Monthly Archive for December, 2000

James 5:3

Published on December 31, 2000 in James. 7 Comments
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Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days.
 
James continues to argue against the believer who does not use his assets for God’s glory but for himself. This argument began in 4:13. 
 
James discusses the second and third categories of wealth in this verse [garments, gold and silver]. 
 
Your gold and silver are corroded,
 
Neither gold nor silver can rust but they can corrode. Rust is the result of slow oxidation of metals. Oxidation of pure gold in our day does not corrode that gold significantly but the gold of the first century for the most part was not pure. Metaphorically, the idea is that gold and silver will end in ruin. 
 
The process is the same for greed as it is for metals. As corrosion destroys the value of metal, so hoarding tarnishes God’s purpose for wealth. Both gold and silver can corrode in God’s economy. 
 
and their corrosion will be a witness against you
 
The temporal, instrumental value of wealth will witness against people who place their terminal values into hoarding money. The soul that operates on temporal values is a soul in the state of corrosion. God will use this corroded state of the soul as evidence against the believer who uses wealth as a terminal value for life at the Judgment Seat of Christ. 
 
This evidence of blunting of the soul puts the believer under divine discipline. God will use this evidence to convict our souls for being out of fellowship with God. God will discipline us with the very thing that corroded our soul. "The mills of God’s justice may grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly fine."
 
PRINCIPLE: Hoarding transitory things is foolish because they are indeed transitory. 
 
APPLICATION: The failure of wealth to satisfy us in time and in eternity is a witness against the attitude that if we gain great possessions, we will be happy. This witnesses to the fact that our wealth will perish as an intrinsic value. What is in a man’s soul makes him rich, not what he has in the bank. He is rich according to what he is, not according to what he has. 
 
Spiritual Christians cannot walk at once in a transitory value system and an eternal value system. If we have all the beautiful gold and silver objects that we can imagine but we have not grown in the Lord, then we do not have the capacity to put these things in perspective. It is not what you have that counts in God’s eyes but what is in your soul. Material things are temporary; spiritual things are eternal. 
 
Pr. 23: 4 “Do not overwork to be rich;
            Because of your own understanding, cease!
5 Will you set your eyes on that which is not?
            For riches certainly make themselves wings;
            They fly away like an eagle toward heaven.”
 
We cannot solve our problems with material objects such as silver or gold or the stock market. Acquiring women, success, drugs or wealth cannot expand our soul. Development of the soul must operate as a transcending value over any earthly object. We never meet our ultimate needs with sex, money or power. The acquisition of things will not help us at the Judgment Seat of Christ. 

James 5:2b

Published on December 30, 2000 in James. 0 Comments
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“Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten.”


and your garments are moth-eaten

James brings up “garments” here because people of the first century viewed special clothing as inheritance heirlooms.  They considered these heirlooms as part of their affluence because they associated heirlooms with wealth and influence. 

Just as heirlooms can become prey to moths so hoarding wealth can become prey to circumstances.  To put priority on the temporal over the eternal is a serious mistake.  What men value in time is nothing compared to eternal intrinsic values.  Hoarding riches and garments is vulnerable to devaluation.  Materialism-lust will damage you like heirloom garments damaged by larvae of moths. 

Mt 6: 19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”


PRINCIPLE:  A person’s riches should not be greater than their capacity of the soul. 


APPLICATION:  If our soul is not greater than our love for riches then we have a rotten soul, a corrupt soul.  Materialism-lust corrupts our soul if we allow it to operate as a greater value than eternal values.  If money is more important than fellowship with God then we have a corrupt soul, an odious soul.  However, a believer of great wealth whose greatest value is to glorify God has a sweet smelling soul. 

Wealth is an instrumental value but richness of soul is an intrinsic value.  An intrinsic value is something valued for its own sake.  An instrumental value is useful only as it does something for something else.  The instrumental value of money is of little worth to someone who is about to die in a few hours.  An instrumental value exists for something else, not for itself.  In God’s economy, we employ material wealth as an instrumental value to use for a higher eternal value.  Money is not the important value to us.  Justice, love and truth are intrinsic values that never change.

Materialism-lust is susceptible to devaluation in time and complete devaluation in eternity.  Believers need to take warning of the vulnerability of the self-confidence of the self-made man.

People who put their trust in wealth put their personal well being at risk.  Our lives under that premise ebb and flow with our riches.   Hoarding material things will bring us “from riches to rags.” 

2 Co 4: 16 “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

There is a corrosive effect of wealth.  Temporary, instrumental values will not stand against eternal values.  Placing our trust in temporal values will ultimately lead us to ruin.  We assume that we are amassing material wealth but in reality, we are amassing something that decomposes. 

James 5:2

Published on December 29, 2000 in James. 0 Comments
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Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten.

James in this verse and next delineates three types of wealth that undermine our souls. 

Your riches are corrupted,
 
James makes it clear that he is denouncing a special group of wealthy people and not all rich people. “Your riches” as over against other peoples’ riches is the idea. Some wealthy people do not allow wealth to corrupt them. 
 
The very sphere of self-confidence of the wealthy is vulnerability for them. Riches as an ultimate value corrode because they do not have lasting intrinsic value. The word “corrupted” means destroyed. Wealth tends to corrode one’s life by rotting of values. The Greek tense indicates that this believer with distorted values entered into a state of corruption and destruction. 
 
PRINCIPLE: If a believer adopts the political and economic belief systems of this world, his soul will rot.  
 
APPLICATION: The Christian must stand independent from all political and economic world-views. His belief system must transcend these human worldviews. The free enterprise system is the goose that lays the golden egg for material benefits for those who live under it. Big government produces parasites that destroy their personal dignity by dependence on government [with the exception of those who cannot help themselves]. Liberals gerrymander for the power of big government because it puts people under dependence to government leaders. They gerrymander against the free enterprise system as if it were evil in itself. This is not a biblical viewpoint. 
 
Although the Bible does not assail the system of free enterprise, it does warn of materialistic attitude toward riches. Free enterprise is not God’s ultimate view for values in society but a God-centered hope. There is a great danger among evangelicals to put all their eggs in the basket of free enterprise, “If the United States or Canada would just reduce the size of government or adopt free enterprise principles then everything will be fine.” No, ultimate value for the Christian does not rest in any human economic system but in God Himself. 
 
Both of these economic views result in soul-rot if the believer does not operate on the transcendent values of God. Those who make big intrusive government as a panacea make its citizens parasites of society, a belief system that puts its trust in big government. That is just as bad as the free enterpriser who puts his trust in material wealth. Both systems are wrong as ultimate answers for man from God’s standpoint. The Bible does not present a political world-view for man primarily but a theocentric world-view.

James 5:1b

Published on December 28, 2000 in James. 0 Comments
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Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you!
 
for your miseries that are coming upon you!
 
The word “miseries” occurs only here and Romans 3:16. This word comes from two words: 1) to undergo, endure and 2) a callus or hardened concretion.  The idea is hardship and distress. If a person is out of fellowship, the more money he has the greater his misery. If a person is in fellowship, money is a detail of life, not the purpose of life. 
 
1 Ti 6: 6 “Now godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”
 
Money in itself never ultimately satisfies us. If we lean on wealth to give us happiness, it will always disappoint us. The Bible nowhere condemns the rich for being rich. Money is not evil in itself but the love of money is evil. 
 
Many rich Jews lost all their possessions in the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. James wrote in A.D. 49. Many lost their families and their lives. Many wept and howled. Riches offer no permanent security. 
 
PRINCIPLE: Abuse of wealth will cause misery to our souls. 
 
APPLICATION: “Eat, drink and be merry” does not last forever for “miseries” will ultimately come upon those who misuse their riches. 
 
The true capital of the soul is God’s grace. Grace is God’s operating asset for the believer to live each day unto Him. We utilize this capital to live in God’s economy day to day. Each day we live is by God’s mercy. 
 
We cannot make utilization for our own spiritual strength; only God can do that. When we lean on our own strength, we end in misery. “I will find a beautiful woman. I will make a million.” Sex-lust and power-lust cannot put us into a state of inviolability of soul. 
 
How many times have we acquired something new only to find that the new thing did not give us happiness? No, we are still that same miserable person. When we lean on God’s strength, we end in blessedness. 
 
God conveys His capital to us through the Word of God (1:15,16,21). God gives His grace provision to those who turn positive volition to His Word. The mature believer utilizes God’s grace on a regular basis. 
 
2 Co 12: 9 “And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
 
God is free to give to us in grace because He is satisfied with the dead of Jesus Christ for our sins [propitiation]. Jesus suffered all that needed to be suffered. He took all of the pain that needed to be paid. God is now free to bless us because of that. However, He will not give His daily operating grace to those who are negative volition to His grace. He cannot give to those who do not have a capacity to receive it. 

James 5:1

Published on December 27, 2000 in James. 0 Comments
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Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you!

The first six verses of chapter five are warnings to the wealthy. James does not condemn wealth itself but the misuse of wealth. People who use their wealth for self-indulgence and hoarding and gaining it by unlawful and ruthless means are his target. 
 
Come now,
 
James continues to assail the self-sufficient businessmen of chapter five. He asks for their immediate attention. 
 
you rich,
 
The rich James implores here are the rich who misuse their riches and those who do not use their riches for eternal purposes. It is not the use but the abuse of wealth at stake here. There is vulnerability among the rich in that they do not depend on God but upon themselves. 
 
Mt. 6: 19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
 
weep and howl
 
People who put their trust in riches have no stability or security. They may lose their wealth under any array of conditions. That is why wealth is a dangerous basis for security. When the wealthy lose their wealth, they lament their state of affairs 
 
“Howl” goes a step beyond weeping. The idea is to shriek or scream out loud. These rich men shriek because they are under God’s discipline because they do not depend on God’s grace but upon their own strength for their business. They neutralize their enjoyment of wealth due to their lack of capacity of soul to appreciate money as lesser goal of life. 
 
Pr 23:5 “Will you set your eyes on that which is not?
For riches certainly make themselves wings;
They fly away like an eagle toward heaven.”
 
PRINCIPLE: It is not wrong to be wealthy but it is perilous. 
 
APPLICATION: Riches can be a blessing or a curse. It depends on whether wealth is our supreme goal or whether the glory of God is that goal. A mature believer can hold his riches loosely. The loss of riches does not spoil a mature believer’s life when he lives for the glory of God. 
 
Lu 12: 19 “And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ 21 So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

James 4:17b

Published on December 26, 2000 in James. 0 Comments
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Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.and does not do it,

and does not do it,
They knew God’s will (4:14-16) but they refused to do His will.  They knew dependence on the will of God in all business plans is a major operating principle of God but they declined to depend on Him. 
to him it is sin
 
Once we admit to knowing that we must depend on God in everything we do and then not do it — that is sin. 
 
Jn 15: 22 “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.”
 
We cannot plead ignorance of God’s will if we do not do it.  It is sin pure and simple.  We know that we must submit all our business plans to God’s sovereign will.  Not to do this is sin for it is a sin to fail to acknowledge God’s place in our lives.  We cannot take sanctuary in ignorance of this principle.  This sin of omission is as wrong as a sin of commission. 
 
This is a sin of omission, not a sin of commission.  However, sins of omission initiate some sins of commission.  Neglect of God’s will is sin because it discounts His sovereign right over everything.  When we acknowledge God’s right over our lives, we affirm His sovereignty over all creation. 
 
PRINCIPLE:  Knowledge of God’s principles implies responsibility to apply truth to experience.
 
APPLICATION: The Christian life revolves around understanding the principles of God’s Word and applying them to experience. 

James 4:17

Published on December 25, 2000 in James. 0 Comments
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Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

Therefore,

James ends his exhortation by drawing the inference that businessmen cannot plead ignorance once they understand divine viewpoint.  They knew they must depend on God’s will in their business but they chose not to do so. 

to him who knows to do good

The businessmen of James cannot plea ignorance of God’s sovereign plan for their businesses for God previously exposed them to the principle of dependence on God in all things.  The word “knows” means to have a settled knowledge of something, not knowledge in the process of learning. 

The word “good” portrays what is qualitatively good, worthy of honor, upright, morally excellent.  “Good” connotes the intrinsically good — goodly, fair, beautiful, excellent, surpassing, suitable, honorable, praiseworthy.  It can adapt to circumstances and purposes.  The “good” circumstance here is the good of operating in the will of God. 

2 Co. 8: 21 “…providing honorable things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.”

Ga. 6: 9 “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.”

PRINCIPLE:  Knowledge of God’s principles implies responsibility to apply truth to experience.

APPLICATION:  The sin of pretension of knowing God’s will and not doing it is presumptuous sin.  Knowledge of God’s Word without the application of it to experience will eventually distort even our knowledge of it.  It is possible to cauterize our soul by dabbling in divine truth.  Knowledge of divine viewpoint will not benefit us unless we answer it with practice. 

Jn 13: 17 “If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.”

James 4:16

Published on December 24, 2000 in James. 0 Comments
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But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

But now
 
As it is, James’ his readers are out of fellowship with God and with each other because of their pride.
 
you boast
 
The word “boast” means to speak loudly, to vaunt oneself. The idea is to make oneself appear better than others. His bragging is at the expense of others. This businessman thinks that his business success makes him better than other people. 
 
in your arrogance.
 
The word “arrogance” carries the idea of someone who pretends to have more than he possesses. The Greek word originally came from the idea of a vagabond. Literally, “arrogance” means to wander about. A vagabond moved from place to place making quack claims. An arrogant person then is a charlatan, a quack. This imposter makes claims about himself that he cannot support. His accomplishments are by deceit. He is not as much as he claims so he is a successful bum!
 
The readers of James thought that they could control their own destiny, “I am a self-made man. I know how to do business. I know the future of the markets.” They do not give credit to God for their business ability (4:13). They act as if God stepped down from His sovereign throne and put them in His place. Obviously, they do not do this explicitly but implicitly by their attitudes and actions. Therefore, they brag about their arrogant accomplishments to those around them. 
 
All such boasting is evil
 
This reasoning is evil because it usurps the place of God, “What relevance does God have in my life? I can get along without Him. I can make my own plans.” This boasting is not only presumptuous but it is also evil. Our times and our destinies are in God’s hands. 
 
Autonomy from God is evil because it disregards the providence of God. Arrogance does not submit oneself to the sovereign will of God. When we brag about our arrogance, this flies in the face of God more than simple arrogance. It is a double arrogance, pride upon pride making it “evil” boasting.
 
PRINCIPLE: When we brag about our accomplishments, it is always at the expense of others.
 
APPLICATION: It is one thing to forget to involve God in business plans but it is another to act as if God does not exist in making those plans. It is one thing to take God off the throne and it is another to put self on the throne. 
 
A braggart is someone who thinks highly of himself and wants others to think of him the same way. He is self-centered rather than God-centered. He forgets that every capability he has, he has from God. 
 
1 Co 4: 6 “Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other. 7 For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?”
 
A braggart loves to talk about himself. He may even boast of humility! All he can talk about is his successes and pretentious plans for the future. He has an apparent decisive confidence in himself. All this grieves the heart of God.

James 4:15

Published on December 23, 2000 in James. 0 Comments
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Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.
 
Instead you ought to say,
 
Instead of self-sufficient bluster about future business dealings (4:13), we need to tune ourselves to God’s will. 
 
“If the Lord wills,
 
The idea is “If the Lord permits.” The spiritual Christian submits himself to the will of God. He keeps God’s viewpoint on his whole life. We say, “The Lord willing, I will do this or that.” This attitude demonstrates submission to God’s will. It should be more than a jingle but an orientation of life that accepts God’s providence for my life, “I accept what God chooses to do with me. This is far from a magic formula for one’s life. 
 
Acts 18: 21 “…but took leave of them, saying, ‘I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem; but I will return again to you, God willing.’ And he sailed from Ephesus.”
 
Ac 21: 14 “So when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, ‘The will of the Lord be done.’”
 
Ro 1: 10 “…making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you.”
 
Ro 15: 32 “…that I may come to you with joy by the will of God, and may be refreshed together with you.”
 
1 Co 4: 19 “But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord wills, and I will know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power.”
 
1 Co 16: 7 “For I do not wish to see you now on the way; but I hope to stay a while with you, if the Lord permits.”
 
we shall live and do this or that.”
 
A spiritual Christian preserves a godly viewpoint on life by dependence on God’s will in his choices. She always conditions her plans keeping an eye on the will of God. Our times are not in our hands but in the providential care of God. There is always a condition to our plans. 
 
Ph 2: 19 “But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, that I also may be encouraged when I know your state… 24 But I trust in the Lord that I myself shall also come shortly.”
 
The words “this or that” indicate that dependence on God’s will should apply to any situation. God’s eternal counsels in His eternal decree shows that He is not capricious in His acts but concurs with exact details all the events of the universe.
 
PRINCIPLE: A presumption person lives as if there is no will of God in our lives but a spiritual person depends on God’s plan for her life.
 
APPLICATION: Some people use the shortness of life to pursue pleasure; others use it as an excuse for laziness. However, we should see our transient life situation with a sense of humility. We depend on the Lord with a sense of our frailty and shortness of life. 
 
The mature Christian keeps a constant dependence on the will of God for his life. He understands that God’s providence upsets all our schemes and throws us into confusion. He knows God always has the last word. 
 
The will of God may be completely different from our plan, which is why we say “The Lord willing.” The words “The Lord willing” should be on our hearts as well as on our lips. 
 
Ro 12: 1 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
 
If an architect of a building had one plan and the builder had another, the result would be a mess. God is the Architect of our lives and we build our lives around God’s plan, not our plan. God’s plan for us is perfect because He planed it from eternity.  
 
Ac 17: 28 “…for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’”
 
Nothing can happen to us apart from God’s will. If I fall ill, I know that it is in God’s plan. If I fall short of some goal, God has a design in this. There is great solace in the providence of God because we know that God works all things together for our good. 
 
Ro 8: 28 “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

James 4:14b

Published on December 22, 2000 in James. 0 Comments
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 …whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.
 
For what is your life?
 
The word “what” means of what quality. What is the nature of your life? The idea here is that the nature of our lives has a transitory factor about them. We do not live on this earth for very long. 
 
It is even a vapor
 
Our life is like a mist, smoky vapor, hot steamy vapor trail. A vapor appears for a short time and then disappears. The idea is that our life is temporary. Our time on this earth flees from us quickly. Our life is transitory because there are so many contingencies that might happen to us, much over which we have little control. None of us can guarantee the future. We have no assurance that we will grow old. 
 
that appears for a little time
 
God’s providence injects itself into our plans. We appear on the scene for a short time with a great deal of fanfare then we disappear off the face of the earth. 
 
and then vanishes away
 
The plans of man are never absolute. God intervenes into the plans of business. He introduces dissonance into those plans.   No businessman can guarantee his future. Just look at the stock market. It is presumption if we think otherwise. 
 
All human life is transitory. The only difference is that we do not know the termination point. 
 
Ps 90: 10 “The days of our lives are seventy years;
            And if by reason of strength they are eighty years,
            Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow;
            For it is soon cut off, and we fly away…
12 So teach us to number our days,
That we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
 
Ps 102: 11 “My days are like a shadow that lengthens,
And I wither away like grass.”
 
Life is life a fleeting wisp of smoke from a fire. If our life is so transitory, it is foolish to live our lives without giving attention to God’s will. 
 
Job 7: 6  “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,
And are spent without hope.
7 Oh, remember that my life is a breath!
My eye will never again see good.”
 
Job 14: 1 “Man who is born of woman
            Is of few days and full of trouble.”
 
PRINCIPLE: Spiritual Christians look for the concurrence of God’s providence when making plans for the future.
 
APPLICATION: We do not “do it my way” because God is in charge providentially. The sovereign God of the universe controls every event and each situation. He providentially concurs with everything that comes into our lives. 
 
Ps 37: 3 “Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.”
 
Once we understand that God gives us but a brief moment in the scheme of things here on earth, we then should live our lives as unto the Lord. Why waste time with our lives if they are so short? We ought to focus and put priority on the things of greatest value. The true purpose of God is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. 
 
Life is independent from circumstance. We might be wealthy but miserable and we might be poor but blessed. The purpose of life transcends circumstance. Paul and Silas sang while in prison (Acts 16). 
 
There is glamour in financial wealth but it does not continue in that status for long. It will vanish away. Our generation places great value and shine on personal wealth but it becomes dull in old age. “What was the purpose of accumulation of money all my life?” The point – there is great prosperity here but a pauper there. There is great folly in putting too much value on temporal values.