In 5:7 James says, “Therefore, be longsuffering, brothers, until the coming of the Lord.” To await the Lord’s coming with longsuffering is wonderful, and this surely is a New Testament matter. However, in talking about awaiting the Lord’s coming back, James did not have the New Testament concept. Instead, he uses the prophets as an example of longsuffering and Job as an example of endurance: “Take as an example, brothers, of suffering evil and of longsuffering, the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the end of the Lord, that the Lord is very compassionate and full of pity.”
James’ teaching concerning awaiting the Lord’s coming is much different from that of the Lord Jesus and the Apostle Paul. In Matthew 24:42 the Lord says, “Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord comes,” and in Matthew 24:44 He says, “Therefore, you also, be ready, for the Son of Man comes in an hour that you think not.” Here we see that, regarding His coming, the Lord tells us to watch and be ready. Then in Luke 21:36 the Lord gives us this charge: “But be watchful, at every time beseeching.” Concerning the Lord’s coming, Paul also charges us to watch: “So then, let us not sleep as the rest, but let us watch and be sober” (1 Thes. 5:6).
The prophets and saints of the Old Testament are far removed from us. Today, however, we have the Triune God within. The Old Testament prophets and saints may have had longsuffering and endurance, but today we have the indwelling Triune God to be our endurance and longsuffering as we await the coming of the Lord Jesus.
In his Epistle James speaks concerning the practice of the church life; however, this practice is in the way of mixture. The first practice related to the church life covered by James in 5:13-20 is that of praying for a sick believer by anointing him in the name of the Lord: “Is anyone among you weak? Let him call to him the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, having anointed him with oil in the name of the Lord” (v. 14). We must admit that it is wonderful to pray for a sick brother and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.
Although James says a good word concerning prayer in 5:14-16, his way of praying is that of the Old Testament prophets. This is proved by the fact that he uses the prayer of Elijah as an example: “Elijah was a man of like feeling with us, and in prayer he prayed that it should not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth its fruit” (vv. 17-18). James says that Elijah prayed in a prayer. We may admire this prayer and think that it is excellent. Paul, however, does not speak like this. Rather, Paul tells us to pray always in spirit (Eph. 6:18). To pray in spirit is much better, sweeter, and richer than to pray in a prayer. The latter is to pray in the Old Testament way; the former is to pray in the New Testament way. In the case of Elijah, the Lord gave him a particular prayer as a burden, and Elijah prayed that it would not rain. Hence, Elijah prayed in the prayer given to him by the Lord. But today we have the indwelling Spirit abiding in our spirit and interceding for us (Rom. 8:26), and we do not need a special prayer or burden, for we can pray in our spirit unceasingly (1 Thes. 5:17).
If we do not have light from the Lord, we may highly appreciate what James says concerning prayer. But if we are enlightened by the Lord, we shall see that the way of prayer described by James is the Old Testament way. By this we see that James’ writing brings us away from the New Testament practice and back to the Old Testament practice.
In 5:19-20 James speaks of turning back a backsliding brother to repentance for forgiveness: “My brothers, if anyone among you is led astray from the truth and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner back from the error of his way will save his soul from death, and will cover a multitude of sins.” Even James’ word about recovering a backsliding brother is in the Old Testament way. What he says about covering a multitude of sins is almost a quotation from the Old Testament. Psalm 32:1 says, “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.” Psalm 85:2 says, “Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people, thou hast covered all their sin.” Furthermore, Proverbs 10:12b says, “Love covereth all sins.” These verses clearly indicate that in the Old Testament to forgive sin is to cover it. In the New Testament, however, to forgive sin is to forget it (Heb. 8:12). Therefore, we see once again, this time concerning the practice of the church life in the way of mixture, that James’ concept of recovering a backsliding brother to repentance for forgiveness is according to the Old Testament way.