James issued some humbling instructions in chapter 4, but he is not done yet. He begins with some tough teaching in chapter 5, then calls his audience to be patient, waiting for God to make everything right in His perfect timing. He concludes with some instructions on prayer and living in community with each other, encouraging one another to live righteously for the glory of God and for personal good. Let’s take a look.
1) V1-6 – 1Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. 2Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. 4Look! 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. 5You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter [Or yourselves as in a day of feasting]. 6You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you.
James is blunt throughout this letter, but here it is especially so. Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of this passage in The Message makes his bluntness even more clear: “A final word to you arrogant rich. Take some lessons in lament. You’ll need buckets for the tears when the crash comes upon you. Your money is corrupt, and your fine clothes stink. Your greedy luxuries are a cancer in your stomach destroying your life from within. You thought you were piling up wealth. What you piled up is just judgment. All the workers you have exploited and cheated cry out for judgment. The groans of the workers you used and abused are a roar in the ears of the master avenger. You’ve looted the earth and lived it up, but all you’ll have to show for it is a fatter than usual corpse. In fact, what you’ve done is condemn and murder perfectly good persons who stand there and take it.” Who is James speaking to here? And what point is he trying to drive home?
James’ intended audience consisted of scattered and impoverished Jewish Christians, but here he addresses specifically the rich people. Many scholars suggest that James is considering his audience to be rich, much like in America where the poorest are still rich compared to world standards. (The poorest in America are still wealthier than 95% of the world’s population.) James talks about worldliness, and one sign of whether or not you are struggling with that is how you handle wealth.
First, are you hoarding wealth? Is your silver and gold tarnishing from lack of use? Are your clothes being eaten by moths, because you aren’t wearing them? Do you have to rent a storage shed? Ligon Duncan quotes Randy Alcorn and then elaborates, saying, “‘God prospers me not to raise my standard of living but to raise my standard of giving. God gives us more money than we need so that we can give generously.’ When we hoard, we’re improperly using the wealth that the Lord has given us. He has given it to us that we might be more generous in giving.” Hoarding also leads to materialism; consider the parable of the rich fool in Luke 12.
Second, are you withholding wages or underpaying employees? Are you engaging in some sort of profit sharing with your laborers? James might be primarily addressing land owners here, and if so, he’s wanting them to scrutinize their payroll. For example, “Alex worked hard last month, but he only made $3. Should I bless him with some sort of bonus?” Furthermore, did you earn your wealth in an ethical manner?
Third, are you too comfortable? Do you practice any sort of self-denial? If not, then luxury is your god. You need to practice sacrificial giving. Be generous to the point of feeling it. Take that Starbucks money and give it away, and go without for a month. Does it hurt? Good. That’s what James is talking about here. Do you not realize that wealth doesn’t last? It will disappear, and then what will you do? These questions were significant for James’ audience, and they matter for us as well.
Ligon Duncan is reminded of Jesus’ parable of the talents in Matthew 25 when he says, “James is saying, ‘Look at your use of wealth in light of the final judgment, in light of God’s scrutiny, in light of God’s standard of measurement, in light of God’s evaluation, and live accordingly.’” Perhaps we ought to notice how wealthy we are every time we take out the trash, because we throw away far more in a given day than most people of the world have to use in a given day. And because of our waste, because of our sinfulness, in the area of wealth, people across the world are dying. We need to change.
2) V7-11 – 7Be patient, then, brothers, 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. 8You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. 9Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! 10Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11As 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.
After a rousing rebuke of worldliness, James says to be patient. Fight the temptation of selfishness, of hoarding, of materialism, with patience. Isn’t that great advice! Perhaps you’ve heard the recommendation, that when you want to purchase something, you should wait seven days. In that time, you will find out if it’s a genuine need. Perhaps you will learn that you don’t really want or need it. James’ reason for patience is that the Lord’s coming is near. That was written 2000 years ago. It doesn’t seem right to consider that time frame as being near. But we don’t know how much longer we will be on this earth, and we ought to keep that in mind in regards to our stewardship. Ligon Duncan says, “James knows that the Christian life is a long journey and that growth in the Christian life is a process. It doesn’t happen overnight. It doesn’t happen in a single point of struggle and lead to a life of unchallenged bliss, and thereafter it is unchallenged in growth. But in order to benefit from the process of growth and to prosper and to be able to rejoice in the times of trial, we have to have the proper focal point for our lives. And he’s concerned to share that with us in this passage. He’s also concerned to show us things which will serve as symptoms that we are not demonstrating the kind of patience and endurance necessary for the Christian life.”
Duncan concludes, “James’ point is that the whole of life is to be lived in light of the Lord’s coming and in patient resolved preparation for that day. James knows that you don’t drift into holiness. You may drift into sin, but nobody has every yet drifted into holiness. You don’t accidentally stumble into holiness. Holiness is grown into, but it needs to be cultivated by patience and by the purpose of God. And so in this passage he is orienting us to be prepared for the long haul, to be prepared for trials, and to be aiming for the coming of the Lord.” We are not to complain or grumble (Philippians 2:14), and Job and the prophets are examples for us to follow in this. They were patient, persevering in difficulty, waiting for the Lord’s compassion and mercy (think of Daniel and the lion’s den), which came oftentimes in their lifetime, but not always.
3) V12-20 – 12Above 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. 13Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14Is 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. 15And 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. 16Therefore 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. 17Elijah 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. 18Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. 19My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, 20remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
Ligon Duncan says of v12, “James is talking about living the Christian life with a focal point on the coming of the Lord… James could have had in mind oaths that Peter once took about how faithful he was going to be to God, about how faithful he was going to be to Christ… [as well as] some other oaths which Peter took on the night of Jesus trial and crucifixion, in which he said, “I don’t even know the man,” the same man who he had sworn to follow to the death a few hours before… James is saying that in the Christian life, patience is not manifested by grand verbal promises, but by quiet talk that follows through. Our patient endurance will be shown, not in the grandiosity of our verbal commitments, but in our endurance under trial.” We let our “Yes” be “yes” and our “No” be “no.” You’ve heard the sayings, “Actions speak louder than words,” and “I’d rather see a sermon than hear one any day.”
The best accompaniment for patient endurance is prayer, and that’s exactly what James focuses on for the rest of the chapter. Whether troublesome times, or happy times, times of sickness, or times of sinfulness, prayer is the answer (v13-15). John Calvin says, “There is no time in which God does not invite us to Himself.” V16 has been used to justify the Catholic Church practice of confession, where a priest hears the laity confess their sins and in turn issues instructions for prayerful penance, which leads to forgiveness from God. This concept extends beyond James’ intentions, but he does point out that mutual confession and mutual prayer is appropriate and effective for healing (spiritually, emotional, and even physically). James gives Elijah as an example, calling him “a man just like us.” I don’t generally consider myself to be in Elijah’s league, but James would say that’s where I lack faith. We have the very same power he did – the Holy Spirit – and therefore, our prayers, offered in genuine faith, are powerful. Furthermore, Elijah’s prayer was desperate, when things were hopeless. It hadn’t rained for three and a half years. We ought to pray with the same desperation in the hopeless circumstances in which we find ourselves.
James’ letter ends rather abruptly, with a similar bluntness to his style in general. And though some of his instructions may be difficult to mesh with our expectations, the overarching theme of this letter is unmistakable. Whatever the circumstances, those with genuine saving faith are actively persevering, defying the temptations of this world, and prayerfully and patiently enduring whatever comes their way, for the glory of God and for the good of those around them. Does that describe you?
Footnotes
- 5:5 Or yourselves as in a day of feasting
Bible text from Gospelcom.net. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.