James’ Final Lessons For When Suffering Comes
(James 5:12–20)
Introduction:Warren Wiersbe said that the book of James sets forth “The Marks of the Mature Christian.” and reveals of the mature Christian that…
I. He Is Patient In Testing– Chapter 1
II. He Practices The Truth – Chapter 2
III. He Has Power Over His Tongue – Chapter 3
IV. He Is A Peacemaker, Not A Troublemaker – Chapter 4
V. He Is Prayerful In Troubles – Chapter 5
Wiersbe also indicated that in this epistle, we see the mature believer in light of his Suffering (ch. 1), his Service (ch. 2), his Speech (ch. 3), his Separation (ch. 4), and in light of the Second Coming (ch. 5).
Suffering is not just an aspect of chapter 1, but there are glimpses of grief and scenes of suffering found throughout this entire epistle.
Often when you talk about the two concepts of learning and suffering, it is accurately asserted that there are lessons that we learn as a result of suffering. We also learn some lessons that need to be applied in the process of suffering.
And as we look at the final section of this letter, James tells us that…
I. When Suffering Comes, We Should Maintain Our Integrity With An Answer That Is Pure
(James 5:12)
(James 5:12) But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.
swear – Greek 3660. omnuo, om-noo'-o; to swear, i.e. take (or declare on) oath:--swear.
Thayer’s Greek Lexicon says that the word “swear” means“to affirm, promise, threaten, with an oath.”
The American Heritage Dictionary defines the word “swear” like this…
swear (swâr). 1. To make a solemn declaration, invoking a deity or a sacred person or thing, in confirmation of and witness to the honesty or truth of such a declaration. 2. To make a solemn promise; vow. 3. To use profane oaths; curse. 4. Law. To give evidence or testimony under oath. 1. To declare or affirm solemnly by invoking a deity or a sacred person or thing. 2. To promise or pledge with a solemn oath; vow:
Some of the commentators like Matthew Henry and A. T. Robertson associate James’ instruction here with profanity or profane speech. And there may be some connection, but when James says “swear not,” he is specifically talking about taking an oath and taking it in a flippant, rash way; an oath that veiled a deceptive heart.
As John MacArthur writes…
That James discusses speech at the close of his epistle is not surprising; he did so in every other chapter as well. … The specific speech-related issue James focused his attention on is that of swearing. In this context to swear does not mean (as it often does in English) to use illicit speech, dirty talk, double entendre, filthy jokes, or four-letter words—the type of unwholesome, nonedifying speech the apostle Paul forbids in Ephesians 4:29 (cf. Ephesians 5:4). Instead, it refers to the taking of oaths.
Adam Clarke wrote of the statement in verse 12…
[Above all things, my brethren, swear not] What relation this exhortation can have to the subject in question, I confess I cannot see. It may not have been desired to stand in any connection, but to be a separate piece of advice, as in the several cases which immediately follow. That the Jews were notoriously guilty of common swearing is allowed on all hands and that swearing by heaven, earth, Jerusalem, the temple, the altar, different parts of the body, was not considered by them as binding oaths, has been sufficiently proved. Rabbi Akiba taught that “a man might swear with his lips, and annul it in his heart; and then the oath was not binding.”
On the other hand, Wiersbe said…
The exhortation in James 5:12 seems out of place; for what does “speaking oaths” have to do with the problem of suffering? If you have ever suffered, you know the answer: it is easy to say things you do not mean, and even make bargains with God, when you are going through difficulties. Go back to Job for an example. The patriarch said, “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this Job sinned not nor charged God foolishly” (Job 1:21-22). Job did curse the day he was born (Job 3:1ff), but he never cursed God or spoke with a foolish oath. Neither did he try to bargain with God.
John MacArthur wrote…
Basic dishonesty has led men to impose oaths on others in an often futile attempt to force them to be truthful and keep their promises. Both the simple oaths of children, the sophisticated oaths often required by cults and other organizations, and everything from legal contracts to peace treaties are necessitated by the recognition of mankind’s basic dishonesty.
Manifesting of this same dishonesty, the Jews not only swore according to Old Testament law by the name of the Lord (and occasionally violated such oaths), but also had developed the practice of swearing false, evasive, deceptive oaths by everything other than the name of the Lord (which alone was considered binding). They swore by anything other than the Lord for the very purpose of pretending to a truthfulness that they had no intention of maintaining. Jesus also condemned this practice (Matthew 5:33–36; 23:16–22).
The custom of swearing oaths was a major part of life in biblical times. It had become an issue in the church, particularly the predominantly Jewish congregations to which James wrote. Since swearing oaths was an integral part of Jewish culture, Jewish believers brought that practice into the church. But such oath taking is unnecessary among Christians, whose speech is to be honest (Ephesians 4:25; Colossians 3:9), and whose lives are to demonstrate integrity and credibility. For believers, a simple yes or no should suffice because they are faithful to keep their word.
The Pulpit Commentary says…
We believe that James condemns only what is called profane swearing. He exhorts the brethren to abstain from hasty and frivolous oaths. Some … interpret this command, with that of our Lord in his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:34-37), as an absolute condemnation of all kinds of swearing. The prevailing judgment of the Church, however, is that upon solemn occasions oaths may be not only lawful, but sometimes also dutiful. For what does an oath mean? It means, to call upon God to take notice of, and to ratify, some particular assertion. And Christian intelligence suggests that there can be nothing sinful in this, provided it be done only upon a solemn judicial occasion and in a reverent spirit. The words in the third commandment which are emphatic are evidently the words “in vain,” it being assumed that there is a lawful use of the Divine Name.
The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament says…
In the law, the oath is an essential element in spite of the tendency to abuse it in daily life. The law prohibits false oaths and insists that oaths and vows be kept. Jesus, however, sets up a new order of life in the kingdom which leaves no place for oaths, since there is no reason here to suspect human veracity. Those who belong to the kingdom must always be truthful, and hence do not need to swear.
A. Consider The Powerful Emphasis Of This Truth
(James 5:12) But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.
The Pulpit Commentary says…
Why “above all things”? Unless that this was one of their chiefly besetting sins.
A. T. Robertson said…
Above all things. Here it means “But especially.”
MacArthur said…
Because it occupies only one verse, some may be tempted to dismiss James’s prohibition against swearing as relatively insignificant. But the phrase above all sets it apart as a preeminent and pervasive command. … James’s reference to his readers as brethren shows that his attitude was not one of condescension, but compassion. He identified with them as one who also needed to guard his own mouth and speak the truth. For him, too, the matter of honest speech was of utmost importance.
Albert Barnes wrote…
[But above all things] That is be especially careful on this point; whatever else is done, let not this be. The manner in which James speaks of the practice referred to here, shows that he regarded it as a sin of a very heinous nature; one that was by all means to be avoided by those whom he addressed. The habit of swearing by various things was a very common one among the Jews, and it was important to guard those who from among them had been converted to Christianity on that subject.
B. Consider The Prior Example Of This Truth
(James 5:12) But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.
Wiersbe said…
Surely James is reminding us of our Lord’s teaching in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:34-37).
MacArthur wrote…
James was also profoundly influenced by the Sermon on the Mount. … The extent of the Sermon on the Mount’s influence on James may be seen in his many references and allusions to it (see table).
Barnes said…
While the Jews professedly adhered to the law, they had introduced a number of oaths in common conversation, and oaths which they by no means considered to be binding. For example, they would swear by the temple, by the head, by heaven, by the earth. So long as they kept from swearing by the name Yahweh, and so long as they observed the oaths publicly taken, they seemed to consider all others as allowable, and allowedly broken. This is the abuse which Christ wished to correct. “It was the practice of swearing in common conversation, and especially swearing by created things.” To do this, he said that they were mistaken in their views of the sacredness of such oaths. They were very closely connected with God; and to trifle with them was a species of trifling with God. Heaven is his throne; the earth his footstool; Jerusalem his special abode; the head was made by him, and was so much under his control that we could not make one hair white or black.
C. Consider The Principal Element Of This Truth
(James 5:12) But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.
Craig Keener, in the IVP Bible Background Commentary wrote…
The idea is probably that one should not impatiently (5:7-11) swear; rather one should pray (5:13). One should pray rather than swear because the fullest form of an oath included a self-curse, which was like saying “May God kill me if I fail to do this” or (in English preadolescent idiom) “Cross my heart and hope to die.”
Adam Clarke wrote…
[Let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.] Do not pretend to say yea with your lips, and annul it in your heart; let the yea or the nay which you express be bona fide such. Do not imagine that any mental reservation can cancel any such expression of obligation in the sight of God.
Barnes said…
[But let our yea be yea] Let there be a simple affirmation, unaccompanied by any oath or appeal to God or to any of his works. A man who makes that his common method of speech is the man who will be believed.
[Lest you fall into condemnation] That is, for profaning the name of God. “The Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain,” Exodus 20:7.
John Calvin wrote…
It has been a common vice almost in all ages, to swear lightly and inconsiderately. For so bad is our nature that we do not consider what an atrocious crime it is to profane the name of God. For though the Lord strictly commands us to reverence his name, yet men devise various subterfuges, and think that they can swear with impunity. They imagine, then, that there is no evil, provided they do not openly mention the name of God; and this is an old gloss. So the Jews, when they swore by heaven or earth, thought that they did not profane God’s name, because they did not mention it. But while men seek to be ingenious in dissembling with God, they delude themselves with the most frivolous evasions.
Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of James 5:12 says…
And since you know that he cares, let your language show it. Don’t add words like “I swear to God” to your own words. Don’t show your impatience by concocting oaths to hurry up God. Just say yes or no. Just say what is true. That way, your language can’t be used against you. (From THE MESSAGE)
James tells us in this last section that…
I. When Suffering Comes, We Should Maintain Our Integrity With An Answer That Is Pure
(James 5:12)
Suffering and sorrow are undesirable but effective teachers. As Robert Browning Hamilton wrote…
I walked a mile with Pleasure
She chatted all the way,
But left me none the wiser
For all she had to say.
I walked a mile with Sorrow
And ne’er a word said she;
But oh, the things I learned from her
When Sorrow walked with me!
In the process of suffering, we can learn to have purity in our lips.
In the process of suffering, we can learn to have prayer in our lives.
James tells us that…
II. When Suffering Comes, We Should Maintain Our Intercession With An Application Of Prayer
(James 5:13–18)
A. James MentionedThe Involvement Of Prayer In Suffering
(James 5:13-14) Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. {14} Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
1. Those Who Are Suffering Need Prayer
James asked the question: “Is any among you afflicted?” And the obvious answer is “well, duh.” No, the obvious answer is “yes, of course there are those who are afflicted and suffering.” In fact, every person in the church auditorium is most likely experiencing some type of suffering, some type of adversity of circumstances.
John MacArthur wrote…
Suffering(“afflicted” – KJV) is from kakopatheō, the verb form of the noun translated “ suffering ” (“suffering affliction” – KJV) in verse 10 . … The word refers to enduring evil treatment by people—not physical illness (cf. its only other New Testament uses in 2 Tim. 2:9 ; 4:5 ). James addresses not those suffering from physical diseases, but those being persecuted, abused, and treated wickedly.
The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament says that the word “afflicted” (NT:2553 – kakopathéo)
Means “to suffer misfortune,”“to be in a sorry situation,” or, rarely, “to endure evil.” (The noun form) kakopátheia, means “misfortune,”“trouble,”“suffering,” as well as “enduring suffering,”“toil,”“exertion.” In the NT the noun occurs only in James 5:10 in the obvious sense of “enduring affliction” rather than mere “affliction.” The verb in 5:13 belongs to a new section and refers to the spiritual burden inflicted by misfortune or trouble.
Of the “merry” singing “psalms,” John MacArthur said…
Those who manage to maintain a cheerful attitude in their suffering are to sing praises. Cheerful(“merry”) is from euthumeō and describes those well in spirit, or having a joyful attitude—not those who are physically well. The suffering and the happy, the wounded, broken spirits and the whole, rejoicing spirits are both to pray. The one is to plead with God for comfort, the other is to sing praises to God for comfort given. Psallō (sing praises) is the verb from which the noun translated “ psalm ” derives (cf. Acts 13:33 ; 1 Cor. 14:26 ; Eph. 5:19 ). Praise and prayer are closely related; praise is actually a form of prayer. Both are essential for the spiritual strength of those undergoing persecution
We tend to try everything else before prayer, but James indicated that prayer should be our first response to affliction.
2. Those Who Are Sick Need Prayer
(James 5:14) Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
sick – Greek 770. astheneo, as-then-eh'-o; from G772; to be feeble (in any sense):--be diseased, impotent folk (man), (be) sick, (be, be made) weak.
772. asthenes, as-then-ace'; from G1 (as a neg. particle) and the base of G4599; strengthless (in various applications, lit., fig. and mor.):--more feeble, impotent, sick, without strength, weak (-er, -ness, thing).