Would the scriptures describe me as a wise person? This is a question all of us need to ask ourselves in light of what the scriptures teach. There are a lot of people who are wise when it comes to things of this world. They may be wise when it comes to business decisions They may be wise when it comes to their retirement decisions A coach may be wise when it comes to what play to call in a particular situation 1
This type of wisdom is all well and good. It can certainly make this life easier and benefit us in physical ways. The problem with being wise in these things is that they only bring temporary rewards. A truly wise man will seek those things that bring an eternal reward. The only eternal rewards we can receive are spiritual in nature. A truly wise man will understand all of the physical things around us are temporary and will eventually be destroyed. 2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. What a shame it will be on that day if we have only been wise in physical things. 2
For the next few moments we want to look at some of the biblical characteristics of a wise man. James gives us some insight into the characteristics of a wise man Jas 3:13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. James gives us a couple of the wise man s characteristics Good conduct: His wisdom will be shown by doing good things. Not what man may call good but those things that are qualified as being good according to the Word of God. Meekness: his good conduct will be done with meekness 3
His good conduct will not be done to draw attention to himself Neither will it be done in order to impress other people This is one of the problems Jesus condemns in some of the religious leaders of the Jews Mt 6:1 "Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. Mt 6:2 "Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 3 "But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4
Mt 6:4 "that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly. 5 "And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. These were not doing their good works in meek obedience to God. Instead, their good works were done in order to impress men so that they may receive honor from men. Another characteristic of a wise man is that he seeks divine knowledge. Pr 18:15 The heart of the prudent acquires knowledge, And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge. 5
Does this describe me? Do I spend time studying the Word of God? A lack of knowledge of God and His commands has destroyed men in the past and will destroy souls in the future. Ho 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. Israel (the ten northern tribes) was destroyed physically because they lacked a knowledge of God and His laws. Do we remember Romans 15:4? Ro 15:4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. What are we going to learn from what happened to Israel? 6
We need to learn that we too can be destroyed for lack of knowledge. God will not destroy us physically like He did Israel. We have something much worse waiting on us if we don t know God. 2Th 1:6 since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, 2Th 1:7 and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, 8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 7
Those who do not know God today will have to answer for their lack of knowledge on the day of judgment. Jesus will take vengeance on them by punishing them with everlasting destruction. A wise man will avoid this terrible fate by getting to know God thru a study of His Word. Another characteristic of a wise man is he controls his mouth. Pr 10:19 In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, But he who restrains his lips is wise. I don t know about you but I have always been suspicious of people who talk a lot. The writer of Proverbs says the man who can keep his mouth shut is wise. 8
Sometimes we have a tendency to open our mouths and just let the words fly. This is especially true when we are angry. We say mean, hurtful and even hateful things. If we want to be considered wise we must not do so. We must control our tongue James tells us to be slow to speak Jas 1:19 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; Too often we are thinking about what to say rather than listening to what we are being told Jesus says the things that come out of our mouth can affect our eternal destination 9
Mt 12:36 "But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. 37 "For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned. The wise man realizes he will have to answer on the day of judgment for the things that come out of his mouth The wise man also fears God and departs from evil. Pr 3:7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil. The man who is truly wise will fear God. What does it mean to fear God? Most of the time we would get an answer that is two fold. A Proper respect and awe for God A trembling fear of the judgment of God 10
That is probably a pretty good definition but it seems to me to be more than that. A good way for us to understand the fear of God is to see a biblical example of it. Do we remember when God told Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice? Abraham loved Isaac dearly Isaac was the son that God was going to fulfill the promises thru. In spite of this Abraham was determined to obey God. Ge 22:9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11
Ge 22:11 But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" So he said, "Here I am." 12 And He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me. God relates fear of Him to obedience. Not just obedience when it is easy but obedience in the most extreme circumstances. From this context we could say fearing God means to obey Him no matter what the command is. And to put Him above anything and everything in this life. This is how a wise man will fear God! 12
Not only did Proverbs 3:7 tell us a wise man will fear God but that he will also depart from evil. This was the type of man Job was Job 1:1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil. The KJV uses the word eschewed. That is a word we don t use very often today. Webster defines eschewed as: to avoid something In other words, Job stayed away from wickedness. He wanted no part of it. Paul uses a little stronger language when he tells Timothy to avoid sin. 2Ti 2:22 Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 13
He tells Timothy to flee from these sins. The idea is to run from them as if your life depends on it because it does. We just need to stay away from sin whenever possible. We don t need to hangout with friends who are doing drugs because eventually we will. We don t need to hangout with friends who are drinking because eventually we will. We don t need to hangout with friends who use filthy language because eventually we will. We don t need to hangout with friends who are fornicators and adulterers because eventually we will. 14
Don t think those things won t happen to me. 1Co 15:33 Do not be deceived: "Evil company corrupts good habits. A Truly wise man will depart from these evils. One final characteristic of a wise man. He hears and obeys God. Mt 7:24 "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 "and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. This man withstood the trials and temptations of this world and saved his soul. 15
Why was he able to withstand all of this? Because not only did he hear the Word of God he obeyed it. What a shame it is that many who claim to be Christians will lose their soul because they did not obey the Word of God. So many have been taught all we have to do is believe and that our actions have nothing to do with our salvation. Some say we are saved by faith alone Article 9 of the Methodist Articles of Religion says: Wherefore, that we are justified by faith, only, is a most wholesome doctrine, and very full of comfort. Are we justified or saved by faith only? Jesus said the wise man hears His word and does them. 16
Others say once we are saved we will always be saved no matter what we do. Listen closely to what number 5 of the Baptist Faith and Message says. All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit, will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end. Believers may fall into sin through neglect and temptation, whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their graces and comforts, and bring reproach on the cause of Christ and temporal judgments on themselves; yet they shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. 17
In other words once we become a Christian we no longer have to do what Christ has said. We cannot fall from that state of grace. Remember Jesus says the wise man will hear and do. We also need to remember what Paul told some of those Christians at Galatia. Ga 5:4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. Are we going to be wise and believe the Word of God or be foolish and believe something written by man? The wise man will obey God rather than man. 18
Conclusion We have looked at a few of the characteristics of a wise man Do they describe me? He has good conduct He is meek He seeks divine knowledge He controls his mouth He fears God and departs from evil He hears and obeys the Word of God 19