5:13 Is any among you suffering? Let him pray. Is any cheerful?
Let him sing praises.
5:14 Is any among you sick? Let him call
for the elders of the assembly,
and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name
of the Lord,
5:15 and the prayer of faith will heal
him who is sick, and
the Lord will raise him up.
If he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
5:16 Confess your offenses to one
another,
and pray one for another, that you may be healed.
The effective, earnest prayer of a righteous man is powerfully
effective.
5:17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours,
and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain,
and it didn't rain on the earth for three years and six months.
5:18 He prayed again, and
the sky gave rain, and the earth brought
forth its fruit.
Directing the Wandering
5:19 Brothers, if any among you wanders from the
truth, and someone turns
him back,
5:20 let him know that he who turns a
sinner from the error of his
way
will save a soul from death, and will cover a multitude of sins.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
vs 13 Whether a person is happy or sad, according to this verse, what
should
be his state of mind?
vs 14 Why is this not a common event among churches?
What's that oil he's talking about?
vs 15 Is this guaranteed? Or if so, does it always work? And if not,
why not?
What different ideas about the application of this passage might you
have if you interpreted the "heal" in vs 15 and 16 in a primarily
spiritual
sense?
vs 16 What would you require in the way of a relationship before you
would confess your sins to someone?
Would you characterize your prayers as "powerful and effective"? Should
you look at the purely external results in evaluating this, or with
"eyes
of faith" - just reckoning them to be so?
vs 17,18 Why does he bring up Elijah's example? Is that the kind of
prayer he's encouraging us to pray? If so, what are similar prayers
that
may be applicable in life today?
vs 19,20 In what ways do people wander from the truth?
How might we "bring such people back"?
What are examples in the Bible as to how God caused people to repent?
CROSS REFERENCES (kjv)
vs 13Eph 5:19"Speaking to yourselves
in
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your
heart to the Lord;"
Col 3:16 "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in
all
wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and
spiritual
songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord."
vs 14Mr 6:13"And they cast out many
devils,
and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them."
vs 15Matt 9:22-24"But Jesus turned him
about,
and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith
hath
made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour. And when
Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the minstrels and the people
making a noise, He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not
dead,
but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn."
vs 162Ch 7:14"If my people, which are
called
by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and
turn
from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive
their sin, and will heal their land."
Ac 28:8"And it came to pass, that the father of
Publius
lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and
prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him."
vs 17,181Ki 17:1"And Elijah said unto
Ahab,
Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain.
So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of
Carmel;
and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his
knees,
And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went
up,
and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven
times.
And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there
ariseth
a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. And he said, Go up,
say
unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down that the rain stop
thee
not. And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black
with
clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to
Jezreel. And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; and he girded up his
loins,
and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel." (1Kings 18:41-46)
vs 19,201Jo 5:16 "If any man see his
brother
sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him
life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do
not say that he shall pray for it."
Pr 11:30 "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life;
and
he that winneth souls is wise."
Comments
However you feel - talk to God
James 5:13 Is any one of you in trouble?
He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.
In this section from 13-18 James speaks of different forms of prayer
Supplication - talking to God about our need
Praise - talking to God about Himself
Intercession - talking to God on behalf of others
Confession - talking to God about our sin
Praying in times of trouble of course comes most naturally.
Ps 34:17 The righteous cry out, and
the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. Ps 50:14,15 Sacrifice thank offerings to
God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of
trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.
Praise should likewise come naturally to the Christian.
Eph 5:19 Speak to one another with
psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to
the Lord
Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ
dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all
wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with
gratitude in your hearts to God.
Prayer resolves Spritual and Physical
Sickness
James 5:14,15 Is any one of you
sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and
anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in
faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he
has sinned, he will be forgiven.
As is apparent in Mark 6:13 even under Jesus'
ministry
it was commonplace to anoint the sick with oil.
"They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and
healed them." Oil had been used in
Jewish
ceremonies for example in prophets anointing kings. It was used under
the
Law of Moses also in the sacrificial system. Oil is understood to
represent
the Holy Spirit. Today this ceremony of the elders anointing the sick
with
oil is not commonplace. In fact it is not particularly commonplace
today
for the sick to request a plurality of elders to visit them for the
purpose
of prayer. Most Christians may not even know who the elders of their
church
are. This ritual of putting oil on someone's head may seem bizzare or
foreign
for many an evangelical today. For what does it matter? What does the
oil
actually do? However I think that, much like water baptism, it was the
symbolism behind it that helped to focus the prayers of faith on God's
part in the healing process.
As for being forgiven, it could be that the sickness is a form of
discipline driving a person to deal with some sin in their life and
consequently dealing with it in the healing process. As a case in point
note God's dealing with the sinfulness of the Corinthians, "That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a
number of you have fallen asleep. But if we judged ourselves, we would
not come under judgment." 1Cor 11:30,31 and therefore "A man
ought to examine himself" 1Cor 11:28a There are other
reasons for sickness. Jesus noted of blind man of whom his
apostles asked, "who sinned, this man or his
parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents
sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might
be displayed in his life." John 9:2,3 And of course
there is the classical example of Job. But often sickness, and other
such humiliating circumstances, will bring upon conviction of sin and
consequently repentance.
The Prayers of the Righteous are Effective
James 5:16-18 Therefore confess
your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be
healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not
rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again
he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.
Whether a person needs spiritual healing or physical healing, the
prayer of a righteous man is effective. "The LORD
is far from the wicked but he hears the prayer of the righteous."
Pr 15:29
Ironic that the example given was the of Elijah whose initial prayer
for it not to rain caused a famine. It's like praying for someone to
get sick. Seems famine can be a good thing at times, if it brings about
repentance. But just as prayer can bring famine, so also it can deliver
from famine. So let not the righteous underestimate their ability to
influence God through prayer concerning events both local and global.
In fact Elijah said, "As the LORD, the God of
Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the
next few years except at my word." 1Kings 17:1 And it
wasn't until Israel repented and declared, "The
LORD— he is God! The LORD— he is God!" 1Kings 18:39 that
rain was sent.
When the righteous pray they should not only be concerned about the
sickness or trouble, but about whether some sin needs to be repented
of. In my experience in the evangelical community the vast majority of
prayer requests concern physical healing, and yet little is made of
spiritual concerns, which is in stark contrast to that of the prayers
predominant in the New Testament. See The Prayer Series.
Dealing with Wandering Sheep
James 5:19,20 My brothers, if one
of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him
back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his
way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
Peter writes, "For you were like sheep going
astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your
souls." 1Peter 2:25 Having been saved, it is not
characteristic of the Lord's sheep to wander. He says, "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they
follow me." John 10:27 Even in his parable of the
lost sheep, the one that wander was reckoned "lost" and was equated
with a "sinner".
Sinner here and elsewhere is first of all with reference to one's
behavior, and not simply to theological ideas, as also implied in the
word "ways". And secondly it is not descriptive of the present state of
believers, but the state in which they were in prior to being saved. "While we were still sinners, Christ
died for us." Rom 5:8b As such a "sinner" is one who is
yet unsaved, like the lost sheep. "Do you not
know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God?" 1Cor
6:9a That's why James says to turn a sinner from the error of his
ways will save him from death. He's referring to eternal damanation.
Yes it is to be noted that he is referring to "brothers". He is
referring to Christians. But not all Christians are genuinely saved. "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the
faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—
unless, of course, you fail the test?" 2Cor 13:5
John writes, "They went out from us, but they
did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would
have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them
belonged to us." 1John 2:19
Genuine believers do not wander from the truth in any significant way
as to characterize them as unsaved. Which is why John likewise says, "If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does
not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him life." 1John
5:16a ("commit" here is in the present tense lifestyle sense) Thus
he likewise notes there are "brothers" who are not really saved, as
indicated by their lifestyle.
The application here is to consider it part of your duty to identify
those who wander from the truth - not merely theologically, but in
terms of their lifestyle such that they live a lifestyle of sin - and
then pray for them and turn them from the error of their ways so that
they may be saved. In particular there will be those who will be led
astray by bad theology to justify living a lifestyle of sin, as it
appears James and John had to deal with in their letters.
As for covering a multitude of sins, Peter also mentions this in 1Peter
4:8 "Above all, love each other deeply,
because love covers
over a multitude of sins." Which also comes from Pr 10:12 "Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all sins."
One of the main objectives of love, in fact perhaps its primary
objective, is to deal with sin. Notice of God's love it says, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Rom 5:8
The primary focus of God's love is upon dealing with our sin. So in our
relationships seek to turn people from sin and reconcile them to God
through Jesus Christ so they may be saved - "He
is the atoning sacrifice for our sins" 1John 2:2a
JAMES 5:13-20
RAP
5:13 Is anyone of you in
trouble today?
Take my advice, just let him pray.
Is anyone happy? Let him sing praise.
14 Is anyone sick? Here's what God
says.
Let him call the elders and pray in one
accord.
And annoint him with oil in the name of the
Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will make
him
well
The Lord will raise him up from his sick
spell
If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.
16 So confess your sins and let
prayer
be given.
The prayer of the righteous, from God's
perspective,
Is full of power and really effective.
17 Elijah was a man who like us
appeared.
He prayed and it did not rain for over
three
years. 18 Again he prayed and then it did
rain
And the earth produced both wheat and much
grain. 19 If one of you strays from the
truth
Whether he's old or still a youth 20 And one turns him to the right
path
He saves a soul from God's wrath.
JAMES 5:13-20
RAP