Bible Study - James Chapter 5:1-16

Warning to the Rich

5 Look here, you rich people: Weep and groan with anguish because of all the terrible troubles ahead of you.2 Your wealth is rotting away, and your fine clothes are moth-eaten rags. 3 Your gold and silver have become worthless. The very wealth you were counting on will eat away your flesh like fire. This treasure you have accumulated will stand as evidence against you on the day of judgment.

This is the fourth time in this short letter James blasts the rich. Here, he writes about the worthlessness of riches. It’s not a sin to have money. Money is necessary to live in this world. But money will be worthless when Christ returns, so we need to be storing up the kind of treasures that will be worthwhile in heaven. So money is not the problem. Christians need it to live and support their families, churches need it to do their work effectively, and missionaries need it to spread the gospel.

1 Timothy 6:10 “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."

Somehow this has been translated as ‘money’ being the root of all evil. But it’s the LOVE of money that causes the problem, making people so greedy they are willing to cheat others in order to obtain more. 

Matthew 6:19-21 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." 

I want you to think about this idea. You reveal where your heart is, where your loyalties are, by how you handle and spend your money. Look through your checkbook, or take note of how you spend your money. If someone was watching you, would they be able to tell your loyalties are to God? Or would they see selfish self indulgence of worldly pleasures instead? 

5 You have spent your years on earth in luxury, satisfying your every desire. You have fattened yourselves for the day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and killed innocent people,[a] who do not resist you.[b]

In vs. 5, James is comparing the rich self-indulgent people to cattle that continue to eat and fatten themselves up on the day they are to be slaughtered, totally unaware of their coming destruction. 

In vs. 6, he writes about how hoarding money and exploiting employees causes us to be murderous. The ‘innocent men’ he speaks of here are defenseless people, laborers, poor people who could not pay their debts.  he was thrown into prison or forced to sell all of his possessions. 

Patience and Endurance

7 Dear brothers and sisters,[c] be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. 8 You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near.

One day the Lord will return and all of our suffering will be over. Keep your eyes and your heart fixed on that day.

When a farmer plants his crops, he must be patient while waiting for his crops to grow. But the farmer doesn’t just sit around and wait. He has a lot of work to do to ensure he has a good harvest. His entire summer is full of laboring until the harvest.

In the same way, we must be patient in awaiting the return of Christ, and we must stay busy doing the work God has commissioned us to do—teaching the gospel to all the ends of the earth. 

We cannot make Christ return any faster, just as the farmer cannot make his crops come in any faster. But both the farmer and the Christian must live by faith, looking toward the future reward for their labors. Don’t live as if Jesus will never come back; continue to work faithfully for Him. 

9 Don’t grumble about each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. For look—the Judge is standing at the door!

Matthew 7:1-5 1"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 3"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 

We can’t be shifting blame to others when things aren’t getting done. Keep your focus on what you should be doing and not what others are NOT doing. Sometimes it’s easier to blame others rather than owning up to our share of the responsibility. Before you judge others for their shortcomings, remember Christ is the judge and will come to evaluate each of us. 

Christ will come and He will judge each of us according to the things we have done, or not done. In Jesus own words, when we cause pain to another human being, we cause Him pain, or when we do something to help someone else, we are helping Him. 

10 For examples of patience in suffering, dear brothers and sisters, look at the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 We give great honor to those who endure under suffering. For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy.

Be patient. God will come through. James is reminding us of how patient the prophets had to be. He goes on to mention Job who persevered through many trials and tribulations. He and the prophets were faithful, knowing they were doing the work God wanted them to do. And God eventually rewarded them for their perseverance and faithfulness. 

¹² But most of all, my brothers and sisters, never take an oath, by heaven or earth or anything else. Just say a simple yes or no, so that you will not sin and be condemned.

Why do we find it necessary to swear to something? It’s because we want people to believe what we’re saying is the truth. But if we earn the reputation of being an honest person, we wouldn’t have to swear. People would believe us just on our word alone. 

The Power of Prayer

13 Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. 14 Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. 16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

Here James is telling his readers how we should handle our problems.

If we are in trouble, we should pray. Hand your troubles over to God and believe He will help you through whatever it is.

Unhappy? Sing songs of praise. This will inevitably lift your spirits. When we sing songs of praise, we are reminded of God’s love and mercy, which helps us put our trivial problems into perspective.

If we are sick, we should contact the leaders of the church so they can pray for us. He mentions oil because in scripture, oil was both a medicine and a symbol of the Spirit of God. Either way, Jesus is Lord over both the body and the spirit. So whether we are ‘sick’ in spirit or physically sick, the members of Christ’s body (the church) should be able to count on the other members for support and prayer. Elders and church members should stay alert to pray for the needs of all the church's members.

Notice in verse 15, it isn’t the oil that heals, but the “prayer of faith”. The Lord heals when he hears our prayers “offered in faith”. All prayers are subject to God’s will and His time-table. So again, we must be patient and faithful. 

James goes on to write about spiritual healing. If someone has sinned, we are to pray for them so they may be forgiven and healed. The sinner must repent, but by going to the Church and having others pray for them, other things are accomplished. 

First, if someone has sinned against another individual, he or she must ask their forgiveness. By praying together, this encourages both to forgive and put the problem behind them.
Second, if the sin has somehow affected the church, we need to confess it publicly so the problems can be set right. Third, sometimes we need loving support as we struggle with a sin. By confessing it to others and having them help us through it, it helps us conquer the temptation.