Are Your Priorities Empty? (Virtual Sermon Notes)
GIST: The pursuit of empty, self-seeking priorities results in eternal punishment, but the patient, purposeful perspective of Jesus results in permanent peace.
SCRIPTURE: James 5:1-12
We’re getting very close to the end of our study together in James. We started this before COVID-19 was even a word any of us had ever heard and then continued it mainly through our time of social distancing. It’s been a blessing for me to dive into these passages each week, and I pray they’ve spoken to your hearts, as well. Typically, next Sunday would be when we’d start our Summer in Psalms back up, but we’re so close to finishing up James, we’re going to wrap it up before we jump back into Psalms.
That being said, today we’re going to look at the first 12 verses of James chapter 5. I know. Last week we only covered 1 verse, but don’t freak out, I’ll still be considerate of your time ☺️. Throughout this letter, James has been telling these early Christians, who were spread all over the world and experiencing lives very different and much more challenging than they had expected, they need true faith, and he’s been painting us a picture of what it looks like to really live that! The passage we’re coming to today comes right after that summary point we looked at last week. If then, we know what to do and don’t do it, that’s sin. Following that, we’re faced with both a warning and an encouragement. I thought about dividing them up, but they seemed too paired for me to do that. So, let me give you my overly alliterated gist statement, then we’ll pray and dive in! Gist: The pursuit of empty, self-seeking priorities results in eternal punishment, but the patient, purposeful perspective of Jesus results in permanent peace.
I. EMPTY PRIORITIES=ETERNAL PUNISHMENT
After telling us to actually live active lives for Jesus, the first thing we see pictured here is really→
Empty Priorities. Look at verses 1-3 real quick. “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.” Let me start by addressing the context a bit here. Clearly, the specific form of empty priority being drawn out here has to do with wealth. However, this is not a blanket statement against money, but rather a clear picture of what the love of money does. And before you feel any kind of relief too soon here, keep in mind that loving money isn’t always the same thing as having it. I heard Alistair Begg quote, I believe, J.C. Ryle as saying “you can love money without having it and have money without loving it”. And as someone who has never had much, let me just say, I know this is completely true. Wealth, in itself, is not evil. It is the selfish and wicked use of wealth and the longing after it at all costs that so often leads to corruption.
That’s the picture we have here. All this stuff that they’ve based their lives around is decaying around them and their foundation is falling out from under them. Guys, this is a truth we have to hold onto and hold onto hard. If we are putting our identity and our hope in anything or anyone except Jesus, it will not stand the test of time. It will fade. It will decay. It will let us down. So devoting our lives to this is running headlong toward our own condemnation. That last line is really key. It says, “their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days.” That picture of eating our flesh like fire reminds us of Hell. The eternal punishment waiting for all those who reject Christ and put their hope in themselves. Then that final sentence emphasizes the futility of it all by reminding us that this is happening “in the last days”! Time is short! Don’t waste it on empty pursuits. You’ll never have enough money to fill your heart.
Then, the second warning we get here is that→
Pride Hurts Us...And Others. Look at verse 4. Not only are these wealthy individuals hoarding emptiness, but→ “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.” Let me just make two observations here. The first is a warning. Don’t take advantage of other people. I know that seems like basic human decency, especially since our culture has been so influenced by Biblical teachings, but it’s not the reality we live in. Our world is out to get what it can from whoever it can, and if others get the short end of the stick, that’s ok as long as you came out on top. Don’t by into that garbage. We are called to love God and love people. Pride destroys both of those in one decisive blow.
The second thing I’ll point out here is an encouragement. James assures both his readers and the selfish rich that these sins have not gone unnoticed. They have reached the throne of God, the Lord of Hosts. This is a picture of God as the powerful leader of an immeasurable army. Man, I love this! James is telling his readers the Lord, who is great in power, has heard the cries of the oppressed. Be assured; this will not go unpunished!
Now, that’s not a call to some kind of vigilante justice. There will be justice, but it won’t come from you… but I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself here, so look at verses 5-6. Here we have a sort of→
Summary And Bridge. “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.” First, we see the condition of those seeking these empty priorities. They have→
Fat Hearts On Slaughtering Day. Listen, it’s not good to be fat on slaughtering day! The “day of slaughter” is referring to the final judgment—when these self-indulgent will be punished, and the imagery is profound. Before an animal is taken away to be slaughtered, it’s fattened up. The picture here is of an animal knowing they will be killed if they continue to eat in excess but doing it anyway. That’s nonsense! But, that’s the reality of people enslaved by their own sin. It’s killing us, but we’re doing it anyway.
The second thing we see is in that last little line “he does not resist you”. There has been a lot of speculation about what exactly this might be referring to, but it seems most likely to be referencing the→
Righteous Reaction. Either the Christian does not resist because he can’t because he’s too impoverished or powerless to stand against these oppressors, or they wouldn’t anyway because of their changed perspective. Both fit in this context, but especially the latter given what James continues with, which is why I wanted to present these together today. There is no physical abuse or verbal attack coming from the saint. Why? Because the Lord of Hosts has heard! The sinful nature within us makes us long for “justice” and “retribution”—both nice words we use to cloak our true intentions—revenge and pride. Instead, we’re called to the →
II. PATIENT, PURPOSEFUL PERSPECTIVE= PERMENANMENT PEACE
Yeah, I know. That’s a lot of Ps. I can’t help myself ☺️. Let’s run through this. First, James tells us to→
Be Patient. I don’t even have to read the verse for this one to be convicting, right? We don’t typically do well with patience in our culture. We’re used to getting what we want when we want it and have missed out on the beauty of waiting on Jesus. Look at verses 7-8a. “7 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.”He tells these believers, in light of the condemnation of the sinful, to be patient until the coming of the Lord. Like a farmer waiting for the much-needed water—without which his crops will die—we are to wait on our vitally needed Savior, who is at hand! Don’t envy the wicked, but look forward to what really matters, that precious fruit: Jesus Christ! And while you wait, →
Keep Your Eyes On His Truth. The rest of verse 8 says to “Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” That’s the precious fruit we’re waiting for: seeing Him and bringing as many people with us as we can! It’s easy to lose sight of that and to waiver in our convictions when we’re feeding on the emptiness of this world. Cling to His Word and dig deeply into it. Hold on to His truth, and→
Don’t Waste Time Complaining. Verse 9 should provide a nice little kick in the teeth here. “9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.” Don’t grumble. Don’t gossip. Don’t waste your words by using them to tear others down and by so doing bring judgment on yourself. →
Instead, Remember His Compassion & Mercy. Verses 10-11 hold this beautiful truth. “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.” This is the permanent peace part! You want to know what this patient and purposeful perspective looks like, look back at the prophets. They were called by God with a message to deliver, just like us, and as they went out… their lives weren’t always easy. Yet, they remained faithful and God used them, and now they’re experiencing His grace in ways beyond our comprehension. James tells us to think about Job who suffered so much but was then given back twice as much as he lost. This isn’t a picture of what will necessarily happen here on earth, but the beautiful illustration of God’s heart! He is compassionate and merciful and pours that out on us every day if we’ll look for it. Moreover, a day is coming when we’ll experience that compassion and mercy face-to-face!
Then, this section ends with a verse some feel is out of place here. “12 But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your "yes" be yes and your "no" be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.” It almost directly parallels Jesus’ exhortation in Matthew 5. But what does it mean? How does it fit here? As we wait for Him, we are to stand firm in our faith, but this isn’t just an intellectual thing. We need to strive to actually live like Christ. As such, we should be living lives of integrity and uprightness. Oaths are unnecessary when we are living in the truth. So, as we be patient, we keep our eyes on the truth, we don’t waste our time complaining, but we remember His compassion and mercy And Have The Integrity Of A Transformed Heart. That’s when we’ll experience the permanent peace of Heaven rather than the eternal punishment of Hell awaiting all those who live only for themselves.
Ok, so some quick→
TAKEAWAYS
1. Empty priorities will lead to Hell. Let’s not sugarcoat it. If you’re living for yourself and have become a slave to whatever makes life a little easier, a little better, a little more comfortable—even if that might cost someone else, even if that might require bending on the moral convictions found in God’s Word— you’re worshiping yourself, hurting those around you, and running headlong toward one destination only: Hell.
2. Be patient and remember your purpose. You aren’t here for you. Life is bigger than that. Don’t let your pride rob you of what you were made for! You were made to be with Him and to be used by Him here to point others to this truth!
3. Be patient and remember… He’s coming back! This world isn’t all there is. We’ve been talking the past two weeks about the brevity of our lives. We’re vapors, but so is this world. This whole timeline we call human existence is just a bleep compared to the vastness of eternity! And this isn’t just something we tell each other to make us feel better about our “bad days”. It’s true. He’s coming back. He’s only delayed because He’s not done saving people yet, but that day IS coming! Rejoice, look forward to it, and let that perspective drive your...every day!
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