The “rich people” whom James addresses in this paragraph are clearly the wicked rich. The Old Testament often uses “poor” and “rich” almost as synonyms for the righteous and the wicked, respectively (see Prov. 10:15–16; 14:20; Ps. 37:1–40; and also the intertestamental book 1 Enoch 94–105). Jesus reflected this usage when he blessed the poor and condemned the rich (Luke 6:20, 24). Thus, while the people addressed in this passage are clearly materially wealthy, they are not condemned for their wealth per se but for their selfish accumulation and abuse of their wealth. Why does James send a denunciation of wicked, wealthy unbelievers to Christians? John Calvin pertinently isolates two main reasons: James “has a regard to the faithful, that they, hearing of the miserable end of the rich, mig…