James 5:16-20 Bible Teaching

Understanding the Book of James

Welcome Prayer Music Silence

James 5.end June 7th 2015 Meat END OF JAMES

Okay, I think we are going to wrap the book of James up today. We left off last week with him saying:

13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray.

And we discussed prayer a little bit and what James meant by afflicted. Then he continued saying:

Is any merry? let him sing psalms. 14 Is any sick among you? 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: 15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

Let’s stop there and cover this section before going to the end. He started by asking if there are any afflicted and he says to let him pray. Then he says:

Is any merry? Let him sing psalms.

Joy and Affliction

We think of “Merry” as almost a Christmas time party state of mind today but the Greek word YOOTHUMAYO means to have a “mind well.” So it would really be a state of mind free from affliction worry and woe. His recommendation if we find ourselves in such a state? Let him sing psalms. In other words when your times of joy come, and you are free of care and full of joy – you’re healthy and prosperous – praise the Lord.

I want to try and make an observation here – I’m not sure it has any meaning but it is something I observe. People weak in the faith seem – seem – to get sort of heartbroken when life falls apart in their lives and in relation to the Lord – sort of like Job. They do not curse God but they wonder and ask God why and what is happening and when He will relieve their suffering or heal their circumstance. Those who lack faith or have none tend to curse God or get angry at Him in these times. Then on the opposite end, those of big faith, in times of joy and reprieve seem to relish in Him and glory in Him and those of little faith seem to forget him and turn to the world.

Now, the error in my observation may be the assignment of big and little faith. It may just be the way we are. But it SEEMS like the correlation is to faith – and I have seen it time and time again. Speaking to the state of mind and approach we might have when joyful and at peace with life Ephesians 5:18-20 says:

“And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The Role of Psalms in Worship

However, what James is saying here is a little different from the advice in Ephesians. The reason is the term Psalms – used in both James and in Ephesians. The Ephesians passage: Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Uses the Greek word Psalm-as which means spiritual ode to the Lord. But James uses Psallo – which means twitch or twang, voice, and melody of any variation. In other words, it does not mean to sing psalms in contradistinction from singing other types of sacred hymns, but the reference is to any songs of praise. Getting closer the idea is to appeal to any form of praise appropriate to your state of mind. In these differences, I find room for literally singing psalms and hymns (Ephesians) when joyful and wailing out anything (James) that glorifies God – which would include all the various appeals Christians use to worship God today. What James is speaking of is EXTREMELY PERSONAL and subjective. What Paul is writing about in Ephesians is more restricted to actual sacred psalms and hymns.

So in verse 13 he begins with “Is there any afflicted” (with anything) Then he goes to: “Is there any without affliction?” And then he moves on and asks specifically (verse 14)

14 Is any sick among you?

This speaks more directly to those diseased in some manner and not just afflicted by life. Now we are faced with a Monster verse – meaning it carries with it massive implications for the church and believers today. “Is there any sick among you . . . let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him,

Anointing and Healing in Religious Contexts

Anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

Okay… big verse. Used and applied in some ENORMOUS ways to justify a number of religious positions. The Catholics use this passage (almost alone) to justify what they call “Extreme Unction,” which is another name for what is known as “the Anointing of the Sick” and also, depending on the situation, as the “last rites.”

The interpretation of the verse, when seen from the Catholic view, makes sense.

Imagine this:

There is a man who is ill and on his deathbed. He is a back-sliden Catholic, and the priest hears he is on his last leg. Now read this passage from James:

“Is there any sick among you… 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 shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”

The Catholic Interpretation

The Catholic interpretation of this verse is huge because they take it literally.

Call the ELDERS OF THE CHURCH
Let them pray over Him
Anointing Him with oil in the name of the Lord.
And the prayer (of faith)
will SAVE (Sodzoe – same as save a soul in other parts of scripture),
and the Lord shall raise Him up (could mean resurrection or from his sick bed)
and if he have committed sins
THEY SHALL BE forgiven Him.

It's hard to argue this interpretation when you allow yourself to actually see it in the Catholic terms. But then, of course, we could see it in more contextual and literal terms as well.

Elders and Anointing

The word for “elders” here is presbuteros, and it means “older” or “old” or simply “senior person of the community” – in this case members of the faith community. We note that elders is not upper case. It is not an office; it is a state of being. We have made elder an upper case E today, but I am convinced the term simply means those who are just more mature in the faith.

Also note the duty of the sick (or those who are caring for the sick) in this situation – James tells them to CALL for the elders of the church. The reading is not for the dying to call for men holding the office of elder but for the sick to call upon the mature of the faith. I would suggest that just as we call our medical doctors and let them know something is wrong, we do the same with more mature in spiritual things. Call the elders. Call them to do what?

James writes: “And let them pray over him.” Then James utters this: “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 shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”

For me, this passage is a very easy and a very hard passage to understand. How is it easy – when we simply read what it says:

“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:

All we really need to say is this is what we ought to do in the face of someone who is ill or sick or diseased.

The Symbolism of Oil

Oil and other slippery products were much used among ancient people both in health and in sickness. Olive oil was what was most commonly used, if not only used, among the Hebrews. According to scripture, it was used for many purposes, including anointing the body or the hair (Ex 29:7; 2Sa 14:2; Ps 23:5; 92:10; 104:15; Lu 7:46), in some of their offerings (Ex 29:40; Le 7:12; Nu 6:15; 15:4), for burning lamps (Ex 25:6; 27:20; Mt 25:3), for medicinal purposes (Isa 1:6; Lu 10:34; Jas 5:14), and for anointing the dead (Mt 26:12; Lu 23:56).

Additionally, its use was a sign of gladness (Ps 92:10; Isa 61:3), and its omission or lack a token of sorrow (2Sa 14:2; Mt 6:17). Therefore, when someone was ill or sick, the application of oil seems to have been symbolic of the restoration of.

Understanding the Teachings of James on Prayer and Healing

Of course, oil is symbolic of the Holy Spirit, so there is symbolism in this as well. James says that in addition to oil, to apply it while praying, “In the name of the Lord.” Or by His authority or direction. Because scripture tends to tell the apostles to do all things in His name, it seems that when we do anything that tends to promote virtue, to alleviate misery, to instruct ignorance, to save life, or to prepare others for heaven, it seems that it is right to say that we are doing it in the name of the Lord. I am not so sure this means that we are performing a rite of any kind, but it seems to me to suggest that when we are engaged in doing well, we invoke His name who is the God of well-doing.

Then James adds: “And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.” I don’t know how to interpret this part of the passage. Honestly. I’d like to teach it and say it means this or that, but I can’t do it. I can’t escape the passage meaning through the Greek – it essentially means what it says. And so we can take it in one of two ways:

First, what it says is what it means and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise the sick up, and if he has committed sins, they shall be forgiven Him. Prayer means prayer here. Faith means faith. Save means save. Sick means sick. SinMissing the mark of faith and love—no punishment, just lost growth or peace. means sin. Shall be forgiven means the same. I want to excuse it away or add in addendums that say things like – if the Lord wills it – but that is not what this passage says.

Context and Interpretation

On the other hand, if we take this passage at face value, we have to conclude that the sick will always be saved (whatever saved means – we could say “cured” for sodzo can be interpreted this way) but we would have to say that the sick will always be saved or cured if faith in God is there. The problem is then that if a person is not saved or cured then the faith is wanting or lacking. All I can suggest is the design seems to be to encourage us to hope that our prayers will be effectual in the healing of people and so we say them in faith and hope for the best. What we can’t say is that our prayers of healing will always be heard and fulfilled. People get worse and people – all people – die.

Then we get to the last part of the verse which says: “And if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.” I’m sorry but I am at a loss here as well. I will say that this could refer to some sins being manifested in disease or illness, but that is a really sticky wicket. Or it could refer to a person being reminded of all their sin during the illness and thinking they have not been forgiven – but they have. But admittedly, these points are conjecture and require some knitting passages together to construct a sound case. Why don’t we chalk verses 14-15 up to James and personally view them as lead of the Spirit.

All the indecision being said, verses 16-20 do give us some context and support for understanding verses 14-15 a little better.

16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.
18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
19 Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;
20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from deathSeparation from God—now overcome. Physical death remains, but it no longer separates us from life with God., and shall hide a multitude of sins.

Confession and Effectual Prayer

Alright, back to verse 16: “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” Because James says: “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed,” James is…

Understanding Confession and Healing

Apparently still talking about those who are sick. This is yet another string of words that are difficult to determine their actual meaning. The Catholics, for instance, use this passage to exhort their followers toward priestly confession, who in turn suggests prayers, that a person may be healed. And the interpretations trickle down to all sorts of other opinions. But I want to take these last verses and share my take – rightly or wrongly – on what they mean. James has been speaking of people – believers – and the various states we find ourselves in through life. If any is struggling. If any is sick. If any is joyful or merry. His advice, in my estimation, is highly pragmatic and centered on pragmatic solutions to common human ailments and NOT supernatural appeal. I may be wrong but I honestly see his advice as having tremendous practical application – far more than spiritual. Far more than religious or as directives on how to receive forgiveness of sin etc. Let me explain why.

Practical Application of James' Advice

Confession is good for the soul. When we have things on our minds and our conscience we can internalize them and they can work against us and our physical health. So James says: “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.” The Greek word is paraptoma for faults here and not harmartia (which is the word for sin). It means to slip to the side, to mess up – not, from what I can tell egregious sin. If it meant confess your sins he would have said this. But he doesn’t.

In my estimation, the whole book has been talking about spiritual warfare; about the Saints responding to trials and infringements against them wrongly. They have been facing division and difficulties in the ranks which could have included people getting sick or being unmoored under pressure. So he’s giving some really good advice that more than anything else is psychological. I know the dangers when we appeal to such things – especially when the scripture is genuinely speaking of spiritual matters – but his words seem to by aimed at healing frictions, unrest, DIS-EASE and to bring people back into full fellowship and harmony with each other.

So “confess your faults one to another, pray for one another, that you may be healed.” Get your stuff out on the table – talk about your failures and feelings, then pray for each other, that healing can occur. I do not believe this has ANYthing to do with confessing to a religious intermediary for the forgiveness of sins as some religions interpret it. It has to do with laymen being open and transparent and admitting how they think and feel.

Energetic Prayer and Its Impacts

I teach this this way because of the next line which says: “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” The word effectual is not the best translation. The Greek word translated in the King James is ENERGEO and it means energetic. A powerful prayer with a person who has been open about their side stepping, their faults, their failures avails much. It’s not a course in positive mental attitudes but it does play into the fact that when we are open with each other and THEN we pray energetically for those who have been open it can accomplish much. Lot’s of healing. Feeling better. Getting matter out of the dark and into the light.

It’s really really important that people can confess their hearts openly and the only way that this can occur is when they believe they are supported and loved and can do so without condemnation. Such responses come through effectual prayer. What a model. So we are standing around and talking and a person reveals that they have been feeling poorly. They have had a bad attitude, they have not been on their game, whatever. After the revelation other believers step in and pray – and some who are in a good place in their life at the time energetically pray over the struggling. He then gives us an example of this and says:

Example of Elijah

17 Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.

18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

We have to note that the tie in is to the approach to speaking or praying that Elijah took. He earnestly(or energetically) spoke and the skies complied or did what he commanded. The reference here is undoubtedly to 1Ki

The Role of Prayer in Elijah's Story

17:1 where we read:

“And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.”

We could assume this was a prayer but it seems more like an energetic imprecation – from his own mouth, directing the events around him. Either James interprets this as a prayer, because it could be accomplished only by prayer, or he states what had been handed down by tradition as the way in which the miracle was effected. There can be no reasonable doubt that prayer was employed in the case, for even the miracles of the Savior were accomplished in connection with prayer.

The Power of Prayer

James continues

18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

This seems to refer to the next chapter (1st Kings 18:42,45) which says:

42 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, 43 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. 44 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. 45 And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain.

Again, the scripture does NOT say that Elijah prayed here but it does seem like this is what is inferred when it "he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees," 1Ki 18:42.

Why appeal to this story? It seems that the parallels that James is suggesting is that the believers ought to engage in their prayers energetically over each other, believing. But verse 18 seems to be the most important parallel as he says:

18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

In other words by and through our delivering similar prayers the result would be akin to the results Elijah got when He prayed the second time – an abundance of fruit among them.

At this point James steps away from his example of Elijah and returns to the audience at hand.

19 Brethren, (he says) if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; 20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

Now, we could suggest that these last two verses are disconnected from everything prior and serve as the final words of his epistle OR we could suggest that this advice pertains to what he has written before about confessing and healing.

Saving a Soul from Death

I tend to think the latter and for this reason it’s one of the reasons why I can’t help but believe that James was speaking of helping people who are sick over sin or sick over alienation or whatever the case may be and has directed them to confession and to energetic prayer. To me he is saying – Look, brethren, in light of all I’ve said, remember . . .

if any of you do err from the truth, and someone converts him (back to the path); 20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

In other words, take the time to hear people, take the time to pray for and with them, take the time to instruct them and guide them because

if any of you do err from the truth, and someone converts him (back to the path); 20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

I do not believe that James is speaking of converting people to Christ and to salvation BUT is instead speaking of bringing people back from going side-ways, helping to correct their wayward ways that this would amount to saving them from spiritual death and would also serve.

A Difficult Passage

To hide a multitude of sin (because for such a person to walk from faith they would certainly retain a whole bunch of sin to their account.) What this passage is NOT saying is that when we endeavor to redirect a sinful soul back to Christ we cover a multitude of our own sins or that the action covers the sins the person involved has committed.

All it means is when a person has returned to their first love and has turned from the error of their ways a multitude of sins will remain hidden from God – the sins of the repentant.

Understanding the Book of James

The book of James has been a difficult one and I have seen firsthand how the writers of the New Testament do certainly differ from one to another in their ability to articulate their points. I’ve struggled more to teach and understand James than I have with any other book – including Hebrews and Romans and actually found those books fluid by comparison. I better understand why Luther had such trouble with the book himself and I better understand now why he questioned its apostolic origins. Nevertheless the book is rife with gems of tremendous insight.

Looking Ahead

Next week – 1st Peter – also known as a less skilled writer than Paul or John – but we shall see.

Questions /Comment / Answers