Well, I invite you to turn in your Bibles to the book of James, James chapter 5. If you're using the Pew Bibles, that can be found on page 1201. 1201, James chapter 5. We've taken a break from the book of James, but we pick back up this evening at verse 1 of chapter 5. But for context, I'm going to begin our reading at verse 13 of chapter 4, and then we will read down through verse 12 of chapter 5. So James, beginning our reading at chapter 4, verse 13:
"Come now, you who say, today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make profit. Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, if the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that. As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. Whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
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 laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvester 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've condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.
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 the late rains. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged. Behold, the judge is standing 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 how the lord is compassionate and merciful. But above all, 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."
What we hear often today talks of the rich oppressing the poor. In fact, I think it's become somewhat popularized to talk about such oppression. Well, according to James, much hasn't changed for us as humans. Not that James is writing here on this subject because it's popular for him to do so not at all! James is writing on this subject because Christians were literally facing harsh and real oppression by their rich neighbors.
Now, James has had much to say about the rich and poor. If you remember, if you would turn back to chapter one, where he says, "Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation and the rich in his humiliation, like a flower of the grass he 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."
And then James goes on in chapter 2 again, speaking of the rich and the poor: "My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears a fine clothing and say, you sit here in a good place while you say to the poor man, you stand over there or sit down at my feet have you not made a distinction among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor. Are not the rich ones the ones who are oppressing you? And the ones who drag you into court are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?"
Well, here in chapter 5, James again revisits the topic of the rich and the poor. But now he addresses the rich directly. You see, James has alluded all along throughout this letter that he was writing to Christians who have been persecuted and oppressed. And that's why the theme of suffering and trials runs throughout this letter. In fact, right up in front at the beginning of this letter, back at verse 2 of chapter 1, James mentions trials of various kinds. And then, if you recall, in the opening of this letter, he addresses the contents of the letter to the 12 tribes of the dispersion. All of this gives us, the readers, the idea that James is writing to Christians who were suffering. Christians who were being oppressed. Christians who were being persecuted.
You see, in the first century, it was very costly for people to follow Jesus Christ. Persecution abounded for the followers of Jesus Christ. Christians in the first century would have been persecuted by Jews who rejected Jesus. But Christians would have also been persecuted by Gentiles who could not imagine how anyone would trust in a Savior who was crucified upon a cross. And so Christians would have been easy targets for persecution and oppression. And so what James says here has real application to the lives of his readers. This wasn't some apparent oppression. This wasn't some Marxist theory that James is working out. This isn't liberal or liberation theology that he is speaking of. The Christians to whom James is writing to were facing real and ongoing oppression. They were facing this at the hands of their rich neighbors. And so this text would have stood to encourage these Christians to stand strong in the Lord, even in the face of their suffering and oppression.
And so I want to consider with you tonight two points that James brings up in these texts. First: the warning to the wealthy. the warning to the wealthy and second the reminder to the righteous. the warning to the wealthy and the reminder to the righteous
James begins verse 1 of chapter 5 with some harsh words, does he not? "Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted. Your garments are moth eaten Your gold and silver have corroded. Their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You've laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mow 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. You've lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You've fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You've condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you."
Harsh words, most certainly. But these are not just harsh words. these are condemning words And it's these condemning words of James here that lead many today to ask: Who is it that James is addressing here? Who is he directing these condemning words towards? Could James be addressing Christians here in this way?
I think it's pretty clear he could not be addressing Christians in this way, and that he is not addressing Christians here, but he is addressing their rich neighbors their rich unbelieving neighbors who are persecuting them, who are oppressing them. James addresses the rich, who he had already alluded to, again back in verse 6 of chapter 2, when he says, "Are not the rich the ones who oppress you? And the ones who drag you into court but this conclusion then leads to another question why why would james address a group of people here who would likely never read or even hear this letter read. But you see, addressing unbelievers is not an unfamiliar practice within the Bible. In the prophetic books of the Old Testament, you can find the prophets addressing the unbelieving nations surrounding Israel and Judah. Unbelieving nations who would have persecuted Israel. Unbelieving nations who were wicked and perverse and therefore condemned for that wickedness and perversion we see this in places like isaiah 13 6 where isaiah prophesies judgment against babylon he says they'll wail for the day of the lord is near as destruction from the almighty it will come therefore all hands will be feeble every human heart will melt they will be dismayed pangs and agony will seize them they will be in anguish like a woman in labor or isaiah 10 where the prophet prophesies judgment upon assyria saying when the lord has finished all his work on mount zion and on jerusalem he will punish the speech of the arrogant heart of the king of assyria and the boastful look in his eyes for he says by the strength of my hand i have done it and by my wisdom i have understanding or in isaiah 14, where the prophet declares judgment against Philistia, wail, O gate, cry out, O city, melt in fear, O Philistia, all of you. In each of these cases, God declares through his messenger judgment upon the wicked, whether those wicked hear this declaration or not. And so James, in line with those declarations does the same thing here. He declares judgment upon the rich persecutors and oppressors of his people. You see, what James is saying here is a continuation, what he has spoken of back in chapter 4 regarding worldly wisdom and godly wisdom. If you recall, brothers and sisters, godly wisdom is wisdom displayed through meekness and humility. Godly wisdom is wisdom that is displayed in good conduct and genuine religion. While worldly religion or worldly wisdom is displayed through selfish ambition and bitter jealousy. And so James calls those tempted to worldly wisdom to deny such wisdom and to be broken over their sin in chapter 4, to humble themselves before the Lord, to repent. And the wonderful truth is to those who humble themselves before the Lord, the Lord is gracious, the Lord is kind, and he will exalt them. But that can't be said of the proud and arrogant. Not so for those who embrace wholeheartedly worldly wisdom. Just think about it. Where does pride and arrogance reside unchecked? Where does worldly wisdom expressed through selfish ambition and bitter jealousy reside unchecked? Do they not so easily reside in the hearts and minds of those who trust in their riches, trust in their wealth, and oppose and suppress and oppress others by that wealth? The rich can so easily live by worldly wisdom. The rich can so easily live by bitter jealousy and selfish ambition. The rich believe their money is their God and the influence that their money can provide them will determine how life will go for them. And that's Why? James in the previous section, the section that we read for context, kind of speaks of how presumptuous people can be about their living. We'll go here we'll go there, we'll do this and do that and we will gain this and that. That's the mentality of the rich and their worldly wisdom. Selfish ambition. Wealth, riches, money, possession are what the heart of the wealthy trust in. That's why we all understand the statement or the answer of J.D. Rockefeller when he was once asked, how much money is enough? And he sarcastically answered, just a little bit more. It's a great peek into the heart of the rich.
But while what was true in James' day is still true today. And that's why Jesus said, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again, the rich trust in their wealth. Now that's not to say that riches and wealth and money and possessions are in and of themselves evil. They are not. It's not the possession of such things that is the problem, but the heart of the man who trusts in those things. That's the problem. See, we should think of wealth as a tool. A tool to serve the Lord. A tool to serve others. a tool to show forth the love and compassion of Christ. That's essentially how James would have us spend wealth or use wealth. Remember, true religion, according to James, is to visit orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained from the world. Now, it's true that wealth can lead to temptation to participate in worldliness, but it doesn't have to. Instead, one's wealth could be used for the benefit of those who have been afflicted in life, the widow, the orphan. And we can just think throughout history how wealth has been used as a blessing for such people. So, of course, it is true, as Jesus said, where your treasure is, there your heart will be. And the good person out of the good treasure brings forth good, while the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. The problem with riches and wealth and money is the heart of man. You see, we don't espouse liberation theology, which believes that all wealth is evil. Now, I mention liberation theology because liberation theologians often use passages such as James 5 to spread and support their claims of wealth and redistribution of wealth. but let's be honest even if we did redistribute all the money that anyone and everyone has would that solve our problem the problem is the heart of man our hearts are evil you see in the life of a christian who lives according to the wisdom of god wealth again can be a great blessing an opportunity to be generous as paul says, in ephesians 4 to have something to share with anyone who finds themselves in need in the heart of one who trusts in the Lord wealth riches and money doesn't need to be a stumbling block but in the heart of a wicked person in the heart of those who spurn faith in christ spurn humility and meekness who trust in themselves and their wealth and the the influence and the power that they can gain through their wealth well that money that riches is an opportunity to assert themselves along the lines of selfish ambition and to extort and exploit others along the lines of bitter jealousy wealth in the hands as jesus says of a evil heart is not a tool but a weapon and so it's no wonder that james condemns in such harsh terms these people in this text he warns the rich here numerous times come now you rich weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you the miseries that james speaks of here are the judgments that the rich have earned through their exploitation. And then he says, your riches have rotted, your garments are moth-eaten. James speaks here of the transitory nature of wealth. Wealth is fleeting. It's here one moment, gone the next. And what does one gain through wealth when they come to the end of their life? When all is said and done and one stands before God, what can their wealth and riches do for them? Well, James tells us. They can stand as evidence against them. Evidence to condemn them. If, as James says here, these people have fattened their hearts through the exploitation of others only to be ready for the day of slaughter, or they've condemned and murdered the poor whom they have oppressed, what recourse will they have? They will have no recourse. They will have no excuse. They may have lived in earthly luxury and self-indulgence, as James says, but they too will one day die. They will die and they will sadly die in fear and expectation of judgment and wrath for the wrongs that they know that they've participated in Now this is a heavy text for those that it is intended for. But like the warnings of impending judgment pronounced upon the nations around Israel, Babylon, Assyria, Philistia: texts like this don't simply issue a strong warning or condemnation or judgment against these people. Texts like this at the same time offer a strong word of encouragement to God's people, reminding them that although they may have been cheated, they may have been oppressed, they may have been exploited in this life, God, their God, is their defender. And that takes us to our second point tonight, the reminder to the righteous. Behind each of these warnings to the rich and wealthy stand the reminder to God's people that he will ultimately defend them. He will grant them the justice that they so desire and have asked for. Vengeance is mine, says the Lord. And that's not a cliche. That's a truth and reality that indeed one day God will right every wrong. One day he will judge every sinful act one day he will condemn all unrighteous oppression just as the psalms so beautifully remind us like psalm 27 which we sang earlier in this service the lord is my light and my salvation whom shall i fear the lord is the stronghold of my life of whom shall i be afraid when evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh my adversaries and foes it is they who stumble and fall. Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear. The war arise against me, yet I will be confident. Or Psalm 35. Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me. Fight against those who fight against me. Take hold of shield and buckler and rise for my help. Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers. Say to my soul, I am your salvation. Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord, exalting
In his salvation. All my bones shall say, O Lord, who is like you? Delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him. The poor and needy from him who robs him. The warnings to the rich and unrighteous at the same time remind God's people that the Lord is their salvation. His judgment is coming. And so the words of James here, as inspired, God-breathed, words of Scripture, will not return void. In fact, in the lives of those who oppress God's people in the first century, these very words have already come to fruition. Those rich oppressors who thought by their riches they could get away, they could escape judgment And oppress God's people, they're dead today. They have faced their Maker. They have faced the judgment of God and how dreadful it is to fall into the hands of the living God. And that goes for all and any who would oppress God's people. Let me ask you tonight, where are the Babylonians today? Where are the Assyrians today? Where are the Philistines today? Now, sure, there might be a remnant here and there. in fact, I have a very good friend who is a descendant of the Assyrians. His family comes from Iraq. He's an Assyrian. But in terms of their power and influence, their wealth, their oppression, where are these nations? Where are these people? They've been swept away, just as God's word had declared, with their money, with their power, with their influence. And so this warning, first and foremost, stands to remind God's people that their oppressors will one day face the judgment of God. But secondly, this warning reminds God's people. to be patient, to be strong in their hearts and to be steadfast in the midst of their oppression. and that's exactly what James calls these christians to james calls these christians to some form of patience perseverance steadfastness and strength three times in this passage first he says in verse seven be patient therefore brothers until the coming of the lord now we all know that we need patience we need patience with our spouses we need patience with our children we need patience with each other but how about when we face unjust oppression we most certainly need patience in those moments it's at moments like that when we are tempted to take matters into our own hands right our immediate gut reaction is to to fight fire with fire to retaliate to seek vengeance but as god's people were called to instead be patient now that doesn't mean that as christians we have to roll over and take oppression and injustice no we may need to seek help from the proper authorities we might report a crime or exploitation but even as we do that we should do so with a heart that is patient a heart that patiently waits upon the lord waiting upon the lord to wrong or to right the wrongs that we face now for these christians in the first century that james is writing to they lived in a day and age didn't afford them the opportunity to report anything to any authorities. They had to face their oppressors and the oppression, humanly speaking, on their own, by themselves. Now I say humanly speaking, because we all know that God was with them. and that's what James reminds these Christians of. He says, be patient. The Lord is coming until the coming of the Lord. He reminds these Christians that although it may seem like they are facing this opposition, this persecution, this oppression, this exploitation by themselves, God is with them. The Lord is always with his people. And that's why we can be patient in the midst of such oppression. James is ultimately calling these Christians to be patient with the Lord, be patient with his timing, be patient with his will. And the truth is we all need to hear this, don't we? We need to hear this today. We may not face the kind of injustices and persecutions that our brothers and sisters face in the first century or our brothers and sisters in other countries face. But even today in the U.S., we are finding more And more that Christians are on the receiving end of persecution. And so this call to be patient is a call that we all need to take to heart. If and when we face oppression and persecution, we too must patiently wait upon the Lord. Well, patience isn't the only thing that James reminds these Christians of here. He also reminds them to be established in their hearts james calls these christians to be patient in verse 7 he then repeats that in the beginning of verse 8 but then in verse 8 he adds something he says you also be patient establish your hearts for the coming of the lord is, at hand along with patience james calls christians to be established in their hearts now the word that james uses here for established is the same word that luke uses and luke chapter 9 verse 51 where it speaks there of jesus setting his face to go to jerusalem jesus established his face to go to jerusalem james is calling christians here to set their hearts to be established to set their hearts in such a way that they would be undeterred james is essentially calling these christians to stand firm in their hearts in the lord he's calling them to establish their heart in the reality that the lord is at hand he's in control he's in their grip he is with them and when i think of someone who heart was set i think of a soldier a soldier in the medieval period who found themselves on the front line of a battlefield as a charge towards their enemy opposition knowing that with that charge they would likely lose their lives but those soldiers hearts were set on the task before them that mindset luke tells us is the mindset that jesus had while heading towards jerusalem jesus knew what was awaiting him he knew what he would encounter he knew what he would face but he was dead set on the task before him nothing would deter him now we could only imagine the pressure and the anxiety and the strain that jesus went through but our lord was established in his heart for the task before him to live and die for us and our salvation and now james calls his christian listeners and us here tonight to have that same mindset when we face oppression and injustice with christ in mind to have our own hearts established set in him reminding us that he is with us even in the midst of this trouble and this speaks of the kind of mindset that we need to meditate upon does it not the kind of mindset that we need to mentally prepare for you see i don't think people just wake up one morning and have their hearts established they don't just one day in the face of opposition find themselves ready for such opposition no we need to prepare as God's people we need to cultivate and regularly put on the mind of Christ we need to meditate upon the sacrifice of Christ the perseverance of Christ so that we might be firmly planted in him and therefore ready to trust him in any and all circumstances So let me ask you tonight, is your heart established? Are you ready to face persecution? Are you ready to face unjust opposition and oppression? If you found yourself unjustly opposed tomorrow morning at work, how would you respond? with patience realizing that you are still in
The grip of Christ the Lord is with you you can endure such opposition such oppression or would you in an un-Christ-like manner be inclined to respond fire with fire that's a serious question isn't it how would we respond to unjust opposition james speaks here of christians even lashing out against others he says don't do that brothers and sisters don't grumble against one another's so that you may not be judged we can imagine the pressure of this unjust oppression upon them causing them to begin to lash out against each other. When we feel pressure, that happens too, don't we? We vent it on our family, on our friends, even our brothers and sisters within The church. But that's not how we must respond. That's not how we have to respond this is a probably a trivial example but i think we often think of ourselves as feeling a kind of unjust oppression while driving on the road right people are crazy on the road people drive today as if others are their adversaries their enemies they're looking to try to get over each other on the road. And so I know all of us have been cut off at some point in time. And how do you respond to being cut off? Do you patiently just say, I wonder if that guy's having a bad day? Or do you, in a like manner, say to yourself, I'll teach him a lesson. He's going to cut me off. Let's see how he likes to be cut off. that's how most people respond today, do they not? Fire with fire. Well, James, ends this section with one last reminder. The reminder to be steadfast. Verse 11, Behold, we consider those blessed who remain steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job. Steadfastness, the word that James uses here, can also be translated persevere. Perseverance, which means to continue the right course despite difficulty or resistance or opposition. James brings up the example of Job. Think about Job. Think about what Job went through. Well, Job wasn't perfect through his suffering. He didn't break faith with the Lord, did he? Remember, it was Job's wife who told him to curse god and die and job responded to that by saying shall we receive good from the hand of the lord and not also receive evil that's a great statement of job expressing steadfastness perseverance as james did in verse 9 he again calls these christians to avoid sinful responses to the oppression that they face the sinful response he has here, in mind is making hasty and rash vows to the lord with the pressure of being oppressed we can imagine the knee-jerk reaction one might take in vowing to the lord lord if you could get me out of this predicament if you can get me out of this situation i swear by heaven and earth to do such and such james says like his brother christ instead of hasty, rash vows, simply speak the truth to the Lord. And speaking the truth is what leads James to go to the next section that we will cover next time on prayer. We can imagine how any and all oppression would lead anyone to pray. Brothers and sisters, what's the application of all of this tonight? Trust the Lord. Trust the Lord in all circumstances. Trust the Lord whether you are being oppressed. Trust the Lord whether you are being blessed. And we have a great reason to trust our Lord and Savior. He has proven his love to us. He has proven that he is trustworthy. Our Savior has lived and died. He was the one who received unjust oppression. And he did so, not to save himself, but to save us. Trust in him. Let's pray. Lord, a text like this is so practical and real. We realize, Father, living in the country that we do, that we don't often face persecution. And yet, so many of our brothers and sisters in other places regularly face such oppression and persecution. And so we pray, Lord, that through this text, You would prepare us. You would prepare us by Your Spirit, Lord, to endure any injustice, Lord, any oppression, any persecution, may we not respond in an un-Christlike manner, but may we trust in You and be patient, steadfast, and persevere. We pray all this in Christ's name. Amen.