Bible Study August 19, 2026
JAMES 5 (ENGLISH STANDARD VERSION)
James Recap: James is an intensely practical book. He isn't merely interested in what Christians believe; he wants to know how what we believe changes how we live.
- James 1 — Faith is tested by trials.
- James 1:2-4
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
- James 2 — Faith produces works.
- James 2:18-19
18 But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
- James 3 — Faith controls the tongue.
- James 3:9-10
9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.
- James 4 — Faith submits to God.
- James 4:7-8
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
- James 5 — Faith holds on when life gets hard or Holds on to the end together.
I. Faith holds on in Economic Injustice! (1-6)
1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. 4 Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.
5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.
Psalm 94:20-23 (ESV)
20 Can wicked rulers be allied with you, those who frame injustice by statute? 21 They band together against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent to death. 22 But the LORD has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge. 23 He will bring back on them their iniquity and wipe them out for their wickedness; the LORD our God will wipe them out.
Psalms 103:19 (ESV)
19 The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.
If we are not the wealthy oppressors, are we to stand idly by? If we are members of a society where oppression is widely practiced, we may also fall under God's judgment, even if we are not personally treating others unjustly. James makes it clear that believers need to be a force that combats oppression and treats people who are poor with respect, no matter how much money we have (2:1-7). Allegiance to Christ ought to make a difference in the way we help anyone who is powerless to help and protect themselves, whether the poor and unemployed in our communities or refugees and immigrants arriving from foreign countries. Following Jesus calls us to live generous lives.
Money is not the problem; Christian leaders need money to live and to support their families; missionaries need money to help them spread the Good News; churches need money to do their work effectively. But the love of money leads to sin (1 Timothy 6:10) and causes people to oppress others in order to get more. This is a warning to all Christians who are tempted to adopt worldly standards rather than God's standards (Romans 12:1-2) as well as an encouragement to all those who are oppressed by the rich. (See Matthew 6:19-21 to find out what Jesus says about riches.)
Poor people who could not pay their debts were often thrown into prison or forced to sell all their possessions. At times, they were even forced to sell their family members into slavery. With no opportunity to work off their debts, poor people often died of starvation. God called this murder. Hoarding money, exploiting employees, and living self-indulgently will not escape God's notice. Generous and fair treatment of people who are poor and others who depend on us matters to God.
II. Faith holds on when Enduring Suffering (7-12)
7 Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
A. Be patient. v.7 Be patient, v.8 Be patient. These are imperative tense. This is a command. Patient: Long Spirited, longsuffering. Patience is fruit of God's Spirit in your life.
B. Establish your hearts. His coming is at hand. a. Establish means to "set yourself" or "turn resolutely in a direction"
James gives us examples of patience. Farmers must wait patiently for their crops to grow; they cannot hurry the process. But they do not take the summer off and hope that all goes well in the fields. There is much work to be done to ensure a good harvest. In the same way, we must wait patiently for Christ's return. We cannot make him come back any sooner. But while we wait, there is much work that we can do to advance his Kingdom. Both the farmer and the Christian must live by faith, looking toward the future reward for their labors. Don't live as if Christ will never come. Work faithfully to build his Kingdom. The King will come when the time is right.
9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.
A. Do not Grumble against another brother.
Before you judge others for their shortcomings, remember that Christ, the Judge, will come to evaluate each of us (Matthew 7:1-5; 25:31-46). He will not let us get away with shifting the blame to others.
10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
Suffering is not a strange thing for believers.
Matthew 5:11-12 (ESV)
11 "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
11 Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
A. Remain Steadfast
Job was steadfast, after it all he did not turn against God. Job lost his children, lost his wealth, lost his health.
Job 1:21-22 (ESV)
21 And he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." 22 In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.
Many prophets, such as Moses, Elijah, and Jeremiah, suffered and were persecuted.
12 But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your "yes" be yes and your "no" be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.
Those with reputations for exaggeration or lying often can't get anyone to believe them based on their word alone. Christians should never become like that. Always be honest so that others will believe your simple yes or no. By avoiding lies, half-truths, and omissions of the truth, you will become known as a trustworthy person.
III. Faith Holds on in Everyday Situations (13-18)
13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? 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. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
In the early church, expectations of God's direct intervention and healing were part of daily life. James's guidelines for healing prayer would make churches much more personal and effective. Anointing with oil was a practice often used by early believers in their prayers for healing. Scripture describes oil being used as a medicine (see Luke 10:34), but it also symbolizes the Spirit of God (as used in anointing kings; see 1 Samuel 16:1-13). Thus, here the oil was a sign of the power of prayer, of healing, and of setting apart people who were sick for God's special attention.
People in the church should not face their illnesses alone. Members of Christ's body should be able to count on others for support and prayer, especially when they are sick or suffering. The elders of a church should be on call to respond to the illness of any member, and the church should be sensitive to pray for the needs of all its members. If your church does not have a time for healing prayer, consider offering it.
The "prayer offered in faith" does not refer to the faith of the sick person but to the faith of the people praying. God heals, people with faith present the needs to him, and all prayers are subject to his will and greater plan. It is the Lord who makes us well, not any formula or anything we can buy online. But God wants our prayers to be part of his healing process.
16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
1 John 1:6-9 (ESV)
6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Christ has opened the way for us to go directly to God for forgiveness. But confessing our sins to each other still has an important place in the life of the church. By "righteous person," James isn't talking about sinless people but rather those who can effectively pray for others because they have confessed their own sins and are in right relationship with God. This verse points us toward several important scriptural principles related to confession: (1) If we have sinned against an individual, we must ask that person to forgive us. (2) If our sin has affected the church, we must confess it publicly. (3) If we need loving support as we struggle with a sin, we should confess the sin to those who are able to provide that support. (4) If, after confessing a private sin to God, we still don't feel his forgiveness, we may wish to confess the sin to a fellow believer to receive assurance of God's pardon. In Christ's Kingdom, every believer is a priest to other believers (1 Peter 2:9).
17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.
As Christians, our most powerful resource is communion with God through prayer. The results are often greater than we would have thought possible. Some people see prayer as a last resort to be tried when all else fails. This approach is backward. Prayer should come first. Because God has infinitely greater power than we have, to rely on prayer from the start only makes sense—especially because God encourages us to do so.
IV. Faith Holds on and Embraces the Wanderer (19-20)
19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
This passage refers to a believer who has fallen into sin—one who is no longer living a life consistent with Christian beliefs. Many discussions have occurred over whether people can lose their salvation, but all interpreters agree that those who fall away from their faith are in serious trouble and need to repent (see Hebrews 6:4-7). James urges Christians to help those who have wandered from the faith return to God. By taking initiative, praying for these people, and acting in love, we can meet them where they are and bring them back to God for his forgiveness.
The book of James emphasizes faith in action. Godly living is the evidence and result of faith. Believers must serve with compassion, speak lovingly and truthfully, live in obedience to God's commands, and love one another. The church ought to be an example of heaven on earth, drawing people to Christ through love for God and each other. If we truly believe God's Word, we will live it day by day. God's Word does not merely give us something to read or think about but something to do. Belief, faith, and trust must have hands and feet—ours!