Warning of Judgment
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Pastoral Prayer
In hope of teaching the importance of prayer to God for real needs - we are going to pray in 4 sphere’s each month. Sphere 1 - Yourself and Your Family; Sphere 2 - Neighbors, Church & Classmates; Sphere 3 - Our City & Nation; Sphere 4 - The World and the Global Church.
Tonight we are praying for:
The World And The Global Church
Prayer:
Father,
Please give attention to our prayer to you our God. That You are mindful of us and that You hear our prayers and our wishes is nothing short of stunning. Tonight we lift up missionaries and church leaders throughout the globe. We ask that you would rescue them from evil. We ask that you would deliver them from the persecution of unbelievers that would hinder your gospel from going out unto the ends of the earth.
God of the top of my head I lift up Cameron who is serving in a Muslim dominated environment. We pray that You would give him a great freedom in sharing about Jesus. That Muslims would hear and You would open their eyes to repent of their wicked ways and trust in Jesus. I pray for Danielle and her husband serving in across the globe for Your sake. Bring across their path men and women, boys and girls that need to hear the good news of Christ and open their mouth to speak. Finally, I think of Mikey serving in Fort Worth. We pray that in his local context you would give him opportunities to share your faithful love with the children of the Village Church, FW. God we ask all this in the precious name of Jesus, amen.
Student Read
1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 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. 4 Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.
Well, this passage is not in the top ten most frequently used for weddings or for that matter funerals…well, at least I hope it hasn’t been used at many of either! Just a side note: one of the important reasons for working through entire books in the Bible is that without this discipline a church wouldn’t study passages like these. We would tend to skip over them or run from them. So that’s why expository preaching (which is explaining and applying God’s word to God’s people) is so good for the church.
In this heavy passage what see is three major emphases: (1) First, in (v.1) we see a Promise of Judgment and (2) then in (v.2-3) we are shown an Illustration of the Rich and Their Ruin and finally (3) in (v.4-6) James lays out A Solid Case for their Slaughter. And then we’ll take this framework and lay it over on the lost.
So, before we dive into the text let me propose and answer one question:
Why would James speak to non-Christians (at this point) in this letter that is addressed specifically to Christians?
I think he wrote this, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to help us see the end of those who place their hope in wealth, that their end is miserable and that we, the faithful in Christ, would not envy their fortune because we know their fate. And I believe secondly, James wrote this that we could lean into God as the avenger of evil, so that we could bear against their wickedness. We have hope that God will right any and all wrongs.
So let’s get to the Bible.
1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you.
Transition: Here James begins by promising judgment.
1. Promise of Judgment
1. Promise of Judgment
Here’s what we know about God and His promises. His promises always come true and they never fall to the ground. From God’s promise to Adam and Eve to crush the head of the serpent in the first word of promise that was fulfilled on the cross, to God’s promise to Noah not to destroy the world by flood again, to God’s promise to Abram to make him into a great nation, give him a land and bless all the nations through him - all of God’s promises have always come true or will come true in the second coming. And here students God promises the rich that miseries are coming upon them.
Now, let’s hit pause.
Is being rich sinful?
What does the Bible say:
22 The blessing of the Lord makes rich,
and he adds no sorrow with it.
It’s no evil to have riches, but it is what we do with our riches - or better what we see in our riches. Look at :
28 Whoever trusts in his riches will fall,
but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf.
Or, as Paul said to his protege Timothy:
9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
So, to be clear these people who had misery pending upon their souls were putting their hope in their wealth. It wasn’t that they were just rich guys - no they made an idol out of their wealth.
Transition: which was and is a poor idol. Look at (v.2-3):
2 Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 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.
Here we see an Illustration of the Rich and their Ruin.
2. Illustration of the Rich and their Ruin
2. Illustration of the Rich and their Ruin
See money/wealth is a poor idol because it doesn’t last. Here we have this picture of their wealth wasting away - even before their eyes.
$400 paycheck from the pool - turn around about 3 days later and its gone. What did I spend it all on? It’s gone faster than that mink coat you wore to the Animal Liberation Front Convention. Which would be a bold move. Just saying. Ask any old timer in here and they will tell you that wealth doesn’t last. And even if people can manage to keep wealthy until death they cannot take anything with them.
And so James paints this picture of those who put their hope in wealth - the wonderful/rich clothes you wear are wearing out and the gold and silver you have it is corroding and that is evidence of what will happen to you on the day of reckoning. And in the same way the treasures of this earth waste away so your flesh is going to waste in the fires of hell.
But then James repeats a phrase that Jesus once said not to do: “you have laid up treasure in the last days.” Here’s the way Jesus put it:
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,
But these rich men have done this. This is a sensitive topic in our wealthy Western world.
The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Letter of James B. Misusing Wealth and Power Brings God’s Judgment (5:1–6)
What can be said about the “rich” in this passage, however, is that they are condemned not simply for their wealth; they are condemned for their sinful use of wealth.
jlkj
The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Letter of James B. Misusing Wealth and Power Brings God’s Judgment (5:1–6)
In the Western world, where amassing material wealth is not only condoned but admired, we Christians need to come to grips with this point in James and ask ourselves seriously: When do we have too much?
Listen to this haunting parable of Jesus:
The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Letter of James B. Misusing Wealth and Power Brings God’s Judgment (5:1–6)
Why does James preach this message of denunciation of non-Christians in a letter addressed to the church? Calvin appropriately isolates two main purposes: James “has a regard to the faithful, that they, hearing of the miserable end of the rich, might not envy their fortune, and also that knowing that God would be the avenger of the wrongs they suffered, they might with a calm and resigned mind bear them.”3
16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” ’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
It is worth asking, minimally, in the household of God: when do we have too much? And what does it mean for us to be rich toward God? That most definitely may change the way we view and use money.
Okay, lets get back to the text.
4 Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.
Finally we see here A Solid Case for the Slaughter of the Rich.
3. A Solid Case for the Slaughter of the Rich
3. A Solid Case for the Slaughter of the Rich
So these rich guys were oppressing the poor - not cool. Think about it: Preston Turner comes to mow out these guys fields and they change his wages to basically nothing, but they have the power. They are the cardholders during that time period. No one would hear Preston cry for help, except God. The outcry came up to God and he will avenge the poor and mistreated. We know this because of the metaphor in (v.5). Look back at (v.5):
5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.
So you got them living it up - party central - luxury. They were the hub of social life in ancient near middle east. But they indulged themselves. They were about good ole’ me. Like that old Toby Keith song,
“I want to talk about me
Want to talk about I
Want to talk about number one
Oh my me my
What I think, what I like, what I know, what I want, what I see
I like talking about you, you, you, you usually, but occasionally
I want to talk about me
I want to talk about me”
But then we get the striking metaphor. “You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.” So, like a cow eats grass and gets fat and gets ready to be slaughtered so they were living it up on the high life prepping their hearts for the eternal slaughter. What a striking picture.
And the reason I believe God wanted these verses in the Bible is because of this reminder. God will avenge evil. Not you Christian. In (v.6) we see the wickedness that the rich performed upon believers. But we know God will avenge us. He will right the wrongs and set the record straight.
Application: but here is where it gets interesting. Most of us in here probably think “i’m not the rich guy in this passage, that’s just not me” - maybe you are right and maybe that is not you. I’ll give you that but listen to Paul’s words to the church in Thessalonica:
5 This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— 6 since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 10 when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.
2 Thessalonians 1:5-
Vengeance will be had on all who do not know God through obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. To put it more simply the slaughter isn’t just for the evil rich guys - its also for all who do not repent of their sin and trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ.
Now, look back at (v.1):
1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you.
Weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you.
Do you know what that misery is?
It’s Hell. Hell awaits each of us that does not run to the mercy of Christ by repentance and faith. In this passage alone it’s been described as miserable, a place that will eat our flesh like fire, a place of God’s vengeance and a day of slaughter. These are not housing warming images. These images should unsettle you; they should frighten you. But here’s the harsh reality: the prospect of Hell neither frightens nor seems real to the wicked and lost. It is only a place of non-reality, a place of fiction.
How do I know this?
Think of the cow - what cow eats and gets fat on grass thinking - I can’t wait to be butchered. Cut open and parted out for consumption. No cow does. They are oblivious. And such it is for the wicked. The wicked are not frightened by hell for they do not understand the utter holiness of God and his complete perfection and His hatred for sin. So if Hell seems unreal and not frightening. I beg you to hear from the Puritan named Jonathan Edwards:
And this makes sense because you also have no concept of the holiness of God - His complete and utter perfection and utter hate for sin. So Hell seems unreal to you. But let me give you this
“The God that holds you over the Pit of Hell, much as one holds a Spider, or some loathsome Insect, over the Fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked; his Wrath towards you burns like Fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the Fire; he is of purer Eyes than to bear to have you in his Sight; you are ten thousand Times so abominable in his Eyes as the most hateful venomous Serpent is in ours. You have offended him infinitely more than ever a stubborn Rebel did his Prince: and yet its nothing but his Hand that holds you from falling into the Fire every Moment: It’s to be ascribed to nothing else, that you did not go to Hell last Night; that you awoke again in this World, after you closed your Eyes to sleep: and there is no other Reason to be given why you have not dropped into Hell since you arose in the Morning, but that God’s Hand has held you up: There is no other reason to be given why you haven’t gone to Hell since you have sat here in the House of God, provoking his pure Eyes by your sinful wicked Manner of attending his solemn Worship: Yes, there is nothing else that is to be given as a Reason why you don’t this very Moment drop down into Hell.”
Only God’s mere grace and pleasure keeps the wicked alive and out of hell for the moment. If Jonathan made God out to seem mean toward unbelievers listen to Paul's words in :
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
Eph 2:1-
Children of wrath. God’s utter holiness demands punishment for rebellious and wicked sin. And for the unrepentant wicked that punishment is hell.
Listen to one last passage on the eternal nature of Hell by Jonathan Edwards:
“Finally, do but consider how dreadful despair will be in such torment. How dismal will it be, when you are under these racking torments, to know assuredly that you never, never shall be delivered from them. To have no hope: when you shall wish that you might be turned into nothing, but shall have no hope of it; when you would rejoice if you might but have any relief; after you shall have endured these torments millions of ages, but shall have no hope of it. After you shall have worn out the age of the sun, moon, and stars, in your groans and lamentations, without rest day and night, or one minute’s ease, yet you shall have no hope of ever being delivered. After you shall have worn a thousand more such ages, you shall have no hope, but shall know that you are not one moment nearer to the end of your torments. But that still there are the same groans, the same shrieks, the same cries, constantly to be made by you, and that the smoke of your torment shall still ascend up forever and ever. Your souls, which shall have been agitated with the wrath of God all this while, will still exist to bear more wrath. Your bodies, which shall have been burning all this while in these glowing flames, shall not have been consumed, but will remain to roast through eternity, which will not have been at all shortened by what shall have been past.”
The wrath of God will not be mixed in Hell. It will be full force. It will not have one drop of grace, or kindness. It will not have a milliliter of mercy. It will be full and potent. And it will be inescapable. We think of God’s love so often that this picture of God’s wrath seems foreign to us, but let me remind you that the justice of God will role like a river and will fall upon us all.
Call to Repentance and Faith: So tonight I say turn from the wrath to come. Turn from the misery that is to come. Flee from this eternal Hell. Stop stomping upon God’s mercy. It’s only by God’s grace that you awoke this morning into this world and not into Hell. You are not guaranteed to awake tomorrow morning.
And where are you to flee to?
Jesus - the author and perfecter of our faith. The Son of Promise who perfectly kept the OT laws, who was the true manna from Heaven. Jesus - the resurrection and the life. The Son of God who brought the kingdom of God - who in His mercy miracles of healing the lame and blind and leprous demonstrated glimpses of heaven to come. Jesus the one who battled Satan in the wilderness for 40 days and came out on the other side victorious. Jesus who taught the little children, who dealt with the stone-hearted pharisees. Jesus who sweet blood because of the cup of God’s wrath that he would bear the next day upon the cross. Jesus who broke bread with the disciples and told them to take and eat - to remember His body broken and His blood poured out. Jesus who was mocked, spat upon, and beaten and then hung upon a cross naked taking sin upon Himself. Jesus who died. Who really died. For days. Jesus who then rose from the grave victorious over sin, over death, and over Satan. Jesus who did these things so that all who turn from their sin and place their faith in Him and what He did would have life. Jesus. Flee to Jesus. He is the only shelter from the storm that is to come.
Invitation
Now, this Promise of Judgment, and Illustration of the Rich and their Ruin and the Solid Case for the Slaughter of the Rich can be seen in the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus:
Luke 16:19
19 “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. 24 And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’