The last paragraph in what we call James chapter four begins with the words, “Come now.”
The message of the gospel and the call of God consistently is “Come now”–don’t wait until later. Procrastination is a pervasive problem and probably no one among us is immune to its allure. It has been said, “Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow.” The allure of tomorrow regarding obligations that are onerous or costly or humbling is that tomorrow never comes.
James wrote,
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”–yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. (James 4:13-17, ESV)
In these few short words, James continues a theme of the creeping power of a carnal mindset by alerting his readers to the fact that we are often more consumed with material things than spiritual and that when there is a time or ability conflict, we too often put off our spirits to tend to the flesh. In this case, the heart of the man is focused on making profits and conducting business, all necessary and potentially good endeavors, and yet so much concentration upon them has eclipsed the importance of more spiritual pursuits.
If you had only one day left on Earth to live, would you go down to your factory to make airplane parts or off to your restaurant to fry up hamburgers? Of course not, for we would reason that work is unimportant compared to using that time to prepare to meet God. Precious few ever get a one-day warning, but knowing Christ implants a keener perspective in our hearts that prioritizes work and worship and gives more weight to the latter.
The problem is not that the gentlemen wants to go to work and make a living; the problem is that he has neither considered the uncertainty of any tomorrow nor seen to the real necessities of today. Life, as it turns out, is only like a vapor rising from a coffee cup; it appears for a moment and then vanishes away. We just can’t afford to live our precious lives as if there is always another tomorrow.
And so we begin, reverencing today by acknowledging that every tomorrow is ultimately and completely in the hands of God. Taking tomorrow for granted is arrogant boasting. When the lesson is learned, the disciple of Christ knows to do good and he does it, without depending upon some more convenient season or fantasy tomorrow that may never come. When it is a spiritual thing that gets lost in the procrastination shuffle, it is nothing less than sin.
A typical congregation might range from infants to the elder and yet in comparison with history and the age of the universe, there is not much difference between the two. The young yearn to be a little older and the old wonder where the time went, but rest assured, it does go (seeEcclesiastes 1:3-11). If this life is all that there is, human existence is simply a multibillion-fold act of futility; thankfully, there is more (see Job 14:1-15). God will call on the day of judgment and we will answer the summons, whether we are ready or not, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (Second Corinthians 5:10).
Time is a precious and irreplaceable commodity and it is only wasted when lent to the devil (see Ephesians 5:8-17). It is not that one must live a monastic lifestyle, devoid of any color, excitement of pleasure, but that one must elevate his life to the purpose God gave it–to aspire to a better existence in Heaven after a while. Not all fun things interfere with that, thankfully and life can be eminently enjoyable because it is spiritually-driven, but those things that destroy the spirit are only fun in the shortest of durations.
Sin is like a nightmare from which you want to wake up, but you can’t quite bring yourself to break out, except sin is very real (see First Corinthians 15:32-34). We are procrastinating when we persist in committing sin, when we choose to do nothing and thereby neglect to do good, when we put off obeying the gospel or being restored to Christ in favor some more convenient season. When Paul reasoned with Felix about righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, his listener grew afraid and procrastinated from a position of terror–“Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you,” he told the preacher. Who knows if that convenient time ever came and who knows if yours will? The potential for eternal life and the risk of eternal damnation is the only facet of life that makes it last longer than the four score years most possess (Second Corinthians 4:16-5:1).
Are We Putting Off Obeying the Gospel?
In his Acts of the Apostles, Luke wrote,
And as he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind.” But Paul said, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking true and rational words. For the king knows about these things, and to him I speak boldly. For I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner. King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.” And Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?” (Acts 26:24-28, ESV)
Everyone who listens to the gospel invitation makes a decision when the sermon ends about whether he is content in his relationship with God and assured that he is on the right path to go to Heaven. For whatever reason, King Agrippa decided wrongly not to act upon Paul’s invitation and he remained a non-Christian when the gathering broke up. Each week, the same thing happens in assemblies around the world, often because the adversary intervenes with a reminder that tomorrow the water will be warmer or that judgment is yet distant. Agrippa’s fate is uncertain but if he never got around to obeying the gospel, he was lost forever without hope of reclamation.
Some think that putting off obeying the gospel is harmless, especially when they are young because so much of life is ahead, but each time you put off the gospel, it becomes a little bit easier until finally it is reflexive response, so much so that few spiritual things retain any importance and the day of salvation never comes. Refusing the Lord’s invitation has a hypnotic effect, especially when his mercy affords more and more opportunities, but rest assured that one time will be your last chance, and then what will you do and whom will you blame?
The apostle Paul wrote to the Roman saints,
Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God. (Romans 2:4-5, ESV)
Are We Putting Off Seeking Restoration?
Luke tells us furthermore that,
Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.” And Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.” (Acts 8:18-24, ESV)
Simon the sorcerer was a Christian who had done wrong and become estranged from God by the sinfulness of his heart and intentions. Peter’s rebuke is so stern that Simon is moved to respond with obvious urgency. Like a driver on the freeway who hears his tires beating against the warning strips on the shoulder, with dispatch Simon moves his vessel back onto the straight and narrow path, lest he crash and be lost.
We sometimes make up our minds to reconcile with God by renouncing our sins and restoring our practices, but neglect to confess the sin we’re trying to repent of. We keep God and his church at arm’s length in order to avoid embarrassment or detection, but in the process we are incompletely reconciled and not yet safe.
Are We Putting Off Becoming Serious About Kingdom?
From his prison cell, Paul wrote,
Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. (Philippians 3:12-15, ESV)
Even without reveling in iniquity, we are prone to overwork and overplay so that spiritual things get prioritized away until tomorrow or next week. When do we get serious about the kingdom–today the church and eternally, Heaven?
Jesus met three potential disciples once and invited each to follow him, but they all delayed the commitment because of the concerns of this life (see Luke 9:57-62). Is it work or play that is currently more tangible to you than Heaven–unnecessary overtime, Lord’s Day fishing trips, weekday business, school, recreation and athletic schedules that leave no opening for prayer, study and preparation to teach? Are we budgeting and saving as if our only retirement cottage is on terra firma?
Are We Putting Off Doing Good?
Paul instructed Titus to “let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful” (Titus 3:14). Likewise, he wrote to Thessalonica: “As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good” (Second Thessalonians 3:13).
The Holy Spirit reminds us of where James started–“To him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” We must strive to maintain good works and not grow weary even if their cost rises or the rewards seem to be completely delayed into eternity.
The widows, orphans, poor, infirm, and sinful will not wait forever so that we might get motivated to visit, pay alms, comfort or invite. Sometimes you only get one opportunity to help a certain needful person and if you put it off, it never returns.
Are We Putting Off Quitting Sin?
Paul wrote the Christians in the capital,
Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. (Romans 13:11-14, ESV)
Most of us are battling sin, especially some particular temptation or personal flaw that has proven a worthy challenger to our righteousness, but many of us have simply surrendered. We have sued the tempter for an armistice so that we might indulge our weaknesses today and live to fight the battle tomorrow instead. It’s high time to kick the bottle, to stamp out the cigarette, to swear off swearing, to button gossiping lips, to blind the green-eyed monster.
Conclusion
Come now, there is work to do and growth to stimulate, while there is still time. Our lives are like vapors and might be closer to the end than we think.
