SERMON TITLE: Hope For Those Who Are Rich
SCRIPTURE: James 5:1-6 (ESV)
SPEAKER: Josh Hanson
DATE: 5-31-26
Sermon Discussion Guide
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As always, it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — whether you’re worshiping with us for the first time or joining us at our North Main Campus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you, too.
We’re continuing our series in the book of James this weekend — learning from the younger brother of Jesus, who believed that his older brother was God. And — in his letter — James has taken some teachings from his older brother and is showing us how to apply what Jesus taught to everyday life. Thus — when we listen to James — we’re learning what it means to be wise — for wisdom is taking God at his Word and applying it to our lives.
And — today — just like last week — the topic James has for us is very practical. For he’s going to talk to us about wealth. That’s right. Everyone’s favorite topic for the pastor to preach on: money. And — if our topic isn’t enough to get you excited for today’s sermon, know that — it’s at this point, late in his letter — when writing about wealth — that James uses his harshest language. So don’t blame me, blame James. He’s the one bringing up wealth and riches — not me. I’m just following his lead.
So let’s turn to our passage for today. We’ll be in James chapter five. James chapter five — looking at verses one through six. We’re in James chapter five — beginning in verse one. There we read…
James 5:1–6 ESV
1 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.
In our text, we find some characteristics of those who are rich, we find a warning to those who are rich, and — thankfully — we find hope for those who are rich. Characteristics, a warning, and hope for those who are rich. That’s where we’re headed today.
But before we go much further, I want to ask something important about money and wealth. What do you think is the Bible’s view of money and wealth?
Did you know that the Bible doesn’t have a disparaging view of money? It doesn’t. In fact, and this may surprise you, the Bible often speaks of wealth as a blessing from God. Take Isaac, for example…
Genesis 26:12–14 NLT
12 When Isaac planted his crops that year, he harvested a hundred times more grain than he planted, for the Lord blessed him. 13 He became a very rich man, and his wealth continued to grow. 14 He acquired so many flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, and servants that the Philistines became jealous of him.
Or take King David’s prayer, where he said…
1 Chronicles 29:10–12 ESV
10 Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. 11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. (So far so good. But look at what he says next.) 12 Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.
Or take this from the book of Proverbs…
Proverbs 10:22 NIV
22 The blessing of the Lord brings wealth…
And…
Proverbs 22:4 ESV
4 The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.
Now, what we’ve just read doesn’t imply that wealth is always a blessing from God — for wealth can be sought in ways that God disapproves of — and it doesn’t mean that if you follow Jesus you’re going to be rich — no health, wealth, and prosperity gospel here — but what I’m trying to help us all see is that wealth isn’t always a curse. I think, in a reaction against materialism and consumerism — which are problems in the American Church — we’ve tended to make money and wealth out to be irredeemable. Yes, we remember what James warned earlier, when he wrote…
James 4:13–16 NLT
13 Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” 14 How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. 15 What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” 16 Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil.
We must guard against being pretentious with our plans — including our financial plans — and instead we’re to trust in God’s sovereignty — in his being in control of all things — including the financial details of our lives. Or to say this biblically…
Deuteronomy 8:17–18 ESV
17 Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ 18 You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.
I say all of this to reveal a tension we find in the Bible. Wealth isn’t evil and — at the same time — it tends to trip up more people — Christian or not — when it comes to finding joy, satisfaction, and purpose in life. And — for those who live for money — regardless if they’re aware that money and riches are what they’ve given their lives to or not — money is always a terrible god. For it’s a god that cannot save, it’s a god that only disappoints, and it’s a god that leaves one at odds with the one true God.
So let’s see what James has to say to us about wealth and money.
We’ll begin by looking at the characteristics of those who are rich. We find characteristics of the rich beginning in the last half of verse three, where we read…
James 5:3–5 ESV
3 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.
Notice, first, that James mentions the last days. He wants his original readers — and us — to feel the weight of the time we live in. We live in the last days. The last days are the time between Christ’s first coming to earth and his return. In the Bible, we find this period called the last days, the end times, or the end of the age. For example, listen to what the apostle Peter said during one of the first Christian sermons to be preached. These were Peter’s words in response to being mocked by a crowd of onlookers.
Acts 2:14–21 NLT
14 Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, “Listen carefully, all of you, fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem! Make no mistake about this. 15 These people are not drunk, as some of you are assuming. Nine o’clock in the morning is much too early for that. 16 No, what you see was predicted long ago by the prophet Joel: 17 ‘In the last days,’ God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. 18 In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on my servants — men and women alike — and they will prophesy. 19 And I will cause wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below — blood and fire and clouds of smoke. 20 The sun will become dark, and the moon will turn blood red before that great and glorious day of the Lord arrives. 21 But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
Peter told the crowd that the last days were upon them.
Or take what the apostle Paul said when, after reviewing some moments in the history of God’s people, he wrote…
1 Corinthians 10:11 NLT
11 These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age.
And as the author of Hebrews begins his letter with…
Hebrews 1:1–4 NLT
1 Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. 2 And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe. 3 The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. 4 This shows that the Son is far greater than the angels, just as the name God gave him is greater than their names.
And as the apostle John warns us…
1 John 2:18 NLT
18 Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the last hour has come.
Those who first received James’ letter, just like us today, lived in the last days. Thus, one characteristic of the rich, which James is speaking about, is that they ignore the time in which they live. They’re careless in how they live. They don’t recognize that the time of God’s final judgment on all things — including them — is at hand. And James calls it a “day of slaughter” for the rich, which — let’s be honest — sounds pretty terrifying.
So, let me ask, how aware are you of the time in which you live? Like the rich, whom James is addressing, are you being careless by not recognizing that you’re living in the last days? Here’s another way to think of this question: How does the nearness of God’s final judgment influence the way you live?
One characteristic of the rich is that they don’t feel the weight of the time in which they live.
Another characteristic is that they’re wealthy. I left this obvious characteristic for second — because — you don’t have to be financially wealthy to not recognize that you’re living in the last days — you don’t have to have a big bank account to live without considering the nearness of God’s final judgment. So no matter how much is in your bank account, that first characteristic of the rich is something that applies to all of us.
But now we can focus on actual wealth. James specifically calls out those who gained their wealth by corrupt means. In James’ day, it was common for people to be day laborers. Meaning they worked each day expecting to be paid at the end of the day, so they would have the means to meet their basic needs. But if the rich landowner held on to the laborer’s paycheck — even for a day or two — maybe they wanted to make some interest off of the money before they paid their workers, or maybe they didn’t want to go to the bank or wherever they kept their money that day, so they told the workers they’d be paid tomorrow — regardless of the reason, there were many ways the rich could make life a death sentence for their workers.
As one scholar says, “No doubt their (the rich…no doubt their) mansions were well protected against the shouts of the workers who had families to feed and nothing to feed them because their pay had been unjustly held back. So James declares: The wages themselves, which you have kept back, are shouting out, and God is listening!”
Now, I’m going to assume the best about all of us and that none of us are gaining wealth by defrauding others like the rich that James is speaking of. So I’ll let God use his Word to speak to any of us who are gaining wealth by unjust means, as I point out to us a third characteristic of the rich: They live in luxury and self-indulgence. And this characteristic, like the first, is one we may find ourselves uncomfortably familiar with.
Before we learn about this characteristic, I want to remind us of a moment in Jesus’ life that we looked at last week.
Luke 12:13–21 ESV
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
Both James and Jesus are teaching against hoarding. The Bible is pro-saving, but is anti-hoarding.
One pastor has said, “People get pretty upset at this point. Here’s why. James is saying it is extremely important for Christians to see there’s a line to be drawn between saving and prudence, and self-indulgence, hoarding, and storing up money instead of putting it to good use. There’s a difference between living a basic life of necessities and conveniences and moving over into the area of unnecessary luxuries and self-indulgence.
Everybody says, “Where’s that line?” People say, “Okay, how many cars can you have as a Christian? How big of an apartment? How big should your clothing budget be?”
[The Bible doesn’t give us the line.] But this doesn’t mean, “So don’t worry about the line.”
That pastor goes on to say, “You’d better find a way to draw that line. You’d better look at everything in your life and say, ‘Is this really a necessity or is it a luxury? Do I really have to spend my money on this, or could I, instead of spending this on myself, be giving this money away?” Somebody says, “Boy, I’d hate to have to live a life like that.” [But] this is the life that you’re called to.”
Here’s an example from church history: John Wesley. John Wesley founded the Methodist Church. Wesley began his ministry as a simple preacher. He didn’t make much money, but as his popularity grew, so did his income. Records show that when Wesley earned thirty pounds one year, he gave away three. That’s the biblical tithe or giving ten percent of your income to God’s work through the local church.
Another year, Wesley made forty pounds. His income went up ten pounds — from thirty to forty. Now, if he gave three pounds away when he made thirty pounds, how much do you think he gave away when he made forty pounds? He gave away ten pounds. He went from giving away ten percent of his income to giving away twenty-five percent.
Another year, he made seventy pounds. How much do you think he gave away? The answer gets to the heart of what it means to be generous — or being rich toward God. When Wesley made seventy pounds, he gave away forty. That’s fifty-seven percent of his income.
At one point, he made fourteen hundred pounds in a year. It’s easier to ask “How much do you think he lived on” than to ask “How much do you think he gave away?” When he made fourteen hundred pounds, he lived on thirty pounds. He gave away ninety-eight percent of his income.
Now I want to be clear. God isn’t against us spending on ourselves. God’s not against us enjoying his creation — every good gift does come from him after all. But here in the US, we assume that our standard of living should increase as fast — or sometimes even faster — than our income. And I want us to ask, “Why do we believe this?”
Why have we bought into the American cultural idea that our standard of living should always increase when our income does? Why can’t it be that — the more money you make — the greater the distance there should be between the lifestyle you live and the lifestyle you’re capable of living? I’m not telling you what the line is — all I’m asking is if you even have a line. For someone who follows Jesus, a man who was both born and died poor, no Christian should live as well as we’re capable of living. For we follow a generous Savior and are called to be generous with our riches and wealth — especially in our generosity towards God and the work he’s doing through the local church.
Now we turn to James’s warning to those who are rich. We’re back in verse one.
James 5:1–3 ESV
1 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.
There’s division among Bible scholars about who James is writing to here. Are the rich Christians or unbelievers? Some say he’s writing to unbelievers because James doesn’t use the word “brothers” in these verses, whereas he uses the word in the rest of his letter to refer to fellow followers of Jesus. Others say he’s writing to Christians because — one — the letter is addressed to churches — and two — it’s pretty unlikely that non-Christians would end up reading his letter. Now, if you forced me to choose, I’d say he’s writing to Christians — though his warning applies to everyone, Christian or not.
So with that out of the way — and none of us off the hook — let’s look at his command. You may have noticed how — in most sermons — I’ve pointed out any commands in the passages we’ve looked at. I do this because we’re a people who — generally speaking — like to know what we’re supposed to do. And commands tell us what we’re supposed to do. And, here — in verse one — we find the only command in our passage for today. And here’s the command: weep.
The rich are commanded to weep. And in what way are they to weep? They’re to howl — meaning — this is a weeping with audible, yet unintelligent sounds. And what’s the cause for this howl-filled weeping? The miseries that are coming upon them.
Miseries isn’t a fun word, is it? For starters, it’s plural. And, for most of us, a single misery is more than enough. But miseries — plural — are what’s promised to those who display the characteristics of the rich that we looked at earlier. Do you remember how, at the start of the sermon, I said that James saved his harshest words for these verses? A day of slaughter. And, now, miseries are coming on you.
And it’s at this point that someone may ask, “Isn’t James being a bit too hard on his fellow Christians? How can he say that miseries are coming upon fellow believers? Didn’t his older brother die to keep us from experiencing miseries from the hand of God?”
I think the answer lies in recognizing that Christians sin. And we sin often. And we can sin in some horrendously huge ways. Like not paying people what they’re owed — even when we know they need that paycheck to make it through the day. So James is warning Christians because — this kind of sinful behavior — when not killed — when not turned away from — when it's allowed to continue in one’s life — this kind of sin can be evidence that you’re not really a Christian in the first place. So he uses harsh language to wake us from a stupor of comfort that will result in our condemnation.
But James’ warning to the rich continues. And — here — I think we find a teaching of Jesus that may have been on James’ mind when he wrote these words. Jesus once said…
Matthew 6:19–21 NLT
19 “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.
That sounds like what James is getting at, doesn’t it? The idea of storing up wealth here on earth instead of storing up treasures in heaven by using our wealth and resources in this life to advance God’s mission of seeking and saving those who are lost. For as Jesus says, “Wherever your treasure is — either here on earth or in heaven — that’s where the desires of your heart can be found.”
The question we’re forced to answer, based on what you do with your wealth, is this: Is the desire of your heart located here on earth or in heaven? If you’re someone who claims to follow Jesus, don’t dismiss this question — that’d be the foolish thing to do when wisdom is asking you such a revealing question. Especially when we remember what James said to us earlier in his letter when he wrote…
James 2:15–16 NLT
15 Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, 16 and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”— but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?
What good does that do? No good. They’re still cold and hungry even though you’ve got the means to help them. James goes on to say…
James 2:17 NLT
17 So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.
What good deeds of financial generosity is your faith in Jesus producing? Yes, there are many ways faith produces good deeds in our lives. Serving others. Practicing patience. Sharing the gospel and so on. But these good deeds are not in competition with one another, and doing one doesn’t excuse failing to do the others. Meaning, serving others — a sign of your faith producing good works — doesn’t excuse you if you’re not generous with your money. Just as being generous with your money doesn’t excuse you if you’re not serving others. But since James is focusing on our wealth, that’s what we’re focusing on.
So, how is your faith in Jesus producing good works of financial generosity in your life? How is it growing you in your generosity, where you haven’t just settled to give the equivalent of three pounds of your income, even though you’re now making way more than thirty pounds a year? How is your growth in understanding God’s love for you — which surely has grown the longer you’ve followed Jesus — how has your growth in understanding God’s love for you transformed you into a more financially generous person? Into a person not storing up treasures that will only rot and corrode with time, but into a person storing up eternal treasure that will last forever?
Now to our final point: Hope for the rich. James has said some hard things to the rich, but there is an offer of hope in our verses. You see, being the kind of person James is pointing us to — a person who has this God-glorifying relationship with riches and wealth — this isn’t natural — it’s supernatural. And because this kind of relationship with riches is supernatural, it’s full of hope. But it’s hope found in a most unexpected place. We’re in verse six.
James 5:6 ESV
6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.
In these words, James reminds us that the most grievous act the rich have committed isn’t oppressing the poor, living in luxury, or denying workers their pay — the most grievous act the rich have committed is the moment in history when we condemned and murdered the righteous person. Or — better — the Righteous One, whose name is Jesus.
And, as hard as this may be to imagine, it’s here that we find hope. For just like the woman who anointed Jesus with perfume during the last week of his life here on earth, when we realize what Jesus is really worth, we’ll generously give up everything we have for him.
John 12:1–8 NLT
1 Six days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarus — the man he had raised from the dead. 2 A dinner was prepared in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those who ate with him. 3 Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance. 4 But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, 5 “That perfume was worth a year’s wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.” 6 Not that he cared for the poor — he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself. 7 Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”
Did you see how much the perfume was worth? It was a year’s worth of wages. Not even John Wesley — in all of his God-glorifying giving — was that generous. He gave ninety-eight percent of a year’s wages. Mary, well, she gave one hundred percent.
But let’s not compare Mary with John Wesley — let’s compare her to Judas. Ultimately, we can take what James wants us all to wrestle with — regarding riches and wealth — and ask ourselves: Who are we more like when it comes to our money? Mary or Judas? Mary, who saw Jesus for who he truly was and put all of her riches at his feet, saying, “I see who you are and what you’ve done. And you’re worth more to me than every cent I have.” Are we like Mary or Judas, who betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver?
Yes, that’s a very uncomfortable question, but it’s the question we’ve arrived at. What’s worth more to you? What do you value more? What does your heart truly desire? Jesus or money? God’s love and all that he’s done for you, or riches that will one day rust and corrode?
Mary or Judas? Jesus or riches? Treasure in heaven or here on earth? That’s the choice before each of us. One is the choice of those whose faith is producing good works of financial generosity in their life. Mary or Judas? Jesus or riches? That’s our choice, which will you choose? Let’s pray.
Father in Heaven, we’ve faced some hard questions today. Questions of what our heart truly loves. Questions of what we value most. Questions that have forced us to take an honest look, and I’m sure some of us are uncomfortable with what we’ve seen.
Spirit, cleanse us from the sins of hoarding, greed, trusting in riches instead of you, and for storing up treasures here on earth instead of in heaven. Give our hearts that supernatural desire to live a generous life because we have tasted and seen the love you have for us.
And, Jesus, any hope we have is because you, the Righteous One, gave your life on the cross in our place and for our sins. You did so in love. You did so because you knew the price that had to be paid for your people to be redeemed. And the cost was high. A price higher than all our bank accounts combined.
Father, Son, and Spirit, help us to first believe that we’re really loved in this way. And, second, to respond by living a generous life as we love you in return. For the day is near. We’re living in the last days. May we be found to be faithful — knowing the times so that you’re glorified in our lives. And we pray all of this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
May God bless you with eyes that see his love for you. For then, and only then, we he be the treasure that your heart desires most. Amen.
God loves you. I love you. You are sent.
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