The Here & Now

How do we reflect eternity in our daily living? (4:13-14)

“come now” sets an admonishing tone

Yield our ambition (13)

What is the rebuke here? James is addressing who have plans and who desire to make a profit in their businesses? Is this, itself wrong? If not, what’s the problem?

worldly self-confidence in how they pursue their goals and aspirations

planning that stems from human arrogance… a presumption to have an ability to determine the course of future events

Recognize our fragility (14)

Question: We can readily agree that we do not know what tomorrow will bring. But James expands on this fact by making clear that our lives are a mist.

What is James saying about our lives by describing them as a mist?

human life is fleeting and transitory… from our perspective it is unpredictable. based on what we see in this passage, where’s the comfort in life, if life is so unpredictable?

What’s the connection between our inability to know what tomorrow will bring and the fleeting nature of our lives?

the fleeting nature of our lives and the lives around us is the reason why we are unable to know what tomorrow will bring.

Proverbs 27:1 ESV

Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.

What about our approach to our daily living can demonstrate God’s rule over our days? (4:15-17)

“Instead” (v. 15) connects us back to v. 13 - come you who today or tomorrow etc.... Instead you ought to say...

Recognize that every aspect of our lives is fundamentally spiritual (15)

Question: Many people who do not recognize God’s authority may acknowledge the fleeting and unpredictable nature of their lives. Why should recognizing that our lives are under the control of God be comforting? Where’s the certainty in a world view that says, “if the Lord wills”?

Question: How does the “if the Lord wills” world view impact our planning and priorities?

all of our plans and priorities will run through the filter of the Bible

Boast in the right things (16)

Question: In 1:9, the lowly are told to boast (same word used here in v. 16) in his exhalation. Here, James literally says that “all such boasting in your boastfulness” is evil. What’s the difference between the 2 scenarios of boasting?

The object of our boasting. Here in chapt 4, James makes clear that the boasting that is evil arises from arrogance. It is presumptuous in that it assumes an ability to generate and control the results of our efforts.

Pursue God’s glory in all things (17)

Question: How is verse 17 connected to the previous 4 verses?

The word “so” or “therefore” let’s us know that James intends for us to understand that v. 17 is connected to the previous verses. It is directly connected to exhortation in v. 15, instead you ought to say, if the Lord wills.... This is the approach to life God’s people are to take, and given that we know this, when we choose not to take this approach, we sin. We can’t claim ignorance here.

So far, James has called out the presumptuous approach to life that some embraced. And people who approach life this way, will often be guilty of misusing their power and wealth.

How do we know if our corruption has prevailed in our possession and use of our riches? (5:1-6)

A diminished return on our returns (2-3)

Who are the rich?

not a reference to a certain amount of money

not a reference to a certain approach to economy

Consider Abraham - see James 2:21-23.

The rich are:

proud

James 1:9–10 ESV

Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away.

oppressors

James 2:6–7 ESV

But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?

self-assured - see 4:13-16

Question: What does James communicate about this inappropriate valuing of wealth through the imagery in verses 1-3?

This kind of relationship to wealth will bring misery (1)

Loss (2)

Judgement (3)

Contrast v. 3 with Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:19-21

Matthew 6:19–21 ESV

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Question: What clarity do these words of Jesus bring to the kind of relationship we are to have to wealth?

A commitment to avoiding expense at the expense of others

Leviticus 19:13 ESV

“You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning.

Micah 3:5 ESV

Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who lead my people astray, who cry “Peace” when they have something to eat, but declare war against him who puts nothing into their mouths.

Question: What does the imagery of the wages crying out out against the corrupt employers convey about the tactics of the employers?

what the employers thought they were doing in secret and free of consequence is not hidden from the Lord. This is similar to Cain and Abel… the blood of Abel was crying out.

Question: The title the Lord of hosts is picturing the Lord as the leader of an army. Why does James use this title when making clear that the wrongdoing of the rich has become known to God?

He is making clear that the rich’s fraud is known by a holy, powerful God who is determined to judge those who infringe His commandments.

An indifference to the suffering of others (5-6)

Consider Luke 16:25

Luke 16:25 ESV

But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.

the ease of the rich and the suffering of the poor in this life would be reversed in the life to come.

This is referenced in v. 5 where James says you have lived on the earth in luxury.

This is further confirmed by the phrase day of slaughter at the end of v. 5. It seems to refer to the reversal of fortunes that will come when the Lord returns. See 5:7.

Question: What does James mean by accusing some of fattening their hearts?

the rich are accumulating wealth and wastefully spending it on their own pleasures even though the Day of the Lord is imminent.

“They are like cattle being fattened for the kill” (commentator)

You have condemned and murdered the righteous person (6)

Judicially murdered the righteous

The rich have denied their laborers of the due wages, and even if the laborers attempt to settle this in court, the rich could have produced false witnesses.

Exodus 23:6–7 ESV

“You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his lawsuit. Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and righteous, for I will not acquit the wicked.

He does not resist you…

References the poor’s inability to overcome the oppression of the rich.