James 5:7-20
Sermon preached at Gospel Light Christian Church, Singapore
by Pastor Dr Paul Choo
on 17 April 2005
1. Be patient (v.7,8): The word “patient” appears 5 times (verses 7,8,10,11). The farmer who wants to get high-value fruit knows that he has to be more patient than the farmer who is satisfied with low-value fruit. The long-term investor is usually the one who gets higher returns on his investments. We need to “stablish” our hearts, instead of getting impatient, when our prayers are not answered as quickly as we desire, or when we watch wicked people prosper while we suffer.
2. The Lord is coming (v.7,8): Besides the promise of providing our daily needs, Christians get the bonus of peace and joy on this earth. However, our rewards are stored for us until the Lord comes again. Therefore, we must learn to be patient “unto the coming of the Lord.” The signs of the Last Days abound (eg. earthquakes, pestilences, unprecedented immorality). The Lord’s return is imminent! Are you living in the light of this?
3. Stop groaning (v.9): The words “grudge” means “to groan” (of an inward, unexpressed feeling of sorrow). When we are suffering and others are not, we are prone to “grudge against one another.” It is basically a protest against, what we believe is, God’s unfairness to us – and God knows and will deal with this accusation against Him (ie, “the judge standeth before the door”).
4. Godly examples (v.10): We are asked to take the prophets as our examples. If the only examples we have are those who complain and murmur whenever things do not go according to their desires, then we will behave like them too. Since humans learn more from what they see than what they hear, we need godly examples rather than great lecturers. The Lord told His disciples to “follow him.” The reason why the prophets had the right behavior (ie, patience) was that they had the right theology (ie, they knew that the Lord is coming and their rewards were stored up for them).
5. Sufferings of the godly (v.10,11): The prophets were faithfully serving God (ie, “have spoken in the name of the Lord”) and suffering affliction at the same time! This troubles us greatly as “unfair treatment.’ If sufferings were God’s reward, then this would be true. But the sufferings are not part of His reward; they are part of His training program (James 1:2). We cannot endure our sufferings and successfully graduate from God’s training program, unless we understand His training method. And the prophets, like Job, obviously understood this because they “endured” the training program, and their lives were changed. Most Christians do not endure God’s training program and are useless “half-baked” Christians. The “pitiful” (ie, full of pity) God not only provided Job’s training but also encouraged him with “graduation gifts.”
6. Stop swearing (v.12): Swearing (ie, using God’s name to back up our statement) must be a very grievous to God because he says “But above all things” swear not. It is grievous because His holy name is used in vain (Exodus 20:7), because it is very common (as tongue sins tend to be) and because it promotes dishonesty. It is lawful to call God to be a witness if the need arises, eg. a court case, in important matter (Romans 1:9). As Christians we should be so trustworthy that a “yea” or “nay” is sufficient.
7. Be God-centered (v.13): When we are afflicted let us to turn to God in prayer, and when we are happy let us sing praises to Him. In other words, we must use every event in life to draw us to God, rather than draw us away from Him. This verse also implies that our life will have moments of affliction and moments of merriness. Whatever, the outward events of life are, the focus on God must continue and the inward peace of God should prevail. Our lives should be like the ocean – often troubled by storms on the surface but always peaceful and stable in its depths.
8. Praying for the sick (v.14,15): This is the clearest passage on what a sick Christian should do. There are many other passages on what was done to the sick but this is the only passage which gives clear instructions to the sick. He is to call the elders of the church to pray for him. Since the elders are the representatives of the church, he is asking the church to pray for him. Note, that he is not to look for a faith-healer to come to town, nor seek one from another church, but to ask for the elders of his church. Note also, that he is not to look for “men with special gifts of healing” in his church but ask the elders. Note also, that it is not one elder but elders (plural). There is no mention about a special healing service in front of huge crowds. This method is used to prevent men from getting the glory when a person is healed.
The “anointing with oil” can represent two things. Some believe that this is medicinal in purpose because the word in Greek for “anointing” is different from that used in religious anointing. They believe that the elders should not just pray but also do their best to provide whatever medical care possible (James 2:15,16). Others believe that the anointing is to remind the person who is being prayed over that he is being “separated unto God,” ie, that he is being healed by God so that he can glorify God, rather than enjoy a more pleasurable life. Both are valid and good reasons. However, we are clearly told that it is not the anointing with oil that heals but the “prayer of faith shall save the sick.” This phrase should not be taken to mean that every prayer of faith “shall” save the sick, but rather to mean that it is the prayer not the oil that saves the sick.