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 reap a harvest of righteousness. [James 3:17-18 NIV]
Photo by Eric-Jan Leusink on Unsplash
It is important to see the link between the end of chapter 3 and the beginning of chapter 4 in James's Letter. Remember that James did not divide his letter into chapters - they were added much later. There is a continuity in the flow of the argument. James finishes off discussing this heavenly wisdom and its fruit in the collective lives of Christians and the chapter ends with the dramatic headlines of verse 18: Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.
Jonathan Lamb sums it up beautifully:
A church that has such wisdom is a church marked by peace and co-operation, not strife and competition.
[Lamb, Jonathan. Godliness from Head to Toe . Langham Creative Projects. Kindle Edition. ]
The next chapter of James's Letter goes from this perfect situation to the reality in the early church and sadly it is so true of many churches in Scotland today.
What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? [James 4:1 NLT]
So it is very important for us to reflect on what is needed to reap a harvest of righteousness. James speaks about the essential quality of 'peace.' The Greek word is eirene (probably the name Irene comes from that word) and this word is used in each of the books of the New Testament with the exception of John's First Letter. Vine's Dictionary refers to the 'harmonised relationships' which are associated with this word. It can refer to peace between God and mankind or between individuals and in the churches. This is the Greek equivalent of the well-known Hebrew word, 'shallom.' Jonathan Lamb points out that this word is referring to more than the absence of strife. It indicates 'wholeness and harmony.' This is the ideal climate for spiritual fruit to develop and grow and produce a harvest of righteousness.
William MacDonald elaborates on the metaphor of farming and the farmer. The farmer is a wise man who is a peacemaker with all the qualities which we looked at in the last Day Share blog - There is the ideal climate for producing a harvest of righteousness and this is peace (shallom). Robert Burns was a farmer but he found that the climate in Ayrshire was not ideal for the crops he was growing. If we have a climate of conflict, competition, rivalry, jealousy etc. we will never see a harvest. The harvest is righteousness - which is what God expects from His people.
When we were studying chapter 1, I produced a video entitled, "Anger does not produce righteousness." In other words, if we are wanting to produce godly fruit in our lives we need to shun anger and bitterness. [Day Share blog for 08/08/2022 based on James 1:19 - 20). The word 'produce' is interesting because earlier on in the first chapter James speaks of 'the testing of our faith 'develops' or 'produces' righteousness. [James 1:3] The same Greek word is used in verse and verse 20 of chapter 1. It means to finish or to fashion or 'work out'. In other words, this is not our doing. It is God's work in us. God allows us to go through trials and testing to produce perseverance in us which leads to us living a righteous life which pleases God.
God is looking for peacemakers in His church in the 21st century. He is looking for men and women who will seek to submit to God's will for their lives even though this may involve sacrifice and suffering. I want to close this blog with a series of questions which William MacDonald challenges his readers to answer.
Do I respect the proud men of the world more than the humble believer in the Lord Jesus?
Do I serve the Lord without caring who gets the credit?
Do I sometimes use questionable means in order to get good results?
Am I guilty of flattery in order to influence people?
Do I harbour jealousy and resentment in my heart?
Do I resort to sarcasm and unkind remarks?
Am I pure in thought, in speech, in morals?
[William MacDonald: The Believers Bible Commentary: Kindle Edition]
On such a challenging note I end this blog. If we were able to answer all of these questions correctly, we would be reaping a harvest of peace and righteousness instead of witnessing constant friction and conflict in our churches.
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. [Ephesians 4:2-3 NIV]
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