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October 2, 2022
Biblical Responses To Sin And Trials
James 5:7-20

7 Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord.

• “Be patient”
  • The verb makrothymesate (be patient) describes “self-restraint which does not hastily retaliate a wrong.”[274] (Constable; cf. OBU, LSJ)
  • No retaliation.
  • “therefore, brothers,”
  • Ties into vv. 1-6.
• “until the coming of the Lord”
  • The Bible is clear that no man knows the day or the hour when Christ will return.
• This verse reinforces that the church was to live the exact ways that God had instructed them to.
• The church was directed to live in very specific ways in all circumstances—even difficult ones.
• 21st century America compared to the 1st Roman provinces.
• Hebrews 11:35b—38, Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

James ILLUSTRATES

• 7b See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.
  • early and late rains = certainly a metph. for first and second coming of the Lord (v 8).
  • James explains to the church: wait for the crop of PRECIOUS fruit with patience through your trials! It will be worth it.
  • REWARDS

APPLICATION

• 8 You also, be patient.
• What will it take for the church to be patient in persecution?
• 8b Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
  • “Establish your hearts” COMMENT
  • Establish" = στηρίξατε = to make stable, place firmly, set fast, to fix; to strengthen, make firm; to render constant (OBU)
  • Established hearts are necessary for the payoff.
  • Don’t lose heart!
  • 2 Peter 3:4-7 is very helpful here: They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, 6 and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
• The finish line is just up ahead! (Davids, The Epistle …, p. 183 in Constable)
• When I move my heart away from what God has promised I immediately turn to the things of this world as a motivation.

TRANSITION

Not only should we continue in Christ-like patience in persecution, but James continues to explain other important character traits while we wait for our crops. Look at verse 9.

9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers,

• Burdick said something good here: “What is forbidden is not the loud and bitter denunciation of others but the unexpressed feeling of bitterness or the smothered resentment that may express itself in a groan or a sigh.” (p. 202 in Constable)
  • Why do I have to put up with these people?!
  • Watch out or husbands and wives become grumbling machines!
• Look at the important consequenses of disobediance:
  • 9b so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.
  • The Judge is watching you judge. He’s at the door you are about to walk through.
  • grumbling moments are coming under scrutiny.

ILLUSTRATION

• 10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. - You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
• COMMENT
• People are only commended due to success,
• Heroes and Zeros
• One could pick numerous OT prophets as an example of patient endurance in suffering. (Constable)
• Job seemed to show some impatience and frustation with God, yet he always returned to his commitment to God with a “spirit of submission.” [283] (Jamieson, et al., p. 1459 in Constable)
• Job had one of the greatest challenges a person can have.

APPLICATION

• Suffering is taught in third world countries. It’s a given.
• Patience through persecution should be something we start learning to apply.

TRANSITION

We see that no grumbling is a requirement. Let’s look at what else James instructed the church with.

12 But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath,

• “Above all”
• What James did not write about here was the use of profanity.
  • He wrote about was not using oaths to try and prove yeses.
• but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.
  • Hodges said it this way: “… we should never need to use an oath to prove that ‘this time I really mean it!’ Instead we should always ‘really mean it.’”[288] (The Epistle …, p. 115 in Constable)
  • so that you may not fall under condemnation
    • condemnation = ὑπὸκρίσιν (hypokrisis) = may be condemnation, but is more often used of the acting of a stage-player … 3. hypocrisy (Thayer); orators who depend on their delivery (LSJ).
  • character of Christians should not be equaled to an unbeliever.
  • Our character of meaning what we say and saying what we mean is in view here.

13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.

• suffering = undergo hardship (Strong); to suffer by enduring evils (Thayer)
• used frequently of the hardships of military service (Thayer)
  • James continues to use these military terms to describe us and our walks with the Lord.
  • The Lord’s service is made up of prayer.
  • We are remember from last week, soldiers of the Lord of Hosts (Armies, CSB).
    • 2 Timothy 2:3, Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

13b Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.

• There will be great contrast in our lives.

14 Is anyone among you sick? 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. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

• Call for the elders
  • elders = πρεσβύτερος (presbyteros, pres-boo’-ter-os)
    1. of age; where two persons are spoken of, the elder …; advanced in life, an elder, a senior … (LSJ)
    2. those who presided over the assemblies (or churches); The NT uses the term bishop, elders, and presbyters interchangeably (OBU)

  • [Constable said something important,] It is remarkable how many Christians today, who go into the hospital, fail to send out a request to the elders of their church to come and pray for them. It is more common for them to simply send out a general request for prayer to their friends and/or fellow church members.

• Elders are instructed to …
  • … pray over the person (pray is the verb of the sentence)
  • … anointing (is the participle) him with oil in the name of the Lord.
    • “anointing” here is “not the common word for ceremonial, religious anointing, but it is the common term for rubbing on medicine.” (Utley)
    • But I would add that leaders in the Church were not looked upon as doctors per se. Obliviously what is going on is not mere medial but spiritual in nature.
• AGAIN 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up.
  • The prayer of faith = the prayer of the one who is sick.
  • faith is displayed by obeying the word of God.
  • “save” = σῴζω (sōzō) = to save from peril, injury or suffering through healing or restoring to health; In NT, especially of salvation from spiritual disease and death, (OBU; cf, Thayer)
  • It is interesting that James did not tell his audience to call for someone with the gift of healing. (Constable)
  • 15b And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
    • “In this context James had in view a sickness with spiritual roots.” (Constable)
    • 1 Corinthians 11:27-30, Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.
    • It is interesting how this happens however: “In the ancient mind sin and sickness went together, and so confession of sin was necessary if prayer for the sick was to be effective.” (Adamson, p. 189 in Constable)."[312] (Adamson, p. 189 in Constable)
  • 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.
  • General call to confession and praying for each other.
    • This passage gives weight to the idea or sickness being linked to sin more than often thought of.
  • 16b The prayer of a righteous person [singular] has great power as it is working.
  • God, through the gospel, is what makes us righteous
  • Power of sin to bring sickness and death
  • Power of confession and prayer to bring healing and life.
    James illustrates his point that every believer’s prayer has great potential. Look at verse 17 and following:

ILLUSTRATION

17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

• “a nature like ours” = ὁμοιοπαθής = having like feelings, affections, (Thayer) or passions (LSJ; cf. Strong)
• “he prayed fervently” and changed the weather for a nation!
  • it seems “fervently” showed up in the KJV and became the generally accepted definition in many translations and took the form of an adverb.
  • but fervently means = προσευχή = 1. prayer or 2. a place set apart or suited for the offering of prayer (OBU, LSJ, et al.)
  • lit. means: Elijah prayed a prayer (Hart, LSV, Young) OR Elijah prayed in a prayerful place. (LSJ; no English translation used place)
  • Peshitta, CSB, Douay-Rheims Bible do okay with “prayed” or “prayer” alone.
  • fervently introduces an idea that almost certainly should not be there.
    • A noun that means prayer gets translated into an adverb pointing to quality.
    • Your prayer just wasn’t “fervent enough.”

APPLICATION

• All scriptural prayer has great power potential!
• Prayer in faith changes things.
• What should confession look like? Person, group, church.
• Confession breaths life back into any relationship.
  • In the home, husbands and wives need to create an atmosphere in the home that promotes transparency and makes confessing our sins easier (cf. Col. 3:12-13). (Constable)
  • Spouses should make a commitment to verbalizing our emotions without taking the easy way out of “Yes dear.”
  • We need to be in a constant posture of forgiveness (Eph. 4:31-32). (Constable)
• Still sick? Now what?
  • The fall causes all sickness.
  • With that said, personal sin does not cause all the sickness we experience.
    • “Did he sin or his parents?”
• What if I pray and I am still sick? God may will it.

TRANSITION

Now that we have seen James’ emphasis on faith filled prayer and confession having great power to heal, let’s turn our attention to his last command.

19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

Who

• Open ended who may wander from the truth.
  • Probably not the truth of Romans 1:18 ff.
  • Almost certainly a backslider
    • a sinner
• Open ended invitation in bringing him back.

What

• will be the agent in saving a soul from death
  • soul = ψυχή (psychē) = I. breath A. the breath of life of animals or of men B. life II. the soul the soul regarded as a moral being designed for everlasting life syn. for the immaterial part of humans, the spirit (OBU)
• Covering a multitude of sins
  • Sins not only cause death in our lives but sins are very contagious to others.
  • Exponential multiplication.
  • We align ourselves with the wrong kingdom and become an active participant.
• Saving souls—lives—from death is the supreme human achievement.

APPLICATION

• Jeremiah wrote, “If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless,
  you shall be as my mouth.” (Jeremiah 15:19b).
• Paul’s advice to Timothy, “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.” (1 Timothy 4:16).
• Sanctification: Saving souls through discipleship.
• One gets credit for saving souls from death.
• Share the gospel, ask if people go to church, do you want to study the Bible?
• Throw ourselves at discipleship.
• There is a benefit for the person who disciples as much as the person being discipled.
• There is a saying [in the Jewish tradition that, “Whosoever makes a man righteous, sin prevails not over him.” (Barclay)
• Daniel wrote, “And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” (Daniel 12:3). Highest honors await those that get involved with the lives of others.

²

Bibliography and Works Cited

• NOTE: Please click here to access the web-page for all of the works cited–save those below under the “Other Works Cited” (if any). Most of the works cited on the web-page, correspond to the verses they are outlined with. In the case of background information and other general reference citations, one will find cited material with the Bible books the citations are associated with.
• Scripture quotations [unless otherwise noted] are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.