The Test of Wealth's Rotting Riches: James Lesson 26

 This morning we turn the corner and head down the home stretch in our study of James. We are now in Chapter 5. We have another five or six weeks in James and then we will be off to something else. Didn’t Matthew do a great job last week with the final verses of chapter 4? Thank you, Matthew, for blessing us last week with that challenging message. When I decide which book we will study next I will be sure to say, “If the Lord wills, we will study such and such.”

 Making our plans without considering what God wants for us is to live presumptuously. Living presumptuously is living without understanding or acknowledging the sovereignty and providence of God. The reason we are to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that…” is because we don’t know what our life will be like tomorrow. When we live presumptuously we live, not as though God is sovereign and providentially in control of all things, but as though we are sovereign and providentially in control of all things.

 I have lived in this way in the past. Those of you who have been here a long time know that in the past I owned a business and made my own plans to do this or that and make a lot of money in the process. My plan was to grow the business that I owned, sell that business for a lot of money, and then settle into a life of ministry where I didn’t need to rely on the support of the church. God taught me quite the lesson. The path God providentially and sovereignly took me down, left me both broke and broken, and therefore blessed. He finally had me where He wanted me and in a position to do His work under circumstances of His design, not mine. The ways of the Lord are right.

 If my plans had worked out like I had envisioned, and I had become independently wealthy, I would have had to look at passages like James 5:1-6 and deal with some very inconvenient truth. This is inconvenient truth because it tells us many things about wealth that are inconsistent with our true heart attitude about wealth. If we are honest, James has a vastly different outlook on the wealthy than most of us. Just listen to his rebuke of the wealthy as we read these verses. Read James 5:1-6.

 Reading this we must ask ourselves, “Do I really want to be wealthy?” Do I really believe that riches are the cause of the miseries that come? Would riches, and their corrupting influence truly consume my flesh like fire? Would fortune cause my heart to be fattened for the day of slaughter? If James is warning us about being addicted to drugs, or a cancer diagnosis, this sounds reasonable. We know that James is speaking of spiritual peril here but do we really believe that a great deal of money would be something that dangerous?

 I don’t think we truly believe that wealth is dangerous. We might acknowledge the danger of wealth, but most of us, if we are honest, would probably concede that this would be a risk we were willing to take. We believe we could handle being rich. We don’t really think these things described by James would really be that big of an issue for us. We think we would be wise enough to avoid the spiritual dangers of wealth.

 Is money really that dangerous? Paul seems to think so. Turn to 1 Tim. 6:6-10. Look at the dangers of just wanting to get rich. We fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. 

Based on what we just read, how many of you would be excited if Publisher’s Clearing House showed up at your front door today and gave you $10 million. Let’s be honest. James says that the rich should weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. If that $10 million showed up today, there would be some howling going on, but I doubt it would be of nature James describes. The howls would be shrieks of excitement and the weeping would be tears of joy. And this is because we would genuinely believe that something wonderful had just happened.

 So, the question James forces us to answer is no insignificant question. Does our attitude toward money and wealth reflect a wisdom from above, or a wisdom from the earth? Or put another way, do we believe what God’s word says regarding wealth, or do we think we know better? Another question would be, does our attitude toward wealth reveal an attitude of humility, which qualifies us to receive the greater grace, or does it reveal the presence of pride, and the belief that we could handle the problems that would come with wealth? 

 We have to apply the same question to this passage that Matthew posed regarding the passage from last week. Matthew asked, based upon the content of chapter 4:13-17, “Is it wrong to plan?” We know it is not wrong to plan. It is wrong to presume on God, but it is not wrong to plan. It is wise and prudent to plan. So then, we must ask, based on the content of these verses, “Is it wrong to be wealthy?” Is there something inherently evil about money? We know the answer. It isn’t the money that is the problem. Money is just a tool. Money is an amoral object. Paul told us what the problem is. He told us that the love of money is the root of all evil. The issues addressed by James all have, as their source, the problem not of money itself, but of the love of money. As with all sinful tendencies, the problems arise from within the heart of man.

 So these verses have something to say to us regardless of the size of our bank account or investment portfolio. We must all examine our hearts in light of the issues exposed by James in these verses.

 While it is always true that the word of God has something to say to all of us, it is also important to try to determine who James intended to speak to with these words. Is he speaking to those within the church who are wealthy? Or, is he speaking to the rich who are still lost but somehow trying to be associated with the church?

I can’t be dogmatic about this. There may have been some who were wealthy and associated with the church who were guilty of the abuses spoken of in these verses. If they were there, James didn’t consider them as those who were genuine converts. James omits the use of his favorite reference to those who are saved in these verses. He does not speak to “brethren.” He omits this word in verses 1-6. His tone changes in verse 7 and he immediately returns to the use of that favorite reference saying, “Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord.” But in verses 1-6 James sounds like an Old Testament prophet sounding a thunderous warning to those who are rich and use their wealth to oppress the children of God.

When God transforms our hearts through the work of salvation He gets everything. Those who are true converts to Christ present themselves as living sacrifices. They bring everything to the foot of the Cross and surrender all to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. When God saves the rich man, and He does that sometimes, the truly saved rich man’s wealth no longer belongs to the rich man. It all becomes God’s. We are simply stewards of the wealth with which God blesses us. The transformed rich person becomes a transformed steward of that which God has allowed him to have.

On the other hand, a person’s use or abuse of wealth will reveal the spiritual problems that exist hidden within the heart. Every problem addressed by James in this passage comes from a heart attitude which indicates the need for the genuine work of salvation. Behind all the problems James addresses are attitudes of greed, self-sufficiency and self-reliance, pride, and a love for the world and the things of the world. These are not the character traits of a child of God. These are the character traits of the unregenerate. These warnings are sounded primarily to the unregenerate who have attached themselves to the fellowship of believers. That said, they still speak to us.

But I would also acknowledge that there is something here for all of us because by the standards of the rest of the world, we are all rich. Most of us don’t have to worry about where our next meal is coming from. Most of us have a comfortable lifestyle. Most of us aren’t waiting for the pay from the next day’s work so we can go buy a box of Ramen noodles and eat. By the standards of the rest of the world, we all have excess clothes hanging in our closets, extra money in the bank, extra food in the freezer and pantry, and a steady source of income that is going to facilitate our comfortable lifestyle for the foreseeable future. It is possible to loose sight of perspective. Compared to the ultra wealthy, we are not rich. Compared to a large part of the rest of the world, we are filthy rich. So even if James has in mind the unregenerate wealthy who are attaching themselves for some reason to the church, there is a message here for us.

As we examine these verses we are going to find several problems. James not only identifies the problems, he warns of the consequences associated with those problems. Let’s start with the problems. The first issue is that of excessive accumulation. The language employed by James in verses 2-3 describes those who have hoarded resources to the excess. They have accumulated much more than they could possibly need. Riches that rot are excesses of food that cannot be consumed before it goes bad. Garments that are moth eaten are garments that are stored and never taken out and worn. While gold and silver do not actually rust, they tarnish if they are not taken out and put into circulation. This means they are stored for safe keeping in excess and will never be taken out and spent because there is much more than what will ever be needed.

The problem with wealth is that no one can ever answer the question, “How much is enough?” The most common question posed by people who plan for retirement is, “How much money will I need to retire?” No one can answer that question. There are too many factors. The amount of money you need depends on how much you are going to spend and how long you are going to live. While you have some control over one, you have no control over the other. Because of the factors which make that amount so uncertain, people have a tendency to believe they need to amass a small fortune. Where does God fit into the planning framework? In many ways people can live just as presumptuously in retirement as they do while going to such and such a city and conducting business and making a profit.

Look, I’m not saying we should not plan. James is not telling us not to accumulate resources. He is condemning the hoarding of excess resources. Why do people do that? They want to leave a fortune to their kids. Where is the wisdom in that? Some people accumulate so they can leave it to children, or charity. But most people accumulate so they don’t have to worry. They don’t want to have to work, but work is good. They don’t want to be in a position to have to trust God to provide. I’m not sure this reflects a wisdom from above.

Proverbs 11:28 warns us, “He who trusts in riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like the green leaf.” Solomon makes this sound even more grievous in Ecc. 5:13. He said, “There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun; riches being hoarded by their owner to his hurt.” Solomon called this a grievous evil.

Jesus spoke to this didn’t He? In Luke 12:15 Jesus said, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.” Then Jesus told a parable about the rich man whose land was very productive. He ran out of room in his barns. His barns held more than enough for him to have lived comfortably. He was not content with what he could accumulate. He wanted to be able to accumulate more. He said to himself, “I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.” He also said to himself, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry.” God said, “You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared? Jesus closed that parable with a warning. “So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

Jeremiah 9:23 says, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast of his riches...”

Someone who is planning for the future and is hoarding excessive resources is not being rich toward God. Jesus never tells us to accumulate massive wealth in this world but rather to lay up treasure in heaven.  Matthew 6:19-20 says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on the earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” James had to have had these words of Jesus in mind as he wrote James 5:1-6.

Peter describes for us our true treasure. We have an “inheritance imperishable and undefiled which will not fade away, reserved for us in heaven.” (1 Peter 1:4)

The first problem addressed by James is excessive accumulation. The second problem is misplaced priorities. Look at the last part of verse 3. “It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure!” What does this mean? The last days are the days that began with the church age and will continue until the Lord returns. These are the days of harvest for the kingdom of God. Resources excessively accumulated by the rich are resources that could have been put to work to advance the kingdom of God. James confronts the rich with the reality that they are motivated by self-interest rather than God’s interests.

Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. If we are living in light of the certain return of Christ, and we understand that those who die without Christ will spend eternity in hell, and we know that our commission is the spread of the gospel and the making of disciples, then the priority use of our resources, at least those resources over and above what we need for food and clothing, should be used to advance the kingdom of God.

Implied here too is the fact that there is a day of judgment coming. One of the things for which we will be judged is the use of our resources in a way that honors the Lord Jesus Christ.

I want to tell you that Grace Bible Church has always kept this principle in mind with the use of our resources. We keep about six months of resources on hand. Those resources are kept available if there is a significant need among the church family. It is enough to cover about 6 months of expenses for the church. If we see an accumulation of funds over and above the amount needed to cover six months of expenses, we make decisions about what ministries have needs and we give that money to those who can use it. We try to manage resources responsibly, and we put excess to work building the kingdom of God. We don’t want Christ to come back and find us sitting on hundreds of thousands of dollars when there are missionaries out there trying to build churches and needing resources.

I will also tell you that of all the money you give to support this church, 25-30 percent of it goes to support the work of the kingdom outside this church. It goes to ministries working locally, nationally, and internationally to reach people with the gospel. If you add what the church pays me, assuming that we would consider my salary as supporting the advancement of the kingdom, well over 65% of what comes into this church is going directly to the advancement of the kingdom of God. Only about 18% of what you give to the ministry of the church goes to paying the utility bills and upkeep of this facility.

 The rich to whom James wrote did not realize that it was in the last days they were storing up their treasures for themselves. The leadership of Grace Bible Church realizes that because these are the last days, we must not lay up treasures for ourselves, but rather we must be investing in the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 There is a third problem addressed by James in this passage. The problem was the unjust practices of the rich which were motivated by greed. The rich were hiring laborers to mow the fields. Look at verse 4. Those day laborers needed their wages at the end of the day so they could go buy the resources needed to eat that day. The rich were withholding the wages, not paying for the work on a timely basis, simply because they were greedily holding on to the money which they should have been paying.

  Leviticus 19:13 says, “The wages of a hired man are not to remain with you all night until morning.” Deut. 24:14 condemns the oppression of the poor in any way. Verse 15 says, “You shall give him his wages on his day before the sun sets, for he is poor and sets his heart on it; so that he will not cry against you to the LORD and it become sin in you.” Jeremiah 22:13 says, “Woe to him who builds his house without righteousness, And his upper rooms without justice, Who uses his neighbor’s services without pay, And does not give him his wages.” The New Testament is not silent on this issue, at least in precept. Colossians 4:1 says, “Masters, grant to your slaves justice and fairness, knowing that you too have a Master in heaven.”

 The fourth problem James deals with among these rich is the fact that they are driven by a desire for selfish indulgence and an easy life. Look at verse 5. “You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure…” This is a completely different attitude than the one that is content with food and clothing. There is something appealing to the flesh about living the lifestyle of the rich and famous. People who are guilty of excessive accumulation, who won’t invest excess resources in the work of the kingdom, and abuse others to obtain or keep wealth, usually do these things because they want to live a luxurious lifestyle that feeds their wanton pleasures. 

 Such people are lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 2 Tim. 3:12 tells us. They are like the rich man who lived in splendor every day dressed in purple and fine linen. Outside his gate was a poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores who was longing to be fed with crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. We know from the story that the rich man knew who Lazarus was and was aware of his needs, but he did nothing to meet those needs because he only cared about living luxuriously and selfishly indulging his easy life.

 The final problem addressed by James was the use of wealth for gaining an advantage in the courts. This is what is pictured in verse 6. “You have condemned and put to death the righteous man; he does not resist you.” James had already told us back in James 2:6 that it was the rich man who oppresses the poor and drags them into court. Here, the rich are using the advantage that wealth provides to get a sentence of condemnation against their opponents, leaving the opponent powerless to resist.

 The word translated “put to death” is translated “murder” in every other place it is used in the New Testament. This is an indication of the ruthless nature of the rich and the extent they will go to take advantage of others. The courts were supposed to dispense justice impartially, but where money is involved there will always be corruption. 

 It may be that those righteous who did not resist were among the true believers who had adopted the attitude of Jesus, who when reviled, did not revile in return, who when insulted, did not insult in return, who when abused, did not utter threats. He just kept entrusting Himself to the One who judges righteously.

 This passage not only describes for us the problems associated with wealth, but they also describe for us the consequences which will come to those who are guilty of these problems. These are no insignificant consequences. Look at what comes to those who hoard and accumulate excessively. First, there are the natural consequences. There is loss due to the temporal nature of this world’s treasure. Food rots, clothes are moth eaten. Precious metals will rust and corrode. This world’s wealth is an uncertain thing. There is no security in any form of earthly wealth. God never intended for us to find our security in earthly treasure.

 Proverbs 23:4-5 gives some sound advice. “Do not weary yourself to gain wealth. Cease from your consideration of it. When you set your eyes on it, it is gone. For wealth certainly makes itself wings. Like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.”

 Not only are their natural consequences to excessive accumulation. There are eternal consequences. James uses some strong language to describe this. Verse 3 says, “…their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire.” James tells us that the waste and loss of excessively accumulated wealth will be a witness against the one who hoarded the resources and did not utilize them for God’s glory. In the Day of Judgment, when an accounting is given, the wasted wealth will not actually speak. The Righteous Judge will speak. He will point to that which was hoarded and render the appropriate judgment.

 One reason I believe James is addressing false converts in this passage is because of the strong language indicating judgment. The fire that consumes your flesh is a reference to the fires of hell. The rich man who ignored the plight of Lazarus found himself in a place of fiery torment. Zephaniah 1:18 says, “Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s wrath; and the earth will be devoured in the fire of His jealousy, for He will make a complete end, indeed a terrifying one, of all the inhabitants of the earth.”

 When we studied through Revelation we saw the destruction of the current world economic system described in Revelation 18:11-20. Reading this will remind us of the proper perspective on the wealth of this world. It is all going to be destroyed in judgment.

 Verse 4 tells us that the outcry of those who did the harvesting, but were not paid on a timely basis, will reach the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. This is the Lord of Hosts. This is the Righteous Judge who will hear their cries and carry out righteous judgment.

 Those who have lived luxuriously on the earth and lived a life of wanton pleasure have fattened their hearts for the day of slaughter. These are all the tragic, eternal, devastating results of not letting God be the Lord of our finances. 

 All through this letter James has been giving us test after test of genuine saving faith. Our attitude towards our resources is a test of our faith. Those whose hearts have been genuinely transformed by the Holy Spirit producing authentic salvation will have an attitude toward wealth that honors and glorifies God. Those who only give the appearance of saving faith will have attitudes of greed, self-sufficiency, self-reliance, pride, and a love for this world and the things of the world.

 The end result for those who are greedy, prideful, self-reliant, and love the world and the things in the world, will be misery. This is why James calls the rich to weep and howl. Misery is coming upon them. It will be eternal misery. They will look across the great chasm and long for the righteous to bring a drop of water to cool their tongues and provide some relief from the tormenting fires of hell.

 This message is not a hard message for most of us. Those of us who have no accumulation of wealth might tend to think that we get a pass on this passage. If this is what we think we have missed the point. The issue is not how much money we have. The issue is our attitude toward wealth. If we love the idea of being wealthy, we are as guilty as the wealthy person who James describes in these verses.

 In the event that there may be someone here who happens to have a lot of money, does this passage mean that you should give it all away? I don’t know. That isn’t up to me. That is between you and the Lord. The Scriptures have a lot to say about money. At the heart of the Bible’s message about wealth is that the way to manage wealth is to make sure you remember who actually owns it. It all belongs to Him. You have just been entrusted with it as a steward. If He has blessed you with a lot, steward it in a way that honors Him.

 The Parable of the Talents we read in our call to worship is a parable about the tragedy of wasted opportunity. All of us should steward our resources, whether it is five talents, two talents, or one talent, or a mere fraction of a talent, as God would have us steward them.

 Let’s pray.