All right. Good morning. Let's get after it. Let me tell you the first four words of our text today, and then you'll regret that you came, but it's too late. Come now, you rich. That's how James starts off our section today. Now, there might be a couple different thought reactions happening right now, knowing that that's the first four one might be. Here they go. They planned it. It's commitment card turning Sunday. We're going to talk about money and giving money, and it's like, boy, that'd be great if we were that well planned out what? We're not. So I'm just trusting and leaning into God's sovereignty that you kind of line this up, this text on this day. So we got some things to learn on that. So that's not any kind of manipulation plan. We'll always be very upfront with our request. We got space problems. We need $4 million to help fix it. That's our request. It's as fancy as we got. So we're not trying to manipulate you into this. So set that aside and just lets us text be what it is. And it's not a request, it's a warning. And I think we need to take that warning seriously. But it is commitment card. Turn in Sunday, and we'll give some instructions about that later to come. If few of you have Iowa tickets today and you just want to sell those and we can build the basement, that'd be great. Go hawks. No, we're go hawks. We're excited for that. So, others of you might hear those first four words of, come now, you rich? And you might think, well, clearly, he's not talking to me, because who's rich? Right? We tend to define rich as anyone who makes more than I do. Right? That's not me. It's north of me, but I'm good. I'm here to tell you, like, if you make $60,000 a year, you are in the top 1% wealthiest in the world. We're rich. There's a wealth in our country that we need to understand and own. We've tried to be very intentional with our kids from an early age, growing up, it's like, hey, kids, you're growing up rich. Just so you know, your mom and dad were rich. Right? Now, it's like, we're not that different than a lot of you guys. We have three cars, and any car that we take out of town right now is a gamble or it's an act of faith. It's not quite sure which one's going to make it, and you just kind of flip a coin. And yet we got three cars. Let's just admit we're first world people. So we want to know, what is this text saying to first world people? What is it saying to first world christians? And can we just admit there's a collective thing in our culture where we like money? Is anybody in here? I don't want any more money. No, right. We want it. We know what we'd want to do with it. We envy people that have it. We look at the people we put up on pedestals. There's a wealth that represents security and power and influence that we admire. But here's the pickle. As christians, the Bible says some really hard, challenging things to wealthy people. So how are we supposed to hear that as first world christians? In fact, just to kick this morning off, right, since you're already here, let me read some of these to you. This is in Matthew, chapter six. No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You can't serve. And you'd think he'd say God and Satan, but he doesn't. He says, God and what money. Let's look at another one, since you guys are all loving this. As for what was sown among the thorns, this is the one who hears the word. But the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of what riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. So this is coming out of the parable of the seeds, how they fall on different soils and different. He's saying the deceitfulness of riches can choke out the word of God. There's a danger there. Here. Let's look at another one. Mark eight. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? Sometimes we can just go after the wrong things. We can just kind of stuff here and now type of things, gain the whole world. But there's something bigger that we're not considering. Let's look at one more, maybe more than one. We'll just keep going. Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, he's talking to the rich. Young ruler, said, how difficult is it for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God? For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. That's tough language. I don't think he's not pulling punches there. Do we have another one? Or should we? Should I go on? Okay. One Timothy 610. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. Like, there's a hurt, there's a love of money that just kind of leads you even away from faith. Now, it's not wrong to be rich. Abraham was rich. Moses was rich. David was rich, Solomon was rich. We have biblical examples of godly people being wealthy, but then you have these really challenging statements targeted towards wealthy people. So how are we to live as Christians? How are we to handle money as Christians? Like, should faith affect how you handle money? What kind of lifestyle is fitting for a Christian? What kind of lifestyle is unfitting for a Christian? It seems to be an understandable thing to look at. Like, these celebrity pastors who have mansions and swimming pools and drive Lexus and have really expensive clothes. And we look at them and be like, something's wrong, and I get it. But what about just any other Christian? Can they have that? Is that okay? It's just not okay for pastors. Like, how should a Christian live? And what is a fitting lifestyle? Could it be that when it comes to handling money and wealth, we may profess to be Christians, but we think and act very secularly or very worldly, that we think and act just like everybody else? And how does everyone else tend to think about this? And how should christians think differently when it comes to handling wealth and money? So aren't you glad you came? All right, James, chapter five. We're entering into chapter five in James and just want to. You ever been to a doctor? And they kind of press on. It's like, does this hurt? No. And then they press somewhere. Does this hurt? No. And then they press somewhere, and it's like, whoa, that's painful, right? And they hit a sensitive spot. As a pastor, I feel it's like, I can get up here and I can swing pretty hard going through the text, and you're like, I'm good. And then as soon as you kind of talk about money, it's like, whoa, what's going on here? Like, you're prying. And I just want us to know. The idolatry of money just can be a really easy thing to slip into our hearts, especially in America. And if we could kind of just approach this text with open hands of like, okay, what does God have to say to me in this? And some of you are there for it, and some of you aren't. And I just understand, this is going to be an interesting Sunday. Like, we're either going to find out, hey, we can afford our project, or enough of you will leave. Well, we won't need the project, so either way, we're moving forward. All right, here we go. James, chapter five. I'm going to read all six verses that we're going to look at, because I want us to see all of what James is saying, and then we're going to go back and kind of look at specific things that he's saying. You're going to see the weightiness or seriousness of the language that James is using in this text, and I want that same weightiness to land on us. Okay, so, chapter five. Here we go. Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasures in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you. And the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the lord of host. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you. All right, that's where we're going. Now, there's a debate on who James is talking to. And if you've been kind of marching through this book, that's always something in good Bible statements, like, who's the audience? Like, who is he talking to? And the debate here is, is James talking to christians about rich people in their society, or is he talking to rich christians? I think the answer to that question is yes. So if you go back to the beginning of this book, he says, james is servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. To the twelve tribes in dispersion that are scattered, that have been because of persecution, they've fled. Then it says, count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds. These are believers that have a rough life and have been persecuted and scattered because of the difficulties that they're going through. It's like, I don't know if that sounds like wealthy, powerful people, but then over in chapter two, it says, for if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, it's like, okay, that's different. And I think he's talking to both. There's something that I want to say to poor Christians who are being exploited and oppressed by rich people. And there's something I want to say to rich christians, and I think James is making a point to both of it when it comes to addressing christians who are being oppressed by rich people. One of the things that James is saying here is, don't worry, they're going to get theirs. Don't worry, they're going to get what's coming to them. Like, look at some of the harsh judgment language he's using. Weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you, future tense. Or their corrosion is evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. Or the wages of labors who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you. And the Cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. So that phrase, lord of hosts is like saying, lord of armies or lord of angel armies. So he's saying, you gone ticked off the wrong guy. The God who commands angel armies is aware of your situation and justice and judgment will come. He says, you fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter. So there is some judgment language. In fact, the very next verse after our section, he says, be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. So he's like, hey, God sees you. Be patient in your suffering. Justice is coming. But also don't envy the rich because that's what was happening. And you go back to chapter two. It's like when he's talking about favoritism, like you're showing special treatment to the wealthy because you want to be wealthy, you want to be like them. You got the wrong role model, right? You don't understand their corruption. You don't want to be like them. Now, we're not going to go into this, but if you can write down psalm 73, go back and read it sometime today. But that's what's happening in that psalm. The psalmist is really honest and vulnerable. And he said, my feet almost slipped, I almost stumbled. And here was his problem. I was envying the wealthy. I was envying the people that are living their best life now. And I wanted it. And then you get to the middle of the psalm and he says, like, it wasn't until I was in the sanctuary where I discerned their end. And when I discerned their end, I was like, oh, no, I don't want to be them. I don't want that. He's saying, don't envy these people. Don't fall into that. But also, even though christians were persecuted and scattered, prominent people in society got saved, too. Like, you see that on Paul's missionary journeys. We're prominent people. You see this in James where it's like you had wealthy people coming to their assemblies, and isn't it great that the gospel of Jesus Christ breaks through socioeconomic barriers? Amen. Like, whether you're rich or poor, the Gospel is for you. So James is like, I'm talking to some poor christians who are being persecuted by rich. Don't. Don't stress it. Be patient. Justice is coming. Now I want to talk to some rich christians, and he's going to address them as well. And James is challenging them in their worldliness. He's challenging them in their worldliness. Like, you say you have faith, but I say your faith is dead because I don't see your faith affecting your life, affecting your lifestyle, affecting your finances. When James examines them, he's like, I don't see a living faith. Remember last week we talked about, like, when you have a pool and you put the test strips in to see if the chemicals are right. Like, if you could kind of dip some test strips into your life to see, is this faith real? A place you'd want to put it is in your finances, and you might be. No, no, don't look there. Look here. I do really good here. And look here. I do really good here, and you should look at this. I do really good here. But Jesus is no, the best place to drop that test strip is in your finances, because where your treasures are there, your heart is also. So let's look there. And another reason I think James is clearly talking to christians as well is there is a clear call to repent. Look at verse one. When he says weep and howl. It's similar to verse nine in chapter four. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and enjoy to gloom. It's repentant language. Feel bad about the ungodliness in your life and out of feeling bad about it. Change. Like, there is a call to repentance. James uses in heavy language, strong language, and hopes to stir about change and repentance in them. Like, I want you to know the seriousness of this and turn from it. And I hope the same is true for us. I want us to feel the weight of what James is saying, and it might stir up real practical change in us that we would leave here being like, I need to do some things differently. What things differently? Like, what ways are we to be different? From the world, financially. Let's first look at what James is critiquing about these rich people. Come now, you rich. Weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. We'll get to the last part of verse three later on, but one of his critiques is you are extremely short sighted in your wealth management. You are living for things that won't last. Your gold and silver is corroded. Your fancy clothes, it's moth eaten. Like, you have been so short sighted in your life. You have been so invested in the here and now. That's a critique he gives him. Here's another critique he gives him. Verse four. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you. And the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the lord of host. Another critique he says, is you're unethical. You're in positions of power, and you're exploiting people. You're exploiting the poor. Now, in their defense, I don't think that's how they would put it. The way they might put it is, well, we're just business savvy, right? Because we just know how to make a buck and how to cut a corner and how to get our bottom line and build our clientele. And we know that we don't have to pay them the full amount because there's nothing they can do about it. Like, they don't have the means to sue us or come after us. So this is some way we can cut some corners and save some money. We're just business savvy, right? It's not personal. It's just business. Ever hear that the godfather. It's not personal. It's business. And it's like he's saying that on the way to kill somebody. I think it's kind of personal right now. Some of you in this room are like, that's not in the godfather. That's in. You've got mail. You've got mail as quoting the godfather, just for clarity there. But in that situation, like, the big Bookstore is going to take over the little corner shop bookstore. And he's like, it's not personal. It's just business. And she's like, it's personal to me. Right? And he's saying, hey, there's an unethical approach to this. You are hurting people. Or look at verse five. There's another critique. You have lived on the earth in luxury and self indulgence. There's a self centeredness. This life is about me. My wealth is about me. I want to advance my situation. And you might be thinking, well, that sounds kind of nice. I mean, luxury, isn't that kind of the goal? Isn't that what we pursue? Aren't all of us trying to better our lives and better our situations and better our lifestyles? I mean, this seems to be very common. And James, like, that's the problem, right? This kind of yolo, right? You only live once, can't take it with you, enjoy it while you can. It's like, that's a very common thinking. And James, like, I know, but that very common thinking has become very common in the church, and that's the problem. There's this kind of self indulgence. So can we just agree before we move on? I think this is like, low level agreement that being short sighted, unethical, and self centered is not fitting for the Christian. Are we there? We there together? Okay. Three of us are, like, really committed. I felt like this is going to be an easy connection point. Like, everyone's like, at least we're there. Okay, let me press in a little bit further. Then. Could we agree on this, that being short sighted, unethical, and self centered financially is not fitting for the Christian? Yeah. Okay, you agreed. Let's keep going. We're not to be short sighted financially. Like, only living for this life. And there is a sense of yolo, you do only live once here. You only got one shot here before judgment. You only got one chance here to express a devotion to God before that time. And there's this mindset of like, well, you can't take it with you is sort of true and sort of not true. It's sort of true. Like, you can't take this stuff with you, but that doesn't mean you can't use stuff and money and finances now that make a difference someday in eternity. Like, are you living for now or are you living for eternity? Like, what did Jesus say about this? Let's look back at some of that. Do not lay up for yourself treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy. That language sound familiar? Where do you think James got it right? And where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroy. Where thieves do not break in and steal for where your treasures there your heart will be also. He's like, you should financially plan for eternity. That's what he's saying. You talk to any financial planner, they're probably going to talk to you about retirement. They're probably not going to talk to you about eternity. Think of me as your eternal financial planner today. This would be great. Just leave your mike's fees back at the door. All right, let's look at the next one. For as the rich person this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future. And that future, in Paul's mind, is not retirement, but eternity, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life. We got another one. No, that's it. All right. Do we. No, that's coming later. Hold that. You're going to be surprised by that one in the rich young ruler. You guys are familiar that story where he says, sell all your possessions and come follow me. Do you know how the rest of that goes? Because I think it gets a bad rap. Sell your possessions, come follow me, and you will have treasures in heaven. Jesus is not trying to make a rich guy poor. He's trying to make a rich guy rich forever. We have to think beyond this life when it comes to our finances, that it does make a difference. We shouldn't be short sighted and live like thinking it only matters here. Now, we're also not to be unethical christian business owners. And we got christian business owners in this church, and that's awesome. How you treat employees matters. You can't justify unethical actions in business savvy. It is personal. And how you treat employees matters. The more money we have, the easier it is to exploit others, but also the more responsibility we have to help others to where much is given, much is what expected. And a biblical perspective of wealth needs to be stewardship, not ownership. Stewardship means you will be held accountable for what you've been given. There isn't a day to give an account. And if you take this attitude of, like, what do you mean? This is my money. I put myself through school. I worked hard for this. I show up early every day. This is my money. It's like, really? Did you choose the time period you would be born, the place you'd be born, the family you'd be born into, the gifts that you would have? Who do you think gave you that work ethic? Like, you're a self made man. Please. That perspective gives no account to the sovereignty of God in all of life. There's more to it than that. We're not to be self centered financially in all of life, including financially. And this one is tricky, because the critique here is you've lived in luxury and self indulgence, and it's not a compliment. Like, congratulations, you've reached luxury. It's like a critique. You've lived in luxury and self indulgence, but, guys, eating out is a luxury. How many of us have eaten out in the past month? Right? Like, going home and having to cable to watch the game or streaming service. That's luxury. We live in luxury. So it's like, are we not supposed to do that? Can a Christian ever take a nice vacation or have a nice car, live in a nice house or go out to eat in a nice. Like, where's the line? Where's it? Like, this is, okay, you've crossed it now it's luxury and self indulgence. Like, how are we supposed to discern this? And if you're looking for a hard line of, like, this is the line. You're going to be frustrated. James doesn't give us a hard line, but the way that he speaks about it in such strong, judgmental language, he's saying, I'm not giving you a hard line, but you better figure it out. You better take this critique of living in luxury and self indulgence seriously. So there's not this hard line, but there is a principle. There is a principle we can apply to kind of filter through and make some decisions in our own situations. There's a biblical concept that should describe a Christian's lifestyle that doesn't get talked about much. And it's modesty. You should live a modest life. You should be modest. We don't hear that too often. Or you hear it and it's only attached to maybe clothing, but it involves all of life. I mean, when Peter says, all of us, clothe yourself in humility, he's talking about an attitude. But that attitude affects your literal clothing. Or when Paul is kind of addressing ladies about modesty, there's a sensuality part of it, but there's also a status part of it. Like, don't be flaunting your status like men, women. Like, of any economic position. Modesty should be a godly trait that we live out now, modesty can be a sliding scale. Like, what's modest in America may be extravagant in Guatemala. What's modesty in that neighborhood may be extravagant in this neighborhood. And what's modest to that income? Maybe not modest in this income. Like, there's a sliding scale for modesty, but it's still a principle that we should seek to apply. Basically, modesty is the opposite of flaunting you. Look what I got. Look what I can drive. Look where I can live like this. You're just kind of trying to flaunt yourself. In fact, you can think of it like this, and you may need to put this in your slow cooker for a while, but wrestle with it. We're going to move on. But this is the way you can think about it. No Christian should live as well as they're capable of. And the pushback is, well, if they're capable of it, why is it wrong? We'll get to that, but no Christian should live as well as they're capable of. What I'm saying is, if you live at the top of your income, if you got the nicest house you can afford and the nicest car you can drive, and the nicest lifestyle you can possibly get to, if you've lived at the top of your income, what you're saying is all my money is going to me. It's the definition of self indulgence. Like me first type of mindset. I'm going to go as high as I possibly can. And isn't that what the rich fool did? Remember last week in Luke twelve? Like he did well in his business? So what was his conclusions? I'm going to remodel. I'm going to tear it all down and build myself bigger barns. And guess what? He could do it. He could afford it. But he wasn't rich towards God. In fact, there's a heart behind that decision that's getting critiqued. This is the passage I told you to wait for. This is in that story, Luke 1219. And I will say to my soul, soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years. Relax, eat, drink, be merry. Luxury, self indulgence, that's what's getting critiqued. And he was not rich towards God. There was only a thought of his situation. It's not bad to build bigger barns, but it's bad to have a me first mindset, and that's what is getting called out. Guys, people don't often have margin for generosity because it's an afterthought. I didn't say it wasn't a thought at all. I said it was an afterthought. Like I thought of it after I got the house I wanted and after I got the car I wanted, and after I reached the lifestyle I wanted and after I'm doing the things I wanted and after all that, I sure wish I had more because if I did, I'd be generous. And I just don't know where to take from. And you just don't have any more. And you're just like, really? You're saying you don't know where it could come from. So what you're telling me is like, you're going to live in that size of the house, you're going to drive that kind of car, you're going to have all these streaming services, you're going to have the nicest phone, your kids are going to be in designer clothes. And after all of that, you just don't know where you can take from. Is that a me first kind of attitude? I'm not saying you don't have thoughts of generosity. I'm just saying they're often after thoughts. There's a reason that in the Old Testament, giving is referred to as first fruits. Like before. You make all those other me decisions. First you give unto the Lord. You're rich towards God. I mean, what if you made your giving decisions before you made your living decisions? No Christian should live as well as they're capable of. And the more money you have, the greater the distance should be between how you live and how you're capable of living. Guys, look back when James says that they have lived on the earth in luxury and self indulgence. Do you know what that tells us? They were able to. They were capable of it. They could afford it. And yet it's still a critique, which means the attitude of you, if you can afford it, it's okay, is not necessarily okay. You may be able to afford it, and there still may be something very unchristian about it, because it's me first. It's me first. This is a quote from John Wesley, old famous pastor. He says, is not your dress as gay? And gay meant something different at that time. He says, is not your dress as gay, as expensive as theirs? Who never had such warning? Who didn't know any better? Basically, aren't you dressed in the same way of people who don't know better? Are you not as fashionably dressed as others of your rank that are not Methodist? But I can afford it, comes the reply, oh, lay aside that idle, nonsensical word. No Christian can afford to waste any part of the substance which God has entrusted him. Guys, it's not what you can or can't afford. It's what you do or don't treasure. Like, is your life all about you or is there something bigger that you're living for? And if somebody just dipped the test strips in your finances, would they make that conclusion? Here's how I would sum up this worldly wealth perspective. Me first. Now first. It's me first and now first. And you can have that mindset and a heart that's like, I really wish I could do more. If I had more. I really wish I could be generous here. I really wish I can bless you. It's just after me first, now first, right? Me first, now first. I'm going to get the lifestyle that I want because I'm working hard for it and I'm going to live for here, not eternity. But, boy, if I had some more, I'd love to be generous to you. Is that how you live? You can't serve two masters. You can't do it. And the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And if you follow that text, what it ultimately leads to is people falling away from the faith because it's an evidence that says, oh, you don't really believe. You don't really believe. So, guys, let me just kind of press in more. As a pastor, maybe you have bought in on a very american mindset of money management, but not a biblical one. And the tricky part is it's very informed by the Bible, but it's missing some key things, like if our outlook or our mindset is only it's not wrong to be rich. That's true. Biblically. That's true. And it's good to work hard. Also biblically true. And if you earned it, you enjoy it. That's also biblically true. But if you just stop there, you're missing something extremely important and extremely biblical. What's getting left out in that mindset is that wealth is dangerous. I didn't say wealth is bad. I said wealth is dangerous. Like proverbs 30, I think it's like 89789. The verses in there, it's like, make me neither rich nor poor, right? Because if I'm poor, I'm going to sin this way. And if I'm rich, I'm tempted to sin this way. And there is a danger to wealth that could pull us away from the living God, that can lead us to make life about this life, that can lead us to put our hope in the wrong things, our security in the wrong things, our identity in the wrong things. Like there is a dangerousness to wealth. And if we don't get that. We will just try to obtain wealth and we will never protect ourselves from it. Right? Because you can have it. But if you're not careful, it'll have you. Look at the rest of verse five. He says, you have lived on earth in luxury and in self indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in the day of slaughter. I love that imagery. And what he's saying there is like, hey, your lifestyle of you first now first has just prepared you for the day of judgment. It has sucked you into these lies and has just kind of fattened you up for slaughter. You have fed your heart junk food. You have fed your heart this, me first, now, first, Snickers bar, constantly. And now you're just fat for slaughter. Your heart can't feel what it's meant to feel. It hasn't nourished itself on the word of God. That says, God first, his glory, his kingdom. So you've just kind of lived on this me first junk food for so long. And you know what? You're all ready for judgment. That's what he's saying. There's consequences. So here's what we need to do. We need to develop a wealth protection plan. And some of you are, like, already there. Oh, no, I'm not talking about how do you protect your wealth, I'm talking about how do you protect your heart from your wealth. Because if you're not careful, it'll get you. It'll get you. Now, shameless. Plug our next deeper dive. It's in April. We're going to get more specific on how do we guard our heart from our wealth. We're going to dive into that. But for today, what's the main ingredient that James is proposing to us to protect our heart from our wealth. And it's not going to be a surprise because it'll be a theme throughout the book. It's faith. It's faith. Or more specifically, it's a living faith. It's a faith that's so alive, it affects every area of your life. It affects even how you handle money. Look at the end of verse three. Says, you have laid up treasure in the last days. Now, we read that from our vantage point, and it's like, that sounds great. Got some preppers in here. They got their canned foods. They're ready for 2024. Like, it's going down. It's like we're well thought and we're prepared. That's not what James is talking about when he uses that phrase last days. It's Old Testament language. Kind of getting into this idea of God delivering on his promises. I'm going to eventually vindicate my people. I'm going to show up, I'm going to right the wrongs. And he's saying, you're not living in light of that. You're living for now. And that's the problem. But even worse, these last days have been revealed in Jesus Christ. Look at Hebrews chapter one. Long ago, and in many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets. But in these, what, last days, he has spoken to us by his son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. And what James is calling these people out is like, you know of Jesus Christ. You profess to be a believer in Jesus Christ. You know the tomb is empty. You profess faith in his return. You know that this life isn't all there is, and yet you're still living for it. You're still super passionate about it, and you're still, like, all in, in the here and now. The me first and now first. That's the critique. And what he's saying is, that is a sign of no faith. Now you can push back. You might be like, wait a second. Are you telling me that if I'm not financially generous, then I don't have faith? What James is saying is that if your life is all about you, first, now, first luxury and self indulgent, that you may have faith and you may profess Jesus Christ, but your faith is dead, and you should not leave here any confidence that you have a saving faith. That's what he's saying. A luxurious, self indulgent life is what would make sense if Jesus didn't rise from the grave. In fact, that's what Paul makes his case. This is one corinthians 15. He says, why are we in danger? Every hour I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day. What do I gain? If, humanly speaking, I fought with beast at Ephesus? Love to hear that story. If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. Like, that's the worldview. If the dead are not raised, he goes on to say this, do not be deceived. Bad company ruins good morals. Like, you've been hanging out with the wrong people. You've been hanging out with the world, and you're starting to act like the world, financially or lifestyle. Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning for some have no knowledge of God. And I say this to your shame. What Paul's saying is like, hey, if Jesus didn't rise from the dead, then my life doesn't make sense. And I would make some drastically different lifestyle choices. Like, why am I dying every day? Why am I getting thrown in jail? Why am I fighting off beast in Ephesus? Like, I'm making some bad life choices. If this isn't real, but if it is real, then my life makes sense. Does yours? Because Jesus said, deny yourself, pick up your cross and follow me. He says, my life makes sense because of my faith in God. But you, he's calling out his people. It's like I say this to your shame. You have no knowledge of God as you're making lifestyle choices, as if you don't know God. You're making lifestyle choices if God doesn't exist, as if this world is all that there is, and that shows evidence of no faith or no saving faith. Let me put it this way. Here's the big idea. A living faith shapes a lifestyle. A living faith shapes a lifestyle. Is your faith alive? Would your lifestyle testify to that? Because in all the judgment language in this text, there's a lot of testifying language, like the voice of the harvesters are crying out, like in the day of slaughter, it's going to give an account on their day of judgments. With the way that you handled your money and your lifestyle choices, would it testify faith? This is a believer here. Or would it just say, me first? Now, first, James wanted these first century believers to have a faith that affected all of life, included how they handled money. We need to have a faith that affects our lifestyle, including how we handle money. Handle money with faith. I want to preface that because sometimes you hear people say that what it means is act really irresponsible with your money and just have faith that God's going to take care of you. That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying have a faith that believes in Jesus Christ, his return and eternity, that shows up in how we live our lives. Now, guys, we want to be a church that's not going to be all about this life. We're not. And if you're going to be all about this life and be at this church, we're going to make you feel uncomfortable. We're going to press in on you because we love you too much to continue in that line. James is trying to give them a wake up call. I hope this is a wake up call. And some of the language he uses sounds like that really annoying alarm that just kind of abrupts you out of sleep. But let's look at this last verse, because I think he's wooing us into obedience. He says, you have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you. What is he talking about? I think on one level, James wants these people to see their victims. Do you see who you're hurting? Do you see who you're sinning against, these innocent people that are powerless against you? Do you remember what Jesus said? That the things you do to the least of these, you do to me? But it's the words that James uses that makes me think he's pointing to the victims and past the victims. Like, there is a bigger deal going on than just exploiting the poor. And there is a deeper problem than just luxurious, self indulgent living. He doesn't say you've condemned, but you've also murdered. I mean, yeah, if you don't pay somebody, they can't pay their family. It can lead to their quality of life or either the end of their life. That's true. But going from you're not paying somebody to mowed your field to murder, that's a like. What are you getting at here, James? Is it just strong language to drive home a point? Or do you got a deeper point? Because he also doesn't just say that they have condemned and murdered the righteous ones, plural, but the righteous one singular. And it doesn't say, who can't resist you, that they're just powerless and there's nothing they can do about it. But he says, who doesn't resist you? It's a voluntary word. What is James getting at here? What James is saying is the reason you are so consumed with money and self indulgence is you have forgotten about Jesus, the righteous one. The one who had an appearance that was not impressive. The one who didn't live for luxury or self indulgence, but came to serve. The one who was himself betrayed for 30 pieces of silver. The one who didn't resist but freely gave up his life on earth for the kingdom of God to come. James is saying, do you remember him, the one you claim to follow? Are you actually following him? Does your life look like his? Or have you become all about you and all about now? And get this. Remembering Jesus not resisting his own murder is the key to finding our freedom from the dangers of wealth. It's because Jesus was freely murdered on the cross that we have a better life to look forward to. Because Jesus went through the cross, we get to live, not just for this life. There is more than just this life. He opened up a future to us that wasn't possible before. And now he's saying, hey, you can store up treasures in heaven. You can live now for forever. Guys, real faith. Hear me now. Real faith. A living faith shapes a lifestyle. And our lifestyle ought to scream, we believe in Jesus. We believe in eternity. We believe it's real. And if you kind of dip it into our life or our finances, that test strip will say, we believe it. We so want that to be true. This is a faith issue. You, and we want that to be true of us.