James 5:6

"You have condemned and put to death the righteous man; he does not resist you"."You have condemned and put to death the righteous man" -To condemn is to pronounce guilty. Evidently, the various wealthy and influential individuals had quite. bit of pull in the Roman court system (James 2:6). The exploitation of the righteous was also denounced by the prophets in the Old Testament (Amos 2:6; Amos 2:10; Psalms 10:8; Isaiah 2:14; Isaiah 2:1). "The episode of Ahab, Jezebel, and Naboth provided. graphic example (1 Kings 2:1)" (Kent p. 174). "The rich long to get rid of those who are. blight upon their conscience; the presence of. godly man will always condemn an ungodly man" (Draper p. 147). "he does not resist you" -"he offers you no resistance" (Arndt p. 76). Which only heightens the crime of these oppressors. They are persecuting righteous individuals who are not offering physical resistance. See 1 Peter 2:18; Matthew 5:38; Romans 12:19. Carefully note that this verse isn't teaching that Christians can't defend themselves. But there are times when all our options and means of protection have been removed. This was. persecution sanctioned by the civil government, and in such instances. Christian might not have too many resources with which to defend themselves.