The Lord's Return is Near

James 5:1-12

The Lord’s Return is Near

Sunday, October 16, 2022

Pastoral Prayer

Mulberry Grove (Doug Bell, wife Linda as having to enter hospice care with inoperative brain tumor)

IMB: Displaced Indigenous people of Bogota, Columbia; being moved from shelter to shelter; gospel opportunities for our IMB workers

Receiving of the word

Introduction

James started his letter to these young Christians who were dispersed throughout the land, living in exile by telling them to count it all joy when they meet trials of various kinds. He grounded this call by reminding them that testing of faith produces steadfastness. But this has seemed to be set aside in the midst of it, until our text this morning. Now, James brings it back front and center at the how the Christian is to live in the midst of these trials with steadfastness in James 5:1-12 (READ TEXT)…

Main Idea: The Lord’s return is drawing near and it is our duty, Christian, to wait patiently. And we are going to look at this in 4 points this morning:

Wait patiently, justice is coming (5:1-6, 9)

Wait patiently, the Lord’s return is near (5:7-8)

Wait patiently, look to the saints of old (5:10-11)

Wait patiently, don’t respond hastily (5:9, 12)

Wait patiently, justice is coming

Let us remember that those to whom James is writing are facing trials of various kinds. Their trials are real, they are severe, and they are facing much opposition. In particular, opposition from those who are rich. We saw this back in James 2:6, which said, “But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court?”

The rich are oppressing poor Christians who are already facing isolation as they are living as outcasts from the society around them. And the rich are seemingly getting away with this oppression. Surely these dispersed Christians were much like Asaph in Psalm 73. Asaph writes there in verses 12-15:

Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches. All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. For all the day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning. If I had said, “I will speak thus,” I would have betrayed the generation of your children.

When the wicked seem to thrive, it is easy for doubts to creep into the hearts of the righteous who are oppressed. But it is here that James so carefully turns his attention to in James 5:1-6. The oppression of the rich will be brought to an end. Their fattened hearts will be turned to weeping and howling. James writes there in verse 1…

While they have lived in their luxury, in their evil actions thinking no one sees them, judgment is coming upon them. Their end is near. Again, the rich here are those who have cheated and wronged the poor. The charge against the rich isn’t condemning every rich person. But it would certainly be the majority. For the rich are lured by the comfort of their riches instead of seeking refuge in the Lord. But their confidence in their riches is folly. For see what James writes in verses 2 & 3…

The riches of the world are not lasting. They rot and corrode. Riches do not make a secure, lasting refuge. For they too will fade away. Which is why our treasures are not meant to be stored in our riches, but stored in heaven (Matt. 6:19-24).

In the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 6:19-21, we read these words from Jesus:

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Then it adds down in verse 24:

No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

And yet, the rich have laid up their treasures in their riches. And this serves as evidence against them. When the judge comes, they will be left found guilty by seeking refuge in their worldly treasures rather than in the riches of Christ himself.

But not only will they be found guilty of rejecting the riches of Christ, they will be found guilty by the judge for their evil actions. We read in verses 4-6…

The actions of these rich, evil oppressors cry out against them. Their deeds have not gone unnoticed. The Lord has heard the cries of the afflicted. He knows of the fraud they have committed. He knows of the self-indulgence to the harm of others that the rich have lived by. He knows that they have condemned and murdered the righteous person, that is the innocent. The Lord of hosts, or as the Christian Standard Bible puts it, the Lord of armies hears the cries against this evil And he is coming to act against them.

When it says that he does not resist you, there in verse 6, it is referring to the unleashing of God’s wrath against these evil deeds. So, Christian, in the midst of temptation to think that the evil in this world goes unnoticed, that the pursuit of holiness is in vanity, consider with Asaph the end of the rich, the wicked. Look back to Psalm 73:16-17, which says:

But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.”

Be not envious of the rich, be not jealous of what they seemingly get away with, friends. For the end for the wicked is judgment. And their judgment will come when the Lord, King Jesus returns. And it is to this point we turn in our second point this morning…

Wait patiently, the Lord’s return is near

The call to patiently waiting for us as Christian, even in the midst of affliction and oppression is that the return of the Lord is near. We see this fact mentioned twice in our text this morning. First, in verse 7, it says, “Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the LORD. Then, it says in verse 8, “You also, be patient. Establish your hearts for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” To be at hand is to be near, within grasp.

Now, it is tempting to hear this and then recall that the letter of James was written in the late 40’s and think nearly 2,000 years have passed since James wrote this, James surely was wrong about the return of the Lord. Friends, we must’t forget what Peter wrote in 2 Peter 3:8, “But do not overlook one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”

God’s timing doesn’t match our own timing. And yet, with the saying that the coming of the Lord is at hand, that it is near is of great importance. For it marks the uncertainty of when, yet the certainty of its happening. The Lord, King Jesus himself is coming again! We can count on it!

Jesus promised his disciples of his return. We read his words to them in John 14:2-3 which say:

In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

Jesus did not leave us to not return; he has gone to prepare a place for his people, for those whom he shed his own blood to purchase from sin and death. But, even though we are told that the return of Jesus is near, we know not when that return will be. Which means we must be always ready for it, but more importantly, we must be patient in waiting on it. We must be patient as James says, like the farmer.

In farming, whether ancient farming or modern farming, you have to go and plant the seeds, cover them up, and then wait. You have to wait on the rains to come, both the early rains of the season and the late rains of the season. The farmer has to be patient as he waits, trusting his crop to time. He can’t rush it, he can’t speed it along. He must be patient and wait on it to grow, wait until the right time for harvest.

And the same is true for us as we wait on the Lord, we must wait patiently. But the trouble for our hearts in waiting patiently on the Lord’s coming is that we are filled with doubts in our hearts. We look at the delay and think, “Will Jesus ever return?” Our hearts fill with doubts in the midst of affliction, thinking, “God has forgotten or abandoned us.” Our hearts are troubled, saying, “The world is out of control, God must not be present.”

Christian, these are the various temptations that enter into our hearts and our minds. And this is the very reason that we must labor to establish our hearts.

You who use an NIV Bible will note that your translation reads in verse 8, be patient and stand firm. Both the NIV there and the ESV with establish your hearts are laboring to communicate as best as possible the idea of strengthening our hearts, of them being secure in faith where doubts and anxiousness cannot creep in and push our hearts backwards.

These momentary afflictions and trials are hard, but don’t let them cause you to doubt who God is and what he has promised and that he is trustworthy in the midst of it all. It has been promised by the Lord himself that he will come for those he has purchased through his sacrificial death on the cross. And the Lord Jesus was faithful to all the Father commanded, and so we can rest in his promises. For just as the Father is faithful, so is the Son.

Consider how the promises of the Triune God have been continuously carried out throughout Redemption past. God made a covenant promise with Abraham, promising him that he would bless him by making his offspring as numerous as the stars and that the nations would be blessed through him. Even here in James, the dispersed Christians are that very blessing. For the story of God is spreading beyond Israel to the nations of the world.

Then there is God’s covenant promise to David, to establish a son on his throne forever. And of course we see this fulfillment to this promise in King Jesus himself. This is why Matthew’s account of the gospel begins in Matthew 1:1 saying, “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”

Our God is faithful and trustworthy. Therefore, we can rest that every promise that the Triune God promises us will be fulfilled. For while our God is 3 as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; our God is one in nature. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit working with the same faithfulness to bring about this plan of redemption in restoring sinners.

Christian, we wait patiently on the Lord’s return by remembering who our God is in his faithfulness. Which means we must continually remind ourselves of his goodness. For we are quick to forget. It means that we must continue to study the things of God to know him more, for the more we know him, the more we know how trustworthy he is.

That means for us, when fears and doubts about what is happening around us creep in, we don’t need to presume it must be time for the Lord to come back, it means we press deeper into God and trusting his timing, knowing that he has it all under his control and that he will faithfully bring it all about as he has planned it in his timing. Brothers and sisters, let us establish our hearts in this way so that we may patiently wait on the Lord’s return.

Likewise, in helping us establish our hearts, we can look to the saints of old who line the way before us. And that is where we turn for our third point this morning.

Wait patiently, look to the saints of old

Turn your attention with me to verses 10-11. James writes here….

As James encourages us to wait patiently, he wants us to look to the prophets and to Job who have gone before us. Looking at how they lived faithfully in the midst of suffering. And how they spoke in the name of the Lord.

It is not with accident that James uses the example of the prophets. For many suffered greatly as they labored to speak in the name of the LORD in faithfulness. Consider the trials of Jeremiah in his ministry. He was beaten by Pashhur the priest (Jer. 20:2). He was threatened with death by the priests and the false prophets for speaking against them (Jer. 26:8). He was cast into a cistern; a holding tank for water. But all that was in it was mud, causing Jeremiah to sink in it (Her. 38.6).

Then there was Elijah, though while he did many mighty works and was taken up by God, felt alone and isolated in his work. And fled from Ahab. And the Lord had to remind Elijah that he was not alone for he was not the only one left.

Time would not allow us to continue to examine the other prophets who suffered and yet continued to endure patiently waiting on the Lord. Yet, James does turn our attention to Job. Job who was considered a righteous man, yet suffered much. He lost his property and his children, and yet did not turn and curse God. Though Satan was given permission to cause Job ill, he was not able to take his life. And in the end, through Job’s faithfulness continually being shown, the Lord showed his compassion and mercy to Job by restoring all that he had and more.

Christian, look to these examples we have in the Scriptures. See how they waited patiently on the Lord in the midst of the unknown and in the midst of difficulty. See their faith in God and his promises. And see how he walked faithfully with them, bringing them to himself! Likewise, consider those in church history who have goner before us.

The Getty’s, the writers of In Christ Alone have another great hymn, O Church Arise. It is actually found in our hymnals, hymn #663. In the 4th verse of this great modern hymn, it says:

As saints of old still line the way,

Retelling triumphs of His grace,

We hear their calls and hunger for the day

When with Christ, we stand in glory.

The faithful who have gone before us retell over and over again of the greatness of God and how he has carried them through their own various trials to the day of completion.

Christian, are you lacking to wait patiently on the coming of the Lord? Consider those who have gone before us in the faith and have completed the race. Look to those who have suffered much for the sake of proclaiming Christ. Consider Dietrich Bonhoeffer who suffered in Nazi Germany. Consider the first Baptist missionary sent from the United States in his suffering, Adornium Judson. Or going further back, consider those of the early church martyred for their faith. That of Polycarp, Justin Martyr, Perpetual and Felicy who Augustine of Hippo preached a sermon on. These and more have lined the way of showing faithfulness in the midst of trials. They have carried out what Paul wrote in Philippians 1:21, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

Let us pick up and read and study those who have gone before us. Considering the example they have set in waiting patiently on the Lord and serving him so faithfully in the giving of themselves for the spread of his glory. Brothers and sisters, this should encourage us as we hunger for the day where we will join them in standing in glory! May we follow their examples!

Wait patiently, don’t respond hastily

Now, there is one last place we need to consider as we wait patiently, and that is to not respond hastily. And that’s where we turn here in our fourth and final point this morning.

Waiting patiently can be challenging when things are going well. But again, the original audience of James is far from that. They are in the midst of trials, they are facing oppression, and the temptation is to respond in haste, to both one another and in hasty claims. Kent Hughes describes their situation this way, “James was writing to people in such a miserable state that they were easily at each other’s throats. Close pressures had made them jumpy and quick to take offense.”

And it is for this reason that James gives the command to not grumble against one another. Brothers and sisters, to wait patiently on the Lord means to bear with one another as we wait by not grumbling against one another. Brothers and sisters, we are all fallen human beings. We will at times wrong one another in various ways. We must realize that we have a great need to show one another patience and grace, because it is the same patience and grace that we need ourselves.

To grumble against one another is to judge one another. It is the airing of condemnation as we speak against each other. And the way in which we judge, the way we grumble against one another is the way we will be judged. This is why James adds there in verse 9, “so that you may not be judged; behold the Judge is standing at the door.”

The Judge is coming, and if we are unwilling to bear with one another and withhold from grumbling against one another, he will judge us in the same manner. Let us not grumble against one another. Or as John Calvin says, “Let no one, then, ask for vengeance on others, except he wishes to bring it on his own head.”

But there is a second warning against a hasty response as we aim to wait patiently. And that is a warning against swearing and oaths. Look there at verse 12…

The call to not make oaths or swear is a call to truthfulness. And while this call to truthfulness might seem out of place, it is very fitting to emphasize this point in the call to waiting patiently on the Lord’s coming. For if the Judge is standing at the door, if his coming is near, then we must walk in integrity as his people. We must be truthful in all that we say, instead of the temptation to create false narratives and false trust through false reasoning. There is no greater sign of patient waiting than for us to ensure that the way we speak is filled with truth and the way we respond to one another.

For patient waiting is found in seeing God’s faithfulness and trusting it, and his plan to come about. Patient waiting is not found by trying to speed God’s plans along or pursuing our own plans in the midst of waiting. Patient waiting is carried out as we trust in God’s timing, plan, and faithfulness to bring about all his promises. Friend, we are not patient when we turn to our traditions over the things God has called us to. We are not patient when we try to keep up with the Jones’s in keeping up with the cultural appeal. We are patiently waiting when we look to God’s word and say I will follow your ways and your commands, not mine.

Conclusion

Brothers and sisters, the Lord’s return is near. We must wait patiently for his coming by faith. And that faith is given evidence in our speech and our conduct. That faith is strengthened in knowing that all the wrong will be righted by the Judge, King Jesus himself. And that faith is strengthened in our hearts as we grow our faith by beholding our God in his trustworthiness. So may we echo the words of the closing of the book of Revelation, Lord Jesus come. And as we wait, may we wait resting firm in our trust that he will indeed come.

GOSPEL PLEA

Let’s pray…