

LOVE – TRUE LOVE

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How is your love-life? Do you want to be a better lover? Do you want to show your love in ways that will be more greatly appreciated, and more fulfilling to you as well? Then two words, when correctly understood and properly applied to your relationships, will make all the difference in the world!

The first word is “patience” . True love isn’t in a hurry. It doesn’t put the other person on a timetable, but gives the person space to make decisions and adjustments. True love lets relationships go at their own pace. It never gets tired of waiting, and demonstrates this attitude by the absence of griping, complaining, grumbling, or any other outward signs of irritation and impatience.

True love doesn’t lose heart, but perseveres through difficult and troublesome times. It keeps on hoping and believing. True love is also forgiving. Remember: nobody is perfect. If you’re looking for the perfect person to love, you’re in for a very long wait, and hopefully you’ll learn patience in the process!

A true lover is a good listener, and knows how to ask the right questions to keep the conversation going. A true lover seeks to understand, and shows respect for the loved one’s opinions. A patient person also excercises self-control and knows how to hold his or her tongue to avoid hurting the other person by a hasty or thoughtless word. A billboard had these words written on it: “A moment of patience in a moment of anger saves you a thousand moments of regret”. Do you want to be a more patient person? You will be loved for it, and you won’t regret it.

The other word is “kindness”. A true lover is kind, and a kind person is a joy to be around because he or she lifts the spirits of others. A kind person is also merciful, showing kindness even when it isn’t deserved. A true lover is kind and doesn’t take advantage of others. A little child was heard saying these words in a prayer: “God, make all the bad people good, and make all the good people nice”. This child saw a difference between being “good” and being “nice”. I think we can notice that difference also. Kind people don’t look down on others or make fun of others. True lovers focus on lifting up their loved ones, not bringing them down.

Kindness is something we all long for. We experience joy when we receive it from others, and even greater joy when we show it to others. An act of kindness leaves an indelible impression on the receiver and the giver, as well as on all who witness it. On the New York subway, a young man, his head covered by a hooded sweatshirt, fell asleep on the shoulder of an older passenger. When someone else offered to wake the young rider, the older man quietly said, “He must have had a long day. Let him sleep. We’ve all been there.”

We all need someone to lean on sometimes, don’t we? Do you want kindness to be more evident in your life? Do you want your loved ones to experience it more often from you?

These two qualities, patience and kindness, are at the top of the list, and that list is given in the Bible, in I Corinthians 13:4-7:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast,
it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking,
It is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.

May our love for one another be characterized by these virtues.

TRUE FREEDOM – 4th of July message

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Americans celebrate Independence Day on the 4th of July as a public holiday with fireworks, barbecues, flags, and expressions of gratitude for the freedom we have as Americans. Most celebrations of national independence mark the day of “final victory” in the struggle for freedom. Perhaps it’s a mark of our American pride and boldness that we celebrate, on July 4th, the signing of the Declaration of Independence, which occurred seven years before the final treaty ending the Revolutionary War on September 3, 1783. That Declaration’s adoption on July 4, 1776, burned the final bridges of England’s authority over America. The signers of this Declaration of Independence recognized that liberty could not be preserved unless this new nation recognized its dependence on God. The brave men who initiated and signed it realized that genuine freedom comes only through reliance on the Almighty. Do you consider yourself to be truly free? Whether you live in a free country or not, are you free on the inside? Are you free from guilt and fears? Are you free from the fear of death, and from the eternal consequences of your actions? Are you free from greed and other “sinful” passions that have become beyond your control? The sad thing is that the world often describes sin as the essence of freedom. “I can do what I please because it’s my life, and I am the master of my fate.” This is also what Satan told Eve in the Garden of Eden when he said, in effect, “Don’t be bound by God’s command! Be free! Eat the fruit and become as God, knowing good and evil!” When Eve ate the forbidden fruit, and also gave some to Adam, and he ate it, what happened? They died! They immediately died spiritually because their fellowship with God was broken and they hid from God. Their personalities also began to decay because they began to lie and shift the blame to one another. And eventually their bodies died. They certainly weren’t the masters of their fate, were they? The Bible teaches that true freedom can only be found through a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. He set us free at the cost of His own life.

ILLUSTRATIONS: TWO ACTUAL RESPONSES TO ONE’S FREEDOM

A heathen girl was bought at a slave auction for a large sum of money. The Christian man who purchased her did so in order to set her free. When he came to get her the next day, she said simply, “Master, I am ready to serve you.” He replied, “While it is true that I bought you, I did so only to relieve you of the bonds of slavery.” Then, with a smile he handed the surprised girl her freedom papers. She looked at him for a moment in sheer astonishment. Then, seeing that he meant what he said, she cried out, “Am I truly free? Am I my own? May I go where I wish?” “Yes”, he said. “That’s why I bought you, so that you could be freed from the restrictions of slavery. “Sir”, she said as she fell at his feet in heartfelt devotion, “my greatest joy will be to dwell with you and go wherever you direct me.”

I’m closing with another true story that made a tremendous impression on me. A young convert on the west coast of Africa, who was saved out of the most horrible savagery, came on Christmas Day into the little chapel on the mission compound to offer her sacrifice of praise in the form of a gift of money. As a rule, the natives in that area were so poor that only a handful of vegetables was considered a generous offering. Some, in fact, could only bring a bunch of wildflowers to show their goodwill. If anyone ever managed to bring a coin worth a penny or two, it was considered as a tremendous gift. This girl of sixteen, however, drew from under her tattered outer garments a silver coin worth about a dollar! The missionary was so amazed at the amount of the offering that he refused, at first, to accept it, for he thought she must have gotten it dishonestly. In order to avoid confusion and embarrassment, he finally agreed to accept it. But at the end of the service, he called her aside to ask her where she obtained such a fortune. She explained very simply that, in order to present to the Lord Jesus Christ an offering that satisfied her own heart’s love for Him, she had gone to a neighbouring plantation and sold herself to the plantation owner as a slave to him for the rest of her life! She had, in effect, brought the whole financial equivalent of her life and laid it down in a single gift at the feet of her Savior and spiritual Liberator, the Lord Jesus Christ.

This Fourth of July, may we celebrate with joy the freedoms and privileges we possess, both as citizens of this great nation and, hopefully also, as citizens of heaven. If you are not sure whether or not you are a citizen of heaven, please read the ABOUT PAGE on this blog site, and the section entitled “Question”. In John’s Gospel, chapter 8,. and verses 31 and 32, Jesus said: “If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”