Lesson 50,
And the seed whose fruit is righteousness
This statement doesn't add another
characteristic of true wisdom but is adding the thought of its results to
complete the picture.
is sown in peace
- describes the climate for this harvest of +R.
- the
Present tense of sown is customary and describes the action of a righteous man
who is operating in the sphere of God's wisdom not the wisdom of man.
Summary:
1. The fruit in view
here is the product of the life lived and in it, the fruit, the seeds for more fruit.
2. As we share the
fruit of God with others they will be fed and satisfied and they will in turn
bear fruit.
3. The Christian
life, or for that matter, any life is a life of sowing and reaping. We reap
what we sow. Prin. Gal 6:7-9.
4. The believer who
obeys God's wisdom and
sows righteousness not sin, peace not hostility and antagonism
will be the fruit.
5. The life we live
enables the Lord to bring righteousness and peace not only into our life but
into the life of others also.
6. What we have in
our soul forms the basis of how we live, and how we live is what we're
sowing. What we sow determines what we
are going to reap.
7. If we live in the
sphere of God's wisdom, we sow righteousness and peace, and we will reap God's
blessing in our lives.
8. If we live in the
sphere of man's worldly wisdom, we sow sin and conflict and we will reap confusion
and every vile practice.
9. One of the sins
that God Hates - that is on His hit list - is the sowing of discord among the
brethren. (Prov 6:16-19)
JAMES CHAPTER FOUR
Intro: This is a very
strong polemical section (chew out); there is no "My brethren here"
The manifestation of
their sin nature being in rulership is made clear by 7 characteristics:
- quarrels and
conflicts
- self-centeredness
- inaccurate
prayer
- spiritual
adultery
- arrogance
- pseudo happiness
- S/O/T maligning/judging
Outline:
1. 4:1-3 Identifies the true source of
worldliness
2. 4:4-6 Reproves spiritual infidelity
3. 4:4-7 Pleads for submission to God
4. 4:11-12 Get relationship with others straight
5. 4:13-17 Faith is tested by presumptuous
planning
4:1 The results of submitting to your sin nature
instead of the Royal Law, the law of liberty
What is the source
of quarrels and conflicts among you?
James is not dealing here with the
academic question of war but to the factional bickering in these new
assemblies.
Is not the source your pleasures
It speaks of lust, pleasure in the
sense that it denotes the enjoyment derived from fulfilling ones desires -
being totally self
centered.
that wage war in your
members
- wage war strateu,w
= to carry on a military
campaign; this draws the imagery of these cravings of the
sin nature as soldiers waging a campaign aimed at securing the satisfaction of
those cravings.
Summary 4:1
1. These people are
obviously in the assembly (L/C) for the wrong reasons.
2. His exhortation is
designed to get them to examine and identify their own motives - just as we
should always be doing.
3. Just as they
needed to recognize the real war is fought first internally, so do we.
4. If the sin nature
is not checked (Doctrine
and ministry of the H/S) be sure this
inner battle is going to erupt into overt conflicts with those around you.
5. Peter tells us
that the rulership of the sin nature is an attack on the soul. 1 Pet 2:11
6. Paul says that sin
nature wages a war with the soul making him a spiritual POW when it is in rulership. Rom
7. James has already
told us what is the consequence of sin nature in control = temporal death. Jms
1:14-15
8. To the extent that
you are unhappy in your niche is an indication of the extent that your sin nature still
influences your thinking.
9. The essence of sin
is selfishness - my way thinking, not God and His thinking.
10. Inner conflict
and turmoil are very dangerous because they lead to instability and wrong
actions. vs:2