If anyone thinks he is religious and does not
bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this
person’s religion is worthless. Religion that is
pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is
this: to visit orphans and widows in their
affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from
the world. (James 1:26,27)
Like a flower of the grass [the rich] will pass away. For the sun
rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower
falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade
away in the midst of his pursuits. (James 1:10,11)
But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the
ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court?
(James 2:6)
Spiritual Adultery vs. Humility (4:1-10)
Arrogant Speech (4:11,12)
Arrogant Planning
For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then
vanishes. 15Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will
live and do this or that." 16As it is, you boast in your arrogance.
All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to
do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. (4:13-17)
A Protest Against the
Arrogant Use of
Wealth
(James 5:1-6)
Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are
coming upon you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments
are moth-eaten. 3Your gold and silver have corroded, and their
corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh
like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days.
(James 5:1-6)
Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are
coming upon you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments
are moth-eaten. 3Your gold and silver have corroded, and their
corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh
like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. 4Behold, the
wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept
back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the
harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.
(James 5:1-6)
Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are
coming upon you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments
are moth-eaten. 3Your gold and silver have corroded, and their
corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh
like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. 4Behold, the
wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept
back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the
harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5 You
have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You
have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6You have
condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not
resist you. (James 5:1-6)
Regarding God’s protest, we will
look at three areas:
•Perceiving God’s Protest
•Pushing Back against Indulgence
•Practicing Generous Justice
God is red-hot in His outrage and He is
razor sharp in His assessment!
“I am putting you rich on notice!”
I hear the cry of injustice!”
Cursed be anyone who perverts the justice
due to the sojourner, the fatherless, and the
widow.(Deuteronomy 27:19)
Speak up for those who cannot speak for
themselves, for the rights of all who are
destitute. (Prov. 31:8)
"For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I
will not revoke the punishment,
because they sell the righteous for silver, and
the needy for a pair of sandals—those who
trample the head of the poor into the dust of
the earth… (Amos 2:6,7)
"I hate, I despise your feasts,
and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and
grain offerings, I will not accept them…
Take away from me the noise of your songs;
to the melody of your harps I will not listen.
But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”
(Amos 5:21-24)
How the faithful city has become a whore,
she who was full of justice!
Everyone loves a bribe and runs after gifts.
They do not bring justice to the fatherless,
and the widow’s cause does not come to them.
(Isaiah 1:21-23)
"No servant can serve two masters; for either he will
hate the one and love the other, or else he will be
devoted to one and despise the other You cannot serve
God and wealth."
(Luke 16:13-15)
"No servant can serve two masters; for either he will
hate the one and love the other, or else he will be
devoted to one and despise the other You cannot serve
God and wealth."
Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were
listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him.
(Luke 16:13-15)
"No servant can serve two masters; for either he will
hate the one and love the other, or else he will be
devoted to one and despise the other You cannot serve
God and wealth."
Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were
listening to all these things and were scoffing at
Him. 15And He said to them, "You are those who justify
yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your
hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is
detestable in the sight of God. (Luke 16:13-15)
Therefore consider the members of your earthly body
as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire,
and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is
because of these things that the wrath of God will
come. (Col. 3:5,6)
1 Tim 6:17 “Command those who are rich not
be arrogant… but generous…”
You’re rich, we’re rich, and the Church in America is
rich…
1 Tim 6:17 “Command those who are rich not
be arrogant… but generous…”
You’re rich, we’re rich, and the Church in America is
rich… If your income is $25,000 per year, you are
wealthier than approximately 90% of the world’s
population! If you make $50,000 per year, you are
wealthier than 99 percent of the world! Does this
shock you?
1 Tim 6:17 “Command those who are rich not
be arrogant… but generous…”
You’re rich, we’re rich, and the Church in America is
rich… If your income is $25,000 per year, you are
wealthier than approximately 90% of the world’s
population! If you make $50,000 per year, you are
wealthier than 99 percent of the world! Does this
shock you? Remember, of the 6.7 billion people on
earth, almost half of them live on less than two dollars
a day. If you don’t feel rich, it’s because you are
comparing yourself to people who have more than
you—those living above the 99th percentile of global
wealth.
1 Tim 6:17 “Command those who are rich not
be arrogant… but generous…”
It’s also because we tend to gauge whether or not we
are wealthy based on the things we don’t have…
1 Tim 6:17 “Command those who are rich not
be arrogant… but generous…”
It’s also because we tend to gauge whether or not we
are wealthy based on the things we don’t have… It’s all
relative to our expectations. When you realize that 93
percent of the world’s people don’t own a car, your old
clunker starts to look pretty good. Our difficulty is that
that we see our American lifestyles as normative, when
in fact they are grossly distorted compared to the rest
of the world. (Richard Stearns, The Hole in Our Gospel,
215, 216)
Jesus warns people far more about greed than about
sex, yet almost no one thinks there are guilty of it.
Therefore we should all begin with the working
hypothesis that “this could be a problem for me.” If
greed hides itself so deeply, no one should be
confident that it is not a problem for them. (Keller,
Generous Justice, 52,53)
James 5 also raises the matter of economic
injustice
To feel what God feels, you need a clearer
picture the world
If the world was a village of 100 people:
60 Asians, 14 Africans, 12 Europeans, 8 Latin
Americans, 5 from the USA and Canada, and 1 from
the South Pacific
82 would be non-white; 18 white
50 would be malnourished and 1 dying of starvation
33 would be without access to safe water
24 would not have any electricity
The average American makes $38,500 a year
$105 a day (USA) .3 billion people 4.5% of the world’s
people
2.6 billion people 40% of the world’s
people
1.0 billion people 15% of the world’s
people
The average American makes $38,500 a year
$105 a day (USA) .3 billion people 4.5% of the world’s
people
Less than $2 a 2.6 billion people 40% of the world’s
day people
Less than $1 a 1.0 billion people 15% of the world’s
day people
Just over 1000 billionaires hold more wealth than half the world
Can you trust your perspective on
wealth?
Voices of the Poor
“Poverty eats away at one’s dignity. For a poor person
everything is terrible—illness, humiliation, shame. We
are cripples; we are afraid of everything; we depend on
everyone. No one needs us. We are like garbage that
everyone wants to get rid of.” –MOLDOVA
“If you are hungry, you will always be hungry; if you are
poor, you will always be poor.” –VIETNAM
(Cited in in When Helping Hurts, 52, from Voices of the Poor)
Misguided Responses
Are you pushing back against the arrogant use of
wealth in your life?
How?
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that though he was rich, yet for your sake he
became poor, so that you by his poverty might
become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9)
Cultivating a “new affection”
What does the LORD require of you but to do
justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly
with your God? (Micah 6:8)
the principle of integrity
“We must choose to do what is right simply because it is
right, and not because it is always easy, popular,
successful, or (in extreme cases) lawful.” (Charles Drew,
Public Faith, 106)
What does the LORD require of you but to do
justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly
with your God? (Micah 6:8)
the principle of integrity
the principle of simplicity
Start with what is obvious and simple, rather than
what is cosmic and subtle.
What does the LORD require of you but to do
justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly
with your God? (Micah 6:8)
the principle of integrity
the principle of simplicity
Pray:
to see the glory of God
for your heart to be broken by what breaks God’s heart
Educate your conscience