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"The Hope that Makes Us Strong"
James 5:7-8

Wednesday AM Bible Study
October 15, 2003

Often, when a believer is suffering because of being treated unjustly, he or she can fall into deep discouragement and say, "Why are they doing this to me? I just want it to end." And sometimes, they may even become tempted to take action to 'make' it end - or to get even somehow.

James wrote to Christians under such pressure. They were being treated unjustly by evil people who had the advantage over them (vv. 1-6). But what he says to them in verses 7-8 is intended to to bring them into the right perspective. Hope comes from having this right perspective - that is, that we are to look to Jesus Christ, and to see injustice as finding its ultimate resolve in His return. God, through His servant James, here teaches us that the strength to be patient when treated unjustly comes from fixing our hopes on the return of the Lord. We are "long-suffering" to the degree that we have our eyes fixed on Jesus and His glorious return.

James builds this argument through three main assersions: (1) by telling us the attitude of spirit we're to have; (2) by then telling us what sort of perspective will give us this attitude; and (3) by exhorting us to take strengthen our hearts in this attitude. Notice how James develops these three elements of his argument ...

I. THE ATTITUDE: WE ARE TO BE PATIENT WHEN TREATED UNJUSTLY.

A. James doesn't use the usual word for "patience". The common word for patience is hupomoné ("to abide under"; cf. 1:2-4). Here, he uses the word makrothumia ("to be long-suffering or long-tempered"). The former word tends to be used for a settled attitude of heart with respect to situations and circumstances. But James word here is used with regard to people and things.

B. God calls us to exercise a spirit of long-suffering when treated unjustly:

1. In outward expressions - Prov. 14:29; 22:24-25; 16:32; Titus 1:7.

2. In inward attitudes - Heb. 12:14-15.

II. THE PERSPECTIVE: SUCH PATIENCE COMES THROUGH FIXING OUR HOPE ON THE RETURN OF THE LORD.

A. When James says "until the coming of the Lord", he's calling us to look ahead and gain perspective. The "forward look" is described for us wonderfully in Colossians 3:1-4.

B. James gives us an illustration: The farmer waits for the early and later rains. Nothing will grow without those rains; and his impatience can do nothing to hurry them. The farmer must wait on God's time-table. We must wait on God's timetable too. We need to remember that for everything we actually see God doing, there are a myriad of other things - unseen to us - that He is also doing at the same time. When all the pieces are in place, we will see that all things - indeed - do work for good to those who love Him (Rom. 8:28-29); and that our patience will eventually pay off (2 Thess. 1:3-10).

III. TAKING STRENGTH: WE'RE TO STRENGTHEN OUR HEARTS BY FIXING ON THIS HOPE.

A. We do this by accepting that we will suffer injustice in this world (2 Tim. 3:12; 1 Peter 4:12-19).

B. We also do this by deferring "vengeance" to God, and not seeking to take vengeance ourselves (Rom. 12:17-21).

C. We do this by submitting to God's sovereignty in the exercise of justice (2 Peter 3:3-9).

D. And we do this by keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus as our great example of hopeful patience in suffering (Hebrews 12:1-3).

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