James 5

I. The Rich

A. James paints a dim picture of the rich in the beginning of this chapter. We see some pretty crazy things here: All the examples that James uses here are to cause people to examine their faith or the lack there of… This is no different James here paints a picture of people who are rich, which in and of itself is not bad, but these people were greedy…

B. Why they were wrong:

1. They Hoarded their money. 2,3

2. It was gained dishonestly. 4

3. The selfishly used their money. 5

4. They wickedly acquired it. 6

1. Matthew 6:19,20… Obviously what was happening here is exactly what Jesus said no to do. Do gold and silver rust? No! So what is James trying to say here? Look at who he is talking to these rich wealthy people who put all of their hope and trust in riches. You can leave gold and silver out in the rain and it won’t rust, this leaves out the unexplainable, or the humanly improbable things of life. So is the same with putting your trust in wealth. Or look at it this way “What always glitters isn’t gold.” Just because we think something is gold doesn’t mean it is. Fool’s Gold and Fools Hope.

2. This is pretty obvious! They didn’t pay people who worked for them.

3. Read about Nero.

4. These rich men were condemning and killing innocent people so they could maintain their cushy lifestyle.

1 Timothy 6:9-10 (NASB95) “9 But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

Before we go to the next point let me ask you some questions:

· Are you guilty of hoarding or over-accumulation?

· Have you ever defrauded someone?

· Are you self- indulgent?

· Have you ever victimized someone with power you posses?

Thinking about these things, let’s look at James’ next point.

II. The patient

A. James says because of these crazy rich people, we need to be patient until the return of Christ. The word patience means: “exhibit internal and external control in difficult circumstance.”[1] He tells us to be just like the farmer who is working and waiting for his crop.

James 5:8 (NKJV) “8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” We are to strengthen or make firm our hearts for Christ as we patiently wait.

Matthew 13

Look at the soils>>>

We have to let the word of God permeate us…

The fact that James is reminding his readers about Christ’s return is twofold: 1) It is a comfort to us and 2) It is a motivation for us do the right thing.

B. Examples of people who suffered: Job; Jeremiah 20:2… Paul 2 Cor 11:23-25; Jesus…

5:12 James makes a statement almost identical to Jesus in Matt 5:33-37

III. The Power of prayer

A. Prayer is the power not the oil…

B. “"The prayer power has never been tried to its full capacity. If we want to see mighty wonders of divine power and grace wrought in the place of weakness, failure and disappointment, let us answer God's standing challenge, 'Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not!"

J. Hudson Taylor

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[1]James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages With Semantic Domains : Greek (New Testament), electronic ed. (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), GGK3428.