(remember, these are unedited/draft show notes, not a transcript — listening is always better…and if you listen AND follow along below, you’ll see how)
Focus Question:
What's the fruit of maturity?
Intro:
In a way, yesterday’s exploration of the question, “What is the consequence of envy?” is continued today. You’ll recall that that consequence was disorder and evil practice which is countered by Godly wisdom which is pure, peace loving, gentle, compliant, and full of mercy. In other words, those are personal disciplines.
So if the negative comes about by a lack of Godly wisdom, today extends James’ argument by describing what happens as a result of the worldly living that follows. The antidote is what you’ll hear about today — maturity, and our focus question is, “What’s the fruit of that maturity?”
New Testament segment:
Passage: James 4
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 17
Words: ~387
What’s the fruit of Christian maturity? This is likely to be an incomplete answer, but I like the way Jonathan Leeman put it in a little book called How Can I Love Church Members with Different Politics?
Christian maturity…knows how to both disagree with someone and yet still show compassion.
People today often treat their votes as personal expressions of who they are. Yet we would encourage you to view votes less as matters of self-expression or tribal identification and more as strategic calculations concerning these kinds of non-biblical matters. Then recognize that different Christians will make different wisdom-based calculations.(1)
~ Jonathan Leeman, How Can I Love Church Members with Different Politics?
Many times you’ve heard me say that there’s a difference between using judgment and judgmentalism, and it has everything to do with the heart. You heard James say that when you’ve got a critical spirit, particularly of fellow believers, you’ve made yourself judge…and — spoiler alert — there’s only one Judge, THE Judge, and it’s not you or me.
So what’s the fruit of maturity? In the context of today’s chapter, it’s being able to agree without being disagreeable.
Today in Jeremiah, broadly speaking, you’ll hear about Jeremiah’s renewal and continued troubles. And along the way you’ll also hear contrast of what a rightly-oriented heart looks like with a wrongly-oriented heart. AND you’ll hear one of the most poignant reminders anywhere in the Bible…I’ll point it out as we get there.
OLD Testament segment:
Passage: Jeremiah 16-17
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 48
Words: ~1423
<you’ll just have to listen>
Wisdom segment:
Passage: Proverbs 16:16-25
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 8
Words: ~127
The bottom line:
<you’ll just have to listen for the closing remarks>
Love you!
Roger
ForTheHope is a daily audio Bible + apologetics podcast and blog. We’ve got a passion for just keepin’ it real, having conversations like normal people, and living out the love of Jesus better every single day.
Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in digitally-extended communication and connection, an award-winning speaker, award-winning author, and a passionately bad guitarist. Follow him on Twitter -- @RogerCourville and @JoinForTheHope – or his blog: www.forthehope.org.
Sources and resources:
(1) Jonathan Leeman, How Can I Love Church Members with Different Politics? (Church Questions) (pp. 9-10). Crossway. Kindle Edition.