JAMES - index 

Introduction  Lesson 1  Lesson 2  Lesson 3  Lesson 4  Lesson 5 

Lesson 6  Lesson 7  Lesson 8  Lesson 9  Lesson 10  Lesson 11

LESSON 9:

James 5:1-6

1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you.

2 Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten.

3 Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure!

4 Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.

5 You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.

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Key Verse:

James 5:5

"You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter."

THE PROBLEMS OF RICHES

INTRODUCTION

A. Historic background

Paul said that the love of money is the root of all evil (1 Timothy 6:10). It was certainly so in Biblical times. The testimony of James is that the rich oppressed the poor, specifically poor believers. The rich dragged them into court and oppressed them (2:6), even to death (5:6). Selfishness seems to have exhibited itself most prominently in the exploitation of people for material gain. This showed itself openly in times of persecution, as one of the driving forces in persecution was (and is) the desire to get the possessions of the persecuted. James saw his beloved flock at Jerusalem scattered by wealthy persecutors, many of them also in positions of influence and authority, and he levels the inspired message of God's judgment at them.

B. Current background

Human nature has not changed. People still step on others in their savage surge toward gain. Tragically, the organized Church throughout the centuries so often has sided with the rich and the powerful. As a result, Christianity has been associated with economic exploitation in the minds of revolutionaries. Industriousness and economic freedom flow from Christian principles. Even so, we must be careful lest evangelical Christianity become a moral rationale for capitalistic greed. Conservative, middle-class evangelicals need to be on their guard, lest, in their upward social mobility they find themselves courting the rich. Not every financial success story is proof of God's favor and grace. Someone has said that Martin Luther would have appreciated the epistle of James more had he been rescued by peasants instead of princes.

I. What are we laying up for the future? (5:1-3)

A. James was a Spirit-filled man. Under the inspiration of the Spirit, he knew something was coming. So instead of starting this section with the indictment, he begins it with the declaration of impending judgment. The rich oppressors of Jerusalem were unaware that within about twenty years these judgments would come upon them in full measure, so far as this life is concerned.

B. Riches and misery. We hardly think of the two as going together, yet they do. James says so and human experience demonstrates it. "He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income." (Ecclesiastes 5:10). Also in 1 Timothy 6:9 we read "But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction." If the mere desire for riches will do this, what is the result of their possession? And who said that James and Paul do not agree?

C. Who ever heard of gold and silver rusting? Who would expect them to do so? So the calamity that befalls riches consists of the unexpected. Moreover, it not only corrodes riches, but the rich themselves, consuming their flesh as fire.

D. The story is told of an Arab lost in the desert. He had water but no food. At last he came upon a bag. "Ah, food," he cried, thinking that he had come upon a bag of provisions. But opening the bag he found nothing but pearls. He was rich, yet he was poor.

E. Note the double calamity. The rich should break out into weeping and howling for the miseries about to come upon them. But that is not all. The greater and final misery will come in the last days. Remember the rich man of Luke 16, and the flame of his torment.

II. Who is going to bring final justice? (5:4-6)

A. Now the charges. The rich have cheated the poor out of their wages. Who has the power to do anything about it? A government that protects the rich will not. The poor cannot. But God does, and He controls the hosts of Heaven. Notice, the owners did not have crop failure. The laborers had mowed their fields.

B. Defrauding their employees is the first charge that James hurls against the unregenerate rich. The second charge is that they have lived a life of indulgence. That is, they have used their wealth to live as play-boys. James says that they are like pet cattle being fattened up for slaughter. Notice, it is the heart that has been fattened, not just the body. Indulgence gratified is indulgence strengthened. A boy who led pigs to the slaughter was asked how he managed to get them to follow him. He replied, "I walk ahead of them and keep dropping a few beans. That's how I lead them to the slaughter." Unsaved friend, what is Satan dropping in front of you?

C. 1 Timothy 5:6 tells us: "But she who gives herself to wanton pleasure is dead even while she lives." Many are like the man who said to his soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry." God's reply is still the same: "You fool." (Luke 12:19,20).

D. The last charge that James levels against the selfish rich is murder, murder coupled with unjust condemnation of the innocent. The guilt of the rich is dramatically demonstrated in the fact that the righteous victim makes no effort to resist. In this he follows the instructions of his Master, recorded in Matthew 5:39--"...do not resist him who is evil..." Again Paul joins in: "Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God." (Romans 12:19). History is filled with such righteous martyrs. Hell is filling up with their oppressors.

CONCLUSION

The rivers of innocent blood that have flowed freely through the centuries have had their fountain-head in the greed and lust for power of those who lived in self-indulgence. Of the indictments that James makes against the selfish rich, two involve crimes against others. And even though the third involves the sinner's private life, it is not victimless. It is indulged in disregard for others who would have benefited by self-denial on the part of the rich. The rust of riches eats. It eats on the body by dissipation. It eats on the conscience. It erodes the most delicate and highest of human qualities and turns people into insensitive brutes. It will eat on the soul forever.

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POINTS TO PONDER:

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1. Does James have the destruction of Jerusalem in mind when he speaks prophetically about the miseries coming on the rich?

2. How will the rust of silver and gold be a witness against the unrighteous rich?

3. In the light of Romans 2:3-6, what is the treasure that they are storing up in the last days?

4. Because Romans 2 is written of the unbelieving Jews, do you think that Paul is making an indirect reference to what James had written earlier?

5. What should Christians do about injustice in this present age?

6. What is the Biblical attitude toward pleasure?

7. Should Christians offer resistance to evil? Why?