In previous parts of this letter we have seen hints of the fiery prophet in
James. In this part of the letter we don’t have a hint. Here, James pulls
out all the stops. We see, here, a man who is passionate about the things of
God. It’s clear that religion is no mere slice of the pizza for James. But I
want you to understand why he is so passionate. It’s not simply a matter of
personality. I hope that you can see that James cares deeply for the
Christians to whom he is writing. His pastor’s heart is showing again. And
so, he writes some white hot words for them to hear and to be blessed by.
As with other portions of this letter, some important questions need to be
answered first so that we can properly understand James. The key question
for this text concerns the identity of the people he is writing about. Is
James writing about Christians in the church to which he has sent this
letter? Or is he writing about a class of non-Christians? It seems to me
that he is referring to well-to-do unbelievers. In this, James is, again,
imitating some of the Old Testament prophets. They addressed the pagan
nations in their prophecies even though their words were only heard by the
Israelites. Another reason for understanding our text in this way is what
follows it. ‘Be patient, therefore, my brothers.’ His appeal to the church
isn’t for repentance because of the sins that he has listed. Instead, he
calls for patience. We’ll see later how this fits.
So, let’s consider James’ words to these wealthy people. The paragraph is a
warning. He is warning them about ‘the miseries that are coming upon [them]’
. And he has four complaints against them. The first is in verses two and
three. ‘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.’ These folk have what they need – and plenty more. But what do they do
with the ‘more’? Nothing. It just sits in the bank gathering dust – or as
James describes it, rusting away. They have wealth, but they aren’t using
it. James has a problem with that. He seems to think that wealth is to be
used. We see the same kind of thinking elsewhere in the Scriptures. Paul
urges wealthy Christians to be generous. Jesus exhorted His audience to be
rich toward God by wisely using earthly riches. But the wealthy folk James
is talking about don’t use their wealth. They just hold onto it. That’s his
first complaint.
The second complaint is found in verse four. ‘Behold, the wages of the
laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out
against you…’ History is full of situations where people with power oppress
people without it. This is just another example of that. It just might be
that the saints to whom James was writing were the workers who were being
robbed of their wages. Earlier in his letter James referred to problems
between the rich and these saints. ‘Are not the rich the ones who oppress
you, and the ones who drag you into court?’ [James 2:6] Here, James
complains against the malicious use of power by these well-to-do.
The third complaint is in verse five. ‘You have lived on the earth in luxury
and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.
’ This goes back to the issue of the use of wealth. Some might say, ‘If I
have the money, who cares if I spend it on myself? I’ve earned it. It’s my
money! I can do with it what I want.’ Evidently, James has a problem with
that way of thinking. It seems as if James is saying, ‘Even though the money
is yours, you can’t just spend it any way you like. It’s not simply for you
to enjoy.’ So, what does James want? If spending it on themselves to enjoy
this life isn’t right, what should they do? Well, we know that leaving it in
the bank to rot is out. So, what’s left? It seems that all that’s left is
spending it on others. And with that we’re back to Paul’s exhortation about
being generous.
Then there’s the fourth complaint. ‘You have condemned; you have murdered
the righteous person. He does not resist you.’ Quite a contrast we have
here. On the one side is the powerful oppressor attacking some Christian.
And on the other side, the Christian isn’t fighting back. Maybe the wealthy
oppressor is twisting the legal system to achieve his goals. Remember James’
comment about the saints being dragged into court. The wealthy are taking
advantage of the righteous who are trying to respond according to the
Gospel.
All of this is quite an indictment. But there is still something else you
need to notice. Remember that this is a warning. James is threatening these
wealthy folk. Did you notice how? There is nothing here about starting some
social revolution. There is nothing here about encouraging personal
vendettas. There’s nothing here about plotting some power play. How does
James threaten such people? He warns them that Jesus will bring justice.
Look again at what he writes. He tells them that the corrosion of their
silver and gold ‘will be evidence against [them]’. Evidence to whom? It’s
evidence to Jesus. As James reminds them, they have laid up their treasures
‘in the last days’. All that’s left in Jesus’ cosmic timetable is for Him to
return and evaluate their lives. Then in verse four, ‘the cries of the
harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.’ James is telling
them, Jesus knows what is going on. He understands the evil that these folk
have committed against His people. He has heard their prayers. And so, He
will act. Then in verse five James talks about the ‘day of slaughter’. Whose
day of slaughter? It will be their day of slaughter. James is warning these
wealthy people.
Now for the question that I mentioned earlier and put off. Why is James
writing these things about wealthy unbelievers when only the Christians are
listening? This letter isn’t going to be read in the marketplace or wherever
the well-to-do gather. It’s going to be read in the congregation of the
saints. So why does James write these things? First, he writes it to give
hope to these Christians. They were being oppressed by the wealthy. James is
reminding them, ‘There will be justice!’ That’s why he exhorts them the way
he does in the following verse. ‘Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the
coming of the Lord.’ These oppressed believers, especially as they don’t
resist, need to know that their pain in following Jesus in this fallen world
is not ignored. There will be justice! Our Lord anticipated this kind of
situation. Remember what He said to those who were mistreated as they worked
at being faithful Christians, ‘Rejoice be glad for great is your reward in
heaven.’ When He returns, Jesus will set all of this right.
I think that there may be another reason why James writes these things. And
this goes back to Psalm 73. Listen to the first verses. ‘Truly God is good
to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost
stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.’ In our text, the Spirit is warning
the Church not to envy such people. How many have said, at least in their
hearts, ‘Life for them looks so good. I wish I had just a bit of the wealth
that they do.’ The Psalmist arrives at the same point that James does. He
looks at the end of the story. What will happen to such people then? Listen
to the end of the Psalm. ‘For behold, those who are far from You shall
perish; You put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to You. But for me it
is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell
of all Your works.’ Isn’t that James’ point? Isn’t that his reminder to the
saints? ‘Remember the Jesus is coming back. Remember the end of the story.’
We here at Faith Reformed find ourselves in a difficult situation. We are
not among the poor. We have what we really need – plus. The problem has to
do with that ‘plus’. What are we supposed to do with it? We have all been
taught to be responsible. We have learned that we need to be careful when it
comes to the use of our money. So, if someone suggests some use of our
money, our response might be, ‘But doing that would be irresponsible.’ And
that response might very well be exactly correct. There are lots of
hare-brained ideas out there. But then again, maybe that wouldn’t be the
right response. There are times when it is so very hard to tell. So, I would
urge you to make this a matter of some serious prayer and meditation in the
Word. Ask Jesus to guide you in this just as you ask for His guidance in
everything else. Strive, by prayer and meditation, to have a clear
conscience in this matter so that on the last day you can say, ‘Lord, I used
my money in the way that I honestly thought You wanted me to use it.’ Strive
for a clear conscience in this so that He, then, can say, ‘Yes, I know. And
you did well.’
