James (W. 10) - James 5:1-6

James 5:1-6

An emperor had no children. He decided to select a suitable successor to his throne from the boys of his empire. He proclaimed that the interested boys should assemble in the palace in the morning on a specified date. When the boys arrived, he said, “There is a simple test for you. I will give a seed to each of you. You must take it home and carefully plant it in a pot. Tend it giving all possible care and bring the pot to me at the same time next year. I will examine the pots and adopt the one I choose as my successor to the throne of this vast empire.”

The boys carried the seeds home and planted them. One of the boys found that his seed did not sprout even though he gave all possible care. He continued to tend the pot and water it daily, but could not get any result. The others tended their plantlets with the utmost care and grew beautiful and healthy plants in their pots.  Some of their plants developed buds and flowers.

After one year, all the boys reached the palace to proudly display the result of their sustained effort. The poor boy alone sat there without any plant to display. The emperor examined each pot and returned to his throne. He summoned the boy who could not grow the plant to come near him. The other boys laughed at the poor boy who was holding his barren pot. The king stood up and declared, “I had given each of you a seed after cooking it by prolonged and vigorous boiling in water to destroy its viability and to assure that it would not grow at all. But all of you, except this honest young man, have managed to raise plants using your own seeds to impress me and gain the throne by fraudulent means. Honesty, truthfulness, courage, and integrity are the qualities I expected in my successor. Only this boy has succeeded in the test. Hence, I proclaim that he shall be my successor.” The emperor embraced the boy. The other boys left the scene in shame.

Preliminary thoughts: James focuses his attention here on those that gain their wealth in an ungodly manner, make it the center of their lives, and fail to us it to benefit others. In other words, people that lie and approach their resources as their own. In a prideful sense.

“Wealth, then, is not always an advantage, but rather a spiritual handicap.” - R Kent Hughes

Think about Jesus’ message in the sermon on the mount - Matthew 6:24 - it is impossible to serve others.

Jesus also said”

Luke 12:15 ESV

15 And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

And Luke 12:34

Luke 12:34 ESV

34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Then again with the rich young ruler in Mark 10:22-27.

Jesus teaches that it is impossible for one who trusts in riches to get into heaven.

The more possessions we have the easier it is for us to be possessed by our possessions.

Do I handle my finances and wealth with wisdom or foolishly?

Points I have to hit based on the outline:

1. Foolish Christians make bad investments.

James 5:1–3 ESV

1 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. 3 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.

*Who is James talking about when he says, “Hey you rich people!” *Is this in any way a Condemnation of Wealth? *Is James somehow saying it’s a Sin to Make a lot of Money? NO -James is speaking Strait to the Rich who use their Wealth to Oppress the Poor

-Think back to ch4 - James had challenged Believers (Including the Wealthy) James 4:17 “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” *Gaining wealth is not bad, but refusing to invest your money in kingdom work is sin. -People try to make it complicated, but it’s simple. -We Invest in the things we value most. (Family, Kids, Leisure, Entertainment) *Commentators agree - James is speaking to Wealthy Unbelievers in ch 5 -He had just addressed Christians still following the world’s path to Repent >It is clear here that James is declaring these Rich People Hopeless <>But let’s clarify, Spiritually speaking, what makes an Investment Bad, or Unwise?

A. It’s Foolish to Invest in Temporary Enjoyment over Eternal Things

James 5:2 ESV

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

James 5:3 ESV

3 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.

The agrarian ancient world had three standard sources of wealth: harvested grain, clothing, and precious metals and jewels. James points out that hoarding is ruinous to all three.

What does this warning about hoarding mean for us today?

While the Bible does not discourage saving and prudential provision for one’s needs, it is dead set against the vast accumulation of self-directed wealth focused solely on perpetuating one’s own comforts and pleasures. A wise Christian will submit to these convicting words of God. Matthew 6:19-21

Matthew 6:19–21 ESV

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

What Jesus denounces our culture exalts.

What Jesus condemns our culture commends.

“The one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” Jesus says this is foolish.

The culture says, “Live comfortably.

Luke 12:16–21 ESV

16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” ’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

b. Foolish Investment is Believing the Return on this side of eternity is greater than the one on the other side of eternity

2. Foolish Christians keep what they should give.

I heard about a man that won the lottery. He had always promised the Lord and his pastor that he would give a quarter of whatever he won to the church.

The day he won the lottery, he brought in 3 million dollars. Shewww.

The next day he did what he promised.

He gave a quarter of it to the church.

His total earnings was now:

$2 million, 9 hundred and 99 thousand, 9 hundred and 99 dollars and 75 cents.

As silly as that sounds, many of us do the same thing with our resources.

James 5:4–6 ESV

4 Behold, 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. 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.

a. Growing Wealth should never come at the expense of someone else.

Here are a few other verses warning about fraud, or defrauding people:

Deuteronomy 24:14–15 ESV

14 “You shall not oppress a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of the sojourners who are in your land within your towns. 15 You shall give him his wages on the same day, before the sun sets (for he is poor and counts on it), lest he cry against you to the Lord, and you be guilty of sin.

Leviticus 19:13 ESV

13 “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.

Proverbs 3:27–28 ESV

27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it. 28 Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come again, tomorrow I will give it”—when you have it with you.

James called them out for defrauding people.

James 5:4 ESV

4 Behold, 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.

This was a heinous crime because:

The poverty-stricken workers were living hand-to-mouth, and a day without wages was a day without food.

The owners were doing this at harvesttime when their barns were full and the wine red inthe press. Imagine your employer sitting in a Thanksgiving Eve service before a sumptuously decorated table aglow in the flickering amber light of candles, singing, ‘Now thank we all our done, in whome his world rejoices.’ while you are sitting outside and cannot afford a turkey.

There are two cries here:

The cry of the defrauded - like the cry of Abel.

and the cries of the harvesters.

James 5:1 ESV

1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you.

This idea of weeping and howling comes when we recognize that we’ve been wrong with how we’ve handled our finances.

3. Wise Christians make eternal investments.

2 Corinthians 9:6–7 ESV

6 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

How can I be a cheerful giver?

a. Cheerful Givers Have a Godly Burden

b. Cheerful Givers are Stewards

c. Cheerful Givers are