13. The Epistle of James 5:7-20

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1 13. The Epistle of James 5:7-20 (3/8/17) James now begins to wrap up his letter in the same way he began it by encouraging believers who were suffering for their faith to be patient (v.7). What was he encouraging them to be patient for? James 5:7 (NKJV) 7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord He might have in mind the coming of the Lord for His Church in other words, the Rapture. Or he may have in mind, since he s writing primarily to Jewish Christians, the coming of the Lord to establish the Millennial Kingdom a promise given by God to believing Israel, but which also will include N.T. saints or the Church. Either way, the coming of the Lord will put an end to the persecution of God s people and will usher in the glorious beginning of eternal joy that will never end until then we must be patient. James uses the word patient two times in verse 7 and once in verse 8. The Greek word is, makrothumeō a compound word from makros, long, and thumos, anger together they mean what we would call, long-tempered or long-suffering. 1

2 This is a different Greek word from the one translated patience in chapter 1 James 1:3-4 (NKJV) 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. That Greek word is hupomonē, which literally mean to remain under and speaks of endurance under great stress or perseverance under pressure. In other words, this patience means to stay put and stand fast when you d like to run away. Many Greek scholars think that long-suffering refers to patience with respect to persons, while endurance refers to patience with respect to conditions or situations. Both are essential patience with people is just as important as patience in difficult circumstances. As we have said numerous times, James is calling his readers to grow in their walk with the Lord. He is doing this by talking about the characteristics of those who are mature in their faith. Right here he is presenting another characteristic of Christian maturity a mature Christian is long-suffering with people. In other words, they manifest the fruit of the Spirit towards people (especially difficult people) 2

3 Galatians 5:22-23 (NKJV) 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control... The patience that James is encouraging his readers to manifest toward those who are persecuting them is still difficult even for those walking in the Spirit. Therefore, he goes on to give three examples of how believers living under difficult circumstances can experience this kind of patient endurance as they (we) wait for the Lord to return. He first of all uses the farmer as an illustration of patience. James 5:7 (NKJV) 7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. The farmer is a great example of someone who does a lot of work before he sees any results and especially before he can harvest his crops. He has to cultivate the soil, plant the seed, wait for the early rain, by faith, (late fall), be patient and wait for the latter rain, by faith, just before harvesttime (spring) and then comes the harvest. The same basic qualities that go into farming, go into being a servant of the Lord. We have to cultivate the soil of a person s heart thru prayer. 3

4 We have to plant the seed of the Word by sharing the gospel with them, and then wait for the Holy Spirit to water the seed. And then we have to patiently wait, by faith, for the harvest which James tells us is the coming of the Lord. We have a part in the harvest but only God can bring forth new life all of which requires faith and patience. Mark 4:26-29 (NKJV) 26 And He said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, 27 and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. 28 For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. 29 But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come." Matthew 13:39 (NKJV) 39 the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. (Explain) The main point James is driving home as to how believers can learn patience is by first cultivating the proper mindset in serving the Lord. No farmer plants the seeds one day and expects to harvest his crop the next day he understands it takes time and he is prepared to patiently wait for God to bring about the harvest. The same must be true with the servants of God we labor by faith trusting Him to bring about salvation in the hearts of those people where we have planted the seed of the gospel. But ultimately, we wait for His coming when our work will be rewarded with a glorious harvest for the Kingdom but once again this whole process requires patience and faith 4

5 James 5:8 (NKJV) 8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 1 Corinthians 15:58 (NKJV) 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. Galatians 6:9 (NKJV) 9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Sometimes Christians can grow impatient in waiting for the Lord s return and even begin to question if He s ever going to come back. Men, when your wife was pregnant and her due date came and went and still the baby hadn t come did you accuse her of deceiving you You re not pregnant, you lied to me! No, of course you didn t because the signs were all there, the baby was going to come eventually and so you continued to wait patiently. The same is true with the coming of the Lord the signs of His coming are all there, He will eventually come back (but not past His due date the Lord is never late!) so keep on doing what you re doing for Him and always be ready for His coming. Luke 12:43 (NKJV) 43 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. So the farmer is the first example of how we can learn patience in the Christian life by cultivating a mindset which understands that the Lord s coming (when all hardships and suffering will end) takes time. 5

6 Then James gives us another principle that will help us to wait patiently for the Lord s return the example of God s prophets. James 5:9-10 (NKJV) 9 Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! 10 My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. If we don t keep looking upward for the Lord s return we will start to look outward at each other, focusing on each other s faults and how terribly other Christians are treating us. This will produce grumbling in our hearts toward them and destroy our unity and the work God is doing thru our church. The word grumble comes from a Greek word that means to groan within oneself, or to sigh. It describes a bitter, resentful spirit that manifests itself in one s relationships with others. James 5:9 (NKJV) 9 Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! The word condemned is the Greek word krino and means, to judge or in this context, to be judged. In saying this, James could have two different groups and judgments in mind. 6

7 First, he could be appealing to believers that by harboring bitterness and resentment in their heart towards other Christians it could diminish their rewards someday. Romans 14:10 (NKJV) 10 But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:13-15 (NKJV) 13 each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. 2 John 1:8 (NKJV) 8 Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward. But secondly, James might be saying to his readers, Beware of the bitterness and resentment in your hearts toward believers in Christ your lack of love for God s people may indicate you are not saved 1 John 3:13-15 (NKJV) 13 Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. 15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. To this group, the judgment that James has in mind is the judgment of unbelievers into hell 2 Timothy 4:1 (NKJV) 1 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: 1 Peter 4:5 (NKJV) 5 They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 7

8 Hebrews 10:30-31 (NKJV) 30 For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. And again, "The LORD will judge His people." 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. His people is a reference to Jews who have rejected Christ as their Messiah and Savior those that James has in mind in chapter 5 verse 9. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! is James way of saying the judgment of God is ready to be poured out upon unbelievers those who are living in rebellion against Him and who are mistreating or persecuting His people. And this judgment can come at any time, because a person s life could end at any time suddenly and without warning. In his famous sermon, Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God, Jonathan Edwards made this observation Sinners are walking an icy plank over the pit of hell, and at any time their foot could slip and they will fall headlong into eternal destruction. But getting back to learning patience as believers in Jesus James, in speaking to his Jewish readers primarily, points them to the example of the prophets of God in the O.T. James 5:10-11a (NKJV) 10 My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. 11 Indeed we count them blessed who endure These men suffered greatly for their service to God as the writer to the Hebrews talks about: 8

9 Hebrews 11:35-38 (NKJV) 35 others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. 36 Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented-- 38 of whom the world was not worthy James then gives us one more example from the O.T. of someone who s life we can learn patience from, a man whose name was synonymous with suffering Job. James 5:11 (NKJV) 11 Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord--that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. Warren Wiersbe The Book of Job is a long book, and the chapters are filled with speeches that, to the Western mind, seem long and tedious. In the first three chapters you have Job s distress: he loses his wealth, his family (except for his wife, and she told him to commit suicide), and his health. In Job 4 31 we read Job s defense, as he debates with his three friends and answers their false accusations. Job present Job s deliverance: first God humbles Job, and then He honors Job and gives him twice as much as he had before. In studying the experience of Job, it is important to remember that Job did not know what was going on behind the scenes between God and Satan. Job s friends accused him of being a sinner and a hypocrite. There must be some terrible sin in your life, they argued, or God would never have permitted this suffering. Job disagreed with them and maintained his innocence (but not perfection) during the entire conversation. The friends were wrong: God had no cause against Job (Job 2:3), and in the end, God rebuked the friends for telling lies about Job (Job 42:7). It is difficult to find a greater example of suffering than Job. Circumstances were against him, for he lost his wealth and his health. He also lost his beloved children. His wife was against him, for she said, Curse God and die (Job 2:9). His friends were against him, for they accused him of being a hypocrite, deserving of the judgment of God. And it seemed like God was against him! When Job cried out for answers to his questions, there was no reply from heaven. Yet, Job endured. Satan predicted that Job would get impatient with God and abandon his faith, but that did not happen. It is true that Job questioned God s will, but Job did not forsake his faith in the Lord. Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. Nevertheless, I will argue my ways before Him (Job 13:15, NASB). Job was so sure of God s perfections that he persisted in arguing with Him, even though he did not understand all that God was doing. That is endurance. 9

10 James 5:12 (NKJV) 12 But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your "Yes," be "Yes," and your "No," "No," lest you fall into judgment. The exhortation in James 5:12 seems out of place; for what does speaking oaths have to do with the problem of suffering? Well, we can cause suffering to others when we give our word, and even strengthen it with an oath but then don t keep our word. This may have in mind, once again, what James said to begin this chapter about the wealthy who cause suffering on those they hire to do work for them, promise them a wage but then don t pay them. When he admonished his readers not to swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your "Yes," be "Yes," and your "No," "No," He no doubt had in mind the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount Matthew 5:34-37 (NKJV) 34 But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; 35 nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil one. What the Lord Jesus is saying and James is repeating is that godliness (Christian maturity) means when we give our word we keep our word without having to add weight to it by pronouncing an oath to go with it. First of all, the Bible doesn t forbid the use of oaths only deceptive oaths. 10

11 There were times in Scripture when God Himself swore an oath (such as in Luke 1:73, Hebrews 3:11, and Hebrews 6:13). The problem was that many Jewish people in the time James wrote made distinctions between binding oaths and non-binding oaths. Oaths that did not include the name of God were considered non-binding, and to use such oaths was a way of crossing your fingers behind your back when giving someone your word with an oath it was these kinds of oaths that Jesus and James condemned. James 5:13 (NKJV) 13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. The word suffering means suffering in difficult circumstances Paul used the same Greek word to describe the sufferings he went thru for the gospel s sake in 2Tim.2:9. The mature Christian doesn t lash out against others when they re going thru difficult circumstances they pray, asking God for the strength to go thru it, and for the wisdom they need to understand the situation and how to use it for His glory. James 5:14 (NKJV) 14 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. The early church believed in God s power to heal the sick, and so those who were sick would call for the elders to come and anoint them with oil and pray over them. James is not promising that everyone would be healed but that this is what the elders should do and trust God to heal them but also to accept His sovereign will if He chooses not to heal them. (1John 5:14-15) 11

12 The next statement by James is somewhat confusing as to what exactly he is referring to James 5:15 (NKJV) 15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. So James could have in mind sickness due to sin the Greek says, If he has been constantly sinning. 1 Corinthians 11:29-34 (NKJV) 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. 33 Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. 34 But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together for judgment. And the rest I will set in order when I come. So it could be that James is describing a church member who is sick because God is disciplining him for living in sin and not repenting One commentator said, This explains why the elders of the assembly are called: the man cannot go to church to confess his sins, so he asks the spiritual leaders to come to him. The leaders would be in charge of the discipline of the congregation. However, many commentators point out that the Greek word that James uses for sick can mean physically sick but also weak or to be weary (physically, emotionally or spiritually) 2 Corinthians 12:10 (NKJV) 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 12

13 Romans 8:3 (NKJV) 3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, One author sees the sickness James is talking about as referring to weakness James moves beyond the suffering believers of the previous point to address specifically those who have become weak by that suffering. The weak are those who have been defeated in the spiritual battle, who have lost the ability to endure their suffering. They are the fallen spiritual warriors, the exhausted, weary, depressed, defeated Christians. They have tried to draw on God s power through prayer, but have lost motivation, even falling into sinful attitudes. Having hit bottom, they are not able to pray effectively on their own. In that condition, the spiritually weak need the help of the spiritually strong (1Thess.5:14) 1 Thessalonians 5:14 (NKJV) 14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. And the prayer of faith will save the sick The word save could mean save from hell or it could mean heal from sickness, weakness or infirmity. With that in mind James continues by saying James 5:16 (NKJV) 16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. The idea of confessing trespasses (willful, deliberate sins) to one another could carry with it the idea that certain individuals in the church were sick because they had sinned repeatedly against another Christian. 13

14 This then brought the discipline of God upon their lives in the form of physical or emotional sickness of some kind. The only way for those sicknesses to be healed would be to confess the sin to God (1John 1:9); and then to confess their sins to others they had wronged. The word confess carries with it the idea of admitting your guilt and asking for forgiveness. I think James statement, The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much is a general statement concerning the power of prayer in all situations not just in the context we ve been speaking about. I say that because of how James uses Elijah to illustrate his point James 5:17-18 (NKJV) 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit. (1 Kings 17:1; 18:41 46) Elijah didn t have the power to stop or start the rain he was acting by faith in what God told him to do. His prayer was merely a conduit that God used to bring to earth the plans He had already purposed in heaven. James 5:19-20 (NKJV) 19 Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, 20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins. 14

15 Some see a reference to the evangelism of the lost in these closing verses of James letter others see the restoration of a backslidden Christian. Either way, whatever sins a lost sinner committed over the course of their life, once they receive Christ would all be under His blood and seen no more by God. The same idea would apply to a backslidden Christian living in sin and in danger of God judging them with physical death (1Cor.11:29-30). This view is held by William MacDonald First of all, he will save his erring brother from dying prematurely under the chastening hand of God. Secondly, he will cover a multitude of sins. They are forgiven and forgotten by God. Also they are forgiven by fellow believers and veiled from the gaze of the outside world. We need this ministry today. In our zeal to evangelize the lost, perhaps we do not give sufficient attention to those sheep of Christ who have wandered from the fold. I ll give you one last characteristic of a mature believer they are deeply concerned for the welfare of others. They desperately want to see the lost saved and so they are constantly sharing the gospel with them. And also, they deeply want to see fellow Christians walking faithfully in God s truth and if they stray they do whatever they can to bring them back to God. God is the ultimate people Person no one can be godly ( like-god ) who doesn t have the heart of God for people as well. 15