Brethren, We Must Endure

MAY 10, 2020 STUDY NOTES JAMES 5:9-11 BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES BRETHREN, WE MUST ENDURE INTRODUCTION In the previous verses James presented to us problems Christians were facing in his day He gave them instructions concerning their attitude towards their trials and troubles We are to learn what James told them they must be doing until Jesus returns They were to remain strong in the faith and continue to be a witness of their faith in Christ Teaching us that we must exercise faith for today and hope for tomorrow James instructed us to live daily with the assurance of the return of Christ Now he tells them something that will not do any good at all, so, do not do it And then he once again encourages the Christian to be patient in their time of suffering As Christians today we must hear what James says, his message is for us today Especially as he tells Christians what not to do in their times of trials and troubles There is to be “no griping,” of which we should all agree, because it does not do any good The excuse of “complaining makes me feel better” is really-not true James tells us that it must not be done, and he gives us reasons why it does no good Jas 5:9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door. James presents to us the opposite attitude of that revealed in the previous verses The word “grudge” has the meaning of to gripe, grumble, moan, and groan It is the outward expression of an inner feeling of dissatisfaction When you feel uneasy about something and are not happy with what is happening Griping and complaining is a natural human tendency when things are difficult for us We have a perfect example today with the regulations related to the coronavirus epidemic The current complaining has gone beyond criticism and faultfinding to large public protests We can only wonder if the next step of griping will be violent acts on the streets of America James warns us of an impatient attitude which will be revealed through griping and complaining Paul also instructs us, Php 2:14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings: Look close at what Paul said, he used that little word “all” Sometimes we wish that little word “all” was left out of a verse, especially in this verse Some things we can easily handle without griping and complaining, but “all” things? The context of Philippians 2:14 is the will of God for our life, Php 2:15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; When a Christian is impatient, griping and complaining, the light is turned off, we are in darkness Notice that James is still talking to the “brethren,” he is speaking specifically to the Christian Why does James say, “one against another?” He is warning us of another human tendency Another natural tendency which is actually-an unnatural act, it should not be that way Satan likes it when Christians begin to do what James says do not do James warns us not to take out our frustrations on those near and dear to us, those close to us Why is it that we want to bring our problems home and blast the ones we love the most with them? One thing for sure, it is not God’s will or God’s way to deal with our anger toward problems Do not take out your anger by griping at the ones who mean the most to you, which does happen James says, “Quit going after one another,” and he identifies them as our spiritual family Then he warns us, lest ye be condemned: Pay attention to “you,” he makes a strong point concerning “you” “You” who are gripping, “you” are making a judgment and “you” will be judged because of it You are not condemning your circumstances, you are condemning yourself, you are at fault “You” will be declared guilty and face a personal judgment The word translated “condemned” has the meaning of being declared guilty Which is a serious charge against a Christian, that is why James once again says, behold Once again, we hear James calling for our attention, telling us to be sure we are listening For James “Behold” is like a highlighter to mark or underline what he is going to say It is most important for Christians to hear what he is now going to say His words are a warning, a reminder, and a motivator, “the Judge is standing at the door” the judge standeth before the door. In a court room setting today, those in the court room are instructed to stand as the judge enters James is telling us that the Judge can begin court any time, He is ready James is telling us to get ready to stand before the Judge We know who the Judge is, and we know that we will stand before Him, 2Ti 4:1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; The word “before” indicates that we are all going to stand in the presence of God Which will be at the time when Jesus returns to the earth, He will come as the Judge The “quick,” which means “living,” refers to those who are saved, those who are alive in Christ The “dead” are those who are spiritually dead, those without Christ in their life Scripture does not teach a general judgment where saved and lost are judged at the same time They face separate judgments which are not for the purpose of determining their eternal destiny Christians will stand before the “Judgment Seat of Christ,” Rom 14:10 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. “All” Christians will “stand” before the judgement seat of Christ The purpose of the judgment is not to determine whether we are saved or lost We will not stand before Christ accountable for our sin nature that separated us from God That judgment took place at the cross of Jesus, 1Pe 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. Through the cross of Jesus we stand justified before God, 1Pe 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: Only believers, those who are saved will stand before the judgment seat of Christ We will not stand at the judgment seat of Christ to answer for unconfessed sins The judgment of unconfessed sins is a present judgment known as “chastening” (Heb. 12:5-11) People usually define “chastening” as punishment But it must be understood as “instructive punishment” The original meaning was “the instruction of children,” to teach and educate them It also has the meaning to educate through discipline and punishment Is also identified the “schoolmaster” who taught and disciplined the children The chastening hand of God is proof of His heart of love for His children “Chastening” is “of the Lord” and is discipline for the purpose of instruction and correction The future judgment has to do with our earthly Christian conduct, what we are doing for Christ daily, 2Co 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. The judgment will be according to what we have done, was it really for Christ or not? The “good” is that which is acceptable before God, that done in His name and for His glory “Bad” does not mean that which is evil, but that which is useless, worthless, and unacceptable Paul gives us an explanation of the judgment seat of Christ in 1 Corinthians 3:9-15, read it Once again Paul states that the works of every individual Christian will be revealed, 1Co 3:13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. That which is tested is our work, which is what God gave us to do during our life upon earth God saved us and gave us a new life in order that we could do His work, Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. “Of what sort it is” does not have to do with quantity but quality How was it done? Why was it done? What was the motive, the desire, the will, the purpose? The fire will determine which works were genuine and for the glory of God Genuine works will receive a reward, 1Co 3:14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. There will be no loss of salvation, but there can be a loss of reward, 1Co 3:15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. The Judgment Seat of Christ helps us to understand the purpose of our salvation We are not saved just to be delivered from hell, though that is true, we will not enter hell We are not saved just so we can spend an eternity with God in Heaven, though it is true, we will If the only purpose of our salvation is our eternal destiny, why does God leave us on earth? We are saved to serve God, we must be faithful servants, Paul said, 2Ti 4:7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: God will reward faithful service, 2Ti 4:8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. Are you ready to face the Judgment Seat of Christ? If not get ready, listen to John, 1Jn 2:28 And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. Today is our day of opportunity to prepare for standing before the Judge The final judgment of those who are lost will be the “Great White Throne Judgment,” Rev 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. It is not a judgment to determine if they are saved or lost, they are “the dead,” spiritually dead, Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. Their judgment will be “according to their works,” works which are not of Christ Their eternal punishment will be determined by the evil of their works, what harm was done The “book of life” contains the names of all who are saved, Php 4:3 And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life. The names of those standing at the great white throne judgment are not written in the book of life They are judged according to those things “written in the books,” which I believe is the Bible After warning us, James now encourages us to be faithful by giving us some examples Jas 5:10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. James calls our attention to the faithfulness of the OT prophets, we have their history for a reason, Rom 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. Patience and comfort are the message that James is presenting to us History has given us many examples, patterns, and models that we can follow Faith’s “Hall of Fame” is found in Hebrews 11 Those who by faith lived for God, spoke for God, and died for God Read it and you will find that they suffered affliction, ill treatment, and misfortune Especially because they were living for God by faith Read it and learn that Christians are not exempt from trials, troubles, and persecution Those OT saints were not exempt from suffering oppression and being treated wrong But they were patient and remained faithful and are an example for us, Heb 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, The O.T. saints of chapter 11 are the cloud of witnesses that we are to look at We are to look to them because they are examples, they are the “Heroes of Faith” They are our examples because they know something about the life of faith The sin that will hinder us is “unbelief,” failing to trust God in all walks of life We are to run the race of faith with patience, exactly what James is telling us The message of the prophets was of the Lord and from the Lord, James says--who have spoken in the name of the Lord The fact that they spoke for the Lord did not exempt them from suffering Serving the Lord was the reason they suffered oppression and persecution And that is the main reason James is calling us to pay attention to them We are to learn from their example, for an example of suffering affliction, They faced evil circumstances from the hands of evil people which caused them misery Our example is their patience, and of patience. The word translated “patience” has the meaning of being patient with people It is normally translated “longsuffering,” having the ability to endure people who are difficult Christians must learn “to put up with” other people, so, you must be filled with the Spirit Read Ephesians 5:18-21 and compare it with the instructions James is giving us “Longsuffering” is being tolerant with aggravating people without becoming irritated and angry “Longsuffering” is the ability to be mistreated without reacting in a negative way “Longsuffering” is the opposite of wrath or revenge we are not to be quick tempered It is the quality of restraint that prevents you from speaking when you should keep quiet It is the quality of restraint that prevents you from acting in a way that you should not act James now tells us that being patient in the time of affliction is worth the effort Jas 5:11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. For the fourth time in this chapter we hear James say “Behold” Every time he says “behold” he follows with some very-important words of instruction He now tells us that the endurance explained in the previous verse will pay off in happiness The word translated “happy” has the meaning of being “blessed” or “fully satisfied” As a Christian we can be fully satisfied regardless of the conditions or circumstances we face Which James says is true when we “endure,” James used the same word in, Jas 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Faith in God and His Word allows the Christian to hang in there and keep going on Endurance is the opposite of giving up, the opposite of discouragement; despair; defeat To endure means “to remain under” the load and maintain a witness for Christ Christians will be blessed as they are trusting God and enduring the trials and troubles of life James now gives a specific example of perseverance and endurance Ye have heard of the patience of Job, Job was a righteous man and blessed by God before his troubles began He was a man who trusted the Lord, throughout his trials and sorrows he had faith Job was faithful to the Lord in the beginning and unto the end At the end of his sufferings, the Lord was there to bless Him and have seen the end of the Lord; God was with Job in the beginning and never left Job throughout his sufferings Through it all God had a purpose and a plan for Job and Job had a goal, “Trust the Lord” That is why James tells us to learn from Job, learn to trust the Lord through it all We need to realize that in the beginning, “was the Lord” In the end there was “the Lord,” Job had to trust the Lord for all “in between” The purpose of God was accomplished through the patience of Job Job would agree with Paul, Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. James wants us to believe the same truth that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. Job had learned that truth through his personal experience of suffering affliction We can learn it from our personal study of scripture The meaning is, God is full of compassion and cares for His people, we are His children, 1Jn 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. James is telling us that we must also learn of God’s care for us through the events of our daily life We learn as we remain faithful through our times of affliction, trials, and troubles Faithful endurance should be our personal testimony, a witness of God’s care, 1Pe 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. We are an example before others every day of our life, either a good or bad example By the grace of God our personal testimony can be a great example to others, Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. By the grace of God, do not “give in” to the trials of life, do not let them defeat you By the grace of God, do not “give up” during your trials of life, continue to be a witness for God Listen to the song, meditate upon the message, and pray for it to be your personal testimony “I’M NOT GIVING UP”