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This week we continue our series from the book of James titled The practical Expression of Our Faith in Daily Living.
Today we are talking about A Warning to the Rich
Text
James 5:1-2 AMP
Misuse of Riches
1 Come [quickly] now, you rich [who lack true faith and hoard and misuse your resources], weep and howl over the miseries [the woes, the judgments] that are coming upon you.
2 Your wealth has rotted and is ruined and your [fine] clothes have become moth-eaten.
Scripture Reading
James 5:1-6 (AMP)
Misuse of Riches
1 Come [quickly] now, you rich [who lack true faith and hoard and misuse your resources], weep and howl over the miseries [the woes, the judgments] that are coming upon you.
2 Your wealth has rotted and is ruined and your [fine] clothes have become moth-eaten.
3 Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. You have stored up your treasure in the last days [when it will do you no good].
4 Look! The wages that you have [fraudulently] withheld from the laborers who have mowed your fields are crying out [against you for vengeance]; and the cries of the harvesters have come to the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.
5 On the earth you have lived luxuriously and abandoned yourselves to soft living and led a life of wanton pleasure [self-indulgence, self-gratification]; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.
6 You have condemned and have put to death the righteous man; he offers you no resistance.
Prayer
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
Introduction
In our study of the final chapter of James, we find that this wise pastor has some direct words about relationships between Christians within the body of Christ.
It seems that James began this teaching in 4:13, which deals particularly with arrogance and self centeredness in the Christian’s life.
Although poverty was far more widespread than wealth in the early church, some people had been blessed materially.
Some wealthy land owners who belonged to the church were misusing their wealth and taking advantage of those who worked for them.
Whether they were genuine Chrstians we do not know.
They may have accommodated themselves by using the church for selfish advantage.
In any event, James spoke plainly and sharply to them, and his words are good advice for all of us.
- These rich men had taken for granted the material blessings God allowed them to receive.
- There may have been a secondary purpose in James’s mind as he penned these harsh words to the rich.
Some people in the church, though not wealthy, may have been seeking after riches.
They may have begun to be a little prosperous, and the taste of prosperity was sweet in their mouths.
So these words might also have been preventative medicine for some of the Christians.
James spoke plainly first about the doom of the rich who placed their confidence in material things.
He had mentioned the rich in two earlier passages.
In 1:10 James reminded wealthy Christians that their wealth would soon pass away.
Then in the opening verses of chapter 2 he referred to the unbelieving rich.
In the passage we are studying tonight, James appears to be delivering a broadside to the rich, speaking in the manner of an Amos or a Micah, declaring that the judgement of God will inevitably fall on them and on their wealth.
B. James began his warning by telling the self centred rich to weep and howl because of God’s judgements, which were soon to come upon them.
Someone has said that there are four Classe of people when it comes to the matter of possessions,
Those who are rich in this world and poor toward God.
Those who are poor in this world and rich toward God.
Those who are poor both in this world and the next.
And those who are rich in this worlds goods, but because they hold them with a loose hand, are rich in the next world also.
Sad to say, this last class are not a very large one.
What was James calling these deceitful rich people to do?
He told them, “Weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you”.
This is not the weeping of true repentance, though.
For they will have realised too late that their wealth is not a passport to heaven and into the presence of God.
They will weep and howl, but it will avail them nothing.
C. In the ancient world wealth was of three types, food, costly garments, and precious metals.
James did not name all three of these specifically, but what he had to say in verses 2 and 3 suggests that he had them in mind.
He said, “Your riches have rotted”.
This could refer to food that the rich had hoarded and that had become unfit for human consumption.
The garments James mentioned were expensive clothes that had become moth eaten and of no value.
Also, the wealthy people’s gold and silver were covered in rust.
Though gold does not actually rust, this was probably James’s way of saying that their money had lost its value.
Then he added in verse 3, “You have stored up your treasure in the last days [when it will do you no good].”
2. James listed the sins of the rich.
- The first sin was injustice.
These rich men in their greed had withheld wages from those who worked for them.
James dramatically pictured the wages of these defrauded labourers crying out, the Greek word here means to shriek, to God for vengeance.
B. The second sin was extravagance.
Verse 5 says, On the earth you have lived luxuriously and abandoned yourselves to soft living and led a life of wanton pleasure [self-indulgence, self-gratification]; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.
This is a picture of people wallowing in luxury and immorality.
Like cattle fattened for slaughter, they have grown fat in body, mind, and spirit.
C. The third sin was violence against the righteous.
Verse 6 says, You have condemned and have put to death the righteous man; he offers you no resistance.
James was probably talking about legal or judicial actions taken against the poor.
Conclusion.
James pulled no punches, as in fiery, righteous indignation he condemned those who have misused the blessings of wealth God had allowed them to receive.
Instead of using their prosperity to bless others and to glorify God, they had used it to curse and destroy.
Even though many godly men and women through the ages have used their wealth to bless others and advance the kingdom of God on earth, the temptations that accompany material affluence are legion.
Until next time
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