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04 James 1:9-11 - Status Quo
Title: Status Quo
Text: James 1:9-11
FCF: We often struggle living as if treasures in heaven are more valuable than here on earth.
Prop: Because all God’s people are spiritually bankrupt but will inherit God’s Kingdom, we must boast only in Christ.
Scripture Intro: CSB
[Slide 1] Turn in your bible to James chapter 1.
As we’ve stated a few times at this point, the structure of James is fairly enigmatic. Scholars have debated since the beginning of the church how this book moves from topic to topic and how things are related to one another which is, of course, assuming that they are related to one another at all.
The outline I gave you on the first week no doubt looks very dissimilar from your study bible. But given the fact that each study bible differs from one another so sharply, I have more confidence in stepping out on my own to structure the book as I see it. That being said, and as I mentioned last week, I see verses 2-4 as the governing principle behind the entire book.
It establishes the occasion of the book – which seems to be various tests coming upon Jewish Christians James is writing to who are scattered across the Roman Empire. It establishes the command of the apostle to them in the midst of those tests, which is to treat them as pure joy. And it corrects the wrong way of dealing with various tests, which was to live life in conformity to the world in order to lessen their trials and succumb to their temptations. James corrects this by telling them that God desires to grow their faith and ultimately perfect them in Christ through these tests.
In total, this serves as an excellent summary of the entire book of James. Therefore, all that follows are categories of their life that are not yet perfect.
Last week we addressed the small but important category of wisdom. Wisdom as we said is a gift of God whereby we are given spiritual knowledge and understanding so that we may live as God would have us to live.
We concluded that wisdom is absolutely essential for God to prove, progress and eventually perfect our faith. And to get wisdom from God, we need only to ask believing that God is a good Father desiring to give all that His children need to be what He desires them to be.
This week we will begin a larger category of lack. As I am prone to do, I have changed this category a little bit from the outline that I gave you initially. This category of lack is primarily of perspective. It is of perception. It is our imperfect view of the world. Within this category our perspective on wealth and status, temptation and sin, and human faculty and God’s gracious sovereignty will all be adjusted. James will set out to correct and enforce God’s perspective on all these things. But because it is James and His book is supremely applicational – he won’t teach beginning with doctrine but with command.
Today we begin with a corrected perspective on wealth and status. And in the wealthiest country in the world and perhaps human history, I’d have to imagine that whatever James needs to say to correct our understanding of wealth and status – it probably will hit us harder than most.
I am in James 1 and I’ll start in verse 9. I am reading from the Christian Standard Bible this week, but you can follow along in the pew bible on page 1360 or in whatever version you prefer
Transition:
After promising mostly short messages from James, it makes perfect sense that the very next sermon is going to not be one of the short ones. Still – there is much to see here. We dare not miss any of it by falling asleep or getting distracted. Do what you must.
I.) Believers who lack earthly status are still exalted in Christ, so they must boast in Christ. (9)
a. [Slide 2] 9 – Let the brother of humble circumstances
i. It is quickly becoming the pattern of James that we must ask two questions of each text we come to.
ii. First, we must ask what the text means, but related to that in a rather dependent way is, how does this text connect to the previous thought and more importantly, how does it connect with considering testings of various kinds as pure joy.
iii. This makes it difficult to answer each question.
iv. We can arrive at some meaning but then we must be prepared to adjust that meaning as we consider the context. Nevertheless, we cannot understand the meaning without context. Hence our conundrum.
v. Let us first, understand what is said in verse 9 and then we will attempt to correlate it back to the rest of chapter 1 and our topic of considering tests as pure joy since they grow our faith.
vi. The subject of the next section will be two classes of people in a particular category.
vii. First, in verse 9, you have a person of humble circumstances.
viii. The word here is simply humble but it becomes obvious that James has in mind his status and wealth.
ix. Secondly, in verse 9, with regard to this humble person, James specifies them as brothers or brothers and sisters.
x. What should James command such people within the church?
1. Perhaps he will command them to beg God for riches?
2. Perhaps he will command them to have faith so God will bless them?
3. OH, OH – Perhaps he will command them to give to the church so that God will give them more money!
4. Or perhaps he will command them to repent of their sin since their poverty is obviously a punishment for something they have done wrong!
5. Or Perhaps James will command them to get a better job to care for their family?
xi. No. James commands none of those things. Instead, he commands them to…
b. [Slide 3] Boast
i. What?
ii. Ok so a couple questions.
iii. First, isn’t boasting a sin?
iv. Second, why are they supposed to boast in their poverty?
v. As for the first question – no, not all boasting is a sin.
vi. This word has both negative and positive connotations in the New Testament.
vii. So, when is boasting used in the scripture as a good thing? Boasting in the scripture when used in a positive sense is exclusively in relation to the magnifying of God and the minimizing of us.
1. Paul uses it of boasting, glorying or rejoicing in the Lord, in Christ.
2. Paul uses it of boasting in our own weakness.
3. Paul uses it of boasting in the hope of glory
4. Paul even uses it as the pride he takes in the spiritual fruit of the Corinthian church
viii. So, James is commanding his audience to glory, to rejoice (hmm we’ve heard that before), to boast in God.
ix. Our second question then seems to be answered or at least dismissed. James isn’t commanding a poor Christian to boast in his poverty.
x. Instead, he must boast…
c. [Slide 4] In his exaltation
i. What does this mean?
ii. What else could it mean but the exalting of the humble that the Lord does when He gives the riches of His grace to a believer.
iii. After departing from lacking wisdom and searching for the second item that his audience lacks or are still imperfect in, we might be tempted for a short time to think that the second item they lack is wealth.
iv. But no. That is not the case.
v. They do not lack wealth. For wealth has no bearing on growing into complete and perfect followers of Christ.
vi. Instead, what they lack is a proper perspective on earthly wealth and status.
vii. A Christian of humble means must rejoice. He must glory. He must boast. Why?
viii. Because he has been given innumerable spiritual riches in Christ.
ix. We readily see the connection to verse 2-4 in that the boasting of a poor believer in their exaltation sounds much like regarding the test of poverty as pure joy because they know that God has given them an infinite inheritance in Christ.
d. [Slide 5] Passage Truth: James connects the various tests we face here on earth to the plight of a believer who is in poverty. He reminds poverty-stricken believers that they have been exalted in Christ, having been united to Him by faith. That though they are poor in earthly wealth, they are rich in Christ.
e. Passage Application: So, what are they to do with this understanding? They are to boast. They are to glory. They are to rejoice.
f. [Slide 6] Broader Biblical Truth: But does this truth come from all of the scriptures? Does the bible as a whole teach this concept, that God exalts those He saves? Does it teach that He gives great spiritual wealth to those who are His people? My friends it is everywhere. From the Old Testament promises to Israel as a nation – to have a land they possess forever and a Kingdom they possess forever – all the way to the promises in the New Covenant where Jesus says that the meek shall inherit the earth. My friends the bible tells us that God will glorify us. Do you know what that means? We talk about this reformation concept “Soli Deo Gloria” which means that we live for God’s glory alone. Do you not realize that God is glorified by glorifying us? That God shares the richness of His glory, uniting us to Christ, restoring us to a better than Eden condition. In Eden Adam was only a creation of God. In the New Kingdom we are sons and daughters. In Eden Adam was only a friend of God. In the New Kingdom we are the bride of His own Son. My friends – what God has done is taken wretches, broken jars of clay, and put His treasure in us. From cover to cover this book tells us that what awaits His people is exaltation. Peace. Glory.
g. Broader Biblical Application: What is our response to this CBC? It is a full-fledged, 100% no holds barred rejection of our status being based on anything in this life. Whether that is wealth, power, influence, intelligence, happiness, possessions, land, or any other metric we use to try to determine where we rank in society. We as believers no matter how much or little we have outright reject those metrics as accurate measures of our true status. Instead, we boast in the true measure of our status… That we are in Christ. And in Christ we are afforded all He has. All He has is ours. My friends… ALL HE HAS IS OURS! Boast in Him and what He has given us… by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
Transition:
[Slide 7(blank)] But not all believers are poor. Do the wealthy just naturally see status and wealth as God does?
II.) Believers who possess earthly status are still saved by grace, so they must boast in Christ. (10-11)
a. [Slide 8] 10 – But let the rich
i. Here we are met with an interpretational problem.
ii. Before, the one who was of humble circumstances was called a brother.
iii. Here, the sentiment is not repeated.
iv. What does that mean?
v. [Slide 9] Well, there are really only three options.
1. James could be abandoning the status of their souls entirely and is just now speaking about the broad category of the rich. This seems unlikely because of what James says later in verse 10 and in verse 11 about the eventual end of the rich person.
2. James is no longer talking about believers but is instead speaking about the rich. This sets a believer of humble circumstances in contrast to the rich. Given how James continues to speak of the rich we could assume that James sees the rich as a whole as unbelievers. This is consistent with some teachings of Christ found in Luke. Verses 10 and 11 here speak then of the judgment of the ungodly rich. And the command to boast takes on a ironic twist since it is to boast in their judgment.
3. James could be carrying over the concept of “brothers” into this verse. The adjectives of humble circumstances and rich share the subject “brothers.” Therefore, James is talking about wealthy believers. This then, modifies how we would see the humiliation and the term passing away in verse 10-11.
vi. Making a decision is quite difficult. Mainly because it seems that no matter what point you raise in favor of one view – there is always a counter point from the immediate context or the rest of scripture.
vii. For instance - on the one hand, many of those whom James is writing were no doubt poor Jewish Christians living in various places. They were clearly being persecuted by wealthier people (which we’ll see later in chapter 2.) So, there is a good argument for James to be saying rich people in general are not believers.
viii. However, also in chapter 2 he entertains the possibility of wealthy people coming in among their assembly. Indicating that they are at least sympathetic to Jewish Christians, if not Christians themselves.
ix. [Slide 10] All in all, I believe that it makes more sense to conclude that James is talking to Jewish Christians who happen to be wealthy.
x. There is no obvious shift in subject here. And since the verb to boast is also not repeated in the text, it seems likely that the verb and subject would be carried over into verse 10 as well.
b. [Slide 11] Boast in his humiliation
i. Again, although not apparent in the English translation, the word boast does not reoccur here. Literally this would read “now the humble brother must boast in his exaltation but the rich in his humiliation”
ii. As I stated before, just like it makes sense to carry over the verb, it also makes sense to carry over the subject since both humble and rich are adjectives. Therefore, we could read it this way…
iii. “now the poor brother must boast in his exaltation but the rich brother must boast in his humiliation.”
iv. Now, what does it mean to boast in their humiliation?
v. What humiliation does a wealthy believer receive from the Lord?
vi. Before, James did not qualify or define exaltation for the poverty-stricken Christian who must boast in his exaltation. He does not really clarify what he means by that since the meaning is right on the surface.
vii. But the humiliation of the rich believer, that they must boast in, is further explained by James.
viii. He goes on.
c. [Slide 12] Because he will pass away like a flower of the field.
i. James first states that the rich believer will pass away. This immediately puts in our heads the idea of mortality. Indeed, of unpredictability of our own mortal lives.
ii. In this world money, fame, power, and title have set some apart from others.
iii. Whether we like it or not, the size of our 401ks, the title we wear, the number of followers we have, or the power we wield has a direct effect on our status in society.
iv. But in God’s kingdom, this is not the case. In the Kingdom of God, in the family of God – those wealthy in earthly goods are no wealthier in heavenly riches than the beggar who knows Christ.
v. In Christ we are all equally beggars. We are all the same.
vi. Certainly, we maintain our differences and those differences are not meaningless
vii. But the flashiest parts about us on this earth will fade away. Why?
viii. Because this earth is passing away. Indeed, we are all passing away.
ix. And that is exactly where James goes next with his illustration.
x. Why is a flower in the field so delicate?
d. [Slide 13] 11 – For the sun rises and, together with the scorching wind, dries up the grass; its flower falls off, and its beautiful appearance perishes.
i. Flowers typically only bloom for a short time. After this they fall off the bud.
ii. The heat and scorching wind of the desert and other arid areas can cause this to happen even quicker.
iii. Since the flower is not vital to the survival of the plant itself, it is often the last to receive the nutrients of the roots in a drought situation.
iv. The plant then becomes mostly stem as it tries to conserve as much moisture for its own survival.
v. By the time the grass dies from lack of water, the flower has long been gone.
vi. So how is this like the wealthy believer?
e. [Slide 14] In the same way, the rich person will wither away while pursuing his activities.
i. No matter how much wealth a man has, when he dies, he cannot carry it with him.
ii. Indeed, when he dies it is divided up among the living.
iii. As Ecclesiastes points out often and vividly - death is the great equalizer.
iv. The rich may even die while on a business trip or while making a deal to increase his profits.
v. What a humbling thing for a wealthy believer to recognize. No matter what they have in this life – it all stays on this earth when life is over. And life can end at any moment.
vi. And so, if earthly wealth is separated from us in death – the only wealth that matters in the kingdom that is coming is a wealth that is not of this world. And this is where the command to boast comes in.
vii. Because you see, as far as spiritual wealth is concerned… there are none righteous – no, not one. There are none who are spiritually wealthy in and of themselves. There are none who will enter the Kingdom of God with a bank account that has any spiritual money in it that they earned of their own strength.
viii. James’ command is to boast in being humbled. To glory, to rejoice in the Lord’s revealing to the wealthy that they are spiritually bankrupt – which is a condition of men that death reveals to be certain.
ix. But why would we boast in the realization that we are all spiritually bankrupt? Why indeed. I’ll save that for later.
f. [Slide 15] Passage Truth: James connects the various tests we face here on earth to the unique temptations of a believer who has wealth. He reminds wealthy believers that they are a Sovereign God’s decision away from losing all they have on this earth. That they are spiritually bankrupt. In short, they are reminded how little their earthly wealth actually matters in the Eternal Kingdom of God.
g. Passage Application: So, what are they to do with this understanding? They are to boast. They are to glory. They are to rejoice.
h. [Slide 16] Broader Biblical Truth: But is such a teaching true? Do the treasures of this world matter so little when compared to the Eternal Kingdom of God? The bible is clear. When the New Kingdom comes the old will be wiped away. We just saw this in II Peter when he spoke of the baptism of fire the world will experience as it is purified and destroyed to be replaced with a new earth and new heavens. The entire cosmos will be remade. That is why Jesus taught in the sermon on the mount to lay up treasures in heaven. Lay them up in that coming kingdom. Because in that kingdom nothing will be destroyed. All will endure. And while the scriptures stop short of telling us to avoid wealth or to avoid riches… they do warn us not to treat them as if they will last forever. For they are vanishing. Like our lives, they will wither away. But the great conundrum is, of course, how can someone who is spiritually bankrupt lay up any spiritual treasures in heaven. More on that in a moment.
i. Broader Biblical Application: So, CBC, we should boast in our humiliation. Because to be shown that the treasures of this world will burn and only the treasures laid up in the Kingdom of God will endure is to lead us through some of the temptations that come with earthly wealth. We can boast in knowing that we are spiritually bankrupt because knowing this is a key to those spiritual riches.
Conclusion:
[Slide 17 (end)] So, CBC, what is the next thing we may lack?
James addresses the real lack of believers to have the proper perspective on status and wealth.
And how does that connect to the various tests we may face and considering them joy?
Without God’s perspective on earthly wealth, it is impossible to regard any test related to earthly wealth as pure joy. Not having God’s perspective on earthly wealth rather than leading to joy will lead to despair for the poor and misplaced boasting for the wealthy.
Despairing because you have no wealth or boasting in your wealth are two sides of the same sin. Why? Because both have a faulty view of earthly wealth. Indeed, both have the same exact faulty view of earthly wealth. Both see earthly wealth as a comfort, a hope, and a noble pursuit. In order to despair in poverty or to gloat in wealth you must have a worldly, fleshly, and demonic view of wealth.
James calls both the poverty stricken Christian and the wealthy Christian to see wealth in the same way. Earthly wealth is to be regarded as fleeting, temporal, and of no value in the Kingdom of God. Why? Because this is God’s view. And God’s view is reality. When we disagree with God’s view, we are the ones who are living in a fantasy world. The true status quo of earthly wealth and status is that it is fleeting, temporal, and of no value in the Kingdom of God.
In a sense, James’ teaching here embodies the teaching of Christ in the sermon on the mount. God’s perspective on status and wealth is purely spiritual and not earthly. So much so that Jesus calls those who see themselves as spiritually bankrupt as blessed.
And here is where the boasting of the wealthy in their own humiliation comes in. Why would someone be blessed to recognize that they have a bankrupt account of spiritual wealth? Would this not lead to despair knowing that at death your account is empty? Why are they blessed?
They are blessed or favored of God in that they will inherit the Kingdom of God. Meaning that only those who recognize their humiliation of being spiritually bankrupt –will be granted spiritual wealth beyond what they could hope for. Only those who cry out in desperate spiritual need will be answered. And the answer will be the transfer of Christ’s account of spiritual wealth to them. They will inherit His righteousness (which is the unit of currency in the Kingdom of God.) And all the debt of sin they owed, has been paid in full at the cross of Christ. This is why the wealthy should boast in their humiliation. And why the poor should boast in their exaltation. The lack of earthly wealth reminds them of their spiritual future, and the possession of earthly wealth ought to remind them of the reality of their spiritual poverty without Christ.
This perspective on status and wealth is what is needed by all believers if they are to handle any test that may come in this life with regard to earthly status and wealth.
You see my friends, all men are like the grass of the field. Some grasses flower with beautiful colors. Others are plainer.
But the scorching wind and drought effects them all the same.
Just as the poor Christians are tested by trial, so the wealthy are also.
One can readily see how the absence of wealth could amount to a trial.
Certainly, lacking the basics of life and wondering where your next meal is coming from, these amount to great strain on our faith. The human condition as a whole has difficulty seeing over our own problems and believing the promises of God. And to face something as critical to life as not being able to afford to eat or clothe yourselves certainly would strain the faith of God’s people. But having God’s perspective on status and wealth enables a poor believer to boast in the royal title that he has been given in Christ. They can boast in the wealthy future they have – not as some pie in the sky or get rich quick scheme but rather an assured promise of an infinite inheritance through adoption.
But how could the possession of wealth amount to trial for a believer? How could having wealth amount to a test that a believer would have to consider joy? How could having wealth prove, progress and even perfect a believer’s faith?
Such a question affects us greater than the previous one. As we said at the beginning of this sermon, The USA is the wealthiest nation in the world and perhaps even in the history of the world. People at the poverty line in our nation are still well above those who are considered wealthy by the majority of the world. This is certainly not to minimize or ignore those who are poor in this nation. Certainly, the cost of living is higher making raw income not the only standard to determine wealth. But by and large, if you have a vehicle and a home, and eat at least 2 meals a day, you are wealthier than most people in the world. And I’d wager that that would be all of us.
So how does having earthly wealth and status test us?
Well, first, we might be tempted to boast in our earthly treasures and comforts. This is why James’ command to boast in humiliation is so jarring. It is 180 degrees in the opposite direction of where our flesh will pull us. We will be tempted to measure ourselves next to others by what car we drive, how many possessions we own, and how big our houses are. But we should not boast in our wealth but rather in our lowly position as a humble beggar in the kingdom of God. A beggar whose life is so volatile it hangs by a thread in the hands of a Holy God. To boast then, is to boast in a God who has revealed such things to us, so that we may use our wealth wisely as a tool rather than as a status indicator. If we are all spiritually bankrupt but by the grace of God we are remade in Christ as His bride and heirs to His Kingdom – then all wealth that remains here ought to be used here for His glory and His purposes. When we are tempted to boast in our wealth, we can count this temptation as joy because when we pass this test, we consider all our earthly wealth to be God’s and not ours. In this, our faith grows.
A second test we may experience as wealthy believers is to have faith in our wealth over Christ. While a wealthy believer may never say it out loud for it sounds truly ridiculous to do so, oftentimes wealthy Christians depend on their wealth rather than Christ. Certainly, they pray and seek the Lord for deliverance or for relief. But oftentimes a hastily written check is the easiest path to that relief. But if our trials are proving grounds for faith leading to endurance and completion… we can effectively stunt our growth by buying our way out of what the Lord is doing in our lives. What a ridiculous notion to refuse to spend money to buy our way out of a trial? Could it be that we should wait on the Lord and trust Him EVEN IF we have the money? What a wonderful tool wealth can be in the hands of those who are trusting the Lord… but like the northern Kingdom toward the end of its existence, who sought out the aid of alliances with foreign powers and relied on their strength instead of the Lord – wealth can quickly become an earthly ally against the tests that God has arranged for us. So rather than trusting in our wealth we must recognize and boast in knowing that we are spiritually bankrupt without Christ, and that all we have in earthly possessions are gifts from Him to be used for His glory – for we cannot take anything with us to glory – nor would we need to. We must trust the Lord alone rather than the Lord plus wealth.
The third test that wealthy believers may face is to think we are somehow living lives more pleasing to God or rich in faith and that is why we are rewarded with wealth. This is the spark that fuels the fire of the prosperity gospel teaching. That the quality of our faith is rewarded by earthly goods. Such correlations are no more absolutely true today than they were in Job’s lifetime. Indeed, we are promised trouble in this world. And James just referenced poor Christians who still inherit the wealth of God’s Kingdom. There is therefore no correlation between our earthly wealth and the quality of our faith. If we are facing this temptation, we must immediately recall the barrenness of our spiritual condition. When we recognize that we are naturally spiritually bankrupt then we must conclude that all we have, spiritual or earthly, is a gift from a Holy God who should have snuffed us out of existence before we were even born. Nevertheless, he allows rain to fall on the just and the unjust. And He allows wealth to come to the godly and the ungodly. Therefore, as Christians our wealth ought to be held loosely, knowing that God is the true owner of all we have. And we must boast in our poor condition knowing that He has given greater gifts that we could never earn.
I’ll only offer one more test that wealthy believers may face. Not because we have come to the end of them, but because I hope that the Spirit may improve upon my crude examples to meet your particular tests head on.
Being a wealthy Christian will most likely lead to the loss of great wealth and possessions – typically very quickly. While certainly the ungodly rich are often the oppressors of the godly poor, that doesn’t eliminate the godly wealthy from the ire of the ungodly. In fact, there are a myriad of stories throughout the church age of wealthy Christians losing land, title, possessions, and wealth of great amounts, not to squander, not to acts of compassion, but to thievery by the powerful taking it from them by force, simply because they were believers. From those who have much, much can be taken away. We may face this test someday my friends. Do you think our government is incapable of such malice and depravity? You might think, never in a free society would our government confiscate property, possessions or bank accounts simply because they disagree with them ideologically! My friends… our country has a long history of doing just that. Since before we were a nation, those who supported Great Britain during the late 1700s had their homes burned, their livestock slaughtered, and were tarred and feathered for their allegiance to the crown. If you do not believe me you should look into it. The very freedoms the patriots desired from King George they were denying to those who supported him. And even more recently, why don’t you do some digging into the Red scare in the 30s and 40s. Find out some of the atrocities our country committed against Japanese Americans during World War II. And today, do you not see actors and performers being blacklisted from roles because they hold conservative values. My friends. As our culture descends into wickedness. We, being wealthy, will lose every penny.
The question is not, is our government capable of such atrocities? The question is how do we count it as pure joy?
We boast in knowing that all we have is a temporary gift given for the good pleasure of a generous God who gives and takes away… and that though all may be taken from us, including our mortal lives – nothing can separate us from the love of Christ!
And in all this we hear echoes from Jeremiah 9 on James’ lips.
Jer 9:23 Thus says Yahweh, "The wise pman must not boast in his wisdom, and the warrior must not boast in his might, the wealthy man must not boast in his wealth.
Jer 9:24 But only in this must the one who boasts boast, that he has insight, and that he knows me, that I am Yahweh, showing loyal love, justice, and righteousness on the earth, for in these things I delight," declares Yahweh.
The wealthy are commanded to boast in their humiliation. That we have been humbled to know the true God and to know that our life is fleeting and thus our wealth matters very little.
We should glory in this. For this humbling is our salvation. A freedom from the love of this world and the things in it - is a GREAT grace to God’s people. Wealthy believers should glory, rejoice and boast in having received such grace.
May we pass the test of earthly wealth. Whether we have it or not – may we boast in nothing save Christ and Him crucified for us.
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By Christopher FreemanTitle: Status Quo
Text: James 1:9-11
FCF: We often struggle living as if treasures in heaven are more valuable than here on earth.
Prop: Because all God’s people are spiritually bankrupt but will inherit God’s Kingdom, we must boast only in Christ.
Scripture Intro: CSB
[Slide 1] Turn in your bible to James chapter 1.
As we’ve stated a few times at this point, the structure of James is fairly enigmatic. Scholars have debated since the beginning of the church how this book moves from topic to topic and how things are related to one another which is, of course, assuming that they are related to one another at all.
The outline I gave you on the first week no doubt looks very dissimilar from your study bible. But given the fact that each study bible differs from one another so sharply, I have more confidence in stepping out on my own to structure the book as I see it. That being said, and as I mentioned last week, I see verses 2-4 as the governing principle behind the entire book.
It establishes the occasion of the book – which seems to be various tests coming upon Jewish Christians James is writing to who are scattered across the Roman Empire. It establishes the command of the apostle to them in the midst of those tests, which is to treat them as pure joy. And it corrects the wrong way of dealing with various tests, which was to live life in conformity to the world in order to lessen their trials and succumb to their temptations. James corrects this by telling them that God desires to grow their faith and ultimately perfect them in Christ through these tests.
In total, this serves as an excellent summary of the entire book of James. Therefore, all that follows are categories of their life that are not yet perfect.
Last week we addressed the small but important category of wisdom. Wisdom as we said is a gift of God whereby we are given spiritual knowledge and understanding so that we may live as God would have us to live.
We concluded that wisdom is absolutely essential for God to prove, progress and eventually perfect our faith. And to get wisdom from God, we need only to ask believing that God is a good Father desiring to give all that His children need to be what He desires them to be.
This week we will begin a larger category of lack. As I am prone to do, I have changed this category a little bit from the outline that I gave you initially. This category of lack is primarily of perspective. It is of perception. It is our imperfect view of the world. Within this category our perspective on wealth and status, temptation and sin, and human faculty and God’s gracious sovereignty will all be adjusted. James will set out to correct and enforce God’s perspective on all these things. But because it is James and His book is supremely applicational – he won’t teach beginning with doctrine but with command.
Today we begin with a corrected perspective on wealth and status. And in the wealthiest country in the world and perhaps human history, I’d have to imagine that whatever James needs to say to correct our understanding of wealth and status – it probably will hit us harder than most.
I am in James 1 and I’ll start in verse 9. I am reading from the Christian Standard Bible this week, but you can follow along in the pew bible on page 1360 or in whatever version you prefer
Transition:
After promising mostly short messages from James, it makes perfect sense that the very next sermon is going to not be one of the short ones. Still – there is much to see here. We dare not miss any of it by falling asleep or getting distracted. Do what you must.
I.) Believers who lack earthly status are still exalted in Christ, so they must boast in Christ. (9)
a. [Slide 2] 9 – Let the brother of humble circumstances
i. It is quickly becoming the pattern of James that we must ask two questions of each text we come to.
ii. First, we must ask what the text means, but related to that in a rather dependent way is, how does this text connect to the previous thought and more importantly, how does it connect with considering testings of various kinds as pure joy.
iii. This makes it difficult to answer each question.
iv. We can arrive at some meaning but then we must be prepared to adjust that meaning as we consider the context. Nevertheless, we cannot understand the meaning without context. Hence our conundrum.
v. Let us first, understand what is said in verse 9 and then we will attempt to correlate it back to the rest of chapter 1 and our topic of considering tests as pure joy since they grow our faith.
vi. The subject of the next section will be two classes of people in a particular category.
vii. First, in verse 9, you have a person of humble circumstances.
viii. The word here is simply humble but it becomes obvious that James has in mind his status and wealth.
ix. Secondly, in verse 9, with regard to this humble person, James specifies them as brothers or brothers and sisters.
x. What should James command such people within the church?
1. Perhaps he will command them to beg God for riches?
2. Perhaps he will command them to have faith so God will bless them?
3. OH, OH – Perhaps he will command them to give to the church so that God will give them more money!
4. Or perhaps he will command them to repent of their sin since their poverty is obviously a punishment for something they have done wrong!
5. Or Perhaps James will command them to get a better job to care for their family?
xi. No. James commands none of those things. Instead, he commands them to…
b. [Slide 3] Boast
i. What?
ii. Ok so a couple questions.
iii. First, isn’t boasting a sin?
iv. Second, why are they supposed to boast in their poverty?
v. As for the first question – no, not all boasting is a sin.
vi. This word has both negative and positive connotations in the New Testament.
vii. So, when is boasting used in the scripture as a good thing? Boasting in the scripture when used in a positive sense is exclusively in relation to the magnifying of God and the minimizing of us.
1. Paul uses it of boasting, glorying or rejoicing in the Lord, in Christ.
2. Paul uses it of boasting in our own weakness.
3. Paul uses it of boasting in the hope of glory
4. Paul even uses it as the pride he takes in the spiritual fruit of the Corinthian church
viii. So, James is commanding his audience to glory, to rejoice (hmm we’ve heard that before), to boast in God.
ix. Our second question then seems to be answered or at least dismissed. James isn’t commanding a poor Christian to boast in his poverty.
x. Instead, he must boast…
c. [Slide 4] In his exaltation
i. What does this mean?
ii. What else could it mean but the exalting of the humble that the Lord does when He gives the riches of His grace to a believer.
iii. After departing from lacking wisdom and searching for the second item that his audience lacks or are still imperfect in, we might be tempted for a short time to think that the second item they lack is wealth.
iv. But no. That is not the case.
v. They do not lack wealth. For wealth has no bearing on growing into complete and perfect followers of Christ.
vi. Instead, what they lack is a proper perspective on earthly wealth and status.
vii. A Christian of humble means must rejoice. He must glory. He must boast. Why?
viii. Because he has been given innumerable spiritual riches in Christ.
ix. We readily see the connection to verse 2-4 in that the boasting of a poor believer in their exaltation sounds much like regarding the test of poverty as pure joy because they know that God has given them an infinite inheritance in Christ.
d. [Slide 5] Passage Truth: James connects the various tests we face here on earth to the plight of a believer who is in poverty. He reminds poverty-stricken believers that they have been exalted in Christ, having been united to Him by faith. That though they are poor in earthly wealth, they are rich in Christ.
e. Passage Application: So, what are they to do with this understanding? They are to boast. They are to glory. They are to rejoice.
f. [Slide 6] Broader Biblical Truth: But does this truth come from all of the scriptures? Does the bible as a whole teach this concept, that God exalts those He saves? Does it teach that He gives great spiritual wealth to those who are His people? My friends it is everywhere. From the Old Testament promises to Israel as a nation – to have a land they possess forever and a Kingdom they possess forever – all the way to the promises in the New Covenant where Jesus says that the meek shall inherit the earth. My friends the bible tells us that God will glorify us. Do you know what that means? We talk about this reformation concept “Soli Deo Gloria” which means that we live for God’s glory alone. Do you not realize that God is glorified by glorifying us? That God shares the richness of His glory, uniting us to Christ, restoring us to a better than Eden condition. In Eden Adam was only a creation of God. In the New Kingdom we are sons and daughters. In Eden Adam was only a friend of God. In the New Kingdom we are the bride of His own Son. My friends – what God has done is taken wretches, broken jars of clay, and put His treasure in us. From cover to cover this book tells us that what awaits His people is exaltation. Peace. Glory.
g. Broader Biblical Application: What is our response to this CBC? It is a full-fledged, 100% no holds barred rejection of our status being based on anything in this life. Whether that is wealth, power, influence, intelligence, happiness, possessions, land, or any other metric we use to try to determine where we rank in society. We as believers no matter how much or little we have outright reject those metrics as accurate measures of our true status. Instead, we boast in the true measure of our status… That we are in Christ. And in Christ we are afforded all He has. All He has is ours. My friends… ALL HE HAS IS OURS! Boast in Him and what He has given us… by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
Transition:
[Slide 7(blank)] But not all believers are poor. Do the wealthy just naturally see status and wealth as God does?
II.) Believers who possess earthly status are still saved by grace, so they must boast in Christ. (10-11)
a. [Slide 8] 10 – But let the rich
i. Here we are met with an interpretational problem.
ii. Before, the one who was of humble circumstances was called a brother.
iii. Here, the sentiment is not repeated.
iv. What does that mean?
v. [Slide 9] Well, there are really only three options.
1. James could be abandoning the status of their souls entirely and is just now speaking about the broad category of the rich. This seems unlikely because of what James says later in verse 10 and in verse 11 about the eventual end of the rich person.
2. James is no longer talking about believers but is instead speaking about the rich. This sets a believer of humble circumstances in contrast to the rich. Given how James continues to speak of the rich we could assume that James sees the rich as a whole as unbelievers. This is consistent with some teachings of Christ found in Luke. Verses 10 and 11 here speak then of the judgment of the ungodly rich. And the command to boast takes on a ironic twist since it is to boast in their judgment.
3. James could be carrying over the concept of “brothers” into this verse. The adjectives of humble circumstances and rich share the subject “brothers.” Therefore, James is talking about wealthy believers. This then, modifies how we would see the humiliation and the term passing away in verse 10-11.
vi. Making a decision is quite difficult. Mainly because it seems that no matter what point you raise in favor of one view – there is always a counter point from the immediate context or the rest of scripture.
vii. For instance - on the one hand, many of those whom James is writing were no doubt poor Jewish Christians living in various places. They were clearly being persecuted by wealthier people (which we’ll see later in chapter 2.) So, there is a good argument for James to be saying rich people in general are not believers.
viii. However, also in chapter 2 he entertains the possibility of wealthy people coming in among their assembly. Indicating that they are at least sympathetic to Jewish Christians, if not Christians themselves.
ix. [Slide 10] All in all, I believe that it makes more sense to conclude that James is talking to Jewish Christians who happen to be wealthy.
x. There is no obvious shift in subject here. And since the verb to boast is also not repeated in the text, it seems likely that the verb and subject would be carried over into verse 10 as well.
b. [Slide 11] Boast in his humiliation
i. Again, although not apparent in the English translation, the word boast does not reoccur here. Literally this would read “now the humble brother must boast in his exaltation but the rich in his humiliation”
ii. As I stated before, just like it makes sense to carry over the verb, it also makes sense to carry over the subject since both humble and rich are adjectives. Therefore, we could read it this way…
iii. “now the poor brother must boast in his exaltation but the rich brother must boast in his humiliation.”
iv. Now, what does it mean to boast in their humiliation?
v. What humiliation does a wealthy believer receive from the Lord?
vi. Before, James did not qualify or define exaltation for the poverty-stricken Christian who must boast in his exaltation. He does not really clarify what he means by that since the meaning is right on the surface.
vii. But the humiliation of the rich believer, that they must boast in, is further explained by James.
viii. He goes on.
c. [Slide 12] Because he will pass away like a flower of the field.
i. James first states that the rich believer will pass away. This immediately puts in our heads the idea of mortality. Indeed, of unpredictability of our own mortal lives.
ii. In this world money, fame, power, and title have set some apart from others.
iii. Whether we like it or not, the size of our 401ks, the title we wear, the number of followers we have, or the power we wield has a direct effect on our status in society.
iv. But in God’s kingdom, this is not the case. In the Kingdom of God, in the family of God – those wealthy in earthly goods are no wealthier in heavenly riches than the beggar who knows Christ.
v. In Christ we are all equally beggars. We are all the same.
vi. Certainly, we maintain our differences and those differences are not meaningless
vii. But the flashiest parts about us on this earth will fade away. Why?
viii. Because this earth is passing away. Indeed, we are all passing away.
ix. And that is exactly where James goes next with his illustration.
x. Why is a flower in the field so delicate?
d. [Slide 13] 11 – For the sun rises and, together with the scorching wind, dries up the grass; its flower falls off, and its beautiful appearance perishes.
i. Flowers typically only bloom for a short time. After this they fall off the bud.
ii. The heat and scorching wind of the desert and other arid areas can cause this to happen even quicker.
iii. Since the flower is not vital to the survival of the plant itself, it is often the last to receive the nutrients of the roots in a drought situation.
iv. The plant then becomes mostly stem as it tries to conserve as much moisture for its own survival.
v. By the time the grass dies from lack of water, the flower has long been gone.
vi. So how is this like the wealthy believer?
e. [Slide 14] In the same way, the rich person will wither away while pursuing his activities.
i. No matter how much wealth a man has, when he dies, he cannot carry it with him.
ii. Indeed, when he dies it is divided up among the living.
iii. As Ecclesiastes points out often and vividly - death is the great equalizer.
iv. The rich may even die while on a business trip or while making a deal to increase his profits.
v. What a humbling thing for a wealthy believer to recognize. No matter what they have in this life – it all stays on this earth when life is over. And life can end at any moment.
vi. And so, if earthly wealth is separated from us in death – the only wealth that matters in the kingdom that is coming is a wealth that is not of this world. And this is where the command to boast comes in.
vii. Because you see, as far as spiritual wealth is concerned… there are none righteous – no, not one. There are none who are spiritually wealthy in and of themselves. There are none who will enter the Kingdom of God with a bank account that has any spiritual money in it that they earned of their own strength.
viii. James’ command is to boast in being humbled. To glory, to rejoice in the Lord’s revealing to the wealthy that they are spiritually bankrupt – which is a condition of men that death reveals to be certain.
ix. But why would we boast in the realization that we are all spiritually bankrupt? Why indeed. I’ll save that for later.
f. [Slide 15] Passage Truth: James connects the various tests we face here on earth to the unique temptations of a believer who has wealth. He reminds wealthy believers that they are a Sovereign God’s decision away from losing all they have on this earth. That they are spiritually bankrupt. In short, they are reminded how little their earthly wealth actually matters in the Eternal Kingdom of God.
g. Passage Application: So, what are they to do with this understanding? They are to boast. They are to glory. They are to rejoice.
h. [Slide 16] Broader Biblical Truth: But is such a teaching true? Do the treasures of this world matter so little when compared to the Eternal Kingdom of God? The bible is clear. When the New Kingdom comes the old will be wiped away. We just saw this in II Peter when he spoke of the baptism of fire the world will experience as it is purified and destroyed to be replaced with a new earth and new heavens. The entire cosmos will be remade. That is why Jesus taught in the sermon on the mount to lay up treasures in heaven. Lay them up in that coming kingdom. Because in that kingdom nothing will be destroyed. All will endure. And while the scriptures stop short of telling us to avoid wealth or to avoid riches… they do warn us not to treat them as if they will last forever. For they are vanishing. Like our lives, they will wither away. But the great conundrum is, of course, how can someone who is spiritually bankrupt lay up any spiritual treasures in heaven. More on that in a moment.
i. Broader Biblical Application: So, CBC, we should boast in our humiliation. Because to be shown that the treasures of this world will burn and only the treasures laid up in the Kingdom of God will endure is to lead us through some of the temptations that come with earthly wealth. We can boast in knowing that we are spiritually bankrupt because knowing this is a key to those spiritual riches.
Conclusion:
[Slide 17 (end)] So, CBC, what is the next thing we may lack?
James addresses the real lack of believers to have the proper perspective on status and wealth.
And how does that connect to the various tests we may face and considering them joy?
Without God’s perspective on earthly wealth, it is impossible to regard any test related to earthly wealth as pure joy. Not having God’s perspective on earthly wealth rather than leading to joy will lead to despair for the poor and misplaced boasting for the wealthy.
Despairing because you have no wealth or boasting in your wealth are two sides of the same sin. Why? Because both have a faulty view of earthly wealth. Indeed, both have the same exact faulty view of earthly wealth. Both see earthly wealth as a comfort, a hope, and a noble pursuit. In order to despair in poverty or to gloat in wealth you must have a worldly, fleshly, and demonic view of wealth.
James calls both the poverty stricken Christian and the wealthy Christian to see wealth in the same way. Earthly wealth is to be regarded as fleeting, temporal, and of no value in the Kingdom of God. Why? Because this is God’s view. And God’s view is reality. When we disagree with God’s view, we are the ones who are living in a fantasy world. The true status quo of earthly wealth and status is that it is fleeting, temporal, and of no value in the Kingdom of God.
In a sense, James’ teaching here embodies the teaching of Christ in the sermon on the mount. God’s perspective on status and wealth is purely spiritual and not earthly. So much so that Jesus calls those who see themselves as spiritually bankrupt as blessed.
And here is where the boasting of the wealthy in their own humiliation comes in. Why would someone be blessed to recognize that they have a bankrupt account of spiritual wealth? Would this not lead to despair knowing that at death your account is empty? Why are they blessed?
They are blessed or favored of God in that they will inherit the Kingdom of God. Meaning that only those who recognize their humiliation of being spiritually bankrupt –will be granted spiritual wealth beyond what they could hope for. Only those who cry out in desperate spiritual need will be answered. And the answer will be the transfer of Christ’s account of spiritual wealth to them. They will inherit His righteousness (which is the unit of currency in the Kingdom of God.) And all the debt of sin they owed, has been paid in full at the cross of Christ. This is why the wealthy should boast in their humiliation. And why the poor should boast in their exaltation. The lack of earthly wealth reminds them of their spiritual future, and the possession of earthly wealth ought to remind them of the reality of their spiritual poverty without Christ.
This perspective on status and wealth is what is needed by all believers if they are to handle any test that may come in this life with regard to earthly status and wealth.
You see my friends, all men are like the grass of the field. Some grasses flower with beautiful colors. Others are plainer.
But the scorching wind and drought effects them all the same.
Just as the poor Christians are tested by trial, so the wealthy are also.
One can readily see how the absence of wealth could amount to a trial.
Certainly, lacking the basics of life and wondering where your next meal is coming from, these amount to great strain on our faith. The human condition as a whole has difficulty seeing over our own problems and believing the promises of God. And to face something as critical to life as not being able to afford to eat or clothe yourselves certainly would strain the faith of God’s people. But having God’s perspective on status and wealth enables a poor believer to boast in the royal title that he has been given in Christ. They can boast in the wealthy future they have – not as some pie in the sky or get rich quick scheme but rather an assured promise of an infinite inheritance through adoption.
But how could the possession of wealth amount to trial for a believer? How could having wealth amount to a test that a believer would have to consider joy? How could having wealth prove, progress and even perfect a believer’s faith?
Such a question affects us greater than the previous one. As we said at the beginning of this sermon, The USA is the wealthiest nation in the world and perhaps even in the history of the world. People at the poverty line in our nation are still well above those who are considered wealthy by the majority of the world. This is certainly not to minimize or ignore those who are poor in this nation. Certainly, the cost of living is higher making raw income not the only standard to determine wealth. But by and large, if you have a vehicle and a home, and eat at least 2 meals a day, you are wealthier than most people in the world. And I’d wager that that would be all of us.
So how does having earthly wealth and status test us?
Well, first, we might be tempted to boast in our earthly treasures and comforts. This is why James’ command to boast in humiliation is so jarring. It is 180 degrees in the opposite direction of where our flesh will pull us. We will be tempted to measure ourselves next to others by what car we drive, how many possessions we own, and how big our houses are. But we should not boast in our wealth but rather in our lowly position as a humble beggar in the kingdom of God. A beggar whose life is so volatile it hangs by a thread in the hands of a Holy God. To boast then, is to boast in a God who has revealed such things to us, so that we may use our wealth wisely as a tool rather than as a status indicator. If we are all spiritually bankrupt but by the grace of God we are remade in Christ as His bride and heirs to His Kingdom – then all wealth that remains here ought to be used here for His glory and His purposes. When we are tempted to boast in our wealth, we can count this temptation as joy because when we pass this test, we consider all our earthly wealth to be God’s and not ours. In this, our faith grows.
A second test we may experience as wealthy believers is to have faith in our wealth over Christ. While a wealthy believer may never say it out loud for it sounds truly ridiculous to do so, oftentimes wealthy Christians depend on their wealth rather than Christ. Certainly, they pray and seek the Lord for deliverance or for relief. But oftentimes a hastily written check is the easiest path to that relief. But if our trials are proving grounds for faith leading to endurance and completion… we can effectively stunt our growth by buying our way out of what the Lord is doing in our lives. What a ridiculous notion to refuse to spend money to buy our way out of a trial? Could it be that we should wait on the Lord and trust Him EVEN IF we have the money? What a wonderful tool wealth can be in the hands of those who are trusting the Lord… but like the northern Kingdom toward the end of its existence, who sought out the aid of alliances with foreign powers and relied on their strength instead of the Lord – wealth can quickly become an earthly ally against the tests that God has arranged for us. So rather than trusting in our wealth we must recognize and boast in knowing that we are spiritually bankrupt without Christ, and that all we have in earthly possessions are gifts from Him to be used for His glory – for we cannot take anything with us to glory – nor would we need to. We must trust the Lord alone rather than the Lord plus wealth.
The third test that wealthy believers may face is to think we are somehow living lives more pleasing to God or rich in faith and that is why we are rewarded with wealth. This is the spark that fuels the fire of the prosperity gospel teaching. That the quality of our faith is rewarded by earthly goods. Such correlations are no more absolutely true today than they were in Job’s lifetime. Indeed, we are promised trouble in this world. And James just referenced poor Christians who still inherit the wealth of God’s Kingdom. There is therefore no correlation between our earthly wealth and the quality of our faith. If we are facing this temptation, we must immediately recall the barrenness of our spiritual condition. When we recognize that we are naturally spiritually bankrupt then we must conclude that all we have, spiritual or earthly, is a gift from a Holy God who should have snuffed us out of existence before we were even born. Nevertheless, he allows rain to fall on the just and the unjust. And He allows wealth to come to the godly and the ungodly. Therefore, as Christians our wealth ought to be held loosely, knowing that God is the true owner of all we have. And we must boast in our poor condition knowing that He has given greater gifts that we could never earn.
I’ll only offer one more test that wealthy believers may face. Not because we have come to the end of them, but because I hope that the Spirit may improve upon my crude examples to meet your particular tests head on.
Being a wealthy Christian will most likely lead to the loss of great wealth and possessions – typically very quickly. While certainly the ungodly rich are often the oppressors of the godly poor, that doesn’t eliminate the godly wealthy from the ire of the ungodly. In fact, there are a myriad of stories throughout the church age of wealthy Christians losing land, title, possessions, and wealth of great amounts, not to squander, not to acts of compassion, but to thievery by the powerful taking it from them by force, simply because they were believers. From those who have much, much can be taken away. We may face this test someday my friends. Do you think our government is incapable of such malice and depravity? You might think, never in a free society would our government confiscate property, possessions or bank accounts simply because they disagree with them ideologically! My friends… our country has a long history of doing just that. Since before we were a nation, those who supported Great Britain during the late 1700s had their homes burned, their livestock slaughtered, and were tarred and feathered for their allegiance to the crown. If you do not believe me you should look into it. The very freedoms the patriots desired from King George they were denying to those who supported him. And even more recently, why don’t you do some digging into the Red scare in the 30s and 40s. Find out some of the atrocities our country committed against Japanese Americans during World War II. And today, do you not see actors and performers being blacklisted from roles because they hold conservative values. My friends. As our culture descends into wickedness. We, being wealthy, will lose every penny.
The question is not, is our government capable of such atrocities? The question is how do we count it as pure joy?
We boast in knowing that all we have is a temporary gift given for the good pleasure of a generous God who gives and takes away… and that though all may be taken from us, including our mortal lives – nothing can separate us from the love of Christ!
And in all this we hear echoes from Jeremiah 9 on James’ lips.
Jer 9:23 Thus says Yahweh, "The wise pman must not boast in his wisdom, and the warrior must not boast in his might, the wealthy man must not boast in his wealth.
Jer 9:24 But only in this must the one who boasts boast, that he has insight, and that he knows me, that I am Yahweh, showing loyal love, justice, and righteousness on the earth, for in these things I delight," declares Yahweh.
The wealthy are commanded to boast in their humiliation. That we have been humbled to know the true God and to know that our life is fleeting and thus our wealth matters very little.
We should glory in this. For this humbling is our salvation. A freedom from the love of this world and the things in it - is a GREAT grace to God’s people. Wealthy believers should glory, rejoice and boast in having received such grace.
May we pass the test of earthly wealth. Whether we have it or not – may we boast in nothing save Christ and Him crucified for us.