We're in James chapter 5, reading from verse 13. This is the word of the Lord. Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any merry? Let him sing Psalms. 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 ye have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. 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. 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. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth and one convert him, 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. Amen.

May the Lord bless to us this reading from his word. Our brother, The Apostle James has written this little epistle, as we have seen, for the practical help and direction of the Church of Jesus Christ. It is quite unlike any other book in the Bible, and thus we might say it is uniquely valuable to the church. It seems clear that the Holy Spirit inspired and included it in the canon of scripture to complement and enhance the scriptures that we have before us today. And while we gratefully receive the great doctrinal letters of Paul and John and Peter and Jude. We are very suitably reminded by James that our faith has positive, personal and practical applications for our life while we remain in this world.

James began by telling us that he was a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we too, you and me, we too serve God and minister to one another in the body of Christ as servants of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have responsibilities and we have labours, we have works to perform as those who are called into the family of God by the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. And James, as we have seen, is very relevant to men and women like us.

He speaks to the poor and the persecuted and the sick about being poor and persecuted and sick. And he doesn't take our eyes from Christ, but he encourages us to be patient in our troubles and to be aware of our needy brothers and sisters for Christ's sake. James speaks about dedication to the Lord and firmness of faith and the pursuit of spiritual wisdom. He warns us of temptation and worldliness and riches, the dangers of riches, and partiality, or as we call it today, prejudice, which has no place in the church.

He shows us how potent and dangerous our tongue can be. And he shares with us the essence, the very heart of pure practical religion, which is what? Do you remember? Honouring the Lord and caring for those in need. That's pure religion. He reminds us that God is sovereign and Christ is gracious.

Did he not tell us every good gift such as faith and forgiveness? Every perfect gift such as justification and redemption and the new creation is from above. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above. All these spiritual blessings, all these purposes and plans of God for his people, all the things that Christ accomplished that come from above are good and perfect gifts of God's grace.

James tells us that. And he shows us that in trusting Jesus Christ, we shall want for nothing. James has told us about the royal law and the perfect law of liberty. and he condemns hypocrisy and boasting and self-serving presumption. And he reminds us that life is short.

James has drawn on Old Testament precedent and spoken of the faith and the works of Abraham and Isaac and Rahab. He's spoken about the patience of Job and here, today, He speaks about the prayers of Elijah. But mostly he speaks about Christ. He speaks about the Lord.

Many basic, many practical, and we would rightly say intimate matters that affect us all are addressed in this little epistle. He wrote to men and women who were hurting, who were doubting, who were troubled, as we often are. And he raises our horizons and he points us to the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ. The faith of Christ is what he calls it. That faith, his faith, Christ's own faith that holds us up, that gives us patience, that enables us to endure to the end. And for these things, and for so much more, we have cause to thank James and thank the Holy Spirit for gifting to us this brother's writings.

In this final passage that is before us today, the people of God are directed by James to live our lives with an awareness of God's presence with us constantly, with an assumption, live our lives with an assumption of the divine purpose in all that we do.

When I was a little boy, there was a prayer hung on a card on the wall of our home. And it said, speaking of Christ, it was speaking of Christ, and it said that he, Christ, was the unseen guest at every meal, the silent listener to every conversation. And that struck me, that stayed with me. I can remember it, thinking about it as a youngster, and it has stayed with me ever since.

It is how we ought to live our lives, with a constant awareness of God's presence, that Christ is the unseen guest every time we sit down to eat, that he is the silent listener to every conversation that we engage upon. sleeping, waking, eating, working, whenever, whatever, wherever, whatever we do, do it as though Christ is present with us because he is.

And here in these verses, James is emphasizing the way in which we interact, the way in which we engage, with the Lord who is with us and he speaks about the place of prayer. That's not formal prayer, it's not the stand up audible prayer that perhaps is made at the beginning of a church service. It is the communion of our spirit with the spirit of God, with the Holy Spirit, with the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a thinking, it is a contemplation, it is an utterance that comes from the heart that rests in the mind that speaks to the Lord and engages with Him as we go through our day. It is this communication that we have knowing that Lord is present with us. And whether we are poor or prosperous, whether our circumstances are adverse or advantageous, Our daily circumstances are to be received as coming from the Lord.

Trouble at work, trouble at home, trouble with the car, problems here and there, health problems, many of us have them. But all of these circumstances have to be understood in the context of God's personal intimate dealings with us. And we should assume that they are each one sent with a purpose and believe that they are each one ultimately helpful to us. That includes our troubles. Believers in the Lord Jesus will know affliction in life, because Christ knew affliction in his life, as did his disciples, as have all his followers.

And when such times come, we should pray to God, pray for grace, pray for strength, pray for endurance, and pray for help. And we should also know that times of joy will come. And when such times come, we are to sing Psalms. So we pray in those times of trouble and we sing praises in the times of gladness and plenty and blessing. Praises to our Lord. And though those experiences differ, affliction on one hand, joy on the other, recognise that they both come from the Lord and they both are designed and intended for our good.

James goes on to speak about times of sickness and he is emphasising this because perhaps it is in such times that we give greatest attention to these spiritual matters. These times of sickness confirm our natural weaknesses and yet they also give us opportunity to develop spiritual strength. They humble us. They remind us of our own inadequacies and teach us dependence upon the Lord. They teach us patience.

And believers suffer many diseases in body and in mind. Constantly we are beset with the prospect of the end of our flesh, our weakening bodies, our mortality, our death. Such trials are to be borne looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. And yet, James also has some practical suggestions and advice. And he says that those who do suffer sickness and ill health and perhaps are contemplating their mortality, he advises the sick to seek the support of their brothers and sisters in Christ and to call the church elders.

Now I suspect that these are simply senior members of the church and perhaps their seniority equips them with life experience and scriptural wisdom. And they are to be called to pray for and to encourage those who are in need, those who are sick. And he says also that they are to call these church elders, perhaps it's a reference to pastors, because they are able to bring also spiritual comfort and assistance at the particularly vulnerable time. But these friends, these men and women who are called, they are called to share the burden of prayer with the sick person. And there we can see how this group, these that we are speaking about, are mutually supportive. One is sick of the body of Christ, he calls for help from the body of Christ. Someday, one of those who are called will also be sick, and he will have the privilege of calling for help and support from others around him.

And in this way, there is this mutual encouragement and support of the Lord's people, one for another. James continues, not only are they to be called to share in the burden of prayer for the needs of those who are frail and weak and suffering, but that that sick person is to be anointed with oil Now I am quite sure that this refers to ordinary medicine. What James is speaking about here is just medicinal care, healing ointments, oils and ointments that are applied to the body to ease pain and assist recovery. So that far from validating some sort of charismatic ritual, this use of oil acknowledges the practical worth of, dare I say, ordinary medicine for the relief of physical ailments.

Paul told Timothy, you will remember, a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities. So Timothy had, was it digestive problems? A little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities, 1 Timothy 5, verse 23. And this oil is a very suitable supplement to prayer.

Now, olive oil, which is likely what was being spoken of here, is a very effective antiseptic. And James would recall also, as another example, how the Good Samaritan, in Christ's parable, mixed oil and wine in order to anoint the injuries of the wounded traveler. So here again, we can see the practical nature of James's writing.

Healing is sought by prayer and oil or medicine or medical treatment, let's enlarge it, is a means to that end, the end of the healing. But for the Lord's people, prayer is the active ingredient. tells us on medicines, the active ingredient. Well, prayer is our active ingredient. Prayer prompted by grace will be answered with mercy.

And I think that we do well to remember those who are sick amongst us each week in our little service introduction. These are the practical ways in which we are fulfilling James's admonitions. and other needs that we have. It's not only those who are sick, although we are to some extent an older congregation perhaps and by our nature that is the reality amongst us. We pray for others and others pray for us.

And what the apostle is using here, this phrase that he uses, what he calls effectual fervent prayer. It means prayer that is in-worked by God. Prayer motives that are laid upon a believer's heart to pray for one another. Prayers that are inspired, if you like. Prayers that are prompted by the Lord, by the Holy Spirit.

So let our prayers, and especially those prayers that are provoked by God, let those prayers be taken to the Father's throne of grace. and from there they will be delivered personally by the righteous man in heaven. James speaks about the effectual fervent prayer of the righteous man and that righteous man can be no other than the Lord Jesus Christ. John it is who tells us Speaking of Christ, in whom we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And so John is telling us that it is Jesus Christ the righteous who is our advocate with the Father. And James is telling us here that the effectual fervent prayer of the righteous man availeth much. Sure, it availeth much, because the Lord Jesus Christ takes the prayers of the saints and presents them before his Father on behalf of his people. What an amazing, what a stupendous, powerful concept that is that James is here directing us to read and consider and to understand. He goes on, this is so full. We could spend weeks and weeks and weeks on these verses alone. This is so full.

He goes on speaking about confessing sin one to another. Now, let me tell you what I think that means as well. Surely, surely that is simply a call for honesty and openness between brethren. and especially when facing death and eternal realities. I think that is what James is alluding to here. He is speaking about those who are sick and the prayers that are made for them.

He is speaking about medication being applied and then he speaks about being honest and open with one another, confessing our sin. Now the Roman Catholics of course they have established what they call auricular confession, confession that is spoken and heard personally by a priest. And they make a big thing of that, that a person, as they're getting near the end of their life, need to have confession so that they can go to heaven. But regardless of what the Roman Catholics say concerning their confession, James is not, is not encouraging a priestly office.

Christ alone is our mediator. Christ alone is the one, is the righteous man who takes our prayers, our requests before his Father. He intercedes for us in his Father's presence. But let me just put another strand to this as well, because I think there is also in this context of this honesty and openness when facing death, there may be also another light can shine upon this subject. Might not James be highlighting an opportunity to be of spiritual value to another poor sinner? A man or a woman on their deathbed may be more ready to consider eternal realities than ever they were in life. Sickness and dying is an opportunity to point men and women to the blood of Jesus Christ. And as the Lord's servants here upon earth, we ought not to be closed to the possibility that the opportunity of spending time with someone who only has a short time left in this world is an opportunity to point them to the blood of Jesus Christ. honesty and openness. James goes on.

He speaks about Elias or Elijah. Elias is the New Testament name that is Elijah in the Old Testament. We've recently been speaking about Elijah. Now we've moved on to Elisha who was Elijah's successor. Well Elijah is brought forward here by James as an example of a man whose prayer was fruitful. His prayers were answered. But James is quick to remind his readers that the success of the prophet's prayer was the Lord's faithfulness, not Elijah's goodness. And that's very interesting. Again, James has got a lovely way of phrasing this.

He says, Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are. You might just read that and think, well, yeah, there we are. He was a man subject to like passions as we are. What does that mean? It means he had a temper. It means that he was filled in his Adam nature with the very same passions, the very same lusts that afflict you and me. He was subject to like passions as we are.

There's no difference in the Adam nature between the foremost prophet amongst the foremost prophets of the Old Testament. A man who stood with Jesus Christ with Moses on the mountain of transfiguration. There's no difference in the Adam nature between that man and us.

So take heart. you who struggle in prayer. Take heart, sinner. The power of Elijah's prayers, first to withhold rain for three and a half years, and we only know about that half because of James, that's not said in the Old Testament, but to be able to withhold rain for three and a half years, then release rain, that power flowed from the Lord. it did not arise from any merit in the prophet himself. And you, weakest saint, you are as fit to pray and as fit to pray for one another in spite of your sin as any other believer. Don't let guilt, don't let felt unworthiness hinder your prayer or deter you from approaching God's mercy seat for what you need. For he has said, in Hebrews 8 verse 12, I will be merciful to their unrighteousness. I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

I'm nearly done here. Let me just bring these final couple of verses to our attention. These last two verses of this little epistle of James encourage the saints to pray for one another's spiritual well-being. for the healing of heart and mind from errors, from wrong doctrine, from sin, and from coldness towards their saviour.

So in the prior verses, James has been recommending prayers for the healing of the body, perhaps a little more broad than that, but now it seems he specifically thinks of soul troubles, the believers' soul troubles. He is turning to the healing of the soul. Now remember, he is writing to believers, saved men and women. He calls them brethren repeatedly. James is not speaking about converting someone to the Christian life.

Let me read these verses again because I suspect that some of us have found them puzzling and I suspect that many have misrepresented these verses in order to make them say something that they don't. I'm going to read them. Sin troubles, these soul troubles. 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.

Right, what does that mean? He is writing to believers, he's speaking to his brethren. He is not speaking about converting someone to the Christian life, but of helping each other, believers helping each other in the Christian life. Now, we speak about growing in grace. The process of our Christian life is that we are born again and it's as if we become like little children. infants, babes. The Apostle Paul calls us babes. And that is what it's like. And we grow.

We grow in our experience of the Lord Jesus. We grow in our experience of God's dealings with us. And there is an enlargement of spiritual understanding. There is a deepening of the awareness of holy things and divine things. And there is growth. There is a growth in grace as we lean more heavily upon the Lord and upon his mercies as we appreciate and learn about our own nature and our own heart. Growing in grace is the experience of every child of God. And so are growing pains. If you err from the truth, you must have known the truth. And growth is a process of alteration, of development and of change.

And it's this conversion, this change, this development that the apostle is speaking about. He began his epistle saying, Do not err, my beloved brethren. Chapter 1, verse 16. He ends it by saying, brethren, if any of you do err, and then he speaks about this conversion.

Nor can I just say that the phrase save a soul from death Nor does that imply anything different from what we're about to see these verses mean. Here's what we can interpret them as saying. The whole of scripture teaches us that no man can give salvation to another man. No man can gain faith for another man.

Only Christ gives faith, his faith, James tells us, only Christ gives faith, only Christ can give and gift salvation. Jonah tells us salvation is of the Lord and that's what James understood. The gift of grace is a divine work belonging only to God. We are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus. New life is only in Christ. And our first conversion to God and every subsequent conversion or change or recovery of the soul from the deadening effect of sin is also the work of God, the work of God the Holy Spirit, a divine work in a believer's soul. God is to be praised for that.

And yet, the Lord is pleased to employ believers in the process of this conversion as means and instruments to facilitate the accomplishments of God's will for his people. The Lord said, did you not to Peter, when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. Peter was a convert. The Lord had said to Peter, Peter was already a saved man. The Lord says, When you are changed, when you grow in grace, help your brethren to grow in grace. The Lord employs believers as means and instruments in order to bring about these developments and changes in his people's life. And in this sense, every saint has a duty of care for their fellow believer.

Now let me use a word that I don't often use. Right, we're moving on. Let me use a word I don't often use. And I don't often use it because it is generally misused. It is however a Bible word and therefore it is to be used and it aptly describes what is being spoken of here. The word is backsliding. And I say that it is misused because in these days of Arminian free will duty faith preaching, many people are led falsely to believe that they're saved when they've never experienced the new birth.

And when they subsequently fall away from their profession as they must because the root of faith is not in them, they are said equally wrongly to be backslidden. But you can't slide back. You cannot be backslidden from a place that you've never been to. James is speaking only of those who are genuinely backslidden, having been truly saved, then ensnared again in the affairs and attractions of this world. Personally, I do not believe that this backslidden state can last long in a true child of God. But then how long is long?

The point is that a darkness has entered a believer's soul. with deadening effect. And there it remains until the Lord sends a minister, a faithful witness, to rouse the soul from sleep and restore the wandering sheep. And this is what James calls saving a soul from death and hiding a multitude of sins.

It can be likened to Nathan, the prophet Nathan's ministry to David in the Old Testament. In the introduction, David speaks about this in the introduction of Psalm 51. There we read this introduction and first verse. It says, a psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him after he had gone into Bathsheba. So after David had gone into Bathsheba, and we know the story about David's sin with Bathsheba, and the birth of the child, and the death of her husband, and all that David was involved in there.

This is a psalm of David when Nathan the prophet came unto him after he had gone into Bathsheba, And David says, have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving kindness, according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. You see, saving a soul from death and hiding a multitude of sins is what Nathan was about.

And James, James's call here is a timely call. It is a precious encouragement to us all. first to be careful for our own spiritual health and second to be alert to the needs and the troubles of our brothers and sisters in Christ and preachers and pastors as under shepherds to Christ of God's flock ought especially to be attentive to the needs of their congregations and to search for and seek out the troubled sheep of Christ's fold wherever they may be scattered. We've come to the end. I've spoken longer than I wanted to. May the Lord bless to us these thoughts from the epistle of James. Amen.