Month: April 2016

THE RICH CAN BE ROTTEN – James 5:1-6

Epistle of James sermon, great white throne, hell, James 5:1-6, Joy, lake of fire, possessions, Revelation 20, rich, selfish rich people, Uncategorized, wasting wealh

INTRODUCTION:

As James writes this letter, it seems as though he has a stack of issues and complaints that have been brought to him for consideration and response.  Now he comes to an issue that is “written in bold letters and highlighted in red”!  He uses some fiery language here in his response to the rich people among his readers and listeners.  If you are a wealthy person yourself, don’t take these words of his personally until you understand the context!  James is disappointed in them and he disapproves of their actions.  He is not condemning wealth, but he is condemning some of the ways that they have gained that wealth, and the ways they have misused it.

In order to understand what is going on, and why it is so wrong, we will have to leave our twenty-first-century technology and see things through the minds of his first-century readers.  As we will soon see, technology has changed, but people haven’t!

It’s interesting to note that some Bible commentators skip this passage of Scripture, and some others just make a quick note of it and press on.  The passage doesn’t seem to fit well into the context of what James has said before it and after it.  Let’s proceed and see if we can make any sense out of it!

I.  WASTING THEIR WEALTH (verses 1-3)

In verse one of chapter 5, he addresses the “rich”.  These are the “filthy rich” – they have so many possessions that they can’t possibly use them all.  They had gained those riches unjustly and were using them selfishly.  James tells them to “weep”, “wail” (scream), now, in an attitude of true repentance before they are taken out of this world and will be weeping and wailing for eternity in Hell.  These rich people to whom James is making his appeal are not Christians.  Their actions in disobedience to God’s Word make their spiritual condition obvious.  That’s why the suffering and judgment he is referring to is eternal.  So I do not believe that James is condemning them.  He is condemning their actions and warning them of the eternal consequences.  The word translated “wail” or “howl” in verse one is the Greek word “ololuzontes”.  The word is called an onomatopoeia – a word that sounds like its meaning.  Try saying the word “ololuzontes” outloud yourself a couple of times.  Say it loud enough for a congregation of people to hear it clearly.  If somebody hears you, you may get the response, “What are you whining about?”  This is the only time that this particular word is used in the New Testament.  I believe James chose this word intentionally under the inspiration of God.  He wanted any “filthy rich” person who might be in the congregation, on the Sunday that his letter was read aloud, to hear what it would sound like if he didn’t let the Lord Jesus Christ have control of his life and his wealth.

In verse 2, James says to the rich, “your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten.”  In this country, we measure wealth by dollars and cents, and by holdings that can be converted into dollars and cents.  Here, James is speaking of riches in grain and clothing.  For the poor in those times, food was a matter of life and death.  The prophet Micah said that the withholding of food from the poor was the equivalent of cannibalism (Micah 3:2-3).  For the poor, clothing was also a basic necessity.  However, for the rich, it was a way of showing off their wealth.  Some of the rich had so many garments that many of them were never worn and became “food for the moths”.  I guess they didn’t have mothballs or use cedar chests back in those days!  The sad thing was that these rich people didn’t care!  They would rather have their food and clothing go bad than contribute to the needs of the poor!  They turned down the joy and blessing that they would have received from their generosity.  No wonder their lives were so empty and miserable!

You may have heard this illustration, but it may be useful to hear it again.  One day a certain old, rich man of a miserable disposition visited a rabbi, who took the rich man by the hand and led him to a window.  “Look out there.  What do you see?”, asked the rabbi.  “I see men, women, and children”, answered the rich man.  Again the rabbi took him by the hand and this time led him to a mirror.  “Now what do you see?”  “Now I see myself”, the rich man replied.  Then the rabbi said, “Behold, in the window there is glass, and in the mirror there is glass.  But the glass of the mirror is covered with a little silver, and no sooner is the silver added, than you cease to see others, but you see only yourself.”  The Lord Jesus called this phenomenon “the deceitfulness of riches” (Mark 4:19)

Citicorp Bank ran a series of billboards about money.  One said:  “Money changes hands – just don’t let it change the rest of you!  (DB August 2010)

Verse 3 reflects the words of Jesus in His Semon on the Mount:

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon 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 will your heart be also.”  (Matthew 6:19-21)

In verse 3, James says to his readers:  “Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire.  It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure.”  The word translated “rusted” here, means “to rust down” or “to corrode”.  Gold and silver, wealth that we may consider to be indestructible, is going to be destroyed, and those who trust in them will be destroyed also.  Like rust or corrosion, your lust for riches will eat away at your souls!

I believe that James is not only giving them a graphic description of their riches, but he is also making an urgent plea to them.  “Take a good look at your possessions!  Observe the rotting grain in your storehouses; make note of the moth holes on the clothes in your closets; observe the rust or corrosion on your gold and silver!  It’s all plain to see!  They are a witness before your eyes, and they are a witness against you before the eyes of God also!  Take heed and repent of your selfishness and greed, and give the Lord Jesus Christ His rightful place as Ruler of your lives before it’s too late!  You can’t take it with you beyond the grave, but you will suffer for it throughout eternity because God is your witness, and it has all been written down!

“And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. . . . And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”  (Revelation 20:12,15)

ii.  DEPRIVING LABORERS OF HARD-EARNED WAGES (verse 4)

 In verse 4, James gives further proof of their selfishness, this time in their dealings with the laborers who worked in their grain fields.  These were called “day laborers”.  They received their pay at the end of each day, and their pay was barely enough to meet their basic needs.  The wealthy landlords had the money to pay them.  Yet they knowingly and willfully disobeyed God’s Law, which says, “You shall not oppress the hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your countrymen or one of your aliens who is in your land in your towns.”  (Deuteronomy 24:14-15 NASB)

This next passage of Scripture is even more specific about paying the laborers:  “The wages of a hired man are not to remain with you all night until morning.”  (Leviticus 19:13 NASB).  In other words, they were to pay their laborers when the day’s work was done, and before those laborers went home for the day.

Have you ever been a “day laborer” – harvesting a crop?  If so, I’ll bet you have some stories to tell!  My brother and I got a taste of it, and it wasn’t a pleasant experience!  We were looking for work and saw a newspaper ad saying, “Grape-pickers wanted”.  We arrived at the address at daybreak and saw an old bus pulling out and a large group of men standing around.  While we were walking over to them, another old bus arrived, full of men.  These were migrant farm-workers, brought in from tenement houses nearby, and the only one who spoke English was the foreman!  Large buckets were handed out and the work began!  These were wine grapes on high trellises, and there were miles of them . . . the dust, the heat, the flies, bees, wasps, and, worst of all, the spider webs and spiders!  At lunch-break, my brother said “I’ve had enough!”, and I was quick to agree.  We talked to the foreman and he told us what time to return at the end of the day and pick up our pay.  We could afford to do that, but all those migrant workers needed the money to survive and feed their families.  They were paid by the bucket, not by the hour, so they had to work hard and fast to fill as many bucket-fulls of grapes as possible by the end of the day.  It was no “picnic”, believe me!  If you’ve ever read John Steinbeck’s book, “The Grapes of Wrath”, you would have an image of what it must have been like to be a “day laborer” moving from field to field during harvest season.

Here in verse 4, in order to get the grain harvested and put away, the laborers had to work from dawn til dusk.  The rich land-owners promised to pay their laborers a certain amount at the end of the day.  The tense of the verb “withheld” indicates that those laborers would probably never get their hard-earned wages.  There is a clear application for each of us in this verse.  We ought to pay our bills, and pay them on time!

James has more to say to these wealthy Jewish land-owners.  They think that they are going to get away with this unfairness, but James warns them that their day is going to come.  He uses a very familiar passage in the book of Genesis to get his point across to them.  When James says, “the pay . . . which has been withheld by you, cries out against you”, he is reminding them of God’s words to Cain after he had killed his brother Abel and then buried his body.  He must have thought that he had committed the “perfect crime”.  But God said to Cain:  “Where’s Abel your brother? . . . What have you done?  The voice of your brother’s blood cries to Me from the ground.” (Genesis 4:9-10)  Then God pronounced a curse on Cain.

James ends verse 4 by saying, “the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the Lord of Sabaoth.”  God is watching, and God is listening to the prayers of these laborers.  The phrase “Lord of Sabaoth” or “Lord of Hosts” pictures God as powerful, invincible, and the Leader of a great army.  Ladies and gentlemen, there are no “perfect crimes”, at least not in God’s sight, and He will bring judgment in His time!

III.  THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES, AND YOU KNOW IT! (verse 5)

As James brings this rebuke and warning to the unrighteous rich people to a close in verses 5 and 6, I detect a note of sadness and sorrow in his words.  Do you? These wealthy land-owners know how to over-feed their chickens in order to get more breast meat.  They know how to feed their cattle with the best grains, as much as they will eat, in order to get more steaks.  They are “preparing those animals for slaughter”!  James is saying, “Can’t you see that you are doing to yourselves the same thing that you are doing to your livestock?”

James wants them to take a good look at themselves.  They are living a life of luxury, satisfying their own desires and lusts.  They fit Ezekiel’s description of the city of Sodom in Ezekiel 16:49.  “Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food, and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy.”

IV.  YOUR ONLY HOPE (verse 6)

In verse 6 James brings his rebuke and warning to these wealthy, selfish, unbelieving Jews to a conclusion.  Throughout his epistle, the apostle James has phrased his words in such a way as to bring to mind Old Testament passages of Scripture that would be familiar to his readers and listeners.  Remember that these rich Jews had also been taught the Scriptures by their parents when they were little children.  They faithfully attended the synagogues with their families, hearing the Scriptures being taught by the rabbis and other teachers of the Law.  Many of these sons of the wealthy may also have attended rabbinical schools for further training. Their parents wanted them to have the best education available at that time.

I can imagine that there were many rich Jews of all ages who hated the Lord Jesus Christ because He spoke many times publicly against the misuse of riches (eg. Mt. 19; Luke 6, 16).  His parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus must have set the hearts of many wealthy Jews against him.  It makes me wonder whether some of his rich listeners were also among those in Pilate’s courtyard yelling “Crucify, crucify Him” (Luke 23:21).  Here is the literal translation of James 5:6 from the Greek:  “You condemned, you murdered the righteous man.  He does not resist you.”  These words immediately bring to my mind the words of the prophet Isaiah:  “Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, he did not open his mouth.” (Isaiah 53:7).  These wealthy Jews knew this passage of Scripture.  They heard it at home, in the synagogue, and at the temple worship services, and they had studied it in school.  They also knew the last words of that chapter, which reads, “Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors.”  I believe that many, if not all, of these selfish, wealthy Jews were standing at a distance, watching the death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross.  They wouldn’t want to miss this event!  If so, they probably heard, or were told about, this prayer that Jesus uttered on the cross:  “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

We don’t know for sure if this was James’ intent when he wrote the words of verse 6, but we do know that God always forgives those who truly repent of their sins, recognize that those sins were paid for by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, and let Him reign as Lord of their lives.  Whether rich, poor, or in-between, that is what brings meaning, purpose, and joy to one’s life.  Can you attest to the truth of those words in your own life?  I sincerely hope so!

CONSTRUCTION SITE:  COMPLETED

It’s time to begin a new construction project at “the vacant lot next door”!

GOD’S EARTH – OUR EARTH

Earth Day, Genesis 1:1, Uncategorized

Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”  At the end of each day of creation, God “saw that it was good.”  He liked what He had done!  When He had finished all of His creation, God saw that it was “very good”.

After you have built something, or washed the car, or cleaned the house, or mowed the yard, have you ever stepped back and admired what you have done?  It looks good, and it brings a smile of satisfaction to your face, doesn’t it?  It looks good, and you like it!

When God created this earth, He made it a renewable resource, and everything in it was recyclable.  Even our own bodies and the bodies of animals were created to return to dust and fertilize the earth.  It was all part of His plan.

In Genesis 1:28-31, God gave this earth, and all that is in it, to man as a gift and a responsibility.  We are the managers of this earth He has given us.

In my opinion, over the last two centuries especially, we haven’t done a “very good” job of managing this place He has given us, in which to “multiply, fill, and subdue.”  Some countries of this world have been more “earth conscious” and responsible than others, and their good example has helped bring attention to our present ecological conditions.

I am personally grateful for the celebration of “Earth Day”.  We have much to be thankful for, and there is much to do if we want our earth to be a safe and enjoyable place to live for all of its occupants, and for the next generations.  Let’s continue to work together to fulfill our responsibilities to God and to one another! And let’s take time often to step back and enjoy what we have accomplished!  It will look “very good” to us when we do!

HAPPY EARTH DAY , EVERYONE!   HAPPY EARTH MONTH ALSO!  May every day be an “earth-conscious” day for each one of us!

ARE YOU LEAVING GOD OUT? James 4:13-17

Bible, Bible sermon, Epistle of James sermon, God's wisdom, investment of life, New Testament sermon, sermon with illustrations, sin, Uncategorized

James began his letter by talking about the present situation of his readers and reflecting on their past.  Now he begins to look at the future.  He begins verse 13 with the words “come now”.  I think he’s trying to regain their attention.  This is a long letter, and as it’s being read aloud at the various congregations, some of his readers are becoming distracted or falling asleep!  It’s time for a “wake-up call”  So James says “come now”.  We might say, “Come on!  You’re doing it again!  Come on!  Think about what you are doing, and what you are saying to each other!”  A popular saying, when I was a child, was:  “Get your head screwed on straight!”  Nowadays you hear the phrase:  “Get your act together!”  His readers had been setting themselves up in the place of God by judging others.  Now they are doing the same thing again by leaving God out of their plans.

In today’s terms, James is saying that they are telling each other:  “I know exactly where I am going, what I’m going to do, how long it is going to take, and how much money I am going to make in the process!  James’ response is “come now”, where does God fit into all of this?  It reminds me of the poem “Invictus”, written by William Earnest Henley.  The closing lines of his poem are written below:

“It matters not how straight the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.”

The poet writes about a person whose life is miserable, but who finds some contentment in the fact that he is in charge.  No one is telling him what to do!

Are you leaving God out?  Do you sometimes leave God out of your life?  Do you prefer to control your own destiny, and do you try to impress others by your ability to do so?  Maybe you’ve been doing so today?  Maybe you didn’t even realize it until now?  If you don’t do something about it today, it becomes easier to leave Him out tomorrow, doesn’t it?  What are you saying to God when you make plans without consulting Him?

James isn’t condemning planning.  But he is saying, “As you plan, don’t leave out the Master Planner!”  “He has plans for you also!”  Proverbs 16:9 says, “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.”  (NKJV)  Like actors and actresses on a stage, we may think that we can play our roles any way we want, but we are of no heavenly good if we don’t obey the instructions of our “Heavenly Director”!  He’s the one in charge of the operation and He knows how to get the job done right!

In verse 14 James asks them a question and then gives them the answer, recalling to their minds passages of Scripture from the Wisdom Literature (Job thru Song of Solomon).  He asks “What is your life?”  Immediately He answers, “It is a vapor (mist, puff of smoke), that appears for a short time and then vanishes.”

Job says, “my life is but a breath” (7:7); “my days are swifter than a runner” ( 9:15). He also uses such images as a flower, a shadow, and a worm to convey the shortness of life.  Psalm 39 also says that life is a breath, and Psalm 73 speaks of life as “a dream that vanishes when we awake.”  Proverbs 27:1 says, “Don’t boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.”  Conclusion:  Life is brief, and life is uncertain.  Can you relate to that?  The older you get, the more you will relate to it!

If you are a “Trekkie” [a Star Trek fan], you may remember what happened when the phaser gun’s setting was on “vaporization”.  It was an excellent visual aid for depicting a vapor!

I don’t think that this generation has as clear a concept of the passing of time as my generation and the generation before mine.  My grandfather had a beautiful pocket-watch, and when we came over for a visit, my two brothers and I would take turns sitting on his lap, and he would put his watch against our ears so that we could hear it ticking.  I enjoyed listening to the ticking sound of my first watch whenever I held my left wrist up to my ear.  This action on my part caused me to think for a moment about the passing of time:  tick . . . tick . . . tick!  We now live in a digital age and don’t hear the ticking sound very often anymore.  Nevertheless, time is “ticking away”, one second at a time, whether we can hear it or not!

While I was in college, I attended a Navigator conference and Leroy Eims was the main speaker.  One of his messages was entitled “Investing Your Life”, and this verse, James 4:14, was the primary focus of his message.  After describing what a vapor was, and how long it lasted, he told us that there are only two things in this life that will last forever:  God’s Word and people.  His challenge was:  “What are you going to do with your vapor?  Are you going to invest it in the things that will last forever or are you going to let them go to waste?  Everything else is going to be burned up!  Don’t wait another moment to commit yourself to God and ask Him to change your attitude, so that the things that matter the most to you are the things that matter the most to Him!”

In verse 15, James corrects their boastful words in verse 13 by telling them what they should be saying.  James says, “Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that” (NASB).  What he is saying to them is not a new revelation.  King David said in Psalm 40:8, “I delight to do Thy will.  Thy Law is in my heart.”  David also said in Psalm 43:10, “Teach me, O Lord, to do Thy will, for Thou art my God.”

Even clearer and more compelling are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.  In John 4:14, when food was set before Him and He was encouraged to eat, the Lord Jesus said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me, and to accomplish His work”  (John 4:34).  When He taught His disciples to pray, He told them to pray according to the Father’s will, not their own:  “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done“ (Matthew 6:10).  In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus said, “Father, if Thou art willing, remove this cup from me; yet not my will but Thine be done.” (Luke 22:42).

In the writings of John, Paul, Peter, Luke, and the letter to the Hebrews, we find the words, “if the Lord wills“, “if the Lord permits”, or something equivalent to that. May those words be a part of our plans and our conversations as well, and may those words be a true expression of our hearts.

With this instruction in mind, James gives them a stern warning:  “Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do, and does not do it, to him it is sin.”  Do all of his readers know the right thing to do?  Do they know what he is talking about?  They certainly do!  They were taught the commandments from childhood, especially the two great commandments given in Deuteronomy 6 and Leviticus 19.   “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5).  The verses that follow say:  “These words . . . shall be on your heart . . . teach them diligently to your sons . . . talk of them . . . bind them as a sign on your hand , , ,  frontals on your forehead . . . write them on the doorposts . . . and on your gates.”  And Leviticus 19:18 says, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  So James is saying, in effect, “Therefore, since you know what is right to do, you sin every time you fail to do it!”  Planning is important, but life is lived from moment-to-moment, and from situation to situation. God has called us and empowered us to love Him and others each step of the way and every moment of the day.  The following saying helps to get the point across:  “All that’s needed for evil to triumph is for Christians to do nothing.”   I can still remember my father’s words to me:   “Don’t just sit there; do something!”

May the Lord continue to unfold His plans for you, and direct your steps today!  May your thoughts, words, and actions become more closely aligned with the will of the Father as your love for Him grows deeper.

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REASONING WITH THE JUDGMENTAL – “Give Your Brethren a Break” – James 4:11-12

Bible, Bible sermon, Bible sermons, James 4:11-12, Uncategorized

I.  INTRODUCTION

James returns to his fatherly admonitions to the churches.  He re-introduces the topic of judging others, but this time in a gentler, reasoning tone.  Instead of chiding them, he begins to urge them and entreat them.  To those who won’t respond to his reprimands, maybe they will respond to his entreaties.

By using the word “brothers”, James is reminding them that they are family.  Not only that, they are “immediate family”, children of the same Heavenly Father through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  James uses the Greek word “katalaleite”, which literally means “to speak against”.  It can also mean “to slander”, “to revile”, or “to gossip”.  “It is not only an expression of arrogance and disregard for one’s brother, but it is also a slight to God’s law, and God is the Lawgiver”.  (Theological Dictionary of New Testament Words).

As a child, can you remember hearing the words, “Wait until your father gets home!”  If you can remember hearing those words, you knew what they meant, didn’t you?  It meant that this act of disobedience was serious enough that the chastening was not over yet.  You were going to hear some more about it later from your father, and the punishment might be even more severe!  In a similar way, James is saying, in effect,  “You had better take my advice and make things right so that you might not have to reckon with our Heavenly FATHER about this issue!

The second Greek word, which is found in verses 11 and 12, is “krinon”.  It means to judge others in the sense of condemning them.  A person with such a critical attitude can always find something or someone to criticize, whether their criticism is grounded or not.  What an expression of defiance against God and His Word!  It would be like standing in a courtroom in front of the judge and trying to pass judgment on another person.  The gavel would come down in a hurry.  BAM!!!!!!  “OUT OF ORDER!  I MAKE THE JUDGMENTS IN THIS COURTROOM!”  Do you get the point I am trying to make?  God is our Judge, and we are always in His presence.  When we pass judgment on another believer, we are always “OUT OF ORDER”!  I found the following caption at the bottom of a Daily Bread devotion on the topic of judging others:  “If Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world, that’s probably not our mission either.” 

Do you sometimes have a tendency to criticize others and make judgments about others?  Have you come up with reasons to justify your critical attitude and behavior?  An Our Daily Bread Devotional uses a popular comic strip, “Peanuts”, by Charles Schulz, to illustrate our tendency to justify our criticism of others.

Linus had his security blanket in place and his thumb resting safely in his mouth, but he was troubled.  Turning to Lucy, who was sitting next to him, he asked, “Why are you always so anxious to criticize me?  Her response was typical:  “I just think I have a knack for seeing other people’s faults.”  Exasperated, Linus threw his hands up and asked, “What about your own faults?”  Without hesitation, Lucy explained, “I have a knack for overlooking them.”

We smile, but do we sometimes think that it’s our God-ordained responsibility to dish out negative criticism?  Do we see it as a knack or a “spiritual gift”?  And are we short-sighted when it comes to our own faults?  There are many passages of Scripture, both in the Old Testament and New Testament, that speak against this attitude.  I memorized two passages of Scripture on stewardship of speach to convict me and redirect me when I fall into this attitude and behavior.  They are Proverbs 25:11,12 and Ephesians 4:29.  You may want to look them up if you are not familiar with them.

Slander and negative criticism don’t just affect those we are talking to, or talking about.  There are much more far-reaching consequences.  For example, there may be children or younger Christians who may look up to us as a role model, and who are mimicking our words and actions.  And, of course, there may be non-Christians observing us who might  become turned off to the Gospel of Jesus Christ because of our attitude, words, and actions.  Please consider all these consequences and ask God to change your attitude and enable you confess your sins to one another and become a lover of the brethren in Christ. You will be happier, they will be happier, God will be happier, and unbelievers will be saying, “See how they love one another!”.

Love is a fruit of the Spirit and a result of being controlled by the Spirit of God.  Are you ready to turn the control of your life over to God, and let Him have His way in your life?  You’ll be glad you did; and so will everybody you know!