Prayer is the Key (James 5:13-20) | Adult Sunday School

Prayer as the Key to James 5:13-20

Welcome back again. So, open your Scriptures to the fifth chapter of James. Open up to James 5. And let's begin with a word of prayer. Our Father, it is with anticipation that we open the Scriptures together this morning looking forward to what You have for us here.

We pray that Your Spirit would teach and apply the truth through this lesson. I pray, Father, that what is said in this place would bring honor and glory to Christ alone. That we would hear it with hearts of faith.

And as Your Spirit makes individual application.

For each of us,.

May we leave this place with a renewed sense of purpose to serve Christ, to walk in the fullness of the Spirit, and to enjoy the fellowship that is ours with Christ and each other by virtue of His atoning sacrifice and Your indwelling Spirit, in whose name we pray, Amen.

James’ Final Exhortation and the Centrality of Prayer

Alright, well, we arrived this morning at the last lesson from the book of James. We are now here at the end. And over the last few months as we've worked our way through this book, we've been challenged for sure.

We've been convicted. We've been rebuked.

We've been encouraged.

And we have been inspired by James to put on display the inward reality of our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. James has been working towards that end. You'll remember that James has addressed in the prior lessons the proper response to suffering.

He has spoken about the need for compassion for the down and out among us. And he has warned about the danger of divisions, the dangers of conflicts, and the danger of the uncontrolled tongue. These are just some of the major topics that James has addressed and we have addressed over these last 13 weeks or so.

This morning we're going to finish this letter and James' exhortation and words to this ancient church or ancient group of believers by writing about the importance of prayer. This section, this book closes with the importance of prayer especially as it relates to a church that is in a difficult place.

So the title of this message this morning, Prayer is the Key. So that's the name of the lesson. The title is Prayer is the Key. We are looking at verses 13 through 20. So 13 to the end of the book. Let's begin and read the text together.

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.

And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed.

The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. 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. My brethren, 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.

By personal experience, James knew a lot about prayer. In fact, according to the ancient church historian Eusebius, so early fourth century, James came to be known as Old Camel Knees. That's what he was affectionately called, Old Camel Knees.

And that was because, reportedly, the calluses that had built up on his knees because of the hours spent in prayer interceding on behalf of the Jewish people. He became known as Old Camel Knees. You know, beloved, nothing connects us to God like prayer.

Nothing. And the reason that's true is because it demonstrates our complete dependence upon him. When we pray, we are, at least tacitly confessing, our complete dependence upon him. And yet, prayer is one of the most difficult activities in the Christian life, isn't it?

When we are honest about such things, we all say yes, prayer is hard. It's hard to begin, it's hard to sustain, it's difficult. It requires spiritual discipline. It requires spiritual discipline. It requires faith, it requires humility, and it requires perseverance.

And for many of us, prayer is not our first response to difficulty, in fact, it is the last response.

To difficulty.

Once we've exhausted all the material possibilities and all of the natural means for escaping the difficulty, we find ourselves in, then we resort to prayer. You might even have heard it said, well, there's nothing else we can do but pray.

We've tried everything else, well, we might as well do that. We might as well do that. Now, this section of scripture before us this morning is, I believe, the most challenging text in this entire letter.

And this letter has a number of challenging texts, but I think this one is the most challenging. And the reason is because there are a number of different and conflicting interpretations of this section that have been taught through the years.

And undoubtedly, you have heard, and perhaps hold to, one of these. And so it makes it difficult to interpret the text, and it makes it difficult, in a sense, to communicate it. And I just, I pray that we all have an open mind to hear what I've got to say this morning, and at least you'll take it into consideration.

Now, for the Roman Catholics, the Roman Catholics find in these verses the justification for their doctrine of extreme unction. Now, we would immediately reject such things, and rightfully so. But among evangelicals, the interpretations tend to be divided over either does the passage refer to a spiritual healing or a physical healing?

That seems to be within the confines of evangelicalism. It breaks down here or there. Is it a spiritual healing James is talking about, or a physical healing that he's talking about? Beyond that, the evangelicals are divided over whether he is talking about healing in the context of divine chastisement, or just a general reference to spiritual or physical healing.

So, spiritual healing, physical healing, chastisement, no chastisement. You can see how one lands in these areas affects how one understands these verses. So, in light of that, in light of the conflicting interpretations that have been put forward through the years by very good and godly men, I think it's wise to offer you my interpretation on the passage, and why I think it means what I think it means, but understand also that I always reserve the right to change my opinion if upon later study I come to the conclusion that I've been wrong.

I will tell you this, I've held this opinion now for more than a decade, and nothing has influenced me yet.

To move away from it.

So, I offer it to you with that caveat, but also with a confidence, I think I'm right. Okay? I know, it sounds terrible, doesn't it? I'm not alone, okay, so this is not novel. It's not novel. Okay, so, let's break it down.

Let's break it down. I find here three prayerful responses. That's kind of, this is gonna be the outline. Three prayerful responses that we should imitate when difficulty arises within the church. So, three prayerful responses that we should imitate as followers of Christ when difficulty arises in the church.

Not if, but when. Not if, but when.

Personal Prayer in Suffering and Cheerfulness

So, the first. The first is found in verse 13, and the first prayerful response is personal prayer. Okay, very simple. Personal prayer. Verse 13, is any among you suffering, let him pray. That seems pretty straightforward.

Life is filled with troubles. Don't you agree? Life is filled with troubles. As one of Job's counselors noted, man is born for trouble as sparks fly upward. That's Job 5 -7. And the older I get, the more convinced I become of the truthfulness of that statement.

Man is born for trouble. James is writing here to the Jewish believers who have been scattered. They've been scattered, I believe, because of persecution. And he is bringing to them a word of instruction when life is hard for them.

Word of instruction when life is hard. Now, is any among you suffering? Look at this word, suffering. The word literally means to experience what is bad. To suffer misfortune or calamity. Okay, so it's kind of a general word.

The trouble can be of a physical nature. It could be mental. It could be personal. It could be financial. It could be religious. It's a very broad term. The same word is used here in verse 10 of the same chapter.

Notice there is an example. Brethren of suffering and patience take the prophets. So it's there spoken of the suffering of the prophets who spoke to God, and that has led some to believe that James has the idea of persecution in mind when he's talking here in verse 13.

Is any of you suffering? But I think the term is general enough and broad enough that we ought to conclude he is talking instead about all kinds of various trials. And in fact, back in chapter one, verse two, where he leads into the whole letter, he said, consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials.

So he's not so super specific there. So I think it works here that he's talking about the kinds of misfortune or calamity or bad things that happen to believers in all aspects of life. Now, what would God have us do?

What would God have us do when the inevitable difficulties of life come upon us? What would he have us do?

Verse 13, pray.

He would have us pray. Not to complain, verse nine, right? Do not complain. Don't indulge in self-pity. Instead, turn to God in prayer. That's what he would have for us. And what is it that we're to pray for?

What kind of things should we pray for? Well, back in chapter one, again, it's for endurance. Verse four, and let endurance have its perfect result. So we should pray for endurance. Although it is certainly legitimate to pray for deliverance, to pray for relief.

These are legitimate requests as well. But at least for James, it's for endurance. Beyond that, James says, chapter one, verse five, we're to ask for wisdom in prayer. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God.

So we're to pray in search of God's wisdom in order that we might understand the divine perspective on the purpose of suffering. Not that we would necessarily understand all the details of our suffering, but that we would understand the divine perspective on suffering, which is that it is through suffering that he is growing and maturing his children.

Conforming them to the likeness of Jesus Christ, who himself suffered, right? Notice verse 13, he then moves from the suffering to sometimes life's pretty good. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praises.

Not all of life is suffering. Sometimes, and perhaps we would say in God's good and common grace, frequently life is pretty good. It's pretty good. We're elated, we're upbeat, we're happy, we're cheerful.

Most of you walked in here this morning in that way.

Because why?

Well, because your life is basically pretty good. And we're not superficial in this. It's that inner attitude that we have, a confidence in that God is at work in our lives, that he loves us, and he's caring for us.

And so it's with this comfort and peace in our heart that we are cheerful. And Christians should be cheerful people.

They should be.

And when these times come, James would have us pray again. He would send us back to prayer again. It's not just pray when you're suffering, but pray when life is happening. Pretty good, right? This time in a different way, but notice it's the singing praises.

Sing praises. Reminded of Ephesians 5 .19, right? Singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord. So we in prayer should sing praises to God when life is happening, when good things are happening around us.

Give him praise, give him thanksgiving. Enjoy your life.

Enjoy your life.

Now, it's easy to neglect God when times are good. Isn't that a funny thing? When times are good, we often find ourselves neglecting God. And James would say, don't forget, right? 117, God is the giver of all good gifts.

Don't forget that. And it is that knowledge that stimulates us to express our contentment, our cheerfulness in vocal prayers of musical praise. Is anyone among you suffering? I mean, you must pray. Is anyone cheerful?

He is to sing praises. Personal prayer. Now, it occurs to me that it would be an excellent idea for parents, particularly young parents, to instruct their children in the music of the church so that it becomes the heart language of praise for them.

Train them to sing God's praises to him through the great music of the church. This is a beautiful way to apply this, and it will help you, too, to have the ready vocabulary to express your praise to God for all of his goodness.

So, if it's going rough, pray. If it's going good, pray. Personal prayer.

Personal prayer.

Pastoral Prayer, Sin, Sickness, and Healing

That's the first response to difficulty. The second is in verses 14 to 18, and it is pastoral prayer. And this plunges us right into the heart of the controversy over James's message here to the suffering believers.

Let's read it, 14 to 18. Is anyone among you sick? They 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. And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.

Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. 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. Now, before I give you my interpretation of this text, let's do this, let's kind of work it through together in a number of preliminary observations that we will make of this text before we attempt an interpretation, okay?

So this is your, this is Sunday school. So this is your hermeneutics slash exegesis class for this morning. So here we go. I've got three, three preliminary observations from this text.

So here they go.

Number one, the issue involves someone who is, according to all the major Bible translations, it is somebody who is sick. Notice verse 14, is anyone among you sick? Verse 15, restore the one who is sick.

So sickness is clearly close at hand in this text. And although the Greek words that are translated here as sick in verses 14 and 15, and also in verse 15, the use of the word restore, the Lord will raise him up, and where am I now?

Save him, verse 15, in a margin note. So the idea of restore the one who is sick or save the one who is sick could refer to spiritual weakness. It could be a reference to spiritual weakness and spiritual deliverance, clearly, the idea of save.

But the usage of these words in the gospels is actually overwhelmingly related to bodily illness and healing. So these Greek words translated here as sick and restore, when spoken of and used in the gospels is overwhelmingly used in a context of bodily illness and healing.

Beyond that, the only other mention of anointing with oil in the New Testament occurs in Mark chapter six and verse 13, where there we read, and they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.

Now, since James is the earliest New Testament writing, and since James, I think, has obviously been influenced by the ministry of his stepbrother, it stands to reason that the themes and the vocabulary that James uses, it seems best to me in the light of this passage to say that he's dealing with the question of bodily illness, okay?

I think he's dealing with bodily illness. So that's my first observation and reasons why. Second, the issue of sin and sickness is woven together in the New Testament. Or, I'm sorry, before we get to that, in this passage itself, I'm sorry.

Sin and sickness are woven together in this passage itself. Again, verse 15, the one offered in faith will restore the one who is sick. The Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.

Verse 16, therefore confess your sins to one another, pray for one another so that you may be healed. And then down to verses 19 and 20, my brethren, 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.

Cover a multitude of sins. So, sin and sickness are in this text in close proximity. Beyond that, and this was the point from a second ago, is that the relationship between sin and sickness in the New Testament is something that we need to get a handle on.

So, first, we shouldn't assume sickness is a result of sin. The New Testament would teach us that. Right, we could look, for example, to John chapter nine, John nine, and verses two and three, I'll pick it up in verse one, and he passed by, that is Jesus, and he saw a man blind from birth, and his disciples asked him, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?

Jesus answered, it was neither that this man sinned nor his parents, but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him. So, you notice that their immediate connections were he's got physical infirmity, there must be sin behind it, who sinned?

Jesus said, he didn't sin, his parents didn't sin, this is the display of the glory of God, and of course, I'm reminded of Job chapter one in that same kind of context, right? Job was a righteous man, and yet he suffered not because of his sin.

So, the Bible would be sure to tell us that we shouldn't assume that sickness is a result of sin, yet at the same time, and here's the balancing factor, at the same time, the Bible also teaches that sometimes sickness is a judgment of God on sin.

So, sometimes it is. Again, we can turn back to John's Gospel, to chapter five, and verse 14, after the healing at Bethesda, the pool there, and verse 14, after which Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, behold, you have become well, do not sin anymore so that nothing worse happens to you.

So, there seems to be a connection here to his illness and his sin. Beyond that, and probably one of the most well-known the Testament passages is found in the Communion passage of 1 Corinthians 11. So, 1 Corinthians 11, and beginning in verse 27, where Paul says, therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner shall be guilty of the body and the 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 asleep, or we would say dead.

All right, so clearly there, there is judgment, the judgment is illness, even eventuating in death, for those who have sinned in failing.

To judge the body rightly.

And I'll just tell you quickly, I think that that statement of judging the body rightly has to do with the divisions within the body of Corinth that were portraying themselves in particular at the Communion meal, where they were completely disregarding the unity of the spirit that we have in the way they celebrated the unity meal, okay?

So, we know that sometimes, sometimes, sin and judgment are closely related, closely related. Now, back to James, this passage in James five, there seems to be here a particularly close connection between sin and sickness, okay?

It seems to be very close, they're in the same verses,.

Same verses.

One commentator wrote the following, I find it helpful, so I'll read it to you. He said, in Jesus' day, people over-spiritualized illness. Many assumed that all tragedy and disease were direct consequences of sin, we saw that in John nine.

Today, in the West, he writes, we de-spiritualize illness. We believe microbes and defective genes cause all illnesses. We deny a link between sin and illness, except in the obvious cases, such as cirrhosis of the liver or sexually transmitted diseases.

In fact, he writes, we need to re-spiritualize illness, for scripture often links sickness and, or excuse me, sin and illness, okay? So, he is pleading for, that we don't fall into the ditch that was common in the first century, but we get out of the ditch that is common here in the Western world, where we have been steeped in a materialistic worldview, and we discount the results of the soul upon the body.

Third observation, third observation. The third observation comes from the illustration of Elijah's prayer, right? This is two verses absorbed in this illustration, so we gotta figure out what's the point of it.

The illustration is drawn from First Kings 17 and 18, and in that section of scripture, Elijah announced that the land would not have rained for three and a half years, and at the end of the three and a half years, he prays again, and the rain calms, and the ground is refreshed.

We know that story, we know that story. James reaches back into the Old Testament, and he uses this illustration to illustrate his teaching here about prayer in the church. Now, certainly the fact that Elijah was merely a man, right, you see verse 17, he was a man with a nature like ours, is an important example for the power of prayer, and people use it that way, and I think legitimately, right?

He was a man, he put his pants on one leg at a time, just like us, and God answered his prayer. His prayer was powerful, and the power of this prayer was the spectacular judgment that came in response to this prayer of a righteous man, verse 16.

The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much, but I am persuaded the example is more than just that. It's more, it's brought forward from more than just the reality that a righteous man who prays can expect answers to his prayer.

I think there's more here than that. Other examples of the prayer life of Elijah could have been brought forward in support of prayer, and yet, there's something about this example, I believe, that sheds light on the topic at hand, okay?

And I think the answer to the question lies in the Old Testament context of the Mosaic Covenant, and in particular, God's promise to his people that if they sinned by disobeying them, he would afflict their land with diseases, diseases which included drought, okay?

For example, in Deuteronomy chapter 28, that's a great section in Deuteronomy where the blessings of the covenant are elaborated and the curses of the covenant are elaborated. Pardon me, in verses 23 and 24, we read, and the heaven which is over your head shall be bronze, okay, this is the curses section, and the earth which is under you, iron.

The Lord will make the rain of your land powder and dust. From heaven it shall come down on you until you are destroyed, okay? So, the withholding of rain is clearly a judgment on Israel, and it's a judgment in response to their sin.

Furthermore, in 2 Chronicles chapter seven, verses 13 and 14, which is a section of 2 Chronicles that has long been abused within evangelicalism, God tells Solomon what to do when the nation is experiencing this judgment, the judgment of disease upon the land, the judgment of drought.

There we read, if, God says, I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, and my people who are called by my name humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Again, notice a very, very close connection. Now, in this account, in 1 Kings, King Ahab and the people of Israel had sinned so wickedly by following the Baals that God brought judgment on them, and I think we can say the judgment he brought was he made the land sick.

He made the land sick. When the people repented, demonstrated their repentance by slaughtering the false prophets, right? 1 Kings 18, 37 to 40, Elijah prays again. God answers by ending the drought and bringing rain upon the land.

He lifts the judgment, and he heals the land.

He heals the land.

Okay, are you ready?

With all of that in mind, however much of it you can remember, I'm gonna take a stab now in interpreting what James' instructions mean in verses 14 to 16. Now, notice that James writes, if one of them, one of the believers, is so ill that they are unable to come to the elders, then they are to call for the elders to come to them.

Verse 14, if anyone among you is sick, then he must call for the elders of the church. When the elders come, they are to pray over this sick person and anoint them with oil, it says. By the way, this excludes all ideas of public healing ministries.

You get that part, right?

This is private. It's likely occurring within the context of the man's home. Now, the main verb here is pray. They are to pray over him. That's the main verb. The anointing with oil is a participle, which means it's a subsidiary idea.

The main idea is prayer. The anointing with oil is a subsidiary idea to it. What's the purpose of the oil? Anybody's guess. There is no consensus. It may be medicinal, it may be symbolic. I tend to think it's symbolic.

I tend to think it's symbolic, and the reason is is because it's in the name of the Lord. Anointing with oil in the name of the Lord, I think it's symbolic. The text promises, verse 15, that the prayer offered in faith, I would say both the faith of the elders and the faith of the individual would heal the person if they had committed sins, they will be forgiven.

Verse 15, the prayer offered in faith, again, I think it's the faith of the elders offering the prayer and the person over whom they are praying will restore the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.

Verse 16, therefore. That indicates a conclusion being drawn here. The conclusion, therefore, from verse 15, it indicates that confession and prayer are linked and the healing comes as a result of these two items, confession, prayer, therefore, there will be a healing.

Notice next that with the statement about the righteous man's prayer being very effective, right, so we see the effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much, and who would be the righteous men among the local body?

Well, we would look first, of course, to the elders.

They are the men who would, by their character, have qualified themselves for this role within the congregation, and then James immediately proceeds to Elijah, to the illustration of Elijah. So, I think when I put it all together, what I understand James to be teaching here as it relates to the believer is that this believer has engaged in sin against the body to such an extent that he has been struck ill by the judgment of God.

I would refer you, again, to the 1 Corinthians. Let me just take you back there one more time.

Just to make sure you see it.

Chapter 11, by the way, 1 Corinthians is an early letter as well. Verse 29, he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks, judge ye not himself, because he doesn't judge the body rightly. Verse 22, what, you do not have houses in which to eat and drink, or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing?

What shall I say to you, shall I praise you? I will not praise you. So, I believe James is referring here to a situation where a believer has so sinned against the body that he has been struck by God with judgment, with judgment resulting in illness, an illness such that apparently he's not able to get out of the house, maybe not even be able to rise from his bed, and it's in that condition that he is to call for the elders there to pray for him, there to anoint him, and he is to confess his sin, and when he does, he will receive the lifting of God's judgment in response to the elders' fervent prayer for his recovery.

In all of this, I believe the idea of pastoral prayer.

Is very much clear, and in this context. Circling back to the oil one more time, I think, perhaps, if I'm right, that the oil reflects the idea of Psalm 133, where we read, behold, how good and pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity.

It is like the precious oil upon the head coming down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard coming down upon the edge of his robes. So, if this is the true understanding, then I think, perhaps, that is what the oil is symbolizing in all of this, is the unity that has been restored within the body when this sin, whatever that sin was, that was a sin not just against his own person, but against the body itself, is confessed, is repented of, and is healed, and with it, the lifting of the physical affliction.

I account for the one another language in verse 16. Therefore, confess your sins to one another as a reference to both the elders and the people. I think it's a reference that reflects James' position, whereas he stands in authority outside of this local body.

So, he refers to both elders and the sick man as the one another, okay? So, three prayerful responses. For difficult times in the church, first is personal prayer, second is pastoral prayer, third, verses 19 and 20, pursuing prayer.

Pursuing prayer.

Pursuing the Straying Brother and Restoring the Body

My brethren, 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.

Seems to be the same idea. I think here, by virtue of this hypothetical, notice the if statement, it's a hypothetical situation, James is now widening the instructions to include the whole congregation, that he is enlisting their support and their effort in the restorative process.

I think the scenario would be something like this. So, one of the members of the congregation, notice one of you, so one of the members of the congregation wanders or strays, that's a metaphor for sheep, wander or they stray, by leaving the path of righteousness either inadvertently or willfully.

Now, the language is very reminiscent of the book of Proverbs, right? Proverbs speaks of two paths, two paths. And James is calling the correct path here, the truth. He who strays from the truth, that's the true path, that's the path of righteousness.

And it's a comprehensive term, I think, that includes right doctrine and right behavior resulting from the right doctrine. This is the path of truth. And to wander from it, inevitably, we'll place this person on the other path, which is the path of death.

There are only two paths. And that death might ultimately be physical, again, First Corinthians 1130. Some of you are asleep, euphemism for dead. Certainly, it would result in spiritual death, go back to chapter one, verse 13, let no one say when he is tempted, I'm being tempted by God, for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself does not tempt anyone, but each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.

Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin and when sin is accomplished, it does what? It brings forth death. So to wander from the path is to wander into the path of death. Throughout the whole letter, this whole letter, James has been hammering away on this one important truth that true saving faith produces good fruit.

True saving faith produces good fruit and the lack of good fruit betrays the claim of saving faith. That's what James has been repeatedly saying in various ways. So I think when this scenario arises here, the if scenario, James' instructions are very, very clear.

That is that the rest of the congregation is also to go after that person in order to attempt to turn them back to the truth. Means that it shouldn't have to necessarily rise to the level of the man is so sick, he's dying and he has to call for the elders, but that within the body, those that know him can go to him and should go to him.

Now, the means of the turning here is not stated, right? Anyone among you strays from the truth and one turns him back. The means by which one turns him back is not stated, but I think it's implied. I think it's implied in the context and I think it would include certainly fervent prayer, pleading, imploring the erring one to turn back before it's too late.

We're talking about body life here.

We're talking about body life.

And there is a blessing that comes to the pursuer. Notice it, verse 20, 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.

The blessing that comes to the pursuer, because you know what? You might think to yourself, oh my goodness. Let somebody else do this. I have no stomach for this. I do not like confrontation and the idea of going and talking to this person about their sin makes me sick to my stomach and I just as soon not do it.

And you know what? That's a perfectly natural understanding of the flesh. But I think what can motivate it, beyond just love, which in and of itself ought to be enough, is the certain knowledge that there's a blessing that will come to you if you do this.

And the blessing that will come to you is that if by God's grace you are successful, you will save that person's soul from death. That is a tremendous reward, a tremendous reward. And in the process, God will cover over, I think again that's just a way of speaking about forgiveness, a multitude of sins.