Open your bibles to James Chapter 5.
As we wrap up our series in the Book of James entitled Faith That Works.
We have been quoting R. Kent Hughes who says “one thing is clear about the book of James—the dominant theme is;
“Faith that is real works practically in one's life. Faith that is true, is a faith that works.” R. Kent Hughes
James has been building on what he said to us in chapter 4:
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. (James 4:10 ESV)
James warned us about our pride is the enemy of humility. Pride causes us to gossip, slander, and judge against one another. While faith that works is humble and not proud. Humble faith begins with the understanding that we are no better than anyone else, rather the Christian should look beyond a person's shortcomings and have a faith in Jesus who is able to save and heal the people we have a tendency to condemn and judge.
We learned our pride will cause us to boast about tomorrow making plans to become wealthy as if we are masters of our own universe. But Faith that works humbly understands nobody is promised tomorrow and we should live humbly in faith in God who is the master of our universe. James says the faithful are to live humbly saying, “If the Lord wills, I will go here and there."
Finally, James warns us that pride can cause the rich to only want to become richer hoarding our possessions and oppressing the poor for the sake of selfish gain. Rather we should humble ourselves knowing every blessing comes from the Lord and we are to use our wealth for the glory of God and be generous toward others.
Last week James called us to trust in the Lord as we face the pride in the church. We are to patiently wait on the Lord in season and out of season. We are to remain steadfast when rejected and persecuted like the prophets. Knowing like Job, we too will suffer, but God uses Job’s suffering to demonstrate His compassion and mercy, despite tremendous adversity. All of this shows us that whatever we are facing, we can trust in the love, power, and goodness of our God to see us through.
Today James will build on the humility we need in order for God to exalt us.
Will you stand with me if you are able as we open up God’s word.
James 5:13-20
Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.
My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. (James 5:13-20 ESV)
PRAY
Last week James says we are to have patience we are to have in this life, waiting to trust in the Lord’s return.
We are to remain steadfast like the prophets who faced intense opposition. So here James tells us no matter what season of life we are in, suffering, cheerful, sick, or wandering. We need to get back to God and the way is through prayer. Let’s begin in verse 13
Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. (James 5:13a ESV)
I want to look at this with the understanding that pride is the enemy of humility and the promise that God exalts those who are humble. In times of suffering, pride can cause us to rebel. I don’t know about you suffering hardly produces humility in me. I have a tendency to become angry and complain when things don’t go my way. James tells us when we suffer we should pray. He gives us this command just after calling us to remember the patience of Job. Job suffered many great losses. God allowed Satan to take Job’s wealth from him, every one of his children died, he lost all of his possessions and Job became very ill. Job lost everything but his life-everything but his faith. Job had persevering patience but it was not perfect patience. As I mentioned last week, Job lost it several times. He lamented the day he was born and insisted on his innocence. He complained that he didn’t deserve any of this and he demanded God to explain Himself. Job was throwing a pity party but in chapter 38 God responds by humbling him. Listen to God’s response to Job’s complaining;
“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
“Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb, when I made clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band, and prescribed limits for it and set bars and doors, and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed’? “Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place, that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth, and the wicked be shaken out of it?n It is changed like clay under the seal, and its features stand out like a garment. From the wicked their light is withheld, and their uplifted arm is broken. “Have you entered into the springs of the sea, or walked in the recesses of the deep? Have the gates of death been revealed to you, or have you seen the gates of deep darkness? Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth? Declare, if you know all this. (Job 38:4-18 ESV)
And the Lord goes on and on and on in chapter 38. This was a humbling moment for Job that led him to repentance and faith in the Lord. Job’s perspective was limited—but God’s was not. God's intention and purpose for Job was to demonstrate His compassion and mercy, despite tremendous suffering. Job's heart and mind were humbled believing that God can and should be trusted for who He is both in good times and in the times of suffering. Not only does Job learn God is compassionate and merciful. The story ends with God blessing Job with more than he had before. This was a demonstration of God’s grace and generosity. So James says if any among you are suffering… let him pray to our God who is in control, who is compassionate, merciful, graceful, and generous.
Living in this broken world and suffering is a part of God’s plan for us. But we have a wonderful promise found in Philippians.
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6 ESV)
Suffering should never cause us to doubt God’s character, promises, power, or plan.
Don’t let our pride or self-pity keep us from trusting in the Lord.
Rather let the seasons of suffering draw you closer to God, trusting Him with all our heart (Proverbs 3:5-6).
We are not only to pray when times are bad but when life is good too. Let's read in the second half of verse 13.
“Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.” (James 5:13b ESV)
Our Pride has the tendency to cause us to forget about God when times are good. I don't know about you but my prayer life is on point when times are bad. But when times are good I have a tendency to put God on the shelf. Pride can cause us to become self-sufficient and self-righteous thinking we are the source of the good instead of God. But just as James reminded us in chapter 1:
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. (James 1:17 ESV)
So James is saying here whatever happens we need to go to God in prayer if we are troubled we need to pray. If we are happy we need to give praise to God. And when we are weak and suffering physically we need God and each other. Let's read verse 14.
Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit. (James 5:14-18 ESV)
Our pride will keep us from asking for help when we are weak, suffering, and sick. But James encourages us to call on the elders because they are the ones who are called to care for the people in the church. The anointing of oil symbolizes the anointing of the Holy Spirit that is upon every believer. The person, the power, and the presence of the Holy Spirit are upon every believer no matter their condition, no matter if they are sick or weak. But when a person is sick and weak our faith has a tendency to be weak too. Humbly the sick and weak are to call upon the Elders because God has given them to us for such times as these—to serve, encourage, and pray for us when we are sick and the prayer of their faith will save the one who is sick”, James says.
As the Elders remind those who are sick, weak, and suffering that the anointing of the Holy Spirit will never leave them, and this illness, or weakness is an opportunity to pray and ask the Holy Spirit will do a work in and through them. Your healing may be instant or God may choose to heal you in heaven with a resurrected, glorified body. God may take time to heal you. He may use doctors and modern medicine to heal you. But any wise physician knows that they can’t heal anyone. Christian doctors may dress the wound but they know God provides the healing. Whatever way God chooses to heal you He will be faithful to heal you.
James goes as far as saying if the reason why you are sick is your fault, a result of your sinful choices. Don’t let that stop you from calling upon the Elders. Rather, if you have committed sins that contributed to your suffering, you can be forgiven. Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
God is good to allow suffering and sickness in your life that was caused by our own sin especially if it leads you to find grace and forgiveness in Christ. God offers healing to the sick and grace for the sinner. But what about those who have wandered from the faith?
My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. (James 5:19-20 ESV)
Restoration Christ offers covers a multitude of sins. When I came to faith in Jesus, millions of sins were covered over, and it was the same with you. This is viewed in the Bible as supreme blessedness. The Psalmist sings out:
“Blessed is he, whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered” (Psalm 32:1; cf. 85:2 ESV).
What a blessed feat is accomplished when a sinner is turned away from his error. God alone does this. But he does use human instruments who love him and who love people, for the bible says:
“love covers all wrongs” (Proverbs 10:12 ESV).
This covering of sins flows from the ultimate fact that turning a sinner back saves him from death. The act of saving someone's life has typically led those who are saved to a lifetime of gratitude. Many soldiers and Marines carry photos of someone who put it all on the line for them. But the saving act here is even greater, for it is a saving from spiritual death, saving a man or woman or boy or girl from an existence of body and soul in eternal separation from God. This is salvation from a horrifying existence which Scripture describes in various ways, all terrible:
“the fire never goes out” (Mark 9:43), “their worm does not die” (Mark 9:48), “the smoke of their torment rises forever and ever” (Revelation 14:11), “the Abyss” (Revelation 20:1, 3).
To be part of saving one from spiritual death is the greatest thing one human can ever do for another! If we were super-rich and were able to give another the deeds to our lands, our stock portfolios, our seat on the New York Stock Exchange, and our prestige—that would not come close to the marvels of saving that person from spiritual death.
“Whoever turns a sinner away from his error will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins” (v. 20).
It is this motivation that has compelled James in writing his letter from beginning to end. This is why he has been so hard-hitting—“in your face,” so to speak. This is a warning to the hard hearts, shallow hearts, and infested hearts that populate the church today. So James writes, “My brothers if one of you should wander from the truth...”
But this is also a call for the church to consciously practice a ministry of reclamation, a ministry which has five steps:
1) Love. The church must engage in love instead of rejecting the wandering soul. Again, “love covers all wrongs” (Proverbs 10:12 ESV), not because our love can atone for them, but because love cares and maintains a relationship through which the grace of God is pleased to move.
2) Integrity. If we are to be used to help reclaim another we must possess what we wish them to have. Paul said exactly this:
“Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted” (Galatians 6:1 ESV).
The integrity of the heart, the authenticity of one’s soul, is seen in the eyes and heard in the tone of our voices. Restorers must be truly spiritual people and it's easy to spot a fake.
3) Prayer. The Apostle John, near the end of his first pastoral letter, says,
“If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him life” (1 John 5:16).
We must pray for the one who has wandered. Sadly, so often instead of our words going up to God, they go out in gossip. Our prayers ought to be specific, detailed, regular, and passionate. As James has just reminded us,
“The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” (James 5:16b ESV).
4) Confrontation. The call to confront the sinner is firmly expressed in Scripture. God’s word through Ezekiel was,
“When I say to a wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood” (Ezekiel 3:18).
Paul told the Thessalonian church regarding a disobedient Christian to
“warn him as a brother” (2 Thessalonians 3:15),
and to the Ephesians, he gave his own personal example:
“Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears” (Acts 20:31; cf. Colossians 1:28).
There are times when we must prayerfully undertake confrontation.
5) Discipline. This is always a last resort. Jesus himself instructs us in the process in Matthew 18:15–17. There are times we must do this for the sake of the wanderer’s soul and the life of the church (see 1 Corinthians 5:1–5).
Commitment to the process of spiritual reclamation as love plus integrity plus prayer plus confrontation plus discipline says one thing: we love the church and believe with James that “Whoever turns a sinner away from his error will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins” (v. 20). May we live redemptive lives, reclaiming wandering souls for Christ!
We want to spend the rest of our time responding to the Lord.
For those that are suffering, let's pray.
For those that are cheerful, let's praise God together and encourage one another.
For those that are sick, weak, and suffering, the Elders and our wives will be available upfront to anoint you with oil and pray over you.
For those that need to confess their sin and be forgiven come and get prayed over.
PRAY
RESPOND IN WORSHIP
