Active Faith (Part Twenty-One): A Final Word About Words

Transcript

JRNT 21
05/07/2023
Active Faith (Part Twenty-one): A Final Word About Words
James 5:12-18
Jesse Randolph

Well, one of the most formidable experiences I went through in seminary was in one of my preaching workshop classes. This is an exercise that we all had to go through. This is how the exercise worked: You were assigned a text. You had no choice about what text you were going to preach. You did your exegetical word, you crafted your sermon, and then you delivered your sermon in front of a small group of men in your cohort, in your class. They gave feedback and your instructor gave feedback. If your instructor didn’t throw a commentary at you, or a Bible at you, you knew you were doing something right. But then, what they had you do after you delivered your sermon, was you had to watch video of four well-known preachers preach the same text that you had just preached. The four preachers I had to watch were R.C. Sproul, Alistair Begg, John MacArthur and Steve Lawson. Those are the guys I had to watch preach the text I had just preached. So, in addition to being humbling, this experience was eye-opening. Because what it forced me to see, and forced all those men to see, in that classroom, is that, while each text of the Bible surely does have a single meaning. A single forever and fixed meaning. That is, what ever the original human author of the text designed to convey to his original audience; through the task of studying and praying, the Lord does give men, who are called to preach the word, different insights and impressions and directions and emphases, as they study and proclaim the same text.

I mention this because the text that we’re going to be in today, that’s James 5:12-18, like the text I preached back in seminary, has a single meaning. It has whatever meaning James intended to convey, under the direction and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, as he was guided to write those words. But there have and are many different ways that faithful men have approached this text. There have been and are different ways that different men have highlighted and emphasized different aspects of what James is saying here. So, today is my humble and prayerful attempt to take a crack at it.

So, remember that for several months now, we’ve been in this book, the letter of James. If there’s one thing, that there’s been this one constant undercurrent of what’s happening in this letter. It has been James’ concern for how we use our words. What that says about what’s going on in our hearts. James has repeatedly stressed in this letter that a person’s speech is going to provide a revealing glimpse into their spiritual condition. Think of James 1:26 which says, “If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue by deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless.” Think of James 2:12 which says, “So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty.” Think of the entirety of James 3:1-12 which says, in an indictment of the tongue, then in turn, an indictment of the human heart. It’s clear that for James, as it was for his half-brother, our Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ. That there is a connection between having a true, saving, abiding faith, and how we use our words. That theme is going to continue on in our text for today – James 5:12-18. As we’re going to see as we work through this text. James is going to get down into the weeds about a variety of different topics. Swearing oaths, for instance. Or prayer or confessing. But what ties them all together is that all of what James describes here will, in some sense, and at some point, be verbalized. It’ll involve our words. It’ll involve the tongue. To see what I mean, let’s get right into our text. James 5:12, God’s word reads: “But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment. Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.”

The title of this morning’s sermon is “A Final Word About Words.” I’ve given it that title because, as we work our way through this passage, James is going to give us five distinct instructions, each of which, in some way, relates to our words:
James’ first instruction relates to swearing.
His second relates to supplicating.
His third, to singing.
His fourth, to shepherding.
And his fifth, to settling.
This sermon is brought to you by the letter “S”.
We’re going to start with the first one:

1. Swearing
Look at verse 12, he says, “But above all, by brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be your yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment.”
So, he starts with the words “But above all.” As he’s winding down this letter, James uses this transitional phrase to encourage his audience to really latch on to what he’s about to say. “If you haven’t been tracking with me so far,” James here is saying, “I really need you to hear this.” “But above all.” Then he calls them “my brethren.” Which is a reminder that the book of James is a letter that’s addressed to Christians. It’s not written to non-believers. It’s not written to fake believers. It’s not written to searchers or to seekers. He wrote this letter to Christians, to true believers, to those who have made a genuine profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Then James gets into the meat of his exhortation. He says: “do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath.” Now, if you’ve done any reading or studying in the Gospels, those words ought to sound familiar. That’s because James there, is drawing directly on what Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount. In fact, turn with me, if you would, back to Matthew 5. Where we’re going to see where James is getting this idea from. This is actually one of the most direct references to Jesus’ words, in the letter of James. Matthew 5, and we’ll pick it up in verse 33. He says, “Again, [these are the words of our Lord] you have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall fulfill your vows to the Lord.’ But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King.”

So, what is James, or for that matter, Jesus – driving at here? When he says, ‘make no oath’? Well, there was this Jewish custom and practice in James’ day, which allowed an individual to swear a false, and deceptive oath. Basically, to back out of whatever it is they were swearing to do. So long as what they were swearing on, was not God Himself. In other words, so as long as your oath was earthbound. So, swearing on your grandmother’s grave. Or swearing on the names of your children. Or swearing on the title deed to your property. You could technically back out of whatever oath you had made. It was only when your oaths were Godward, or heavenward, that you were truly bound. But even then . . . we have to remember, the Jewish people of this time, they were known to strain gnats in order to swallow camels. There were still ways that a person could frame an otherwise-binding oath. Even one that had invoked the name of God. So that they could later get out from under it. That’s what James’ is addressing here. He’s saying: “enough already.” “That’s not OK.” No, as people who have been saved. As people who are committed to righteousness. As people who are committed to truth. We have no need to swear oaths to back up what we say. Rather, we operate from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ, as Paul would say in 2 Corinthians 11:3. Because of that, we use sincere and pure words. Our words shouldn’t carry more weight simply because we attach some verbal formulation at the end of it. Like: “I swear on my life.” Or “I swear on my wife.” Or “As God as my witness.” Rather, our words should carry weight because we are known as being truth-telling straight shooters. Who are committed to faithfully representing Jesus Christ in all that we do or say. That’s the meaning here. “But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath.” Now, does that mean that we should refuse, as believers, as Christians, to take an oath as we testify in court? Or, if we’re a government employee, that we should refuse to take an oath as a condition of our job? I actually don’t think that’s what James has in mind here. I don’t think this is a blanket prohibition against oath-taking. One of the reasons I say that is that there are many places in the scriptures where oath-taking is mentioned, not just neutrally, but positively. Here are a few that you can jot down:
Abraham swore an oath before Abimelech, in Genesis 21
The spies sent out by Joshua swore an oath to Rahab, that they would protect her in Joshua 2
David swore an oath to Jonathan in II Samuel 20
God Himself swore an oath to David in Psalm 132:11-12
God Himself swore an oath to Abraham, as we see in Luke 1:73 and Hebrews 6:13-14

So, I don’t think what James is saying here would prohibit any of us from taking the witness stand in Lancaster County Court, raising our hand and swearing to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help us God. Rather, what James has in view here is our everyday speech as followers of the risen Lord. Remember, James is writing to this assembly of believers here, which we’ve seen throughout this letter. What he’s getting at is that our speech, our words, our conduct, ought always to be truthful and trustworthy. Which we see highlighted in the rest of verse 12 here. Where he says, “but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no,” Again, that’s taken right out of our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, where in Matthew 5:37, He says, Jesus says, “But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes,’ or “No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil. “So, for the true believer who has an active and abiding faith, for the upright and trustworthy follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. In their daily conversations, there is never any need to invoke any type of oath. Whether in heaven, or by heaven or under earth. Because our words are that certain. Because we realize that every word that we speak is being spoken in the presence of a God who sees everything and knows everything. Because we realize, as Jesus said in Matthew 12:36, that “every carless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of Judgment.” Because we realize that every loose-lipped, empty promise dishonors the living God. So, we say what we say, plainly, clearly, and directly.

Takeaways, points of application, here are a couple:
Don’t over-promise. Don’t under-deliver. Don’t sign up for moving day, and then bail at the last minute. Don’t say you’re going to be there at 8:00 and then show up at 8:10. Don’t feel the need to backstop your flimsy promises with words like “you have my word,” or “I swear to God,” or “I’m telling you the truth,” or “I’m going to be honest with you,” or “honestly.” My red flags go up when I hear that word. Say what you have to say. Do what you have to do and leave God’s name out of it. To disregard James’ words here, is to invite God’s judgment. Look at the end of verse 12, he says, “so that you may not fall under judgment.”
God’s judgment, in other words, will fall on anyone who carelessly swears an oath and fails to uphold the truth. But again, James is speaking to believers here. So he’s not referencing here, the Great White Throne Judgment that the wicked are going to face in the last day, when they’re cast into the lake of fire. That’s not what’s going on here. Rather, he’s speaking of the Bema seat of Christ, from II Corinthians 5, at which true believers will lose eternal rewards, because of their rash words and their empty oaths. So, the over-arching command here from James, is let your words be truthful. Keep your word.
That’s the first admonition from James here this morning, on this matter of “swearing.” Or “oath-taking” there in verse 12. Nest, James is going to open the door to this subject of prayer, or supplicating.

2. Supplicating
Look at the first part of verse 13, he says, “Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray.”
I said, “open the door” to the topic of prayer here in verse 13. Because as we’re going to see, this is not the only time that James mentions prayer in our passage for today. In fact, the topic of prayer is woven throughout this text. Which is why, I said what I said at the beginning of this sermon, that many good and godly and gifted preachers will highlight prayer as being the emphasis here, of what James is saying. It’s a fair and legitimate approach. I mean, look at how much he references prayer here:
Verse 13 – “Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray.”
Verse 14 – “. . . the elders of the church . . . are to pray over him . . .”
Verse 15 – “. . . the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick . . .”
Verse 16 – “. . . pray for one another so that you may be healed.”
Verse 17 – “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly . . .”
Verse 18 – “Then he prayed again . . .”
We will work through each of those statements this morning, as we work through this text. For now, we’re going to zero in on what James says in verse 13, where he says, “Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray.” That’s a common form of expression for James. Where he begins with the suggestive, rhetorical question. Then he provides the imperative right after. In James 3:13 where he says, “Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.” Or in James 4:4 another question and imperative formulation where he says, “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? {and then the imperative] Therefore whoever wished to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” Then here in James 35:13, “Is anyone among you suffering? [imperative] Then he must pray. It comes off strong. It comes off really vigorous.

Now, that word for “suffering” there, means to endure hardship. Or to experience misfortune. Or trouble, or calamity. The word can refer to persecution or opposition, in the way the prophets suffered in James 5:10. It can refer to trials or to loss, as Job suffered, as we saw last week in James 5:11. What James is really getting after here in verse 13, is a believer who, through their “suffering” or through their trials, is doing so, potentially in a manner that does not involve God or does not honor God. Whether that being through a prolonged pity party. Or through angry complaining. Or through wrongly contending, like we saw back in James 1:13, that God is somehow tempting them. Or even by simply buckling down and trying to will their way through their suffering. What James is stressing here, that as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, who now have direct access to God, the only One who can actually do something about our suffering, we are called to go to Him, in prayer. That’s why he says: “Then he must pray.”

So, when you suffer, do you pray? Do you pray, do you go to Him in humble repentant prayer, seeking His provision? Seeking His care? Seeking His wisdom? Or instead, do you find yourself growing cold and distant from God? Maybe even angry and complaining against God? Or doubting and demeaning God? The call here, from James, is to “pray.” We know from other places in scripture that we’re to pray in all circumstances. Ephesians 6:18 “pray at all times in the Spirit.” I Thessalonians 5:17, “pray without ceasing.” Then James here is saying that we need to be especially prayerful in times of trouble and distress. As we recall Psalms. Psalm 55:22, “cast your burden upon the Lord, and He will sustain you.” Psalm 27:13, “I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”
That doesn’t mean that we’ll get what we want. It doesn’t mean that the Lord’s going to end our suffering right then and there on the spot. But it does mean, if we go with that humble prayerful spirit, that we will be proving ourselves to be wise, as we go to the One who has called us into this season of suffering. The One who has called us to navigate this long valley that He’s appointed for us. Whatever our condition, whatever our circumstances, whatever form our various trials take, we need to be taking our sufferings to the Lord in prayer. A simple command. Plain instruction, in typical James’s fashion.

Again, this won’t be the last time we cover prayer. Because it’s not the last time James covers prayer here. But for now, we need to get to the next topic in this text in the second half of verse 13 where he says, “is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises.” That’s our third heading for this morning. We’ve seen swearing. We’ve seen supplicating. The third heading is:

3. Singing
He says, “Is anyone cheerful? It’s self-evident, but that’s the opposite emotion from what he’s just described. First, he’s described the one who is “suffering.” Now, he’s describing the one who is “cheerful.” That word here, “cheerful” describes an inner attitude of being in good spirits. It’s not describing silliness. Or shallow hilarity. Or goofy glee. It’s instead, describing an inner attitude of elation. Of being in good cheer. Knowing that you know the Lord. If there’s such a “cheerful” person in this gathering, James says: “He is to sing praises.” That word for “praises”, by the way, comes from the same word from which we get our word “psalm.” That word “psalm”, or singing praises, songs here, originally came from a word that meant “to play on a stringed instrument.” But the singing of “praises” which James has in view here is broader. He’s not only requiring the singing of psalms, that’s a fine thing to do. He’s not only requiring the plucking of a stringed instrument, though again, that’s a fine thing to do. Rather, what he’s commending here is individual hearts poured out in praise, singing some form of spiritual song to the One who has given them reason to sing and to praise. We see the same word used in places like:
Romans 15:9 which says, “. . . I will give praise to You among the Gentiles, and I will sing to Your name.”
I Corinthians 14:15 says, “. . . I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the mind also.”
Many of us know Ephesians 5:19 which speaks of, “. . . speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual song, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord.” The natural response of the joyful heart, the “cheerful” heart, James says here, is to “sing praises” to God.

That’s a good word. Because there are many of us, this morning, many of you here this morning, who when the going gets rough, and you’re in a season of suffering, you might find it easier, natural, to go to the Lord in prayer. In those seasons of suffering, when you’re feeling discouraged or drained, if not devastated. Those seasons where you’re feeling emotionally exhausted. Or too tired to try to trudge on any further on your own. It’s a humble place for you, a natural place for you, to humbly acknowledge the Lord, and go to the Lord in prayer. You resonate and relate Asaph in Psalm 73:25, where he says, “whom have I in heaven but You [Lord]?” But you might find it harder to do what James is describing here. Meaning, you have a harder time acknowledging God, and drawing near to God, and worshiping God, and singing songs of praises to God. When the times are good. When your health is thriving. When the portfolio is growing. When the kids are behaving. When the grandkids are calling. When all in your life appears to be just humming and clicking. You tend to forget God. It’s as though He’s become some sort of heavenly bail bondsman to you. You only call on Him when you need Him. Out of sight, out of mind. That’s not OK. What does James say here? What does the word of God say here? “Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises.” “Sing”, James says. Sing songs to rejoice in God’s blessings. Sing songs to praise God for His salvation, for His provision, for His daily providence. I know, by the way, many of you are doing this very thing. In fact, we put a post out through the Indian Hills Facebook page this week. We asked, what worship songs have encouraged you in recent weeks, or in your life. We got 50 comments, by the way, which was an encouragement. Here’s some of the titles of the hymns and the songs that you all mentioned, encourage you:
In Christ Alone. Great Is Thy Faithfulness. Christ the Sure and Steady Anchor. His Mercy Is More. It Is Well With My Soul. Rock of Ages. He Will Hold Me Fast. Come Thou Fount. Trust and Obey. Blessed Assurance. The Old Rugged Cross.
That’s such an encouragement. To see those comments, and to know that those songs, with the lyrics that those songs have, are encouraging you. Being sung by you. As you give thanks and praise to our God.

Here’s the point, though, that James is making in verse 13. No matter what situation you find yourself in. Whether it be a gloomy valley of suffering. Or the sunny heights of cheer. Whether you find yourself trudging uphill in your spiritual walk. Or coasting downhill. Are you taking it to God? Are you drawing near to God? Are you relating what ever it is you’re experiencing to God? Are you communing with God in all of life’s situations? The old Puritan, Thomas Manton once said this: He said, “We want mercy from God in the morning, but we usually forget to sing praises to God in the evening.” We want what we want in the morning, but we forget to give Him thanks and praise in the evening, is the paraphrase. Let’s not be those types. But let’s give God the praise He is due. In trouble, praying to the Lord. And when cheerful, singing to the Lord. To be those people who are doing what Paul says we ought to do in Colossians 3:16, “singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”

We have looked at Swearing, in verse 12. We’ve looked at Supplicating and Singing, in verse 13. What James says on those topics, on those subjects, is pretty straightforward, pretty clear. We can understand and grasp what he’s saying. That changes a bit in the next couple of verses. As we move onto our next topic, and this fourth way in which our words are used in the context of a Christian gathering. Here’s our fourth “S”, our fourth heading, as we look at verses 14 and 15:

4. Shepherding
This is where we’re going to have to start cutting through some of the tall grass and you’re going to see what I mean in just a second. By the way, the grass around here grows so fast. I can’t believe my backyard right now. If anybody has a mower and wants to help me mow this week, let me know. Verses 14-15, “Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.” Now, there are all sorts of questions, and potentially thorny issues, which arise in these verses. As the elders of this church, in this context, are clearly called to do something. As the shepherds of the flock are being summoned to provide some sort of solution here. There’s apparent sickness. There’s oil. There’s anointing. There’s restoration. If we drop down to verse 16, there’s healing. So, what is all of this describing? What are the elders of the church getting themselves into? Last Sunday night, we put before you, Gordie Coffin, as a man who is desiring the office of elder. Being considered for the office of elder. What is Gordie getting himself into? Well, I’m going to start by addressing two common ways that this text has been distorted and abused and confused. Then I’m going to lay out for you what I think, based on my studies of the text, is actually happening here. So, we’ll start by looking at this text from the angle of two different purveyors of false teaching and how they approach this text. One purveyor of false teaching is the Roman Catholic Church. The other purveyor of false teaching is the Pentecostal movement, and specifically the Health, Wealth, Prosperity, Name it and Claim it movement.

Let’s start with the Roman Catholic Church, and how they take this text. The Roman Catholic Church takes these two verses, to support their sacrament of extreme unction. Which is a process by which a priest applies “holy oil” to various parts of the body, to somebody who’s about to die. The eyes, the ears, the mouth, the feet, they are all applied to the person who’s about to die. The idea behind the whole sacrament there, is that the sins committed by that person, later in life, are being forgiven, by that priest, so that they can avoid a more painful sentence in purgatory. There are so many problems with how the Roman Catholic Church handles this text. For the sake of time, I’m going to limit my comments to just a few here:

First, the simplest reading here of verses 14 and 15, makes it absolutely clear that the anointing, whatever anointing is being described here, that James has in view, is directed toward health, life, not death. Verse 15 says, “the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up.” There’s not even a hint of death in that passage. It’s all about life and restoration.

Second, it is grammatically provable from this text, that the main idea that James is communicating here, the main verbal idea, is prayer. In verse 14, the central verb is “pray.” “The elders of the church are to pray over him.” That word “anointing” is a participle; all that means, is that that participle, “anointing”, is serving the main verb of “praying.” So, the Catholic Church puts all the emphasis here, on the anointing part of the process. But grammatically the verb is speaking of “prayer.”

Third, there is nothing in this text, which supports the notion of Roman Catholic priests, or any mere mortal, for that matter, being able to forgive the sins of another person. It’s the Lord. You’ll even see here in the text; in whose name this person is being anointed. It’s the Lord who has the power and the authority to forgive sins. No mere mortal, whether he calls himself the vicar of Christ. Or a cardinal. Or a bishop. Or a priest. Can forgive the sins of another man.

Fourth, as with any of the detestable doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church. Including the Eucharist, or Mary being in the so called Co-Redemptrix with Jesus Christ, or their denial of justification by faith alone. The sacrament of extreme unction cheapens the finished work of Christ on the cross. When Christ breathed His last. He said, what? “it is finished.” He didn’t cry out, “it’s almost finished, you just need to have a little oil applied to your ears, eyes and mouth and hands and feet before you die” and have some sin burned off, before you join Me.” “It is finished.” No, to the true believer, true follower of Christ, Christ alone has already saved us from hell, forever. We don’t need oil. We don’t need a priest. We don’t need a make-believe holding cell called purgatory to take us all the rest of the way to heaven. Our eternal dwelling place has already been prepared for us. The Roman Catholic Church is an evil institution. It is anti-Christ. It is one of Satan’s crowning achievements over the past 1,000 years. Its twisting of passages like James 5:14-15 to support its dogma. Is one of many now, countless reasons to pray for that institution. To share the gospel with people who are trapped in that institution. To steer clear of any Roman Catholic interpretation of scripture.

That’s just one group. I also mentioned the Pentecostal tradition and specifically, the health, wealth prosperity side of things, as being a group, which takes the passage, verses 14-15, and runs with it in the wrong direction. What do I mean by that? Well, they focus on verse 15 here, specifically the beginning part, where it says, “the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up.” So, for that group, the Pentecostals, health, wealth, prosperity group, they’re really being driven by two presuppositions.

The first presupposition is that our greatest need is not to be holy or faithful. Or even, as it says in verse 15, “forgiven.” Our greatest need is to be well. To have our sicknesses cured. To have our health restored. To breathe easy. To walk upright. To feel no pain. To have no ailments. According to that faulty theological system, God wants Hs people, His chief aim, is to have His people prosper in this life. Not only economically and socially, but medically. So, the job of the elders, they would say, is to pray. To anoint with oil. So that the sick person can recover, get up, walk out the door, glory hallelujah!

The second presupposition underlying this group’s view of this verse though, is that prayer, when offered in faith, will always result in physical healing. A corollary to that idea is that if physical healing doesn’t happen, in response to prayer, then apparently you didn’t have enough faith. So, the reason that person isn’t walking yet. The reason that person still has that visual impairment. Or that cancer. Or that cleft palate. The reason that the oncology unit at the Children’s Hospital still exists is that you didn’t pray with enough faith. Perhaps the reason you didn’t pray with enough faith is that you don’t have enough faith. Oh, sure you’re saved and all, and that’s great, you believe in the name of Jesus, but you haven’t had that extra infusion of the Holy Spirit. What they’ll call a “second blessing.” That outpouring of the Spirit. Where your faith somehow goes into overdrive and now, you’re some sort of super-Christian. Which is evidenced by things like prophesying, praying in tongues, and healing people with oil that you bought for $19.99 on TBN. There are so many things, again, to say in response to that whole wing, for what sadly passes for Christianity today. I don’t have time to get into all of them. Unlike that group, I want to get into the text. But they over-emphases physical healing and the power elders or leaders in the church to physically heal others. That emphasis is grossly misdirected.

I’ve only addressed the false views. We’ve got to get into the actual truth here. With those two wayward views out of the way. What is actually happening in our text, in verses 14-15? Well, within biblical orthodoxy, and biblical faithfulness, there are two views out there. Two major views. One view is that these verses are revering to a physically ill member of the body of believers, who is in need of physical healing. The other view takes this as referring to some sort of spiritually weak member of this body of believers, who’s in need of some sort of spiritual refreshment. Let’s look at the text again. Verses 14-15 he says, “Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins will be forgiven him.”

Now, on first glance, that appears to settle the matter. This is a physically sick person. Who needs to call on the elders of the church. To pray over him. Those elders anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. Then, through the prayers of those same elders, offered in faith; the one who was once physically sick is now restored. Their physical health is now restored. To the extent that sin had anything to do with their physical illness, those sins will be forgiven them, not by the elders, because the elders are people, and they have no authority to forgive sin. But rather, by God Himself.

I’ve got to say, that’s a reasonable, rational and biblically responsible way to handle this text. To come down on the side of this referring to physical ailments and physical healing. But I’ve also got to say, that I don’t come down on that side. That that’s not my position on this text and the reason it’s not. The reason I don’t get there, has to do with the meaning of a word that looks so simple and so straightforward in our English bibles. But actually, has a wider range of meaning in the Kione Greek. That word, verse 14, is “sick.” In James 5:14, the word for sick there is astheneuo. Translators of the NASB, and many other faithful translations have rendered that “sick”. The primary meaning of that term is actually “weakness.” “Weakness” is a broader term than “sickness.” Sure, weakness can be brought about by physical sickness. But there are other forms of weakness that don’t include physical sickness. You can be mentally weak and not be physically sick. You can be spiritually weak and not be physically sick. In fact, in various other places in the New Testament, the term that you see translated here “sick”, is translated as “weak” or “weakness”. In those contexts, the word is used to refer to spiritual weakness.
That’s the word Paul uses in Romans 14:1 where he says, “Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions.” That same word, the same word used here in James 5:14, is used by Paul in I Corinthians 8:9 where he says, “But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.” In both of those verses, Paul is encouraging more mature believers to be cautious for the sake of weaker believers, spiritually weaker believers. Paul also uses that term, by the way, in Romans 5:6 when he refers to our former, unbelieving state, before we came to Christ. He says, “For while we were still helpless, [that’s the same word here] at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” Paul, there, is referring to spiritual helplessness, in our pre-salvific state, not physical helplessness. But it’s not only here in James 5:14, that we have to reckon with this word, “sick”, where he says, “Is anyone among you sick?” We also have to reckon with the word, “sick” in James 5:15, where he says, “the prayer in faith will restore the one who is sick.” Now, interestingly, James uses a totally different word for “sick” there, in verse 15, than he does in verse 14. In verse 14, the word is astheneuo, like I just said. In verse 15, the word is kamno, and that word translated in James 5:15 as “sick” appears only one other time in the New Testament, in Hebrews 12. In fact, turn over with me, to Hebrews 12:1. This was our scripture reading for this morning, incidentally. Hebrews 12:1, the author here says: “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Now look at verse 3 – “For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary [kamno, same word as we see in James 5:15 and lose heart.” The author of Hebrews, here in Hebrews 12, clearly has spiritual weariness in view. We consider the great cloud of witnesses who have gone before us, we fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of faith. We do so not so that we will not grow physically weary. We do so that, so we’ll not grow spiritually weary. So that we can finish our race well. All that to say, bringing it back to James 5 here, where I land on this, is that James is actually not describing someone who is physically sick. He’s describing someone who is spiritually weak. Somebody who is maybe weary, spiritually weary, from his guilt. His sorrow. His disobedience. His sin. Somebody who could relate to what David says in Psalm 32:3-4 when he said: “When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with fever heat of summer.”

Not only do I think this “spiritual weariness” view makes overall better sense grammatically. I think it better fits the context of what’s being described here. Look again at James 5:14, because there are parties here that are very important, the elders. “He must call for the elders of the church.” Now, by way of reminder, an elder is an “overseer.” An elder is a “steward.” An elder is a “shepherd.” An elder, Hebrews 13 says, “keep[s] watch over your souls.” An elder is to be marked by certain godly character traits, as we see in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. He’s to be an “example to the flock, as we see in I Peter 5:3. He must “hold fast” Titus 1:9 says, “the faithful word, which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able to exhort in sound doctrine and refute those who contradict. As a church leader, I Thessalonians 5:14, he is to “encourage the fainthearted and help the weak.” Following in the footsteps of the apostles of an earlier day, the elder devotes himself, Acts 6:4, “to prayer and to ministry of the word.” The role of an elder, then, is one of soul-watching, soul-shepherding, soul-care. That fits really well with what the elders here in James 5:14 are being called to do. As an exercise of their shepherding function, as they care for the needs of these spiritually weak individuals among them. They pray for them. Again, that’s the main verbal idea and then, they anoint them in the name of the Lord. More on that in just a minute. Then through “the prayer of faith”, it says here in verse 15, the spiritual weak member of this body, is restored. As it says here, “the Lord will raise him up.” Of course, they’ll be physically raised on the last day, when they experience that future bodily resurrection and receive that glorified body, the imperishable, that Paul talks about in I Corinthians 15. But this here in James, is a reference to being spiritually raised up. From a place of spiritual weakness, to now, being spiritually strong. Having had one of their shepherds, their elders now, come and minister to them. Now, this last line in verse 15, he says, as of their sins, “And if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.” Meaning, if this spiritually weak person, if their weakness was brought about by their sin, their sins will be forgiven them. Not because of any special formulation that the elder used in his prayer. Not by the elder himself, who has no authority to forgive sins. But by God, who alone can forgive sin, and will forgive their sin, based on the finished work of Christ on the cross, and their trust in that reality.

So, that’s where I land. I take the word “sick” here not as referring to physical illness. But instead, spiritual weakness. Both because of the underlying grammar of the text. But also, I think it fits better with the context here of the role of the elder, the shepherd, and his spiritual domain and sphere of influence within the church. Not as a healer of the sick. But rather, as a tender of souls. Alright, a couple more loose ends to tie off at this part of the text.

First, what are we to make of this oil? This whole process of anointing? Some, like the Roman Catholic Church, would say that the oil has a spiritual purpose, and it plays a spiritual function in the actual forgiveness of the sins of the person, as mediated through the priest. I think we’ve sufficiently debunked that idea. Others will say that the oil has a medicinal purpose, in that it plays some physical part in the person physically healed. As I’ve just explained, I don’t think physical ailments or healing are what are centrally in view here. I take the oil to have a symbolic purpose. It is physically used. It is physically applied. But its purpose is symbolic. In my judgment, that’s the strongest view. The physical application of the oil is symbolic in nature. The oil, physically applied, doesn’t result in sins being forgiven. It doesn’t have innate medicinal or healing properties. What it does do is refresh and encourage the believer, as they are being tended to by one of their elders. One of their shepherds.

Second thing I want to mention, is that I recognize, completely, that there are good and godly men who disagree with me, on my view here. So, if you have a different view. Or if you’ve heard this view taught differently. That’s OK. We’re still brothers and sisters in the Lord; and if we all have trusted in Christ, we’re going to be in heaven together. In the meantime, though, I do want you to know that I and the other elders of the church here are always here for you. To pray for you. To minister to any of the members of our body. Whether that issue you’re going through is spiritual or physical, that’s the nature of the call of the elder.

I need to move on. We’ve seen Swearing in verse 12. We’ve seen Supplicating and Singing in verse 13.
We’ve seen Shepherding (in terms of praying over and anointing those who are spiritually weak) in verse 14. Now, we come to verse 15, where we’re going to get our fifth “S”, Settling.

5. Settling
Settling, not “settling” as in, settling for less. But settling as in settling accounts with one another.
Look at the first part of verse 16, he says, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another.” We can make quick work of this one. Whereas the last two verses had more of a limited focus involving elders and a specific spiritually weak member. James now, is broadening his focus to the entire church body, as he encourages them to confess their sins to one another. That word “confess” is a compound word which refers to openly and honestly sharing your sin struggles with another believer. The root form of the word means to say the same thing. Meaning, when you’re “confessing” your sin, you’re saying the same thing as the person you’re confessing your sin to. You’re agreeing to identify that sin by its true name. To admit that it is sin. To “confess” means bringing a brother or sister in Christ into your walk with Christ. Into your process of sanctification and to provide a full and open acknowledgment of your sin. Whether that sin be against them, or some other sin of the heart or the mind or the body that you’ve engaged in. James here, by the way, is not promoting the formal sacrament of confession, that the Roman Catholic Church promotes. That idea was invented in the fifth century by Pope Leo the first. No, as individuals who have direct access to God through Christ, who is the Great High Priest, Hebrews 4:14. We confess our sins directly to God, 1 John 1:9. Now as James 5 here says, we “confess our sins to one another.” Sin is lawlessness. Sin blinds us. Sin causes us to drift. Sin causes us to withdraw and to isolate. To become spiritually vulnerable and spiritually weak. Confession of sin, which Richard Sibbes called “verbal humiliation” . . . is the antidote. Confession brings us closer to God. Closer to our fellow brothers and sisters in the faith. What confession does is, it prevents that sort of spiritual isolation and the atrophy which leads to spiritual weakness, which leads to elders needing to come in and intervene. James here says, “confess your sins to one another.” Don’t try to go it alone. Acknowledge your sin as sin. Confess that sin. Then build into this reality, is that you might need to seek forgiveness for that sin.

We’ve hit all five “S’s”. Swearing, Supplication, Singing, Shepherding, and now, Settling. But you’ve noted, we have to go through verse 18. We’re not quite done with our text. For the remainder of this passage, James is going to take us back to one of the earlier “S’s”, Supplication, as he concludes this section on the topic of prayer. Look at the rest of verse 16. We’ve seen, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another.” Then he says, “And pray for one another so that you may be healed.” So, here we have another “one another.” It was “Confess . . . to one another” earlier in the verse, now it’s “pray for one another so that you may be healed.” That, by the way, is not referring to physical healing, or bodily healing. It’s referring to spiritual healing.

Turn with me, back to Hebrews 12, if you would. Earlier we looked at Hebrews 12:1-3, now let’s look at Hebrews 12, picking it up in verse 11. The author there says, “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.” Now, is the author of Hebrews there, talking about physical healing here? When he refers to hands and knees, and feet, and limbs? No, he’s using this to bring out the concept of healing, as a metaphor for spiritual healing. Spiritual strength. Heading back to James 5:16, James here is doing the same thing. When he uses that word “healed”, he’s not referring to recovery from physical infirmity, he’s referring to growing in spiritual strength. You could even jot down I Peter 2:24, as another cross-reference where Peter there says, “for by His wounds [Christ’s wounds] you were [have been] healed.” Which obviously, is a reference to our spiritual healing, in the ultimate sense, not physical healing. These familiar words at the end of verse 16: “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” Now, when you first read that verse, you may think that only the super-godly Christian can lay claim to its promises. But is that what’s being said here by James? We have to put the statement in its context. The context is this: Back in verse 13, James said that if we’re suffering, we “must pray”, meaning, prayer can take on tall tasks. In verses 14-15, as we just saw, he said that the spiritually weak person is to call the elders, and then they pray, and then he will be spiritually restored. To the extent his spiritual weakness stemmed from his sin, that sin will be forgiven him. Then we just saw, earlier in verse 16, that through prayer he can be “healed.” Meaning spiritually healed. As we’re going to see in verses 17 and 18, there’s a prayerful example of Elijah that we can look to. So, this statement here, James 5:16b, a statement many of us have memorized. Many of us have thrown around and seen on various signs. Is really a summary statement. A capstone statement of all that James has been saying in this section of his letter about prayer. As we’ve seen throughout this whole section, “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.”

Now, there are two terms that James uses here that do require some more explanation.
First, what is an “effective prayer”? Second would be, what is “a righteous man”? We’ll take those one by one.

Starting with what is “an effective prayer.” What’s an “effective prayer,” and what makes it “effective”? Well, we can start by describing what an “effective prayer” is not. An “effective prayer” is not mindless, repetitive dinnertime prayer. “Come Lord Jesus, be our guest, let these gifts to us be blessed. Amen.” Or “Jesus be our guest, let these gifts to us be blessed. Amen.” Nor is it necessarily just the empty recitation of the Lord’s Prayer. An “effective prayer” is not one that’s necessarily the loudest, or the most verbose, or laced with the most theological depth. An “effective prayer”, rather, is powerful. In fact, that’s another translation of that word “effective”. It can be translated “powerful.” The “effective prayer” is powerful because of who is on the other side of that prayer. God Himself. The “effective prayer” is powerful because its in alignment with God’s will. The prayer, “Lord, help me win the lottery”, is not an effective prayer. The prayer, “Lord, help me cheat on my spouse and not get caught”, is not an effective prayer. The prayer, “Lord, help me ace this exam even though I don’t want to, and will not study for it”, is not an effective prayer. Why? Because the prayer is not in alignment with the will of God. It doesn’t mean that those things might still not happen. They might still happen. You might still win the lottery. You might still cheat on your spouse. I hope not. You might still ace that exam. But don’t try to credit God for doing something that was not only outside of His will, but against His will.

Last, the “effective prayer” is powerful, it says, because it’s prayed by a “righteous man.” So, what is the “righteous man”? Who is the “righteous man”? Or the righteous person? Why is his prayer effective? Is the righteous man a perfect person? Is that what’s in view here? Thankfully, no. Or else none of our prayers would be answered. Instead, the word “righteous” here is referring to a person that’s been justified. A person who has been born again. A person who’s been saved. It refers to those who, as Paul put it in
II Corinthians 5:21, have “become the righteousness of God in Him.” It’s referring to those who have “been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Christ Jesus” as Paul put it in Philippians 1:11 It’s referring to those who, as Paul said in Philippians 3:9, who “through faith in Christ,” have “the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith.”

So, who can pray effective prayers? Prayers that are powerful? Prayers that God will answer? The answer is: any Christian believer. Far from limiting the pool of those who can pray “effective” prayers to the religious elite. James here is broadening the ability to pray “effective” prayers to anyone who has trusted in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins and the salvation of their souls.

Now note, if you are here this morning and you’re outside of Christ. Meaning, you haven’t put your faith in Christ. You haven’t trusted in the death of Christ, on the cross, as the exclusive means by which you might be saved. Your prayers are going nowhere. You might say you’re a praying person. You might pray for the nation. You might pray for all types of things. But you need to know, if you’re outside of Christ. If you haven’t been made right with your Maker. Your prayers are hitting the ceiling. God isn’t listening.
Psalm 66:18 says, “If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear.” All unbelievers, fundamentally are “sicked in their hearts”, we know that from Romans 3, the Lord will not hear.
Proverbs 15:29 says, “The Lord is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous.”

But if you have trusted in Jesus Christ and you have been positionally declared “righteous” before a holy God. Your prayers are “effective”, as it says her in James 5:16, and they “can accomplish much.”

Alright, as we turn to our final verses for this morning, James is going to sort of put a bow on this whole section oh his letter. Look at verses 17-18, we get an example here. “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.” James here is giving us another Old Testament example, one that would have been very familiar to his Jewish audience. Last week, in verse 10, he gave the example of the prophets. Last week in verse 11, he gave the example of Job. Now, in verses 17 and 18, it’s Elijah. Elijah is being identified here by James, as this fellow sojourner. This fellow sufferer. He “was a man with a nature like ours”, James says. Though he was viewed by the Jews of this day, as a “super saint”, Elijah. He raised the dead. He called fire down from heaven. He defeated the prophets of Baal. He was taken up to heaven in a chariot. He was directly linked to the Messiah, in Malachi 4. The reality is Elijah was still a man who knew the frailties of human nature. He was known as a man who was being dependent, James notes here, through prayer. He not only prayed, “he prayed earnestly.” He prayed first, for a drought. We see that in verse 17, “He prayed earnestly that it would not rain.” By the way, that can be the prayer that Elijah offered around the time that he was confronting wicked King Ahab in I Kings 17:1. We actually don’t have a direct record of the exact words of Elijah’s prayer in this timeframe. But that interaction with Ahab seems about as good a candidate as any. But what we do know, directly from scripture, is that Elijah’s prayer, whatever words or verbal form it took, that prayer was answered. As James puts it here, “he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.” If we were to look at Luke 4:25, we see Jesus referring to this same answer to prayer, where He says, “But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land.” Note, that Elijah’s prayer here was in direct alignment with the will of God. Because what he was praying for, this drought, was actually something God said He would bring upon the Israelites, back in Deuteronomy 28, for disobeying Him. After some time, we see here in verse 18, Elijah prayed a second prayer. This time he prayed, not for rain to be withheld, but for rain to fall. Look at these words here in verse 18. “Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.” So, he prayed the prayer, and then the prayer was answered. The fact that that prayer was answered, is also recorded for us back in I Kings 18. I Kings 18:45, we have a record there where it says, “In a little while the sky grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy shower.” Again, that prayer, from Elijah, by Elijah, was in alignment with the will of God. The people got the drought when the prayer for withholding the rain was answered. But then there was a little inkling of repentance, that we see in I Kings 18:39, where the people cry out – “The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God.” And then Elijah prays for rain at that point, in alignment with the will of God, and rain comes. Elijah wasn’t just praying random prayers to control the weather. He was praying for God’s revealed will. Rain to fall on repentant Israel, to be done. Taking it back to our study of James. James gives us this example of Elijah here in verses 17 and 18, to show us what he said back in verse 16. That the “prayer of the righteous person, such as Elijah”
“A man with a nature like ours.” A man who modeled for us what it means to “pray earnestly”, is “effective”, and can “accomplish much.”

That’s James’ “Final Word About Words.” We have covered a ton of territory this morning. I hope it’s been helpful. We’re going to, by the way, have a couple of special messages these next two Sundays. We have one for next Sunday. We have a guest speaker coming in the following Sunday. Then what we’re going to do is we’re going to finish James up the final Sunday in May. So, we’ll do 5:19-20 on May 28th, and from there, we’ll dive right into the book of Colossians. Let’s pray.

Lord, thank You, thank You for this time together. Thank You for the time in the word. Thank You for James, and his model of faithfulness and godliness to people like us. Thank You for the truth of Your word. The sufficiency of Your word. The timelessness of Your word. To know we can open this book, that was divinely inspired and written out by human authors, so long ago, on a completely different part of the planet; has direct application, direct relevance, and is truth. Your word is truth. Here today, just as it was when it was first given by You. I pray that we would be marked as a people who are following all that we saw in our text for today. A people who are not rash with our words. Rash with oaths. A people who pray when we suffer. A people who sing when we’re cheerful. A people who count on and call on our shepherds to come and pray with us and minister to us. A people who confesses our sins to one another, as James 5:16 puts it. Thank You, for this time together. We pray that we would be a faithful witness to You, the Living God. A faithful witness to our Savior, Jesus Christ, in the week ahead. It’s in His name we pray. Amen.