True Faith that Works: Patience, Perseverance, and the Fellowship of the Church.

The end is near

When Jesus was asked by his disciples, “When will the end of the age come? What will it be like? How will we know the end is near?(Matthew 24:1-3). Jesus responded by describing the end of the age.

First he says there is going to be deception and apostasy (Matthew 24:4-5; 10-12). Many will fall away from the faith.

There will be lawlessness and Godlessness. Jesus says the wicked will increase and without a lethargy for doing what is right. Paul describes the godlessness as difficult times because most of society will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arroagnt, abusive, disobdeint to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, hearltess, unappeasable, slanderous, wiothout self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Paul says we are to avoid such people, which will prove difficult when society is filled with such people (2 Timothy 3:1-5).

Jesus also says there will be scoffing and persecution of the saints (Matt 10:30; Luke 21:12-17; 2 Peter 3:3-4; Jude 18-19). Paul says it will be hard, extremely difficult to be a believer during these times (2 Timothy 3:1).

Paul describes the hardship of faithful Christianity in the midst of Satan veiled paganism;

2 Corinthians 4:8–10 ESV

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.

This is the Christian life in the last times, as the days are drawing near. Pressure, like a vice grip, from persecution, poverty, deception, apostasy, scoffing, and lawlessness, will squeeze ours hearts. The question is, “What will come out?” Will the death and resurrection of Jesus pour out, or will grumbling and unbelief?

I ave noticed something about myself when pressure is applied to my heart. I grow impatient and weary. Frustration will get the best of me and I will convey my impatient frustration with harmful words, especially toward people I love.

In my experience, impatience gives room in your heart for frustration and disappointment to fester. An impatient heart that is festering with frustration easily pours out grumbling toward your neighbor and unbelief in the goodness of God.

In verse 8, James alludes to the times we are living.

James 5:8 ESV

You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

The Lord’s coming is at hand. James readers were living in similar times with similar situations as we are living now. There was obviously conflict and tension in the church, as we have already seen in Chapters 1-4. The rich and poor were at odds with each other. Their was persecution from outsides pressing them on every side. There patience with God’s sovereign plan to come back and with each other was growing thin.

James saw their impatience with the way they spoke to each other. From the abundance of their heart their words conveyed they were not happy with God’s patience in sending Jesus to restore justice and peace on earth. Instead of pouring out mercy, grace and patience with each other, the pressure from hardship and persecution was spewing grumbling and unbelief. Because they were not being patient with God’s good plan they were not persevering well in the faith. Their impatience disrupted the unity and fellowship of the church.

Through the inspiration and power of the Holy Spirit, James exhorts his readers, and you and I, to

Be patient with each other and persevere well as you await the Lord’s return.

We are living in the last days. And all of us feel the pressure of living in a godless society. we must not let that pressure tear our fellowship apart. Brothers and sisters,

Be patient with each other, for justice is coming soon (James 5:7-8)

The word James uses in verse 7 means to be long-suffering, to endure wrongs, to be content and not look to get even, but to wait for deliverance. The the greek tense of the verb implies that patience is to be a habitual attitude, or a constant attribute in the life the believer.

Faithful Patience (James 5:7)

He uses an agricultural metaphor to help describe faithful patience.

James 5:7 (ESV)

Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.

“Faithful patience trusts God’s timing and process of spiritual harvest.” Farmers trust the process God has wired into the earth to produce a harvest. They till the land and plant the seed. Then they wait for the rain to water ground to produce the fruit.

The farmer cannot rush the process and change it. It si God’s design for beans and corn to grow in the soil, with the write mixture of sun and rain, over time. God has wisely wired patience into the harvest of fruits, grains, and vegetables.

In the same manner as a farmer must trust the process and time for the seasons to grow their crops, James says so must you have the same kind of faithful patience to trust God’s timing and process to harvest the church.

Faithful patience is not sitting on your hands being idle. The Farmer work the ground, sowed the seed, and fertilized the soil. In the same way, Christian, your faithful patience is to be a working patience. Idleness in the church breeds contempt. Paul describes such contempt when in his first letter to Timothy. He exhorts the abled bodied widows to not be idleness allows gossip and being a busybody (1 Tim 5:8-13).

Faithful patience is a working patience that joyfully advances the kingdom of God by making much of Jesus until the church, community and hime joyfully abide in Jesus at his return.

God’s faithful patience is filled with mercy and grace.

God’s faithful patience is full of mercy and grace toward sinners. When God reveled himself to Moses, He said,

Exodus 34:6 (ESV)

“The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,

David says in

Psalm 103:8 ESV

The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

His mercy, grace, and patience are intertwined together like three threads of a cord.

Dr. Wayne Grudem describes these three characteristics of God. He says,

God’s mercy means God’s goodness toward those in misery and distress.

God’s grace means God’s goodness toward those who deserve only punishment.

God’s patience means God’s goodness in withholding of punishment toward those who sin over a period of time.

Peter is particularly mindful of the last point. Peter makes it clear that God’s patience, coupled with his mercy and grace, is a demonstration of his heart toward the wicked. Peter says,

2 Peter 3:9 (ESV)

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

What is holding back the Day of the Lord? What is keeping God from bearing his wrath on the wicked at this very moment? It is not slowness, Peter says. It is his faithful patience.

Some of James’ audience might have been taken back by such an imperative. I’m thinking of the poor in the crowd who were suffering at the hands of the rich.

We know that James has them in mind by the word “therefore” in verse seven. The word “therefore” indicates James’ imperative is based on the preceding verses, James 5:1-6.

James warns that judgement is coming to the rich who act wickedly. God is going to give justice to the poor. James says to the rich,

James 5:5 (ESV)

You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.

God will not resist the wicked, but will ultimately destory them. Peter gives some insight to their future.

Peter’s second epistle is ripe with God’s condemnation of the wicked, especially those who are driven by greed. Peter, speaking of false teachers whose love for money was exploiting the church, says

2 Peter 2:3 (ESV)

And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

A few verses later Peter says

2 Peter 2:12 (ESV)

But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction,

and

2 Peter 3:7 (ESV)

But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

What Peter has in mind here is that their judgment was pronounced long ago, and it will be finalized at the Parousia, the Lord’s second coming. God’s judgment is not idle on the wicked. It is a faithful patience. He is patient, but not sleeping. Their destruction, which they deserve, will soon catch up with them.

Faithful Patience and the Cross

His desire to show mercy and grace to his elect is threaded into his longsuffering and steadfast love. Just as God is patient with you, he is calling you to trust his process, to trust his plan, and to trust that his justice will prevail. God’s promise to bring perfect justice to the earth is the foundation your patience rests; and nothing exemplifies that more than the cross.

Paul says

Romans 3:25 (HCSB)

God presented Him as a propitiation through faith in His blood, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His restraint God passed over the sins previously committed.

That is, that God patiently delayed punishing sin commited int he Old Covenant because he He looked forward to the atoning work of His Son Jesus to satisfy His justice.

The cross is both a reminder of God’s three corded love of mercy, grace, and patience.

Today, friend, do not exhaust God’s patience. He has given you mercy and grace to hear the good news.

For your sins Jesus humbled himself by taking on flesh, living a perfect life, and dying on a cross, receiving the wrath of God that you deserve. God was satisfied with his sacrifice and raised him from the dead three days later. Jesus now sits by the right hand of the Father inviting you to repent of your sin and accept his gift of forgiveness by faith. All who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. His righteousness will be given to you. You will be adopted as God’s child and you will receive an inheritance as God’s child; eternal life with him in heaven. If yo reject him, he will reject you and God’s condemnation remains on you. Hell will be your eternity. God’s justice will demand it.

Jesus came the first time to express God’s patient love, mercy and grace to sinners by dying on a cross to atone for their sin. When he comes back the second time, he will come to right every wrong and to restore perfect justice on earth.

Christian, when you are tempted to be impatient with your brothers or sisters, or your unruly neighbors, or your corrupt government, or your immoral culture, be patient by remembering God’s faithful patience with you. He held off his judgemtn ion you sot hat you could hear the gospel and be saved. Give the same pateince to those who need the gospel.

The cross is proof His grace and mercy are suffiecent for you. The resurrection is proof his justice will prevail in the end when Jesus returns. Love your neighbors, even more, love your enemies with a God glorifying, Spirit infused, Jesus exalting faithful patience. Extend mercy to those in distress, grace to those who don’t deserve it, and patience to those who habitually take advantage of your goodness. Be Jesus to them until Jesus comes for you.

Persevere well for the end is near (James 5:9-11)

Coupled with patience is perseverance. I get that from James 5:8

James 5:8 (ESV)

You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

To establish your heart is to be firm in your faith. It means to hold fast and not give in to doubt, especially when your circumstances are tempting you to do so. You can reach back to chapter 1 and see that courageous faith that endures is an underlining theme in James. In chapter 1, James gives instruction on how to persevere when your faith is being tested. Here, James is doubling down on perseverance by exhorting you to be strong in your faith. Hold fast until Jesus comes back, that is, persevere.

Perseverance is extremely important to the faith. Only those who persevere until the end receive the crown of life.

James 1:12 (ESV)

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

James describes what perseverance looks like in two ways verse James 5:9-12.

Persevere well by being content and speaking encouragement to each other for the sake of the unity of the church (James 5:9)

Nothing portrays perseverance like climbing massive mountain. When climbers decide to reach the summit of Mount Everest, it takes a well timed plan and a ton of perseverance. The mountain is conquered in stages, and every stage is harder than the next. The team must keep the vision and stay unified if they have any hope of reaching the summit. Your Christian walk is very much the same. Your words matter to the unity of the church.

James uses the negative exhorting the church to “not grumble against one another. The word grumble is more than just complaining or arguing. The word is part of the word group for sighing or groaning.

In Romans 8:22-27, the apostle Paul speaks of a threefold groaning: creation, Christians, and the Holy Spirit. Creation groans like that of a woman in child birth. Creation is waiting for restoration like a woman is waiting for her child to arrive in birth.

Christians groan because we live in the ugly tension of an already not yet. One the one hand, we are already a new creation in Christ and we possess the Spirit. And yet, our body is subject to death and deprivation. We groan as we wait for the unity of our soul and our resurrected glorified body in the new heavens and new earth. And when we are too weak to pray as we ought, the Spirit groans for us in prayer.

Groaning is a sigh of discontentment. Its the kind of groaning Israel had in Egypt under the oppressive yoke of Pharoah

Exodus 2:23 (ESV)

During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God.

They longed for relief from their oppression.

In a similar way, James readers were likely groaning under the pressure of poverty and persecution (James 5:1-6). But instead of sighing, groaning, crying out to God, they groan against each other. They accuse each other of evil and judge each other wrongfully. It was a Baptist business meeting on steroids.

Grumbling is a threat to the unity of the church because it keeps us from speaking to each other the truth in love that we love.

Grumbling disconnects us from each other and ultimately from Christ. You can’t love Jesus and hate his church in the same way you cannot love a husband and hate his wife. They are united as one flesh. When we loose our connections to each other, we loose sight of God’s kingdom advancing mission.

In His book, “Conquest of Everest,” Sir John Hunt explains why the British expedition to reach the summit of Mount Everest Succeeded. Hint explains,

“Above all else, I should like to stress our unity as a party. This was undoubtedly the biggest single factor in the final result, for the ascent of Everest, perhaps more than most human ventures, demanded a very high degree of selfless cooperation.… It is a remarkable fact that throughout the whole four months that we were together, often in trying circumstances, I never heard an impatient or angry word passed between any members of the party.… It could not fall to everyone to attempt the summit, and for some there must have been disappointment, made greater by their fitness to go high. But everyone rightly believed that he had a vital part to play in getting at least two members of the team to the top, and it was in this spirit that each man carried out his job. (Sir John Hunt, The Conquest of Everest (Dutton, 1953).

Reaching the summit of Mount Everest is a remarkable task. But all of us would agree that reaching heaven is far more extraordinary. We cannot get to the summit of our salvation by grumbling with discontentment. We must persevere well by being content and speaking encouragement to each other for the sake of the unity of our fellowship, not matter how difficult our time is now, until Christ returns.

Samuel Rutherford exhorts the church to

“Keep God’s covenant in your trials. Hold yourself by His blessed word, and do not sin. Flee anger, wrath, grudging, envying, fretting. Forgive a hundred pence to your fellow servant, because your Lord has forgiven you ten thousand talents. For I assure you by the Lord, your adversaries shall get no advantage against you, except you sin and offend your Lord in your sufferings.” Samuel Rutherford

There is good reason for this exhortation. James says that your sinful grumbling can lead to Jesus’ judgement. Even though we look forward to a day when Jesus will return and make all things news, and wield perfect justice on earth, you must also heed his warning to you. You must examine your behavior, brothers and sisters, and make sure your conduct is in line with the One who judges. For the one who judges the wicked is the same one who judges the Christian.

Persevere well by joyfully anticipating God’s restoration (James 5:10-11)

James gives you the prophets as an example of those who suffer and persevere well. Bu the greatest Old Testament example of patience and perseverance is God’s righteous servant Job.

James 5:11 (ESV)

Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

Job was a righteous man of God. He was the wealthiest man of his time. He had property, possessions, and a slew of sons and daughters. God severely tested Job’s faith by taking away his health, wealth, and children. The Bibel says, in all this suffering Job did not sin.

I love the way William Barclay describes Jobs perseverance. Barclay says,

“Job’s is no groveling, passive, unquestioning submission; Job struggled and questioned, and sometimes even defied, but the flame of faith was never extinguished in his heart.” William Barclay

Job continued to hope in His God. He did not waiver in his love and faith in God. He lacked understanding at times, but he did not curse God and die like his wife suggested. For that kind of faithful perseverance, the Lord blessed Job and restored his health, wealth, and gave him more children.

There are enough scriptures to tell us that God does not always reward your faithfulness with material property. But what James does show us is that our merciful and compassionate God does reward such faithful perseverance. Furthermore, God will one day restore heaven and earth.

John gives a glimpse of that day in Revelation 21:1-5

Revelation 21:1–5 ESV

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

Isaiah describes Jesus’ rule in the new heavens and new earth.

Isaiah 9:6–7 ESV

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

What will Jesus find when he returns?

Jesus asked his disciples,

Luke 18:8 (ESV)

...Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

What will he find FBCL doing when he returns? Will find us grumbling in unbelief? OR will he find us exercising faithful patience filled with mercy and grace toward each other? Will he find us persevering well, joyfully advancing the kingdom of God by making much of Jesus?