James 5:7-12
Be patient…until the Lord’s coming (James 5:7). As I read these words I immediately think of all the modern day prophets of doom who are trying to fit every imaginable world event into scripture, often causing panic and undue concern among the family of faith. As we enter the last few months of this century and approach the new millennium, more and more people are adopting the Chicken Little philosophy of believing “the sky is falling.” Nothing has added to the millennial madness more than the Y2K computer issue.
This is not to say there are not events on the horizon which point to the fact that these could well be the days that will see His glorious appearing. The Bible does indeed signal several conditions which will be prevalent when He returns. We are told to be watching for a polluted pulpit (2 Timothy 4:2-4), a particular place (Amos 9:14-15), a peculiar people (Deuteronomy 28-37,65; Ezekiel 36:24), a powerful politic (Daniel 7:15-25), a popular politician (I John 2:18), and a pluralistic philosophy of new age thought which will seek to unite the world under one banner.
As the final months of the 20th century unfold before us and as more and more “prophets” seek to warn us that “the sky is falling,” what should be the Christian response to these days as we await the coming of our Lord? It is the same as it was in the early church. James, the godly leader of the Jerusalem church, left us a word not only for his day but for ours also. Inspired, not by world events, but by the Holy Spirit Himself, he tells us what we should be doing until the Lord’s coming.
I. Look upward – be calm (v. 7)
II. Look inward – be clean (vv. 8-9)
III. Look backward – be challenged (vv. 10-11)
IV. Look forward – be consistent (v. 12)
Instead of running around with the Chicken Little philosophy of shouting “the sky is falling,” we who know Him should be patient until the coming of the Lord. These should be days of looking up, but also looking in, looking back and looking forward. Yes, be patient…until the coming of the Lord.
For a more detailed exposition including Greek word studies, illustrations, and applications, see Getting Down to Brass Tacks, page 153, O.S. Hawkins; Loizeaux Publishers.