The Life of a Living Faith
Book of James Chapter 5
If the Book of James has seemed to be confusing to anyone, we can see that a good study of what James is teaching will clear this all up.
There are no contradictions in the Bible and those that say so are the same ones who do not trust the Word of God to be the truth!
The Book of James is about practical, faithful living!
We must base our faith on the Word of God. We must understand that most of this world we live in will never agree with our creation as described by the Word of God.
For them to believe in our Creation, they would have to acknowledge our Creator and they will not do this.
Our faith in the One True God says that we accept the Words He has given to us as the absolute truth!
The plan of our salvation did not begin when our Savior came to this earth!
The plan for our salvation began immediately upon our creation in fact before our creation and the creation of this world we live in!
2Th 2:13 But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and "belief of the truth":
We are to have so much faith in the truth of God that it should the main topic of our salvation until the day God takes us home or we last until the time of the rapture of the Church, which could happen at any time now as God begins to work with Israel as He promised them.
It is not just some of the Word of God is true, it is that all the Word of God is true!
It is because we live in this world so full of doubt that we must strive for our faith in this truth.
Php 1:27 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, "with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel";
Our faith then is based upon the Word of God, all the Word of God.
Striving means we must put forth the effort to defend the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ!
Another word for strive is contend.
To contend is to struggle in opposition to the falseness of this world.
Jud 1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
James is teaching us that we must be patient in this striving until the coming of the Lord.
It is best stated as Living in Faith!
*****Jas 5:7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
The one thing we must stay focused upon is the "Coming of the Lord"!
The Lord Jesus said He was coming again and we are to accept that as the truth and stay focused on Him.
The Holy Spirit has given us the example of the farmer.
The farmer has invested all he has to buy the seed.
The Lord has provided the seasons and will provide the early and later rains.
The ground is prepared and the seed is planted.
Then is the time for patience!
The Lord Jesus explain this as the act of spreading the Gospel.
Luk 8:11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
Luk 8:12 Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
Luk 8:13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.
Luk 8:14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.
Luk 8:15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.
The life of each Christian is under the same law of growth!
Gal_6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Time and again the Scriptures teach us the second coming of the Lord.
The same Scriptures teach us that before this Second Coming, He will stop in the clouds and take His Church out of this world.
1Th 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
1Th 4:15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
1Th 4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
The Scriptures agree that the Lord is returning to reward "every person" for the work that they have done while He has been back in Heaven.
Mat 16:27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
Mat 16:28 Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.
This obviously goes against anything this world is teaching.
The world is trying to save a world that the Lord says is not worth saving because of sin!
Jesus Christ is coming again to judge the living and the dead.
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;
Jesus Christ is returning to execute "judgment on all those who reject His truth!
Jud 1:14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
Jud 1:15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
No matter what this world is doing, we who are practicing "Living Faith" are to continue living for Jesus Christ!
Tit 2:12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Tit 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Tit 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
We must be patient and show this patience until the Lord takes us out of this world.
When the Lord repeats Himself, we certainly had better pay attention.
*****Jas 5:8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
Sometimes it is not until we have hemmed ourselves in and are not able to take another step that we try to do what the Lord ask us to do.
It is in those times that we just need to stand still and watch what the Lord does to solve our issues.
What did the Lord say to Job? Job_37:14 Hearken unto this, O Job: stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God.
We cannot do these things unless we have faith and that faith will teach us patience.
Our strength will come from the thought that the Lord could return to take us home at any moment!
If those in the Old Testament had this faith, then we should ask ourselves why we do not have this faith when it is evident that we are in the "Last Days".
Heb 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
We do not see the coming of the Lord as afar off but as it could happen any time now!
We should have no doubt that our redemption is closer than it has ever been and we can "stablish" our hearts, which means we are to make this truth an absolute fact in our hearts.
We must never become dissatisfied with the Word of God!
*****Jas 5:9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.
It is not time to complain about the things we see in this world.
It is certainly not time to bring these complaints inside the Church.
When we complain we are again assuming the office of a judge.
If we rest in the truth of the Lord's soon coming, then we should act as if He is standing at the doors of Heaven just about to open the door to return to take us home.
Until the Lord completes the work He came to do for our salvation, He will not be standing at the door of His return!
Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
Until the Church Age is complete the Lord will remain in Heaven as our High Priest.
2Pe_3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
If we even think we are suffering now, especially here in the United States, then we need to go back and read about the Apostle Paul and all the other Apostles and even the things that happened to our Lord and Savior and we will see that we are not suffering at all.
The Holy Spirit will hold back more of evil in this world, if we only do our part.
Almost all of the Old Testament prophets were murdered by the various governments of Israel during the time of kings.
*****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.
We must patiently endure the persecution of this world just so we can get that opportunity to witness for Jesus.
Heb 11:36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
Heb 11:37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
Heb 11:38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
These men and women patiently endured all these things because they held on to their faith.
It would have been easy to turn their back on Jesus and stayed alive a little longer, but they refused because they knew they had the truth.
How can we grumble against God who has made such wonderful promises to us?
Look at Moses for a great example.
Heb 11:24 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter;
Heb 11:25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
Heb 11:26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.
The rewards of Heaven are just too good to give up following the Lord Jesus!
Job was also a great example.
*****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.
We see here that James looked upon the Old Testament as actual history and we should to!
Job endured to gain the rewards of Heaven and the things that happened to Job happened in just a few days.
Every child of Job all died on the same day.
Few have ever suffered the trials and temptations of life that Job suffered through.
Along with the death of Job's children, he suffered bankruptcy, the loss of his property, all his livestock and even his employees and even his wife turned on him because he refused to complain to God.
Job never gave in. Job never forsook his faith in God even though he did not understand what was happening to him.
Job said: Job 13:15 Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.
Job stated that he just could not be a hypocrite: Job 13:16 He also shall be my salvation: for an hypocrite shall not come before him.
It is hard to even imagine the absolute conviction of Job to hold onto his faith!
We must never take our eyes off the prize of the coming of the Lord to take us home.
It is sure and it is real!
The Apostle Peter also knew this to be the truth: 1Pe 1:13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
No matter how much we are provoked by this world, we must never break into fits of swearing or the making of oaths.
When our answers are yes then say yes.
When our answers are no then say no and it will be enough.
We always seem to forget the Holy Spirit who is living within us.
He is our strength!
He is our comforter!
*****Jas 5:12 But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.
No matter how much this world provokes us we must not swear by the name of the Lord.
What the Lord is saying here is to let your words stand firm. Always speak the truth and let your words be your bond of truthfulness.
He does not forbid the raising of our right hand and swearing to tell the truth in a court of law, but we had better be telling the truth when we do this.
The Jews in the day of Christ were notoriously guilty of common swearing.
They would swear on anything in God's creation, but not so much by God Himself.
Most of the time when we hear men swearing, they are trying to hide the fact that they are being dishonest.
If what we are saying is the truth then we do not have to swear to it.
Even in a court of law, God is watching us so we should take care that every word we say is the truth.
It is the same for us every time we open our mouths to speak. God is always watching His children.
We must never be that person who thinks we have to swear to cause someone to believe us!
This should hold to be the truth, even when we are going through trials and temptations because we are already being watched by Heaven's audience.
Most trials and temptations are tests to begin with.
Almost all of our answers can be "yes I will", or "no I will not".
If we are afflicted because of trials and temptations the best thing we can do is to pray.
Giving our burdens to the Lord is always the best thing we can do!
*****Jas 5:13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
Jas 5:14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
Jas 5:15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
When we are going through troubles we need to pray!
When we are not going through troubles, then we need to pray and praise the Lord thanking Him for not going through troubles.
In fact, we need to praise the Lord in the midst of our troubles, thanking Him ahead of time for removing those trials and temptations from us.
Everyone upon this earth are facing trials and temptations at some point in their lives and usually quiet often.
As Christians we can depend upon the Lord to help us through these things when the lost have no such help.
Worldliness, lust and pride are the enemies of the Christian!
Also accidents, disappointments, unfaithfulness, bad times and bad feelings affect everyone from time to time.
We can all have good days and bad days.
For the Christian we can always rejoice no matter what we are going through because our names are written down in Heaven.
At some time or another we all seem to have sicknesses and most of those things are the same things we all suffer from, such as the "Common Cold".
There are also sicknesses that only affect certain people such the things of the heart, and that terrible word cancer that no one wants to heal and some other terrible things.
Many other things come about because nations are seeking some new disease that can stop an army in its tracks and make them easier to defeat.
We must understand that there is no illness that Our Savior cannot heal.
There is no problem that Our Savior cannot solve.
There is no nation that our Savior cannot defeat.
And thank goodness there is no one upon the face of this earth that Our Savior cannot save.
There are always some who are sick among the Church.
There may occasionally be a congregation that have no one sick on a given day but this is unusual.
There are those that think that the preacher’s job is to preach and nothing else but this is not true and every body of believers should have what are called elders.
It is the job of these elders and anyone else to visit the sick, but as we gather in God's house there is no better time to anoint that person or persons with oil and pray over them.
This is where our faith kicks in.
A prayer of faith, not just by these elders and the preacher but by all those present that day, especially including that one who has that sickness can indeed save the sick.
Notice the Holy Spirit adds that this prayer in faith can save the sick.
Notice what the Lord Jesus says: Mar_2:17 When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
It takes the same faith to be healed as it does to be saved and this we must remember.
Over and over the Lord Jesus said this was true.
Mar 10:52 And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.
Luk 7:50 And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.
We must also understand that our prayer of faith must also be a fervent prayer.
*****Jas 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
Confession is also a key to our forgiveness and our healing!
This does not mean we are to go around confessing all our sins to each other.
We are to confess our sin in closet prayer, between us and the Lord.
If the Church is aware of our sin, then yes, we can confess that sin to them.
If we have wronged some other Christian then we can confess our sin to that person and ask for forgiveness and that forgiveness should come.
If we have misled or lied to someone, we should confess that sin to them.
If we have caused someone to stumble and sin, we certainly need to confess our sin.
If we have publicly committed some crime, then we need to confess and forgiveness is required but this does not mean we hide them from the law.
If we have a pastor who we can trust we can sometimes confess our sin to them.
When we confess to one another then we must also pray for one another.
We simply cannot overlook the power of prayer.
Prayer is the greatest gift the Lord has given to us after our salvation.
Our prayers must be in the will of God for our lives and the lives of God's people.
The Holy Spirit gives us an example with the prayer of Elijah.
*****Jas 5:17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.
Jas 5:18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
Elijah a prophet of God in the time of the Kings showed us the power of fervent prayer.
Elijah was a man just like we are, a human being who had passions and feelings just like we do.
Elijah earnestly prayed for it to not rain for three years and six months and it did not rain.
Then Elijah prayed for the rain to come and he could not get to shelter fast enough to keep from getting wet because of a thunderstorm.
If we can live our lives knowing that we can contact Heaven then, we will know that the Lord God of all Creation has heard our prayer.
If that prayer goes along with His will for our lives, then it is highly possible that we will get a favorable answer.
If our trial or temptation came upon us because of our sin then it is possible that the Lord will remove that obstacle from our path if that chastisement is sufficient.
If our sickness came upon us for doing something God said to not do then we may not get an answer at all or we may get an answer we did not expect.
The main thing is for us to live in the will God has for our lives and give the Holy Spirit our reins and do what He leads us to do, always.
This is called following in the ways of the Lord Jesus Christ and this is being a Christian.
Notice it is the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man, not a self-righteous man.
It is the righteous man that gets the help of the Holy Spirit!
Rom 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Rom 8:27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
We need to stick to the truth of the Word of God and we can depend upon it to be the truth!
Amen
