James’ Fifth Letter to the Church
James in all his letters has focused on Christian maturity -- both in our faithfulness to God and in our conduct towards others. He returns to the topic of money and gives some stern warning to those who abuse others to accumulate riches. He urges those suffering under that oppression to remain patient, strong in their faith, as they wait for the day of the Lord. He encourages all Christians to show their faith in God by praying in response to every circumstance.
Rich Oppressors Rebuked
James 5:1-3, “Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. 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.
The Bible does not discourage the acquiring of wealth, but what the Bible does condemn is acquiring wealth by dishonest means or by mistreating the poor. James appears to have included all rich people, both believers (1:10) and unbelievers (2:6) in his letters. There is no plea for reform, only a grim warning that hoarded wealth brings dismay, ends up rotting away, and results in condemnation. Jesus also warned us not to lay up treasures on earth but rather to lay up treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19-21).
James is warning the rich that the very thing that they trust in for comfort in their last days or in the “last days” now will result in their final ruin (Proverbs 22:16). They are storing up misery and hardship for the final judgement.
James 5:4-6, “Behold, the hire of the laborers 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. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.”
James speaks of the rich defrauding their employees, which cause them to cry out to the Lord (Job 34:28). God will judge those who oppress the poor (Deuteronomy 24:14-15).
James declares you have lived in pleasure on the earth, and have been wanton (self-indulgent). And have pleasured your hearts and given no thought to the day of slaughter (Day of Judgement).
The title “Lord of the Sabaoth” means “Lord of Host” and is an OT reference to God as a warrior (Isaiah 42:13).
Examples of Suffering and Patience
James 5:7-8, “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord, Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hat long patience for it, until He receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.”
Patience is the key here. After a farmer plants seeds in the ground, he has to be very patient. He waits for the rain to come early in the season to wet the seeds and germinate. He then waits for the rains later in the season so the crops can grow and mature. James says we too must wait patiently, just like the farmer.
God’s people must be patient in this life. How do we stablish (to strengthen, make firm) our hearts for the coming of the Lord? By reading and spreading God’s word, having a made-up mind, going through trials and tribulations with patience knowing that the coming of the Lord is drawing near.
The “early rain” came when God poured out His Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-16, Joel 2:23-32). The “latter rain” is the outpouring of the Holy Ghost at earth’s final soul harvest before the second coming of Jesus Christ (Matthew 24:27-31; Joel 2; Hosea 6).
The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few, pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth laborers into His harvest (Matthew 9:37-38). We must patiently wait for the coming of the Lord, and occupy until He comes (Luke 19:13).
James 5:9, “Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the Judge standeth before the door.”
Some of our greatest troubles involve people. And that doesn’t make God’s people exempt from troubles with each other. James says we are not to grudge (to sigh, groan, or murmur) against one another. When we condemn another, we condemn ourselves. There is only one Judge and behold, he is standing before the door. The Lord stands at the door and He hears when we mumble and complain against one another. There are examples in God’s Word we can learn from (1 Corinthians 10:10-11; Numbers 11:1; 12:2; 14:1-11; Psalm 106:24-25). God is not happy when His people murmur and complain.
James 5:10-11, “Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. 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.”
James points us to the OT prophets and Job, as an example of their suffering and patience, we can count them happy because they endured. Through the scriptures we saw their patience and their end, we learn that the Lord is full of kindness and mercy.
As James pointed out in (1:2) we can count it all joy through our suffering. We too can know our end through faith, when we endure with patience and joy.
James 5:12, “But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.”
At first glance this scripture doesn’t seem to go with what James has been teaching.
James begins by saying “above all” indicating that this is important. He then repeats, nearly word for word, Jesus’ command recorded in Matthew 5:34-37. This appears to be about honesty. Truthfulness should come naturally for a born-again Christian. A Christian should not have to swear upon a Bible or by God or upon their mother’s grave to suggest they are telling the truth. No oaths should be required.
Your “yes” should always mean yes and your “no” to mean no. Be a person of your word. If not, you could be accused of just giving lip service. Watch carefully what you say or you could condemn yourself with your own words. Something James has been teaching all along.
Prayer Avails Much
In the next set of scriptures James is teaching a very important part of living the faith: PRAYER.
He teaches when we should pray, how we should pray, with whom we should pray, and gives an example of a powerful person of prayer.
James 5:13, “Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray.
We should pray for ourselves. God is a personal God. Our prayers should be personal. Our prayers should be specific. Prayer is the way we speak to God, and if we are having difficulty, we should let God know.
Is any merry? Let him sing psalms.”
Similarly, if we are blessed, happy, and cheerful, we should let God know and thank Him by singing praises to Him.
James 5:14-15, “Is any sick among you? 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: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”
If we are sick, physically or spiritually, we should take our requests to the church and have the elders or our pastor pray for us.
James is pointing us to the fact that it’s not all about physical healing. There is forgiveness of sins in this process. We should be concerned about physical healing, but more important than that is the spiritual healing one receives. When we pray in faith for one that is spiritually sick (those that have committed sins) our faith filled prayer shall save the sick and their sins shall be forgiven.
James 5:16, “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
James says, “confess your faults one to another.” Church members should pray for church members, pastors should pray for church members, church members should pray for pastors, pastors should pray for pastors, it’s a big prayer extravaganza! We are all praying for each other! Our prayers should be righteous and faith-filled. This kind of prayer is effective and avails much!
James 5:17-18, “Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.”
Our prayers should be powerful. James gives us a real-life example when he mentions Elijah. James intentionally notes that Elijah was a regular human being, just like us. With the same human feeling and emotions. Yet, he prayed powerfully and God worked through him.
Elijah prayed that it would not rain for three and half years and it did not. Then he prayed again that it would rain and it did (1 Kings 17, 18).
It was not about the power of Elijah, it was about the power of God. God is powerful. We should pray with faith knowing that God can do anything! And we should pray according to God’s will (Matthew 6:9-10; Luke 11:2).
James 5:19-20, “Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.”
James has made it clear throughout his letter that there are some who profess to be Christians, and even think that they are Christians, but they, in fact, are not.
James has been calling Christians to really consider their relationship with God. Some of us are not living the way that we should. Some of us may stray from the truth.
So, I think what James is saying can apply to those who know the truth but have never lived it, and to those who once lived it but are no longer living it.
If someone turns back a person that is in error or has strayed from the truth, James wants you to know: you will save that soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.
It is Jesus who saves, Jesus who heals, Jesus who forgives sin, Jesus who makes us right with God. We are to take people to Jesus, and in doing so, we take part in saving souls.
We must all be on a mission of love to bring people back to the truth!
We love as Christ loved us. Love shall cover a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8). Love covering sin does not mean we disregard or ignore sin. We cover sin by acknowledging it and then extending the forgiveness God has given us to others.
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