CHAPTER 5
[p. 138] CHAPTER 5
The portion of believers is not in this world. Christ has won them for Himself, that they should be in His likeness in glory, co-heirs with Him; for His love would have them enjoy all that He Himself enjoys. His love is perfect. But if so, they must suffer with Him. If it is given to us to suffer for Him, it is a great privilege, but it is not the portion of all. Nevertheless all who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution; 2 Timothy 3: 12.
But it is impossible to escape suffering with Him; if we have the Spirit of Christ, we feel as Christ felt. Holiness suffers at the sight of the sin which is around, and in seeing the condition of the church of God and of His people; besides which there is sorrow on all sides, and the need of souls who will not have Christ or salvation. Each one ought to take up his cross, and besides this, God permits us to suffer, because in so doing, we learn patience, and that our inheritance is not below. Experience, which is the realisation of practical truth, is confirmed in the heart, and hope becomes much clearer and stronger. This, it is true, supposes that the love of God is shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Ghost; and if this is not the case, God allows suffering, and also sends it, to renew the heart. He chastens whom He loves.
James addresses the rich, who have possessions in this world, and who do not consider the poor, whilst “blessed is the man that considereth the poor,” Psalm 41: 1. He who despises the poor because of his poverty despises the Lord Himself. “As for me,” says the Lord, in the psalm preceding the one from which I have quoted, “I am poor and needy,” Psalm 40: 17. The Lord had pronounced His blessing upon the poor; to such the gospel was preached; it was a sign announcing the Messiah. We all know that a poor man may be just as wicked as any other; but riches are a positive danger for us, because they nourish pride, and tend to dispose the heart to keep aloof from the poor, with whom the Lord associated Himself in this world. “He who was rich for our sakes became poor, that we through his poverty might be rich.”
[p. 139] But here the rich had been foremost in evil. They oppressed the poor, they kept back from them the wages for which they had laboured. James places us in view of the last days. The cry of the poor had entered into the ears of the Lord of hosts. He exhorts the rich to weep and howl for the miseries that should come upon them. They had lived in pleasure on the earth and been wanton. But not only this: when we live in pleasure, we do not like anyone to come and disturb our happiness — they had condemned and killed the Just, who had not resisted. They wished to secure the enjoyment of the world in a false tranquillity, which thinks neither of God, nor of judgment, nor of death.
If conscience was aroused, they were disturbed, and they hardened themselves as far as possible, that it might not be aroused.
God does not for the present alter the course of this world. If He did so, He must execute judgment, instead of working in love for the ungodly and sinners. He is not willing to smite them, nevertheless He is not slack concerning His promise, but is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish. The Christian then must take courage, must be patient and submissive to outward evil, until the coming of the Lord; even as Christ Himself, who did well, and suffered, and waited patiently; thus the Christian should walk in His steps. Our portion is not in this world. If we suffer for well-doing, this is acceptable to God, and still more so, if it is for Christ Himself that we suffer.
The life of the Saviour was all suffering and patience; but now He is glorified with God the Father. Soon He will come a second time into the world, in the glory of the Father, and in His own glory, and in the glory of the angels; and then He will be glorified in His saints, and will be admired in all them that believe.
In that glorious day, when the poorest of His own — Christians, oppressed by the enemies of the truth — will be like the Lord Himself in glory, we shall make our boast in having been permitted to suffer for Him, and in having maintained patience and silence through the unjustly imposed sufferings of the Christian life. Then, “blessed are they who are found watching; he will gird himself, and will make them sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.” What joy! What grace! It will be the glory of the Saviour Himself to give us to enjoy the blessings of heaven in the Father’s house, ministering all with His own hands. It is well worth while to suffer for Him a little, and for a little while, and then to possess heavenly blessing, communicated by the hand and the heart of Jesus Himself. We shall reign with Him, and enjoy the fruit of the work which we have been permitted to do for Him; if it is only a cup of water given in the name of Jesus, it shall not lose its reward. But far better still will it be to sit down in peace, enjoying those eternal blessings in the Father’s house, which Christ will abundantly minister to us — precious testimony of His approval and of His love. See Luke 12: 35-44.
[p. 140] Remark here how the coming of Christ was a present hope. The oppressed one was to have patience until that coming. “Be patient,” says James, “until the coming of the Lord.” Some one may say, then they were deceived. By no means. We may indeed die before the Lord’s coming, and in fact, we know that these saints did die. But they will reap all the fruits of their patience, when the Lord comes. And till that moment they are with the Lord — absent from the body, present with the Lord — and they will come with Him, and will then enjoy all the fruit of those sufferings, in which they had been patient, for the love of His name, seeking to glorify it down here.
But this exhortation clearly shews how this hope was a present thing, which was interwoven with the entire thread of Christian life. It was not a theory in the head, a point of acquired knowledge, or a dogma of belief only. They expected the Lord in person. What consolation for the poor and the oppressed! What a check upon the rich to be constantly expecting the Lord! To know that He will soon come, that troubles will cease, and that we shall be with Him who has loved us! Nothing produces separation from the world like waiting for the Lord — I do not say the doctrine of His coming, but true waiting for Him. His coming will separate us from it for ever; the heart waits until He come.
The Lord’s supper expresses the Christian state — the Lord’s death at His first coming, which we celebrate with thanksgiving, remembering Him who has loved us, and feeding on His love until He comes to take us to be with Him. It is the formal expression of the practical state of the Christian as a Christian — of Christianity itself. Let us add, that it is by the Holy Spirit alone that we are able to express this in truth.
[p. 141] But remark yet another thing in this exhortation. “Be patient, brethren.” We are always waiting for the Lord, if we really understand our position; but whatever may be our desires, we cannot command the Lord to come, nor know when He will come. And blessed be His name! the Lord is patient; as long as there is yet one soul to be called by the gospel, He will not come. His whole body, His bride, must be formed; every member must be present, converted and sealed by the Holy Spirit. Then He will come and take us. Christ Himself is seated on the Father’s throne, not on His own throne. He also is waiting for that moment, with more desire surely than we are; and therefore the patience of Christ is spoken of: this is the true meaning of Revelation 1: 9. Thus also in Revelation 3: 10, “because thou hast kept the word of my patience”; also in 2 Thessalonians 3: 5, “the patience of Christ.”
We are taught also in Hebrews 10: 12, 13, that Christ is seated at the right hand of God, waiting till His enemies shall be made His footstool. We may well wait if Christ is waiting; but we wait in suffering and conflict. He is waiting to reign, and then He will cause full blessing to flow forth for His own, whether in heaven or on earth, and will banish evil from both.
Thus we need patience, that neither self-will nor weariness of the conflict should take possession of our souls; but in the confidence that the time God wills is best (for it is that which divine wisdom and His love for us have ordained) let us fix our affections on the Lord and on things above, because we wait for Him with desire of heart, with broken will, and unwavering faith, leaving His return to the decision of God. In fact we cannot retard it, but the heart has entire confidence in His love, assured that the Lord waits for us with greater love than we for Him, calm in confidence, patient in the wilderness journey. How sweet to wait for Christ — for the fulness of joy with Him! Thanks be to God, He says, “it is at hand.”
Moreover, James draws two practical consequences from this expectation of the Lord. First, then we ought not to resist evil; the Just One did not resist. We must wait with patience, as the husbandman waits for the precious fruits of the earth, until he have received the early and the latter rain, the means which God uses to bring the fruit of harvest to perfection. The Christian should stablish his heart by this expectation, while passing through the troubles of this life, and the persecutions of the world, which is ever the adversary of the Lord.
[p. 142] Next, he warns the disciples against walking in a complaining and quarrelsome spirit, one toward another. If we are waiting for the Lord, the spirit is calm and contented, it does not get irritated with its persecutors; moreover, we bear with patience the ills of the desert, and resist evil as Christ resisted, suffering, and bearing wrongs and committing Himself to God. We are contented and quiet, with a happy and kindly spirit, for kindness flows easily from a happy heart. The Lord’s coming will put everything right, and our happiness is found elsewhere. This is what Paul says in Philippians 4: 5: “Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.” Let us repeat it. How real, how mighty and practical, was this expectation of the Lord! What power it had over the heart! “The Judge standeth before the door.”
Then he gives examples. The prophets were examples of suffering affliction, and of patience, and they counted them happy in their sufferings. And they have not been alone; others also have endured, and have been counted happy. For example, if we see one suffering unjustly for the name of Jesus, and he is patient and meek, his heart called out on behalf of his persecutors, rather than irritated against them, then we recognise the power of faith, and of confidence in the love and faithfulness of the Lord; he is calm and full of joy, and we say, See how grace makes that man happy! And we too are happy when we suffer; at least, we ought to be so. But it is one thing to admire others who are sustained by the Spirit of Christ, and another to glory in tribulations, when we are in them ourselves. We need a broken will, confidence in God, communion with Him who has suffered for us, in order to be able to glory in sufferings.
Job is another example; but he is introduced here, to shew the end of the Lord, that He is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. Yet the example is most instructive. Job was a perfect and upright man, who feared God and eschewed evil; but he had begun to take pleasure in himself; he did good, but he was occupied with his goodness; it was hidden self-righteousness, but it marred his piety. God withdraws not His eyes from the righteous. He saw Job’s danger, and drew Satan’s attention to him. It was God who began all. Satan, the accuser of the saints, insists that Job should be sifted, and God permits him to tempt Job, to do as he would with him, but sets a limit to his malice. Satan did all that he was allowed to do, and Job remained subject, and did not sin with his lips. Satan persists in his accusations, insinuating that, if the trial were increased, Job would curse God. God gave all into his hand except Job’s life. Job remained faithful; he did not sin; he had received good at the Lord’s hand, and should he not receive evil? His wife also tempted him in vain.
Through grace Job’s patience triumphed over Satan, who was unable to shake him. Through the grace of God, the efforts of the enemy were overcome: “We have heard of the patience of Job.” But the work of God for Job’s blessing was not yet accomplished. He had by His grace sustained Job’s heart against the enemy, and Job had shewn his faithfulness. Satan, as the instrument of God’s ways, had done much through the sorrow he had brought upon Job; but Job’s heart was not yet reached; he did not know himself; on the contrary, although the preparation had been wrought by means of Satan, Job was, by the grace of God, practically justified from his accusations, and if the matter had ended there, his state would have been worse than before — at least he would have been in greater danger than ever; he could have said, I was meek and upright in prosperity, and now patient in adversity. God must do His work, in order that Job might know his own heart.
Job’s friends come to see him. They remain seated, amazed at the condition in which they find him. Alas! pride is often roused in the presence of man, and wounded pride irritates the heart; firmness gives way in the presence of sympathy. However that may be, the presence of his friends lays bare the depth of Job’s heart. He curses the day of his birth. Now his heart is laid bare, not only to God, which it always must be, but — which is so deeply painful — to himself. Where is now his gracious meekness? He contends with God; he says he is more righteous than God. Nevertheless it is beautiful to see that at the bottom of his heart he had just thoughts of God. If I could meet Him, he says to his friends, He would not be like you, He would put words into my mouth. His friends alleged this world to be a perfect display of God’s government, and that consequently Job must be a hypocrite; for he had made a profession of piety. Job resists this unjust decision, and insists that, although the hand of God was occasionally manifested, yet evil often ran its course in the world, God taking no notice of it, for the wicked often prospered. But Job allowed the bitterness of his heart to come out. Elihu reproves him for making himself more righteous than God, shewing that there is indeed a government of God over His own. He withdraws not His eyes from the righteous; He chastens because He loves them. Then God manifests Himself, and shews Job the folly of contending with Him; upon which Job owns his vileness and his nothingness, and instead of saying, “When the eye saw me, it blessed me,” he says, “Mine eye seeth thee, therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” He knows himself in the presence of God. After that God was able to bless him, and He did so more than at the first. This was “the end of the Lord.” Job had been patient under the greatest afflictions and trials; God searched his heart, and then abundantly blessed him.
[p. 144] In verse 12 James continues the subject which forms the burden of his teaching. He will not have the will to act, nor the flesh to appear, but the activity of nature restrained, and the heart learning not to give way to those impulses of impatience to which it is so prone.
When a man swears, he allows this impatience of the heart to act; he forgets the glory and majesty of God, irreverently introducing His name with unbridled flesh to confirm an assertion, or to give force to a vow, or in His place he puts some creature whom he invests with the authority and power that belongs to God alone. The root of all is the unsubdued will and unbridled passions of man’s heart. Only, with an intuitive sense of his impotency to ensure the fulfilment of his desires, he irreverently brings God in, or, as a heathen of old was wont to do, he introduces some creature practically deified for the occasion. It is not lust, but the unbridled impetuosity of the flesh (see Colossians 3: 8), the irreverence, presumption, and independence of the man carried to its utmost extent.
Therefore James says, “Above all things.” He would have us, in calmness and quietness, affirm what we have to say with a yes or a no, in the fear of God. It is of all importance, that we should hold in check the movements of nature. We should do it if we saw God before us; we should certainly do it in the presence of a man whom we wished to please. Now God is always present; therefore, to fail in this calmness and moderation is a proof that we have forgotten the presence of God.
[p. 145] Verse 13. James frees the mind from worldly habits. Men seek to deceive themselves by avoiding thought; they would foolishly forget the cares and troubles, from which they cannot escape, and amid which, thanks be to God, He gives a refuge to the heart in His love, and in the sense of His care for us. He would not have us insensible to the troubles of this life. God, who never withdraws His eyes from the righteous, sends them for our good. Even a sparrow does not fall to the ground without our Father — not only without the will of God, but not without that God who loves us as a tender Father, who may indeed chasten us, but who thinks upon us while chastening, in order to sanctify us, and to draw our hearts nearer to Himself.
By drawing near to God in affliction, the will is subdued, and the heart consoled and encouraged. God Himself is revealed to the soul, and works by His grace; and in the sense of His presence we say, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted.” And not only are we near to God, but we also open our hearts to Him. He would have us do so, for He is full of grace. He desires our confidence, not only that we may be subject to His will, but that we may present our cares to Him.
“Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus,” Philippians 4: 6, 7. Paul is speaking here of cares, but comfort and rest are equally found there in affliction. “Who comforteth us,” says the apostle, “in all our afflictions,” and he appeals to God as “the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation.” At Philippi they were filled with peace, through the consolation poured into their hearts. This may also be through circumstances; for Paul says, “God, who comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus,” 2 Corinthians 7: 6. He had been utterly cast down, because he had not met Titus, who had been sent to the Corinthians when they were walking very badly. He had abandoned the open door for the gospel at Troas, and his heart had even gone the length of regretting that he had written his first inspired epistle. His faith had sunk below the level of the power of God, which had impelled him to write it. Arrived in Macedonia, still on his way to meet Titus, though testifying to Christ as he went, his flesh had no rest; he says, “We were troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were fears.” God allowed the apostle to feel his weakness; but it is worth while to be afflicted, if God Himself becomes our comforter. Titus arrives bringing good tidings to the effect of his first epistle, and the apostle is full of joy. God often takes away the affliction itself and fills the soul with gladness, pouring His consolations into the heart which thus becomes more matured for communion with Himself and for heaven. In every case of affliction prayer is our resource; we own our dependence and we confide in His goodness. The heart draws near to Him, it tells out to Him its need and its sorrow, laying it down on the throne and the heart of God, who answers either by circumstances which make us happy, or by pouring in His consolation — an answer which is still more blessed than outward happiness — but ever by that which is best for us, acting according to His perfect love.
[p. 146] The pious heart, under the influence of grace, refers also to God in its joy. If the heart dwells only on the cause of its joy, this becomes a danger for it. But if God is a refuge in distress, so is He the portion of the soul in joy. When I have a subject of happiness, I tell my intimate friend, that he may rejoice with me, and this doubles my own joy. But in this passage there is something more; for the heart feels that God is the source of the blessing and the cause of the joy. Even when there is no special reason for rejoicing, the heart is happy, and the pious soul, living in communion with God, desires to have God with it in its joy. Moreover, if the soul gives itself up to joy, it becomes empty and light; the heart gets estranged from God, and folly takes possession of it. In trouble dependence upon God is realised, but in joy there is a danger of forgetting it, and joy often ends in a fall; at any rate, the flesh is then in activity, and God is forgotten. This exhortation of James, to mingle joy with piety, is therefore most important for the Christian.
If the thought of God is there, it expresses itself in psalms and thanksgivings to Him. God is present to us in our joy, and faith, communion, and spiritual power are increased by the sense of His goodness. Thus we apply ourselves to the toils of life, encouraged and strengthened through the sorrows of the wilderness, by a deeper conviction that God is for us.
[p. 147] Verse 14. The thought of affliction and joy leads James to another condition of the Christian, namely, sickness, which is often, though not always, the effect of the Lord’s chastening. Sickness, as well as death, came in by sin; and we find it now throughout the whole course of man’s history. But a sparrow falls not to the ground without God our Father, as the Lord says, and although these ills now belong to the natural condition of man, yet God uses them for the correction of His children. “He withdraweth not his eyes from the righteous,” Job 36: 7. In either case, whether as ills natural to humanity, or the direct chastisement of God, God now makes use of sickness, when the heart, instead of considering all that happens to it with indifference, draws near to God, who thinks upon the sufferings of His own, and has respect to the submission and to the cry of those whom He chastens.
The prayer of faith heals the sick, and if the sickness is the consequence of sin, the sin which occasioned it shall be forgiven; the sufferer has owned the hand of God in his sickness, and God answers to the faith of him who prays. There are two kinds of forgiveness in the ways of God. Eternal justification — according to Romans 4 and Hebrews 10 — is the blessed portion of those who believe in the efficacy of the blood of Christ; that is to say, their sins are imputed to them no more. “Whom he called, them he also justified; and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” God took up the question of their sins at the cross, and He has made an end of them for ever; He will never remember them again. But there is also the government of God — the government of a Father, but of a holy Father who loves His children too well to allow them to walk badly.
When in the book of Job Elihu says that God withdraws not His eyes from the righteous, and shews the blessing which naturally flows from His favour, the effect of His goodness, he immediately goes on to speak of chastening — an explanation clearly of Job’s case.
The Spirit of God here again supposes the possibility of such a case, speaking of my faults. But it is not always so. In Job 33 it is said that God speaks and seals their instruction, that He may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man. He prevents the evil, as in Paul’s case; 2 Corinthians 12. He humbles man to prepare him for blessing. In every case He makes all things work together for good to those who love Him; Romans 8: 28.
[p. 148] Now, if the will be not broken, we complain, and murmur, and lift ourselves up against God; but if the heart refers to Him, owning His hand, whether in suffering which is the natural heritage of sinful man (though it can never be apart from the hand and will of God), or in positive chastisement, or again, though it may not know why the suffering is sent, it turns to God, owns that its condition is the result of His will, and seeks the remedy in His grace, as subject to and dependent on His power and His will. Now the faith of true Christians alone can call down from above the answer and the blessing.
James no longer speaks of the synagogue, but of the assembly. There must be true faith, in order for blessing: now God has set blessing in the assembly of true believers; in His government and discipline it is found there for faith. When sin is openly manifested in such a way, that it can be said of one called a brother that he is a wicked person, it is the duty of the assembly to put him away from among themselves. The sins are bound upon the one who is thus put away. But if he humbles himself, and from the bottom of his heart owns his sin, then the assembly ought to restore him (2 Corinthians 2); in this administrative sense, the sinner is pardoned, the bonds are loosed.
And this is valid for two or three who are gathered to the name of Christ in the unity and in the power of the Holy Ghost (Matthew 18); for it is by the Spirit alone that this can be done in reality. It must be done also by the assembly as such, not only because the promise belongs to it, but also that it may clear itself. It is to the assembly that the exhortation of 2 Corinthians 2: 7, 8, is addressed. The sanction of this solemn act is in the presence of Jesus according to His promise.
In this passage in our epistle, it is not a question of sins which draw upon the individual the judicial action of the assembly, but of the ways of God Himself, in the ordinary circumstances of life, and more especially as regards the chastening of God. Now the individual seeks the intervention of God, according to His grace, not viewing what has befallen him as an accident, but owning the hand of the Lord. The assembly is the place where He has set His name, and His blessing, and the general administration of His grace. Christ is there; and when the assembly was in order, the elders, those who watched over it, were sought by the sick person, in order that he might enjoy the grace and the blessing of God.
[p. 149] Nevertheless it was personal faith, which by prayer drew down the special blessing of heaven — “the prayer of faith,” as it is said. The elders were but a sign of the special intervention of God, as we see in Mark 6: 13. There it was a miracle performed by those who were specially sent by Christ to do them, with power given for that purpose. Here it is the blessing of God in the bosom of the assembly, administered through its elders, if faith was there. The original order now exists no longer; but Christ does not forget His assembly. The promise of two or three gathered to His name, according to the unity of His Spirit, remains always sure; and if there is faith in those who watch over them, the answer of God will be found in a like way. Though we cannot expect that the blessing should flow in its natural current, when the channels are broken and spoiled, the case remains the same, and His power is unchangeable. It is precious to know it! When the Lord rebukes the disciples for their unbelief, He says at the same moment, “bring him to me”: and the child was healed; Mark 9: 19.
Therefore James recalls the example of Elijah, who was a man of like passions with ourselves; yet in answer to his prayer it rained not for three years and six months. The external order of the assembly is lost, but the power, love, and faithfulness of the Lord are unchanged. He may let us feel that, through the sin of the assembly, we are not as we were at the beginning: nevertheless, where God gives faith, the answer on His part will never fail. That is not godliness, which does not feel the loss that has come upon us since the time of the apostles, through the unfaithfulness of the assembly; neither is it godliness to doubt the power of Christ, if God gives faith to make use of it.
When it is said, “if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him,” it means, that when such a brother has come to himself, owning the hand of God, if sins have drawn upon him the chastisement of God, and have hindered the healing of the sickness, they shall be forgiven as regards the discipline of God in His government. This discipline had manifested itself in the chastening, that is to say, in the sickness: if this is removed, the discipline is ended, the sins are remitted.
But here we find another and more general instruction, which, however, also depends upon the state of the assembly. We have seen that, when all was in order, the sick person was to send for the elders; and this can still be done by calling for those who practically are elders. Only it is needful that faith wrought of God, and those acting on His part, should be there. But, whatever may be the state of ruin in which the assembly of God is found, we can always confess our faults one to another, and pray for one another, that we may be healed. This does not require the existence of official order, but it supposes humility, and brotherly confidence, and love.
[p. 150] We cannot indeed confess our faults without confidence in a brother’s love. We may choose a wise and discreet brother (instead of opening our hearts to indiscreet persons), but this choice alters nothing as to the guilty person’s state of soul. Not hiding the evil, but opening his heart, he frees his troubled conscience; perhaps also his body.
Truth is wrought in the heart; the guilty one does not seek a good reputation — which after all, can only be a false one — but an upright conscience, upright before God. God takes pleasure in setting the conscience at liberty; He also frees the body from the sickness if necessary; then the heart grows happy in the sense of His favour. A pure and upright conscience is a source of joy in God’s presence.
It is most important to remember that there is a government of God with respect to His children. It is no question whether they are justified and forgiven; for this government supposes that they are righteous in His right, as to salvation; Job 36. But then the Lord ever keeps His eye upon them, blesses them, and makes them conscious of His favour when they are walking aright in the enjoyment of God. But if we do not walk aright, we are warned, and if we do not take heed to the voice of God, He chastens in order to arouse the soul that is falling asleep and has begun to forget God. And His goodness, His wondrous patience, His love for us, are never weary!
Verse 19. Finally, James adds an exhortation to encourage our hearts to seek the blessing of others. He who brings back a sinner from the error of his ways is not only the means of saving that soul, whether it be a sinner walking in his sins, or a Christian walking badly, but also of hiding a multitude of sins. That the soul of an unconverted man should be saved is simple; in the case of a Christian pursuing an evil way, he is at least arrested in the road which leads to perdition.
[p. 151] But this second point calls for a little more explanation, and it is not without importance. Sin is hateful in the sight of God; He sees everything. When we think of the state of the world, we understand how wonderful is His patience. Now the conversion of a sinner removes all his sins from before the eyes of God. As though they were cast into the depths of the sea, He sees them no more; as it is written. They are immediately cancelled. It is in this sense that “love covereth a multitude of sins.” They are no longer there as an object hateful to God. If we do not forgive the sins of a brother, the enmity remains before God as a wound in the body of believers, something that is not healed. When forgiven, love is the object that presents itself before God — a thing pleasing to His heart. Thus when the sinner is converted — brought back, the love of God finds its pleasure in this, and the offending object is removed from His sight.
In the Epistle of James we find but little doctrine; it is rather the girdle of righteousness, the manifestation of faith in works, in the Christian character. Submission under the hand of God, and patience under His government, are developed in a way most useful to the Christian.