Christ Church Washington D.C.

Our sermon text today comes from the, not the gospel, the epistle of James. We’re still in the first
chapter, verses 9 through 12. Give careful attention to the reading of God’s holy and inspired word.
James 1, beginning in verse 9. Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his
humiliation.
Because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers
the grass. Its flower falls and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his
pursuits.
Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial. For when he has stood the test, he will receive the
crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God, our Lord and our God. We thank you for your word. And I pray
that whatever station, whether lowly or exalted, you have placed us in, in your wisdom and in your
providence, that we would inhabit that station well with gratitude and avoiding the snares that are
incumbent to each one. We pray it through Christ our Lord and in his name we pray. Amen.
Amen. Well, a prayer book that I’m sure some of you are familiar with and that I’ve used to great
advantage over the last decade is one called the Valley of Vision. It’s a collection of Puritan prayers and
thoughts. And the first prayer in that book, the one by the name Valley of Vision, which is taken from the
prophet Isaiah, that phrase, it says this in the prayer, Lord, high and holy.
Meek and lowly, thou hast brought me to the valley of vision, where I live in the depths, yet see thee in
the heights. Hemmed in by mountains of sin, I behold your glory. Let me learn by paradox.
that the way down is the way up, that to be low is to be high, that the broken heart will be the healed
heart, that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit, that the repenting soul is the victorious soul, that to
bear the cross is to wear a crown, that to give is to receive, and that the valley really is the place of
vision.
Much of living with wisdom within the economy of the kingdom is learning by paradox, as it says
wonderfully in that prayer. Let me learn by paradox that the path to greatness and to joy, to living with
the applause of heaven upon you, is counterintuitive. It is precisely the opposite.
of what’s natural in the flesh. As our Lord says, to be great in the kingdom is to become the servant of all.
Counterintuitive, learning by paradox. Well, as we continue on in our study of James today, James is
going to instruct us
by paradox. He’s going to teach us to remain steadfast during specific trials, whether it’s the trial that
comes with lowliness, of having a humble estate by the world’s standards, or the trial of riches, of
having a high estate by the world’s standards.
But we must always remember that James isn’t writing vague proverbs, fortune cookie style to anyone
who happens upon them. He’s writing a pastoral letter to a specific people with a specific purpose, a
specific logic and flow of thought, each section building upon, filling out more of what just came behind.
So today, that’s why we know that
That while he addresses the lowly and the rich, the frame around what he’s saying is the context of
trials. That they are intended to bring about maturity. We know this for at least two reasons. One, that is
the heels of what we just came on, was remaining steadfast in trials. But the second is he backends this
specific word today to the lowly and the rich within the church with a call, again, to remain steadfast
during trials.
So there are unique trials that are inherent to each station, which requires paradoxical wisdom. If you
would remain steadfast and take hold of the maturity and ultimately the life that Christ intends.
And while we may think only one of these comes with a trial, namely the lowly, that they’re the ones
who are really in it, James would say, if you think that only the lowly have trials, then you have a very
shallow understanding of human nature.
You are very naive to where real temptation comes from. Having riches, having influence and affluence
also has great potential moral pitfalls. As our Lord reminds us by paradox, it is quite possible, perhaps
quite easy, to gain the whole world, but to lose your soul.
to wake up and realize you are morally devastated after having achieved all that you set out to achieve.
That’s Matthew 16.
So, an overview of our text today. Verse 9, James first speaks to the lowly in the church. The lowly, the
undistinguished, the anti-influencer, the one with no political sway, no social capital, certainly
financially impoverished. And in context, this would have made up a significant majority of Christians.
The dispersed church. Remember, he’s writing to the dysphoria, the dispersed church. We talk about
how we are in a uniquely challenging economy, which no doubt some of us feel the pinch from with
rising inflation and gas prices and all the rest. Well, the lowly in James’ context…
had a very uniquely challenging economy. Remember, they had to hightail it out of Jerusalem just to
save their skin after Stephen’s martyrdom, which meant not only did they have to leave their homes,
they also had to leave the place where they would have had some social capital within the community.
Many had to leave most of their possessions, which were likely very humble to begin with.
And so you can imagine how hard this present trial would be for them, especially for the men in the
community, the providers who have been forced to abandon their land, abandon their labors, abandon
their network. This is a hard providence.
And this lowliness would have come with a whole host of temptations. It doesn’t take much imagination
to envision what that would be. The temptation towards anger, towards frustration and a festering
bitterness towards their persecutors. Or on the other side, the temptation towards envying the rich,
especially those who had recently joined the church and
and who have been shielded from the painful sacrifices that manifested when they had to flee. There is
some real social economic gunpowder that is laid out all across the sanctuary, which could blow up very
easily if the sparks of anger and envy start to spray out. And so, Pastor James knows this, and so he
speaks to them, and he gives them the key.
to passing the lowliness test well. They are lowly, all in God’s providence, and there is a way to endure
that trial well, and it’s this. He says that they should boast in their exaltation. They should boast at how
exalted their office and their standing is.
See, if they are upset by their lowliness, worldly speaking, then the test was well brought because it
shows that they are measuring their worth by a worldly metric and not in light of the gospel. But James
reminds them of the paradoxical wisdom that they might appear lowly on paper, but that lowliness is a
mirage. In reality, through their union with Christ,
They hold an exalted office. They’ve been seated with Christ in the heavenly places. They have become,
to use language we introduced last week, nobility within the new creation. Paul makes this point to the
Corinthians. He says in 1 Corinthians 3, 21-23, “…let no one boast in men.”
For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death, the present or
the future, all are yours and you are Christ’s and Christ is God’s. And see, the Corinthians were big on
gauging status by a worldly metric within the church and
They found their identity, their cool points, by claiming they had the basest pastor. They listened to the
basest podcasters. Therefore, they were very spiritual Christians indeed. And this was causing divisions
in the church. I follow Paul. Well, I follow Apollos. Well, I follow John MacArthur. Well, I follow John
Piper. Well, I follow Doug Wilson, right? We still see this in the church. But Paul says, though your boast
has a Christian veneer, it is carnal reasoning.
This is the way the worldlings measure glory, by who they’re connected to, by what social status they
have, but not the Christian. Our boast and our glory is that we are united together to Jesus Christ. And
the position he has given us is vice regents in his kingdom.
And in the same way, James calls the lowly not to fixate on their temporal, earthly status, but to boast in
their exalted status in Christ through the gospel. Then in verse 10, he now turns and he speaks to the
other side.
to the rich, which I take to mean not the rich outside of the church that is persecuting and oppressing
them, though some commentators take it that way. I believe he’s talking to the rich within the church
who are brothers but of significant means and substantial influence. I take it that way for several
reasons, not least because in the next chapter,
We’re told that, at the very least, they’re having rich visitors come to the church who some were
tempted to fawn over and show favoritism towards. But it’s not just the lowly that have a unique
temptation. What’s true is being rich…
Being applauded, having affluence, having office comes preloaded with very real trials as well. They are
not the same trials as the lowly, but they are just as real of trials. In fact, the rich are one of the most
worn groups in all of Scripture. Riches are rife with pitfalls.
Now it must be said, and it must be said clearly, this is not because riches in themselves are bad
There’s also a massive Gnostic ditch that the church can swerve into, thinking inherently that wealth or
resources in general ought to be looked at skeptically, as if they are to be generally avoided, but if
enjoyed at all, they are to be seen as guilty pleasures, not good blessings. And that impulse is
sub-Christian. That impulse is sub-Christian. Riches and wealth are often put forth as a great blessing
from God.
And this makes sense when you think about it. We’re physical beings put in a physical earth called to
take real dominion, be really fruitful in this earth. And since the Bible says you generally reap what you
sow, then a diligent sower will generally have a good and increasing harvest over time. Generally. And
scripture celebrates this, calls it a blessing. Proverbs 10, 22. The blessing of the Lord.
makes rich. And he adds, no sorrow with it. Proverbs 13, 22, a good man leaves an inheritance to his
children’s children. So riches or wealth or resources are not bad in and of themselves. They’re often
called a blessing in scripture. So why then are the rich so often warned if they’re meant to be a blessing?
Why are they so often warned? Why would James say there is a trial baked into that station that you
need to overcome? Well, one way to answer this is to go all the way back to the beginning, back to Eden.
When Satan first brought a temptation to mankind, how did he bait the hook? What was the tantalizing
morsel that he put on it?
It was the promise of being like God. Don’t you see? You could be like God if you did this. And that bent
Edenic impulse still remains deeply in us. The desire to be like God, of being the sovereign over our little
sphere.
And riches can give the illusion of godness. If they are not sanctified, they can give the illusion of
godness. You have enough money, you can make pretty much anything appear seemingly ex nihilo. You
just tap a button and poof, anything you want, you got enough money.
You got enough money? You can make people serve you. You can have people do whatever you want.
You got enough money? You can buy your way into power. Nuff money? You can be like a god, in fact.
Proverbs 18, 16, a man’s gift opens doors for him and brings him before great men.
Riches can make you think you pull the levers of reality almost like a god. And that is how riches go from
humbly received as a blessing
to a burden, when you believe the lies they try and tell, that you were like God, so that they become
wrapped around the axle of your soul and become central to your identity and the source of your hope,
a false gospel, so that if your situation abruptly changed financially or socially, so that you were no
longer rich according to the world, you’d be devastated.
You’d lose your godness. This is what Paul warns the rich of in 1 Timothy 1, chapter 6. As for the rich in
this present age, charge them not to be haughty. Notice he doesn’t say charge them not to be rich.
He says, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God
who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.
So whatever the Lord has given to us, it is to be enjoyed as a blessing, including the blessing of being
able to be generous, but it is not to be idolized. One, because they could be fleeting. Proverbs 23, 5,
when your eyes light upon riches, it is gone. Suddenly it sprouts wings and it flies like an eagle toward
heaven. But even more, even if the riches themselves aren’t fleeting, your life most certainly is fleeting.
Even if the riches themselves are not fleeting, your life most certainly is. And that is the angle James
exhorts the rich from. If the poor should paradoxically boast in their exaltation, he says the rich would
do well to boast in their humiliation. The reminder of the fact that you are not God. In fact, your days are
numbered.
Warren Buffett has had one of the most impressive business streaks by human standards. But just this
past week, at the age of 96, he stepped down as the chairman of his company because, as he put it,
father time always wins. Father time always wins. Now, though Buffett is no believer, he’s exactly right.
Father time always wins. His $145 billion will give him exactly zero leverage before the throne of the
king.
No leverage, $145 billion back down on earth. This is the humiliation that James puts before the
Christian rich. If they’re to avoid the snare that riches can bring. He fills it out with a vignette from
nature. He says, picture a meadow full of bright, beautiful flowers, arrayed in garments, more luxuriant
than Solomon, as our Lord put it.
and then blink twice, and these flowers will have faded as quickly as they sprang up. That’s every one of
us. This mortal body will inevitably fade out. Our days were numbered before we were born, and the
clock is ticking. As the great Puritan Thomas Watson said, today we may lie upon a pillow of down,
tomorrow we may be laid upon a pillow of dust. And this is good for all of us to remember.
that we may know the preciousness of every hour and endeavor to turn each minute for good. As the
psalmist said in 90, 12, he says, teach us to number our days that we might gain a heart of wisdom.
That’s good for all of us, but especially good for the rich because of the liar that riches can be and the
illusion of immortality they can bring. So that’s verse 11. Now, some would say, well, this is all
something of a downer.
All of this fading flower imminent death talk is something of a dowry. It goes with the weather outside
today, Pastor. Some would say that, but I know that you would not say that because you’re most likely a
Christian and you know that
That death is no longer a cloaked specter to be feared, but death is the defeated foe that is to be
mocked as Paul did. Jesus rose from the dead so we can stare down our mortality with hope and a grin
and growing joy because it is now the gateway to glory. And this is precisely how James rounds out his
exhortation in verse 12. He addresses all the saints again, whatever their tailor-made trial.
And then he casts them all in the light of eternity and the promise of the gospel. He says, for those who
love God, not only are you being matured through your trials right now, but there’s a great blessing
coming.
There’s a great reward coming that the Lord himself is hands ready to bestow upon you at the finish
line. It’s what James calls the crown of life. Now, the imagery here is not so much of a king’s crowned,
But the laurel wreath that a victor in a race would have received in the Greco-Roman world, that’s the
imagery here of struggling through a trial, bearing down, digging in, fighting the side cramps, eyes fixed
on the finish line, and then finally breaking the tape and looking up to check the standings.
And realize you won. And Jesus invites you into the victor’s circle with him. That’s the picture. Paul drew
upon this as well. 1 Corinthians 9.25. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to
receive a perishable wreath. But we do it to receive an imperishable one. So that’s the picture James
wants to hold out.
An eternal reward awaits for faithfulness today that will make all earthly riches seem tiny, insignificant
in comparison to. So that’s the text. Now in the final stretch here, I want to draw out several practical
takeaways for maintaining a godly contentment with our present estate, whether that’s lowly or rich.
Few things in the end here. First,
If this text teaches us anything, it’s that we all must reject egalitarianism. If you would be content, you
must reject egalitarianism. Egalitarianism dominates our current culture, and it’s the idea that there
should be a great flattening of the playing field on every front. That inequality of any sort, be it income,
be it opportunity, be it ability, is unfair and a problem that needs to be solved.
This breeds discontentment and envy, and our world is awash in it. And it’s simply a false philosophy. It
is a false gospel. God is no egalitarian.
He dispenses blessings upon folks in different ways, in different amounts, all for his good pleasure as he
sees fits, including skills, smarts, earning potential, family of origin, and everything else. The parable of
the talents torpedoes the idea that flattening everyone’s standing should be the goal.
And then our Lord says that God has given to some one talent or five talents or ten talents. And much to
our commie overlord’s dismay, he doesn’t even apologize for doing that. He’s God, and he dispenses
according to his good pleasure. And the call for each of us
regardless of the one or the 10, is gratitude and fruitfulness and a return on that investment. That’s the
call. And this is why envy is so corrosive, especially in the church. It is a refusal to enjoy the blessings you
have because of the blessings of another. A refusal to enjoy the blessings you do have because in God’s
good wisdom, he has given blessings to another.
Our culture is awash with envy, constantly comparing, defaulting to grievance rather than to gratitude.
But in the church, this ought not be. You must put to death any egalitarian impulse and the sidelong
glances they produce. Instead,
You should be too caught up in getting the Lord a good return on the talents he has given you that you
don’t have time to cast sight on long glances at your neighbor. Comparison really is the thief of joy and
is something that needs to be repented of often. Also, as an aside, it is healthy for us to remember that
though in James’ context, the rich were a very small minority, if James’ congregation could see all of us
today, it
They would assume we’re all in the rich category, by their standard, because even the lowliest in the
church is still unimaginably wealthy, humanly speaking, in comparison to them. If you need proof, did
you know that daily hot showers weren’t an assumed part of the American life until the 1960s?
Right? Do you know that? Daily hot showers didn’t exist as, of course, this is what people do, until the
1960s. Common commodities that we take for granted would have been spectacular luxuries, most of
human history, including for your great-great-grandpa.
He couldn’t even comprehend it. A hot shower every day and a magic cold box that keeps ice cream
sandwiches frozen. Astonishing wealth in world history. So if you’re going to compare, compare in that
direction that we might consider the lowly, most of human history would have considered us luxuriant.
Next takeaway for maintaining contentment in the church, regardless of economic status is,
Know that the internet runs on manufacturing discontentment. Understand, have the wisdom to know,
the internet runs on manufacturing discontentment. This is what much marketing is by design.
Manufacturing a need. Showing you a new thing that you just found out existed but can no longer live
without.
This has always been the case, but that discontentment flame has been doused in diesel in the iPhone
age. This is another way we can place our hope in riches by thinking, if I just had that, just one more
thing in my Amazon cart, just, I know I’ve said this before, but this one really is a thing. If I could get that.
Finally, I would have arrived. This is truly one of the trials we face in the digital age. Endless scrolling,
endless ads, which brings you endless things you need to be happy. We must be weary of this. Being
convinced that we’re lowly by all the things we need. Listen to this graphic picture we get in the
Proverbs. This is Proverbs 23, one and two. When you sit down to eat with a ruler,
Observe carefully what is set before you, and then put a knife to your throat if you are given to appetite.
That’s a cool picture. That is, when you sense a craving being manufactured in you that is drawing you,
you need this thing, especially that it seems the rich have it.
It means you’re becoming a slave to stuff and you need to strike the axe at the root of that
discontentment and that craving. So let us recognize this play that’s being run. Stop scrolling. Start
praising God for the incredible blessings that every single one of us has.
And one final word here in conclusion. And here I’m thinking of those who God really has given
significant riches or affluence or influence to. One way to stay grounded and humble is this. Look for
opportunities to relate with the lowly.
Look for opportunities to relate with the lowly, with the commoner around you, especially fellow
Christians. Understand that the Lord has given you your station, that you might have greater potential
to serve, not greater reason to swagger. And do so on purpose. Break through the barriers on purpose
and let that help protect your soul, lest you start becoming impressed with your own introductions.
One of the things I appreciate about Stonewall Jackson is, though he was the general, he regularly slept
on the ground with his own men. There’s a story of some men, after waking up in the snow after a hard
march, they were cursing Stonewall under their breath for subjecting them to it. That is, until a blanket
stirred a few spots down. And it was the general getting up from his sleep as well, which quickly silenced
their complaints.
Now, of course, honor should be given where honor is due. This is good and right. I’m not saying don’t
let people honor you. Yes, honor ought to be given for office. And if you are one to whom honor is due,
receive it graciously and then go out of your way to associate with the humble.
Recognizing that while hierarchy is real and necessary and good in society, as Proverbs 22 says, the rich
and the poor meet together because the Lord is the maker of them all. And how much more for the
Christian? How much more for the Christian who knows so keenly that the ground is level at the foot of
the cross?
It is hard to swagger. It is hard to remain self-impressed by your social standing in the shadow of the
cross. But you realize the reason that that man is bleeding out, the Son of God becomes Son of Man, is
because you exist. It’s because your sins required that.
It is hard to swagger at the foot of the cross. So let us live there. Dwell often, all of us, on what the
Apostle Paul said in Philippians 2. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who,
though he was in the form of God, he didn’t count equality with God a thing to be held on to, to be
grasped.
but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men, and being found
in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death and even death on a
cross. Therefore,
God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name. So may also we
follow in our captain’s steps and associate freely with those below us and not in a patronizing way, but
because we’ve been humbled through the gospel. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit. Our Lord and our God, we do thank you.
for all that you’ve given us. And we do confess that we are prone towards comparison and envy, but I
pray not so at Christ Church, that we would mature in the ways that James is calling us to.
If things are thin right now, we would rejoice in our exaltation. If we have been blessed with great
abundance, that we would glory in our humiliation and be eager to be generous. And all these things
would Christ be glorified in this congregation. And now we would pray the way our Lord taught us to
pray.