Sunday message · James, Unlearning Religion series
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Message Summary
Continuing the series on James and unlearning religion, Pastor Phillip Santillan opens James 3:13–18 by asking the congregation two questions: what do people in your circles of influence say about Christians, and what do the Scriptures say a Christian should look like? The answers, from hypocritical and judgmental to loving, forgiving and generous, reveal a gap that Phil calls a problem in our religion worth unlearning, since people form their views by watching the lives of those who call themselves Christians. So he asks what should describe a follower of Christ, and how a person becomes that.
These questions matter to him because Scripture is inspired by God and useful for training in righteousness (2 Timothy), shaping every day, not just Sunday, and because his faith carries a mission to see all of creation rescued and restored through the gospel, proclaimed and demonstrated. Even those unsure about Jesus, he suggests, long for a less broken world and a life they can look back on at night and call good.
James’ answer to the first question: Christians should be wise. Our culture admires brilliance, and even churches praise good teachers and gifted singers, but rarely wisdom. Yet Jesus grew in wisdom (Luke 2:40, 52), not because he lacked it but because biblical wisdom is less the knowledge of what to do than the action of doing what should be done. We all know smart people who make foolish choices. And where godly wisdom is missing, brokenness thrives. James names bitter envy and selfish ambition, using the word behind the zealots, a movement known for confronting anyone who would not think, act and want what they wanted.
Phil sees the same spirit in what Larry Osborne’s Accidental Pharisees calls “jerks for Jesus,” like a self-appointed doctrinal watchdog who attacks anyone who misreads the Bible. Such faith is true to Scripture but not to all of Scripture, since God also asks for kindness and gentleness. We all have blind spots, so we need community that can name them. The wisdom from above is first pure, a word for what has always been clean, so we cannot drag God in to excuse ungodly behavior. It is also peace-loving, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good deeds, without favoritism and sincere. That runs against a culture that celebrates being fully yourself, but it echoes Jesus’ call to love even our enemies and Paul’s call to count others more significant than ourselves (Philippians 2:3).
Phil wonders what those closest to him would say if he asked where he is less than peace-loving or gentle. The gospel, as one scholar puts it, is both proclaimed and performed, so he asks whether the last time we shared our faith it looked like James’ description or like drawing lines in the sand. “You know you have gospel wisdom when you have gospel fruit,” he says, and verse 18 says the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who cultivate peace. His closing challenge: choose today to have gospel fruit, which is pure and genuine religion.