James vs.

Obama
Wayne Rogers
T
he James I am referring to is the
author of the book by that name
in the New Testament, most likely the
brother of Jesus. I assume you now who
Obama is.
James addresses the problem of
wars and conicts in the church, James
4:1-3, among the brethren, a term he
uses quite often to identify his readers,
1:2, 2:1, 3:, 5:19. James raises the issue
of conicts and identies the source in
James 4:1,
From whence come wars and
ghtings among you? come they
not hence, even of your lusts
that war in your members?
Tis is not only where wars and ght-
ings come from among believers but
also where they come from among all
men and nations and have come from
throughout history, beginning with
Genesis 3. Where do wars and ghtings
come from? Tey come from your sinful
desires that war within your members,
your heart, mind, will, and desires.
In the rst place, wars and quar-
rels throughout history come from dif-
ferent worldviews. James worldview is
that of the Bible, the Word of God. In
James 1:1, James identies himself and
his worldview: James, a servant of God
and of the Lord Jesus Christ. James
obviously believes in God, the God of
the Bible, and in Jesus Christ. In 2:9 he
refers to faith in one God. Tis is a
virtual reference to Deut. 6:4, especially
in the light of his identifying his read-
ers as the twelve tribes in dispersion,
1:1. He refers to Abraham, Rahab, and
Job, as well as referring to Scripture,
James 2:8, 11, 23, 25, 5:11. He also be-
lieves that Jesus Christ, the Lord of
glory, 2:1. My point is that James has
a particular worldview that under-
lies and determines his life and prac-
tice and his response and solution to
wars and quarrels. Wars and conicts
throughout history have arisen because
of dierent worldviews, religiously held
beliefs about God, the world, man,
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29 Counsel of Chalcedon Issue 5 2009
Americas War On Terror
etc. Tere is conict, enmity, between
God and the world in sin, James 4:4.
Second, much of the conict and
wars throughout history have arisen
from a major topic and concern ad-
dressed by James, the conict con-
cerning the social, political, and eco-
nomic relationship of the poor and the
rich, 1:9-10, 5:1-6. Tis is that ongoing,
perpetual, conict between the haves
and have-nots. Such has been the oc-
casion of world wars and philosophical
conicts such as Communism, Marx-
ism, Fascism, and Socialism. Without
elaborating, comparing, or contrasting
these economic-social-political sys-
tems, what is signicant to me in read-
ing and studying James, is how James
addresses this issue and provides the
biblical solution to it. Instead of eorts
to redistribute wealth, foment class
warfare, control and nationalize the
means of production, wages and pric-
es, determine salaries and minimum
wages, James oers a biblical perspec-
tive on the poor and the rich.
James says that the poor man should
glory in his exaltation (in Christ), 1:9. He
should not envy, murder, covet, or in any
way by extension, use other means to
acquire or conscate the property of the
wealthy. Indeed he should do the oppo-
site. He is to keep the royal law of God
and love his neighbor as himself, 2:8,
even his rich neighbor. Tat not only in-
cludes or shall we say excludes coveting,
the 10
th
commandment, but stealing,
the 8
th
commandment, and using any
political or fraudulent means to cons-
cate the wealth of the rich. Te rich are
certainly not to defraud their laborers,
James 5:4, but the poor are not to use the
force of law to conscript from the rich.
As has been said,
A democracy cannot exist as
a permanent form of govern-
ment. It can only exist until the
voters discover that they can
vote themselves largesse from
the public treasury. From that
moment on, the majority al-
ways votes for the candidates
promising the most benets
from the public treasury with
the result that a democracy
always collapses over loose s-
cal policy, always followed by
a dictatorship. Te average age
of the worlds greatest civiliza-
tions has been 200 years.
Such abuse of the democratic system
by the poor is nothing but legalized theft.
Te poor, on the other hand should
work. We could even say, based on James,
not simply that you do not have because
you do not ask, James 4:2, but that You
do not have because you do not work!
James presupposes the fundamental
principle of personal responsibility for
providing for oneself through work.
James 4:13, states the fundamental prin-
ciple of work, private property, freedom,
and prot: Go to now, ye that say, Today
or to morrow we will go into such a city,
and continue there a year, and buy and
sell, and get gain. James words in 5:4
, Behold, the hire of the laborers who
have reaped down your elds presup-
poses the fundamental free relationship
between employers and employees who
contract to pay and work without inter-
ference and control of wages or salaries by
the state, civil magistrate, what we would
call a free market capitalism. Man who is
created in the image of God, James 3:9,
is to work six days to provide for himself
and rest from his labors in worship on the
seventh day. Even then, he must not be
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Counsel of Chalcedon Issue 5 2009
30
James Vs. Obama
arrogant, but trust in the Lord, 4:15, not
being presumptuous or arrogant about
what they will do. Te poor are to work,
to boast in their exaltation, and to be pa-
tient and persistent in the providence of
God, James 5:7-11. Tey are not to covet,
envy, or in any wise steal that which does
not belong to them.
What about the rich? Surely they
are greedy and we should determine
how much they can earn, be paid; we
should tax them in increasing percent-
age, and redistribute their wealth to
the poor! Right? Wrong. James tells
the rich to glory in his humiliation,
1:10. James does not say that the civil
magistrate should
redistribute his
wealth to the poor.
James presupposes
the right of private
property, freedom
to work, and to pur-
sue a prot, James
4:11-16. He does
not criticize them
for that but only
for arrogance and
presumption about
the future. Te rich
should certainly not
defraud their work-
ers, James 5:4. Tey should remem-
ber the commandments of God, do
not steal, the 8
th
commandment. Not
only did He who said do not commit
adultery or murder, 2:11, also say do
not steal. Te rich should remember
the royal law, to love their neighbor as
themselves, James 2:8.Tey should re-
member the orphan and widow, James
1:27, which is true religion. But, James
does not say that if they dont, the civil
government should conscate their
wealth, redistribute their wealth, in or-
der to create a welfare state to provide
for widows, orphans, and the poor.
But the rich are obviously greedy.
Well, greed may be a sin, but it is not a
crime. James, as we noted, warns about
fraud, James 5:4, and that is a crime.
But beyond that James warns the
rich: James 5:1-6, Come now, you
rich, weep and howl for your miseries
that are coming upon you! Your riches
are corrupted, and your garments are
moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are
corroded, and their corrosion will be a
witness against you and will eat your
esh like re. You have heaped up trea-
sure in the last days. Indeed the wages
of the laborers who
mowed your elds,
which you kept
back by fraud, cry
out; and the cries
of the reapers have
reached the ears of
the Lord of Sabaoth.
You have lived on
the earth in plea-
sure and luxury; you
have fattened your
hearts as in a day of
slaughter. You have
condemned, you
have murdered the
just; he does not resist you.
1
In other words, James does not call
for the judgment and conviction and
thus the conscription of their wealth by
the civil government but for the rich
to consider Gods judgment. Tere are
all kinds of tax loopholes that the rich
may use to perpetuate greed. But, far
more fearful than having to give ac-
count to the IRS, is the fact that they
must give account to God! Te real
1. Te New King James Version. Nashville : Tom-
as Nelson, 1982
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31 Counsel of Chalcedon Issue 5 2009
James Vs. Obama
need is not government intervention
and control but conversion! Te Gospel,
evangelism, is the answer, not wage,
price, salary controls.
Who will care for the widow and
orphan if the government doesnt? Well,
is the answer is for the civil magistrate
to require a social security tax, to cre-
ate a welfare state? No. James 1:27 says
that this is a religious responsibil-
ity, a charitable ministry, in the name
of Jesus Christ, and rst of all to the
brethren. Tis would also apply most
assuredly to those who are unable to
provide for themselves due to external
circumstances such as re, ood, hur-
ricane, etc., and to
illness, weakness,
agedness, etc. We
might be tempted to
judge those who
nd themselves in
such a state. Why did
they not go to the
ant? Proverbs 6:6?
James warns about
judging our broth-
ers unjustly. James
4:11-12 says, Do not
speak evil of one an-
other, brethren. He
who speaks evil of a
brother and judges his brother, speaks
evil of the law and judges the law. But if
you judge the law, you are not a doer of
the law but a judge. Tere is one Law-
giver, who is able to save and to destroy.
Who are you to judge another? Tis
does not prohibit discrimination and
discernment, but it does warn, as Jesus
did in Mat. 7:1., of unjust judgment.
Tere are the truly poor, for circum-
stantial reasons as well as even perhaps
a failure to lay aside and prepare for the
future. Even so, as God is a merciful and
compassionate God, James 5:11, 3:17, so
too must we be.
What about health care? Who
will provide that? Surely this is an area
which the civil magistrate should legis-
late, mandate, and provide! What does
James say? James 5:13-14, Is anyone
among you suering? Let him pray.Is
anyone among you sick? Let him call for
the elders of the church, and let them
pray over him, anointing him with oil
in the name of the Lord.
As Jay Adams says, the sick should
make three calls, call on the Lord, call
for the Elders, call for the doctor. Tis
is not the place or time to do a full ex-
position of this dif-
cult passage. Our
point is simply that
there is no exhorta-
tion to call his con-
gressman, for the
civil magistrate, to
take over and pro-
vide health care. It
used to be that the
church, Christian
charity, cared for the
orphan, the widow,
the sick, establish-
ing hospitals with
names like Pres-
byterian Hospital, Baptist Hospital,
Methodist Hospital, etc. Of course,
medical care costs, but who should pay
for it? Should the civil magistrate con-
trol and operate the health care system?
I dont think so.
Gordon Keddie well summarizes the
Christian position on these matters in
footnote 9 on page 236 of his commen-
tary on James, Te Practical Christian:
Te Bible favors a free market
economy, in which people enjoy free-
dom to work, earn a living, own prop-
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Counsel of Chalcedon Issue 5 2009
32
James Vs. Obama
erty and trade freely. Tis is a broadly
capitalist model. For it to be a blessing,
however, it must operate in the context
of grace and covenant faithfulness.
Where the love of god and the law of
God are rejected, the system will break
downas we have seen repeatedly since
Bible times. On the other hand, the
Marxist view of the state is evil from
the heart. It denies God and man as
is image bearer and refuses man the
freedoms which God has given for re-
sponsible and fruitful vice-gerentship
on the earth. Te post-Christian West
(including pagan Japan) is economi-
cally successful to the degree that it is
able to simulate the biblical pattern for
economic blessing. It is living on the
residual spiritual and moral capital of
the faithfulness of earlier generations.
Te socialist-Marxist economies are in
the throes of facing their utter failure.
Tey are discovering, although they do
not see it in these terms, that a atly
anti-Christian system is doomed to
self-destruct as it goes along.
Tis commentary and comment
was published in 1989, 20 years ago.
Now, the Marxists and Socialists have
come here and we are in the throes of
self-destruction.
In one sense the clear and immedi-
ate response of Christians should be to
begin to think, act, and vote like Chris-
tians. If we could get Christians to do this
we could virtually immediately stop the
drift from our Constitution and biblical
Christianity. Of course, the only hope
for ultimate peace, the end of wars and
conicts, is the Gospel of peace through
the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ!
Come with desire and you shall go away
with comfort. You shall have the virtues of
Christs blood, the infuences of His Spirit,
the communications of His love.
A
fter several years of meditation, study,
and prayer, Judy has completed writ-
ing and composing songs for each of the
Beatitudes.
Judy says, This may be the most signif-
cant body of songs I have written.
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