by Dr. Grant C. Richison
“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.”
and will eat your flesh
This evidence of the corrosion of hoarding materialism-lust in the soul will consume the person captured by it.
like fire.
These words […]
“Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.”
In this verse, we see that the sinfully wealthy not only hoarded their wealth but they acquired their wealth by illegal means.
Indeed […]
“You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter.”
The scene now changes from the wages for working in the harvest fields to the social life of wealthy landowners. These business people lived lives of luxury and self-indulgence.
You have lived on the earth […]
“You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.”
We come to the fourth indictment against the sinfully wealthy. These wealthy men 1) hoarded riches, 2) acquired their wealth by fraud, 3) used their wealth wrongfully and finally 4) they legally oppress and even killed poor workers through the “judicial” system.
You […]
“Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.”
James now transitions from the subject of judgment to consolation. His readers were under severe duress from financial abuse so he appeals […]
“Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.”
brethren,
Again, James uses the term “brethren.” He obviously is talking to members of the family of God throughout this section.
until […]
“Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.”
See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth,
James now uses an illustration from free enterprise, a farmer […]
“You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.”
You also
Just as the farmers of verse 7 were patient in waiting for the harvest, so believers are to be “patient” in waiting for God’s justice. Wealthy landowners defrauded poor believers while they themselves lived in luxury. Christians need […]
“You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.”
for the coming of the Lord is
The reason we remain faithful is that the Lord’s coming is imminent. It is the motive for what we do as Christians.
Phil 4: 5 “Let your gentleness be known to all men. The […]
“Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!”
Do not grumble against
The readers of James tended to complain about each other under their financial duress. The word “grumble” means to sigh often, sigh deeply, to moan, to groan. A “grumble” is a half murmur […]
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