Part 14: True Faith Is Always in Action

Introduction

Focus upon the present active verbs: continuous action, i.e., always doing these things.

1. In Speech (5:12)

James 5:12 NASB95

But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment.

First, a command to avoid deceptive speech.

Deceptive Speech

“Do no swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath”:

“Swear” = taking an oath = “to promise solemnly, usually invoking a divine witness, regarding your future acts or behavior; often including penalties for failure within the contents of the oath” [Lexham]

Emphasis on the present tense: do not BE swearing.

Background of oath-taking:

A Biblical and Theological Dictionary (Oath) The administration of oaths supposes that God will punish false swearing with more severity than a simple lie, or breach of promise.

The Holman Christian Standard Bible Chapter 23

21 “If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to keep it, because He will require it of you, and it will be counted against you as sin. 22 But if you refrain from making a vow, it will not be counted against you as sin. 23 Be careful to do whatever comes from your lips, because you have freely vowed what you promised to the LORD your God.

Leviticus 19:12 “You shall not swear falsely by My name, so as to profane the name of your God; I am the Lord.”

The law equates perjury with blasphemy, since it is God’s justice which is offended (Lev. 19:12)

Rousas John Rushdoony, The Institutes of Biblical Law, 569

Richard Watson (A Biblical and Theological Dictionary (Oath)) 1. Perjury is a sin of greater deliberation. 2. It violates a superior confidence. 3. God directed the Israelites to swear by his name

Taking an oath was serious business. It was like making a covenant: not to be broken.

What James is telling us, then, is that a person who has true faith always avoids deceptive speech. Do not make flippant promises or oaths, knowing or thinking that perhaps you will not fulfill what you said.

In fact, do not just avoid making flippant promises, but avoid them altogether. James says that Christians are to have clear and intentional speech.

Clear and Intentional Speech

James 5:12 NASB95

. . . but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment.

In other words, if you say you are going to do something, do it. Think, deliberate, and then speak. Be clear and intentional with your speech.

Some of us probably recognize the words of James here. Jesus himself taught this command:

New American Standard Bible (1995): Paragraph Version Chapter 5

33 “Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, ‘bYOU SHALL NOT MAKE FALSE VOWS, BUT SHALL FULFILL YOUR VOWS TO THE LORD.’ 34 But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is THE CITY OF THE GREAT KING. 36 Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil.

The point Jesus is NOT making: that oaths in and of themselves are evil (for God regulated them in the OT, as we see).

The point is that we, as sinful humans, miss the intent of laws regulating oaths. It isn’t just about external oath-taking: it’s about the heart. What the Pharisees and many others were doing was what they did with all of God’s laws: merely looking good on the outside, which just served as a cover for the sinful attitudes and thoughts going on in the inside of them.

Jesus (and James) are telling us that our words should always be clearly and intentionally truthful. Do not use taking oaths or promises to cover up the fact that inside you are filled with dead men’s bones who has no fully, committed intention of keeping the promise.

Do we get what this is saying?

Illustrated well by parents: “Do as I say not as I do”

Saying martial vows while harboring in our hearts a slight possibility of not keeping them.

Illustration

Our society breaks contracts all the time, and perjury is rampant.

The jury system puts a ban upon intelligence and honesty and a premium upon ignorance, stupidity, and perjury. —Mark Twain

Mark Twain

Application

Do we tell others we will do something but then do not?

As a pastor and teacher in the church for about 25 years, I have had numerous people in the church tell me they will step up and help with different ministries or tasks, and the next thing I knew, they were MIA. I understand it could have been due to frustration or obstacles—there are many of those when doing ministry. But these are not excuses to not fulfill our word. If we say we are going to do something, then we are to do it.

One of the ways in which this plays out in life: passive-aggression.

Do you know someone who is passive-aggressive? Saying you will do something or giving the impression you will but refuse to do it because you do not like it or don’t want to do it.

From Psychology Today [https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/passive-aggression]:

Some common forms of passive aggression include avoiding responsibility for tasks, procrastinating and even missing deadlines, withholding critical information, and frequently underachieving relative to what one is capable of producing. . . . Passive aggression at work can sabotage group projects, resulting in unachieved goals. . . . the most common signs include refusing to discuss concerns openly and directly, avoiding responsibility, and being deliberately inefficient.

The passively aggressive person often leaves a job undone or “almost” complete. They frequently run late and are masters at subtly sabotaging others when they disagree with a course of action. They often resort to the silent treatment or the backhanded compliment to get their point across.

This is not what true faith looks like. People with true faith in Christ avoid deception, and speak clearly, intentionally, and truthfully.

True faith, then, is always practicing good, moral speech. But true faith is also always active in prayer:

2. In Prayer (5:13-18)

James 5:13 NASB95

Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises.

When Suffering

One of the most difficult times to pray is when we are suffering. Suffering can cloud our hearts, brain, and mind. We do not fee like praying; we may feel that praying is pointless and hopeless; we may feel like God does not hear us. There may even be times when we cannot actually pray because of the suffering we are enduring.

But during those in times which we can, we are commanded to pray.

We know we are commanded to pray without ceasing. We often quote 1 Thessalonians 5:17 “Pray without ceasing.” But have we ever noticed the next verse?

1 Thessalonians 5:18 “In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Echoed in Philippians 4:6 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

Yes, even for the suffering!

In our suffering we learn, our faith is strengthened, and God’s will is being worked out.

Leon Morris:

“When anyone comes to see that God in Christ has saved him, everything is altered. Now it is apparent that God’s purpose is being worked out. . . . This leads to the thought that the same loving purpose is being worked out even in those events which the believer is inclined not to welcome at all. When we come to realize that God’s hand is in all things, we learn to give thanks for all things. Tribulation is unpleasant. Yet in the midst of tribulation who would not give thanks knowing that the Father who love us so greatly has permitted that tribulation only in order that his wise and merciful purpose might be worked out?” [1, 2 Thess., 174]

If we struggle with praying in our suffering, we can pray the Psalms or another Bible verse.

We can silently meditate on crying out to God in our soul: Romans 8:26 “In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”

Puritan thought: “Pray until you pray.”

Also active in prayer when sick:

When Sick

James 5:14–15 NASB95

Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.

Praying we are sick is probably one of the most common times to pray, and perhaps one of the easiest times.

Here, however, James is pointing out something that is rarely practiced anymore but was consistently practiced through the history of the church: having the elders/pastors of the church pray over the one who is sick.

The practice: elders of the church would go to the sick, pray over them, and anoint him with olive oil. Anointing with oil symbolized “that person is being set apart for God’s special attention and care.” [Douglas Moo] Could have even been a reference to the Holy Spirit and his power to heal.

Note: James says that sick are to “call for the elders.” The sick are to request their pastor elders to visit, pray, and anoint them.

Interesting part here is one of the benefits James mentions: “and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.” The thought is that some illnesses may be due to sin, and the promise is that those sins will be forgiven.

Of course, we must constantly be in prayer about our sin. True faith is always active in prayer for sins:

When Sinful

James 5:16–17 NASB95

Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.

True faith is always in action in prayer when sinful.

James commands us to “confess” our “sins to one another” and “pray for one another.” This is not an option. Again, it’s a command.

Confess your sins to one another? This certainly is a mistake, right? I am to tell my Christian brothers and sisters my sins? Yes!

The inauthenticity we display in the church, in general (and esp in the American church), is palatable. As the saying goes, we play church. We put on our good faces on Sunday and act holy, as if we are really behaving ourselves. But we are not fooling anyone, esp God. I know, you know, we all know that not one of us has been good this week. We’ve pulled a few last week, did we not?

We all have. We are all still on the path toward righteousness, and we have not reached it yet. And this is exactly why we need to confess our sins to one another: we need encouragement and biblical wisdom on how to navigate this life to become more like Christ. You will find that no where else—only in the church. This is why we must meet with the church (and not just on Sunday morning or Wednesdays):

Hebrews 10:24–25 “And let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”

“Going to church,” as we say, is not about “going to church,” as if it is a checkbox of what good Christians do. We meet with the church to confess our sins to one another and to pray for one another.

When we do this, James says the outcome is healing: “confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed.” The context is about physical healing. But I think this passage can be applied to spiritual healing as well. When we confess our sins to one another, are we not spiritually healed? If you do not understand what is being said here, I encourage you to give it a try: confess one of your sins to a church family member. You will find that you are affirmed in your grace in Christ, the sense of guilt once again lifted, the strength to carry on, and confidence that the Holy Spirit will lead you to overcome that sin.

Application

But how are we to confess our sins to one another? This is close to an insurmountable obstacle in our society, where we are fake and everything is about image. In order to confess our sins to one another, it is going to take nothing less than a paradigm shift, a total revamping of our mindset and belief system of what the church is and what it is about.

We will have to jettison the idea that church is merely a legalistic thing Christians do. “Going to church” rather than “being the church.”

We will have to cast aside the idea that we are here for ME and what I get out of meeting with the church. The church is not about the music, it is not about choir, it is not about the bells, it is not about the orchestra, it is not about the buildings, it is not about the Wed night meals, not any of the these things. It is about Christ and the people of God. Nothing more and nothing less. Until we get this new mindset, we will never be real with another and never be able to confess our sins to one another.

To confess our sins to one another demands that we will have to take our masks off and be vulnerable. We will have to trust one another. We will have to be a family.

This is a call to spiritual maturity, to grow up in the faith so that we can help one another to become more spiritually mature.

True faith is always in action, praying for one another and confessing our sins to one another. But true faith is also always in action in saving others.

3. In Saving Others (5:19-20)

James 5:19–20 NASB95

My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

The first thing mentioned here is that Christians help others from straying from the faith. Actually, what James says here is meant to serve as an encouragement to us when we help those who are straying:

From Straying

James 5:19 NASB95

My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back,

“stray” = wander about aimlessly; the straying is not about losing one’s salvation here; it is about a believer who has fallen into error or gotten off the path of the faith one for all.

Those Christians who are new converts or some who are weaker in the faith can often get off the path of truth. It’s like a sheep that wanders off from the flock. And it is the church’s responsibility (all of us, not just elders or leadership) to go after them, or as James puts it, “turn him back.”

This is one main reason we need the church! We are to help one another stay the course. We are our brother’s keeper.

Grant Osborne:

James: Verse by Verse Restore Those Who Wander from the Faith (5:19–20)

Those crippled by sin and about to fall in the ditch need stronger believers to rescue and help them back on the straight path

This is done out of love. The objective is to get them back on track toward the truth.

This does not always mean that it will turn out well. Some will ignore the believers trying to help them. But other times it does turn out well. The believer repents and gets back on track. And when this occurs we rejoice with him or her.

There may be other times, however, that a believer is not just straying but flirting with death.

We who recognize this are to be an instrument to save him from death.

From Death

James 5:20 NASB95

. . . let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

“save his soul from death” = a variety of understandings here: some say physical death, others spiritual death, others consequences of sins in this life, etc.

Whatever the case, here is the point: when we help lead a straying believer back to the truth, we can be assured that we are serving as an instrument to save him from horrible consequences: physical death, spiritual death, and consequences of straying off the path.

Think of the parable of the Prodigal Son.

When we bring a straying believer back and he or she repents, that person’s sins are forgiven and you may just have saved him or her from severe consequences.

Psalm 32:1 “How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered!”

Fittingly, James concludes his letter with his main theme of “faith without works is dead”:

The Letter of James C. A Concluding Summons to Action (5:19–20)

Not only should the readers of James “do” the words he has written; they should be deeply concerned to see that others “do” them also.

Conlcusion