The last time we looked at James’ letter we saw what he had to say to the
wealthy oppressors of the saints. Today, we’ll see how James builds on those
comments. In this section of his letter he exhorts these Christians so that
they will be able to deal with their persecutors. It seems obvious, even
after just a quick read, that our situation is quite different from that of
these first century saints. And yet, in important ways, our situation is
actually the same. There are important things that you need to see from this
text. And, God willing, you will. James’ exhortation to these saints focuses
on three words. We’ll start by looking at two of them. We’ll come back to
the third at the end of the sermon.
James’ first exhortation to these suffering people is patience. He makes
clear what he is getting at by including a little parable about a farmer.
Each spring farmers break up their fields and plant seed. And then, they
wait. They wait for the time of harvest. Now, I know that during that
waiting time farmers are quite busy doing what they can to protect their
crop and encourage it to grow. But still, they are waiting for the time of
harvest. At some point that goal is achieved. Then they gather in their crop
to enjoy. James is writing to Christians who are having a hard time of it.
People with power are making their lives difficult. And so, James comes to
their aid. He gives them the counsel that they need. He exhorts them to
patiently wait. They are to wait like every farmer does. And for what do
they wait? What is the harvest at the end of their waiting? They wait for
Jesus to come back. And why is that? What happens then? Resolution. James
calls them to wait patiently until Jesus solves their problem at His return.
That isn’t the kind of counsel that you’re likely to hear today. Anything
but patient waiting. Better to strive to gain some power over your
oppressors so that you can respond in kind. ‘I don’t get mad. I get even.’
But that’s not what James calls for. Patient waiting for Jesus to come back
is what these saints need to do. James is like other New Testament writers
in this. He orients the saints to the age to come as they are confronted
with the problems and afflictions of this life.
To lots of people this sounds just too passive. ‘Sit and do nothing?!?’ Not
exactly. This is where James’ second word fits: perseverance. Verse 11:
‘Behold, we consider those blessed who persevered. You have heard of the
perseverance of Job…’ In the face of some serious opposition James calls
these saints to persevere, to endure what comes their way as they strive to
the goal. It’s like the student who has been studying all day. Now it’s
night and his bed is calling. But he knows that he’s not quite done. He
needs to study a bit more. So, he does. Or the runner who, though his body
is in agony, continues to run. He endures the pain and strives toward the
goal. Perseverance is anything but passive. It takes energy, a commitment to
reaching the goal and pushing on when you want to quit. That’s what James
calls these saints to.
James sees what these saints are dealing with and, out of pastoral concern,
he exhorts them to wait patiently for Jesus. He calls them to fix their hope
on His return and to endure the difficulties, striving for the goal of being
a faithful disciple of Jesus. In this James follows the familiar pattern of
the New Testament. Being a disciple of Jesus is hard. You are going to face
obstacles, problems, antagonism. But press on to the goal. Persevere to the
end, always waiting for and looking forward to Jesus’ return when all of
this will be over, and we all shall enter a different kind of life.
Now, as I said earlier, the situation of the saints to whom James wrote was
very different from our situation. None of us at Faith Reformed Church are
being persecuted like they were. None of us have been dragged into court
like they were. None of us are fearful for our lives like they were. First
century Roman Empire was a time of danger and persecution for the
Christians. Twenty-first century America is nothing like that. Our
situations are quite different. And yet, as I said before, in a way, they
are very much the same. It is this sameness that you must understand.
Not all that long ago I preached through the book of Revelation. I showed
you how that letter is simply a series of different perspectives on this
life. There was one theme that ran throughout that letter: conflict. The
Church of Jesus finds itself in a world of conflict. So, we saw how the
seven churches of Asia Minor were dealing with their respective societies.
We saw how the dragon was thrown down to the earth and waged war against the
saints. We saw the beast, the false prophet and Babylon the prostitute
attack the Church. In this, Revelation was simply reminding us of a theme
that runs throughout all the Scriptures. This age is a time of conflict
between the Church and the world. The nature and the intensity of the
conflict change through history. Sometimes it’s more intense. Sometimes
less. In the first century, Christians were regularly killed because of
their beliefs. In modern suburban America that isn’t the case. But just
because we aren’t being dragged off to be eaten by lions doesn’t mean that
we aren’t still in the midst of the same conflict that those early
Christians faced. There will be conflict of some sort as long as the Church
finds itself in the midst of pagans. The existence of this conflict is a
basic assumption of our text. You need to remember this as you walk through
this life. Today, for you, the people of Faith Reformed Church, it isn’t a
matter of financial power being used to oppress you. To use the images of
Revelation, that’s more the manner of the beast who uses brute force. Your
situation is more a matter of the false prophet and the prostitute. But the
conflict continues on. There is no peace treaty or even a truce. The battle
continues. And you need to see that. You need to be careful to identify that
as your situation. That’s the first application of this text to your life.
If you don’t see this, nothing else that I say will make sense.
The second application will be obvious as soon as I ask a question. How are
you to respond to this conflict? Well, your response needs to be the same as
the response of those first century Christians. First, patience. You are the
farmer. You are waiting patiently for the harvest. That is where your hopes
reside. You are to be patiently waiting for Jesus to come back for His
Church. Your response isn’t to be to gather up what power you can so that
you can respond in kind to those with power. Your response isn’t dictated by
the advice of this world. Your hope is Jesus’ return. And you’ll know that
you are getting it when you find yourself responding to some expression of
the conflict by saying, ‘One day Jesus will come back and all of this will
be over.’ After all, nothing else will really resolve the problem. Nothing
else will end this conflict. But then, along with patience, there is
perseverance. You need to continue to strive to the goal of being a faithful
disciple of Jesus day by day. The opposition will not cease. It will be like
running a race where the people on the sidelines throw things at you and try
to trip you up. And you’re going to want to quit. But remember, if you don’t
finish the race you won’t enjoy the harvest. Jesus said, ‘He who endures to
the end will be saved.’ Perseverance in the face of an unsympathetic world
is the need of the day.
So, you see, we are in exactly the same situation as those first century
Christians that James wrote to. We live in the same unfriendly world,
confronted by the same conflict. And that’s why our response to the
situation needs to be the same as theirs.
Now, one last thought. How do you do that? How do you endure patiently with
your hope fixed on Jesus’ return? This is where that third exhortation that
I mentioned before comes in. In verse eight James wrote, ‘Establish your
hearts.’ This is key to the whole thing. The first thing to notice is that
James zeros in on the heart. If you are going to be able to patiently endure
in the face of what, at times, has been a furious conflict, there are
matters of the soul that must be dealt with. Psychological feel-good
gimmicks will simply not cut it. Patient perseverance will require a heart
that is sure, that is strong, that is determined to reach the goal. And
remember what that goal is: being faithful to Jesus every day until you
reach the Last Day. But think about your own heart. Have you never been
fooled by your heart? Has it never seemed that some choice seemed right only
to find that you were deceived? Just think about the last sin that you
repented of. Why did you choose to do it at all? Your heart has deceived
you. Listen to what God says about the heart. ‘The heart is deceitful above
all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?’ [Jeremiah 17:9]
Establishing your heart in the way of patient perseverance is not something
that you can do on your own. You need the grace that only Jesus can give.
You need to power that is the unique possession of the Spirit. So, come to
the Father and ask. There is no hope for you if you do not come and ask. But
if you do, then your heart will be established. All that you need will be
yours so that whatever shape the conflict takes you will be able to endure
it, patiently waiting for Jesus.
