Foolproof – A Study of James
INVESTING Faith – James 5:1-6
Insert: I want the ushers to come to the front w/ the offering plates and I want you to pull out your wallets/purses. This is a stick up! I don’t want anyone to get hurt. So if you’ll calmly drop all your money and checkbooks into the plates, you’ll be safe… I’m not kidding! This is a robbery. For those of you who think I’ve lost it, I haven’t. I just thought I’d give you a taste of what God experiences every week when He gets robbed by those who profess Christ, but whose wallets are off limits to His will and work.
Verse: Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ – In stealing God’s tithes and offerings. You’re under a curse – the whole nation of you – b/c you’re robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, says the Lord, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. Ml. 3:8-10
Insert: Okay. So I’m not going to rob you. Besides, if you’re like me, the only thing a thief would get from me would be the experience. I’ve got a better idea. Exchange wallets w/ your neighbor and give like you’ve always wanted to give!
Recap: James has been asking if our faith is authentic or artificial. As we’ve discussed, in the first part of the letter, James was speaking to believers offering verifiable evidence to approve their faith. But in ch. 4, he begins to reprove those churchgoers whose faith was artificial. For the (3) weeks, we’ve looked at their faithlessness – how they create conflict, how they’re judgmental, how they’re defiant towards God’s will, and today, how they’re greedy w/ God’s blessings. James finishes his confrontation of the unsaved churchgoer by addressing the how they handle money.
Text: Listen, you rich people, weep and wail b/c of the misery that’s coming on you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you. Jm. 5:1-6
Note: In this passage, James takes dead aim at those who call themselves worshippers of God but who are actually worshippers of money. Of the (4) practices of the unsaved churchgoer, this one is the most telling b/c of the open reluctance to obey God and support the work of His kingdom.
Note: Many people refuse to give b/c of ignorance to God’s command, others b/c of greed and self-centeredness. Some w/hold b/c they want to make send a message. Only the message they’re sending is that they’re lost or carnal. The tithe is the Lord’s; to mess w/ the tithe is to steal from God.
Trans: In this text, James says money, more than anything, serves to determine the authenticity of a person’s faith. Jesus said the same thing in Luke 16.
Insert: Parable of the Shrewd Manager – No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to the one and despise the other. You can’t serve God and money. When the Pharisees heard all this, they made fun of Jesus, b/c they loved money. Jesus said to them, "You’re the ones who make yourselves look right in other people’s sight, but God knows your hearts. For the things that are considered of great value by people are worth nothing in God’s sight. Lk. 16:12-15
Note: The Pharisees were religious pretenders! Their god was money. Listen! There can only be one priority in your life – God or money. Godly people make God their priority, but for people w/out God, the big ‘G’ in their lives stands for ‘Greenbacks!’ They spell God – M-O-N-E-Y.
Note: Everything today is about the “Benjamins!” Consider the Apprentice – Trump’s show. Money, money, money, money! These people are subjecting themselves to live in tents to have a chance to hang w/ Donald.
Quote: We have “In God We Trust” on our coins but “Me First” engraved on our hearts. Billy Graham (from World Aflame)
Note: These people worship at the shrine of accumulated wealth. Their daily devotions focus on the financial pages of the paper and they’ve convinced themselves that possessions will bring them joy, fulfillment, and security.
Insert: The Bible speaks of money more than any topic including salvation. Why? B/c there’s no single item in life that can distract us from trusting God such as money.
Verse: Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, where thieves break in and steal. Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust don’t destroy, where thieves don’t break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Mt. 6:19-21
Trans: If this is true, then we’re in need for a heart transplant. If money is an obsession instead of a possession, then money has a hold on you.
Insert: Giving Cartoon – As we get started, I know that talking about money for some is tough, but I want to assure that my intentions are pure.
II OBSESSING Wealth
Verse: Godliness w/ contentment is great gain. We brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content w/ that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 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 w/ many griefs. 1 Tm. 6:6-10
Note: Let me start by stating the obvious. God doesn’t say money is bad, but that the love of money is the root of all evil and testifies against authentic faith. To love money is to be intoxicated and driven by it. It is what you live for.
Note: In James 5, to help us w/ the obsession of wealth, James distinguishes real faith from false faith based on (4) truths.
A Authentic Faith Graciously CIRCULATES Wealth; Artificial Faith Uselessly HOARDS Wealth
Verse: Your wealth is ruined: your clothes are moth-eaten; your silver and gold are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You stored up treasure in the last days!
Note: Hoarding is one of the great sins of our day. To hoard is to stock pile and eventually waste. It is to have more than you need while others go w/out. Hoarding is treating wealth like its eternal instead of temporary.
It is making bling your thing. Only God desires that we circulate His blessings rather than hoard them for ourselves.
Trans: In James’ day, wealth was measured by riches, garments, and metals.
1 Riches – General Wealth – measured in food that rots
Text: Luke 12 – The rich man who stored up food in barns but died - Full barns may give the appearance of wealth, but eventually it will rot.
2 Garments – Luxurious Wealth – wealth to be passed on
Insert: Yeah…clothes. Many people think clothes make the man. Just go to the store and look at the price tags of the name brands versus the off-brand. We have a thing about clothes. At this year’s Academy Awards, one actress was wearing a $500K pair of shoes. Apparently they walk for you.
Note: Wealthy people would pass their clothing on as an inheritance. Problem was, after time, moths would eat them and they’d have to be thrown out.
3 Metals – Monetary Wealth – treasures to buy and sell
Word: Rust – to thoroughly corrode – James says that when it is all said and done and upon Christ’s return, money will be a useless commodity.
Point: Don’t spend your life amassing a fortune that will mean nothing when your step into eternity. Take the blessings God gives you and use them for His glory to minister to people and meet them at the point of their need.
Verse: Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied w/ his income. Ecc. 5:10
Insert: VA church w/ $30 mil. in endowments but wouldn’t spend it for ministry.
Truth: Christians don’t to amass a fortune that’s uselessly stashed away w/out regard for God’s will. They put God’s blessings into circulation.
B Authentic Faith Honorably ACQUIRES Wealth; Artificial Faith Sinfully STEALS Wealth
Verse: The pay that you w/held from the workers who reaped your fields cries out, and the outcry of the harvesters has reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.
Note: Hoarders are driven by their gluttony, thus they will obtain their wealth any way they can, even at the expense and exploitation of others.
Note: In the text, James is addressing the issue of the rich exploiting and cheating the poor for their own indulgence and control. But I think it is equally true that to obtain and hoard wealth in a dishonest manner is ungodly.
• To draw a paycheck w/out diligently doing your job.
Insert: If you are a believer, when you work, you are working for the Lord. Thus, you are to work all 40 hours to the best of your ability. To draw a check for 40 hours when you have actually only worked for 35 is stealing. If you haven’t worked as unto the Lord, go back to your boss and pay him back for what you didn’t earn. Your witness and integrity are on the line. Trust me, if you’re a slackered, everyone knows it and your witness is shot.
• To obtain wealth by stealing and manipulating others.
• To obtain wealth by stealing the tithe from God
Insert: Can I be honest. There are times when writing the tithe check that the thought crosses my mind of what else I could use this money for – vacation, bills, toys and gadgets, but in those moments I remember that it is not my money, it belongs to God.
Trans: The only acceptable means of obtaining wealth is by following God’s instruction of hard work, faithful stewardship, and trust in God.
C Authentic Faith Selflessly INVESTS Wealth; Artificial Faith Selfishly MISUSES Wealth
Verse: You have lived luxuriously on the land and have indulged yourselves. You have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter
Word: Luxury (truphe) to live softly. James was referring to living a delicate and extravagant life at the expense of others.
Word: Indulged (spatalao) to passionately pursue and lead a life of wanton pleasure plunging headlong into dissipation.
Fattened (trepho) Like a pig hogging the trough. He doesn’t realize he’s getting plumped up for the slaughter. The idea is of a thief who has gorged himself on the plunder of others.
Story: Louis XVI of France lived in luxury while the people lived in slums. When he built Versailles, the people starved –his horses lived in luxury compared to the common man. His arrogance ushered in the Revolution.
Note: The problem w/ the person who makes money their god is that they only want to spend it on themselves. This problem arose when they came to believe that they owned it and could use it as they pleased rather than recognizing God owns it and that they were stewards of His blessings.
Note: Which reminds me of an important quote regarding things: Just b/c something’s in your possession, it doesn’t mean it’s your possession.
Insert: How can I know if I am investing in the kingdom? Ask, “Who is benefiting from it according to God’s glory other than you?
Note: God uses money to minister Jesus to others, while man uses money to elevate himself and retain all the glory for himself.
D Authentic Faith Gratefully MANAGES Wealth; Artificial Faith Ruthlessly MAINTAINS Wealth
Verse: You’ve condemned—you’ve murdered—the righteous man; he does not resist you.
Note: It’s a downward spiral ending w/ people doing whatever it takes to keep what they have. They’re willing to steal from God and others and will kill if necessary to retain their lifestyle.
Insert: There isn’t a day that goes by in which we don’t hear of a crime where someone was victimized by an assailant for money. Robberies, muggings, car-jackings – crime is rampant.
Insert: Then there are those who sell themselves for a dollar and some glamour. In the tragedy of Anna Nicole Smith’s death, what was even more tragic than her death was her life. She sold herself to make a name and to live richly. She will be remembered as a gold-digging, drug addict who prostituted her body. What a sad legacy. To what lengths did she strive to hold on to such a sad existence?
Trans: Obsessing Wealth always leads to a deadend. We were created to live for more than just money and comfort. Yet money makes the world go round, so we need to understand how to possess money w/out it possessing us.
I POSSESSING Wealth
Note: Let me begin by saying that God understands the need and the power of money. He understands that we need it to live and that we need it for ministry. These lights aren’t free. The ministries this church provides for you to care for you and to commission you are not free. Yet money must never become the god we pursue.
Verse: Godliness w/ contentment is great gain. We brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content w/ that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 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 w/ many griefs. 1 Tm. 6:6-10
Note: Money isn’t evil, it’s what money can do that makes it evil. Yet we must learn how to manage it and use it, or it will drive us. Greed is the sign of an unregenerate heart while generosity is a sign you’re DUI in God.
Insert: See Mark 12 – Widow’s Mite – She brought her best to Jesus and was criticized, but Jesus praised her, b/c she gave out of the love of her heart. Money didn’t own her; God was the object of her affections.
A HOW am I to Give?
Point: We’re not to give out of our wealth tipping God, but according to it. We’re to give in appreciation of what God has done for us.
Insert: People give for (3) reasons. They give out of fear of punishment, out of desire for reward, or out of a grateful heart of love.
Story: An Episcopal priest shared a story of a seminary professor who told his class that there were (4) stages of giving. He said, "The 1st stage is like a man who stands up in church and says, ’Hey, everybody, look at me! I’m putting a $100 in the offering!’ The 2nd stage is when the same man puts the $100 in the offering but doesn’t announce the fact, but makes it convenient for others to find out. The 3rd stage is when he puts the $100 in the offering and neither makes the announcement nor makes it convenient for others find out, but he feels so righteous. The professor then changed the subject and started talking about something else. A students interrupted and asked, "Didn’t you say there were (4) stages of giving?" "Yes!" the professor replied, "What’s the 4th stage?" The teacher replied, "Who knows?"
Insert: PROPORTIONATELY – God gets the first and best 10th of your income. All we have belongs to God, but He requires the tithe to make sure He has our hearts.
Prop: Oversize $1 – How much is a 10th? (cut) You have 90% left over. Of course, Uncle Sam is going to take his cut (cut 20%), but you still have 70% leftover. If you are a wise steward, then you’re saving at least 10% for retirement leaving you 60% to live on. The problem is that too many of us are living beyond our means and are in debt (cut 20%) leaving us some 40% to live on. The problem is, it takes more to live so we make it up by stealing from our retirement, but only after we have stolen the tithe from God, after all, He’ll understand. We can’t take it from Uncle Sam b/c he will throw us in jail. Better jail than Hell!
Insert: Listen. The problem isn’t necessarily a money issue; it is a wants and management issue. We have never learned to live w/in our means and we have neglected God’s guidelines for managing money and now we’re up-side-down and we don’t know how to get right-side-up. It begins w/ handling money according to the precepts of the Bible.
CONSISTENTLY – Believers are to give as God gives to them.
SACRIFICIALLY – Above and beyond the tithe – trusting God!
JOYFULLY – You’re to give w/ a hilarious heart. God loves a cheerful giver. But above cheerfulness, God demands obedience.
Note: But make no mistake. While God wants you to give out of love, He’d rather you give begrudgingly than to steal from Him in disobedience.
B WHAT am I to Give?
Insert: Tithe The first 10th given in obedience to the mandate of God
Offering Gifts above and beyond the tithe as God directs you
Seed Faith An offering of faith that will grow w/ God’s blessing
Concl. When we started I told you to stick’em up. I wanted you to grasp the notion that God is zealous for His people to trust Him and to support the work of His kingdom. But let me assure you. God isn’t as concerned about your giving as He is about your heart.
James says, if money has your heart then Jesus doesn’t. He says a Christ-like life is possessed by God in all areas starting w/ money, while a Christ-less life is obsessed w/ money. What does your giving say about you?
Insert: see Luke 16 – The Rich Man and Lazarus – the rich man got what he deserved while Lazarus received God’s grace. Greed caused Him to miss God’s grace b/c he was so busy seeking earthly treasures that He missed out on God’s heavenly gifts. The man didn’t grasp how the pursuit of money cost him his soul. What does your giving say about your faith? Does it say you’re faithful or faithless? Foolproof or proven a fool?
Invite: I want to invite you to give – a tithe, an offering, or a seed faith gift.
RESOURCES
Sermons: Joey Rodgers – Mastering Your Money – 7.20.01
Books: John MacArthur – Commentary on James
John MacArthur – Bible Study – Guidelines for a Happy Christian Life
Harold Fickett – Faith that Works
