Let us turn to the Word of God
and turn to the last part of this general epistle of James
in chapter 5. And I want, with the Lord's help
this morning, to draw your attention to verses 19 and 20, the last
two verses. James chapter 5. Brethren, if
any of you do err from the truth and one converts him, 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. What we have here is that spiritual
healing that is the context of course in which we find these
words to be set previously He has spoken of the healing of
the body. In verse 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. And the prayer of faith shall
save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up. And if he hath
committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. It is physical
healing and yet we see a spiritual aspect to it even in those words
in verse 15. But quite specifically now he
speaks of the restoring of those who were the backsliders. Brethren, if any of you do err
from the truth, then one convert him, and let him know that he
which converted the sinner from the error of his way shall save
a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins." Spiritual
healing, the restoring of the backslider. Now, with regards
to this book of James, I suppose in some ways the main argument
that is found in the book is that desire on the part of the
Apostle to demonstrate what real faith is he speaks of that faith
that is dead faith and we saw that in the portion that we read
that second chapter the words that we have at verse 15 following if a brother
or sister be naked and destitute of daily food And one of you
say unto them, departing, Please be ye warmed and filled, notwithstanding
ye give them not those things which are needful to the body. What doth it profit, even so
faith? If it hath not works, is dead,
being alone. The fate of the hypocrite. It's
simply an outward show. It's often nothing more than
mere talking. No big words. The ready talkers. No dry doctrine will suffice.
Broken hearts and humble walkers. These are dear in Jesus' eyes,
says the hymn writer. all that dead faith that the
Apostle is seeking then here in this particular epistle to
expose. Look at what he says further
there in that second chapter. Verse 19, Thou believest there
is one God. Thou doest well. The devils also
believe and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man,
that faith without works is dead." Time and again then this apostle
speaks of that faith that is to be demonstrated by good works. Paul says of saving faith that
it is that faith that worketh by luck. And so James does speak
also of that living faith, that real faith. For example, he speaks
there at the end of that second chapter of the faith of Abraham,
who is the father of all them that believe. Verse 21, there in chapter 2,
Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered
Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought
with his works? And by works was faith made perfect. And then again he goes on and
speaks of the faith of Rahab. Likewise also was not Rahab the
harlot justified by works when she had received the messengers
and had sent them out another way. For as the body without
the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. He is speaking then of these
from the Old Testament as examples of that faith that is living
and real and genuine and evident in works. Now he is not in any
sense saying that our justification has anything to do with works. that our justification has anything
to do with our keeping of the Lord of God, the Lord of the
Ten Commandments. It is interesting, with regards
to those two, Abram and Rahab, how he actually refers to works
that, in a sense, involve the breaking. The transgression of
the commandments. What was it that Isaac had been
commanded to do? Even to offer his son Isaac. Well, that would have been murder. That would have been a transgression
of the sixth commandment. There's a mystery there. God
was testing his father. But it was in his obedience.
to the voice of God, that we see the reality of His faith,
even though what He was commanded to do was contrary, we would
say, to the Lord of God. And then with regards to Rahab,
we know how she really transgressed the Ninth Commandment. Thou shalt
not bear false witness. And that was part and parcel
of her dealings with those messengers who came inquiring after the
Hebrews whom she had hidden. She lied. And yet we see that
in these things the reality of her faith was demonstrated. These two, Abraham and Rahab
then, they were those who credited the Word of God, they had confidence
in the promises of God, they were denying themselves. We see
all this God-ward aspect of their faith in those works, their readiness. their readiness to do that that
was right before God. And what we have here, in the
words that I want us to consider this morning, these last two
verses in chapter 5, we see something in the sense of that manhood
aspect of real faith is a Godhood aspect. There's a Godward aspect
that we have in Abraham and Rahab, as I said, they credit the Word
of God, they have confidence in the promises of God. But here
we see more particularly the manward aspect. Brethren, if
any of you do err from the truth and want to convert him, 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. Here is faith. What does James
say there in chapter 2 verse 24, you see there now that by
works a man is justified and not by faith only. How is faith
seen in doing good to our fellow men? Oh, the Lord Jesus speaks of
that with regards to that great work of judgment that has been
committed into His hands. The Father judges no man, remember,
but the Father has committed all judgment into the hands of
His Son. And there in Matthew 25 the Lord
speaks of that great day that is yet to come, that day of the
final Judgment. And look at the language that
we have there in Matthew 25, 34 following. Then shall the King say unto
them on his right hand, Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit
the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
Well here is that final separation you see between the sheep and
the goats. the sheep standing on his right
hand. And how they are now invited to come and inherit that kingdom
prepared. And what does the Lord say to
them? I was unhungered and you gave me no meat. You gave me
meat. I was thirsty and you gave me
drink. I was a stranger and you took me in naked and you clothed
me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came
unto me. Then shall the righteous answer
him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee, and hungered, and fed thee,
or thirsted thee, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger,
and took thee in, or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we
thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the king
shall answer and say unto them, Verily, I say unto you, inasmuch
as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren,
ye have done it unto me." Well, here is that faith that is justified
by works. It is by works that that faith
is seen to be a living faith. Christ values that physical ministry. He owns it there. As he says,
by doing such deeds they are ministering actually to the Lord
himself that's a physical ministry that we read of those kindly
deeds but remember also the words of the Lord Jesus what is a man
profited if he shall go in the whole world and lose his own
soul or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul aren't
matters of the soul in a sense more important than matters of
the body Because the soul in man is immortal. The soul in man never dies. The
body returns onto the earth as it was, but the spirit, the soul,
goes to God, who gave it. And then each appointed to their
particular place. And here you see we have a ministry
to the soul. If any do err from the truth,
and one convert him, let him know that he which converteth
the sinner from the error of his ways shall save a soul from
death, and shall hide a multitude of sins." All the importance
there of being concerned not only for our own souls, but for
the souls of others. There's nothing more noble than
that care for the souls of one another. And it is a ministry
here to the brethren. Brethren, he says. He's speaking
to those who are the Lord's people. And that's a ministry to one
another. Therefore I say that here it's spiritual healing that
is being spoken of, and it's the restoring of those who have
been spiritual backsliders. First of all, I want to say something
with regards to the evil of backsliding, and then secondly, to say something
with regards to that proneness to backsliding, and then thirdly,
the restoration of the backslider. Following that threefold division
as we come to look more closely at the words that we have in
this particular text. First, the evil of backsliding. Look at the words that we have
here in verse 20. Let him know that he which converteth
the sinner from the error of his way shall save us all from
death and shall hide a multitude of sins. Now, We ask the question
here, is the reference to a person's first conversion? We read of
saving a soul from death. We know that by nature everyone
is dead, spiritually dead, dead in trespasses and in sins. And so, might not this refer
to that first conversion? Might it not refer to that new
birth, that communication of new life, of spiritual life?
We're familiar with the language of the Lord Jesus concerning
the great doctrine of regeneration there in the third chapter of
John, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The Lord is speaking to
this religious man, this leader amongst the Jews, Nicodemus,
verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he
cannot see the kingdom of heaven. Or how it is so necessary to
know that communication of new life, spiritual life. A man can
receive nothing except it be given him from above, says John
the Baptist. But then again the words of the
Lord Jesus, verily, verily, how important these teachings are
when the Lord prefixes His teaching with a double verily, verily,
verily. He that heareth my word and believeth
on him that sent me hath everlasting life and shall not come into
condemnation but is passed from death unto life, says the Lord
Jesus. Now is it that that is being
spoken of here? Saving the soul from death, it
says. And he goes on to say something
more than that. Hiding a multitude of sins. Or doesn't that refer to the
precious blood of the Lord Jesus that washes away all the guilt
of the sins of his people? those who have come to experience
that pardon of sin, having all their transgressions blotted
out, knowing that they have an interest in that death that Christ
died, when, as a substitute, He bore it in His own person,
all that was the just desert of the sinner. Well, isn't there
here some reference to the great truth of justification, and justification
by faith? hiding a multitude of sins. Remember in Romans chapter 4
we see the Apostle there making reference to justification and
going back to the language of the 32nd Psalm. He says, verse
4, Now to him that worketh is a reward not reckoned of grace,
but of debt, but to him that worketh not but believeth on
him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth
the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputeth righteousness
without work, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are
forgiven. and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the
Lord will not impute sin." Here we have it, you see. Hiding a
multitude of sins. Or the gracious application of
the work of the Lord Jesus in the soul of the sinner. His sins washed away, his soul
now clothed in that garment of salvation, the robe of righteousness. We can say then, maybe here there
is a reference to that first work of God, that saving grace
that comes with the new birth. It's the believer's beginning,
it's that first conversion. However, as I said, is addressing
those who are already brethren and the way in which they are
to minister to one another and so he is not speaking of a first
conversion he is speaking of a restoring a restoration that
comes after a spiritual backsliding Now, we know how David speaks
of that, when we think of David's experience. It is the man after
God's own heart, the man upon whom the Spirit of God came in
a remarkable fashion, when he was anointed by Samuel to be
the future king of Israel. And yet, how we see David falling,
backsliding, that awful sin that he commits in the matter of Bathsheba
and her husband Uriah the Hittite. And then in that psalm the psalm
of penitence look at the language there in Psalm 51 and what he says concerning this
bitter experience as he comes under the conviction of his sin
Verse 12, Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, he says. Speaking of restoration, Restore
unto me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold me with thy free spirit.
Then will I teach transgressors thy ways, and sinners shall be
converted unto them. As the Lord deals with him graciously,
so he will be able to minister to others. And the Lord, the Lord Jesus
Christ, we find speaking in a similar fashion with regards to Peter
and Peter's experience. How Peter had so boldly professed
his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ when Christ had said that he
would deny him. Oh no, says Peter, they'll all
deny them, yet will not I deny them. And he speaks so vehemently
as he protests against what the Lord says concerning that denial. But then the Lord says, Simon,
Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you that he may sift
you as wheat, yet I have prayed for thee. that thy faith fail
not. And when thou art converted,
he says, strengthen thy brethren. That's how it reads in our authorised
version. He has faith and the Lord is
praying that his faith fail not when thou art converted. It's
the restoration, he says. It's the restoration of one who
was sadly backslidden in heart and denied the Lord Jesus Christ. And we not only have that set
before us in the experiences of the saints in Holy Scripture,
we've referred to David, we've referred to Simon Peter, but
we see it also when we read something of Christian biography or or
church history. You can think of the experience
of a man like Joseph Hart. We're familiar with the hymns,
we sing the hymns, but when the hymn book was first published,
it was prefaced by his experience. The experience that really lies
behind the hymns that he subsequently was moved to write. And it's
interesting, Mr. Philpott used to refer to that
as the Golden Preface. The Golden Preface. He said it
was the most weighty piece of writing after the Blessed Scriptures
themselves. That's so highly Philpott esteemed
what Hart had written concerning his own experience. And there
He speaks of his reconversion, because Hart, you see, was one
who had made a profession and then, sadly, he had backslidden,
and then he was restored. Wonderfully restored. And he
speaks of his reconversion. And I say, this is what is spoken
of here. Brethren, if any of you do err
from the truth, you believe us. and one convert him, one restore
him. Let him know that he which converteth the sinner from the
error of his way shall save us all from death and shall hide
a multitude of sins." It's a great evil that we should ever wonder
from the Lord, deny the Lord, backslide. But in the second
place I want you to observe that there is certainly a proneness
in us all a proneness to backsliding in heart if any of you, he says
now previously he has been speaking of the prophet Elijah and he
says of Elijah that he was a man subject to like passions as we
are or if any of you, you see, we're
all the same we're all the same By nature, we all have this fallen
nature. That's how we come into the world,
in that state of alienation and enmity against God. Doesn't God say through the Prophet
Hosea concerning Israel, is Israel? And that Israel in the Old Testament,
that nation, that ethnic people, they are a typical people, they
are a type of the Israel of God, the spiritual Israel, the people
of God. And through Hosea we have God
saying those words, my people are bent on backsliding. My people are bent on backsliding. There's a proneness you see.
There's a proneness in all the people of God because in us there
is still a nature, an all nature. And there's that conflict between
the old nature and the new nature. And Paul says he cannot do the
thing that he would. And we need to be aware of these
things. I want to listen again to the language of the Apostle
writing there in 1 Corinthians 10-12, "...let him that thinketh
his standards take heed, lest he fall." We have to constantly
look to ourselves, examine ourselves, prove ourselves, know ourselves,
know that Jesus Christ is in us, except we be reprobate. Why do we have this sort of statement
in Scripture? Why do we have the sort of exhortations
that we find sometimes in the epistles of Paul, writing to
the Galatians? And again, he is clearly writing
to those who are in the church. He calls them brethren. Brethren,
he says, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual,
restore such a man in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself,
lest thou also be tempted. It's in us, you see. It's easy
to point the finger at others, to accuse others. But it's in
us all, there's a proneness. The Zim writer says, prone to
wonder. Lord, I feel it, prone to leave
the God I love. Or do we recognize that when
we sing such words? Are we singing sincerely? Do
we feel the things that we say before the Lord in our prayers
and in our praises? You see, here we have those who
are brethren, erring from the truth, it says. Brethren, if
any of you do err from the truth, they already are in the truth,
they know the truth. And what is the truth that is
being spoken of? It's the Gospel. It's gospel
truth. Grace and truth came by Jesus
Christ. Oh, it's that precious message
of salvation in and through the Lord Jesus Christ and only to
be found in Him. And we know from what we read
in the epistles that there were those in the churches who had
a false faith, and ultimately they were exposed. Remember what
we said, that James is concerned to make the distinction between
that dead faith and the living faith, between that that is artificial
and that that is genuine. They were individuals who ultimately
were exposed as apostates, and we have them named, Hymenaeus
and Philetus for example, they're in the first epistle of Timothy
rather the second epistle of Timothy in 2nd Timothy chapter 2 verse 16 shone profane
and vine babblings for they will increase unto more ungodliness
and their word will eat as doth a canker or a gangrene, as the
margin says, of whom is Ibernaeus and Philetus. You concerning
the truth have heard, saying that the resurrection is past
already, and overthrow the faith of some. They heard, you see,
these men, concerning the truth. This is what he's speaking of
here. If any of you do err from the truth. But he wasn't just
that some were ultimately being exposed as really being apostates. They never had any real experience
of the grace of God. They never had any fight that
was the gift of God and was by the operation of God. But there
were others who were the Lord's people. And there were those
who were even apostles. And remember how bold Paul was
in confronting his fellow apostle Peter there in Galatians chapter
2 and verse 11 Paul says when Peter
was come to Antioch I withstood him to the face because he was
to be blamed for before the certain came from James he did it with
the Gentiles But when they were come, he withdrew and separated
himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. And the
other Jews dissembled likewise with him, insomuch that Barnabas
also was carried away with their dissimulation. But when I saw
that they walked not according to the truth of the gospel..."
Again, you see, we have this expression, the truth. erring
from the truth, when I saw that they walked not uprightly according
to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If
thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not
as do the Jews, why compelst thou the Gentiles to live as
do the Jews?" And it's all to do, of course, there with the
whole matter of circumcision and all that that implies with
regards to bringing the circumcised under the law of God. It's a
denial of the great truth of justification by faith alone,
in Christ alone. And as I said, let us not imagine
that when this apostle, James, speaks of the importance of works,
he is saying that works has a part in justification before God.
It does not. But works is important in that
it justifies our faith, it shows the reality of our faith. But here, you see, we have to
recognize that in all those who are brethren, all those who are
the Lord's dear children, there is still in us that legal spirit,
that proneness to back life and the truth of the gospel, that
proneness to err from the truth. The old nature is there. And what of that old nature?
Why? It's the Adamic nature. It's wedded then to the very
idea of works, of doing something. When Adam is tested there in
the garden, he's tested in relation to the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil. There's something not to be done.
Oh, this is the language of law, is it not? There are prohibitions
in the law. There are things not to be done,
there are things to be done. And that old Adamic nature loves
the idea of certain things that should be done and other things
that should not be done. And yet, we believers, to think
like that, And to imagine that our do's and our don'ts contribute
something to our standing before God is to deny the gospel of
the grace of God. Why we sang it just now in the
hymn, that paraphrase of Psalm 51, our opening hymn. My lips
with shame, my sins confess against thy law, against thy grace. Who are we guilty sometimes,
friends, of gospel sin? erring from the truth. There's
a proneness, I say, in each and every one of us to go that way.
Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one, convert
him. 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. Backsliding is a great
evil. It is a great evil. to deny the
Lord, to deny His grace, to walk contrary to His Gospel. And yet,
it's in us by nature still, it's there in our old nature, that
pronouns. But thirdly, let us come to this,
the restoring, the restoring of the backslider. Let Him know
that He which converts us a sinner from near of His way shall save
us all from death and shall hide a multitude of sins." Interesting
words. As if we can personally do something
quite remarkable for our erring brethren. As if we can restore them of
ourselves. Why is he put like this? let
him know that he which converteth the sinner." Surely only God
can convert the sinner. Only God can restore the sinner.
Why does he put it like this? Well, we have to recognize that
God, when He works, doesn't always work immediately. God makes use
of means. God employs instruments. And in a sense, we have to see
that God even does that when He comes to the work of salvation.
The Lord Jesus Christ speaks of Paul at his conversion being
one who is going to go forward and open the eyes of the Gentiles. Look at the language that we
have there in Acts 26 where there's some recounting of how Saul of
Tarsus had been converted there at the very gate of Damascus
when the Lord Jesus had appeared unto him in Acts 26, 17, delivering
thee from the people and from the Gentiles unto whom now I
send thee to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness
to light and from the power of Satan to God that they may receive
forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them which are sanctified
by faith that is in me. Paul, you see, is recounting
these things before King Agrippa how the Lord had appeared unto
him there and how the Lord had spoken these words to him that
he was going to go forth as an apostle, he was going to open
the eyes of those that were blind and turn them from darkness onto
light. He's going to be an instrument
in the hand of God. That's all that's being said.
Paul himself knew only too well that the work of conversion,
the work of restoration, the whole work of salvation, all
of it, is really of God. It's only of God. It's altogether
the work of God. He says again to those Corinthians,
I have planted a pollus watered, but God guide the increase. It is God's work. It's not of
him that willeth nor of him that runneth, but it's always and
only of God which showeth mercy. But we have things put in this
fashion as if men have some ability, some power to do some good to
their fellow men in order to to teach us lessons it's God's
work, yes, but God uses instruments and we should learn from this
that we are to be those who would care for one another and feel
for one another all God's people certainly are to be like the
Lord Jesus Christ and is he not one who so remarkably cares cares
for his people, how he comes, how he identifies with his people. Look at the language that we
have. The end of Hebrews chapter 2.
Wherefore in all things it beholds him to be made like unto his
brethren. that he might be a merciful and
faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation
for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath succoured
being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted."
Well, here is the ministry of the Lord Jesus. What does He
do? He comes and He sits where His people sit. He identifies
with them. He is made like unto His brethren.
He himself suffered. He knew what cruel temptations
were, and so he is able. Oh, he is able to succor his
people. Again, at the end of chapter
4 we have something similar. We have not a high priest which
cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. As we've
said many a time, there we have that double negative which makes
such a tremendously positive statement. We have not a high
priest which cannot be touched. Oh, he most definitely is touched
with the feeling of our infirmities. But was in all points tempted
like us we are yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly
unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find
grace to help in time of need. we should feel for one another
brethren all he is addressing them as brethren having a care
for each other's spiritual well-being if we would convert one another
if we would restore one another so we must also come and make
our confessions one to another and pray for each other Look
at the context, he says at verse 16, confess your faults one to
another and pray one for another that you may be healed. The effectual
fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Oh how the work is altogether
God's work really. And we acknowledge that when
we come and we pray to Him. And He gives us this remarkable
example of Elijah the prophet. He was a man subject to like
passions as we are and he prayed earnestly. Or as the margin says, he prayed
in his prayer. Or do we pray in our prayers? Or are they just words? He prayed
earnestly that it might not rain, and it rained not on the earth
by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again,
and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit."
What is this? This is complete dependence upon
God. That's the great thing. Oh, that's
the thing that He's wanting above every other thing. Oh, are we
those who know it? Again, the hymn writer Joseph
Hart says, dry doctrine cannot save us, blind zeal and false devotion. The feeblest prayer, if faith
be there, exceeds all empty notion. That's what we need, is it not?
Oh yes, we love the doctrine, we delight in the doctrine. But
we want that doctrine to be something that is rich and savoury in our
souls. We want these doctrines to move
us, to cry to God, to pray to God, to commit one another onto
God. And what is God's promise? And
this is the encouragement you see to us. It's the Word of God
that encourages us to come to Him time and again. He says in
Hosea 14 and verse 4, I will heal their backslidings. I will
heal their backslidings. I will love them freely. For mine anger, he says, is turned
away. Oh, that's the God that we deal
with. God speaks, and He speaks with power. He makes His Word
to be an effectual Word, and so we can pray for one another. He says again through Jeremiah,
Return thou backsliding Israel. Turn, O backsliding children. And when that Word of God is
made effectual and mighty, Or then there will be such pleadings
and prayings, one for the other, and that real desiring of each
other's spiritual good, that we might know these gracious
spiritual healings, to be those who are rooted, grounded, and
established in all the truth of the Gospel. If any of you
do err from the truth and one convert him, let him know that
he which converteth a sinner from the error of his word shall
save a soul from death and shall hide a multitude of sins. The
Lord be pleased then to write his word in all of our hearts. Amen. came 806 and we saw the second
part of him and the jewel is Palmyra 619. Come ye back slain, ye sons of
God, the many such there are, who long the path of sin and
fraud. Come, cast away despair, return
to Jesus Christ and see, there is mercy still for such as we. Part 2 of 8.1c