August 13, 2000 -
[Cached Version]
Published on: 8/13/2000
Last Visited: 9/18/2005
As we continue our study through James, we are getting toward the end of James if you haven't noticed.It's been a really incredible blessing for me to work through James, endeavoring to prepare these messages.
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My good friend, James Puckett, was the pastor of the First Baptist Church of McKinney for thirty years until he recently retired.He is an older gentleman, but he is a dear guy.I was in a meeting with him on Friday and he was telling me about a young man who came to a pastor and wanted to get married.He wanted to have a wedding.The pastor said, "Well, what kind of wedding would you like to have?Would you like to have a contemporary wedding or one that's more traditional?"He said, "I think I'd rather have contemporary."
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In James 5, there is a shift as James seems to lay aside his pastoral garments and putting on, instead, a prophet's mantle.He looks far ahead to the day of judgment, warning the rich of the instability of their wealth while at the same time encouraging believers just like you with the promise of Christ's return.He is no longer just a pastor ministering to his flock.He has become a prophet, a bold voice, addressing the injustice of the cruel world.In the style James adopts, he reminds us that on occasion pastors have a responsibility to "cry out loud and spare not," as the Bible says.
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In this section, James accomplishes both.He both gives a stern reproof to those of us who want to try to find security in this world, and he rebukes those who misuse their wealth and the power that is associated with riches.And at the same time, he encourages Christians to wait on the Lord.
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Yet James is referring more to the misery and grief that will come on the day of judgment when Christ returns.Howl, he says. 'To howl' means to 'cry out loud in great distress.' It is actually describing the wailing sound that a person makes when he is absolutely overwhelmed by pain, by grief.
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James looks ahead and sees silos of the rich that are full of rotten grain; closets full of moth-eaten clothing.He even foresees a day when wealth will be worthless.
We have seen this right here in our country.
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"Be careful," James says.
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I think that is what the prophet, James, has in mind.
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James goes on, besides just sharing with us the fact that our warning ought to be clear, to share basically what I just shared by point of application, that our fellowship should be focused.Notice verses 7 and following where James says, "Therefore, be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord.
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Do we have love for our brethren, and do we exercise self control, control of the tongue, and all of these other things that James has been trying to help us with?
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