[Originally preached 27 June, 2004]
James 1.9-11
Before we are going to be able to get to our text, we’ll need to deal with some preliminary issues. First, we’ll need to understand the context of our passage. Then, we’ll need to understand these two terms, ‘poor’ and ‘rich’. But once we’ve done this I think that we all will be encouraged and challenged by what James is saying.
So, on to the context. James’ comments in this passage are not in a vacuum. They do not stand alone. If we miss the larger context we’ll make significant mistakes in understanding and applying our text. The context is still the notion of trials. James started that back in verse 2. He comments on our need of wisdom for dealing with trials in verse 5 and following. And the paragraph after our text, staring in verse 12, is still about trials. So, we need to see that James is still dealing with trials. Here, in our text, he is getting specific about a certain kind of trial.
Now, let’s define these two terms of his, ‘poor’ and ‘rich’. It is important to note that the economic breakdown in the Scriptures is always into two groups, the rich and the poor. We, on the other hand, are used to three groups, the rich, the poor and those in the middle. But you won’t find that three-fold breakdown in the Bible. That’s because the Bible defines rich and poor differently. Listen to the Apostle Paul as he instructs Timothy. ‘Now, godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But [note the contrast here] those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare…’ [1 Timothy 6.6-9a] According to Paul, having food and clothing, the basic necessities, is enough and we can be content with that. Having more than that is being rich. So, the way that the Bible views it, being rich isn’t a matter of being a millionaire. If someone has the necessities of life, like food and clothing, plus more, then he is rich. If someone doesn’t have this, then he is poor. Now, it is important to bear in mind that there is no sin in being rich. In the Old Testament it was a sign of God’s favor. Job, Abraham and David were all rich. I think that it is important to note this because, among some these days, there is a bit of a stigma applied to being included among the rich. But that is not from the Scriptures. There is no stigma in having more, in being rich.
Now, we’re ready to consider our text. James speaks to the poor Christian first. ‘Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation.’ Now, remember this is in the context of facing trials. So, how is the situation of the impoverished brother a trial? It’s pretty obvious, isn’t it? Life, for the poor, is a struggle because he doesn’t have the basic necessities of life. It’s hard when you aren’t sure where the next day’s food is coming from. Do you remember the parable of the laborers in the vineyard? At different times during the day, the master of the house went to the market place to hire men. Do you remember how, at the eleventh hour, he returned to the market place and saw some men standing about. And so, he asked them, ‘Why do you stand idle all day?’ And what did they say? ‘No one has hired us.’ And so he hired them for the rest of the day. And that is what it was like for many of the people. They were day laborers. They didn’t have a steady job to go to each day. There were days when they were hired and earned some money. But there were other days when no one hired them so that they earned nothing. Now, these weren’t people who had a little money in the bank that they could fall back on. They didn’t have large pantries filled with food. No work meant hardship. That’s what it was like to be poor. So, James exhorts these lowly brothers because life for them was a continual trial.
Now, remember the key question associated with the trials of life. It always boils down to this. When faith is tested, Jesus poses His question, ‘Will you trust Me now?’ Now, consider how someone might respond to the trial of being poor. He might become angry at God. He might become anxious about his future. He might become bitter and cynical. But each of those would be sin. Each of those is answering Jesus’ question with a very loud, ‘No’. The question takes nothing away from the difficulty of the situation. Life is hard when you’re poor. It’s just asking how will you respond to hardship of that situation. ‘Will you trust Me now?’
But trust Him for what? What is Jesus promising here? James tells us. Exaltation is being promised. But what is this? Here, we have a poor Christian. He is on the bottom rung of the social ladder. How will he be exalted? Luke’s Gospel is one place where the theme of the exaltation of the poor believer is emphasized. Listen to Jesus words in Luke 6. ‘Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. Blessed are you when men hate you and when they exclude you, and revile you and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man’s sake. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, for in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.’ What is the promise of Jesus here? Yes, there is suffering now, but there will be exaltation later. And when is later? It’s not in this life. Later is in the life to come, in heaven where the reward of the suffering saints will be great. This is what James is exhorting the lowly brothers to glory in. Exaltation is coming. Jesus has promised.
Now, did you notice that James didn’t tell these poor the kind of thing that so many of us have been told? ‘I know that it’s hard when you first start out. But just hang in there. You’ll do better financially as time moves on.’ James doesn’t say that first, because back then it wasn’t true. The poor stayed poor. Upward mobility is relatively recent innovation. But, more importantly, James doesn’t say this sort of thing because he would be encouraging them to put their hope in the wrong place. Instead, James points them to Christ and what He will do. James tells them that though life is hard and will stay hard, the time is coming when Jesus will lift them up and the struggles of this life will be over. Until then they need to answer that key question correctly. Trust Jesus now and He will exalt you later.
Now, on to what James has to say to the rich. I had said that the context of our text is the trials of faith. But what is the trial for the rich? Is there some testing of faith if a person has money? Absolutely! Listen to a couple of the Proverbs. ‘The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and like a high wall in his own imagination.’ [18.11] ‘Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with the food allotted to me; lest I be full and deny You, and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ [30.7ff.] The temptation for those who have more than the bare necessities is that they might think that they are safe behind the high wall of their money. They might think that, because they are full, all is well and they do not need the Lord. But we’re back to the same question. ‘Will you trust Me now?’ Sadly, there are some among the rich who fall into temptation and respond, in effect, by saying, ‘Well, Lord, I don’t really need to trust You in this. I’ve got my needs pretty well covered.’ But how foolish! James reminds these believers about the fleeting nature of life and the fleeting nature of wealth. The flower blooms today, but tomorrow it withers and is gone. Having money in the bank can disguise the realities of life. It can mask the ongoing needs of those who live a comfortable life, and it can cover over their inability when it comes to meeting those needs. There is only so much that money can do. But too many find that out much too late. This is why Paul wrote that those who desire to become rich fall into temptation.
So, the question is the same for the poor as well as for the rich. ‘Will you trust Me now?’ In both cases faith is being put to the test. Answering, ‘I’ll trust You to get me to heaven, but I’ve got the rest under control’, is not a good answer. We don’t need Jesus just to get us to heaven. We need Him for everything. And therein lies the test.
Now, what should someone do if he is rich in the biblical sense? What should that person do if he has more than just the bare necessities? Let me remind you again that having money is not a sin. There is nothing wrong with being rich. And so, it is not necessary for those with money to get rid of it all. And the reason for that is clear. Having no money instead of a lot is no guarantee that you will answer the question properly. The problem isn’t how much money you have. The problem resides in the state of one’s heart. So, feeling guilty and giving all of your money away isn’t the path to follow. But Paul has words of wisdom in his instructions to Timothy. Listen. ‘Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to put their hope in the uncertainty of riches but in the living God who gives us richly all things to enjoy.’ [1 Timothy 6.17] The Christian with some money needs to ask himself, ‘Where am I setting my hopes? Do I feel relatively safe because of the money that I have? Do I feel protected from the surprises of life because I have some financial resources?’ Those are not questions that are easy to answer. But the Christian with some money might gain a sense of where he is putting his hopes by doing two things. First, he might ask himself the question, ‘Would I feel safer if I had more money?’ A ‘Yes’ answer here would be telling. Then he would do well to look at his prayer life. Do his prayers reflect a sense of need? Does he look to Christ not just for admission to heaven but for everything associated with this life as well as the next? It is so very easy for us to be fooled into placing our hopes in something other than Jesus. We all need to be very careful here.
It’s here that all of this needs to be related to how the children are to be guided. There are some jobs that pay well. The work done is valuable, and its value is reflected in the salary. If a child has an aptitude for one of these kinds of jobs and it appears that God is calling him to serve Christ in this way, fine. If as a result, he becomes what the Bible calls ‘rich’, that also is fine. But this is where we encounter the temptation. A parent can be tempted to guide a child into a certain kind of career primarily because it pays well and will provide for a comfortable life. This is a problem because is sounds like hope is being put in the uncertainty of riches instead of being put in God. What if God calls a child to a career that doesn’t pay at all well? What if God is calling this person to a life that will be financially difficult? No parent likes the prospect of seeing his child struggle. But if that is God’s calling, can it be ignored? The key issue in the guidance of the children when it comes to a career is not the level of financial comfort. The key issue is this: ‘Where is God calling him to serve Christ?’ For some this will result in a situation that the Bible calls rich. But for others this will mean something rather close to being poor, if not poverty itself. Once again our question pops up. Here, Jesus asks parents, ‘Will you trust Me with now? Will you trust Me with your children?’
There is one more thing that Paul has to say to those Christians with a bit of money. ‘Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, ready to share…’ [1 Timothy 6.18] Christians with money need to be generous. The command is clear, but the application difficult. It’s tied to the question of how much is enough to properly care for a family. If you have $100 and you know that you can responsibly care for the family using only $60 then it’s easy to be generous with the other $40. But what if you conclude that you really need $75 to care for the family in a responsible way? Then you can’t be generous with $40 but rather only $25. But what if you honestly think that you need $90 to do it right? In some situations all that is needed is $60, but in other cases it’s more like $90. How do you decide what’s right in your situation? Here, we need to remember James’ earlier exhortation. ‘If any man lack wisdom let him ask God who gives generously without reproach.’ This is one of those situations where we all need a hefty dose of wisdom from God. If we ask, will He refuse us? God calls all of His people to be generous. What that looks like will differ according to the details of each family’s situation. But the call to be generous goes out to all.
How you apply the sermon will depend on your circumstances. If you are among the poor then you’ll need to focus on the first part of the sermon. If you are among the rich then you’ll need to focus more on the second part. But for all of us the trials associated with money boil down to the same question. ‘Will you trust Me now?’ I hope that we all will be able to answer Jesus with a hearty, ‘Yes, Lord I will.’
James 1.9-11
Before we are going to be able to get to our text, we’ll need to deal with some preliminary issues. First, we’ll need to understand the context of our passage. Then, we’ll need to understand these two terms, ‘poor’ and ‘rich’. But once we’ve done this I think that we all will be encouraged and challenged by what James is saying.
So, on to the context. James’ comments in this passage are not in a vacuum. They do not stand alone. If we miss the larger context we’ll make significant mistakes in understanding and applying our text. The context is still the notion of trials. James started that back in verse 2. He comments on our need of wisdom for dealing with trials in verse 5 and following. And the paragraph after our text, staring in verse 12, is still about trials. So, we need to see that James is still dealing with trials. Here, in our text, he is getting specific about a certain kind of trial.
Now, let’s define these two terms of his, ‘poor’ and ‘rich’. It is important to note that the economic breakdown in the Scriptures is always into two groups, the rich and the poor. We, on the other hand, are used to three groups, the rich, the poor and those in the middle. But you won’t find that three-fold breakdown in the Bible. That’s because the Bible defines rich and poor differently. Listen to the Apostle Paul as he instructs Timothy. ‘Now, godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But [note the contrast here] those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare…’ [1 Timothy 6.6-9a] According to Paul, having food and clothing, the basic necessities, is enough and we can be content with that. Having more than that is being rich. So, the way that the Bible views it, being rich isn’t a matter of being a millionaire. If someone has the necessities of life, like food and clothing, plus more, then he is rich. If someone doesn’t have this, then he is poor. Now, it is important to bear in mind that there is no sin in being rich. In the Old Testament it was a sign of God’s favor. Job, Abraham and David were all rich. I think that it is important to note this because, among some these days, there is a bit of a stigma applied to being included among the rich. But that is not from the Scriptures. There is no stigma in having more, in being rich.
Now, we’re ready to consider our text. James speaks to the poor Christian first. ‘Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation.’ Now, remember this is in the context of facing trials. So, how is the situation of the impoverished brother a trial? It’s pretty obvious, isn’t it? Life, for the poor, is a struggle because he doesn’t have the basic necessities of life. It’s hard when you aren’t sure where the next day’s food is coming from. Do you remember the parable of the laborers in the vineyard? At different times during the day, the master of the house went to the market place to hire men. Do you remember how, at the eleventh hour, he returned to the market place and saw some men standing about. And so, he asked them, ‘Why do you stand idle all day?’ And what did they say? ‘No one has hired us.’ And so he hired them for the rest of the day. And that is what it was like for many of the people. They were day laborers. They didn’t have a steady job to go to each day. There were days when they were hired and earned some money. But there were other days when no one hired them so that they earned nothing. Now, these weren’t people who had a little money in the bank that they could fall back on. They didn’t have large pantries filled with food. No work meant hardship. That’s what it was like to be poor. So, James exhorts these lowly brothers because life for them was a continual trial.
Now, remember the key question associated with the trials of life. It always boils down to this. When faith is tested, Jesus poses His question, ‘Will you trust Me now?’ Now, consider how someone might respond to the trial of being poor. He might become angry at God. He might become anxious about his future. He might become bitter and cynical. But each of those would be sin. Each of those is answering Jesus’ question with a very loud, ‘No’. The question takes nothing away from the difficulty of the situation. Life is hard when you’re poor. It’s just asking how will you respond to hardship of that situation. ‘Will you trust Me now?’
But trust Him for what? What is Jesus promising here? James tells us. Exaltation is being promised. But what is this? Here, we have a poor Christian. He is on the bottom rung of the social ladder. How will he be exalted? Luke’s Gospel is one place where the theme of the exaltation of the poor believer is emphasized. Listen to Jesus words in Luke 6. ‘Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. Blessed are you when men hate you and when they exclude you, and revile you and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man’s sake. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, for in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.’ What is the promise of Jesus here? Yes, there is suffering now, but there will be exaltation later. And when is later? It’s not in this life. Later is in the life to come, in heaven where the reward of the suffering saints will be great. This is what James is exhorting the lowly brothers to glory in. Exaltation is coming. Jesus has promised.
Now, did you notice that James didn’t tell these poor the kind of thing that so many of us have been told? ‘I know that it’s hard when you first start out. But just hang in there. You’ll do better financially as time moves on.’ James doesn’t say that first, because back then it wasn’t true. The poor stayed poor. Upward mobility is relatively recent innovation. But, more importantly, James doesn’t say this sort of thing because he would be encouraging them to put their hope in the wrong place. Instead, James points them to Christ and what He will do. James tells them that though life is hard and will stay hard, the time is coming when Jesus will lift them up and the struggles of this life will be over. Until then they need to answer that key question correctly. Trust Jesus now and He will exalt you later.
Now, on to what James has to say to the rich. I had said that the context of our text is the trials of faith. But what is the trial for the rich? Is there some testing of faith if a person has money? Absolutely! Listen to a couple of the Proverbs. ‘The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and like a high wall in his own imagination.’ [18.11] ‘Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with the food allotted to me; lest I be full and deny You, and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ [30.7ff.] The temptation for those who have more than the bare necessities is that they might think that they are safe behind the high wall of their money. They might think that, because they are full, all is well and they do not need the Lord. But we’re back to the same question. ‘Will you trust Me now?’ Sadly, there are some among the rich who fall into temptation and respond, in effect, by saying, ‘Well, Lord, I don’t really need to trust You in this. I’ve got my needs pretty well covered.’ But how foolish! James reminds these believers about the fleeting nature of life and the fleeting nature of wealth. The flower blooms today, but tomorrow it withers and is gone. Having money in the bank can disguise the realities of life. It can mask the ongoing needs of those who live a comfortable life, and it can cover over their inability when it comes to meeting those needs. There is only so much that money can do. But too many find that out much too late. This is why Paul wrote that those who desire to become rich fall into temptation.
So, the question is the same for the poor as well as for the rich. ‘Will you trust Me now?’ In both cases faith is being put to the test. Answering, ‘I’ll trust You to get me to heaven, but I’ve got the rest under control’, is not a good answer. We don’t need Jesus just to get us to heaven. We need Him for everything. And therein lies the test.
Now, what should someone do if he is rich in the biblical sense? What should that person do if he has more than just the bare necessities? Let me remind you again that having money is not a sin. There is nothing wrong with being rich. And so, it is not necessary for those with money to get rid of it all. And the reason for that is clear. Having no money instead of a lot is no guarantee that you will answer the question properly. The problem isn’t how much money you have. The problem resides in the state of one’s heart. So, feeling guilty and giving all of your money away isn’t the path to follow. But Paul has words of wisdom in his instructions to Timothy. Listen. ‘Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to put their hope in the uncertainty of riches but in the living God who gives us richly all things to enjoy.’ [1 Timothy 6.17] The Christian with some money needs to ask himself, ‘Where am I setting my hopes? Do I feel relatively safe because of the money that I have? Do I feel protected from the surprises of life because I have some financial resources?’ Those are not questions that are easy to answer. But the Christian with some money might gain a sense of where he is putting his hopes by doing two things. First, he might ask himself the question, ‘Would I feel safer if I had more money?’ A ‘Yes’ answer here would be telling. Then he would do well to look at his prayer life. Do his prayers reflect a sense of need? Does he look to Christ not just for admission to heaven but for everything associated with this life as well as the next? It is so very easy for us to be fooled into placing our hopes in something other than Jesus. We all need to be very careful here.
It’s here that all of this needs to be related to how the children are to be guided. There are some jobs that pay well. The work done is valuable, and its value is reflected in the salary. If a child has an aptitude for one of these kinds of jobs and it appears that God is calling him to serve Christ in this way, fine. If as a result, he becomes what the Bible calls ‘rich’, that also is fine. But this is where we encounter the temptation. A parent can be tempted to guide a child into a certain kind of career primarily because it pays well and will provide for a comfortable life. This is a problem because is sounds like hope is being put in the uncertainty of riches instead of being put in God. What if God calls a child to a career that doesn’t pay at all well? What if God is calling this person to a life that will be financially difficult? No parent likes the prospect of seeing his child struggle. But if that is God’s calling, can it be ignored? The key issue in the guidance of the children when it comes to a career is not the level of financial comfort. The key issue is this: ‘Where is God calling him to serve Christ?’ For some this will result in a situation that the Bible calls rich. But for others this will mean something rather close to being poor, if not poverty itself. Once again our question pops up. Here, Jesus asks parents, ‘Will you trust Me with now? Will you trust Me with your children?’
There is one more thing that Paul has to say to those Christians with a bit of money. ‘Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, ready to share…’ [1 Timothy 6.18] Christians with money need to be generous. The command is clear, but the application difficult. It’s tied to the question of how much is enough to properly care for a family. If you have $100 and you know that you can responsibly care for the family using only $60 then it’s easy to be generous with the other $40. But what if you conclude that you really need $75 to care for the family in a responsible way? Then you can’t be generous with $40 but rather only $25. But what if you honestly think that you need $90 to do it right? In some situations all that is needed is $60, but in other cases it’s more like $90. How do you decide what’s right in your situation? Here, we need to remember James’ earlier exhortation. ‘If any man lack wisdom let him ask God who gives generously without reproach.’ This is one of those situations where we all need a hefty dose of wisdom from God. If we ask, will He refuse us? God calls all of His people to be generous. What that looks like will differ according to the details of each family’s situation. But the call to be generous goes out to all.
How you apply the sermon will depend on your circumstances. If you are among the poor then you’ll need to focus on the first part of the sermon. If you are among the rich then you’ll need to focus more on the second part. But for all of us the trials associated with money boil down to the same question. ‘Will you trust Me now?’ I hope that we all will be able to answer Jesus with a hearty, ‘Yes, Lord I will.’
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