Arrogance and the Lord's Will: James 4:13-5:6

Introduction

This morning, we continue in our sermon series through the book of James. We will be studying James 4:13-5:6.

In our passage this morning, James is referring specifically to the arrogance of some businessmen and the rich. However, since it is the Word of God, even if you and I are not in those categories, it is till applicable and beneficial to our lives and sanctification.

Let us read together:

James 4:13–5:6 ESV

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 a 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. So 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 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. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.

I’m sure no one here watched the spectacle that was the “boxing match” between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson. The whole fiasco reeked of arrogance from all sides. From the entrance of Jake Paul and his diamond encrusted gear, to Mike Tyson entering the ring one last time, the whole thing was a showcase in pride, arrogance, and greed. There was not one moment where anyone reflected on the goodness and graciousness of God, but rather there was a whole lot of naval gazing.

And immediately after the hug fest, there was already questions about who each “fighter” was going to fight against. They both just won an insane amount of money and the first thing they talk about is the next fight.

James would tell them, “You’re planning how to get the next big pay out but do you know what is going to happen tomorrow? Your life is a vapor and it is by the mercy of the Lord that you live today! Seek the will of the Lord and then make your plans. Instead, you glory in your arrogance and pride. And you do not realize that all your riches and expensive things are rotting away and worthless.”

In this morning’s passage, we see two main ideas:

The Lord is the Master of our Lives

The Lord Does not Forget Injustice

These two points are complete contrasts to the arrogant and prideful. Our arrogance will hear the words of songs like “Believer” by Imagine Dragons and agree with them. “Don’t you tell me what you think that I could be I’m the master at the sail, I’m the master of my sea.”

Arrogance and pride will tell us that we can make all the plans we want to because we know for a fact that we will wake up in the morning.

I’m 24 years old, I have my whole life ahead of me I can make a 5 year plan and not even think twice about what I am being called to do now. God can wait until I’m 30. Right now it’s my time.

And James would look at me and say, “Come now, have a seat in my office.”

The American dream tells us to run over whoever however many times it takes for us to achieve our dreams. “It’s ok! They’re all trying to do the same thing! They’ll get over it!”

And James would argue, “the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord.”

This morning, we must confront something that is deeply ingrained in all of us, our arrogance and selfishness.

1. The Lord is the Master of Our Lives

When I read verses 13 and 17, I felt my heart sink. I make plans all the time. I have plans for school. I have plans for after I get my degree and everything I do is to accomplish those plans. And yet, James says that this is boasting in arrogance.

Is making plans a sin? Is it arrogant to keep a schedule and to make appointments or to plan things with friends and family? Surely we aren’t sinning by making plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I think it’s bogus to claim that plans are evil and we are arrogant for making them. However, what is the manner in which we make those plans?

Notice the difference between the statements in verses 13 and 15. James writes that the arrogant will say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit.” And in verse 15, he says that what should be said is, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”

The person that says the first statement assumes that there will both be a tomorrow and that they will make a profit. But the second statement shows a realization that the Lord’s will is what guides our lives.

We have been created by God for a purpose. Paul says that we are clay vessels in the hands of the potter who is able to mold us and change us to fit his will.

Proverbs 16:9 “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”

Because we are created by God we can make all the plans we want but it is the Will of God that directs our circumstances, our opportunities, our successes, and failures.

It is not arrogant for us to make plans, it is arrogant for us to assume that our plans are set in stone because we are the masters of our lives.

We are not the masters of our lives. None of us can say for certain what the next 5 years holds for us. None of us can say what the next 5 months or 5 days, or even 5 minutes holds for us. I can plan to go to work at 6 am tomorrow morning, but I can’t tell you for 100% certainty that I have a tomorrow.

Why? Because as James wrote in verse 14, I am a “mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” If I could tell you that 100% of my plans will come to fruition 100% of the time, then I would be God and have full control over my life. But reality is, I can’t tell you if even 1 of my plans will come true.

And arrogance will blind me from seeing that and will cause me to be a fool and arrogantly proclaim that I know how my life will play out.

In reality, God and God alone is the Master of my life. Only He knows how my life will turn out and it is not a surprise to Him and nothing that has happened, is happening or will happen is outside His control. The Will of God is final and nothing can happen outside of it. The one who is wise and humble will realize this, and say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”

To be honest, “If the Lord wills,” is one of those Christianese phrases that I just couldn’t stand. Most of the time it feels like a lot of people use this phrase to portray themselves as an ultra Christian. It’s up there with “Blessed and Highly favored.”

But the truth of the matter is that the genuine Christian should realize that it is only by the Lord’s will that we wake up each morning. The Christian realizes that “In Him we live and move and have our being.” If our lives are held in the hands of God, and if you and I truly believe that, our attitudes should reflect that.

Our attitudes toward our lives should be “If the Lord Wills, I will live and do.” It’s not that we do not make plans, but we make plans in full view of the reality that God sustains us. We submit our plans to the will of God and in doing so we glorify God.

Remember, the will of the Lord is for us to glorify Him in our lives. When we remind ourselves that the Lord is the Master of our lives, and that His will for our lives is to glorify Him, we will live our lives and make plans in such a way that glorifies God. In doing so, we will not boast in our arrogance but we will boast in the Lord.

2. The Lord Does not Forget Injustice

James 5:1–6 ESV

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 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 have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.

We move from a scathing portion of scripture to another scathing portion of scripture. James goes from the arrogant person who foolishly thinks their lives are in their own hands to the rich who use and abuse people under them.

“Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you.” Why are there miseries coming to the rich? Verses 3 and four tells us that they have stored their treasure and have cheated their workers from a fair wage. They have lived in luxury and indulgence and have “condemned and murdered the righteous person.” Terrifyingly, James compares the rich person here as that of a fattened calf before a slaughter.

Once again, we must ask ourselves is James saying that it is a sin to be wealthy? I don’t think so. It is a wicked thing, however, if someone gains their wealth through crooked means. I think what James is really getting at is the danger of greed. Greed can only do one thing: tear down. The greedy person will lie, cheat, and steal in order to obtain more and more and more. They can gain the world and then they will one day realize that their riches have rotted and their garments are moth eaten. Their gold and silver have corroded. Greed does not satisfy and one day, everything a person gains out of greed will fall away.

So many people are chasing after money and fame and luxury and in doing so they trample over people and give their lives over to greed.

James tells the the rich man and the greedy person to weep and howl because judgement is coming. The cries of the oppressed have been heard by God and he will respond in vengeance.

God does not forget injustice. And will judge those who have been oppressors in the pursuit of riches. They will know the foolishness of their pursuit when they see their treasured wealth as it is, rubbish.

The warning for the believer is simple: pursue holiness and the good of others above your own desires and wealth. Jesus warns us in Matthew 6:19–21 ““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.”

Conclusion

The American Dream tells us to plan our lives to make the most money and to live a luxurious life. But God does not call us to that. Rather, God calls us to pursue Him and his will for our lives. To glorify Him above all else and to generously spend ourselves for the sake of the Gospel. Our lives should reflect the selflessness of Christ and gratitude for being sustained by God.

Application

Thank God for waking you up this morning

Donate your time, money, and possessions

Repent for taking your life for granted

Communion

As the men prepare the elements for communion, I want to pause and remind everyone of the purpose of communion. Communion is not just something that we do as a tradition or a ritual. Communion is a time of remembrance and celebration. As we eat the cracker, and drink the juice, we remember the cost of our salvation. We have been ransomed by the sacrificial death of Jesus. Jesus did not get killed or murdered, but he laid his life down willingly for us so that through Him we might live. He washed us clean from our sins by His blood and has given us his righteousness. We remember his body that was crushed so that we may be made whole.

We also celebrate that death did not hold Jesus but he has conquered the grave and that one day death will be put under his feet once and for all. We will life with him forever in the new earth. We celebrate His victory over sin and we eagerly wait expectantly for his soon return.

I am going to read Revelation 5 and after I am done, take a moment and reflect on the glorious Christ. After you are done, come up and receive the elements. And wait at your seat to take communion together.

Revelation 5 ESV

Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

Mark 14:22–25 ESV

And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

Benediction

Numbers 6:24–26 ESV

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.