13 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
17 Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.
19 My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
This wraps up our study of James. What an incredible book! I have loved reading through this one...so many great truths to apply to our lives.
This last section has a lot of great truth in it, and I really recommend your own study and meditation on the first few verses -- they are great! But the part that sticks out to me today is the last two verses:
"My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins."
Have you ever had to point out someone's error to them? As Christians, we are called to sharpen each other: "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another" (Proverbs 27:17). Sharpening makes me think of friction (not fun), but in the end, we are both made better people and Christ-followers for it. If you don't point out the error of another Christian friend's ways, who will? As we live in community with others, this is God's design for us!
As we continue walking in our own ways, rather than His, we are ultimately walking to our death -- death of relationships with God and others, death of our emotional and/or physical health, and the death of the future that God has planned for us! This is a BIG deal!
In love and respect, is there someone who you need to gently "bring back" to the way they once lived with Christ? Pray about it, and allow God to give you His words and His heart...you will be giving them the opportunity to choose a different direction, and ultimately, saving them from death.
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