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God, we began this wonderful study through the book of James, hard to believe, on November 4th, 2018, almost two years, almost two years ago. And as we've gone through this wonderful epistle, I pray it's been a benefit and a help to your personal walk with the Lord.
It most certainly has enriched my soul in many ways. And today on this Lord's Day, June 7th, 2020, we're going to come to a conclusion, I should say, to this wonderful book and this wonderful epistle by this apostle that is so pastoral and very practical.
This is a very practical book, isn't it? And I believe it's been timely of the transition that we have made. And like I said, almost two years, that's just about the exact time that this little church that God has planted has been in existence.
And like I said, the church is not a structure, it's a people, right? It's not just an organization, it's a living organism. And we're part of that wonderful church where the apostle James closes his epistle and he actually has one last salvation appeal to make.
And this is the heart of God. God, His heart is to seek and to save the lost. That was Jesus' mission when He came. Keep in mind, unlike James' appeal in chapter 4, verses 7 -10, as we looked at, however, He is not here calling the unsaved to salvation.
Instead, what He does, He calls on believers in Jesus Christ to evangelize the unsaved. That's the call here. There's no benediction He gives. It's just basically He leaves us with this in mind. So the assumption throughout James' epistle is that there will be those who identify with the church, profess to be believers, but they have dead, non-saving faith.
And that's what we want to look at. And the writer calls on those who has true saving faith to pursue such people. And we're going to look at this in detail. It's actually nothing less than an urgent call to evangelism.
And this is exactly what Fr. Keith mentioned. He talked about the Great Commission. This is what we're to do. This is our mission. And the mission has been passed to us as God's people, the body of Christ, to reach out.
And to reach out to the lost within the church. There's people who say the lost outside of the church. There's a lot of people lost within the church. And you see that in the story of the prodigal son.
So with that in mind, please turn with me to the book of James, the word of God. Isn't it wonderful that we have this great word? James, this little epistle, five chapters. Five chapters. Two years.
Wow.
And of course, you know, we've been other messages here and there with the holidays among us and so forth. But overall, this little practical book has been so loaded. And it's shoe leather faith. It is practical holiness.
And he speaks much about faith that works. That's what he talks about. Not dead faith, but living faith. And he speaks about dead faith, doesn't he? That a person can have dead faith. Thinking they are saved, but deceived.
And we're going to look at more about that later on within this message. So the book of James, chapter 5. And the last two verses. Here we are. These last two verses. And James speaks about turning back the erring one.
Turning back the erring one. So hear the word of the living God. He says this, My brethren, if anyone or 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.
Let's pray.
Our Father in heaven, we bow before your presence. Lord, we tremble at your word. Give us more of a holy awe and a reverence for your word. This is your holy word. There's nothing like it. It is your revelation to us.
You speak to us. You have revealed yourself through this word. Father, we thank you today that this word, your word, is holy, eternal, and is as vast as you are. It goes forth and it does not return void.
There's such living power in this word. And it alone has the power to change the heart and the soul of man and to convert from darkness to light. Nothing else does. Nothing else in this world has that kind of power.
Heaven and earth will pass away, but your words will never pass away. So, Father, I pray this morning through your word and through your holy spirit, sanctify us. Sanctify us. Sanctify your people. Sanctify us by the truth.
And we pray, Lord, that it's only by the spirit of truth that this, and through your word, that this can happen. And by the spirit of truth, Father, we pray that you would teach us the things of Christ.
He's the real teacher. Your holy spirit. The triune living God. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit, all working together. So, Father, change us. You never change. We're the one that needs changed. We're the one that needs to be changed inside and out, through and through, to be more and more like your beloved Son in whom you're well pleased.
So, Father, we do ask this now in Jesus' name, I pray. Amen and amen. At sunrise on a Saturday, September 23rd, 1972, a climber by the name of Neil Olsen was leading a difficult section on the 24th pitch of the nose route of El Capitan, in which you are probably familiar with, of Yosemite Park.
Just above Camp 5, a set of the ledges about 900 feet below the top of the cliff. And in an unfortunate accident, he pulled a 125-pound boulder down on himself. A tragic accident, but he did survive it.
But he was in serious condition, critical condition. He tried to dodge the boulder, but it still glanced off his head and his back before striking his right leg and actually smashing it and crushing it.
By 7 .30 that morning at Yosemite Park, a search and rescue team, an officer, a leader, Pete Thompson, was organizing one of the most demanding rescues in the history of North America, mountaineering at that time.
This is an interesting story and it's a true story. And of course, I got a point to make about this story about search and rescue. Pete had a A-team, I like the way this is put, an A-team, six local climbers in his office.
So it was literally hand-picked search and rescue teams of six people. And I'll give the name to them in which the story I read here, Jim Bridwell, one woman among them, Bev Johnson, Tom Gertry, Roger Breedlove, and John Deal and Lloyd Price.
These were the A-team search and rescue team that Pete Thompson got together. Well, their mission was very simple. Their mission was to develop an initial rescue plan to rescue Neil Olsen. And to estimate equipment needs, first of all, they needed the equipment to rescue this man that's life was very much in danger.
And also to identify other technical climbers they wish to take with them and to save Neil Olsen. That was their mission, ultimately. The idea was to lower a rescuer from the summit from 900 feet down to the stricken climber where he was stranded.
And then Olsen and his rescuer would be lowered to the medical staff on the valley floor, which was 1 ,800 feet below. That's how far it was. So they had to really get some serious equipment up to perform this rescue.
This would be a tremendous feat. And at that time, only one other long lowering rescue ever remote, remotely similar to this one, had ever been performed. And that was back in 1967. I'll spare you on the details of that, but that's exactly what happened.
So the team's task was made even harder as a result of a disastrous incident earlier that summer. When seven weeks before, at all, ironically, I should say, a 17-year-old boy, which is the nature of a 17-year-old boy, I've been there, set fire of tons of stacked hay in a government horse barn.
And he was playing with fire. And of course, the fire damaged, burned up the barn. It burned up the stables. Everything was lost within the barn. But another seven older wooden structures was also lost.
And one of the buildings that also was destroyed held the valley search-and-rescue team equipment. And all the equipment was pretty much lost. So these search-and-rescue team here, and a man by the name of Pete Thompson had very little equipment to work with.
And now, ropes, webbing, pitons, bolts, cabineers. I'm not real familiar with some of that, but I know Keith would be, since he's within that field. Sleeping bags, rain gear, related vital equipment, all equipment that was very important to save somebody all went up in smoke.
So he had limited supplies in which to work with. So Thompson knew that they were very short on the right sorts of equipment to pull off a rescue of this size and complexity. Now, to this very day, it is said that this man that led this rescue team up, search-and-rescue team, is retired.
Thompson is not exactly sure how the park ended up with some of what they got. But the Lord provided. And it was through a great effort of that community that came together. Now, I want you to think of this.
This is all to save this one man. All this was taking place as a team effort. And the most interesting were the large rolls of the one-half-inch rope that they got together. This rope was critical to the rescue.
Actually, that was the hope of the rescue, was the rope. Because with that rope would lower them down 1 ,800 feet downward to rescue this man that has a crushed leg. Placed by the name of Tubbs Quarterage, a yachting company in San Diego, California, in that area sent two 4 ,400-foot long rolls and three 1 ,200-foot rolls of golden lawn, each tightly wound up together on a spindle.
Ropes were driven by the local police departments. So the police department drove it to a nearby place of El Toro Marine Air Station. And from there, they would be flown to El Cap Meadow in two large twin-rotor helicopters.
Notice all the trouble that they're going through for this search-and-rescue team for this one man. Other retail outdoor companies pitched in from the Bay Area, which was a place by the name of Sky Hut in the North Face, sent real climbing rope.
They sent rope as well. And it sounds like they had plenty of rope. And endless supplies. Now, with the equipment needed, the Marine Corps, the Marines came and flew all this, mainly the rope and the rest of the equipment, more equipment and the manpower to staging the scene on top of El Capitan.
So the search-and-rescue was in place. Six of the camp search-and-rescue site climbers, including Bev Johnson, rappelled down to the Camp Five that first afternoon. And up top, the climbers knotted together enough ropes to create two 3 ,000-foot lengths.
All the trouble they're going through here. One rope made a directional change at the victim's tiny ledge far below. And although it took more than 36 hours to fully orchestrate, once underway, it took only 90 minutes for two search-and-rescue teams to be lowered down to the remaining 1 ,800 feet of sheer of the cliff.
And it went off without a hitch. So the five that's still on the ledge, as well as Olson's partner, elected to come down that very night after dark. Into the dark, Al Gazar and the park's chief electrician built a huge light bank, illuminated almost the entire face of the great cliff.
So there was plenty of light given since it was at nighttime until they can go way down deep and rescue this man. So the rescuers, the search-and-rescue party, really to get to the point was a success.
But what made it successful? People came together. They were together in this as a search-and-rescue team. And not only the team, but there was equipment, there was the motive, and to rescue this one man, Neil Olson.
And he was rescued. He had a crushed leg, but his leg healed up. And according to this story, he continued to climb for the next four decades. Isn't that amazing? They go right back to the same thing.
And I guess he has a passion for it. But what I love about this story of the search-and-rescue is that how everyone came together. They cared about this one man. They made their efforts, and their efforts were not in vain.
They did everything they possibly could to save this man from literally from death. Because he would have died down there. I mean, you're talking about a huge drop. But he was stranded in a place that was very difficult to get to.
So there was a plan. They made a plan. And there was a mission. Now, isn't that the way God is? He has given a plan, the plan of salvation. And we have a mission. Now, you and I know, and we know according to the Scriptures, we cannot save a soul in the sense of regenerating someone.
We cannot be the Holy Spirit of God, can we? We found that out. So we have to take it to God in prayer, and God does the miracle. But there are things that we can do. It makes me, I alluded to this story when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.
Jesus, all he had to do is speak the Word. Lazarus come forth, and a dead man that was in there for many days came forth from the power of Jesus' Word. But before he spoke that Word for Lazarus to come out of the grave, they had to move the stone away.
Jesus told them, move the stone. So in that sense, we have a part to play. God always uses people, and he uses the body of Christ as a means to an end. And this is the way God works. So there was a plan.
There was a mission. And also, I love this. There was a motive. The motive is that they loved this man and they cared for this man enough to go through all this trouble, even the community pitched in to help this man and save his life.
And then everything was set in motion to rescue him. I admit that what James tells us actually, and I admit this, that believers do, to do here, what they have to do is one of the most difficult and, as the English people say, most daunting task that things that God has to ask us to do as Christians, namely, as believers in Jesus Christ, that we're responsible to help restore the straying sinners to the truth.
And that is actually the focal point, is what James is speaking of here, to the truth. And it introduces this third category of people in the church. These, again, are professing believers who have strayed from the truth.
That's who he's speaking of. It makes me think about the tares among the wheat. The tares look very much like the wheat. They're within the church. They profess to be believers. But eventually, you know, they go away and they go back into the world doing their own things and they stray from the truth.
They stray from the things of God. So the task is often about, is really about as pleasant as trying to help a wounded dog, if you don't mind me using this illustration. You're probably going to get bit, no matter how gently or lovingly you try to help the dog that's injured.
And I'm sure all of you can relate to that. But when you're successful in helping in this way, it's a moment of great joy, isn't it? When you see a person restored back to the truth. And as when a search and rescue team announces, well, we have found him and he's alive.
Yes.
But even the hope of success doesn't make the task any easier, does it? So this is what James is talking about. Now, since you and I on the search and rescue team, and that's what I like to look, think of it in this way.
We are on the search and rescue team for God. We really are. We are the body of Christ. And the message is to these people that have gone astray is be reconciled to God. Be reconciled to God. God desires to restore them back.
And that's the way we should be looking at that as well. That is the very heart of God. We're on the rescue team and we need to learn how to do the job God has called us to do. So let's look at this together.
There's a few points I'd like to make. My first point is this, and it's important. The first is the professing believer strays from the truth both doctrinally and morally. Doctrinally and morally. The first question I'd like to ask along with this point is, is James talking about, and this is an important question, is James talking about backsliding believers?
Or is he talking about evangelizing those who do not know Jesus Christ at all? Now that's the question. There's two categories of people here that we could be thinking of at the same time. That's a very good question.
The first part of verse 19, and let's look at it very closely, and the Word of God gives us the answer. In verse 19 would indicate, now notice this, would indicate that James is specifically talking about believers.
Notice what he says, My brethren. He's speaking to the church. My brethren, if any among you strays. Now let's stop right there. But, and then if you jump to verse 20, he talks about him actually speaking of saving his soul from death.
It sounds like saving a soul from hell, literally. So, some would assume that James is talking about believers. Now it's very important that we understand the group of people he's talking about, isn't it?
Since true believers cannot lose their salvation, they interpret verse 20 as saving the person from physical death, in which some commentaries has noticed when I read this, as God's discipline for sin.
Some would comment on that part there. So the other approach would be, which I believe personally to be the correct interpretation, is to say that James is writing to the church, number one, but that he knows that there are some in the church that have made professions of faith.
Now, but they are not genuinely saved. And that's what John says. John says they have gone out from us because they never were of us in the first place. Now, James ties this in. This is the interpretation I believe that fits.
If you read the entire epistle of James, it fits with the overall theme that James is driving at, which is to emphasize that true living faith is not just to make a decision for Jesus or to say that I believe in Jesus, which so many people make that profession, but there's no fruits of evidence that they are genuinely saved.
True living, saving faith always results in a life of good works. And when I talk about good works, we're not talking about works that saves us, it's works that follow regeneration. It's the fruit after the transformation.
So good works that follows, which is the fruits of regeneration. In James 1 .22, if you go back to the first chapter, we got to look at the context of the overall what he's saying. Notice what he says in verse 22.
He says this, James exhorts, but prove yourselves to be doers, doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude or other translation says deceive themselves. And then in chapter two, verse 14, again, he's asking, what does he say?
What use is it, my brethren? He speaks to the brethren. If someone says he has faith, but he has no works. Notice the question that he asked. Let me say that again. What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith, but he has no works?
Can that faith save him? Well, he states in chapter two, verse 17, even so faith, if it has no works is dead. It's dead faith. A person can have faith, but it could be dead, not living. And then he goes on to say it's being by itself.
It's by itself. So really what he's saying, the correct biblical doctrine of eternal security in which we hear preached so often is not that a person prays to just accept Jesus into his heart. We know better than that.
You hear this quite often among evangelicals and among almost in many, many different denominations. And it's not just to say, okay, I accept Jesus in my heart or try Jesus. One time I had someone over years ago when I was a pastor in the Christian Missionary Alliance and I just sat down, I wanted to get to know this guy a little bit and I wanted to know about his testimony and just to see where he stood with the Lord.
I said, can you give me your testimony? Next thing I know, he just sit back like this and he said, well, just one day, I just decided to make a choice for Jesus and try Jesus. And I thought right then, there's some trouble here.
I said, I really thought, number one, the first thing I think of, I says, man has really been deceived and he's also had been really fed some bad doctrine. And he has not been fed the word of God, but at the same time, he's really deceived and he's thinking he's saved just because he said he has tried Jesus.
And then by the next breath, he was talking about God is the man upstairs, which is so, so disregard to who God is and His holy and His high character. Of anybody that speaks of God as He's the guy upstairs or the man upstairs has no concept of who God really is.
That He's the holy high God who dwells in eternity. And we're talking about the creator of the universe. Well, He had that kind of concept. So He thought He was eternally secure. So you have a lot of people, He's not alone, is it?
We, you've met Him and I met many of the type. And also a person that thinks He would never lose His salvation. He's good and secure. He's got His ticket to heaven, His fire insurance from hell. He's made His decision.
So He said the sinner's prayer. He's went to the altar. He's nailed it down, right? Well, that's sad. But that's the kind of doctrine that is preached. Sad to say among so many evangelical churches and they just, it's a false security that leads these people to think that they're saved and they're not saved.
So that's such a false concept. So it is a doctrinal error as well as a moral error. No matter how he lives after that, they think, okay, I can live any way I want to. And I've seen this. You can live so unholy but yet, oh, God understands.
God understands. He knows I'm but dusk and they even have their scriptures. But yet they continue to live in the pattern of sin. Now I'm leading to something now. The true biblical doctrine, let me state this, in opposition to what I just pointed out, is that genuine salvation is not primarily a human decision or trying Jesus or saying the sinner's prayer.
It's not primarily a human decision on us. We know better. Rather, it is God Himself who is rich in mercy, intervenes miraculously. He does the work of salvation. It is God and God alone that changes the very nature of our wicked heart.
And actually, He gives a transplant of a new heart. He takes out the heart of stone. He puts in a heart of flesh. There is a recreation. He is reborn. He's born again. Which is the new birth is a miraculous thing from God, isn't it?
And God changes the wicked sinner's heart and soul by raising him from spiritual death to spiritual life. And let me add this. Not only that, He has life in Jesus Christ. That life of God has come within Him by faith alone.
And that even the faith is a gift from God. And even the repentance and conversion is a gift from God because God grants the repentance. And through that regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, this new life that God imparts is a result of a new living way of life.
Aren't you glad? The regeneration is such a powerful act of God. It is the Lord that does this work and nothing of us. But when this happens, good works follows. There's fruits of repentance that follows.
And that this is what Scripture speaks of. James is talking about this. And one of my favorite verses, it's found in 1 Corinthians 5 .17. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away.
Behold, all things have become new. All things have become new. And now, think of that. All things have become new. Old things have passed away. He is a new person. That's the new birth that Jesus gives.
And this is exactly what Jesus was speaking about to Nicodemus, a very religious Pharisee in John chapter 3. So, and rather than living for his own purpose, the Christian then begins to live for God's purposes.
It's not his own desires, but it's God's desires. It's not his selfish desires and his selfish pleasures, but it's the pleasure what pleases God. That is his aim. And the Christian gladly surrenders to the will of God, which is paramount, and the lordship of Jesus Christ.
And you don't hear much about that being preached. And there's, Tozer put it this way, there's a divided Christ among evangelicals today. They try to preach Jesus as Savior over here. And then in one camp, they put Jesus over here as Lord.
So first, he's got to be your Savior, and then he becomes your Lord later on. And Tozer says that's all wrong. You take him as your Savior, you take him as your Lord. He is Lord and Savior. You cannot divide Jesus Christ.
He is all. He's not parted. He is all together Savior and Lord. Now, again, we're not talking about sinless perfection, right? You've heard me say this a lot. And I love what John MacArthur says about this.
It's not perfection, but it's direction. That is the key right there. But rather, it's the overall direction of the results from a new and changed heart of a new life in Jesus Christ. Now, you know, this is clearly seen.
I'm trying to tap into this a little bit because it's very important to see who he's speaking about here. First John 3. First John 3. If you won't turn there, that's fine. First John chapter 3. Notice what the Word of God says.
This is the Apostle John. And this is a very strong verse. First John 3, verses 7 through 9. He says this, little children, little children. That's a beautiful statement. And as Brother Key says, endearment, little children.
Make sure no one deceives you. Gets right to the point, doesn't he? Make sure there's no deception. No one deceives you. The one who practices righteousness is righteous. Just as he is righteous. And the one who practices sin is of the devil.
You notice how black and white the Word of God is? And for the devil has sinned from the beginning. And then he says this, the Son of God appeared or manifested, was manifested for this purpose to destroy the works of the devil.
No one who is born of God, notice what he says, no one who is born of God practices sin. Because his seed abides in him. This is the seed of God. And he cannot sin because he's born of God. Now, I'm going to focus just a hair bit here because the first thing you think of, what stands out of everything there is, what does he mean by cannot sin?
Right? I can read your mind. No, I'm kidding. I can't. But more than likely, that's what jumped out to me here. And I said, what does he mean by cannot sin? Cannot sin? What are you talking about? He does not mean that it is impossible for a believer to commit sin, right?
He has not contradicted himself either. Actually, and in 1 John 1a, if you go back, he actually said this, if we say that we have no sin, we're deceiving ourselves. And the truth is not in us. So it's important to take what is in the context.
What does he mean by cannot sin? Believers do sin, but they do not continue to practice sinning. They practice not sinning. They practice righteousness. But when they do sin, he says you have an advocate with the Father.
And then what does he go on to say in 1 John 1, 9? And then he says, confess your sin. And then he says, if you confess your sin, he's faithful and just to forgive you of your sin and cleanse you from all unrighteousness.
Actually, who he's talking to there is believers, and he gives them the assurance that they do have eternal life, that you may know you have eternal life in you. The whole book of 1 John actually is to encourage the believers that they have an assurance that they are saved.
But it does, it's convicting because it's a good way to examine ourselves. Do I, do I, am I in this category? Do I practice not sinning or do I practice sinning? Do I practice righteousness or do I do not practice righteousness?
Am I living for myself or am I living for God? Jesus says you're for me or against me. He said you love me or you don't love me.
It's that simple.
There's a line of demarcation our Lord draws. He says you're on this side or you're on that side. There's no straddling the fence. And you know it's sad to say that so many pastors and preachers has grayed that area.
And God forbid that we ever do that here because we want to know what the Word of God says. So really what he says here, believers do sin at times and sometimes the sins are horrible, right? We've all been there.
We've sinned. We've grieved the heart of God. But the difference is this, beloved. Let me say this. When a believer sins, he's grieved. And why is he grieved? Not only because he's grieved within himself.
The Holy Spirit dwells within him. And he's convicted, not condemned. Therefore, there's no condemnation to those that are in Jesus Christ.
But he's convicted.
He's grieved.
And he's grieved because he knows he's grieved the holy heart of God, his Father. And the Holy Spirit that lives within him. You know, Tozer said this. If the Holy Spirit lives within you, he said you can mark it down that he would not allow a believer to live like the world.
You can mark that down. Now, and he's also deeply troubled. And I don't know about you. When I've sinned and sinned against God, I don't have that peace. And I want to get that peace right. You know, I know that I know who I am in God.
And I am his and he is mine. But I have severed my fellowship with him. I'm justified. And that stands forever. But my sanctification has been harmed. My fellowship with God, my communion with God has been harmed.
So the real Christian hates what God hates. He hates that sin. And because of the Holy Spirit within him, God does not let him get by with it. God, isn't that true? I tell you what, I've gone sleepless nights at times because I've sinned against God.
And I've sought the face of God. And I said, I want to get this right and confess it. But I want to do more than just confess it. I want to repent of it. I want to forsake it. I want to turn from it. So the Holy Spirit of God dwells within us and he convicts us.
Again, he does not condemn us. Holy Spirit would never condemn us.
Never.
You know, that's the accuser of the brethren's job. That's the devil's job. He'll whisper in your ear and condemn you to hell. Oh, you never was serious about God in the first place. You were never saved in the first place.
But then you know something? And he can keep throwing those lies. But you go to the Word of God, beloved. You don't give him your opinion. You don't give that liar your opinion. You go to the Word of God and say, it is written.
And then if he comes back with a scripture, you say it's written again.
And again. And again.
Well, anyway, the Holy Spirit would convict us. So the believer who sins and repents actually is in sanctification. And let me say this. John Calvin put it this way. Repentance is not the beginning of the Christian life.
It is the Christian life. Now, it doesn't mean we're earning our way to heaven. This is sanctification. This is because I'm my walk with the Lord. I want to repent and continually repenting. I don't know about you.
Sometimes I say prayers and I'm thinking my pride was in that. I need to repent of my pride. Sometimes I, Whitfield put it this way. Sometimes I repent and I'm prideful of my repentance. My repentance needs to be repented of.
Whitfield really knew how to nail it down, didn't he? So we need to really come down to humility and be humble ourselves before God and say, Lord, I need to really repent on a daily basis and keep striving daily to personal holiness and just striving.
And I'm going to tell you, it's a fight, isn't it? It's a fight, a continue and never lets up. The Puritan said that. It is without intermission. There is no letting up. If you let up, I'm telling you, how many times have we sinned and fallen into Satan's traps and the flesh by letting up?
Every time I let up and if I find myself not praying as I should, what happens? Sin comes right and is right at the door. And next thing I know, I'm falling in the sin. I'm falling in the temptation. But I'm telling you, we have to continue to fight against the flesh and the world and the devil.
And that's why we need the power of the Spirit of God to help us. And let me say this, to set up safeguards, to prevent us from falling into sin. Have a person to pray with. Have a person to be accountable with.
Have somebody that is godly or more godly than you and say, I'm going to pray with you and I'm going to give you scripture and I'm going to love you to the end. And I say love, I mean really love, as Brother Keith was talking about.
Love one another as I have loved you, right? And that's what we need to do. We need to set up safeguards to keep us preventing us from falling into sin again and again and again. So may God help us in this area.
Now the overall direction of the Christian life is not practicing sin. God forbid. He doesn't practice sin. He practices righteousness. He practices not sinning and he practices his life and grows in holiness before the Lord and he bears fruit.
Now, fruit is important. That makes me think of something that Jesus spoke of. Turn with me to Matthew chapter 13. This is very important to get this and what James is striving at. And I haven't forgotten James.
So we're looking at the types of people he's talking about here, right? So it's important to know and you're very familiar with this, right? Matthew 13. Some people call it the parable of the sower. It's really not in context.
It's not the parable of the sower. It's the parable of the soils in context of what Jesus is saying. Notice in chapter 13. I want to read this very quickly. Let me see how much time I got. I got to hustle it up here.
Okay, Jesus says this. The parable of the soils. That day Jesus went out. Verse 1. Of the house and was sitting by the sea. Large crowds gathered to him and he got into a boat. Notice how he preached.
He sat down.
That's interesting. And the whole crowd was standing on the beach. It was opposite. Now the preacher stands and everybody else sits down. It was opposite that day. Jesus was sitting down in the boat and people were standing on the beaches listening to the master preach.
But notice what he began to preach. Verse 3. He spoke many things to them in parables saying, Behold, the sower went out to sow. This is a wonderful parable. Listen very closely.
And he sowed.
Some seeds fell beside the road and the birds came and ate them up. Others fell on the rocky places where they had not had much soil. And immediately they sprang up because they had no depth of soil. But when the sun had risen, they were scorched.
And because they had no root, they withered away. Others fell among the thorns and the thorns came up and choked them out. Verse 8. And others fell on the good soil and they yielded a crop. And Jesus said this.
Some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. And then he said this. This is so important. He who has ears, let him hear. Let him hear. He's talking about the inner ear. The inner ear. Just not, how many times have you spoken truth to people and it goes from one ear out to the other and it feels like it's bouncing off the walls, but they're not really getting it.
What Jesus is talking about, they're not perceiving it. And then he goes on to say this. And the disciples came to him, and the scripture says this, and said to him, Why do you speak to them in parables?
That's a good question, isn't it? Well, Jesus never said that's a stupid question, did he? All the questions were very important and they were significant. Jesus says, and answered them, To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.
But to them it has not been granted. Oh, that's a big word. What's he talking about? Granted from the Father. It's the Father that grants them. And then he says this. For whoever has, to him more shall be given.
And he who will have in abundance, and but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.
But what's he talking about? Therefore, I speak to them in parables. Because while seeing, notice what he says,. While seeing, they do not see. While hearing, they do not hear. Nor do they understand.
Get that?
Now, in their case, the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled. Which says, you will keep on hearing, but will not understand. You will keep on seeing, but will not perceive. But the heart of this, there's the key right there.
The heart of this people has become dull. With their ears, they scarcely hear. And they have closed their eyes. Otherwise, they would see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return, and I would heal them.
And then he says this. But blessed are your eyes, because they see. And your ears, because they hear. And then he said, And for truly, I say to you, that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it.
And to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. Well, he goes on, he talks about the interpretation of the parable. Then he says, he goes, he explains to the disciples the interpretation of this parable.
Hear then what the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of a kingdom, he does not understand it. The evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one whom the seed was sown beside the road.
The one whom the seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word, immediately receives it with joy. Yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary. And when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, and immediately he falls away.
Notice the word, falls away. And the one whom the seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word. And the worry of the world, how much you see that today? And becomes, and I'm sorry, and the deceitfulness or the pleasures of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
And the one whom the seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word, he understands it, and in deeds he bears fruit. That's what James is talking about. He bears fruit. Brings forth some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
It's different amounts. Now that's pretty much what Jesus is getting to. You see the different soils here. The soil is like the heart. The ground, some of the seed fell on the hard ground, and birds snatched it away.
It represents unbelievers who hear God's word. Satan, who's a thief in the truth. He's a thief. He comes to steal, kill, and destroy. He takes away the seed. He snatches it away. Other seed falls on shallow soil.
It has a hard rocky layer beneath it. This seed immediately sprang up. And when the sun comes out, it burns it up because it does not have root. It does not have deep roots. And Jesus said that this is the seed represents those who receive the word with joy, and then they believe for a while.
One translation says, by and by. Temptations come. What happens? They fall away. How often have you seen that with people within the church? They've received the word. They sit right here with us. They sit and say an amen.
Come on, brother. And next thing you know, they've fallen astray. They're back into the world. They love in the things of the world.
And it makes you think,.
Has this person ever been really been saved? Now, we don't know the hearts of these people, do we? They could be terribly backslidden or never been saved in the first place. We don't know that. We're not God.
But let me tell you one thing we are to do. We're a search and rescue team. I can tell you that. Well, Jesus also spoke about the third seed that fell among the thorns. That's interesting, isn't it? The thorns.
It sprouted up for a while. Then the thorns chokes it. Isn't it interesting that Jesus used that word? It chokes out the word. It chokes it out and did not bear any fruit. And then Jesus explained that this refers to those who are choked with what?
The worries of life. The riches and the pleasures of this life. How many people even in the church follows in this category and brings no fruit to maturity whatsoever? There's no fruit, no evidence whatsoever of their salvation.
You got to be thinking this is what James is talking about. Living faith always produces fruit. Now, the fourth seed, which is... Think about this is out of four, only one takes. Isn't that interesting?
Out of four, one takes. That's some ratio, isn't it? Few, many will strive to enter in, but will not be able to. Jesus said the gate's straight, it's narrow. And Ravenhill says the longer he lived, he's with the Lord now.
He says the more narrow and narrow and narrow and narrow it gets. And the more you see people going aside, getting farther away from the truth. Have you ever seen anything like this today? Perilous times are here, but yet many are falling away by the wayside.
The love of many will wax cold.
And that's what Jesus said.
Well, I got to get to this point here. True believers who persevere, see, and they bear fruit. They persevere and bear fruit. They do not break away from God's people or the things of God. So, back to what James is saying.
I really believe this. One of the last three groups of which we spoke about here in that parable. The straying one may be a temporary rocky soil believer, quote unquote believer. He says he's a believer.
A thorny soil believer, neither type is truly saved, right? Because they do not bring forth good fruit. And they're not producing saving faith. And we don't see living faith. Or he may be a true believer that has fallen away in a sin.
Again, we do not know their hearts. So, here's a question I'm going to set before you. So, how do we know which group the person is in? Again, that's a good question. We don't know. We don't know. But I will say this.
It depends how a person responds to the truth. Now, I want you to think about that. We may not know their heart. But watch for the way the person responds to the truth. That's important. How do they respond to the gospel?
How do they respond? Just read them a verse from Jesus. And then ask the question, where do you stand with the Lord? And see what kind of response they give you. And some people, if they're honest and not lying, we know some people that will lie and say, yeah, yeah, amen, I believe it.
But at the same time, what is the response? What kind of response do they give? So, we can read something into the response. If he walks away from the Lord and goes on sinning, most likely he's not truly saved, right?
If he goes on the course, and as Brother Keith preached on Psalm 1, if he goes on that path, the scripture says you're not to walk in that path. There's a path, there's a way that even seems right into man, but the end there of his death, right?
So, he may be thinking he's on the right path, but he's on the wrong path. He's loving the things of the world, he loves sin, but he's not loving the things of God. But if a person is truly saved,.
He will repent.
He will come in a humble way, not only before God, first and foremost before God,.
But before the church, and confess his sin.
And say, I've sinned against God, and I've sinned against you, and I've sorely hurt you. And not only there's a confession, because I do know some people that's made confessions like this before churches, and have not repented.
And they live a deceived life, thinking they're fooling everybody else, but there's no fruits of repentance and holiness. And then the next thing we know, we know about this person, and we find out about this person living in adultery and fornication, behind the scene, living a hypocritical life, being a play actor, wearing a mask.
Well, God has a lot to say about people like that, but I need to drive, I need to hurry up and drive to my point. My time is flying by.
Well, anyway, what does he say this back to James? We're on a search and rescue team, right? Well, he says, if anyone among you, now, let me say that right there, among you, isn't that interesting? That indicates something.
He's among you. Jesus had Judas. Judas was among them. Look what happened to Judas. He betrayed Jesus with a kiss. What about Paul? Paul had Demas. Demas forsook him and loved this present world. This was a man that walked with the apostle Paul.
As Judas walked with Jesus, and then Demas walked with Paul,.
But yet they fell away.
Doesn't that make you tremble a little bit?
We're so weak.
We can't hold ourselves up. God has to hold us up. And it's God and God alone, but God can.
And you know something,.
Every day in my life, I want to persevere. I said, Lord, I want to persevere. I want to persevere. But notice, among you, this indicates that they were believing in the church and they were professing believers, professing salvation, but they were not truly saved.
So, you know, really the greatest need, these people that James lists because they have the greatest need, and I believe this is why he's ending it like this, are those that are in the gravest danger.
Think of that. And the book of Hebrews. Turn with me to Hebrews very quickly. I got to give you this verse. You know where I'm going. Chapter 10. This is a sobering verse. Look at verse 25. And I want you to see how within one verse that a person is on the line, the borderline of apostatizing.
Look at this. Verse 25. Let me back up a little bit to get the context. Look at verse 23. Let us, let us, believers, hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering. Don't you love that word? Don't you waver.
Abraham didn't waver. Neither should we. Without waver. He, for he who promised is faithful. Then what does he say? Verse 24. And let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds. Those two things right there.
How I can love God, love one another, and to good works, good deeds. And then verse 25. Not forsaking our own assembling together. We're not to forsake to coming together as the habit of some, some, not all, but some.
And then he says this. But encouraging one another and all the more. Notice what he says, the urgency here. All the more as you see the day drawing near. The day he's talking about is the day of judgment.
I like what Luther says. There's only two day. I'm on a two day calendar. Today and judgment day. You live by that, I guarantee you. It'll shake your world up. It'll sober you. And then he says, notice in verse 25.
But notice where he goes in verse 26. As soon as they draw away from forsaking to assembling one another. To hear the means of grace and hearing God's word. And praising God and worship. For if we go on sinning willfully.
After we receiving the knowledge of the truth. There no longer remains a sacrifice for sins. But a terrifying expectation of judgment. And the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. Now is that a warning or what?
That's a warning. How fast one can go right away from God. You know, we do not know the people's true heart condition. I grant that, but before God. But we do seek to restore them. And I want to say this in closing.
This, we are on a search and rescue ministry. And we do have the responsibility. And every believer has this responsibility. Not just the pastor. Because how do we know this? In James, he says brethren.
He doesn't say elders, does he?
He says brethren.
He says brethren. Note two things. This ministry of search and rescue is the responsibility for all believers. I want to say that. And not just pastors. And I like what Paul says in Galatians 6 .1. When brethren, brethren, even if anyone is caught.
Interesting word. Caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of meekness. Just like Jesus, gentleness. Not saying, grabbing him by the throat and said, you need to repent.
Or you're going to be burning in hell. Well, we are to warn him about hell, but we do it lovingly. And you know, Jesus did it with tears in his eyes. And that's the way we should. He says, you restore, restore.
That's the key. One to such in a spirit of gentleness.
Each one looking.
Now notice what he says here. Here's a warning. Each one looking to yourselves so that you too will not be tempted. Now what does that remind you of? Reminds me of Jude 22 and 23. What does he say? And have mercy on some and are doubting.
Save others, snatching them out of the fire. And on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garments polluted by the flesh. And scripture even says, you need to take guard. You need to take, like brother Keith just said, take heed to yourselves and the doctrine.
Why?
Think of it. When you go into certain places to rescue, of search and rescue, like the story I gave, into the darkness and the depths, you too can be harmed. You too can fall by the way. You too can be taken by the enemy.
So we do pray, Lord, as Jesus prayed for his disciples, keep them from the evil one. Keep them from falling. Keep them, oh God. You know, God has a keeping power. Well, I want to end with this. The greatest search and rescue is found in Luke chapter 15.
Go with me to Luke 15. Oh, I wish I had more time on this. My goodness. 15, Jesus gives a wonderful parable in three clusters. It's really one big parable, but he gives three parables. He breaks it up.
But you know, what is all this about? Search and rescue. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. He speaks about the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. Who's reaching out?
God.
God is the seeker. We're not the seeker. You know, actually, we're the ones, the one that strays from the truth is the one that needs to be rescued. So here, very quickly, I'm just going to give you just the first parable, and the rest of it ties in together.
Now, all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near him to listen to him. And notice what, both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, this man receives sinners and eats with them.
Notice, you can almost hear it in their voice. That was a compliment, amen? Jesus was a friend of sinners. He came to seek and save the lost. Praise God. He didn't come for the healthy. He came for the sick.
He didn't come for the righteous. He came for the unrighteous. He didn't come for those that had a little cleaned up life. He came for the dirty. So he told them this parable. Hey, he didn't argue with him.
He just tells them a parable. What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep, has lost one of them, does not lead the ninety and nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?
This is the heart of God. When he has found it, oh, don't you love this? He lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors saying to them, rejoice with me.
For I have found my sheep, which was lost. And I tell you that the same way. There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
You know, that sets the stage of all everything else it says in this whole chapter. And also the next one, the parable of the lost coin. When Jesus relates to the shepherds out on the outdoors, then Jesus relates to the lost coin to the women on the indoors.
Then he speaks of the parable of the lost son. God's the seeker. God goes after what is valuable.
Valuable.
You know, we have a great value to God. And those, even those that have gone astray,.
That's the way we need to see them.
They made in God's image. They still have God's breath in them when they have hope. And we have the message. We are on that search and rescue team, beloved. So we should be going after them. So the aims of the search and rescue ministry is to restore the sinner to the truth.
To who Jesus is and what he's done and saved from a multitude of sin. Very quickly, let me end with just a few questions before you and answers. This is not original. I found this online. By Stephen Cole.
So I'm giving him credit for it. But notice what he says here. Number one, who should I go? He says this, if you have a knowledge of the sin and you have a relationship with that person, you're it. Truth is the most often received through loving relationships.
Second, this is application. Get the facts. He says this, do not go on a hearsay or gossip. If someone tells you if someone else is in sin, you should ask, have you personally checked out the facts? Then direct the one telling you not to talk to anyone else, but to go to the sinning person.
That's biblical, isn't it? And if you are the one to go, don't begin with accusations. First, he says, ask questions to determine the truth. Does the issue involve a major doctrine or opinion on a minor issue?
Is it a matter of immaturity or spiritual weakness where you need to help grow or of defiantly walking away from God? Third, check your own heart. Check your own heart. There is no room for being judgmental, but let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.
Your motive should be to restore the straying one, not to put him in his place or to prove that you're right and he's wrong. This is good wise advice. Listen to this. Make sure that you are under the control of the Holy Spirit and displaying the fruit of the Spirit.
The word restore, according to Galatians 6 .1, was used of mending torn nets and setting broken bones so that they would heal. Think how gently you would want a doctor to do that with you. So be that gentle in dealing with that person caught in sin.
You know, only a mature believer can do this. Someone that's a novice in green, no way. You got to lead them back to the truth and restore them and do it in gentleness. Next, he says this, pray. Well, that's important, isn't it?
Pray. Do not attempt to restore a straying person before you pray for them. James 5, 16 through 18, we just talked about that. Prayer puts you in the right place before God, depended on His grace. Only then are you able to minister to the straying.
You can't properly talk to men about God until you've talked to God about men.
Amen.
Especially pray for the right time in the opening. Pray, pray. Fifth, make sure that love for God and love for your brother are the motives for going. Love for God and love for your brother are the motives for going.
You should desire to please God and you should show genuine concern for the erring brother. Generally, if a man is in sin, another man should go to him. If a woman is in sin, another woman should go. It is not wise for a man to go along to a woman other than his wife or a family member.
That's good wisdom there. Or for a woman to go along to talk to a man. This is safeguards. Because there's an enemy out there who wants to see you fall. I tell you, that's why wisdom is justified over children.
We need to fear God and to have wisdom from God to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Six, go directly to that person. Go directly to that person. Do not go behind his back or try to campaign for your point of view or try to convince others to do what God is calling you to do.
Go alone at first. If he listens, you've won your brother. As Jesus said, if he refuses to listen, take two or three others. And eventually, it may need to be told to the church. That's Jesus' prescription to how to deal with this in Matthew 18, 15 through 17.
And seven, this is the last one. Think through in advance the proper approach in wording. Think through in advance the proper approach in wording.
I like this.
Study how Nathan confronted David for starters. That's good, isn't it? In 2 Samuel chapter 12, 1 through 14, Dr. Howard Hendricks tells of how the wife of a workaholic pastor who was neglecting his family asked him to speak with her husband.
Hendricks waited until they were alone and casually asked, Do you smoke? Pastor was shocked by the question and replied, Of course not. Hendricks persisted, Why not? And he got what he expected. Because my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
And then Hendricks sprang the trap. This man's wise, isn't he? Then why are you abusing the temple and neglecting your family by overworking? Wow. And he says, Pow! Be prepared for the one in sin to accuse you of some shortcoming.
And do not get into a verbal war. Just stay to the issue. If you're sitting in your easy chair by the fire and you know of a brother or sister who's lost in the storm, God asked you to inconvenience yourself.
Get up, put on your coat, go out into the storm and try to rescue your brother. It may not be fun, but it's an expression of genuine love and faith and action. And that's exactly what the whole book of James is all about.
Amen. Amen.
May God grant to us the grace to win souls. For scripture says, He that winneth souls is wise.
Father, we thank you for this time together that we've had. Lord, we are definitely on the search and rescue team. We're on the greatest of all search and rescue efforts ever assembled together on the face of this earth.
We're part of the church of the living God. Lord, we're part of you. We're your body. And Lord, forgive us for the times that we have not reached out to others. And Lord, put a fire within us and a burden within us.
To reach out to these people that are on the threshold of hell itself. They're one breath away and one heartbeat away from eternity. Oh God, help us to see that there's a great danger. And that is that what lies on the head of every person that dies without Jesus Christ is the eternal damnation and wrath that they will endure forever and ever.
Lord, put an urgency within us and sober us to eternity. As Jonathan Edwards prayed, stamp eternity on our eyeballs. Oh God, put your burden upon us. Your burden's light, but we have a burden. We should have a burden.
And that is to reach out to the lost and dying. And to those that are strayed from the truth. And Father, this will cover a multitude of sins. If we would just reach out to those that are astray. To turn them back to the truth.
Back to the truth. Father, it's not our opinions we turn them back to. It's not our quote-unquote beliefs.
It's to the truth.
Jesus Christ.
The living truth.
The written truth. So Father, may we have this kind of urgency and this motive. Which is your love to motivate us. To compel them to come back and turn from their wicked ways. And turn back to the truth before it's everlasting too late.
Father, we thank you that you're such a good God. You're patient. You're patient. You're so patient. And you're not willing that any should perish. But that all should come to repentance. We thank you for this in Jesus Christ.
And for his name. And his sake.
We pray.
Amen and amen. Praise God.