C. Exhortations for Christians to care for one another
1. (James 5:13-14) How to meet needs arising among Christians
Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
Is anyone among you suffering: The Greek word for suffering means to endure hardship. James is asking if anyone is enduring a difficult situation. Who would not answer that question "Yes"? James expects the reader to answer yes. So, here is his advice for how to respond to difficulties in a patient, godly way. We pray, which is the purest form of patience and waiting on the Lord because it is an appeal on God's strength, will and ability. The act of praying requires us to stop acting.
Can any of us honestly say that our first response to circumstances that make us angry, sad, frustrated or scared is to stop and pray? But now we can see how patience and faithful waiting on God requires prayer rather than taking matters into our own hands.
Is anyone cheerful: On the other end of the spectrum, James asks if anyone is cheerful. Here is the opposite side of impatience. In our society, it is at least as common as the first problem. When life is good and we are pleased with our circumstances, do we stop and consider the source of our joy? Do we praise the Lord in our joy? Do we congratulate ourselves and then make plans to increase our joy? We have as much an obligation to send up prayers of praise as we do prayers of petition.
In both cases of joy and sorrow, our patience and dependence on God is best displayed in a patient prayer life that turns to God first. It consistently relies on God instead of making Him last or perhaps making Him a sporadic habit.
Like the little girl who turned to God too late in her prayers:
It is bedtime, and a little girl is saying her prayers. "God bless mommy and daddy and me. And please make Madrid the capital of Australia." Her mother, who is with the little girl asks, "Why do you want Madrid to be the capital of Australia?" The child responds, "Because that is what I put on my geography test!"
Is anyone among you sick: How does someone respond in a godly patience to a sickness? James says to call the elders and have them pray over the sick and anoint the person who is asking for healing. The prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick. The Lord will raise up the sick person and forgive him for the sins he has committed.
This promise of Scripture is one many Christians have puzzled over, and many teachers have confused. This is a specific kind of suffering James is describing. He is giving the proper way for a Christian to deal with this particular kind of suffering.
Examining the text carefully, we have a sick person who needs healing. This sickness is an incapacitating sickness. The Greek work is astheneo, from which we get a similar English word anesthesia. It literally means to wake up. This sick person is weak and unable to get up.
Secondly, the elders are summoned to pray. The one who is sick is the one who is to call the elders.
Third, the elders are to pray over this person and anoint the person with oil. It is important to note that the elders are the ones to pray. We are not talking about the sick person praying. And the elders pray in faith. This phrase is similar to the instruction found elsewhere in Scripture in which we are to ask "in the name of the Lord". The point is that the prayer is directed by the Spirit and is in accordance with God's will. The elders are not praying with a belief in their ability to heal the person. They are praying with faith that it is already God's intention to provide the healing. If they do not share that faith, then they would not participate in the prayer.
Fourth, the result of the prayer of faith will be the Lord raising up the person. The Greek word for raise up is egeiro, which means to waken or bring to his senses. We are not talking about raising up in the sense of salvation or resurrection. We are talking about raising up in the sense of a physical cure, strengthening the body.
Fifth, the sins of this sick person will be forgiven. Now why does James mention sins at all in this context? What do sins have to do with the sickness or healing? The answer comes from several clues. First, notice that the one who is sick must be the one to call for the prayer support. It must be initiated by the sick person taking a step to appeal for help. Then, notice that the ones to be called are the elders, not men with gifts for healing or prayer. James wants men of authority in the church to attend to this issues. Then, in verse 16, James summarizes his instruction by saying that confessing sins to one another and praying over one another is the condition for healing and forgiveness.
James links all these clues because he is talking about a healing taking place in a certain situation. The situation is when a Christians is under God's discipline for an unconfessed sin. The discipline has taken the form of a physical sickness or weakness. The sick person is suffering under judgment and discipline. But if they take the step of patiently relying on the Lord for His mercy and forgiveness, they can be healed physically. The elders are involved to provide the opportunity for confession and prayer. The prayers of these righteous men can accomplish much good. And James wants those in the church who have been sinning and receiving God's penalty in their bodies to repent and be healed in this manner.
This is similar to the situation that Paul describes in the Corinthian church:
"Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep." (1 Corinthians 11:27-30)
How often have these verses been misconstrued to suggest that if the sick person has enough faith, they will be healed from their illness? Besides the obvious mistake in interpretation, it also defies common sense and logic. No one can be healed forever. If these verses were intended by James to mean that we can expect a guarantee of healing provided we have enough faith, then take it to it's logical end. Can I live forever if I maintain a perfectly faithful prayer life? If I die of disease, does that mean the my faith ran out?
All of these conclusions are absurd. Therefore, they reveal the ridiculousness of the entire suggestion. As we see in the text, James was not promising that faithful prayer will always heal our bodies from illness. He was promising that faithful confession of sins in the midst of praying elders will result in God's mercy and healing.
When we find ourselves in this situation, the keys to healing are repentance and confession. Until we are willing to confess out secret sins, we have no hope of receiving God's mercy. We are not talking about salvation prayer; we are talking about sanctification issues. Secondly, we must be willing to confess to others our faults. Private sin requires private confession. Public sin requires public confession.
Real, deep confession of sin has been a feature of every genuine awakening or revival in the past 250 years. But, it is not anything new as demonstrated by the revival in Ephesus recorded in Acts 19:17-20. It says, "Many who believed came confessing and telling their deeds." This was Christians getting right with God. Open confession was part of it.
Some guiding principles about confession:
Confession should be made to the one sinned against. Most Christians display a preference for confession in secret before God, even concerning matters which involve other people. To confess to God seems to them to be the easiest way out. Real confession and forgiveness of sin should involve the offender confessing his sin to the other person.
Public confession must be discrete. Often confession needs to be no more than what is necessary to enlist prayer. It can be enough to say publicly, "Pray for me. I need victory over my sin." It would be wrong to go into more detail; however, we should say something. If we fail to confess publicly, we become "pretend Christians" who act as though everything is fine when it is not.
Distinguish between secret sins and those which directly affect others. If you sin secretly, confess secretly, confessing publicly that you need the victory but keeping the details to yourself. If you sin openly, confess openly to remove stumbling blocks from those whom you have hindered.
Confession is often made to people but before God. One of the interesting things about confession of sin is that the confessions are almost always addressed to people and not to God. It is not that you confess your sin to God and others merely hear it. You confess your sin before others and ask them to pray for you to get right before God.
Confession should be appropriately specific. When open confession of sin is appropriate (more than the public stating of spiritual need), it must be specific. "If I made any mistakes, I am sorry," is no confession at all. You sinned specifically, so you must confess specifically. It cost nothing for a believer to say "I ought to be a better Christian." It costs the believer something to admit, "I have been a trouble-maker in this church," or "I have had bitterness of heart towards certain leaders to whom I should definitely apologize."
Confession should be thorough. Some confessions are not thorough. They are too general. They are not made to the person concerned. They neglect completely the necessary restitution. Or, they make no provision for a different course of conduct in which the sin is forsaken.
Confession must have honesty and integrity. If we confess with no real intention of battling the sin, our confession is not thorough, and it mocks God. The story is told of an old Irishman who confessed to his priest that he had stolen two bags of potatoes. The priest heard the gossip around town and said to the man, "Mike, I heard it was only one bag of potatoes stolen from the market." The Irishman replied, "That is true Father, but it was so easy that I plan on taking another bag tomorrow night."
Lastly, those who hear confession of sin also have a great responsibility. Those who hear the confession should have the proper response: loving and intercessory prayer. They should refrain from giving human wisdom and gossiping or "sharing" with others the offender's confession.
James now offers a classic example of this process.
2. (James 5:15-16) God's answer to the prayers of His people
Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.
Elijah was a man with a nature like ours: James uses Elijah as an example. To make sure we are prepared to see the prophet as someone we can relate to, James reminds us that he was a man with our nature. Elijah was not superman with super human power. He was just like us. Following God's instructions, Elijah prayed and stopped rain in Israel for three and a half years. When God was ready, Elijah prayed again and restored the rain to the land.
He prayed earnestly: Literally, the Greek reads "prayed with prayer". To pray with prayer is a Hebrew idiom which means to pray fervently. Elijah did not half-heatedly pray once and hope God would answer his prayer. No, Elijah prayed with all his heart, mind and soul, and God answered.
Much of our prayer is not effective simply because it is not fervent. It is offered with a lukewarm attitude that asks God to care about something in which we care little about. Effective prayer must be fervent not because we must emotionally persuade a reluctant God but because we must gain God's heart by being fervent for things He is fervent for.
What do we learn from this example?
First, what or who stopped and then started the rain? God, of course. It was not Elijah but God. Secondly, how were God's actions connected to Elijah? God made it clear to Elijah what He was prepared to do. In both cases, Elijah sought for God's will to be done through his prayers. In this way, Elijah's prayers given in faith were able to accomplish miraculous things because they were in accordance with God's will. Our prayers can be equally effective in ending sorrow and weakness when we are appealing to God's will and for restoration of those in sin. What a wonderful promise and privilege we have!
4. (James 5:19-20) Helping a sinning brother
My brethtren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
Since James has just been dealing with the situation of the brother suffering as a result of his sins, he finishes with a general call to restore our sinning brothers and sisters.
If any among you strays from the truth: This is a verse worth thinking about and meditating on. How do we get into situations where we are suffering under God's discipline? Why do we become spiritually weak and in need of healing prayer? It is because we depart from the truth.
Departing from the truth means we walk away from what we know in Scripture. It means we walk away from what we have learned from the Bible. It mean we might just walk away from the Bible completely.
As we look around and see so many churches and believers departing from the truth, is it any mystery why so many are facing numerous sorrows and weaknesses? Could we be witnessing the mass discipline of the Lord against many of His children in an age of disobedience? The Apostle Paul said it would happen. He called it a great apostasy and said it was one of the signs of the end times.
But James gives us hope.
He who turns a sinner from the error of his will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins: James says when a brother or sister turns one of these disobedient Christians back to the truth, to the word of God, he will save the person from death. The Greek word for soul is psuche, which is commonly translated as "life". In Greek, it means the sum of our earthly life. In this context, it does not mean preserving salvation. Rather it means preserving the physical life. The reality of Scripture is that continual sinning has the potential to bring an early physical death as God's judgment upon disobedient believers.
Turning these brothers and sisters back to the truth should be our goal in fellowship. We should encourage each other to remain in the truth and dedicated to knowing and following it. To the extent that we are able to accomplish this task, we are covering a multitude of sins.
James concludes with this because this is exactly what he has been endeavoring to do throughout this letter--to confront those who have wandered from a living faith, endeavoring to save their souls from death by demanding that they not only hear the word, but do it.
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