Sermon Tone Analysis

“Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?

But you have dishonoured the poor man.

Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court?

Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honourable name by which you were called?”[1]

I mentioned in a previous sermon a family that came to a church I pastored.

The family related that they sought to unite with a prestigious church, only to be advised that they would be happier elsewhere.

They were a family with few financial resources, and the congregation they attempted to join was uncomfortable with people who didn’t “fit.”

Consequently, they were advised that the church I then pastored was “an entry-level church.”

That family did come into the church I pastored, and for some years worshipped with us until they moved from our community.

While worshipping with us, some of the more “progressive” families of the church pressured me to “do something” about the family.

One man, thought wanting a youth ministry for the church, would not send his daughters because the children of the poorer family were active among our teens.

“They just don’t fit in,” he whined.

“We need to ask them to go elsewhere.”

I am quite certain that my response to him did not win his friendship.

The family that did not “fit in” was not wealthy, but they were warm-hearted.

The children were not part of the beautiful crowd, but they were well behaved and intent on learning of Christ the Lord.

Nevertheless, the socially elite among us felt they didn’t belong.

Thus, a family that had few of this world’s goods, and who reflected some of the poorer conditions in which they lived, found both covert and overt discrimination from Christians in our community.

Wherever they attempted to attend, they were tacitly held at arm’s length.

Had they wandered into the synagogue of the church of which James wrote, they would likely have heard, “You stand over there,” or “Sit down at my feet.”

Consequently, the cause of the Saviour would have been disgraced then, as it was in this day.

This incident I related, together with numerous other similar incidents recalled from my days of service among the churches of Canada, convinces me that contemporary churches are infected with a debilitating strain of spiritual virus that saps vitality and leads to spiritual death.

No church is immune from this deadly disease that enervates labour for Christ and halts all advance within the Kingdom of God.

We will do well to review the words of James, drawing out appropriate applications for our own life as a community of faith.

*Whom God Chose* — “Has not God chosen those who are poor in the world?”

Note an easily overlooked truth—*/God chose/*.

It is not that we chose God; but rather He chose us.

Woven throughout the warp and woof of Scripture is the refrain, “God chose.”

Paul testifies that God chose the Fathers, that is, the Patriarchs of Israel [*Acts 13:17*].

At Jesus’ baptism, Scripture states that God chose Jesus as His Son [*Luke 9:35*].

God chose those who believe [*1 Corinthians 1:27*].

Moreover, Christ chose whom He willed to be disciples [*John 6:70*].

Jesus refers to the redeemed of earth in the last days as “the elect whom He chose” [*Mark 13:20*].

In the Ephesian Letter, Paul describes God’s choosing that leads to salvation.

He writes, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.

In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory” [*Ephesians 1:3-14*].

According to the Word of God, we were chosen “before the foundation of the world.”

We were chosen “to be holy and blameless” in God’s sight.

It is not that we decided to become Christians, but it is rather that God called us and we responded to His call.

Looking back, we are always astonished to note that God chose us.

All we are is by the grace of God.

Clearly, God is capable of, and in fact does, choose whom He wills both to salvation and to service.

Paul speaks of God’s choosing as evidenced among the people of God.

As he opens the First Corinthians Letter, Paul writes, “Consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.

But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord’” [*1 Corinthians 1:26-31*]

If you are a Christian, you are called to salvation and called to serve in the church wherein the Spirit of God has placed you.

Reflect on that and on what your status was and is in the world.

Among us, there is not one millionaire.

There is not one person who was born into exaggerated wealth.

There is not one person who is a noted entertainer or Nobel Prize winner.

There is not a single Member of Parliament or legislator at any level of government.

In the eyes of the world, we are not powerful people.

We have no wealth with which to accomplish our goals, nor do we have such influence that when we speak the world pauses to take notice.

Yet, we are able to testify that God chose us to salvation and that God chose us to assemble as a congregation and that God chose us to present a witness here.

Our response to God’s choosing is to accept His appointment and fulfil His will, labouring in the power He supplies.

God is at work among us, and the congregation will prosper as we fulfil His will.

Souls will be saved and lives will be changed and the people of God will be encouraged.

However, no one will be able to boast that it was because we were a gifted and talented people.

It will be obvious that God is gracious and that His power has been revealed among His people.

Because God has done the choosing and because God has supplied the power, who receives the glory?

Each of us will testify that all that is accomplished is because God is gracious.

In the terse words of our text, James anticipates what Paul stated to the Corinthian saints.

James asks, anticipating that there is no alternative that can be imagined, “Has not God chosen those who are poor in the world?”

When we begin to attempt to exclude the poor in the world, or when we begin to think that we must make our service attractive only to the cultured and wealthy of the world, we are attempting to do what God has not done.

The obvious conclusion is that we are attempting to do what God cannot approve and we are thus dishonouring His Name.

My dad often said, “God must love the poor; He made so many of us.”

The poor, especially those who are truly impoverished, have little besides hope.

They are compelled by need to look to God, and looking to God to supply their daily need, they are generous with the little they have.

As people gain wealth, so the temptation to accumulate more grows.

Of course, I am speaking in generalities.

There are exceptions.

Undoubtedly, you will find poor people who are greedy, just as you will find wealthy people who are generous.

However, the usual observation prevails that the poor are dependent upon God.

Jesus pronounced a benediction that speaks to the issue of those who are poor.

He said, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God” [*Luke 6:20*].

If this record of Jesus’ words were all that were available to understand the mind of God, we could quite legitimately conclude that impoverishment is a sign of blessing.

However, we are given a commentary on this same point in another account of this same sermon that Jesus delivered.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” [*Matthew 5:3*].

Notice the qualifying phrase, “in spirit.”

It is akin to what James has written in our text.

The Greek word translated “poor”/ /has a range of meaning in biblical Greek.

Certainly, the word does signify people who are bereft of wealth.

However, the word can refer to people who are “poor” in a spiritual sense.

These poor are humble and meek, recognizing their utter dependence on the Lord and trusting Him for deliverance.

In a material sense, the antonym of “poor” is “wealthy”; in the spiritual sense, its antonym is “wicked.”

The two forms of the beatitude just cited show that Jesus held this duality of meaning.

*Verses two and three* demonstrates that the word James used in *verse five* has a measure of material significance.

James added a qualification to the word that raises the possibility of other nuances.

When James focuses on “those who are poor in the world,” he is forcing us to look beyond the fiscal situation and see the spiritual condition.

*/It is according to the evaluation of the world—non-Christian people hostile to God—that the people James writes are accounted “poor.”/*

You may imagine that James is inciting revenge against those who injured the saints.

This is not at all his intent.

Jesus taught us to love our enemies and to do good to those who hate us [*Luke 6:27*].

Moreover, He taught us to pray for those who persecute us [*Matthew 5:44*].

Christians are not to avenge themselves [*Romans 12:19*], but rather we are commanded to “overcome evil with good” [*Romans 12:21*].

However, we are to exercise sanctified common sense, understanding that loving our enemies does not mean that we esteem them.