Beautiful charge
What if we were to pursue our brothers and sisters who wander from faith? In many churches there is a strong emphasis on the lost. Some churches preach 100% to “seekers,” others only to evangelism of the unregenerate. I believe devoting zero time and effort to the body of believers makes for a sin-riddled, ineffective, and ultimately transient congregation. We have in our midst at all times brothers who have gone rogue. Like the prodigal son, their hearts and minds, if not yet their feet and bodies, have strayed from the path of righteousness. In the following verses, James exhorts us to gather our brothers and sisters back into the fold.
19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
James 5:19-20
These simple, yet beautiful verses, contain a promise. I am not sure James wrote anything more hopeful, more promising, or more lovely in his entire epistle. Whether you are a faithful Christian, filled with a gnawing concern for your brother, or a prodigal yourself, hoping to find the courage to repent and make your way back, James gives you hope.
Looking back over our last few weeks studying James, my impression is that James primarily gives commands and examples. Well, commands and examples with a dollop of sarcasm.
James tells a few jokes
He describes men who hear the word, but do not act, as a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror…and goes away and at once forgets what he was like (James 1:23-24).
To the man who cannot keep from gossip, belittling, and cursing, but who claims to be religious, James says, your religion is worthless. (James 1:26)
For the solemn man who says, God is one, James replies, Well done! You have the same faith as the demons! (James 2:18-19)
He calls the tongue the spark that ignites a forest fire, itself set on fire by hell. (James 3:5).
To those who praise God and curse their neighbor, James asks, can a spring pour forth fresh water and salt water? (James 3:11)
Boasting about your plans for tomorrow? James tells us, you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. (James 4:14)
Are you for real?
I am not sure if this last one is sarcasm, or if James just (get it?) expects more of the common brother than the common brother expects of himself. In James 5:17-19 (Day 16.0: Worship and Prayer) James writes, Elijah was a man with a nature like ours… Essentially, he is saying, just be like Elijah. Am I the only one who thinks this is way outside the realm of the practical and proverbial advice we keep discussing?
- Me: “Excuse me, James?”
- James: “Yes, my son?”
- Me: “How can I pray in faith?”
- James: “Just be like Elijah, son.”
- Me: “You mean, like Elijah Johnson? The guy in the third pew, on the far right, most Sunday mornings?”
- James: “No. I mean the prophet Elijah.”
- Me: “The guy who prayed for drought, and there was drought three years, and prayed for rain and it rained again? Who called fire from heaven when he needed to dispatch soldiers? The guy who raised that poor lady’s son from the dead, and instead of dying was caught up in a chariot of fire? You mean the guy who appeared with Moses on the mountain when Christ was transfigured?”
- James: “Who else? Yes, that Elijah.”
- Me: “So…I should just be…just be like him, then?”
- James: “Just so.”
So, the book of James lays out plenty of practical advice, plenty of insight into the human mind and heart, and guides us in the proper conduct of a faithful life. He throws in a dash of hyperbole for our reading pleasure and to drive the points home. But, nothing to me seems more challenging, more (dare I say) far-fetched, than, Just be like Elijah. It’s a high bar, for sure.
Jesus asks, What makes you different?
To be fair, Christ, himself was not above setting the bar high, and using a touch of the ol’ holy wit:
46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Matthew 5:46-48
All of a sudden, being like Elijah seems more approachable. What’s the next goal after that? Oh! Be perfect. You know, like God is?
What’s the point?
But, none of this is even the point of today’s study. We were supposed to be talking about hope for the prodigal among us! I really do wish you would stop leading us down so many side trails, and stick to the path! No doubt quotes from James will come in to many of the studies over the next year or more. But, today will be our last day focused on the book of James.
A promise for the prodigal and those who pursue him
If you would be so kind as to scroll all the way up to the top, you will see some verses (James 5:19-20). That’s where this study was meant to begin. (And, granted, it did begin there, it just meandered off for a bit.) Here James closes his epistle with a beautiful promise. If one of our brothers of sisters wanders away from the faith, and we bring them back, James says it will save their soul.
There is a picture here of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). I used to think that the prodigal son was simply the picture of a sinner who finally finds the gospel, repents, and goes to the household of the Lord. But, later, as I took time to actually read the passage, it dawned on me that the prodigal son started the story as the father’s son. That might seem simple to you, but to me it was a profound insight and blessing.
A vague autobiographical aside
Without getting too much into it, I came to faith at a young age. I was baptized into the body of believers as a kid. But, at different phases of my life I set my faith aside and devoted myself to unworthy pursuits. It was only ten years ago, or so, that I confessed I had misspent so many years, and recognized that a true life of faith had real requirements. I repented, and have been faithfully pursuing Christ and the faith ever since. That is why I have such gratitude for the story of the prodigal son.
James, in these two verses, changes the emphasis away from the prodigal. He challenges faithful brothers and sisters to go after those who have wandered from the Way, to bring them back, to restore them. That is who I endeavor to be now. I am not proud about my prodigal wanderings, but I am thankful for the faithfulness of brothers who helped lead me back. And, having been on the opposite side before – roaming aimlessly in dark, dreadful places (the valley of the shadow of death comes to mind) – God has already used me to help bring back brothers who, like the prodigal son, were themselves wandering away.
The sheep and the shepherd
Here are a few similar examples to encourage those who find, or have found, themselves far away from where they know they should be. If you, oh prodigal, find yourself hungry for nourishment and craving pig slop, know that your Father is waiting for you.
4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
Luke 15:4-7
You are the man!
And the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, “There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had very many flocks and herds, 3 but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms,[a] and it was like a daughter to him. 4 Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” 5 Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, 6 and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”
7 Nathan said to David, “You are the man! …”
2 Samuel 12:1-7
This brutal summation of the sin David had committed drove David to repentance. We cannot be sure where his mind and heart were in the intervening months, but Nathan’s metaphor was (to use another metaphor) a slap in the face that woke him from his sinful stupor. And, the great thing is, David repented and was forgiven.
Real world consequences
The forgiveness of God did not erase the “real world” consequences of David’s sin. In this world when we as Christians shipwreck our faith we, like David, can turn to God in repentance and be forgiven. But, as in David’s story, there are consequences here in this world, as well as the judgment to come. David and Bathsheba’s first son died. The prophet Nathan plainly states that this was just one of the consequences of David’s sin. Nevertheless, David was a man after God’s own heart. He turned back to God, repented, and was forgiven. David wrote a psalm in his repentance. It is a beautiful picture of the prodigal Christian turning back to the Lord and begging to be restored.
Prayer of a repentant prodigal
Let’s close with Psalms 51. Please remember God is just, but He is merciful. If you find yourself like the prodigal son, running away, rather than running the race set before you, turn back to the Lord! He will forgive your sin. You will still have to deal with the consequences of your actions, but you can do so with real relief. The weight of your sin can be lifted, and you can experience real joy, no matter the struggle to repair your life and relationships in the here and now.
I’ve prayed this psalm to the Lord many times. You can too!
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin!3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
and blameless in your judgment.
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me.
6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,
and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Psalms 51:1-12
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right[b] spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.
Thank you
To all of you (anyone?) who read through all the studies of James we’ve been through in the last few weeks, I just wanted to say thank you. It has been a really enlightening ride, at least for me. I hope you were edified by it. Please feel free to write your thoughts or questions, etc. I will try to answer promptly.
God bless you, and keep you, and make his light to shine upon you, and give you peace.
