Warning to the Rich

Text: James 5:1–12 ESV

I was reminded as I'm going through this text, and then reading news here in the United States about how complicated money is. If you're watching the news this week, you might have seen the inflation numbers came out at 6.2%. It's the highest they've been in 30 years. Why? Because money is complicated. Our government had to make decisions when there was a pandemic, and the economy was coming to a grinding halt because people were staying home. There were decisions made. I'm not here to even talk about whether they were wise or unwise decisions—whether a stimulus was a good or bad idea. I’m simply saying having a lot of money and stewarding a lot of money comes with a heavy price. It comes with a huge responsibility. And the Bible has a lot to say about money and how those who have it should handle it.

That's where James is going to begin in this passage. He's going to address those who have money, and what they are doing with it. We're  going to see in this passage that the rich are oppressing the poor with our money. And we're also going to see that those who are oppressed by the rich, who don't have a lot of money, who are suffering, that James doesn’t want them to do radical, take-up-arms actions. He's got a different vision for those who are being oppressed by the rich—to respond by waiting on the Lord. 

Let’s break down where we are going today more specifically. I’ll be honest, when I first read this passage, I was really confused. I didn't see the connections. In fact, when I read it, I thought maybe what James is doing is getting in his last thoughts at the end of the letter. Kind of throwing in last minute ideas — a rebuke to the rich, a call to being patient in the Lord, and don’t take vows. I just didn't see a connection between them all. 

Then I began to read the commentary we’ve been using when going through James, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. It made a case for a similar outline to the one that I'm going to present to you. As I looked at the word and then looked at what this commentary said and then looked again at the word, I thought, “Yeah, I think that is what's going on.” I'll try to show you why I think it goes like this as we go through this text. But here's where we're going to go. I'll give you the first the one sentence summary:

The rich oppressors will answer to God, and in the meantime, the oppressed wait on the Lord. Here's how I think this breaks down:

• The oppressor will answer to God (5:1–6).

• The oppressed wait on the God (5:7–11)

• The oppressed watch their tongue as they wait on God (5:12)

We're  going to see God's verdict declared on the unbelieving rich. That's through verse six. Then we're going to see how James addresses believers who are being oppressed by the rich. He's going to speak to their heart to say wait patiently wait on the Lord. Don't take matters into your own hands. Don't respond and vengeance. That’s verses 7 through 11. And then finally, we're going to see in verse 12, James give one final warning—watch your tongue. Oppressors watch their tongues and don't over commit themselves because they trust their God. The rich oppressors will answer to God, and in the meantime, the oppressed wait on the Lord.

Let's begin by looking at the oppressors, they will answer to God. Let’s have a verdict on how they live their lives.

 “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you.” (James 5:1 ESV)

Right away, I think we already start to see that James is not addressing Christian believers. But he's addressing the rich who are not Christians. The reason is that already in the first verse we see it's a done deal, the vengeance is decided—the miseries that are *coming upon you*. As we continue in the passage there's no hope in the end (unless they were to turn their back from what they were doing, rebelling against God, and turn to God). Otherwise, their fate has been sealed by their wicked unbelief and actions that prove that. Look now at verse 2–3:

“Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days.” (James 5:2–3 ESV)

We're starting to get a bit more well rounded picture of what's going on with these oppressors. They're not just rich. That's not in of itself the problem. What's the problem? Well, their riches, they're rotted. Their garments are full of mothballs, which means they're not being used. When you think of mothballs in your clothes, it's because it has been sitting there in the drawer. When your riches start to corrode what's happened? Well, it is sitting there, maybe getting water on them and not being used, not being moved. In other words, the problem is they are hoarding their wealth. 

Interestingly, you know gold, of course, is famous for not being able to corrode. What is James getting at? Some think, maybe it's a mixture in their coins with a mixture of gold and something else. But even if not, I think what James is trying to say is, “You gold is so stagnant it's as if your gold was rotting.'' That's how useless it is. You're just stockpiling it. 

Some of you may know my full name is Donald. I quickly changed my name to Don when I was in elementary school because, what do people call me? Donald Duck. You can call me whatever you want to now. I mentioned it though because one of the things I remember about Donald Duck in the cartoon was this image of Donald Duck swimming in this huge pile, this pool of gold. He’s spitting it out of his mouth. He is doing laps around this huge storehouse full of gold.

I think that's what James is trying to get us to picture. You got so much gold. It's like Donald Duck swimming around it because it’s not doing anything. It's so useless it is as if gold was rotting. What that means is that James is condemning hoarders. He's condemning those who store their riches and don't use their riches for good like they're supposed to be used. 

You might remember that story in Luke 12 where the rich man stores all that wheat in bigger and bigger barns. Here is how it begins: 

“And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Then Jesus goes on to tell them this parable. And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! Tonight your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”” (Luke 12:15–21 ESV)

The whole picture is that there's this person who's thinking of themselves, storing it to build up their cash cow to become bigger and bigger and bigger for themselves. Just stop and ask yourself, no I mean really go before the cross where you know forgiveness lies no matter how you answer these questions. Have you been building storehouses for yourself? I'm not talking about wise savings to care for your family. I’m talking about storing excess that you don’t need. That could be put to good use. 

Like that rich man and Lazarus. That rich man walked by poor Lazarus every day. Lazarus just wanted to eat the scraps. The rich man could have kept eating. He just wanted to scrape from his table. And he wouldn't even give him that.

Let me just say that won’t be worth it in the end. These rich who are oppressing with their riches, they're not going to win in the kingdom of God. They were so used to winning in life and buying whatever they wanted. All doors opened for them. I heard a pastor say, it's not as if you're  going to get to the pearly gates and say, Hey, I'm here. Do you take MasterCard? You take a Visa? I got gold, I got Bitcoin. None of it matters on that day. 

You're not going to be able to buy your entrance into heaven. In fact, these riches are the ones that condemn them and cry out against them. So let’s keep going to see James unpack that. Listen to where the argument develops 4–6:

“Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you,[So here's the labors they do some work and what did you do you kept their wages it's in your Donald-Duck storehouse and those coins are crying out against you. He keeps going] and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts [That is, they've reached the ears of the God who is the Commander of the heavenly armies]. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts on a day of slaughter [You fatten yourself while all these others are starving, and you're fat.]. You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.” (James 5:4–6 ESV)

This last image is striking. If you go back to James and Jesus's day, here is a picture of how the rich can take advantage of the poor. Poor people can have a farm, and the rich come in and they buy the farm. Then they force the previous owner to work the farm. Well, then they don't pay that previous owner very well. That previous owner then ends up having to take on debt in order to feed their family. Then the owner would take them and say he didn't pay your debt. Well, of course, the owner couldn't pay his debt because he wasn’t being paid for his work. So he's sent to jail, and then rots in jail and dies. Because they're poor and oppressed, they can't do anything. 

James is addressing these non-Christian rich oppressors who are hoarding, living in luxury, fattening themselves while the poor starve. He's saying you will answer to the commander of the army of heaven. This is not the first time that James has addressed this concept. Look at James 2:6

“But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?” (James 2:6–7 ESV)

This is some harsh language. It’s kind of like James is almost taking on language like the Old Testament prophets, who just creamed people for injustice. Constantly the prophets spoke about the wickedness of the injustice and the judgment that's coming. The Old Testament makes it clear you are not supposed to oppress the poor, but instead help them.

“Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him.” (Proverbs 14:31 ESV)

Here’s God addressing his people in Deuteronomy 24:14

“You shall not oppress a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of the sojourners who are in your land within your towns.” (Deuteronomy 24:14 ESV)

Then there's Ezekiel 16:49. Listen to how the Bible describes the sin of Sodom: 

“Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy.” (Ezekiel 16:49 ESV)

I don't think the Bible condemns being rich in and of itself. What it condemns, is being selfish with what you've been given. What it condemns, is living a life of luxury while the poor starve. What it condemns is not having food but having excess food. Not being prosperous in general, but just being prosperous and you're not using your money and your gifts for anything but the fattening of yourself.

Here's the image I thought of. It is a silly image, but I think it speaks to the foolishness behind those who do this with money. You know it was just Halloween, so my kids got dressed up and we went to visit the house. Of course, they get this huge bag full of candy. There is no way my kids are going to eat all this candy. So, do they share this candy with others, Mom and Dad included? Or do they hoard it for themselves? And if they hoard it for themselves, what's the consequence? Well, the candies are  going to rot. It's  going to go bad because they can’t eat it fast enough. But if they share it, they're  going to have plenty for themselves. And there's going to be some for others. 

You look at my kids, and I'm like, it's a no brainer. Sure. Well, we all know, kids, that is not the easiest decision, right? Our tendency to hoard can start at 4 years old. My kids did decide to share, and I’ll be honest, I’ve eaten my fair share.

I just use that image to picture hoarding. James has really strong words for hoarders. Because not only were these rich hoarding like that, they were defrauding people. They, for example, agreed to pay a certain wage and then never paid.

I think we would be remiss to just kind of cruise along and say, you know what, that’s not me. I probably got nothing here. I'm in the oppressed group, not the oppressor. I just want to stop and just say, “Okay, first of all, many of you may not feel rich in this room. And by looking around Boise, you might not be. But you get on a plane and go to another country, not every country, but many, and you are rich. 

This might feel like an abstract question, but you can ask yourself: “Is there any area in your life where you're using God's money and provision he's given you to fatten yourself at the expense of someone else starving?” “Are you pursuing luxury and excess while over here they're suffering and hurting people.” In other words, ask yourself, are you using your money for good or are you hoarding it?

What James is targeting is a heart that is self-focused. The problem is not money in and of itself. I don’t want anyone in this room to feel condemned because you've got some money. In fact, Job is going to come up later in this passage. He had a lot of money. A lot. And Abraham had a lot of money. The money is not the problem. These men are not condemned because they had money. They stewarded the money well.

James is concerned not with money but what we do with the money, or even more specifically in this case what they didn't do with the money. These rich people didn't pay the workers. They kept it for themselves.

I want to pause for a minute and address any of you who came in this morning and church is new for you. Maybe you didn't grow up in church, maybe you don't know who Jesus is. Maybe you haven't trusted him. I want to say to you, maybe you look around the world and you see the brokenness and you see poverty and you see suffering. Maybe you are disillusioned with all these things and the people who are trying to help the poor but they aren’t. 

I want you to know that this church loves the Bible. And when you read the Bible you find a God who loves the poor—a God who cares for the poor and the broken. As a church, we are a community that wants to live and work and give in such a way that fulfills the God-given call to care for the poor. Now, are we a church that does it perfectly? No, but I want you to hear we are trying to serve our God even in how we think about money. And here’s what you need to know about this God. He has demonstrated what it means for the rich to give up their life for the poor. He did this in his Son, Jesus. 

Think of this. His Son, Jesus, was as rich as they come living and dwelling in the heavenlies. But, he left the heavens to be born a man on earth. The Bible says it this way, he became poor — he humbled himself, he took on flesh, he entered a broken — Why? So that poor, that is you and me, might become rich. What riches was he talking about? The riches of our inheritance to join God in this heavenly, rich place. See we are separated from God because of our rebellion against him. But his Son became poor, took on our sin, and gave us riches. He did this for all who trust in him. I want you to know that promise can be yours and I want you to know if you do trust him you will join a community, a family, that is trying to live out a call to care for the broken and poor in the world. But we are doing so by following the example of our Savior. 

I feel like there's so much more to say about this topic of money. I wish I had more time. And maybe we can have a time when we could talk about riches and money, and how to steward it and God's vision for how this works. We can maybe talk about that. But I don't want to lose sight that this is just one part of this whole passage. James has more to say. In verses 1–6 he's addressed the rich, who are oppressing the poor. He has let the rich know that God will answer their oppression with his wrath. Now he is going to move in verse 7–11 to address the poor, those being oppressed by the rich. He is going to call the oppressed to wait for him to answer. They're not to take matters in their own hands—to take up their own arms and seek vengeance on their own for example. Listen to how he talks about what they should do. Look at first verse 7:

“Be patient, therefore”

Okay, so just pause. Right there. Remember, I said, I went and read a commentary, but then went back to the word and asked, Is this true? Well, here's one of the reasons I think it's right, that therefore connects this paragraph to where we just came from. Be patient. Therefore, in light of what you just heard, therefore, do this. So let me just give you another example. We're out of milk. Therefore, I need to go to the store. So it connects those two ideas. I'm going to the store. Why? Because I'm out of milk. Be patient. Why? Because you're being oppressed by the rich. Okay, so that's the connection connecting 5:1–6 with 7–11. Now let's see what is James has to say:

“Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” (James 5:7–8 ESV)

I think what James is trying to warn us about is that when you're oppressed, when the rich are withholding the wages that you earned, you work in their field, you harvest their grain, and nothing. You might be tempted to take up arms to exact vengeance. Now, the reason I’m talking about taking up arms is because James clearly doesn’t have a problem with them saying something about oppression. Good night, we just finished reading some of the harshest language in his letter. 

So when he talks about being patient, I think he means don’t take matters into your own hands. Don’t say, “I'm not waiting for the Lord — the commander of the armies of heaven to come in and destroy. I'm going to grab my pitchfork and destroy myself.” James is saying, don't do that. Vengeance belongs to the Lord. They will answer to God. Your role is to be patient. To establish your heart for the coming of the Lord that is at hand.

That idea of the coming of the Lord is something that I think divides the rich non-believing oppressors, and the poor, oppressed Christians. The poor who are oppressed, hold on and remember that the Lord is coming back. While the rich, the oppressors, they don't believe the Lord's coming back. That's why they're living in luxury. They don't think there's anything beyond this life. They're not trusting in a God who's going to return and therefore they listen to James and they just ignore him. They say, “You're a fool.” And James is saying, don't fall into that temptation, that lie. Remember, the Lord is coming. 

I heard a pastor this week say that this idea of the Lord coming back is no doubt one of the most important themes in the New Testament. He said the idea occurs over 300 times in the New Testament. I think it so often occurs because this is such a vital life line for Christians. Listen, life will not be easy — at least that is the promise of the Bible. But our hope is not in this life, but in the next. This has to be a constant chorus playing in our minds. 

There's a lot that we can say about the Lord's coming. But let's just say this. Matthew 24:36 reminds us: 

“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” (Matthew 24:36 ESV)

No one knows when exactly this day is coming. But here's what we do know. It is coming. And here's what it says just right before that, this is Matthew 24:33:

“So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates.” (Matthew 24:33 ESV)

When the Bible talks about the second coming of Christ, it's very clear, though we don't know exactly when it's going to happen — it could be tomorrow, it could be the next day, it could be next week, could be in a year, could be in 50 years, 500 years. But we do know that it's imminent. That he is at the very gates. That it is so close. We're living in the last days.

The Bible is calling us to live in light of this coming, expecting that it could be at any moment. And this idea that the Lord is coming is what gives fuel in the waiting — gives hope in the waiting. You're not just waiting, thinking nothing's  going to happen. No, the Lord will come back and something will happen. 

Now, here is how he ties that into waiting on the Lord to avenge. He doesn’t want his church to be rising up and taking arms against the rich. The thing I thought of is there's this enemy that's not treating people right. They are out there crushing and oppressing people by this heavy. And I just kind of picture this one soldier. The commander has told that soldier to wait. The time is coming when this oppressor will meet his fate. We need to wait, but this soldier's like, “No.” He storms out there and he just gets creamed. Versus the one who waits on the Lord and waits for the Lord who is the commander of the armies of heaven. The commander says, “Look, I know it's broken, but I will answer. I will rescue.” And then I just picture one day after waiting and waiting. Here, James describes this waiting, look at verses 11:

“Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.” (James 5:11 ESV)

Job is given as the example of waiting. These soldiers are like a Job waiting and patient. Finally, the Lord says, I am going to answer and the soldiers get up to charge the great enemy. Then, flooding all around him is this huge army that does the bidding. It does the work and secures the victory. But until then it's a call to wait. It's not just mindless. It's a promise — a sure promise that the Lord will answer. The Lord will come.

James knows the waiting is hard. In fact, he has warnings while we are waiting because he knows it's not easy. Look now verse 9: 

“Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.” (James 5:9 ESV)

James sees what’s going on. The oppressed, poor Christians they are not getting their wages. It's not going well and so there's fighting with each other. Why? Well we don’t know exactly. But it’s not hard to imagine that they are stressed and they are taking their stress and anger out on each other.

I can relate. I hate the times that I see myself doing that to my kids. I’m less patient with them because of stress that has nothing to do with them. 

Now, as we look once more at verses 10–11, I want to clear something up. I want you to know that James wants us to allow vengeance to belong to the Lord, but that does not mean that James is sitting back and doing absolutely nothing. If that is what he meant, I don’t think we would have heard his harsh and condemning words in verses 1–6, and I don’t think he would have given these two examples in verses 10–11. Let’s look at them: 

“As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.” (James 5:10–11 ESV)

I think he would have been hard pressed to come up with these examples if James wanted the church to sit back and say nothing. He gives examples of prophets in the Old Testament, who constantly spoke against injustice, just like James did. Or Job, who was clear about what was right and wrong. 

James is condemning those who try to take the entire justice into their own hands, and go around the system that God has placed like governments that should pursue justice against the rich oppressors. James is saying, Don't do that. Trust the Lord, wait, be patient. But you don't have to do anything. Like the prophets just think about how many times they rebuke the rich oppressors. Think about how many times they speak out against injustice, saying God will bring justice, this is wrong, what you're doing. 

 I just want you to hear this morning. That is you are in any kind of scenario in which you're being oppressed by the rich, for example. I do want you to hear, justice will be had, God will see what is done and he will bring his vengeance. But also want you to hear, you don't have to just stay there and say nothing and do nothing. When you can, say something. Leave. After all, God is described as a God who is compassionate, and merciful. 

Finally, James, ends with verse 12 a call for the oppressed to watch their tongues. The rich oppressors will answer to God, and in the meantime, the oppressed wait on the Lord. Here's how I think this breaks down:

• The oppressor will answer to God (5:1–6).

• The oppressed wait on the God (5:7–11)

• The oppressed watch their tongue as they wait on God (5:12)

And again, I think this is tied in with our verses because listen how it begins:

“But above all” (James 5:12 ESV)

“Above all”, so be patient, don't grumble against each other, be patient like Job. But now verse 12 “above all”. 

“But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.” (James 5:12 ESV)

Of course, it's a direct quote from Matthew 5:34–37: 

 “But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.” (Matthew 5:34–37 ESV)

 What is James and Jesus trying to get at? Picture the poor who don't have their wages, struggling. They need stuff so there's this temptation that they could go to a moneylender or even the rich and make promises that they know they can't keep just to take out a loan. They know they can't repay it. They want the loan so that they can go buy something for Christmas or shoes or food and they know they can't pay it. But they say yes I can pay it. 

James is trying to say don't do it. Don't go out and make promises you can't keep. In fact, be so above reproach you don't even need your oaths because you're so known for your yes being yes and you're no being no. That's how above reproach you are. You don't enter into a contract with things that are above your head. Why? because you trust the one who provides for your every need — God. 

I want to close with three questions. And then look into the cross as we answer them. I hope asking these questions will help us not only examine our lives, but look to the cross as we fall short and need strength.

1. Could you be guilty of oppressing others with your riches? Or hoarding riches you do not need? 

2. With the hardships and sufferings of life, are you looking and trusting in God's sure return?

3. Do you make promises you can’t keep? Or do you control your tongue in such a way that it is evident that you're putting your trust not in yourself, not in your own abilities, but in God. 

I want to draw us though, to the very one who has secured all this hope for us. Look, this morning when it comes to your riches. I know, I know, if we were to take a deep dive, we've all made mistakes. We've had moments where we've hoarded we had moments where we've been selfish and luxurious, fattening ourselves at the expense of others. God's given an answer. His Son, who took on flesh to God, poverty, did it perfectly. So though you have had moments when you decided you were going to hold riches, if you will come to him, he says, forgiven. Then, in that place, you've now been forgiven. He's now given an example of what it means to become poor, that others might be rich.

For those of us, we become short sighted, and life becomes overwhelming and we become anxious and we want to take it into our own control and in our own hands, and we forget, “Oh, wait a minute. God is in control. God is returning. God is my hope.” If you forget that sometime, we've got a God who welcomes us even when we say, “I believe, help my unbelief.”

Finally, when we find ourselves using our tongues to make promises that we can't keep because we're failing to trust in our God. He beckons us back to him. He says, “Come home.” Like the prodigal son who ran away but now you come back and know that our God will receive you with open arms. 

“The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24–26 ESV)