1Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming on you. 2Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3Your gold and your silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be for a testimony against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up your treasure in the last days. 4Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you have kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of those who reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Armies. 5You have lived in luxury on the earth, and taken your pleasure. You have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter. 6You have condemned and you have murdered the righteous one. He doesn’t resist you.
7Be patient therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient over it, until it receives the early and late rain. 8You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
9Don’t grumble, brothers, against one another, so that you won’t be judged. Behold, the judge stands at the door. 10Take, brothers, for an example of suffering and of perseverance, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11Behold, we call them blessed who endured. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and have seen the Lord in the outcome, and how the Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
12But above all things, my brothers, don’t swear— not by heaven, or by the earth, or by any other oath; but let your “yes” be “yes”, and your “no”, “no”, so that you don’t fall into hypocrisy.
13Is any among you suffering? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing praises. 14Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the assembly, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; 15and the prayer of faith will heal him who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The insistent prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective. 17Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it didn’t rain on the earth for three years and six months. 18He prayed again, and the sky gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
19Brothers, if any among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back, 20let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
In Romans 8:13 and Colossians 3:5 the apostle Paul commands believers to “mortify” or “put to death the misdeeds of the flesh.” Used figuratively, “put to death” means to execute, to make die, to render extinct sinful desires and fleshly appetites. Mortification, which is different from the acknowledgement of sinful deeds (1 John 1:9) is necessary because it focuses on weakening, breaking, and eliminating sinful desires, actions, and habits. Romans 8:13 makes it clear that it is our responsibility to execute the misdeeds of the body. The verb “put to death” is present tense implying continuous action in moment-by-moment Christian living. Notwithstanding, we must be dependent upon the Holy Spirit, for self-discipline alone is insufficient. The Greek tense of the command in Colossians 3:5 “Put to death” entails decisive action.
Therefore, we must refuse to yield to a particular temptation, for every time we give ourselves to it, the stronger the sin will become as it takes hold of our lives. When faced with a particular temptation, consider the (1) dangerous consequences which may follow such as personal guilt, regret, ruined testimony, pain and harm in the lives of others, and grieving (Eph 4:30) and smothering the Holy Spirit’s ministry (1 Thess 5:19), (2) God’s goodness, (3) future judgment of eternal rewards (cf. 1 Cor 3:10-15; 2 Cor 5:9-10; 2 John 8), (4) the majestic beauty of God, (5) the wonder of Calvary, and (6) God’s potential chastisement. (7) Remember sin corrupts, distorts, and changes who we are; (8) Immediately flee from the temptation to sin; (9) Go to the source of the sin seriously probing why we are attracted to this particular sin; (10) think right thoughts; (11) diligently practice noble deeds; (12) prayer; (13) submit ourselves to transparent accountability (James 5:16); (14) Trust God.