Sermons – Grace Evangelical Free Church // Wyoming, MN

Isaiah 59 Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save,
or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;
2 but your iniquities have made a separation
between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you
so that he does not hear.
3 For your hands are defiled with blood
and your fingers with iniquity;
your lips have spoken lies;
your tongue mutters wickedness.
4 No one enters suit justly;
no one goes to law honestly;
they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies,
they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.
5 They hatch adders’ eggs;
they weave the spider’s web;
he who eats their eggs dies,
and from one that is crushed a viper is hatched.
6 Their webs will not serve as clothing;
men will not cover themselves with what they make.
Their works are works of iniquity,
and deeds of violence are in their hands.
7 Their feet run to evil,
and they are swift to shed innocent blood;
their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;
desolation and destruction are in their highways.
8 The way of peace they do not know,
and there is no justice in their paths;
they have made their roads crooked;
no one who treads on them knows peace.

9 Therefore justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not overtake us;
we hope for light, and behold, darkness,
and for brightness, but we walk in gloom.
10 We grope for the wall like the blind;
we grope like those who have no eyes;
we stumble at noon as in the twilight,
among those in full vigor we are like dead men.
11 We all growl like bears;
we moan and moan like doves;
we hope for justice, but there is none;
for salvation, but it is far from us.
12 For our transgressions are multiplied before you,
and our sins testify against us;
for our transgressions are with us,
and we know our iniquities:
13 transgressing, and denying the LORD,
and turning back from following our God,
speaking oppression and revolt,
conceiving and uttering from the heart lying words.

14 Justice is turned back,
and righteousness stands far away;
for truth has stumbled in the public squares,
and uprightness cannot enter.
15 Truth is lacking,
and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.

The LORD saw it, and it displeased him
that there was no justice.
16 He saw that there was no man,
and wondered that there was no one to intercede;
then his own arm brought him salvation,
and his righteousness upheld him.
17 He put on righteousness as a breastplate,
and a helmet of salvation on his head;
he put on garments of vengeance for clothing,
and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak.
18 According to their deeds, so will he repay,
wrath to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies;
to the coastlands he will render repayment.
19 So they shall fear the name of the LORD from the west,
and his glory from the rising of the sun;
for he will come like a rushing stream,
which the wind of the LORD drives.

20 “And a Redeemer will come to Zion,
to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,” declares the LORD.

21 “And as for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the LORD: “My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children’s offspring,” says the LORD, “from this time forth and forevermore.”

In the last two years we have seen the world around us ask fundamental questions without having the wherewithal to answer any of them adequately or honestly. For example, during her examination by the Senate Judiciary Committee, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was asked, “Can you provide a definition for the word, ‘woman’?” She responded, “Can I provide a definition? No. I can’t.” Senator Marsha Blackburn, puzzled, asked, “You can’t?” Judge Jackson then said, “Not in this context. I’m not a biologist.” Of course, many chuckled at her answer, and there is a certain humor to it. But Judge Jackson’s answer was politically calculated, without regard for truth.

There is nothing new about politically calculated words. But the fact that a question with such an obvious answer was given in one of our nation’s most serious, consequential settings, and that she was confirmed for her appointment betrays a culture whose “lips have spoken lies”, whose “tongue mutters wickedness,” and whose “thoughts are thoughts of iniquity.” Our culture is one so thoroughly corrupted, that basic, creational knowledge—that “male and female he created them” (Gen. 1:27) has been utterly abandoned.

When the cultural current is so bent on turning over foundational truths, to many, truth itself becomes a casualty of the cultural onslaught. We all feel this, and we all know something is amiss—something is fundamentally wrong with the world in ways we hadn’t felt so acutely in the past. One of the things I want us all to see this morning, is that the problems we face today are not fundamentally new problems. And more importantly, the solutions are not new solutions. These are in fact problems that stem all the way back to the Garden of Eden, and solutions as old as God’s promise that the seed of the woman would bruise the head of the serpent.

In our text this morning, we find the nation of Judah in crisis. Remember, Judah is a nation to whom God had made covenant promises. God had made promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He had freed their great grandchildren by the hand of Moses and Aaron and brought them into the Promised Land through the leadership of Joshua. He had established the kingdom of Israel by King David.

Isaiah prophesied during the reigns of four Davidic kings of Judah: Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. Three of the kings were judged positively, in the book of Second Kings, having “done what was right in the eyes of the LORD.” It is only Ahaz that was judged harshly, as an evildoer. Yet it is plain, in Isaiah fifty-nine that the people bear great guilt, and the consequences are dark.

The chapter begins with the declaration that “a separation” had been made between them and God due to the iniquities, that is, the sins of the people. Because of their sin, God “does not hear” their prayers. It is difficult to imagine a situation more grave, more serious than for your words to be unheard by God. I suppose, it is a kind of earthly picture of hell. For in hell, one has no appeal to God for salvation—for by then, your judgment has been settled for all eternity. In hell, there is only constant fear, pain, anger, and malice without end—without anyone to save, without anyone to intervene for you.

But God is gracious, and we’ll see at the end of the passage, God is faithful, even when we are not. Before we dig into the text, let’s pray that the Lord would guide our minds, grant us understanding, and apply His Word to our hearts.

Our text this morning has four main sections. First, in verses 1-8 is the matter of the sin of the people of Judah. It is not a flattering picture of how God’s holy people had fallen. In verses 8-16 we see the dramatic consequences for their sin. Of course, sin leads to God’s judgment, and that is what we see in verses 15-20. And the passage concludes with God’s covenant faithfulness to the people of Judah. Despite their rejection of Him, God is not done with them. After working through the entire chapter, we’ll look at how the New Testament can help us understand and apply this today.

Let’s take a closer look at the first section of Isaiah 59, in verses 1-8. All men, at one time or another, will question God—whether it be his ability to save, his power, his will, his goodness, or any other attribute of God. God, of course, understands this, and in our passage this morning begins by recognizing the weakness of the people of God to believe in His own power to save, or his ability to hear their prayers. By expressing that his “hand is not shortened, that it cannot save or his ear dull, that it cannot hear” he is explaining to the people that he has chosen to not hear, chosen to not intervene to save. He is declaring their guilt and thereby protecting his Name from their slander.

This is a hard thing for them to hear, for by declaring this, God is telling them they are the problem. It is their iniquities, their sins that have put them at odds with God. Recall that Adam was put out of the Garden of Eden because of his sin. Sin has serious consequences, not just in eternity, but in this world. But before those consequences are made clear, Isaiah enumerates their sin, for though in verse 12, it says, they know [their iniquities, they are clearly not truly grappling with their own guilt.

In verses 3-8, Isaiah lists many of the sins that had “made a separation between [Judah and [their God.” It is their sins that “have hidden his face from [them so that he does not hear.” Notice, it is Isaiah, as the prophet of the LORD, who is speaking to a group of people, and is excluding himself from that group. Isaiah uses the pronouns ‘you’ and ‘they.’ Isaiah, as the prophet of the LORD, is speaking God’s words, to God’s covenant people. He is telling them of their sin and guilt.

He lists many sins. He says in verse 3, “…your hands are defiled with blood and your fingers with iniquity.” In the Bible, blood is spoken of as “the life” (Gen. 9:4) of a person, or an animal. Having blood on your hands was symbolic of the guilt of murder. Isaiah lists many more sins: speaking lies and wickedness, courts marked only by dishonesty. Things are so bad, that the things that are meant to give life—conception and birth produce iniquity and death. In verse 7, Isaiah quotes Proverbs 1:16, “Their feet run to evil, and they are swift to shed blood.” (Is. 59:7)

Notice the different parts of the body that are said to be corrupted by sin and bringing forth sin. Hands are defiled with blood, fingers with iniquity, lips speak lies, the tongue mutters wickedness, violence is in their hands, their feet run to evil, even the thoughts of the mind are of iniquity. Sin is wholly corrupting. The body is full of corruption and brings forth only evil. And this is the people of God of which Isaiah speaks! These are the people that God called his own, with whom he dwelt in the Temple in their capital city!

A people so corrupted by sin bring only “Desolation and destruction … in their highways”—in stark contrast to “the way of peace”. Their paths are instead lacking justice—they are crooked. This stands in stark contrast to the psalms of David, such as Psalm 17:5, “…by the word of your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent. My steps have held fast to your paths; my feet have not slipped.” This is a people that has abandoned God and his Word. That is sin—Judah is living in sin.

In the second main section of the chapter, from verses 8 to 16, Isaiah describes the consequences of the sins of Judah—namely, what is lacking in their land. Notice the ‘therefore’ in verse 9. The sin of the people of Judah leads to consequences. It is because of the sin of the people that there is no peace, no justice, no righteousness, no light, no salvation, no truth, no uprightness, and no intercessor in the land. An unrighteous people cannot produce a righteous nation. An unrighteous people have no claim upon God for anything. An unrighteous people can only rightly expect God’s judgment!

Judah is a nation, not marked by the covenant blessings of God, that he had promised to his people in Deuteronomy 28, but instead, a distinct lack of the fruit of God’s blessing. In fact, in verse 10 Isaiah paraphrases some of the covenant curses in Deuteronomy 28:28-29, “The LORD will strike you with madness and blindness and confusion of mind, and you shall grope at noonday, as the blind grope in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways. And you shall be only oppressed and robbed continually, and there shall be no one to help you.”

I drew our attention to the pronouns in verses 2-8, but notice how in verse 9, Isaiah begins using the first-person plural pronoun, ‘we’ and ‘our’ from verse 9 through 13. This is significant because the sin and guilt belongs to ‘you’ and ‘they’—a group from which Isaiah excludes himself. But the consequences of sin belong to all Judah, including Isaiah—and presumably the faithful remnant inside Judah. These consequences are covenantal and cannot be escaped, even by the righteous.

Things are not as they should be in Judah. The people knew what justice is, yet they lacked it. They “hoped for light”—they still had some right desires, but those desires were unmet, for behold, “darkness.” Rather than “brightness”, “gloom.” This ‘gloom’ is more than mere darkness—it is a sense of foreboding or despondency. Those walking in gloom are going from bad to worse.

I mentioned earlier, that verse 10 is a paraphrase of covenant curses found in Deuteronomy 28. In groping for the wall, we’re meant to see that the people of Judah had no point of reference. They were looking for something safe, that would reorient themselves to the world around them. Have you ever been in a place so dark that you could see nothing, and could only reach out in the hope that you could find something that would allow you to regain your bearings—a light switch, a door frame, a piece of furniture? Recall that frustration, fear, and anxiety—then imagine your whole life being filled with such feelings. This was what life for the people of Judah was like. Isaiah is describing life under the curse of God. For even at noon, the people were stumbling as though the sun had already set and darkness was prevailing upon the earth. This is not something that can be explained by natural causes. The LORD had indeed stricken Judah “with madness and blindness and confusion of mind”. (Deut. 28:28) How fearful it is to live under the curses of God!

There is no justice in the land, no salvation. Isaiah recognizes what is wrong—he says, “our transgressions are multiplied before you, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and we know our iniquities.” Isaiah includes himself in this by using the first-person plural, “our”, “us”, and “we.” God’s covenant people have abandoned their covenant Lord, and consequently, it is the covenant people that are suffering.

The people desire justice, and salvation—they recognize that they need both. But, as verse two says, “your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.” The people even seem to recognize this, for Isaiah is very clear that the people “know [their iniquities.” Paul describes this in Romans 1:18, when he describes the human condition. He writes, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.” (Rom. 1:18)

The people of Judah are not interested in truth, because they have “turn[ed back from following… God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart lying words.” Have you ever wondered how Israel through its long history kept wandering from the LORD? We read of the ten plagues in Egypt, the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea, and their idol worship at Mount Sinai a few chapters later. What happened? Or, today, we see rampant sexual confusion around us, and we wonder, how can people be so blind to the reality of two biological sexes? How can they believe anything else?

Isaiah tells us, very simply, when he describes the sinful human condition as “speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart lying words.” From the very beginning, mankind has been in revolt against God. Satan tempted Eve, and her response was not faithfulness to God, but instead, “revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart lying words.” Today, we are seeing very clearly a truth that was less clear to us in years past. The veil has been removed, so to speak. It is, as Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3, “evil people and imposters will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” (2 Tim. 3:13)

When the truth is what you cannot tolerate, you must suppress it—fight it. We all end up “conceiving and uttering from the heart lying words” that console us, that justify our desires and revolt against our Creator. It takes enormous psychological energy to live in such a way, for the truth is ever before us, “For what can be known about God is plain…for his invisible attributes…have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world… So [we are without excuse.” (Rom. 3:19-20)

Have you ever tried holding a beach ball under water? It cannot easily be done. It takes concentration and energy to do so. And the very moment you lose focus that ball rapidly finds its way to the surface. Imagine living your life like that—constantly suppressing the truth, to keep it out of your conscious mind. For the moment truth is heard or seen, your conscience condemns you—for you know you stand condemned before God’s law. This is why, in verse 15, “he who departs from evil makes himself a prey”—you become like a hunted animal. Some may call this a kind of “cancel culture.” Step out of line, and your good name will be destroyed.

The unrighteous hate the righteous, for the life of the righteous are a condemnation to the unrighteous. This is why evil must be praised. This is why our culture requires us to affirm homosexual marriage, celebrate “Pride” month, and legally sanction abortion. This is why, Paul wrote in Romans 1, “Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.” (Rom. 1:32) So we too, today, can become prey when we depart from evil and speak and live the truth.

I suspect there are some in this room today, who struggle daily, to suppress the truth—to prevent it from exposing your sin and guilt. Know this—you will never win that struggle. God’s truth is always there; because God is eternal, his truth is eternal and will ever be there for you to suppress. Do you really think you can win that struggle? But God’s grace and forgiveness in Christ can be yours, and you can surrender that struggle to suppress the truth and give yourself to Christ. It might seem like a kind of death to do so, and it is, but there is new life on the other side of that death. It is a better life than you could ever imagine. It is eternal life.

Isaiah has more to say concerning the consequences for abandoning truth. In verse fourteen he writes, “Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands far away; for truth has stumbled in the public squares, and uprightness cannot enter.” Justice and righteousness are not welcome in a land where people have turned their back from following God. Justice is turned away as an unwelcome guest, and righteousness keeps its distance.

The phrase “truth has stumbled in the public squares” is a little puzzling. Truth is supposed to be powerful, unassailable. When an innocent person is accused, they will appeal to the truth, and expect the truth to set them free. But that’s not what we find in verse 14. Truth has no real power in this situation, “it has stumbled.” The word, in Hebrew, could also be translated fall, cast down, or feeble. Regardless of how it is translated, it is clear that truth doesn’t stand a chance in Judah. The very next verse even says, “Truth is lacking”. This isn’t just that there isn’t enough, it just simply isn’t there.

The people of Judah had found a kind of success in suppressing the truth, but that “success” has come at great cost. Their land has become a kind of living hell.

In the Psalms we see how Israel and Judah were to orient themselves to truth. Psalm 25:5, “Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation…” Psalm 43:3, “Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling!” Psalm 45:4, “In your majesty ride out victoriously for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness…” Psalm 51:6, “Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being….” Psalm 86:11, “Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth….”

No wonder we read in verse fifteen, “The LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice.” When there is no truth, there can be no justice. God’s people had wandered so far from what he had called them to be. This was God’s covenant people, the people he had redeemed out of slavery, the children of Abraham, with whom God had made covenant. This was the people that God had settled in the land promised to Abraham and his offspring.

When God “sees”, he judges. At creation, God created something each day, then “saw that it was good”. When “God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt,” he sent a flood. God sent angels to Sodom and Gomorrah “to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to [him.” (Gen. 18:21) So when we read that “The LORD saw it” in verse 15, we should expect that God is about to judge, and act.

In verse sixteen, God “saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede.” God is looking for someone that will “do something.” But no one is there to intervene for justice. But God doesn’t miss a beat, he’s immediately engaged to act, to intercede. The sentence doesn’t even finish and God is ready, “then his own arm brought him salvation, and his righteousness upheld him.” Truth stumbled, we just saw, but God’s righteousness does not stumble—it is powerful. In fact, we see that God is prepared for battle.

We see “the arm of the Lord” earlier in Isaiah 53; where Isaiah writes, “Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?” Isaiah then goes on to prophesy of the “Servant of the Lord” whom we know to be Jesus Christ. The “arm of the Lord” in Isaiah 53, and as Isaiah writes in Isaiah 59, “his own arm brought salvation” is none other than Jesus Christ, the very Son of God. This “arm” is unexpected, “he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief, and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” (Isaiah 53:2b-4)

God is promising to send an intercessor—someone to bring salvation, bring righteousness to a place with only unrighteousness. And by bringing righteousness, he will restore truth and justice for a people oppressed by injustice and iniquity.

In verse seventeen we read of God’s breastplate, helmet, and garments. These are all designed for battle. The list may seem familiar to you; it is almost identical to the list in Ephesians chapter six. “He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head; he put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak.” Interestingly, these are only defensive weapons—there is no sword, no spear, no bow. But they are seemingly enough.

God was displeased “that there was no justice”, so he’s going to bring it. He declares his standard in verse 18: “According to their deeds, so will he repay, wrath to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies…” This is God’s justice, “according to their deeds.” This is all that, “they…fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun”. God will be feared, he may patiently delay, allowing some to not fear his name, but in the end, he will be feared. Oh, that we would fear him now, and not learn to fear him in his wrath!

But God declares he will not come only to execute justice on the evildoer, but he will come as a “Redeemer” to Zion, “to those in Jacob who turn from transgression.” God is gracious, and will Redeem those who abandon their lives of sin.

The chapter ends with the fourth main section, in verse 21 where God declares his covenant purposes. He promises His Spirit and His words. He declares this to his covenant people, who had abandoned him. God had made covenant promises to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and many others. He is not going to go back on those promises. As Paul says in Romans 3, “Let God be true though every one were a liar.” (Rom. 3:4)

So to the people of Judah, God promised His Spirit upon them, and words that he had put in their mouths, and shall not depart them, or of their offspring, or their children’s offspring. As New Testament Christians, we know that this promise came to pass. God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to be among his people. Like truth and justice during the time of Isaiah, though, Jesus was rejected. He taught many things while ministering to Jew and Gentile, leaving four gospels that we have, to this very day. But Jesus was crucified at the insistence of Israel, yet rose from the grave, ascended into Heaven, and at Pentecost, gave His Holy Spirit to those that believed upon Him.

This heritage is ours, today. It is God’s Words that we hear and read from his Word. It is His Holy Spirit that unites us to him, and to one another. Nearly two thousand years after Christ’s death, God’s Words and God’s Spirit are still here among us. They still stand as a testament to God’s faithfulness and God’s justice.

So what does this all mean to us today? God’s covenant with ethnic Israel passed away with Jesus at His death. Yet we know that “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” (2 Tim. 3:16) So there is much for us to learn from this passage today, surely more than we have time this morning to learn. Jesus’s death, burial, resurrection, and ascension fundamentally transformed the world.

First, we must remember that the New Covenant, under which we live, is very different than the covenant under which Israel lived. Israel was covenanted to God through the physical circumcision of all males. (Gen. 17:11) The covenant was therefore ethnic—meaning it was tied to a particular people, set apart through a physical act, uniting a people group in a geographical region

The United States, China, France, Ethiopia, and all other nations, for that matter, are not ethnically covenanted with God as Israel and Judah had been. The New Covenant is a spiritual covenant, with spiritual markers, not ethnic ones. Baptism is now the sign of the covenant—uniting people in Christ, in any nation of the world. So we need to be careful in drawing direct application from this text.

Second, there are specific things about this text that help us understand this passage in light of the New Testament. First, Paul quotes Isaiah 59:7-8 in Romans 3. In Romans 3:15-16, Paul is writing about the spiritual condition of all men—Jew and Gentile. In quoting Isaiah 59:7-8, Paul is clearly teaching that all men are like what Isaiah describes in chapter 59. Israel’s problems were the same problems that all men in all places have faced—they are sinners in need of a Redeemer. So, too, today, apart from the redeeming work of the Holy Spirit, all men are like those described in Isaiah 59.

We’ve already noticed that the armor of God in verse 17 is quoted, and expanded upon, in Ephesians 6. Let’s look at Ephesians 6:11-20:

11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

In Isaiah, God put on his weapons. In Ephesians, those weapons are given to us to wear, but we are given even more. In Ephesians 4:8, Paul writes, “When [Jesus ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” Jesus’s ascension changed everything about the nature of the world—because he gave all his followers his Spirit. It is his Spirit which arms us with the spiritual weapons needed to “put away falsehood…each one of [us speaking the truth with his neighbor…” (Eph. 4:25)

By arming ourselves with “the whole armor of God” we are able to “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.” We are to do this, that we “may be able to withstand in the evil day… to stand firm.” (Eph. 6:13) Did you notice, too, that our enemy is named? We are armed to “stand against the schemes of the devil.” Satan is our enemy and we are fighting a spiritual war.

So what does this mean for New Testament Christians today? It means that unlike the people of Judah in Isaiah 59, when “there was no man… no one to intercede”, we are the ones God has given to this generation to intercede. God has equipped us with His Spirit and the whole armor of God for this very hour, for the very great needs of our day. God has given us all we need for the battles we face today. One of the new weapons is “shoes for [our feet” which provide “the readiness given by the gospel of peace.” We have what we need for the battle, so we should be “ready” to fight—not hesitant, but equipped, prepared, “ready.”

He has given us weapons to protect us against the onslaught of the enemy. Notice we now have “the belt of truth.” We are God’s truth-bearers. We must not be ashamed of the truth. Jesus is “the way, and the truth, and the life” so to be ashamed of the truth is to be ashamed of Jesus. We have been equipped with the truth, and so we must not set it down, but instead, wield it—for that is why it is given to us.

One of my great heroes in life is Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, who survived the Soviet prison camps as an enemy of the state, and later wrote about his experiences in them. He once said, “The simple step of a courageous individual is not to take part in the lie. One word of truth outweighs the world.” Our world is full of lies today, and as followers of Christ, we must refuse to participate in the world’s lies, and instead be people of truth—standing firmly, unashamedly, boldly, knowing it is a weapon belonging to the Lord Almighty.

We also now have the “sword of the Spirit” which is called “the word of God.” We are to wield these weapons “against…rulers, …authorities, … cosmic powers, …the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” These are powerful enemies, but equipped with the whole armor of God, we have everything we need to fight the battles the LORD puts before us.

Paul writes more concerning these battles in 2 Corinthians 10:3-6. He writes:

“For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.”

Our weapons are not the kind of weapons the world is accustomed to—they are compared to them, but they are of an altogether different kind. These weapons have “divine power” designed to destroy “arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God”. These are apologetic weapons, designed to make enemies into brothers, to take “every thought captive to obey Christ.” These are weapons meant to defend the faith against false religion, philosophy, and every vain thing. They are meant to convert the nations through the proclamation of the gospel message.

These are spiritual weapons used to fight a spiritual war. They must also be wielded spiritually. That is to say we cannot put them to use in a worldly way. As we learned last week in James 5, we must be patient. We must be humble. We must not repay evil for evil. We must leave it to the LORD to avenge. We must love our enemies. We must overcome evil with good. (Rom. 12:21)

This crooked generation in which we live has abandoned truth and so we should not be surprised at the consequences. Do you sense that “justice is far from us?” Is our culture groping for the wall like the blind? Our nation, our world, like the people of Isaiah’s day, need someone to intercede—someone to bring salvation. We have begun to see institution after institution surrender to the spirit of the age. The church may eventually stand alone among the world’s institutions in proclaiming the truth. But we do not stand alone. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom. 8:31)

God has equipped us, through Jesus Christ and his Holy Spirit, for this very task. We are not the saviors of our world, but we are soldiers of the King of kings, and we bear his message of salvation to all who will believe. The truth, justice, righteousness, and light this generation needs are available through the righteous One, the King of kings, the Prince of Peace, Immanuel, God with Us, the very Son of God—Jesus Christ.

It is my prayer this morning that, like Paul, we would bear the whole armor of God, in the cause of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for the Kingdom of God, bringing his righteousness to bear on a world that has forsaken Him. And for those not yet in the Kingdom, not yet sons of the King, that you would repent and believe. His righteousness may be yours. Call upon his name, for if you do so in repentance of sin, and belief that Jesus died for you, you too, may receive his life, his Spirit, and everlasting life. God make it so. Amen.

James 5:7-11 Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. 10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

We saw last week (in 5:1-6) that there were rich people within or near the churches overseen by James that were wreaking havoc on the poor people within them. They were hoarding things that many in the churches needed. They were living self-indulgent lifestyles. They were exploiting the poor. And they were perverting justice. All of these things made following Jesus, which was already particularly challenging, more challenging still.

In those few verses, James spoke directly to the rich people who were sinning so egregiously. Mostly, he warned them of the horrific fate that awaited them if they continued to sin in those ways.

In our passage for this morning, James addressed the poor people who were the victims of the injustices of the rich. If you had never read what James wrote, what would you expect him to say? Do you imagine him writing mainly words of compassion and comfort? Words on how to get out from the oppression? Words on how to call divine curses on the rich? Words on how to properly rebuke or discipline them (like Matthew 18)?

As a matter of practice, those types of replies seem to be where most of our minds go when we are victims of the sins of others—we primarily want compassion, relief, and vindication. But what does James actually say? His main and repeated charge is none of those things. Instead, it’s: “Be patient.” And then the rest of the passage—the rest of James’s charge to the persecuted—describes what patience in persecution looks like and where it comes from. I’ll close the sermon, then, by considering more specifically how counter-intuitive James’s words really are.

Let’s pray and then look at the text to consider how to be patient when life is hard.

“Be patient, therefore, brothers…” “See how the farmer waits…being patient…” “You also, be patient.” “As an example of suffering and patience…”. In addition to those direct calls for patience, James uses other words that mean basically the same thing. “Consider those…who remained steadfast.” “You have heard of the steadfastness of Job…”. The main point is that the main charge James gave to those suffering at the hands of the wicked rich among them was to “be patient.”

The word translated “patient” in this passage has a fairly specific meaning. It means being “long-tempered”; or slow to lose your temper. It particularly means being long-tempered toward others. There is a more generic Greek term that refers to being long-suffering in any hardship, but this one refers more specifically to patience toward people.

By using this particular word, James charged his readers, who were suffering under the oppression and exploitation of the rich, to determine to faithfully endure the mistreatment. What should you do when others make your life hard? Whatever else may follow, you must begin by being patient. That sounds hard.

What’s more, James’s command was not to be patient for “a few more days,” a “few more weeks,” or even “a few more years.” And it wasn’t to be patient in the knowledge that God would end their hardship at some point in this life. He commanded them, rather, to be patient in the hardships caused by others (and especially this current bout caused by the rich among them) “until the coming of the Lord”. A few verses later he adds, “for the coming of the Lord is at hand,” and “behold, the Judge is standing at the door,” but that did not mean that it was necessarily soon (obviously), only that it was certain; like the crops planted by a farmer.

Grace, the Bible promises repeatedly that in Christ your every hardship will be taken away in heaven, but there is not a single promise that any of your hardships will be taken away in this life. So be patient.

In other words, and once again, the charge was basically this: A life lived by faith in Jesus will be filled with hardships caused by others within and without of the church. As they come, and they will come, honoring God begins with patience—faithfully enduring the conflicts in the knowledge that they may not end in this life. And this is to be your disposition until Jesus returns.

That sounds awfully counterintuitive and exceptionally difficult. I know that some of you are suffering terribly at the hands of others. The rest of you will at some point. If you’re imagining some of the mistreatment you are enduring or otherwise imagining yourself in the place of James’s readers, you have to be wondering what that kind of patience looks like and, maybe more emphatically, where it comes from. God is kind to give us a bit of both through James. That’s where we’ll turn now.

What does that kind of patience in the face of hardship caused by others look like? James mentions three specific things: (1) It is marked by an established heart, (2) It refuses to grumble, and (3) It remembers God’s faithfulness to those who suffered faithfully.

1. It is marked by an established heart. In v.8 James wrote, “Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.”
   
   A life of patience is one with a heart that is determined to trust in the Lord no matter what comes. The Psalmist captures this well in Psalm 112
   
   Psalm 112:6-8 For the righteous will never be moved… 7 He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD. 8 His heart is steady; he will not be afraid, until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.
   
   Again, Grace, hardship will come. At times it will come from other people. Responding to it with the kind of patience commanded by James means doing so with a Spirit-given resolve and determination (an established heart) to trust in the Lord’s good purposes and final victory over it…every time, always. Patience comes naturally when we are sure that God is using our hardship for greater glory.
   
2. It refuses to grumble against those who share in your suffering.
   
   9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.
   
   When others over us cause us problems, our tendency is often to grumble…not so much to them, but against others. Your boss gives you a hard time, you can’t do much against your boss, and so you are a little grumpier toward your kids. Your friend acts hurtfully toward you and so you take it out on your husband. Your older brother picks on you so you take it out on your younger brother. The poor clearly felt powerless against the rich, so they seem to have been tempted to take it out on—to grumble against—each other.
   
   James made it clear that the kind of patience that pleases God does not do that. It does not turn frustration at someone we can’t touch into trash-talking someone we can.
   
   James also gave some of his rationale behind this command: “so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.” In other words, just because the poor were victims of the rich, didn’t mean they were free to respond however they felt. One person’s sin against you doesn’t justify a sinful response on your part. Though it was tragic that the poor believers were being subjected to exploitation and injustice at the hands of the rich, they were still responsible to respond in godly ways. If they did not, if they responded in sin, they would be subject to the same kind of judgment that the rich were for their sin.
   
   Our world is really confused by this right now, Grace. Functionally we’re surrounded by people who believe that morality is a sliding scale wherein the more you’ve been sinned against, the less you’re responsible for your own sin. That kind of moral code is not only false, it is also deadly. If we do not acknowledge our sin before God, we cannot receive forgiveness from it.
   
   When others sin against you and make your life hard, always respond in patience. And responding in patience means not grumbling against others.
   
3. It remembers God’s faithfulness to those who suffered faithfully. Responding in patience means establishing your hearts, refusing to grumble, and third, remembering God’s faithfulness to those who suffer faithfully.
   
   11 Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast.
   
   We’ll consider this more in a moment (as it’s also a source of patience), but here I want you to consider the fact that when others make your life harder, a patient, godly response draws to mind the faithfulness of God to the faithful. Rather than focusing on their mistreatment or hardship, James charged his readers to consider God’s perfect, eternal blessing on those who persevere in obedience through the mistreatment.
   
   This is a remarkably big deal. Almost 100% of the time, when someone acts wrongly toward us (or at least we believe they did), our flesh wells up and we focus on the pain, escape, or revenge. James charged his readers to instead be patient and focus on God’s presence to bless. That’s not to say that this kind of patience is indifferent to the sins of others and the pain it causes, only that our minds and hearts must always go and stay vertical before we’ll ever be able to properly respond horizontally. The gospel changes everything.

If that’s what the patience James called for looks like, we’re right to ask where it comes from. It’s definitely a counter-intuitive response. And it typically doesn’t come naturally. So how do we get it? How do we go from reacting in our flesh to being mistreated to responding in patience? Specifically, how could James’s readers who were being so oppressed and hurt do so?

Although James doesn’t say it directly, we know that this kind of patience ultimately comes as a fruit of the Holy Spirit working in us (Galatians 5:22). Nothing we can do on our own is able to muster up the kind of patience that pleases God in any situation; much less one of great hardship. And yet, with the Spirit’s help, James shared with his readers five, brief means of patience-building grace: 1) The farmers, 2) the return of Jesus, 3) the prophets, 4) Job, and 5) the Lord.

1. The kind of patience James calls for comes from looking to the farmers
   
   7 See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
   
   The kind of patience we need when others make life hard for us comes in part by looking to farmers and remembering the manner in which God designed food to grow. The farmer does the hard work of preparing the field, planting the seeds, watering them, keeping the weeds and pests away, and all in faith that at some point in the future they will germinate, grow, and bear fruit. The farmer is patient because he has faith that something better will come from his patience than anything else. He is humble and trusts that while he does have a crucial role to play, it is God who makes it work.
   
   This is a remarkable picture of the ever-present partnership between our obedience and the Lord’s sovereignty. We work in dependence on God and trust that God is sovereignly working through our dependent work. Patience comes from a healthy trust in this relationship and that comes in part from seeing how the farmer’s do it year after year.
   
2. It comes from looking to the return of Jesus
   
   7 Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. [and again in v.8]… 8 Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
   
   Knowing that Jesus will certainly return and that when He does, all will be made right, is a powerful, powerful means of patience grace. We see this clearly in Paul and Peter as well as James.
   
   Romans 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us [at Jesus’ return].
   
   1 Peter 1:6-7 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
   
   There are two parts to this. First, knowledge of the certain return of Jesus is comforting in its assurance that no injustice will be undealt with. The wicked rich who were causing so much pain and hardship would either repent or face the severe judgment that awaits all the faithless at Jesus return. This is embedded in v.9 as we saw earlier, “The Judge is standing at the door.” Second, and far more significantly, the knowledge of the certain return of Jesus is comforting in that at His coming all suffering of all kind will end for the faithful and we will know nothing but everlasting joy.
   
   What a source of patience it is to know that no matter the degree of suffering caused by others, by enduring it in faith, at the moment of Jesus’ return, all injustice will be done away with forever and all hardship will be completely swallowed up in limitless and everlasting glory.
   
3. It comes from looking to the prophets
   
   10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
   
   Jesus remarked to the religious leaders of His day, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets” (Matthew 23:37). To be a prophet in Israel was almost always to bring a message of God’s judgment to a people who’d grown fat on the blessings of God while denying God as the blesser. And to bring that kind of message to that kind of people was to experience constant persecution and hardship at the hand of others (like James’s readers). I found the following summary to be a helpful taste of their mistreatment.
   
   “Moses had to put up with the stiff-necked, rebellious Israelites who left Egypt (Ex. 17:4). David was hunted by Saul as remorselessly as one hunts a partridge in the mountains (1 Sam. 18:5-26:25). Elijah faced hostility from the evil king Ahab (1 Kings 18:17; 21:20) and his wicked wife, Jezebel (1 Kings 19:1-2). Jeremiah endured opposition throughout his ministry (cf. Jer. 18:18; 20:1-2; 26:8; 32:2; 37:13-16;38:1-6; 43:1-4; 44:15-19), bringing him such sorrow that he became known as the weeping prophet. Ezekiel endured the death of his wife during the course of his ministry (Ezek. 24:15-18). Daniel was torn from his home land as a young boy and later thrown into a den of lions because of his faithfulness to God (Dan. 6:1ff.). Hosea endured a heartbreaking marriage (Hos. 1:2), Amos faced lies and scorn (Amos 7:10-13), and John the Baptist was imprisoned and beheaded for his testimony to God’s truth (Matt. 14:10)” (MacArthur, James, 258-259).
   
   Patience in persecution comes, James wrote, from remembering the prophets’ faithfulness-driven mistreatment along with the great glory that was theirs for their faithfulness (Hebrews 11).
   
4. It comes from looking to Job
   
   11 Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job…
   
   At the hand of Satan, by the LORD’s permission, Job’s suffering was severe. Inside the first chapter of Job, Job went from joyful, faithful, and rich to losing his kids, land, and health and all because Satan recognized his obedience to God.
   
   Through it, though, he remained faithful. In one of my favorite lines in the Bible, in the midst of unimaginable loss, Job declared (13:15), “Though he slay me, I will hope in him…”.In the end, Job’s faithfulness was rewarded even in this life. In 42:10-17 we read that Job received back double what he lost in terms of wealth, along with 10 kids, and his land. More significantly, the Lord was with him through it all and centuries of God’s people have been encouraged in their suffering by his faithfulness.
   
   Patience comes from recognizing the absolutely unique suffering of Job at the hands of the greatest enemy, his faithfulness through it, and God’s sovereign hand over it all to bless Job and the world through him.
   
5. Ultimately, it comes from looking to the Lord
   
   11 …you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
   
   Patience comes from looking to the farmer, looking to the return of Jesus, looking to the prophets, looking to Job, and ultimately from looking to the patience of God working out in compassion and mercy. This is the heart of the gospel. We are free to be patient with the wicked and as victims of their wickedness, because God is patient with us in ours (Romans 2:4). And even more than that, in our patience to be compassionate and merciful toward those who do us harm because God is compassionate and merciful to us in our sin.
   
   Oh Grace, may we learn the patience of the Lord in order that when others mistreat us, even severely, our hearts and minds would always go first to the undeserved patience God has with us in our sin; and that, in order that we might respond in such a way that demonstrates that our hope is in God and our greatest longing is the fellowship of the return of Jesus.

In James 5:1-11, James addressed a serious problem that had arisen among his readers. Beyond what we’ve already covered, there’s an even deeper blessing in really recognizing the different approach James took in addressing the two parties involved (the sinful rich and those who suffered from their sin).

Again, as we saw last week, in 5:1-6, James directly addressed the sinful rich people. He named their sin, told them what was at stake if they refused to repent, and told them what to do in response. And, as we just saw in 7-11, James addressed those directly and significantly harmed by the sins of the rich. He charged them to be patient as they waited for Jesus to return and he also told them what that looks like and where it comes from.

As simple as it is, here’s the key—and I hope none of you miss this, as it’s a key NT principle well beyond these few verses in James: James didn’t say a word to the poor about the rich. Nothing in his words to the suffering saints called on them to change or even address the sins of their oppressors.

As I mentioned in the introduction, we might expect James to call the rich to repent and the poor to call the rich to repent. Or for him to call the rich to repent and the poor to stand firm and even discipline the rich. In my experience, people who find themselves in situations similar to the oppressed poor in our passage (people who are on the losing end of some injustice) almost always expect the godly solution to involve working in some way to end the injustice. At times, as in Matthew 18, that is the charge. However, even a brief skim through the NT reveals that that’s never the first charge.

The first charge, rather, as it was in our passage for this morning, is to: (1) expect further injustices, (2) remember the promises of God, and (3) focus on acting faithfully to God’s promises in such a way that demonstrates the power of the gospel. It is always most pleasing to God when our first response to the hardship caused by others begins with accepting the facts that our circumstances might not change and that standing on the promises of God is a sufficiently safe place regardless.

In other words, while we might expect James (and the rest of the NT authors) to give us guidance on how to change our unfavorable circumstances, their main and consistent charge is on how to adjust our own hearts to hope fully in God in our circumstances whether they change or not in this life.

However else you might reply to someone acting in unjust or otherwise ungodly ways, it must begin here; with gospel-rooted patience. Gospel-rooted patience looks like an established heart, a refusal to grumble, and in constant remembrance of God’s faithfulness to His faithful people through every mistreatment. And that kind of patience comes from looking to the farmer, the return of Jesus, the prophets, Job, and to the Lord Himself.

May we be a church marked by this kind of approach to the hardships inflicted upon us by others. And may we do so because we are filled with the Holy Spirit of God and in light of the fact that insodoing we provide the watching world with a living picture of the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

James 5:1-6 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. 4 Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.

Who is the richest person you know? I imagine some of you have at least crossed paths with people who have significant amounts of wealth. As you think of that person, I wonder, have you noticed anything different about them other than the fact that they probably have more and nicer stuff than you? Do they seem calmer or more anxious? More confident or nervous? More happy or discontent? More prideful or humble? More like Jesus or like the world?

The main thing I’m after in asking these questions is to get you to consider the kind of effect wealth has on people. The NT consistently presents the rich as either illusioned or disillusioned. Almost 100% of the time, when the rich are addressed, it is either because they are still under the illusion that their money can provide for them things that God alone can provide (like the rich ruler in Luke 18) or because they have already begun to be disillusioned, recognizing the actual impotence of their wealth (like Solomon in Ecclesiastes). Either way, the rich almost always live in some state of illusionment. The problem, as we will see, is not wealth itself, but the relentless temptation it presents to those who have it. Have you noticed that in the wealthy people you know?

With that as a backdrop, I have three main points that I hope to make clear to you all. First, being rich is not sinful in itself, but it is dangerous. Second, James’s readers gave into the ungodliness their wealth made possible. That is, rather than hold fast to Jesus, they surrendered to the ever-present enticement of their riches. And finally, I will give some specific, practical counsel on how to avoid falling into the same trap that captured James’s readers. Most simply, this sermon is a reminder that wealth provides a constant, deceptive, and deadly temptation to trust in and treasure it above Jesus. Let’s pray that God would cause us to see Jesus as supreme.

James’s address lets us know that some of his readers were rich, ungodly, and experiencing the beginnings of a great misery that would certainly consume them if they continued on in their current trajectory.

1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you.

Again, James was addressing a particular group of rich people among his readers (or those connected somehow to them). Ordinarily, most people think of the rich as blessed and happy and content. Consequently, James’s command must have been a bit jarring. Rather than charge them to laugh and be merry, the command was to weep and howl because of the miseries that had already begun to come upon them and would break fully over them if they did not repent.

I’m going to unpack that a bit for us in a minute, but even before I do, I imagine that the gist of it is already crystal clear. Words like “weep,” “howl,” and “miseries” are not used in anything less than dire circumstances. The specific rich people James was referring to were in big, big trouble. We’ll find out in vs.2-6 exactly what they did to put themselves in such a perilous position, but let’s first consider exactly how serious this was.

The charge to weep and howl echoed the OT prophets who promised destruction on the day of judgment for all who persisted in rebellion against God.

Isaiah 13:6 Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; as destruction from the Almighty it will come!

Ezekiel 21:12 Cry out and wail, son of man, for [the sword of God] is against my people. It is against all the princes of Israel. They are delivered over to the sword with my people. Strike therefore upon your thigh.

Amos 8:3 The songs of the temple shall become wailings in that day,” declares the Lord GOD. “So many dead bodies!” “They are thrown everywhere!” “Silence!”

There are many more calls in the OT to weep or howl, and all of them refer to the kind of response that is appropriate for the terrible and imminent judgment of God for sin.

Worse still, more than likely, the miseries James promised were more eschatological than temporal. That is, James was probably referring to the miseries associated with hell (“eat your flesh like fire”) more than the immediate loss of wealth he touches on in vs.2-3. Again, it cannot be overstated how serious of a charge this was and how dire the situation of those addressed by James.

Grace, it probably doesn’t need to be said, but I’ll say it anyway: You do not want to hear these words…ever! You do not want to be commanded by God to weep and howl because of the eternal miseries that await you. And consequently, you ought to be wondering what kind of path led to that kind of address in order that you might avoid it at all costs.

We’ll come back to that in just a minute, but I want to say something first. In describing the specific sins of his readers (in vs.2-6), James makes it clear that it was their ungodliness, not their wealth, that was the real problem and the real source of their present and future misery. The wealth of James’s readers tempted them toward ungodliness and made it easily accessible, but did not cause it.

In other words, Grace, having a lot of money isn’t inherently sinful, but it is dangerous. In broadest terms, the dangers tied to being rich are probably best summed up in the story of Jesus and the rich young man (found in Matthew 19).

Matthew 19:16-26 And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” … 21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 23 And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

In short, being rich is dangerous primarily because it makes it harder to get into the kingdom of heaven. Why is that? Simply, it is because the very heart of the Christian faith is trusting in and treasuring Jesus above all else, while being wealthy provides a constant temptation to trust in and treasure your money (or the things it gives you access to) instead. Wealth often appears to be a legitimate substitute for Jesus.

With wealth we can purchase forms of protection and security in the way of safe neighborhoods, alarm systems, and personal body guards. With it we can purchase insurance as a safety net for just about anything. With it we can purchase the best health care the world has ever known to protect our bodies.

With it we can also purchase forms of pleasure. All of us are able to buy things that give us temporary joy. Imagine having enough money to be able to purchase a never-ending stream of temporary joys. For a time at least, it would certainly seem to offer unending pleasure. Similarly, with it we can purchase pleasure in the form of admiration and adulation. Most people are impressed with success and wealth. The wealthy never have to seek out people to praise them.

All of these things provide a constant contest with Jesus. That is, they constantly entice us to trust in and treasure the money that makes them available instead of Jesus who made and rules them all. Again, the danger in wealth itself isn’t the money itself, but that which it continually offers—a seemingly genuine alternative to Jesus for trust and treasure (1 Timothy 6:10 and 17).

What’s more, although this passage speaks exclusively about the financially rich, it also applies to people who are rich in skill or beauty or intelligence or anything else that might deceptively overshadow Jesus in our affections. None of those things are bad in themselves. Indeed, they are gifts from God. But they are also dangerous if those who possess them forget the purpose for which God gives them—and that is all too easy to do.

The rich among James’s readers were in an exceedingly dangerous position. So much so that James said they ought to begin weeping and howling right now for the miseries that were coming upon them. Importantly, however, it was not their wealth itself that was the problem, but how they viewed it, how they’d gotten it, and what they were doing with it. In the way of a warning for us, we’ll consider each of those things now. Let’s turn our attention, therefore, to the specific forms of ungodliness that flowed from the enticement provided by their wealth.

If the rich among James’s readers were in dire straits, but it was not the actual possession of wealth that put them there, what exactly was it that did? My favorite James commentator (Manton) noted that every “woe” must have a “for”. That is, where God commands His people to weep and mourn, He also tells them why in order that they might repent. We can see four “fors” in the text that are the cause of the call to “woe”: (1) They hoarded their money, (2) They became rich through sinful means, (3) They used their money for luxury and self-indulgence, and (4) They used their money to pervert justice.

In Matthew 6:19-21, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus commanded His hearers, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Paul says almost the same thing in 1 Timothy 6:17-19.

In direct contradiction to Jesus and Paul, James rebuked his readers, “Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days.”

The only way goods can rot, garments can be moth-eaten, and money can corrode is if they are gathered in excess and not even used. That is, if they are hoarded; not shared with those in need, and not even used for themselves.

Jesus promised that every earthly possession would eventually be lost, stolen, or destroyed. Jesus promised to provide now and forever for all who would trust in Him rather than temporal things. And Jesus also promised heavenly treasures that would far outlast and outshine anything and everything mankind might accumulate on earth. Rather than trust in Jesus and store up treasures in heaven, however, James’s readers chose instead to gather and hoard wealth on earth. That’s the essence of what it means to “lay up treasure in the last days.”

The second reason James commanded his rich readers to weep and howl in anticipation of the onslaught of unending miseries, was because their wealth was gained through theft of the most vile kind and God will not tolerate such extortion.

4 Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.

James’s readers had gotten rich, in part, by hiring temporary workers to work their fields and then refusing to pay them. Most simply, they violated the eighth commandment, “You shall not steal” (Exodus 20:15).

More seriously still, they violated God’s repeated commands not to steal from the vulnerable.

Leviticus 19:13 You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you all night until the morning.

Deuteronomy 24:14-15 “You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of the sojourners who are in your land within your towns. 15 You shall give him his wages on the same day, before the sun sets (for he is poor and counts on it), lest he cry against you to the LORD, and you be guilty of sin.

Malachi 3:5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against…those who oppress the hired worker in his wages… and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts.

The hired servants of v.4 were among the more vulnerable in the land. The words of the prophets condemned James’s rich readers even before James did. Getting rich through honest means is dangerous even if is a blessing. Getting rich through theft, and especially theft of the vulnerable, is deadly.

The third way in which James’s readers sinned with their wealth was in the fact that rather than using it to serve the poor, bless the saints, reach the nations with the gospel, and glorify God, they lived in luxury and self-indulgence.

5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.

The problem is not that some of James’s readers had opportunity to celebrate or feast or experience blessing and pleasure. They are meant to occasionally be ours, but we are never meant to be theirs. By God’s grace all of us will and should experience such things on earth. But while we are meant to have them, we are not meant to live in them. Excess is meant to be an event in this life, not a lifestyle.

This is the heart of Jesus’ words in Luke 6:24-25, “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. 25 Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.” And again in 16:25 in the story of Lazarus, “remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.”

When God gives financial blessing, it is to accomplish His purposes and demonstrate the uniqueness of His glory. It is not to enable us to continually fulfill the desires of our flesh; for if we do, that will be our full reward. James’s readers had missed this entirely. They gained their wealth through sinful, exploitive means, they hoarded it, they and spent it on worldly pleasures rather than use it according to the Word of God. And as such, they were preparing themselves for the “day of [eternal?] slaughter.”

Finally, misery was fast approaching the rich among James’s because they used their money to pervert justice.

6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.

The language implies some type of courtroom setting; some type of formal, legal charge. That is, the rich were using their wealth to pervert justice for the poor and effectively leaving them in a position where they were unable to survive.

The rich loved their riches so much that they were willing to fight with murderous intent to get and keep it. They loved their riches so much that they were willing to falsely accuse and condemn the innocent to get and keep it. They loved their riches so much that they were willing to worship it above God. And for all of these reasons, they stood condemned before God. Thus, James told them that if they really understood the peril they were in, they ought to have been weeping and howling continually.

We’ve seen how deadly riches can be when God’s people give themselves to trusting in and treasuring them in place of Jesus. How, then, might we avoid the danger and certainly the death that wealth can lead to?

The first thing to settle on is the fact that we are all—every one of us—in the top 1% of the wealthiest people in the history of the world. What we take for granted, and what seems modest to us, is miles and miles beyond what 99% of all people have known. The reality that hunger, nakedness, and homelessness are not dangers for us puts us in a truly unique place in the days of men.

The point I’m trying to make is that there is a way in which we are all rich and, therefore, in which the danger described in this passage applies to all of us. How, then, do we avoid the dangers and death riches can lead to?

First, don’t be rich. If you have more money than you need to provide for your family and be responsible for the future, don’t use the excess to increase your luxury or be self-indulgent. Instead, give it away with exceeding generosity to gospel causes. Find a missionary who is consistently and sacrificially sharing the gospel in a hard place or a gospel-centered pregnancy resource center or ministry that cares for vulnerable moms and kids and use your excess to provide for their needs and encourage their faith. It would be fairly easy for some of us to give $1000 (or more) a month to help Dustin and Kellie focus on reaching the nations rather than raising support or Together for Good serve the ever-increasing number of moms reaching out to them rather than hassle with the cost tied to building out their new resource center in downtown Minneapolis.

The best way I’ve ever heart to put this into practice is to commit to a lifestyle. Commit to living frugally, decide how much money it would take to do that, and give away everything else to truly gospel-centered discipleship.

Second, surround yourself with those who do not have a lot of money. When your friends are all able to eat out or vacation or purchase whatever, whenever, it’s difficult to keep perspective. On the other hand, if you are regularly spending time with the kinds of people Jesus spent time with, people without a lot of earthly resources, you will feel less pull to spent money on worldly, excessive, self-indulgent things.

More than that even, if you spend significant time with those who are frugal by necessity, you’ll be exposed to a great deal more ways to meet real needs.

Third, have godly friends. Having godly friends means having friends who are more impressed with God than money. It means having friends who are continually pressing in on obedience to God with their money. It means having friends who will tempt you to join them in godliness, rather than in worldliness. It means having friends who will pray for you and challenge you if it looks like you’re living in excess and self-indulgence. It means having friends with real stories and examples of how they are handling their money in godly ways and how God has been faithful through it.

Finally, remember what’s true. Remember the commands of God and use your money (whenever necessary) to obey them. Remember the promises of God for your money and believe them. Remember that money itself is inherently valueless. It is God (and God alone) who assigns value to things. Remember the truth that on its own all wealth can offer is a fake, temporary version of what Christ offers for real and forever. Remember that Christ is supreme. Remember the gospel.

One way or another, in this life or the next, James’s rich readers would realize that they were naked. While James’s reader’s wealth had given them the illusion of being clothed with power, protection, and significance, the illusion wouldn’t last. They would eventually be stripped bare—naked—of everything they’d trusted in.

As bad as things had gotten, however, all was not lost. James’s readers had given into some truly evil things, but those things had not placed them beyond redemption—even as no sin can ever place us beyond saving while we have breath. James wrote our passage not to eternally condemn them, but to explain their dire situation in order that they might repent. Grace, Jesus will always receive us when we come to Him in humble faith. No matter what you’ve done or how many times you’ve done it, the grace of God is bigger than all your sin. Whether your sin relates to money or sex or anger or violence or selfishness, Jesus Christ is a sufficient savior for all who will turn to Him. He alone is worthy of our trust and is the supreme treasure. Look to Him today and He will receive you, forgive you, heal you, and bring you into everlasting fellowship with God.