James 5:1-6
~17 min read
💭 Consider this: How might your desire for material security and a comfortable lifestyle be impacting your spiritual life? What steps are you taking to (1) avoid misusing your resources, and (2) use your resources wisely?
TRANSCRIPT
I greet all of you in the blessed name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Our text for this morning's message is taken from James 5:1–6.
In the Bible, there are more than 500 references about prayers and almost 500 references about faith, but there are more than 2,000 references that talk about money and material things. Out of the 38 parables in the Gospels, 16 of them deal with how we handle our money and material things. One out of every 10 verses in the Gospels deals with money and material things—altogether, 288 verses in the four Gospels.
When something is repeatedly told to us time and again, it tells us that it is an important topic. Have you ever asked yourself, why is money and material things such an important topic? The reason is because nothing will reveal more clearly the condition of a person's heart than the way he handles his money and material possessions.
Our Lord Jesus said, "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matthew 6:21). In other words, if your treasure is your money, then that is where your heart will be also—that is where your heart will be focused on. Jesus went on to say, "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon" (Matthew 6:24). A person may say he truly believes in God, loves Him, and serves God only, but in reality, he serves money, not God.
Dear friend, how we deal with our money, how we handle our money, and our perception about money is extremely important because it has to do with our spiritual life. The Bible does not teach us that being rich is sinful. In fact, many faithful saints in both the Old and New Testaments were wealthy: people like Abraham, Job, Solomon, David, Joseph of Arimathea, and Lydia the purple seller. They were all wealthy. Today, you may be wealthy, and there's nothing wrong with it. Proverbs 10:22 says, "The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and He addeth no sorrow with it," which means the blessing of wealth comes from God. He is the one who makes you rich. When He blesses you, it is not something that brings sorrow but joy, and you can use His blessing for His glory.
What is wrong is when you do not acknowledge where your wealth comes from, or when you misuse your wealth. What is wrong is not in money itself—it is the love of money. As 1 Timothy 6:10 tells us, "For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." Here in this passage, James warned the people against the love of money that will lead them to misuse their wealth for their own selfish desires.
Throughout the book of James, he has presented to us the test of true, genuine faith: through the way we deal with trials, the way we live our lives, the way we use our tongues, the way we show impartiality in the church, the way we exercise our wisdom (whether it is worldly or heavenly), the way we show ourselves as friends of the world or friends of God, and so forth. These tests will authenticate or invalidate our claims to be Christians. If you want to know whether a diamond is real or not, what do you do? You have to test it. If you want to know whether a $10,000 bill is real or not, you test it. Likewise, if we want to know whether our profession of faith is real or if it is just paying lip service, we have to test ourselves.
So, James is calling out to all those people who profess to believe in God to examine the true condition of their heart, whether it is real or not. And here in this passage, he did it in view of how they handled their wealth. As in any church, James knew that there were some people who claimed to be believers, but they were not. Sadly, there are many in the church today who profess to be believers. They talk about Jesus Christ, they attend church services, they pledge allegiance to Him, but it is only superficial. Deep down in their hearts, they only desire the things of this world and not the things of God.
Now, this is not only a warning to the unbelievers, but it is a warning also to the believers—as in to tell them, ‘Your wealth comes from God. How much He has blessed you has a sovereign purpose, and you have to know how to deal with it so that you will not fall into the sin of misusing your wealth.’ The title of our message is: Physically Rich, But Spiritually Poor.
Let us begin with verse one of James chapter 5: "Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you." In our modern-day language, it means, ‘Come, this is important, so listen and pay attention.’ To ‘weep’ is to cry. To ‘howl’ goes beyond crying; it refers to crying aloud. This is a picture of intense despair—an outburst of grief. The reason for this deep grief is because terrible pain, suffering, and miseries shall come upon you.
The world always projects the rich as being happy and satisfied. If you read magazines or watch television regarding the lifestyle of the rich, it is always glamorous and glittering, focusing on their excessive spending habits, their hobbies, clothes, and food. What misery? The world will tell you, ‘No misery at all, we are so happy.’ But beneath the laughter of the world, oftentimes, there is great turmoil. Divorces, separations, lies, cheating, and crimes of all sorts would plague them like anything. Even if they are able to escape the consequences of their follies in this physical life, the trouble will come upon them when they stand before the Almighty God on the day of judgment.
I. They Selfishly Hoarded Their Wealth
Why were the rich condemned? Firstly, they were condemned because they selfishly hoarded their wealth. Look at verses 2 and 3: "Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days." In the ancient world, they had three standard sources of wealth: harvested grains, garments—like expensive clothes,—and precious metals. The more they had accumulated of any of those things, they'd be considered rich. It is not much different from our time.
Perhaps today the four most sought-after commodities are minerals like natural gas, oil, gold, and diamonds. People who stock up their barns with grains would realise that they could not preserve them. People who stock up their wardrobes with expensive clothes would realise that those garments will be ruined by insects. But what about gold and silver? Real gold and silver do not corrode, so here most likely James was referring to spiritual corrosion. The fact that God's needy children were all around and God's work was so massive, yet they chose to treasure up for themselves gold and silver to preserve them. They had turned their gold and silver into the spiritual decay of their souls.
Hoarding is one of the widespread sins of our time. God has blessed us with wealth and material goods so that you and I may use them wisely for His glory. Obviously, Christians are to provide for their own families—that is the right thing to do—but beyond that, we ought to use His resources to advance His kingdom, to win the lost, to support the ministries, and to care for those in need. Those who name the name of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour ought not to hoard a fortune that is uselessly stashed away with no regard for God's will. God has a sovereign purpose in all things, and He has a sovereign purpose in blessing you with wealth.
Why do people hoard their wealth? Because they want to prepare for the future, right? So, they stockpile, keep, and treasure up. That is the meaning of the phrase ‘heap treasure’. Allow me to draw your attention to the words of Jesus Christ, who said in Matthew 6:19–21, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." The words ‘lay up’ and ‘treasure’ come from the same basic Greek word, from which we get the English word ‘thesaurus’, which means a treasury of words. In other words, this phrase can be translated as ‘Do not treasure up treasures for yourselves on earth.’
Treasure is a very descriptive term. It is something that motivates a person in his day-to-day activities. Treasure is something that is worth a certain value. A person will not treasure something that is of no value to him at all. Why is the $50 note worth $50? It is worth $50 not because of the paper or the ink, but because a value has been added to that note. Once an amount is assigned as a value to the piece of paper, all of a sudden it takes on all kinds of influence in our lives. We start to treasure it. We will subject our lives to it in certain ways. The quality of our lives will be measured by how many of those notes we have. How much we have will determine where we will live. How much we have will determine who our friends will be, what kind of food we will eat, what kind of cars we drive, which countries we go to for holidays, and which school we send our children to. It will determine our future plans, our retirement plans, etc. It can become a tremendous influence in our lives. Before we know it, it has become something we live for.
The Bible uses a very interesting word: treasure. So, treasure is something valuable to us—it is a precious commodity. We want to accumulate more and more, so we hoard to prepare for our future. For the people in those days, it was harvested grains, garments, gold, and silver. For us today, it is the money in the bank, the house, and the assets we have. But do you know what is the greatest commodity in this world? It is time.
“For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” (James 4:14) Once time is gone, it will never come back again. You may spend all your time to accumulate all those commodities, but you have forgotten one thing: you are not preparing for the future appointment with God. Therefore, James says, "It shall stand as a witness against you." (James 5:3b) On the day you stand before God, how you handle your wealth—if you misuse your wealth—will give a graphic testimony of the condition of your heart, and then, "it shall eat your flesh as it were fire." (James 5:3c)
Fire symbolises a fast and final judgment. It is a picture of hell. It is a place of physical torment where the fire will consume the flesh of the wicked. Why is God's judgment so drastic and devastating? Well, it is because the unbelieving wicked live their lives with no consideration for Him, or for the things of God, or for the kingdom of God. They live their lives only for one purpose: to accumulate more and more for their own comfort, for their own selfish desires.
In so doing, they have “heaped treasure together for the last days” (James 5:3b). The ‘last days’ is a reference to the time period between Christ's first and second coming. Our Lord Jesus has come, and He says, "I will come again." (John 14:3) Jesus will surely come again, for He will come to gather His faithful servants, (John 14:3, Matthew 24:30-31) and together they will rule with Him on this physical world for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:4). Then He will destroy this present universe that has been tainted with sin, and He will create the new heavens and the new earth for the believers to dwell with Him forever and ever. (2 Peter 3:10-13, Revelation 21:1)
During the Black Saturday in Victoria in 2009, some people who were killed in the bushfires were trying to escape in their cars, but it was too late. The saddest thing is that when the authorities recovered those burned vehicles, they found in those vehicles the dead, burned bodies together with pots, pans, bowls, plates, and other household items. This means those people rushed back to their houses to gather as much of their belongings as possible, but it was too late.
Can you imagine? They saw the fire coming, and yet they chose to run back to their houses to grab their belongings. It is easy for people to say, ‘How foolish! They should have run away from the fire, not toward the fire.’ In a similar fashion, today, many are just living their lives foolishly, grabbing as much as they can, with no consideration for God's timetable. They have no urgency for the divine fire of judgment that is fast approaching. They live as if what God has said will not come to pass.
Dear friend, if you are an unbeliever, are you prepared to meet your Maker, your Judge? What about your sins? How can you stand before the Almighty God with a life of sin? Repent and turn to the only One who can save you—the One who died for you, who shed His precious blood that is able to wash away all your sins before it is too late. Don't run toward the fire—run away from the fire.
If you are a believer, are you prepared to meet your Saviour? Are you living a life in view of His soon coming? Our Lord Jesus says, "I come quickly," three times in the last chapter of the book of Revelation. Do you believe Him? Are you living your life ready to meet Him, or are you living a life just trying to accumulate a little bit more to make your life more comfortable, more secure, to prepare for your future in this world, but not for the world to come? May the Lord remind us that our lives are but like a vapour (James 4:14). Soon, you and I will meet our Saviour. We must be ready for Him.
II. They Unjustly Gained Their Wealth
Our second point is they unjustly gained their wealth. James 5:4: "Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth." The wicked rich are not only guilty of hoarding their wealth; they had also sinfully acquired it. They not only disobeyed the command to be generous to the poor, but they actually exploited them. They ‘kept back by fraud’, which means they withheld the labourers' salaries. Since it is in the perfect tense, it means they did not merely delay payment—they completely withheld the salaries permanently, or at least part of them.
Not only that, verse 6 tells us: "Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you." In other words, they literally killed to maintain their wealth, to sustain their ungodly lifestyles. It doesn't matter to them whether the person whom they condemned and killed was innocent and righteous. It doesn't matter whether the poor men they brought to court did not fight back—they will still do it. How wicked! But it matters to one person, and that is God. When little children are afflicted and in pain, they will cry out to their parents. When the children of God are afflicted, who would they turn to? They will cry out to their Heavenly Father, and their cries have reached the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.
The word ‘sabaoth’ is a different word from ‘sabbath’. Here it describes God as the commander of the armies of Heaven. A frightening judgment awaits those who unjustly cheat and rob the poor. When the victims cry out for justice to the righteous Judge, He will not disappoint them. He will come as a just God, as the Lord of sabaoth.
Some of us may be thinking, ‘Well, I'm not rich, I'm not a master, I'm not an employer, so I do not have the opportunity to commit this sin of exploiting the poor.’ What lesson can we learn from here? Just as the rich ought to be honest, every one of us ought to be honest in every aspect of our lives—it is expected of us. We may not fall into the sin of withholding someone's salary because we are not employers, we are not bosses, but we certainly can withhold what is due to someone else. It could be our bosses or someone to whom we owe a service. We receive our salaries and we do not deliver the work. We steal our employers' time by delaying our assignments on purpose. We waste our time by chatting or surfing the internet instead of working. We are just as guilty.
Have you shortchanged anyone? At the end of the day, we should not only calculate how much we have earned; we should also take into account how many people we have shortchanged. People may not know, but there is One who is always watching over us, and that is our Almighty God. He knows, and He takes into account everything we do.
III. They Lived In Sinful Pleasures
Finally, they live a sinful life, or they live in sinful pleasure. Verse 5: "Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter." Their philosophy was like the rich fool who lived only to eat, drink, and be merry (Luke 12:16-21). Is life all about seeking after pleasure? There’s more to life than just enjoyment. Ask yourself: what about the Gospel of Christ? What about eternal life? What about our worship and our services? What about the salvation of lost souls? What about ministering to those who are down and out, to the needy? Do all these things mean anything to you?
The word ‘wanton’ means to give oneself to the pursuit of overindulgence. In other words, nothing was more important to them than satisfying their own sinful desires. They were quick to open their eyes to the enjoyment of life. Anything that gives pleasure, they would be quick to jump on it. But they were also just as quick to close their eyes to the needs of others and the work of God. God knows, and He says, "Ye have nourished your hearts," which has the idea of fattening themselves. They selfishly hoarded their wealth, they unjustly gained their wealth, they had fattened themselves like fattened animals ready to go to the slaughterhouse. So James says, you are getting ready—you are preparing yourself not to go to the Kingdom of God, but to the day of slaughter, to the day of judgment.
Like animals that feed on the grass on the land, they did not know anything; they just eat and eat. These people were blind to Heaven, deaf to the warning of Hell, insensitive to sin, ignorant of the day of judgment that was fast approaching. Have you ever shared the Gospel and found that people are just deaf to what you are sharing? No matter how loud you shout, they will not listen. Unless God opens their spiritual eyes and ears, they will never hear nor see. Unless they repent, they will experience eternal damnation—a million upon a million years, they will still be tormented in the Lake of Fire. How tragic!
Some time ago, someone said to me, ‘Why must preachers always talk as if the people are going to die tomorrow?’ I said to him, ‘Is it possible that you may die tomorrow?’ He answered, ‘Yes.’ If it is possible, if it is a reality that today may be your last day and there are some things you have not yet done, isn’t it important for you to deal with those things urgently? Dear friend, if today is your last day, what is the thing you want to achieve that you have not achieved? Think about it. What is the thing you want to have that you do not have? Perhaps you always wanted that particular thing in your life—a big diamond ring, a fast expensive car, a million dollars in the bank, a house by the beach. When death knocks on your door, does it really matter? Nothing matters anymore. Whatever be your pursuits, aspirations, and ambitions, nothing matters anymore.
There’s only one thing that matters: What will my God say to me? 'I have blessed you with whatever you have—what have you done with My resources?' Not our resources; we are just stewards of His resources. Will my God say to me, ‘You are physically rich, but in My eyes, you are spiritually poor’? Or will He say to me, ‘Though you may be physically poor, in My eyes, you are spiritually rich’? I pray that all of us will be ready to meet our Creator, and the day when we meet our God, we’ll be able to say, ‘Lord, I know that naked I came into this world, and naked I will leave this world. So, I lived my life with this one purpose: to use all the resources that You have blessed me with to glorify You, and I have left behind this legacy to my children and grandchildren. I’ve always taught them: 'You come to this world empty, and you will leave this world empty.'’
Christ alone must be the centre of your life. He is the only person who will bring you to meet your Heavenly Father, not your wealth. Live your life for Jesus Christ, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:21) Daddy and Mummy do not desire for you to be physically rich, because we know that our God will take care of you. We want you to be spiritually rich. As the hymn says: ‘Nothing I bring in my hands’,— absolutely nothing— ‘Only to Thy cross I cling.’ Let us cling to the cross of Jesus Christ, not our wealth.
Let us pray. Our Father in Heaven, indeed Thou hast reminded us once again that our lives on this earth are but like a vapour. It is so short, and even as we live in this shortness of our lives, we want to live in view of what Thou hast taught us. Our greatest commodity in this world is not our wealth, not our houses, not our achievements, but it is time. It is the time that Thou hast given to us, and in our lifetimes, Thou hast caused us to come to know Thee and saved us. We are saved forever and ever.
Then the question is, how should we live our lives? We should live our lives walking in step with Thee, in the truth of Thy Word, giving our lives for Jesus, and we must always live in view of our Lord’s soon return. For those people who are still lingering outside Thy kingdom, lost in spiritual darkness, O Lord, be gracious, be merciful, and cause their hearts to be convicted of their sins, that they may turn to the Lord Jesus Christ, believe in Him, and cling unto Him for life. This is the only way to live.
All of us want to be spiritually rich, not physically rich. Though some may be blessed by Thee, for Thou art so gracious and merciful, they may be wealthy, but Thou hast reminded us once again to use our wealth wisely for Thy glory. We are but stewards of the bountiful blessings that Thou hast showered upon our lives. One day, we have to give an account of all the resources that Thou hast given to us. May Thou find us faithful. We pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen.
THE BOOK OF JAMESFacing Trials With A Joyful Spirit [Part 1]Facing Trials With A Joyful Spirit [Part 1]James 1:1-4
Facing Trials With A Joyful Spirit [Part 2]Facing Trials With A Joyful Spirit [Part 2]James 1:1-4
The Need For Wisdom In Times Of TrialThe Need For Wisdom In Times Of TrialJames 1:5-8
Trial Is No Respecter Of PersonsTrial Is No Respecter Of PersonsJames 1:9-12
How To Deal With TemptationHow To Deal With TemptationJames 1:13-15
Remember Who God Is And Who We AreRemember Who God Is And Who We AreJames 1:16-18
Be Receptive To The Word Of GodBe Receptive To The Word Of GodJames 1:19-21
Doers of the WordDoers of the WordJames 1:21-25
Be Responsive To The Word Of GodBe Responsive To The Word Of GodJames 1:22-25
Are You Transformed By The Word?Are You Transformed By The Word?James 1:26-27
The Sin Of Showing Partiality [Part 1]The Sin Of Showing Partiality [Part 1]James 2:1-4
The Sin of PartialityThe Sin of PartialityJames 2:1-13
The Sin Of Showing Partiality [Part 2]The Sin Of Showing Partiality [Part 2]James 2:5-13
Show Me Your Faith, And I Will Show You MineShow Me Your Faith, And I Will Show You MineJames 2:14-20
Faith In ActionFaith In ActionJames 2:21-26
A Warning To Want-To-Be TeacherA Warning To Want-To-Be TeacherJames 3:1-2
Seminar: The Role of the Sunday School Teacher (Part 2 of 2)Seminar: The Role of the Sunday School Teacher (Part 2 of 2)James 3:1-13
The Power Of The TongueThe Power Of The TongueJames 3:3-6
The Taming Of The TongueThe Taming Of The TongueJames 3:7-12
The Danger Of False WisdomThe Danger Of False WisdomJames 3:13-16
The Blessing Of Heavenly WisdomThe Blessing Of Heavenly WisdomJames 3:17-18
Dealing With Conflict In The ChurchDealing With Conflict In The ChurchJames 4:1-6
What Constitutes True SalvationWhat Constitutes True SalvationJames 4:7-10
Speak No EvilSpeak No EvilJames 4:11-12
God’s Plan Or My Plan?God’s Plan Or My Plan?James 4:13-17
Physically Rich But Spiritually PoorPhysically Rich But Spiritually PoorJames 5:1-6
How To Be Patient In Times Of TroubleHow To Be Patient In Times Of TroubleJames 5:7-11
Simply Speak The TruthSimply Speak The TruthJames 5:12; Matthew 5:33-37
