InPerspective

Harry Reeder: James shows the issues that you need to demonstrate wisdom. And as he walks you through those issues, he will start with the external sin, the external obedience that's called for, but then he will peel back the heart problem. So those who have been saved by the gospel of grace then need gospel wisdom to fill the heart so that we say no to sin and annihilate it and yes to Christ and exalt him.

Guest (Male): Putting life in biblical perspective with Dr. Harry L. Reeder. This is InPerspective, a radio and internet ministry of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals.

A chemist uses a litmus test to determine the level of acidity in a given substance. And there is a litmus test that we can use to determine the quality of our Christian life. As the epistle of James teaches us about gospel living through gospel wisdom, it acts as a litmus test to help us determine the genuineness of our faith and the consistency of our walk with Jesus Christ.

Stay with us now as Dr. Reeder takes us to James chapter one as he brings us today's teaching, part two of his message, Gospel Living through Gospel Wisdom.

Harry Reeder: This epistle. Now I know some of you are saying, "Harry, you keep calling it book and epistle and back and forth." There's a reason why I'm doing that, because it starts off as an epistle but it doesn't stay an epistle. It starts off as an epistle with epistle language: James, a bondservant, slave of God and of Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes of the dispersion, greetings. And then it quits being an epistle.

Then it becomes a prophetic book of wisdom. It takes its place right alongside Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, many of the Psalms. It becomes wisdom literature, and that's what dominates it. The wisdom call is so clear that an early writer named E.J. Goodspeed said this, I'm paraphrasing: "I've basically given up on trying to outline James. There is no outline. It is a collection of divinely inspired pearls of wisdom dropped by the Holy Spirit through the pen of James into this letter."

Now, I like that, but I disagree. I do think you can outline it. I do think there's a theme. In fact, I think Mr. Goodspeed was onto the theme. But before I get there, you can see this theme as a book of wisdom. There are multitudes of references to the Proverbs in the book of James. There are 25 to 29 quotes from the sermons of Jesus. There are six sermons recorded in your Bible. There are 25 to 29 quotes from Jesus' sermons in the book of James, 108 verses.

Let me go beyond that. 21 of those quotes come from one sermon: the Sermon on the Mount. 21 of those quotes come from one sermon: the Sermon on the Mount, which is the royal manifesto of the saving King to His people in His kingdom. In fact, here's another way I like to look at this. He will refer to Job. Job, I believe, is a biography begging to be produced of a man who in the midst of suffering was given wisdom and understood the purpose and plan of suffering ultimately in his life and cried out. The suffering he once decried, he then cried out, "Though He slay me, yet I will serve Him."

This glorious wisdom that took hold of Job. James is the handbook to understand what was happening in the biography of Job's life. There are, in this short little book, 11 parables that James uses, following the very teaching method of illustration of his elder brother, now his Savior and Lord to whom he is a slave. Well, there are some extraordinary things in this.

I would suggest to you, let me just give you a brief statement why I think he wrote it. I believe this is a pastoral letter of wisdom talking about the Christian life when under duress. I believe it's a pastoral letter of wisdom, and let me be more precise. It is compassionate yet relentless. It is a compassionate understanding of what it means to live in a broken world while you're going through the journey of growing in the grace and knowledge of Christ.

It is compassion, but it is relentless. It is a relentless call to the believer who has been made right with God to now live before God. It is a relentless gospel call to embrace and obey, let me quote James, the royal law. The royal law of the King who died for you to save you. The one whom you've laid hold of by faith, you can now live for by faith. You were saved by faith, you can live by faith, you can even die in faith.

And in the midst of all of that, no matter what the adversity, what the trial, you'll find Christ sovereign, Christ sufficient, and Christ doing a work in you and Christ opening up an opportunity for you. It is a relentless call to the royal law. In fact, let me one other little insight. 108 verses, 59 imperatives. Let me translate. In those 108 verses, James will give to professing believers: if you are in Christ, here are 59 commandments.

Now, by the way, can I just take a little shot right now at the Paul-Luther controversy? You see, he would say James doesn't belong because James just keeps talking about works. He talks about obedience. He keeps talking about this. You're saved by faith alone. James does not argue with that. I don't have the time to do it now. I promise to do it later. I'm going to try to stay within some kind of a timeframe here.

But if you go through this thing, you'll be amazed. 21 times, "my brothers." What is he doing? He is assuming that the people he's pastoring have this gospel foundation in their life. Now they're trying to make sense of why this stuff is happening. Is God sovereign, and is God doing something in it, or is it just grin and bear it? What's happening here?

See, here's the difference. Paul, I love Paul. He is so linear. Every time he writes something, he will spend half the book telling you who you are in Christ by faith and you're saved by faith alone. Then he takes the last half of his book to tell you faith is never alone. Whether it's the first 11 chapters of the book of Romans, who you are in Christ, and then he starts chapter 12: "Therefore, I urge you, by the mercies of God, present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, and do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed." Then he goes into the imperatives.

He does it in 1 Thessalonians, the first two chapters. Then he says, "Now, walk with me as a prisoner of the Lord." He does it in Ephesians, three chapters. Time after time after time, who you are in Christ, in Christ, in Christ. Then he gets to chapter four, and what does he say? "Now, walk in a manner worthy of your calling." And then he lays out all the imperatives: put off, put on, put off, put on, put off.

James is not giving you the linear theology of it. Here's what he'll do. He'll give a command and then he'll say, "Now, my brothers, knowing..." In other words, as he walks you through, he keeps referring back to your gospel foundation as he gives you your gospel imperative. So he'll use words like, "turn sinners and the Lord will save them." "Mercy triumphs over judgment." "Wisdom comes from above, a gift of grace."

He penetrates and permeates his epistle with his burden. Here's how you stand and grow under the evil empire striking back, whether it's family, religion, institution, or the state. Here's what's happening. Here's what God is doing. And you who have been saved by faith, now you can live by faith, even we can die in faith.

But now here's the key. This is where I want to get you to. The reason he's writing this is if you are my beloved brothers, then with me we are slaves of Jesus Christ, our Lord Jesus Christ. And as slaves of Christ in this world, we have a foundation that can't be shaken. Jesus has covered us with His blood and He's clothed us with His righteousness. We have a motivation that is unstoppable. The love of Christ constrains us.

We've got a gospel foundation, we've got a gospel motivation, we've got a gospel life we want to live in a broken world under attack. What do you need? And he sticks in between what you've got to have. To have a lifestyle for Christ, you've got to have a life love for Christ. To have a life love that propels you to live a lifestyle like Christ, you not only have to have the heart of Christ, you've got to have the mind of Christ. So his burden is that you get the wisdom to see life from above.

Not earthly wisdom. Look with me back to James chapter one. Here's what he says. Verse two: "Count it all joy, my brothers, when," not if, you're in a broken world it's going to happen, "when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness and let steadfastness have its full effect that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." Do you think James believes that everybody's perfect in grace? No. He says you're incomplete.

And this stuff that's happening to you is not because you're incomplete, but it's sent by God so you will grow and leave incompleteness. In other words, rejoice. God just rang the school bell. You're about to learn something. But you won't learn something unless you've got enough sense to learn it. And you don't need worldly sense, you need divine sense. So look at the next verse.

If any of you lacks wisdom, that's what we need. Let him ask God who gives generously to all without reproach and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like the wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. In other words, if you don't have wisdom, you can't stand. Then the trials are just going to drive you like the winds and the waves.

For that person must not suppose he'll receive anything from the Lord for he's a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. In other words, I've got a gospel foundation, I've got a gospel motivation, I've been saved by faith, I love Christ by faith, I want to live by faith, then I need the mind of Christ to deal with this world and to understand it in all of its brokenness and all of the chaos of a sin-cursed world. That's what I need.

He picks it up again and again. I just want to give you one more place. Look at James chapter three. Look at verse 13: "Who is wise and understanding among you?" You want to know who's wise and understanding? Look at their life. They have the wisdom to know how to live life. By his good conduct, let him show his works in the meekness, not self-righteousness, meekness of wisdom because this wisdom came to you.

But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. In other words, God's designed the trial for your better, but if you don't have godly wisdom, instead of better, you'll get bitter. And then what'll happen? Selfish ambition. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.

But the wisdom from above is first pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy, good fruits, impartial and sincere, and a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. In other words, to follow Christ in a broken world, I need to have a gospel worldview to have a gospel lifestyle propelled by a gospel life love. That's why I entitle every series "InPerspective."

What is God's perspective? Oh, Lord, please give it to us. It doesn't come from a preacher, it comes from above. That's why every time I talk with you, I pray this prayer: "Lord, we're like children. We don't know how to go out or come in. As we meet, please give us wisdom." That's why in our country, influenced by Christianity, judges would begin deliberation with a plea: "God save this court and its judgments." That we are in desperate need of the wisdom of God. So here's your takeaway.

The gospel life. The gospel life of persistent ministry and joyful maturation. The gospel life of persistent ministry, perseverance, standing firm, and joyful maturation, growing in the trials. The gospel life of persistent ministry and joyful maturation in a sin-cursed world requires the God-sent gift of wisdom from above.

Until Jesus comes back, we're going to be in a sin-cursed world. It's going to be one of chaos and one of declared enmity against the gospel unless Jesus Christ intervenes by the work of His Spirit to change the hearts of men and women, just as He has yours if you're a believer today. And enemies are turned into His family and His friends.

And then when that assault comes, believers with the gospel foundation and a gospel motivation of love to Christ with God-given wisdom, gospel wisdom, can then begin to deal with the sufferings and challenges and adversities and trials with persistent ministry. Stand firm. Stay the course. And even at the same time, gospel maturation.

Joyful maturation. In other words, this trial has given me a platform to tell the world Jesus loves sinners. See the widow and the orphan in this sin-cursed world? Let me go. See the oppressed? Let me go. See what's happening in a sin-cursed world? This is the opportunity that God has given to me to minister. Well, what about your own oppression? This is the opportunity to tell the world you don't have a single thing that makes my life.

Christ makes my life. And He is sufficient and He is sovereign. Even if you take my life, you just send me to Him. So here is the burden of James that is going to give us. In fact, look on that back side of that note sheet. Just see it. Roman numeral one: the author, James (James 1:1a). Audience: 12 tribes of the dispersion (James 1:1b). Address: gospel wisdom and gospel life (James 1:2 through 5:20).

That's the whole burden. Mr. Goodspeed, I do believe you can arrange it. It is the development and the display of the gospel life of wisdom from above. In the midst of trials, the development of wisdom and a display in the gospel life of wisdom from above. By adversity and prayer (James 1:2-18). By hearing and doing the word. By avoiding partiality and formalism. By faith and obedience. By taming and controlling the tongue. By differentiation of divine and satanic wisdom. Hating gossip and slander. Avoiding pride and presumption. Warning the rich and the oppressor. By patience and perseverance. By prayer and praise. By shepherding. That's the very unfolding of the gospel life that's directed by a gospel wisdom.

My brothers and sisters, if you're a believer here today, I want to say this very carefully. I'm very indebted as I worked through months in this text. And then after outlining the 18 sermons and working my way through this, I went to check three of my mentors: what Dr. Barker's had to say about it, what R.C. Sproul had to say about it, and what Henry Krabbendam had to say about it. Then I went to three of my colleagues: Mr. Piper, Mr. Keller, and Mr. John Blanchard.

Consulting all of those and thankfully it kept coming back affirmation after affirmation after affirmation. But let me download something. If you're a believer today, whatever happens to unbelievers in this sin-cursed world, whatever happens to unbelievers in this sin-cursed world, except for the condemning wrath and judgment of God, can happen to you.

We die. We get sick. We have broken marriages in our families. We have disappointments. We have slander against us. We falter, we fail. Whatever can happen to an unbeliever except for God's condemning judgment and wrath can not only occur in your life, it can be sent by God. And by the way, there are things that will happen to you that will never happen to an unbeliever.

And here's what you're going to find out. With wisdom from above, you will know how to respond and Christ is sufficient. James learned it. 15 years later, he was dragged to the synagogue, to the Sanhedrin. He was convicted. Too many of these people are becoming Christians. You are undermining the Jewish people. They convicted him and they sentenced him to stoning. And on the day they were going to stone him, a priest intervened from the Sanhedrin and said, "That's too good for him." And they took him all the way up to the pinnacle of the temple.

I've seen the very stone that he stood upon. It's the same place where Jesus was tempted from: the pinnacle of the temple. And there, scores of feet above the ground on the pinnacle of the temple. When we go to Israel, we get an opportunity to stand and look at the pinnacle of the temple right in front of us. That was up there where he stood.

And they said, "Recant." And he said, "Jesus Christ is risen and ascended and He's coming again. And I love Him." And that had hardly gotten out of his mouth till they pushed him off the temple and he fell all of those almost a hundred feet, over a hundred feet, to the pavement below. When I stand and look at that pinnacle that's there where at one time he fell, I remember what happened. Eusebius tells us, Hegesippus tells it, Josephus tells us.

It didn't kill him. He was called James the Just because he loved mercy and truth. It was said by Eusebius that he went to the temple to pray so much his knees had developed callouses and looked like camels' knees. It is said that he was able to, in torture, pull his body up to a kneeling point and he began to pray for his torturers. He was living his epistle.

The sufficiency of Christ had given him a platform, grew him in grace to his last breath, when a priest took a fuller's bat and beat him to death. And James entered into glory. This is the man who writes to us. My elder brother is the Savior and Lord and sufficient. Dear friend, just come to Christ today. He is ready to receive you. He has loved you and loosed you from your sins at the cross and will grow you in grace even in the adversities of life. He will never leave you nor forsake you.

Guest (Male): You're listening to InPerspective, featuring the teaching of Dr. Harry L. Reeder. For additional teaching by Dr. Reeder, visit inperspective.org. Dr. Reeder's series, Unlocking the Relationship of Baptism and the Great Commission, is this month's free gift offer.

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