“Peace be with you.” Christians all around the world repeat these words every week—but what would our lives look like if peace really was woven into every part of our lives? The book of James provides us with a clue: “The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace,” James writes, “by those who cultivate peace” (James 3:18).
Seen from the Spirit-inspired perspective of James, peace produces a harvest of righteousness. What becomes clear throughout the rest of the epistle of James is that this harvest of righteousness is closely connected to wisdom—a true and authentic wisdom that comes “from above.”
So how do we live in this peace that produces wisdom? That’s what we explored together in this sermon, preached at the Midtown congregation of Sojourn Community Church, where I serve as one of the pastors.
The Character of Peace that Produces Wisdom
Working through James 3:13-18 in this message, I explored how we might best practice this wisdom when it comes to our relationships in the church and our use of social media. This sermon was preached soon after the Vice President of the United States addressed the 2018 Southern Baptist Convention, which is why I felt that it was fitting to mention the implications of James 2 and 3 for that controversy.
I invite you to take a few moments to listen to this sermon and to consider with me what it means for the people of God to cultivate a culture of peace.
In the sermon, I also discussed Martin Luther’s conviction that the epistle of James doesn’t have the same authority as other texts in the New Testament. To learn more about the canonicity and the authority of the books in the New Testament, take a look at chapters four and five in How We Got the Bible.
Talk About Wisdom and Peace
Listen to this message that I shared at the Midtown congregation of Sojourn Community Church. Or watch the sermon below, in Spanish and English. What are the primary barriers to experiencing developing patterns of peace in your life that will result in wisdom and a harvest of righteousness?
