James 5 - Printer Friendly

What does James 5 mean?

Chapter Commentary:

The final chapter of the book of James includes three distinct sections.

First, James pronounces the coming doom of certain rich landowners, who were oppressing the poverty-stricken Christians. He calls on wealthy people to start weeping and wailing now in anticipation of their coming misery. In fact, it will come so quickly James writes as if it has already happened. This is a common technique used in Bible prophecy, such as in the book of Obadiah (Obadiah 1:3–7). Under this perspective, their riches have rotted, their expensive clothes are moth-eaten, and their silver and gold has corroded (James 5:1–3).

James lays out the charges against these wealthy antagonists. These are crimes they will pay for when God's judgment comes on the day of the Lord. According to this passage, these selfish people have hoarded wealth while others suffered in poverty. They have cheated their workers out of earned wages. They have lived in luxury while others lived in squalor. They have used their influence in a rigged court system to take more from the poor—even to kill the innocent (James 5:4–6).

James's warning is dire: God has noticed, and their judgment is coming.

Then James turns back to his oppressed Christian readers in their suffering. He urges them to stay patient as they wait. The day of the Lord, the very same one that their oppressors should be dreading, is one they can look forward to. It will come. The Lord is standing at the door and ready.

According to James, his readers must be patient, like farmers who wait through the rainy seasons for the harvest to be ready. They must strengthen their hearts, stand firm in their faith, and refuse to give into grumbling against each other in their suffering. Instead, they should follow the example of the Old Testament prophets and Job, who remained faithful to God through great suffering and persecution. Then, as now, God knows what His people are going through. He is still compassionate and merciful. He will reward those who are faithful (James 5:7–12).

James opened his letter by commanding believers to count all struggles as "joy." His intent was not for Christians to pretend to be happy, but simply to realize that God could bring good out of every situation. Now, James closes out his letter by encouraging believers to demonstrate their faith in God by praying in response to every circumstance. Are you in trouble? James says you should pray. Are you cheerful? Sing songs of praise, he says. Are you sick, or spiritually weak? Involve the community by asking the elders to pray for you, anointing you with oil, and the Lord will raise you up; your sins will be forgiven (James 5:13–15).

James makes it clear that the community of Christians should take responsibility for each other. They should confess their sins to each other—so those brothers and sisters can pray for one another's strength to overcome those sins. Healing will follow. Prayer is powerful and effective. God hears and responds. James often repeats the idea that what a person does reflects what he believes. So, those who believe prayer works should pray (James 5:16–18)!

Finally, people who are in the community of Christ should make an attempt to go and rescue those who have wandered away and into sin. They have the opportunity to save souls from death (James 5:19–20).

James 5:1–6 has a tone similar to that of an Old Testament prophet pronouncing the coming judgment on a group of people. This includes describing the ruin of these people as if it has already occurred. James lays out the charges against the rich landowners who were oppressing the poor. These crimes include selfishness, abuse of their workers, and indifference. Those rich sinners should start weeping and wailing now; their judgment was coming on the day of the Lord.

James 5:7–12 shifts focus from the condemnation of the rich oppressors, back to encouragement of the Christians these abusers were hurting. James urges believers to remain patient and strong in their faith. The day of the Lord is coming. They must not turn on each other, but they should be challenged and encouraged by the examples of the Old Testament prophets and Job who remained faithful to God through great suffering.

James 5:13–20 closes out the letter by encouraging those who believe in God to show it. This is most readily shown by praying in response to every circumstance. We should pray for ourselves, praise God, and invite the spiritual leaders of our churches to pray for us when we are sick, or spiritually weak. Healing will follow; sins will be forgiven. We should confess sins to each other so we can pray for strength for each other to overcome sin. Prayer works; God hears and responds. If we really believe this is true, our behavior will reflect it.

Chapter Summary:

What was causing fights and quarrels among the Christians to whom James was writing? They were living by the world's wisdom. This false perspective says human beings should do whatever it takes to get what they want in this life, even if it hurts other people. James says that to live that way is adultery, but God gives grace. Christians should repent and move close to God again. We should trust Him to provide, to be the Judge, and to lift us up in His time. In humility, we must acknowledge that all of our plans are dependent on Him, and He can change them at any moment.

Chapter Context:

Prior chapters in this letter focused on the relationship between beliefs and actions, and how to practically apply the concepts of Christianity. In chapter 4, James called his Christian readers to repent of their worldliness and turn back to closeness with God. Now in the last chapter of his letter, James addresses three things: He pronounces to the rich oppressors of the Christians that their judgment is coming on the day of the Lord. He urges those suffering under that oppression to remain patient, strong in their faith, as they wait for the day of the Lord. And he encourages all Christians to show their faith in God by praying in response to every circumstance.

The book of James is about specifically understanding what saving faith looks like. How does faith in Christ reveal itself in a believer's life? What choices does real trust in God lead us to make? Those are the questions James answers. Most scholars believe the writer was Jesus' half-brother, a son born to Joseph and Mary after Jesus' birth. James may not have come to believe Jesus was the Messiah until after the resurrection. Eventually, though, he became one of the leaders of the Christian church in Jerusalem. This is possibly the earliest-written of all the New Testament books, around AD 40–50. James addresses his letter to Jewish Christians scattered around the known world.

Accessed 5/3/2024 6:56:44 AM