5:16 "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."
"Therefore"-We have
here a connecting link with what has been previously stated.
The Greek word translated "therefore" is not found
in some Greek manuscripts but it is found in many. James has
already linked healing and confession of sins together in 5:15.
While every physical disease is not the direct result of our
sins, some can be traced to sins which are kept hidden and persisted
in. The guilt which sin produces in the human heart can cause
a lot of physical, mental and emotional damage. In the book
"None of These Diseases", the author has a chapter entitled,
"Upset Mind-Sick Body". He points that anxiety, probably
places more stress on the heart than any other stimulus, including
physical exercise and fatigue. Through such things as worry,
anger and guilt we can literally make ourselves sick. Man wasn't
designed by God to be a vessel to carry around guilt. See Psalm
32:1-5; 38:1-8 for a good description of how unforgiven sin can
make us miserable, physically and mentally.
"confess your sins"-"Confess"-'to
confess forth, freely and openly" (Vine p. 764). "Be
in the habit of confessing your sins" (Roberts p. 220).
James here uses the present imperative of continuous action.
"We are not to wait until we are ill to do so" (Roberts
p. 220). Unfortunately, at times we wait until our guilt is
so unbearable, and suffer needlessly before we are willing to
repent. Too many of us think that we can live with and get by
with some sin in our lives. "Sins"-(KJV "faults"),
"false step, transgression, sin" (Arndt p. 621).
Points To Note:
"to one another"-"reciprocally,
mutually" (Thayer p. 28); "each other, mutually"
(Arndt p. 39).
Points To Note:
"When sinning has occurred, the confession required here
is not to a priest but 'to one another'" (Kent p. 192).
The Private confession of sins before the priest alone was made
compulsory by the Fourth Lateran Council (1215 A.D.). Auricular
Confession is based on a couple of wrong assumptions: A. The
priests are the successors of the Apostles, when in reality the
Apostles had no successors (Acts 1:20-26; 1 Corinthians 15:8).
B. Jesus gave the Apostles inherent authority to decide human
conditions for forgiveness, i.e. how many and what and which good
works were needed to be performed for such and such sin? The
truth is that the Apostles revealed the divine terms of forgiveness
(John 20:21-23), which are faith, repentance, confession and baptism
for non-Christians, and prayer and repentance for Christians (1
John 1:8-10). Note that the confession in James 5:16 includes
a mutual obligation. Roberts notes, "The Roman Catholic
doctrine of Auricular Confession has no support from the passage.
In the first place, 'elders' here does not refer to a priestly
set of workers. Elders here are not given power to absolve a
sinner or to set conditions on which he may be forgiven. The
only conditions of forgiveness are those laid down in the gospel
of confession and repentance
.Finally, 'to one another' means
that any brother chosen may rightly hear the confession and make
intercession (Galatians 6:1)" (p. 221).
Another abuse of this passage is seen in what has evolved from
the Crossroads Movement, to the Boston Movement, to the Discipling
Movement, to the International Churches of Christ Movement.
Whether they are called Prayer Partners or Discipleship Partners,
the concept is the same. Wherein a Christian is set over you
and it is your duty to confess to that specific Christian all
your sins, and yet that Christian doesn't confess any of their
sins to you. In this system there is another abuse, that is,
the sins you confess are not kept in confidence and forgotten,
rather they are relayed up the chain of command. Kent reminds
us, "This passage is not sufficient warrant for an indiscriminate
and continuing baring of the soul to others, with perhaps the
temptation to outdo one's comrades in the number or magnitude
of things confessed. It does suggest that specific wrongs should
be made to those who have been wronged, and that sinfulness that
was public and has tainted the whole church should be confessed
before the church" (p. 192).
"and pray for one another"-that
is, keep on praying for one another. "Praying one for another
is the key to what God wants to do in our lives. It is hard to
be mad at someone for whom we are praying. It is hard to be unkind
and cynical toward someone we are praying for" (Draper p.
164). Paul often requested prayers from his brethren on his
behalf (Philippians 1:3; 2 Thess. 3:1; see Acts 12:5 and 8:20-23).
"so that you may be healed"-the
word "healed" is used of both spiritual and physical
healing. Forgiven sin can certainly help a person feel physically
better, one might even live longer if they get rid of the guilt,
but the healing here is probably more in the line of being healed
from your sins. Woods notes, "An impenitent person would
not likely call for the elders of the church
.God will not
bestow his blessings upon those who insist on maintaining a barrier
between themselves and him" (p. 306). In this section
it is at times hard to distinguish physical and spiritual healing
and that might have been intentional on God's part. For it is
very hard to sin without that affecting you in some physical sense.
The world has bought into the myth that we can remain physically
and emotionally healthy while spurning God. That our physical,
emotional and mental health is completely unrelated to our spiritual
health.
"The effective prayer"-"effectual
fervent prayer" (KJV); "in its working" (ASV).
"to display activity, show oneself operative" (Thayer
p. 215). "to work in, be active, operative" (Vine p.
232).
"Prayer"-"a seeking,
asking, entreating, entreaty" (Thayer p. 126); "primarily
a wanting, a need, then asking, entreaty, supplication" (Vine
p. 200). "Used of a specific kind of prayer, an earnest
entreaty for something" (Roberts p. 221).
"of a righteous man"-that
is a person who is right with God. This letter has already helped
us to define such a person. They patiently endure under trials
(1:2-4); ask God for wisdom (1:5); pray with confidence (1:6-8);
are quick to listen, in control of their tongue and anger (1:19-20);
humbly accept the teachings of Scripture (1:21), are doers of
the word (1:22ff) and so on. God has made it clear that He isn't
impressed with the prayers of the hypocritical (1:6-7; Isaiah
59:1-2; Proverbs 15:8, 29).
"can accomplish much"-
"effectual fervent prayer" (KJV); "Great is the
power of a good man's fervent prayer"(TCNT); "has great
power in its effects" (RSV); "An upright man's prayer,
when it keeps at work, is very powerful" (Wms); "Powerful
is the heartfelt supplication of a righteous man" (Wey).
means: "to be able, can" (Thayer p. 309); "to
be of force, to be effective, capable of producing results"
(Vine p. 90); "have power, be competent, be able" (Arndt
p. 383); "Has much force, present active" (Robertson
p. 66). "great force" (Woods p. 307). "Be powerful
or mighty, and then to prevail, to win out" (Roberts p. 222).
Points To Note:
5:17 "Elijah was a man with a nature
like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain; and
it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months".
"Elijah"-Elijah was
a real historical person! The connection between this verse and
the previous verse is an answer to a question any reader might
have. "Well, how much can such a prayer accomplish? How
much can it avail? Really--- what can such prayers really do?"
God puts us on the spot. Here is God's challenge to the skeptical
Christian or the Christian who says, "Well I know that praying
will make me feel better
.and that is about all I expect
from my prayer life." "Prayer can build you up and
give you a better perspective, but it really can't accomplish
much more than that."
"was a man with a nature like ours"-"of
like feelings or affections" (Thayer p. 445). "Of similar
feelings, circumstances, experiences with the same nature"
(Arndt p. 566). Compare with Acts 14:15 "We are also men
of the same nature as you". Note, Elijah wasn't a super-human
or a god. "the Jews of the intertestamental period developed
an exaggerated opinion of Elijah, making him a mysterious heavenly
figure, as they did Enoch and Melchizedek. Peter had to correct
Cornelius by telling him that he was also a man (Acts 10:26)"
(Roberts p. 224). The same truth could be said about any other
hero in the Old Testament. Abraham, Noah, Jeremiah, Isaiah
were
also men just like ourselves. Hence, what they did, we can do,
the level of faith they manifested, we can manifest. "he
suffered under the same nature as ours. He was subject to the
same limitations that we are. He was tempted just as we are tempted.
He was liable to commit the same sins that we are
..God
is in the business of answering prayers for folks just like us"
(Draper p. 167). "These words were penned by James to
allay any feeling that the remarkable exploits of this marvelous
man of God set him apart from the rest of his fellows, and he
could not be regarded as an example of an ordinary person"
(Woods p. 308). And neither was Elijah a perfect man, he had
his own short-comings, but God heard his prayer (Romans 11:2-4).
"and he prayed earnestly"-"Lit.,
he prayed with prayer" (Vincent p. 764). "He really
prayed. Praying earnestly means really praying, really talking
to God, really committing ourselves to God, really communicating
with God. Elijah meant business when he prayed" (Draper
pp. 167-168).
Points To Note:
"that it might not rain; and it
did not rain on the earth for three years and six months".
Points To Note:
5:18 "And he prayed again, and
the sky poured rain, and the earth produced its fruit."
"And he prayed again"-The
Old Testament doesn't specifically say he prayed again, but it
is implied in 1 Kings 18:42. "The resumption of the rains
occurred following the episode of Elijah with the prophets of
Baal at Mount Carmel" (Kent p. 195).
Point To Note:
Wow! This section of Scripture should really make us reevaluate
the faith and effort put into our prayers. This section is encouraging
but at the same time a bit intimidating. A. If I am a righteous
person, then nothing else matters, God hears my prayers, I am
not lost in the great crowd of humanity, I am not forgotten.
B. In reality, if I am a righteous person, then I have at my
finger tips more influence and power than the Congress, the Military
of the President. C. I need to be careful about what I pray
for. If I sincerely pray that God would humble this country,
break our insistence upon the glorification of the autonomous
individual, God might just answer that prayer. God has actually
changed the weather in answer to the prayers of His people.
Now what is my excuse for being apathetic and neglectful in prayer?
And what is my excuse for thinking that I can't do anything
or that I can't make a difference?
"one would expect the close of the letter to offer some sort
of summation of the contents, or at least a conclusion based upon
the material that has been given
.After mentioning in the
letter a great many sins that Christians can commit (e.g. favoritism,
uncontrolled speech, judging each other, friendship with the world),
James indicates that such discussion was not to be taken merely
as an academic analysis of church conditions but as a call for
action. Those who had strayed from the truth of the gospel and
its attendant responsibilities needed to be brought back to proper
conduct" (Kent p. 196).
5:19 "My brethren, if any among
you strays from the truth, and one turns him back,"
"if any among you"-The
people straying from the truth are Christians. We must reject
the interpretation that those who are straying from the truth
are non-Christians. "Any"-This can happen to anyone,
it even happened to some who had been elders (Acts 20:28ff).
"strays"-that wanders
away, to be lead astray, deceived. Whether others have deceived
you or you have deceived yourself (1 Cor. 6:9; 15:33; Galatians
6:7; James 1:16).
"from the truth"-which
is contained in the gospel message, the Word of God (James 1:18).
Notice, how a person might stray from the truth isn't the issue,
because any straying from the truth on any point of the truth
can be equally dangerous. The truth is an objective standard,
that can be believed, practiced, obeyed, loved and understood
(John 8:31-32; 2 Thess. 2:10-12; 1 Timothy 2:4). The truth isn't
something which is fuzzy, unattainable, mysterious or all inclusive.
From the fact that a Christian can stray from the truth, it must
be clear that the truth doesn't include every practice or idea
in the religious world. It is just as obvious that a Christian
can so sin as to end up lost and that God doesn't prevent people
from straying. The idea of once-saved-always-saved, or the associated
ideas that God would never let a Christian believe false doctrine
or that God would have you killed before you strayed to the point
of lostness---are all false ideas.
Be impressed that doctrine "the truth" and our relationship
with God cannot be separated. Straying from the truth means straying
from God! Draper reminds us, "We never backslide suddenly.
Slowly and over a period of time it begins to happen until ultimately
it becomes a condition of backsliding" (p. 170). At times
we think that a major crisis might shake our faith---when in reality,
often the devil is having success in wearing us down slowly.
Instead of bracing ourselves that that one major crisis in our
lives, we need to take a good look at ourselves today and see
if we have compromised.
"and one turns him back"-Note,
and it only takes "one" (Matthew 18:15). Especially,
one spiritual and righteous individual (Galatians 6:1). "Turns"-"to
cause to return, to bring back" (Thayer p. 243).
5:20 "let him know that he who
turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from
death, and will cover a multitude of sins".
"let him know"-Present
active imperative. When we see someone fall away or slipping
away, we need to continually remember: A. A soul is at stake,
eternity for this person is hanging in the balance. B. This
is an urgent situation, that demands our best effort, attitude
and dedication. C. Even though a person who has strayed might
resent my initial efforts---I know that I am doing what God wants
done, that I am doing what is best for that individual!
"he who turns a sinner from the
error of his way"-Such can be done, this isn't an
impossible task! People who stray from the truth can be brought
back. Note also that the unfaithful Christian is called a "sinner".
"God sees such a one as a sinner 'in the error or his way'.
Not that he has merely stumbled in doing wrong, but that he practices
sin" (Plain Talk, 16/6/3).
"of his way"-Nobody
is forcing this person to defect. And when I sin-those sins are
"mine".
"will save his soul from death"-The
soul being saved from death is the soul of the person who is brought
back to God. The idea isn't that if I bring someone back, I have
saved my own soul---because, what if they don't want to come back?!
Compare with 1 Corinthians 9:27. I do have the responsibility
in going after the erring (Galatians 6:1; Matthew 18:15), but
I do not have the responsibility for what decision they will finally
make. The death under consideration is obviously eternal death,
final separation from God. It can't be physical death, for many
unfaithful people live long lives or live just as long as the
most devout Christian. And, when a person strays from the truth,
they are automatically in a condition of spiritual death. What
we are trying to save this soul from is final and eternal separation
from God, i.e. hell.
"and will cover a multitude of
sins"-"Cover"-"cover, conceal, remove
from sight". (1 Peter 4:8 "because love covers a multitude
of sins"; Proverbs 10:12; Psalm 32:1; 85:2).
Points To Note:
1. First of all, when a person is brought back to the truth,
their sins of unfaithfulness are forgiven by God (1 John 1:8-10).
2. In addition, think about all the sins which will never happen
because you were able to bring this person back! Think of the
difference that has been made in this person's life and in the
world. The difference in what type of husband, wife, parent,
child, worker, etc
and this person will be. 3. Please note,
when we don't serve God we are not merely sinning here and there,
we are living a life in which we will sin countless times without
number. A life of unfaithfulness is not merely sinning in one
thing or area, when we are unfaithful to God we are being unfaithful
to many people, many duties, responsibilities and so on. 4.
In addition, the person who comes back is forgiven and his or
her sins are not remembered. "The need of the man who errs
from the truth is not ignoring him, advertising his situation,
exposing, criticism, rationalizing. But he needs help, converting,
saving, restoring, counted as a brother" (Plain Talk 18/9/5).
"he that is wise winneth souls" (Proverbs 11:30).