James Chapter 05

James 5:1-6

The impediment of property.  

See 1 Timothy 6:9-10.  

9Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Mark 10:17-25. 

The rich and the kingdom of God

17As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. ‘Good teacher,’ he asked, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’…

22At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

23Jesus looked round and said to his disciples, ‘How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!’

24The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, ‘Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’

James 2:5-6.

5Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6But you have dishonoured the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court?

Matthew 6:19-20, 

19 ‘Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

Luke 12:33. 

33Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

1 Peter 1:4.

3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 

Romans 2:5. 

5But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.

Luke 12:13-21.

13Someone in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.’

14Jesus replied, ‘Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?’ 15Then he said to them, ‘Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.’

16And he told them this parable: ‘The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17He thought to himself, “What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.”

18 ‘Then he said, “This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19And I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.’ ”

20 ‘But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?”

21 ‘This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich towards God.’

V4-5=> 

Leviticus 19:13. 

13‘ “Do not defraud or rob your neighbour.

‘ “Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker overnight.

Exodus 20:15. 

15You shall not steal.

1 Timothy 5:6. 

5The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help. 6But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives.

Luke 16:25. 

25 ‘But Abraham replied, “Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.”

27 ‘He answered, “Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.”

29 ‘Abraham replied, “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.”

30 ‘ “No, father Abraham,” he said, “but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.”

31 ‘He said to him, “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.” ’

Acts 5:1-11. 

1Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet….11Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.

1 Corinthians 3:11-15.

11For no-one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. 14If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved – even though only as one escaping through the flames.

V6=> James 4:2

James 5:7-12

Remember James 1:2. The message of chapter 1 expanded.

What’s the key word here?

What are the illustrations used?

V8=> What’s the encouragement? 

Hebrews 12:1-3. 

1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy that was set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Titus 2:11-14.

11For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13while we wait for the blessed hope – the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, 14who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

2 Peter 3:10. 

10But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.

Revelation 1:7

7‘Look, he is coming with the clouds,’

and ‘every eye will see him,

even those who pierced him’;

and all peoples on earth ‘will mourn because of him.’

So shall it be! Amen.

V9=> 

1 Corinthians 10:10. 

10And do not grumble, as some of them did – and were killed by the destroying angel.

Numbers 14:26-30. 

16“The Lord was not able to bring these people into the land he promised them on oath, so he slaughtered them in the wilderness.”

Philippians 2:14. 

14Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 15so that you may become blameless and pure, ‘children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.’

V10=> 

Hebrews 11:32-38. 

32And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, 33who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. 36Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37They were put to death by stoning; they were sawn in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and ill-treated – 38the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.

Acts 7:52.

51‘You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: you always resist the Holy Spirit! 52Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him

V12=> 

Matthew 5:33-37.

33 ‘Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, “Do not break your oath, but fulfil to the Lord the oaths you have made.” 34But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37All you need to say is simply “Yes,” or “No”; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

James 5:13-18

V13=>

 Ephesians 5:19.

19speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

V14=> Acts records the disciples did this. Should we?

V16=> Should we also practice this? 

Matthew 5:21-26. 

21 ‘You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, “You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.” 22But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, “Raca,” is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, “You fool!” will be in danger of the fire of hell.

23 ‘Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

25 ‘Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

Acts 19:18. 

18Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done. 

Ephesians 4:29-32. 

29Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Matthew 18:15.

15 ‘If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that “every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” 17If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

18 ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

V17=> What is encouraging about this verse? 

1 Kings 17,18

Elijah announces a great drought.

Elijah on mount Carmel

James 5:19-20

19My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, 20remember this: whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

See Galatians 6:1.

1Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.

 Jude 1:22-23. 22Be merciful to those who doubt; 23save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear – hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

Luke 22:32.

32But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.’

33But he replied, ‘Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.’

1 Peter 4:7-ß8.

7The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 8Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 

 2 Corinthians 5:21

21God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

More about prayer

James 4:3 Wrong motivation

1 John 5:14-15 Ask according to his will

1 John 3:21-23 Receive what we ask for because we keep his

commandments and believe in Jesus

James 1:5-6 Ask without doubt. The prayer of faith.

James 5:14-16 Brings healing, forgiveness

James 4:5 He yearns … over the spirit

Romans 8:26-27 The Spirit helps us

2 Corinthians 4:6 God has enlightened us

Matthew 10:20 Holy Spirit speaks through you

Galatians 4:6 We cry Abba! Father!

Matthew 7:7-11 Ask -  Seek - Knock.