James chapter 5
James warns rich Christians. Wait patiently for the return of Jesus. Do not make promises. Anoint sick people with oil. Confess your sins to one another.
WARNING TO RICH CHRISTIANS
VERSE 1. Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming on you.
miseries that are coming on you. Many Christians think riches are a sign of God’s blessing. They view billionaires as their heroes. However, the Lord Jesus does NOT view rich people as heroes. Read more »
VERSE 2. Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth-eaten.
VERSE 3. Your gold and your silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be for a testimony against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up your treasure in the last days.
the last days. The return of the Lord Jesus is immanent. It could happen at any moment. For that reason, these are the “last” days.
laid up your treasure in the last days. The Lord Jesus calls us to sell our possessions and give the money to poor people. When we do this we are building up for ourselves treasures in heaven. Read more »
VERSE 4. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you have kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of those who reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Armies.
kept back by fraud. Rich people often defraud their workers of their just wages.
The Bible forbids us from defrauding poor people and immigrants of their just wages. Read more »
VERSE 5. You have lived in luxury on the earth, and taken your pleasure. You have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter.
VERSE 6. You have condemned and you have murdered the righteous one. He doesn’t resist you.
the righteous one. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Holy and Righteous One. We humans rejected and murdered him. Read more »
PATIENTLY WAIT FOR THE RETURN OF THE LORD JESUS
VERSE 7. Be patient therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient over it, until it receives the early and late rain.
VERSE 8. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
VERSE 9. Don’t grumble, brothers, against one another, so that you won’t be judged. Behold, the judge stands at the door.
This verse is fantastic! Would you consider memorizing it? More great verses to memorize from the Letter of James and from the entire Bible.
Don’t grumble … against one another. Complaining about one another is a grievous offense.
VERSE 10. Take, brothers, for an example of suffering and of perseverance, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
VERSE 11. Behold, we call them blessed who endured. You have heard of the perseverance of Job, and have seen the Lord in the outcome, and how the Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
DO NOT MAKE PROMISES OR TAKE OATHS
VERSE 12. But above all things, my brothers, don’t swear— not by heaven, or by the earth, or by any other oath; but let your “yes” be “yes”, and your “no”, “no”, so that you don’t fall into hypocrisy.
don’t swear … by … oath. We should not make promises. Or vows. Rather, our YES should mean YES. And our NO should mean NO. Read more »
ANOINT SICK PEOPLE WITH OIL
VERSE 13. Is any among you suffering? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing praises.
VERSE 14. Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the assembly, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord,
Is any among you sick? These verses map out the anointing of the sick with oil. This is one way that Christians pray for healing.
Let him call for the elders of the assembly. The first thing is to call for the leaders of one’s local church. The Greek word for “elder” is presbyter.
let them pray over him. The elders pray over the sick person.
anointing him with oil. The elders anoint the sick person with oil.
VERSE 15. and the prayer of faith will heal him who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
heal him who is sick. The Bible seems to promise healing of our illnesses. We should expect miraculous healing. It should be commonplace. But it is not. Why? Read more »
CONFESS YOUR SINS TO ONE ANOTHER
VERSE 16. Confess your offenses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The insistent prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective.
This verse is fantastic! Would you consider memorizing it? More great verses to memorize from the Letter of James and from the entire Bible.
This verse is referred to in a famous book on continuous prayer called The Way of a Pilgrim.
Confess your offenses to one another. Many people find it helpful to tell other people their sins. There are accountability groups for some sins. Some churches have a sacrament of confession.
This verse is very different from what is said in Sirach chapter 19:
Sirach 19:7. Tell nothing to friend or foe; if you have a fault, reveal it not. (NAB translation)
The insistent prayer. How can we be more insistent, more fervent in prayer?
is powerfully effective. Do you find that God answers your prayer?
1 Samuel 7:8. The children of Israel said to Samuel, “Don’t stop crying to the LORD our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines.”
VERSE 17. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it didn’t rain on the earth for three years and six months.
VERSE 18. He prayed again, and the sky gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
VERSE 19. Brothers, if any among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back,
VERSE 20. let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
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(1 Peter chapter 1)
JAMES
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