James 5:1-6 (KJV) Dangerous “Rich Men”

James 5:1-6 (KJV)

Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.

Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.

Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.

Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.

Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.

John Gill writes of this passage, “All rich men are not here designed; there are some rich men who are good men, and make a good use of their riches, and do not abuse them, as these here are represented; and yet wicked rich men, or those that were openly profane, are not here intended neither; for the apostle only writes to such who were within the church, and not without, who were professors of religion; and such rich men are addressed here, who, notwithstanding their profession, were not rich towards God, but laid up treasure for themselves, and trusted in their riches, and boasted of the multitude of their wealth; and did not trust in God, and make use of their substance to his glory, and the good of his interest, as they should have done…”

I have earlier identified them as Judaizers. They have crept into churches, pretending themselves to be Christians while also claiming to be something more. They possess what I am going to call a false sense of “wealth.”

We still have true Judaizers today. They remain false professors or false believers, and they continue to be a people set on judgment. We also have other forms of these “rich men.” There are those who have added doctrines to the gospel, such as election, or gifts, such as tongues. We have a special class of them who believe God has given them a better understanding than most. They hold to complicated reformation doctrines or differing doctrines on the rapture that, in their minds, can only be ascertained by growing beyond what they consider the stunted doctrines of fundamentalists.

The thought strikes me how much this passage resembles the Jews in Egyptian captivity. They were at first welcomed because of a mutual relationship through Joseph. Soon, however, Egypt forgot that relationship. The Jews were enslaved and abused until finally, after much prayer, God judged Egypt and delivered His people from their grasp.

I see in this a parallel to the “rich men” among us. At first, they claim some affinity and relationship with us. Then they either reject or forget those connections. Their next step is to attack, mock, and condemn those they view as possessing a lesser relationship with the Lord than they do.

I mean no ill will toward anyone. I believe every person has a right to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience. But I also know this: attempts to ignore major doctrinal differences and unite together in a single congregation will eventually lead to frustration, disagreement, and conflict.

Better to acknowledge our differences early and part as strangers rather than later as enemies.

#JamesFive  #RichTowardGod #FaithWithoutPride #BiblicalDiscernment #TruthAndSeparation

Dangerous “Rich Men”: Who Was James Really Talking About?

Do you believe James 5 is warning about wealth alone, or about spiritual pride hiding behind religion? Leave a comment below and join the discussion.

For more Bible studies, preaching resources, books, and daily encouragement, visit marvinmckenzie.org.

To my readers:

Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and, more than 7100 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
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James 5:1-6 (KJV) Dangerous “Rich Men”

Here's a comic version of the lesson.

http://youtube.com/post/UgkxIhRK0aTKQy9-ENd384S9szg6J-1HMjM8?si=9UrxiTTgaLX4kteN

James 4:16-17 (KJV) “Big Fish in a Small Pond”

James 4:16-17 (KJV)

But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.

Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

My father-in-law used to talk about “big fish in a small pond.” In some ways, all of Christendom might be considered a small pond. (I understand Christianity as a whole to comprise no more than two percent of the world’s population.) So even the most famous men in Christian history were just big fish in a small pond:

• Charles Spurgeon.
• Martin Lloyd-Jones.
• (Plug in any names you please here)
• Dare I say, even the Catholic pope.

All are just big fish in a small pond.

But I disavow kinship with the bulk of Christendom, believing much of it to be apostate. I limit myself to Baptists, and among them, only independents, and among them, a select group. The pond to which I affiliate is indeed a small pond in this world, and I am convinced it is Jesus and His Word that guide me to such a small pond.

Here is the thing: even in my small pond, we have those who appear to be big fish.

Worse, some of them see themselves as the big fish in the pond.

We hold conferences featuring our big fish. The big fish get to pick which fish are big enough to speak at those conferences. Those big fish assemble the smaller fish (for it would be useless to be identified as a big fish if the little fish did not recognize them) so they can teach the little fish how to become big fish like they are.

The truth is, they do not really want the little fish to become big fish. They think the little fish are little because they are lesser fish, not merely smaller.

The big fish in the small pond are, in effect, rejoicing in their boasting of themselves and the other big fish.

“All such rejoicing is evil.”

We know it is. We will admit it is and even preach on the evils of glorifying the big fish.

• But it does not stop the boasting.
• It does not humble the big fish.
• It does not slow the assembly of the little fish to hear them.

And that is sin.

“Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”

#BoastingIsSin #JamesFourSixteen #HumbleThyself #BigFishSmallPond #DoRightDoIt

“Big Fish in a Small Pond”: The Sin of Celebrity Preachers

Do you think modern Christianity has created “big fish” culture inside the church? Have we become too focused on personalities instead of humility and obedience to Christ?

Leave a comment below and join the conversation. I’d genuinely like to hear your thoughts.

For more Bible teaching, articles, books, and daily encouragement, visit marvinmckenzie.org

To my readers:

Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and, more than 7100 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Join me at Daily Visits with God Podcast
https://marvinmckenzie.substack.com/

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

James 4:16-17 (KJV) “Big Fish in a Small Pond”

Here's a comic version of the lesson.

http://youtube.com/post/UgkxiYMan9BpzrOGmEqg-Dk2Kw63qMVIh8b7?si=Lqgzrw_r5Vs7hTdn

James 3:5 (KJV) A Little Fire, A Lifetime of Damage

James 3:5 (KJV)

Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!

Behold the trouble with the tongue! We spend far too little effort trying to tame our tongue, and it is no wonder. James implies it cannot be tamed, but he also declares, “these things ought not so to be.”

The rhythm of this passage is almost poetic, much like the Hebrew wisdom literature.

James begins without mentioning the tongue. First comes the bit in the bridle, then the helm on the ship, and then the little fire. Once the tongue is mentioned, he moves directly to hell—the most extreme of examples.

From there, the Word of God gives us illustration after illustration of the consequences:

Man can tame beasts—but not his own tongue.
Poison kills quickly—the tongue corrupts continually.

It claims to bless God while cursing men made in His image.
That is not blessing at all.

Sweet water and bitter water do not share the same spring.
They are not two pools—they are two sources.

A fig tree bears figs. A vine bears grapes.
The fruit tells the root.

Salt water and fresh water do not flow from the same fountain.
It is not both—it is one or the other.

So the mouth does not reveal a mixture—it reveals the source.

James 3:13 moves from the tongue to the “good conversation.” I am not sure James intended a play on words, but it works. What the tongue does will affect whether one’s testimony is good, wise, and of God, or springing from some other source.

#TamingTheTongue #JamesThreeFive #WordsMatter #HeartRevealed #ChristianLiving

A Little Fire, A Lifetime of Damage: What Flows from Your Mouth Reveals the Source of Your Heart

What do you think James is teaching about the tongue and the heart? Have you ever seen how a few careless words could change the course of a relationship, a church, or even a life? Leave a comment below and join the conversation.

For more Bible teaching, Daily Visit devotionals, books, and resources, visit marvinmckenzie.org.

To my readers:

Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and, more than 7100 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Join me at Daily Visits with God Podcast
https://marvinmckenzie.substack.com/

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

James 3:5 (KJV) A Little Fire, A Lifetime of Damage

Here's a comic version of the lesson.

http://youtube.com/post/Ugkxwff6d1ot8rOxwFzyi1ntjvXQupii7oXA?si=TDkNAODM97dIwaJO

James 2:19 (KJV) You Believe in God—So Do the Devils

James 2:19 (KJV)

Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

This, I believe, is the axle upon which this chapter turns. The issue is the definition of faith. It is more than believing a thing to be true. Faith is active. Faith responds to truth. Faith is obedient.

Faith shows little respect for personal status on the earth. It accepts that God sets up one as well as another and gives that respect to the Lord, not to the one who has position or possessions. Faith recognizes that each of us will stand individually before God and give an account. Therefore, faith focuses on one’s own account and not another’s.

Faith changes one’s view of others. Rather than looking up to one and down upon another, faith glorifies the God who provides and reaches out to help those who have need.

Faith both knows and understands the Bible. Faith leads one to study to shew himself approved unto God, a workman rightly dividing the word of truth, so that illustrations such as those provided in James 2—of Abraham and of Rahab—make sense and have application to daily life.

Faith sees the Bible as a whole, not just one part or another. It is the person who focuses only on the works in this passage, without considering the whole message of Scripture, who runs into problems. One group, like the Catholics, emphasizes works and insists we must do them. Another, like Martin Luther, struggled to reconcile the works and wished the text removed.

Faith need not go to either extreme. Faith actively finds balance in the whole counsel of God.

The devils believe.

But they do not have faith.

#FaithThatActs #LivingFaith #James219 #FaithNotJustBelief #BiblicalFaith

You Believe in God—So Do the Devils: What Makes the Difference?

What do you think—does your faith show up in what you do? Leave a comment below and share your thoughts. I’d like to hear how this passage challenges or encourages you.

For more Bible teaching, books, and resources to help you grow in real, active faith, visit marvinmckenzie.org.

To my readers:

Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and, more than 7100 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Join me at Daily Visits with God Podcast
https://marvinmckenzie.substack.com/

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

James 2:19 (KJV) You Believe in God—So Do the Devils

Here's a comic version of the lesson.

http://youtube.com/post/UgkxHl2p3TNdYTpmtS2KtDsJvAfrU_xIwpys?si=yoaQvGZRV_yvxQvm