March 2003 HBU General Epistles James 4 1

The Poverty - Piety connection

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1. The Place of Money in the Old Testament

1.1. The piety-prosperity cycle

1.2. The danger of prosperity

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1.3. Control of money in the Old

Testament 1.3.1. The tithe 1.3.2. The firstfruits 1.3.3. The gleanings 1.3.4. The tax on the firstborn 1.3.5. The Sabbath year 1.3.6. The freewill sharing

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1.3.7.Principles

1.3.7.1. God did not need what the people gave

1.3.7.2. The people needed to break the power of mammon

1.3.7.3. The people needed to acknowledge God as the giver

1.3.7.4. The people needed to share with one another

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2. Intertestamental period: piety of the

poor

2.1. The intertestamental period and wealth

2.1.1. The wisdom tradition 2.1.1.1. Piety-prosperity equation 2.1.1.2. Giving is stresses 2.1.1.3. Danger of wealth 2.1.1.4. Poverty associated with piety

2.1.2. The Psalms of Solomon 2.1.3. Apocalyptic literature

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2.2. Intertestamental period and giving

2.2.1. Giving was a mark of national identity

2.2.2. Giving was a mark of religious devotion

2.2.3. Giving was marked by legalism

2.2.4. The same is true of much of Christian literature today

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3. Money in the New Testament: Mammon

Note: Jesus’ teaching set in a context of good news

3.1.In the New Testament we hear about Mammon not Baal

3.1.1. What is mammon? "Money, property and anything of value"

F. Hauck, mamonas, TDNT 4.388.

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3.1.2.What is the problem with

mammon? 3.1.2.1. You can gain it

unrighteously – the Jews distinguished between

neutral and unrighteous mammon. 3.1.2.2. You can end up serving it 3.1.2.3. You cannot avoid the

temptation.

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3.1.3.How does one serve mammon?

3.1.3.1. By loving it

3.1.3.2. By trusting it

3.1.3.3. By fearing it

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3.1.4.What is the power of mammon?

3.1.4.1. Fear 3.1.4.2.

Spiritual oppression

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3.2. Control of money in the New

Testament 3.2.1. Free from the law 3.2.2. Freed by the Spirit

3.2.2.1. Freed from the need to find security in money

3.2.2.2. Freed to trust God

3.2.3. Fixed on Jesus 3.2.4. All one family (Acts 2 and 4) 3.2.5. The law of love

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4. The poverty - piety connection in James

4.1.The danger of wealth in James 4.1.1. The rich as the persecutor 4.1.2. The rich as the unbeliever 4.1.3. The church as the rich 4.1.4. The church as the co-opted

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4.2. Faith and works in James and Paul

4.2.1. Works 4.2.2. Faith 4.2.3. Righteousness 4.2.4. James as a corrector of

the abuse of Paul

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4.3. Resisting the devil

4.3.1. The devil as the world

4.3.2. The call to suffering

4.3.3. The call to endurance