The Test of Our Response to Injustice: James Lesson 27

 Our journey through James has brought us test after test of genuine faith. James is very concerned that we be able to examine ourselves, testing ourselves to see if we have a faith that is authentic and real. As James penned this letter to Christians who had been scattered by persecution and affliction, he likely had the words of Christ in mind from the Sermon on the Mount. Chilling words of Christ warn of many who are involved in the activities of teaching, performing miracles, and casting out demons, who call Jesus “Lord, Lord” but who hear from Him, “Depart from Me, I never knew you, you who work iniquity.” There has always been in the association of true Christians a contingent of false converts. James wants us to know if this is a problem. We should want to know if this is a problem for any of us. We need to know while there is still time to repent.

 The test we find in this next section of James 5 is no easy test. I guess we would have to say that we haven’t found an easy one yet. Each test has challenged us in regards to our faith and our relationship with Jesus Christ. This one is just as challenging. I call this the test of our response to injustice. Let’s read James 5:7-11.

 Reading these verses it becomes clear that James is challenging us to be patient, strong of heart, and enduring through something. I have concluded that James is challenging us to be patient, strong of heart, and enduring through the injustice brought upon by the abuses of the rich in the previous verses. There are a few reasons why I am convinced that this is the challenge of James. First, the use of the word “therefore” at the beginning of verse 7. We know that when we find the word “therefore” in Scripture, we need to pause and look to see what it is “there for.” James is telling us how we should respond in the face of what was previously written. 

 Walk back through the previous verses and point out the injustices and corruption. These could be applied to our world today.

 The second reason I know James is challenging us to be patient, strong of heart, and enduring through injustice is the use of the word “patient.” The Greek word is “makrothumeo.” It literally means “to suffer long” or be long suffering, as opposed to being hastily angry and retaliating against those who do us wrong. This word calls us to be patient with people. The word describes forbearance, enduring in the face of hardship rather than loosing faith and giving up. The exercise of this kind of patience requires a willingness to maintain faith when dealing with difficult people who are responsible for our difficult circumstances. Certainly the rich of the previous verses were among the difficult people.

 This word was used in the definition of love in 1 Cor. 13:4. In fact, it is the first word in that great passage. “Love is patient.” Perhaps it is best understood from a passage that describes the patience of God toward sinners. 2 Peter 3:9. “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” This passage makes it clear that God’s expressions of patience are toward people.

 The idea here is that we are to be long-suffering, not hasty to retaliate or take vengeance when dealing with people who are responsible for wrongs, injustices, persecutions, and difficulties perpetrated against us. This is a piece of cake, right? Wrong. This is a tall order. This is another of those things that says easy, does hard.

 We must remember. James has enlightened us on the difference between the wisdom from above, which is from God, and the wisdom from below, which is demonic, earthy, and fleshly or natural. What is the natural reaction or the fleshly reaction to injustice? How does the world respond to injustice? How would demonic wisdom instruct you on the way we should respond to wrongs, injustices, or persecutions? The worldly wisdom tells us to retaliate, to take revenge, to file lawsuits, to lash out in anger against those who do us wrong, to slander wrongdoers, to put them in their place.

 If the Christian is informed by and walking in the wisdom from above, how will he or she respond to injustice, wrongs, or persecution? Let’s just take a few minutes and examine some sound counsel from the word of God. This is the source of wisdom from above. Read Romans 12:14, 17, 19-21; 1 Thess. 5:14-15. 

 If we are to walk in wisdom we will allow the word of God to dictate and direct our response to injustice. We will, therefore, be patient. Another prominent theme we have recently encountered in our study of James was the issue of humility. God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. (4:6) If we are characterized by pride, what will our response be to those who deal with us in an unjust manner? We will respond the way the world tells us we should respond. Prideful people will retaliate, seek revenge, file lawsuits, lash out in anger, and slander others because they don’t deserve to be treated with unfairly.

 On the other hand, the humble will trust God to hand out divine justice. The humble will, as we learned in James 4:10, ‘Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.” The test of our response to injustice is a test of whether or not we learned anything as we studied wisdom and humility. I hope you can see the connection.

 James gives us some valuable insight on how to be patient in the face of injustice and hardships caused by others. Let’s say we are determined not to retaliate or take revenge, so what are some of the possible ways to respond to injustice? We could look the other way, and pretend that it didn’t happen. We might to that and say we are just turning the other cheek. We might seethe inwardly and be filled with hatred and bitterness, but that doesn’t hurt anyone but us. This is not the right way to deal with injustice.

 James tells us the right way to deal with wrongdoers. He says look past them to the day of righteous reckoning. Be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Look past the offense to the future judgment of the Lord. There is coming a day when He will return and set all things right.

Look, the unrighteous rich who were abusing the righteous poor in the previous verses will always have the advantage in a corrupt world. The rich were hiring the poor and not paying them their wages. The rich were living in luxury while the poor were barely surviving. The rich were taking the poor to court and having them condemned because they had the financial advantage and could pervert justice in the courts.

 That is how it is and how it will always be in a system which lies in the power of the evil one. The world is corrupt. Life isn’t fair. The rich have always had an advantage over the poor and they always will. James doesn’t say that the righteous are to rise up in rebellion and overthrow the system. He said be patient until the coming of the Lord. There are three references here to the coming of the Lord in these verses. The first is here in verse 7. The end of verse 8 says, “the coming of the Lord is near.” Verse 9 speaks of the Judge who is standing right at the door.

 Corruption and injustice will always be part of a fallen, satanic, earthly world system. Christians will always be the favorite targets of the unrighteous. Our world is characterized by corporate corruption, political corruption, economic corruption, judicial corruption, and even religious corruption. This is the chaos and corruption into which we were hurled as a result of the Fall of man in to sin.

 But that is not the end of the story. This all ends with the return of the King of Glory. He will rule in righteousness. He will bring an end to all corruption. His will bring a kingdom of peace, prosperity, purity, and He will rule in power, with a rod of iron. He will destroy the wicked and corrupt in judgment and He will establish a righteous world order that operates on truth and perfect justice.

 James tells us that His coming is near. This was two thousand years ago but it hasn’t happened yet. Don’t be deceived. The return of Christ is imminent. It could happen at any time. Things seem to be lining up to indicate His soon return. I’m ready.

 James pictures Christ as the Judge standing right at the door. He is ready to enter the court of final judgment and take His seat on the bench. None will escape His judgment. We don’t want to be even guilty of complaining against one another so we are not condemned in His judgment. His judgment is perfect. His judgment is thorough. His judgment will never allow for injustice or corruption.

 James gives us three examples the patience he calls us to practice. He points to the example of the farmer, the prophets, and Job. There are important lessons to be learned from each of these examples.

The example of the farmer illustrates the need to wait. Being patient always involves waiting. The farmer in Israel waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. Crops are planted in the Fall and the early rains come in the October to November time frame. The crops are harvested in the Spring following the late rains in the March to April timeframe. All the farmer can do is wait. He cannot speed up the process by any means or method.

Farming teaches us some valuable lessons about faith. The farmer really has very little control over much of the growing process. The farmer can control how well he prepares the soil. The farmer has to sow the seed. He may need to apply a little fertilizer and control a few weeds and kill a few bugs. Beyond that, everything else is beyond his control.

The farmer has no control over the germination of the seed, the process of growth, or the quality of the produce. The farmer has no control over whether or not it rains or how much it rains. If it rains too little the crops do not produce. If it rains too much, the plants will suffer. He has no control over invasions of locusts or strong winds or hail storms that may wipe out the crop just prior to harvest.

The farmer teaches us a lot about living with injustice. James would have us to consider the farmer because there is very little the farmer can control. When it comes to dealing with the injustices brought upon us by the rich and powerful, there is very little we can control. We really can only control ourselves. We can work ourselves to death trying to confront and correct all the injustices of the world, but this will always be to no avail. The world is corrupt and will remain corrupt. We are not going to correct the corruption of this world which is causing injustice. In fact, it isn’t our job. Our job is to rescue sinners, not fix a corrupt system.

Verse 8 gives us some very helpful insight. “You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.” The word for strengthen means to be resolute, resolved, determined and steadfast. We are to stay the course and walk in light of God’s truth no matter how difficult things may get. Even if corruption and injustice gets so bad that we are about to buckle under the weight of oppression, we must strengthen our hearts and stand faithful.

I’ve heard people who have threatened to take up arms in revolt if the next election does not go like they think it is supposed to go. James does not tell us to sharpen our swords in the face of injustice. He tells us to strengthen our hearts and be patient. Why would we be surprised about corruption and injustice in a political and economic system that belongs to and is under the power of Satan? We should not be surprised. The whole world lies in the power of the evil one. As we watch the current political calamity unfold we will see corruption, lies, cheating, and fraud on a grand scale. Injustice will prevail because the whole world is corrupt. Be patient and strengthen your hearts and worry not. Control what you can control. Stay focused on our mission as a church which is to reach the lost with the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Look at verse 9. “Do not complain, brethren, against one another…” When we suffer injustice, and we respond by a wisdom that is not from above, and we are motivated by pride rather than humility, we will complain. Complaining indicates that we are not being patient. Complaining comes from frustration with our circumstances. Complaining comes from a heart that is impatient and which quickly becomes angry and bitter about the injustices we are experiencing.

When this is true of us, we will complain, not only about those who are responsible for the injustices, but also against those who are not as adversely affected as we are, maybe even our brothers and sisters in Christ. This is where we do well to remember that Christ is the Judge who is standing right at the door. Christ will judge the thoughts and intentions and attitudes of our hearts. Paul wrote in 2 Cor. 5:10, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”

If we are to follow the example of the farmer and being patient, and if we are strengthening our hearts and avoiding the complaining against others, we will stand before Christ and hear, “Well done.”

James points us to the example of the farmer to remind us of our duty in suffering. We are to simply focus on what we can control. The only ones we have the possibility of controlling is ourselves. We cannot control the circumstances or other people. All we can do is control us. We wait until Jesus comes to set every injustice right.

James gives us another example in verse 10 of the prophets. “As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.” The word for “suffering” there is a compound word which describes specifically the idea of suffering evil. It describes suffering hardship, misfortune, and affliction at the hands of those who are evil.

 We know how the people responded to the prophets. The prophets were God’s spokesmen. They delivered the truth of God to the people. They boldly proclaimed the word of God. For it, they were hated, rejected, abused, despised, mistreated, and killed. And this was the treatment from the people who were supposed to be God’s people. Jeremiah 18:18 tells of the people’s response to his message. “Then they said, ‘Come and let us devise plans against Jeremiah. Surely the law is not going to be lost to the priest, nor counsel to the sage, nor the divine word to the prophet! Come on and let us strike at him with our tongue, and let us give no heed to any of his words.’” Jeremiah 20 describes him being beaten by the chief officer of the house of the Lord. Jeremiah 26 describes a plot to murder Jeremiah. In Jeremiah 38 they put him in a well that was nothing but mud and he sank into the mud. They intended to let him die. This was the way the people of Israel treated the prophets.

 If the treatment from the people of God was bad, consider what the pagans did to John the Baptist. He boldly confronted Herod the Tetrarch because he had committed adultery with his brother’s wife. John stood for God’s truth confronted the incestuous perversion. He was put into prison. Herod would have killed him immediately but he was afraid of the people because John was popular. But you know the story. He got excited watching his new wife’s daughter dancing and promised her anything she wanted. She was prompted by her mother to ask for John’s head on a platter.

 James tells us to look at these prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. They are examples to us of how to respond to some of the worst injustices and corruption. What did they do? They didn’t cry out for a political revolution. They didn’t file a lawsuit. They didn’t start a petition. They just kept boldly proclaiming God’s truth and let the consequences fall where they were going to fall.

 So looking at the farmer we learn that we simply control what we can control and wait on the Lord to set things right. The only thing we can control is what is sitting in the seat you are sitting in right now, what is wearing your shirt and pants and shoes. It’s just you. That is all you can control. And wait. Looking at the prophets we see that the other emphasis is on continuing to boldly proclaim God’s truth. We aren’t going to correct the corruption in the culture that produces the injustices we experience. The only thing that will transform the corrupt culture is the regeneration of salvation. Salvation comes by faith and faith comes by hearing the word of God. We, like the prophets, keep boldly proclaiming the word of God.

 In verse 11 James gives us one more example to look at. “We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.” We should all be familiar with the example of Job. Job was the premier example of a righteous man on the earth. His reward for being the best example was that it put him in a position for God to turn Satan loose to do whatever he wanted, except take Job’s life. All his children were killed, all his wealth was destroyed, he was covered with boils all over his body, his wife told him to curse God and die, and his three foolish friends came to torment him for weeks with accusations of sin. Through all of this Job never sinned. His attitude was “though He slay me, I will trust in Him.” He never wavered in his faith. He wanted to know why, but he never got an explanation. When he got an audience before God he decided that it was foolish to question God.

 What do we learn from the example of Job? We learn that there were things going on that God had orchestrated for His purposes and by His providence. Job never did understand these things. When we face injustice, and when we are told to live in subjection to a corrupt world system, and we think we need to question the wisdom of God and fight against all injustice, we need to recognize that God has a plan in everything He allows. God is working all things together for good. He does not look at the corruption and injustices of our world and wring His hands and worry about what He is going to do. He is using it all for things far too wonderful for us to comprehend.

 We just need to focus on His nature and character and remember that He is full of compassion and is merciful. Even if we are unjustly jailed, persecuted, or even killed, we will wait on the Lord. The righteous Judge is standing right at the door. Like the patient farmer we will wait for the late rain and the harvest of souls. Like the prophets we will stand firm on the word of God and boldly proclaim the truth of God’s word and let the world respond how they are going to respond. Like Job, we must simply trust that our compassionate and merciful heavenly Father is working everything together for His purposes and His glory.

 James makes an important point there in the first part of verse 11. “We count those blessed who endured.” It is the Greek word “hupomeno.” It literally means “to remain under.” To endure is to persevere, bear up under adversity, misery, provocation and persecutions. It is to do so with faith. This word was used by Jesus in Matthew 10:22 where Jesus describes the hatred, persecution, rejection, attacks, and animosity the disciples would experience from the world and even their own family. Jesus said, “You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.”

This is wisdom from above. Wisdom from the earth counts those blessed who are successful, influential, wealthy, admired, emulated by the masses. Wisdom from above counts those blessed who endured. Endured what? Hebrews 11 describes those who endured mocking, scourging, chains and imprisonment, stoning, being sawn in two, put to death with the sword, hiding in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated, wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground. These were blessed because they endured.

 Who would you consider to be more blessed? John the Baptist, or the most successful person you know who calls themselves a Christian. There are some wealthy, successful, influential people who call themselves Christians. I’m not going to name any, but there are some. Are they more blessed or is John the Baptist more blessed? According to James we would have to conclude that John the Baptist was blessed. He endured. Jesus was blessed He endured injustice on the largest scale known to mankind.

 As we turn our attention to the Lord’s Table to close the service I want you to look at 1 Peter 2:21-25. This message was about the test of our response to injustice. The greatest injustice of history occurred at Calvary. Look at how Jesus responded to the injustice of the Cross. He was blessed because He endured. We are blessed because He endured. We are blessed if we also endure as we follow in His steps.