Elder Kevin Wood preaches on James 5:13-20, the tenth and final sermon in our series of sermons this fall from the Book of James under the theme “Wisdom for Spiritual Maturity”.
[sermon text is found below the image]
Introduction
Today marks the tenth and final week of our sermon series from the book of James which we have called “Wisdom for Spiritual Maturity”. We will wrap it up by considering the final eight verses and then doing a quick review of the whole book.
By now you should be familiar with James’s style, and so it should not surprise you that he will bring up two subjects in these final verses which don’t seem to have much to do with the previous verses, or with each other. Our speaker last week noted how his text brought to mind the phrase “the long and the short of it” – with five verses on one subject followed by one verse on a different subject. Today’s text is rather similar: six verses on one subject followed by two on another. And all of this jumping around takes place without obvious transitions; James was apparently absent from his writing class on the day they covered the importance of transitions. It’s no wonder that Chuck Swindoll said of the book of James that it “looks a bit like the Old Testament book of Proverbs dressed up in New Testament clothes”.
[Reminder: OUTLINE]
I. Making the Most of Prayer
Let’s consider first verses 13-18 of chapter 5. Here James turns to the subject of prayer, but he introduces it with a concept he has already discussed at length, that of suffering:
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.
In these few verses, James makes several important points about prayer, points which are consistent with the teachings of Jesus and of Paul, both of whom talked a lot about prayer.
A. Pray in all circumstances
First of all, we learn that to make the most of prayer, we should pray in all circumstances. We should pray in all circumstances.
“Is anyone among you suffering?”, asks James. Then “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.”
Do you find that you pray only in times of sickness and other kinds of trouble, and don’t feel the need to pray when everything is going well? James warns us to not let times of cheerfulness lead to complacency in prayer. Remember, praise and adoration are one form of prayer.
Conversely, do you find that you praise God when things are going well but avoid approaching him in prayer when you’re experiencing troubles, perhaps feeling that he doesn’t care or isn’t able to help?
Or perhaps you’re not in the habit or praying at all.
In any of these cases, James’s admonition is to pray in all kinds of circumstances.
In Luke 18, Jesus told a parable of a widow who finally received justice through her persistence in pleading her case. Luke tells us that he told his disciples that parable in order to teach them “that they ought always to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1).
Paul gave similar admonitions in various of his epistles. He told the Thessalonians that they should “pray without ceasing [and] give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18), the Romans that they should “be constant in prayer” (Romans 12:12), the Ephesians that they should “[pray] at all times in the Spirit (Ephesians 6:18), and the Colossians that they should “continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving” (Colossians 4:2).
To make the most of prayer, we should pray in all circumstances.
B. Pray as a body
We should also pray as a body. To make the most of prayer, we should pray as a body.
James says here: “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.”
This is not to say that we should not pray individually; we should do that. But we should not neglect praying corporately.
Jesus spoke of the additional power which comes when believers come together in unity to pray. We read in Matthew 18:19-20: “If two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
This is one reason why we gather together each Wednesday evening for Bible study and prayer. We come together as the body of Christ to lift up to our heavenly Father the needs of the members of our body and to praise him for his working in our lives.
Perhaps you are wondering about the anointing with oil. Mark 6:13 tells us that when Jesus sent his apostles out two by two to preach and to heal, that “[they] anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them”. It is something that we as elders of this church are sometimes asked to do – to anoint the sick with oil and to pray over them – and we are privileged to do it.
But we should not conclude that there is some magic power in the oil. There are far more cases of healing by Jesus and the apostles in which no mention of oil is made. It is not the oil which heals; it is the power of God. As James wrote, the sick person is anointed with oil “in the name of the Lord”.
To make the most of prayer, we should pray in all circumstances, and we should pray as a body.
C. Pray in faith
We should also pray in faith. To make the most of prayer, we should pray in faith.
Faith is one of the major themes of James’s epistle, and so it is no surprise that he brings it up here in the context of prayer: “And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up”.
Time and again we read in the Scriptures of faith being a prerequisite for God to work. Considering just the gospel of Matthew, we see that Jesus healed the Roman centurion’s servant, noting, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith” (Matthew 8:10). He healed the woman who touched the fringe of his garment in faith that this could heal her, noting, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well” (Matthew 9:20-22). He healed two blind men, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you” (Matthew 9:29). While in the region of Tyre and Sidon, he healed the daughter of a Canaanite woman who begged for his mercy although she was not a Jew, comparing herself to a dog eating the crumbs that fall from his master’s table; Jesus said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” (Matthew 15:21-28).
And when his disciples marveled that he could curse a fig tree and it would immediately wither, Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' it will happen. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” (Matthew 21:20-22).
Conversely, Jesus could do few miracles in his own hometown – which, let us remember, was also James’s hometown, he being Jesus’s half-brother – because of the peoples’ unbelief (Mark 6:6).
Faith is the great prerequisite for God to work in our lives. And if we feel that we do not have sufficient faith, may we call out like the father of the demon-possessed son, to whom Jesus said, “All things are possible for one who believes”; may we likewise cry out and say, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:23-24).
To make the most of prayer, we should pray in all circumstances, we should pray as a body, and we should pray in faith.
D. Confess your sins
We should also confess our sins. To make the most of prayer, James tells us, confess your sins.
In reference to the sick person seeking healing through the prayer of faith, James says, “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.”
In earlier parts of his letter, James has mentioned certain things which could certainly fall under the category of sins: the display of favoritism, allowing our tongue to control us and create all sorts of trouble, allowing our passions to bring about quarrels and fights, slandering and judging each other, boasting, making plans without taking God into consideration, and so on.
All of these things, and many more, can impede our prayers. They damage the proper relationships we should have with each other and with God.
We all love the beautiful simplicity and heartfelt feelings expressed in what we call the Lord’s prayer, including the plea: “forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:12). But perhaps we aren’t so fond of what Jesus said immediately after the prayer, as we read in Matthew 6:14-15: “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
Seeking reconciliation when needed is vitally important for the church body to be all that God intended it to be. At times it must even take precedence over worship. As Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount: “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” (Matthew 5:23-24)
In the place of damaged relationships, James envisions a reconciliation which can only take place if we are willing to confess our sins and forgive one another.
We should make a note here about the relationship between sickness and sin, for James seems to be saying here that sin causes sickness. Well, sin can and does cause sickness; this is taught in other parts of the Scriptures and is attested by our own experiences. But not all sickness is the result of sin; the story of the man born blind in John 9 is just one example refuting this. Nor does all sin cause sickness.
Finally, we should note that God does not always heal sickness, even when we pray in faith. Paul was certainly a person who prayed in faith, and yet God chose not to remove his so-called “thorn in the flesh”, which was likely some kind of physical ailment (2 Corinthians 12:7–10). God may have far greater purposes for our sickness that we simply can’t understand.
To make the most of prayer, we should pray in all circumstances, we should pray as a body, we should pray in faith, and we should confess our sins.
E. Live a righteous life
Finally, we should also live a righteous life. To make the most of prayer, James tells us, live a righteous life. [By the way, make sure that you spell that carefully; I said a righteous, not a riotous, life!]
James writes (beginning in the middle of verse 16): The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working [or, as you will read in the footnote, The effective prayer of a righteous person has great power]. 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 is apparently making the case that the prayer of a righteous person will be more powerful or more effective than the prayer of a person who is not righteous. And what does it mean to be righteous? It does not mean self-righteous, of thinking of ourselves as good and upright and better than others. It means that we have a right relationship with God, that we are living for him, and that we are committed to doing his will in our lives.
James provides us with an example of a righteous person who prayed with this power and effectiveness. You may recall that in our introduction to this series ten weeks ago, we talked about who James was – the half-brother of Jesus – and who his intended audience was: Jewish believers. When James wanted examples of people who expressed their faith through works, in chapter 2, he cited Abraham and Rahab. When he wanted examples of people who endured through suffering, in chapter 5, he cited the prophets and Job. And now, when he wants an example of a righteous person whose prayers were effective, he turns once again to a historical Jewish figure, Elijah.
You can read the story of the three-and-a-half-year drought and subsequent return of the rain, and Elijah’s prominent part in that, in I Kings 17–18. These chapters also include other miracles done by Elijah during this time: the supply of food for the widow at Zarephath; the bringing back to life of the widow’s son; and the confrontation between Elijah and the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel in which God brought fire down upon the water-soaked altar. Elijah’s prayers were certainly powerful and effective! And the miracles which resulted were clearly beyond Elijah’s human capabilities. They were unquestionably the work of God in response to his prayers.
Despite the extraordinary nature of the story of Elijah, James’s point here is not to show how different he was from us, but just the opposite: he says that “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours”. We should not feel that we can’t pray if we don’t reach the righteousness of Elijah. But we should be striving to live righteously. And we should follow Elijah’s example of praying fervently. This phrase “prayed fervently” in the Greek is actually a verb and noun both from the same root word for prayer. It could literally be translated “he prayed in prayer” or “he prayed with prayer.” The intention to is to suggest a greater intensity and/or frequency.
And again, James did not include the example of Elijah to make us feel bad about our own prayer life. It is rather to encourage us to engage in an active prayer life, to show us that the power of prayer is available to all.
To make the most of prayer, we should pray in all circumstances, we should pray as a body, we should pray in faith, we should confess our sins, and we should live a righteous life.
II. Coming Back to the Truth
In the final two verses of James’s epistle, he introduces yet another subject, that of those who wander from the truth.
James 5:19-20: 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.
We find here two basic lessons.
A. A believer can wander from the truth
First, a believer can wander from the truth. A believer can wander from the truth.
We can wander from the truth by believing something which is false or by not believing something which is true; that is, we can wander in terms of doctrine. Or, we can wander from the truth by living in a way which is not consistent with the truth we supposedly believe; that is, we can wander in terms of practice.
This presupposes, of course, that there is an absolute truth which we can know and find. And this places us in confrontation with the world, which in our times is moving more and more in the direction of saying and believing that there is no absolute truth.
A believer can wander from the truth.
B. We should be ready to help people come back to the truth
Therefore, we should be ready to help people come back to the truth. We should be ready to help people come back to the truth.
And why should we be ready? Because the consequences are extreme. James doesn’t tell us that by bringing a person back to the truth we will make their life a little happier, although that may be true. He tells us that we will save his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins!
The person who wanders from the truth is facing a life-threatening danger, specifically a danger to their eternal life. True faith means repenting of our sins, trusting in Christ for salvation, and making him the Lord of our lives. The person who wanders from this truth places his or her life in danger. Again, this places us in confrontation with the world, which would have us to believe that there is no such thing as sin, and therefore no need of repentance, and certainly no need to make Jesus our Lord.
Do we love our brothers and sisters in the faith? Then that love should compel us to help them come back to the truth when they wander from it.
A believer can wander from the truth. We should be ready to help people come back to the truth.
III. Final Thoughts on the Book of James
With this, James ends his epistle. There is no obvious conclusion, or salutation, or closing exhortation, as in the letters of Paul, John, Peter, and even Jude. It just ends. Again, this reminds us a bit of the book of Proverbs of the Old Testament and other so-called “wisdom literature”.
*major themes
We can end, however, by recalling some of the major themes which James has talked about.
Most importantly, there is the grand theme of faith. From chapter 1, where he talked about the testing and perfecting of our faith, to chapter 2, about the relationship of faith to works, to the verses from today about praying in faith, the subject of faith has been the closest thing to an overall theme for the book. Let us heed the warning of James: true faith should produce fruit in keeping with that faith.
Some of the other themes James has discussed include those of suffering and trials; riches and humility; taming our tongue; warnings against worldliness; and perseverance.
*an “epistle of straw”?
In our opening message, we noted that Martin Luther referred to the book of James as “an epistle of straw” compared to some of the other books in the New Testament. Did you find it to be “an epistle of straw”? It is a very different book, that is true, but I still found much of value in it.
*wisdom for spiritual maturity
Most of all, we found it to be full of wisdom, of wisdom for spiritual maturity. Remember, spiritual maturity is not a matter of age; nor is it a matter of accomplishments and awards; nor is it a matter of appearances, of seeming “spiritual”. Spiritual maturity is, instead, a matter of character and attitude.
We hope – we pray – that these messages have had their intended effect: that each one of us will better understand what spiritual maturity is, that we will have a true desire to grow toward spiritual maturity, and that we will develop more of that character and attitude which define spiritual maturity.
