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James Chapter
Five
James 5
The two classes in Israel are distinctly marked here in
contrast with one another, with the addition of the walk which the Christian
ought to pursue when chastised by the Lord.
The apostle gives the coming of the Lord as the term of their
condition, both to the unbelieving rich oppressors in Israel, and to the poor
believing remnant. The rich have heaped up treasures for the last days; the
oppressed poor are to be patient until the Lord Himself shall come to deliver
them. Moreover, he says, deliverance would not be delayed. The husbandman waits
for the rain and the times of harvest; the Christina for his Master's coming.
This patience characterizes, as we have seen, the walk of faith. It had been
witnessed in the prophets; and in the case of others we count them happy which
endure afflictions for the Lord's sake. Job shews us the ways of the Lord: he
needed to have patience, but the end of the Lord was blessing and tender mercy
towards him.
This expectation of the coming of the Lord was a solemn
warning, and at the same time the strongest encouragement, but one which
maintained the true character of the Christian's practical life. It shewed also
what the selfishness of man's will would end in, and it restrained all action
of that will in believers. The feelings of brethren towards each other were
placed under the safeguard of this same truth. They were not to have a spirit
of discontent, or to murmur against others who were perhaps more favoured in
their outward circumstances: "the judge stood before the door."
Oaths displayed still more the forgetfulness of God, and
the actings consequently of the self-will of nature. "Yea," ought to
be yea, and "Nay," nay. The actings of the divine nature in the
consciousness of the presence of God, and the repression of all human will and
of sinful nature, is what the writer of this epistle desires.
Now there were resources in Christianity both for joy and
sorrow. If any were afflicted, let them pray (God was ready to hear); if happy,
let them sing; if sick, send for the elders of the assembly, who would pray for
the sufferer and anoint him, and the chastisement would be removed, and the
sins for which, according to God's government, he was thus chastised, would be
forgiven as regards that government; for it is that only which is here spoken
of.
The imputation of sin for condemnation has no place here. The efficacy
of the prayer of faith is set before us; but it is in connection with the
maintenance of sincerity of heart. The government of God is exercised with
regard to His people. He chastises them by sickness; and it is important that
truth in the inner man should be maintained. Men hide their faults; theydesire
to walk as if all were going on well; but God judges His people. He tries the
heart and the reins. They are held in bonds of affliction. God shews them their
faults, or their unbroken self-will. Man "is chastened also with pain upon
his bed and the multitude of his bones with strong pain." (Job 33:19) And
now the church of God intervenes in charity, and according to its own order, by
means of the elders; the sick man commits himself to God, confessing his state
of need; the charity of the church acts and brings him who is chastised,
according to this relationship, before God-for that is where the church is.
Faith pleads this relationship of grace; the sick man is healed. If sins-and
not merely the need of discipline-were the cause of his chastisement, those
sins will not hinder his being healed, they shall be forgiven him.
The apostle then presents the principle in general as the
course for all, namely, to open their hearts to each other, in order to
maintain truth in the inner man as to oneself; and to pray for each other in
order that charity should be in full exercise with regard to the faults of
others; grace and truth being thus spiritually formed in the church, and a
perfect union of heart among Christians, so that even their faults are an
occasion for the exercise of charity (as in God towards us), and entire
confidence in each other, according to that charity, such as is felt towards a
restoring and pardoning God. What a beautiful picture is presented of divine
principles animating men and causing them to act according to the nature of God
Himself, and the influence of His love upon the heart.
We may remark, that it is not confession to the elders
that is spoken of. That would have been confidence in men-official confidence.
God desires the operation of divine charity in all. Confession to one another
shews the condition of the church, and God would have the church to be in such
a state, that love should so reign in it, that they should be so near to God,
as to be able to treat the transgressor according to the grace they know in
Him: and that this love should be so realised, that perfect inward sincerity
should be produced by the confidence and operation of grace. Official
confession destroys all this-is contrary to it. How divine the wisdom which
omitted confession when speaking of the elders, but which commands it as the
living and voluntary impression of the heart!
This leads us also to the value of the energetic prayers
of the righteous man. It is his nearness to God, the sense that he has
consequently of that which God is, which (through grace and the operation of
the Spirit) gives him this power. God takes account of men, and that according
to the infinitude of His love. He takes account of the trust in Himself, the
faith in His word, shewn by one who thinks and acts according to a just
appreciation of what He is. That is always faith, which makes sensible to us
that which se do not see-God Himself, who acts in accordance with the
revelation that He has given of Himself. Now the man who in the practical sense
is righteous through grace, is near to God; as being righteous, he has not to
do with God for himself with regard to sin, which would keep his heart a t a
distance; his heart is thus free to draw nigh to God, according to His holy
nature on behalf of others; and, moved by the divine nature, which animates him
and which enables him to appreciate God, he seeks, according to the activity of
that nature, that his prayers may prevail with God whether for the good of
others or for the glory of God Himself in His service. And God answers,
according to that same nature, by blessing this trust and responding to it, in
order to manifest what He is for faith, to encourage it by sanctioning its
activity, putting His seal on the man who walks by faith. [1]
The Spirit of God acts we know in all this; but the
apostle does not here speak of Him, being occupied with the practical effect,
and presenting the man as he is seen, acting under the influence of this nature
in its positive energy with regard to God, and near to Him, so that it acts in
all its intensity, moved by the power of that nearness. But if we consider the
action of the Spirit, these thoughts are confirmed. The righteous man does not
grieve the Holy Ghost, and the Spirit works in him according to His own power,
but acting in the man according to the poser of his communion.
Finally, we have the assurance that the ardent and
energetic prayer of the righteous man has great efficacy: it is the prayer of
faith, which knows God and counts upon Him and draws near Him. The case of
Elijah is interesting, as shewing us (and there are other examples of the same
king) how the Holy Ghost acts inwardly in a man where we see the outward
manifestation of poser. In the history we have Elijah's declaration:
"Jehovah liveth, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but
according to my word." This is the authority, the power, exercised in the
name of Jehovah. In our epistle the secret operation, that which passes between
the soul and God, is set forth. He prayed, and God heard him. We have the same
testimony on the part of Jesus at the tomb of Lazarus. Only that in the latter
case we have the two together, except that the prayer itself is not
given-unless in the unutterable groan of Christ's spirit.
Comparing Galatians 2 with the history in Acts 15, we
find a revelation from God which determined Paul's conduct, whatever outward
motives there may have been which were known to all. By such cases as those
which the apostle proposes to the church, and those of Elijah and the Lord
Jesus, a God, living acting, and interesting Himself in all that happens among
His people, is revealed to us.
There is also the activity of love towards those who err.
If any one departs from the truth, and they bring him back by grace, let it be
known that to bring back a sinner form the error of his ways is the
exercise-simple as our action in it may be-of power that delivers a soul from
death; accordingly all those sins which spread themselves in their odious
nature before the eyes of God, and offended His glory and His heart by their
presence in His universe, are covered. The soul being brought to God by grace,
all its sins are pardoned, appear no more, are blotted out form before the face
of God. The apostle (as throughout) does not speak of the power that acts in
this work of love, but of the fact. He applies it to cases that had happened
among them; but he establishes a universal principle with regard to the
activity of grace in the heart that is animated by it. The erring soul is
saved; the sin put away from before God.
Charity in the assembly suppresses, so to speak, the sins
which otherwise would destroy union and overcome that charity in the assembly,
and appear in all their deformity and all their malignancy before God. Whereas,
being met by love in the assembly, they go no farther, are, as it were (as
regards the state of things before God in this world). dissolved and put away
by the charity which they could not vanquish. The sin is vanquished by the love
which dealt with it, disappears, is swallowed up by it. Thus love covers a
multitude of sins. Here it is its action in the conversion of a sinner.
[1] It
is well to remember that this is carried out in respect of the governing ways
of God, and thus under the title of Lord-a place which Christ specially holds,
though here the term is used generally. Compare chapter 5:11, and the general
Jewish reference of the passage. To us we have one God the Father, and one Lord
Jesus Christ. He is become Lord and Christ, and every tongue shall confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord.
── John Darby《Synopsis of James》
James 5
Chapter Contents
The judgments of God denounced against rich unbelievers.
(1-6) Exhortation to patience and meekness under tribulations. (7-11) Cautions
against rash swearing Prayer recommended in afflictive and prosperous
circumstances, Christians to confess their faults to each other. (12-18) The
happiness of being the means of the conversion of a sinner. (19,20)
Commentary on James 5:1-6
(Read James 5:1-6)
Public troubles are most grievous to those who live in
pleasure, and are secure and sensual, though all ranks suffer deeply at such
times. All idolized treasures will soon perish, except as they will rise up in
judgment against their possessors. Take heed of defrauding and oppressing; and
avoid the very appearance of it. God does not forbid us to use lawful
pleasures; but to live in pleasure, especially sinful pleasure, is a provoking
sin. Is it no harm for people to unfit themselves for minding the concerns of
their souls, by indulging bodily appetites? The just may be condemned and
killed; but when such suffer by oppressors, this is marked by God. Above all
their other crimes, the Jews had condemned and crucified that Just One who had
come among them, even Jesus Christ the righteous.
Commentary on James 5:7-11
(Read James 5:7-11)
Consider him that waits for a crop of corn; and will not
you wait for a crown of glory? If you should be called to wait longer than the
husbandman, is not there something more worth waiting for? In every sense the
coming of the Lord drew nigh, and all his people's losses, hardships, and
sufferings, would be repaid. Men count time long, because they measure it by
their own lives; but all time is as nothing to God; it is as a moment. To
short-lived creatures a few years seem an age; but Scripture, measuring all
things by the existence of God, reckons thousands of years but so many days.
God brought about things in Job's case, so as plainly to prove that he is very
pitiful and of tender mercy. This did not appear during his troubles, but was
seen in the event, and believers now will find a happy end to their trials. Let
us serve our God, and bear our trials, as those who believe that the end will
crown all. Our eternal happiness is safe if we trust to him: all else is mere
vanity, which soon will be done with for ever.
Commentary on James 5:12-18
(Read James 5:12-18)
The sin of swearing is condemned; but how many make light
of common profane swearing! Such swearing expressly throws contempt upon God's
name and authority. This sin brings neither gain, nor pleasure, nor reputation,
but is showing enmity to God without occasion and without advantage It shows a
man to be an enemy to God, however he pretends to call himself by his name, or
sometimes joins in acts of worship. But the Lord will not hold him guiltless
that taketh his name in vain. In a day of affliction nothing is more seasonable
than prayer. The spirit is then most humble, and the heart is broken and
tender. It is necessary to exercise faith and hope under afflictions; and
prayer is the appointed means for obtaining and increasing these graces.
Observe, that the saving of the sick is not ascribed to the anointing with oil,
but to prayer. In a time of sickness it is not cold and formal prayer that is
effectual, but the prayer of faith. The great thing we should beg of God for
ourselves and others in the time of sickness is, the pardon of sin. Let nothing
be done to encourage any to delay, under the mistaken fancy that a confession,
a prayer, a minister's absolution and exhortation, or the sacrament, will set
all right at last, where the duties of a godly life have been disregarded. To
acknowledge our faults to each other, will tend greatly to peace and brotherly
love. And when a righteous person, a true believer, justified in Christ, and by
his grace walking before God in holy obedience, presents an effectual fervent
prayer, wrought in his heart by the power of the Holy Spirit, raising holy
affections and believing expectations and so leading earnestly to plead the
promises of God at his mercy-seat, it avails much. The power of prayer is
proved from the history of Elijah. In prayer we must not look to the merit of
man, but to the grace of God. It is not enough to say a prayer, but we must
pray in prayer. Thoughts must be fixed, desires must be firm and ardent, and
graces exercised. This instance of the power of prayer, encourages every
Christian to be earnest in prayer. God never says to any of the seed of Jacob,
Seek my face in vain. Where there may not be so much of miracle in God's
answering our prayers, yet there may be as much of grace.
Commentary on James 5:19,20
(Read James 5:19,20)
It is no mark of a wise or holy man, to boast of being
free from error, or to refuse to acknowledge an error. And there is some
doctrinal mistake at the bottom of every practical mistake. There is no one
habitually bad, but upon some bad principle. This is conversion; to turn a
sinner from the error of his ways, not merely from one party to another, or
from one notion and way of thinking to another. There is no way effectually and
finally to hide sin, but forsaking it. Many sins are hindered in the party
converted; many also may be so in others whom he may influence. The salvation
of one soul is of infinitely greater importance than preserving the lives of
multitudes, or promoting the welfare of a whole people. Let us in our several
stations keep these things in mind, sparing no pains in God's service, and the
event will prove that our labour is not in vain in the Lord. For six thousand
years He has been multiplying pardons, and yet his free grace is not tired nor
grown weary. Certainly Divine mercy is an ocean that is ever full and ever
flowing. May the Lord give us a part in this abundant mercy, through the blood
of Christ, and the sanctification of the Spirit.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on James》
James 5
Verse 1
[1] Go
to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
Come now, ye rich —
The apostle does not speak this so much for the sake of the rich themselves, as
of the poor children of God, who were then groaning under their cruel
oppression.
Weep and howl for your miseries which are
coming upon you — Quickly and unexpectedly. This was written
not long before the siege of Jerusalem; during which, as well as after it, huge
calamities came on the Jewish nation, not only in Judea, but through distant
countries. And as these were an awful prelude of that wrath which was to fall
upon them in the world to come, so this may likewise refer to the final
vengeance which will then be executed on the impenitent.
Verse 2
[2] Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
The riches of the ancients consisted much in
large stores of corn, and of costly apparel.
Verse 3
[3] Your
gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against
you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together
for the last days.
The canker of them —
Your perishing stores and motheaten garments.
Will be a testimony against you — Of your having buried those talents in the earth, instead of improving
them according to your Lord's will.
And will eat your flesh as fire — Will occasion you as great torment as if fire were consuming your flesh.
Ye have laid up treasure in the last days — When it is too late; when you have no time to enjoy them.
Verse 4
[4]
Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of
you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are
entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.
The hire of your labourers crieth — Those sins chiefly cry to God concerning which human laws are silent.
Such are luxury, unchastity, and various kinds of injustice. The labourers
themselves also cry to God, who is just coming to avenge their cause.
Of sabaoth — Of
hosts, or armies.
Verse 5
[5] Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished
your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.
Ye have cherished your hearts — Have indulged yourselves to the uttermost.
As in a day of sacrifice — Which were solemn feast-days among the Jews.
Verse 6
[6] Ye
have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.
Ye have killed the just — Many just men; in particular, "that Just One," Acts 3:14. They afterwards killed James,
surnamed the Just, the writer of this epistle.
He doth not resist you — And therefore you are secure. But the Lord cometh quickly, James 5:8.
Verse 7
[7] Be
patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the
husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience
for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
The husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit — Which will recompense his labour and patience.
Till he receives the former rain — Immediately after sowing.
And the latter —
Before the harvest.
Verse 8
[8] Be
ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
Stablish your hearts — In faith and patience.
For the coming of the Lord — To destroy Jerusalem.
Is nigh —
And so is his last coming to the eye of a believer.
Verse 9
[9]
Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the
judge standeth before the door.
Murmur not one against another — Have patience also with each other.
The judge standeth before the door — Hearing every word, marking every thought.
Verse 10
[10]
Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an
example of suffering affliction, and of patience.
Take the prophets for an example — Once persecuted like you, even for speaking in the name of the Lord. The
very men that gloried in having prophets yet could not bear their message: nor
did either their holiness or their high commission screen them from suffering.
Verse 11
[11]
Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job,
and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender
mercy.
We count them happy that endured — That suffered patiently. The more they once suffered, the greater is
their present happiness.
Ye have seen the end of the Lord — The end which the Lord gave him.
Verse 12
[12] But
above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the
earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay;
lest ye fall into condemnation.
Swear not —
However provoked. The Jews were notoriously guilty of common swearing, though
not so much by God himself as by some of his creatures. The apostle here
particularly forbids these oaths, as well as all swearing in common
conversation. It is very observable, how solemnly the apostle introduces this
command: above all things, swear not - As if he had said, Whatever you forget,
do not forget this. This abundantly demonstrates the horrible iniquity of the
crime. But he does not forbid the taking a solemn oath before a magistrate.
Let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay — Use no higher asseverations in common discourse; and let your word stand
firm. Whatever ye say, take care to make it good.
Verse 14
[14] Is
any sick among you? 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:
Having anointed him with oil — This single conspicuous gift, which Christ committed to his apostles, Mark 6:13, remained in the church long after the
other miraculous gifts were withdrawn. Indeed, it seems to have been designed
to remain always; and St. James directs the elders, who were the most, if not
the only, gifted men, to administer at. This was the whole process of physic in
the Christian church, till it was lost through unbelief. That novel invention
among the Romanists, extreme unction, practised not for cure, but where life is
despaired of, bears no manner of resemblance to this.
Verse 15
[15] And
the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and
if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
And the prayer offered in faith shall save
the sick - From his sickness; and if any sin be the occasion of his sickness,
it shall be forgiven him.
Verse 16
[16]
Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.
The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
Confess your faults —
Whether ye are sick or in health.
To one another — He
does not say, to the elders: this may, or may not, be done; for it is nowhere
commanded. We may confess them to any who can pray in faith: he will then know
how to pray for us, and be more stirred up so to do.
And pray one for another, that ye may be
healed — Of all your spiritual diseases.
Verse 17
[17]
Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly
that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three
years and six months.
Elijah was a man of like passions — Naturally as weak and sinful as we are.
And he prayed —
When idolatry covered the land.
Verse 18
[18] And
he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her
fruit.
He prayed again —
When idolatry was abolished.
Verse 19
[19]
Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;
As if he had said, I have now warned you of
those sins to which you are most liable; and, in all these respects, watch not
only over yourselves, but every one over his brother also. Labour, in
particular, to recover those that are fallen.
If any one err from the truth — Practically, by sin.
Verse 20
[20] Let
him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall
save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.
He shall save a soul — Of how much more value than the body! James 5:14.
And hide a multitude of sins — Which shall no more, how many soever they are, be remembered to his
condemnation.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on James》
Chapter 5. Love and Deeds
The Corrosion
of Gold and Silver
The Crying of Wages
I. Be Patient
until the Lord's Coming
II. Effect of
the Prayer of Faith
III. Those Who
Wander from the Truth
── Chih-Hsin
Chang《An Outline of
The New Testament》
Chapter Five General Review
OBJECTIVES IN STUDYING THE CHAPTER
1) To appreciate the need for patience in times of oppression 2) To see the value of prayer and confessing sins in times of sickness SUMMARY
The final chapter opens with a strong condemnation toward the rich whowere oppressing the poor while living in pleasure and luxury. Most likely these were rich unbelievers such as those mentioned earlier (cf.2:6-7). The Lord heard the cries of those defrauded, and judgment was
to come upon the rich who had condemned and murdered the just. Thispassage may be an allusion to the destruction of Jerusalem Jesus in Matthew 24 and fulfilled in A.D. 70. James counsels hisbrethren to patiently wait for the coming of the Lord, and to establishtheir hearts. Appealing to the farmer, the prophets, and to Job asexamples of patience, he also warns against grumbling against oneanother and swearing rash oaths (1-12). The last half of the chapter provides a call to prayer and praise. Thesuffering are to pray, the cheerful are to sing praises, and the sickare to call for the elders of the church. The elders were to pray overthe sick and anoint with oil in the name of the Lord. What is uncertain is whether the anointing was sacramental or medicinal (Ithink the latter, see Review Questions below). In answer to the prayerof faith, the Lord will raise the sick and also forgive sins if theyhad been committed. In this context James encourages Christians toconfess their sins to one another and pray for one another that theymay be healed. He reminds them of the value of fervent prayer by therighteous, using Elijah as an example of how God answers prayerprovidentially. The epistle then closes with a reminder that turning asinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and covera multitude of sins (13-20). OUTLINE
I. TRUE RELIGION DISPLAYS PATIENCE UNDER OPPRESSION (1-12)
A. GOD'S ANGER AT RICH OPPRESSORS (1-6) 1. The rich are called to weep and howl for the miseries to come upon them a. Their riches are corrupted b. Their garments are moth-eaten c. Their gold and silver are corroded 1) Which will be a witness against them 2) Which will eat their flesh like fire d. They have heaped up treasure in the last days 2. The reasons for God's anger against the rich a. They have defrauded the laborers who mowed their fields 1) Keeping back wages owed them 2) The cries of the reapers have been heard by the Lord of Sabaoth (Hosts) b. They have lived in pleasure and luxury, fattening their hearts in a day of slaughter c. They have condemned and murdered the just who does not resist them B. A CALL FOR PATIENCE UNDER OPPRESSION (7-12) 1. Be patient until the coming of the Lord a. Consider the patience of the farmer b. Establish your hears, for the coming of the Lord is at hand 2. Do not grumble against one another a. Lest you be condemned b. The Judge is standing at the door 3. Remember the examples of suffering and patience a. Such as the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord and are blessed for their endurance b. Such as the perseverance of Job, to whom the Lord proved very compassionate and merciful at the end 4. Above all, do not swear (make rash oaths) a. Either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath b. Let your "Yes" mean "Yes," and your "No" mean "No" c. Lest you fall into judgment II. TRUE RELIGION BLESSED THROUGH PRAYER, SINGING, AND CONCERN FOR THEERRING (13-20)
A. THE BLESSING OF PRAYER AND SONG (13-18) 1. If anyone is suffering, let him pray 2. If anyone is cheerful, let him sing psalms 3. If anyone is sick, let him call for the elders of the church a. Let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord b. The prayer of faith will save (heal) the sick, and the Lord will raise him up c. If he has committed sins, he will be forgiven d. Confess your trespasses to one another and pray for one another 1) That you may be healed 2) For the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much a) The example of Elijah, a man with a nature like ours b) He prayed that it would not rain, and no rain fell for three years c) He prayed again, the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit B. THE BLESSING OF LOVE FOR ERRING BRETHREN (19-20) 1. He who turns back one who wanders from the truth will save a soul from death 2. He who turns a sinner from the error of his way will cover a multitude of sins REVIEW QUESTIONS FOR THE CHAPTER
1) What are the main points of this chapter?
- True religion displays patience under oppression (1-12) - True religion blessed through prayer, singing, and concern for the erring (13-20) 2) Who is being condemned in verses 1-6 of this chapter? (1)
- Those who are rich (probably unbelievers who had been oppressing Christians, cf. Ja 2:6-7) 3) What sort of miseries were to come upon them? (1-3)
- Their riches are to be corrupted, their garments moth-eaten - Their gold and silver will be corroded, and serve as a witness against them - Such corrosion will eat their flesh like fire 4) Why is God so angry at these rich? (3-6)
- They have heaped up treasure in the last days - They have defrauded their workers by keeping back what is owed them - They have lived in pleasure and luxury, fattening their hearts - They have condemned and murdered the just, who does not resist them 5) What are the Christians to do in response to such oppression? (7-12)
- Be patient until the coming of the Lord - Establish their hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand - Don't grumble against one another, for the Judge is standing at the door - Do not swear (make rash oaths), but let their "yes" be "yes" and their "no" mean "no" 6) What three examples does James provide to encourage patience? (7-11)
- The farmer who waits patiently for the precious fruit of the earth - The prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord - The perseverance of Job 7) What does James encourage one to do when suffering? When cheerful?(13)
- To pray when suffering - To sing praises when cheerful 8) What is one who is sick to do? (14)
- Call for the elders of the church 9) What are they to do? (14)
- Pray over the sick, anointing with oil in the name of the Lord 10) Is "anointing with oil" sacramental or medicinal?
- "Some commentators consider this anointing with oil to be a sacramental anointing, but others consider it a medicinal anointing. In defense of the medicinal anointing, Burdick wrote the following: `There are a number of reasons for understanding this application of oil as medicinal rather than sacramental. The word aleipsantes ("anoint") is not the usual word for sacramental or ritualistic anointing. James could have used the verb chrio if that had been what he had in mind. The distinction is still observed in modern Greek, with aleipho meaning "to daub," "to smear," and chrio meaning "to anoint." Furthermore, it is a well-documented fact that oil was one of the most common medicines of biblical times. See Isaiah 1:6 and Luke 10:34. Josephus (Antiquities, 17, 172 [vi. 5]) reports that during his last illness Herod the Greek was given a bath in oil in hopes of effecting a cure. The papyri, Philo, Pliny, and the physician Galen all refer to the medicinal use of oil. Galen described it as "the best of all remedies for paralysis" (De Simplicium Medicamentorum Temperamentis, 2.10ff.). It is evident, then, that James is prescribing prayer and medicine.'" (New Commentary, James, Fausset, and Brown) 11) What will save (or heal) the sick? Who will raise him up? (15)
- The prayer of faith - The Lord 12) What if the one who is sick has committed sins? (15)
- He will be forgiven 13) What are Christians to do? Why? (16)
- Confess sins one to another and pray for one another - That they may be healed 14) What avails much? Who is a good illustration of this? (16-18)
- The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man - Elijah 15) What happens when one turns a sinner from the error of his way?(19-20)
- A soul is saved from death - A multitude of sins is covered
When God Gets Angry At The Rich (5:1-6)
INTRODUCTION
1. Compared to many people in the world, we are indeed blessed; in fact, in comparison with most people who live now and who have lived in the past, we are VERY RICH! 2. Now, it is important to stress that God does not condemn the rich for being rich... a. Some of the godliest people in the Bible were rich b. E.g., Job, Abraham, Joseph, David, Solomon, Barnabas, Philemon Lydia 3. However, Christ does speak of the difficulty of the rich being saved - cf. Mt 19:23-26 4. And there are times when God is very angry at the rich, as in our text: 1 Go to now, [ye] rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon [you]. 2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. 3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. 4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. 5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. 6 Ye have condemned [and] killed the just; [and] he doth not resist you.(James 5)
5. As we consider this passage more carefully, we shall do so by trying to answer four questions: a. Who is James addressing in this passage? b. What is in store for these rich people? c. Why is God so angry at them? d. What applications can we draw from this passage? [We begin, then, with the first question...] I. WHO IS JAMES ADDRESSING IN THIS PASSAGE?
A. ARE THEY CHRISTIANS? 1. Are these rich Christians who had been guilty of oppressing their brethren? 2. Possibly, but unlikely for several reasons... a. They are not addressed as "brethren" as is often done in this epistle - Ja 1:2,19; 2:1,14; 3:1,10; 4:11 b. There is no call to repentance in this passage 1) As there is throughout this epistle in those passages in which it is clear brethren are being addressed 2) Here there is only condemnation! c. The brethren are not addressed until verse 7, in which THEY are told to be patient in light of what has just been said B. MORE LIKELY, THOSE ADDRESSED ARE RICH UNBELIEVERS... 1. Who had been oppressing the Christians - cf. Ja 2:6 2. This tirade of judgment upon them appears to serve the purpose of comforting the brethren who were being oppressed by them - cf. Ja 5:7 a. The Lord has heard their cries - Ja 5:4b b. Judgment is coming upon these rich oppressors c. Therefore the Christians are told to be patient [But even if this passage does not have direct reference to rich Christians, there are still things to which we should give careful heed. And so, we ask...] II. WHAT IS IN STORE FOR THESE RICH OPPRESSORS?
A. MISERIES THAT WILL CAUSE THEM TO "WEEP AND HOWL"! (1-3a ) 1. So certain are these miseries to come, that James speaks of them already occuring! a. Riches are corrupted b. Garments are moth-eaten c. Gold and silver are corroded 2. When this "corrosion" of their riches occurs... a. It will serve as a witness against them (that they were guilty of the things to be mentioned shortly b. It will eat their flesh like fire 1) The anguish and misery of poverty usually affects the hardest those who were once rich! 2) Thus, when poverty strikes, it will make them "weep and howl" as though they were on fire! B. THE MISERIES SPOKEN HERE MAY HAVE REFERENCE TO WHAT LATER OCCURED