Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you!  (2) Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth-eaten.  (3) 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.  (4) 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.  (5) You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter.  (6) You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.

The verses we study today were written by James, the half brother of Jesus Christ as a prophesy of judgment to come – a warning written to shore up the Christian faithful.  James refers to ” the last days” – the last days are now; all time between resurrection and the end of the world which is surely coming.  But the last day for us is our death and no one escapes God’s judgment.

James is calling his readers to a certain future event – our last day – and he focusses on those who gave in to the temptation of earthly riches and warns of the dangers of pursuing wealth which is a snare.  James compares the souls/heart of people of this world – those who have denied the reality of eternity – to that of animals fattened only for slaughter.

The evidence is everywhere that we live in a transitory world.  We can actually see the erosion of material things:  clothing and food rot, the grasses and flowers of the fields wither away; beloved pets have a shorter life span and flourish and die; our bodies age before our eyes.  No one escapes death.

James is encouraging the faithful Christians – reminding them that all is dying but in their spirit/their hearts, they know that God is the reality – the evidence is around and in us.  God is faithful and true to His promises of eternal life.  He is condemning those who refuse to look at this world as transitory – those who do not attempt to see the reality behind the illusion of this world.  Those who don’t realize that God has turned things upside down – what we see is illusory and with only a hint of the reality behind it.  “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face:  now I know in part; but then shall I know even as I am known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12)  If we deny God He will deny us.  Reality, eternal life, begins and ends with God and our bodies exist in time for just a bit.

James is not condemning riches but is saying the sin is in how we gain and use material wealth.  Riches are seen as stewardship, not ownership  – and come with obligation and temptation.  Are we hell bent on getting rich??? These words from James – this prophesy of wrath to come – should remind us that our eyes should be on heaven.  “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (matt 6:21)

For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.  (17) But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits without partiality and without hypocrisy.  (18) Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.  (4:1) Where do wars and fights come from among you?  Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?  (2) You lust and do not have.  You murder and covet and cannot obtain.  You fight and war.  (3) Yet you do not have because you do not ask.  You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.

This letter was written by James, the half brother of Jesus Christ.  James was the head of the Christian church in Jerusalem and in our verses today, is addressing what appear to be serious quarrels and conflicts in the early church.  James reminds us that we are new creatures in Christ – we are reborn – but the enemy is within us.  As long as we live in our bodies we fight our sinful nature.

James writes earlier in this letter that all good and perfect gifts comes from God and we are not to blame God for our temptation or for our sin.  Quarrels and conflict occur when pleasures of this world dominate our lives.  We will never get satisfaction when we strive for something temporal or fleeting:  all fades, all dies.  We must not allow the body to dominate or it will swallow the soul and extinguish it.

James is speaking of the path of sin and warns us to be vigilant and honest – to examine our motives and accept responsibility for our actions.  We must realize that there is no sin of which the saint (saved) is incapable – think of David – a man after God’s own heart – who sinned with Bathsheba and murdered her husband.  How could this have happened to a man who lived for God – if it could happen to him it could happen to any of us.

We are reborn and as a new man or woman, we want Christ and nothing else will do.

What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?  Can faith save him?  (15) If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, (16) and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?  (17) Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.  (18) But someone will say “You have faith and I have works.”  Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

This letter is written by James, who was the half brother of Jesus and the head of the Christian church in Jerusalem. Our verses today address genuine saving faith versus false faith. First we must understand that the Bible teaches us that we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ Jesus. James does not dispute this but he is going deeper. James is saying every good and perfect gift is from God – including and especially salvation. The faithful are not saved from anything they do – salvation is a gift from God, not a result of good works.

But Genuine faith necessarily results in a life of good works – necessarily does not mean automatically. But good deeds are inherent in a saving faith. True faith involves a change of heart – we become reborn and are sealed by the indwelling Holy Spirit. The faithful go from death to life and faith by its nature results in a change of outlook; a change of behavior. We act as we believe and can do no other. The Bible tells us that man is saved by faith alone apart from good works but at issue here is the question of faith being genuine.  We are being told that belief in the saving acts of Christ as Lord and Savior causes us to be reborn in Christ.  We become a new man/ woman in thought and of necessity,  in deed.

My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ,mother Lord of glory, with partiality.(2) For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, (3) and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine  clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” (4) have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?  (5) Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?

The Apostle James, the half brother of Jesus, wrote this pastoral letter Addressed to believing Christians.   And in our verses today, James addresses partiality – privilege we humans show for those materially rich and celebrated in society.  The point he is making is that we Have been given different gifts but the faithful are equal in the eyes of God  and we should live relative to this truth.

Bias based on material success exists in all cultures and has done so in all ages. We make character judgments based on exterior appearance or reputation. We look for clues – shortcuts – for how we accept others; how are others dressed, how confident are they, how do they live, eTc.  James is telling us that the most powerful men in this world are nothing in comparison to Christ.  I read the home for sale section of the Wall Street Jounreal every Friday and wonder where the builders of these enormous and incredibly expensive homes are now??   We are all dying.  We are all corrupt, ephemeral, temporary. Everything of this world is passing away and the “riches” of the world are only distractions – smoke and mirrors – snares. Christ alone should be exalted.

When we make judgments we are mistaken as only God can see the true motives of men. We cannot see through the mental or physical impairment to the true nature of our fellow man.  James is reminding his readers  of this – of this failing as a consequence of our sinful nature. We need to be reminded that our default setting is sin.  Our answer to this sin of partiality should be to treat all men/women as Christ in them.

Man is not saved because of anything he does. There is nothing we can do that merits salvation – it is purely a gift from God – and material goods, personal success and celebrity are not indicators of salvation.  We need to push aside the curtain of this worlds temptations and see The only thing that matters and that is Christ Who is our treasure. Matthew 6:21 relates “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.  (18) Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of His creatures.  (21) Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.  (22) But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. (27) Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this:  to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world 

The author of this letter is likely JAMES, the half brother of Jesus.  James was the prominent leader of the church in Jerusalem and presided over the Jerusalem Council.

In the verses we study today, James deals with how Christians should handle adversity. The Jews were inclined to expect God’s material blessings in response to pius living and conversely, felt that those who did evil would be disciplined and punished for sins – a philosophy very much of this world. But James writes of a different perspective on Christian attitudes toward adversity.  James wants both the rich and the poor ( of this world) to see their circumstances from an external perspective.

Christians are to expect suffering and trials and they have to be ready in knowledge and faith – we have to remember in times of crisis what we know in times of peace to be truth. In times of storms we don’t think clearly and are too emotional.  We must remember that God gave us the gift of salvation through Christ – we must trust God to delover us from evil. There is a connection between adversity and temptation. Some in times of stress will yield to an ungodly response, but God never tempts us with evil – He cannot. Evil comes from our sinful nature and sin yields to death of the soul – death of spiritual life.  God is not the source of our sin but of every good gift. God never changes and He is sovereign. Adversity  is used by God to perfect His saints and He provides the tools to do this. Adversity can bring out the worst in man – just as it brings out the best.  No adversity comes into the life of the believer that has not been purposed by God and He will give us the strength and wisdom too endure and be sanctified. Man must respond in God and not in themselves.

We are in God’s care – we are God’s first fruits of the resurrection And in return we are to be His message and light in this world.