Living with Injustice James 5:1-11 - Part 2
Pastor Tim Brown, Calvary Chapel Fremont, Sunday May 3, 2009
Living w/ injustice
James 5:1-11 p2
THERE IS SOMETHING BAD HAPPENING TO YOU
Recap last week: Wicked rich turn a deaf ear to justice/mercy/God.
They don’t care about you or God. They will take advantage of you and there is no one to stop them. What do you do? What do you do when there is no recourse – no law court that will deal out justice, no sane voice of righteousness, no sympathetic ear? What do you do when no matter what you do you will end up the loser even though you are right and have been wronged?
Now, we have access to justice that they didn’t have. Yet, we still experience things that are not right and it seems like no one is all that interested in making it right – someone takes credit for what you have achieved at work/you are slandered and people look at you suspiciously/ongoing dispute w/ neighbor and police are not able to help or not interested in helping/wrongfully accused/forced to work overtime or in conditions that are not safe or healthy and the threat of job loss hangs over you if you protest… Or it is the political realm – your tax money is used to fund projects you find immoral/supporting an unjust war/not supporting a just war…
Sum up – something bad/unjust is happening and you are powerless to do anything about it. How are you to respond?
THERE IS TO BE SOMETHING GOOD WORKING IN YOU AND COMING FROM YOU
Be patient DON’T BLOW UP 7-8
Patience = ‘long-tempered’. Don’t seek revenge or pursue rebellion – cf. v6. Always keep Jesus before you.
You who are slaves must accept the authority of your masters. Do whatever they tell you—not only if they are kind and reasonable, but even if they are harsh. For God is pleased with you when, for the sake of your conscience, you patiently endure unfair treatment. Of course, you get no credit for being patient if you are beaten for doing wrong. But if you suffer for doing right and are patient beneath the blows, God is pleased with you. This suffering is all part of what God has called you to. Christ, who suffered for you, is your example. Follow in his steps. He never sinned, and he never deceived anyone. He did not retaliate when he was insulted. When he suffered, he did not threaten to get even. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly. 1P2:18-23
If you are patient beneath undeserved blows – God is pleased w/ you! What if you were to strike back, make right what has been made wrong? Clearing your good name and making sure that so-and-so comes to justice will consume your life. It won’t be “Thy kingdom come,” it will be, “My justice come.” You will be consumed w/ your cause and not the cause of Christ. You will be consumed w/ justice for you and not mercy for others. You will be consumed w/ judgment for wrongdoers and not grace for sinners. W/o patience toward those who have wronged you, your life will be all about you. And when you can’t recruit others to your cause, they become your enemy.
How easy it is to become impatient and not wait on God. “Do you know what He/she said, he/she did…It’s not right. Something has to be done. They can’t get away with it. Etc.” If you don’t watch your heart, you will become obsessed w/ wanting to punish the other person. Spurgeon told of 2 members of his church who perished by a fire in their own house. They were not consumed by the flames, but they were suffocated by the smoke. No blaze was ever visible, nor could any sign of fire be seen from the street, yet they died as readily as if they had been burned to ashes by raging flames. Patience is an outworking of the love of God. The smoke of the very fire you are kindling for your enemy is suffocating you.
“How long do I need to wait until justice is done?” Text says: be patient until the coming of the Lord – cavalry is coming!. What if farmer became angry because crops didn’t grow overnight? He’d be out there digging out the plants and trying them in different places – over watering – varying pesticides – he would kill them all.
Do not complain DON’T BELLYACHE 9
Why complain against one another? Because I can’t complain against the rich man oppressing me – he’ll beat me. Powerlessness and injustice breed an offended/wounded/angry spirit. The violence of anger/woundedness have to go somewhere. Husband yells at wife, wife at daughter, daughter at brother, brother kicks dog, dog bites cat, cat claws mouse… Complaining/bellyaching – leads to action. The more you talk the more you get riled up.
Greek describes the groan of bearing a burden. I have a burden that is becoming unbearable – a burden I want removed. Don’t groan against one another. Groan ‘to’, but not ‘against’ one another. Complaining breeds complaining.
Endure DON’T GIVE UP 10-11
Overcoming v enduring faith. Patience puts up w/ people and endurance puts up w/ circumstances.
Women received their loved ones back again from death. But others trusted God and were tortured, preferring to die rather than turn from God and be free. Hebrews 11:35
There is a reward for enduring in faith. The testimonies we normally hear are of the overcoming faith type. But what of the millions who are not delivered from their problems and have to walk through their struggles? We don’t hear much about them. And yet they have learned that God’s strength is made perfect in weakness and that God’s presence is a great reward. Your lack of deliverance isn’t a defeat and your endurance is a victory. Apply to Job/us.
THERE IS SOMETHING GLORIOUS WAITING FOR YOU
7-8 the coming of the Lord – parousia – physical coming/presence
9 the Judge is standing right at the door
11 the outcome of the Lord’s dealings – full of compassion/mercy
The Judge is near, right at the door. The hope of Christians is the 2nd coming of Jesus and not a just society produced by man. All wrongs cannot be righted in this life. This is the fallacy of the victim mentality. There are hurts that only Jesus can heal and there are wrongs that only the 2nd coming of Jesus will make right. James: don’t you dare be a victim – you be an example of Christ as you suffer through life.
Moral evil something bad is happening to you
Godly response something good is working in you/coming from you
Heavenly reward something glorious is waiting for you
Don’t pay back evil for evil. If moral evil to you is met w/ moral evil from you – you are only increasing unrighteousness – increase godliness!
Carnival ride – Gravitron: stand against edge/ride rotates/floor falls away/you remain upright! A power greater than gravity is at work.
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Living w/ injustice
James 5:1-11 p2
THERE IS SOMETHING BAD HAPPENING TO YOU
Recap last week: Wicked rich turn a deaf ear to justice/mercy/God.
They don’t care about you or God. They will take advantage of you and there is no one to stop them. What do you do? What do you do when there is no recourse – no law court that will deal out justice, no sane voice of righteousness, no sympathetic ear? What do you do when no matter what you do you will end up the loser even though you are right and have been wronged?
Now, we have access to justice that they didn’t have. Yet, we still experience things that are not right and it seems like no one is all that interested in making it right – someone takes credit for what you have achieved at work/you are slandered and people look at you suspiciously/ongoing dispute w/ neighbor and police are not able to help or not interested in helping/wrongfully accused/forced to work overtime or in conditions that are not safe or healthy and the threat of job loss hangs over you if you protest… Or it is the political realm – your tax money is used to fund projects you find immoral/supporting an unjust war/not supporting a just war…
Sum up – something bad/unjust is happening and you are powerless to do anything about it. How are you to respond?
THERE IS TO BE SOMETHING GOOD WORKING IN YOU AND COMING FROM YOU
Be patient DON’T BLOW UP 7-8
Patience = ‘long-tempered’. Don’t seek revenge or pursue rebellion – cf. v6. Always keep Jesus before you.
You who are slaves must accept the authority of your masters. Do whatever they tell you—not only if they are kind and reasonable, but even if they are harsh. For God is pleased with you when, for the sake of your conscience, you patiently endure unfair treatment. Of course, you get no credit for being patient if you are beaten for doing wrong. But if you suffer for doing right and are patient beneath the blows, God is pleased with you. This suffering is all part of what God has called you to. Christ, who suffered for you, is your example. Follow in his steps. He never sinned, and he never deceived anyone. He did not retaliate when he was insulted. When he suffered, he did not threaten to get even. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly. 1P2:18-23
If you are patient beneath undeserved blows – God is pleased w/ you! What if you were to strike back, make right what has been made wrong? Clearing your good name and making sure that so-and-so comes to justice will consume your life. It won’t be “Thy kingdom come,” it will be, “My justice come.” You will be consumed w/ your cause and not the cause of Christ. You will be consumed w/ justice for you and not mercy for others. You will be consumed w/ judgment for wrongdoers and not grace for sinners. W/o patience toward those who have wronged you, your life will be all about you. And when you can’t recruit others to your cause, they become your enemy.
How easy it is to become impatient and not wait on God. “Do you know what He/she said, he/she did…It’s not right. Something has to be done. They can’t get away with it. Etc.” If you don’t watch your heart, you will become obsessed w/ wanting to punish the other person. Spurgeon told of 2 members of his church who perished by a fire in their own house. They were not consumed by the flames, but they were suffocated by the smoke. No blaze was ever visible, nor could any sign of fire be seen from the street, yet they died as readily as if they had been burned to ashes by raging flames. Patience is an outworking of the love of God. The smoke of the very fire you are kindling for your enemy is suffocating you.
“How long do I need to wait until justice is done?” Text says: be patient until the coming of the Lord – cavalry is coming!. What if farmer became angry because crops didn’t grow overnight? He’d be out there digging out the plants and trying them in different places – over watering – varying pesticides – he would kill them all.
Do not complain DON’T BELLYACHE 9
Why complain against one another? Because I can’t complain against the rich man oppressing me – he’ll beat me. Powerlessness and injustice breed an offended/wounded/angry spirit. The violence of anger/woundedness have to go somewhere. Husband yells at wife, wife at daughter, daughter at brother, brother kicks dog, dog bites cat, cat claws mouse… Complaining/bellyaching – leads to action. The more you talk the more you get riled up.
Greek describes the groan of bearing a burden. I have a burden that is becoming unbearable – a burden I want removed. Don’t groan against one another. Groan ‘to’, but not ‘against’ one another. Complaining breeds complaining.
Endure DON’T GIVE UP 10-11
Overcoming v enduring faith. Patience puts up w/ people and endurance puts up w/ circumstances.
Women received their loved ones back again from death. But others trusted God and were tortured, preferring to die rather than turn from God and be free. Hebrews 11:35
There is a reward for enduring in faith. The testimonies we normally hear are of the overcoming faith type. But what of the millions who are not delivered from their problems and have to walk through their struggles? We don’t hear much about them. And yet they have learned that God’s strength is made perfect in weakness and that God’s presence is a great reward. Your lack of deliverance isn’t a defeat and your endurance is a victory. Apply to Job/us.
THERE IS SOMETHING GLORIOUS WAITING FOR YOU
7-8 the coming of the Lord – parousia – physical coming/presence
9 the Judge is standing right at the door
11 the outcome of the Lord’s dealings – full of compassion/mercy
The Judge is near, right at the door. The hope of Christians is the 2nd coming of Jesus and not a just society produced by man. All wrongs cannot be righted in this life. This is the fallacy of the victim mentality. There are hurts that only Jesus can heal and there are wrongs that only the 2nd coming of Jesus will make right. James: don’t you dare be a victim – you be an example of Christ as you suffer through life.
Moral evil something bad is happening to you
Godly response something good is working in you/coming from you
Heavenly reward something glorious is waiting for you
Don’t pay back evil for evil. If moral evil to you is met w/ moral evil from you – you are only increasing unrighteousness – increase godliness!
Carnival ride – Gravitron: stand against edge/ride rotates/floor falls away/you remain upright! A power greater than gravity is at work.
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