Ill-Gotten Gain (Part 1 of 4)

Money is undoubtedly a very useful tool but significant dangers often attached to it as well. In our study in the book of James today on Truth for Life, we'll hear what the Bible has to say about money and we'll hear a clear warning for those who have lots of it. Alistair Begg is teaching a message he's titled, Ill Gotten Gain. Now James chapter 5 and verse 1.

We read the first six verses. Now listen, you rich people, Weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. Your wealth has rotted and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days.

Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.

You have condemned and murdered innocent men who were not opposing you. Gracious God, as we turn now to the Bible, we ask earnestly for your help so that we might understand it, and that in learning what it says that we might believe it and obey it. And all of this, we recognize, is foreign and alien to us, unless you come and meet with us in a way that transcends the ordinary, that is far beyond the voice of just a mere mortal. And so come and bring your truth to bear upon our minds, from the youngest person here to the oldest, so that we might recognize that this is not an exercise in public speaking, but that it is an earnest inquiry to you, the living God, for the truth of your Word to be brought to bear upon our lives. That this, we humbly pray, might be our portion now, and we ask it in Jesus' name.

Amen. Well, we return in our studies in James to these opening verses of chapter 5, where James issues what is nothing less than a stinging condemnation upon ill-gotten gain—a stinging condemnation on getting material wealth in a way that isn't right and in holding onto it in a way that is plainly wrong. In issuing such a condemnation, he also issues a warning, and a clear warning, to any and all who are tempted in the realm of the misuse of money and wealth. Now, when we put our introduction in those terms, we realize how immediately applicable it is to each of our lives—not least of all the whole notion of being tempted to misuse what God has entrusted to us for his use. And when we put it in those terms, it's difficult for any of us to assume or to nudge someone else and say, This is obviously going to be very helpful for you or for him or for her. What we have in the opening six verses, says Derek Prime, is a burst of righteous indignation reminiscent of the Old Testament prophets.

There is a bite and a sting to it. There is a clarity to it that is absolutely unmistakable and unavoidable. And in light of that, in light of the strength of James's words, it's important for us to understand exactly who it is that he is addressing. And I want you to look back up to verse 13 of chapter 4, where you will notice that he begins 13, as he begins 1 of chapter 5, with the introductory phrase, Now listen. And he addresses in verse 13 those who appear to be outside of the Christian community, those who are presuming upon the days that lie ahead, those who are completely self-oriented, who are thinking about what they're going to do, where they're going to go, and how they're going to achieve their objectives.

Not that that is a distinctly non-Christian perspective, but it would just appear that that is where he's directing his remarks. And especially in light of how he employs the same phraseology as he comes to the opening part of chapter 5, Now listen, he says again. And this time he is referring to these rich people and a particular kind of rich person, as I'm about to show you. But you will notice the distinction if you go back up to the eleventh verse of chapter 4, where you will notice he had begun, Brothers—or we might equally translate it—brothers and sisters don't slander anyone. Then in verse 13, Now listen, you who say this. And then in verse 1, Now listen, you rich people.

And then in verse 7, back to the internal community as it were, where he begins again, Be patient then, brothers and sisters, until the LORD's coming. Now, I think this is important to understand, and we are helped in this by realizing the way in which he has already dealt with rich people in chapter 2. You remember, he says, in verse 5 of chapter 2—if you want to turn to it, you'll see it there—Listen, my dear brothers, hasn't God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? We need to keep in mind when we study this that first-century life, in the context of James' writing, was marked by a vast divide between rich and poor. There was no middle class to be spoken of at all. Nobody could have got away with saying that they were peculiarly interested in the middle class in the presidential primaries and everything, because there'd be no middle class to be concerned about. Either you were on the rich end or you were down on the bottom end, as is true in many countries in the world today. And it was obvious that in the vast majority of cases, those who were Christian believers did not come from the wealthy classes, were not marked by those who were rich and powerful.

That's employed throughout all of the letters. Paul says the same thing when he writes to the Corinthians. He says, remember, not many of you were rich, not many of you were powerful, not many of you were from significant backgrounds.

Most of you, he said, were just like the common folks of society. And it is that that you need to keep in mind, where when in verse 6 of chapter 2, James says, But you have insulted the poor. And the reason they've insulted the poor is because they're acting in a way that is unbecoming to them.

And then he makes the distinction. Isn't it the rich who are exploiting you? Aren't they the ones who are dragging you into court? Aren't they the ones who are slandering the name, the noble name, of him to whom you belong? You see his distinction? You belong to the name of Jesus, the carpenter from Nazareth.

These individuals do not belong to that name. And they are the ones who are slandering and abusing you. Now, if you keep that in mind and come back to chapter 5, you will realize that he's really picked up from where he'd been in that previous statement. And the readers will derive from this some encouragement from recognizing that although they may appear to be on the bottom end of the salary scale, although they may appear to be simply the indigenous workers and so on, although they may at times appear to be on the receiving end of abuse and disregard and discouragement, they need to know that their cries, the cries of the harvesters, have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. That you will see there at the end of verse 4. And so, encouraged by that fact, they would also be warned by this stinging condemnation. The warning they receive—and we in turn receive in the reading of this letter—is the stupidity of setting too high a value on wealth, of envying those who have wealth, and of striving feverishly to obtain wealth.

Let me say that to you again, because I think you will immediately realize that we make the bridge from the first to the twenty-first century without any difficulty whatsoever. No one's about to say, Now, here's a word for people living in the first century. Well, it was, but it remains God's unerring word for us today. They were encouraged to know that their cries reached God, but they were to be warned of the folly of setting too high a value on wealth, of envying those who have wealth, or of striving feverishly to obtain wealth.

Now, what James is doing here is nothing other than confirming statements made by others of the writers of the New Testament. Probably most obvious of all, Paul, when he writes at the end of his first letter to Timothy, he addresses these very issues. And you needn't turn to it, but let me quote it for you from 1 Timothy 6. In verse 6, Paul writes to Timothy, Godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.

But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. And then he says, Listen, people who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap, and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Notice, he doesn't say what is often misquoted. What you hear misquoted is, money is the root of all evil.

That's not the quote. The quote is, For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people eager for money have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. I need to understand what is being said here. What Paul is saying is this, that when an individual or individuals have an insatiable love for money, it becomes a form of idolatry. That is where we worship. Where our heart is, that's where our treasure is, to quote Jesus. And the individual that he's addressing is the kind of individual who, if you spend any time with him at all, you will know that what makes them tick is money.

And we have all met such individuals. It's all about money. Show me the money.

If you listen to their ideas, their hopes, their dreams, it's all directly addressed to acquisition and to the point where it does a disservice to themselves and pierces them and so on. And so, he makes it clear that you have to be very, very, very careful in relationship to loving money. Now, before those of us who don't think we have enough money and are a little envious of the people who do have a lot of money, before we sort of wiggle our way out of this one, let me give you a quote from J. C. Ryle. It is possible to love money without having it, and it is possible to have it without loving it.

That's a good quote. It is possible to love money without having it, and it is possible to have it without loving it. So, first, in akin with James, he issues that great warning to those who are in love with money, the dangers that attach to it. And then—and I'm still with Paul to Timothy for a final moment—he gives Timothy the exhortation to make sure that those who have money also are very, very careful. And he's to issue a command to those who are rich in this present world.

In other words, folks who've made it, by any standards in any community. What are you to do with those people? Well, in the contemporary church, what you're supposed to do is be very, very nice to them.

In fact, sneak up to them, and sidle up to them, and say nice things to them, and say, My, that's a beautiful, nice piece of material. All these kind of things. And the church throughout the years, every time it's done that in its leadership, has foundered and grounded and crashed and burned. No, what you're supposed to do, Paul says, to those people, is to issue a command.

Where is the source of the command? The Bible. The apostolic authority. Where do we have apostolic authority? In the pages of the Bible. That's why it is an unerring authority. That's why it is to the Bible we look for authority. That is why we ask God to speak to us through his Word. Because what does the Word say to those who are rich in the present world?

Here's the command. Part one, don't be arrogant. That's pretty straightforward, isn't it? What is one of the great dangers of wealth? Arrogance. Secondly, don't put your hope in wealth, because it's so uncertain.

That makes sense. As all the subprime mortgage boys know, having pursued their greedy gains to the point of stupidity, number one, don't be arrogant. Number two, don't put your hope in wealth, because it's so uncertain. And number three, put your hope in God.

It's good, isn't it? Now, back to James chapter 5. And we have belabored this by way of introduction to make this clear. I'll give you one final quote from J. C. Ryle.

J. C. Ryle was the bishop of Liverpool in an earlier generation. Money in truth is one of the most unsatisfying of possessions. Money in truth is one of the most unsatisfying of possessions. It takes away some cares, no doubt, but it brings with it quite as many cares as it takes away.

And then he lists a few. There is the trouble in the getting of it. There is anxiety in the keeping of it. There are temptations in the use of it. There is guilt in the abuse of it. There is sorrow in the losing of it.

There is perplexity in the disposing of it. Not bad for an old Anglican bishop, huh? I think he must have known something about that. None of us can gain, say, such obvious wisdom. Now, when we come to this stinging condemnation, as we've put it, we will go immediately wrong if we fail to recognize that James is not issuing a blanket condemnation of the wealthy. He is not issuing a blanket condemnation of the wealthy.

Now, you may have been in some circles where this material is pressed to that end. It's an uncomfortable experience, because it's so clearly wrong. But it doesn't stop people from doing it, taking the first six verses of James chapter 5 as some great sort of sociopolitical template that they can press down on all of us. No, we must allow the Bible to be the Bible and not impregnate it with our own political and economic theories. James knows his Bible well enough to understand that when Solomon wrote Proverbs 10.22, he was very, very clear. The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it. The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it. Solomon understands Deuteronomy, where Moses says, Who gave you the ability to get money? Who gave you the ability to get wealth? Obviously, God did. And when God gives in this way, he doesn't add trouble to it.

We, because of our perverse human nature, add trouble to ourselves. But God, in the giving of good things, in the giving of wealth and prosperity, does not bring it mixed in with a little trouble. James understood the Bible. And indeed, I'm sure that's why he quotes Job in verse 11 of chapter 5 here. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about.

Most of us only know what the Lord initially brought about. If you ask anybody about Job, they say, Boyles. Or you ask anybody about Job, he says, Everything. He lost everything.

Yes, he did. But James says, You perhaps will remember the end of Job's story. Most of us haven't. We need to go to Job chapter 42. We get to Job chapter 42, and what do we discover?

We discover that God gave him back many times over what he had taken from him in the first instance. So he ends up an exceptionally wealthy individual. And James is not about, on the one hand, to hold him up as an example of God's blessing and compassion, and then, on the other hand, to take others who've known such blessing and compassion and rub their noses in it just because they have riches.

Hence the importance of allowing the Bible to interpret itself. The rich here are, to quote Professor John Murray, the fraudulent, extortionary, cruel, sumptuous, voluptuous, and extravagant, who grind the faces of the poor. Who grind the faces of the poor.

And you will notice what a noisy passage this is. There's a lot of weeping and wailing and shouting, and this notion of wages shouting. And the cries of the money bag mingle with the cries of the harvesters, verse 4b, and these cries of the harvesters reach the ears of God.

And God cares, you see, because he's a father to the fatherless and a defender of the widows. He's the God who determined that his people, when they reaped their harvests, would not reap to the edges of the fields or gather up the glinnings, and the reason being that he wanted them left for the poor and for the alien. In other words, he instituted within the fabric of Israel a system for dealing with the poor. And it was those who refused to obey God, who went to the very edges of the field, who gathered up all the stuff, who kept it all for themselves, that failed then to provide the opportunity for those who were impoverished to enjoy the blessings and benefits that accrued as a result of the investment and the capability of the individual who could do that which took place in the fields.

In other words, if you like, God put together his whole social system within the fabric of Israel. And it worked, provided those who were listening were not stingy, acquisitive misers. Because, actually, that is who is addressed in this charge. So if you want to have it clear in your mind, we could call this—although I call this study ill-gotten gain—we could actually equally call it a word to acquisitive misers.

A word to acquisitive misers. You're listening to Truth for Life with Alistair Begg. And we're going to hear more about the perils of ill-gotten gain tomorrow. In our study in the book of James, we're learning how to live godly lives. And I'm excited to tell you about another study that will help you in this endeavor. This is foundational teaching about faithfulness that Alistair first preached nearly 40 years ago when he had just moved to the United States. Recently, our team retrieved these messages from the archives.

The audio has been remastered. And this 12-message study titled Venturing in Faith follows Abraham's walk with God. His journey was far from perfect, but he learned that with God, failure is never final. As you learn more about the life of Abraham, you'll gain a deeper understanding of God's character.

You'll be encouraged to trust in him entirely through all of the challenges and changes we face in life. You can find this study on our website at truthforlife.org slash Abraham. Again, it's called Venturing in Faith, and all of the messages are free to listen to or download and share.

Along with the classic series, we've released a corresponding study guide that's brand new. If your Bible study group is looking for a fall study, this is one that will take you through a 12-week deep dive into the pitfalls and new beginnings that marked Abraham's life. It's a journey of faith that most of us can relate to.

You can download the study guide for free or purchase hard copies at our cost. Once again, look for the series and the study guide at truthforlife.org slash Abraham. And if you have young children in your home or in your life, we have a great book that can teach them about God's faithfulness. It's called God's Big Promises, Stories of Jesus. It's a collection of short stories that will show young children the big picture of the Bible and how God's promises are fulfilled in Jesus. Your children will love learning about who Jesus is and how he rescues us. There's even a chapter that teaches them how to pray the Lord's Prayer. Ask for your copy of the book Stories of Jesus when you give a donation to Truth for Life at truthforlife.org or give us a call at 888-588-7884. By the way, Stories of Jesus is a great book to give as a gift. So if you request the book along with your donation today and you'd like to purchase extra copies to give to friends who have young children or give it to your church for the children's ministry, you'll find the book in our online store where they're available for purchase at our cost of $6 while supplies last. Visit truthforlife.org slash store. I'm Bob Lapine. There's a big difference between careful planning and wrongful hoarding. Tomorrow we'll learn how we can tell the difference between the two. The Bible teaching of Alistair Begg is furnished by Truth for Life where the Learning is for Living.