As we come to the end of the book of James, we find ourselves looking at two main topics—prayer and our love for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Now, in one sense, if we were completely unfamiliar with this book, we might say that we had no idea what note James would end on. After all, the book seems to move from topic to topic at points in such a way that it is quite challenging to understand exactly how James ties in his next topic with the previous one. On the other hand, it’s remarkable how often letters in the New Testament end on this topic. Romans ends with Paul asking them to strive with him in their prayers before expressing his love and greetings to a number of believers there. Second Corinthians ends with a call to aim for restoration and to comfort one another. Galatians ends with an exhortation to restore a brother caught in sin. Ephesians ends with an exhortation to make supplication for the saints. Philippians ends with a note of exhortation to make their requests known to God in prayer. Colossians ends with a note to “continue steadfastly in prayer” and greetings to the saints. First Thessalonians ends with Paul encouraging them to love one another and to pray without ceasing. And that’s probably enough to make the point, isn’t it
The call to pray and to love our brothers and sisters in Christ is a constant and consistent note that ends letters in the Bible. No doubt this reveals the priority these two labors should have in the Christian life. As believers, it should be clear that we are people of prayer and that we love our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Yet, if we are honest, these can be very challenging things for us. An admission by someone that he or she struggles to pray consistently is almost like saying we struggle with how hot it gets in West Tennessee in late August. It may be that there are a few exceptions, but for the most part, we expect to hear it from everyone. One reason prayer is challenging is because it does not feed our pride. Most labors we do as Christians can be used to fuel our pride. We can study our Bibles so that we might gain knowledge and look good to others. We can send people encouraging notes so that they might think well of us. We can serve others in hopes that they are impressed with us. We can even evangelize so that the unbeliever can marvel at our dedication. That is, we can go about almost every good task as a believer in the Christian life to the end of fueling our pride. But prayer just doesn’t fit the category. Paul notes that when he was in prison there were some preaching the gospel out of rivalry, for their own gain. I know of no believer who spends much time praying for others out of rivalry. It just doesn’t feed our pride.
And it can feel as if you’re not accomplishing anything. Again, other tasks can leave you with something tangible while prayer doesn’t do that. We can almost feel silly telling someone that we can’t meet with them, for example, because we’ve set aside that time to be in prayer.
So, on the one side, prayer can feel like an immense challenge for us. And, on the other side, loving our brothers and sisters in Christ can feel equally as daunting because it’s so easy to be selfish. It doesn’t take much effort for me to do good for myself, but to love others (even those who do not benefit me) takes selflessness and genuine love.
Therefore, if James’ goal is to have us leave this book feeling weighted down with our shortcomings and feeling condemned, he couldn’t have chosen better topics. But I don’t think this is James’ intention. James isn’t like a pastor who wants to beat down his sheep by saying, “Oh yeah, and in conclusion, you’re not praying or loving one another like you should. Take that!
Rather, it seems in these final verses that James is doing what he’s done throughout this book, namely, enticing us to godliness. Isn’t this what he’s done throughout? He doesn’t just tell us to ask God for wisdom but tells us how eager the Lord is to give it to us. He doesn’t just tell us to deny ourselves the things of the world but reminds us that the Lord is constantly and consistently good, giving to us all good things. He doesn’t just rebuke worldly wisdom but holds up for us the beauty of heavenly wisdom. He doesn’t just tell us to endure suffering but reminds us of the blessing that awaits us. So here, James ends not just by exhorting us to prayer and loving our brothers but holds up for us the blessing that each of these labors brings.
Therefore, my hope this morning is that we might leave this place not bearing condemnation for how we may have failed in obeying these exhortations to this point but that we might leave with our hearts eager to walk in obedience because of the joy and blessing and benefit that we see each of these holds. So, with that, let’s look at precisely what James tells us that we need to do as believers in these final verses of his letter. First, he tells us that …
James writes, “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise” (v. 13). What James is saying here is pretty simple, isn’t it? He’s taking the basic extremes of life and showing that in each of them, we should direct our attention to the Lord. Are we suffering? Then we should pray. We should make our petitions to the Lord, asking for help, mercy, and deliverance from our struggles. We should not feel guilt to have much of our prayer filled with petition, for the Lord tells us again and again to come to him, ask of him, and make our requests known to him. So, if you’re in a needy point, a place of suffering – pray.
On the other hand, if you’re cheerful and all is well, then you shouldn’t see that as a time in which you do not need God. Rather, you should see it as an opportunity to praise God. Is your heart cheerful today, then thank God for the blessings he’s given you and the joy with it. After all, it is James who has reminded us that all good gifts come down from the Father of lights in whom there is no change.
You see, James is simply saying that at all stages and places in life, we should look to God. It may be that we turn to him in petition because our need is great or in praise because we have such blessing. But in both cases, we are directing our attention to the Lord. We simply need to be the kind of people who orient our thoughts and lives around God. Our turning to him may be different in different places or seasons of life, but we should constantly be turning to him, noting that our lives are wrapped up in him. In all places of life, we have ample reason to turn our attention to the Lord.
Then, James notes some specific instructions for prayer during one particular place in life – that of severe sickness. In verses 14-15, he tells us that …
James writes in these verses, “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” (14-15).
Now, first let me note why I think this is severe sickness (or something more than the seasonal allergies I’ve been battling this week). First, the individual is calling for the elders instead of going to them. This suggests perhaps that the individual may be unable. Second, the elders are to “pray over” the individual. This is language we perhaps use often, but it is rare in the Bible, and it perhaps suggests that the individual is in a bed or lying down so that the elders are literally over him. Finally, James describes the Lord’s healing in terms of the Lord raising him up, which suggests that he is able now to get up out of his bed.
So, I think that is the situation that James is envisioning. If you find yourself in a place of severe illness, you should actually solicit the prayers of God’s people, represented by the elders, who will come and pray for you. This doesn’t mean that you can’t ask for prayer otherwise, but this is the situation James envisions.
Second, the elders are to come and pray, anointing the individual with oil in the name of the Lord. Now, some have suggested that this oil is for medicinal purposes since oil would have been helpful for some ailments or that it represents medicine of some form. But I don’t think that is the case. There is one verse that really steers me against this understanding. In Mark 6:13, we read, “And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.” I don’t think this means that the apostles were going out giving people medicine but that the Lord was supernaturally healing them. Why then the oil?
It seems that the oil was used as a means to show that someone was being set apart. This often happened with the anointing of kings, for example. In this case, however, the setting apart would signify that the people of God are setting apart this person for special care from the Lord. That is, we’re saying, “Father, we anoint this one with oil, setting him apart, asking that you would specially pour out your grace and mercy for healing.” That’s the purpose for oil.
But there are two more issues here. One is that James says that if he has committed sins they will be forgiven. Why does he mention this, and what does it mean? Well, I think James is recognizing the possibility that this sickness is due to sin. Now, certainly not all sickness is due to sin, but sometimes it is. We know this from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians when he tells them that some of them are sick because they have been abusing the Lord’s Supper. So, the idea is probably that the call for the elders is an opportunity for the individual to repent of sin as he examines himself, and then the elders can pray for him.
Finally, what does it mean that “the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up”? Well, first I think “save” and “raise him up” means that he’ll get well. Second, I think that “prayer of faith” just means that prayer that is offered in trust before the Lord. After all, James reminds us at the beginning of his letter that we need to ask the Lord, believing that he is able to care for us and trusting in him. Finally, I don’t think the notion that the Lord will save and raise him up is meant to be understood as an absolute. That is, this is not a promise that the only way we’ll die is if we die suddenly. Otherwise, if we have a disease that makes us sick, we can call the elders, they would pray, we’d get better and live life, until we died of a heart attack or got hit by a car or something else that caused us to die suddenly without being sick. I think it’s simply stating something that normative. That is, this is what will generally happen.
And, we’ve seen that here at Cornerstone. The elders have gone and prayed for numerous individuals and most of them were got better. Some have gotten better almost instantly, some after a while, and some just to the degree that they were able to get out of the hospital bed eventually, but we see all of that as the Lord’s gracious work of healing. It might seem to some that those situations were simply the ‘natural’ work of healing, but we know that every good gift comes from above, don’t we? And, we can say that we’ve seen the Lord’s grace in situations where it looked like a person wouldn’t get well and they did. I remember praying for Connie Oliver when she was battling pneumonia and thinking I’d never see her up and walking again. Thank God the Lord answered our prayers for her.
So, there is a specific situation where you may find yourself in sickness where you should call the elders who will come and pray for you, and we would ask in Christ’s name that he might heal you. This is a privilege to us, and we are quite thankful that the Lord has seen fit to answer those prayers again and again.
Then, in the first half of verse 16, James steps back and generalizes this note of confessing sins and praying for one another, moving away from the specific situation of severe illness and the elders praying. In the first half of verse 16 he reminds us that …
You can see in verse 16 how James takes the issues addressed in the specific context talked about in verses 14-15 and now makes them a corporate general exhortation. He writes, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.”
James envisions a healthy congregation being made up of people who are laboring together for one another’s holiness. This means that we’re confessing our struggles and sins to others and praying for one another. This, I don’t think is a mandate that we publicly confess all our sins. That would not be wise or most helpful, though there are occasions when public confession is helpful, and we’ve even seen that on some Sunday nights when people will ask for us to pray for them concerning laziness or a lack of diligence in prayer or cowardice concerning evangelization.
But I think James here is envisioning us being able to share our struggles and sins with some other brothers or sisters in the church and letting them help us and pray for us concerning our holiness. And again, if there is sin underlying sickness, this would lead to healing as well.
Let me give you one example of this in my life. There was a while back when I had sinned, but really didn’t think much of it. I justified myself, telling myself that it wasn’t a big deal. But I had seared my heart and conscience a bit. Anyway, that afternoon my eye turned red underneath and started bothering me. The next day it was still there so I went to see the doctor who then sent me to the eye doctor. A couple days later I was driving back to the eye doctor because they were finding nothing wrong but now the redness and swelling was spreading down my face. And I left the eye doctor with him prescribing an antibiotic, though he didn’t think it was an infection.
As I was driving home, however, I just stopped and prayed, asking God to heal me. All of the sudden, this sin popped into my heart, and I recognized that the Lord wanted me to repent of the attitudes of my heart. More than that, I decided that I wanted to call a brother and talk to him about it because on our own we’re easily deceived by sin and justify it, don’t we? And I didn’t want to be able to say to myself, “C’mon that’s not a serious issue” because I had indeed been tempted to think that. So, I called Nathan Young, confessed my sin to him, he prayed with me, and instantly the swelling in my face went away and the next morning my eye was fine. I never even got the antibiotic.
Now, that’s a very obvious situation that fits what we see in James 5:16a, and I don’t have a lot of those obvious situations in my own life, but I think that’s what this verse is saying. We need others to help us pursue holiness, and so it’s helpful to confess our sins to them and have them pray for us. And, as we do, it may be that the Lord’s discipline in the form of sickness is removed. I know at least one time in my life when that was clearly the case.
So, let’s become a people who aid one another in holiness, help one another fight sin, and pray for one another. But James, as is customary throughout this book, entices us to prayer by reminding us of just how powerful it is. In verses 16b-18 James reminds us that …
Again, one of the reasons we may have trouble praying for things, even interceding for our brothers and sisters in Christ, is because we feel like it’s powerless. It just doesn’t feel like we’re able to accomplish much. But James tells us otherwise. He writes, “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” (16b-18).
James tells us that prayer is powerful. He notes that Elijah prayed and God withheld rain for three and a half years, and then he prayed again and it rained. That’s how powerful prayer is. And, just in case we want to say, “Yeah, but I’m not Elijah,” James reminds us that Elijah was a man with a nature just like us. Elijah got scared. He struggled with pride and self-pity. He was a coward sometimes. He was just like us. Elijah’s prayers weren’t answered because he was great. His prayers were answered because the one to whom he was praying was and is great.
So, with us, we get to pray to the same God, and he has ordained to work powerfully through the prayers of his people. When you pause and pray, you’re asking the Creator of all things to move his hand, and he has ordained that he will indeed act through this means of prayer. In Acts 4 the church prayed that God would grant them boldness to speak his Word, and in response to their prayer, he shook the room in which they were gathered and filled them with the Holy Spirit so that might indeed be bold in gospel proclamation.
I remember Patrick Beard coming here to speak one January and telling the story of going to the Care Center when he had come back from the mission field, had no food, and wanted to talk to Nate. Patrick said he went to the Care Center because he knew Nate had a big pantry there and was hoping to come back with bags of food. Instead, Nate, discerning that the Lord was teaching Patrick to trust him, instructed him to sit down with his wife, make a list of groceries they needed, even add a few items that they did not need but wanted, and then pray and ask God to provide them. Patrick said that they did just that, even adding a dish they wanted to make but didn’t particularly need that would require basil leaves and olive oil. Then, they prayed and asked God to provide. Shortly after, there was a knock on the door from a girl who said that the youth at her church had wanted to buy groceries and give them to someone in need, and they had thought of the Beards. More than that, Patrick said that the first two items they pulled out were olive oil and basil leaves.
That didn’t happen because Patrick Beard and Elijah and George Muller and whoever else is vastly different from us. That happened and happens because prayer is powerful in its working, and if you want to see how powerful, consider this story or that of Elijah and the rain. So, I have prayed that this morning our hearts might be gripped by the power of prayer and actually grow eager to pray more.
Finally, James gives us one other exhortation.
After talking about confessing our sins and longing for holiness, no doubt James envisions something that is a reality. Sometimes our brothers and sisters will be deceived and hardened by sin, and it will lead them away from the truth. And in those situations, if they do not repent, they are giving evidence of not knowing Christ. That is to say, they are on their way to hell. So, James tells us that loving our brothers and sisters in Christ requires us to run after and seek to restore the one who wanders from the truth.
He writes, “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” (19-20).
Again, James entices us. I know it’s hard to run after and labor with someone who is wandering from the truth. But realize the blessing of it. If you’re able to bring them back, you’ve saved them from hell. That is, I think that “death” is verse 20 is “eternal death.” And he also reminds you that their sins can be forgiven.
Now, this isn’t a hypothetical situation for us this morning, is it? Just in this service, after walking through the steps of confronting a professing brother and asking you as a church to run after him, we’re getting ready to take steps of removing one this evening from our membership.
Why would we do such a thing? We do it because the Bible commands it, and we do it because we love him. Our hope is to restore him. We do not remove one to punish him. We remove him in hopes that he might be restored, his soul saved from hell, and his sins forgiven. That is, we remove him, trusting God that this is the greatest means possible to bring about his repentance. And I want to encourage you in this. I know it is hard. I know we have and will continue to shed tears. But we’re doing what God commands. We’re doing what love demands. And though this one will feel a loss of fellowship from this, it is so that he might not know eternal death.
So, let me encourage you to continue in your willingness to run after your brothers and sisters. Let me encourage you to pray for them, realizing how powerful prayer is. And, let me encourage all of us to be willing to love others and ourselves by confessing our sins to one another, praying for one another, and directing our attention to God throughout all seasons of our lives. Let us even now direct our attention to the one who lived, died, and was raised for us as we come to the table. Amen.