Bible Study - James Chapter 5
Bible Study - James Chapter 5
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Verses 1-6 are another part of James that is taken out of context to demonize the rich. It is absolutely clear that James was prophesying about those who misuse their wealth. One could easily apply this to those who misuse their power such as the many elected officials become wealthy when there was no legitimate means of acquiring such wealth. However, those who misuse this verse are nearly all in very wealthy societies like the United States. It is truly ironic that those who are the loudest complaining about the 1% in their country and advocate for a Stalinist taking don't realize how foolish that is. The truth is that they are almost certainly in the top 1% in the world. If one has an income of $48,100 per year in 2025 they are in the top 1% of earners on Earth. And the median income is only $1,733 per year worldwide, putting those who earn more in the upper middle-class of the world. The jealousy some fools are trying to generate against people they are envious of could and would come back to bite them if they were successful. | |
| 1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. |
The apostrophe at the beginning of this verse in Greek makes this a direct address. James was being deliberately in-your-face harsh with with Christians in all the churches. Those who falsely claim being nice is a Christian requirement or commandment are inventing an anti-biblical false doctrine. This is a prophecy for the rich who are guilty of any of the things James specifies in verses 4-6. It is absolutely not for all rich. In Acts is the the rich that host people in their homes to worship and learn about Jesus and His commands. It was usually the rich that sponsored the apostles and other's missionary journeys. On the other hand, it is very easy to become arrogantly self-dependent when a person is rich. It is also easy to abuse others. These were things James warns of in this prophecy. Those that misuse their wealth in any of these ways will find that the mild pleasures of this world do not make up for what they have earned in the next. |
| 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. | All the things the sinful rich have gathered are temporary. Mansions are robbed, crumble and collapse. Expensive cars break down, rust and end up in a junkyard. Fine clothes wear out, get stained, ripped, and destroyed. It's all temporary. It's not worth a life of sin to get them. |
| 3 Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure! |
Pure gold and silver don't rust. However, gold and silver can be made cheaper by adding a high percentage of cheap metals that do rust. Not to mention fake gold and silver absolutely do rust. Thus James was making the point that these sinful rich have compromised their souls for fake wealth. That the rust from the fake wealth will be a witness and will burn like fire has a double meaning. On the one hand it is evidence of their wrong doing and will condemn them to hell. On the other hand, once they are in hell the fact that they earned hell for such worthless things will be a reminder of their foolishness. And the regret will burn them like the fires of hell. In the last days refers to eschaton, the end times when we will be judged. Those that belong to Jesus will be judged for the reward they earned. Those that are strangers to Jesus will be judged for their sins. If they had read the commands and warnings in scripture, followed Jesus, and did what they should they would have been storing up real wealth in the reward given at the judgement seat. That is wealth that does not pass away and does not rust. |
| 4 Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. |
This is a stack of sins piled together. Cheating people of the wages they are due is terrible and is theft. Add to that the lie told when they were hired that they would be paid. Then there's the fraud. And all of these offenses are abuse of power, which is also a sin. These would still be crimes if the employer didn't have the money to pay their workers. But those James was talking about had the money and just chose not to do the honest thing, presumably to keep the money or just because their power let them get away with it. A person doesn't have to be rich monetarily to be guilty as James charged. Misuse of a position by a manager or trusted worker to do these things is the same sin as if the owner did them. It is actually worse as they are worker cheating fellow workers. Skimming from other worker's wages or benefits is still theft. Lord of Sabaoth is usually translated as Lord of Hosts in most translations. This word in Greek literally means armies, emphasis on the plural. What is meant is that the Lord who commands many great armies or a horde of armies has heard what they did. And the implication is they are in for a world of hurt from the Lord. |
| 5 You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. |
Being wealthy is not a sin. Living well is not a sin. But living in wanton pleasure is a sin. Wanton is spatalao in Greek, which means indulging oneself beyond the bounds of propriety. And this word is applied to pleasure. In other words, it is immoral pursuit of pleasure that is disgustingly wrong. Worse, it is doing so while being completely uncaring of others and even when it hurts others. The end of this verse is idiomatic and requires some explanation. Basically it means they have gorged themselves on the meat that should have served many people. Refrigeration wasn't invented until the 18th century. Thus meat could only be preserved by drying and/or salting it. Fresh meat was much more desirable but would spoil. The slaughter of an animal was typically done with a large gathering such as a celebration so it could be mostly consumed by those present while fresh. Fattened is trepho in Greek, which is to care for by providing nourishment. This idiom it means to gorge or overindulge in eating the best of the meat from the celebration slaughter. Thus translating this as fattened is accurate. There is an implication that they have so fattened their heart it can't be touched by the suffering of others, including the suffering the sinfully self-indulgent person caused. |
| 6 You have condemned and put to death the righteous man; he does not resist you. | Even before the time of judges and kings in Israel a rich person couldn't just have a person killed, let alone during the Roman occupation. This verse implies they bribed and corrupted officials to condemn the innocent man for them. A dead man cannot resist the wrongful taking by a rich man. James was referring to murder for personal gain. The innocent man was unwilling to give up something the rich man wanted. An example of this is King David having an affair with Bathsheba, then having her husband Uriah killed to cover it up. |
| 7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. |
On the heels of a warning that those who misuse their power for personal pleasure will face justice in hell, James called for restraint. Specifically, we are not to seek revenge but wait for the return of Jesus when everyone will receive justice. To be clear, this is not an instruction to not seek justice. The implication of verses 1-6 is that justice has been perverted so it cannot be found in this life. However, if there is a legal remedy we are absolutely to seek it. But when there is no legal remedy we are not to take things into our own hands and seek revenge. Revenge is not justice. The metaphor of a farmer waiting for his crops is specific. In a time before irrigation the farmer may not see anything sprout from his planting until after the early rain comes and makes the sprouts possible. And the produce may be small and anemic until the late rains allow the plants to finish their work. In other words, it may look like nothing is happening for a very long time, even when the farmer should have seen growth by that time if there had been rain. The point of the metaphor and the entire verse is we are to have patience waiting for justice. Just because we can't see immediate results does not mean it won't happen. It will happen in God's timing like the coming of the rain, and not on our timing. Thus we should not sin and seek our own revenge. |
| 8 You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. | Like the farmer who must be patient for the evidence that his work will bear fruit, we must be patient for justice, even when we think it should have happened by now. We must be patient for God's timing. Instead of dwelling on the injustice not being corrected on our timing we should dwell on God's promise that justice will be done. Reading His promises in scripture is a good way to strengthen our hearts. Another is to give thanks to God for what He has done and what He will do, such as that we will receive mercy and not the justice we deserve. |
| 9 Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door. |
This is directly related to James' command in 4:11. Complain is stenazo in Greek, which is literally groan or sigh. In this context complain or express discontent is a more accurate translation than groan. This type of reaction comes out of a shallow and superficial judgement. John 7:24 Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment. A person who reacts with a sigh or groan is making a snap judgement or based on a past prejudice without cause in the moment. This is often judging a person for being annoying or bringing up things we don't want to deal with. An example would be redacting negatively to those exposing the truth of bad behavior and/or bad teaching in the church even though that person has done nothing to warrant such judgement. Zechariah 8:16-17 'These are the things which you should do: speak the truth to one another; judge with truth and judgment for peace in your gates. 'Also let none of you devise evil in your heart against another, and do not love perjury; for all these are what I hate,' declares the Lord." We must judge rightly, using God's values. Just because we don't like the way one person puts things does not mean they are in the wrong. Far from it, it is often the one we don't like to hear that brings the truth that makes us uncomfortable. Leviticus 19:15 'You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly. You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people, and you are not to act against the life of your neighbor; I am the Lord.' |
| 10 As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. | The prophets of God endured much hardship because they spoke the truth and many didn't want to hear it. They were disrespected, ridiculed, attacked, and even martyred. Yet they stayed faithful and patient through their suffering. They had faith in God regardless of their circumstances. More importantly, they stood up for God and spoke the truth no matter the consequences. Too many today won't even question blatant heresy in their church because they're uncomfortable with confrontation, let alone suffer for the truth. |
| 11 We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord's dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful. |
The world views suffering for our faith as foolish and mistakenly uses it as "evidence" that God does not care about us. The Christian view is that this world is temporary. It is the shortest of pre-game shows before the real game that is unending. We ought to have eternity in mind. Hebrews 10:35-36 Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. God allowed Satan to take everything good in Job's life except his life itself, even his children. Job complained to God, but never lost faith. In the end, God corrected Job and helped him get a proper perspective on his suffering. And God restored much more than Job lost. But many are never restored in this life, yet don't lose faith. They kept their trust in God and knew that any suffering on earth is nothing compared to the joy of eternity with God in the new Heaven and new Earth. It should be noted that Job's wife was not on the list of every good thing that Satan took from Job. And she quickly proved why. She was a temptation to lose faith in God by telling Job to curse God and die. We ought to take dating and choosing a spouse seriously and choose wisely. |
| 12 But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment. |
Above all does not mean this is a greater sin than the others in this letter. Far from it. It is an idiom to emphasize that what follows is important. While it is possible this verse is just a side note reminding people of Jesus' teaching in Matthew 5:37, most commentators see it is in line with the teaching of the book of James. And many view it as a mini-summary of the book up to this point. Misuse of the tongue has been a recurring theme, as has impatience. Swearing an oath shows impatience as it is an attempted shortcut around doing the the work to build up a good reputation that the person's word is trustworthy. Most people will swear an oath to try to convince others because they know they have a bad reputation or they do not have any intention to keep their word. When we swear an oath it is binding in the sight of God whether we keep it or not. Matthew 5:37 "But let your statement be, 'Yes, yes' or 'No, no'; anything beyond these is of evil." Jesus taught this primarily in response to people foolishly arguing over what makes an oath binding, such as whether it was sworn on the altar of the temple or the gold on the altar. All oaths are binding in the sight of God no matter what the oath is sworn by. Thus it is better to just say yes or no and keep our word. Some zealots swore an oath that they would not eat or drink until Paul was dead and set out to kill him. Since they did not succeed they were in a pickle. And people didn't learn from that mistake as zealots repeated the same oath and repeated the previous failure. To be clear, this is about making an oath, not taking an oath. This is an important distinction as some have misinterpreted this and brought disrepute on Christianity by misusing it. Making an oath is, "I swear I will do it" or "I swear by the Bible I will do it." That a person is making an oath out of their inability to live right. Whereas it is not a sin to take an oath, such as when a government or authority requires it. Swearing to tell the truth in a courtroom or swearing to support and defend the Constitution when joining the military or taking public office is taking an oath. Taking an oath is only sinful if it's against God. An example of taking an oath being sinful is requiring people to accept a false God like Nebuchadnezzar did, or one denying God entirely. |
| 13 Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. |
That we should pray when we are suffering is easy to understand. However, that does not mean God will remove it. He may use it to build us up. Or God may have a design we cannot see. In 1:2-4 James instructed to count trials as joy. In Romans 5:3 Paul said to rejoice in our suffering because it is to our benefit. And in Romans 8:28 we are told what all things work together for good for those who love God. Regardless of the outcome of a prayer we should continue to pray to God. What is more difficult for some to remember is that we should praise God when we are cheerful. He is the source of all good things. We should praise Him when things are good. What is most difficult is to praise Him when we are suffering. But we should. Even if things are not good in the moment, at the least we can thank God that it is temporary. And we can thank God for what He has done for us in the past and will do in the future. In all things be God-focused, whether it's good or bad circumstances. |
| 14 Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; |
For suffering in verse 13 James instructed to pray for ourselves. For physical illness in verse 14 his instruction is to get competent people from the congregation to pray for us. These instructions are plain for those who are sick. We should summon the elders of the congregation. This means either going to the congregation if we are able and seeking out leaders in the congregation to pray for us. If we are too ill to go to them, then we should send word for them to come to us. It should be noted that elders does not necessarily mean pastors. It does mean those who are leaders in the congregation. The terms for church offices have become muddled and mixed up in today's churches. So it's best not to insist on someone holding a specific office in the church. The anointing with oil is not in itself a healing act. It is a symbolic act of turning to God for healing. The prayer is a prayer of supplication by more than one person to God asking and trusting Him for healing. Verses 15-16 make it clear that healing is not the main focus or goals of these prayers. This verse in no way refers to someone with the gift of healing, nor some sort of faith healing thing. It is entirely turning to God with the request by more than one Christian praying in agreement. |
| 15 and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. |
This verse makes it clear that what brings healing is not anointing with oil, nor the power of a human being. It is God called to action by prayer of the faithful. God does not listen to the prayers of fakers. However, this does not mean a believer must have perfect faith to be healed. That is reading into the verse what is not there. It should be noted that this verse does not say the sick person will be healed. It says they will be restored and raised up, followed by their sins being forgiven. These terms can mean healed, but are usually used when referring to the soul being saved. Restored is sozo in Greek, which is the same word translated as "save" in 4:12. Like most uses of the word in scripture, 4:12 is referring to God's ability to save or destroy the soul. And to be raised up is usually associated with salvation. Thus it seems clear this is more about making sure the state of the person's soul in case they pass away than healing their sickness. The prayers are certainly for healing from the sickness, but also for the person's soul. But where we are going to spend eternity is more important than an illness in this life. |
| 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. |
Many take verses 15-16 to mean that illness is caused by sin in the life of the one who is sick. There are examples in scripture of God using illness to get the attention of people, like the tumors on the Philistines to push them to return the Ark of the Covenant. And there are scriptural examples of God using a sickness or ailment to change people, like Paul's thorn in his side. However, scripture is clear that there is not a one to one correlation between sickness and affliction with sin. John 9:1-3 As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?" Jesus answered, "It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him. Thus we cannot know what the reason is for a sickness or affliction. We should trust God to do what is best. And we should pray for healing while we also pray for forgiveness. It should be noted that the phrasing here excludes confession to leaders. One another means among fellow Christians, and specifically in this case to another in the congregation. Thus confession being required to be with a priest, pastor, or elder is contrary to this passage. However, this does not mean we should blab our sins to everyone without care or wisdom. The implication of the end of the verse is that we should seek a righteous man. A righteous man would not turn the confessions of another against them nor spread it as gossip. A righteous man is more likely to seek after God's will and pray with proper intentions. To be clear, being more righteous does not grant a supernatural boost to their prayers, nor does it make for special attention from God. A righteous man is more likely to do things in the right way. For one thing, they don't pray for superficial things and get past the superficial to the root causes. For example, a righteous man would not just pray for person who isn't getting their prayers answered. He would dig deeper to find what is separating the person from God and show them the problem is they are living in unrepentant sin. |
| 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. 18 Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit. | Elijah was a man with all the temptations and frailty we have. He prayed for drought to teach a lesson about chasing after false gods, and it came. After he faced down 400 prophets of Baal, and was vindicated by the fire of God consuming his soaking wet sacrifice, wood, water, and even the stones. The prophets of Baal were executed. And Elijah prayed for rain, and it came. Despite all that power and vindication from God, Queen Jezebel's threat to kill him made him fear and run for his life. Being a prophet is not a superhero power. It's not even a power for being super good. It's just being connected with God and being humble enough to hear Him over our own sinful nature. And that is saying something as our sinful nature yells in our faces constantly. |
| 19 My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, 20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. |
This is one of the major reasons we are to live in community. When one of us strays another can see it, judge that it is straying, and try to bring them back. We are saved from our sins by Jesus Christ who voluntarily went to the cross and took the punishment we deserve. We only have to have faith in Him, the real Jesus. When we stray and follow a fake Jesus we are hell-bound. Returning to following the real Jesus covers our sins. It should be noted that these two verses contradict the once saved, always saved doctrine. Clearly we can stray and be headed for hell despite having been saved before. Free will does not stop when we accept Jesus. You cannot "stray from the truth" if you didn't already have it. The mistake made in that incorrect doctrine is that it is mixing up what God said about Himself with the free will of humans. God said He would never forsake us. This does not mean we are incapable of forsaking Him. I've seen it happen thousands of times. People who were saved turn to a useless philosophy that contradicts the word of God. Or they turn away from Jesus to their church making an idol of it or a pastor. A church or pastor cannot save us. And a church that turns our focus to itself instead of Jesus is not a good church. God will always be waiting for the prodigal son to return. But he won't force them not to leave in the first place. |
Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation.