<p>5:9- see on Lk. 12:2.<br /><i>Brothers, do not complain about each other, so that you are not judged. Behold The judge stands at the door</i>- In view of the gross abuses going on, it must have been a sore temptation for the poor brethren to grudge against their elders- not least when they turned them away empty handed at pay day (v.4). James is pleading with them to keep up their excellent attitude of not resisting (v.6)- because at any moment the true judge would come. And note too that if they did resist by grudging, they also would be condemned at the Lord's coming- for taking the judgment of these renegade servants of the Lord into their own hands. How much less have we any right to judge our fellow servants of today James' reasoning implied that the verdict of condemnation pronounced on them by the other brethren (v.6) was not valid- but they would only be condemned if they grudged against such treatment.</p><p>The Greek for &quot;grudge&quot; is normally used concerning the groaning of sincere prayer, often in silence, brought about by suffering- e.g. Mk. 7:34; Acts 7:34; Rom. 8:23,26; 2 Cor. 5:2,4- although it also carries the idea of complaining. Thus instead of making their complaints to each other, they were to quietly make them to God- and the Lord Jesus, with &quot;groanings (same word as &quot;grudge&quot;) which cannot be uttered&quot; (Rom. 8:26) would make powerful intercession for them. Peter's equivalent for them being condemned is in his warning that Sodom and Gomorrha were &quot;condemned with an overthrow&quot;, making them an ensample unto those that after should live unGodly&quot; (2 Pet. 2:6). If this is a valid connection, James is saying that vicious bitterness against brethren who are wrongly abusing you, leading you to condemn them, is the same magnitude of sin as living the reprobate life of the Sodomites. Similarly &quot;the judge stands before the door&quot; is clearly matched by 1 Pet. 4:4,5, which says that some - the same group of Judaizers within the ecclesia?- &quot;think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you (this is the sort of accusation often made by the Judaist infiltrators- cp. their smear campaign on Paul): who shall give account to him that is ready (cp. &quot;before the door&quot;) to judge the quick and the dead&quot;.</p><p>Thus a life of &quot;excess of riot&quot; is the same as giving way to bitterness in the heart that leads to condemnation of the brethren. This connection between 5:9 and 1 Pet. 4:5 parallels the coming of the Lord in judgment with the resurrection- the judging of living and dead. Thus James and Peter did not think of the Lord's coming in any sense other than how we think of the second coming- to raise and judge the dead, and establish the Kingdom on earth (see notes on 5:7). Thus Paul, probably writing to the same group of Jewish believers: &quot;Wherefore we receiving (i.e. being so near to receiving it we are practically receiving it now) a Kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and Godly fear&quot; (Heb. 12:28)- i.e. in the development of truly spiritual characteristics in our heart. Such acute awareness of the imminence of the Lord's coming should surely be matched by us, as we live on the very edge of time and human experience as we know it, when &quot;the end of all things is at hand&quot; (1 Pet. 4:7).</p><p>This likening of the second coming to Christ standing at the door must surely connect with Rev. 3:20: &quot;I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him&quot;. Having a formal meal (&quot;sup&quot;) with the believer must connect with the Lord's parable of the marriage supper representing the Kingdom. These letters having been written before AD70, Christ is maybe saying that if only there was a true response to His word on an individual basis (&quot;If any man...&quot;), then he would fully come in the glory of His Kingdom in AD70. The principle of interpreting Scripture by Scripture- in this case Rev. 3:20 by James 5:9- surely has violence done to it if the Lord's standing, knocking at the door is not understood with some reference to the second coming. James 5:9 <i>pleads</i> with believers not to grudge / groan / sigh (Gk.) against each other <i>on the very eve of the Lord's coming</i>.</p>