The certainty of God's future judgment by Jesus of all people means that Christians,
people who trust in Jesus, can live a life now of assurance and patience waiting for that day
when that final judgment will be revealed.
And we can see that, I think, in verses 7 to 9, in particular the passage that we've just read.
So I'm picking those verses as the key to what I'm going to say this morning.
Please glance back down at the passage that you have open in front of you,
and I'm going to reread verses 7 to 9.
Be patient then, brothers, until the Lord's coming.
See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop,
and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains.
You too, be patient and stand firm.
And here's the reason.
Because the Lord's coming is near.
Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged.
The judge is standing at the door.
Let's pray.
Father God, help us by your Holy Spirit now to see that the risen Jesus will return to judge rightly.
And please help us to live obeying and waiting for his return.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
You see, wherever we live and wherever we're growing up, wherever we're working,
where there is no actual justice in the present,
or any sign of just judgment in the future,
injustice and corruption abound.
So I'll say that again, because it's a key concept that I'm going to be working through.
Where there is no actual justice in the present,
or any sign of judgment in the future,
injustice and corruption abound.
And Italy suffers from this practical lack of just judgment, present and future.
I once asked a preschool parent,
so the parent of another preschool child in Jemima's class,
what does it mean to be Italian?
And he said this.
This is a guy who is a university graduate
and someone who worked for the financial police in Italy.
And he said, this is what it means to be Italian.
That the father of a preschool child will tell his daughter,
you make sure that you take advantage of your friend,
because when her time comes, she will take advantage of you.
And with open mouth, I said to him, are you serious?
And he said, cold, blank, hard.
Yep, that's what it means to be Italian.
You see, because in a corrupt society like Italy,
where there really is no guaranteed recourse to just judgment,
people must look out for number one.
And it's that personal level of corruption
that begins at kindergarten level
that grows into systemic corruption
that makes some of us laugh sometimes
when we think about a country like Italy
or tinpot democracies somewhere or dictatorships.
Of course, there's no justice there,
so there's corruption everywhere.
But it's that simple.
Where there is no sign of just judgment in the future,
injustice and corruption abound.
Where there's no apparent right judgment,
it breeds corruption.
So the plumber will come to your house in December,
as happened with us,
and he's just making a minor repair,
and we ask him for a receipt.
And the receipt is receipt number four.
But he's come to your house on December the 30th.
So throughout the year,
he's been working in the black,
and he explained it to us.
You know what?
For the first year of my working life,
I tried to do everything by the book.
I tried to observe the law.
But it worked against me.
And I ended up in the red.
And so I gave up trying.
Because, again, in a country like Italy,
where there is a basic level of personal corruption,
because there is no just judgment
that anyone can perceive is coming,
everyone is trying to make the most of living for themselves.
But laws have to be increased
in order to get that money back that's not being paid.
And more laws, and more laws, and more laws.
But that just makes people try and work
against the system, against the system, against the system.
Where there's no apparent right judgment,
corruption breeds corruption.
I think you saw that last week, didn't you,
in verses 1 to 6.
And it's amazing what he said there.
I'm not going to repeat it.
But you rich people,
you oppressors of the poor.
Now, why would you do that
if there was justice?
How could you do that
if the law really worked in everybody's favor?
You couldn't.
But in a context, in a society,
where you can't guarantee that just judgment,
corruption abounds.
And that's what we live, isn't it?
The rich people oppressed and took advantage of others
as if no one will care for these little people.
And they live as if no one is watching,
as if no one will decide about them.
Of course, we've got to live this way.
This is how life works.
There is no such thing as justice.
So I think we see there that suffering occurs
when the knowledge of good and evil
collides with the inability to do what is good.
So suffering occurs
when we know what's right and what's wrong,
but we fail to be able to do it.
And we don't do it as well
because we don't think anyone really cares.
So we make others suffer
and maybe we rebel against suffering
because we think that's the only way
anything is ever going to change.
We have to take matters into our own hands.
But it's so clear here, isn't it?
As James speaks, he says,
that is not the case.
That is not the case in God's world.
That is not the case in God's eternity
over which he has control.
And he says that Jesus' return changes
and must change our perspective.
Have a look.
And I'm just going to run through the verses
where we see this talk about judgment,
Jesus coming, the judge.
Have a look at verse 7.
I've read that already,
but I'll read it again.
Be patient then, brothers,
until the Lord's coming.
Verse 8.
You too be patient and stand firm
because the Lord's coming is near.
Verse 9.
The judge is standing at the door.
And verse 12.
Above all, my brothers, do not swear,
not by heaven or by earth or by anything else.
Let your yes be yes and your no, no,
or you will be condemned.
James is just so convinced
that this will happen.
He is so convinced that there is a fixed point,
a moment in time when good will be shown to be good
and evil will be shown to be evil.
And Jesus is the one who will establish that.
Jesus himself talked a lot about
being ready for the judge
in the parables that he taught.
But he himself, in his obedience,
right to the very end,
showed us that the Father is good to be trusted.
Please turn to 1 Peter chapter 2
so that we can actually hear Peter's summary of this.
And it's such a beautiful summary
of, I think, what James is actually talking about.
1 Peter chapter 2.
And I'm going to read from verse 13.
1 Peter chapter 2.
And I'm reading from verse 13.
And we're talking about how Jesus
is the one who actually breaks this cycle of corruption.
And Jesus showed us that there is a coming judgment
and a righteous judge.
Peter says,
Slaves,
Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake
to every authority instituted among men,
whether to the king as the supreme authority
or to governors who are sent by him
to punish those who do wrong
and to commend those who do right.
For it is God's will that by doing good
you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men.
Live as free people,
but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil.
Live as servants of God.
Show proper respect to everyone.
Love the brotherhood of believers.
Fear God.
Honor the king.
Slaves,
Submit yourselves to your masters with all respect,
not only to those who are good and considerate,
but also to those who are harsh.
For it is commendable
if a person bears up under the pain of unjust suffering
because he is conscious of God.
But how is it to your credit
if you receive a beating for doing good and endure it?
But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it,
this is commendable before God.
To this you were called
because Christ suffered for you,
leaving you an example
that you should follow in his steps.
He committed no sin
and no deceit was found in his mouth.
When they hurled their insults at him,
he did not retaliate.
When he suffered,
he made no threats.
Instead,
he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree
so that we might die to sins
and live for righteousness.
By his wounds,
you have been healed.
What Peter is saying here is that
Jesus at the cross
is tempted by the voice of Satan
through those at his feet
who are yelling at him,
if you really are the Christ,
if you really are the Son of God,
come down.
Show us your power.
And he does,
but by doing the opposite,
he shows,
as he stays hanging on the cross
in obedience to his Father's will,
that he does have a knowledge of good and evil,
but he leaves the management of that
in the Father's hands.
So instead of looking out for number one
at that point in time,
he keeps his eyes on the Father
and breaks that cycle of corruption
that Adam and Eve started.
They were plonked in front of the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil
and they took the management onto themselves.
Jesus leaves the management
of the knowledge of good and evil
in his Father's hands.
And so he breaks that cycle of corruption
once and for all.
It's so beautiful.
I've come to appreciate this so much more
after living 11 years
in the Italian society.
Jesus is a legend.
He is so pure.
He is so right.
He sees what is right and wrong
and he leaves the judgment about that,
the management of it,
in his Father's hands.
And for that reason,
he swaps his goodness for our sin
and the hostages are bought out of captivity
by his blood.
Wow.
Gee, that's good.
That cycle has been broken
and Paul says,
as he speaks to the Athenians,
that's the fixed future point,
the risen Jesus,
because he is the one
who is right to judge.
Have a look in Acts chapter 17.
This is the last scripture flip will do,
but I'd really like you
to have a look at it for yourselves,
please.
Acts chapter 17,
and I'm going to read verse 30 and 31.
Acts chapter 17,
verse 30 and 31.
And Paul's speaking in a pluralistic society,
in a society that is deeply religious and spiritual.
And he says this,
In the past,
God overlooked such ignorance,
but now he commands all people everywhere
to repent,
to turn back.
For he has set a day
when he will judge the world with justice
by the man he has appointed.
He has given proof of this to all men
by raising him from the dead.
So with the resurrection of Jesus,
things have changed forever.
It means that there is an eternity.
It means that there is truth.
It means that there is a God
who judges between right and wrong
because what he actually did
with regard to Jesus is say,
yep, you are right.
And death can't hold you down
because death comes for rebellion
and it's judgment.
But you don't fit in that category.
And you have conquered and you have won.
And for that reason,
you are the one.
Who can judge.
That's a great encouragement, isn't it?
And I'm laboring this point
because we need to understand this
before we get to what James
is encouraging people to be like.
We've got to understand
and really take on board
the reality to which James
is basing all his argument on.
That Jesus really is alive.
that not just a regular risen guy,
if such a thing could be possible,
but the right eternal one
who showed that he could leave
the management of good and evil
in the Father's hands
and therefore he has the right perspective
to be able to judge us
who fail to leave the management
of good and evil in the Father's hands
but need to trust Jesus
as he did that for us.
Because James says,
the future judgment
is as certain as the seasonal crop.
Did you notice that in verse 7?
Please glance down it again.
Verse 7.
This is the same thing
that Peter was talking about in Athens.
It's a dead certain.
You can stake your life on it.
It's coming.
He's going to come back.
That's good and bad.
But be patient.
Be ready for that.
So the challenge at this point,
and this is something
that we really need to sit on
for just a moment.
Are we convinced of the resurrection
of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead?
I think that's the key to Christianity,
quite frankly,
because if Jesus wasn't risen,
then whatever happened before that
just needs to be discarded
as a tragic joke.
But if Jesus really is risen,
it changes everything.
Sometimes I think in our Christian lives,
and maybe even when we meet together,
we can do something like this.
Cross, cross, cross, cross, cross, cross, cross.
Jesus died.
He's paid the price.
Oh, and he rose.
But I think what the proposal
of Christianity is,
is Jesus is alive.
He really is risen.
It breaks the cycle.
And it validates what happened on the cross.
That's the proposal of Christianity.
No other religion,
no other spiritual theory sets that up.
But this is the fixed point
for our eternity.
Are you convinced of that?
And I'm not just throwing that out
as some kind of preaching device,
some kind of rhetorical kind of moment.
But it could be the case
that we haven't really worked
that deeply into our conviction.
Peter and James,
they weren't convinced of Jesus
and they abandoned him
in his hour of need.
Something happened
to change their lives
and convince them
that they needed to preach
this message
to their last breath.
He rose,
and that's why.
Talk about that.
Pray about that
with someone that you trust.
Because if you're answering
my question right now,
you know,
well, I haven't really thought
enough about it.
I'm not super convinced.
Let's work that through.
That's why I'm standing
before you this morning,
but that's why we went to Italy.
Because we really are convinced
that Jesus is alive
and he does have
eternal life in his hands
and he gives it to those
who trust in him.
So it doesn't matter
what we have or don't have
in this life
because we have everything
in eternity.
Now, Jesus' just judgment
and other consequences
is there is a just judgment
that's coming
and he will judge us
and all people.
Sometimes it's nice
to think that,
yeah, those people out there,
those bad people,
they're going to cop it
and that's good
and I'm glad about that
and I'm right, okay?
I'm a pretty good person.
But I'm afraid, actually,
when I read these verses
because James is saying,
you too will be judged.
Your behavior actually matters.
The way that you respond
to the risen Jesus
and you live in wait for him,
that matters
and that's going to be called
to account one day.
Whew!
The Italians would do
something like this.
That's a big deal.
It's going to bite.
So we want to be hearing now
that this word applies to us
and I'm going to go a lot faster now
in this second part of my talk
because our conviction
comes out in how we live.
If you're convinced
that really the best is yet to come
and that you can put
all you have on Jesus
because he's good for it,
that just changes everything.
It really does.
And so the Christian
convinced of Jesus' resurrection
and certain of his return
to decide about all people
lives differently
when faced with corruption.
That Christian woman
lives differently
when faced with injustice.
That Christian family
lives differently
when faced with suffering.
And James notes these things
and we can see this
in the contrast
implicit in the passage.
And I'm just going to go really
probably too quickly here now
but I trust it will be clear.
Christians live patiently
as the farmer is patient
and sure of the crop.
That's verse 7.
We don't take matters
into our own hands.
We don't take matters
into our own hands.
I'm not saying
that we have to accept everything
and so I'm really not talking
about a complete
Christian ethic here
but what James is saying
is that we don't take matters
into our own hands.
We actually live
with great patience
because our perspective
is very, very long.
It's eternal.
It's not temporary.
We don't take matters
into our own hands.
Second,
those who trust
in the risen Jesus
live waiting
for his return,
for his future return.
That's verse 8.
You too be patient
and stand firm
because the Lord's coming
is near.
We don't abandon Jesus
deciding ourselves
what is right and wrong.
I've already kind of
underlined that
considering Jesus'
death
and what is occurring
there
because he doesn't
take the management
of good and evil
into his own hands.
In fact,
he leaves that decision
to the Father
and there we have
our life.
So I think
the discipline
of the Christian life
is actually
to work out
more and more
starting with the word
and sticking with the word
what God's will
actually is
and I think
it's probably
knowing Jesus better,
being really well versed
in him in the Gospels
and being someone
who examines
how he lives
and how he waits
for the future judgment
which his Father
will be responsible for
including him
as the judge.
Third thing,
followers of the risen
King Jesus
hold their tongues
about each other.
That's verse 9.
Don't grumble
against each other
brothers
or you will be judged.
The judge is standing
at the door.
We don't complain
against each other
because we know
that Jesus will also
judge us.
Gee, that's hard,
isn't it?
It might sound
that these things
are rolling off my tongue
pretty easy right now
and I said
that I'm going
a little bit faster.
That is really tough stuff.
We've been in a church,
in a brethren church
which really has been
working against itself.
The factions
amongst the elders
and therefore
amongst the congregation
have played out
year after year,
month after month,
week after week,
day after day.
And at times
our waking lives,
Sarah and I,
have been consumed
just by the anxiety
and the tension
that that's created.
It's been awful.
And the natural tendency
therefore is when
you're actually meeting
together with other
Christian brothers and sisters,
maybe just in private,
you have them around
for dinner or whatever
it might be,
you just let fly,
let loose.
Yeah, you know,
it's safe here, isn't it?
We can say it, yeah,
we can, you know.
I just want to tell you
this in confidence
how I feel about
such and such.
James says,
don't do it.
Wow.
I need to repent
because my tendency
is actually to really
to let fly.
Be quite critical.
That can be good sometimes,
having a critical approach,
a brain that kind of
analyzes well,
but it can be deadly
at other times
because it actually
leads to ungodliness.
And it doesn't trust
that God's actually
in control
of any given situation.
So I take it,
and this is something
that I try to do
more and more,
I try to pray about
those things
before I speak about them.
And really seek
the Lord's will
and his conviction
regarding these matters,
whatever they might be.
Because it's difficult,
isn't it,
to turn up to church
on a Sunday
after you've spent
the previous six days
just whinging
about other people
and playing happy families
on a Sunday
or not even.
Because the Lord
knows our hearts
and it's dishonest.
And he says
we'll be judged for that.
And so we need to repent
and practice
what James is actually
calling people to do here.
Christians are certain
of Jesus' risen goodness
even in the face
of suffering.
Verse 10.
Brothers,
as an example of patience
in the face of suffering,
take the prophets
who spoke in the name
of the Lord.
As you know,
we consider blessed
those who have persevered.
You have heard
of Job's perseverance
and have seen
what the Lord
finally brought about.
The Lord is full
of compassion and mercy.
Job is the example there.
And we know,
don't we,
from our understanding
of his own travails
that he was pressured
to call God's goodness
into question.
And in fact,
his mates,
at one point,
they say,
curse God and die.
That was the final point
almost that he got to.
Just do that, mate,
and finish it.
Get it over and done with.
God's not good.
Forget about it.
Take your own life.
Job refuses.
He doesn't do it.
And here,
it's really interesting
because James underlines
the Lord is
full of compassion
and mercy.
Because that is
our big question
in the midst of suffering,
physical suffering,
spiritual suffering,
suffering as a church.
Is God good?
Is he merciful?
Is he compassionate?
And multiply it,
multiply the angst
that we might have experienced
in Chatswood
by a million times
in the experience
of our brothers and sisters
in Christ
in other places
where even just
to name Jesus
is to sign
your own death sentence.
Is God really good?
I have the image
of those guys
who were beheaded
on the beach
by ISIS
and the last thing
that they were uttering
is that Jesus
is Lord and Christ
towards that effect.
I think that's
what James
is exhorting us to.
A life that understands
that God has revealed
his full mercy
and his compassion
in the Lord Jesus Christ
not only as he hangs
dying in our place
in full obedience
but in his risen glory
and power.
God is good,
he is merciful,
he is compassionate,
he will save
those who trust in him.
Wow,
that is really good.
So it's worth waiting for,
isn't it?
Because God has showed this
to Job,
he showed it to Jesus
and so we continue
knowing,
living and waiting
for that truth.
We live in it
but we're waiting
for the consummation
of that.
It changes my perspective
as I think about that.
And the last thing,
followers of the risen Lord Jesus
verbalise trust in him,
not in idols.
Verse 12,
above all,
do not swear,
not by heaven or by earth
or by anything else,
let your yes be yes
and your no, no
or you will be condemned.
I grew up reading
Asterix and Obelix.
I love those cartoons,
those books.
Learned a lot from them.
Been very helpful actually,
going to Europe
after growing up
on Asterix and Obelix
but they,
I'm not sure if it's them
or if it's the Romans
at times they're swearing
by Tartatus.
You know,
they have all the different gods
and they name.
In Italian,
an expression would be
perforza,
by strength.
And it seems like
a banal kind of a thing
when we're letting
these kind of phrases
roll off our tongue.
But they do actually have
historical time,
historical meaning,
historical consequence
but also eternal consequence
because in those little moments
of expressing those things,
we are expressing
where our trust is based.
But Christians can speak simply
relying on Jesus' strength.
That's why James just says
just let your yes be yes
and your no be no
because the strength of,
the eternal strength
comes from Jesus.
It's in him.
It's not in something
that proposes to take his place.
So in all of this,
I think it's quite easy
actually to have a Christian witness.
So I just want to give a tiny,
tiny example of,
I think,
how easy it is
to put these things into practice
and not only live the difference
but show the difference.
I remember in my working life,
especially when I worked
as the studio manager
in a graphic design studio,
it was just so easy
to stand out
if I just watched what I said.
If I really sought to honour Jesus
with my lips
and didn't join in perhaps
the way other people would speak,
I'd be present
but not saying the same things
that they said.
I'd be seeking to live
knowing that Jesus would be my judge,
not them,
even though they judged me often.
But my point of reference
was eternal in him
and not based on what they would think
or what they would say.
So I think the Christian life
is actually living
to respond to Jesus
and not react to other people,
if I can put it that way.
And I think that's what James
is saying here.
We must have our eyes fixed on Jesus
so that we're responding to him
and not reacting to others.
And I'll tell you about
the significance of that
in just a moment.
But I think as the church does that,
as the church does seek
to be ready for the future judgement,
it will be poorer
and more marginalised
than it actually is.
Because if you keep asking
the plumber for a receipt,
he doesn't come back to you anymore.
That's a word of testimony.
He don't come back
because he doesn't want to be
convicted of his own sin
and he knows he can't live
that way,
giving a receipt every time.
He doesn't come back.
That's just a very small example.
But I think if the church
does live the way
that James is calling it to,
it will live more abundantly
than it does.
It will live more abundantly
than it does.
I'm not sure if you remember
how the first Christian community
at the end of Acts 2
is described.
They have everything in common.
They lack nothing.
Why?
Because they're convinced
that God has eternity
in his hands
in the Lord Jesus Christ
so they are free
to live in the present,
loving others.
And they do it.
I don't think we're meant
to dwell on
how they live there
but I think we're meant
to go back
to what they were understanding
that freed them
to live the way
they lived.
So I think the church
as it actually takes
James seriously,
God's word seriously,
lives more abundantly
than it does
and it becomes
the oasis of love,
hope and trustworthiness
that every person
longs for.
So when people see
the church of Jesus Christ
actually on about him
and ready for future judgment,
people want to come in
and be part of that.
And here is another word
of testimony.
I'll embarrass Jemima,
our first daughter,
second child.
She came into
junior high,
middle school
out of a different
primary school
so she found herself
new in her class
and there were a number
of girls who were
really keen for her
to be friends
straight away.
And it became apparent
pretty quickly
that they just wanted
to use her,
really her presence
and her new friendship
and not only
would that be harmful
and hurtful to Jemima
but the way they behaved
amongst each other
wasn't good for them either.
So if I can put it this way,
it was just their corruption,
their personal corruption,
looking out for themselves,
for each other
and trying to use each other
that swept her up
and hurt them.
But as that became clear
to Jemima
and we wrestled with it
as a family,
she decided
that she wouldn't be like them.
And as a result of that,
and I praise God
for the way she acted in this,
as a result of that,
I think there were moments
of loneliness.
But what happened was
she acted in a way
that was faithful,
that was not going to be moved
or swayed by what other people
thought or did
and she actually became
a point of reference
for other girls
to leave that friendship group
and become her friend.
So the righteousness,
I think,
in her behaviour
and finding her identity
not in what the others
thought of them
but, I pray,
fixing her eyes on Jesus,
it meant that
her actions were used
to free those girls
from the trap
that they found themselves in.
And so they started
just to create
a new friendship group
that was based on
trustworthiness,
reliability and love
because it started
with Jemima's actions.
I think there's an image there
of what the Christian church
has actually been called to be
and we need to work hard
on practising it
amongst ourselves
here,
first and foremost.
So we've seen
that the basis
of our behaviour
in the present
is the certainty
of God's right judgement
in the future
with the risen Jesus.
He is alive.
He is very good
and he will judge.
So let's re-read
the passage
just to conclude
listening for James'
certainty that Jesus lives.
Be patient then,
brethren,
until the Lord's coming.
See how the farmer
waits for the land
to yield its valuable crop
and how patient he is
for the autumn
and spring rains.
You too,
be patient and stand firm
because the Lord's coming
is near.
Don't grumble
against each other
or you will be judged.
The judge is standing
at the door.
Brothers and sisters,
as an example of patience
in the face of suffering,
take the prophets
who spoke in the name
of the Lord.
As you know,
we consider blessed
those who have persevered.
You have heard
of Job's perseverance
and have seen
what the Lord
finally brought about.
The Lord is full
of compassion and mercy.
Above all,
my brothers and sisters,
do not swear,
not by heaven
or by earth
or by anything else.
Let your yes be yes
and your no, no
or you will be condemned.
He stands at the door.
He listens.
Jesus is present.
Jesus will return.
James was sure.
And Italians need
the love
and the certainty
of that judgment
to free them
from this vicious cycle,
downward cycle
of corruption
that kills
in the present
and in eternity.
Let's pray.
Father,
please help us
to examine
our own convictions
this morning
of Jesus' resurrection.
resurrection.
James was sure.
He had seen
the risen Jesus
and that changed
his life,
not only for the present
but for the eternal future.
Please help us
to be like him.
Please help us
to be convinced
not only of that eternity
but the rightness
of the judgment
that will come.
And so we ask
that you'd help us
to get ready today.
And we pray
not just for ourselves
but for those
who will see
the church in action
as it bows the knee
to Jesus
washes its own tongue,
loves others,
really does wait
with great expectancy
and certainty
of Jesus' return
so that we might
actually proclaim
your freedom,
Father, in Christ
and that other people
might come into it too.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.