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Sunday 08/03/25
Title: The Response of Good Works
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The Response of Good Works
James 5:1-20,
This first segment is directed at the rich who we have already observed James did not hold them in high regard. This should not be seen as “baking them all in one big pie”, but more like a general observation which is more often true than not.
Today people in America are largely against such “stereotyping” calling it bigoted and intolerant, but when the shoe largely fits – it is not inappropriate.
Paul did this regarding the Cretans or rather he quoted one of their own prophets as saying, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” – Titus 1:12 and he agreed with that assessment of them.
God Himself, made generalizations about people and nations, including His Own people the Israelites. He called them “a stiff-necked” people – meaning they were stubborn, rebellious & obstinate. God said this while the likes of Moses, Joshua & Caleb were around. Surely these men did not fit this description, but the statement was so true and indicative of the overwhelming majority that to say this was a tolerable generalization.
“(1) Come now, you rich! Weep and cry aloud over the miseries that are coming on you. (2) Your riches have rotted and your clothing has become moth-eaten.”
The rich here are a sub-division of those who are rich. As we keep reading these are those who are rich through ill-gotten means and who have stored up their riches for personal pleasure and luxuries with no view to helping the poor or less fortunate.
“(3) Your gold and silver have rusted and their rust will be a witness against you. It will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have hoarded treasure!”
The rust here simply means corroded which even gold is not 100% impervious to. Roman coins were typically of very high quality but of course had to possess some impurities since pure gold would be too soft to mint. Of course silver is easily corroded. So it seems this is in reference to gold and silver coins, though goods and jewelry may also be in view.
“(4) Look, the pay you have held back from the workers who mowed your fields cries out against you, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
(5) You have lived indulgentlyand luxuriously on the earth. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.
(6) You have condemned and murdered the righteous person, although he does not resist you.”
This seems to be the overarching sin of those who are wealthy. They hoard up, they steal, they exploit their advantage over the poor, they seek to snuff out the light of the righteous, they are proud and haughty and often show little interest in God though fear or faith. As such, even our Lord said that it was hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. Solomon and James clearly depict God as actively resisting them due to their pride. Such is a horrible plight, but it is one which is self-imposed. These are not victims of wealth, but victims of their own pride filled hearts.
James 5…
Now God counsels us through James as to how we should order our conduct in face of such unfair and unjust treatment.
“(7) So be patient, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s return.
Think of how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the ground and is patient for it until it receives the early and late rains.
(8) You also be patient and strengthen your hearts, for the Lord’s return is near.
(9) Do not grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be judged. See, the judge stands before the gates!”
[Good Work]
“(10) As an example of suffering and patience, brothers and sisters, take the prophets who spoke in the Lord’s name. (11) Think of how we regard as blessed those who have endured.
You have heard of Job’s endurance and you have seen the Lord’s purpose, that the Lord is full of compassion and mercy.”
Also, scripture counsels us to not envy the rich, for their judgment is not slumbering, there will be a day of reckoning – though God tarries long with them – both for mercy and for judgment.
So for we who are often the benefactors of their hostility and greed, we are to embrace patients and though this passage does not say so, we should pray for them and do them good.
Peter tells us,
“Slaves, be subject to your masters with all reverence, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are perverse. (19) For this finds God’s favor, if because of conscience toward God someone endures hardships in suffering unjustly.”– 1 Peter 2:18-19
And lest you think we have left the topic of good works consider these verses and their counsel in regard to dealing with mistreatment.
“For God wants you to silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good.”– 1 Peter 2:15
“For it is better to suffer for doing good, if God wills it, than for doing evil.” – 1 Peter 3:17
“Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.” – 1 Peter 4:19
Words like these are not typically embraced by modern Christians. They say “don’t test the Jesus in me” and wear t-shirts which say, “I’m forgiven, not perfect” or “the Jesus in me is about to beat up the devil in you”. While in most cases these are not meant seriously, though they may be worn as a way of deterring opposition – they also reveal a heart that is NOT in submission to Christ.
I am not at all convinced that most modern Christians take their need to suffer insults and injury from the world and count it a privilege, rather than a means for justified retribution. As Paul told the Philippian believers,
“(27) Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ so that – whether I come and see you or whether I remain absent – I should hear that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, by contending side by side for the faith of the gospel, (28) and by not being intimidated in any way by your opponents. This is a sign of their destruction, but of your salvation – a sign which is from God.
(29) For it has been granted to you not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for him, (30) since you are encountering the same conflict that you saw me face and now hear that I am facing.” – Phippians 1:27-30
James 5…
Jame’s final statements to these precious and wavering Jewish saints covered a wide spectrum of considerations and was this…
“(12) And above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath. But let your “Yes” be yes and your “No” be no, so that you may not fall into judgment.”
[Good Work]
The idea here is to be people of your word who need no additional weight or adjectives to support their claim to honesty, but whose word speaks for itself through their unwavering approved character before God.
When we include and evoke God, His name, His throne or even that which He made as surety for your word you overreach. Furthermore, if you then break your word, you – by your word, have affixed your unfaithfulness to God and His authority. This is a terrible sin. It is NOT unforgivable, but it IS drowning in pride and is egregious.
The next two statements are solid advice!
“(13) Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray.”
[Good Work]
This is not to say that you cannot call upon your siblings in Christ to uplift you in their prayers, but before you ask others, you yourself should approach God’s throne for you are welcomed and summoned there by God Himself!
“Is anyone in good spirits? He should sing praises.”
[Good Work]
Our joy should find expression in the things we say and the way we live.
“(14) Is anyone among you ill? He should summon the elders of the church, and they should pray for him and anoint him with olive oil in the name of the Lord. (15) And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up – and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.”
[Good Work]
This is another place where not doing church according to the scriptures has cost us dearly. Notice the command is to call the elders plural of the church singular.
It does not say, call THE Pastor, but the pastors – the shepherds of the sheep.
So it begins with taking personal responsibility for your recovery. Don’t sit and wait for them to call on you – you call them.
The elders should “pray for the sick, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord”.
This reminds me of two other truths in scripture.
We are told in 1 Timothy to “lay hands on no man quickly”. Now I truly believe this injunction was regarding “laying hands” on men in order to appoint them as elders in the local church – something which Timothy had been specifically commissioned to do. However, the reason Paul mentioned this was because he had just addressed the need to confront elders who were known to be sinning. So Paul warns Timothy to be careful who he appointed as an elder. This was in order to save the church from those not worthy or ready for the position and to keep Timothy from becoming complicit with their sins.
All of this being said, I believe it sets forth principle which has much broader applications and one of them is regarding praying for the sick.
I am reminded of an example one of my college professors gave from his own life and ministry as a pastor.
He had been called to lay hands on a man who had fallen off a roof and was in a terminal state. This man was born again, but had been living in sin without repentance for some time. Upon coming to his bedside my teacher said that after talking some time with this brother, he laid hands on him, closed his eyes and began to pray. As he was praying he felt someone take his hand off of this brother. He looked up and found no one else in the room and the man had not done it. So, my teacher placed his hand back on the man and began to pray. It then happened a second time. So upon the third try he kept his eyes open and it happened again, only he saw no one. So he inwardly asked the Lord what was going on. The Lord impressed upon him that this brother had been living in sin for some time without repentance though the Holy Spirit had worked on his heart for years. He had sown much bad seed and the result was that he was going to die.
“(7)Do not be deceived. God will not be made a fool. For a person will reap what he sows, (8) because the person who sows to his own flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit.” – Galatians 6:7-8
He asked God about forgiveness? The Lord said he would certainly forgive the man if he repented, but the seeds were still sown and harvest time had come. So my teacher explained this to the man. Upon hearing this the man wept and repented, though he resigned himself to his fate. The Lord then spoke to my professor and told him to lay his hands on him and He would baptize him in the Holy Spirit and make his last days better than all those that had gone before.
So he laid his hands on him, the man sat up in bed without pain, raised his hands in the air and prayed in the Spirit. He prayed in the Spirit off and on for several days before expiring with an expression of sheer joy all over his face.
Now many might say, “well my theology does not allow for that sort of thing to happen”.
To which I say, “Well, la-tee-dah!”
Listen, I am not claiming to know with 100% certainty that this testimony is true, but it illustrates something I have come to see and believe is consistent with scripture. God is just, but He is also merciful and full of compassion.
Now I told you this passage in James 5 reminds me of two principles in scripture. The first – that you should lay your hands on no one quickly lest you become complicit with their sin, which I just illustrated for you.
The second is this – faith MUST be exhibited by the one who is sick. This is NOT to say that the elders are not responsible for praying in faith – only that their faith alone is not sufficient. For this we could turn to no greater example than Christ Himself, Who always attributed healings to the recipient’s faith. Not only that but in one instance we see that Jesus did very few mighty works in the city of Nazareth because of their unbelief. Also, earlier in the letter of James we read regarding asking God for wisdom,
“(6) But he must ask in faith without doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed around by the wind. (7) For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, (8) since he is a double-minded individual, unstable in all his ways.” – James 1:6-8
But even though we are in this final chapter of James to further our understanding of ‘Good Works’ I find it necessary to teach on this a little further and the truth is, “faith” or “belief” IS one of the “good works” we are called upon to produce. [See John 6:28,29]
Faith comes from hearing from God. So for an elder to even have the capacity to “pray the prayer of faith” they must have heard from God regarding the saint for which they are praying.
Let me set before you some very possible scenarios.
- The saint may not truly believe and is seeking someone to believe FOR them!
- This is important for the reasons I listed above. Also, I want you to pay attention to what two things James mentioned before this. If someone is suffering let THEM pray. If joyful let THEM sing. So it follows that if someone is sick let THEM believe!
- There may be times when an elder cannot pray because God forbids him.
- There may be times when the saint asking for prayer already knows what they need to repent of sin and is seeking healing even though they are unwilling to forsake their sin (often unforgiveness, resentment or bitterness).
- God may not tell the elder anything if this saint is sick due to unrepentant sin. This is because, if this saint has had sin they were unwilling to bring to God or confess to their elders, then God may very well not drag it into the open either. I am not saying He WONT, I’m saying He may not.
- This person may fit the example I offered above and so is reaping what they have sown. This may only last a short while or it may cost them their life, but such is in the hands of God, not man.
- The elder may simply not have enough faith.
James now encourages all saints to turn to one another in open vulnerability regarding their weaknesses and sins so that they might pray for one another.
Even in this though, there is a personal component. The saint must confess their own sins. This is not for some sort of catholic absolution, but for healing of soul and or body.
This precludes that the saints in the local assembly are sincere, godly and worthy of such trusting vulnerability. Might I suggest to you that if you were to betray your siblings trust in this regard, God will repay you!
“(16) So confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great effectiveness.”
[Good Work]
“(17) Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain and there was no rain on the land for three years and six months!
(18) Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the land sprouted with a harvest.”
“(19) My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back, (20) he should know that the one who turns a sinner back from his wandering path will save that person’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.”
[Good Work]
Blessings!
Tri
