Restoring One Who Falls

“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.” (James 5:19-20. ESV).

Unlike Paul who has a benediction to end his epistles, James puts in a final strong word about the responsibility of the church (and Christians) to bring back from error any who wander from the truth. James, wise pastor that he was, knew there would be those who would go after doctrines contrary to what Christ taught. We have developed a term for this: backsliding. In this present time of New Age teachings, it is very important that we weigh heavily the things we hear and evaluate them in the light of biblical truth. We have a responsibility, first of all, to witness to and win the sinner to the Lord. When the sinner accepts Christ as Savior that soul is ‘saved from death.’ Also, a ‘multitude of sins’ is covered. But to bring back the once-saved person who has wandered is a grave responsibility as well. Christians defecting from the church is a common occurrence. A comparison of almost any “church roll” with those who are active, in regular attendance and showing evidences of growing in grace and in knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will indicate how much we need to heed James’ admonition to restore the wanderers.

It is easy to think of the apostate (straying ones) as agents of the devil and therefore dismiss them with little effort to restore them to fellowship. “They should know better,” we often say. But maybe they don’t, or maybe the pull of the world has enticed them so strongly that they need positive, active Christian concern to awaken them. We read in Proverbs 10:12: “Hatred stirs up strife, But love cancels innumerable sins.” Peter must have had this proverb in mind when he wrote: “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.” (Peter 4:8).

We have a saying about such spiritual wanderers: “They come in the front door of the church and leave by the back door.” That is, they lose their enthusiasm and desire to live a Christian life, and neglect soon becomes habit, and habit grows into a way of life absent from a nurturing, vital fellowship in the church. “He who waters others shall be watered also himself” was a well-known adage in the Jewish community of James’ day.

Think about the situation. What joy comes when a family member has been estranged and is restored. We should go after and seek to win back into active fellowship those who have become cold and indifferent. Eugene Peterson in The Message Bible gives these verses and their impact in a very strong appeal: “My dear friends, if you know people who have wandered off from God’s truth, don’t write them off. Go after them. Get them back and you will have rescued precious lives from destruction and prevented an epidemic of wandering away from God.” Think of ones you know who need to be restored to fellowship. Begin earnestly praying for them. Then cultivate their friendship and trust and gently “love” them back into fellowship. What a mission!

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Friday, October 29, 2010

Prayer – A Vital Force in the Christian’s Life

“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 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. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and 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.” (James 5:13-18. ESV)

The importance and extent of prayer are highly emphasized in this “prayer of faith” passage. Devout Christians believe in and practice prayer. When the disciples asked Jesus (Himself a man of prayer) how to pray, He taught them what we know as the Lord’s Prayer, but more rightly should be called the Disciple’s Prayer. It is our pattern for how to pray. James emphasizes areas of life that need—require—prayer. Suffering of any kind, be it physical, emotional, economic, illness, pain—then pray! Is one happy, cheerful? Then praise God! Is anyone sick? Call together the elders, let them anoint the sick one with oil, and pray. God will hear and heal. My husband and I had a devout elderly pastor friend in the mountains who practiced this anointing with oil. The youth choir I directed went on deputation to sing at this pastor’s church. We witnessed him anointing-with-oil and praying at the end of the service for one who was ill. Because that pastor believed, the people whom he anointed believed, and they prayed earnestly, some amazing healings occurred. I remember one, in particular, where cancer was diagnosed. Further tests proved the cancer cells had disappeared. Today, many of our churches have Prayer Teams who intercede for any who have prayer requests. Prayer is a vital and needful ministry. Alfred Lord Tennyson, great British poet, wrote: “More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.” Spiritually sick? We all commit sin. James says we are to confess our sins one to the other and pray for forgiveness and it will be granted. This passage in no way indicates that we have license to share publicly that which would harm persons, or spread gossip about them. But sin is soul-sickness. We need to be healed of this malady that separates us from God’s forgiveness and His power in our lives. Note that this confession is in the context of praying for the sick and the confession of sins by the sick person to the elders. Then James gave the example of Elijah and the great influence he had through prayer. We have but to remember the account of Elijah, the prophets of Baal and the victory of God over paganism on Mt. Carmel (see I Kings 18). This came after a long draught—no rain for 3 ½ years. We could think of the draught symbolically, , as a nation in great need of prayer because of the evil practices and ungodly leaders (and citizens) that need to wake up and turn to God. Great power lies in prayer. “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (James 5:16b. NIV). We all need the healing balm of prayer. Our nation needs it. Let us therefore pray in faith, believing.

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Thursday, October 28, 2010

Beware of Swearing and Oaths

“But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your ‘yes’ be yes and your ‘no’ be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.” (James 5:12. ESV)

Near the end of his letter, James writes a brief but terse admonition about being careful of what one says and of taking oaths. James was warning of a practice of using God’s name to attest to the truth of a statement or the strength of a promise.

The Jews took such oaths by raising a hand toward heaven or placing the hand on the thigh. In Exodus 20:7 the third of the ten commandments states: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.” (NASV). When Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount about taking oaths, He said: “Again, 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. Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no; and anything beyond these is evil.” (Matthew 5:33-37).

How often have I heard persons exclaim: “I swear!” to indicate they are telling the truth. Some say, evidently to make their emphasis clearer, “I swear to (or by) God!” Both Jesus and James say this habit of speech is sinful. All one needs to say (and mean) is ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Christ prohibited such oath-taking in talking. Look at some of the examples of consequences of oath-taking: Herod swore to his step-daughter that he would give her whatever she asked. That resulted in the head of John the Baptist on a tray (Matthew 14:7-9). Peter swore on the night of Jesus’ trial that he did not know Him and denied the Lord three times. Realizing what he had done, and also that Jesus had predicted Peter would do this before the cock crew, Peter went out and wept bitterly (see Matthew 27:69-75).

Are Christians then, not to be a witness in court when called, a duty that requires taking an oath to “tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?” This is a citizenship responsibility, and certainly one that should be taken seriously and with honesty. Such an oath is different from the everyday careless speech patterns into which a person can so easily fall. These dishonor God by meaningless swearing and oaths. In James 5:12 and in Jesus’ teaching about oaths in the Sermon on the Mount, they were both pleading for simple integrity in speech. They did not condemn oaths when they needed to be made in legal and other procedures, but pled for honesty. We are not to abuse God’s name in taking oaths.

Prayer: God, help us to guard our tongues, to speak with honesty and integrity, that even our manner of speaking may bring glory to You. Amen.

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Patience, a Virtue to Cultivate

“Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You, too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The judge is standing at the door! Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.” (James 5:7-11, NIV).

Interestingly, the Hebrew word for patience comes from a word that means “long of nose,” a sort of unusual visual way of describing one who is longsuffering and slow to anger. How long should the Christian be patient? Until the Lord comes again. The early Christians expected Jesus to return very quickly. Here we are, over 2,000 years since Christ made that promise, which, scholars tell us, is the only one of Jesus’ promises not yet fulfilled. And we still need to practice the virtue of patience, expectantly awaiting His return.

I can understand well James’ illustration of the patient farmer who waits after he plants the seeds for the rains and the eventual harvest. The fall and spring rains were especially necessary to the Palestinian farmer’s good crop. I grew up on a farm and observed first-hand how patience is necessary. All of us who enjoy growing things, whether on a farm, in a garden or flowers in our yards, know the value of patience. It takes time for whatever we plant to grow and produce. The Greek word for patience in the New Testament means “long on good feeling, delay of anger, endurance.” And what are we to do as we exercise patience? We are to “stand firm.” Don’t be wishy-washy. The Lord, our judge, is standing at the door! Our patience (or lack of it) is noted. As we read in Galatians 5:22, patience is one of the fruits of the Spirit. Being a fruit, like the crop of the farmer, we plant patience, little by little, and let it grow and develop. James gives examples of enduring patience. The prophets of the Old Testament exercised patience. Think of so many of them, even when their message was not heeded: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea and others. And Job, too, was an example of patience. Although he lost all his possessions and his children and was ridiculed by so-called friends as being the brunt of God’s displeasure, Job showed great patience. His patience was well rewarded. In the end, God turned Job’s sorrow into joy. Indeed, one who is patient and endures is rewarded by the Lord who is “full of compassion and mercy.”

Patience is not instinctive with us. In fact, the opposite is true. Most of us are extremely impatient by nature. We learn to be patient, to wait, to endure. Patience leads to perseverance. Studying how others practiced patience (like the prophets and Job, and even more modern role-model Christians like Corrie ten Boom and Dietrich Bonhoffer) can help us to develop this important quality of patience. James wrote at a time when Christians were enduring persecution. They were especially urged to exercise patience during times of trial and tribulation. Paul wrote similar advice in Romans 12:12: “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” (NIV).

Prayer: Dear God, I’m impatient by nature, but I want to be patient. I will practice patience day by day. Help me to know that with your help I can become patient, waiting for You to do your wonderful work and will.

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Warning to the Rich

“You rich people, listen! Cry and be very sad because of the troubles that are coming to you. Your riches have rotted, and your clothes have been eaten by moths. Your gold and silver have rusted, and that rust will be a proof that you were wrong. It will eat your bodies like fire. You saved your treasure for the last days. The pay you did not give the workers who mowed your fields cries out against you, and the cries of the workers have been heard by the Lord All Powerful. Your life on earth was full of rich living and pleasing yourselves with everything you wanted. You made yourselves fat, like an animal ready to be killed. You have judged guilty and then murdered innocent people, who were not against you.” (James 5:1-6, NCV).[Re-read James 1:9-11]

James paints a very unpleasant picture of the rich in this passage. His warning to the rich announces that judgment is coming and terrible troubles because of their lavish, selfish, and dishonest ways. All worldly possessions are precarious at best. Fine clothes will become moth-eaten. Hoarded silver and gold will rust (accumulations of money won’t last). Again, James sounds an echo of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 6:19-20: “Don’t store treasures for yourselves here on earth where moths and rust will destroy them and thieves can break in and steal the. But store your treasures in heaven where they cannot be destroyed by moths or rust and where thieves cannot break in and steal them. Your heart will be where your treasure is.” (NCV) James says wealth will “eat your bodies like fire.” Those who amass wealth will become obsessed with gaining more. The wealthy pay meager wages to workers, thus adding more to the rich person’s coffers while mistreating the poor. The plight of the poor is noted by the Lord, and while the rich seem to enjoy their wealth, they are unaware that there is a “pay day some day.” Even what they save up for the “last days,” will be of little use. Their days of rich living and pleasing themselves will meet a stern judgment. The tone of this passage is prophetic. A day of reckoning is coming and those who love riches will be judged. Wealth itself is not a sin, but when it becomes a god, pursued with an obsession that drives the wealthy to love and pursue riches without regard for others, then judgment is sure. Paul wrote a similar warning in I Timothy 6:10: “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” (NIV). James also wrote about poverty and riches in James 1:9-11.

Is there a way out of the dilemma of the love of money? Consider these guidelines: (1) We brought nothing into the world and will take nothing out. (2) God gives us the power to acquire money. Our pursuit of money should be honorable and honest. (3) Our money should be used to serve God and others, not hoarded selfishly and with the idea of more possessions, more pleasure. God, help us to follow these guidelines.

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Monday, October 25, 2010