Pastor John,
In your book, God Had a Son Before Mary Did (https://goingtojesus.com/gtj_books.html?tname=fands), you wrote that “Worldly wisdom makes God’s children half good, but the half that it makes good is what is seen instead of what is within, and in God’s eyes, being half good is worse than being no good at all because it is less honest” (page 519).
I understand the second half of that statement because of the examples of being “neither hot nor cold” from Revelation 3, and having life versus form that you’ve taught us.
Can you explain more about how the worldly wisdom makes God’s children half good and how the half that worldly wisdom makes good is what is seen instead of what is within?
I thought that God gave some of His children worldly wisdom to be of a help to the body in this wicked world during trying times… but is worldly wisdom gained from time dealing with worldly people (like in our jobs or just day-to-day living, like going to the grocery store, getting a car fixed, etc.) and not of God?
I’d love to understand this more.
Amanda
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Hi Amanda.
God does give wisdom to some of His people by which they understand how to handle the world’s money, business situations, etc. so that they might help others who are in need. They are valuable and are a blessing to the whole body of Christ. Such wisdom has value in this life, but it is not the kind of wisdom God’s faithful children live by.
The sentence you quoted from the book is found in the Section titled “Hypocrisy”, in which I explain that worldly wisdom is knowing “how to put on a convincing act” that is, knowing how to be a hypocrite.
The good that is done with worldly wisdom is the kind of good that the world can see, and when the world sees it, the world will praise you for it. That is why Jesus said not to let the world see the good you do. The world’s goodness is a goodness done in order to be seen; it is not from the heart. It is good that is done because it loves the praise of man more than the praise of God. That is worldly wisdom, and children of God who live by it become half-good. They are no longer truly good, though they appear to be. They are acting.
The sentence you quoted opens the part of the book titled “Half Good”, and my meaning is explained in the paragraphs that follow, such as this:
Half-good believers have enough love for God to repent and receive His life, but not enough love for him to continue in his word and be made free (cf. Jn. 8:31–32). Satan is the father of all half-good believers because he, like them, did not continue in the truth he once knew (Jn. 8:44). . . . Satan was cast out of heaven because he was half good.
And this:
Men and Satan both possess the kind of wisdom esteemed in this world, the kind that leads to acting good without being good
So, the sentence you quoted from my book focuses on those who trust in the wisdom of this world and rely on an appearance of righteousness instead of being righteous. Paul was referring to such people when he warned Timothy to stay away from those who “have a form of godliness, but deny its power” (2Tim. 3:5).
I hope that clears up what I meant.
Pastor John