Sermon Tone Analysis
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! Introduction:
Does the Bible condemn rich people?
Are riches a blessing or curse?
Abraham was a man of great wealth, & was called a “friend of God”—James 2:23
God called Job a perfect and upright man—Job 1:8
Problem: Solomon lauded (praised) great riches as a blessing from God, saying, “In the house of the righteous there is much treasure (Prov.
15:6; cf.
Ps.112:3).
However, James warned the rich to “weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you!” (5:1).
Which is it?
Solution: The text that speak about God blessing the righteous with riches refer to the general promise of God to supply the needs of those who live righteous lives (Matthew 6:33).
James is warning those who idolize their riches, setting their affection on riches rather than on God.
The Bible only condemns the rich who store up their wealth instead of using it to reach the lost, feed the hungry, cloth the naked, shelter the cold & homeless, nurse the sick & use it for the spreading of the Gospel.
1.
The N.T. gives many warnings of the dangers of letting money & things possess a person’s heart.
2. The Sermon on the Mount—Jesus spoke of “treasures on earth” & “treasures in heaven” and called upon His followers to /be careful of which treasure they chose/—Matthew 6:19-21,24
3. True wealth is counting all things loss for Christ—Philippians 3:8-11 cf.
Matthew 13:44-46
Background—A strong summons—weep and howl if you are accumulating wealth (v.1)
Summons #1—Weep & howl, for wealth is not lasting (v.2-3)
Summons #2—Weep & howl, for hoarding wealth condemns you (v.3)
Summons #3—Weep & howl for the way you are living (v.4-6)
I.
Background-A Strong Summons—Weep & Howl If You Are Accumulating Wealth—v.1
/A.
//Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you/
1.
This is a direct address to rich as in 1Timothy 6:17
— Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.
2.
Apparently here James has in mind the rich as a class, whether believer, as in James 1:10 or unbeliever in 2:1,6.
3.
“Weep and howl”—means to burst into weeping (James 4:9), and howl with grief if you are hoarding money.
4.
Why?
/For your miseries that are coming upon you/-What are these miseries?
— Afflictions, emptiness, loneliness, purposelessness, insecurity, passion,
— miseries in this world, eternity, judgment, hell
II.
Summons #1—Weep & Howl, For Wealth Is Not Lasting—v.2-3
/A.
//Riches are uncertain & will vanish: Note 3 Things/
1.
They are corrupted-rotten—v.2
This would refer to such things as farm produce, wheat & vegetables or building products like wood or wallboard.
This refers to those who gaining wealth through farming or construction or some industry whose products eventually rot away.
*2.
**Their garments become moth-eaten—v.2*
This would include the textile and clothing industries.
*3.
**Their gold & silver is corroded—v.3*
This refers to mineral, chemical, metal, and mining interests of the economy.
James is saying: If farm produce, building products, & garments sit unused, they are moth-eaten.
If gold and
Silver, sit unused they become coated with filth and eventually corrode and waste away.
The point is this: If wealth, money or anything else is hoarded, it does nothing but sit there and eventually will be gone.
It is not being used for the good that it could.
– Jesus said, in Matthew 6:19— “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal;
– Matthew 6:24—“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and mammon.
– All of these things are subject to decay, theft, fire, or other forms of loss.
– Paul said, “What things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ—Philippians 3:7
*III.
**Summons #2—Weep & howl, for hoarding wealth condemns you—v.3*
*/A.
/**/Wealth condemns us in three ways/*
*1. **Their corrosion will be a witness against you—v.3a*
a.
Now and in the Day of Judgment
/Now—/James sees their wealth decaying, & their character eroding
/Future—/This judgement will be before God-Jesus Christ will be the Judge—James 5:9
*2.
**Will eat your flesh like fire—v.3*
a.
This is a present judgment as well
b.
The poison of wealth has infected them and they are being eaten alive by their own money.
c.
The passion to hoard more & more money will burn deep within us.
This passion will become lust and this lust will burn so deep that it will consume us!
d.
The fire of passion & lust for wealth will destroy us now and forever
e.
It will eat our flesh and become our consuming fire & passion of our lives until it eternally destroys
Money in and of itself is not sinful, but “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil”—1Timothy 6:10
a. Judas Iscariot betrayed the Lord for 30 pieces of silver—Matt.
26:14-16; 27:3-5
*3.
**You have heaped up treasure in the last days—v.3b*
a.
This refers to the coming days of judgment—Revelation 20:11-15
b. /Heaped up—/day-by-day, treasures on earth--& wrath against himself in the day of God’s judgment
* *
*Romans 2:5-10—*Treasures of wealth heaped up become /treasures of wrath heaped up /and will fall upon the rich person.
c.
The Last days—indicates that James believed that the coming of the Lord was near 5:8-9
d.
It is important to make the most of every opportunity-redeeming the time.
*Note—*It is possible to be “poor in this world” & yet rich in the next—James 2:5
It is also possible to be “rich in this world” yet poor in the next
*The Rich Man & Lazarus—Luke 16:19-31*
*/“The Danger of Misusing Riches”/*
* *
The two characters of the story
/A.
//The rich man—v.19/
1. Clothed in purple and fine linen
2. Fared sumptuously—lived in luxury
a. Greek word translated fared, glutton or gourmet
b. Greek word translated sumptuously lampos
– Radiantly, flamboyantly
– A flashy display of his comfort and luxury.
/B. //A certain beggar named Lazarus—v.20-21/
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