PATIENT ENDURANCE

JAMES 5:7-11

(An Annotated Outline)

JULY 23, 2000

 

How do you live like a Christian when nothing seems to be going your way? This question aptly describes the situation James' friends must have been facing. They were under persecution for their faith; they were encountering the distress of societal prejudice; they were being torn apart by the abusiveness of the tongue; they were plagued by a carnal, worldly spirit; and they were being mistreated by the wealthy in their communities. Whether they looked out or in, there were major threats at every turn.

 

I dare say that we are not in quite the predicament these believers faced. Yet there are certainly millions of believers across the globe that could identify with each distress encountered by these first century believers. While we may not face the level of persecution that belonged to them, we do face the constant barrage of situations that test our Christianity.

 

With every work of God's trying providences in our lives, he provides what we need to live like a Christian. James helps us to see how we might live as those redeemed by Christ whatever the circumstance we face.

 

I. The Exhortation

 

Four imperatives point to the practical action believers are to take in the face of life's trying and demanding situations.

 

1. Endure

 

This command, "be patient," is used twice (v. 7-8). Kent Hughes calls it "double patience." The word implies that the believer is under some kind of stress, perhaps at the hands of someone mistreating him or speaking ill of him or even being persecuted as a Christian.

 

The word means, "To patiently endure; to be long-tempered, not short tempered." Vaughan explains that patience is "self-restraint that enables one to bear insult and injury without resorting to hasty retaliation" (107).

 

The example James gives of the farmer helps us to understand. The farmer's great aim is his "precious produce." But to get to that place of seeing the precious produce, he must go through the agony of preparing the ground, planting, waiting for the rain, and gathering the product. The "early rains" began in Palestine in late October or early November and were necessary for germination and seed growth. Once these rains came, the farmer could plant. The "late rains" were in the spring as light showers came in April and May to produce crop growth. Even the heavy winter rains were not enough in the scorching Palestinian heat to carry the crops through to the finish. So these light showers were necessary.

 

The farmer learned to wait, "being patient about it."

 

How does the believer do this? Hebrews 12:1-3 points us to Christ. So to bear up in face of suffering, insults, unusual providences, delays, hurts, wounds we are to look to Christ, trusting him and learning from him.

 

2. Be stable

 

The Christian is commanded to "strengthen [his] heart" in light of the coming of Christ. This is a common exhortation, e.g., Eph.6:10. The word means, "to make stable." Vaughan says it is "mustering up courage, the strengthening of one's inner being," while Thomas Manton calls it "holy hardness...firmness of faith and constancy of grace" (109).

 

How does the believer do this?

 

(1) Consider what you were apart from Christ, outside relationship to him.

(2) Consider what Christ has done for you in his work of redemption.

(3) Consider your election and calling (II Pet. 1:10), for these divine works are to encourage us in assurance and strengthen our resolve.

 

3. Do not complain

 

What often happens when believers are thrown together in difficulties? We see one another's faults, we possibly irritate one another, and we struggle with short fuses that explode at the least thing. So the exhortation is given "Do not complain, brethren, against one another." It is the stress of God's providences at work in our midst that often sorely test our patience toward the brethren. Vaughan calls it a grumbling "that arises from a general discontent at providence or from despondency of spirit" (110). What are we to do?

 

(1) Remember the nature of the body of Christ

(2) See how Jesus lived with God's providences and do likewise (I Pet. 2:20-24).

(3) Put the brakes on the tongue by guarding and nurturing the heart in truth (Jas. 3:14).

 

4. Take the right examples

 

We are continually soaking in what we see and hear. The things we learn or admire often become the impetus for our actions and reactions. So James does not suggest, but commands, " As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord." In contrast, we have the examples we find in the media or perhaps in our relationships of both hardness of heart and eruption of emotions.

 

 

The command is to zero in on specific biblical characters as our help and pattern to encourage us in patient endurance. We are to see faith "fleshed out" in the lives of the people of God in other ages and other settings.

 

Consider Jeremiah, who preached faithfully for several decades without popularity or favor. He was the object of an intense manhunt. His prophetic oracles, written under duress and difficulty upon animal skins, were sliced with a penknife and thrown into the fire. He was thrown into a cistern and left in the mud and muck to die. He was finally delivered by Ebed-Melech the Cushite and thirty men, who had to do so with extreme caution due to the bodily emaciation of Jeremiah. But he endured in faithfulness to the Lord.

 

Daniel was a faithful prophet of the Lord who endured false accusations and mistreatment at the hand of jealous men. He faced the fearful plight of being cast into a lions' den, but he endured and was delivered by the Lord.

 

We have been given some wonderful examples through the years to help us. Joni Eareckson Tada is well known for her books and paintings, after having endured for around 30 years her condition as a quadriplegic. She said that shortly after her accident she used to lie in bed thinking about the paralyzed man at the pool of Bethesda, waiting for someone to put him in the pool. But no one did. Then Jesus passed by and healed the man. Joni said that she would softly sing, "Pass me not, O gentle Savior, hear my humble cry." Over and over the theme of "pass me not" rang through her mind. Just a few years ago she and her husband, Ken, traveled to Israel. While there they saw a sign for the pool of Bethesda and were surprised that they were alone there. Ken pushed her wheelchair facing the pool and walked away to look at the things around it. Joni said that her mind ran again to the paralytic and her own heart cry, "Pass me not, O gentle Savior." As tears ran down her cheeks she said that she suddenly realized that for the past 30 years, the Savior had not passed her by. For during all that time the Lord had worked things in her she would never have otherwise known; multitudes have been affected for eternity by her life as she has glorified the Lord.

 

Find your own resolve strengthened as you take the right examples in the face of difficult providences. "We count those blessed who endured," so may we be numbered with them (Heb. 11:35-38).

 

II. The Motivation

 

What is to motivate the Christian to press on in faithfulness and obedience? He is to remember that the Lord is coming.

 

1. The nearness of reward

 

The farmer's "precious produce" demonstrates that in the face of endurance he awaits something "precious" to him. So too the believer awaits the reward of seeing the face of Christ, entering into his eternal presence, casting his crowns at the nail-pierced feet of the Redeemer.

 

So the text motivates by reminding us of "the coming of the Lord is near." This is repeated twice so that the richness of this reality might penetrate the wounded and distressed heart of the believer. The Christian can keep pressing on even in the face of adversity because the Lord himself will one day return for him.

 

This truth sustained the early brethren: e.g., Thessalonian believers.

 

The nearness of the Lord and all the New Testament reminders of it are sometime lost in the sense of "delay" after nearly 2000 years. But, James' and the other biblical writers', "soon's and quickly's are not to be interpreted by our impatient reckonings" (Vaughan, 109). As Thomas Manton expressed it, "Oh! Wait for the end then; the beginning is usually Satan's, but the end is the Lord's; at the beginning the power of darkness may have an hour, but at the end the Lord will be seen" [in Vaughan, 112].

 

2. The nearness of judgment

 

There is a two-fold reminder in the statement, "behold, the Judge is standing right at the door." First, the believer must never forget that while his eternity is settled, his reward is not. All of us must stand before the judgment seat of Christ to receive the reward or lack of reward in light of our faithfulness, obedience, and perseverance (cf. II Cor. 5:6-10).

 

Second, the Lord will avenge the believer of all those areas in which he has been wronged by the world (Romans 12:14-21).

 

III. The Foundation

 

Under girding both the exhortations and the motivations of this text is the sure foundation in the character of the Lord.

 

1. General premise

 

Nothing comes the way of the child of God but by the gracious providence of our Lord. All that he does in us, whether we can understand or not, flows out of the goodness of his own nature. The pains and afflictions we face may seem to be cruel or harsh or undeserving, but these too come by the good hand of our Lord, for his eternal glory and our good. James ends this exhortation by the assurance, "the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful."

 

The compassion and mercy of the Lord are aspects of his goodness. They refer to the pity the Lord shows to us in our plights. Thomas Watson proclaimed, "God intermixes mercy with affliction. He steeps his sword of justice in the oil of mercy. There was not night so dark but Israel had a pillar of fire in it. There is not condition so dismal but we may see a pillar of fire to give us light. If the body is in pain and the conscience is at peace, there is mercy. Affliction is for the prevention of sin; there is mercy."

 

The blind hymn writer, Fanny Crosby, expressed it clearly:

All the way my Savior leads me;

What have I to ask beside?

Can I doubt His tender mercy,

Who thru life has been my guide?

Heav'nly peace, divinest comfort,

Here by faith in him to dwell!

For I know whate'er befall me,

Jesus doeth all things well.

In C. S. Lewis' allegory, The Chronicles of Narnia, the children who had passed through the magic door is finally led the Lion, who represents our Lord. One of them saw the massive and ferocious looking Lion and asked, "Is he safe?" To which another replied, "Of course he is not safe! But he is good." We do not approach a Lord who is weak and incapable of facing another day; but one who is omnipotent, before whom the nations are but a drop in the bucket. But he is good.

 

2. Specific example

 

James reminds us of the Lord's dealings with Job: "You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord's dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful." Job faced the loss of everything that he owned and every relationship that he valued. He offers remarkable statements that demonstrate his trust in the Lord: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised" (1:20-21). "I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes-I and not another. How my heart yearns within me!" (19:25-27).

 

But Job has his moments, understandably so, when he struggles with all that is going on. He justifies himself in light of the attacks by his friends. He does not come across as a man who has everything together by any means. Rather he is a man who kept the end in sight. For this reason he was able to bear up under the severity of God's severe providences in his life. In the end, Job came to realize the greatness and goodness of the Lord in the midst of his suffering. Kent Hughes offers a good encouragement for us from the life of Job:

What an encouragement to know that God does not expect stoic perseverance in the midst of trials. He knows we are clay. He understands tears. He accepts our questions. But he does demand that we recognize our finiteness and acknowledge there are processes at work beyond our comprehension. A plan far bigger than us is moving toward completion. And God demands that we, like Job, hold on to our faith and hope in God [239].


Conclusion

 

Thomas Watson wrote, "Patience proves that there is much of God in the heart." In he difficult providences of life, God is working much of himself in our lives, as we learn to follow him, trust in him, and believe in his goodness toward us.

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