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James: Patience, Judgement and Hope (Part 6)

The Most Important Book We Forgot


May 31, 2015
By John Partridge

Scripture: James 5:7-20


At the end of the Star Wars saga, there is a scene where all of the remaining heroes of the story are together
again, there is a big celebration and everyone watching knows, without it actually being said like the
storybook fairy tales, that everyone will live happily ever after. The writer and director of Star Wars,
George Lucas, didnt invent that ending. Many of our favorite stories have such an ending and Lucas
freely admits that the entire Star Wars series was patterned after the afternoon serials in which a great many
westerns ended exactly this way. Fairy tales and stories for much of history have ended this way and we
have seen these endings so many times that we know, as soon as we see them that the movie is almost over.
And that is where we are with our study of the book of James. Since James is written in the style of an
ancient Greek letter, we have now reached that part where, the form and structure tell us we have reached
the end. The common ending of these ancient letters included a summary, an oath, a health wish, and
finally concluded with an explanation of why the letter was written. All of these are included in this last
section of James. Not all of them appear as the traditionally did, but some have been baptized if you
will, modified and Christianized to suit James and his church audience.
Right away we see a change. This section begins with James using the phrase he has often used, brothers
and sisters so we know that he is once again speaking to the believers in the church rather than the
unbelieving rich that were addressed in the previous section.
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Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lords coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to
yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. 8 You too, be patient and stand
firm, because the Lords coming is near. 9 Dont grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you
will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!
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Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in
the name of the Lord. 11 As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of
Jobs perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and
mercy.
Back in chapter one, James told us that anger does not produce righteousness and so it makes sense that
as we near the end of the letter he revisits that theme by encouraging believers to be patient until Christ
returns, or perhaps because Christ will soon return. Beyond that, he encourages us not to grumble against
one another. James knows that whenever life gets difficult and we get stressed out, we are tempted to be
grumpy, snarky, and lash out at those closest to us. More than that, the language used here leads us to
understand that when times are hard we should not be tempted to blame one another for our problems. In
either case, James encourages us to restrain ourselves.
As an example of this, James holds up the prophets of the Old Testament. Many of these faithful followers
of God endured great trials but remained steadfast and righteous regardless of their trials. Job is also held
up as a model of perseverance even though throughout the story of Job he complains bitterly about how

God has treated him. In the end, however, we notice that even though Job complained, he never lost faith
and never gave up on honoring God.
Next, is the oath part of the conclusion. In a standard letter, this is where the author would swear that
what had been said was true, but instead of doing so, James urges everyone to stop swearing oaths
altogether.
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Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swearnot by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you
need to say is a simple Yes or No. Otherwise you will be condemned.
This passage is almost identical to Jesus statement in Matthew 5 and also reminds us of Jesus saying, But
I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have
spoken. This statement is not about using bad language but is all about saying something, and then
swearing, by God, or on the Bible, or on your mothers grave, or something else, that what you have said
was true. Some people have read this and believed that they should never swear an oath ever about
anything even in court, but that probably isnt what James meant either. At the time of James writing, it
was common, much as it sometimes is now, for people to make an oath like these to emphasize that what
they are saying is true. This was being done so often that you might begin to wonder whether or not
regular speech was true and so James simply reminds the church that while we might be called upon to
swear an oath to the truth in court, and thats okay, everything we say, in all of our speech, all of the time,
should be the truth.
The health wish of this letter, which is ordinarily a wish or a prayer for the health of the readers, is instead a
bit of instruction about Gods provision for healing.
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Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. 14 Is
anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil
in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise
them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for
each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
17

Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain
on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth
produced its crops.
James encourages the church to pray for healing and deliverance but also for endurance. According to
James we should always pray. If you are in trouble, pray. If you are happy, sing praises. If you are sick,
pray. See how that works? We should always pray for one another and as a preventative measure, we
ought to be accountable and share with others so that as we confess our problems and our sins we ask for,
and receive Gods forgiveness on a regular basis. In serious cases, we should call the elders of the church,
those people who have demonstrated their faith, wisdom, perseverance and maturity, to come and pray over
the sick and to anoint with oil in Gods name.
It is important to note that the elders of the church are not faith healers and are not necessarily those
persons who have the gift of healing, but who are known to be people of strong faith. They are to anoint
those who are sick with oil, not because oil is magic, but because it is seen, at least here, as something
semi-sacramental. Oil is seen here as being similar to the bread and wine that we use during communion; it
is a physical presence through which God has chosen to act. Prayers for healing are seen throughout
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scripture but only here do we see a call for oil and so we know that while anointing with oil is an option, it
is not required. What we are to remember however, is that all of us are to pray for healing.
And last is James concluding summary of why he wrote the entire letter.
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My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that
person back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from
death and cover over a multitude of sins.
Throughout his letter, James repeatedly reminded the church that both our faith and our actions are
important. We are called not only to have faith and believe in Jesus Christ but to act like it. Here, in his
last words James explains that the church is to be an agent of hope in the world. We all know someone
who used to believe and who fell away or who wandered from the truth and James want us to
remember that a critical part of our mission, a key to acting like Christians, is to do what we can to bring
them back to Jesus. In this mission it is not just about the pastor, or the elders, or the gifted. In this
mission every single individual is important.
All of us should seek to walk with God.
And, when we meet people who no longer believe, who have wandered from the truth, or even those who
have never believed, the goal and mission of the church is not, nor has it ever been, to condemn the sinners.
The goal of the church, and every believer, is the restoration and rescue of the lost.
Throughout his letter James has often reminded believers that we must not only have faith in Jesus, but that
we must act like Jesus. In saying these things, James often sounds critical, but his intent is not to beat us
up, but to remind us of why we are here.
The church belongs to all of us.
The good news of Jesus Christ belongs to everyone. Our job is to bring them all together. And we cant do
that if others cant see Jesus in everything that we do.
The goal of the church, and every believer, is the restoration and rescue of the lost.
And that is a message of hope.

You have been reading a message presented at Trinity United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first
page. Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Trinity of Perry heights in Massillon, Ohio. Duplication of this message is a part
of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you. Letters and donations
in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Trinity United Methodist Church, 3757 Lincoln
Way E., Massillon, Ohio 44646. These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership. You
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messages can also be found online at http://www.scribd.com/Pastor John Partridge. All Scripture references are from the
New International Version unless otherwise noted.

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