I. Introduction
A. Next week I’ll be gone. Then, Nov.13 will be my last sermon on James.
B. James 5:13–18 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? 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. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.
II. Explanation
A. The passage is a triad.
1. 13a Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.
2. 13b Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.
3. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church...
B. We’ll talk about the first two later on; let’s think about the third one now.
1. 14 Is anyone among you sick? 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.
2. This implies that Christians get sick.
3. It implies that Christians are a part of a church.
4. It implies that Christian churches have elders.
5. It implies that the elders have a responsibility to pray for the people of the church.
C. It also mentions the use of oil. What is the significance of "anoint with oil" in 5:14?
1. Some are uncomfortable with this. It sounds too Catholic.
a. Some have even suggested that it the oil was for medicinal purposes.
b. But we find the identical language used of Jesus’ disciples in Mark 6:13, when Jesus sent them out two-by-two: "They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them."
c. The oil in these passages is merely the instrument through which God chooses to pour out His healing power. It is very similar to the fig cake God used to heal Hezekiah's boil in 2Kings 20:7, the river water He used to heal Naaman in 2Kings 5:14-17, the spittle Jesus used to heal the blind man in John 9:6, the fringe of Jesus’ garment used to heal in Mark 6:56 & Matt.9:21, the handkerchiefs and aprons touched by Paul used to heal people in Acts 19:12, etc. None of these are medical techniques; nor are they magic; they are merely channels through which God pours His healing power.
2. This does not mean, of course, that God is against medicine. Luke was a doctor (Col. 4:14); Paul encouraged Timothy to treat his stomach disorders with wine (1Tim. 5:23). Obviously, there is a proper place for medicine. But that doesn’t seem to be what this oil is about.
D. 15a And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up.
1. Though this verse uses the language of salvation, it’s talking about God healing from sickness.
2. This isn’t about the gift of healing, where God gives a person the power to heal. This is about prayer for healing. Both come from God, of course, but I personally think the NT leads us to the conclusion that a few of the spiritual gifts of the NT, including the gift of healing, were connected to era of the apostles.
a. But that doesn’t mean God no longer heals people.
b. And it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t pray for healing.
c. In my mind, there is a sad prejudice against healing today among some folks, probably because of the abuse of healing in some churches.
3. So is this an absolute guarantee of healing? If it was, if every person prayed for by his elders was healed, this passage would be a lot more popular. People would be flocking into churches just to get healed, just like they flocked to Jesus. But lo, it is not.
4. There are even a good number of instances in the NT where godly, faithful Christians were not healed, even after prayer.
a. Paul’s thorn in the flesh in 2Cor.12:7-10
b. Epaphroditus' illness in Phil.2:25-27
c. Timothy's stomach ailment in 1Tim.5:23
d. Trophimus in Miletus in 2Tim.4:20
5. The fact is that there are those whom God in His loving wisdom chooses not to heal. He has a purpose for sickness and a purpose for healing – and for the timing of His healing.
E. 15b And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
1. What? James has been talking about calling the elders to pray for you when you’re sick, and all of a sudden, he starts talking about a person having his sins forgiven. What’s going on?
a. Is he changing the subject and starting to talk about sins?
b. Or is he continuing the conversation about asking for prayer when you’re sick?
2. Well, sometimes sickness is the result of sin.
a. We see this in 1Cor.11:28-32 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. 31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
b. This is not punishment, but discipline. God is drawing our attention to our sin.
c. This is why James connects sickness with sin, and praying for healing with confessing of sin.
3. So the possibility exists that the elders will be praying for healing over someone and anointing him with oil when in reality the problem which caused the sickness hasn’t been dealt with. If the real problem is sin, then, if you really want healing, you’ve got to deal with the sin first.
4. And how do we deal with sin in the Bible? Through repentance and confession.
5. And that’s why James brings up confession and forgiveness in the context of prayer for healing.
6. Of course, it is wrong to judge others when they get sick. The elders can’t see into a person’s heart and know if they are clinging to sin.
7. All they can do is give a person the opportunity to confess sin, if there is some sin which the person needs to confess. So, James goes on to say...
F. 16a Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.
1. "Therefore," of course, is a conclusion or summary of what has just been said.
2. V.16 "confess sins to one another" refers back to 15b: "if he has sinned, he will be forgiven."
3. Confessing sins is how the elders find out whether or not the sick person has committed some sin which might perhaps be causing the illness.
G. 16b The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.
1. Why is he suddenly talking about the prayers of a righteous man instead of the elders’ prayers?
2. Well, theoretically, the elder is a righteous man. The elder ought to be an elder because he is a righteous man.
III. Take-aways
A. Go to God no matter what your situation.
1. 13a Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.
a. This is when it’s very understandable to go to God. It is obvious that we need help.
b. Even non-believers can be driven to prayer by suffering.
c. But sometimes people don’t pray even when they’re suffering. Why not?
(1) They are angry with God for the suffering.
(2) They sense God’s displeasure in the suffering and conclude that He is against them.
d. They don’t realize that the Lord disciplines the one He loves (Heb.12:6), and prunes the ones who bear fruit so they will bear more fruit (John 15:2).
2. 13b Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.
a. Happy? Cheerful? Contrary to what our hearts often tell us, this doesn’t mean we are not needy.
b. So, how are we needy?
(1) We need His continued help.
(2) We need humility and gratitude, recognizing that our happiness is from Him and not from us.
(3) Gifts are relational. They are not random or accidental. When God gives us a gift, it is meant to draw us to Him, it is meant to reveal His love to us, it is meant to cause us to love Him more, it is designed to change us.
(a) So, it’s not enough just to receive and enjoy God’s good gifts. We must recognize the Giver.
(b) We must thank Him. We must let the gift and its Giver sink into us.
(4) Plus, we need to avoid the temptations which come with cheerfulness.
(a) the temptation to invest our hearts in this world and this life.
(b) the temptation to think you’ve got it made:
i) Revelation 3:17 “You say, ‘I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.’ ”
ii) Luke 12:19 “I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ ”
3. So, it’s ALWAYS time to pray and to go to God.
B. 14 Is anyone among you sick? 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.
1. Here is divine guidance. But it doesn’t get followed much, does it?
2. People get sick. Sometimes they even worry about dying. But rarely do they follow this guidance.
3. Of course, judgments have to be made. You can’t call for the elders of the church for every headache, every sore throat, every time you get the sniffles.
4. But something holds people back. Maybe it’s fear of the unknown? Maybe it’s humbling?
a. Why don’t we recruit prayer more in general?
b. Maybe this seems like a charismatic verse, not a presbyterian verse. But we don’t we want to be Biblical even if it’s less presbyterian? The whole theory of presbyterianism is that we do what the Bible says in everything, even if it’s uncomfortable.
5. I urge all of us to take this seriously, and put it in practice.
C. Confessing sins to one another
1. This verse is used to recommend confessing sins to one another as a part of church life, but that’s not really the context here. It’s talking about doing so before the elders when asking for prayer for healing. The confessing of sin(s) is to be done by the sick person, not by everyone present (i.e. the elders).
2. In a similar way to Eph.5:21 (submit to one another out of reverence to Christ), James 5:16 is not meant to be universal, only general.
a. Eph. 5:21 is a general heading which is followed by the particular applications.
b. James 5:16 is a general conclusion following the particular specific applications.
3. But this does not apply to all Christians in every context.
4. The sick person should not even be asked to confess their sin(s), it seems to me. Rather, the elders should ask the sick person whether or not he/she knows of a particular sin (or series of sins) which may be the instrument which has brought about the illness. There is no presumption in James 5:14-16 that sin is the cause of the illness. This is made clear by the "if" in v. 15b: “if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.”
a. Therefore, a person should be allowed perfect freedom not to confess any sin if the person is not, upon self-examination, aware of any particular sin which needs to be dealt with.
b. If there is a particular sin which, upon self-examination, comes to the mind of the sick person, that sin should be confessed to the elders and the elders ought to assure the sick brother or sister of God's forgiveness (see v. 15b).
5. Of course, this does not say anything negative about the practice of confessing sin.
a. It seems to me that it is a healthy and redemptive thing to have someone you can confess your sins to regularly.
b. There are certainly contexts where it is neither wise nor appropriate to confess your sins to others, but there are other contexts in which it is fitting and redemptive.
D. The prayer of a righteous person
1. 16b The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
2. Who we are affects other people’s lives! Godliness is of great benefit to ourselves, but it is also of great benefit to others.
3. What is a righteous person? It’s not about performance.
a. It’s about abiding in Christ! It’s about being filled with the Holy Spirit!
b. It’s about realizing the height and depth and length and width of the love of Christ!
c. It’s about realizing that since God is for us, no one can be against us!
4. Prayer is one of the best ways to fulfill our duty to love our neighbors. Prayer is one of the best ways to fulfill our duty to love one another. People talk about wanting to be a world-changer. Well, prayer is one of the best ways to be a world-changer.
a. The world desperately needs the righteous prayers of God’s people!
b. The church desperately needs the righteous prayers of God’s people!
5. So, it’s not enough to take care of ourselves. It’s not enough to pray. It’s not enough to recruit others to pray. We must also search our hearts and repent of any sins we haven’t repented of. We must seek the Lord and His kingdom above all the other goals and ambitions of this world – so we can be the most useful to the Lord in this needy world.
E. Conclusion
1. Christians understand that in this life we do not enjoy paradise-living. We get hurt; we get sick; we fail; we lose loved ones. We know that we wait for the next life to enjoy perfect health and perfect harmony and perfect peace.
2. And yet even in this life, we are not just left alone to face our hardships. We have a place to turn.
3. 13-14 “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray... 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him.”
4. We have a hotline to the ruler of the universe!
5. James uses the example of Elijah, the great prophet. And to encourage us that our prayers can also have a powerful effect, he reminds us that Elijah was “a man with a nature like ours.” (17)
6. Prayer is not powerful because we’re so great. Prayer is powerful because of God’s greatness!
7. “Thou art coming to a king, Large petitions with thee bring; For His grace and power are such, None can ever ask too much.” – John Newton
8. We don’t have perfection; we don’t have panacea. All that is coming later. But we do have a heavenly Father who cares about us; we do have a Savior who intercedes for us; we do have a Great Physician we can call when we are in need. We are SO blessed!
9. At the beginning of his epistle, James urges believers to “Count it all joy when you meet trials of various kinds, and to let them produce steadfastness, that they may become perfect and complete.” James 1:2-4
a. But that’s not James final word on the subject of trials. He tells us here that it’s perfectly appropriate when you face trials to pray, not only for strength and faith, but pray for relief and for removal of the suffering. And not only to pray ourselves, but to ask others to pray!
10. One of the common themes in my preaching is contentment and faith in the face of hardships. And I don’t want to take anything away from that. But you can take that too far. You can take that to the point where you forget that God urges us to call out to Him for help.
a. Repeatedly in the NT, God assures His people that He is there for them and eagerly waits for them to seek His intervention. Why, even Jesus asked for relief of His burden when He was facing the cross! A person who thinks we shouldn’t ask for relief from trouble or healing from sickness, a person who thinks faith means accepting all trouble without trying to fix it or asking God to remove it thinks it’s possible to be more godly than Jesus. That’s not faith; that’s fatalism.
11. Think about the book of Psalms, which is filled with desperate God-inspired pleas for help.
a. Psalm 44:23-26 Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever! 24 Why do you hide your face? Why do you forget our affliction and oppression? 25 For our soul is bowed down to the dust; our belly clings to the ground. 26 Rise up; come to our help! Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!
b. That prayer is not an unbelieving prayer. That prayer is exactly the kind of prayer God wants us to pray. That’s why He inspired it!
12. So, is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone sick, let him seek prayer.
13. And even when God doesn’t intervene, even when He doesn’t heal, it doesn’t mean that He is just abandoning His people to their suffering. Jesus entered into our suffering. His name is at the top of the list of those who didn’t get relief from their suffering, who didn’t get healed – even though He prayed for it.
a. And so we know that those whom He allows to suffer have a sympathetic Savior, who knows what suffering is all about (Heb.4:15-16).
b. And we also know that we do have a promise of absolute healing, that sickness and suffering are just for a time. When Christ returns, we will be raised up in bodies of glory on the last day, with no weakness, ailments or disabilities.