2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
It is always helpful to put a book of Scripture in its historical and cultural context to better understand it. Since it is likely that the book of James was written somewhere between 45-48 AD, Christ had already been crucified (theologians feel that happened either in 29 AD or 33 AD), and James had not yet become the leader of the Jerusalem Council. According to the AC 15 accounts, his term was from 48-49 AD. We know that James had already come to faith, something he didn’t do until seeing the resurrected Christ. Now, you might ask why I mention this. It is because it sheds light on the need for God to speak through James to beseech the believers to have patience and pray in light of the situation in which they found themselves. That is what JAS 5: 7-20 discusses. It is not hard to imagine the frustration and impatience the early church believers must have felt in light of what had happened and their uncertainty about the future.
JAS 5: 7-8, “Be patient, then, my brothers, until the Lord comes. See how patient a farmer is as he waits for his land to produce precious crops. He waits patiently for the autumn and spring rains. You also must be patient. Keep your hopes high, for the day of the Lord is coming near.” Faith is taking God at His word. In fact, let me rewrite that sentence with one alteration, “Faith is taking God at His Word.” This is the message which underlies James’ words in this citation. HE 11: 1 defines it thusly, “To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see.” It occurs to me that as God put these words into James’ mind, they were helping to define and strength his faith as he spoke to other believers. These believers were for the most part not well educated, so it was quite necessary to find ways to speak with them about abstract concepts such as faith and patience in terms to which they could relate. That is why James uses the example of a farmer needing to wait for his crops to grow. The meaning of “the day of the Lord” is disputed among theologians. Some (some Amillennialists, mid-Trib and post-Trib Rapturists) believe it means the Lord’s second coming as depicted in ZECH 14: 4. Others (those believing in pre-Tribulation Rapture, including myself) believe it means at the time of the Rapture described in 1 THESS 4: 16-17. Still others ( some Amillennialists) believe these two events will happen at the same time. This non-salvation based disagreement is no reason to miss the main message of this Scripture. The main point is that we can’t allow the cruelty and evil of the world to injure or destroy our faith in what Christ has taught us. We must “guard the treasure entrusted” to us; that treasure is the Gospel [2 Tim 1: 13-14].
Someone reading JAS 5: 9-10 might come to the conclusion in 2000 AD that God has forgotten us. “Do not complain against one another, my brothers, so that God will not judge you. The Judge is near, ready to appear. My brothers, remember the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Take them as example of patient endurance under suffering.” If you were measuring “the Judge is near” in terms of our calendar, waiting since just after Christ’s death might seem like a long time. But, doing that puts things of God in human time, not in God’s time. It also suggests that mankind can put a date on the moment of the Rapture or Christ’s second coming. The fallacy of doing that is made clear in 1 THESS 5: 2, “For you yourselves know very well that the Day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night.” We are not to know the date, but are not to miss the real message which is not to procrastinate in getting our spiritual houses in order. We are to feel an urgency about doing that and are to know that God’s timing, no matter how slow or fast we think it is, is perfect. 2 PET 3: 8-9, “But do not forget one thing, my dear friends! There is no difference in the Lord’s sight between one day and a thousand years; to Him the two are the same. The Lord is not slow to do what He has promised, as some think. Instead, He is patient with you, because He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants all to turn away from their sins.”
I can see I won’t finish this whole passage today, and James’ writing deserves our patient attention. So I will say just a little more about the section that includes JAS 5: 9-11 and finish verses 12-20 tomorrow. The Lord brings to mind a citation I have quoted often and He wants me to cite again, RO 5: 3-4. “We also boast of our troubles, because we know that trouble produces endurance, endurance brings God’s approval, and His approval creates hope.” Now read HE 12: 7, “Endure what you suffer as being a father’s punishment; your suffering shows that God is treating you as His sons….” I’m not trying to say that trouble comes from God, but God does allow us to suffer trials at times to correct our sinful behavior or attitudes and to give us a precious opportunity to demonstrate and strengthen our faith in Him. There are times when our troubles come directly to us from Satan. With the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we are given the equipment we need to defeat Satan, just as Christ [the First among many brothers -RO 8: 29] demonstrated which He chased Satan away after being tempted by him in the wilderness [MT 4: 1-11]. Because we pray and study the Scriptures, God equips us with the discernment to know from whence our trouble comes. A great example of this is Job. Please read JOB 1: 8-12 and 42: 12-13 to see what I mean.
PRAYER: O Lord, You demonstrate to us that Your ways are not natural to us and that our perspective is lower than Yours. Yet, You challenge us to reach beyond our lowly human perspective toward Yours. You give us a way to do this with prayer and studying the Scriptures. In doing so, our lives are richly blessed. You treat us as a Parent Who loves His children, sometimes correcting our sinfulness by allowing us to have to work through trouble and by equipping us to be victorious in that struggle when Satan is involved. When we are faithful and obey You, You will not let us be defeated. Writers like James, Job, Paul, and others are independently inspired by You to give us the same message. We are to endure in faith when troubled, for that builds personal character and gives us hope. Through prayer and studying the Scriptures, through the Holy Spirit You give us the discernment to understand the nature of our problems and guide us in what to do about them. That is what a loving Abba does for His children. We thank, praise, adore, honor, and glorify You for being the dynamic force in our lives that You are. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will finish up on this series on James. In spite of the convicting nature of his writing, I have felt it reveals new aspects of God’s beautiful character to us and is leaving me feeling blessed. I hope it is doing the same for you too. No one loves you quite the way your Lord does. That is so comforting. You will never be alone or abandoned as long as you keep your faith in Him strong and your eyes focused on Him. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace, Peace, and Love Be Yours Always,
Lynn