I am not much of a “tree expert” at all. I know some people can just look at a tree and say, “Oh that’s a such-and-such tree …” but I have never been able to do that. I could probably identify about 3 kinds of trees; a weeping willow, a Japanese maple, and maybe an oak tree. But there IS another kind of tree I can pick out pretty well: and that is a tree that has fruit on it! Once Cheryl & I were driving to Disney World and as we were heading south down the interstate towards Orlando, all the sudden I shouted out “Orange trees!” There was a whole orchard of orange trees just off the right side of the highway. How did I know that? I didn’t pick out the shape of the leaves, or the smoothness of the bark, or anything like that: it was the fruit that gave it away. I saw these big orange circles hanging off the leaves, and it was obvious even to a novice like me, from hundreds of feet away, that those were orange trees! You could tell the tree, by its fruit.

And that’s what Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:16 isn’t it: “You will know them by their fruits”? He went on to say (:17) “Every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit … (:20) so then, you will know them by their fruits.” THEN He added in :21, “Not everyone who SAYS to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who DOES the will of My Father who is in heaven.” Jesus said, if you really belong to Him, you won’t just SAY it; you will also SHOW it with the fruit of your life — and this is just what we’ve been seeing in James 2 and 3;

— In Chapter 2 James said if you really have faith in Jesus, you’ll have some works in your life that back up that claim. And he gave 5 examples of that, including a practical example, caring for a fellow church member, the demons, Abraham, and Rahab from the Old Testament.
— Then the week before Cheryl’s stroke we saw in 3:1-12 this same theme continued, only now in the context of our words. He started off with the principle that if our faith is real, it will affect the way we talk, then again he gave 5 examples of that: the horse’s bit, the rudder, and the fire, and then the tamed animals and the spring of water. So he said again: if your faith is real, you’ll show it with fruit from your life — and one of those “fruits” will be the way you speak. The way you talk should show you are a Christian.
— So now this morning as we come to James 3:13-18, James continues this theme of how faith, if it is real, will have some works to validate it; and like Jesus he uses the word “fruits” — that confirm that it’s real. Let’s look at what this passage tells us about “The Fruits of Righteousness;” things that will be present in our lives if we really know the Lord:

I. “Fruit”: the Proof of Your Deeds
:13 opens this section by asking: “Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.”

Right after talking about how our words demonstrate if our faith is real, James says here, if you’re wise, you will “show by (your) good behavior (your) DEEDS.” In other words, he’s saying if you’re really a follower of Christ, you’ll show it, not “just” by your words, but by your DEEDS. Your works/your fruit/your life will demonstrate to others that your faith is real.

This is a very important truth that we all need to hear today: Real Christians will bear fruit. If you’ve truly given your life to Christ, there will deeds in your life that corroborate that claim. But if those fruits are NOT present, it should cause you to question your salvation, or at least look at your claim to be a Christian a bit more closely. Do you deeds back up what you say is true about you being who you are?

It would be like, if you and I just met, and we were getting to know each other, and were telling each other some things about our lives, and I told you: “Yeah, I am a big weightlifter.” What would you think about that?
You don’t have to be ugly about it — but if you were honest, you’d probably at least think to yourself, “I don’t really think that guy is a weightlifter.” Why?
— Well, weight-lifters usually look a certain way, that I don’t necessarily look, right?
— Weight-lifters eat and drink particular things to help them with their regimen, and you don’t see me doing that.
— And then basically, weight-lifters actually DO certain things like, you know, LIFT WEIGHTS — which I don’t do!
So you wouldn’t be way off-base to look at me and think, “He says he’s a weight-lifter, but I kind of doubt it, because he doesn’t really show any signs of it in his life.” Again, you don’t have to be ugly about it, but that would be a reasonable thing to surmise, right? I can SAY I’m a weight-lifter all I want to, but if I don’t show any fruit of it in my life, it’s probably not who I really am.

Well James says repeatedly here in this book, the same thing is true with your spiritual life. A person says they are a Christian. Ok. That’s a good claim to make. But is there any basis to it; is there anything in their life that gives people a good reason to believe this is true, that they really ARE a Christian?
— James 3 says there are certain things Christians should say or not say. Do your words/vocabulary give evidence that you really are saved? What does the evidence of your words indicate about your salvation?
— Likewise there are certain things that you would expect Christians to DO because they belong to the Lord. Are you doing those things?
— There are certain attitudes you generally find among Christians; do you display those attitudes in your life?
It’s just like if you see the evidences of a weight-lifter in a person, you look at them and think, “Oh, they probably ARE a weight-lifter.” OR conversely, if you DON’T see any of things, then you might say, “I know they say they’re a weight-lifter, but I don’t think they are.”

And it’s the same way with a person’s claim to be a Christian. Many people today SAY they’re a Christian — virtually everybody here in South Texas says they’re a Christian — but are they really? James says: “SHOW by your good behavior your DEEDS.” He’s saying there should be proofs/evidences/fruit in your life that make it obvious that you really are a Christian. I could tell right off that those orange trees north of Orlando were orange trees, by their fruit. Can people tell that YOU are a Christian, by your fruit? Does the way you live show that you are a Christian?

So what are some of those “fruits” or evidences? This is what we see in the next verses (:14-18) here in James 3. Just like he did in the past couple of sections, James gives the principle here first, now he’ll give us some examples of what he is talking about:
— FIRST, in :14-16 he gives us some examples of “bad fruit” — some things that will NOT be in your life if you are a genuine believer.
— THEN in :17-18 he gives us some examples of “good fruit” — some things that WILL be in your life if you are a genuine believer.

So let’s look at these examples he gives us of “good” and “bad fruit”:

II. Examples of some “bad fruit” (:14-16)
:14-16 “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. 15 This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.”

Here in :14-16 James identifies some evidences that show that either you are not really a Christian — or at the least that you are not being controlled by the Spirit of God if you ARE a Christian. What are the evidences he points out? He says, “If you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth.” He mentions a couple of specific things here:

— The first “bad fruit” he mentions here is “bitter jealousy.” This Bible word for jealousy is used throughout the New Testament as something that should NOT characterize a Christian’s life:
— In Acts 5:17, the Bible says that when the high priest and the Sadducees saw how the apostles were preaching and healing people, it says “they were filled with jealousy” and arrested the apostles. These Jewish priests and leaders did not have the Spirit of God in them; in fact they took every opportunity to oppose God’s work as much as they could.
They weren’t happy about the work God was doing in Acts; they were jealous of it, and they opposed it. When you oppose God’s work because of jealousy, it’s an indication that the Spirit of God is NOT present in your life.
— I Corinthians 3:3 also uses this word: “For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?” If you remember, in I Corinthians Paul is reprimanding the Corinthians for dividing up into “camps,” and saying “I am of Paul,” and “I am of Apollos,” etc. He says, divisions like this among God’s people are“fleshly;” they are not of the Spirit of God. Now, THESE people were truly believers; unlike the Jewish leaders of Acts, God’s Spirit was actually in them. But their jealousy towards each other, and the way they treated each other, was an indication that they were not being controlled by the Spirit of God who was in them. And it’s the same way for us today too.

I Corinthians 13 says “Love is not … jealous.” Jealousy is very SELF-centered. It wants everything to be all about US; and when it’s not all about US, we’re jealous of whoever is getting the attention. James says if you’re jealous of someone else in the church: why do THEY get to speak; why did THEY get the solo; why did THEY get that committee spot; why did they get to lead this — and so on — this is an indicator that either the Holy Spirit of God is not in you, or that at the least, you are not letting your life be controlled by the Holy Spirit, and you are out of God’s will. You need to repent of your sin of selfishness and jealousy, and let God’s Spirit in you help you to rejoice at how He’s using other people in His kingdom. But James says if you are full of jealousy, that is a “bad fruit;” you are either not saved at all, or at least you NOT full of the Spirit of God.

— He also mentions “selfish ambition.” This Bible word (“eritrea”) means “rivalry, ambition.” Aristotle used this word to describe ancient Greek politicians who used any means possible to get votes, to put themselves forward and advance their ambition.

In Leo Tolstoy’s War & Peace, he writes about how during Napoleon’s war with Russia, all the Russian generals and aides gathered together for a council of war. He said there were several different “camps” of people in that meeting: some supported one certain general, some were for another — but he said most of them were for whatever course of action would lead to a promotion for THEM. They weren’t primarily looking out for their country — for what was best for Russia in the war — instead they were primarily looking out for themselves: what honors, recognition, or promotion might THEY get out of it? That’s what they were really looking for.

And honestly, this is “the way of the world.” This is the “default setting” most people operate on: what’s in this for me? How does this advance MY agenda? How will I come out of this financially or socially, or materially? Does this make ME look good — or does it leave me out? It’s all about our own agenda; what WE get out of it.

“Selfish ambition” IS “the way of the world,” for sure; but James says that is NOT how it should be with the people of God. Look back at the early church we studied in our Sunday School lesson in Acts 2. One of the evidences that God’s Spirit was in them was that they set aside this selfish attitude; they sold their possessions; they took care of each other, instead of merely looking out for their own self interest. Paul wrote in Philippians 2 “do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” THAT is the fruit of a genuine Christian. But if your mindset is all about “what’s in it for me?” James says this is not the Spirit of God. If all you are thinking about is yourself, you need to make sure the Holy Spirit is really in you, and/or that you are being controlled by Him. Because it’s sure not the Holy Spirit in you Who’s causing you to have selfish attitudes, and make self-centered decisions!

So James says if these things are in your heart, “do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth.” In other words, don’t think that you are a Christian, or that you are being controlled by the Spirit of God, if this is your attitude. He says these things are “earthly, natural, demonic.”

If you remember, some time back I preached a message on the old expression — “the world, the flesh, and the devil” — many Christians throughout history have used that expression in sermons and writings, about the enemies that war against us every day as followers of Christ.
Well, this verse in James is the scriptural basis for that expression. James says if you have “bitter jealousy and selfish ambition,” this is not from “above;” in other words, this is not from God. Instead, this is:
— “earthly” — it’s from the world
— “natural” — it’s from our sinful flesh
— “demonic” — it’s from demons and Satan.
So you see this is from “the world, the flesh, and the devil.”

And what does he say is the fruit that “the world, the flesh, and the devil” are working in you? What is the sign that you are being controlled by them? “Bitter jealousy and selfish ambition.”
A lot of times we think of “bad fruit” a person’s life as being things like alcoholism, or drug abuse, or pornography, immorality, and things like that — and those can be some bad fruit, for sure. But James shows us here that often the “bad fruit” we need to watch out for isn’t any physical act or abuse at all, but ungodly, evil attitudes in our hearts. The Jewish religious leaders in Acts showed that they didn’t have the Spirit of God because they were filled with pride and jealousy. And we need to watch out for the same things:
— If you re jealous of other people, bitter about what they have, because you think that should be you instead, that’s a bad fruit!
— If you are proud, if have “selfish ambition”: you want YOUR name to be known; YOU want to be the most popular; if all your decisions are selfish; just about what is best for YOU without regard other people — that is a bad fruit too.

James says if you are being led and controlled by these kinds of attitudes, you need to make sure that God’s Spirit is really in you, because these are “bad fruit.” They reveal that you are not being controlled by the Spirit of God, but rather by “the world, the flesh, and the devil.” You need to make sure that you truly are saved, and that the Spirit of God is really controlling you.

III. Examples of some “good fruit”
:17-18 “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. 18 And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”

So now James says, these are the “good fruits,” the signs that God’s Spirit really IS in you, controlling you. He lists several things here:

— First of all he lists: “pure.” God’s Holy Spirit will not lead you to sin. If something is leading you to sin, or causing you to compromise the standards of God’s word, you can be sure, this is NOT the Spirit of God! He is not called “the HOLY Spirit” for nothing. He will always lead you to holiness, not sin. Are you becoming more holy in your thoughts, attitudes, and actions? Then you can be confident that God’s Holy Spirit is in you! But if you are continually allowing evil thoughts, attitudes, and actions to control your life, then you need to wonder if the Holy Spirit is really in you!

— “peaceable” (see more in a minute)

— “Gentle.” This Bible word means “fitting, fair, gentle.” (Bro. Daryl preached a whole message on this a couple of weeks ago.) It means you are treating people right. If you’re being unfair, or ugly with someone, you are not being controlled by the Spirit of God.

— “reasonable”: this is the only time this word is used in the New Testament, but it literally means “to be well-inclined.” You’re not against people; you’re for them. You’re inclined to be receptive to people and want help them if you can — just like GOD is always receptive to YOU!

— “Full of mercy and good fruits.” God is a merciful God. This is the only way we’re in the Kingdom at all, right?, because God had mercy on us, and forgave us in Jesus. So if we really understand that, then we will be “full of mercy” towards other people. This is one of the very best indicators that the Spirit of God is really in us: if we show mercy towards others, it shows that we realize that we ourselves are only saved by God’s mercy. But if we don’t show mercy towards other people, it just reveals that we don’t really understand the mercy of God at all. Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” Showing mercy to others is one of the very best “fruits” that you’ve really received the mercy of God, and that you are truly saved.

— “unwavering”: this means you stand strong in your faith. Continuing to persevere in the faith of the Bible is one of the best signs of true salvation.

— “without hypocrisy”: this word is literally an-hupokritos, “NOT,” “an actor,” not a “hypocrite.” The picture here is of someone who is wearing a mask. Do you “wear a mask” at church; trying to hide who you really are? This is not from God. It’s not the Spirit of God in you who leads you to be one person at church and another person at home, at work, and at school. If you’re way different in these other places than you are at church, you need to take a hard look at your spiritual life. You very likely are not saved at all. Because one of the “fruits” of a truly saved person, James says, is that they are “an-hupokritos,” they don’t wear a mask. They aren’t fake. A genuine Christian is not perfect, but they genuinely love the Lord and are really seeking to serve Him — and they don’t act differently at church than they do anywhere else.

— We skipped over “peaceable” a minute ago, because it says again at the end of this list: “sown in peace,” and “by those who make peace.” To me it’s notable that THREE TIMES in this passage we see that an important fruit of the genuine Christian is PEACE: “peaceable,” “peace,” “peacemaking;” three times! Being a peaceful person, a peacemaker, is one of the most revealing “fruits” of a genuine Christian life.

Remember Jesus said “blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” (Matt. 5:7) That’s what James is saying here: when you have this fruit of being peaceful, of peacemaking, it shows you and everyone else that you really are a child of God. But on the other hand, if you’re always arguing, always causing contention, and strife, and fighting with other people; it shows the opposite: it shows that you are not being controlled by the Spirit of God at all; and it’s possible that He may not even be in you! The Holy Spirit is not a Spirit of contention and strife; in fact He HATES contention and strife! He is a Spirit of PEACE. And if He is in you, then YOU will be peaceable as well. One of the most important signs that the Holy Spirit is truly in you is that you will be a person of peace. That’s what James is saying here.

In the 2nd Century, Victor, a church leader in Rome, wanted to excommunicate all the church leaders in Asia who didn’t celebrate the Easter feast on the same days they did in Rome. But there was a bishop, who went by the name of Irenaeus, who wrote to Victor. He said, I too believe like you do, that we should celebrate the Lord’s resurrection only on the Lord’s Day. But he pleaded: Please do not excommunicate entire churches of God for following what has been their ancient tradition. He went on to write: “Some think that they ought to fast for one day, others others even more,” but he said, nevertheless, let us live in PEACE with each other. Basically Irenaeus wanted to “agree to disagree.” He was saying, this is not such a vital isse that we should split with each other over it. Let us live in peace with our Christian brothers in the East. Eusebius, the ancient Christian historian, who wrote about 300 A.D., wrote: “Irenaeus’ … character suited his name.” The word “Irenaeus” means “peaceful” in Greek. Eusebius wrote that Irenaus lived up to his name. He sought to be a peacemaker in God’s church. (Eusebius, The Church History, pp. 180-181)

Do you think anyone doubted that Irenaeus was a true Christian; a genuine man of faith, who had the Spirit of God in his life? No way. WHY? Because he demonstrated this spirit of PEACE, of peacemaking, with others in his life. James says here this is one of those “fruits” that shows whether you really are a child of God. Like Jesus said: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.” True children of God are not always “on the warpath” looking for someone to fight with. Spirit-filled followers of Christ are not constantly embroiled in “spats” on Facebook or Twitter, or on the job — or at church! No, he says, true children of God will always seek, and work, for peace. They will be “peaceable;” and their life will be characterized by peace towards other people.

If that’s true, then what does James 3 say about YOU? Nobody doubted that Irenaeus was a Christian — because he had that “fruit” of peace hanging all over his life like oranges in the grove in Orlando! You didn’t have to be an “expert” to see he’s a Christian. He had the “fruit”!
What about you? Does the “fruit” of your life: your attitudes, your habits, your actions towards other people, show that you really DO belong to the Lord, or do they reveal that maybe you do NOT?
According to James, What does the “fruit” of your life show?

INVITATION:
II Corinthians 13 says “Examine yourself, and see whether you be in the faith. Test yourself.” That’s what we should each do today in light of this passage in James 3. “A good tree will bear good fruit.” Do you have good fruit in your life that shows you really belong to the Lord — or does the fruit of your life show that you don’t?

Some of us today might say, I really believe I am a Christian person; I know I’ve put my faith in Jesus as my Savior, and I do have some “good fruit” that proves it — but you might also say, I’m falling short in some of the things we’ve looked at this morning. Ask God to forgive you where you need it; and ask His Spirit to change you, and help you bear the “good fruit” He wants to produce in your life.

But some of us might say, You know, if “you will know them by their fruits,” then I am not really a Christian at all. My words, actions, attitudes, they are not Christian. God’s Spirit is not in me. If that’s so, then admit that to God, tell Him that you’ve sinned — and ask Jesus to be your Lord & Savior today!