James wrote to early Jewish Christians who were suffering persecution at the hands of wealthy and powerful leaders of the Jewish religion—violent opponents of Christianity. To these distressed brothers and sisters, James offered sound spiritual counsel about having the kind of patient faith that endures trials.
He pointed to three examples of endurance: the hard-working farmer, the prophets of old who sought the Lord, and Job in his suffering. From these, we learn that faith joined with patience looks beyond present hardships to the better things God has prepared for our future.
Read the full sermon transcript below!
Our sermon this morning is from the New Testament book of James, which we understand to consist of three major divisions: the struggle of faith explained, the struggle of faith encountered, and the struggle of faith endured. Understanding the book of James in this manner, we become aware of a logical progression along these lines whenever we read and study the book.
Today our sermon text is from the first paragraph of the third section of the book, where James says, in so many words, “OK. I have explained the struggle of faith to you. I have taught you how you are going to encounter things that will challenge your faith. Now, let me teach you about enduring in your faith to the end.”
In the Scripture passage of our present Scripture sermon (5:7-11), James gives us three examples of enduring faith—examples that should be spiritually profitable for all of us. But before we look at each of these three examples, we need to understand a bit about the historical setting surrounding this writing, so we can better understand the message. What was the challenge that lay ahead for James’ readers?
Historical Setting
In the historical era of the first century early church there were two great persecutors of Christians. There were the Jews, who persecuted Christians because they left old covenant Judaism in favor of following Jesus Christ. And there was the Roman Empire, which persecuted Christians because they bowed to Jesus Christ as God and King, but would not bow to Caesar as the same. James is writing during the time of the Jewish persecution of Christians, before the Roman violence.
Earlier in the book, James has already written to early Christian martyrs, encouraging them to not lose heart, for the Lord has heard their cries. God Almighty has seen their oppression at the hands of wealthy, greedy men who exploit them, and he is going to judge those Jewish oppressors.
For example, look back to James 5:1, where James, like an Old Testament prophet, thunders upon rich Jewish oppressors about the judgment of God that was coming upon them: Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! The judgment theme is continued in verse 3: You have heaped up treasure in the last days. And in verse 5, James charges the Jewish persecutors, you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.
Notice in verse 3 that James speaks of the last days. But notice also how he singles out the wealthy Jews. He points them out, saying specifically “you.” “You” have fattened “your” hearts, and “you” have heaped up treasure in the last days. The Jews of the first century were living in what James calls the “last days.”
James was warning the Jewish people of an event that was going to arrive in just a few years, in a very short time. Jesus was going to come, although not physically and visibly in the sky as in the final days that are still in the world’s future. Rather, he was going to come—and did come—in judgment on the Jews, the very people who had crucified him. He came in judgment upon them when, by the hand of God, the Roman army besieged and destroyed Jerusalem, the center of Jewish life, in the year AD 70.
When divine wrath fell on Jerusalem, there was horrible suffering for the Jews, the people who had challenged God at the trial of Jesus, crying out, “Let his blood be on us and on our children” (Matthew 27:25).
Their demand of God was answered. At the destruction of Jerusalem the Romans crucified them, sometimes at the rate of 100 per day, mocking them for having crucified their own king, Jesus. When the walls of Jersualem fell and the army rushed in, the soldiers disemboweled the Jews alive. They searched through their entrails for jewelry, gold and precious gems which the greedy Jews had swallowed, trying to cling to their wealth to the very end. The people in Jerusalem under siege became so hungry they ate their own children trying to survive. It was indeed the last days for them—an apocalypse and a great tribulation like never before.
Looking ahead, James writes in today’s passage, preparing his readers for the judgment that is coming. He says, in so many words, “The Lord knows how the Judaists are persecuting you. He hears your cries. He knows how you are being exploited and mistreated. And he is about to deal with it. Just be patient and do not lose faith. Your eyes will see the power of God against his and your enemies.”
You can see that this is the intention of James because he repeats it three times in today’s passage of Scripture (vv. 7-11). Notice verse 7: Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Look at verse 8: You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Notice the latter part of verse 9: Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!
Do you see that? These people were about to witness the angry wrath of God poured out on evil. The Christians longed for God’s power to set them free. They groaned for relief from their cruel oppression and persecution. James was telling them, “Just be patient and hang on. Help is just around the corner. The judge is standing at the door.”
Now while it is true that James was writing to a particular audience, Jewish Christians in the first century early church… While it is true that James was writing about particular circumstances, Jewish Christians being persecuted and exploited by Judaists who had an ax to grind with them, because they had forsaken Judaism and embraced Christianity in Jesus Christ… While it is true that the last days and the coming judgment spoken of by James, referred to the Lord’s coming in judgment on the Jews with the destruction of Jerusalem and all the suffering that resulted from it…
While these things were true, there is yet something very important for us to consider today, isn’t there? Jesus came in judgment on the Jews, destroying their nation, their temple, their lineage, their way of life forever. But someday he is coming visibly and physically, as the returning and conquering King, to judge all of mankind at the final day.
Some believe his return is near; some believe it to be still distant. Our purpose today is not to solve the millennial question. But regardless of your eschatological position, we all agree that Jesus Christ is coming again in the future.
We all agree that at the final day, he will judge all of mankind (2 Corinthians 5:10-11): We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ…knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.
And we all agree that we very well better be ready for that day by embracing Jesus Christ as our savior, taking up our cross daily, and living for him as the Lord of our life now lest then we stand before the judge condemned, and be cast into hell forever. Our Lord Jesus explained in Matthew 25:41, “Then he will say to those on the left hand, “Depart from me, you cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.””
And we all agree that death is coming to everyone (Hebrews 9:27 and 10:31): It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment,” and “it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
We also agree, however, that judgment does not have to be a thing of terror if, while we are alive, we repent of our sins and place our faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ upon the cross. There, he bore the penalty of the guilt of our sins in our place so that we can be forgiven. Repentance unto life and saving faith, leading to a daily life in which we follow our Lord and Master Christ wherever he wills us to go and whatever he wills us to do.
Faith in Christ and humble submission to his will. That is the life which must be ours, because our Lord commands it. Then, on that day of judgment, we can be among those who will stand to the right of the judgment throne of Christ Jesus, those to whom Jesus says in Matthew 25:34, “Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
Until the day we depart this present life, however, we must continually press on with faith in God. James wrote to the first-century Jewish Christians to encourage them patiently to endure the struggle of faith in their day, and we also have our own struggles of faith to endure, don’t we?
We face our trials in life. We endure hardships in this life. We experience grief. We suffer afflictions. We are bowed and beaten down by disappointments. Things do not go the way we planned. We arrive at a mile marker in our life and find that it is nothing like we had envisioned and hoped. We make our plans, sometimes only watch them fall apart before our very eyes. We shake our heads, feeling helpless because there is not one thing we can do to change it—nothing.
We must have what James writes about in today’s passage of Scripture—faith that endures patiently to the end. In the verses that follow, James gives us three examples of enduring faith, with the same truth in each of them: faith that endures looks at the long term, not merely the short term. Enduring faith looks past present hardships and longings to the brighter days God has for our future.
Faith like a Farmer
The first example of enduring faith given by James is the patient farmer. He goes forth to his labors trusting that God will provide what is necessary for him to see good results (v. 7): See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.
The farmer goes out in the early spring and begins preparing his soil—plowing, fertilizing, and planting. Then throughout the summer he tends his crops. He cultivates, fertilizes, fights off insects and pests. He rises early, he works late. He bears the hot sun that drains him of his energy and burns his skin. He presses on through the disappointments of seeing his crops damaged by too much rain, not enough rain, the wrong time for rain. Too much wind, too hot, too cold. On and on throughout the summer the farmer endures it all, never letting up in his labors. He is the picture of patience and perseverance.
What keeps him going, seemingly against the odds? He looks past the present hardships to the future results of faithful endurance and perseverance. He sets his shoulder to the task all season long, trusting that at the end he will reap. See that? The farmer has an end in view. He patiently works on with an eye to the harvest, trusting that eventually he will see the fruit of his patience because God provides.
That is what James is teaching us here (v. 8): You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. The Lord did come in judgment on the oppressors of his people. And we can learn from our forefathers in the faith. Some day we will reach the end of our lives. Until that day, like the enduring farmer, we need to continue with patience and perseverance. How? James says it in verse 8: establish your hearts. Strengthen your heart, make it firm.
Rather than being overcome by doubt, overcome by the storms and challenges of life, our hearts need to have a firm resolve that every promise of God in his holy word is “yea and amen.” We must always trust that eventually—if we continue in faith, obeying God’s word, and submitting to his will whether pleasant or not—someday, like the diligent farmer, we will enjoy the sweet fruits of patient endurance.
Faith like a Prophet
Next, James teaches us about enduring faith by the illustration of the prophets. Notice verse 10: My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience.
Here is something that is really intriguing about the Old Testament prophets. Many times, they did not fully understand what they were prophesying. They often spoke of future things they could not see or fully comprehend. Scripture records in 1 Peter 1:10-11: As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.
How instructive for us all! Those holy men of old carefully searched and earnestly inquired, seeking to know, trying to see, straining to get a glimpse of what God was going to do in the future in bringing salvation to his people through Jesus Christ. They had a basic understanding, of course, but the times and the details were not theirs to know. But what did the prophets do? Peter explains in 2 Peter 1:21: Holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
Like the prophets, we can’t see the end which God has ordained. We can’t see the future. It is not for us to know the outcome of things. That knowledge belongs to God alone, and we do not possess it until we experience it. The prophets are a good example of people who simply obeyed God’s calling and purposes for them in the present while entrusting the future to God.
Although they did not fully understand the message, they announced it nonetheless, because that was God’s purpose and will for them. God used these unique men, like no others in the history of the world, as his own mouthpiece. They were instruments of God moved by his Holy Spirit, and when they spoke the word of God issued forth from their mouths.
They spoke of things yet to be, things that had not occurred, things they did not fully understand. They spoke of future occurrences which they could not see with their eyes. They simply believed God and his promises and yielded themselves to God’s purposes. And God used them as part of his work to change the course of the whole world.
Did the prophets and old covenant saints have trials in life? You better believe it. Listen to the words of Hebrews 11:35-39: They, “…Were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection; and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground.”
Think of it! People who endured prison, stonings, scourgings, being sawn in two alive. People who had to wear goatskins for clothes and live in caves and holes in the ground. Yet they never quit. They never gave up. They never shrank back. They never backed down, even when they withstood the kings of the world to their faces. What gave them such endurance? What kept them going?
They—as we must do—looked past their present circumstances to what God had promised in the future. The apostle to the Hebrews wrote of the old covenant saints: These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
Like the prophets and saints of old who had a faith that endured, we too must look past the present and boldly embrace the future. Like the prophets, we cannot see what God is preparing for our future. Like them, we cannot fully understand why the Lord has us in our present circumstances, and what he plans to make of them.
But, like the prophets, we can know that whatever God has in our future will be grand because God himself will do it. Until that future day arrives, we push on in the present. Tomorrow is not ours. We have only today. Tomorrow belongs to the Lord, and we cannot touch it.
Our responsibility is to live each today as faithfully and obediently to God as we possibly can. Our responsibility is to accept our circumstances as being from God’s hand, for our good, for his glory, whether or not we enjoy them. Our role is to endure them in a manner pleasing to God. In doing so, we must have a view to the end. We must think and believe long term. We must believe and know that whether or not our circumstances improve in this earthly life they certainly will afterward, because we have a home in glory that is worth far more than anything we endure here.
Faith like Job
Next in teaching about faith that endures with patience, James tells us that we must have faith like Job (v. 11): Indeed, we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job, and seen the end intended by the Lord – that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.
There is a consistent pattern in all three of these examples of enduring faith. In each example, the participants had no way of seeing the outcome. The farmer does not know what his harvest will be like. He simply puts his shoulder to the task the Lord has for him to work out in life, leaving the results to God. The prophets could not see the things of which they prophesied, the complete manner in which God would save his people through Jesus Christ. They simply took God at his word and did what God had for them to do.
Job is the same. Do you remember the situation with Job? Satan had God’s permission to afflict Job with terrible suffering. Job saw the deaths of his sons and daughters. He lost all his material wealth. And he lost his health with painful suffering to be endured. And to make matters worse, he had to put up with a depressing wife who tried to discourage him and get him to give up and forsake God.
Job had no way of seeing into the spiritual realm from which Satan was buffeting him. Job had no way of knowing that God had allowed Satan to wreak havoc to test him. Job could not see any of this. Like us! We can’t see into the spiritual realm. We can’t see the angelic or demonic, although we know that spiritual forces are at work in this world.
So, what did Job do? He looked beyond the short term to the long term. He looked past his present, trying, gut-wrenching circumstances and entrusted the future to God. Job knew that somehow, in some way, God was doing something good and would never forsake him. In this way, Job endured faithfully to the end, never forsaking his God.
Do you remember those wonderful words of enduring faith and godly courage spoken by Job? Do you remember how he declared his undying faith in God? Against all odds, in the face of horrible pain, grief, loss and suffering—when it seemed that Job had no reason to live, he found one. He said of God, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him. As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will take his stand on the earth. Even after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall behold…how my heart yearns within me” (Job 13:15; 19:25-27).
There, that holy man of old took his stand on God’s promises, and he lived to see God’s blessings poured into this life many times over. And there we, as the holy people of God today, must take our stand. We have no way of knowing everything God intends by our hardships and our trials. We learn from them. Some things we do come to understand, and some we do not.
But like the farmer, like the prophet, and like faithful Job, we know that our Redeemer lives. And like them, once, by means of God’s grace, we muster the spiritual insight and fortitude to lift our eyes above our present circumstances, and get a glimpse in our mind’s eye of the well-watered plains God has waiting for us on us on the other side of this present wilderness, then we begin to understand a little better what the Apostle Paul means when he says (2 Corinthians 4:16-18):
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Let us lift our eyes toward the promised land. Hebrews 12:2 says it well: Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. Our present wandering in the wilderness is only a temporary journey. What waits for us is eternal glory that never ends. Fix your eyes upon Jesus with faith that endures, faith that is not struck down by the discouraging circumstances of the present. No! Faith that strides boldly and confidently into the future in the power of the living God.
Benediction: 20 Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. And to his people be a confident faith that seeks those things which are above…with minds set not on things on the earth. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21; Colossians 3:1, 2)