And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
James 3:18
If we aren’t careful, we can believe that God is speaking to us through James in generalities and etherial truths. The words in James 3:18 can seem like a general proverb - a rule for living. Though the words of James do qualify as proverbial, there is more to the story of his words.
James was known as a mediator and peacemaker amongst the vying factions of Jerusalem around 70 AD.* The good goal of pious Jews was to see God’s Kingdom established on earth.* Both Quietists and Zealots longed to see the redemption of Jerusalem and the salvation of Israel.* If their freedom strategies were placed on a spectrum, the Quietists sat of the opposite end of Zealots, with passivity and militarism characterizing each respectively.*
The words of James served as timely and necessary reminders of the words of Jesus that pronounced blessing over peacemakers (Matthew 5:9).* This pronouncement echoes throughout eternity as a part of the written Word of God. For us today, the words are life.
In our world today, strife and opposing strategies surround every problem. Even in the church, we struggle with one another with how to approach the things of God and how to apply them to life. Some want to fight for the good, bringing light to the darkness, while others want to sit quietly on a hill, holding their lights, hoping all will look and see.
According to New Testament scholar Ralph Martin, James, equally patriotic and pietist, argues that,
only in peace could righteousness be promoted (1:20), since in God’s kingdom the only law that is recognized is that of love (2:8–13; 4:11–12) and the noblest of goals can effectively be attained by methods that are consonant with that royal law.
In other words, peace is the pathway of righteousness. As Ephesians 2:15, Ephesians 4:3, 2 Timothy 2:22, and 1 Peter 3:11 collectively testify, a righteous community grows only in a context of healthy relationships where peace is highly valued.* This peace is a wholeness characterized by an embracing of prosperity, contentment, and security.*
God desires us to realize that the opposite of disorder and division in the body of Christ isn’t just a morally neutral order like that which the world may attempt to offer.* The opposite of disorder and division is a morally significant and weighty peace that we must all long for as it serves as the context in which righteousness can flourish.*
When we want something different than what this world can offer (namely, a peace that produces righteousness), we must go about it another way; we must go about it God’s way.
19th Century poet Horatio Bonar pens,
The kingdom that I seek
Is Thine so let the way
That leads to it be Thine
James doesn’t just write good ideas, he writes to us as a conduit of the Spirit of God. God’s Word is for today. Want to know how to live righteously? Look to God’s word and walk in peace.
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to be a person of peace. Perhaps today, in our chaotic and polarized world, God would have you expand His Kingdom His way. Maybe today God wants you to sow righteousness as a response to the righteousness given to you by the work of Christ. Perhaps today God wants you to receive His peace and righteousness in the middle of your chaos.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.
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*Blomberg, C. L., & Kamell, M. J. (2008). James (Vol. 16, p. 177). Zondervan.
Guthrie, G. H. (2006). James. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Hebrews–Revelation (Revised Edition) (Vol. 13, p. 251). Zondervan.
Stulac, G. M. (1993). James (Jas 3:13–18). IVP Academic.
Moo, D. J. (2021). The Letter of James (D. A. Carson, Ed.; Second Edition, pp. 222–224). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Nystrom, D. P. (1997). James (pp. 209–210). Zondervan Publishing House.
Martin, R. P. (1988). James (Vol. 48, pp. 135–138). Word, Incorporated.