Session 13 With Anticipation Believers should turn to God when facing the trials of life. JAMES 5:7-9,13-20 What are you anticipating right now? Maybe you picture a vacation destination, a holiday, an addition to the family, or payday. Anticipation adds spice to life. Those who have nothing to look forward to in the future lack hope. Sometimes anticipation can include thoughts of fear and worry, but sometimes it is the eager expectation of something that will arrive in the future. What are you looking forward to the most? What are you dreading the most? What role, good and bad, can anticipation play in a person s life? 118 Date of My Bible Study:
UNDERSTAND THE CONTEXT JAMES 5:1-20 James, the half-brother of Jesus, became a respected leader in the Jerusalem church. After the church scattered following the martyrdom of Stephen, he continued to exert influence in the lives of the believers dispersed throughout Judea and Samaria. His letter was filled with practical, helpful advice for those who had scattered. He told them how to endure trials, to live out what they believed, and to care for those who could not care for themselves. He spoke of controlling the tongue and choosing true wisdom from above. James contrasted the prideful person with the humble person. In James 5:1-6, he described wealthy people who put their trust in their riches and used their wealth to oppress others. Their oppression involved withholding pay that was due to their workers, living in luxury while others lived in poverty, and even murdering to get what they wanted. These people lived as if the present life was all that mattered and all that existed. James would challenge that notion in this week s focal passage. As you read James 5, identify how James encourages prayer. What is the connection between praying and anticipating the return of Jesus? EXPLORE THE TEXT PATIENCE (JAS. 5:7-9) 7 Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. 8 You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord s coming is near. 9 Don t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! Session 13 : With Anticipation 119
VERSES 7-8 James contrasted his readers with the oppressive landowners of the previous verses (vv. 1-6). Some of his readers were suffering as the poor were in the previous verses. To the ones suffering in this life, James encouraged patience. The Greek term for patience is made up of two words long and passionate anger. The situations these believers endured and suffered for Christ certainly could have caused anger to well up inside of them, but James cautioned against an explosion of anger as they patiently awaited an event that would set things right. That event was the Lord s coming. At His return, Jesus will judge the wicked and deliver the saints. Though the scattered saints were experiencing persecution, and it would get worse, they were to await patiently the return of Jesus. James compared the expectant Christian with the anticipation of a farmer. Rain is crucial to the farmer s success. The autumn rains in Palestine fell in October and November, and the spring rains fell in April and May. Little rain fell between those times, so farmers were dependent on these rains to produce a harvest. During a drought, they had no choice but to wait patiently for the rain so they could see the precious fruit of the earth. In an agrarian society, the absence of rain spelled doom, heightening the anticipation for rain. Like the farmer, James encouraged his readers to be patient. The farmer who patiently awaited harvest was not lazy and idle. He still planted, weeded, and prepared for the harvest, all the while looking to the sky for rain to fall and bless his efforts. Neither is the believer to wait idly as he anticipates the return of Christ. James encouraged his readers, stand firm. This word could be translated as strengthen, confirm, or establish. It described that which was firmly fixed. We sometimes describe anticipation as setting our hearts on something. This was the idea in James s instruction to those awaiting the return of Christ. The next big event on God s calendar is the return of Jesus. The reason for optimism was that the Lord s coming is near. This expression occurs throughout the New Testament (Rom. 13:12; Heb. 10:25; 1 Pet. 4:7). This may be questioned today since over 2,000 years have passed since Jesus birth. In God s eyes a thousand years are as a day (2 Pet. 3:8; 2 Cor. 4:16-18), so the passage emphasizes that the next big event on God s calendar is the return of Jesus. The fact that this 120 Explore the Bible Personal Study Guide
much time has passed should not deter us into thinking His coming is not near. It should not cause us to lose heart. Jesus is coming as He promised and God will set all things as they should be. KEY DOCTRINE: Salvation Glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed (1 John 3:2). VERSE 9 Returning to themes he had already covered, James encouraged believers not to grumble against one another. He had already covered the power of the tongue (Jas. 3:1-12) and the danger of judging others (4:11-12). The word translated grumble was commonly translated as a sigh or groan rather than a public, outright complaint. Suffering might cause believers to groan against one another under the heavy weight of trials. Those who did so would be judged. Furthermore, James revealed that the Judge is standing at the door. Christians did not have time to complain about one another. Their returning Savior was standing outside the door with His hand on the knob, ready to enter at any time. What impact should the promised return of Jesus have on a believer? On an unbeliever? PRAYER (JAS. 5:13-18) 13 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be Session 13 : With Anticipation 121
healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. 17 Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. VERSES 13-15 As we patiently anticipate the return of Christ, prayer is a valuable tool and weapon. In verses 13-18, James demonstrated how powerful a weapon prayer is for those who were hurting. He addressed those who were in trouble. James s readers had experienced persecution that caused them to scatter (1:1). He recommended that the suffering person should pray. He could pray for deliverance from the trial or for strength to endure it. James also encouraged believers to sing songs of praise when they were happy, which was yet another form of prayer. Whether in good spirits or suffering, prayer was the first option. James called upon the sick to pray as well. Sickness could include all types of weaknesses physical, mental, or spiritual. The sick person is encouraged to summon the elders of the church to pray over him. These were clearly leaders in the church, whether they were pastors or a separate group of people who asserted administrative and spiritual guidance over the congregation. The fact that the sick must call for the elders may indicate the depth of the sickness he was enduring. He was too ill to go to the elders. The elders came to anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. This oil did not have healing power in itself but was a symbol of God s nearness and power available to His people through prayer. God can save a sick person by healing his sickness temporarily on earth or by taking that person to be with Him in a place where sickness doesn t exist. James declared that the prayers for the sick will make the sick person well and the Lord will raise them up. This prayer was offered with the confidence that God can and wants to heal. God can save a sick person by healing his sickness temporarily on earth or by taking that person to be with Him in a place where sickness doesn t exist. He can raise up a person by lifting him from his sick bed to live again on this earth or resurrecting him to eternal life. Either way, the prayer of 122 Explore the Bible Personal Study Guide
faith is dependent upon the will of God and is not a blank check for all physical healing on earth. Ultimately it is more important that a person s sins are forgiven than their body healed. Why should prayer be our first course of action, rather than our last? Why might a person fail to start with prayer? What does who a person turns to first reveal about that person s beliefs? VERSE 16 Since forgiveness outranks physical healing in importance, James encouraged his readers to confess their sins to each other. To confess sin is to agree with God about sin. It happened in the context of prayer, not the context of public worship. It is not a show or a sacrament of the church. It is a cry for help that causes others to join in prayer with the sinner. Some might say that the rule of thumb is to confess as widely as the sin is known. However, in light of this passage it might be best to confess only in circles where genuine prayer would be the result of the confession. As people prayed for one another, spiritual healing would take place. Having sins confessed and forgiven, the praying person has great power. James stated that the prayer of a righteous person, one who has confessed and received forgiveness, is powerful and effective. Effective prayer comes from a heart that is humble enough to admit its own faults, seek forgiveness from God, and intercede for others. Why might a group place little emphasis upon confession of sin to one another? How can that emphasis be retained? What safeguards need to be in place for this to be done in a God honoring way? VERSES 17-18 To demonstrate the power of prayer, James referenced the example of Elijah. Though he was merely a human being, even as Session 13 : With Anticipation 123
we are, he prayed for the rain to stop, and it did for three-and-a-half years (1 Kings 17:1). When Elijah prayed again at the end of that time the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. Elijah, a righteous man, prayed a powerful and effective prayer. If Elijah was just a man who lived righteously before God, then what was stopping his readers from seeing the power of God in response to their prayers? BIBLE SKILL: Use multiple Scripture passages to understand a major doctrine. Read the following Bible passages and take note of some things the Bible teaches about prayer during troubled times: 2 Kings 20:5; Psalm 102:1-2; Matthew 26:41; Romans 8:26; and Philippians 4:6. How can you relate these passages to James 5:13-18? PROTECTION (JAS. 5:19-20) 19 My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins. VERSES 19-20 While anticipating the return of Christ, James encouraged his readers to protect those who may have fallen astray from their faith. Certainly this was a possibility since they were experiencing persecution and had been scattered from their faith community in Jerusalem. James implored fellow Christians to reach out to those who had strayed from their faith or crumbled under the difficulties of persecution. James was addressing the situation of those who wander from the truth. The Greek word used here for wander conveyed the picture of a person who was deceived, misled, or carried astray, whether by demonic forces, false teachers, or self-induced deception. This person clearly knew the truth but for some reason strayed 124 Explore the Bible Personal Study Guide
from it. Truth probably means more than doctrine but the totality of what God s Word has produced in them. It could have involved belief and practice. Those who see a fellow believer straying have a responsibility to turn him back. This word literally meant to change direction, and it figuratively indicated a change of mind or course of action. The responsibility of the believer who remained on the right path was not to judge the straying member (see 4:11-12) but to seek a way to restore the straying person back to the right path. This shows a genuine love for one another. How can a person help a straying believer without being judgmental? Where is the line between being helpful and being judgmental? Why should a person turn back one who strays? James said that returning the straying person accomplished two things. First, it would save them from death. Two possibilities exist in interpreting this phrase. It could mean that those who turn back a wanderer help him avoid physical death. The word soul often indicates the whole person, and it would mean that if the wanderer kept going down the wrong path of sin, he would face physical death. A second option for interpreting this phrase sees death as spiritual death. Since a person cannot lose salvation, this passage would indicate the wanderer was never a genuine believer. A second result of turning the straying person back to God is that it would cover over a multitude of sins. Certainly this passage did not intend to say that the actions of one believer atoned for the sins of another; only the atonement of Jesus Christ can do that. Peter used this expression: Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins (1 Pet. 4:8). This was said with Proverbs 10:12 as the background: Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs. James, with his extensive use of Proverbs, certainly would have had this in mind as he encouraged believers to turn the straying away from the error of their ways as an act of love for one another. God alone does the saving and the covering of sins, but He uses faithful ones to turn the unfaithful to Himself. Session 13 : With Anticipation 125
IN MY CONTEXT Believers can live expectantly in anticipation of the return of Christ. Believers should take all matters to God in prayer, trusting Him to provide an answer. Believers can offer grace to faltering believers, helping them rejuvenate their faith in Jesus. What things are you doing to strengthen your faith in preparation for Christ s return? Discuss with the group ways of strengthening the group s ministry to others through prayer. How can the group more effectively pray for others in the group? How can the group involve others in prayer and ministry to those who voice a prayer need? Identify other believers who need encouragement to remain faithful to Christ. What steps can you take to help those who have strayed from the faith? Prayer Needs 126 Explore the Bible Personal Study Guide