James Chapter 5 — Commentary and Notes on Verse 9

    Don’tgrumbleagainsteachother,brothers,oryouwillbejudged.TheJudgeisstandingatthe door!

    In this verse the apostle lays down the danger of evil groaning, using the same argument as before: the near and speedy approach of judgment.

    Don’t grumble against each other. The word means, “don’t groan against each other.” Because it is not easy to determine the apostle’s particular sense, the phrase has been interpreted in various ways. Some people explain it thus: “do not sigh in your grumbling to one another,” as if God were unjust in punishing his children and letting the wicked be prosperous. But this cannot be the meaning. In the original it is against each other.

    Others explain it as, “do not in a groaning manner require vengeance at the hand of God, but rather forgive, that God may forgive you.” But certainly it is lawful to complain to God about our injuries, though not with a vengeful spirit. A lot of effort has gone into explaining the word “groan” or grumble. Groans in themselves are not unlawful. The apostle must mean the sort of groaning that arises from an evil cause, such as discontent at providence (“complaining groans”) or despondency and weakness of mind (“distrustful groans”) or revenge against their oppressors (“vindictive groans”) or envy at those who suffered less than they did. If anyone’s condition is more tolerable, we are apt to complain and to say there is no sorrow like our sorrow; and fretting against God makes us angry with men. Thus the apostle would understand envious groans; and this sense gives the KJV translators their Grudgenot; that is, do not begrudge the happiness of those who are not faced with sufferings or with the same degree of sufferings that you face.

    I would easily agree with this sense except that I can see no reason why we should not retain the proper sense of the word “groan.” The apostle seems to me here to censure those mutual injuries and animosities with which the Christians of those times, having banded together under the names of Circumcision and Uncircumcision, grieved one another and gave each other cause to groan, so that they not only sighed under the oppressions of rich persecutors but under the injuries that they sustained from many of the brothers who, together with them, professed the holy faith. This exposition suits the state of those times and the present context. The apostle is persuading them to be patient now because the pressures arose not only from enemies but from brothers. He seeks to dissuade them from such a scandalous practice lest they should all be involved in a common ruin. Should brothers begrudge one another? Take heed; such practices seldom escape without a quick revenge. My thoughts are all the more confirmed in this interpretation because there seems to be a tacit allusion here to the story of Cain and Abel, where the blood of one brother cried out against the other, and God told Cain that sin lay at the door (Genesis 4:7), meaning the punishment of sin, just as the apostle tells these people that the Judge was at the door, meaning judgment was hanging over them.

    Differences can often be so heightened among brothers that they groan against one another as much as against the common enemy. Paul, speaking of the state of the early days, shows how Christians were “biting and devouring each other” (Galatians 5:15). To show their rage, he uses words appropriate to the fights of animals. That is how it usually happens when conflicts arise in the church. Religious hatreds are most deadly. Thus Luther complains that he never had a worse enemy than Karlstadt, and Zwingli that the Roman Catholics were never so bitter to him as his friends. It is sad when we dispute against one another and tongue is armed against tongue and prayer is set against prayer and appeal is set against appeal—lambs acting the wolves’ part.

    Or you will be judged. That is, lest God punish you; or lest, by mutual allegations, you provoke a condemning sentence to pass against you both, and you also are involved in the common ruin.

    Note1. False brothers will also meet with their judgment. Not only the rich oppressors but you who groan against one another will be condemned; hell is the lot of the hypocrite: “He will … assign him a place with the hypocrites” (Matthew 24:51; in Luke 12:46 it is, “with the unbelievers”). Possibly our Saviour might use both expressions, hypocrites and unbelievers, to show that open enemies and secret ones will meet with the same judgment.

    Note2. Mutual groans and grudges between brothers are a usual forerunner of judgment; after biting and devouring, there follows consuming (Galatians 5:15). This comes about partly by the providence of God. Wanton conflicts are only cured by deep afflictions; and once spirits are so antagonistic to each other, there is no likelihood of agreement except in prison. The warm sun makes wood warp and split; in prosperity we grow wanton and divide; when the dog is let loose, the sheep run together. Usually in troubles there are not so many scatterings and secessions in Christ’s flock. This is partly through ordinary causes. Our divisions give our enemies an advantage; we should be as wise about reconciling ourselves as they are about combining against us. Nazianzen used to call them “the common reconcilers.” But party and faction makes people blind; such people will not reconsider until all is undone. A little before Diocletian’s persecution there were sad divisions in the church; “they burned with mutual internal discord,” says Eusebius.

    TheJudgeisstandingatthedoor! He had said before that theLord’scomingisnear; now he adds that he is atthedoor, a phrase that not only implies the sureness but the suddenness of judgment: see Matthew 24:33, “know that it is near, right at the door.” This phrase too implies the speediness of the Jewish ruin.

    Note3. The nearness of the Judge should awe us into duty. To sin in calamitous times is to sin in the presence of the Judge—to strike, as it were, in the King’s presence and to provoke justice when punishments hang over our heads. This is like King Ahaz, who trespassed all the more because of his wounds. When God holds up his hand, you are almost daring him to strike.

    Note4. If we are ready to sin, God is ready to judge: “If you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door” (Genesis 4:7); that is, the punishment, like a messenger of justice, is lying in wait to arrest us. It is often like this; while we are bustling and “beat[ing] our fellow-servants,” our Lord is at the door, coming before we are ready for him (Matthew 24:48-51).