James 5:1-12

Well, good morning.

Turn with me, if you will, to James chapter 5.

James 5 · chapter mention

And today we will be looking at verses 1 through 12.

That is James chapter 5, verses 1 through 12, which is all about rich oppressors and the patient endurance of God's people under their tyranny.

James 5:1–12

So in our last study, if you remember, back in chapter 4 and verses 13 through 17, James warned us about pursuing prophet apart from God.

And what we see today here in the first six verses of chapter five is the fruit of what happens when we are totally consumed by materialism and greed.

And this is, of course, very relevant to the context of the letter of James, because at this time the rich Jews were persecuting Jewish Christians in Jerusalem.

And so the whole reason that James wrote this letter was to encourage Jewish Christians who were, in chapter 1, verse 1, scattered abroad.

The rich Jews forced the Christian Jews to leave the holy city.

And so these rich oppressors, those who had political power, they had religious authority, they had influence within the workforce, they got angry because there were Jews leaving Judaism for Christianity.

So what did they do?

They refused to pay Christian laborers, they blacklisted them from the marketplace, and they wouldn't allow them to enter the synagogue.

And so they used their wealth and their power and their prestige to make life miserable for these Jewish Christians who they deemed as heretics and blasphemers.

And so we know this a lot from history and from the historian Josephus.

So that is our context here.

And that is why James speaks so sharply to these Christians and to these rich oppressors.

And so he is indicting rich people who are oppressing God's people.

And it's vital that we understand that, because otherwise we would be tempted to read this passage and we would say, wow, God hates wealth, and we all need to be poor.

But our passage is not a description of someone who simply has wealth.

Okay, the Bible never condemns money in and of itself.

As 1 Timothy 6, verse 10 says, it is the love of money that is a root of all kinds of evil.

1 Timothy 6:10

It is the worship of money and the sinful use of it that is condemned.

And so being rich itself isn't a bad thing.

Think of Abraham or Job or Boaz.

But how one gets rich is part of the issue.

Many people get rich by oppressing others, cheating people, stealing, lying, overcharging, underpaying, shady deals, fast talking, and so on.

And so what we often see in this world is that rich people and those who wish to be rich are more susceptible to certain sins.

As Biggie Smalls once said, mow money, mo problems.

And so therefore, it's hard for the rich to trust Jesus and be saved.

As Jesus said in Matthew 19, 24, he says, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven.

So in our passage this morning, James starts his argument by summoning these rich oppressors and exposing their wickedness.

In verses 1 through 6, he says, Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you.

Your riches have rotted, and your garments are moth-eaten.

Your 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.

Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you have kept back by fraud.

They are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.

You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence.

You have fattened your hearts in the day of slaughter.

You have condemned and murdered the righteous person who does not resist you.

So here you would think that we were reading one of the Old Testament prophets.

James summons the rich, and he pleads with them to weep, how, mourn for the miseries that they will face.

And so he calls them to repentance and he uses future judgment as an incentive to do so.

Now, this is a tough pill for us to swallow, especially if you were rich, because when your belly is full and your body is healthy and your house is big, and you have everything you need, it's hard to see your need for God.

And to make this worse, the world affirms the rich and says, You are so successful, you are so blessed, we want to be like you.

They are admired in society.

But just like the Laodicean church in Revelation 3, James exposes their true condition.

He says, You think you're rich and wealthy and healthy, but in reality you are pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.

And so he calls them to repentance and godly sorrow.

But naturally, to the rich man, this raises the question, why would I do that?

Why would I weep when I have everything I need and more?

And James gives us the reason why in verses 2 and 3.

He says, Because all your stuff is going to expire.

It's temporal.

It's already starting to pass away and corrode in rust.

He's painting a picture here.

All the jewelry, the new toy, the big house, the nice clothing, even your position of power and influence, it's all going to perish.

And so James is exposing the idolatry of materialism.

All the money you worship, the security and the hope that you put in possessions and collections, it's all going to be destroyed.

Such things are not the life of you.

Actually, on the contrary, look at the middle of verse 3.

It will be the death of you.

Because he says, On that great day, when they stand before the judge of all the earth, their wealth, which they loved, will be evidence against them, and will eat their flesh like fire.

So what do we learn here?

We learn two things.

First, do not love or put your hope in anything created, because it's not going to last.

And secondly, if we do put our hope in such things, not only will we be disappointed, but such things will be evidence against us on judgment day.

In other words, the idols that we worship on earth will testify against many before the great white throne judgment.

But clearly, these rich oppressors, they're not listening because they are at the end of verse 3 hoarding wealth in the last days.

This literally means that they are stockpiling goods at the expense of others.

They are piling up goods that they wouldn't even consume in three lifetimes.

They never have enough.

And they are unwilling to share or even care.

And of course, as Americans living in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, we are guilty of this, aren't we?

In America, so much of our identity is wrapped up in how much we have based on our personal belongings and 401ks.

And then we compare ourselves to others and we live beyond our means.

And because of this, we spend so much money on unnecessary luxuries, so much so that we go into debt.

And here are just a few fun facts for you.

80% of Americans are in debt.

Okay, I know that our country is basically ran off debt, but this number's not based on just house mortgages, it's mostly credit cards.

Another fact there is enough food in the world to feed everyone.

The problem is we literally have it all.

And we waste, we throw away 40% of the food we have.

We trash it.

And the storage unit business is the largest in America.

We literally have so much stuff, and our attics and our barns are so full that we need to pay someone to store more stuff elsewhere.

And we can't let it go, even though we have three, four, five, six sets of the same thing.

And we do the same with money.

We throw it in our bank accounts and we watch it grow.

And then we base our identity, our value, our worth based off of a digital number that's in a bank account.

Meanwhile, there are needs around us, people suffering around us and around the world, but we do not share and we do not care.

Why?

Because it's human nature to be stingy, greedy, and depending upon money and stuff to give us safety and value in a nice retirement.

And so, church, this is what the love of money looks like.

And this is how it progresses.

And if we are not careful, it can manifest itself into all kinds of evil practices.

And that is what James does next.

He indicts these rich oppressors on three charges.

And the first crime that he charges them with is fraud.

Verse 4.

They are not paying the laborers whom they hired.

They are either withholding money, saying, I'll pay you later, or they are not paying them what they deserve.

And this has caused great suffering for these Christians.

They cannot pay their bills, they cannot feed their family, they are hungry, they're unable to afford living expenses.

And so this fraud is so bad that people are literally crying out to God for relief.

The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord.

God pays attention to stuff like that.

And people who are materialistic don't think that he does.

They think they are getting away with unjust pay.

And now the second crime that he charges them with is sinful spending.

Look at verse 5.

These people, they're not like Robin Hood stealing from the rich to give money to the poor.

They're stealing money from the poor to spend on sinful pleasures.

And it's funny because these people they think that they're accumulating wealth as it's a good thing.

And James says, you're actually fattening yourself up to be slaughtered like a pig.

They think they're living large, but really they are piling up their sin for a greater future judgment.

And the last crime that he charges them with is oppression and exploitation.

Verse 6.

One could argue, well, you know, I'm only doing this because he stole from me or he oppressed me first.

But James says, you are condemning and murdering innocent people.

These are righteous people.

They're harmless, innocent, and they're not even fighting back.

These are honest people who are eating crumbs from your rich table, and yet you beat them down so that they're powerless and unable to defend themselves.

Church, this is what happens when you love money.

This is what happens when you ignore God's providence and you allow manna to be your master.

You become dishonest, you become selfish, and you exploit other people in the process.

No Christian should ever be found in this description.

Now, someone might say, well, you know, of course none of us would be guilty of these.

These are serious crimes.

You're talking about fraud, oppression, even murder, James says.

Well, perhaps we're not committing these crimes directly.

But in this day and age, we do commit a lot of atrocities indirectly.

Take, for example, lying on your taxes.

You literally lie to the government to save or get money to justify it.

And you say, well, the government's corrupt and they steal from me, so I'll steal from them.

Or how about dishonest gain?

You do a job at a fair price, but just because you can, you up the charge.

Or maybe you borrow money and you never pay it back, or someone gives you money for something and you take a cut.

Or you're just good at talking.

You talk people into giving you money for something that's not legit.

Or you manipulate others to make them feel like they owe you.

Or we lie about discounts.

I did this like a year ago.

Um I hope I don't get kicked off the pastoral team for sharing this one.

But I was at Lowe's a year ago and I was buying a large appliance, it was like 800 bucks or something, and my dad was gonna meet me there to get the military discount at Lowe's.

And my dad called me as I'm at Lowe's.

He said, Hey Bub, I'm not gonna be able to make it.

So I thought, well, we have the same name.

I'm James Victor Alexander III, he's the second.

I'll just give him my dad's phone number and get the military discount.

Um, so I went up there, did the military discount, and the guy at the register was a uh a veteran, a military veteran.

And so I gave him my dad's number, and he looks me straight in the face, and as I'm checking out, he puts his hand on my shoulder and he just says, Brother, thank you so much for serving our country.

And he looks me in the eyes and he's like, It's people like you, and I'm just shocked, I can't even move.

The conviction's so strong, I'm just like, I'm staring at the guy.

I I literally don't even say anything.

I walk out with my appliance, and literally, like, as I'm leaving, like, I look back and he's like, uh, you know, like the military thing.

I'm like, I was so convicted for this discount that I got at Lowe's, 10% off.

And I'm not now to in my defense, I went straight to Rick's house and confessed my sin.

I did.

But we lie about discounts, looking for ways to save and make money.

And what about sinful spending?

I don't think any of us are innocent here.

They say American Christians spend more money on dog food than on missions.

In Western culture, we are horrible about this.

We complain about how broke we are, yet somehow, on average, we have 10 Amazon boxes delivered to our house each week, full of stuff we don't need.

And in recent studies, it shows, ever since COVID, that many Christians are not giving regularly to church anymore.

Meanwhile, we have so much money going towards Netflix and media platforms, we spend ungodly amounts of money on new clothing, even though we have a wardrobe so big that could clothe an entire village in Africa, and somehow we can afford a$7 Starbucks coffee every day, even though we complain about how poor we are.

Now, all the Dave Ramsey fans in the room are like, yeah.

But church, we better be careful.

We must self-examine and not excuse ourselves so quickly from this text.

We have been blessed greatly here in America.

Even the homeless in our country are far wealthier than the rest of the world.

So we must be good stewards of God's blessing and we must reject greediness and hoarding and fraud and the love of money.

And as Christians, may we guard our hearts against such things.

And may we not be envious towards those who are rich.

May we not fall under the illusion of thinking that money will fix our problems or make us happy.

And so the question remains: what are we to do then when rich oppressors steal from us and exploit us?

And they will.

What do we do as God's people?

Well, James directs his attention to these suffering Christians and to us, and he tells us what to do and what not to do in verses 7 through 12.

He says, Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord.

See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it until it receives the early and late rains.

You also be patient.

Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

And do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged.

Behold, the judge is standing right at the door.

As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

Behold, we consider those blessed who remain steadfast.

You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, and how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your yes be yes and your no be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.

So the first thing James says here is it's not fight back, start a revolution, rant about your misfortunes on social media.

The command here is this: be patient.

In other words, endure the suffering.

The Greek word here, it denotes this idea of remaining steadfast under pressure.

And to strengthen this command, he points to a farmer as a powerful illustration.

So I don't know how many of you know much about farming, but when a farmer plants a crop, he is forced to be patient about it.

There is nothing he can do to speed up the crop's maturity.

It takes the time it takes.

And in the same way, we must patiently wait on the return of Jesus Christ.

Although we want the tyranny of the wicked punished now, and we want relief from our trials now, and I want the new body and the new heaven and the new earth now, we must be patient.

And we must wait on the consummation, the full fruit of our salvation.

We cannot force any of these things.

God is not on our time.

He's not going to change his plans because of our wishes.

So as disciples of Christ, we need to wait on the Lord, trust in his timing, and be patient as we pilgrim through this cruel world.

If God didn't want us to go through suffering, then he wouldn't have allowed it.

But he has allowed it, and therefore he has a divine purpose in it, a purpose to make you more like Jesus and to bring him greater glory.

Now, someone might object here and say, seriously?

You've got guys taking your money, not paying you, threatening you, forcing you and your whole family to move, and all you got to say, James, is be patient?

Like that's it?

And the answer to that is yes.

Be patient.

Don't misunderstand what I'm saying.

He's not telling us to be a doormat and let people walk all over us.

James is not advocating for extreme passivism, but what he is saying is this don't lose your faith.

Don't seek vengeance, leave room for God's wrath.

Don't operate out of the flesh, and don't try and find a cheap way out of suffering.

Endure, persevere, be patient.

And he tells us why in verse 8, he says, because the coming of the Lord is at hand.

There's no point in enduring if we have no future hope.

But we do have hope.

The return of Jesus Christ.

And Jesus' return is nearer than it's ever been today.

He is coming.

He will save his people.

He will wipe away every tear from our eyes.

He will banish the wicked forever.

He will right every wrong.

Perfect justice will be served.

Evil will be no more, and all things will be made new.

So we don't need to rush this process because it's out of our control, anyways.

And I don't need to mope around all day in self-pity.

I don't need to seek revenge.

I don't need to lose my marbles and doubt God's goodness every time adversity strikes.

I don't need to be mad at God or confused about his will because of my difficult circumstances.

I can be grounded and steadfast because I know that my Savior, you know, the one that conquered death and crushed the devil?

He is coming.

He's got this under control.

He knows what he's doing.

He knows me by name.

He knows the outcome of my life, and he's working all things for my good and for his glory.

So what do I need to do?

I need to weather the storm patiently.

And now, in addition to this command in verse 9, we are told don't grumble against one another.

Anytime a crisis happens in a family or in a church or an organization, everyone starts doing this, just pointing fingers.

Every family seems like the Brady Bunch until you stick a flame to it.

Then it's like Lord of the Flies.

Everyone's getting along, then there's a crisis, things escalate, and the next thing you know, we're killing Piggy.

It's like this is our most basic human response when suffering occurs.

We devour each other.

We see it in Genesis 3.

The moment sin enters the world, Adam blames Eve, Eve blames the serpent.

I did this the other day.

I was outside, there was ice on the ground, Jay slipped and fell on the ice, he's hurt.

Judah's crying in the van.

I bump my head on the top of the van.

I mean, it's just like chaos.

And then Molly walks outside, and I'm so frustrated, I'm so mad at this crisis.

I look at her and I'm just like, where were you?

I'm just mad.

Poor Molly.

But James tells us, he says, don't do this.

Don't point fingers.

Don't blame others, especially the body of believers.

This isn't helping the situation.

It's unfruitful.

It creates division.

We need to unite in our tribulations, lock arms in our struggles, and love each other because we are better together.

Things are already hard enough during seasons of sorrow.

Okay, so don't make it worse by placing yourself under judgment.

And that's what James equates grumbling to.

He says, when you grumble against your friends in Christ, you are putting yourself under judgment.

So we don't want to do that because, end of verse 9, the judge is standing right outside the door.

I think parents can relate to this.

If you ever had a kid in the room with maybe they got friends over and the door is shut, you lean to hear what's going on.

Make sure everything's safe and okay.

Well, in the same way, the judge who knows all things and sees all things is about to, any day now, open the door.

And when he opens the door, he will expose and judge all things.

Therefore, I don't want to be found criticizing Christ's wife.

I don't want to be found gossiping and grumbling about one of his dearly beloved children.

I want to be found faithfully loving those whom Christ died for.

And just in case we need kind of a real life example of what it looks like to faithfully endure during hard times, James points to the Old Testament prophets and to Job as examples of patient overcomers in verses 10 and 11.

You know, the prophets, they faced some of the worst persecution in history.

They were destitute, naked, thrown in the bottom of wells, they were tortured, they were eventually killed by stoning or being burned alive.

I think Isaiah was sawed in two.

And yet they were persistent and faithful.

They stayed the course and they continued in their ministry even in the face of death.

We stand on the shoulders of the prophets.

And the same goes for Job, who endured undeserved loss and criticism from good friends.

If anyone had a reason to give up or grumble against his friends, it was him.

Yet he endured.

He did not curse God or renounce his faith or fold to the temptations that surrounded his tragedy.

Instead, he persevered and he triumphed over his tragedies.

And in the end, all things were made right for him.

And so it's vital to remind ourselves about the fathers of our faith.

It's important to look back at those who have gone before us because it reminds us that we are not alone.

Whether it's persecution from rich people or difficult circumstances, or maybe you have financial, emotional, physical suffering.

We're not alone in any of that.

There are Christians who have gone before us, who faced trials far greater than we will ever will in our lifetime.

And they fought the good fight, they stayed the course, they kept the faith, and so can we in Christ.

And James also reminds us at the end of verse 11 that the Lord is compassionate, he's merciful.

Because let's face it, guys, when we suffer, we tend to have a distorted view of God.

When life is going well, we're like, God is good, God is love, what an amazing God we serve, and then a storm comes in life and we flop on the floor and we're like, God, what are you doing?

You know, why are you being so mean to me?

Who are you?

Why do you hate me?

You know, our affections and our views for God can be so fickle.

And so James reminds us in our struggle that God is full, that means filled to the brim of love and mercy.

If you are here this morning, bewildered about how hard your life has been, questioning the goodness of God, feeling as if he doesn't care.

Well, I don't mean to be mean, but your feelings are not reality.

Because we serve a God who, as Hebrews 4 says, sympathizes with our weaknesses.

We serve a God who genuinely cares about your suffering.

He is listening, his ear is towards you, he is near to those who are broken and downtrodden and hurting.

He knows the depths of your tears even more than you do.

And then someone might object and say, well, if he cares so much, why doesn't he fix it?

Why doesn't he grant me relief?

And the answer to that question is because he is working out a greater purpose, a divine plan through our suffering.

God never promised us immunity from pain and sorrow.

Part of God's redemptive plan for suffering, for his people is suffering.

Not that he would remove us from hardships, but that he would sustain us through them safely to glory.

And so, whatever you're going through this morning, however bad your situation is, know this God is overflowing with compassion and love for you.

If you are his child, he dearly loves you, he knows your pain, and in due time, he will vindicate you.

If not in this life, then in the next.

And that is a biblical promise that you can cling to.

1 Peter 5 10 says this.

I love this verse.

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, here it is, after you have suffered for a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast.

Now James ends this whole argument by addressing a very common Jewish issue in verse 12.

In Jewish culture, it was very common to swear or make an oath or take vows.

However, because of sin, uh they totally abused and misused such things.

And so swearing was often used for two purposes.

One, it was used to affirm words, so we do this.

I swear on my mother's life that I'm not lying, people say that.

Or two, it was used to deceive people.

And so these Jewish Christians, they kind of had their own way of crossing their fingers behind their back to excuse themselves from commitments without guilt.

So why is this relevant?

Why is this so important that James actually says, if you look at the verse, above all, don't do this?

Well, because these Christian Jews were foolishly swearing during a time of persecution, and it was hurting their Christian witness.

So we do the same thing in a sense.

I remember I got arrested in Westerville.

This is before I was a Christian.

Uh it was New Year's Eve.

I was getting booked in Delaware County jail, and I looked up to the sky as I'm going in.

I'm like, God, if you get me out of this, I swear I will serve you all the days of my life.

I will I will read the Bible, I'll pray every day.

And miraculously, they let me go that night.

They did not, I did not spend one night in jail.

And not even an hour later, I was snorting cocaine and selling drugs.

Well, in Jewish culture, in a similar way, they would do kind of the same thing.

And even worse, they would make promises or oaths or vows based on their own rules.

And it was very deceptive.

For example, you could swear to something but not really mean it.

So you could say, Caesar is God, but in their mind they're thinking, no, he's not.

And so they could dodge persecution and so on, trying to keep their conscience okay.

So James, he's shutting all this down.

If we trust God, why do we need to lie?

Truth is the Christian's fundamental concern.

We are useless in sharing the gospel if we are not honest people who stick with our commitments, not just in deed, but in word.

So during hard times, don't make promises you can't keep.

Don't treat God like a vending machine, saying, God, if you get me out of this suffering, I'll do this for you.

Don't be flaky, don't be deceptive, but let your yes be yes and your no be no.

In other words, mean what you say and commit to it.

Period.

There's no need to tag a swearing of heaven or earth or your mother's grave at the end of it.

No matter how bad life gets for you, be a man or a woman of your word.

That is what honors the Lord.

So, Proclamation Church is a way to conclude this message.

I want to plead with you on just three simple points.

And the first is this do not love money.

And do not envy those who do.

And if there was any conviction going through verses 1 through 6, may you respond to that conviction with repentance.

Like Zacchaeus, if you need to go and make things right, do it.

Stop clinging to wealth, obsessing about money, accumulating stuff.

Stop trusting in created things.

It will only leave you empty.

As Jesus said in Matthew 6, you cannot serve two masters.

You cannot love both wealth and God.

You will end up loving one and hating the other.

Wherever your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

So, church, let your treasure be Christ.

Christ in him alone.

Secondly, be patient in your suffering, whatever it may be.

I know you're eager for relief.

You are deeply anticipating the time when the pain, the suffering comes to a complete end.

I understand that feeling.

But the day of full restoration, it's coming.

And it will be amazing.

But in the meantime, be patient.

Don't grumble.

Your suffering will not go on forever.

The wicked will not prosper forever.

And this evil fallen world will not continue to thrive.

Jesus will return, and he will execute everything that he has promised.

And lastly, use your words wisely in the struggle.

There's no need to make foolish promises to God.

There's no need to validate your commitments by swearing.

Be a good witness for Jesus as you suffer well.

And use not only your deeds but your words as a way to give God glory in the valley.

Because the world is watching.

And who knows, maybe God wants to use you and your words as a way to draw someone to himself.

That would be cool.

So, church, let's pray.