James 5:7 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.
8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.
10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.
Patience is an important attribute for the saved person. Patience does not mean tolerance for sin. We have seen that throughout this book. We see that throughout the Bible. Patience is directed toward the realization of God’s promises to man.
II Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
As born again Christians look at life they see things much differently than lost people do. They can see the danger and tragedy of a life of sin. They can see the destructive nature of sin. They would like to get into people’s lives and stop the sin. However, saved people need to be reminded of the fact that every human being is given freewill. Every saved person also has freewill. It is that freewill that gives each person the opportunity to turn to God and be forgiven and saved, even though we are all born as lost sinners. No one is locked into that state of the natural man.
As born again Christians heed God’s Word and walk humbly with the Lord, they need to trust in the Lord to do His Work through His Word and the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart and life of lost people, as well as in saved people’s lives. We have looked at Paul’s letter to the Corinthians and his exposing of the carnality of the saints in that church. We saw how the Word of God and the Holy Spirit works in the hearts and lives of the saved in that book.
In the book of James, there is also much said about the lax nature of some saved people. In fact, every saved person will be guilty of some of the sins mentioned in this book. No saved person can remain in a carnal rut. The love of God will not allow His child to remain in a carnal state. He will chasten every one of His children with the goal of bringing forth the peaceable fruit of righteousness. In some cases He will cut a life short, and in other cases He will use other methods. God is in charge.
Those who are saved are reminded here that the coming of the Lord is near. God gave James the illustration of the farmer to help the saints understand the importance of patience.
The husbandman sows the seed. He expects a crop to appear in a given timeframe He expects that crop to grow and produce seed. For some crops, the farmer can use irrigation, and for others he is dependent upon God to send timely rains. If God does not send the rain, the source of irrigation will eventual dry up as well. In the summer, the husbandman gets his harvesting equipment out and goes over it in anticipation of the harvest. As he does that he is also expecting the rains to come on time and without excessive force. A heavy driving rain can damage the crop. The wise farmer trusts God and as he does that, he prepares his equipment for the harvest.
In verse 8 we are reminded of the need of patience with spiritual matters as well. We need to be saved. Then we need a good local church to teach us and encourage us to live faithfully for the Lord. We trust God to establish His Word in our hearts as we humbly serve Him. We look forward to the soon return of the Lord Jesus Christ. We do not know the hour, nor the day, but we know He is coming back. We also know the reason for the delay in His return. We know that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
God is reminding us here that serving Him faithfully is never a futile venture. As we preach and teach the truth, we also are mindful of the fact that the Lord’s return is imminent. Godly people have believed this for centuries. Many true saints have died and their souls have gone to heaven. They did not witness the Lord’s return. However, they believed He is coming back. He will be back and He warns us not to be sleeping at the switch during the waiting.
In verse 9 we are reminded not to grudge one another. That word translated as “grudge” is the opposite of patience. It is a murmuring about another saint. Rather than coming alongside and seeking to help the saint to glorify God, there is the danger of growing impatient and speaking ill of the person. There is a difference between coming alongside a saint with a rebuke and having a grudge against them. The danger here is that we can be condemned of God for a wrong attitude toward a careless saint. We want to help them, but we need to understand our limit in being able to help them. We need to keep the Word of God before them and understand that God’s Word will make the right and lasting change that is necessary and we should want to see.
James reminds us that the judge is at hand. God is the Judge of the saint who is seeking to honour Him. He is also the Judge of the saint who is careless in his walk. God sees things absolutely correctly. We can miss an important point. Thus we need to walk humbly with the Lord and submit to His Word in our own lives and in our attitude toward another brother we desire to help. We need to be sure we are correct in our approach.
In verse 10 we see that the prophets of old spoke very plainly and very authoritatively. Many times they used the phrase “Thus saith the Lord”. Yet we look at Israel today and they still have not heeded the warnings given by the Old Testament prophets. They still wish for the blessings promised, but fail to understand the way to receive those blessings.
Jeremiah is a prophet that comes to mind. He grew weary of the evil treatment he took at the hands of the king and the false prophets. He wanted to stop speaking, but he could not. The love of God was in him and he desired to see his brethren turn to the Lord and know His peace. He lived a number of years under severe testing. Yet he continued until his dying day. It was not physically easy. It was difficult on him emotionally as well. God was always there with him and God sustained him under the challenges he faced. Jeremiah is resting now. He has been resting since his death. The many false prophets that taunted him are suffering now and have been since their death. There is no end to their suffering.
Those who are saved are given the ability to look at these things from a Biblical perspective. We can see the big picture to a degree. We must keep ourselves in the love of God and not allow the challenges we face to get us in the flesh. We can get depressed. The Psalms reveal the struggles that true saints can face. They also show us how to get out of that slump.
Let us take the admonition given here seriously. Let us learn patience as we keep that promise of the Lord’s return close to our hearts.
Pastor Bartel
