Ruth: 1:20-21; The doctrine of bitterness, part 6 - wisdom is revealed by good behavior, nothing need be said.

Title: Ruth: 1:20-21; The doctrine of bitterness, part 6 - wisdom is revealed by good behavior, nothing need be said.  

 

JAM 3:8 But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.

 

JAM 3:9 With it we bless our Lord and Father; and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God;

 

JAM 3:10 from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.

 

JAM 3:11 Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water?

 

JAM 3:12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Neither can salt water produce fresh.

 

JAM 3:13 Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.

 

If you know and understand a truth, you don’t have to say a thing, just live in that truth and your conduct will witness of it at the proper time.

 

Last time we spoke about the role of good behavior in the life of the Christian, and how it witnesses of Christ in you. When a Christian lacks virtue, but tries to speak boldly about the way of Christ and the gospel, his witness will be weak. A weak witness doesn't have the desired effect and therefore the weak Christian will become bitter.

 

If someone has wisdom he will have works and excellent behavior. Works and virtue are the result of the believer cooperating with and obeying the word and the Spirit.

 

It has always been a question as well as a driving force in theological writing as to how much of fruit production is the will of the Christian and how much is the Holy Spirit. The extremes cannot be true. It cannot be that it is all the Christian and the Spirit has no control, or it is all the Spirit and the Christian loses self-control. It is clear that we are commanded to perform good works and to walk in the way of our calling. It is also clear that we are commanded to do this by means of the Holy Spirit.

 

God does not give a procedure to follow. He simply tells us to do both. Do and walk and do so by means of wisdom and the Spirit of power.

 

The Christian will sometimes find himself struggling to walk in virtue and perform works because he is not relying by faith on the Spirit of God. He will be frustrated and find goodness to be too difficult. He must then seek more of the Spirit's control through faith. The Christian will also find himself doing nothing and behaving badly. He may have adopted an extreme attitude of "let go and let God" and he has laid aside his diligence and drive. He must seek more of his own striving and obedience. He must make war upon his flesh.

 

God says that if in anything we have a wrong attitude, that He will reveal that to us. Therefore, it is only the believer who loves the way of Christ that will find his own balance of his self-determination and the power of the Spirit.

 

God told us this. We will find Him when we seek for Him with all of our heart. If the lover of God and therefore His way is not succeeding, then he will seek to find out why and seek to change the things in him that are opposing him. This is also done in the power of the Spirit. A Christian who attempts to live the plan of God for a while and quits due to failure, does not seek the Lord. A Christian who is just faking it for any number of reasons does not seek the Lord.

 

Is it no wonder that God did not give us a procedure to follow. Think of what Israel did with the animal sacrifices. He said to follow Him, and each of us must do so of our own will and we must find how to fulfill both commands to do and walk and to depend in faith upon the Holy Spirit, God almighty, to do so.

 

JAM 3:13 Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.

 

JAM 3:14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition (faction or selfish interests) in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth.

 

JAM 3:15 This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic.

 

JAM 3:16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.

 

JAM 3:17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.

 

JAM 3:18 And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

 

We see so clearly in this passage what damage can be done by a bitter soul.

 

EPH 4:29 Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear.

 

“unwholesome” = from the root word “to rot.” That which is rotten, bad, or corrupt.

 

It means poor quality or unfit for use. It is a general word in which we are to apply the truth of that which is good and of righteous life in order to define that which is bad, poor, or rotten.

 

Here we have another case of which God does not give us specific words or phrases that He would deem rotten. We are to apply what we know of goodness and righteousness and then each of us determine what words would be rotten in a given circumstance. We'd have to be occupied with Christ and others and not ourselves to do this.

 

EPH 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

 

EPH 4:31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor [to cry out like a raven] and slander [blasphemia - speech that injures] be put away from you, along with all malice.

 

malice" - kaki,a[kakia] = badness in quality. The opposite of virtue [arete], a vicious character.

 

EPH 4:32 And be kind to one another, tender-hearted [compassion], forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

 

Avoiding bitterness in marriage:

Husbands are commanded to not be bitter against their wives.

 

COL 3:18 Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

 

COL 3:19 Husbands, love your wives, and do not be embittered against them.

 

The word "fitting" refers to an obligation. The imperfect tense of the verb shows us that it has always been an obligation of the wife "in the Lord."

 

"love" - agape: sacrificial love that seeks the benefit of his wife and her well being in God's plan. He will sacrifice himself and his own wishes.

 

The love that was shown at Calvary, the love produced in the heart of the yielded saint by the Holy Spirit, the love that will cause the husband to sacrifice himself and his own wishes in the interest of the well-being of the wife.

 

The implication is clear. If the husband does not have agape love in his heart towards his wife, then he will eventually become bitter against her.

 

Christian marriage is to represent the union of Christ and the church. No union is so blessed.

 

Marriage is a big part of our lives. We would all desire it to be as wonderful as the union of Christ and the church. Sometimes the husband or the wife behaves badly, or doesn't give what the other expects. But this is true in the church as well. Members of the church don't always do what they should and sometimes they behave badly, but it is the love of Christ that keeps us going. Because of His love we find that we can pick ourselves back up and keep going in grace without condemnation.