THE BOOK OF JAMES

(“Rotten Riches and Rusty Gold”)

James 5:1-6 (NASU)

¹“Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. ²Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. ³Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure!”

(James 5:1-3)

(A) LAYING THE GROUNDWORK

(1) This morning’s Scripture lesson contains a stern warning regarding God’s impending judgment¹ on those who are “rich” (c.f. James 5:1) – particularly those who have chosen to hoard their wealth (verse three) (c.f. James 5:3) – or who are prospering at the expense of those who work for them (verse four) (c.f. James 5:4). In fact, the words James uses are so severe I feel the need to lay some groundwork before we take a closer look at this passage.

(2) First of all, we need to remember that Scripture NEVER condemns wealth per se.² (a) As a matter of fact, God’s word repeatedly tells us riches are a blessing FROM THE LORD.³ For example, the Book of Proverbs says: “It is the blessing of the Lord that makes (one) rich …” (c.f. Proverbs 10:22) – while an oft-quoted verse from the Book of Deuteronomy says: “… it is (the Lord your God) who is giving you (the) power to make wealth …” (c.f. Deuteronomy 8:18).

Elsewhere, the Book of Genesis tells us “the Lord … greatly blessed (Abraham) … (by) giv(ing) him flocks and herds … silver and gold … servants and maids, and camels and donkeys” (c.f. Genesis 24:35) – so that he was extremely rich by the standards used for measuring wealth in those day. Likewise, the Book of First Kings tells us God was the One who gave King Solomon his immense wealth (c.f. I Kings 3:13).

(b) In a fallen world, the possession of great wealth (or even the desire for great wealth) can become a problem for sinful men and women – BUT, wealth itself is NOT evil. Hence, the Book of First Timothy says it’s “the LOVE of money” that’s “a root of all sorts of evil” (c.f. I Timothy 6:10), not money in and of itself – and that “those who WANT to get rich (i.e. who YEARN or CRAVE to be rich) fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into (all kinds of) ruin and destruction” (c.f. I Timothy 6:9).

The rich man in Luke chapter twelve was not condemned because he was rich – but because he was “hoarding his treasures FOR HIMSELF – which, in turn, resulted in him not being rich (in a spiritual sense) toward God” (c.f. Luke 12:16-21). Likewise, the rich young ruler in Matthew chapter nineteen wasn’t condemned for being rich – but for refusing to exchange his earthly treasures for treasures in heaven – which turned out to be an outward sign of his inward unwillingness to follow Christ (c.f. Matthew 19:16-26).

(c) So again I say, that Scripture does NOT condemn wealth per se – NOR does God’s word automatically condemn people just because they are rich. That means James’ severe warning in this morning’s Scripture lesson is not directed at the rich simply because of their wealth – but (as we will see) because of how they used (or misused) the wealth God gave them.

(3) Second, the severity of James’ warning re-raises a question I’ve dealt with in other messages, albeit mostly in passing – namely, to whom was James writing? And, more to the point, who is he addressing in today’s Scripture lesson? Is the Book of James (as a whole) addressed to Christians or non-Christians? And, is the warning found in this morning’s Scripture lesson directed primarily to wealthy BELIEVERS, or wealthy NON-BELIEVERS?

(a) I’ve taken the position that the Book of James was originally written to Jewish CHRISTIANS (c.f. James 1:1) – and then, by extension, to ALL Christians living in every age (including Gentiles like ourselves). And I’ve based this, in part, on the fact that James refers to his readers as “brethren” (c.f. James 4:11; 5:7, 9, 10) – or “my brethren” (c.f. James 1:2; 2:1; 3:1; etc.) – or, “my beloved brethren” (c.f. James 1:16, 19; 2:5) at least fifteen times.⁴ The point being that James would not have addressed his readers in such a personal, intimate way if he were writing primarily to unbelievers – because believers and unbelievers are NOT “brothers and sisters IN CHRIST”. We may be brothers and sisters in a familial sense, or a political sense, or even a social or economic or patriotic sense – BUT, believers and unbelievers are NOT “brothers and sisters” in a spiritual sense (c.f. II Corinthians 6:14-15), which is how the terms are normally used throughout the New Testament.

(b) That’s not to say, however, that there weren’t some “goats” among the people to whom James wrote who were masquerading as “sheep” (c.f. Matthew 25:32-33) – and that the severe warning in this morning’s Scripture lesson may have been directed primarily toward them. One commentator put it like this: “It … seems pretty clear … they were not Christians, not only because of the terrible judgment (James) pronounces on them, but also because he does not … address them as ‘brothers’ … which he (does) in virtually every other section of his letter when addressing his fellow Christians.”⁵

Regarding the idea of judgment, we can say that this morning’s Scripture lesson seems to be CONDEMNING the rich for their behavior – while the Book of Romans says: “there is … NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (c.f. Romans 8:1). Hence, many think the severe nature of James’ words indicates he was either addressing non-Christians masquerading as believers within the church – or, as John Calvin thought, that James was speaking of the ultimate judgment of the wicked rich (c.f. James 5:1-3, 5) outside the church, in order to encourage those believers in Christ’s church who were suffering at their hands⁶ (c.f. James 5:4, 6).

(c) While those are two possible answers to the question of whom James is addressing in this morning’s Scripture lesson, it seems to me we can’t completely discount the possibility this passage is also a warning to wealthy BELIEVERS regarding the proper use of their wealth – perhaps even a call to repent of any sinful, selfish ways they may have been misusing their wealth up to this point.

(d) So, as to whom James had in mind when he originally wrote this morning’s Scripture lesson – as to whom he was addressing FIRST AND FOREMOST OF ALL in this passage – my answer is, he’s addressing at least two groups of people within the church who call themselves Christians Those who are tares masquerading as wheat (so to speak) (c.f. Matthew 13:24-30) – who need to be shocked into turning from their gods of gold to the God-Man, Christ Jesus. And, those who are true believers – who have either already succumbed to the temptations and snares often associated with having (or craving after) great wealth, who need to be shocked in repenting of their sin and becoming “rich in good works” (c.f. II Timothy 6:17-18) – or, those believers who are envious of the rich, and need to be shocked out of that envy before they take the next step (c.f. James 1:14-15) by actually giving in to the idolatrous pursuit of wealth.

(B) THE MENACE OF MATERIALISM⁷

(1) With those things in mind, then, we’re ready to take a closer look at this morning’s Scripture lesson – and one of the first things we ought to notice is that this passage consists of two distinct (but related) sections – with verses one through three briefly describing the judgment God is threatening to bring upon the unrepentant rich (c.f. James 5:1-3) – while verses four through six give us an equally brief explanation as to why He’s going to judge the unrepentant rich so severely (c.f. James 5:4-6).

(2) In the first section James begins by saying (in verse one): “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you” (c.f. James 5:1).

(a) The phrase “come now” (c.f. James 5:1) can be compared to contemporary expressions like, “HEY! Listen up!” or “You need to PAY ATTENTION!”⁸ In many ways it’s a command – a command to stop whatever else we’re doing, so we can concentrate on what’s about to be said – a command to stop fooling around (like little children) with less important things, so we can take special note of what we’re about to hear (which is really important) – a command to wake up from our day-dreaming or other mental distractions, so we can give the person who’s speaking to us our full and undivided attention.

(b) As we’ve already noted, the people James is particularly addressing at this point are the “rich” (c.f. James 5:1) – specifically, those who (according to verse two) wear fine “garments” (c.f. James 5:2) – who have (verse three) “gold and … silver” in abundance (c.f. James 5:3) – who are able (verse four) to hire “laborers” to work their “fields” so they don’t have to (c.f. James 5:4) – and who are (verse five) “living in luxury” (c.f. James 5:5).

Now, before we turn a deaf ear to what James has to say, because we don’t think of ourselves as being “rich”, let’s do a little comparing. For example, thanks to God’s blessing, some of you can afford to live out by the golf course – or up on the east side of Scenic Avenue toward the foothills – or even up in the mountains in a nice big home surrounded by lots of grass and pine trees. Compared to people living in an old house on Maryland or Virginia Avenues – or living in one of the low-income apartments at Alta Vista, or a low-rent trailer on North Florida Avenue – compared to people like that, YOU ARE RICH! In fact, there are thousands of people here in Alamogordo who would gladly trade places with you.

But let’s not stop there – because it’s also a fact that (thanks to the Lord’s blessing) even the people in our church who have the least ARE RICH compared to what many people in other parts of the world have. For example, there are folks just on the other side of the US-Mexico border who are literally living in so-called “homes” made out of cardboard boxes and wooden pallets because that’s all they can afford. Even the “poorest” of us LOOK RICH (and ARE RICH) in comparison to that!

Whether you agree with my analogies or not, my point is simply this – there’s not a single person in our church (including myself) who can honestly say that James is not speaking to us because we aren’t one of the “rich” (c.f. James 5:1). True, some of us have less wealth than others – but all of us are “rich” enough to qualify as someone who needs to “PAY ATTENTION!” to what James has to say in this morning’s Scripture lesson!

(c) The Greek words for “weep and howl” (c.f. James 5:1) literally mean “to sob out loud”⁸ – and “to shriek or scream”,⁹ respectively. Hence, the picture is one of intense outbursts of desperation and grief that are both violent and uncontrollable.⁹ One writer said these words describe relentless crying and sobbing, accompanied by frequent shouts of pain and grief.¹⁰

You know what the words “weep and howl” (c.f. James 5:1) remind me of? They remind me of the description Jesus gave of hell – where He said (at least half a dozen times) that there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (c.f. Matthew 8:12; 13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30). Is that what James had in mind? God’s eternal punishment? John Calvin apparently thought so – saying that: “the heaviness of God’s vengeance will be so horrible and severe on the rich, that they will … break forth into howling …”¹¹

This is why some people think James is speaking to non-Christians in this morning’s Scripture lesson – because that horrible fate will NOT befall any of Christ’s redeemed people (c.f. John 10:27-29), since He has already suffered the eternal punishments of hell for us (c.f. Matthew 27:46; II Corinthians 5:21). Hence, a verse we quoted earlier says: “Therefore there is now NO CONDEMNATION for those who are in Christ Jesus” (c.f. Romans 8:1). In other words, despite our continued sinfulness – despite our continued need for forgiveness and cleansing – those who have professed saving faith in Christ are eternally safe and secure “IN HIM”!¹² (c.f. Romans 8:31-39).

(d) Having said all that, however, the main thing James appears to be doing is drawing a contrast for us between the present condition of the wicked rich and the “miseries which are coming upon (them)” (c.f. James 5:1) (if they do not repent and turn to Christ). For example, the rich are presently laughing and having a good time – but, in the not-so-distant future, they will be “weeping and howling” (c.f. James 5:1). Right now the wicked rich are wearing fine “garments” (c.f. James 5:2), and building up their stacks of “gold and … silver” (c.f. James 5:3) – but very soon, all these things will be gone – and their worthlessness in the face of judgment will be exposed. Today the unrepentant rich are living in “luxury, leading lives of wanton pleasure” (c.f. James 5:5) – tomorrow, however, they will have to face the “day of slaughter” (verse five) (c.f. James 5:5) (which is a metaphoric picture of God’s impending judgment).¹³

One thing I haven’t mentioned very often in this series is that James seems to be drawing heavily from the teaching of his older brother (and Savior), the Lord Jesus – especially from His Sermon on the Mount. Here, however, he may be drawing from Jesus’ story about the rich man and Lazarus (found in Luke chapter sixteen), because there’s a similar contrast found there – namely, the earthly condition of the rich man (prior to his death), who “habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day” (c.f. Luke 16:19) – verses his ultimate eternal condition (after death), in which he is said to be “in torment … (and) agony in (the) flames” (c.f. Luke 16:23-24).

(e) Whatever else James may have had in mind, his point is clear – the “miseries … coming upon (the rich)” (c.f. James 5:1) stand in stark contrast to their present life of “luxury and pleasure” (c.f. James 5:5). For wealthy non-Christians, their only hope of escape is to repent of their sins and profess saving faith in Jesus Christ. For wealthy Christians who are misusing their wealth – or Christians who aren’t wealthy, but crave to be rich and are tempted to give in to the idolatrous pursuit of riches – there also needs to be repentance, coupled with a resolve that by Christ’s enabling grace, we will learn to be “generous and ready to share” (c.f. I Timothy 6:18) – thereby storing up lasting treasures in heaven, instead of perishable treasures here on earth (c.f. I Timothy 6:19; Matthew 6:19-20; 19:21).

(3) Moving on to verses two and three, James says (to the rich): ²“Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. ³Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure!” (c.f. James 5:2-3).

(a) James writes as if the wealth of the wicked rich has ALREADY “rotted”, and ALREADY “rusted” (c.f. James 5:2-3) – even though that’s not literally the case. What we have here is a style of writing known as “the prophetic perfect” – in which events that have not yet taken place are spoken of as if they had already come to pass, because in God’s timing (and sovereign power) they are most certainly going to happen.¹⁴

Right now the richly embroidered¹⁵ clothes of the wealthy are still beautiful – and their bank accounts and investments still intact. But the day is coming when these things will no longer be of any value to them – when they will no longer be of any help to those who once owned them – when they will be of no more use in the day of judgment than clothes that have been eaten by moths, or gold and silver that has “rusted” away (c.f. James 5:2-3). Moreover, that day of judgment is as sure and certain as any other promise God has ever made – for He Himself has appointed it, and Scripture says: “no purposes of (His) can (ever) be thwarted” (c.f. Job 42:2). Hence, James speaks of the ultimate end of the wicked rich and their wealth, as if it that end had already come to pass.

(b) Now we all know “garments” (c.f. James 5:2) can wear out with use – and that before manufacturers began treating clothes with certain chemicals,¹⁶ moths could ruin even the most expensive attire. But how do “riches rot” (c.f. James 5:2)? And how can precious metals like gold and silver “rust” (c.f. James 5:3)?

Since wealth was measured differently in biblical times, some have suggested that “rotting riches” (c.f. James 5:2) refers to things made out of wood – or food that’s been stored too long, and starts to decay or go bad.¹⁵ (A modern example would be, that food stored too long in our freezers gets freezer burn, and becomes inedible – or that if the untreated wood stacked behind our garage isn’t used right away, it will rot and become useless, except as fuel for our fire place.)

While James may have had some literal examples in mind, it seems more likely he is speaking figuratively of hoarding¹⁶ – that he’s saying the wicked rich hoard their wealth for themselves, instead of using it to help others – that instead of putting their wealth to use in ways that will benefit those around them, they build “bigger barns” (as it were) so they can hoard “all their grain and goods” and say to themselves: “you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry” (c.f. Luke 12:18-19).

Hoarding is the act of a selfish person. The person who hoards what wealth they have (be it little or much) usually has more than they will ever be able to use – but they’re not about to share any of it (at least not in any significant manner). The person who hoards their wealth invariably has more than enough resources to meet all their own needs, AND help many others – but they’re not about to do that (beyond a few “crumbs” here and there – c.f. Luke 16:19-21) (just enough “crumbs” to soothe their conscience. A hoarder is someone who has determined to keep whatever they have – even if it ends up rotting and rusting.

Once again, while James may have had some literal examples in mind, he’s also speaking figuratively. For “rotting riches, and moth-eaten garments, and rusting gold” (c.f. James 5:2-3) are symbolic of wealth that’s not being used the way God intends. Wealth that’s hoarded (no matter of what form that hoarding takes) (such wealth) is as useless (to everyone concerned) as if it had literally rotted or rusted away.

(c) In the Book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon said: “There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: riches being hoarded by their owner TO HIS (OWN) HURT” (c.f. Ecclesiastes 5:13). James says much the same thing in verse three, when he tells the wicked rich that “(the) rust (from the gold and silver they’ve been hoarding) will be a witness against (them) and will consume (their) flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure!” (c.f. James 5:3). James is essentially telling the rich that unless they repent and stop hoarding their wealth for selfish purposes, that wealth will become a testimony against them in the day of judgment – the fact they continued to hoard it right up to the day of their death will be irrefutable evidence of the unrepentant state of their heart.

(d) Furthermore, to make matters worse – if that’s even possible! – James says (in the last part of verse three) that the unrepentant rich “have stored up their treasures IN THE LAST DAYS” (c.f. James 5:3). In other words, they have been hoarding their wealth in the shadow of Christ’s return,¹⁷ when He will come to judge the living and the dead (c.f. II Timothy 4:1) – when the Son of Man will repay every person according to their deeds (c.f. Matthew 16:27), including how they used the wealth God gave them – when material things like designer “clothes”, or how much “gold and … silver” (c.f. James 5:2-3) we have, will no longer matter – when many of the things people thought were so valuable and so important here on earth will pale into nothing, compared to what God has prepared for his elect people – things wealthy non-Christians will miss out on entirely, unless they repent of their sins and turn to Christ in repentance and faith.

(e) As for us Christians, Christ’s imminent return ought to act as an incentive to use our wealth wisely, and sacrificially – to not hoard what God has given us, but use it “to (help) meet pressing needs” (c.f. Titus 3:14) – to help “widows and orphans in their distress” (c.f. James 1:27) – to help clothe and feed our poorer brothers and sisters in Christ (c.f. James 2:15) – to do good to those outside the church, without expecting anything in return (c.f. Luke 6:35) – to underwrite various ministries of mercy – to spend less of it on ourselves, and more of it on the needs of others – to build up treasure in heaven (c.f. Luke 18:22), “where (Jesus said) neither moth nor rust destroy” (c.f. Matthew 6:20) – and, where the dividends our heavenly Father pays out are as eternal as God Himself.

(f) So, what does our wealth say about us? What does our use of the riches we’ve been given say about our spiritual condition? Does it confirm that our profession of faith in Christ was genuine? – or does it indicate that we are trapped in the sin of greed – or even still lost in our sins?

For most of us (Christians), the use of our wealth (or misuse of it, as the case may be) probably indicates Christ’s work of sanctification still has a ways to go. Thankfully, however, we have His promise of cleansing and forgiveness when we confess our sins and repent (c.f. I John 1:9) – we have the promise of His enabling grace to help us become doers of His word, not just listeners only (c.f. James 1:22) – AND, we also have His promise that He will complete the good work He has begun in us (c.f. Philippians 1:6).

Let us press on, then, to use the wealth God has given us in ways that are pleasing to Him. Let us not hoard our wealth for sinful or selfish purposes, but strive to use it for good, so that it does not “rot” or “rust” (c.f. James 5:2-3) while in our possession.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

¹Keddie: The Practical Christian; p. 182.

²The New Geneva Study Bible: Footnote on James 5:1; p.

1964.

³Kistemaker: New Testament Commentary; James, Epistles

of John, Peter and Jude; p. 155.

⁴BCS: Strong’s Concordance; Word #80.

⁵Blanchard: Truth For Life; p. 327.

⁶Calvin’s Commentaries: Vol. XXII; The Catholic Epistles;

p. 342.

⁷Blanchard: Ibid; p. 337.

⁸MacArthur: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary;

James; p. 242.

⁹IBID; p. 243.

¹⁰Kistemaker: Ibid; p. 156.

¹¹Calvin’s Commentaries: Ibid; p. 343.

¹²The New Geneva Study Bible: Footnote on Romans 8:1;

p. 1779.

¹³MacArthur: Ibid; p. 248.

¹⁴Blanchard: Ibid; p. 334.

¹⁵MacArthur: Ibid; p. 244.

¹⁶Kistemaker: Ibid; p.157.

¹⁷IBID; p. 158.