Week 8 - James 4:13-5:6

Having just finished explaining that you should not judge others, James encourages believers to judge themselves.  

“Encourage” is too soft a word.  The section grabs you by the lapels and spins you around, with the phrase “Come now!”(ago).  It is an arresting imperative.  It is spoken with a hard “g” (ahh-gay).

This section calls out those that boast about the future and those that fail to pay their workers properly.

To bring is closer to home, imagine a well-dressed church-going Bible-carrying person going out after worship on Sunday, and after sharing their plans for the week over lunch with friends, they skimp on their server’s tip!

To all believers, James says “Come now!” and explains our personal evil, even the “small stuff”, this way:

James 5:6
You have condemned and murdered the righteous person.  He does not resist you.

Commentators stumble over this verse because of its change of tense and number:

• If this verse described a particular event, both clauses would be the same tense (“He did not resist[past tense] you”).  
• If it spoke of a common type of sin, the number would be the same (“They did not resist you[plural]”).

Instead, it shows how our sin participates in the Crucifixion and is true evil.  

Romans 6:23
The wages of sin is death.

For the believer, to whom this letter is addressed, Jesus died for their sin.  He would not have been condemned without that sin.  For he was indeed “the righteous person[singular]".

It was for our sins, both past, present and future, that Christ died.  And He does so willingly.  The change of tense and number is purposeful.  He does not resist the condemnation of your present sin!

Matthew 5:4
“Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.“

Folks, come now, and mourn.