Warnings Concerning the Abuse of Riches

Transcript

GR 1656
10/28/2012
Warnings Concerning the Abuse of Riches
James 5:1-6
Gil Rugh


We're coming to the last chapter of the book of James in your Bibles, so if you want to turn to the book of James 5. James has had some serious and strong things to say to the Jewish believers that he is writing this letter to. The letter is addressed to the twelve tribes of the diaspora, Jews scattered in various places outside their homeland. He's writing to believing Jews, although he strongly addresses matters that would cause them to examine themselves to see if they be in the faith, as Paul encouraged the Corinthians.

At the end of James 3 beginning with verse 13 to the end of the chapter he contrasted earthy wisdom and heavenly wisdom. We keep coming back to this, it forms a key focus in what James is saying in this letter and he shows something of the characteristics of earthly wisdom which is demonic wisdom Because this earth, this world system lies under the control and power and influence of the evil one. And apart from the redemption that is found in God's salvation, the people of this world manifest the character of their father, their spiritual father the devil. It contrasted with the wisdom that comes from God and is a result of God's work in a life that transforms us, changes us and gives us true wisdom.

James 3 ended, the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace, and then James 4 moved in to talk about quarrels. And now the contrast between earthly wisdom and heavenly wisdom, and heavenly wisdom takes place in the context of God's righteousness that manifests itself in righteousness in our lives. It is characterized by peace. Something is wrong, there are quarrels and conflicts among you. So he talked about that and their selfish desires, being a friend of the world which would make them the enemy of God. And God gives greater grace, verse 6. He is opposed to the proud, we'll be coming back to this in James 5. Key word there, that word translated opposed, unusual word but it is used again in James 5. God is opposed to the proud, but He gives grace to the humble.

And then he gives ten commands that would be true of the humble. He gives grace to the humble. What are you to do? Submit yourself to God, resist the devil, draw near to God, cleanse your hands, purify your hearts, be miserable, mourn, weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning, your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, a true spiritual attitude of repentance over sin and submission to God. So then don't speak against the brother, put a stop to the quarrels, the conflict, that selfishness that promotes conflict even in the family of God.

The James 4 closed with, come now you who say, today or tomorrow and that self-confidence that invades our lives because what does the world say? You have to have confidence in yourself, you have to have good self-esteem, you have to have assurance in what you are doing and know you can do it. And all that kind of thinking. It doesn't take God into consideration. But for us as God's people, everything is conditioned by we recognize He is sovereign. My decisions for tomorrow, I have plans for tomorrow but they are conditioned on the will of God. That helps deal with some of the frustrations we sometimes feel when things don't go the way that we plan for them to go. I have to stop and think, Lord, did I submit my plans to you or did I make my plans in spite of you without you in consideration.

So that warning at the end of verse 13 with the concluding comment, to him who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin. So we need to take these things seriously and put them into practice.

With that he comes to James 5 and says, come now, you rich. Same expression he used in James 4:13, come now, you who say. It's a call to attention. Some translators have it now listen. So when he says come now, it's a call to attention. As he gave in James 4:13 when he rebuked those who made their plans for tomorrow without taking into consideration what the will of God is and His sovereignty over their plans.

Now he is going to turn and address the rich. There is a change in tone here and I think you'll see as we move through it that he's going to be warning the rich. And it seems the rich he is addressing here have not experienced the salvation that is found in Christ. Stinging condemnation of them and a warning about coming judgment. He's not going to be condemning having possessions, he's not condemning being rich, but he is condemning the selfishness that often comes with riches—acquiring riches improperly, a selfish focus in not only getting the riches but then in the selfish use of them.

James has already addressed the rich. Remember we have seen this as we have moved James. He'll often refer to something, talk about an area briefly, then he leaves it and comes back more fully later in the letter. Back in James 1 he contrasted the brother, fellow believer who didn't have much with the rich who has much. In verse 9, the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position. You may not have much in this world, focus your attention on the riches you have in Christ, the inheritance that will be yours when you enter into His presence. For the rich, the rich man is to glory in his humiliation. So you see the opposite danger. The poor man may get caught up with the little that he has, but concentrate on your spiritual riches. The rich man can get absorbed in the good things of this life, he has so much to enjoy and so many earthly benefits. He ought to remind himself of his humiliation. No matter how rich he is, he is passing away. His riches, earthly riches are passing away.

So he is to glory in his humiliation, that humbling that has come to him to realize I am nothing apart from the grace of God. And all that I have of value is what I have in Him, not in the possessions that I can see and touch and handle. So that warning to the rich. He is like the flowering grass, he will pass away, verse 10. Verse 11, the sun rises with a scorching wind, withers the grass. Its flower falls off, the beauty of its appearance is destroyed. So, too, the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will pass away, fade away, he is gone. And all the earthly riches are left behind. So for the believing rich man, he keeps his perspective proper.

You come to James 2:5, listen my beloved brother, did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? So picking up on the theme that he had in James 1:9, the poor man, the humble man glories in his high position. So God chose the poor to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom. But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you, personally drag you into court? Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called? So that contrast again between the rich and the poor.

Now that's where we've come back to at the end of James 4 when he warned those who are making business plans. Tomorrow I'll go to this city and conduct this business and so on and don't take God into consideration. Then you come into James 5, now listen. And really he gives strong words about the rich. We say, he's writing to believing Jews, why would he address the rich who the evidence here is they are not believers. Well, two reasons. One, it's a warning and an encouragement to believers. As God addresses through James the condition of the rich and the judgment awaits them, it is a reminder to us who are believers and a warning of the dangers to come. And it is a challenge to the unbelieving rich to get ready for the judgment that is ahead.

We've noted in James there is an eschatological theme to James. James when he writes often brings it back to a focus on the coming of the Lord, the judgment associated with that, the glory associated with that. We saw that in James 2:5 when he says, the poor of this world have been chosen to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom. They have the kingdom to look forward to that Christ will establish on this earth and all the blessings and glory that will be theirs as they rule and reign with Him in the kingdom. So he keeps focusing on that eschatological focus. Eschatological, a study of last things from the Greek word eschatos, referring to last. So that's what we are talking about. Keep your focus on the future.

You rich, here is what we have to say to you. And he writes in the vein of the Old Testament prophets. Remember James is the most Jewish of the New Testament books. James is the half-brother of Christ, he is the leader of the church in Jerusalem which is a Jewish church. He draws much from the Old Testament, not just in direct quotation but in the theme or ideas he picks up. He also draws much from the teaching of Christ during Christ's earthly ministry. This emphasis on the rich, come now you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted, your garments have become moth eaten, your gold and silver have rusted. Their rust will be a witness against you, will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days you have stored up your treasure. A warning where we are. You see that emphasis on where we are and your wretched condition.

Come back to Isaiah 10, and there are numerous passages like this in the Old Testament. We're not going to take the time to look at a list but just an example. Isaiah 10:1, woe to those who enact evil statutes, to those who constantly record unjust decisions so as to deprive the needy of justice and rob the poor of their rights. You have those in power, those with money using their position, their influence, their money to take advantage of those who are not in a position to defend themselves. They rob the poor of My people of their rights so that widows may be their spoil, they may plunder the orphans. Now what will you do in the day of punishment, in the devastation which will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help? Where will you leave your wealth? Nothing remains but to crouch down among the captives or fall among the slain. In spite of this His anger does not turn away, His hand is still stretched out.

So the rebuke of the coming judgment. In this context talking about the Assyrians coming. But God is paying attention to the abuses of those in power, to the abuses of those who have money, to the mistreating of His people by these and a day of reckoning is coming. When the Assyrians sweep through the land, are they going to treat the rich better than the poor? No, because they will be taking everything the rich have and hauling them off as captives with hooks in their lips, just like the poorest of the land. So that kind of warning.

On your way back stop in Malachi, I picked this out because it's easy to get to. It's the last book in the Old Testament. So you just go right to the Old Testament, Malachi 3. And this carries us to the ultimate time of judgment when the Messiah will come and we will have the final reckoning, which Jams is talking about when he talks about judgment. Behold, verse 1, I am going to send My messenger. He will clear the way before Me and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight. Behold He is coming. So it anticipates. Remember the Old Testament saw the first coming of Christ and the second coming of Christ without the separation that was there, that Christ would come first to suffer and die and be raised and then some 2,000 years later as that has passed, He'll be returning again. But who can endure the day of His coming and who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire and like fuller's soap. Remember when John the Baptist came? What did he preach? Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The Messiah is coming and from his perspective as an Old Testament prophet and what the Jews knew, when He comes, He is going to come and bring judgment and He's going to set up His kingdom. So John warned of the judgment that is going to take place when the Messiah comes. The Jews knew it from the Old Testament.

Verse 3, He will sit as a smelter and purifying of silver, He will purify the sons of Levi, refine them like gold and silver. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old in the former years. Verse 5, then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages, the widow and the orphan and those who turn aside the alien and do not fear Me, says the Lord of Hosts. That expression, the Lord of Hosts, Jehovah Sabaoth as we'll see in a moment in James pulls out of this context we heard in the song, the God of angelic armies. Jehovah Sabaoth,YHWH. Sabaoth as we more often now refer to it. The Lord of Hosts, the armies of heaven are His. Remember Jesus when He was going to the cross said, I could ask My Father and He would send ten thousands of angels to deliver Me. The armies of heaven, the hosts, He is the Lord of Hosts. So we'll see that expression and you'll see the context. In the judgment, part of what is judged are those who are of this world and absorbed with the things of this world and using these things for their own selfish advantage. And to the harm of others. They will come under God's judgment.
So it's that kind of situation, when you come back to James 5, that James writes out of. We want to keep these things in biblical context. There is theology called liberation theology and it takes some of these passages where God speaks harshly about riches and unjust riches and the oppression of the poor. And they've taken that, it's been very popular in South America and the concepts have come into the United States where the prime thing for the church is to take care of the poor. And they are opposed to riches and there ought to be a more even distribution of wealth. And a failure to understand these passages in their true biblical context.

God is not condemning riches neither in the Old Testament passages nor here in James. He doesn't condemn a person for being wealthy. Many of the godly people in the Old Testament were wealthy, Abraham being an example, the father of Israel, the father of the faithful. What he is going to condemn is unjust riches, riches improperly acquired, riches improperly used, riches selfishly gathered for our own selfish ends. God is opposed to the proud, that arrogant approach to being wealthy. It is a danger that everyone faces, we as wealthy people face it. So when James condemns the rich here, it is a warning to everyone to be careful. As the Scripture does, it never condemns you for being wealthy, it warns you about the dangers that come with wealth. Remember what Jesus said, it is harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom than it is for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. But for the grace of God it wouldn't happen. Why? It just can breed an arrogance, a self-confidence. Even we as a believer can settle into it. I have plenty laid aside, I think my investments are solid, I think I'm well cared for, I'm ready for somewhat of an easier life and enjoy the good things. And pretty soon my confidence has been shifted from the Lord who is my sufficiency if I have nothing to the things that I have. And I feel better about that. And my fears grow because if something happens to the market it goes down or I seem in danger of losing my possessions. Then I am in turmoil. Wait a minute, I am just as secure with nothing as I was with everything. Doesn't mean we don't want to be wise with what we have, but when that becomes the focus, the center of our confidence, then we are in trouble.

So come now you rich. The address is clear, it is the rich people he is addressing. He's going to deal with the judgment that they face in the first three verses and then he'll talk about the particular sins that they are guilty of. Weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. Again, addressed to the unbeliever. What does he have to look forward to? Always confident, look at all he has and look at all he has accomplished. But what does he really have to look forward to? Coming misery. The judgment like we saw in Isaiah 10 of the warning of the coming Assyrians, as we've noted all those judgments that took place in a more limited scope were a reminder of the ultimate time of coming reckoning that God will bring His judgment on an unbelieving world.

Weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. It's not a call to repentance, particularly. It's just a sounding of coming judgment. We say, that's a pretty harsh way, how are you going to expect people to want to come to church if . . . Bring one of my wealthy friends and then we're going to read the letter of James and you tell them to weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. But it's the reference to coming judgment. James will have more to say about that, we won't get into it this study. But picking up with verse 7, talk about the coming of the Lord; the end of verse 9, the judge is standing right at the door. This is the kind of context that James is writing in. The weep and howl, it's coming and rather than gloating over your riches you ought to be mourning over your condition and what is going to faze you.

Your riches have rotted, your garments have become moth eaten, your gold and silver have rusted. We can understand the riches rotting—grain and crops stored up. You know the rich man, what will I do? I will build more barns, more storage, store it up. Well all that grain you stored is rotten. The garments, and garments were also another source of wealth. To have garments, you just didn't keep replacing your garments in those days, they had to be handmade and so on. And so these could be marks of wealth and value. They are not worth anything anymore, the moths have gotten them. Gold and silver have rusted, we didn't know gold and silver rusted. Obviously, and that's not just in Scripture here but it's used outside of Scripture in the same way. What is it talking about? It becomes corroded, it's going to become worthless. You say, gold and silver don't rust. No, but it can become worthless. We have that debate now, should you invest in gold. Some people say, invest in gold because it is sure to always be there. Others say, what's going to happen when the value of gold drops? Well, you don't know. That's James' point, your gold and silver have rusted. There is going to come a point when it's not going to be valuable.

That isn't the point. What you have placed your confidence in, what you have been so ruthless and arrogant in acquiring for yourself, it's going to have no value. It's going to be nothing, worthless. We can appreciate that emphasis. Some very wealthy people became very poor when the financial climate changed. And sometimes you watch new and they'll be interviewing people and they say, I thought I was secure, and we thought we were prepared for retirement. Now we're all but destitute, I don't know what we're going to do. What a change. That's what James says is the true condition.

And their rust will be a witness against you, will consume your flesh like fire. The idea of these riches and their loss becomes a testimony against those who acquired these things. It will add to their suffering and judgment. We looked in our study earlier today, that the unregenerate person is storing up wrath for himself in the day of wrath, as Romans 2 put it. So the riches in their arrogant pursuit of the things of this life, these things now will be a testimony against them. How did you get them? What was your attitude in acquiring them? How did you use them? Kind of thing.

And note this last statement because this becomes a crucial statement, it is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure. I mean, what foolishness. To go back to the prophet like Isaiah prophesying the coming Assyrian invasion. What is it? Here are people acquiring all they can and building up wrath but they are just weeks or a month away from the coming of the Assyrians. What are you doing? Building a fine house, storing up all these riches. Judgment is at hand. And so he tells them, it is in the last days you have stored up this treasure.

We talked about this, that in Scripture, remember, the Old Testament prophets that the last days are the days of Messiah in the Old Testament. The days of Messiah included the first coming of Christ and the second coming of Christ. Now with the coming of Christ and the unfolding of the revelation of the New Testament we realize there are two distinct comings of Christ to earth—the first coming and the second coming. So we live in the last days. And for James and the other New Testament writers, they are always thinking the last days and then the end can be at any time. That's why he will say at the end of verse 9, the judge is right at the door. I mean, how foolish can you be. Here it is the last days and you have arrogantly and in self-confidence been storing up your riches. Where are you going with those? These are the last days, the judge may be here tomorrow. And all your riches will do is testify to your ungodliness, to your arrogance, to your selfishness. So the last days become key.

Come back to Acts 2. Peter is the speaker here and he quotes from the prophet Joel. We won't go back to Joel since he quotes it here, but you get a sense of how the prophets speak. In verse 17, he tells in verse 16, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel. It shall be in the last days, God says, I will pour forth of my Spirit on all mankind. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. Even of my bond slaves, both men and women, I will in those days. What days? The last days of verse 17, pour forth of My Spirit. So Peter says these are the last days. The coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost was a fulfillment of that. But then you'll note, verse 19, we come now to events associated with the second coming of Christ to earth. And I will grant wonders in the sky above, blood on the earth below, blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness, the moon to blood before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come. And we looked into those matters in the study of the book of Revelation. Those are events that will take place in context of the Second Coming.

So you see the last days are the days of the Messiah. We live in the last days and should be living our lives with that awareness—the shortness of the time, the expectation of the return of the Lord and what that will mean. Keeps us from getting so caught up in the things of this life and they become so important. And we're not only concerned about today, we're concerned about tomorrow and ten years and twenty years and what are we going to do and how we are going to do it. And we forget Jesus said, each day has enough trouble of its own. You can trust the Lord for your tomorrows. But the rich man that James is condemning, you don't trust the Lord for tomorrow. That's the real problem. It's not that they have possessions and more possessions than some others, it's their attitude and action in all this, how they acquire it, their confidence in it and their failure to consider their accountability to God.

Come back to James. There are a number of other verses through the New Testament about the last days, but it's important that you keep that concept and understanding in your mind.

It is in the last days you have stored up your treasure. If that is true, what is it for us? These are the last of the last days that we are storing up our treasure. We want to be careful of that. What am I storing it up for? Then I go to give an account to the Lord and He says, why didn't you use it? I mean, there wasn't much time, you could have put that to good use. Well, Lord, I was planning on a good, long, comfortable. And there is nothing wrong with providing, but we need to be careful. We easily become trapped by that. We noted that the Scripture doesn't condemn having wealth, but it constantly warns about the danger. John Wesley said it well, he said, whenever I get any extra money I quickly give it away, lest it find its way into my heart. And that easily happens. It's never enough. Now I have this, I may have more than I ever thought I would have, but pretty soon it has a hold of me. So wise advice. In the last days you have stored up your treasure.

Come back to Luke 6. James draws from the Old Testament and he draws from the earthly ministry and teaching of Christ. Luke 6. The contrast here between the rich and the poor. Verse 20, blessed you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger for you shall be satisfied; blessed are you who weep for you shall laugh. Blessed are you when men hate you, ostracize you, insult you, scorn your name as evil for the sake of the Son of Man. Be glad. Your reward is great in heaven. So you see that same emphasis that James has picked up, we saw in James 1 and it comes through the letter. Then He says in verse 24, woe to you who are rich. You are receiving your comfort in full. Woe to you who are well fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, you shall mourn and weep. Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in that way. So you see that contrast, that same emphasis. It's not that we have to take a vow of poverty, that's not the point. The point we are to recognize as God's people, earthly possessions, earthly wealth are nothing. I ought to hold it very loosely. If the Lord should take away everything I have, will my attitude be any different tomorrow? Like Job, the Lord gave and the Lord takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord. It's in His hands. All I have, I have all good things from the God who bestows good gifts. I give Him thanks. If he chooses to take it away, am I going to be in a terror because of the stupid politicians who made these laws and did this and didn't do that and now look at what happened. No, it's in your hands; you take care of me. You have provided for me, much more than I need. Paul could say, I know how to live in abundance, I know how to live without. I'm content in whatever my circumstance. That's what we're talking about here. Paul didn't say I've learned never to have anything, that way I can be content. No, I learn to be content with whatever I have. So the warning here from Christ that Luke picks up.

Come back to Matthew 6:19, a word of warning, do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, where thieves break in and steal. See the point is that by whatever means, today we talk about inflation or deflation or other things like that. But the point is wealth can be lost. Don't store up. This is where my treasure is to be—store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroy, where thieves do not break in or steal. Why? Where your treasure is there your heart will be also. Verse 24, no man can serve two masters, either he will hate the one and love the other, he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon, wealth, riches. Didn't say you can't have it, but you can't serve it. And be careful about getting focused on storing it up because it becomes more of a focal point of my heart. It has a way of getting hold of me because now I'm afraid if I lose this, my whole standard of living will change, the things I've come to enjoy and be able to do I won't be able to do. Again, we've talked about this on other occasions. I'm not against being wise, planning and doing those things, but we need to be careful. The warning here is about being careful we are storing up treasure in heaven. That's what my life is about. No matter how much or how little I have here, my wealth is measure by what I have in the presence of God and bestowed on me that will endure when all the things of this world are gone.

Come back to James 5. He is going to specify now, get specific on some of the sins the wealthy, the rich have been guilty of in how they acquired their wealth, in how they used their wealth. We get an idea of the context that James is emphasizing. Behold the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields and which has been withheld by you cries out against you. The outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, the Lord of Hosts. In those days laborers were paid at the end of the day. And we see that in some of the parables Christ told about the laborers in the field and then they are paid according to how many hours they worked. They didn't wait for a monthly paycheck or a bi-weekly paycheck or like that. They were paid their wages. Now obviously a person who is on the bottom of the pay scale and it's no different in that sense today, they are in a more vulnerable position. They don't have leeway. So if the man who owned the field decided, I can use their money, I'm not going to pay them today or I'll just give them a portion. I'll tell them, I have to pay you the rest the next time. What are you going to do? Say I won't come work for you tomorrow? Where are you going to go to work? You have to come back. And pretty soon you are getting not enough to get by because this person is taking your wealth for himself, which should be yours. The selfishness of it. So that's the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields which has been withheld by you cries out against you. That's a testimony of your selfishness, your arrogance in rejecting God and His clear instruction on being faithful in these areas. And James writing to Jews, particularly Jewish believers, but the Jews would be familiar with this background in the Old Testament.

The outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, the Lord of Hosts. Come back to the Old Testament, Leviticus 19, see the principle. Verse 13, you shall not oppress your neighbor nor rob him. The wages of a hired man are not to remain with you all night until morning. We say, I should get paid every day. In our society we have systems set up. But you see the point James is talking about and how it was abused and this law was given. You would keep their money so you can use it, get more benefit from it, in the meantime they are without. You didn't pay them at the end of the day, they can't stop and buy food to take home to their family. So what? Now they go hungry for the night so that you can add to your wealth. And that's the kind of thing that he is addressing.

Over in Deuteronomy 24:14, you shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your countrymen or one of your aliens, one of the non-Jews who is in your territory and you have hired. You can't take unfair advantage of him just because you say he is not a fellow Jew, I don't have to treat him fairly. No, you have to treat everyone fairly. Who is in your land in your towns. You shall give him his wages on his day before the sun sets, for he is poor and sets his heart on it. I mean, he worked all day, now he needs the money to go buy the food that evening. That's the way they operated. So that he will not cry against you to the Lord and it becomes sin in you. You see the same thing, cries out against you, because the poor man goes who has his confidence in the Lord and says, Lord, you know my need tonight. And the man I worked for has not paid me and I'm coming to You. Well the Lord takes that personally, what he is crying out to Me I hold against you for your unfairness. That kind of emphasis. The Lord of Sabaoth.

On your way back stop at Isaiah 5:9, you see the context here. Verse 8, woe to those who add house to house and join field to field until there is no room. So here you have the wealthy who have taken over everything. I mean, their lands are growing so there is no more room so you have to live alone in the midst of the land. In my ears the Lord of Hosts, now here you have Jehovah Sabaoth, the Lord of Hosts, the Lord of the armies, of Israel the Lord of the armies of heaven, has sworn. Surely many houses shall become desolate, even great and fine ones without occupants. And then ten acres of vineyard will yield only one bath of wine, an homer of seed. And what you see, production shrinks. They are caught up in their selfish pursuits. Woe to those, verse 11, who rise early in the morning that they may pursue strong drink, stay up late in the evening that wine may inflame them. They have banquets with the music that goes with it, and the drinking. But they do not pay attention to the deeds of the Lord, nor do they consider the work of His hands.

This is the kind of background that James is writing and addressing, the wealth of those who are ungodly. Over in Isaiah 22:12, therefore in that day the Lord God of Hosts, there we are, the Lord of Hosts, Jehovah Sabaoth, called you to weeping and to wailing. Remember James, the weeping and the wailing. The shaving the head, the wearing sackcloth. Instead there is gaiety and gladness, killing of cattle, slaughtering of sheep, eating of meat, drinking of wine. Let us eat and drink, tomorrow we may die. But the Lord of Hosts revealed Himself to me, surely this iniquity shall not be forgive you until you die, says the Lord God of Hosts. That constant reference to Jehovah Sabaoth, His greatness, His power. I mean who can stand against Him, the One who can call myriads, myriads of angel to come. They are at His disposal. The armies of the world are nothing, ten thousands time ten thousands could come. He is Jehovah Sabaoth. The selfish, earth-focused lifestyle is condemned by the Lord, absorbed in this world and this life and in enjoying it.

I shared with you, many years ago I was taking a course in a graduate school and they were studies around the world of Christianity. And they found a pattern, that when Christianity came into a new area, its most impact was among the poor. Then the poor became believers, their life changed the way they lived, their work ethic changed. And they found that as Christians rose in the social and economic scale, they fervor of their Christianity decreased. We face it in this land. We have a dying church. Look at England, what happened. There was a time when the strongest churches and the strongest Bible teaching was going on there. Now less than 5% of the people in England even attend a church of any kind, let along a Bible-believing church. What happens? We are successful, we have so much. What is happening to our churches here? People are looking for ways, we are just so busy, our lives are so busy, we have so little time. How many churches have Sunday evening? Not that you have Sunday evening to be biblical, but there used to be time for the Lord set aside, it was important. Now, we're too busy for that. We have this, we have that, we have so much and so much to enjoy and so much . . . We hardly have time for the Lord I have one of the few jobs in the world that people would be happy to pay me more for preaching less. Shorter sermons and fewer, that can't be bad. I appreciate you are not that way. But what happens in churches? They just shut down. Nobody is coming out.

I remember talking to someone I knew very well on the West Coast. He is having 3 to 4,000 people on Sunday morning. He says, we're shutting down Sunday evening, we have 100 people. Everybody is busy, too busy here to come to church. We just get caught up in that. The world does it and we just go along. Ever notice how many of the kids' athletic events are now Sunday events? Why? The world wants Saturday free for the other things they do. We as Christians just follow along. So hard to fit church in and maybe we could do an hour on Saturday night. Get in and get out and that won't affect the day, I can come at the end of the day, get in, get out, get home and then I have all of Sunday for myself. And pretty soon we get like England. If its no more important than that, why bother going at all?

It's hard to be affluent and be faithful, there is just so much to enjoy, so many things we can do and so little time to do it.

Come back to James. Aren't you glad you came tonight? I'm going home and give away all Marilyn's money. James 5. The cry of those who have been taken advantage of is the point in verse 4. Has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. When the commander of the armies of heaven says He is paying attention to the wrongs that you area doing, we better pay attention is the point.

You have lived luxuriously on the earth, led a life of wanton pleasure. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. I mean, this is awful strong language. We obviously are talking about ungodly people, and they live luxuriously on the earth. They led a life of wanton pleasure. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. Back in Romans 2, you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath, that ripening for judgment. James' analogy here is like an animal being fattened for slaughter. That's what you are doing. You're just making yourself more ripe for judgment. You have condemned and put to death the righteous man, he does not resist you.

Not necessarily they actually murdered them, but they are grinding them down, they are taking advantage of them as we saw. You don't pay them at the end of the day, they hardly have enough to live on, they can't feed their family. That misuse of wealth and acquiring of wealth. Not everyone who has gotten rich lives this way. Believers who have much, often they have been blessed by God because He can trust them with much. Some of us He can trust with less. He knows us but it is a challenge to be careful to be faithful. These are rich who have lived selfish lives. So it is a reminder to believers, don't get frustrated by that. The world gets frustrated and they are frustrated with Wall Street as they call it, and all of that. Believers don't have to be frustrated, I have everything the Lord wants me to have. It may look like very little as the world would measure it. That's all right. Am I upset with that? No, but that's in the Lord's hands and they will give an account. Every knee shall bow, every tongue shall confess and everyone shall give an account of himself to God. I mean, that's where it is, unbeliever as well as believer.

You have condemned and put to death the righteous. In other words you have taken advantage of them and you have often reduced them to bare existence. He does not resist you. That can be taken two ways. I told you when we began to keep in mind verse 6, God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble. He does not resist you. Anytime you are translating there can be times when you can translate differently because that's a possibility. He does not resist you can be a possible translation of the expression James uses here. That would be consistent with other passages of Scripture, we won't turn there, Matthew 5:39, Romans 12:19. Believers willingly submit and continue to do their best, event when they have unjust masters, unjust bosses, treated unfairly. We continue to do our work as to the Lord.

This also can be translated He does not resist you, because that word resist is a rare word. But it's used another time in James, it's used back in verse 6. God is opposed, that word translated opposed is the same word we have translated resist. And this expression can be done as a question. Does He not oppose you? Does He not oppose you referring to God. And really would be what James is picking up, what he quoted here from the book of Proverbs. God is opposed to the proud, He gives grace to the humble. You saw something of that grace to the humble in the following verses, verses 7-10 where he gave those instructions beginning with submit and concluding with verse 10 to humble yourself. He gives grace to the humble, those who humble themselves. But He is opposed to the proud. There is a warning about that pride at the end of James 4, then a strong condemnation of the proud and the riches they obtained without taking God into the picture. The world view was they make their plans, the end of James 4, without taking God into consideration. But the believer is not to do that. And then you have the condemnation of those who are the arrogant, proud rich. And he concludes that with asking the question, does He not oppose you, referring to God. And James has already told us quoting from the Old Testament in James 4:6, God is opposed to the proud.

So after saying what the arrogant who do not take God into consideration in their plan and in their acquiring of wealth, they do whatever works. Does God not oppose you? God is opposed to the proud. What it is saying here describes you. Is not God opposed to you? So strong focal point. I think the use of that rare word in James 4:6 and translated as resist, opposed in James 4:6 and translated resist would indicate he is drawing their attention to the seriousness of your situation. Then he'll come back and address the brethren, which we'll pick up in our next study. Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord.

So he has warned the unbelieving rich, the arrogant rich that God is opposed to about the seriousness of their situation because the Lord of Hosts has heard the cry of His people. And believing Jews would be under tremendous financial pressure, not only for their ethnic condition but because as Jews they believe in the Lord. They don't fit anywhere. The Gentiles didn't like the Jews and the Jews don't like the believing Jews. And so the mistreatment there. Does not God oppose you.

One more passage and we'll close with this. 1 Timothy 6, I had a number of other passages but I talked too long on some other things. 1 Timothy 6:6, godliness actually is is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. We brought nothing into the world so we can take nothing out of it, either. We have food and covering, with these we shall be content. 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. For the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith, pierced themselves with many griefs. So a warning to us as believers. So even as James is writing to believers and addresses unbelievers, it serves as an encouragement that God is paying attention to the abuse and unfair treatment that believers are experiencing. But it is also a warning to believers, again, about the dangers because they may be poor and lusting and longing for riches and then they begin to sacrifice their faithfulness to the Lord and all kinds of evil comes in.

We can thank God we live in a prosperous country, I'm thankful for the material blessings God has privileged me to have and enjoy. But I want to be careful they don't become the attachment of my heart. What would I do without them? What would I do if I woke tomorrow and had nothing? Would I say thank you Lord that I belong to you. I have everything I need and I don't know where tomorrow's meal comes from, but by your grace you will provide what I need today. I have enough food and covering for today and I'll trust you for tomorrow and I'll go on. Good for us to just examine ourselves and be sure we haven't become too attached to the blessings God has given.

Let's pray. Thank you, Lord, for the riches we have in Christ, true riches, enduring riches, riches that will be ours for all eternity. True joy, true happiness, the fullness of blessings that we cannot even take into our minds and our present unglorified state. But, Lord, we anticipate it with eagerness. May we keep our perspective submitted to the Word. May we not become attached in a wrong way to the things of this life. May we not see them as the source of our contentment, of our happiness, of our confidence. Lord, may our attention be focused on you and we thank you for the prosperity you have brought, the good things we have to enjoy. May we be faithful with them. We pray in Christ's name, amen.