James 5 Discussion

James chapter five starts with a line that feels like a thunderclap: “Come now, you rich.” We sit with the warning, ask who it’s aimed at, and why God takes exploitation personally. If you’ve ever wondered how the Bible talks about money, unjust pay, and power, this conversation gives you clear categories to think with: righteous and unrighteous poverty, righteous and unrighteous wealth, and the fruit that reveals what’s really going on in the heart.

From there, we shift to the kind of strength most of us want but struggle to practice: patience. James points to farmers, prophets, and Job, and we talk about how endurance works in a world built for instant gratification. We also tackle the famous line about oaths and why “yes” and “no” should be enough when your life is marked by credibility and integrity.

The back half goes deep on prayer for healing, confession, and restoration. We connect “confess to God” with James’s call to confess to one another, and we talk about how healing can mean physical sickness, long-term shame, or being stuck in a repeating sin pattern. We also make the case that church matters here: elders need to be reachable, and believers need a community that knows them by name. If you’re ready for a practical, hopeful read of James 5 that speaks to real life, listen now, then subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review.

Text us at 737-231-0605 with any questions.

Transcript

Welcome And Big Picture

Pastor Plek 0:10

And welcome back to a chapter day.

Pastor Holland 0:13

Keeps the devil away.

Pastor Plek 0:13

I'm Pastor Pleck. That's Pastor Han. We're talking James chapter five. We're gonna outline it, observe it, interpret, and apply it so that you can be equipped to take on the darkness, push it back for the power of the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God

Outline Of James Chapter Five

Pastor Plek 0:26

today. So let's outline James chapter five. It's uh verses one through six. It's warning to rich oppressors. He jay he warns them the oppressors of the coming judgment, and ultimately self-indust indulgence and unjust living lead to condemnation. Then you got verses uh seven through eleven. Believers are called to wait patiently for the Lord's coming. And uh Job is presented as an example of steadfast endurance and God's compassion. Then you got verse uh 12, a simple believer, simple call for believers to have integrity in their speech. Yes and no are truthful and sufficient. Then you got verses 13 through 18 of prayer, healing, and restoration. This is a powerful verse about what it takes for someone to be healed from the darkness of their sin and sickness. Then you got verses 19 and 20, the restoring of wandering believers. Believers should seek to restore those who wander from the truth.

Warning To Unrighteous Wealth

Pastor Plek 1:20

Okay, what observations are you seeing here?

Pastor Holland 1:24

The intro to this chapter is a banger. Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Wow.

Pastor Plek 1:35

What what a what a powerful uh I mean this is like what? Like, wow. Like I thought in the Old Testament there was a blessing to be wealthy because the Lord would bless you. Absolutely. And don't you want to have like inheritance to pass down to your children's children? Heck yeah, you do. So what does this mean?

Pastor Holland 1:55

All right. So here you you get four categories here that I that I would outline in the Bible in terms of um money stuff. You have the the righteous poor, right, um, and unrighteous poor, yep, and then the righteous wealthy and the unrighteous wealthy.

Pastor Plek 2:11

And I think this is the unrighteous wealthy.

Pastor Holland 2:13

This would be the unrighteous wealthy uh means. How do you know? But how do you know? Because uh behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud who crime.

Pastor Plek 2:22

If you are a fraudster, yeah, I'm not saying anyone particular, but if there is like you got some money in a fall under false pretenses, and it's not being used in the way that you it was intended, and it's doing something way darker, then that is the Lord's judgment is on that.

Pastor Holland 2:42

Yes. Yeah, he says you've lived on the earth in luxury and self-indulgence, not in hospitality and generosity, right? Not in, you know, a um an inheritance for your children's children, self-indulgence. Nice. You uh have condemned and murdered the righteous person. Guess what? Fraud tends to lead to murder. Wow, that's right. Um, and so this is the the righteous wealthy would be people who earned their um wealth um in an honest way through hard work, um, prayer, faithfulness to God, treating their employees well, um, you know, managing their finances with wisdom, being generous to the poor, leaving an inheritance to their grandchildren. Those are the righteous wealthy who honor God with their wealth. Um, the righteous poor are those who work hard and do all those same things and yet fall into misfortune or get taken advantage of or something like that, and are still righteous and yet have been um uh have uh or sometimes you think of Job. Job is a great example who he had wealth, he had, you know, a large family and all these things, and boom, lost it all um due to nothing that he had done wrong, right? And so you have the righteous poor, meaning you're living your life for God, but um you end up poor for reasons kind of outside

Four Categories Of Wealth And Poverty

Pastor Holland 3:58

of your control.

Pastor Plek 3:59

Yeah, and I love how he gives the example of Job as um for to how to be a righteous poor, because you're gonna 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. So you also be patient, establish your hearts for the coming of the Lord. And then it gets down to you've heard the steadfastness of Job and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. So what he's saying is like Job was well, it's interesting that he's you know, he's kind of talking to poor people, like, hey, you're hang in there, be like Job. Well, Job was wealthy a large portion of his life, yeah. And it was only a small portion that he was poor, and that's exactly the point. You know, in the in your lifespan, your poverty is only as long as your life, however, your wealth is for eternal, and that's the exciting part about wait for the Lord because guess what?

Pastor Holland 4:49

You have an eternal inheritance of wealth and riches you cannot fathom in the new creation, ruling and reigning with Jesus for all eternity, um, and sharing being a co-heir with Christ. And so even if you don't get, you know, um material wealth and success in this life, everyone in Christ gets to enjoy the blessings of not only spiritual rewards in heaven, but enjoying the new creation as a co-heir of Christ.

Pastor Plek 5:16

So I think then therefore it makes sense when the verse 12, I think, is encompassing all of verses one through uh 11 about just do the next right thing. Don't swear, don't try and make your gravitas greater by swearing by heaven or by earth. Just do the right thing, let your yes be yes and your no be no.

Pastor Holland 5:39

Yeah. I will so I would love to hear what you think about this. Okay. Um, there are some Christians who read this verse about swearing and will not make any kind of vow whatsoever. Like they won't take wedding vows, they won't make a public oath in court or something. So, my take on this, he's talking about in personal relationships or business dealings, trying to, like you said, expand or increase better.

Pastor Plek 6:03

Like, I have to be, I no one will believe my word unless I say something like, I swear on my mother's grave.

Pastor Holland 6:09

You know, like that's the only reason you do that is because you don't have credibility and you're trying to add credibility by swearing on making some oath on heaven earthquake. Oaths all over the place that were good oaths. Yes, especially in public um dealings where where your oath is essentially saying, I am formally inviting you

Patience, Job, And Eternal Inheritance

Pastor Holland 6:32

to hold me accountable to this thing. Right.

Pastor Plek 6:34

Um and I do think this is a there's a place where people trying to to obey God's word tweaked it a bit to not obey God's word when they're trying to obey God's word. And they put on a legalistic thing under someone that was never intended to be.

Pastor Holland 6:47

Yeah, or just didn't understand the context. Because he didn't say, he didn't outline and clarify right here in James, here's what I mean by this. Yeah. But taken in context of the entire canon of scripture, yeah, you can see, okay, he has this one type of oath in mind here when there are other godly and righteous oaths um that you can make. Okay.

Pastor Plek 7:06

Now the last part is the part that gets me really excited because um this is something that, and I'm hoping we don't take this out of context, but I think it's it's legit. And here's what I mean by that. Um, we always say from 1 John 1 9, which we'll get to here in a couple days, um uh when you confession to God is forgiveness. So the Bible says in 1 John 1.8, if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, the truth is not in us. But verse 9, if we confess our sin, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. In other words, confession to God is forgiveness. Now, watch here. If you look in in chapter 5, verse 16, therefore confess your sins one to another and pray for another that you may be healed. So what we say here is confess your sins one to another, uh that there's a horizontal component to this, and then prayer to God that there might be healing. And the healing could be like a supernatural miracle where um you are healed from disease, sickness, uh whatever the thing is, a physical healing. Or it could be the the sin healing of your past that you need to, that you still are keep you're running in um the darkness still because you have not dealt with the darkness of your past. And what I mean by that is um you might be sick in your own sin and some traumatic, whatever experience of darkness consumes you, whether it was a sin that you did that you still can't believe, there's still shame there that you're holding on to. Uh, but we need to confess those sins. That's why you keep short accounts with one another. And I say, hey, Holland, here is my sin, and then you pray for me and ask Jesus and thank Jesus that he's died on the cross. My sin is that bad that's worthy of death, but Jesus died the death I couldn't die. And then he's raised from the dead, and then I have freedom, there's now no condemnation on me. Yeah. And I think that aspect of praying for one another is the

Let Your Yes Be Yes

Pastor Plek 8:56

prescription for healing for Christians that have been stuck, stuck stuck in a sin struggle, as well as physical healing type stuff. That's where I go. There you go.

Pastor Holland 9:07

Yeah. And it says, you know, um if someone's sick, it does, it does bring out physical sickness as well as um sin. Yeah. And if he has committed sins, he'll be forgiven. And it says, let him call for the elders of the church. So again, this is assuming that that every Christian belongs to a church that has elders who you are able to call upon, right? Um so I think this is a challenge. Again, as churches get bigger and bigger and bigger, elders must maintain a callability, right? By the members of the church. Um, that you can, you can, you're able, an elder is able to visit with a member of the church. The elders are able to um anoint them and pray for them. Yeah. Um, yeah.

Pastor Plek 9:51

I I really feel like this is um as far as the church goes, this is one of the primary things a church should do. And uh elders need to make a regular habit of inviting uh people to come and receive elder prayer, or just as a church person being like, hey, um I need to come see the elders and pray over this, over my issue. So we've had people pray over sickness for healing. We've had people, I hey, I'm really struggling with alcohol. I need prayer to overcome this. Uh and the elders came and prayed over that person. And you get to watch God's redemptive work through the God using the church to activate his will, a humble person's come humbly before um before the church, before the body of Christ, said, I want healing, God help me. And you're able to see the power of the gospel activate here.

Pastor Holland 10:43

Yeah.

Pastor Plek 10:44

Okay, let's get into some nature of man. I know we just jumped into a whole bunch there. James is such an amazing uh letter that really emphasizes so much practical living within the church. But let's get into some nature of man stuff you see here.

Pastor Holland 10:56

Um, we have a tendency to take advantage of people and um you know, with the fraud and murdering the righteous person. It's just a reminder how much um greed can lead to greater sins of uh theft, fraud, and murder, even. Um all of that is in our hearts.

Pastor Plek 11:13

And on the flip side, I think we're just impatient. Whenever we're suffering, we want the suffering and now or yesterday. Uh, in a

Confession, Prayer, And Healing

Pastor Plek 11:19

world of uh instant gratification where you can order something online and then next thing you know, it's appearing in your at your door within minutes. That's a wild thought to see how much gratification we have that's become so instant. And so ain't waiting for anything is hard.

Pastor Holland 11:35

Yeah. And again, another this is another um instance of how you know we need examples to follow. So he says, as an example of suffering and patience, take the prophets. So the prophets are there um not only for what they are explicitly teaching, but also as an example of their life lived unto God. Wow. And the patience um, yeah, that they demonstrated. Okay.

Pastor Plek 12:01

Well, let's get into um, yeah, what other uh how about the fact that we need people? People like God designed us to need each other for healing. I I just love that. Um, whether it's uh uh a soul healing of sin or whether it's a a body healing of something broken. Sickness. Sickness, yeah.

Pastor Holland 12:22

And and that's related to um the last verse. This is cool how James ends. If someone wanders from the truth, whoever brings him back uh saves his soul from death. Yeah. And you're like, wait a second, I thought God is the one who saves people's souls. Oh, nice. And it's like, yes, it is God, but the means by which God does that is through people. Um, God saves through people. You going out to minister to and evangelize and counsel and pray for and comfort someone who's drifted or walked away or who's lost, you become, you know, you're the means by which God saves that person. That's so good. All right, let's get into some character of God. What do you see? Uh God saves.

Pastor Plek 13:04

Yeah, I love that. How about God is just? He sees oppression and he will judge unrighteousness. So he he sees the self-indulgence. He's like, well, well, well, it's coming.

Pastor Holland 13:13

Yeah, man, that statement of um the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You're like, the Lord of hosts, what are the hosts? Sometimes you hear hosts and you think, oh, like, welcome to my house. But the hosts are like the angel armies. Yeah. This is like God as the commander of warrior angels. So, like, you're dead. Yeah, that's you, you're dead. You better repent fast.

Pastor Plek 13:34

So I I do think that's important to recognize, especially on the flip side, that God takes care of those who are marginalized, oppressed, or hurt. Yeah. And that's powerful. How about um uh so in that way, God is compassionate, he's merciful, he cares for suffering people and he restores them. Amen. Um, what else? Um He answers prayers. Yes, God is attentive, He loves, He hears the prayer of a righteous man. Now, here's the question: how do you become a righteous man? Believing in Jesus Christ. That's right. And I think sometimes what happens, and I I've you've probably experienced this too, people say, like, I need you to pray for me, as if their prayers are not on the same level. But remember, it's uh the righteousness that we have is the same access that all people have. That when God looks at us through the Christ colored lenses, he loves each one of us as he loves Jesus himself if we've given ourselves to him. And I think just simply believing that and understanding how loved you are and what access you have to God would probably transform our prayer lives. Yeah.

Why We Need Church Community

Pastor Holland 14:32

Yeah. He, I mean, he hits on Elijah was a man with a nature like ours. Like Elijah, he was very special in terms of his calling as a prophet and the way that God used him. But at the end of the day, he was a man like us. I mean, how many times did you hear the Bible talk about uh the power of his prayer was not in his specialness, it was that he was calling on the same God that we call on.

Pastor Plek 14:53

Yeah. Right. And I just love that like all throughout the Old Testament specifically, you hear of like God heard the cries of his people. Yeah. And there was this sense of they probably did gather together in like some sort of prayer meeting and say, God hear us. Yeah. And so I think there's all the more, and we're getting to application, there's all this more um probably hope, and there is something really special about you know, getting the whole world as many people as you can together to pray for a certain thing. God hears the prayers of his people and activates his will through those answered prayers.

Pastor Holland 15:22

Yeah. And there is there is something about you pray, you have a nature like Elijah, but also um pray for one another. There's something about like adding more prayers and agreeing in prayer. Um, and then also the elders praying. Yeah, um, and uh like all of that is included here from James. Yeah. Personal, individual prayer, praying for one another prayer, and elder prayer.

Pastor Plek 15:49

So I do think, and I think this is one thing to just take note of like sometimes I'm like, hey, there isn't anything special about me. However, I do have an office of elder. Yeah. And that it's not me that's special, it's the office that's special. And so call on the elders who have an office that is meant for this role, that when you come to the elders for prayer, you are coming to, as scripture has commanded, the body of Christ, the leadership that's going to go on your behalf before God, for Jesus, as a as a one of the, you know, bringing the whole body together to pray.

Pastor Holland 16:21

Yeah. And that gives that gives a special kind of glory to God, actually, and that it is honoring the structure and order that He's created. Yeah. Um, yeah.

Pastor Plek 16:31

All right, let's get into some application. We've got Sin avoid, promise to claim, example follow, command obey,

God’s Justice And The Power Of Prayer

Pastor Plek 16:36

or knowledge to believe. What do you see?

Pastor Holland 16:38

Man, the one that really stands out to me is if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, you save his soul from death. Um bring back the wanderers. Yeah, just who is it like? I don't know. I read that and I just, you know, an image or a name pops up in my mind of this person who's wandered, and I go, ah, I gotta reach out.

Pastor Plek 16:57

Yeah. And you you never, you know, you know how many times and you and I have done this? Uh I'll I'll uh have this happened today. I of someone came to my mind my prayer time, and then I told my wife, hey, we need to reach out to that person. And then we were like, gosh, when we can get that, when can we reach out to that person? And that person called today. It was wild. And so you're like, you just don't know what God is doing, or uh like God, if you in in your in your prayer time, God's gonna put people in your heart, like pray, reach out. They might be in some sort of struggle that you don't even know about, but they've God puts them on your heart for a reason. Activate that the Holy Spirit power and reach out to them. You just never know what's gonna happen with that. Um, how about command obey? Be patient. Yeah. Jesus come, Jesus is coming back soon.

Pastor Holland 17:47

And as part of that, do not grumble against one another. No grumbling, no grumbling. And it says, uh, behold, the judge is standing at the door.

Pastor Plek 17:56

Yeah.

Pastor Holland 17:57

I think of this like when I put my kids down for bed, and uh they're like arguing with each other, and then I knock on the door and they go, be quiet. It's like, hey, dad's here. If he hears us, you know, we're gonna get correction, discipline, whatever. But it's a reminder of like God always hears you, he is always right here. Yeah, um, he's standing at the door. Quit your grumbling. Remember that you know the Lord is present. Please him with your life, please him with the way that you talk to each other and about each other.

Pastor Plek 18:27

How about this one? Um commando bay, or I guess knowledge to believe might be both, but actually commando bay. Pay your people. Like behold the wages of laborers who mowed you fields, which you kept back by fraud. Man, like do not commit fraud, especially in paying your day laborers what they need to be paid, because they are relying on that for their livelihood. And when you buy fraud hold back, God is not happy. Your wealth, your food is poisoned, and do not grow comfortable

Application And Final Takeaways

Pastor Plek 19:03

because the day of the Lord is coming. I mean, we have an entire system of people doing that in this country regularly. It's wild, it's wild. Like you just don't like don't take from people to give to a frog and hysteric. And um and pay people their due. Pay them. Okay, that's really good. What other uh anything else to land the plane with here?

Pastor Holland 19:26

Um, yeah, confess your sins to one another and pray for each other.

Pastor Plek 19:29

I man, we we cannot, I I feel like I can't harp on that enough. Yeah, confess your sins one to another and pray for each other that you may be healed, and that healing might be from the sin of your past or that healing might be a physical expression of sin's manifestation on the world.

Pastor Holland 19:45

And you can't do that just by watching or listening to an online sermon that with people who don't know you, don't know your name, like you need an actual church community.

Pastor Plek 19:55

You need actual elders who are responsible for you and know you by name and can take you to the throne of grace. All right. Hey, well, I think that's a great place to land. Hey, thanks so much for joining us. We'll see you next time on a chapter a day.