Sermon Text: James 5:13-20
Below is a sermon manuscript from April 13, 2025. Watch the sermon here.
Introduction
Too often prayer gets forced out due to our schedules or things going on. I am reminded of Martin Luther’s quote: “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.”
Today is Palm Sunday, a day that the church has set aside to recognize when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. He was praised and received as a King and would be crucified less than a week later. It is Jesus’ actions that are the basis of what James writes here. Because the King has come, it gives meaning and beauty to our lives. Because the King has come and accomplished what he came to do we can be assured that Christians have access to God through prayer. In fact as we pray we pray to the Father, in the name of the Jesus, and in the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, who was sent by the Father through the Son, for our good.
Yet how often do we neglect that gift? We see business as a hindrance to prayer instead of an opportunity. I hope that we can be challenged through this section of Scripture. Because as we have seen throughout James – it’s about Real Faith for Real Life and Real Faith for Real Life means a life of prayer.
Pray in good times and bad
James begins by asking questions about the condition of his audience. The point is clear. When you are going through difficulty – pray. When you times are good give praise to God. We could simplify this and say, whether times are good or bad – whether we are at an emotional high or low – regardless- we should go to God.
Make prayer a first response, not last option
When times are difficult, what happens? What is your initial reaction? When I was a youth pastor I had a parent ask me a variety of safety questions. They were from a remote area in Canada originally and they asked what I would do if I took the kids on a hike and there was a badger attack? They asked how I would make a splint and if I could reset a bone. As a young person, fresh into ministry I remember thinking “wait, should I know this stuff? I think I would just call 911.” We later took a first aid course with them and they were asking similar questions to the instructor. I was happily confirmed when they responded, “You call 911.” There is a resource available, and people are ready to respond to certain events. Indeed, the system is not perfect, but for Christians, we do have somewhere we can turn that is perfect. Don’t misunderstand, still call 911 if needed! But don’t neglect going to the One who is sovereign over all.
When things go well, praise God
It’s easy to grow spiritually cold when life is good. But here James commands praise. The original language has a force to it that is a cross between let and must with the force of “must.”[1] These are things that Christians must do. While this doesn’t need to be done verbally before others, I often love to see this take place especially among young people. Athletes or others who are being praised for certain accomplishments who intentionally direct things back to the Lord.
Include others for your good
What is the prayer of faith?
Not Last Rites
When we look at this passage, one conclusion might be that this is talking about last rites or extreme unction. This is the practice of a priest in Roman Catholic tradition going to the bedside of someone who is dying. It is seen as giving a special grace and forgiveness to the dying person. Not only do we have issues with this because of salvation by faith alone and understanding that Jesus only instituted two ordinances – baptism and the Lord’s supper – this doesn’t seem to be what James has in mind. James calls believers to confess to one another in vs. 16, not necessarily a leader or pastor. Second, there is an expectation that they will recover – putting it at odds with last rites.
Not Miraculous Healing Every time
Gift of Healing
Another thing that might come to mind when we read this passage is the idea of miraculous healing. In some traditions, this is associated with the faith of the sick individual or the gifts of the person who heals. Sometimes these are even blended. This view might see this passage as giving approval or even discussing those who have the gift of healing. There is a problem with this because the sick person is the one who calls people to pray, and they call regular church leaders. There is no mention of the gift of healing. It seems likely that this gift had slowly died out during this time. This would be a reason why Paul counsels Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:23 to drink wine to help his stomach instead of seeking a gifted healer. Supernatural gifts served to confirm the new revelation coming at the time of Christ and as New Testament Scripture was being written. After we have the Word of God, there is not the same need. It makes sense that they would gradually fade out, and that seems to be the Biblical and Church history witness to these gifts.
Enough Faith
The other element that is sometimes associated with miraculous healing is that it depends on the sick individual’s faith. It’s not the case that prayer will always lead to healing. Again, we can look to Paul’s advice to Timothy. He doesn’t say pray with more faith but take this to help. The kind of teaching that says that healing always takes place as long as you have enough faith is dangerous. The first reason it is dangerous is that it’s putting hope in ourselves. It’s trusting in our faith instead of trusting in Jesus. Second, because we are never promised that there will always be healing, it can cause someone to doubt their faith, think that they didn’t do enough. It’s heaping burdens on people who are already burdened.
Not Limited to Spiritual Healing
Another view is that this is all about spiritual healing, not physical healing. This view says that James isn’t talking about illness, but that the word should be understood as weakness. This would be talking about someone struggling with doubt and then having elders pray for them to help restore them spiritually. The problem is that there is a better way to express this idea that wouldn’t lead people to think about physical healing.
The reality is that God does work through prayers in this way. This is a clear instruction that he is giving the people then and we should think through what it means for us today.
Relationship Between Healing and Repentance
How do we think about this, then? We have already seen the importance of praying in every situation. We need to recognize that. We should also note the relationship in the passage between healing and repentance. Verses 15 and 16 seem to be confused. It says the sick person will be saved, and the person who confesses their sins will be healed. Wait, sick saved and sin healed? Shouldn’t it be the other way? Sam Allberry notes that “James is drawing a connection between the person’s sickness and their sin.”[2] Now, of course, we have to be careful here. The book of Job points out that difficulty in life isn’t always associated with sin. Jesus warned his disciples about assuming this is the case in John 9:1-3.
But we do see sickness and sin connected like this in Scripture. In John 5:14, Jesus heals someone and then says, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.”[3] Paul also writes that some are weak and ill because they are sinning when discussing the Lord’s supper in 1 Corinthians 11. This also makes sense in the context of the passage. Remember, James already warned his readers against being worldly and double-minded. It would make sense that an unrepentant sinner would call in elders to pray for them as they are now repentant. This would also make sense of the oil. Oil was used to set apart for God’s use. Using it here is a mark that God is with them. They are marked off from their former double-mindedness.
We might be concerned that it might cause people to blame sick people for their sickness. But James is not talking about pointing fingers at those who are sick. He is talking about those who are sick requesting help. This seems to be more about self-examination and personal repentance. The elders are coming in to assure someone who is now repentant because they have been requested.
Confess Sins to One Another
Confessing sins to others isn’t limited to church leaders. There is a “one another” aspect in verse 16. Though it can be to the pastor or pastors, it should also take place among members of the body of Christ. We should have relationships with others in the church where we can bear one another burdens and speak truth into their life. Ask yourself: are you someone that is safe to confess sin to? Would you be able to come alongside someone who is struggling gently? None of us have it all together; we should examine ourselves and be humble.
Prayer of a Righteous Person
James uses Elijah as an example of powerful prayer. He prayed, and the rain stopped. He prayed again, and it rained. Elijah trusted God to perform a miracle to demonstrate his power and show how he was the real God, unlike Baal. Elijah was concerned about God’s glory and fame. What’s interesting in this example is that James’ focus isn’t on the miracle as much as the prayer of Elijah. We should also note that Elijah praying for the rain to stop is not explicitly mentioned in the Old Testament, but was something that extra-Biblical literature discussed. Here we have Biblical verification of that taking place. It’s also in accord with God telling Elijah what would take place.
It’s crazy that James says that Elijah is like us. Here is the truth. Our prayers are important and powerful as well. Why? Because we are praying to the same God. It’s not the strength of our prayer but the strength of the One that we are praying to. The God who was at work then is the God who is at work now. What if we believed this?
Interestingly, James is writing to people who seem to have one foot in and one foot out. He has challenged them against their worldliness and against desiring the money of others. Elijah also spoke into a time when people flirted with the temptations and delights of the age. His prayers brought the focus back on God. This is the prayer of a righteous person. They are aligned with God’s will and desire for others to be too. They desire not their will to be done but God’s will on earth as it is in heaven.
This can go back to the elders’ prayers and the anointing. It’s unclear how specific the application was for the situation. But this can be a continual thing in the life of the church. Regardless of a person’s position regarding the gift of healing and how that works out today, calling the elders to pray has enduring application.
Intervene for the good of others
Understand the reality of wanderers
First, we should understand the reality of wanderers. These are those who begin in the faith, perhaps even show outward signs, but then leave. Jesus warned of this in the parable of the soil. This is a reality that many, even in this room, have felt. Theologically, there are different ways to understand what is happening beneath the surface, but James is concerned about the practical here, and we will seek to do him justice. We might ask, though, what are the ways that people wander? The person who wanders is wandering from something. James says it is the truth. It’s important to realize that the truth should not be limited to what one thinks, but, in the ancient world, and even here in James, we should know it also relates to how one lives. Someone can wander in what they believe and how they behave. These are not easily separated, and typically they influence one another.
We see Demas being led astray in 2 Timothy 4:10 because of his love for the world. 10 For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.[4]
Maybe you know people like this as well. Those who seemed solid in their faith but, just like we have seen in James, had one foot in the world, and that divided mind started to lean another way. It might be a relationship, it might be a pet sin, but they slowly give in and then start to justify their behavior. Maybe they remain in for a little while, but then eventually leave altogether.
But it’s not only behavior, it’s also beliefs. We also see Paul writing about people who have opposed the truth of His message. In the same chapter that we read of Demas, we read of Alexander the Coppersmith, “14 Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. 15 Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message.[5]”
Understand the importance of rescue
If it’s important to understand that there may be wanderers it’s equally important to understand what should be done and what is at stake. James tells them the stakes are death and that the action will cover a multitude of sins. What is this getting at? He is getting at the reality of death as the eternal death of hell. That is what is being discussed by the idea of saving the soul from death. Matthew 25:46 gives a clear contrast between two future destinations. Those who will go away into eternal punishment and the righteous going to eternal life. The righteous are those whose sins are covered – we know they are covered by the love of God through the blood of Jesus Christ.
The preacher of a century ago, Charles Spurgeon, wrote:
I have known a person who has erred hunted down like a wolf. He was wrong to some degree, but that wrong has been aggravated and dwelt upon till the man has been worried into defiance; the fault has been exaggerated into a double wrong by ferocious attacks upon it. The manhood of the man has taken sides with his error because he has been so severely handled. The man has been compelled, sinfully I admit, to take up an extreme position, and to go further into mischief, because he could not brook to be denounced instead of being reasoned with. And when a man has been blameworthy in his life it will often happen that his fault has been blazed abroad, retailed from mouth to mouth, and magnified, until the poor erring one has felt degraded, and having lost all self-respect, has given way to far more dreadful sins. The object of some professors seems to be to amputate the limb rather than to heal it.[6]
Restorers must also guard their own hearts. We see in Romans 6:1 the importance of examining ourselves as we come alongside others. No one is free from sin themselves, we all have mixed motives, we should come alongside with care for the good of the other.
Still there is a call to go for the good of the other. This is a hard task, but a necessary one. God often works through means to bring people back. He can use circumstances and he often uses people. Being a part of that process is a great blessing. I remember having a church discipline case where a man was having an affair. He was confronted about it, repented, and was brought back.
Conclusion
We are called to call back the wanderer from the faith, and we are also called to call to those who are outside the faith. Just as we don’t want people to depart from the way of truth we also want people to come to the way of truth.
It reminds me of the words of John in John 1:29,
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world![7]
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”[8]
[1] The two imperatives are in the third person, reflecting a cross between “let” and “must,” but closer to “must.”
Craig L. Blomberg and Mariam J. Kamell, James, vol. 16, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008), 241.
[2] Allberry, James, 153.
[3] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Jn 5:14.
[4] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 2 Ti 4:10.
[5] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 2 Ti 4:14–15.
[6] R. Kent Hughes, James: Faith That Works, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1991), 279.
[7] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Jn 1:29.
[8] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Lk 19:10.
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