James 5:1-6 - Misusing the gifts God has given us
Seeking Our God
English - October 07, 2020 11:00 - 12 minutes - 11.2 MB - ★★★★★ - 17 ratingsChristianity Religion & Spirituality Spirituality scripture bible study methods growing closer to god scripture study podcast about god christian inspirational inspirational christian living christian study christian Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
James’ concluding remarks center on sharing—sharing one’s possessions (1-6), sharing with patience (7-12), and sharing in prayer (13-20).
The attack begun in the concluding section of chapter 4 is carried into chapter 5 but with greater concentration and condemnation. The rich are denounced. James appears to have included all rich people, both believers (cf. 1:10) and unbelievers (cf. 2:6). There is no plea for reform, only a grim warning that hoarded wealth brings dismay, ends up rotting away, and results in condemnation.
This also speaks to the treatment of employers and employees. In the spirit of the OT prophets, James pronounces judgment on employers who treat their employees unjustly (Is 3:14, 15; 10:2). God will judge those who oppress the poor (Ezek 18:12-13).
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
The Bible does not discourage the acquiring of wealth. But what the Bible does condemn is acquiring wealth by illegal means or for illegal purposes.It is bad enough to gain wealth in a sinful way, but to use that wealth in sinful ways just makes the sin greaterUltimately, none of our hardships can vanquish us. Whatever needs we face, we can expect the Lord of Hosts to be our Helper and Source of strength.For more information about this show, includes additional notes and details, please visit the show page here or visit our home page at SeekingourGod.com
Music
Life of Riley by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3976-life-of-rileyLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/