Grace, mercy, and
peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!
Last
week we heard from the book of James, probably the earliest written epistle in
the New Testament. We noted James’ rich allusions to the Old Testament and his
quotations from Jesus, his brother and Lord. We noted how James divides law and
gospel. As for the law, he weaves the second and third uses of the law, telling
believers what pleases the Father yet
calling us to repentance. As for the gospel, James tells us who delivered us
from our sin, that Christ is the only Saviour.
Today James paints a big picture,
describing the cosmic war between two worlds. One world, the losing world, is
that of the devil, the flesh, and all patterned after our sinful desires. The
conquering world is the heavenly, the eternal, the compassionate, the re-created
brought to earth by our Lord Jesus Christ. James shows the full perspective
beyond time, that of eternity, while he highlights daily battles, the deathly
vs. “lifely” battles. He reports the daily battle like it is, warning those who
do wrong and giving hope to the faithful. James points out that sin’s cost is
not new. It is as old as greed, avarice, covetousness, cupidity, theft and the
spirit that leads to murder. Faith’s cost is not new either, as in James’ day,
after believers in Jerusalem Jerusalem
Then James shows us the unseen; that
the abuse of the poor, especially the believing poor, is against the Living
God. To harm Christ’s body is to attack Christ. He warns the powerful who
influence the courts to condemn the righteous. He warns those who defraud
laborers, who live on the earth as if that is all there is, life on earth. He also speaks to the weak in Christ, who
because of faith in God suffer abuse, and therefore ask “when will our Lord
answer our need?” Do you ask that
question too? The same question needs
answered in our day. For example, Christian families in Islamic lands suffer
because of faith, forced into 3rd class status, many into
inescapable poverty. Many Christian families near Cairo Egypt
You remember the question, “when will
our Lord answer our need?” He did when the
righteous man was condemned and murdered. Who is the righteous man? We know only one righteous man; He who suffered
once for all, for all. We know our Savior did not resist evil, though He called
His persecutors to repentance while dying to forgive them. He died so that all
who believe receive His imputed righteousness and His very life. We know into
whom we are baptized, so that to harm Christ’s body is to attack Christ. And there’s this too - He rose from the dead
and ascended to reign, so that all believers will be raised with Him to share
in His victorious rule. He is our righteousness. He will exalt His body with a
strong arm, James says; for did you catch the Old Testament name he uses… the
Lord of Hosts? He is the Lord of armies,
faithful toward His people, promising an end to evil’s kingdom. He is a
victorious warrior.
Therefore James announces a holy
future, one that has begun and grows to the Last Day. To the unrepentant he
says weep and howl now, lest you do so forever: Your riches have rotted, literally, from the past until now are
rotted; and your garments literally,
from the past until now are
moth-eaten. Your gold and silver from
the past until now are corroded (or
cankered) with corrosion (or
poison). From the beginning of sin and
what sinners cling to, what is treasured in closets, in the bank, is already
rotten before God. God sees it as it is. No matter how outwardly honorable the
unrepentant, his deeds are corroded and poisonous, and will burn like
fire. For the repentant, they hear the
fate of the unrepentant. Why does the church need hear this, the suffering
church, those who are defrauded their wages, cheated and oppressed and some
killed? Why does James say this to those
without hope from the world, who have no escape from
bullying, abuse, and evil days? Why are we told, who though not at the bottom of
the barrel, face the same enemies of the devil, the world and our flesh? We
need know there is an end to injustice and evil. We need know that our sins
were forgiven on the cross and that
the Lord of Hosts who died, rose, and ascended is coming again to set all
right. The suffering church needs to know evil will lose. Then the church can
be patient in the midst of her trials.
Inspired by the Holy Spirit, James
repeatedly says be patient, because our Lord does not forget, delay, or
ignore. He will save us. The righteous will
be vindicated. They will be blest forever and ever. That encouragement should
be on the tip of our tongues, to encourage one another. That encouragement will
suffice, because the One Righteous Man did not resist our evil. He forgave our
sins and He shall return in glory. Like Him, be patient, longsuffering and
enduring like the farmer who waits for the earth to bring forth its fruits. Be
steadfast and firm in your hearts, says James. That is a difficult word when
the good things we love slip away or are torn away. So James calls us to repent
our unbelief. Yet he also promises “the
coming of the Lord is at hand.” Righteousness shall rule, goodness and
mercy shall thrive, and we who know the Lord shall sing. James’ grammar he
literally says, “For He came and is coming and coming and the coming of the
Lord is at hand.” It is not “He will come but until then we have nothing.” Our
Lord is present now and He is working now toward the fulfillment. For example,
unrighteous riches, garments, and gold are already rotted; and in the same way
the Lord is already at hand. Even in the
worst moments, the Lord is with you, carrying you in His presence until His
visible, glorious coming.
Did He not become man to live among
us, suffer, die, and rise? Before He ascended He said “Behold, I am with you
always, even to the end of the age.” He is here in His word, granting you life.
He’s been with you since you were given the Holy Spirit in Baptism. And He
feeds you a banquet of His true body and blood, a feast to be fully revealed on
the Last Day. He puts Himself onto your tongue now, giving us the eternal; as
he poured Himself out in the past in the healing waters of baptism. He is present until that Great Day when all
things are set right by the Lord of Hosts. This is your source of patience, so
that like Job who argued and cried out, who complained, he yet hoped and
remained in the Lord. In Job’s history we see the Lord’s good end, and Job’s
vocation to be a witness to salvation. So
too the prophets declared what was to come, knowing it was manifest even if
hidden like yeast in dough. So too James says do not swear by heaven or earth,
because of who reigns now - and because of how the Pharisee’s swore as a
loophole. The Pharisees said, if you don’t swear using God’s proper name you
can fudge the facts. James says that abuses the Lord who judges the past,
present and future. So James goes on, threatening and promising, see-sawing
with law and gospel. After his admonition not to abuse oaths he returns to the
life of the church and says: Is anyone
among you suffering? Let him pray…
Why? Because God the Father hears; He
sent His righteous Son who died, rose and ascended and is present until coming
in glory. Lift up your heads. Such promises sustain the church, even in the
garbage dumps of Cairo
James illustrates with Elijah, with
weaknesses like ours. Yet Elijah prayed because the Lord said pray, and his
prayers were therefore answered. We are commanded to pray, not for an exercise
in will power; rather because we have a Father who hears. James points us to
the righteous one, the Lord of Hosts, the one who soon returns, who is coming
even now working for your good. And faith receives the benefit of every promise
from God, into eternity. So if he has
committed sins (in the past to the present) he will be forgiven. Note the elders’ chief ministry is
confession/absolution, the gospel. Yet James says confession/absolution is
given the whole body of Christ. So we confess
one to another, and the justified have confidence our prayers are heard. So James concludes his epistle, mindful of
the cosmic battle and our weakness, our need for a faithful Saviour. James
concludes with the gospel, with confession and absolution to the wandering
sheep brought back, to salvation of a soul from death, to covered sins.
Absolution conquers in the cosmic battle; despite our many sins, despite our
sufferings on earth, there is an abundance of grace. We, the absolved, are
already in heaven while we await our Lord’s visible, bodily return. Look up, He
is coming for you.
The peace of God which
passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord
(Amen).
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