It’s that time of year again when gobs and gobs of money are spent appeasing and pacifying the wants and wishes of small children (and 40-something-year-old kids) across the globe. On December the 25^th millions of men, women, boys, and girls throughout the world will receive their yearly injection of that oh-so intoxicating drug called materialism. While I’m all for giving gifts—and receiving them—I would like for us to at least give thought to the sorts of gifts that we are giving to our loved ones this year. [...]

Here in Knoxville, my college group studies the book of Proverbs on Wednesday night. I remember in my first years of being a Christian the difficulty that surrounded the idea of wisdom. [...]

In the sequel to The Christian RULES of Dating Greg Gibson tackles some pretty fun issues concerning the engagement process for Christians.  Check it out, have fun, and be prepared to laugh, disagree, and get mad and blog about it. [...]

Have you ever wondered why God gives us wisdom to guide our living?  In this article, Whitney Clayton implores young people to walk with wisdom concerning sexual issues and to seek the well spring of all true wisdom, Jesus Christ himself. [...]

When I wrote “A Case for Early Marriage: Why Young Men with Solid Chests are Changing the World,” I had no idea that it would receive over 500 hits in 3 days and multiple people would disagree, albeit some-what respectfully, with my conclusion(s):  Young men should prepare for and desire marriage at an early age to avoid sexual temptation, grow up early, become leaders, providers, protectors, and not be children at the age of 30.  Also, I have not so arrogantly assumed that all men in their 30′s who are not married are children; I know a wide range of men who I admire, look up to, and are heroes of mine who are not married and are out of their 20′s.  A mentor of mine, who I would also consider a hero, is into his later stages of life and is not married.  Does this make him a child?  For goodness sakes, absolutely not!  The issue here is ‘early preparation.’

Now, with my conclusions well stated I have given some thought to why so many young Christian women are desiring to forgo jobs and careers to be wives and moms who stay at home with their children.  

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In a culture where sex is flaunted and success and money are the primary means for which people live their lives, it is only plausible that marriage would be placed on the back burner until later on in life.

Opposing worldviews give us more than substantial reason and provide more than a solid foundation for why 2 people disagree.  With multiple languages, ethnicities, cultures, philosophies, and religions alive in the world today, there are multiple frameworks, sometimes countless frameworks, in which people might approach truth issues.  But for Christians the Bible is the source of truth.  The Bible’s claim that its story is ‘the’ story is the foundational approach that Christians should take in all the decisions they make. 

Even about marriage.  Even about sex.  Even about being a husband, father, and leader.  Even about being a wife, mother, and nurturer.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 

• The median age at first intercourse is 16.9 years for boys and 17.4 years for girls.
• Over half of males (55%) and females (54%) ages 15 to 19 report having had oral sex with someone of the opposite sex.  Approximately one in 10 (11%) males and females ages 15 to 19 had engaged in anal sex with someone of the opposite sex; 3% of males ages 15 to 19 have had anal sex with a male.
• The percentage of high school students who report having had four or more sexual partners declined in recent years from 18% in 1995 to 14% in 2005. Males (17%) are more likely than females (12%) to report having had four or more sexual partners.
• Among those ages 20 to 24, males have a higher average number of partners (3.8) than females (2.8). Men in this age group are also more likely (30%) than women (21%) to report having had seven or more sexual partners.
• Approximately nine out of 10 men (89%) and women (92%) ages 22 to 24 have had sexual intercourse. 

• The average age of first marriage has risen by over a year for both men and women since 1990, reaching 26 for women and 27 for men in 2003, suggesting that many young people have sex before they are married.

In letting the statistics above speak for themselves, I am a strong advocate for young men and women dating intentionally for short periods of time and getting married early rather than later in life.

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Wisdom in Trials:

James begins his letter by encouraging his reader to be joyful during trials.  He states in verses 2-4, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you my be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” 

When believers face any kind of trial James encourages them to choose joy because we know that we have a good and sovereign God who cares for us.  Assuming that his readers know the gospel because of his lack of mentioning it, James reminds his readers that trials come because God the Father is making us more like Jesus… perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 

We must act with wisdom during trials.  

We must view trials through our Scriptural understanding of biblical wisdom.  

I pray that we would have wisdom when facing trials/suffering.  As local churches, we must use wisdom in how we assist our people through trials.  

James continues to say that if we lack wisdom, we must ask God for it.  Using internal wisdom, we must enter trials with joy knowing that God is in control and he is making us more like our King.

Not only does justification find its expression and stamp in works, but as stated above it seems that James also speaks of faith in Jesus leading to the living out of works in all of life through wisdom.  I argue that the key verse for understanding how wisdom, works, and justification come together in the Book of James is found in 3:13, which states, “Who is wise and understanding among you?  By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.”  It seems that James is alluding to more than just a progressive sanctification view of how wisdom works in the lives of believers, but speaks more poignantly of how works are displayed in the lives of those who are justified by faith in Jesus.  If one is justified by faith in Jesus, one’s works will show the world their faith, but James seems to use works and wisdom together in showing that one is justified before God through the blood of Jesus.  Bryson continues concerning James’ view of wisdom,

“James challenged the readers to show wisdom.  “By his good life let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom” (3:13).  The real wisdom will manifest itself in the type of life lived.  The word translated “life” is anastrophes and means life not in the sense of being alive but of conduct.  It could be rendered the “manner of one’s living.”  The “show” (deixato) was used in James 2:18 where it was a call to demonstrate its godliness by the manner of living.  James made clear that wisdom was shown in the manner of “meekness” (en prauteti).  A meek person according to the New Testament is a person willing to submit life to the control of God.  Meekness is that attitude where a person is willing to be taught.  Such a person will gain godly wisdom and show it in the manner of living.”[1]

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As stated above, a cursory reading of the Book of James might stem questions of contradictory when discussing justification with that of Paul.  Why does James speak so much of works?  Why does James speak so much about being a doer of the word instead of being simply a hearer?  James states in 2:14, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?  Can that faith save him?”  He continues in verse 17 saying, “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”  At first this seems to have slight contradiction to what Paul is saying above.  Paul says one is justified simply by faith in Jesus being Lord.  Faith in Jesus being Lord and believing in a physical and bodily resurrection is, for Paul, enough to justify someone before a good and sovereign God and for God to not count one’s sin against them.  Albeit, it seems for James that without works ones faith is useless… it is dead.  Do we have a contradiction here? 

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There has been much scholarly debate in New Testament studies concerning the issue of justification in the Book of James.  With a cursory reading of the letter and little knowledge of Paul’s doctrine of justification it might seem that James argues for justification by works.  Does James differ from Paul in his understanding of justification, or is James simply re-stating what Paul has already fleshed out in Romans, Galatians, and Ephesians?  This series argues that both Paul and James have the exact same understanding of justification, and that faith in Jesus leads to living out faith through works in all of life through the meekness of God-given wisdom (James 3:13; Proverbs 2:5-7). 

First we will look at whether or not the Book of James is wisdom literature or not.  Secondly, we look at the allusions to the book of Proverbs that James uses throughout his letter.  Thirdly, we will discuss whether or not the use of wisdom should be allowed into the conversation of justification in James, as I will argue that faith in Jesus is made manifest in works through wisdom. Obviously, I am not arguing for justification through wisdom as a condition for salvation in itself.  I am though stating that there is no biblical wisdom outside of justification as defined in Scripture, and there is no justification outside of an expression of works in the meekness of biblical wisdom as defined by Scripture. We must ask, what is justification, and what is biblical wisdom?  Yes, justification is by grace through faith (Eph. 2:9-10)[1] alone, but is justification the beginning of wisdom as wisdom is defined in Scripture or is wisdom simply a result of progressive sanctification, or both?  And, finally, I will argue that wisdom is the primary theme in James, as James continues to allude to wisdom literature, and that the primary theme in the Book of James is indeed living wisely through wisdom in all of life.