Commentary on James 5 (Part One)
5 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! 2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. 4 Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. 5 You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.
7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. 8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
9 Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! 10 My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. 11 Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.
12 But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest you fall into judgment.
13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
19 Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, 20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.
Many people seek after riches all the days of their lives and give little thought of eternity. The popular saying that he who dies with the most toys wins, is far from the truth. When it is your time to depart this life, you cannot take your worldly possessions with you, or buy your way into heaven. Where your treasure is there will your heart be also. Christ said that you cannot serve two masters, you cannot serve God and mammon (money). Christ also said, that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter heaven. A needle was an arched entrance through the wall into Jerusalem. It was designed to limit camel traffic in Jerusalem. A camel would have to crawl on it's knees through the gate. Christ was not saying that it is impossible for a rich person to enter heaven, rather it is very difficult.
The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil and it has corrupted many. Many television evangelists and mega-church leaders have lost their souls do to greed. James teaches that if you are an employer and withhold the wages of your laborers who mow your fields, or your reapers who cry out to the Lord, you have fattened yourself for the day of slaughter. Nothing escapes the eyes of the Lord, and you will reap destruction if you defraud your workers.
I know a man who bought a manufactured home for a very low price, and then rented it out to a missionary with a large family, for a very high price. This man who was a faithful church member, will answer to God for this. We will be held accountable by the Lord for how we treat our fellow man. If you are an employer, or a landlord, be careful how you treat those who depend upon you.
5 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! 2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. 4 Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. 5 You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.
James tells us not to grumble against one another lest you be condemned. Gossip and backbiting may seen like small issues to most, but to God this is a major sin. The Lord dealt with me on this issue in the past. In a few dreams, as well as words, the Lord showed me to never speak an unkind word against another, but to reflect the love of Christ to all. If we bite and devour one another the love of Christ is not perfected in our hearts. We are to reflect the attributes of Christ so others may also desire a relationship with the Lord. The taming of the tongue is not easy, but necessary. We must all learn to bring our carnal nature under the control of God's Spirit through self discipline. All things are possible through Christ who gives us strength.
If we truly walk with Christ we will suffer persecution. If you are crucified with Christ you will no longer live as the world lives. To be born again is to be set apart from the sinful world. As we endure persecution we will become stronger spiritually, as well as an example of patience and self control to those who are watching us. The world sees too many hypocrites, they need to see genuine Christians who live a disciplined life, in their daily walk. (Luke 9:23) Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.
7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. 8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
9 Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! 10 My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. 11 Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.
