Enduring Patience Until the End (James 5:7-11)

The Race

Endurance is habitual patience; it is no more than the fruit of patience collected over time. Because of the progressive nature of the Christian life -- a life that is often considered in light of the metaphor of a "race" in Scripture -- this quality is crucial to carry the Christian to the finish line. The logic is simple: Without patience, there is no endurance; without endurance, there is no perseverance; and without perseverance, there is no salvation. Though many try to muddy the waters through systematic feats of hermeneutical hoop-jumping, the Scriptures remain crystal-clear concerning the necessity of perseverance. Only those who endure to the end shall be saved (Matthew 24:13) for it is only the overcomers who inherit eternal glory and are forever confirmed in God's covenant of salvation (Revelation 21:7).

If patient endurance is such a necessary quality, the next question naturally follows: What sustains the Christian's patience until the end? According to James, patience must be sustained by hope -- hope directed toward the future with feet firmly planted in the past. For this reason, James motivates his readers by drawing their attention to the future (the glorious end of all things for those who faithfully persevere) and to the past (the pronouncement of blessing upon the faithful departed in spite of all the difficulties they encountered). The persevering Christian lives at the intersection of these two horizons, drawing strength from the past and reaching forward to what lies ahead. The examples of those who have gone before provide a time-tested pattern to follow and the sure promise of the Lord's return provides the motivation to persist until the end.

The Rich Oppressors (5:1-6)

James brings both of these horizons to bear upon the oppressed community he addresses in the fifth chapter of his epistle. Apparently, James' readers were being exploited by wicked rich people. Whether these people were disobedient Christians or simply wicked rich unbelievers is a matter of debate among commentators. Those who believe the oppressors were disobedient Christians make much of the opening phrase of James 5:1 ("Come now, you…"). They note how this phrase is identical with the phrase found in 4:13 in which James appears to be addressing believers. Those who maintain that the oppressors were unbelievers base their argument on two factors in the epistle. First, James has only words of warning and condemnation for this group. Second, the wicked rich oppressors are not addressed as "brothers". This is an unusual feature in this letter, since James uses this word in virtually every other section of his epistle (e.g., in 5:7-12 he uses it in vs. 7, 9, 10, 12). In the final analysis, the exact state of the people James addresses is irrelevant to the meaning of this text.

In prophetic fashion James condemns the wicked oppressors (vs. 1-3) by charging them with crimes that cry out for punishment (vs. 4-6). First, he denounces their self-indulgent, careless spirit (underscored by their hoarding of wealth) and warns them that the future holds only misery for them because of their attitude and deeds. That which they have accumulated will rot away as a testimony to the unfruitful use of their resources. Even seemingly imperishable items such as gold and silver will be as worthless on the Day of Judgment as a heap of rusty metal.

What have they done to deserve such a harsh condemnation? James highlights three crimes. First, they have robbed their workers of their wages (v. 4). The Holy Scriptures clearly teach that a day's work is worth a day's pay (cf. Deut. 24:14-15, Jer. 22:13, Mal. 3:5). To withhold this is robbery. Second, they are living lives of luxurious self-indulgence (v. 5). Third, they have condemned and murdered the righteous (v. 6). At the expense of the poor they feather their own nests and, in the process, people's lives are ruined. However, the righteous does not respond by returning evil for evil; either they are powerless to do so because of their lower status, or they choose to follow the example of their Lord who refused to return evil for evil (cf. 1 Peter 2:18-25).

James warns these oppressors that misery awaits them. Their wealth will one day be meaningless, providing no comfort in the Day of Judgment (vs. 1-3). Furthermore, their current criminal lifestyle is fattening them for the slaughter (vs. 4-6). "They are like so many unthinking beasts, luxuriating in their rich pasture day after day, growing fat by the hour and careless of the fact that each day, each hour, brings the butcher... nearer. Only the thin beast is safe in that day; the well-fed has made itself ready for the knife" (Alec Motyer). Living as if there is no God, no judgment, no eternity, and no heaven and hell, they increase their impending misery by feasting on the oppressed.

The Perseverance of the Saints (5:7-11)

In the following paragraph, James turns his attention to his "brothers" in the faith -- the poor suffering believers who are on the receiving end of the wicked rich oppressors. He gives three commands, two motivations to keep the commands, and three examples to clarify his commands, give hope, and provide models for imitation.

Three Commands

The first command is found twice: "Be patient" (vs. 7, 8). Patience is an expression of love ("Love is patient… endures all things," 1 Cor. 13:4, 7), and a fruit of God's Spirit ("the fruit of the Spirit is… patience," Gal. 5:22). Patience involves long-suffering even-temperedness displayed in the midst of difficult situations and/or toward aggravating people. Patience endures annoyances and difficulties over a period of time by a demonstration of self-restraint rather than hasty retaliation. No matter how great the evil, the believers are not to take matters into their own hands. Instead, they are to wait upon God, refusing to return evil for evil.

Patience is vital if the believer is to make any progression in the Christian life. Patience, however, is not easy. It involves suffering -- indeed, it involves experiencing repeated and unwarranted suffering. Of course, no one enjoys this, but God's high calling demands no less.

According to James, the call to this expression of love never ends. Indeed, James commands his readers to "be patient… until the coming of the Lord" (v. 7), which is the same as saying they should "be patient until the end!" As long as this life shall last, the believer must make it his or her goal to practice patience in the midst of unjust suffering. In doing this, he or she shares the sufferings of the Lord (1 Peter 4:13) and becomes more like him in the process (cf. 1 Peter 2:21-25).

The second command is a call to allow the commitment to patience to sink deeply into the heart. James commands his readers to "strengthen your hearts" (v. 8). It is the believer's personal duty to develop an attitude of firm courage in the face of difficult circumstances. The focus is on a resolute, persistent, and stable heart -- a heart fixed on the promises of God. This determined attitude is set in contrast to the "fattened heart" of the wicked rich oppressors (v. 5). Ultimately, patience is not a mere matter of stoic resolve or apathetic acceptance. No, patience is an issue of the heart and is meant to deeply impact the believer in both action and attitude.

Finally, James commands his readers to cease from complaining against one another (v. 9). Grumbling often accompanies the pressure of difficult circumstances. It is easy in the midst of suffering to take out our frustrations on others. However, this attitude eclipses the work of patient endurance in the heart. Therefore, James forbids grumbling directed at circumstances or others. James desires that the believer's attitude correspond with the virtue of patient endurance. A grumbling heart is not really demonstrating patience, but rather, frustrated acceptance. This distorted counterfeit of patience is neither loving nor christlike. The opposite of grumbling is joy, contentment and gratitude. Christlike patience should demonstrate these qualities. In short, James desires more than a "grit-your-teeth-and-hang-in-there" acceptance of one's situation. Instead, he desires that patience be demonstrated both in action and attitude.

Motivation From the Future

James calls his readers to a high standard. However, he does not assume that patience will be sustained merely because "it is the right thing to do". No, James realizes that patience must be sustained by hope. For this reason, he motivates his readers by drawing their attention first to the future and then to the past.

Glories of the Final Day

James assures his readers that the present situation they are experiencing will not last forever. All of history is moving toward an end and the final state of things has not arrived. God has not yet fully responded to any evil act or any righteous deed. God's full response awaits the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Upon his return, the Lord will punish all wickedness, right all wrongs, and reward all righteousness. Each day brings the believer nearer to this glorious end. Therefore, James roots his command for patience in the hope of the Lord's return. James' readers can know for certain that the suffering they are presently experiencing will one day be a thing of the past.

James draws attention to an important truth: The Christian life only makes sense in light of eternity. The only way to patiently endure until the end is to consider the whole of one's life, including the eternal reward that is to come. In other words, our lives, if they are to be accurately assessed, must be measured in light of their end. Removing eternity as a vital factor in the whole of one's life makes life secular. A secular life ultimately results in restlessness, loneliness, emptiness, and insignificance, for the secular perspective is a prison that holds only momentary pleasures. If our lives are only evaluated in light of the present moment, then they are only as exciting or as good as the present moment happens to be. Once the present moment fails to be exciting or good, there is little to sustain sacrificial acts of righteousness. If there is no hope that one's patient endurance of suffering will ultimately result in good, then what reason is left to persevere in this miserable state -- especially when there seems to be no end to the suffering in sight. Without an eternal perspective, the very bottom drops out under our feet, leaving us to fall back to whatever brings the most pleasure, most quickly, and most of the time. Patient endurance of unjust suffering hardly counts as a righteous pastime apart from the assurance that all our good efforts will pay off in the end!

It is the second coming of the Lord that brings hope to sustain patience in difficult situations. There will be a final reckoning when all faithfulness is rewarded and all wickedness punished. If the doctrine of the Lord's return is only fuel for speculative eschatological charts or novel and sensational apocalyptic dramas, then we have lost the very purpose of the doctrine. The coming of the Lord is meant to sustain and fuel the believer's righteous efforts in the present. The hope of the Lord's return assures us that it will all be worth it when the final act arrives.

It is during the most difficult times of suffering and grief that the truth of Lord's return has the most luster. No one would long for Christ's return if everything were perfect here. As Kent Hughes notes, it is the hard times that make us long most for Christ's return. "In my ministry I have noticed that when people are hurting, they frequently express their hope for Christ's return -- 'Oh! I wish the Lord would return today!" But I have never heard anyone say, 'Things are going so well… I wish Christ would return right now!' Hard times make us long for Christ's return."

Reality of Final Judgment

Believers should not only anticipate the Lord's return with deep longing, but should also prepare for the Lord's return with holy fear and trembling. James uses the doctrine of the Lord's return not merely to comfort, but also to challenge and convict. Final judgment involves both the vindication of the righteous and the condemnation of the wicked. James does not overlook the possibility that his reader's wrong reactions to evil may result in God's judgment demonstrated toward them. For this reason he writes, "Do not complain… that you yourselves may not be judged" (v. 9). James does not want his readers to be the recipients of the judgment awaiting the wicked (vs. 1-6) but he does hold out the possibility that this will be the case if they refuse to follow his commands. He warns them that judgment will be unrelenting toward those who return evil for evil. His readers must be careful that they are not provoked to act wickedly in light of the wickedness they have received, or they will be no better than their persecutors (and no better off).

Encouragement From the Past

Future realities are not the only things James offers as motivation to patient endurance. He also presents three examples of patient endurance in action in order to clarify his commands, give hope, and provide models for imitation.

The Farmer (7)

James presents the Palestinian farmer, not so much as an example but as an illustration of the value of patience. In the climate of Palestine, the early rains came in late October preparing the soil for the seed. The late rains, in March or April, swelled the grain and guaranteed a good crop. The early and late rains represent a process apart from which there can be no harvest. All farmers must patiently submit to this process; to fight against the process is futile. In the same way, James' readers must not retaliate violently against their circumstances. Instead, they should patiently submit to God's provision, knowing that a fruitful crop awaits them after they have endured awhile. Like the farmer, they must realize that nothing of value comes quickly or easily.

The farmer does not merely endure; he also lives in a state of expectation between seedtime and harvest. It is the promise of reward that motivates him to wait patiently. This does not make waiting easy, but it does make it tolerable. James' readers must also sustain their patience through the hope of God's promise. This confident expectation of a fruitful reward is the ground for their endurance. Without it, all hope is lost.

The Prophets (10)

James introduces the prophets as examples "of suffering and patience." The prophets were highly privileged messengers of God. However, their exalted status did not protect them from suffering. Their faithfulness to God's commands actually exposed them to suffering. They suffered persecution, not because of any wrongdoing on their part, but because "they spoke in the name of the Lord."

James does not mention any particular prophet because suffering was the inevitable experience of all God's messengers in an unbelieving world. By New Testament times, the persecution of the prophets was proverbial (cf. Matt. 23:29-37; Acts 7:51-52). There is no shortage of examples to support this claim: Jeremiah was cast into an empty well, left to sink in cold mud; Daniel was deported into a Gentile land; Hosea was heartbroken over his marriage to the harlot; John the Baptist was imprisoned and beheaded.

Hebrews 11, the great "Hall of Faith" chapter in the Scriptures, features noteworthy acts of faith, almost all done in the context of disappointment, suffering, or persecution. The chapter concludes by listing torture, flogging, imprisonment, stoning, and exile as the lot of those who proved faithful to God's will. If we could travel back in a time machine and view the sufferings of the faithful firsthand (especially those who experienced violent ends), we would hardly consider the recipients of such injustice "blessed." Yet, according to James, it should be obvious that "we count those blessed who endured" (v. 11). How can this be?

If we merely viewed the lives of the faithful departed in a piecemeal fashion, we would not conclude that their lives were fitting examples of blessedness and happiness (it is hard to consider one "blessed" as their legs are detached from their body by means of a seriated metal edge!). However, in retrospect, we can look back, not just at one episode, but at the entirety of their lives, and -- even more importantly -- at the glorious state they now possess, and truly say they were (and are) "blessed"!

These heroes are not to be pitied, but admired -- and imitated! They patiently endured all their trials and now share in eternal glory and joy! They lived the life that God blesses, the life that pleases God, and, in the end, received the approving smile of God. When their whole lives are measured in light of the end result of their faith and actions they are shown to be blessed, even though for a moment it may have appeared as if they were anything but blessed. When one's life is viewed in light of the sum of one's days and especially the glorious end of one's journey, then no sacrifice is too much and no suffering is too great.

Job (11)

James' final example is more specific than the previous two, focusing on one man, Job. Job's situation was different than the prophets. The prophets generally knew they would experience conflict; Job did not. He was merely living a righteous life and "out of the blue" trouble hit.

Job wrestled with God and argued with his counselors, but through it all, he tenaciously clung to God. In the end, Job's faithfulness was rewarded. He was rewarded by even greater blessings, and -- more importantly -- a greater knowledge of God. Although Job never knew the exact reasons for his suffering, he did come to know that God was at work behind all he experienced and that God's ultimate purposes were loving and kind.

According to James, Job discovered that "the Lord is full of compassion and mercy." The phrase, "full of compassion," is found only here in the New Testament. This is James' way of saying that God is more than compassionate; he is filled with compassion -- very, very compassionate indeed!

In other words, "[b]ehind all that God has ever done for us lies his heart of love" (Alec Motyer). This is an amazing and encouraging truth! In light of this, Keddie writes, "When we are [afflicted, under pressure or persecution], let us encourage ourselves by remembering that the Lord is coming; that we are going to be with him for ever and that at the end of the day we will be able to look back even on our darkest hour and confess that the Lord has been full of compassion and mercy." One day, the faithful Christian will look back on every event of his or her life -- including all the struggles, hardships, and losses -- and discover once and for all this truth: "Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever" (Psalm 23:6).

We must not allow ourselves to be persuaded by our circumstances that God is anything but good. He has a father's heart, even when he allows afflictions to enter our lives. Therefore, we wait because God is good and in the hope that God will make all things good. In the end, his "compassion and mercy" will be abundantly evident to all those who have endured.

Conclusion

Each of James' examples underscores the fact that the Lord will eventually reward faithfulness. Because of this, patient endurance is necessary until the end! God rarely immediately rewards faithfulness, but ultimately he will reward faithfulness in the end. No sacrifice or affliction will be viewed as a loss on that final day. All will be seen as an instrument demonstrating God's compassion and mercy to those who endure.

The Christian must always bear in mind that God has not yet fully responded to any evil act or any righteous deed. We await God's full response on the Day of Judgment in and through the person of Christ. And, until that day, we strengthen our hearts to patiently endure whatever his providence allows.

All who start well do not finish well. In a race, it is easy to leap from the starting gate with great focus and strength. It is much more difficult to end the race with the same focus and strength. What makes the difference? Patient endurance. There will be many trials along the path of salvation leading to eternal glory. Our one resolve should be this: That we will fix our hearts to patiently endure until the end with the finish line always in mind. To lose sight of the finish line is to lose sight of our Lord. It is through patient endurance that we will one day reach the finish line and fall into the arms of Jesus -- the goal of our pursuit! "Behold, we count those blessed who endured."

© Richard J. Vincent, July 21, 2001