God’s Justice Against Prideful Riches

Bible Passage: James 5:1–7

Summary: James 5:1-7 addresses the injustices caused by the rich who exploit their wealth and power, warning them of impending judgment. The passage encourages believers to remain patient and steadfast in their faith, trusting that God will enact justice against the wrongdoings of the prideful.

Big Idea: In a world where the prideful rich seem to reign, God calls us to remain patient in our faith, trusting that He will bring justice in His perfect timing.

Introduction

What is up guys?

How was your week?

Is anyone else tired like I am today?

Alright so today we are going to be talking about an odd topic to address with y’ll, but I wanted to start off with a question.

If you had a million dollars, what would you do with it?

Have you ever witnessed someone use their strengths, power, or wealth unjustly?

So today we are going to talk about some people in the Bible who did not use their wealth in a good way.

1. Warning to the Wealthy

James 5:1–3 CSB

Come now, you rich people, weep and wail over the miseries that are coming on you. Your wealth has rotted and your clothes are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have stored up treasure in the last days.

So this passage starts off by saying, who James is talking too.

He says come now, you rich people.

This is a different introduction that what James normally says,

He generally says, “brothers and sister”

he generally says hey those of you who are trusting in me.

But this time he says you rich people.

He is addressing people who are not believers, who are not in the family of God.

So you might be thinking the same thing that I am, well great… Now I have to listen to a message that doesn’t apply to me.

I am not rich.

And I am a Christian.

So in trying to figure out how to I preach this message to a group of people who have no money, and if you do have money and would consider yourself rich thats great really listen up, but I assume most of us are not rich.

I realized that most of the people reading this would not have had money.

Also, why would a non-believer be reading a letter written to Christians?

So guess what, the people in this context were in the same boat as you guys.

This means there is still lesson to be learned.

Guess what, you might have money one day.

It might not be wealth, but what is eating you alive because you have not surrendered it to the Lord?

We all have something.

You have to search the depths of your heart to find out what have I not confessed to God.

For these rich people it is their wealth.

James says in verse one that they should be weeping and crying in their misery.

The problem is that they have no misery.

They are content, they have money, they are okay with where they are.

They want more money and do not see the problem with hoarding it all.

Guys I want to make this clear and it is made clearer as we go on in the text, but James is not saying it is a sin to be rich.

There are rich people who love the Lord.

Rich people who are giving and using their money for the kingdom.

There is nothing wrong with having a lot of money.

But these people are doing nothing with it.

We see that it is sitting there and moths are clinging to it like an abandoned building.

That it is sitting and corroding like a piece of metal left outside in the weather for years.

Incase you did not know, gold does not corrode.

So what this is saying is like hey this is extreme, you are making gold corrode.

That these people have all these resources, but are not using it for God.

So God does not care if you have money, but if you do, use it for him.

Misuse leads to misery

What resources do you have that can be used for the Kingdom?

Maybe it isn’t material like money, but maybe God has given you skills.

If you play band, soccer, lacrosse, you draw, whatever it might be why not use those things for God’s Kingdom.

Like I am good at making friends, great, make friends with non-beleivers and tell them about Jesus.

but whatever the skill is, it cannot get in the way of Jesus.

The rich should be crying out because they are on the path caring more about money than they do God.

But they do not.

There are things that can damage us and we do not even know it.

James is telling these people that moths have eaten their clothes, that their money is killing them.

They are not changing their ways.

And it is easy to sit back and point fingers at them, say man who do they not realize what they are doing is sin, but that is us so many times.

It can be easy to think that we are right and others are wrong.

Anyone else have a hard time admitting when they are wrong? or is it just me?

In college I was in a discipleship group and really it was an accountability group, we would confess sin, learn how to try and not fall again, but I found one thing to be true for everyone I was ever in a group with…

There is always more.

A question that I would constantly ask is “what is your 2%”

Because it is easy to open up about 98% of your life, say hey this part of my life is hard, this part of my life is good.

But then there is that last 2%, and there were two things that I would find out.

One: they were doing something and were completely blind to it.

Just like in this story, these rich people were just living, just loving their money.

Two: They had hidden it so much, they never let anyone know, and they have convinced theirselves that it is not bad.

This is why Christian community is so important guys.

Other people see the things that we do not.

So bring your sin into the light and try to find what you have not turned over to God.

Because living in sin is Corroding your life.

When things are corroded they lose value.

Like a super rusty car.

What about a rusted cooking Utensil, like throw that thing out.

And this word can also be translated poison. Guys do not let things in this world poison our hearts.

But if we are the oppressed by this poison, we are to cry out to God.

2. Cry of the Oppressed

James 5:4–5 CSB

Look! The pay that you withheld from the workers who mowed your fields cries out, and the outcry of the harvesters has reached the ears of the Lord of Armies. You have lived luxuriously on the earth and have indulged yourselves. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.

So now we see that James paints the picture of what the rich are doing.

These people were cheating their workers.

The ones who went out and mowed the fields, who were working for the rich, do not get paid.

Has anyone ever lent anyone something and then not been paid back?

I feel like for me it is that I let someone borrow something, then I am like where did that go?

Or I have had someone a year later give me something and be like hey thanks for letting me borrow this, sorry it took so long.

But the feeling of something taken from you is gut wrenching.

Doing all the work and getting nothing in return.

This is what is happening to these farmers. They are mowing the field, going hey it is pay day and the rich man just saying no.

There is no place to intentionally mistreat others.

We see here that the rich know they should pay the workers, but they do not.

They are intentionally with holding money from them.

Workers that would be doing manual labor like this did not get paid well anyways.

It was thought that these guys barely would have been surviving as it is.

Then they get this taken from them.

imagine that in your own life, your boss doesn’t pay you, you have no money, no parents to lean on, you can’t afford ramen noodles.

I would be furious, so mad, like this is not fair, PAY ME.

They would have been helpless, for no reason.

So the people cried out. They whaled to God.

God hears our cries.

It is not right for them to be oppressed even though they did the work and deserve paid.

But God is just, he is fair, and judgement is coming on those who are living in sin.

Look at what the rich are compared to.

It says that they are being fattened for the slaughter.

What animal is James saying the rich are?

Cows.

This is an illustration of a cow before it is going to be killed and ate.

The people would have wanted the cow to taste good, so they would have fattened the cow.

These cows are enjoying all of this great food, thinking that they are on top of the world.

They are completely unaware they are going to be destroyed and eaten.

They were overfed and unconcerned.

This is the same as the rich.

They are being judged for living in self-indulgence.

From living luxuriously on earth.

Not caring about the poor, but only themselves.

This is a rich person who is living in pride.

But God is saying judgement say is coming, and you are making the decision easy for me.

Because my people are crying out, suffering, and you are doing nothing about it.

Even though you owe them money, you are doing nothing about it.

So when the slaughter comes, the poor are going to feast

Lastly…

3. Call to Patience

James 5:6–7 CSB

You have condemned, you have murdered the righteous, who does not resist you. Therefore, brothers and sisters, be patient until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth and is patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains.

The rich here are accused of so much. they are condemned, they are murders, and everyone resists them.

That is not how I want people to know me by.

but it seems like they are living great.

These people can put on a mask and make it seem like life is going good.

On the inside there is so much sin in them.

So maybe you are living like the poor, feeling beat down in every way.

That people have more money than you.

That the people over there are living in sin, but look how much fun they are having.

Those guys drink the night away, but at least they aren’t depressed like me.

Those hollywood actors are making the big bucks, who cares that they are on drugs, they make a lot.

but we cannot give into sin.

But we can also have hope that…

God is Just

Judgement is coming.

Look at verse 7. James switches and goes back to talking to the believers.

What does he do?

He goes back to the farming illustration.

he says we have to be patient.

In verse four we see they they CRY out to the Lord’s Armies

Then in verse 7 he says just wait, I’m coming.

the farmer waits for the rain, he does not know how much rain is coming though.

Is it going to be too much and flood?

Too little and drought?

But he waits and trusts.

This is what God is saying. We just have to wait.

They might not face anything today.

The rich might go on another day.

But there will be a day, that they will die.

And they will be slaughtered, paying for everything they deserve.

We aren’t to take it into our own hands.

but we know that God is just.

We must trust in the unseen work of God.

We must trust in his plan.

We have to live in him!

In conclusion.

I know that we are not rich, but we have to have everything fully surrendered to the Lord.

We have hope that he hears us when we cry out.

And we might be waiting, but God is just. He has our backs and is moving even when we do not see it.