TEXT: 11Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have
heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord,
how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
19My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings
him back, 20let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering
will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
James 5:11-19
Dear People of Trinity,
Over the past few weeks we have been hearing the Word of the Lord from the
Apostle James in our Scripture lessons. His epistle has not been the focus of
the preaching, though it has been helpful in preaching the Gospel texts at
least in preparation, if not in the actual preaching as last week. Today we
hear the close of his letter (perhaps the earliest text of the NT), which he
wrote as the Bishop of Jerusalem and the foremost leader of the Christ’s church
at the time, to the Jewish Christians who had essentially been run out of
Jerusalem—more specifically, to the pastors of these persecuted people of God.
As with the other epistles, these letters would then be read by the pastors as
sermons when the people gathered for the Divine Service to hear the Word of God
and receive the body and blood of their Savior and Lord.
On the face of it, it’s rather obvious that a letter to a congregation in the
days before e-mail, bulk postage, and even the printing press would be written
and delivered to the pastor. He is the one who has access to the audience. But
there is another reason as well. The persecution of Christians invariably is
going to run through the pastors in order to either destroy them so the sheep
will scatter or to break them so that they compromise the truth for the sake of
saving their people and themselves from physical and emotional trauma.
Throughout this letter, James severely chastises and condemns the pastors and
congregations who have gone after earthly riches and success, while soothing
and exhorting the congregations and their pastors who have suffered because of
their faithfulness—perhaps even at the hands of their own brothers in the
faith.
1Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you.
2Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3Your gold and
silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will
eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. 4Behold,
the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud,
are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the
ears of the Lord of hosts. 5You have lived on the earth in luxury and in
self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6You have
condemned; you have murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.
7Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how
the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it,
until it receives the early and the late rains. 8You also, be patient.
Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 9Do not grumble
against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge
is standing at the door. 10As an example of suffering and patience, brothers,
take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11Behold, we consider
those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of
Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate
and merciful. [James 5:1-12]
Studying this whole pastoral epistle of James over the past month or so as I
begin my 12th year as your pastor, I couldn’t help but be struck once again at
the timeliness of the Word of God that has been assigned for reading in all our
congregations. Time after time in our journey together hear at Trinity we have
seen, or rather heard, the Scripture lessons for the day line up with and
address the very situations in which we found ourselves here at Trinity,
Layton. So much so that many of you thought I was cherry picking the readings
for my own purposes and I often had to shake my head and seek verification from
various written resources and other pastors to make sure I wasn’t just seeing
what I wanted to see in the Word.
But once again, as we find ourselves in a definitive and trying time in the
life of our congregation, the Word of God given to us could not be any more
appropriate if it had been picked for our situation rather than assigned for
this day in the church calendar for all of our congregations to hear and study
together.
That is no coincidence, dear people of God. For one, our Lord Jesus Christ sits
at the right hand of God to rule His church and His world so that all things
will work good for those who love, that is, have faith in Him.
And for another, “the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any
double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and
marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” [Hebrews 4:12] and
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” [Hebrews 13:8]
So you see, it is not the task of the church or the pastor to make God’s Word
contemporary and relevant to the world and its people. The Word of God is made
flesh in Jesus Christ to live among us then, now, and forever . And because
that Word is the Christ crucified, risen, and ascended for you it—He—can’t help
but be contemporary to you, to His Church, to the world!
So how is this epistle of James that talk so much of works relevant to
Lutherans who believe, teach, and confess with Paul that we saved by grace
through faith and not by works so that no one can boast? Isn’t Paul, the great
apostle and preacher of faith, in opposition to this message of James?
Not at all, dear baptized. Even Paul wrote of the baptized in Romans 6: “What
shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2By no
means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3Or don't you know
that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his
death? 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order
that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father,
we too may live a new life.
When Paul speaks of being saved by receiving and believing in the grace of God
alone, He is answering the question of how you know you are justified and
saved. James, however, is speaking to the question of how the world knows you
are justified and thus live as His priests and ambassadors to the world.
Speaking to the people of Christ’s church through His servants of the Word,
Bishop James reminds them that if they are seen by the world to be tearing
apart even their own, how is the world to believe through the message they bear?
14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no
deeds? Can such faith save him? 15Suppose a brother or sister is without
clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep
warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?
17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is
dead.
18But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I
do.
19You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and
shudder.
20You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is
useless[d]? . . . 26As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without
deeds is dead. [James 2:14-26]
ARTICLE VI
New Obedience
Note: Lutherans are sometimes accused of denying that Christians should do good
works. The article on new obedience follows on the heels of the articles on
justification and the ministry, and clearly states that Lutherans do insist on
good works. The faith given by the Holy Spirit is a living and active power in
our lives, bearing the fruit of good works. We must do good works. God commands
them. However, they do not save us. They are always the result of saving faith.
This article refers to an Early Church Father as proof that this teaching is
anchored in the Church’s historic teaching and practice.
1 Our churches teach that this faith is bound to bring forth good fruit
[Galatians 5:22–23]. It is necessary to do good works commanded by God
[Ephesians 2:10], because of God’s will. We should not rely on those works to
merit justification before God. 2 The forgiveness of sins and justification is
received through faith. The voice of Christ testifies, “So you also, when you
have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have
only done what was our duty’ ” (Luke 17:10). 3 The Fathers teach the same
thing. Ambrose says, “It is ordained of God that he who believes in Christ is
saved, freely receiving forgiveness of sins, without works, through faith
alone.” [Concordia Reader’s Edition]
So of course good works are necessary. For the chief good work of God is to
forgive sins. And your chief work is to believe that you are forgiven and to
take that forgiveness out into the world with you that all may know and believe
it for their salvation and eternal life.
And this, finally, is why it should be considered no surprise or coincidence
that the Word of God, every Word of God, is contemporary and relevant to us in
our day and time and in every circumstance.
· All Scripture speaks of Christ [John 5:39]
· All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking,
correcting and training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be
thoroughly equipped for every good work. [2 Timothy 3:16-17]
Count it all joy, my brothers,[b] when you meet trials(F) of various kinds,
3for you know that(G) the testing of your faith(H) produces steadfastness. 4And
let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be(I) perfect and
complete, lacking in nothing. . . . Let the lowly brother boast in his
exaltation, 10and(R) the rich in his humiliation, . . . Blessed is the man who
remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will
receive(V) the crown of life,(W) which God has promised to those who love him.
[James 1:2-4, 9b-12] That is, those who believe and are baptized in the
forgiveness of sins—in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the
Holy Spirit.
____________________________________________________________
Best Weight Loss Program - Click Here!
http://thirdpartyoffers.netzero.net/TGL2241/fc/BLSrjpYSwrCf5Bp7KXtLrk4hEBPY02H8Kc5DsU5eE0qRn9pE3xhQGm1VA8Q/
