Lesson for October 21, 2026 – The Book of James

The Book of James – Chapter 5 verses 1-6

Verse 1

You rich refers to those with material wealth. There is nothing wrong with being rich, and there is nothing wrong with being poor, but people always associate money with happiness. What they have forgotten is what really brings believers happiness is not what they possess, but what they have in their souls. You can be wealthy and be miserable, but you can also be wealthy and be happy.

When believers try to find happiness apart from Bible doctrine, they always end up “weeping and howling.” In this verse, we have a rich man in reversionism who is weeping and howling. His wealth is neutralized by his lack of capacity for living the Christian life. Spiritual maturity brings the capacity to enjoy what God provides. This is the only way any believer is going to really enjoy anything in life. This is why spiritual maturity should be the goal for every believer. If you attempt to get happiness by getting certain things in life like material wealth, social status, power, or popularity, what you wind up getting is frustration and misery. If God blesses you with material wealth, it is very important to remember the source of those blessings. As easily as you receive these material blessings, they can be taken away.

Verse 2-3

The problem here is not wealth; the problem is the reversionism of a wealthy believer. The problem is not having money; the problem is not having capacity to enjoy it and use it to glorify God.

In this passage, it is not wealth that is being criticized, it is the reversionist with wealth. Remember that the reversionist has no capacity. They make the decision to neglect Bible doctrine and turned their interest toward the idea of accumulating wealth. If a person gets a million dollars in reversionism, their wealth has no spiritual benefit because of lack of spiritual capacity. When a person enters into reversionism, their soul is not only in emotional revolt, but it is also corrupted and everything a person possesses is “rotten.” There is no excuse for a believer to have a corrupted soul. When money, things, people, or power is preferred over Bible doctrine, they end up making a believer miserable.

If you possess silver and gold with a corrupted soul, there will be no blessing for you. It is not what you possess materially that counts; it is what your soul possesses by way of Bible doctrine that counts. Gold and silver may mean wealth but Bible doctrine in the soul means you possess spiritual wealth.

A corrupted soul is evidence that a believer has become negative toward and/or neglectful of Bible doctrine. They have become a hearer of the Word and not a doer of the Word. They self-destruct while still alive. The fire refers to temporal death of the spiritual life. The reversionist uses money and success in an attempt to solve their problems, but the only solution to a believer’s problems is Bible doctrine.

Verse 4

Here we have three areas of monetary reversionism. The first is in business life, the second is in social life, and the third is in the function of the Laws of Divine Establishment. First, we have a reversionistic, wealthy believer. He has no Bible doctrine, but he does have a great deal of money. This man cheated people out of their wages, while making a great deal of money. When God provides money for a believer, there is to be no cheating involved. This man had cheated and made money by depriving those who worked for it their legitimate wages. He hired these people for a harvest and then refused to pay them and therefore made more money for himself from their labor. He said he would pay them at the end of the harvest, but he lied.

Why do they keep screaming? Because they have been deprived of a living, when in reality, they should be sharing in the prosperity. The man who made all of this money has responsibility to his workers. From his business and from his profits he is to provide for them. It is the business of believers who succeed under free enterprise to help their workers who have been faithful in helping them build their business so that the profit is shared.

These workers did their job, and they were not paid for the legitimate work which they did. The rich man broke his contract. God doesn’t have human ears, but the screams of people suffering, starving, of being deprived of their homes, or their families because their wages were not given, is known to the Lord. So, their outcry was heard by the Lord of the armies (Jesus Christ), which implies that believers will suffer divine discipline when they cheat others in business.

Verse 5

Second, we have reversionism in social life. Luxuriously means to live a life of self-indulgence. It also means to carouse and to revel. A spiritually mature wealthy believer has capacity for life but a wealthy person in reversionism revels in their self-indulgence. This man was totally self-indulgent. Therefore, he had no capacity for appreciating the luxury. There is nothing wrong with luxury and pleasure unless you happen to be in reversionism, and then there is everything wrong with it.

The Greek word for fattened is “trepo,” which means to feed, but it also means to fatten an animal for the slaughterhouse. They have fattened their soul with the pleasures of Satan’s world system, instead of filling their soul with Bible doctrine. The day of slaughter is the destruction of this believer’s spiritual life.

Verse 6

Third, we have reversionism in the function of Laws of Divine Establishment.

You have condemned and put to death the righteous person means that a reversionistic believer used their wealth, influence, and power to ruin a believer’s life. The wealthy believer took something provided by the grace of God. The entire point of the book of James is to be a doer of the Word not merely a hearer. This wealthy believer in reversionism was a hearer only.