JAMES CHAPTER 5
See
previous page
KJV
WEB
Jm 5,1-11
(49l) Judgment
>>
God judges the world >> Condition of the world
in the last days – For him to say that the judge is standing
right at the door in verse 9 is where He has been standing for the last 2000
years, beginning with Christ’s ascension to the Father and His subsequent
ministry from heaven that marked the beginning of a new age, called the last
days, because it is the last age of man’s reign on earth. Prior to chapter
five, James did anything but speak
like a prophet, but the first part of this chapter is devoted to endtime
prophecy, speaking about the antichrist’s empire as Daniel and the
book of Revelation spoke about it. He used some of the same words in his
description, such as “Luxuriously” in verse 5, which is
used in Rev 18-14. The first few verses here describe the internal conflicts
plaguing the antichrist’s kingdom. It is by principle that there would be
quarrels and conflicts and jealousy surrounding the materialistic pursuit of
wealth and pleasure. Satan may very well deceive the world with his outward
appearance as the antichrist controlling everything, but the fact is just the
opposite; he has absolutely no self-control. Through the absence of God’s character the antichrist’s lack
of self-control will shake his throne apart from the inside out. See also: Endtime prophecy; Jm 5,1-6;
160k
Jm 5,1-9
(34m) Gift of God
>>
Be generous like your Father >> Give to the poor
Jm 5,1-8
(23e) Sin
>>
Poverty (Oppression) >> Poor are those who are
rich in their own minds
(29f) Gift of God
>>
God is our advocate >> Delivered from spiritual
impoverishment
Jm 5,1-6
(26j) Sin
>> Consequences of sin
>>
Curse >> Deeds that return to the doer >>
Sin backfires on you – According to the book of Revelation, after the thousand years have been
completed (the millennium), God will allow Satan out of his prison for a short period
and during that time men will become greedy again, and Satan will amass a
small army to rise against Christ’s throne in effort to somehow unseat Him
and steal the treasure that James mentioned here, if only he
could succeed, but of course that is impossible. This exercise in futility
will prove a couple things, that it has been Satan all along for the last
seven millennia who stirred up
the minds of people against the Lord. Man is evil in himself, but
combined with the devil whispering in his ear it accounts for all the evil
that has transpired throughout the ages. Second, it proves that man and the devil
have always had a common goal, which was to overthrow Christ's throne and become
God. How
could Satan become
God? He already killed Christ once, and it backfired on him, so what does he
expect to accomplish? Satan is insane, and he
motivates people to serve him through a spirit of insanity. So, it doesn’t
actually make sense what he is doing.
(28i) Gift of God
>>
God is our advocate >> God crushes those who
make us stumble
(40m) Judgment >> God is glorified >> God defends His righteous ones through judgment
–
God has created a hell, and those who do not have the Holy Spirit dwelling in
them when they meet God will be cast into the lake of fire, which burns with
fire and brimstone, “And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and
ever” (Rev 14-11). Sinners will have gotten by with nothing, and their torment
will last forever, and the temporal rewards they sought have been long spent. This is the folly of sinners to sacrifice everything for nothing.
Those who find their place in hell will be happier there than they would be in
heaven, because God is there and they hate God; that will never change.
Repentance is simply not in them. God has put man on the earth in a failed
world and in a failing body, and He asks him one question: ‘Do you prefer your
sinful flesh over My promise of eternal life?’ Every person answers that
question by his actions.
(55l) Paradox
>>
Gain the world to lose your soul >> live this
life to Lose eternal life
(56j) Paradox
>>
Opposites >> He who exalts himself shall be
humbled
(60e) Paradox
>>
Two implied meanings >> Rich people of the world
/ Rich people of the Church
(77l) Thy kingdom come
>>
Being Humble Before God >> Let your laughter be
turned to mourning
(98m) Thy kingdom come
>>
Endurance (Thorn in the flesh) >> Endurance invites the Holy Spirit into your life >>
Endurance invites the judgment of God
(160k)
Works of the devil >> Satan
determines the world's direction >> Temptation to walk in unbelief
>> Tempted to pursue your addictions – The treasures of the antichrist are still
setting in the place where he left them. The last kingdom of man
will be such a money-grubbing kingdom that the vast majority of
the gold that was ever mined on earth since the beginning of time will all be in one place, where the
antichrist last had his kingdom before the return of Christ, and where was that?
Jerusalem! All the wealth of the world
representing every civilization that rose and fell on earth will be stockpiled
in the City of God, and it will just sit there and rust, meaning God’s
millennial kingdom will not be an economy that uses gold and silver. This
suggests a barter system. No one will come along and try to take it; nobody
cares about it; nobody wants it; they don’t need it, also no one comes to take it because Jesus will have established
his throne in Jerusalem and will be sitting on it. The antichrist’s treasures will therefore act as the millennium’s tree
of knowledge of good and evil, at the end of the age when the nations gather together for
war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore (Rev 20,7-9). See also: Endtime prophecy; 161m
(161m) Works of the devil
>> Satan
determines the world's direction >>
Carried away by greed – The fact that the antichrist’s gold and
silver have rusted and that his garments have become moth-eaten suggests that
a period of time has transpired since acquiring them, so
what is this long segment of time? After the great
tribulation runs its course the millennium of Christ's reign will begin. This
will be a time when faithfulness and righteousness and obedience will have its
place in the world, and people will be happy to serve the Lord with joy for a
thousand years. The angels have grabbed the antichrist by the nap of
the neck and throne him into the lake of fire, along with his false prophet,
but Satan is held in captivity somewhere, until his time of release (Rev 20,1-3). Therefore, the
millennium represents a time of judgment for Satan, and this is the connection
that James is making, that if we pursue worldly treasures, we will get nothing but bondage for our trouble.
See also: Endtime prophecy; Jm 5,1-5; 217l
(183ea) Works of the devil >>
The origin of lawlessness >> Spirit of Error (Anti-Christ / Anti-Semitism) >> Nursery
for the spirit of error >> Selfish
ambition >> Seeking to control the Church –
Everybody who oppresses the
poor and the citizens of heaven is like the devil, who live in the last generation
and take the mark of the beast and gladly worship the devil, and they will face the consequences eternal damnation, “away from the
presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power” (2The 1-9). Had they to do all over again,
they would not hesitate to repeat their same mistakes. They may not like hell, but they would hate heaven even more. This
is incomprehensible to those of us who love God.
(242d) Kingdom of God
>>
Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >>
Persecuting the kingdom >> Persecuting God >>
Persecuting righteousness
(249i) Priorities >>
God’ s preeminence >> Wealth >>
World’s perception of wealth >> The world's
wealth erodes good values >> Being a slave to
wealth
KJV
WEB
/ Navigation Bar
Jm 5,1-5
(171e) Works of the devil
>>
Manifestations of the devil >> Outward
appearance >> Vanity >>
Vanity lacks worth
(217l) Sovereignty
>>
God overrides the will of man >> God’s will
over man >> You cannot control the judgment of
God >> You cannot control how God responds to
sin – James said that the gold and silver
testify that the antichrist was there, but his treasures have since rusted as a
witness against him that his value system was meaningless. The antichrist made his
laborers work even on Sunday, implying they worked seven days a week,
suggesting they were slaves for the antichrist during his reign as a means of
him coming to power. Their pay was withheld from them through inflation and
taxation. They worked with the promise of pay, but never received it,
and so they were deceived, which makes it worse than slavery. This is a familiar scenario
even in today’s world. The antichrist’s lawn care provider is just a microcosm of the rest
of the world who was employed by the antichrist and got nothing for their
labor. He did these things against
the people in order that he himself might be the sole beneficiary of their
labor, that he might live luxuriously on the earth, but James says all this pleasure seeking hedonism has
only fatten him for the day of slaughter. His day is coming; he was accumulating,
not fat cells, but sin, so when God judges him, it will be that
much more severe. Once Satan entered the antichrist, God could judge him as a
man, which carries a stiffer sentence than the judgment of angels. See also: Endtime prophecy; Jm 5-5;
240d
Jm 5,1-4
(154g) Witness
>>
Validity of the Father >> God bears witness
against the world >> Witness that the world is
rebellious against God >> Witness against sin
Jm 5,1-3
(4b) Responsibility
>> Advocate God’s cause
>>
Being accountable to the Judgment of God -- These verses go along
with verse12. Perhaps being a missionary or a pastor or a deacon in a church
is the last thing in our mind, but the Bible says that everyone will
advocate God’s cause in one way or another, if not in heaven or on earth,
then somewhere else. If we have money, we can buy almost anything, except
eternal life, so when our health goes, they bury us, and all of our money
loses its value, and other people will spend it on themselves probably without thinking about
us. God considers this fair, because everyone will give an account to God for what they have
said and done. If we had a good, easy life, while your neighbor struggled in his
faith, both
are fair to God. In fact nothing is unfair to God after He judges the world
in righteousness.
Jm 5-1
(188h) Die to self (Process of substitution)
>>
Separation from the old man >> Sorrow >>
Grieving over your own loss >> Grieving over
your sinful nature
KJV
WEB
/ Navigation Bar
Jm 5,3-6
(57a) Paradox
>>
Opposites >> The rich are poor
Jm 5-3
(104c) Thy kingdom come
>>
Purifying process >> Purified by fire >>
Purified through fiery judgment
(159g) Works of the devil
>>
Essential characteristics >> Counterfeit >>
Counterfeit godliness >> Wealth is a form of
counterfeit godliness
Jm 5,4-11
(34j) Gift of God
>>
God is willing to Give >> Receiving God’s
blessings through endurance
(218d) Sovereignty
>>
God overrides the will of man >> God’s will
over man >> Reaping the harvest >>
We choose our actions, not their consequences >>
God controls the consequences of our actions -- These verses go with
verses 17&18. Owners
of businesses made their employees work seven days a week
and never paid them; this is slave labor. There was no mention of slaves, so
on top of that their employers lied to them; they waited for a paycheck that
never came, or it was eaten by inflation and taxation. This sort of thing is happening in our own generation, and if it
happened in the first century, then it also happened in every generation
in-between, and it started long before James wrote his epistle. It is the
way that man has treated one another from the beginning. We have been given a
free will to do whatever we think is right, and since the
beginning of time God has been faithful to return man’s sin to him. God
has sown the principle of sowing and reaping into the fabric of His creation;
these things happen automatically. A man with a criminal mind treats his
neighbor harshly, and his soiled brain haunts him to an early grave. Sometimes God will personally divvy out
retribution to those in need, though usually He allows His creation to
judge itself, and at the end of time He will erect a White Throne and judge
every sinner according to his deeds. These owners of businesses who neglected to pay their
workers
thought they would get by with it, but
eventually the tables turn and order is reestablished. This is God’s relationship with unrepentant
sinners.
Jm 5,4-9
(237n) Kingdom of God
>>
Pursuing the kingdom >> Transferring the kingdom >> The Church is transferred to the kingdom
>>
Transferred from lawlessness to righteousness
Jm 5,4-8
(116m) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >>
Rest in Jesus (Sabbath) >> Rest in His yoke by dying to
self >> Dying to self by the Spirit
Jm 5,4-6
(48k)
Judgment >> Levels of judgment
>>
God judges your enemies according to your faithfulness
(201k) Denying Christ
>>
Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >>
Running from God >> Man’s will over God >>
Man is unwilling to acknowledge God
Jm 5-4
(82d) Thy kingdom come
>>
Three elements of prayer >> Our approach >>
How to pray
KJV
WEB
/ Navigation Bar
Jm 5,5-12
(8i)
Responsibility >> Responsible to defend God's cause
>>
Preparing for Judgment –
The best thing we can do to
prepare for God’s vindication against our oppressors is to be
innocent of all evil to avoid being judged along with them.
Jm 5,5-8
(229e) Kingdom of God
>>
God’s kingdom is a living organism >> Kingdom
grows by itself >> God causes the growth >>
Kingdom grows like crops in a farmer’s field
Jm 5-5,6
(124i) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Love your enemies >>
Loving your enemies leaves room for God to Work >>
Leave room for the wrath of God
Jm 5-5
(74j) Thy kingdom come
>>
Heart of man is sinful >> Sin is conceived in
the heart
(196k)
Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against
God >> Spiritual laziness >>
Replacing God’s standard of excellence with yours >>
Fattened for the day of slaughter
(214c) Sovereignty
>>
God controls time >> God’s timing >>
God’s timing transcends our comprehension >>
God’s time line gives the wicked just enough rope to hang himself
(240d) Kingdom of God
>>
Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >>
Hindering the kingdom >> Natural disadvantage >>
Beware when all men speak well of you >>
Natural disadvantage of being popular –
This is the only time James gets prophetic and speaks about the last days, before Christ establishes His kingdom on the earth for a thousand
years. After that, He will close the curtain for good on this temporal realm,
on man's reign on earth and on sin, and He will create a new heavens and a new earth in which
Christ will be king of the
universe. Before that happens, though, we must get through the last days'
tribulation. It
says that the Antichrist will live luxuriously on the earth, leading a life of wanton
pleasure, fattening himself for the day of slaughter. The book of Revelation
refers to the antichrist in a similar manner (Rev 18-14), and it says that she
holds a chalice in her hand full of the blood of the saints (Rev 17-6). In
many Catholic churches only the priest drinks from the cup, and so John's
Revelation implies that judgment against the Catholic Church is against the
priesthood and not against the parishioners. They have turned Christianity
into pagan superstition, saying that their many rites and ceremonies stir the
spiritual realm so that the
bread and wine mysteriously turn into the body and blood of Christ at the blessing of the priest. The Catholics have backed-off
this and many other long-held beliefs after
being exposed as a brotherhood of homosexual child rapists. Is James talking
about anybody else here? Does he not also describe the vast majority of
Christian pastors who bring home a salary greater than many of their parishioners? The
average salary of a pastor today is between $50,000-75,000/year, whereas the
average salary of a believing Christian is often well below that figure, and so this verse applies to
them
too. James also said, “Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the
poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He
promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man” (Jm
2-5,6). It is generally the poor who pay the pastor’s salary, who
don’t make much money and are generally disenfranchised by the world, then
go to church and are disenfranchised there too. Reduce the salary from most
pastors to the average income of their followers and most of them
would find another job that pays better. See also: Endtime prophecy; Jm 5-6; 189f
/ Mark of the beast associated with the blood of the saints;
Rev 16,1-7; 189f
Jm 5-6
(25c) Sin
>>
Poverty (Forms of fear) >> Murder >>
Persecution to the death >> Murdering for prestige
(189f)
Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man
>> Martyr >> Martyrs bring about the judgment of God – James refers to martyrdom in the last
days. He also refers to the kind of attitude martyrs should have in the last
days, that if we get a gun to defend ourselves, we should remember that
anyone who comes to Christ is a sheep in the midst of wolves (Mat 10-16). The
misconception that many have applied to this verse is that God will always
protect us, but wolves do eat sheep, yet Jesus promised that not a hair on our
head will perish (Lk 21-18), so whether or not we are martyrs is
irrelevant, because we are never going to die. There is no fear of death for
the Christian; this is why we don’t resist the antichrist; we are proud
to be martyrs for Christ, not like radical Muslims who kill themselves and
take as many people with them as possible. That is not a martyr but
a suicidal maniac. See also: Endtime prophecy; Jm 5-7,8; 50b
KJV
WEB
/ Navigation Bar
Jm 5,7-11
(98l) Thy kingdom come
>>
Endurance (Thorn in the flesh) >>
Endurance invites the Holy Spirit into your life >>
Endurance invites the glory of God
Jm 5,7-9
(194c) Die to self (Process of substitution)
>>
Turn from sin to God >> Run to God >>
Running to meet Jesus prior to His visitation
(214i) Sovereignty
>>
God controls time >> God’s timing >>
God’s time is soon >> Evidently soon
Jm 5-7,8
(50b) Judgment
>>
God judges the world >> The second coming of
Christ – Throughout
Scripture, including this passage, the Bible has consistently given us one piece of advice about preparing
for the last days. It has nothing to do with doomsday prepping, or
stockpiling food and ammunition, or digging a bomb shelter. The gospel was
meant for the poor, and if they cannot afford to prepare in this way, then God
will not require it of them. Rather, the
Bible says the number one thing we can do to prepare for Christ’s
second coming is to strengthen our heart and remain in the word of God and
prayer and focus our attention on our relationship with God. If that day
catches us unaware and we are not spiritually prepared, but have become a
doomsday prepper or something else, we will be too
weak to resist temptation and deny Christ. We are called to victory, not to be overcome by
darkness. Everyone will be tested. Attempting to blend with the crowd is not the answer, just the
opposite; we are called to shine all the
brighter, because darkness is afraid of light. If we do our part and bear
witness of the light that is in us, demonstrating the love of God by the power of the Holy Spirit,
they might kill us but they can't hurt us. See also: Endtime prophecy; 126ka
(50d) Judgment >>
Last Days >> Jewish Led
endtime revival >> Jews lead the world into revival
>> Leading the harvest at the end of the age
(105c) Thy kingdom come
>>
Pure in heart >> Being a slave to a pure heart
(126ka) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Patience >>
Have patience for the return of Christ >> The spiritual return of Christ
–
James has written an endtime prophecy in these verses. Collecting silver and
gold is not a means of surviving the last days, or investing in the stock
market, or becoming a doomsday prepper. We are not to dig a hole in the ground
and crawl in it, thinking it will save us, or buy a bomb shelter and fill it with
canned goods, thinking it will suffice. None of these things are the
Bible’s answer to preparing for the coming of the Lord. Instead, what does
it say? Both Old and New Testament give uniform advice: “Strengthen your
hearts” in the word of God and prayer. Develop a relationship with God and
focus on Him. No matter what else we do to prepare, it
won’t work. There will be a minimum span of 3½ years that we will have to
survive and most people can only hold enough reserves for six months, and we
can’t live in a hole that long. God has already told us what to do, and if we do
something else, how can it work? See also: Endtime prophecy; Jm 5-17,18; 151e
Jm 5-7
(129e) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Bearing fruit >>
Bear fruit by dying to self -- This verse goes with verses 16-18
(225d) Kingdom of God
>>
Illustrating the kingdom >> Parables >>
Parables about wealth >> Parables about a land
owner and his farm
Jm 5-8
(9i) Responsibility
>> Strengthen one another
>>
Be strong
(74a) Thy kingdom come
>>
The heart >> God wants you to bless your brother
from the heart
Jm 5-9
(4l)
Responsibility >> Advocate God’s cause >>
Being accountable to your brother
(8p)
Responsibility >> Prevent God’s judgment
on your life
(26l)
Sin >> Consequences of sin
>>
Curse >> Deeds that return to the doer >>
Words of your mouth -- This verse goes with verse 12
(40e) Judgment
>>
Jesus judges the Church
(45j) Judgment
>> Judgment of believer’s sin >> God will judge us for the
words we speak -- This verse goes with verse 12
(51h) Judgment
>> Judging the Church with the world
>>
No partiality among us with God
(53e) Paradox
>>
Opposites >> Freedom and bondage >>
It takes one to know one –
When someone offends us, they are giving us an opportunity to demonstrate the
principles of God; their sins highlight every act of kindness we
return to them, exposing their malice. Now we have given them an
opportunity to confess their sins, or they will be haunted by them. More often than not, the consequences of their actions infiltrate their
lives, and they never have any insight about what is happening to them, so they remain in the dark. Instead of complaining, we should
pray for them and be kind to them whether or not they respond to our kindness to avoid being judged with them.
(60e) Paradox
>>
Two implied meanings >> Judged for complaining/Judged for the sins of your brother whom you are complaining about
(84h) Thy kingdom come
>>
Words of your mouth >> Gossip >>
Attacking a person’s character
(131i) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Unity >>
Interdependence >> Encouraging one another – This is one of many pieces of advice
James gave for securing unity in the Church that
we should pursue as the day draws near, but complaining and leading a faction is not how to do it.
(158b) Works of the devil
>>
Essential characteristics >> Divide and conquer >>
Strife >> Grumbling –
We should take James’ advice and keep our mouths shut, for complainers are a dime a
dozen. Jesus said, “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the
way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be
measured to you” (Mat 7-1,2). When James used the word “brother”, he was
referring to our fellow Christians. Complaining against the brethren is a form
of judgment, not on them but on us. There is always more room for pity than
there is for complaining. People do things that are clearly wrong, and we
meticulously tabulate them, but we don’t keep track of our own sins. We do things to people that make them feel the same way we feel about
them. These are all aspects of the sinful nature. We feel totally justified in
all we say and do, not understanding that complaining is unwarranted. If
we want to behave like Christ, we will look past the injustices imposed on us
and take on God’s view instead, which is one of pity, being the reason he
sent his son in the first place. God is calling
us to fall out of tune with other people’s sins and realize what we do to others and forgive what they do to us, work
on our usefulness to the Lord and be a blessing instead of a
curse. This is how Jesus lived and died and rose again on our behalf, forgiving
others for what they did to Him.
KJV
WEB
/ Navigation Bar
Jm 5-10,11
(12a) Servant
>>
Examples of God’s people >> Good examples – James brings up Job of the Old Testament and
places him among the prophets as an example of conduct in the last days,
suggesting we have a high chance of suffering. God was compassionate and merciful, but first
Job had to suffer. Oppression and slavery (Vs 4-6) are just as unfair
as Job’s plight, who was chosen by Satan because of God's blessing and
Job's good
faith toward God. We should have the
attitude Job had, not to forsake the Lord,
but to continually believe in His good intensions
for us no matter what happens. In the midst of darkness and
suffering, we should know these things do not come from God, but He uses them to test our faith and
strengthens us to prove that goodness and righteousness, holiness and
purity are very valuable traits that we should pursue. See also: Endure
suffering; 126m / God allows suffering and evil to test us like He
tested Job;
Rev 9-11; 26g
(126m) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Patience >>
Be patient in your circumstances –
Talking about what we deserve and don’t deserve, we quickly
run into trouble; i.e. we deserve hell, but God rescued us, and we don’t deserve God’s grace and mercy, yet we have
received them. We are
partakers of Him, blessed with all good things to enjoy and blessed when we endure
hardship. Our faithfulness as Christians separates us from the world as His
beloved, blessed even when
persecuted. When we endure persecution on top of hardship and
oppression, we will receive all the more grace from God. Most people don’t want to wait to be rewarded for
faithfulness, but God often requires us to remain faithful for long periods
before His blessing comes, and God’s purpose is for us to wait. Our reward will be
greater the longer we wait, for He is worthy of long-suffering. What happens to us is only temporal,
but God’s reward is eternal. In a billion
years from now, we will still be glad we served the Lord in these days. See also: Endure
suffering; 143a
(143a) Witness
>>
Validity of Jesus Christ >> Witnesses of Jesus >> Having a reputation for knowing God
>>
known for walking close to God –
We have an interest in being healed and God has an interest in our faith; it takes a lot of faith in God for healing, but it takes even more faith
to believe in Him while we are sick. Since God loves our faith, for Him to
heal us would be like shooting Himself in the foot, for now He has taking
away our need of Him. God can use us just as
well when we are sick as when we are healed, for our testimony of believing
in Him in our sickness is just as great as the testimony of
God's healing. See also: Endure suffering; 239b
(150i) Witness
>>
Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness of Jesus >> Speak the word
of the Spirit >> Speaking the words that God has
spoken to you
(151h) Witness
>>
Validity of the Father >> New Testament bears
witness of the Old >> Men of faith
(239b) Kingdom of God
>>
Pursuing the kingdom >> Pursuing the knowledge
of the kingdom >> Teachers >>
Teachers "remind" their students >>
Recalling the circumstances –
The rich have neglected to pay their employees, making them work seven days a week. It says
they will receive retribution
from the Lord for their actions (Vs 4-6), and we are to mind our manners so
we are not counted among them. The advantage of being on the wrong end of oppression
is being in the right, and to remain there is our goal as Christians, so
when God distributes His judgment to those who deserve it, He will pass over
us. We must make a distinction between ourselves and our oppressors to receive God’s grace; otherwise,
He will
consider us no better than them. God made a distinction between the Israelites and
the Egyptians, requiring them to paint their doorposts with lamb’s blood, a simple gesture of faith, but
it was necessary, and it saved their
lives. See also: Endure suffering, Jm 5,13-20 83a
Jm 5-10
(67i)
Authority >> Jesus delegates authority
>>
Preaching the gospel in Jesus’ name
Jm 5-11
(123e) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Love >>
Spiritual affection >> Compassion >>
Being willing because you are able
Jm 5-12
(4b) Responsibility
>> Advocate God’s cause
>>
Being accountable to the Judgment of God -- This verse goes with
verses 1-3.
(26l)
Sin >> Consequences of sin
>>
Curse >> Deeds that return to the doer >>
Words of your mouth – This verse goes with verse 9. Lying
was something in ancient times that almost
didn’t exists, when their word was their bond, combined with a handshake.
Now we sign our name to documents because our word means nothing anymore. We
are to be careful what we sign, though a good lawyer can usually overturn
it, but at a great financial cost. The integrity of their word used to
be important to people, but now people lie and don’t think
anything about it. In ancient times, people did business by their word, and if they
didn’t do what they said, they could be shunned by the
community, and depending on the infraction, they could suffer jail time or
even be stoned, but nowadays people lie about everything. The
only time lying is a crime today is under oath in a court of law; otherwise,
people lie as a way of life. However, God doesn't change; He views
lying as He did when he gave Moses the Ten Commandments that said not
to bear false witness.
(45j) Judgment
>>
Of believer’s sin >> God will judge us for
the words we speak – This verse goes with verse 9
(85k) Thy kingdom come
>>
Words of your mouth >> Better not to say
anything >> Words will make you obligated
KJV
WEB
/ Navigation Bar
Jm 5,13-20
(83a) Thy kingdom come
>>
Receiving from God through prayer >> Prayer of
faith – What is the solution to suffering? It is
prayer. We don’t feel like
praying when we’re sick; that’s why James has the presbytery come and help, but any other kind of suffering pulls us into prayer, hence
one of the reasons God allows suffering. Anxiety, fear and other such
afflictions of the soul is remedied through prayer, because God can work His
Spirit into our problems, giving us a new perspective, so they seem
a little smaller, especially by virtue that one day this life will be over and
we will go to heaven, and none of these problems will plague us again.
That’s a wonderful perspective, and it is a joy we have no matter what
happens to us. The greater our suffering the greater our joy and hope. See also:
Endure
suffering; Jm 5-10,11; 12a
(130e) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Unity >>
Committed to caring for the needs of the body >>
Committed to holding up one another – We don’t pray for ourselves when we
are
sick; we depend on the Church to help us. This establishes interdependency within the body of Christ. Also, this
is a good reason to stay strong spiritually, so we have this blessing. The elders of the Church are to pray over the
sick, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. This ritual is accomplished
nowadays with a single drop of oil on the forehead, rubbed with the finger in
the shape of a cross, but the anointing of oil in the old days was to wash the
sick person’s head with oil, which was an expensive commodity back then, and if he has committed any
sins, they will be forgiven him.
Jm 5,13-18
(8g)
Responsibility >> Prepare to interact with God >>
Preparing to receive from God
Jm 5-13
(23f) Sin
>>
Poverty (Oppression) >> Rich are those who are
poor in their own minds
(82i) Thy kingdom come
>>
Prayer >> Thankfulness >>
Giving thanks for His blessings
(188g) Die to self (Process of substitution)
>>
Separation from the old man >> Suffering >>
Enduring your circumstances
Jm 5,14-16
(120h) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Forgiveness >>
Forgiveness is an act of mercy >> God forgives
us through His power
(145d) Witness
>>
Validity of Jesus Christ >> Jesus’ works bear
witness of Himself >> Healing >>
Jesus heals through the Church
(194j) Die to self (Process of substitution)
>>
Turn from sin to God >> Yielding >>
Confessing your sin to God
Jm 5-14,15
(59b)
Paradox >> Two implied meanings >> Your sins are forgiven / You
are healed – Sin could be the cause of
illness; hence, God heals the soul with the body. If the man is repentant, he will be
forgiven and receive healing, but if he isn’t, he will neither be forgiven
or healed. However, sin and unbelief is
not the only reason some sicknesses cannot be healed, and for this reason
we should not accuse the sick person. If he has been healed by the power of God,
he is certified repentant, which can be useful as a trust factor.
(67f)
Authority >> Jesus delegates authority
>>
Name of Jesus >> Performing miracles in Jesus’
name –
People seek healing when their bodies are racked with pain, injury and
disease, and sometimes God heals them through their faith. Some quit believing
in God because they were not healed or a family member was not healed; they
give up on God, as though He were a servant working for them. Understanding how God heals is just as mysterious as
the reasons He doesn’t heal. For a person seeking healing in the body,
he takes the Scriptures into prayer and reminds God of what He said
regarding His promises, using passages specific to healing. Missionaries and
evangelists more often see God's healing touch, because God is more inclined to
heal for the sake of His word than for the sake of a sick man, since God can
use sickness to extract faith and trust from the one who is sick, but He can
use healing to advance the gospel into the world for more people to be saved,
but we must
make certain of our teaching and doctrine, otherwise God will
not confirm His word in us through healing.
(72i)
Authority >> Hierarchy of authority
>>
More Authority The More Responsibility >> Closer
we get to Jesus the more power
(106k) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >>
Hearing from God >> Means of hearing from God >>
Through prayer – Prayer is in association with repentance, for
you cannot have an unrepentant heart and an effective prayer. After the
obstacle of sin has been removed, the repentant believer
automatically prays and seeks a relationship with God, for he has realized the
error of his ways and admitted his guilt and taken responsibility for his actions.
These things are hard on the ego, and for this reason the fleshly man holds onto
his sin, because he doesn’t want to change his ways, but the spiritual
man seeks a relationship with God, confessing his sins as a means of growing
closer to Him.
(113i) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >>
The anointing >> Anoint with oil
(116b) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >>
Working the grace of God >> Through worship >>
In prayer
KJV
WEB
/ Navigation Bar
Jm 5,16-18
(129e) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Bearing fruit >>
Bear fruit by dying to self -- These verses go with verse
7
Jm 5-16
(9c)
Responsibility >> Prevent disunity within
the body of Christ >>
Prevent discord within the Church
Jm 5-17,18
(16b) Sin >> Man’s
nature is instinctively evil >> Man is an enemy of God
(151e) Witness
>>
Validity of the Father >> New Testament bears
witness of the Old >> The Patriarchs >>
The Old Testament prophets –
James
gave us reason to expect our prayers to be answered, giving us Elijah as a
model for the effective prayer of a righteous man (v16), indicating that we
have something in common with him: he was a sinner like us.
Therefore, we can pray as he prayed and expect results. There were
other things about Elijah that do not apply to us, such as his ministry
as a prophet, yet Jesus in so many words taught that we all have a Spirit of
prophecy within us. In Jn 16-13 He said, “But when He, the Spirit of
truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on
His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will
disclose to you what is to come.” That was Jesus’ promise to every
Christian, and so in that sense we are a little like Elijah, though that
doesn’t mean we are all prophets or even have the gift of prophecy; it
only means we know the truth when we hear it. Elijah will return as one of the
two witness according to Rev 11,1-14, only not him but the spirit and
ministry of Elijah will return. A man will be born in the last days whom God will
endow with a ministry similar to Elijah of the Old
Testament. The second of the Two Witnesses will be a man with a ministry similar to Moses. For
James to compare us to Elijah was audacious, when we think of all the things
Elijah did. He took on King Ahab, the evil king of Israel, and his wife Jezebel. Jesus said, “Elijah is coming and will restore all things” (Mat
17-11); we will never have the ministry of restoring Israel to fellowship with God, as
the Two Witnesses will restore Israel and the Church
in the last days, yet we all play a part in restoring one another, giving us more confidence to pray like Elijah
did with the expectation to
receive. Prayer is a very important ministry, and each of us has this
ministry. Even unbelievers pray; how much greater is the prayer of the
beloved? If there is one thing that separates us
from the heathen, it is that God listens to our prayers, but until a person dedicates his life to Christ, God does not listen to
him. See also: Endtime prophecy; Jm 5,1-11;
49l / Great Endtime Revival (John the Baptist had the ministry of Elijah);
Mat
17,10-13; 193d
(218d) Sovereignty
>>
God overrides the will of man >> God’s will
over man >> Reaping the harvest >>
We choose our actions, not their consequences >>
God controls the consequences of our actions -- These verses go with
verses 4-11
(229f) Kingdom of God
>>
God’s kingdom is a living organism >>
Kingdom grows by itself >> God causes the
growth >> God uses us to cause the growth
(237k) Kingdom of God
>>
Pursuing the kingdom >> Transferring the
kingdom >> The Church is transferred to the
kingdom >> Transferred from darkness to light
KJV
WEB
/ Navigation Bar
Jm 5-19,20
(25l)
Sin >> Consequences of sin
>>
You’re walking in death if you’re not walking in Jesus –
In heaven we will receive bodies that are geared toward the will of God,
but currently we have bodies that are geared against His will and toward sin;
in fact, Paul describes us as having a "body of sin" (Rom 6-6). We must force ourselves to do the
will of God, but if we give free reign to our flesh, it will immediately lead
us right back to sin.
We don’t know what it’s like to have a body and a mind that wants only to please God
without any conflict of interest.
(47e)
Judgment >> God Judges the world
>>
Hell is a place of the dead – The Bible speaks of two deaths: the first is
natural death and the second death is hell. No one can save anyone from an
ensuing natural death, but Jesus spoke in a way that those who
believe in him, their natural death will be nullified by the First
Resurrection (Jn 11-26), making death as though it
never happened, even as Paul said that it will be swallowed up by life (2Cor
5-4). That promise is for the believer, but what about the unbeliever? Jesus told a parable of
the rich man and Lazarus and
testified that the rich man died and was buried, and the next moment he found
himself in hell (Lk 16-22,23). Therefore, to the unbeliever hell is death that never
ends; they are one and the same, the experience of forever dying, called the second
death (Rev 20-14). This is the death that James implied. See also: Losing your salvation;
185l
(86g) Thy kingdom come
>>
Obedience >> Be doers of the word >>
Clothe yourself with the word of God >> Practice
the truth –
James said that the one who turns a sinner from the error of his way would
cover a multitude of sins, and Peter also said, “Love covers a multitude of
sins” (1Pet 4-8). Therefore, turning a Christian brother from the error of his way
(evangelism) is the ultimate act of love, and all acts of love cover a
multitude of sins. When we feel weak in faith, this is when we should perform
great acts of love, not to feel better about ourselves, but to bolster our
faith that we belong to Christ. Even if we sin we know we love God
because we love the brethren (1Jn 3-14). Love is proof of knowing God; for this reason we
should compile a storehouse of proof. When we sin, we know it is an exception, for we
ordinarily live by the rule of love. Our heart is with God
and we can prove it because of the love we have shown, but the person who has
no evidence of his faith cannot prove that he loves God.
(113a) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >>
The anointing >> Heaven’s clothes >>
Protection >> Covering
(131e) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Unity >>
Brother depends on you >> To lead him to Jesus
(149d) Witness
>>
Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Evangelism >>
Compel them to come in >> Forceful persuasion
(161c) Works of the devil
>>
Wandering from the character of God >> Wander
from the truth
(183i) Works of the devil
>>
The origin of lawlessness >> Spirit of Error (Anti-Christ / Anti-Semitism)
>>
Spirit of the broad road >> Spirit of error will
lead you astray
(185l)
Works of the devil >> The result of lawlessness >> Blasphemy
>> Unwilling to obey the revelation from heaven >> Unwilling to
walk in God’s freedom – There is a line
a person crosses that changes him from once believing to becoming an
unbeliever, and in that way he loses his salvation. James said for those who
cross this line it is the point of no return, who have blasphemed the Holy Spirit and
caused irreparable damage to their conscience. There is a hardness of heart beyond a
certain point that he can no longer believe, even if he sought repentance with all
his heart, after which not even God can rescue him. It is something that
he does that he cannot undo, such as Esau, who could not undo the contempt he demonstrated
when he sold his own birthright to Jacob, his brother, for a single meal. The
line the person crosses always involves other people, as Esau’s
point of no return involved Jacob. See also: Losing your salvation; 204b
(204b) Denying Christ
>>
Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >>
Back-slider >> Practicing sin >>
Going astray –
The soul winner saves a man’s soul from death who has strayed and
covers a multitude of his own sins. James is saying that it is possible to lose
our salvation, referring to catching a person in the later stages of
backsliding. “Save his soul from death” means that a Christian is
tempted to fall away from the faith. He hasn’t lost his salvation yet, for
if he lost it, we couldn’t get it back, for no one can be born-again, again. A
person is born, and if the baby dies, it goes to heaven. There is an age of
accountability, and once we pass that age and come to know the difference
between good and evil, and our conscience forms, and we begin to sin against
our conscience, that is when we need to be saved. See also: Losing your salvation;
207a
(207a) Salvation
>>
God makes promises on His terms >> Eternal
security? >> Perish by losing your faith >>
The apostasy
(walking out the same door you came in) –
As a
result of so much heresy in the Church today, when we read a verse like this,
many of us immediately interpret it to make it fit our doctrines, but James didn’t write this in
code but wrote very clearly. He was not trying to confuse anybody;
he was trying to tell us about God, yet nowadays those who read this verse add
layer upon layer of interpretation in order to make it sound like
their doctrines, namely the doctrine of Eternal Security
(easy-believism) that teaches we
cannot lose our salvation. We understand that God is protecting our faith, but we have a will too, and we can
override God’s will. When the Bible
speaks of death, especially in this context, it refers to hell. Note, however, the identity of the sinner; he was once a believer.
Can a Christian lose his salvation? Many say no, but this verse says yes, and
many other passages support this fact.
Once
saved, if a person backslides from his faith and a brother turns him back to
the faith, let it be known that he delivered the person from the fires of
hell. Once a person completely falls away from the faith, he cannot be
restored. A person may try to interpret the word “death” to mean something
else, but God has charged us to keep our lamps lit, and if the flame dies, we
are spiritually dead and there is no way of relighting our lamp. God has given us
power to keep the fire burning in our heart, but if it dies, he has not given us matches
to relight our lamps. See also: Losing your salvation; 47e
KJV
WEB
/ Navigation Bar
Jm 5-20
(120i) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Forgiveness >>
Forgiveness is an act of mercy >> Forgiveness
sets you free
|