James 5:1

"Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you"."Come now" -the same expression is found in James 4:13. "It is. set phrase, an interjection to gain attention….it is somewhat like our "come, come now" (Roberts p. 175). "It summons the ones addressed to give careful attention to what will be said" (Kent p. 168). These rich people thought of themselves as invincible, untouchable, able to steal from their employees and get away with it (James 5:4). "you rich" -once again, there is nothing inherently wrong with being rich. Rich Christians did exist (1 Timothy 6:17 ff). "James does not condemn riches, nor does the Bible anywhere condemn those who have material possessions. Rather, the Bible condemns the ungodly way that people gain their possessions and use them…..And we don't have to be rich to be possessed by riches. A lot of poor folk are obsessed with material things" (Draper p. 142). "Those who have understood Christianity as being anti-wealth and anti-property have misunderstood it. It is the wrong use of wealth and the acquisition of wealth in the wrong manner which are condemned….James is speaking of wealth acquired by robbing laborers of their just wages" (Roberts p. 180).

Points To Note:

1. Kent reminds us, "Wealth itself is. relative term. All of us know persons who are economically better off than we, and we tend to regard them as "rich" in contrast to ourselves…..Experience in traveling abroad quickly brings the recognition that Americans are more affluent than much of the world and makes one wonder about the exercise of his own stewardship" (p. 168). Which should make us realize that compared to the rest of the world, we might find ourselves in the "rich" category. 2. Greed, and gaining wealth by underhanded means is. temptation for Christians just like everyone else (Titus 1:7; 1 Corinthians 5:10). 3.. good number of Christians would like to have more money, but we need to realize that money brings many serious responsibilities and its own set of temptations. Wealth can be used properly, but it has also destroyed. good number of people (1 Timothy 6:8). 4. Some of us think that Christianity would be easier if we had more money and didn't have to worry about the bills. The truth of the matter is, many of us are eventually going to inherit some wealth---and we had better work on. relationship with God before that happens! 5.. have always liked Proverbs 30:8. The potential for being greedy is lurking inside each one of us, regardless of how much money we have or don't have. If we aren't wealthy, the temptation is to envy the wealthy, idolize them, and long for the day that we can have. whole bunch of stuff. "weep and howl" -the tense in the Greek is. command which points to something to be done immediately, "Burst into weeping" (Robertson p. 57). "Weep"-mourn, lament,. loud expression of grief. "Howl"-which means to wail and cry aloud, to shriek. "These two strong words indicate the frantic terror of those on whom God's judgment has fallen….Any person who builds his life only upon the physical things of this life will come to know this kind of despair" (Draper p. 143). While there isn't any specific call to repentance,. believe we could say that as long as there is life, repentance is an option. Jonah's message to Ninevah didn't contain. command to repent, but God accepted their repentance (Jonah 3:4; Jonah 3:9), compare with Jeremiah 2:7. "if the rich understood their coming fate, they would literally shriek over the prospect" (Roberts p. 182). Compare with Isaiah 2:6; Isaiah 2:31; Isaiah 2:2; Isaiah 2:1; Isaiah 2:6; Isaiah 2:14). "for your miseries which are coming upon you" -"Miseries"-"hardship, trouble, calamity" (Thayer p. 614); "wretchedness, distress" (Arndt p. 803). "Which are coming upon you"-the idea is of certain destruction (Hebrews 10:27 "but. certain terrifying expectation of judgment").

Points To Note:

1. Some think that the above miseries applied to the destruction of Jerusalem, but Woods notes, "But, the physical suffering of the poor (who, of course, greatly outnumbered the rich) was as intense in those terrible days as that of the rich; and it seems better to conclude that this is simply. picture of the retribution and judgment which shall come, at the end of the age" (Roberts p. 257). 2. The Holy Spirit certainly believed in the existence of hell and that hell is. place of miseries-not annihilation. See Acts 24:25 "and the judgment to come, Felix was terrified"; Romans 2:8; Hebrews 10:28-29... Wealth can't protect us from the coming judgment.