The way of the righteous.John Farley
Pastor-Teacher Sunday, February 26, 2017 Practical Christianity: Pro 18:20-21 The quickest, most direct route for what is in your heart to come out - is through your tongue. Mat 12:33-37 Pro 18: 21 The entire letter can be seen as James mapping out two paths or ways that the people’s hearts could go. These are the final destinations for the two paths. Jam 1:12 One path leads to a pure heart and the crown of life. This is what James calls the perfect and complete man. Jam 1:15 The other path leads to death. Dead soul. And all along the way, we find certain tests that reveal the condition of the heart. The tests are tests of the heart itself, tests of the tongue, and tests of behavior. Each path has its own wisdom. Either wisdom from above, Jam 3:13-18 What does the Lord find in the hearts of the perfect and complete men? The wisdom from above. What does the Lord find in the hearts of the double-minded? Earthly, natural, demonic wisdom. How can we tell the difference? By the fruits that come from each kind of wisdom. Mat 11:19 “Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.” Demonic wisdom spawns jealousy and selfish ambition in the heart. This comes out as arrogance, lying, disorder, and every evil thing. Evil things like quarrels, conflicts, fighting and murder (Jam 4:1-3) murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. (Mat 15:19) the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. The wisdom from above produces good behavior. Deeds done in the gentleness of wisdom. Making peace. Psa 1 We are the righteous because Christ has become our righteousness! 1Co 1:30-31 We don’t have to ask the Father for wisdom – we already have it. Our Father has freely given it to us by having the Spirit place us into Christ.
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