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A Clash of Cultures (James 4:13-5:11)
Steve Fenton, 6 March 2011
Part of the Hertford Baptist Church Sermons series, Sunday Morning service
In this section of teaching James addresses a clash of worldviews. On the one hand a worldview that largely disregards God and is marked by self-determination, self-reliance and self-indulgence. Faithful Christians, James urges, must adhere to a Biblical worldview marked by true dependence on God for daily guidance and provision, coupled with a conviction that a day is coming when God will reward the faithful whilst those who have disregarded God in this life will face the consequences (5:1, 3, 5, 7).
| Earlier: | Same day: | Later: |
|---|---|---|
| « The Fight | None | A Life in Perspective » |
James 4:13–5:11 (Listen)
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
5:1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 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 treasure in the last days. 4 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 hosts. 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.
7 Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. 10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
(ESV)