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- Preaching the Living WORD through
the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4;:2 - |
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EXHIBIT
THE FRUIT OF PATIENCE AND PERSEVERANCE (James 5:7-11) 1-23-13 Grace Bible Church, Gillette,
Wyoming Pastor Daryl Hilbert I. EXHIBIT PATIENCE WITH ALL
MEN (7-8) A. Be Patient Like the Farmer
(7) 1. James
spoke of the evils and judgment of greed and self-indulgence upon the rich in
Jm 5:1-6. In those verses, James referred to the unbelieving rich and their
eternal punishment (“miseries,” “consume your flesh like fire,” “day of
slaughter”). How should believers (“brethren”), who are being oppressed by
the rich, respond? Beginning with “therefore” (oun - conjunction,
therefore, so, consequently), James instructs them how to respond. 2. He gives them the imperative to “be
patient” (“You must be patient”). “Patient” is the Greek word makrothume,ō and
literally means to have a “long (makro) temper (thumos - passion or
emotion)” as opposed to having a short temper. This word is usually
associated with people rather than circumstances (Mt 18:26; 1Co 13:4; 1Th
5:14). They were to have patience with all people, even with those who
oppressed them. 3. They were to have patience “until” (he,ōs - temporal conjunction) the coming of the Lord. Someday there would be an
end to all their oppression and suffering. 4. They were to be patient like the farmer (geōrgo,s - gê, - earth and e,rgon - work, i.e “earth worker”). The farmer patiently “waits” (ekde,chomai - expectantly wait, look for) for his seeds to grow. It is fruit that is
precious (ti,mios
- valued or honored, Eng. Timothy)
to him. So he looks, he expects, he inspects, he waits, and it grows. 5. All the while he is patient (makrothume,ō, same word) and does not lose his temper as he waits. 6. He is waiting “until” (he,ōs, same word) the soil is watered by the early and late rains. In Palestine, the
“early” rains come during the time of planting (Oct. Nov.) and the “late” rains
come just before the time harvesting (Mar. Apr.). B. Be Strengthened by the
Coming of the Lord (8) 1. It is
made personal and emphatic (humei,s - personal pronoun “you”) as in “You yourselves also be patient.” In other
words, James’ readers were not to respond to their oppressors by losing their
tempers or testimonies. “Patient” (makrothume,ō)
not only carries the element of restraint, but sometimes it refers to the
idea of expectancy (cf. Jm 5:7). 2. Their hearts would be strengthened (stêrizō
- stabilize or make firm and strong) as they expectantly waited for the
coming of the Lord. At the coming of the Lord, their tribulation would end
and they would receive their desired harvest, i.e. eternal life in the
presence of Christ as well as rewards. 3. James encouraged them by informing them
the coming of the Lord is “near” (eggi,zō - soon approach, drawing near, Ro 13:12; 1Pe
4:7; He 10:25; Re 1:3). This does
not refer to any kind of date setting for the Lord’s return. In fact, we are
told from Scripture not to do so (Mt 24:36; Ac 1:7). However, every
generation of believers is to expect the imminent return of Christ as if it
could be in their time (Jn 14:2-3; 1Th 1:10; Tit 2:13; 1Jn 2:28). The word
“coming” is the Greek word parousia, and literally means “being
alongside” or “present alongside.” It is used for both the Rapture (1Th 2:19;
4:15) and the Second Coming (2Th 2:8). Sometimes it is difficult to be
dogmatic to which it refers. Pretribulationalists understand the Second
Coming with two phases: 1) the Rapture, when the Lord comes for the church,
and afterwards 2) the Glorious Appearing, when the Lord appears and judges
the world. C. Do not Grumble Lest you Be
Judged (9) 1. They
were to be patient and strengthened by looking for the coming of the Lord
rather than grumbling and complaining about their trials and difficulties. 2. He commands them to literally “stop
complaining” (a negative with a present imperative from stena,zō - here negatively groan or grumble with
discontent inwardly and outwardly).
They were grumbling against their oppressors as well as “one another.” 3. James warns them that they need to stop
or they would be judged, not in the sense of losing their salvation, but in
the sense of losing rewards (2Jn 1:8). James adds that the Judge was standing
right at the door, another reference to imminent return of Christ. 4. Along with the anticipation of the coming
of the Lord is the apprehension of losing rewards through grumbling
attitudes. Grumbling is a sin in the Scriptures, because when we grumble, we
are ultimately grumbling at the Lord (Nu 14:27-30) and the believer is to do
all things without grumbling (Php 2:14; Col 3:13). II. EXHIBIT PERSEVERANCE IN
SUFFERING (10-11) A. Learn from the Example of
the Prophets (10) 1. James’
readers must take the example (hupo,deigma - figure, copy, model) from the prophets. They would give them the
example of “suffering” (kakopa,theia - facing evil circumstances courageously) and “patience” (makrothumi,a - noun form of makrothume,ō). 2. The prophets “spoke in the name of the
Lord” making them God’s spokesmen and representatives. Because of this, they
suffered hardship and persecution (Mt 23:31, 37; Ac 7:52). Ex.: Moses (Ex
17:4), Elijah (1Ki 19:1-2), Jeremiah (Je 20:2; 32:2), Daniel (Da 6:16), Amos
(Am 7:10-13), and John the Baptist (Mt 14:10). B. Learn from the Example of
Job (11) 1. In spite
of this, the prophets endured (hupome,nō - lit. remain under, persevere or endure) all these things and continued to be faithful and serve
the Lord (cf. He 12:1). In fact, James’ readers (and all believers) regarded
them to be “blessed” by God. 2. James also uses Job as an example of
“endurance” (hupomonê,, noun form of hupome,nō).
Literally, if you look up the name Job in the dictionary (Webster’s),
endurance is used to describe him. 3. It is significant that James does not
speak of Job’s patience for despite the popular phrase “the patience of Job,”
he hardly exemplified that quality (cf. Job 12:2; 13:3–4; 16:2). He was,
however, an outstanding example of perseverance in the most trying situations
(cf. Job 1:21–22; 2:10; 13:15; 19:25–27). (Expositor’s Commentary in loc.) 4. Not only does James refer to Job’s
perseverance, but also “the outcome of the Lord’s dealings.” “Outcome” is the
Greek word te,los
and can mean end, result, or
purpose. The result and purpose was to glorify the Lord, His sovereignty, His
attributes of “compassion and mercy,” and ultimately bless His children, if
not in this life, certainly the next. 5. The outcome or purpose of the Lord’s
dealings with Job provides hope for all who patiently endure suffering. There
were at least four important divine purposes for Job’s suffering: to test his
faith and prove it genuine; to thwart Satan’s attempt to destroy that faith;
to strengthen Job’s faith and enable him to see God more clearly; and to
increase Job’s blessedness [Jb 42:10-17]. All those purposes were realized
because despite all his trials Job remained loyal to God. (MacArthur Commentary in loc.) III. OBSERVATIONS AND
APPLICATIONS A. James does not question
the extremely difficult trials that his readers were going through. Nor does
he assume that the Christian life is easy. However, he exhorts them not to
respond in a carnal and worldly way, but rather in the way other saints have
persevered… B. By being long tempered they would not ruin
their testimonies. C. By looking for the Lord’s return, their
hearts would be strengthened. D. By understanding that we are accountable
to the Lord for our attitudes and actions, we are motivated to curb our
natural responses. E. By looking at the example of others who
have persevered, we can attempt to emulate them. F. By knowing that the Lord is compassionate
and merciful, we can rest in His love. G. With all of these, we can persevere,
glorify God, and count it all joy when we fall into all kinds of trials. |
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