The Perspective of the Rich and Poor

Well, I'd like for us to continue our study in James, of course, and I'd like to pick up where we left off last Lord's Day in the book of James, chapter 1. So, please turn with me there to James, chapter 1.

We're going to look at three verses, verses 9 through 11, and see what the Word of God has to say about the perspective of rich and poor. The perspective, and I like to go a little step further on that, the biblical perspective of the rich and poor.

You know, there's a lot of different perspectives today when it comes to how people see the rich and the poor, but what does God have to say through the Apostle James here? What is the eternal perspective?

How about that? The eternal perspective, the biblical perspective, is far more important than what the world says, or how the world views it. And these three verses of Scripture today, we would be looking at and comparing other verses later on of what James is saying in the text before us.

So, I'm reading from the New King James Translation. The New King James Translation, beginning at verse 9. Verse 9, hear the words of the living God. Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away.

For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass, its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits. May God bless the reading of His Word to our hearts and our ears this morning.

Let's seek His face and His help as we go to Him in prayer. Our Father in heaven, we do thank You for Your holy Word this morning. It's come to us in English, but it's been preserved down through the ages.

And it's come to us in a sea of blood. Lord, heaven and earth will pass away, but Your Word endures forever. We ask now by Your Holy Spirit, Lord, give us ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.

We are the church. Give us eyes to see and a heart to perceive its great truths this morning. But help us to apply it to our lives, Lord, more than anything else. That we may obey You from a heart of love.

As James says in this wonderful book, Lord, that You've given to us, be doers of Your Word and not just hearers. May we never forget, Lord, that to obey is better than sacrifice. And to heed than the fat of rams.

So Father, may we take heed to the wisdom from Your Word this morning and in our lives so that we will live them out and not waste the opportunities given to us. Make our lives count. May we not waste it, Lord, on our own selves, but may we live it for Your glory and Your honor.

And we would ask this in the name of Jesus, Your beloved Son in whom You're well pleased in. Amen and amen. Well, I'm going to pick up where I left off, but I was challenged last week. I think Brother Keith pointed some things out to me, so I had to really dig in, Brother Keith.

Now, there are different interpreted challenges to this, so I'm not going to say my interpretation is the only way. And also, in a way of introduction, we all need to be good Bereans. And I'm not talking about Berean by name or where we just came from, or where God just whisked us off from here to there.

But I mean that in the biblical sense of studying the Scriptures and going to the Scriptures and really applying ourselves to what the text says. And I really mean this because there are so many interpretations to the text.

That's why we all need to study the Scriptures and see what does the text say and pray. There are tough interpretations. And what James is saying about the rich here was not an easy interpretation to come to.

So I'm going to throw this out to you, and you're welcome to check me. That's what I'm saying. I'm accountable. And I think I was sharing this with Brother Keith yesterday when I was at one of the Bible seminaries years ago in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, by the way.

Jimmy Sawyer Bible College. It was a wonderful professor that taught dispensational truths. He taught the book of Daniel. It was wonderful, even though he was a dispensationalist. And I don't want to go into detail what dispensationalism is and those things.

I don't want to go there. But he taught dispensational truths in the book of Daniel and the book of Revelation. But there's one thing I gleaned and I took home with me. He was a man, a professor of wonderful wisdom, very practical wisdom.

He was very calm. He wasn't one of these Pentecostals that was out there shouting his head off and stuff. You'd think that of all Pentecostals, but not all of them were like that. He was very mild-mannered.

But I'll tell you this. This man was very bold for the Lord. His name was John G. Hall. He's probably with the Lord now because that was back when I was 19, 20 years old and he was up in age. I don't know.

More than likely he's with the Lord. But he always said this. Anything that you preachers preach, you better back it up with chapter and verse. And he said you better rightly divide the word of truth.

And any time he signed, he had books he wrote. He would sign, I believe, a study to show yourself approved unto God to rightly divide the word of truth. A workman needs not to be ashamed. So that was his verse.

And he lived it out too. There was times preachers would come and they would step out of line on interpretation. He'd go up there with his Bible and I saw him. He was pointing in Scripture. Chapter and verse, chapter and verse.

So that's what's important. So check me. That's why I'm saying this. Check me to make sure what I'm saying isn't just based upon one verse of Scripture. You've got to run it through. Then you've got something stable and strong and secure.

Run it through the verses. So you can do that as we look at this text today because it has some interpretive challenges to it. And way of introduction also in verses 2 through 8, what is James saying?

James is speaking to us how believers can profit from trials. That's what we've been looking for. That's what we've been looking at and for in our own lives. How can we profit from the trials? So all the way from verses 2 through 8, James is speaking this is how we can profit from our trials.

And he offers two examples here in the text before us and how the text speaks of the rich and the poor or I should I say poverty and riches in those two comparisons. Now when James says the brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position but the one who is rich should take pride in his low position in verse 9 he presents to us a riddle, right?

It's a riddle, isn't it? Notice what he says, James calls the poor man a brother. Now there's no question about that. We know that this poor man is a brother in the Lord. He's a believer in the Lord. There's no doubt about that.

But the second man is simply one who is rich. He doesn't necessarily say brother but there is some implications that he is a brother and I want to give you some reasons. Does James intend to distinguish between the poor believer whom God blesses and the rich unbeliever whom God judges so that he will fade away with his riches?

You see what I'm saying? So if the rich man is an unbeliever then in verses 10 -11 sarcastically listen closely sarcastically declares that the proud rich man can look forward to just one thing and what is it?

Fading away. And judgment. On the last day he's got not much to look forward to does he? But to stand before God and be judged. But we all know that we're going to all be judged one day, right? And we'll look at that at the judgment seat of Christ.

But this is unlikely for two reasons and I'm going to give two reasons and you can look this is what I came to the conclusion of, ok? It's not necessarily right according to but as I studied it on some words I'm going to give you two reasons I believe this is unlikely.

Let me give them. You're welcome, like I said, to always search the scriptures yourself whether those things be so is a good variant. First of all is while James one of the reasons is James does use irony on such occasions such as chapter 2 verse 19 you can look at that 2 verse 19, there's some irony here notice what he says you believe that there's one God, you do well even the demons believe and tremble that's irony for you.

Ok?

He does not use harsh sarcasm. The second reason is which I believe is a more important reason and more emphatic than the first is the words translated pass away and fade away never refer to the final judgment of sinners elsewhere in the New Testament.

You can look that up because the term pass away does occasionally mean to die which you can find in Matthew 24 31 and Luke 21 32. That's the references or come to an end. That means coming to an end in 2 Peter 3 10 and Revelation 21 1.

And the words fade away these are important words he uses in the text. Fade away appears in conjunction with the last day the final day of judgment mentioned in Mark 13 25 but it does not describe the judgment of mankind to the context.

So in other words the other verbs in James 1 10 verses 10 -11 the word fall can refer to death and the word perish can refer to judgment. You see how important it is to do your word study because to get the right interpretation to the text you got to see how does that word apply and that's why sometimes it's very challenging to get the right interpretation so we got to get the closest and best interpretation to the verses.

So Luke 4 that is based on what I just mentioned the word perish and also can refer to judgment is based upon Luke 4 34 in Romans 14 15. Now I had to do a little studying to get all that folks you can check me out.

It's basically buried in the sense in the flower of metaphors metaphors so more likely James regards the rich man as a believer.

Even though.

There are many many verses that do support the truth that it is hard for a rich man to enter into the kingdom.

Of God right.

It's hard. There are some that made it in. Look at Job, Job was very rich. Abraham was very rich. But Job lost all his riches. But you knew his heart was in his riches because he was tested. God took it away.

What did he do? He passed the test. He worshipped God.

Abraham.

You know that man was rich and he was known as the father of the faithful more of the saints.

Were poor.

In this world but there were a few that were rich. Look at Joseph of Arimathea. He was I believe a disciple of the Lord. He was the one him and Nicodemus was the two they were in the religious sect and you know Joseph of Arimathea basically gave Jesus a temporary grave.

Jesus didn't need it for long because he rose again but he borrowed it.

Isn't that wonderful.

That tomb is empty today.

Beloved.

The resurrection I want you to think of this. The low position of the rich believer is the same low position of many Christian's shares.

It's the same.

There's no difference there whether he's poor or rich. We all bow to the request mercy and request forgiveness of our sin. The rich believer knows the ground. His level is at the foot of the cross. If this is right then riches and poverty are indeed trials.

And I personally believe that's what he has in mind here. Is that what James has in mind in our text. So the poor man is little noted in this age but he knows God. That's what we looked at last week. And he is an heir of the kingdom of God.

He possesses eternal life. But he can learn to take proper pride in that. In the right context you know God hates pride. But in the sense what he's saying in the context here the rich believer however he knows he must take no pride in his social position in his worldly status.

He may fade away as James says and that is to die in the midst of the business that he makes himself prominent. He knows he is no greater than any other man and I should say should know he is a sinner saved by the grace.

Alone.

He boasts in God not in his wealth and that's the way the rich believer should look at it.

I looked.

This up.

And I always like to go to the Puritan commentators so I went to one that's very well named and you know Matthew Henry is one of the best I think outside of scripture interpreting scripture but Matthew Henry is a good one.

I wrote this from Matthew Henry and this is what Matthew Henry says. We can observe from the text he says observe 1. Those of low degree are to be looked upon.

As brother.

We got that.

Let the brother of low degree poverty does not destroy the relation among Christians. And Henry goes on to say this. 2 good Christians may be rich in the world. Verse 10. Grace and wealth are not wholly inconsistent.

And he says this. Abraham the father of our faith was rich in silver and gold. 3. Both these are allowed to rejoice. I like what he says here. No condition of life puts us out of capacity of rejoicing in God if we do not rejoice in him always it's our own fault.

Those of low degree may rejoice if they are exalted to the rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom of God. And the rich may rejoice in humbling providences as they provide as they produce a lowly and humble disposition in mind which is highly valuable in the sight of God.

Matthew Henry continues. Where any are made poor for righteousness sake their very poverty is their exaltation.

That's good.

It is a honor to be dishonored for the sake of Christ. Philippians 129 he quotes to you it is given to.

Suffer.

What an honor. Henry goes on to say this. I love his Puritan commentator. All who are brought low are made lowly by grace may rejoice in the prospect of their exaltation at last in heaven. Fourth he says.

Observe what reason the rich people leave notwithstanding their riches to be humble and low of their own eyes. Because both they and their riches are passing away. They are fading away. They are not going to last forever.

And he goes on to say this. And he and his wealth with him pass away. End quote. Now there you have it. That's the commentator Matthew Henry and I think he's pretty wise. He is very very wise in the way he studied scripture and he always brought scripture with scripture which is the greatest interpretation by the way.

Verse 11. Notice what he says. And we're going to focus a lot on this verse here. For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass its flower falls. Listen closely. Now he's giving us a beautiful picture.

It is beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits. That is pact beloved. Let's look at it at the remainder of our time. Let us continue as we compare. And also let me bring out one other thing.

As we look at the verse we're going to also look at the world's view of riches against and compare.

To the word's view.

Of riches and I believe we can profit much by looking at that in the text and looking at the comparison right. What does the world say and what does the word say. And we're going to look at that and then we'll give conclusion.

Well in the context in which the text is speaking of this is how we can get the right interpretation. James is presenting the other side of the important principle here.

That is.

He's using some wisdom and he gives an illustration and he gives just as a materially poor believer should rejoice in spiritual riches the materially rich man should glory in his humiliation. That's what James is saying.

Let me give you one more quote. I know I'm bad about this but I've really I really when I study this and I get commentators and then I try to look and read all these commentators and I apply it to myself and I put my own words in here.

But also I like John MacArthur what he says here his commentary on James. This is what he says to this text. The idea is that a believer who is materially well off, healthy and otherwise physically blessed should rejoice when trials come for they teach him.

I love that.

They teach him the transitory nature of those material things and their inability to give inner and lasting satisfaction or help especially spiritual help. Both he and his possessions are like flowering grass and will pass away and he goes on to say.

This.

And that is exactly what James is driving at.

So.

The Puritan. There's another Puritan you notice. I like to quote Puritans. Richard Baxter says worldly wealth is a withering thing. Riches are too uncertain to end considerably things to make any great or just alterations in our minds.

And let me.

Stop right there with my quotations and now I won't preach to you both Isaiah the prophet and that's where James goes, Peter quotes.

Isaiah.

Isaiah is quoted by James and go with me very quickly here to Isaiah 40 chapter 40, we gotta look at this. And by the way, have your Bibles handy, we're gonna go to a lot of verses this morning. So yes, verse 8 this is where James' mind is going.

The Holy Spirit. Most of the times when the apostles were writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit they would always go to another inspired word. They would go to the prophets. And here in verse 8 notice what he says.

The grass withers the flower fades. Well let me back up, look at verse 6. The voice said cry out and he shall say what shall I cry, what shall I cry out. All flesh is grass and all of its loveliness is like the flower of the field.

It doesn't last forever here on this earth. The grass withers, the flower fades because the breath of the Lord blows upon it.

Verse 8.

The grass withers, the flower fades but the word of our God stands.

Forever.

The apostle Peter quotes from Isaiah in 1 Peter 124, he says all flesh is like grass and its glory like the flower of the grass. The grass withers the flower falls off and fades away, pretty much the same thing.

That's what he's doing. Peter quotes him, James quotes him and by the way, you can read 1 Peter and James, they are very parallel books aren't they. They are very much alike in the context because Peter is writing his book to those that are in suffering and through trials and he's encouraging them and James is writing to the Jewish dispersed that's discouraged and going through trials so both of them is speaking to somewhat a very similar audience.

Because men including believers have a natural tendency beloved like you and I and everybody else to trust in material things, we do not need to put our trust in things that will pass away. We are considered rich in America compared to those in third world countries so they would look at us and say wow you're very wealthy even in a very lowly home but it depends on the comparison.

But at the same time James gives special attention to the dangers of wealth and we're going to look at that today. And he expands on things that are temporary dangerous of trusting in these riches so we do not need to trust as the scripture says uncertain.

Riches.

We always need to keep that in mind though God can bless us with these things.

Materially.

Our heart does not to be in trusting in them because they.

Fade away.

Don't make an idol out of it don't let these things whether it be houses and cars and jets or whatever it may be we don't need to put our trust in these things. He says this for the sun rises with a scorching wind it withers the grass its flower falls off the beauty of its appearance is destroyed so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away.

So he's not saying the rich man here is going to die and go to hell right? Even though it is hard for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven Jesus said that it is very.

Impossible.

Unless God really gets a hold of them why? Because they trust uncertain riches that becomes their idol. And it is much easier for a poor person to see and rely on God because he is not trusting in uncertain riches.

So this is the nature.

That we are speaking of.

The picture he is giving this is the picture of the flowers and the grasses of Israel which flourish in February dry up by May. That is what he is referring to. In ancient Israel there were grasses that sprouted out of the ground in the morning time and by the afternoon it would wither away under the intense heat of the summer sun.

And James compares the instability of wealth to the type of the grass in which Jesus speaks of. And I believe that is where James is thinking of. He goes, his mind is going back to the sermon on the mount.

What did Jesus say in chapter 6. Verse 30 Jesus was talking about. Don't worry about these things and don't trust in them. You trust God, that is what he is saying. He says. Now if God so closed the grass of the field which today is and tomorrow is what?

Thrown into the oven burned up will he not much.

More.

Close you, oh you little face, isn't that wonderful. Now you know I love the much more, Jesus always put an emphasis much more he says. You see these things. It is going to fade away, he said. Put you Jesus is basically saying you trust.

God.

So now let's look at the comparison. Here is a few comparisons. What does the world have to say about riches. Well I am going to be bringing out some things that you have heard and it is no old thing you haven't heard from the world.

The world's view of riches. And then we are going to look at the application later on in personal our lives. But first let's look at this. What does the world have to say, number one. Here is my first one.

They say this, money brings freedom. Haven't you heard that the more money you get the more freedom you get. Well you and I know that is a lie because money does not bring freedom against what the word of God.

Actually it brings bondage.

You become a slave to it.

Let's look at what the chapter and verses have to say about this, turn with me very quickly to Timothy, 1st Timothy chapter 6. Now he is speaking to.

Believers.

In 1st Timothy chapter 6 and I would like to read verses 3 -10 basically what he is giving is the desire for money can be enslaving and it leads to destruction and only Jesus Christ brings true freedom.

Look at this.

Let's start with verse 3.

If anyone.

Teaches otherwise, notice where he goes this is Paul, does not consent to the wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, that is the foundation right there the words of Christ. You got to remember all the epistles and the letters was commentary on Jesus' teachings, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness, now notice what he says.

He is proud knowing nothing but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words from which come envy, strife revilings, evil suspicions useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds, destitute of the truth who suppose that godliness is a means of gain, there you go, there are some people false teachers in the prosperity gospel they believe in other words the more you gain is somehow something related to godliness.

And then Paul sets this straight, from such withdraw yourself, beloved. I stood on this verse when I pulled out of the charismatic movement right here because of the dangers of the prosperity gospel in which they taught and they tried to justify it in the name of God and I took this literally, I withdrew myself then he says this now godliness with contentment.

Is great gain.

Now he is getting it right so let me stop right there before we go to the rest of these verses, what is he saying about this. About the key word here to look at is contentment.

Godliness.

With contentment is great gain, that's a verse we ought to memorize, the Greek word means contentment means self-sufficiency. In other words it was used by the stoic philosophers to describe a person who was unflappable and unmovable by external circumstances.

Now Christians are to be satisfied according to the scriptures and sufficient and not to seek for more than what God had already given them, so God himself is the very source of contentment, you know if you go on and look at it and he says this for we brought nothing into this world and is certain we can carry nothing out.

Well doesn't he get down to just Christianity 101 here verse 8. And having food and clothing, food and clothing.

With.

These we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and prediction. And then he says this money is not the root of all evil folks it's the love of it.

You see it's where a person's heart is and Jesus taught about this very much where your heart is you treasure be also for the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil for which some have strayed from the faith and their greediness.

This can pull a person away from the faith beloved and it's greediness and pierce themselves through with many sorrows, oh my. Well that right there is a sermon in and of itself what does other scriptures say about it.

Exodus 20 verse 17 this is the 10th commandment.

God spoke this.

And wrote it with his own finger on Mount Sinai. It is perpetual, it is everlasting,. Verse 17 of chapter 20 Exodus, this is the law, you shall not covet your neighbor's house. Notice what he says. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife nor his male servant, nor his female servant nor his ox, nor his donkey.

And in case he missed anything he says, nor anything that is your neighbors, wow. So we're not to keep up with the Joneses. Right, we're not to covet. And if Jones over here, Mr. Jones has got a super nice Cadillac, it doesn't mean I want a Cadillac too.

We should be content if God gives us a Volkswagen. Well, that's a small illustration, but I don't know if it holds any water. But, the thoughts here, and also, think of this. He's not only talking about the externalism.

He's talking about the thoughts and the desires of the heart, beloved, do not escape attention. And that's where he wants us to go a strong longing to have another what has is wrong and sinful. And keep in mind here that the 10th commandment suggests that none of these previous 9 commandments are only external acts of relation to internal thoughts.

Look at what Jesus says in Matthew 15 verse 19, you don't have to go there. But this is a good verse. Jesus says, for out of the.

Heart.

Proceeds evil thoughts, murders adulteries fornications thefts, false witness blasphemies. Notice that, out of the heart, man's heart is not good. Man's heart is evil, his thoughts are evil continually.

His righteousness is as filthy rags, there's nothing good about the heart of man. He is depraved in every way.

And that's why.

We need to hear what the law of God says about it, right? So we can know what to do about it, turn quickly to Romans chapter 7. Now, some of you know where I'm going with this. Why do we need God's law to tell us this?

You notice that's the way the world is today? The world says, well I'm a good person who tells me that I'm.

Bad?

That person over there is really good and they're looking at the morality, supposedly, externally but internally we know better, don't we? Because man's nature is corrupt his heart is evil continually it is desperately wicked as the prophet says.

What does Paul say about this? Notice in verse. I like to read a few verses here, verse 7. Starting with verse 7, what shall we say then? Is the law sin?

God forbid.

Certainly not. On the contrary, he says I would not have known sin except through the law you see? The law exposes our sin for I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, you shall not covet.

Then he says this and I love this. But sin, taken opportunity by the commandment produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law, sin was dead.

And see.

That's why he says later on I was alive once without the law but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. In other words, what he's saying is that this is the way that God convicted me of my sin of coveting when God says thou shalt not covet.

God is the one that has the ultimate word and the authority over the subject because God knows the heart of man. Ok, and then when the law comes and says thou shalt not I don't know about you, you read the ten commandments and I get convicted every time because I know I've broken all of them and if some people dare say I haven't broken them, they're a liar.

We've broken them somewhere everybody has. Well that's what Paul says. See the sin taken opportunity by the commandment. Well back to 1st Timothy chapter 6, let's go back there real quick. I've got a few more verses to point out.

Then we're going to head on. Look at verse 8. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.

Let me jump.

A little bit.

Notice here he points out the negative. Well, before I get there, let's look at the food and clothing that have content, the basic necessities. The basic necessities. Ben's not in here, but we like to call it the bare necessities.

We love that song from the Jungle Book. The bare necessities. The bare necessities of life will come to you. Pretty much I'll have to make what the Christians should be content for, food and clothing.

Paul does not condemn having possessions does he? He doesn't. Know, he doesn't. As long as God graciously provides it he does however condemn a, what? Self-indulgent heart and desire for money which results in discontentment.

And that's what he condemns. Matthew 6 .33, Jesus said it.

Seek first.

Get a hold of this. Seek first the kingdom of God.

And His righteousness.

And all these other things will be added unto you, what other things? He's talking about food and clothing, the needs, God knows you need these things, and He'll take.

Care of you, so Paul.

Then gives young Timothy good advice here, doesn't he? He says first of all, you've got to flee from what is negative flee from it verse 11, look, but you old man of God, who's the man of God?

Timothy.

This is like, I see a that he's mentoring young Timothy. He says, I love this brother Michael. He says, you old man of God, you flee from these things you run from it run fast from it, and then he says, and then he gives the positive, he just doesn't leave it with the negative, he gives something positive then you run after it.

You pursue righteousness and you pursue godliness and you pursue faith, love and patience and gentleness and then he says, fight the good fight of faith.

Lay hold of eternal.

Life, to which you were also called and have confessed a good confession in the presence of many witnesses. Well, what's another lie that the world gives, here's a big one. Money brings not only freedom that's a lie, don't we know this but it also brings security how many of you have heard, financial security.

Get a big pile.