Not again, we did James 5:6 last week! Yes, but v7 contains the word "therefore" and points us back to why we should be patient.
You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord.
Somehow the command to be patient is tied to the unwavering mercy that Christ demonstrates by not resisting even our present sin. The sin that put Him on the cross continues just as He, the Lamb of God, patiently continues to stand slain for our redemption (Revelation 5). This is the backdrop fo the command to be steadfast.
How patient should we be? Well, I am sorry to say, we are asked to have the patience of . . . Job.
But we have an advantage that Job did not. We have seen the purpose of the Lord!
You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
Job’s steadfastness was without having seen Emanuel.
“There is no arbiter between us, who might lay his hand on us both.”
He had only one choice. That to throw himself on God’s “purpose”. Read his answer to God.
Then Job answered the Lord and said:“I know that you can do all things,and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.. . .therefore I despise myself,and repent in dust and ashes.”
But you have seen God's purpose. Jesus described it this way:
For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
Folks, this purpose will not be thwarted and it is why we can be patient. No temporary loss, no temporary consequence of sin, no persecution (no matter the duration), will compare to that day.
Be steadfast.
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