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Weekly Message | March 1st, 2009
Passage: James 5:1-20
Key Verse(s): 8
This is the last chapter of the book of James. In this chapter James speaks about God’s heart. He is not speaking about his idea. He is communicating God’s heart to the people. For example, In this final chapter, James speaks against the rich. This is not easy for him to do. It could have caused the rich people to turn against the Christian Church. Yet, he did so with no fear. Why? He was speaking about God’s heart for the rich people. Then, he encourages good people to be patient in this evil society. Then, he presents the examples of the patient—both the rich and the poor prophets. Finally, at the end he is coming back to the main theme of the book. That is to restore one sinner back to God. This is about the heart of God that is open to this world.
First, “Now listen, you rich people”(1-6). At first glance it seems that Toledo UBF people have very little to do with this section. No one among us is a business owner with annual income more than $one million. No leaders among us habitually condemn people and murder them. By the global standard, most American people are rich. About 10~15% of American people receive some form of government assistance (e.g., food stamps and other welfare support). Some of us here are in this situation. Even among us, the level of income is not all the same. Young people here today may become very rich in the coming years. They need to learn now only how to become rich but how to live as the rich before God. Therefore, we pay attention to this passage.
Look at verse 1. By this time small numbers of rich people were joining in the church. These people also were exerting their powerful influences on people. Here, James speaks against these rich people. His target is very clear when he said, “Now listen, you rich people”. His message is clear: “Weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you.”
Look at verse 2: “Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire.” This is James’ evaluation of their wealth. His assessment is that their wealth has rotten, and moth has eaten your clothes. This is about the corruptible nature of riches of this world.
Look at verses 4-6: “Look ! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. 5 You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you.” Here, James speaks more specifically about the evils of these rich people. They were oppressing people—the poor—with their riches and power. They were oppressive and evil when they refuse to pray fair wages to the workmen while indulging themselves in luxury. They abused their power and wealth by condemning and murdering the innocent people. People with power with no fear of God do enormous harm to others.
God’s judgment fall on the rich people who abuse their wealth and power. Tom Friedman regards “greed” and “irresponsibility” as the source of the current economic trouble we are in. This is about those who should not have purchased houses beyond their means, the politicians that forced banks and financial institutions to give loans to these people with the backing of the laws, those who provided mortgages to them, those who rated AAA to the worthless bundles of these mortgagee-related stocks and bonds, and finally those who fail to oversee and govern these corrupt practices. In these massive financial failures no one takes responsibility while billions of people struggle in this contracting economy.
The basis of sound capitalist system is personal and social integrity based on trust, responsibility and hard work. Through the gospel of Jesus Christ people learn how to accumulate wealth through hardwork and prudent investment. These rich people use their wealth for God’s glory and for the wellbeing of the people—including the poor. These good practices somehow become the standards and norm of the society. The law reflects these changes. Then, a good society is possible. Prosperity for all people is possible.
From James who speaks against the rich I see the heart of God. God speaks thorough this man. God does not show any favoritism. James speaks against the rich and powerful people in spite of the risks of losing them in the church.
Second, “The Lord is full of compassion and mercy”(7-12). From this section to the last verse communicates God’s hope and his heart for sinners. Look at verse 7: “Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming.” James asks people to be patient. Be patient until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. 8 You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near.” James instructs them to work hard like farmers and at the same time to be very patient for the harvest of righteousness. Farmer work hard to sow seeds, cultivate the land and prepare for the harvest—with long patience and hardwork. Patience doest not mean inactivity or lack of plans. Patience is about good planning, hardwork, endurance and hope for long period of time.
Look at verse 9: “Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!” Believers grumble against each other because that’s the way they could relieve their stress. It is important for us to be patient. We do not pick a fight with our fellow believers for little offenses.
Look at verse 10: “Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.” The prophets in the Old Testament are the examples of patience.
Look at verse 11: “As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy” James speaks of Job’s sufferings and his endurance. Job was righteous and rich when sufferings struck him. In a few days he lost everything--his wealth, sons and daughters, and health. He lost almost everything except his miserable existence. Even his wife advised him to curse God and die. In times of enormous sufferings his response was quite human. He questioned God. He debated with people. He expressed his unbelief. He wanted to die. He felt hopeless. But he persevered. He did not give up on everything. When God finally appeared to him, his spirit was still alive. He was able to face God in repentance and humility. God blessed the last years of his life much greater than the many years of the first prosperous period. In Job 42:12-17 the final years of Job’s life are described in this way: “The LORD blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the first. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. 13 And he also had seven sons and three daughters. 14 The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. 15 Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers. 16 After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. 17 And so he died, old and full of years.”
Job did not maintain high quality of spirit throughout his ordeals. Rather, he expressed his doubt, sense of hopelessness, bitterness and even unbelief. He cursed his life and even hoped to die soon. His spirit was quite low. Yet, as God appeared to him, he was quick to repent and humble himself before God. This is God’s mercy. Perseverance is not sustaining unbelievably high standards which we cannot maintain. It is to sustain our spirit that is open to God—even in the darkest moment of our souls. It is to be prepared to respond to God as we have better understanding of our reality. It is to see the hope of God as the new moments are dawning. It is to repent of our sins and come near to God.
What does this mean? It is to persevere both in times of prosperity and sufferings. It is too human to give up hope in times of enormous sufferings. It is by God’s grace that we do not give up but persevere. It is because of God’s great compassion and his mercy.
Look at verse 10: Above all, my brothers, do not swear--not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, or you will be condemned. “Above all” is about emphasis. James urges not to swear at all. Oath was quite common among the Jews. Taking an oath with God’s name is quite binding. It is unclear why James is speaking about this now. This might be related to patience. According to James, “swearing” is about disguising one’s insincere intention in the name of God. In a sense James follows exactly what Jesus said in Matthew 5:33-37.
Third, “Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way” (13-17). This section is quite encouraging. This is about the power and hope of the Christian community. Great and wonderful things can be done through believers together.
Look at verse 13: “Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14 Is any one of you sick?
He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.” People are in trouble. Some are happy. Some are sick. People are in various situations: trouble, happy and sick. His letter is quite pastoral. As long as I preached the gospel, I have seen three types of situation that motivates us to pray together: (1) days of trouble, moments of happiness, and times of sickness. We prayed always.
During our leaders’ Bible study this is what Jim Paul remembered and shared with our leaders On April 10, 2005 we had prayer meeting for eight people--Martha and Mark Ohashi, Sue Paul and five other people who are no longer in Toledo UBF now. We prayed based on James 5. At that time they were all in troubles and some of them were really sick. God showed his mercy to each of them beyond what we prayed for. We experienced the effective and powerful prayer among us. This is what I experience as I visit other countries. For example, next week my wife and I will go to Moscow, Russia and Kiev, Ukraine. There we will have chances to pray for those who are in various needs. Amazingly, these prayers are answered. Upon our return we hear about what God does through our prayers.
Look at verses 15-16: “And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” First, effective prayer is the prayer offered in faith. Second, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other. Third, the prayer of a righteous man and woman is powerful and effective. Therefore, if all possible, we pursue holiness of God and maintain clean consciences before God. In this way, we do not become always preoccupied for our own needs but open to pray for the needs of others with power and strength from God. God answers the prayers of righteous people.
For the past two years we prayed for having students visible among us. This is to pray beyond merely studying one to one among us. We now see some of them visible in this community. Then, we now pray for them to become world-class disciples of Jesus. This requires their confession of faith with repentance of their sins and commitment as disciples of Jesus. Will all of them do? Probably. We pray for them.
God uses our sicknesses to communicate that our physical, mental and spiritual functions are out of order. Here, consider the power of confessions of our sins and forgiveness. Through sicknesses and troubles God reminds us that we need to obey and depend on him. How can we prosper as we keep despising basic physical, emotional and spiritual laws? What do happen to those who have had prolonged period of disorderly eating habits and irregular sleeping habits and little or no physical disciplines? Is it natural to expect for anyone to have emotional peace when he continues to live in dysfunctional ways of life—knowingly and unknowingly? God wants us to confess our sins. God provides ways for us to relieve our burdens. Wash away of our shameful pasts and free from the troubled consciences eat up our souls and strengths of the body.
Look at verses 17-18: “Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.” Elijah was a man. He had to eat to survive. He was up and down in his spirit just as we are. But his prayer was powerful and effective because he prayed appealing to God’s heart.
Look at verses 19-20: “My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.” In my opinion this is the most beautiful part in the entire book of James. Here is the heart of James. This is God’s heart for sinners who are lost in sins. This reminds of the parable of Jesus: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” This is the conclusion of the matter. He speaks in the same way as Peter did in his letter. “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. God loves to bring sinners back to God.”(1Peter 4:8).
In the National Staff Conference Dr. John Jun reported his observation particularly about European countries. In 1960 about 50-60% of people in England attended worship services. In 2008 less than 2% attend worship services regularly. Many Christian churches become empty. They are changed into restaurants and Moslem gathering places. At some point would it be possible to imagine Europe being defined by the majority of Moslem population? Why have these things happened? Christian leaders lost their gospel. Christians forget about their identity. Christians as a whole neglect their mission to reach out the fellow sinners. Most importantly, individual Christians stopped having God’s heart to bring other sinners back to God. As Christians we become busy for many activities. But above all activities the most important work we do is to being sinners to God. Some of us wander from the truth. And some should being them back. This is not an easy work. But this is the work we must do as of first importance.
March 1, 2009. Toledo UBF
Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
