Troublesome Truth (7 of 8)
Series: Real Religion
Craig Smith
James 5:1-6
I. Introduction
II. Main Body
A. The Case for Condemnation
Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. 2 Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes.3 Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. (James 5:1-3)
Fun, right?
OK, let's get something straight first: James is saying this to a group of people we might call the ''wicked wealthy.'' These are people who were making life very hard for the Christians that James originally wrote this letter to. We have to remember that this book was written to Jewish people who were being persecuted for their faith in Jesus. Because of their faith in Jesus, they had been run out of Israel, so they found themselves in foreign countries having to do whatever they could to survive. Typically, that meant they ended up working in the fields of rich landowners who often took advantage of them, knowing that they didn't have the legal or social resources to defend themselves. Those are the people James is talking about here, ok? He's basically pronouncing a judgment against what we might call the ''wicked wealthy.'' And he's doing it to comfort his audience. He's saying ''hold on. This isn't going to last forever. The people who have made your lives so hard aren't going to get away with it. Their judgment is coming.'' That's the primary purpose of this passage. to comfort those who are being oppressed by the wicked wealthy.
But here's where things get a little tricky for me. See, on the one hand, to accurately handle God's Word here, I need to make it absolutely clear that James isn't pronouncing judgment on everyone who has money. Having wealth doesn't automatically make you wicked. In fact, if we study the Bible carefully, one of the things we find is that, in addition to the ' ...
Series: Real Religion
Craig Smith
James 5:1-6
I. Introduction
II. Main Body
A. The Case for Condemnation
Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. 2 Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes.3 Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. (James 5:1-3)
Fun, right?
OK, let's get something straight first: James is saying this to a group of people we might call the ''wicked wealthy.'' These are people who were making life very hard for the Christians that James originally wrote this letter to. We have to remember that this book was written to Jewish people who were being persecuted for their faith in Jesus. Because of their faith in Jesus, they had been run out of Israel, so they found themselves in foreign countries having to do whatever they could to survive. Typically, that meant they ended up working in the fields of rich landowners who often took advantage of them, knowing that they didn't have the legal or social resources to defend themselves. Those are the people James is talking about here, ok? He's basically pronouncing a judgment against what we might call the ''wicked wealthy.'' And he's doing it to comfort his audience. He's saying ''hold on. This isn't going to last forever. The people who have made your lives so hard aren't going to get away with it. Their judgment is coming.'' That's the primary purpose of this passage. to comfort those who are being oppressed by the wicked wealthy.
But here's where things get a little tricky for me. See, on the one hand, to accurately handle God's Word here, I need to make it absolutely clear that James isn't pronouncing judgment on everyone who has money. Having wealth doesn't automatically make you wicked. In fact, if we study the Bible carefully, one of the things we find is that, in addition to the ' ...
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