In Jesus Holy Name March 11, 2007
Text: James 5:1-6 Lent III , Redeemer
“Warnings of Responsibility to the Wealthy”
The Book of James 9th in the Series
Warnings. The little red lights on the dash board of your car are meant to be heeded. You see the temperature gauge, or the oil gauge flash in the morning but you are in a hurry. “I’ll take care of it later.” You say. Four days later the light is still blinking on and off. You say to yourself. “Yes, that’s right. I’ve got to take care of that light.” Late that afternoon on the way home from work… on your way to pick up the kids… you find yourself parked on the side of the road, with an engine too hot to run anymore.
Warnings. Red lights. In life they signal us of impending danger. They exist in all parts of life. Sirens scream as a marriage starts to sour, alarms blare when a faith weakens, flares go up to alert us of morals being compromised.
The warnings manifest themselves in a variety of ways; guilt, depression, rationalization. A friend might confront us. A scripture might sting. A burden might prove too heavy. Warnings come to alert us. They are to wake us up.
Unfortunately, they are now always heeded. All of us have learned to cover our ears and shield our eyes at the right moment. Warnings can be as blunt as a sledgehammer and we still turn our head and whistle them away.
In our continuing series through the book of James we have arrived at Chapter 5. James offers both a warning and a challenge to responsibility. The context of chapter 5 is not difficult. James is talking to those who are wealthy.
(Read James 5:1-6 and I Timothy 6:9-10,17-19)
Both James and Paul, in his letter to Timothy, offer warnings. Both remind us that “today’s money will be worthless when Christ returns. So we should spend our time accumulating treasures that will be worth while in God’s eternal kingdom.
Money is not the problem. Wealth is not a sin. Christian families, like other families need money to live and support them. Missionaries need money to help them spread the gospel message. Churches need money to do their work effectively, paying their bills, paying for a parking lot, and providing for their staff.
It is the love of money that leads to evil. (I Timothy 6:10) It is the love of money that causes some to oppress others in order to get more. That’s how the world works with out God. In America or especially in developing countries around the world….palaces are built and lived in by the rulers….and government officials, while the people live in abject poverty.
The words of James are warning lights…warning all Christians who are tempted to adopt worldly standards for their personal lifestyle.
The teaching of scripture is not that money and wealth are evil, but rather if God has granted you wealth you have even greater responsibility to over come the worldly temptation to use your wealth for yourself. Remember…we are to be managers, good stewards of all that God has placed into our hands. James’ point: “If you are only concerned about enriching yourself, your soul might become impoverished.
One other point needs to be clarified this morning before we continue. It is not true that the poor go to heaven and the rich to hell. There are godless poor people and there are godly rich people in the world. There always has been and always will be. We can classify people in the following ways:
1) There are those who are financially poor and spiritually empty. There are those who go to bed hungry every night and they don’t know the father’s love. Or they have heard of the Father’s love in Jesus Christ and have rejected Him. They remain financially poor and spiritually empty.
2) Then there are those who are financially rich and full of spiritual riches as well. There are many in scripture who fit this category. Abraham. Joseph, David. Daniel. Joseph of Arimaetha. Barnabas of whom it is said…. He had land and gave generously.
They are financially rich and spiritually rich managing the resources god has granted to their management with wisdom.
3) There are those who financially poor and spiritually
rich. The riches of Christ sustain their earthly
life. In this category I think of people like
Mother Theresa as she gave her life’s work to the
poor and out cast in India.
We are living in the wealthiest nation… we wear fine apparel, and are able to bathe daily. We have fine homes for shelter. We are not really poor in the sense of the poor who roam the streets of Calcutta, or Mexico City, or New York City.
The warnings of James are flashing brightly for those
who are financially rich and spiritually poor.
When James wrote his letter, just like today, there are those who have gained their wealth by oppressing the poor, they need to repent. James is addressing those who are hording their wealth, not sharing their food with those in need. Money does not open the gates of heaven, nor can it save us when the day of judgment comes.
Jesus tells the story of Lazarus and the unnamed rich man. Lazarus, the poor beggar dies and is carried to heaven where he receives love, security and delight in the presence of God. The rich man dies. And Jesus says: “In hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torment.” He’s in hell, because he was rich? NO! But because he was unbelieving. His riches possessed him.
You can be poor and go to hell or you can be rich and go to hell…but you don’t need to spend eternity in hell separated from God. Jesus willingly gave his life as the perfect sacrifice on the cross “In order to present us to God”. I Peter 3:18 “For Christ died for sins once for all. The righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit.”
This is the good news of God. The cross demonstrates God’s love and his demand for justice. The Bible tells us that “God was reconciling the world to himself through Jesus, not counting our sins against us…. For God made Jesus who had no sin to be sin for us” so that by faith in Jesus “we might be given His righteousness.” This act of transference happened at the cross and changed the world.
This week Charles Colson in his Break Point commentary talks about a different world view because of the Cross of Christ.
He began his commentary with these words: “What difference does a world view make? Around the world we are seeing the clash of civilizations in action. That clash gives us a story of life and stories of death.
In Baghdad terrorist are blowing themselves up with car bombs, killing and wounding hundreds of people. Muslims are blowing up Muslims. The response of Europe and the Muslim world to these stories of death? Outrage? No! Silence. Yes. Did the Western press condemn them? No.
Last Thursday, NBC showed wounded Iraqi insurgents being brought to Camp Speicher near Tikrit. Two of them had been caught placing an explosive divice on a nearby road, intending to kill Americans, when a U.S. helicopter opened fire on them.
The U.S. medical team moved heaven and earth to save their lives. One insurgent, however, was not going to survive unless he got thirty pints of blood.
But the base was low on blood. The call went out for volunteer donors; minutes later dozens of G.I.s had lined up. At the head of the line was a battle hardened soldier named Brian Suam. Asked if it mattered that his blood was going to an insurgent, he smiled and said, “no. A Human life is a human life.”
Charles Colson wrote: “I have never seen a more dramatic example of world views in contrast, nor have I been prouder of an American G.I. On the one hand we have a civilization that values death, even the death of children. On the other hand we have a story of a civilization based on Judeo-Christian heritage that teaches that life is sacred.
Jesus died on the cross and by His blood we are saved. By his blood we have peace with God. By his blood we have been justified.
The cross has changed our world and our behavior. So, James is challenging those who claim Jesus as Savior to behave differently.
James knows that when someone loves money….it consumes them and they ask… how can I hold on to what I have… even at the expense of other people. How can I get more…even at the expense of other people.
Here’s and interesting question for you. How much would you give to God’s work and ministry if the “flat tax”, without deductions to churches and charities … is approved?
How much of your riches would you release if you had no hope of receiving some financial deduction? That is a searching question. How much of your giving us under cover, just for the shear delight of giving. You see…. The selfishness of our human nature can easily control us in regards to the money God has entrusted to our responsibility.
We have already noted from James that ambition, but rather selfish ambition is wrong. So here too, wealth is not bad it’s the selfish use of money that makes one spiritually empty and impoverishes the soul.
Divine warnings. All inspired by God and tested by time. Like red light on your dash board, heed them and safety is yours to enjoy. Ignore them and I’ll be looking for you on the side of the road.
