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James, chapter 5, verses 1 to 6.

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Come now, you rich, weep and howl for

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the miseries that are coming upon you.

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Your riches have rotted, and your garments are

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moth-eaten.

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Your gold and silver have rusted, and their

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rust will be evidence against you, and will

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eat your flesh like fire.

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You have laid up treasure for the last

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days.

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Behold, the wages of the labourers who mowed

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your fields, which you kept back by fraud,

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cry out, and the cries of the harvesters

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have reached out the ears of the Lord

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of Hosts.

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You have lived on the earth in luxury

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and in pleasure.

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You have fattened your hearts in a day

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of slaughter.

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You have condemned.

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You have killed the righteous man.

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He does not resist you.

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May God bless the reading of his word

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to our hearts.

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I direct your attention to James, chapter 5,

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and as our reading was very short, let

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me just read it to you again, and

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this time in the authorized version of the

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Bible.

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I'll dip into the previous chapter in the

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17th verse, and then read right to the

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6th of the next chapter.

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Therefore, to him that knoweth to do good

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and doeth it not, to him it is

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sin.

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Go to now, ye rich men, weep and

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howl for your miseries that shall come upon

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you.

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Your riches are corrupted, your garments are moth

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-eaten, your gold and silver is cankered, and

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the rest of them shall be a witness

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against you, and ye shall eat your flesh

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as it were fire.

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You have heaped treasure together for the last

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days.

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Behold the hire of the laborers, who have

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reaped down your fields, which is of you

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kept back by fraud.

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Crieth, and the cries of them which have

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reaped are entered into the ears of the

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Lord of Sabaoth.

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Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth

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and been wanton.

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You have nourished your hearts as in a

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day of slaughter.

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You have condemned and killed the just, and

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he doth not resist you.

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We are proceeding to work our way through

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the epistle of James, and it's perhaps not

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inappropriate in the providence of God that we,

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coming to the fifth chapter, also have in

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mind, particularly this Sunday, our own responsibilities to

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poor people, spiritually poor, and also physically poor.

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And it's the thought of the poor, and

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particularly physically so, that is dominant in the

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mind of James as he writes these few

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verses.

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Let me remind you that in the previous

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study we had last week, I majored just

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for the closing few moments on that final

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verse of the fourth chapter.

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To him that knoweth to do good, and

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doeth it not, to him it is sin.

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There I said was a twin iniquity that

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was to be thought of in terms of

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a relative to the sin of presumption.

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So coupled to the sin of presumption, I

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argued, is the sin of omission.

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You can sin by doing nothing.

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And maybe it's that thought that launches James

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into this particular teaching in the opening verses

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of the fifth chapter, when he has more

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than just a little soft word for rich

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people.

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Here in these verses, and perhaps the strength

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of his terminology shocked you, James has a

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lot to say about the responsibilities of those

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who have materially to those who don't have.

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And the gospel of Christ, as you will

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find so often taught by our Savior, is

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directed first of all to the poor.

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And when a person is spiritually and physically

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rich, then they have an increasing sense of

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responsibility, or should have, to divide what they

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have in abundance with those who have little,

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if anything, at all.

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Does this language, as I say, strike you

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as being a little bit too strong?

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Howl for your miseries that shall come upon

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you.

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You have nourished your hearts as in a

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day of slaughter.

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Is James overstepping the mark?

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You remember, James is none other than the

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brother of our blessed Lord at the human

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level.

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And our Savior was the most sensitive of

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people.

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And yet, going beyond the strength of the

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language of James in this fifth chapter of

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the epistle that bears his name, is the

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teaching of Jesus Christ, which becomes almost too

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powerful, vitriolic, intense in its seriousness, as he

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pours out his judgment on those who are

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hypocritical and claim spiritually to have everything, and

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yet cause others who have very little to

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have even less, and don't share spiritual blessings

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and privileges with them.

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James is here repeating the very message of

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our Lord Jesus Christ.

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And as such, we need to listen to

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what he has to say.

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We might at another level say, well, this

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doesn't apply to us.

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Not only is the language too strong, we're

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not rich people.

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After all, it would seem here that James

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has in mind the tycoon of the Middle

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East, the man who's a great agriculturist, who

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has lots of lands, the man who engages

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in commerce and as a result has made

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a great deal of profit.

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We're not like that.

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We're not rich people.

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We're only sort of moderately well-off, if

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that at all.

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And yet, riches are a relative thing, my

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friend.

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We could take you to some of the

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villages in Nepal, and alongside the villages there,

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you and I would be considered to be

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very, very wealthy people indeed.

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We could take you after some of the

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remote areas of Bangladesh, and there you would

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see poverty that makes you like a king

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or a queen, by comparison.

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You could be taken into the area where

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the untouchables in India are found in their

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millions, particularly on the streets of Calcutta and

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on the streets of Bombay, and you would

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discover there, by contrast, that you and I

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are very well-off indeed, in comparison.

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No, I'm not suggesting, therefore, because of this

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particular point that I have just brought in

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front of you, that James is necessarily speaking

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of us when he's speaking of these rich,

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insensitive people.

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But I mention what I have just in

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case we could ever ourselves become so insensitive

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to the needs of others that something of

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the teaching of James might have more than

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academic but practical relevance.

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We are called to have the same disposition

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as Jesus did, who though he was rich,

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yet for our sakes became poor, so that

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we might profit by the wealth that he

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puts at our disposal.

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Similarly, he has called us who are spiritually

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and relatively materially rich to improve the lot

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of others by living our lives for their

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advantage.

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It says, Professor Barclay, in one of his

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commentaries, which I'm not particularly recommending, it is

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an incredible thing that Christianity could ever be

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considered as the opium of the people.

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You remember that was the allegation that Karl

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Marx and Lenin made, that Christianity was just

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something that the rich people handed out as

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a little sup for the poor people.

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No, says Barclay, when you read passages like

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this and many other that could be brought

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to bear in the Word of God, you

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come to an appreciation that Christianity is the

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poor man's religion, and the Gospel is first

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of all, and its benefits, to be preached

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to the poor.

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And if in any way we water down

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the teaching of Scripture in this area, then

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we do as much damage to the Gospel

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as does the most liberal, radical scholar who

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carves away and dissects from the Word of

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the living God.

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We have a responsibility, spiritually and physically, to

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those who are in need.

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So come to James now, as in the

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first verse, he addresses some rich, insensitive Jewish

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people, and he does so very strongly.

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Go to now, ye rich men, weep and

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howl.

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That same expression as in the thirteenth verse

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of the previous chapter, go to now.

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Or in the language of the authorized version,

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now listen.

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James wants to waken them out of their

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apathy.

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Here is a message that must be broadcasted,

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here is something very important for them to

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realize.

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And what he has to say gets increasingly

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difficult to accept, because he is bringing a

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message of censure.

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And he says, weep and howl for the

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miseries that shall come upon you, because the

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way that you're living your life makes you

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forfeit any possibility of God's blessing.

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That very word weep and the word howl

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in the original language are most strong.

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They are, if you like, the language and

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the experience of hell.

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And the idea of miseries coming upon these

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people dovetails with the teaching of our Lord

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Jesus Christ, that those who reject Him and

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reject their responsibilities to others shall be condemned

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in this life and in the life which

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is to come.

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The doctrine of hell and damnation is not

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popular.

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And I get no joy out of preaching

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it.

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But it is embedded in the word of

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God almost on every page.

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In A.D. 70 these rich men knew

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what it was for the fulfillment of the

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prophecy of James as the Roman soldiers surrounded

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Jerusalem, as Palestine was sacked, as the Jews

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were carted off and flung around like confetti

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around the known world of the Roman Empire

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at that time.

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But that is just a physical outworking of

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something that shall become even more real spiritually

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in terms of judgment and condemnation for those

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who reject the gospel of Jesus Christ and

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also reject the outworking of the gospel in

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terms of helping other people.

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Well, as I say, this is strong meat.

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But it's something that we cannot vault over.

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We can't jump from the 17th verse of

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the previous chapter to the 7th verse of

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the next chapter.

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We have to take the whole of Scripture.

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I get increasingly impatient in those people who

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tell me that they believe the whole of

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the word of God and then they come

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to an embarrassing passage and they don't want

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anything to be said about it.

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That is nonsense.

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Scripture is all inspired by the Lord, whether

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it is pleasing to our palate or not.

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Well, let's analyze then the conditions of these

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rich insensitive people for whom the wrath of

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God is stored up.

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What is their difficulty?

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Well, the second and the third verse tells

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us this.

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What they never saw, the futility of wealth.

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The fourth verse, what they never heard, the

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misery of the poor.

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The fifth verse, what they never feared, the

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reality of judgment.

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The sixth verse, what they never knew, the

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sympathy of Jesus.

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What they never saw, the futility of wealth.

273
00:13:30,660 --> 00:13:32,240
Come to the second and the third verses.

274
00:13:33,500 --> 00:13:36,140
There were three ways in which the oriental

275
00:13:36,140 --> 00:13:38,460
indicated that he was well to do.

276
00:13:39,660 --> 00:13:41,920
Three ways in which his social standing becomes

277
00:13:41,920 --> 00:13:42,340
apparent.

278
00:13:42,520 --> 00:13:44,540
Three ways in which he measures his wealth.

279
00:13:45,380 --> 00:13:48,280
And you can put them into words that

280
00:13:48,280 --> 00:13:49,400
start with the same letter.

281
00:13:49,900 --> 00:13:54,040
Grain, garments and gold.

282
00:13:54,760 --> 00:13:56,900
Grain, garments and gold.

283
00:13:57,240 --> 00:13:59,340
The riches referred to in the second verse,

284
00:13:59,540 --> 00:14:00,240
right at the beginning.

285
00:14:00,960 --> 00:14:04,900
Is wealth acquired by the agriculturalist who has

286
00:14:04,900 --> 00:14:07,320
been selling his corn on the open market.

287
00:14:08,760 --> 00:14:11,420
His clothing, well that's obvious in the second

288
00:14:11,420 --> 00:14:11,820
verse.

289
00:14:12,500 --> 00:14:15,120
Garments are another indication of his wealth.

290
00:14:15,120 --> 00:14:19,180
And thirdly, the gold referred to in the

291
00:14:19,180 --> 00:14:19,920
third verse.

292
00:14:20,860 --> 00:14:24,240
A man was wealthy in New Testament times

293
00:14:24,240 --> 00:14:26,840
if he had grain, if he had garments,

294
00:14:26,960 --> 00:14:28,040
if he had gold.

295
00:14:28,960 --> 00:14:30,460
With grain he could trade.

296
00:14:31,180 --> 00:14:32,420
With grain he could make money.

297
00:14:33,580 --> 00:14:35,580
Garments were indicative of the fact that he

298
00:14:35,580 --> 00:14:36,840
had a large wardrobe.

299
00:14:37,340 --> 00:14:43,440
And he could clothe himself fancifully and ostentatiously.

300
00:14:43,440 --> 00:14:46,900
You remember how when the brothers of Joseph

301
00:14:46,900 --> 00:14:49,080
came to him in the story in the

302
00:14:49,080 --> 00:14:49,940
book of Genesis.

303
00:14:50,620 --> 00:14:52,860
He sent them away with new garments.

304
00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:58,460
When Samson asked someone to interpret his riddle,

305
00:14:58,700 --> 00:15:01,180
he offered as a prize changes of garments,

306
00:15:01,380 --> 00:15:02,220
changes of clothing.

307
00:15:02,920 --> 00:15:05,640
When Naaman came to the prophet, he offered

308
00:15:05,640 --> 00:15:08,120
him for a cure of his leprosy, changes

309
00:15:08,120 --> 00:15:08,640
of clothing.

310
00:15:08,640 --> 00:15:11,760
When the apostle Paul talks about his own,

311
00:15:12,200 --> 00:15:14,900
the way in which he lived his life

312
00:15:14,900 --> 00:15:17,920
in such a singularly disciplined fashion.

313
00:15:18,460 --> 00:15:20,620
The acts of the apostles, he said, I

314
00:15:20,620 --> 00:15:23,500
coveted no man's apparel.

315
00:15:23,900 --> 00:15:26,520
I coveted no man's gold.

316
00:15:28,440 --> 00:15:33,720
So these three areas of acquiring wealth are

317
00:15:33,720 --> 00:15:38,300
grain and garments and gold.

318
00:15:38,300 --> 00:15:41,820
But, says James, there's a futility in built

319
00:15:41,820 --> 00:15:42,720
into this wealth.

320
00:15:44,160 --> 00:15:47,260
As for your riches that come through the

321
00:15:47,260 --> 00:15:51,400
selling of grain, says James, they'll become corrupted.

322
00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:52,660
They will rot.

323
00:15:54,080 --> 00:15:56,380
As grain that is unused rots.

324
00:15:57,900 --> 00:16:01,480
As for your garments, they'll be devoured by

325
00:16:01,480 --> 00:16:01,940
moths.

326
00:16:02,860 --> 00:16:04,000
They will be ragged.

327
00:16:04,880 --> 00:16:08,300
As for your gold, and here he stretches

328
00:16:08,300 --> 00:16:11,200
his metaphor, it will become rusty.

329
00:16:12,240 --> 00:16:13,460
It will become corrupt.

330
00:16:14,560 --> 00:16:17,420
Here James shows to us the futility of

331
00:16:17,420 --> 00:16:17,900
wealth.

332
00:16:18,440 --> 00:16:20,260
Grain that rots.

333
00:16:21,680 --> 00:16:24,980
Garments that eventually become ragged.

334
00:16:26,080 --> 00:16:27,820
Gold that becomes as rust.

335
00:16:28,780 --> 00:16:31,560
And these people who have lived their lives

336
00:16:31,560 --> 00:16:35,340
in just gathering together more and more riches,

337
00:16:35,520 --> 00:16:38,940
shall ultimately find that on the day of

338
00:16:38,940 --> 00:16:42,320
judgment, the very rust of their gold will

339
00:16:42,320 --> 00:16:44,720
become as a cancer that burns into their

340
00:16:44,720 --> 00:16:47,180
soul and devours them.

341
00:16:48,320 --> 00:16:51,620
You see, these people have rejected the teaching

342
00:16:51,620 --> 00:16:52,160
of Jesus.

343
00:16:52,660 --> 00:16:56,500
Jesus has said, don't lay up for yourself

344
00:16:56,500 --> 00:16:59,860
treasure on earth where rust and moth causes

345
00:16:59,860 --> 00:17:00,600
it to decay.

346
00:17:01,480 --> 00:17:03,599
Rather, invest in the bank of heaven.

347
00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:06,060
Use what you have got in the interest

348
00:17:06,060 --> 00:17:08,180
of God and therefore in the interest of

349
00:17:08,180 --> 00:17:08,460
men.

350
00:17:09,300 --> 00:17:12,859
But instead, these people, verse 3, heap treasure

351
00:17:12,859 --> 00:17:15,540
together for the last days.

352
00:17:15,940 --> 00:17:21,300
And their very wealth becomes cancerous and accuses

353
00:17:21,300 --> 00:17:21,520
them.

354
00:17:22,359 --> 00:17:26,480
Because it has been wrongly applied.

355
00:17:27,400 --> 00:17:32,200
What these people never saw, the futility of

356
00:17:32,200 --> 00:17:32,520
wealth.

357
00:17:33,560 --> 00:17:36,940
What these people never heard, the misery of

358
00:17:36,940 --> 00:17:37,320
the poor.

359
00:17:38,360 --> 00:17:39,980
Look at the fourth verse.

360
00:17:40,760 --> 00:17:45,520
Look, the wages you fail to pay the

361
00:17:45,520 --> 00:17:49,280
workmen who mowed your fields are crying out

362
00:17:49,280 --> 00:17:49,980
against you.

363
00:17:49,980 --> 00:17:52,960
The cries of the harvesters have reached the

364
00:17:52,960 --> 00:17:54,480
ears of the Lord Almighty.

365
00:17:56,000 --> 00:17:57,540
But they never heard those cries.

366
00:17:58,800 --> 00:18:03,100
They never appreciated the biblical proposition in both

367
00:18:03,100 --> 00:18:06,800
testaments that those who exploit their brother and

368
00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:09,460
their sister are condemned by the living God.

369
00:18:10,700 --> 00:18:13,340
Do you know it was against the law

370
00:18:13,340 --> 00:18:17,800
for a man to employ another and to

371
00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:20,100
keep his wage until the following day.

372
00:18:21,020 --> 00:18:24,240
When work had been done, then the man

373
00:18:24,240 --> 00:18:27,200
had to be paid for his labor.

374
00:18:27,840 --> 00:18:29,840
Deuteronomy 24, verse 14.

375
00:18:30,080 --> 00:18:32,320
Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that

376
00:18:32,320 --> 00:18:34,400
is poor and needy, whether he be of

377
00:18:34,400 --> 00:18:36,860
thy brothers or of thy strangers that are

378
00:18:36,860 --> 00:18:38,460
in thy land within thy gates.

379
00:18:38,460 --> 00:18:40,740
At his day thou shalt give him his

380
00:18:40,740 --> 00:18:43,500
hire, neither shall the sun go down upon

381
00:18:43,500 --> 00:18:45,060
it, for he is poor.

382
00:18:45,340 --> 00:18:47,840
And setteth his heart upon it, lest he

383
00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:50,820
cry against thee unto the Lord, and it

384
00:18:50,820 --> 00:18:52,400
be sin unto thee.

385
00:18:52,920 --> 00:18:55,720
There isn't time, I've got several references in

386
00:18:55,720 --> 00:18:59,040
the Old Testament that support that proposition.

387
00:18:59,480 --> 00:19:02,000
That if you exploit someone who is in

388
00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:04,320
need, you sin against the living God.

389
00:19:04,320 --> 00:19:07,780
And he hears, because God is the God

390
00:19:07,780 --> 00:19:09,060
of the underdog.

391
00:19:09,520 --> 00:19:11,360
He's the God of the widow and the

392
00:19:11,360 --> 00:19:11,760
orphan.

393
00:19:12,080 --> 00:19:14,320
He's the God of the person in unfortunate

394
00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:15,260
circumstances.

395
00:19:15,620 --> 00:19:18,020
Again and again the book of Deuteronomy says,

396
00:19:18,300 --> 00:19:19,780
remember this you Hebrew people.

397
00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:23,140
Once you were pilgrims going through Sinai.

398
00:19:23,540 --> 00:19:25,660
Once you were in the bondage of Egypt,

399
00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:28,040
but God has dealt graciously with you.

400
00:19:28,040 --> 00:19:31,040
Therefore the stranger who is within your gates,

401
00:19:31,520 --> 00:19:33,580
you are to share with him what God

402
00:19:33,580 --> 00:19:34,480
has given to you.

403
00:19:35,420 --> 00:19:38,240
And unless you do that, you fall foul

404
00:19:38,240 --> 00:19:42,420
of my commands and my standards.

405
00:19:43,160 --> 00:19:47,220
What these people never heard, the misery of

406
00:19:47,220 --> 00:19:47,680
the poor.

407
00:19:48,320 --> 00:19:50,860
But God hears, he hears the cry of

408
00:19:50,860 --> 00:19:53,640
the laborer who has reaped and not been

409
00:19:53,640 --> 00:19:54,100
rewarded.

410
00:19:54,600 --> 00:19:56,880
He hears the cry of those who have

411
00:19:56,880 --> 00:19:59,840
been alongside him in the fields expecting to

412
00:19:59,840 --> 00:20:01,300
be paid, and they were not.

413
00:20:02,060 --> 00:20:03,620
And my friend, you have to take the

414
00:20:03,620 --> 00:20:06,400
principles from Scripture and apply them in the

415
00:20:06,400 --> 00:20:07,300
20th century.

416
00:20:07,700 --> 00:20:11,220
Wherever there is exploitation, wherever there is need,

417
00:20:12,400 --> 00:20:13,300
God is unhappy.

418
00:20:14,780 --> 00:20:17,400
For theology is not something of the mind,

419
00:20:17,520 --> 00:20:19,300
it's something that affects the lifestyle.

420
00:20:19,620 --> 00:20:21,380
It's something that affects the community.

421
00:20:22,460 --> 00:20:25,620
And God forbid that any nation that has

422
00:20:25,620 --> 00:20:28,660
a Christian foundation as ours does or did.

423
00:20:29,960 --> 00:20:32,980
God forbid that it should cut loose of

424
00:20:32,980 --> 00:20:35,740
a sense of responsibility to those who have

425
00:20:35,740 --> 00:20:36,000
not.

426
00:20:36,960 --> 00:20:39,040
God forbid that we as a church, I

427
00:20:39,040 --> 00:20:41,740
praise God more times than I care to

428
00:20:41,740 --> 00:20:42,480
share with you.

429
00:20:42,900 --> 00:20:45,440
For our shops and for the way that

430
00:20:45,440 --> 00:20:47,900
profit from those shops is used for third

431
00:20:47,900 --> 00:20:50,600
world projects and for the alleviation of suffering.

432
00:20:50,940 --> 00:20:53,340
I praise God for the thousands of pounds

433
00:20:53,340 --> 00:20:56,020
that people here give for the cause of

434
00:20:56,020 --> 00:20:56,900
mission abroad.

435
00:20:57,100 --> 00:20:58,960
Because it seems to me this can do

436
00:20:58,960 --> 00:21:01,080
nothing but please almighty God.

437
00:21:01,520 --> 00:21:03,900
For in the communication of the gospel, there

438
00:21:03,900 --> 00:21:06,560
is the improvement of society in third world

439
00:21:06,560 --> 00:21:07,040
lands.

440
00:21:07,280 --> 00:21:10,400
With the creation therefore of new jobs and

441
00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:11,160
new wealth.

442
00:21:11,740 --> 00:21:14,800
And this dovetails with the teaching of Scripture.

443
00:21:14,800 --> 00:21:16,960
Why these men were censured?

444
00:21:18,120 --> 00:21:21,200
What they never saw, futility of wealth.

445
00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:23,000
That's why they were condemned.

446
00:21:23,540 --> 00:21:25,840
What they never heard, the misery of the

447
00:21:25,840 --> 00:21:26,080
poor.

448
00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:28,380
That's why they were censured.

449
00:21:29,140 --> 00:21:30,480
What they never feared.

450
00:21:31,540 --> 00:21:32,740
Look at the fifth verse.

451
00:21:33,520 --> 00:21:36,340
They never feared the reality of judgment.

452
00:21:37,400 --> 00:21:39,860
You have lived in pleasure on the earth

453
00:21:39,860 --> 00:21:41,060
and been wanton.

454
00:21:41,680 --> 00:21:44,000
Says the old fashioned language of the Avey.

455
00:21:44,800 --> 00:21:46,880
You have nourished your hearts as in a

456
00:21:46,880 --> 00:21:47,720
day of slaughter.

457
00:21:48,300 --> 00:21:50,400
Give that to you in the NIV.

458
00:21:50,680 --> 00:21:53,000
You have lived on earth in luxury and

459
00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:54,140
self-indulgence.

460
00:21:54,480 --> 00:21:56,900
You've fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.

461
00:21:57,460 --> 00:21:59,440
You've imagined that there is no more to

462
00:21:59,440 --> 00:22:04,980
life than just acquiring wealth and satisfying the

463
00:22:04,980 --> 00:22:07,520
physical desires of the body.

464
00:22:08,500 --> 00:22:11,060
And James gives us a very, very interesting

465
00:22:11,060 --> 00:22:13,100
metaphor from Scripture.

466
00:22:13,100 --> 00:22:15,820
We have in the forefront of our minds

467
00:22:15,820 --> 00:22:16,300
a cow.

468
00:22:16,420 --> 00:22:17,540
Say, a Herefordshire cow.

469
00:22:18,680 --> 00:22:20,420
And there is this beast.

470
00:22:20,620 --> 00:22:22,280
It's so happy in the meadow.

471
00:22:22,920 --> 00:22:25,820
Every day he puts his head down onto

472
00:22:25,820 --> 00:22:27,740
the grass and he gollops up more.

473
00:22:27,820 --> 00:22:29,320
I've never seen a cow do anything else

474
00:22:29,320 --> 00:22:29,760
but eat.

475
00:22:29,840 --> 00:22:31,220
I sometimes wonder where they put all the

476
00:22:31,220 --> 00:22:31,440
stuff.

477
00:22:32,060 --> 00:22:33,840
And then he goes down to the river

478
00:22:33,840 --> 00:22:36,260
that's running just at the bottom of the

479
00:22:36,260 --> 00:22:37,700
field and he drinks.

480
00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:39,920
And he eats again and he drinks and

481
00:22:39,920 --> 00:22:40,900
it's all marvelous.

482
00:22:41,860 --> 00:22:45,040
Someone said about the miracle of nature how

483
00:22:45,040 --> 00:22:48,360
incredible it is that a brown cow can

484
00:22:48,360 --> 00:22:50,880
eat green grass and give white milk that's

485
00:22:50,880 --> 00:22:53,160
turned into yellow butter.

486
00:22:54,740 --> 00:22:57,020
But it's not such a pretty ending for

487
00:22:57,020 --> 00:22:57,860
the cow, is it?

488
00:22:59,020 --> 00:23:00,800
As he eats his grass and as he

489
00:23:00,800 --> 00:23:03,700
gets fatter, I mean one day he can

490
00:23:03,700 --> 00:23:07,360
be having breakfast and really enjoying himself on

491
00:23:07,360 --> 00:23:09,160
the luscious grass that's in the meadow.

492
00:23:10,120 --> 00:23:12,840
And he doesn't realize that the van that's

493
00:23:12,840 --> 00:23:16,360
come alongside the country lane is big enough

494
00:23:16,360 --> 00:23:17,680
to house him and one or two of

495
00:23:17,680 --> 00:23:18,160
his brothers.

496
00:23:19,380 --> 00:23:21,540
And take them along to the abattoir.

497
00:23:22,180 --> 00:23:24,360
He can have his breakfast in peace.

498
00:23:25,040 --> 00:23:27,140
And yet the slaughterhouse can be prepared for

499
00:23:27,140 --> 00:23:29,800
him, ready for him and he's not upset.

500
00:23:30,480 --> 00:23:32,940
Well, that's exactly the condition that James in

501
00:23:32,940 --> 00:23:34,900
a very blunt fashion here presents.

502
00:23:35,180 --> 00:23:37,780
You've nourished your hearts as in a day

503
00:23:37,780 --> 00:23:38,380
of slaughter.

504
00:23:39,100 --> 00:23:41,980
You've got fatter and fatter.

505
00:23:43,200 --> 00:23:47,660
Says A.T. Mottier in an uncommonly humorous

506
00:23:47,660 --> 00:23:50,060
passage for him in one of his commentaries.

507
00:23:51,120 --> 00:23:54,160
In his response to this verse, you have

508
00:23:54,160 --> 00:23:56,420
fattened yourself for the day of slaughter.

509
00:23:57,660 --> 00:23:59,320
Oh, to be a thin beast when the

510
00:23:59,320 --> 00:24:00,140
butcher comes.

511
00:24:01,100 --> 00:24:03,060
Oh, to be a thin beast when the

512
00:24:03,060 --> 00:24:03,900
butcher comes.

513
00:24:04,760 --> 00:24:06,800
Oh, to be lean as a Christian when

514
00:24:06,800 --> 00:24:08,040
the Lord comes.

515
00:24:08,820 --> 00:24:11,040
Oh, to have used what I had in

516
00:24:11,040 --> 00:24:13,540
the interests of others and not stored up

517
00:24:13,540 --> 00:24:15,820
for myself my own riches.

518
00:24:16,300 --> 00:24:18,800
Or preserved my life with such a modicum

519
00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:21,280
of comfort that I'd never risk my limb

520
00:24:21,280 --> 00:24:23,360
in the service of Jesus Christ.

521
00:24:24,140 --> 00:24:27,500
Oh, to be lean when he comes and

522
00:24:27,500 --> 00:24:28,440
not to be fat.

523
00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:31,340
It was when Jeshurun waxed fat, you remember

524
00:24:31,340 --> 00:24:33,480
in the Old Testament, the old-fashioned way

525
00:24:33,480 --> 00:24:34,580
of talking about Israel.

526
00:24:34,580 --> 00:24:38,740
When their circumstances became comfortable in the promised

527
00:24:38,740 --> 00:24:40,320
land spiritually.

528
00:24:41,280 --> 00:24:43,220
They became clumsy.

529
00:24:44,080 --> 00:24:45,920
They became indolent.

530
00:24:46,800 --> 00:24:48,320
They became short-sighted.

531
00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:52,220
What these people never feared was the reality

532
00:24:52,220 --> 00:24:52,940
of judgment.

533
00:24:53,240 --> 00:24:55,280
They were like the rich fool who built

534
00:24:55,280 --> 00:24:56,500
bigger barns.

535
00:24:56,860 --> 00:24:59,540
Was concerned about his investments on the stock

536
00:24:59,540 --> 00:25:02,120
exchange and not realizing that the day would

537
00:25:02,120 --> 00:25:04,920
come when his soul would be required of

538
00:25:04,920 --> 00:25:05,120
him.

539
00:25:06,540 --> 00:25:10,020
Nourishing his heart, not knowing that the slaughter

540
00:25:10,020 --> 00:25:10,660
day had come.

541
00:25:11,480 --> 00:25:13,320
The day when he has to stand in

542
00:25:13,320 --> 00:25:16,420
the presence of God and has nothing to

543
00:25:16,420 --> 00:25:19,120
give an account for his sins.

544
00:25:19,480 --> 00:25:21,820
Has never been to Jesus and known the

545
00:25:21,820 --> 00:25:23,000
cleansing of his blood.

546
00:25:23,580 --> 00:25:26,020
Well, finally and quickly, what they never knew,

547
00:25:26,800 --> 00:25:28,080
the sympathy of Jesus.

548
00:25:28,380 --> 00:25:29,480
Look at this sixth verse.

549
00:25:30,680 --> 00:25:33,620
In the NIV, I have an argument to

550
00:25:33,620 --> 00:25:34,700
make on this sixth verse.

551
00:25:34,820 --> 00:25:37,480
You have condemned and murdered innocent men who

552
00:25:37,480 --> 00:25:38,660
were not opposing you.

553
00:25:39,780 --> 00:25:41,140
The AV is to be preferred.

554
00:25:41,280 --> 00:25:43,480
You have condemned and killed the just.

555
00:25:44,200 --> 00:25:45,820
And he does not resist you.

556
00:25:46,200 --> 00:25:48,280
The word there in the original is in

557
00:25:48,280 --> 00:25:48,860
the singular.

558
00:25:49,100 --> 00:25:50,420
And there's only one word.

559
00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:53,300
The word men doesn't apply in the term

560
00:25:53,300 --> 00:25:53,760
innocent.

561
00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:56,940
Innocent men, it's just the word dikaion, which

562
00:25:56,940 --> 00:25:57,780
means just.

563
00:25:57,920 --> 00:25:58,780
And it's in the singular.

564
00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:01,680
The idea is this, you have condemned and

565
00:26:01,680 --> 00:26:02,900
murdered the just.

566
00:26:03,720 --> 00:26:06,900
Again, AV, you have condemned and killed the

567
00:26:06,900 --> 00:26:07,320
just.

568
00:26:08,160 --> 00:26:09,540
And he does not resist you.

569
00:26:10,260 --> 00:26:11,680
Well, what is meant by this?

570
00:26:12,340 --> 00:26:14,200
Well, I think the NIV obscures the meaning.

571
00:26:14,300 --> 00:26:16,040
They're thinking that the people who have been

572
00:26:16,040 --> 00:26:18,100
condemned are these poor folks who have been

573
00:26:18,100 --> 00:26:19,380
so maltreated.

574
00:26:19,840 --> 00:26:22,000
But no, I believe that James here is

575
00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:26,160
being far more delicate, far more profound in

576
00:26:26,160 --> 00:26:26,740
his argument.

577
00:26:26,740 --> 00:26:30,540
He's saying you have condemned and murdered the

578
00:26:30,540 --> 00:26:31,360
just one.

579
00:26:32,500 --> 00:26:34,600
Who is the just one in scripture?

580
00:26:35,500 --> 00:26:40,080
Well, listen to the deacon Stephen when he's

581
00:26:40,080 --> 00:26:43,740
taking his leave on his final sermon because

582
00:26:43,740 --> 00:26:45,680
he's going to be stoned to death.

583
00:26:45,860 --> 00:26:48,800
When he's taking his leave of this world,

584
00:26:49,320 --> 00:26:52,380
he explains to the Jews what his testimony,

585
00:26:52,520 --> 00:26:53,940
what his life's work has been about.

586
00:26:53,940 --> 00:26:55,360
And he speaks of Jesus.

587
00:26:55,760 --> 00:26:58,420
You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and

588
00:26:58,420 --> 00:27:00,940
ear, you do always resist the Holy Ghost

589
00:27:00,940 --> 00:27:02,200
as your fathers did.

590
00:27:02,480 --> 00:27:03,080
So do you.

591
00:27:03,520 --> 00:27:05,720
Which of the prophets have not your fathers

592
00:27:05,720 --> 00:27:06,400
persecuted?

593
00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:09,280
And they have slain them which showed before

594
00:27:09,280 --> 00:27:12,440
of the coming of the just one of

595
00:27:12,440 --> 00:27:15,400
whom you have been now the betrayers and

596
00:27:15,400 --> 00:27:16,340
murderers.

597
00:27:16,840 --> 00:27:19,340
Listen to the apostle Paul as in the

598
00:27:19,340 --> 00:27:23,380
22nd verse, 22nd chapter of the Acts.

599
00:27:23,580 --> 00:27:27,900
And the 14th verse, he has a similar

600
00:27:27,900 --> 00:27:29,160
reference.

601
00:27:29,680 --> 00:27:32,240
Acts 22 and verse 14.

602
00:27:33,020 --> 00:27:36,380
He's giving his testimony and he's referring to

603
00:27:36,380 --> 00:27:38,180
how Ananias ministered unto him.

604
00:27:38,180 --> 00:27:41,060
Brother Saul received thy sight in the same

605
00:27:41,060 --> 00:27:43,160
hour I looked up upon him and he

606
00:27:43,160 --> 00:27:45,520
said the God of our fathers has chosen

607
00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:48,400
thee that thou shouldest know his will and

608
00:27:48,400 --> 00:27:52,320
see that just one and shouldest hear the

609
00:27:52,320 --> 00:27:53,640
voice of his mouth.

610
00:27:54,300 --> 00:27:56,620
And when you move into 1 Peter chapter

611
00:27:56,620 --> 00:27:58,780
3 and verse 18, speaking of the death

612
00:27:58,780 --> 00:28:01,920
of Jesus, Peter says he died the just

613
00:28:01,920 --> 00:28:03,700
for the unjust.

614
00:28:03,700 --> 00:28:06,700
Now I say I would keep that as

615
00:28:06,700 --> 00:28:08,720
the original translation of this verse.

616
00:28:09,080 --> 00:28:13,320
You have condemned and killed the just and

617
00:28:13,320 --> 00:28:14,460
he doesn't resist you.

618
00:28:15,080 --> 00:28:16,900
Well you say how is this worked out

619
00:28:16,900 --> 00:28:19,400
in your logic, in your rational argument, if

620
00:28:19,400 --> 00:28:20,320
it is rational at all.

621
00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:23,540
How can people be killing Jesus Christ when

622
00:28:23,540 --> 00:28:24,480
he's already dead?

623
00:28:25,220 --> 00:28:28,420
Well I come back to my observation at

624
00:28:28,420 --> 00:28:29,840
the beginning of this sick verse.

625
00:28:30,200 --> 00:28:32,980
What they knew or rather what they never

626
00:28:32,980 --> 00:28:33,280
knew.

627
00:28:33,760 --> 00:28:35,400
The sympathy of Jesus.

628
00:28:35,540 --> 00:28:38,000
Do you not know my friend that Jesus

629
00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:43,560
relates to all those who are members of

630
00:28:43,560 --> 00:28:44,360
his church.

631
00:28:45,560 --> 00:28:48,440
When the apostle Paul before his conversion had

632
00:28:48,440 --> 00:28:51,000
been persecuting the people at Jerusalem.

633
00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:53,820
He stopped on the Damascus road and the

634
00:28:53,820 --> 00:28:56,780
voice from heaven says Paul, Paul why do

635
00:28:56,780 --> 00:28:57,860
you persecute me?

636
00:28:58,620 --> 00:28:59,580
Jesus is speaking.

637
00:28:59,960 --> 00:29:02,000
But how can Paul be persecuting Jesus?

638
00:29:02,160 --> 00:29:05,280
Well the answer is this, Jesus has an

639
00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:07,340
empathy, a sympathy with his church.

640
00:29:07,600 --> 00:29:10,400
You hit Jesus' people and you hurt Jesus.

641
00:29:11,220 --> 00:29:13,680
And this is what James is here arguing.

642
00:29:13,680 --> 00:29:16,320
You remember how the Lord puts it most

643
00:29:16,320 --> 00:29:18,740
clearly at the end of the 25th chapter

644
00:29:18,740 --> 00:29:21,520
of the gospel of Matthew.

645
00:29:21,700 --> 00:29:23,920
When he refers to those who are engaged

646
00:29:23,920 --> 00:29:28,680
in actions which have as their objective the

647
00:29:28,680 --> 00:29:30,880
alleviation of human need.

648
00:29:31,320 --> 00:29:34,900
The Lord Jesus says when he's complimenting certain

649
00:29:34,900 --> 00:29:35,300
people.

650
00:29:35,420 --> 00:29:38,180
I was a hungered and you gave me

651
00:29:38,180 --> 00:29:38,480
meat.

652
00:29:38,640 --> 00:29:40,660
I was thirsty and you gave me drink.

653
00:29:40,860 --> 00:29:43,140
I was a stranger and you took me

654
00:29:43,140 --> 00:29:43,380
in.

655
00:29:43,680 --> 00:29:44,640
I was naked and you clothed me.

656
00:29:44,840 --> 00:29:46,140
I was sick and you visited me.

657
00:29:46,380 --> 00:29:47,940
I was in prison and you came unto

658
00:29:47,940 --> 00:29:48,200
me.

659
00:29:48,620 --> 00:29:50,880
Then shall the righteous answer him saying Lord

660
00:29:50,880 --> 00:29:53,220
when saw we thee a hunger and fed

661
00:29:53,220 --> 00:29:54,720
thee or thirsty and gave thee drink.

662
00:29:55,120 --> 00:29:59,480
When saw we thee a stranger and so

663
00:29:59,480 --> 00:29:59,820
forth.

664
00:30:00,360 --> 00:30:03,480
And Jesus said verily I say unto you

665
00:30:03,480 --> 00:30:05,580
in as much as ye have done it

666
00:30:05,580 --> 00:30:07,920
unto one of the least of these my

667
00:30:07,920 --> 00:30:08,520
brethren.

668
00:30:09,300 --> 00:30:10,900
You have done it unto me.

669
00:30:10,900 --> 00:30:13,540
You minister to the sick.

670
00:30:14,340 --> 00:30:16,160
You minister to the spiritually ignorant.

671
00:30:17,160 --> 00:30:18,360
And you please Jesus.

672
00:30:19,460 --> 00:30:23,980
By default you allow their needs to pass

673
00:30:23,980 --> 00:30:24,700
by you.

674
00:30:25,060 --> 00:30:27,620
As the priest and the Levite pass by

675
00:30:27,620 --> 00:30:30,720
the exploited man on the Samaritan road.

676
00:30:30,880 --> 00:30:32,820
On the Jericho road.

677
00:30:33,540 --> 00:30:35,640
And you offend Jesus.

678
00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:38,940
When people are hurt.

679
00:30:39,340 --> 00:30:41,040
Jesus Christ is hurt.

680
00:30:41,680 --> 00:30:44,500
When people are greedy and cause those who

681
00:30:44,500 --> 00:30:46,820
have not sufficient to have even less.

682
00:30:47,400 --> 00:30:49,540
Jesus Christ is hurt.

683
00:30:50,220 --> 00:30:52,000
When you condemn them.

684
00:30:52,960 --> 00:30:54,720
Then you condemn the Christ.

685
00:30:55,880 --> 00:30:56,920
But the Bible says.

686
00:30:57,800 --> 00:30:59,160
He does not resist you.

687
00:30:59,940 --> 00:31:00,340
No.

688
00:31:00,960 --> 00:31:02,420
He didn't resist Pilate.

689
00:31:02,820 --> 00:31:04,120
He didn't resist Herod.

690
00:31:04,120 --> 00:31:06,040
He didn't resist the high priest.

691
00:31:06,300 --> 00:31:08,200
He went as a lamb to the slaughter.

692
00:31:08,720 --> 00:31:10,800
He went as a sheep before the shearers.

693
00:31:11,020 --> 00:31:13,200
He was killed on the cross and he

694
00:31:13,200 --> 00:31:14,060
didn't resist.

695
00:31:15,620 --> 00:31:18,660
But remember there is always a calm before

696
00:31:18,660 --> 00:31:19,340
the storm.

697
00:31:20,500 --> 00:31:23,420
There is always a sense of uncanny peace

698
00:31:23,420 --> 00:31:25,940
before the violence of judgment comes.

699
00:31:25,940 --> 00:31:28,320
And this Christ.

700
00:31:28,940 --> 00:31:31,200
Who went as a lamb to the slaughter.

701
00:31:32,360 --> 00:31:33,740
Feels with indignation.

702
00:31:35,160 --> 00:31:37,700
The needs of those who are spiritually and

703
00:31:37,700 --> 00:31:39,620
materially deprived.

704
00:31:40,820 --> 00:31:42,140
And the day shall come.

705
00:31:43,100 --> 00:31:44,540
When he shall return.

706
00:31:45,480 --> 00:31:48,720
To execute judgment upon this earth.

707
00:31:49,700 --> 00:31:51,340
And at such a time as that.

708
00:31:52,240 --> 00:31:53,340
You rich men.

709
00:31:54,240 --> 00:31:54,900
Weep.

710
00:31:54,900 --> 00:31:55,960
How.

711
00:31:56,760 --> 00:31:58,080
For your miseries.

712
00:31:58,920 --> 00:32:00,260
That shall come upon you.

713
00:32:01,800 --> 00:32:02,620
Strong teaching.

714
00:32:03,880 --> 00:32:04,680
Strong meat.

715
00:32:05,820 --> 00:32:06,900
But it's not mine.

716
00:32:07,920 --> 00:32:08,800
It's in the Bible.

717
00:32:09,700 --> 00:32:11,020
It's on so many pages.

718
00:32:11,900 --> 00:32:13,340
I have to sound out the warning.

719
00:32:14,240 --> 00:32:15,000
These were people.

720
00:32:16,240 --> 00:32:17,360
What they never saw.

721
00:32:18,280 --> 00:32:19,680
The futility of wealth.

722
00:32:20,540 --> 00:32:21,620
What they never heard.

723
00:32:22,480 --> 00:32:23,600
The misery of the poor.

724
00:32:24,100 --> 00:32:25,520
What they never feared.

725
00:32:25,940 --> 00:32:28,400
The reality of judgment.

726
00:32:29,300 --> 00:32:30,640
What they never knew.

727
00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:33,340
The sympathy of Jesus.

728
00:32:34,480 --> 00:32:35,920
Never let yourself.

729
00:32:36,980 --> 00:32:39,040
Go into that category of person.

730
00:32:40,060 --> 00:32:42,040
But by a response to what the blessed

731
00:32:42,040 --> 00:32:42,800
Lord has done.

732
00:32:43,460 --> 00:32:45,200
As you give him your heart and your

733
00:32:45,200 --> 00:32:45,560
life.

734
00:32:46,740 --> 00:32:48,020
So may he be pleased.

735
00:32:48,800 --> 00:32:50,200
And have sympathy with you.

736
00:32:50,980 --> 00:32:51,860
As you share.

737
00:32:51,860 --> 00:32:53,120
Your spiritual.

738
00:32:53,820 --> 00:32:55,220
And your physical treasure.

739
00:32:56,240 --> 00:32:57,060
With others.

740
00:32:57,940 --> 00:33:00,060
Thank God for James's word.

741
00:33:00,840 --> 00:33:02,300
To the insensitive rich.

742
00:33:03,180 --> 00:33:04,260
Because by contrast.

743
00:33:04,920 --> 00:33:05,740
We can learn.

744
00:33:06,660 --> 00:33:07,340
And be warned.

745
00:33:08,480 --> 00:33:09,200
Ourselves.

746
00:33:10,600 --> 00:33:11,080
Amen.

747
00:33:37,250 --> 00:33:39,590
Amen.