Calvary Road Baptist Church
“THE COMING OF THE LORD”
James 5.7-11
Turn to James 5, where we will read verses 1-6 once found:
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.
This warning leveled against the heartless and irresponsible rich in the first century for their brutal and unjust treatment of the poor, and God’s appraisal of their corrupt riches and moth-eaten tailored clothes, shows us the moneyed class will weep and howl when God’s judgment falls on them.
My goodness, except for the technological advances of the last twenty centuries, these remarks could easily be applied to Big Pharma, the Military Industrial Complex, and the Tech Billionaires who made so much money while locking everyone down during the Covid crisis who complied with their illegal and unscientific mandates. Be very sure that the unsaved rich who walk over the children of God in hobnailed boots on their way to a Christless Hell, both then and now, will answer for their wicked misconduct.
No brilliance is required to observe that whenever there is an oppressor, there will be the oppressed. James wrote about the oppressors in verses 1-6. It is the oppressed that he turns to in James 5.7-11, particularly the oppressed who are believers in Christ:
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.
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.
There are many, many oppressed peoples in the world today. Many pretend to help the oppressed by encouraging the downtrodden to revolt and throw off the yoke of Imperialism, Capitalism, Racism, or whatever. Of course, their goal is to redistribute the wealth so oppression can no longer take place in their country, supposedly. But we see what has happened throughout history when they get their way.
And don’t forget those who, excuse me for naming names (like the Clinton Foundation) establish NGOs. These nonprofit organizations solicit millions of dollars to help the poor and downtrodden, only to use the money given by wealthy donors and government agencies such as USAID.[1],[2] They use that money to line their own pockets instead of using their vast resources to help the poor.[3],[4],[5] Wait until it comes out how many hundreds of millions of dollars were sent to Haiti and never got to Haiti.
The sad reality is that there is no real solution to the problems in this world for the downtrodden. There is no hope for the poor in our lifetime. The Lord Jesus Christ said, “For ye have the poor always with you.”[6] There is no way out of their spiritual dilemma.
The remedy for this old world’s problems is the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the solution! Only He will someday rule in righteousness.[7] Only He will wield absolute power without corruption. Only He will do that.
So, what do you do in the meantime? How are you to react when you are manhandled and miserable? Be patient. James instructs and exhorts the believer to be patient. This is not to deny the benefit of taking advantage of opportunities to learn a marketable skill, engage in entrepreneurial activities, and so on. Lydia is never criticized for being a successful businesswoman in Philippi.
But what about the spiritual dimension? What about eternity, which can be only one breath or beat of your heart away? Are you frustrated at the events, trends, frustrations, mistreatments, and persecutions of this wicked world? Be patient. Are you about to scream from despair? Be patient.
James provides five reasons why the child of God should exercise patience during this season of oppressions we call life:
First, THE EXAMPLE OF THE HARVEST IS REASON TO BE PATIENT
Verse 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 rains.”
Notice the word “patient” in this verse. James isn’t calling for revolution in the face of persecution. He called for patience, makrothumέoo, to patiently endure. This is what communists and revolutionaries hate about Christians. The word describes the virtue that endures delay, bears suffering, and never gives in.[8] In James chapter one we are taught that “the trying of your faith worketh patience,” which is a kind of endurance in the face of numerous adverse circumstances.[9] Before us is a different word; this word means to have a long fuse or a slow temper. Don’t blow up at the rich tyrants, be they wealthy men or impersonal businesses and bureaucracies, who oppress you. Hold your temper. “How long should I hold my temper?”
Hold your temper until the Second Coming of the Lord. Isn’t getting angry usually the consequence of not getting your way? I find that to be true. But what happens when you focus on God getting His way instead of you getting your way? When the Lord left this old earth, He said He would come again to set things straight, and Scripture shows that His return is imminent. Imminent doesn’t mean soon, necessarily. But it does mean that He can come quickly. He can come at any time. Paul thought the Lord Jesus would come in his lifetime, and He could have. For almost 2000 years, the Lord has been waiting to return to this earth. He can arrive at any time. It is this hope, this assurance that has enabled believers to remain patient for all these years. What has enabled others can undoubtedly enable you.
James likens us to husbandmen who wait for the fruit of their labors. This is the farmer, the vinedresser, or the orchard farmer. He dresses his vines, prunes his trees, and plants seeds as we plant the seed of God’s Word in the hearts of precious souls. What does the husbandman do, then? He waits. He doesn’t go out the following day expecting to harvest the wheat or barley he has just planted or pick fruit from a tree he has just pruned. The husbandman patiently waits for the natural growth cycle to take its course. He has long patience. The spiritual realm operates in much the same way, with a time element. Just as the husbandman patiently waits for his crop to mature, we are to patiently endure the persecution of unbelieving oppressors until the coming of the Lord.
THE SECOND REASON TO BE PATIENT IS THE EXPECTATION OF HIS SOON RETURN
“Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh,”
James 5.8.
Is this not the same reason as the one in verse 7? The two are very similar. But James makes a distinction, so I will, too. Be careful to take note of the differences between verses 7 and 8, as well as the similarities. Verse 8 refers to your heart, while verse 7 refers to the Christian as a seed planter waiting for his crop to mature.
In verse 8, James directs us to establish our hearts. To stablish is to build props under something that is about to fall down so that it will stand firm. It refers to making something stable. And since it is the imperative form of the verb starίzoo, this is not to be imagined as an option for the child of God.[10] Do this thing! But what are we to do? As Christians, we are directed to exercise an act of will to decide that we will stand fast no matter what comes. We will not permit ourselves to become faint of heart. This is a form of “Suck it up!” But you think to yourself, “I can’t.” Can’t you? What about First Corinthians 10.13?
“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
Stablish your hearts because the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. The coming of the Lord Jesus is coming closer. But when is He going to come? I don’t know. No one knows the day or the hour, Matthew 25.13. But I do know one thing. What’s that? His coming is 2000 years closer than when James was alive. Read Romans 13.11 with me, if you will:
“And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.”
No one knows the precise when of the Lord’s coming, but He is coming. And it’s sooner than it was. It draweth nigh. You want Him to catch you doing right when He comes.
THE THIRD REASON WE SHOULD BE PATIENT IS BECAUSE OF THE EVALUATION OF THE JUDGE
Verse 9:
“Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.”
What was happening among those brethren? They were behaving like normal people. When stress comes into our lives, humans tend to look for a way to let off steam. And whenever persecution breaks out, it is unfairly and unevenly applied. So, some believers will be severely persecuted while others are not. Do you not think the Devil will not point out these disparities to produce friction? The Christians James was then writing to were succumbing to the temptation to hold grudges against each other for the perceived unfairnesses of life. “Martha can’t be spiritual; she’s not being as severely persecuted as I am.” “George must be a great sinner. God is punishing him for the great sin in his life.” This kind of unspiritual judgmentalism results in disharmony and jealousy in the Body of Christ. James advised his readers against such sins of the heart.
Why is this sin so dangerous? Every sin is dangerous. But common sense tells us that morale can decline in the face of great persecution, and unless we all pull for each other and encourage each other, Hebrews 10.25, some will fall by the wayside. Casualties. To bolster his reasoning, James referred to judgment. Our Lord Jesus is not only the Savior but also the Righteous Judge.[11] Did not Peter also write that judgment must begin first at the house of God, First Peter 4.17? Therefore, understand that unchristian behavior, thoughts or deeds, will be judged accordingly and appropriately. The question, of course, is how far away is this judgment. James declared,
“the Judge standeth before the door.”
THE FOURTH REASON TO BE PATIENT IS BY A READING OF THE EXPERIENCES OF OTHERS
Verses 10-11:
10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.
11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job.
James breaks up the examples into two groups. First, there were the prophets. Name a single prophet who spoke for God without significant opposition from his brethren. Isaiah, though a counselor of kings, was opposed and eventually killed by king Manasseh of Judah. Jeremiah was cast into dungeons, and starved and harassed. Finally, he too was kidnapped into Egypt, where he was probably slain. Daniel. Exalted by God to the leadership of two foreign empires. He was an ancient Mordecai, Benjamin Disraeli, and Henry Kissinger. No doubt, even before being cast into the lion’s den, he was despised by many of his countrymen who counted him as a traitor because of his high position. Those men suffered for their service and calling, yet they rejoiced. Stars do not shine except at night, and diamonds glisten most when set against black velvet.
Then, Job is by himself in the second grouping. Maybe James divided these groups by their professions, with the prophets being professionals and Job clearly recognized as an amateur. Job’s ‘amateur’ standing comes only from the fact that his calling was not to be a prophet of God. No one would deny that he was a vessel fit for the Master’s uses. His behavior was by all means professional. If you have ever read Job, you will recall that he repeatedly showed his exasperation with his so-called friends. He was not always patient with them. But the outstanding example of patient endurance is this man who, wracked with suffering beyond our comprehension, said of God, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” This is yet another reason to be patient and display patience at all times.
MAYBE THE BEST REASON OF ALL TO BE PATIENT IN THE MIDST OF PERSECUTION IS BECAUSE OF THE END OF THE LORD’S DEALINGS
“and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy.”
Does the Lord allow these difficult and challenging things to come our way for no good reason? No.
Is He an arbitrary God Who allows suffering for no good reason? No, He does not. Remember that we who are His are predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ.
Our Lord Jesus is the Good Shepherd, the Chief Shepherd, and He possesses compassion and love for His sheep. There are reasons for our experiences that we do not understand now, but we will later.
Be patient and trust in His loving care for His own.
Five reasons to be patient with others. Five reasons to refrain from blowing your top when the pressure seems to be too great when you think you can’t take it anymore.
Verse 7. Be patient, remembering that we are like the husbandmen with little control over how fast the crop brings forth fruit.
Verse 8. Patience is needed, therefore stablish your heart. The coming of the Lord draws ever closer.
Verse 9. Grudge not. We are in this together. Don’t hold grudges against others in the body of Christ.
Verses 10 and 11. Others’ examples can encourage us. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Job, and Elijah had the same God we have. If He upheld them, then surely He will deliver us through all this.
Because verse 11 shows us our Lord’s, heart. God is love and these trials of our life are motivated by His great love for us.
We don’t understand everything now, but we surely will one day, at the coming of the Lord.
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[1] https://x.com/i/grok/share/GeWtFNONIzpBIHdi4DmxRNwj9
[2] https://www.facebook.com/reel/605184609093179
[3] https://x.com/i/grok/share/aR8BxqYaGBFPPGteOK5GFXtc5
[4] https://x.com/i/grok/share/zossZtXif5EwggiJzJzvJq1vQ
[5] https://x.com/i/grok/share/A8Xmf4lyHiTSQiS0X8NUR7SZ9
[6] Matthew 26.11
[7] Revelation 19.11
[8] Rogers, Jr., Cleon L. and Rogers III, Cleon L., The New Linguistic and Exegetical Key To The Greek New Testament, (Grand Rapids, MI: ZondervanPublishingHouse, 1998), page 564.
[9] Ibid., page 552.
[10] Ibid., page 564.
[11] 2 Timothy 4.8; 1 John 2.1; Revelation 16.5
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