How to View Riches

1
How to View Riches

• (James 51-6 19-11)

2
Brief Review

• This lesson represents our fifteenth installment
  in this series of lessons taken from the book of
  James.
• Our theme is How To Christianity. We are
  seeking to discover all of the practical lessons
  given to us by James so that we can apply them to
  our everyday lives in the sight of God.

3
Brief ReviewHow To

• Survive trying times
• Obtain wisdom
• Survive temptation
• Address our anger
• Secure salvation
• Become a doer of the word
• Embrace pure religion
• Stop showing partiality

• Develop real faith
• Talk like a Christian should
• Develop a heart of understanding
• Overcome the influences of the world
• Stop being judgmental
• Give God control of our life

4
How to View Riches

• The Rebuke of the Rich
• The Risk (Danger) of Riches
• The Response of Reasonableness

5
The Rebuke of the Rich

• In both of our texts (19-11 and 51-6) James
  rebukes the rich. Most probably this was not
  written to Christians who were rich but rather
  the godless rich who oppressed poor Christians.
• James wrote in this manner so that his Christian
  audience would know that the Lord was aware of
  their plight and that in due time He would bring
  justice.

6
The Rebuke of the Rich(Rebuke in the Form of a
Coming Judgment)

• The rich will experience humiliation. (110)
• The rich will fade in their pursuits. (111)
• The rich will have miseries to come upon them.
  (51)
• The rich possess wealth that will be destroyed.
  (52,3)
• The rich have fattened their hearts for the day
  of slaughter because they have murdered and
  condemned the just. (55,6)

7
The Risk (Danger) of Riches

1. Riches will not profit anyone in the Day of
   Judgment. (Proverbs 114)
2. Those who trust in their riches will fall.
   (Proverbs 1128)
3. Riches have a way of taking wings and flying
   away. (Proverbs 234,5)
4. In the pursuit of riches, there is no
   satisfaction. (Ecclesiastes 510)

8
The Risk (Danger) of Riches

1. Riches can cause many sleepless nights.
   (Ecclesiastes 512)
2. It will be hard for the rich to enter the kingdom
   of heaven. (Matthew 1923-26)
3. Even the very desire for riches has destroyed
   many souls. (I Timothy 69,10)
4. Those who have riches often times depart from
   God. (Revelation 317-19)

9
The Response of Reasonableness

• We need to be careful how we secure our wealth.
  (Deuteronomy 2414,15 Proverbs 216)
• We need to be careful how we use our wealth. We
  should not be selfish (I John 317) but rather
  selfless. (Matthew 619-21 Ephesians 428 I
  Timothy 617-19)
• It is the blessing of the Lord that makes one
  truly rich. (Proverbs 1022)
• We must be careful to always examine our
  priorities in life. (Matthew 624)