Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.

But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

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. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness. (James 3:13-18)

A central theme of this letter addresses the inconsistency between claim and reality in one’s spiritual life.

James 1:22 says that when a person listens to God’s word but does not do what it says, he deceives himself. That is, what he thinks has happened is inconsistent with what has actually happened. Perhaps he thinks that he has accepted the word, or that he has benefited from it, but the reality is that he has not. He has been exposed to the word, but he has not done with it what he thinks he has, or all that he needs to. James says that he is like a person who looks at himself in a mirror but as he walks away he immediately forgets what he looks like. But a person is blessed only when he looks into the word, and continues to look at it, and then acts and behaves according to what it teaches.

There is the popular idea that faith is more than mere assent, belief, or agreement to God’s word, but that there must be something more, such as trust or commitment, so that faith consists of knowledge, assent, and trust. However, this causes confusion in Christians because it is a false teaching and it presents a hindrance in properly understanding some biblical passages. It becomes a stronghold in the mind that obscures the plain scriptural idea of faith.

James does not just say that the man agrees with God’s word and then does nothing about it; rather, he says that the man, whether in fact or in a manner of speaking, “forgets” what he hears.

As a child, once I learned and accepted the name that my parents gave me, it became an integral part of my identity. It was not a trivial sound or fact, but it was a name – my name. Even as a child I understood that and from then on I never forgot it and I never wavered as to what it was. If you believe that you name is Ezekiel, and that it has always been Ezekiel, but then the next day you introduce yourself as Elizabeth, or if you say that you do not know your name, would we say, belief must be more than agreement? No, we would say that you are either mentally defective, that you are dishonest, or some such thing. Whatever the precise reason, we may suspect that you have never really accepted your name as Ezekiel, that is, that Ezekiel is your name, that it is not something trivial, and that it can be nothing other than Ezekiel. When you have a belief in something, by definition both the belief and the something must be present. If there is belief without the something, then there is no belief in that something. And if there is the something but no belief, then again there is no belief in that something. Thus if there is agreement but no name, or if there is a name but no agreement, there is no agreement in a name. And because what is agreed to is a name, it is agreed to as a name, not just a word or a sound. If it is agreed to as a word or a sound, when the thing is a name, then there is in fact no agreement.

The above can serve as an illustration, but an imperfect one, because God’s word is by its very nature something that is intended to be much more integral to a man’s personality, thinking, and behavior than his own name. If a man does not look at God’s word this way, then he has never regarded it as God’s word in the first place, and there is no assent. And if he looks at God’s word as what it truly is, then assent to it would be assent to something that is intended to be integral to a man’s personality, thinking, and behavior. Therefore, there is no assent in a doctrine without both the assent and the doctrine, and if there is assent in a doctrine, there will always be assent in the doctrine. And when the doctrine concerns God, man, salvation, and the like, there is no reason for the doctrine to be absent or irrelevant at any time in a person’s life, since the doctrine concerns all of his life. Can a person assent to the resurrection of Christ and then say that Christ did not rise from the dead? This is a contradiction. He does not really assent to the resurrection. Can a person assent to the sovereignty of God and then refuse to accept the necessary implications that follow? No, a proposition and its necessary implications possess equal force, since the implications, being logically necessary, have always been in the proposition. They are inseparable. Thus when a person says that he believes in the absolute sovereignty of God but then denies the sovereignty of God when it comes to certain things, creatures, and events, he deceives himself. He does not really assent to the absolute sovereignty of God.

Therefore, it makes no sense to add to true assent an additional element like trust or commitment. Rather, to assent to Christ, to believe in Christ, to have faith in Christ, to trust in Christ, and to commit to Christ, all mean the same thing. If you do not trust Christ, then neither do you assent to Christ. If there is no trust, there is no assent, because assent to Christ as Christ must entail trust, commitment, obedience, and the like. Here assent and trust would be one. However, anyone can claim that there is assent. Thus the distinction is made not between assent and trust, but claim and reality. One can claim to assent to Christ, but in reality he does not. This is the same as to say that he can claim to trust Christ, but in reality he does not. You say, “But he indeed agrees that Christ is true, only that he does not commit himself to him!” No, he does not agree. He claims to agree. He deceives himself, and apparently he has deceived you as well.

Again, this is important because James does not say that we must add something to true assent or belief, but the point is that a person can lie, even to himself, when he claims to agree with the word of God. This is the true spiritual diagnosis. Thus it is not that faith involves more than belief in biblical doctrines, but the real issue is that there is true faith and there is false faith, or it is possible for a man to falsely claim to have faith. There is only assent, or agreement, or belief, since these are the same. But because a man can lie, we make a distinction between true and false assent, true and false agreement, or true and false faith. True faith in God’s revelation, or the biblical doctrines, will produce the necessary implications and effects of belief in these doctrines.

Let us dismiss the ultra-pious interpretations of Scripture that complicate the nature of faith. If you believe the Bible, you agree with it. If you claim to believe it but consistently act like you do not (we have not reached perfection), then you do not believe. Jesus said that the Pharisees did not really believe Moses, because if they did, they would have welcomed and followed Jesus. He did not say that they believed but did not trust, or some such thing; instead, he said that they claimed that they believed, but they lied. So we say to the theologians, “I think your teaching is a sham designed to confuse me and to sell books, and to make me learn three Latin words instead of two, when I should not need to learn even one.”

We should focus on incongruity and deception, and the fact that it is possible to claim something about oneself that is not true.

James 1:26 says that if a person considers himself religious but fails to keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. In other words, a man can claim to be religious or spiritual, but in reality he is irreligious and unspiritual. Verse 27 talks about caring for orphans and widows. A similar thought will come up in 2:15-16.

James 2:14 indicates that a man can claim to have faith, but if his actions are inconsistent with this claim, then it shows that his claim is false. Remember, there is no additional element to assent in 1:22, because the man “forgets” the word. There is no true assent. And there is no additional element to being religious or spiritual in 1:26, since the man is not in fact religious or spiritual – he thinks he is, but he is wrong. Likewise, there is no real faith in 2:14. There is not even two thirds faith, because there is either true faith or false faith, and false faith is no faith.

(Since 2:14 sets the direction for the section on faith, and not 2:19, it is 2:14 that determines how we should understand 2:19, and we have 1:22, 1:26, and 3:13 to reinforce this. The verse has been misused to teach that faith is more than assent, since it is thought that demons assent, but they do not have faith. But this infers too much from the proposition provided. James indicates that the demons yield a negative reaction to the doctrine, but since he expects true faith to react differently to the same doctrine, this means that the proposition does not produce only one reaction, or it does not produce the same implication for everyone. Thus the demons is in fact reacting to an implication of the doctrine, an implication that applies to them because they are demons. If those who have true faith do not face the same implication, they would naturally not yield the same reaction. Each implication can be stated as a proposition, and two different implications would produce two different propositions. The two groups, therefore, would be assenting to two different propositions, so that there is nothing in the verse to show that faith is more than assent. If demons understand and assent to more orthodox doctrines than even Christians, as it is sometimes said, we may ask, do demons assent to all Christian beliefs, including propositions that say they should and would worship and obey God — propositions that say they will actually do it? If so, then the problem is demonic schizophrenia, and not the definition of faith. Rather, James is just making the point that by their behavior they show that they have no faith.)

You may claim to have faith, but if you are cold and cruel, and if you show no mercy to others, then you do not have faith. You may claim to have faith, but if you do not believe in the promise of God and the resurrection of the dead, then your claim is false. How can you have Christian faith and not believe in Christian doctrines? It is a contradiction. You may claim to have faith, but if you will not turn against your race and culture for the sake of Christ, then your faith is a mere claim. It is not real. Many people induct the Christian faith to serve their own ideologies. You see that their Christianity has been thoroughly Americanized, or feminized, or that it has undergone some other kind of transformation that robs it of its heavenly culture. Some wish to subjugate Christianity to the scientific mindset, or to the concern for racial equality and liberation. They claim to have converted, but their priorities have never changed. Now they want to use Jesus Christ to serve their ideologies – ideologies that they are eager to promote in the first place with or without Christ. Can this “faith” save them? True faith Christianizes everything – it reorders all priorities, subjugates all ideologies, and transforms all relationships, and compels all of them to conform to the doctrines of Christ.

James continues the motif in 3:13. Who is wise among you? Let him, James says, show it by his good life, but if this so-called wisdom is characterized by envy and ambition, “do not boast about it or deny the truth.” A man may claim to have received God’s word in a positive and meaningful manner, but unless he does what God says, his claim is false (1:22). It is not that this man really received the word but that he must add something to it – he never truly received the word, since he turned away and forgot about it. One may claim to be religious, or very devout and spiritual, but if his speech is full of hatred and falsehood, or if he is merciless toward orphans and widows, then his claim is also false (1:26). It is not that he needs to add self-control, mercy, and the like to spirituality – he has never been spiritual in the first place. And a person may claim to have faith, but if he has no deeds that correspond, then his claim is false (2:14). It is not that he must add deeds to his faith – he never had any faith, since true faith would have naturally and inevitably produced the deeds.

James does not say that the man in 3:13 is indeed wise, only that he needs to add something else on top of it to build it up into heavenly wisdom. Rather, in accordance with his motif, he means that a man may claim that he has wisdom, but if this wisdom produces envy and ambition instead of spiritual virtues, this is not wisdom at all. Christians would often refer to an unbeliever thus: “He is an extremely intelligent man, but….” No, if he is a non-Christian, he is not intelligent, not even a little bit. An “intelligent” non-Christian is only a fool who is stupid in a complicated fashion. This is the way with non-Christian scientists, philosophers, and other so-called intellectuals. Other non-Christians remain relatively simple in their stupidity, but the scholars think themselves into a deep hole. And when the blind leads the blind, they both fall into the ditch. It is a betrayal of biblical teaching and the entire spirit of this letter from James for a Christian to attribute any wisdom, understanding, or intelligence to non-Christians, except in some metaphorical or animalistic sense, and except in a measure that barely allows them to count as human, as those made in the image of God. The Bible takes the fall of man seriously, and when Christians praise non-Christians, it shows that they do not take it seriously enough and that they deny the truth in order to sound a little more cordial.

Just as a non-Christian has no love, no faith, and no righteousness, he has no wisdom. If a man has even a little true love, or a little true faith, or a little true righteousness, since these things come only from Jesus Christ through the Spirit of God, this person would already be a Christian. A non-Christian can have none of these. But if he has no love, no faith, and no righteousness, then neither does he possess any true wisdom, intelligence, or understanding. The Christian must pick a side and make a choice. I side with the Bible and say that a non-Christian is completely stupid. This is an essential premise. Now, although the non-Christian has no love at all, because he is still human, his own constitution testifies against him that love is a good thing, and that he has none of it, so that he is inferior and stands condemned. The same is true of faith, righteousness, patience, kindness, and all other virtues. The non-Christian invents qualities that are obviously different, and then he applies the names of these divine virtues on the counterfeits.

So he worships a bird and calls that faith, he makes a system of conjectures and calls that reason, and he arranges relationships that are barely more advanced than those of the beasts and calls that love. This is the best that non-Christians can do, because what they cannot do is to become honest and admit that they have nothing. They cannot face the fact that they have no faith at all, but only despair. They are too stupid and proud to acknowledge that they have no reason, but that all their scientists and scholars are like madmen trapped in a crazy house, banging their heads against the wall. They laugh and congratulate one another on their progress, and offer one another grants and prizes. Love sounds like something that is good to have, but they do not even know what it is. So they make something up and pretend that it is love. They can preserve the illusion if everybody assures everybody else that what they have is real. Then some Christians come along and say, as Paul said to the Athenians, “What you do not know, I will now declare to you.” They hate us for this.

You say, “But isn’t James writing to Christians?” He is certainly writing to people who claim to be – people to claim to have received the word, who claim to be religious and spiritual, who claim to have faith, and who claim to have wisdom. But not everyone who claims to be a Christian is indeed a Christian, and even a true Christian must renew his mind to rid himself of all traces of non-Christian thinking. A non-Christian is incapable of doing this. If the Christian’s idea of wisdom is still anything like the non-Christian’s idea of wisdom, then he should change his thinking and seek the true wisdom that comes from heaven. James writes to help him make this happen.

The non-Christian has no wisdom, but he claims to have lots of it. What he calls “wisdom” is not really wisdom at all. It harbors bitter envy and selfish ambition. This may manifest itself in skills and strategies on “getting ahead” in the world, without regard to biblical godliness, and often at the expense of others. And since Christian congregations are often cultivated in a way that is indistinguishable from non-Christian society, this kind of “wisdom” also thrives in the church. Why, if you have some “wisdom” about you, you would know how to manipulate your way to the position of associate pastor! And then you will be the envy of all your underlings! After all, why should that other fellow, who has only two advanced degrees instead of three like you, be promoted before you? What? They promoted a man who has never even been to seminary because he has the best working knowledge of the Bible, the most pure and forceful theology, the trust of the people, and…Christian character? Are they insane? You are the one who put in all those hours at church, who tirelessly flattered the pastor and the board members, and who bought expensive presents for their kids! Did they really think that you were doing it for Christ? You see, bitter envy and selfish ambition.

James does not say that such a man lacks something, if only he will add that to his wisdom. He does not say that he has true wisdom, only not enough of it. He does not lament, “If only he will use his intelligence for good.” No, he writes that this so-called “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, even of the devil. The wisdom that comes from heaven is not just more of the same, or something at a higher point on the same scale, but it is something altogether different and superior. It is pure, peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.

Sometimes even Christians, or those who claim to be Christians, are so unfamiliar with true wisdom that they think to promote peace means to speak and behave in a weak and effeminate manner. However, Scripture offers us examples like Moses, Elijah, Jesus, and Paul. Along with many others in the Bible, they were often much more harsh and fierce than even the more unfriendly non-Christians that we know in both their words and mannerisms. This is a fact. If you deny it, you might as well throw your Bible away, because it is obvious that you see only what you want to see from it. So the peace that wisdom brings is not the peace of non-Christian social etiquette. How far Christians have demeaned and trampled the Bible in the name of Christian love! Learn the definition of true wisdom from Scripture, but then do not run away with it and ask the world to explain the definition to you.

What the Scripture defines, let the Scripture also explain and demonstrate. For example, when Peter says to speak with “gentleness and respect” to authority figures, learn what this means from Peter and the apostles, not from your non-Christian friends, and in this day, not even from other Christians. It may be that Peter does not have in mind “pleases” and “thank-yous” and curtsies, but only that you should not stab someone in the eye with a knife when you preach the gospel. Or does he mean something else? Interpret Peter’s words relative to Peter’s cultural and religious background as recorded in the Bible. Christian scholars teach you to read biblical texts in context, but they practice it only when it is convenient for them, and when the conclusions do not contradict their preferred attitudes and theologies.

The “wisdom” of demons may promote men within the world’s own corrupt system, but it will also lead them to destroy one another and to destroy this world. Then, the men are so stupid that they think Christians are the problem, and they despise the wisdom from heaven. It is the wisdom of God that will save the soul and save the world. And this wisdom begins in reverence toward God and faith in Jesus Christ, promoting peace among men on the basis that Christ is the hope for everyone, that he is the only hope for true peace and love, and everlasting life.

If a man claims to have wisdom, if he claims to understand the nature of people and of the universe, then let him show it by his life. Does he believe in God? Does he believe in Jesus Christ, that he is the only way to salvation? Does he believe that men ought to seek first the kingdom of God, and that a man’s life does not consist of the abundance of his possessions? Does he agree that the most important things in life are faith, repentance, honesty, humility, grace, forgiveness, doctrine, and other things that pertain to truth and holiness? If he does not think like this, then he has no wisdom. True wisdom does not consist in one’s expertise in manipulating other men and gaining some advantage over them, but in faith and reverence toward God, and in relating to other people on this foundation.

God teaches us to think in two categories, not three, not ten, not five thousand. There are only two sides. There is that which is of God and that which is of Satan. He speaks in terms of light and darkness, good and evil, humility and pride, love and hate, Christ and anti-Christ, Christians and non-Christians. Then there is the wisdom from heaven and the wisdom from hell, and just as darkness is not light, evil is not good, pride is not humility, and hate is not love, the wisdom of demons is not wisdom at all. Thus God would have us view all things in this clear and simple manner, and follow the way of true wisdom and holiness. Any reluctance to think this way in the name of humility, tolerance, and such, is itself a manifestation of the mind of the devil. Rather, if anyone claims to have wisdom and understanding, let him show it by a good life, where “good” is defined by the mind of Christ and not by the standards of the world.