James 5:7-12

Introduction

Thank you for joining us in our study of James chapter 5. James chapter 5, where we want to look at verses 7 through 12. Now I know you’ve just started this video, but you might want to pause here and go back and read James chapter 5, verses 1 through 6 first. In that section, James had very strongly condemned the rich, the rich who had kept back by fraud the wages of the laborers who had worked for them, the rich who had lived on earth in pleasure and luxury, who had condemned and had murdered the just.

Actually, into the ears of these poor Christians.

1. Be Patient, Brethren, Until the Coming of the Lord

And now he says to these brethren, again, he’s dress it now, addressing directly these Christians who were being oppressed, and he says to them, therefore be patient. In other words, based upon what he had said earlier in condemning these rich, he’s now telling these brethren who were on the receiving end of that oppression. He’s telling them to be patient. Be patient because of the judgment that had been pronounced as coming upon those wealthy, wicked oppressors. And so he says, Therefore, be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Yes, life isn’t fair now. Yes, these wealthy people have the upper hand. They’re oppressing you, they’re holding back your wages, they are condemning you, maybe even murdering some of you. But judgment is coming, and you wait for it.

You don’t seek your own revenge. Remember, the apostle Paul said in the book of Romans that vengeance is mine, says the Lord. God will repay. God will take care of this judgment. It’s our task to be patient. To illustrate this patience, he gives us a parable, if you will. At the end of verse 7, see how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waitingly for it until it receives the early and latter rain. The farmer doesn’t put the seed in the ground and then immediately reap his harvest. He has to put the seed in the ground and wait. He waits for the rain to do its work. He waits for the sun. He waits for that seed to burst forth and then finally break through the ground, grow to maturity and produce the crop.

He has to exercise patience. And that’s the patience that these Christians needed to have. You know, so many times we want things and we want them now. We want judgment and justice and fairness and we want it now. Reminds me of the silly prayer that someone prayed one time that said, Dear Lord, give me patience and give it to me now. But James was saying, we have to wait. And so you also, verse 8, just like the farmer, you also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. The coming of the Lord is certain. And so be patient and establish your hearts. Establish or fix your resolve and establish your faith in knowing that though things may not be the way they ought to be now, but you be established and fixed in your resolve that God is watching and that judgment is coming.

2. Do Not Grumble Against One Another

Then in verse 9, he adds the admonition do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Maybe the oppression by these wealthy oppressors had caused these brethren to turn against one another. You know, sometimes that’s the way we react. We let the unfairness of this life cause us to treat others unfairly and to take it out on them. I can’t get back at those wealthy oppressors because of the power and the wealth that they have. And so I have to take my frustration out on someone else. And usually those closest to me bear the brunt of that. But James is saying that’s not the way it ought to be. Don’t grumble against one another, lest you be condemned. Judgment is coming against those wealthy oppressors.

3. Learn the Lesson of the Prophets and of Job

Don’t let judgment come against you because of your improper reaction to this oppression. Behold, the judge is standing at the door. Judgment is coming. Just make sure that that judge is coming for these wicked oppressors and not coming for you. He’s used the illustration of the farmer. Now he uses some real life illustrations of the prophets and of Job. He says in verse 10, My brethren, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord as an example of both suffering and patience. You know, it could almost line the names of the prophets up on the wall and close your eyes and throw a dart. And whichever prophet you’re hit you hit, you could be assured that he suffered. But he did so through patience.

So James is saying, just like that farmer, just like the prophets of old, we need to be patient.

After using the generic field of prophets, he now points to a specific Old Testament character. When he says in verse 11, indeed we count them blessed who endure. You’ve heard of the perseverance of Job, and have seen the end intended by the Lord, that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. Learn the lesson of the farmer. Learn the lesson of the prophets and the lesson of Job. Job struggled with the inequities and unfairness of what was happening to him. He was being treated poorly when he didn’t deserve it, and he saw the wicked around him prospering. But he persevered, and he saw the end intended by the Lord, and he saw that the Lord is compassionate and merciful. James is reminding us to not let the unfairness of this life cause us to grumble against one another, cause us to be condemned.

4. Do Not Swear; Let Your Yes Be Yes

But he encourages us to wait for the Lord. And we will see that he’s very compassionate and merciful. Then he concludes with this admonition in verse 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, lest you fall into judgment. Another warning that they needed to be aware of, knowing that the judge is coming, is that they needed to speak the truth. A child of God doesn’t need an oath, doesn’t need to swear by heaven or by earth, doesn’t need a contract to hold them to their word. When we say yes, we mean yes. And when we say no, we mean no. This verse, like many verses in the book of James, hearkens us back to the words of Jesus.

Conclusion

Jesus on the Sermon on the Mount taught the same principle, that a Christian is a man or a woman of their word. The circumstances around us, the oppression that we may face, none of that changes the fact that we speak the truth and we keep our word no matter what. What a powerful reminder for us today that no matter what we’re going through, no matter how unfair it might seem, that we’re to remember the Lord, that He’s very compassionate and merciful, and we’re to establish our hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.