JAMES 5:7-12
HOW PATIENCE IS DEVELOPED
[Matthew 5:10–12 / 1 Peter 4:12-13]
From addressing abusive rich non-believers James turns again to restless suffering saints. Learn endurance was his counsel at the beginning of his letter (1:1-5). Be patient and endure is his continued counsel as his letter comes to a tender and loving close. The reason we are exhorted to patience is that God is not going to right all the wrong's in this world, until Jesus Christ returns. Thus believers are encouraged to patiently endure and expect suffering.
We are not to expect to have life easy and comfortable. Jesus told us that, "In the world you will have tribulation" (Jn. 16:33). Our great expectation is the blessed hope of Jesus' return. That event brings our eternal rewards. We must patiently endure hardships and heartaches until Jesus returns (CIT). This will be a day of reckoning for our oppressors and a day of glory for us. But while we wait there are things that need our patient and enduring attention.
I. ESSENCE OF PATIENCE, 7-9.
II. EXAMPLES OF PATIENCE, 10-11.
III. EVIDENCE OF PATIENCE, 12.
In verse 7 James begins giving practical perspectives that will enable believers to patiently endure trials or suffering. Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains.
Therefore refers back (5:1-6) to the unjust suffering believers were experiencing at the hands of rich land owners and merchants whose goal for life was money and pleasures. They are exhorted to be patient till the coming of the Lord.
The English word patient is a weak translation of the original word. It is the compound Greek word long (makro) and temper, anger (thumia) or literally long-tempered. The idea is be self-restrained and not quick or easy to retaliate. It is reflected in the stamina to live without complaining, giving up or striking out. They should be ready to endure affliction without complaint and to remain committed in their obedience to God.
Tribulations develop stamina in believers who look to the coming of the Lord (Mt. 24; Mk. 13; Lk. 21) instead of taking vengeance (or government) into our own hands. Christians are to trust God to bring about justice and to punish those who cause them hardships (Rom 12:19). "Vengeance is Mine saith the Lord, I will repay" (Rom. 12:19; Heb. 10:30). But no matter what, they will not suffer forever, the end is insight. Jesus will come and bring judgment on the disobedient. (2 Thess. 1:6-10).
To further reinforce the point that believers need to wait patiently for the second coming, James describes a familiar scene using a simple, concrete example of the farmer to help us learn patience. The hard working farmer can prepare the soil, plant the seed and keep the field weeded but he cannot make the precious fruit of the earth. The farmer cannot make his crop grow but the precious fruit is worth waiting for.
To magnify the farmer's helplessness and his patience dependance on God the Bible points out that he must wait for the early and late rains. The weather is completely beyond the farmers control. Rain is needed to get the crop to come up and grow. Too much rain causes disease or the crop to rot, and too much sun can burn it up. An early frost can kill the crop or a late hail can destroy it. If the farmer does not receive late rains the return for his investment will not be much. The weather helps the farmer develop patience, like trials help believers develop patience. [The early rains in Palestine arrive at the time of the fall planting season (October and November), the late rains just before harvest time (March and April).]
The readers application is found in verse 8. You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.
Both the farmer and the Christian must live by faith, looking toward the future reward for their labors. Just like the farmer, every believer should show patience and courage because of the nearness of Jesus' return. Don't labor as if Christ will never come. Work faithfully to build His kingdom. We can find the resolute determination or strength to establish our hearts because the return of the Lord (parousia) is a most powerful stimulus.
"Three times in this section (vv. 7, 8, 9), James refers to the believer's great hope, the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. The realization that things won't always be as they are now, that believers are headed for "the city…whose architect and builder is God" (Heb. 11:10), provides great hope for those undergoing persecution. For that reason, the more persecuted a church is the more eagerly it anticipates the return of Jesus Christ; conversely, an affluent, indulgent, worldly church has little interest in the Lord's return." [MacArthur, James, ]
"The blessed hope of the Christian is the personal, bodily return of Jesus Christ" (see Titus 2:12-13). We must not allow events to dull our hope in Jesus' return. We must not reduce our hope for Jesus' return to something like the transformation of society by Christian values. Jesus will come personally!
The hope of Jesus' return gave the early Christians strength as they faced hardship (Heb. 9:28). We must look at time from the viewpoint of the God for whom a thousand years is only a day (2 Pet. 3:8; 2 Cor. 4:16-18). Though centuries have passed since Jesus promised to return, we serve a God for whom the length of time does not imply a failed promise. Our hope in Christ's return and its nearness are encouragements for us to service and obey Him.
Hudson Taylor founded the China Inland Mission in the 1860's. He believed fervently in the impending return of Christ. His belief influenced him to make the evangelism of unreached areas of China His primary aim. His beliefs about Christ's return gave him direction and urgency in the establishment of the mission.
"Our belief in the return of Christ can provide us courage to face difficulty. It can give us stamina to endure persecution. It can deepen our hope that God will provide us reward and recognition to vindicate our actions." ( Lea, Holman NT Com. James. pg. 344)
Verse 9 depicts the Lord Jesus Christ as the Judge about to enter the hall of justice. Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door.
This verse points out that a complaining attitude hinders us from developing patience and long-suffering. Complain (stenazo also means "to groan within oneself," or "to sigh") describes an attitude that is often internal and unexpressed. This "grumbling" involves the development of criticism and faultfinding against one another. Hardship may have driven some believers to despondency. They may have blamed their troubles on one another. Some may have questioned the devotion of other Christians or faulted the way others had treated them. The clear teaching here is that God will judge and punish "grumblers." Such a loveless attitude is a direct contradiction of the true spirit of Christianity.
Who could hold on to such attitudes if they realized that the Judge, who will evaluate each of us (1 Cor. 3:13-15), is standing at the door. How inappropriate for Christians to be spending their energy fighting when the imminent (Rom. 13:12; Heb. 10:25; 1 Peter 4:7; Rev. 22:20, though it may not be immediate) return of Christ is certain. Jesus will come with complete knowledge of all feelings, thoughts and attitudes. We should live in readiness for His coming. Instead we often behave like a group of students fighting in the classroom while the teacher hurries back toward his class. Jesus is Coming! How are you living? Are you ready? Are you getting ready?
II. EXAMPLES OF PATIENCE (10-11).
To further encourage believers to endure unjust suffering, James pointed out in verse 10 the example of the prophets who had endured suffering with patience. As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
The prophets well illustrated suffering and patience. Jesus also used the prophets as an example of victory over persecution (Mt. 5:10-12). Note that they suffered for speaking in the name of the Lord. Why is it that those who speak for the Lord endure difficult trials? It is so because their character must back up their messages. In and through suffering God does His greatest work. When one suffers for doing God's will it is strong testimony to other's that God's will is worth suffering for.
Let's just look at the example of persistent patience of one prophet, Jeremiah. God called him as a teenager while he was living in a tiny village. After Jeremiah preached his first message of radical repentance, his own family tried to kill him. What a way to start in the ministry! Undaunted, the young preacher stood in the gate of the Temple on a great feast day. He told the assembled people that their worship was worthless because they had no intention of obeying God
(Jer. 7). The religious establishment tried to kill him after his first public sermon (Jer. 26:11). The religious leaders beat him and stretched his limbs painfully in stocks (Jer. 20). After he wrote his prophetic book, a godless king cut it into pieces and burned it (Jer. 36). Finally, all of this got to Jeremiah. In a fit of depression, he blamed God and lamented his birth (Jer. 20:7-18). Yet, God would not allow Jeremiah to resign.
In Jeremiah 38, King Zedikiah wrongly imprisoned the prophet in a muddy well and left him to die. Jeremiah though voiced no complaint toward God or his captors. Even there God fed Jeremiah and protected him just as He did through out that terrible siege of Jerusalem. When Zedekiah summoned him and ask for his advise, Jeremiah told him, "Obey the Lord by doing what I tell you. Then it will go well with you and your life will be spared" (38:20).
Through all that happened to him, Jeremiah endured. Decade after decade, the lonely, single prophet cried out God's Word. At the end of his life, the Jewish refugees carried him to Egypt with them against his will. They could not live with him, and they could not live without him. Obedient living stretched Jeremiah to the breaking point, but he endured the hardships.
Jeremiah spoke in the name of the Lord and showed long-tempered obedience despite intense suffering. He showed long-suffering and learned not to complain or find fault with God's treatment. We are to imitate such behavior.
How pale contemporary Christian complaints look alongside Jeremiah's life! One quits a Sunday School class because of a personal slight. Another quits giving because he does not like the color of new carpet in the sanctuary. Another stops attending worship because the pastor preaches five minutes past noon and infringes on the football game on television. How pathetically shallow such excuses look compared to Jeremiah's life! Baptists often stress the gospel of a good start. We also need to emphasize equally the gospel of a good finish. What Paul told Timothy remains true today: "Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus" (2 Tim. 2:3). (Gregory p. 108)
Around our world are modern day Jeremiah's who endure with steadfast endurance, who face harassment, intimidation, persecution, torture and death for their faith. I don't imagine that they miss church on Sunday night to watch TV or don't come to prayer meeting because it rained. The "good life" here is a bonus, not something we deserve. Unrelieved suffering and oppression may well be our lot on earth. [But remember, we suffer for Jesus' sake (Phil. 1 :29).]
Verse 11 motives us to endure by telling of the blessings that come to those who do. We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord's dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.
The endurance of Job under severe trial is legendary. Circumstances were against him, for God permitted the devil to cause the loss of his wealth, his health, and his beloved children. Even his wife told him to commit suicide (Job 2:9). His friends accused him of some terrible hidden sin, deserving the judgment of God. Even God would not answer Job's questions for 37 chapters.
Yet Job endured and we believers, count him blessed
(makarizomen) or fortunate. God again used Job to restore his friends, family, health, and fortune. After Job's deep repentance he lived another 140 years and saw four generations of his family (Job 42:10-17) and Job grew to know God in new and deeper ways. When Job was thinking life was over, it really began.
At the end of Job's testing, God appeared, then the rest of Job's life became different. James wanted every believer to know that at the end of the Christians trials Christ will appear, and every thing will be blessed also.
James highlights two things about God that Job learned due to his endurance, the Lord is full of compassion and mercy. The word for compassion (polys ‘much" and splanchna, "inner most part or seat of affection" - only use in N.T.), could be translated "big hearted." Job also learned mercy (oikeiro, Lk. 6:36). You might wonder how did Job learn of God's mercy when God allowed him to go through so much? Job learned not to bank on his own personal righteousness. He came to the realization that we do not merit any blessing from God and that God has the right to deal with even the most righteous according to His justice. All blessings come from God's goodness and with out God's mercy and compassion toward us we would be at Satan's pleasure. To be sure our finite minds cannot fathom all the mysteries of God's working but we do know that Job was purified and God was glorified through his suffering.
The challenge and crises of life can tax us to the very limits of our strength and at such times its easy to give up. But the Bible offers the followers of Christ another perspective. It says that while life is a battle, it is also a blessing: "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" (5:11). In Job's example, we find encouragement and the power to persevere in life's darkest hours-power rooted in God, who is compassionate and merciful. Even, when life is painful and hard, we can persevere because God is there.
If there is nothing to endure you cannot learn endurance. You cannot persevere unless there are trials in your life. There can be no victories without battles, there can be no peaks without valleys, no joys without sorrows and no strength with out trials and no blessings without sufferings. If you want the blessing, you must be prepared to carry the burden and fight life's battles. God first humbled righteous Job then He honored him with blessings. Once again Job learned God's heart after enduring the trial and in the end he realized God's mercy.
The 21st century is seems to characterize by impatience and a love of ease. People want immediate rewards. They seem unwilling to work hard and wait for financial success. They are drawn instead by the lure of instant lottery ticket or some other get-rich-quick scheme. And in the spiritual realm, people look to leaders who promise immediate healing and wealth as rewards for faith.
How important it is that we return to the old-fashioned Christian virtues of patience and perseverance in all we do! Patience and perseverance are twin virtues that bring God's blessing. Determine to be like the postage stamp. Stick to God's promises until you get there.
LEWIS AND CLARK faced incredible hardships during their famous expedition. Upon reaching the Missouri River they thought the worst was over - then they saw the Rockies! Instead of the easy ride downstream they'd expected, they faced their biggest challenge. They wonder if they should go back or should they start climbing! Looking back they realized it was conquering the Rockies that gave them the confidence they needed for what they'd face later.
Quitting is easier than enduring, but it produces a pattern that's hard to break. So if you've been thinking, "This relationship's too hard, so I want out or, "This job isn't what I expected," remember, you develop resiliency by remaining faithful in situation you don't like and can't change. So, don't give up! God gives great honor to those who endure.
III. EVIDENCE OF PATIENCE, 12.
Verse 12 indicates that the Christians life of integrity is sufficient proof of honesty. But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment.
When the heat is on and the days are difficult some would do anything to get out of them. James warned Christians in the midst of trying circumstances, do not swear. James' words are very close to Christ's (Mt. 5:33-37). James is not condemning the taking of solemn oaths, such as God's before Abraham (Heb. 6:13) or Jesus' before Caiaphas (Mt. 26:63-64), or Paul's (Rom 1:9; 9:1), or a man's before the Lord (Ex. 22:11). Rather, he is condemning the flippant use of God's name or a sacred object to guarantee the truth of what is spoken or a fox hole kind of maneuver to escape hardship or difficulty.
A person with a reputation for exaggeration or lying often can't get anyone to believe him on his word alone. Christians should never become like that. Always be honest so that others will believe your simple yes or no. By avoiding lies, half-truths, and omissions of the truth, you will become known as a trustworthy person.
CONCLUSION
Patience and endurance are twin virtues that eventually will bring God's blessing. In times of trial and hardship we must put aside the human tendency to grumble, complain or manipulate and commit ourselves to "God's will and continue to do good" (1 Peter 4:19).
If we truly believe that Jesus is coming back, we have good reason to be patient. We can endure knowing that ultimate and absolute justice is just around the corner. Is there any better hope than to know that Jesus is coming again to set everything right? At the return of Jesus all that you have suffered for Him will be insignificant compared to the blessing which you will receive.
Like the farmer, we look ahead with hope. The farmer plants the seed and waits patiently for the harvest. Likewise, we await the time when God will judge evil men and women and reward Christ's followers. He has given us His word that He's coming back. It's the surest thing in the world.
Although circumstances may seem bleak at present, there's a better day coming. Beyond the world of sight there is a Judge keeping watch over His own, waiting to answer every plea and avenge every wrong. God hates injustice and will vindicate us in due time.
"Therefore," James said, "be patient" (5:17). The hope of Christ's coming can keep you going. So keep praying, keep trusting, keep waiting, keep watching, Jesus may return tomorrow.
