Cork Free Presbyterian Church, 10 Briarscourt
(Annex) Shanakiel, Cork, Ireland
Pastor: Colin Maxwell. Email: colin.maxwell@fpcmission.org
READING: JAMES 5:1-20 TEXT: vs7-9
James has been tackling the rich men of his day who achieved their
great wealth by defying God and by defrauding/even killing His people
If they had gained their wealth by honest means and used it for God's
glory as such wealth is to be gotten/used, then James would not have
raised this issue at all nor gone to war in the manner he did
God Himself is a very rich God:
O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. (Psalm 104:24)
God Himself enables people to be rich, even some of His choicest saints
So the battle is not against wealth, but wealth wrongly gotten/used
James issues a warning to the wicked rich (v1-6) telling them that they
are storing up against themselves wrath in the Last Day when they must
face God as he is revealed in His role/person as the Lord/Hosts
The idea of these wicked men turning away from their sin is implicit
rather than explicit in the immediate passage - although the last
verses of the chapter give us much encouragement in this regard
(v19-20)
James concentrates his pastoral thoughts on those Christian workers who have been robbed/defrauded by their greedy bosses
Should not let Socialists (and those/redder hue) champion social issues
Danger that we can be so heavenly minded as to be of no earthly use
That some churches strayed too far and embraced a social gospel is no
excuse for us to forgo any involvement in declaring the truth in these
very practical matters
Much of the lament of the Minor Prophets concerned social justice
Where we part company with the Reds is in our remedy
We call men back to the gospel…the Reds suggest Communism or one
of its weaker cousins…and still the poor worker remains
oppressed!
Lets take up James's response as he addresses oppressed Christians:
1) THE RESPONSE THAT IS COMMANDED:
A/ As seen, James does not put his head into the sand to concentrate on
theological issues as if there was no Biblical comfort to be given
The child/God is never left on his own when making decisions
Sometimes when travelling north, we come across a diversion sign (due
to road works etc.,) and we follow the suggested route which is fine
Until you come to a T junction and there is no sign
You're on your own and left practically to guess which way to go
God doesn't leave us without any directions,
Least of all when we are in serious trouble
B/ What are the afflicted saints to do?
Ans:- Exercise patience
Greek word carries the meaning of endurance/longsuffering
It is the word that is used when the man/great debt in Christ's parable
(Matthew 18:26) asked for patience i.e. extended over a long time to
repay a debt that he scarcely could pay - Have patience with me
James doesn’t say that this comes naturally
Longsuffering is a fruit of the Spirit as is meekness etc., and all the other associated and supporting graces
Therefore we need to ask for it, especially in the most trying times
How much more will your Heavenly Father give the Holy Ghost to them that ask of Him?
Then, having asked for it, make sure that we apply it in our situation
C/ Such use of patience does not mean that we cannot apply any other
legitimate/God honouring channels to relieving of our honest grievances
We live in an age of accepted employer/worker pay negotiations etc.,
We have laws in place which those in James's day never even imagined
But we still need patience to resist the idea of stepping outside these
legitimate ways and following those whose methods are ungodly
D/ Some disputes tend to get very bitter - some pay demands have no
basis in the idea/contentment - some gripes are political rather than
industrial and follow other agendas, casting doubt on Romans 13
It is here: the child/God must resist evil and fall back on this great
spiritual virtue/patience - mentioned twice/this short passage/emphasis
2) THE MOTIVE THAT IS ENCOURAGING:
A/ Our Heavenly Father graciously gives us reasons to back up His commands
Of course, the fact that He (as the Sovereign God/Creator/Judge) says we ought to be patient is argument enough itself
Likewise: He is our Heavenly Father and promises to implement Romans 8:28
But God gives us gracious promises to sweeten His commands and proves to us that they are well worth following
B/ Patience is a difficult enough virtue to obtain, retain and maintain
Greek tense carries the thought: never let your patience be exhausted
One help in this has already been suggested as far back as 1:3
Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
But here is something that will keep it alive when the going gets even tougher and the wicked get even more severe:
The coming of the Lord - alluded to three times/short passage
C/ The coming/Lord for the child/God is an event beyond compare
Described as the blessed hope/Church - living/dead when it happens
Key passages: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17/1 Corinthians 15
For the child/God, it will signal the end of every last trial
Every heavy price He has had to pay in his loyalty to God's Son will be manifestly seen to have been entirely worth it
Even if that extends to being defrauded and death itself (v6)
Perhaps others resorted to other means that he could not (simply
because he was law abiding and a Christian with a tender conscience)
He watched as these people trampled over God's law and tried to fight fire with fire and one evil simply overcame another
He fought off the temptation to better his lot by such wicked means and (naturally) feels that he has made some kind of loss
Not so when the Lord comes! His feeling then will be summed up:
For our light affliction, which is
but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal
weight of glory; (2 Corinthians 4:17)
This is become immediately apparent in a moment - twinkling of the eye
D/ When the Lord comes, He will come to reward His patient saints:
Many facets to His return, but this is one of them and blessed are they that have a particular/genuine interest in this part:
Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he
shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them
that love him. (1:12)
E/ Furthermore (again: encourage) the coming Lord is drawing near (v8)
State the obvious: It wasn't in the life time of James and his friends
Indeed, it hasn't been so for the last 1900 years and there is no real,
solid proof to say that the next 1900 years will definitely be the time
(Haunches don't count - I said "proof" )
Even in James's day, there were those (as recorded in 2 Peter 3:3-4)
who poured the vilest/scorn on the promise of Christ's coming
But this is not the point
It is enough for us to live in the thought of His coming
We may not be among "those which are alive" but rather "those who are asleep" i.e. the physical dead when the event happens
But we will be among those who will rise to their reward
We will see the King in His beauty and share His glory
Even that fact is enough to take us if necessary to the grave being wronged and not resisting in a wrong fashion
F/If this truth (Christ's return etc.,) doesn't "work for you" then the
problem is: You haven't really mediated upon it enough or (better still)
Meditated upon and communed with Him enough
It is a common problem among Christians (especially modern day ones)
Please remember that in the Apostolic days, with all their problems, there was a vibrant Christianity that endured so much
(True: Needed help such as James is giving here, but still so)
In the Covenanting Days/Scotland, our Presbyterian forefathers drew the
sweetest comfort from Christ even in the midst great suffering
Cp. writings of Samuel Rutherford and others
They were not oblivious to their sufferings, but they never felt that
they were being cheated by God and that it was worth it to be faithful
to Jesus Christ, no matter the cost in human suffering
D/ Another angle on the Lord's return/passage is the reference to Him
as Judge (v9) with another emphasis on the nearness/return ("door")
This is used to restrain the saints from engaging in the worldly
methods of displaying grudges i.e. jealousies - all so easy in trying
circumstances
Let us not lose sight that the Lord's return will lead to the Judgement
Seat/Christ (Romans 14:12) when we must give an account of ourselves
and where justice will be seen to be done
Great privileges are always accompanied by great responsibilities
Let us not spoil for ourselves the great reward of being faithful: Christ
3) THE ILLUSTRATION THAT IS INDUCED:
A/ James not only employs a theological truth to enforce his
injunction, but (firstly/passage despite my relegation to second
place/sermon) from nature - because nature is God's picture book
Scripture (Highest authority) often alludes to this secondary book
B/ The husbandmen (familiar sight to the reapers in the fields: v4)
sowed their seeds in faith and therefore in patience
Faith does not always expect nor does it see immediate fruition
The sower/seed has to wait a long time - often months - for the green shoots to appear…but he does it nevertheless
And he is seldom disappointed - otherwise he would not do it
C/ Because the book/nature is not an infallible book and sometimes the
husbandmen are called upon to howl because of crop failure, (Joel
1:11) let us hasten to add that God does not fail His patient people
God keeps His promises and honours those who honour Him
I know that there are some pretty patient folk among the unsaved
Folk who would put professing Christians to great shame, but this
promise of the Lord's return only has positive meaning to a Christian
They (alone) gain from the Lord's return and no one else
4) THE ALTERNATIVE THAT IS SHOCKING:
Touched on it already, but we must return:
Grudging (or murmuring) when we ought to be patiently waiting
Such a thing sends out an entirely wrong message:
A/ God does not satisfy His people on this earth
Again, there is nothing wrong with seeking honest pay for honest labour and esp. if you have been defrauded cp:
The parable of the labourers in the field and their penny a day wage which had been agreed
But let not this complaint be excessive and flow from a worldly spirit
and be linked to the very greed that the rich men were exhibiting
Sometimes the victims would do the same also if they had the chance
B/ Tells us: God has nothing better for His people than what they have
on this little transient earth which is entirely wrong, therefore
grudge not but live as if this life is only a little speck in an
eternity of endless bliss
THE END