How To Save A Soul

Our Bible passage, introduction to Sunday 15th March service and hymns are below.

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Our principal verses are:

Jas 5:13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.

Jas 5:14 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:

Jas 5:15 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.

Jas 5:16 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.

Jas 5:17 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.

Jas 5:18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

Jas 5:19 Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;

Jas 5:20 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.

How To Save A Soul

The people of God are directed by James to live their lives with an awareness of God’s presence and an assumption of divine purpose. Here the apostle stresses the role of prayer. Whether adverse or prosperous our daily circumstances are to be received as from the Lord, purposefully sent and ultimately helpful. Believers in the Lord Jesus will know affliction in life as did Christ, His disciples and followers. When these times come we should pray to God for grace and strength. We shall also know times of joy. At such times we are to sing praises to our Lord.

Physical weakness

Times of sickness reveal our natural weaknesses and remind us of our dependence upon the Lord. Believers suffer many diseases in body and mind. The end of our flesh is an ever-present certainty. Such trials are to be borne with patience, ‘looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith’. James advises the sick to solicit the support of church elders. These may simply be senior members imbued with experience and scriptural wisdom, or church pastors equipped to bring a word of spiritual comfort and assistance to the sick and suffering.

Good medicine

These men are called to share the burden of prayer for the sick person and to anoint him with oil. This likely refers to ordinary medicine and like-healing ointments applied to the body to ease suffering and assist recovery. As such, it would be a suitable supplement to prayer. Olive oil is an effective antiseptic and James would recall that the Good Samaritan in Christ’s parable mixed his oil with wine to anoint the injuries of the wounded traveller. Here again we see the practical nature of James’ writing. Healing is sought by prayer and oil used as a means.

Troubles to the Lord

Yet, prayer is the active ingredient and prayer prompted by grace will be answered with mercy. What the Apostle calls, ‘effectual, fervent prayer’, means prayer inspired and indited by the Lord, principally the Holy Spirit, though not to the exclusion of the Father and the Son (Romans 8:26, 27; John 16:24). The ‘righteous man’ mentioned can be no other than Jesus, in whom we have, as John tells us, ‘an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous’ (1 John 2:1). Confessing sin one to another is a call for honesty and openness when facing death. Christ alone is our Mediator. James is not encouraging a priestly office!

The prayers of Elijah

Elias, that is, Elijah, is brought forward by James as an example of successful prayer. James is quick to remind his readers that the success of the prophet’s prayer is the Lord’s faithfulness, not Elijah’s goodness. ‘Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are.’ There is no difference in our Adam-nature. The power of Elijah’s prayers, first to withhold rain, then to release rain, flowed from the Lord and did not arise from any merit in himself.

A powerful conclusion

In the final verses of this little epistle James encourages the saints to pray for one another’s spiritual wellbeing, for the healing of heart and mind from errors, wrong doctrine and coldness towards Christ. James has been soliciting prayers for the healing of the body, now he turns to healing of the soul. Remember, he is writing to brethren, saved men and women. James is not speaking about converting someone to the Christian life but helping each other in it.

‘Save a soul from death’

It is contrary to the whole of scripture to suggest one man can give salvation to another. That is not what James means. Jonah tells us, ‘Salvation is of the Lord’. The gift of grace is a divine work and belongs only to God. New life is only in Christ. Our first conversion of the heart to God and every subsequent recovery of the soul from the deadening effect of sin is the work of the Holy Spirit. And yet, the Lord is pleased to employ believers in this process as means and instruments in facilitating His will. In this sense every saint has a duty of care for their fellow believer. This is what James calls, ‘save a soul from death’.

A great privilege

His call is a precious encouragement to us all to be careful for our own spiritual health and alert to the needs and troubles of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Preachers and pastors especially ought to be attentive to search for and seek out the sheep of Christ’s fold wherever they are scattered, that they might bring a word of comfort to the weary and encourage the burdened pilgrim in the Christian way.

Amen

Hymn 967

“Is any among you afflicted? let him pray.” James 5. 13

W. Cowper   L.M.

1
God of my life, to thee I call;
Afflicted at thy feet I fall;
When the great water-floods prevail,
Leave not my trembling heart to fail.

2
Friend of the friendless and the faint,
Where should I lodge my deep complaint?
Where but with thee, whose open door
Invites the helpless and the poor?

3
Did ever mourner plead with thee,
And thou refuse that mourner’s plea?
Does not the word still fixed remain,
That none shall seek thy face in vain?

4
That were a grief I could not bear,
Didst thou not hear and answer prayer;
But a prayer-hearing, answering God
Supports me under every load.

5
Poor though I am, despised, forgot,
Yet God, my God, forgets me not;
And he is safe, and must succeed,
For whom the Lord vouchsafes to plead.

Hymn 397

The Power of Prayer. Ps. 50. 15; James 5. 16-18

J. Newton            7s

1
In themselves as weak as worms,
How can poor believers stand,
When temptations, foes, and storms,
Press them close on every hand?

2
Weak, indeed, they feel they are,
But they know the Throne of Grace;
And the God who answers prayer,
Helps them when they seek his face.

3
Though the Lord awhile delay,
Succour they at length obtain;
He who taught their hearts to pray,
Will not let them cry in vain.

4
Wrestling prayer can wonders do;
Bring relief in deepest straits!
Prayer can force a passage through
Iron bars and brazen gates.

5
For the wonders he has wrought,
Let us now our praises give;
And, by sweet experience taught,
Call upon him while we live.

James' practical epistle concludes with a call to prayer for the sick in body and soul. As Christ's church and members of His spiritual body we are blessed and privileged to pray for and encourage one another as we make our way through the challenges of life.